ISIS targeting the rich, especially Chinese tycoons, said Malaysian Home Minister

Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that Isis terrorists would most likely employ kidnap and ransom tactics by preying on wealthy Malaysians to funds their activities. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 13, 2015

The Home Ministry raised the alarm bell on the threat of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying that the radical Islamist group, is plotting to kidnap wealthy Malaysians and stage bank robberies in the country, major Chinese dailies reported .

Its Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in a joint interview recently, said the tactics employed by Isis is to hold these tycoons for ransom and use the money to funds their terrorist activities, Sin Chew Daily reported.

Other Chinese dailies involved in the special interview with Zahid included China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau, Oriental Daily and Guang Ming Daily.

Sin Chew Daily also reported that so far, authorities have yet to determine who is on the so called list of Isis' targets but are working hard trying to determine the matter.

He said, based on intelligence reports, such plots are already developing and the ministry is trying to track down and investigate suspicious movements by the group and their sympathisers in the country.

“Anyone who is a rich is considered a potential target for Isis, and in Malaysia, most of them are not Malays,” he was quoted as to saying.

“As of now, we can only affirm that they have already laid eyes on some of these people; We do not know who but we will do our best in protecting these potential victims,” he added.

The Chinese daily said Zahid also advised these potential targets to beef up security.

“Do not let your guard down, be alert regardless whether you are a tycoon or not, you can be easily kidnapped if you are not cautious.”

During the interview, Sin Chew Daily said Zahid also emphasised on the need to implement pre-emptive measures to face possible Isis threats in the country.

He urged Malaysians to support the upcoming anti-terrorism laws, citing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, saying that it is “extremely critical.”

The Chinese daily reported that according to Zahid, the Caliphate system that Isis propagates does not agree with the existing democratic system.

"Everyone will be brainwashed under the ideology and those who do not buy into their idea will be alienated and killed, especially those who oppose the ideology.

“Isis threats is real in this country. It is also possible that they will kill Malaysians within the borders of this nation,” he stressed.

“Their targets will also comprise of non-Muslims and various factions of Islam who they consider them heretic.”

To date, about 59 Malaysians are officially known to have joined Isis.

More than 65 have been arrested by police either on their way to Syria and Iraq or on their way back since the start of last year. - Malaysian Insider

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Developers want review property rules curb sales instead of prices to go up !

Rehda Penang chairman Jerry Chan (right) says developers do not foresee an increase in property volume in the state in the near future. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 12, 2015.

Developers want review as Penang property rules curb sales instead of prices

The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang chapter wants the state government to ease cooling measures meant to curb property speculation as they have only reduced the number of sales but not brought down prices.

Rehda Penang chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said the state's cooling measures, which included levies on property sold within a certain period of time, were meant to discourage property speculation that made homes expensive in the state.

However, he said the measures reduced transactions by 20% last year compared with 2013, instead of having an impact on property prices.

"They have been effective in reducing property transactions but they have not affected property prices.

"Prices are still up due to rising costs faced by developers," he said in a press conference at Penang Rehda's office in George Town today.

Chan said while transactions were down, other costs like charges levied by the local authorities, land, materials and labour had continued to increase.

"If you expect developers to cut property prices, it is not happening because the costs are going up."

Even for homes in the secondary market, prices remained up although they were expected to fall, Chan said.

"So we do not expect all property prices to soften. Prices now are quite stable and we don't foresee an increase in property volume too," he said.

The Penang government announced in its 2014 state budget several new housing rules to protect the state from being affected by a property bubble and to ensure that public and affordable housing were bought by genuine and qualified buyers from the lower and middle-income groups.

Among the rules, which took effect in March last year, was a levy of 2% on property sold within three years from the date of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA), and a moratorium on the re-sale of “affordable” housing within five years of their acquisition, and 10 years for low-cost homes.

Owners of low- and low-medium cost homes must get state approval if they intend to sell their properties within a 10-year time period from the date of signing of the SPA.

They are also only allowed to sell their units to “listed buyers” who are registered with the state’s housing department and certified under the low-income group.

For affordable homes, classified as houses worth up to RM400,000 on the island and up to RM250,000 on the mainland, owners who signed the SPA after March 1 are not allowed to sell their property within a five-year period.

The owners must also obtain state approval and are only allowed to sell to listed buyers in the middle-income group registered with the state housing department.

Under the new rules, foreign property buyers pay a 3% levy on the units they purchase in the state.

Chan said Penang Rehda had appealed to the state government through housing exco Jagdeep Singh Deo, to be more lenient in its development charges and to give developers some leeway.

Chan also suggested that the state government ease the cooling measures for certain projects rather than make them compulsory for all projects.

"We told them when the market is slowing down, they have to ease up on all these measures and controls," he said. Chan said property prices would not become cheaper but developers themselves would be more realistic when setting prices for their units.

He also said now was the time to invest given that property prices had stabilised. – February 12, 2015.

By LOOI SUE-CHERN - The Malaysian Insiders

  Property prices not expected to go down, says Rehda

GEORGE TOWN: Property prices are not expected to trend downwards despite the recent slump in oil prices and a just announced electricity tariff cut.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said compliance and labour costs were not going down.

He pointed out developers were dependent on foreign labour but the country was facing difficulty in getting a consistent supply of manpower.

"The shortage of manpower will not make things easy," he said, but however remained upbeat over real estate activity as developers were now more realistic with pricing. "This is a good time to get into the market," he said at a press conference today to announce that the annual Malaysian Property Exposition (Mapex) will be held in Penang for three days from Feb 23.

He said a wide range of properties were available ranging from affordable housing units to high-end condominiums.

By Tan Ke Ming - TheSundaily

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Are they terrorists or militants?

LATELY, the use of the words militants and terrorists has become very common and people are sometimes confused as to whether an act of violence has been committed by terrorists or militants.

In Malaysia, the two words are often used interchangeably whereas in strict media practice and proper nomenclature, there is a difference between the two.

It was reported that one foreign media had warned their employees to be extra careful on the terms extremist, militant and terrorist in their news coverage to avoid characterising people.

It is good for our local media to follow these footsteps and avoid using wrong words which can be very sensitive and inappropriate.

In this regard, naturally those who are familiar with the subject of “Organised Crime and Terrorism” would able be to differentiate between the two terms.

Militants and terrorists both have their own agendas and mostly, these agendas have political, religious or ideological goals. The difference lies in the means with which they seek to achieve their desired goals.

Either way it is clear that usually both the terrorists and militants are extremists (in the sense of holding a view at the extreme end of a spectrum on a particular subject matter) who indulge in unlawful activities and therefore become a threat to the nation.

Some of the differences between militants and terrorists are:

• All terrorists are militants, but not all militants are terrorists;
• Terrorism is carried out by non-governmental groups that do not wear uniforms. However, members of militants usually wear uniforms, identifying insignia or militia – coloured clothes;
• Terrorists resort to physical violence. They utilise terror as a means of coercion and use violence as a necessary means of attaining their political, religious or ideological goals, thereby causing harm and death to innocent people and maximum damage to property. Militants may or may not actively engage in physical violence, but they are certainly very aggressive verbally or use verbal violence to achieve their desired goals, as undoubtedly, they feel themselves in “war mode”;
• Terrorists have no regard for humankind and, usually target civilians, instil fear and psychological effect on them in order to gain the attention of the authorities. As terrorist organisations, they will commit violent acts by murdering civilians, scholars, religious leaders and sanctioning of extortion and demanding ransom.

On the contrary, militants usually do not resort to harming civilians to champion their cause but instead use confrontational or violent methods against the establishment in support of a political or social cause. For example militants may choose to rebel and use armed aggression for a country’s liberation; and

• Where both terms converge is when militants find they have no recourse to achieve their goals and then they resort to terrorism if their needs are not met, thereby transforming themselves into a terrorist group. 

By DATUK AKHBAR SATAR Director, Institute of Crime & Criminology HELP University

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