Khairy berlakon lagi on Hisbutt Tahirir

- Jules Winnfeild (“Pulp Fiction”)

COMMENT | I have to say, it is rich for Khairy Jamaluddin to say, “I want to say this to history experts in Malaysia: what use are you (to society)... as someone who is hired to lecture at a public university and being paid using taxpayers’ money, but you are scared to come forward to defend Malaysia’s history,” when he has a history of not defending his political views and actions.

Remember when Khairy was the Umno Youth grand poohbah and organised a road show with Shafee Abdullah to explain that Sodomy 2 was not a fix-up by Umno.

For those who can’t remember, it was X-rated in nature, which is strange with all the obscenity laws we have in this country.

Rafizi Ramli was right to call Khairy a coward for not debating him about this issue.

Pavle Kawan : Good to hear a voice calling out this Khairy guy, mouthing about courage & cowardice with his shameful history.

Nature : Cannot trust this budak Tingkat 4.... quite notorious during Pak Lah's era.

MS : Three points Thayaparan 

1. Malaysiakini is a censorship exemplar with a well-deserved notoriety for willy-nilly deleting comments however innocuous "for personal and economic safety." 

2. KJ is an ambitious UMNO politician. Bemoaning his trademark duplicity is akin to complaining that fecal matter stinks. 

3.The Madani regime which, as its first "reform" erected an electric fence around 3R did so to enable specific acts and activities to go unquestioned.

Obama’s foreign policy and internal politics was very massup . Obama, Biden was very disqualified president in USA. Yes Macro Rubio always speak truth boldly and courageously, Intelligent and with integrity. Obama was a disgrace to humanity. Marco Rubio.... You are a real man, a proud American, and you are brilliant, your soul and in your behaviors to help others. Please don't leave us. 

But Obama was a Muslim he even had them in our white house that was wrong. Barack HUSSEIN Obama gave $150 billion to (Iran) Islamic terrorists and allowed Iran to develop build nuclear weapons. HUSSEIN Obama is the only president in history who has actively worked to destroy the US. Shame Obama everywhere you see him! Boo him! Call him traitor!

This is not mythology. This is not blind pride. And this is not propaganda. This is a documentary about documented history — about inventions, discoveries, and ideas that began in India long before many of the civilizations we commonly credit.

This film explores:

⚡ The Indus Valley Civilization and its 5,000-year-old urban planning and drainage systems

⚡ Why the world’s earliest diamonds came from India

⚡ The origin of buttons and early textile innovation

⚡ How India pioneered the crystallization of sugar

⚡ Wootz steel and the secret behind legendary Damascus blades

⚡ The rust-resistant Iron Pillar of Delhi

⚡ Sushruta and the foundations of modern plastic surgery

⚡ Pingala’s binary system — 2,000 years before modern computing

⚡ Cotton cultivation thousands of years before Europe

At its core, this is a story about memory. The question is not whether India contributed to the modern world. The question is why so many people were never taught that it did. Watch till the end. Decide for yourself.

And ask the uncomfortable question: If this much was overlooked… what else are we missing? Shashi Tharoor frequently cites the figure that Britain drained approximately $45 trillion from India during its colonial rule between 1765 and 1938. This estimate is based on the research of economist Utsa Patnaik, published by Columbia University Press.

The core arguments behind this claim include:Economic Decline: Tharoor notes that when the British arrived, India's share of the world economy was 23%, but it fell to below 4% by the time they left in 1947.The "Drain" Mechanism: 

The East India Company used tax revenue collected from Indians to buy Indian goods for export, effectively obtaining those goods for free while keeping the international sale proceeds for the British treasury.

De-industrialization: British policies targeted Indian industries, such as handloom weaving, by imposing heavy tariffs on Indian exports while flooding the Indian market with duty-free British manufactured cloth.War Contributions: During World War I and II, India provided massive resources and millions of soldiers to the British war effort.

Tharoor highlights that Britain owed India £1.25 billion in war debt by 1945, which was never fully repaid.

What I am worried about is that just like our Professors of Kangkong who claimed that the special people taught the "Romans how to build ships". They might say that the Indians copied Sanskrit from them. Remember that the Bujang Valley is even older than the coming of Islam to the Malay peninsula.

Or that Hang Tuah was probably a Chinese, which was one of the reasons that he was dropped from history books. 

More recent analyses, such as a 2025 update mentioned by The Economic Times, suggest the total extraction could be as high as $64.82 trillion when extending the timeline and accounting for modern valuations from India.

The dramatic House exchange ignites controversy over Sharia law, public education, religious identity and America’s political divide as lawmakers clash in a tense hearing. Watch the explosive moments, heated arguments and key exchanges from the congressional showdown that has sparked intense reactions online. If that school handed out Bibles, that woman would be screaming.

Reneged indeed, who has been doing that? Read the small print enlarge image, by clicking on it.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry has reportedly withdrawn several export licences related to certain technologies as part of the country’s move to tighten export controls.

HangTuahPJ : Ha ha ha ha. DSAI, who are you?? You think they care especially after you associate yourself as close buddies of Hamas, Hezbollah, Turki and Pakistan. All rogues.

On the Other Hand : Malaysia never honored its part of the Peace Treaty signed with the CPM. This is a matter of record. Malaysia never honored its part of the Extradition Treaty signed with India. 

They never returned Zakir Naik to face investigation and trial in India. What Tommy rot about Malaysia being a credible signatory?

Raja Chulan : In Malay we often say "Padan Muka". A country must always remain neutral, mind its own business and respect international law and order. 

If it protects criminals, and religious extremist and haters from another country without any regard to the sensitivity and feelings of that country, then it must also face the repercussions, such as what Norway had done to Malaysia. Fair game.

spinnot : "Signed contracts are solemn instruments." Absolutely. So is MA63, which is an international agreement or treaty signed by the UK, Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore. Please honour the agreement including the 40% revenue entitlement promised to North Borneo.

MA63 is an international treaty. Perhaps one or more signatories of the treaty should refer the matter to the ICJ? The 2021 Constitutional amendment recognizing MA63 is seen as confirming that Federal law like the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 must align with Sabah and Sarawak's rights. 

The terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) are incorporated into the Federal Constitution, serving as a foundational document that guarantees special rights, autonomy, and safeguards for Sabah and Sarawak. The Constitution is supreme.

ME : Even the poor Veterans who fought the Communists have pensions not streamlined, they who have been maimed and killed, that too reneged upon, when the court ruled in their favour PMX's government appealed to overturn a favorable ruling, now having the gall to call out Norway?

He reveals how soldiers prepared spiritually before Lepanto — through mass confession and Holy Communion — and reflects on Islamic atrocities, Hungary’s vivid historical memory, the challenges of modern Muslim migration into Europe, and why many Europeans have forgotten their own history and the hard lessons of the past. A powerful conversation on faith, history, identity, and the importance of remembering one's own heritage. 

Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See (2015 to 2025), is a member of the former ruling family of Austria-Hungary (the House of Habsburg-Lorraine), and prominent Catholic author and public figure. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Danube Institute.

Joseph Pierce (c. 1842-1916), a Chinese American soldier who served for the Union during American Civil War. Pictures from History/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

In 1861, when the war began, the vast majority of Asians in the United States lived on the West Coast. Among the few hundred documented in the East, many had arrived aboard European and American trading ships—likely trafficked as laborers—while others had been sponsored by missionaries or born on American soil.

From the collapse of synthetic political movements in the UK to the striking down of illegal redistricting maps in Virginia and beyond, Vance lays out a powerful indictment of a weaponized justice system and the betrayal of the American working class. 

This is the moment the political map shifted permanently. They need to destroy that library because it’s hideous. Plus he’s stating you’ll need id to enter parts of it also? It looks like a mad max max prison. Seems more like it’s more than a library. Not blaming either side (dems,reps) has shown to turn a blind eye to all the waste spending to cover moneys that’s being fraudulently spent and sent overseas. 

The one and only thing we need to focus on is the white elite collar criminal enterprise in backrooms and dark allies. Trillions and trillions of American dollars being used to fight ourselves. Funding terroristic groups to flood our country, our communities, cities , states and turn America inside out, split our people because they’re emigrating or illegally here say they’re refugees from horrible countries they’re stealing from us to feed them! 

Stop the BS and stop all the fundings that go outside our country. Fix our White House and congress. Barrack is like Lucifer he wants power he has an evil spirit the spirit the spirit of Lucifer betraying everything. Lucifer comments in the bible said.

I’m Pakistani ex Muslim converted Christian and I left Islam because I got educated. If you are not allowed to leave a group, that group is a cult. That young ex-Muslim lady needs protection. The sense of anger and violence bubbling beneath the surface is palpable. A Cult is a Cult, the cultist would always fight hard to cover their evil practices. 

They call it Taqiyya, you can lie to make the Islamic religion look good. Does this Muslim man understand people like him are the reason why she left? It’s really hard for me to stomach this poor girls story and to see this creepy man speak in that manner to her.

Texas officials swiftly issued a cease and desist order, highlighting the institution's illegal operations, including its international recruitment efforts that allowed students from Pakistan to enroll without a U.S. visa. Islam LITERALLY uses our freedoms against us to conquer us. 

Wake tf up! We do not need a Muslim college in Texas or any other state. This cult BS in Texas needs to stop and be addressed immediately. Remove all H1B visas. The USA needs to get some nation wide anti-islam laws in place to prevent the USA becoming the UK/ Europe.

At just 10 years old, Yashasvi Jaiswal left his home in eastern Uttar Pradesh with his father, travelling 1,600km south to Mumbai. Their goal was audacious: to make it as a professional cricketer in a country of 1.4 billion people where the game is revered as a religion.

Knucklehead2 : Nades, it’s easy to romanticize the glory days, but today’s children already know the harsh truth: in Malaysia, skin colour decides your chances. From something as simple as making the school soccer team to representing the district or the nation, the answer is almost always zilch if you’re not the “chosen” race. 

Why bother, when the system is rigged? It’s like swimming against the current—a pointless daydream. This toxic legacy was built by UMNO, and now PMX is perpetuating it by refusing to reform. The result? A bleak future not just for sports, but for national unity itself.

On the Other Hand : Systemic racism against the minorities infects everything in this country Sports is no exception Anything touched by this institutionalised racism will corrode and degrade. 

No point reminiscing about past sports glories. This country has a lot of talent. But racism against NMs is too deeply ingrained, too entrenched. Ketuanan destroys everything it touches.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile

Yet beneath these accomplishments lies an uncomfortable truth: we still lack a sufficiently clear, compelling, and shared national vision.

Public discourse has become increasingly polarised, communal narratives continue to dominate political life, and the idea of a truly united Malaysian nationhood remains fragile and incomplete.

A nation without a clear and compelling vision is like a ship without a rudder - vulnerable to drift, division, and decline.

GalaxyM : UmnoBn politicians have sadly turned Malaysia into a fragmented nation through the implementation of the NEP starting from 1970. The corrective policy was not meant to last forever but it has been made to look like that. 

The apartheid policy dividing the people into bumi and non bumi should be quickly changed to expedite the Bangsa Malaysia dream. We the NMs have not been treated fairly since the introduction of NEP. However we have become resilient diligent and competent to face reality of life compared to the MMs. 

Anyway the policy of pampering and favouring one community should be quickly stopped to cultivate the spirit of embracing competition and accepting hardwork. Lousy politicians from Umno and PN like Akmal and Sanusi and many others must be reeducated so that they can understand and face the country belongs to all races and religions. 

They should stop openly shouting the rhetorics of behaving like arrogant and brainless racists cum extremists and religion bigoted politicians .

Veteran 1972 : It is the nons who are still longing or dreaming or worse deluded , for a Bangsa Malaysia in multiracial Malaysia. To the Melayu, this is Tanah Melayu, a fait accompli. A multi Malaysia would mean the other races are the equal to the Malays which in today's toxic n racial political sphere is totally unacceptable. Other races are "pendatang", enjoying the hospitality of the Malays, therefore cannot claim equal ownership. 

Funny though, this country deliberately does NOT want you to love it! Then they say Non Malays do NOT want to join the services because they are not patriotic enough. They are deluded and convoluted in their logic.

He's evil and likely did his 3rd term through Biden. Obama is still meddling with Trump trying to still undermine him, meeting with Starmer and Carnery. What is he cooking up now? What a disgusting monster. 

Yes I remember all of this and many of us have been made sick from all we know. Waiting for justice then watch all Trump went thru, General Flynn, Roger Stone and others breaking as Jan 6. Truth in all of these need to come out. 

Obama is part of the elite globalist and the deep state and is a puppet of the secret societies who has betrayed the United States of America and the American citizens. He is evil to the core. He needs to be arrested this is exactly what he did when Trump became president the first time he went ahead of trump and spoke with the leaders of other countries not to work with him

– Dr Mahathir Mohamad on who he thinks the Malays are (2002)

COMMENT | Recently, twice former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad again blamed the Malays for losing this country to whoever because “… they prioritise the fate of their leaders rather than race, country and religion.”

At this point, without any awareness of the irony in muttering something like this, the old maverick demonstrates he is either deep in denial or he doesn’t recognise that his creation, a Frankenstein creature composed of various bits of fascist ideology, racism and self-serving imperatives, defines the mainstream Malay political landscape.

Asam Pedas : Who don’t know that the main problem of Malaysia is Malays. Closely tied to it also Malay power corrupts and absolute Malay power absolutely corrupts . UMNO is the disease the country was dying from it and at one point we thought we had put it into the ground. 

But Malays being the problem have resurrected it, as always in the name of race and religion. But who was ground-zero or the first one from where it all started? It’s no other than Mahathir. There was nothing much he did that did not have corruption underwrite it. 

I am old enough to have enough people say to me how Mahathir operates. Now it’s soaked into Malay personality and fabric and has become inseparable. No one, it seems, is immune!!

Krabian : United or not, Malay are slave to their religion and the dependency tongkat. They have lost their direction and created an external enemy out of DAP, blame the Nons for threatening their religion, position, jobs, and their fake supremacy.

Lim described Khaled’s remarks as unconvincing and raised further questions about the long-delayed LCS project. “The people have the right to know whether the government will now have to bear additional costs to modify the ships or obtain a replacement system if the naval strike missile (NSM) contract truly cannot proceed due to changes in Norway’s export policy.

“After years of delay and billions of ringgit spent, the people now see the LCS project as no longer merely a troubled project, but at risk of becoming a symbol of failure in the country’s defence management,” said Lim in a statement.

OCT : There is a very serious breach of contract. The blame in this fiasco lies squarely with Malaysia. When the contract was signed, Norway has no problem in delivering the goods. However, the sad part is that there was a long delay in the delivery in the LCS by our local contractors. 

After many years in delay and with no accountability, major changes in policies and contract terms are affected. There is no recourse to seek any compensation as the fault lies with Malaysia contractors. The normal guidelines for changes is it is easier to redesign and modify during planning stages but it becomes costly and complex when the project is about to complete after years in delay. 

Malaysia cannot blame Norway for changing its policy as it is not their fault. It is Malaysia fault for not completing the project on time and within budget. The Govt must go after those who mess up the project but Rakyat won't see the truth as the contractors are abang adek concept. 

Rakyat as usual won't know the truth and accountability. What is the use of the LCS when you don't have the firepower. LCS becomes another big expensive fishing boat.

Veteran 1972 : Should BBQ Kerismuddin's cojones over a slow fire to get the answers.

What Makes India’s Hypersonic Missile a Milestone in Defence Technology?

The new Long-Range Anti-Ship Hypersonic Missile (LR-AShM) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation could dramatically strengthen the power of the Indian Navy and reshape the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. If Mach 3 BrahMos missiles caused massive damage during Operation Sindoor, what happens when a Mach 10 weapon enters the battlefield?

The Andaman and Nicobar Command enables monitoring of critical sea lines of communication, deployment of assets deep into Southeast Asia, and domain awareness. For China, it intensifies the “Malacca Dilemma". Nicobar offers India denial capability and pressure options without direct confrontation. While geography is a permanent advantage, operationalising it requires overcoming infrastructure gaps and environmental challenges.

She owns luxury real estate in Paris and across France. She holds properties in Malta and sits on massive Swiss bank accounts. Where did this wealth come from? It was stolen by her father, Yasser Arafat. Arafat wasn't even Palestinian. 

His real name was Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini. He was an Egyptian terrorist born in Cairo who invented his "Palestinian" identity in 1964. He stole billions, and his daughter lives like royalty in Europe. When will the West wake up to this massive scam? Share this everywhere.

They do not have the expertise. It is pure bunkum or rather bullshit! Probably bootleg. Pakistan has resumed alcohol exports for the first time in nearly 50 years as economic pressure and foreign exchange shortages intensify. 

Murree Brewery, the country’s historic brewery founded in 1860, is now shipping alcoholic beverages to markets like the UK, Japan, Portugal, and Thailand after receiving export approval. While alcohol remains banned for most Pakistanis, the move signals how deeply Pakistan’s Forex crisis, debt burden, and dollar shortage are reshaping policy. Why is Islamabad turning to alcohol exports now?

Typical Ketuanan Types

It is always easier when the narrative becomes uncomfortable to blame those who describe it rather than those who shaped its boundaries. The former minister’s outburst fits neatly into a familiar political reflex, that confusion in public understanding must be the fault of those who failed to speak loudly enough. This framing is too convenient, and it mistakes the symptom for the system.

So, why is Khairy focusing on the silence of historians, instead of the political environment that shaped what could be safely said in the first place? The core issue is not academic courage; it is political history.

Malaysia’s post-independence nation-building project, especially during the strong Umno era, was deeply shaped by affirmative action policies and the ideological framing of “Ketuanan Melayu” (Malay supremacy) as a central pillar of state identity and political legitimacy.

Our history was never written in a vacuum of pure academic curiosity because it has always existed inside this larger political architecture. These discriminatory policies were further reinforced through the Biro Tata Negara (BTN or National Civics Bureau).

GrayParrot9290 : Great presentation of facts versus KJ’ Oxford shallow analysis and blame game. Well done! Pmx shalll remain silent for he will too be in History after GE16 - remembered as the weakest PM ever ?

Sherlock : Indeed , they really jaga their periuk nasi so well, reward was given to KhooKayKim family by naming a road in his name, what an irony, giving reward for telling lies?

Doubtful : Excellent article.... 👍👍👍 Remember KJ is an umno politician... What do you expect??... 🤔

OBSERVER from Space : Excellently written Mariam! Malu apa KJ? So many issues caused by M politicians, now u call historians cowardly...call la the executive branches of the government cowardly when 1MBD happened, when GISB happened, when corruption happened...etc Malu apa KJ?

A 1982 Muslim Brotherhood document titled “Towards a Global Strategy for Islamic Policy”, known as “The Project”, outlines a long-term plan to establish Islamic dominance worldwide by infiltrating Western institutions and creating parallel Islamic governance structures.

RAIR Foundation USA exposed the Muslim Brotherhood’s subversive blueprint for turning America into an Islamic state, the secret 1982 document known as “The Project”, and entered it into the official congressional record for the February 10, 2026, hearing titled “Sharia-Free America: Why Political Islam & Sharia Law Are Incompatible With the U.S. Constitution.”

The Project bluntly instructs followers to create “parallel” societies within their host countries – explicitly rejecting all assimilation into Western societies – to use “Palestine” as a vehicle for the global Islamic State using jihadi cells, and to engage in “temporary cooperation” with “Islamic movements” and anti-“colonialist” movements (i.e., the Red/Green Axis – a “convergence of Marxism and Islam“), and to permanently refuse friendship or coexistence with Jews.

But it is not just about Jews. The Project is about achieving Islamic rule over the entire world – which includes Christians and all non-Muslims.

The Project was written by exiled disciples of the Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, the ideological godfather of global jihadism and admirer of Hitler. The Muslim Brotherhood is an innocuously named but sinister global network, which created the ideological backbone for Hamas, the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and many other jihadi groups while inspiring thousands of terror attacks around the world.

The subversive document outlines a multi-generational plan, designed to incrementally impose global Islam on the West. “[W]e should not look for confrontation with our adversaries,” The Project instructs.

One of The Project’s most enduring American vehicles is the notorious International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in Virginia, a Muslim Brotherhood operation founded to institutionalize the rejection of Western knowledge and embed parallel Islamic structures. The IIIT has enjoyed tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization in America since 1982.

Mature Eucalypt and Moreton Bay fig trees provide a leafy canopy of shade for its residents, who walk dogs, push prams, or stroll to and from Queen Street’s busy cafés.

Situated in this picture-perfect location is a much-loved synagogue – Temple Emanuel. With its stained-glass windows and heritage red-brick façade, the synagogue sits snugly in the street next to the neighbouring chocolate box homes. It all sounds so cozy. But that’s until you notice the presence of the synagogue’s big metal gates and the armed security guards positioned strategically outside them.

Dressed in their distinctive, black paramilitary uniforms they stand vigil, day and night, in sun and rain, guarding the Jewish community. They must be prepared to react instantly to threats. Sometimes an occupant in a car passing by will call out anti-Semitic abuse and the guards will  get their licence plates for a report to the police.

Over a decade ago I lived opposite the synagogue in John Street. I would witness the everyday procession of children going to school, congregants dressed in their best for shul, and the usual celebrations of weddings and funerals, all watched over by those watchful individuals in black.

Temple Emanuel was, and still is, a wonderful community where I would wave at the guards as I walked past and they would wave back. My admiration for these men knew no bounds because I understood clearly the dangers the community faced and the essential role they play in protecting a vulnerable people.

Chillingly, the father and son alleged shooters at Bondi briefly stopped their car in Ocean Street, across from Temple Emanuel, on their way to carry out Australia’s worst terrorist event. CCTV footage shows them getting out to open their boot to reveal an ISIS flag before resuming their deadly journey.

After December 14, the rest of the Australian community woke up to what was at stake when security isn’t taken seriously. Fifteen people were mowed down, and clearly those responsible for providing security, or lack of it, failed the Jewish community disastrously.

Christian churches don’t have security guards outside their premises. Neither do Buddhist temples or Mosques. But all Australian synagogues require security. For synagogues like Temple Emmanuel, security guards must be employed around the clock. They need to protect their congregants from the moment they enter the gates to the moment they leave the compound, and even into the street.

“In the unequal battle we are facing, Iran’s armed forces will be the final victors,” he told the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. “They fight with the culture of Ashura and consider surrender a disgrace for themselves.”

For Shi’ite Muslims, Ashura is a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Though he was killed during the Battle of Karbala in 680 C.E., Husayn is still held up as a hero who didn’t surrender to the massive army of the caliph, Yazid.

“Our model in today’s wars is [that] of Ashura—steadfastness in an unequal battle,” Mohabi said, describing Tehran’s current predicament.

Referring to the United State and Israel, he went on, “Our enemies are specifically one country and one regime with enormous equipment. America brought its latest defensive and offensive equipment to the battlefield. Our equipment and the number of our forces are very unequal compared to theirs.”

However, he said, “our spiritual power enabled us to stand against them.”

To clarify, he added, “In this arena, our fighter either wins or is martyred. Martyrdom is happiness for him. In such a situation, our forces do not falter.”

This wasn’t rhetorical bravado. It’s the essence of radical Islamism and the reason that the phenomenon has been nearly impossible to combat, let alone eradicate.

Mohabi admitted that Iran’s forces are outmatched in conventional terms, with fewer resources and an inferior arsenal. He didn’t mention his regime’s goal of obtaining nuclear weapons, of course. Not only has the Islamic Republic insisted that its nuclear program was always for “peaceful purposes,” but the enriched uranium in its possession was and is President Donald Trump’s casus belli.

So Mohabi steered away from that particular topic. He focused instead on the main weapon that compensates for the deficiencies he acknowledged: the willingness, even desire, to die as martyrs for the cause of regional and worldwide hegemony.

Herein lies the weakness of liberal democracies in the face of barbarism. Such societies sanctify life and human rights, and their militaries operate under legal, ethical and psychological restraints.

A re-enactment shortly after the Santa Cruz massacre that took place on Nov. 12, 1991, in which at least 250 East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators were killed by Indonesian troops.

In 1998, President Suharto’s 32-year dictatorship collapsed in four days of violence, East Timor broke away in a bloodfest in 1999, and Islamists launched a sustained terror campaign across the archipelago.

Jemaah Islamiyah, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, bombed a Bali nightclub in 2002, killing more than 200 people. Operatives then struck the JW Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. They even detonated a bomb in the Jakarta Stock Exchange car park while I was on the 14th floor. I took that personally.

Indonesia responded with competence and force. Arrests, intelligence penetration and targeted operations followed. It paired this with deradicalization programs that treated Islamism as a security threat and ideological pathology. There will be worse places to look when the time comes to deradicalize Gaza, and Judea and Samaria.

Islamists moved into politics, contested municipal elections, embedded themselves in nationalist parties and learned the grammar of local governance: zoning, licensing and “public morality.”

Then came the regulations. No full sharia law, but a diluted variant: restrictions on alcohol, curfews dressed up as public safety and moral ordinances targeting unmarried couples. Each nudged the system toward an Islamist vision.

Across Java, municipalities introduced dress codes, curfews and social restrictions. Padang in Sumatra required Quranic literacy for students and civil servants. Local authority was used to normalize Islamic religious norms through bylaws and ordinances.

This is what totalizing ideologies do when denied decisive victory. They settle for partial control and accumulate power over time. They think in decades, while Western politicians think in electoral cycles.

The West is not immune. A telltale sign is when municipal politicians—tasked with mundane duties such as sanitation, transport and zoning—develop an intense interest in Israel and Jews. Foreign policy is not their domain, yet they import it into local politics to recast elections in sectarian terms.

Britain offers a clear illustration. Tower Hamlets in London has not adopted sharia. That’s not the point. It has become a case study in sectarian municipal politics. The mayor of the London borough, Lutfur Rahman, was removed in 2015 after a court found corruption, electoral fraud and religious intimidation. Inspectors described a “toxic” political culture requiring central oversight.

In Manchester and surrounding boroughs in the north, councils routinely wade into Middle Eastern politics through Israel-related motions and boycott campaigns. These are framed as moral stances. In reality, they are loyalty signals. Birmingham and Bradford have seen school governance controversies, debates over segregation and community influence shaping policy. Not sharia law, yet clearly ideological contestation expressed through local institutions.

Its words state that anyone who, by words, writing, speech, pictures, or visible representation, directly or indirectly defiles the name of Islamic prophet Muhammad shall be punished with death, or life imprisonment, and a fine.

The courts have declared it a divine law and reduced the punishment to death only. In 1991, the Federal Shariah Court’s verdict removed the option of life imprisonment. The crime is now unpardonable. This law is used as a weapon for personal vendettas and against religious minorities especially against Christians. The facts also point in the same direction.

Since 1986, cases of blasphemy and desecration of religion have increased dramatically. This law disproportionately targets religious minorities, even though they constitute only three percent of Pakistan’s total population. People also frequently use it to settle personal enmities.

As soon as false allegation is made, the accused is murdered outside the court and the entire area erupts into riots. Mosques’ loudspeakers blare announcements urging, “Come and save the honour of Muhammad.”  

For example, in 2023 in Jaranwala’s Christian colony, as soon as a false allegation of Quran desecration was leveled, more than six thousand enraged Muslims set fire to hundreds of Christian homes and several churches.

Similarly, in 2013 in Lahore’s Joseph Colony, when a false blasphemy accusation was made against a Christian man, more than two thousand people burned dozens of Christian homes to ashes.

In 2009 in Gojra (Toba Tek Singh district), on the occasion of a wedding, a false allegation of Quran desecration led a violent mob to attack a Christian settlement, killing eight Christians — including four women, a seven-year-old child named Musa, and others — while nearly a hundred homes were torched.

In 1997 in Shanti Nagar (Khanewal), thousands of Muslims attacked a Christian village, burning more than seven hundred homes, twelve churches, and thousands of Bibles, leaving thousands of Christians homeless.

As he wandered around Joan Miró Street in the Esplugues de Llobregat of Barcelona, this young man, according to eyewitnesses, showed “signs of nervousness.” The people who saw him on the street were likely more nervous, as he was also waving a “large knife” around, and he used it. The Sun reported that he stabbed a woman and slit her throat, killing her: “He is accused of stabbing the victim multiple times and cutting her throat before fleeing the scene. Blood was seen along the street as terrified onlookers called emergency services.”

Remix News added Monday that the attacker was “a North African man,” and that he also stabbed but did not kill a “59-year-old man” who had thrown rocks at the attacker to try to stop him from murdering the woman. Remix also says that “there are suspicions that the attack may have an Islamist motive, since the attacker was screaming ‘Allahu Akbar,’ but so far police reports indicate that the attacker is being treated for psychiatric evaluation.” 

There’s the old excuse again: for years now, European authorities have classified what are clearly Islamic jihadis as mentally ill, which allows them to continue to pretend that there is no such thing as Islamic jihad and that the mass migration of Muslims into Europe poses no cultural or civilizational threat. Also, the authorities want you to relax about this: The Daily Mail said that “it was initially reported terrorism had been ruled out as a motive although police declined to comment further, saying the incident remained under investigation.”

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: Indian prisoners of war in a Japanese prison camp in Singapore.

When Britain surrendered to the Japanese in Singapore during World War II on February 15, 1942, approximately 50,000 soldiers of the Indian Army who had defended the island became prisoners. Most accepted this fate, but Captains Balbir Singh, Pritam Singh and Gangaram Parab did not. They thought of escape from the very beginning.

All of them had served at various points of time in the same unit, 4/19 Hyderabad Regiment. They decided to team up. 

Leaving the relatively unguarded Indian prisoner of war camps in Singapore was possible, but reaching India 4,800-km away through Japanese-occupied territory was much tougher. Their colleagues urged them to stay put but they began to make preparations to escape.

Civilian clothes were improvised from a tent and identity cards with fake names obtained. Money and information to help them on their way came from colleagues. They were set.

Before dusk on May 4, after a hearty meal with food smuggled in for the occasion and emotional farewells, their adventure began. They split up, with Balbir and Pritam Singh taking a taxi and then a tram to the train station, where Parab joined them.

They headed for Malaya. They sat apart from each other, pretending to be businessmen. Though there were Japanese guards on board only local ticket collectors came by to inspect the passengers.

Released both in English and Hindi, it talks about the nefarious designs of Pakistan over a period of time, against the innocent people of India, and India's national resolve to strike back with precision and accuracy without collateral damage. 

The whole nation approaches jointness, self-reliance, and indigenisation, ensuring victory. It projects a shining example of political will and integration of forces. Excellent documentary. So proud of the Indian Armed Forces and how they bought Pakistan to its knees in less than 90 hours.