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March 29, 2010

Spamming News

IF you have been offered cash or products just for forwarding an email or are bombarded with advertisements promoting items you have no intention of buying, you’ve been spammed.

Mostly an annoyance, spam — advertising material sent by email to people who have not asked for it — accounted for 85.1 per cent of all email traffic last year, according to a round-up of spam in 2009 by Kaspersky Labs, a developer of secure content management solutions. Of this percentage, 0.85 per cent contained malicious content, just 0.04 per cent less than in 2008. It is heartening to note that users have become more careful with money, and phishing scams became less profitable for their authors last year — phishing messages in email averaged a low 0.86 per cent last year.

The most common targets of phishing attacks were online payment system PayPal and online auction system eBay. Online denizens should still be on the alert for spam though, especially if they use social networking sites or blogs. If a community is not moderated or if the anonymous comment feature is not disabled, then the amount of spam received through these channels can be overwhelming. Email-based spammers are taking advantage of this situation.

Fake notifications and messages with malicious attachments that appear to be from social networks, and phishing attacks against their users are the bane of today’s Internet.

In 2009, these attacks mainly targeted Facebook and Twitter. Spammers have also started to make an effort to improve the quality of their advertisements to ensure that their messages bypass spam filters and are nice to look at. The main innovation in spam last year was the use of YouTube for video spam.

In October, several mailings were found with links to advertisements uploaded to YouTube.

At the end of the year, spammers sent out mass mailings with mp3 files attached.
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It’s worth noting that these types of spam mailings pose no problems for spam filters. The biggest source of spam last year was the United States (16 per cent), although there was a clear migration of sources towards Asian and Latin American countries.

This can be explained by the fact that the number of computers and broadband Internet connections in these areas is steadily on the rise, but not all users in those countries are literate in Internet security.

As a result, their computers are easier to infect with malicious programmes and incorporate into a botnet — a collection of software agents, or robots, that run autonomously and automatically. “For the spam industry, 2010 will most probably be a less eventful year as the amount of spam in all email traffic will remain at approximately the same level it is now or increase slightly,” says Gun Suk Ling, Kaspersky Labs Asia Limited Southeast Asia regional managing director.

If anything, users of social networking sites should be more wary of the problem as the amount of spam on social networking sites will grow, and spammers will continue to perfect their old techniques while coming up with a few new ones.

Original title: Somebody's spamming you
The full version of this report can be found on
http://www.viruslist.com/

Lorry Home

2010/03/29
By Adib Povera and Zahratulhayat Mat Arif
news@nst.com.my


PENDANG: No one would think of turning a broken-down lorry into a home, but for the family of Ab Rahman Hassan, 59, this is a fact of life.
The lorry has been home for him, his wife Wan Nasri Wan Ismail, 51, their two children Mohd Farhan, 19, and Siti Aisyah, 9, for over two weeks.

Rahman's father, 86-year-old Hassan Ali is also staying with them.

The former Muda Agricultural Development Authority worker moved to the "home" after their house in Kg Banggol Temak was destroyed in a fire.

The New Straits Times visited the family at their home yesterday.

A bamboo mat was spread out on the back of the lorry and a huge canvass-like umbrella had been erected over the lorry to shelter them from the heat and rain.



The lorry was parked on the spot where their house was.

Rahman said they were unable to salvage anything from the fire except for the lorry when the blaze broke out at their house. They were all not home at the time.

"This is where we rest, sleep, eat and pray. Sometimes, I would send Farhan and Siti Aisyah to a relative's house in Kubur Panjang."

Rahman and Wan Nasri have four other children who are married and living with their in-laws. "I don't want to burden my children as they are living with their in-laws."

He said the family was waiting for assistance from Felcra, which he claimed had promised to help them.

Original Title: Their lorry is their home
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/2home/Article/index_html

March 28, 2010

The tale of an abuser

28/03/2010

Talking about victim, what happened in a sex scandal involving churches in Germany and the United States recently, is interesting. More surprisingly is a story of a leading priest in committing molest and sodomy on children under the supervision of his church.

Cases of sex-abuse and abnormal sex habit are getting rampant and even involved renowned figures. What come into our mind why is that there are influential people more so with thick religious image have the audacity to commit such despicable act.

It reminds Awang of a book written by Debbie Ford entitled “Why Do Good People Do Bad Things.” In one of the chapters, he touched on the characteristic of certain person which is considered as abusers.
He said the features that made abusers the most dangerous group is their capability to camouflage. The group will be using a combination of cover up to mask their activities including as leader and religious figures.
Debbie had warned – be alert against abusers. They are good at manipulating stories to the point that it become convincing to themselves and to others that they are talking the truth.

According to the book “People of the lie” written by M. Scott Peck, among the evil features of an abuser is to create confusion. Abusers can change the situation that turn into their favour by manipulating the victim to believe that they are in trouble or worse than that.

They tell lie and then turn around accusing you of lying. Among their weapons are their deceptive tendency and their skill at manipulating whatever issues. They believe that the abuse that they had committed is the mistake of the victims themselves.
Among us, who are those categorized as abusers?

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2010&dt=0328&pub=theMessenger&sec=Bisik-bisik_Weekly&pg=bw_03.htm 
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March 25, 2010

FaceBook to LameBook

Many of us feel comfortable on facebook and always thought the facebook is a place of privacy.

Not sure how it done, but the facebook private massage and photo can be found on LameBook. That what I thought after looking at the Lamebook site. May be it a fake, I just told you what I felt when saw this.

The whole world can see your messages and private photos if some one who expert in this field interested with your photos and message and want to share the message and photos to the world on your behalf.



How it done ? I don't know. Is it legal ? I am not sure. Is it a joke or a serious matter, what you say ?

Is it real or just a gimmick ? You can see & judge by your self. Here is the link ... http://www.lamebook.com/

Petronas discovered a world-sized oil and gas field in Malaysian waters ?


Flame off - Petronas denies discovery of huge oil field off Malaysia

2010/03/25

By Kamarul Yunus
ahmadk@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Berhad yesterday shot down talks that it had discovered a world-sized oil and gas field in Malaysian waters.

Petronas vice-president for exploration and production business, Ramlan Abdul Malek, said here yesterday that it was unlikely for such a field to be found off Malaysia as the country’s geological structure was not conducive for the formation of a larger pool of hydrocarbons.

“Based on technical and seismic data that we collect, it is not likely that we will find this kind of (worldsized) field in this country.”

Ramlan was commenting on reports over the weekend that quoted Gua Musang member of parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as saying that Petronas had discovered
a “very big” oil field.

Ramlan said a world-sized oil field should have reserves of more than a billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).For instance, he said, the Tupi deepwater field in Brazil was projected to have reserves of between five billion and eight billion boe, which is 10 times more than the reserves projected for Malaysia’s Gumusut-Kakap deepwater field off Sabah.

“Our target production date for the Gumusut-Kakap field is by late next year. Its reserves are about 550 million boe.


“Our first deepwater field in Kikeh off Sabah, which started production
in late 2007, has reserves of about 400 million boe.”

He also refuted claims of Petronas’ capability of influencing global oil prices, saying the national oil company was not in a position to do so. He said Malaysia’s production of 600,000 barrels of oil per day was less than one per cent of the total world oil production.

“Based on our forecast, we should be able to sustain this level or hit a peak plateau by 2017. After that, it will decline slowly. This is on the assumption that there is no new discovery.” Photo:

News:http://nst.com.my/articles/20100325091438/Article/index_html

Photo: http://www.petronas.com.my/

Rad: World size ! Pheh ...


Slow Loading Blog - a step to overcome

Having a Slow Loading blog is Not only Annoying to your Visitors it Can Also Play a Part in SEO and You Chance to Earn with Per Per Click Programs such as Adsense. So you Don’t Need these kinds of Problems do you.All you have to Do is Compress your CSS which is a Simple task using this Online Compression Tool


Firstly you Need to Know Where The CSS is in Blogger
All the CSS in Blogger Blogs is Situated Between these Two Tags the First is which is Near the Top then just Press F3 and Look For So Now you Must Cut Everything Between these Tags and then Paste it into the Online Compression Tool and Select the Normal Mode and Don’t Strip Comments.


Now just Paste the Compressed CSS into your Template Between the and tags Now your Blog will Load a Little Fater and this will Improve SEO and Maybe Blog Income


So Lets Make it Clear Then How you Make your Blogspot blog Load Faster

*Look for the and Tags

*Cut Everything Between these Tags and Paste it into the Online Compression Tool for CSS

*Select Don’t Strip Comments and Light Compression

*Paste the Compressed CSS Code into your Template between and

*Save your Template and your Done


*You Now you Have a Faster Loading Blogger Blog Which is Better For SEO and Your Visitors


Original title: Compress CSS to Make your Blog Load faster.

Source: www.roezer.com

March 20, 2010

World's top 10 youngest billionaires

1. Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco, California, Oct. 17, 2007. Facebook said on Wednesday it will allow members to turn off a controversial feature that monitors the Web sites they visit, and its chief executive apologized for not responding sooner to privacy complaints.(Xinhua Photo)

Net worth: 4 billion dollars

How: Internet

Age: 25

Citizenship: US

The Facebook-founder launched the social networking site from his Harvard bedroom in 2004

2. John Arnold

Net worth: 4 billion dollars

How: Energy trading

Age: 36

Citizenship: US

Hired by Enron and founded hedge fund Centaurus Energy in 2002 after Enron collapsed.

3. Yang Huiyan

Net worth: 3.4 billion dollars

How: Property

Age: 28

Citizenship: China

Her fortune is tied up in her holding in Guangdong developer Country Garden, run by her father Yeung Kwok Keung.

4. Albert von Thurn und Taxis

Net worth: 2.2 billion dollars

How: Inheritance

Age: 26

Citizenship: Germany

Inherited fortune on his 18th birthday and lives in family castle, Schloss Emmeram.

5. Fahd Hariri

Net worth: 1.4 billion dollars

How: Construction, investments

Age: 29

Citizenship: Lebanon

Youngest son of assassinated Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri inherited stake in his father's construction, telecom and property empire.

6. Aymin Hariri

Net worth: 1.4 billion dollars

How: Construction, investments

Age: 31

Citizenship: Saudi Arabia

The Hariri brothers received a large inheritance from their father, Rafiq Hariri, who rose from a humble start as a construction worker to become prime minister of Lebanon.

7. Yoshikazu Tanaka

Net worth: 1.4 billion dollars

How: Internet

Age: 33

Citizenship: Japan

Like Zuckerberg, Tanaka also made his fortune from a social networking site, Gree.

8. Kostyantin Zhevago

Net worth: 1.2 billion dollars

How: Banking, mining

Age: 36

Citizenship: Ukraine

Has majority stake in iron ore producer Ferrexpo and Finance & Credit Bank.

9. Lee Ziaohui

Net worth: 1 billion dollars

How: Manufacturing

Age: 28

Citizenship: China

Chairman of one of China's biggest private steel manufacturers Shanxi Haixin Iron & Steel Group, since father was shot in 2003

10. Shahid Balwa

Net worth: 1 billion dollars

How: Property

Age: 36

Citizenship: India

Partner in DB Realty whose projects include Turf Estate, a luxury high-rise, and the 108-storey Park Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai.

(Agencies)



Editor: Li Xianzhi
http://news.xinhuanet.com/

March 19, 2010

Putrajaya International hot air balloon fiesta - The 2nd March, 2010

Putrajaya, 18 March 2010 : A hot air balloon sinks close to the surface of a lake on the outskirts of Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya on the first day of the 2nd Putrajaya International hot air balloon fiesta 2010 on March 18, 2010. 22 hot air balloons took part in this annual event from countires such as France, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Japan, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. AFP PHOTO


Putrajaya, 18 March 2010 : Hot air balloons float near Putrajaya's landmark, Putra Mosque (L) and Putra Perdana, the Prime Minister's office building, during the 2nd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Putrajaya, Malaysia, 18 March 2010. The event takes place from 18 to 21 March. Amongst the participants are balloonists from Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, The Netherlands, USA, Japan and France. EPA


Putrajaya, 18 March 2010 : Hot air balloons, including one shaped like the head of the character Darth Vader from the Star Wars films, fly over Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya on the first day of the 2nd Putrajaya International hot air balloon fiesta 2010 on March 18, 2010. 22 hot air balloons took part in this annual event from countires such as France, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Japan, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. AFP PHOTO


Putrajaya, 18 March 2010 : Hot air balloons fly over a lake on the outskirts of Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya on the first day of the 2nd Putrajaya International hot air balloon fiesta 2010 on March 18, 2010. 22 hot air balloons took part in this annual event from countires such as France, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Japan, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. AFP PHOTO


Putrajaya, 18 March 2010 : paraglider loses control and crashes into a roadside fence on the first day of the 2nd Putrajaya International hot air balloon fiesta 2010 on March 18, 2010. 22 hot air balloons took part in this annual event from countires such as France, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. The paraglider was unhurt. AFP PHOTO

Source: http://www.sun2surf.com/

March 17, 2010

Story of Hang Nadim & Singapore attacked by Swordfish

In Sejarah Melayu ( Malay history), Hang Nadim was a Malay boy of great wisdom who saved Temasek, now called Singapore, from attack by shoals of swordfish, attacks which cost many indigenous Malays their lives. It is mentioned in the traditional accounts that the attack was a curse because the reigning Sri Maharaja had ordered the death of a pious man called Tun Jana Khatib. The name Khatib Camp off Sembawang Road,Singapore is derived from this name. It is said that Khatib Camp is where the execution of Tun Jana Khatib took place.To fend off the attacks, Hang Nadim advised the ruler of Temasek, the Sri Maharaja to build a wall of banana stems along the shores of Temasek. The effort was successful as the swordfishes' snouts were trapped by the barricade of banana stems.
According to legend, the place Tanjong Pagar in modern day Singapore takes its name from the barricade. In the Malay language, tanjong pagar or tanjung pagar means "cape of stakes".
The boy's contribution earned him great respect as well as envy in the royal court. This made several individuals in the royal court fear the possibility that Hang Nadim might threaten their influence. In the end, they convinced the local ruler to execute the boy, and he was thrown into the sea. He was only seven years old at the time of death.
Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Indonesia is named after the boy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_Nadim

IN AND OUT: My Father's son

Thursday, November 26th, 2009 10:16:00

DID I tell you that my father, Cikgu Kadir, used to teach history and literature before he retired?
He has loads of books that might just belong to the museum and some of them were too worn and torn to keep, but he'd be very crossed if you tell him to just get rid of them. In Oprah's term, my father is a "hoarder".
Anyway, true to his vocation, Cikgu Kadir used to tell us stories (and he would not care if we were bored or not) and most of the time it would be about historical figures, or tales and folklores that would keep our minds going.

I never really thought much about most of the tales he would share with us (at times while he was playing the violin for that maximum effect), but as I grew older, I began to realise that most of his stories were meant to equip us with all the positive elements as adults.
Whenever he was in a good mood, or if we were trapped in a long journey with him in his Volvo 144, that was it!
There'd be some long-winded stories and more often than not, with no punch-line.
Somehow, of all his stories, the one that got stuck in my head was about Hang Nadim.
I am sure many of you know this story (although I'd always draw blanks from the younger people that I'd queried).
Anyway, for the uninitiated, the story of Hang Nadim is pretty simple.
In fact, after listening to my father's version (his was too clinical), I decided to look for the book, and the story of Hang Nadim was actually titled Singapura Di Langgar Todak.
You see, for some inexplicable reason, thousands of swordfish (todak) seemed to find Singapore a fitting place to, err, attack.
The swordfish would fly out of the sea and kill whoever in sight.
The brave people of Singapore decided to fight back, and all the warriors began to gather by the beach to stop the assault.
As part of their heroic attempt to save Singapore, many of the brave men and warriors decided to shield the island with their bodies and limbs.
Since there were too many swordfish flying around, the death toll and injury were pretty massive too.
Amidst the panic, one little boy called Hang Nadim somehow thought it was foolish of the men to use their bodies as shields. He somehow expressed his disappointment out loud and even came out with a brilliant suggestion.
"Why don't we use banana trunks to stop the swordfish? They'd get stuck there and we won't get hurt," he said.
An elderly heard it, and realised it was the smart thing to do, and suggested exactly just that to the rulers.
Since it was a valid and good suggestion, the rulers decided to follow what Hang Nadim prescribed.
To cut a long story short, the effort saved a lot of lives and the swordfish that got stuck to the banana trunks were killed, and Singapore was saved.
Well, since Hang Nadim saved the day, he should be announced a hero, no?
Well, not really, instead of being lauded for his brilliance, Hang Nadim became the envy of many.
The insecure officers and people of power began to get even more scared with the "threat" that Hang Nadim posed.
"He's too smart for a kid," one would say.
"Yes, imagine what would happen when he's older!" another said, fuelling their insecurities further.
"My, he might just be so smart, he might take over our jobs!" another concluded.
So a pact was made – to not allow Hang Nadim to live as he would be a threat to everyone. That ended Hang Nadim's life. Yes, he was killed (but I can't seem to remember how).
I was pretty fascinated by that story and as a naïve little boy, could not really figure out why Hang Nadim was killed.
In fact, I was deeply disturbed about the unfairness of the situation, and even vowed that if another 'Hang Nadim' appeared, I would make him my best friend and would protect him from all the evil people.
Along the way, as I grew older, I began to see a lot of the 'Hang Nadim" pattern on various levels. Really, I'd seen a number of 'Hang Nadims' executed just because they were smarter.
Have you ever been beaten up by a bunch of kids just because you keep getting the top spot in your class?
How about being disliked just because you keep representing your school in various competitions?
The Hang Nadim syndrome would continue at various levels — in college, workplace, and even among different circles of friends.
It is sickening I know, but this is the reality, and no matter how hard it bites, the situation would just recur… again, and again. As Sting would sing it, "…history, would teach us nothing…"
Well, I am no Hang Nadim, that’s for sure (alas, I am not smart enough), but as I said, if it were up to me, I'd gather as many Hang Nadims as possible and surround me with their wisdom (and truth) so that I could learn and be as clever or as good.
So my father did have his noble reasons and motivations for all the stories that he told after all...
Cikgu Kadir might not make much sense when we were kids, but today, I would attest that my father, as "straight-laced" as he is, could be one of the wisest men alive.
He shared a lot of stories, and they were all laden with morals, and much about right and wrong; about good and evil; and about the human spirit.
Cikgu Kadir would use a lot of proverbs and old sayings to make his points, and I would just roll my eyes whenever he was in that mode.
His favourite advice to me was: "Kerana mulut badan binasa… (your mouth will be your undoing)", because despite being a quiet child (yes I was), I'd just occasionally shoot my mouth without thinking.
Apparently, he read me well. As an adult, I would find myself in precarious situations each time I opened my mouth, no matter how noble my cause would be.
"Cakap siang pandang pandang, cakap malam dengar dengar (be always aware of what you say)," he'd murmur, each time he caught us, his children, gossiping.
Usually, when he said that, we would end up whispering as we continued sharing our, err, juicy stories.
I used to tell friends that I would never be like my father, but in truth, I might turn out just like him. Heck, as much as I try to deny it, I even look like him!
However, Cikgu Kadir has a gentler demeanour and would articulate his points with a lot of sensitivity and care.
That, I certainly lack. I am far more preachy and righteous, as well as more aggressive and, err, downright abrasive at times. I dare say that I have more punch-lines, though.
Perhaps I should tone down a bit, if I really want to be my father’s son. That might make him prouder…
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/19969-and-out-my-fathers-son

March 16, 2010

Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary a muslim corporate figure in Malaysia.

Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Shah bin Syed Nor Al-Bukhary is the richest Bumiputra corporate figure in Malaysia. With involvement in diversified business areas which include transportation and logistics, plantations, property development, defense and armory as well as engineering and power generation, he has a net worth US $1.5 billion according to Forbes, making him the 7th richest Malaysian.


Early life

Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary was born into a mid-low class family of Hadhrami Arab descent in north of Peninsular Malaysia; whose house was without necessities and luxuries. His highest education was only until form five, and he never went to university. A whole lot of his knowledge and experience was gained through his own entrepreneurship experience during his youth time.
Due in part his family's mediocre-to-poor background, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary had to step into the working world in his early life, while pursuing his primary and secondary studies. Syed Mokhtar helped his mother planting and selling vegetables in the market and also selling roti canai. His numeric knowledge was used to help his father in doing daily book keeping.
After finishing school, Syed Mokhtar helped his father in breeding cow business but only to see the business washed away by foot and mouth disease. Nevertheless, he took over the business and start over by selling meats. He then move on to packaging the meats and start selling them wholesale. His determination paid off and the business started to take off.

Career

Syed Mokhtar and Zainal started his business in Kedah in the 1990s dealing in rice. More success followed and he moved to rice trading business. He worked even harder after awarded the rice trading license from Lembaga Padi Negara, and was later awarded successions of supplier contract government-linked corporations as partner with Zainal Hatim Hj Ambia Bukhary.
As his determination starting to skyrocket, he quickly moved to expand into diversifnication of other businesses. His next big move was in the logistics business, with initial goal to transport their trading materials. As the saying goes, 'the harder you work, the luckier you get'. Today, his business empire has grown into areas such as plantation, property development, construction, engineering, power generation, infrastructure and ports.
He owns 51.8% share in Malaysian Mining Corporation via his wholly-owned company, Syarikat Impian Teladan Sdn. Bhd. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal Hatim personally owns SKS Ventures, which was awarded the task of building the site for 2100MW coal-fired power station at Tanjung Bin, Johor. Tan Sri Syed Mohktar has a 32% share in PERNAS through his own company, Syarikat Ratu Jernih. Syarikat Perdana Padu Sdn. Bhd. and Corak Kukuh Sdn. Bhd. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal are Board Members of Syarikat Bina Puri Holdings Berhad, whereby, on his own, he has 7.34% share. Apart from these, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal has varied interest in a number of companies, both in Malaysia as well as abroad.

Charity

His philanthropic values were nurtured from the age of 23 when he started a small business dealing in rice. When he received his first monthly income of RM1,500, his mother had told him to donate half of it to the poor.
From 1996 to 2006, his foundation has contributed almost RM1bil to charity.
He has humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, including rebuilding the lives of Afghan refugees, Pakistan's ear's tsunami victims and is now working to establish an AIDS hospital in Uganda.
Among the foundation's initiatives are the Albukhary Tuition Programme for poor underachievers and the Albukhary Scholarship Programme for poor high achievers.

Recognition

In appreciation of his enormous services and contributions, he was bestowed with several awards, which among others, include the Panglima Setia Mahkota (P.S.M.) by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which carries the title Tan Sri and the Dato' Setia Mahkota Kedah (D.S.D.K.) by HRH The Sultan Kedah, which carries the title Dato'.
On the 10th of January 2008 or 1st Muharram 1429 Hijra he was announced and awarded as "Tokoh Ma'al Hijrah" by The Yang Di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia in recognition of his contribution to nation building

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- Rad: May you will be the inspiration to the Malay & Muslim.



Big-hearted tycoon Syed Mokhtar honoured
Friday January 11, 2008

PUTRAJAYA: His parents taught him to provide for the poor and destitute – and those are the values that have shaped billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary's life philosophy until today.
His philanthropic values were nurtured from the age of 23 when he started a small business dealing in rice.
When he received his first monthly income of RM1,500, his mother had told him to donate half of it to the poor.
“So I kept half for my family while the other half was donated to 15 needy families in my village,” said Syed Mokhtar, 57, this year's recipient of the Tokoh Maal Hijrah.
Not only have the same families benefited from the aid today, but also countless other organisations through the self-made tycoon's Albukhary Foundation.
Thanking his parents for instilling in him such values, Syed Mokhtar heeded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's suggestion that he donate the cash award of RM80,000 to his mother Sharifah Rokiah Syed Mohamed Rahmat.
“My father is no longer alive, so I will heed the Prime Minister's suggestion made this morning, to give the money to my mother,” he told a press conference after receiving the award from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin during the national-level Maal Hijrah celebration here yesterday.
The philanthropist was also awarded a certificate, medal and plaque.
From 1996 to 2006, his foundation has contributed almost RM1bil to charity.
Syed Mokhtar's business interests, which range from trading to banking and port development, are spread throughout the world.
He has humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, including rebuilding the lives of Afghan refugees, Pakistan's earthquake survivors and Indonesia's tsunami victims and is now working to establish an AIDS hospital in Uganda.
Among the foundation's initiatives are the Albukhary Tuition Programme for poor underachievers and the Albukhary Scholarship Programme for poor high achievers.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's first man in space, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, was yesterday bestowed Negri Sembilan's Tokoh Maal Hijrah award.
The bachelor received his award from the Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman during the state-level celebration at the Seremban Municipal Council Hall.
“It is a privilege to be awarded the Tokoh Maal Hijrah title. I would like to express my gratitude to the state government for this honour,” he said

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/11/nation/19974214&sec=nation

Malaysia Billionaires 2010 on Forbes 2010 World's Billionaires List

Based on the Forbes 2010 World's Billionaires List, Malaysia has 9 billionaires with net worth of at least US $1 billion or around RM 3.4 billions.

This is the year 2010 Malaysia richest man:

1) Robert Kuok (86) - Net worth US $14.5 billions



A Malaysian but reside in Hong Kong,One time rice and sugar trader heads multinational Kuok Group, with interests ranging from shipping to real estate to media. The most valuable holding is Singapore's Wilmar International which completed the mergiing process of extensive Malaysian, Indonesian palm oil interests into it in year 2007. Also has stakes in Kerry Properties, Shangri-la hotels, company that publishes the South China Morning Post. Once known as the Sugar King of Asia but Kuok Group had sold two of its sugar businesses in Malaysia for $365 million, signaling an exit from the industry where he got his start.

2) Ananda Krishnan (71) - Net worth US $7.6 billion



His biggest holding is Maxis Communications, Malaysia's largest cell phone service provider, with over 11 million subscribers. Spinning off the successful Malaysian business into Maxis, he took it public in November 2010, raising $3.4 billion in what was Malaysia's largest ever IPO. In the year 2007, he had taken it private in a $5 billion deal, then sold 25% of Maxis Communications to Saudi Telecom and bought 35% in Sri Lanka Telecom. Also has telecom interests in Indonesia and India which are still privately held. Other assets include satellite TV broadcaster Astro All Asia Networks and Johnston Press in London.

3) Lee Shin Cheng (70) - Net worth US $4.4 billion



Head IOI Group, one of world's leading operators of palm oil plantations, refineries. His plants produce specialty oils, metallic stearates, fats used in soaps, detergents, cosmetics, food additives. The group is also one of the biggest property developers in Malaysia with the name of IOI Properties.

4) Quek Leng Chan (69) - Net worth US $3.4 billion



Head of conglomerate Hong Leong Group Malaysia gets biggest part of fortune from stake in its investment holding company, Guoco Group. Has other interests in financial services, property development and hotels across Southeast Asia. Hong Leong Bank's offer to takeover Malaysian bank EON Capital, partially owned by billionaire Tiong Hiew King, rejected by board in February. Upped shares in Hong Kong's third largest bank, Bank of East Asia through Hong Kong listed Guoco Group late last year.

5) Teh Hong Piow (80) - Net worth US $3.4 billion



Founder of Public Bank, founded Public Bank in his mid-30s from profits made in a real estate deal. Has operations in China including Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka. Cambodian Public Bank Plc claims to be the largest commercial bank in the country for its lending business.

6) Yeoh Tiong Lay & family (80) - Net worth US $2.4 billion



Founded YTL Corp, one of Malaysia's largest conglomerates, with interests in construction, utilities, hotels, property development and technology; shares up over 20% in the past year. All seven children work in the company; son Francis runs YTL's daily operations. In year 2009, bought PowerSeraya, Singapore's second largest power generator from Temasek Holdings for $2.4 billion, which contributed to 12% growth in net profit. Through a real estate trust, controls major prime properties in Singapore, including Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City. Plans to launch mobile WiMAX service with international partners such as Samsung, Cisco and GCT.

7) Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary (58) - Net worth US $1.5 billion



Major shareholder of Malaysia Mining Corp. (MMC). Recent moves include taking over the national rice supplier, Padiberas Nasional. Through MMC, holds concessions to operate Port Tanjung Pelepas and Senai International Airport in Johor, and has interests in independent power producer, Malakoff. Also holds substantial interests in oil palm plantation and sugar refining businesses through Tradewinds Malaysia. Other business ventures includes Harrods in Malaysia. Sponsors the Islamic Arts Museum in Malaysia (Southeast Asia's largest), and gives scholarships to needy students through the Albukhary Foundation.

8) Vincent Tan (58) - Net worth US $1.2 billion



Major shareholder of Berjaya group which have interests in hotels, lotteries, real estate and finance. Bought 100% of Friendster.com, a social networking website, through his internet company MOL.com in year 2009; also selling 33% stake in UMobile to Singapore Technologies Telemedia. Plans to list the Singer retail business and the 7-Eleven convenience store chain under Berjaya Retail Bhd (BRetail). Operates Wendy's, Starbucks, Papa Johns Pizza, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Krispy Kreme and Borders bookstores in Malaysia; water and sewage treatment and sanitary landfills in Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

9) Tiong Hiew King (75) - Net worth US $1.2 billion

Major shareholder of Rimbunan Hijau group which has substantial interests in palm oil, timber assets and property development in Malaysia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Has global Chinese media aspirations - some call him Asia's Rupert Murdoch. His Media Chinese International's portfolio comprises six dailies with a daily circulation of over 1 million, including the influential Sin Chew Jit Poh and Nanyang Siang Pau in Malaysia, as well as over 30 magazine titles in North America, Southeast Asia and Mainland China. May sell EON Capital, one of Malaysia's smallest banks, to Hong Leong group.

To the above billionaires, net worth to them probably is just a number. Probably to some of them, their major concern now is to ensure that the empire that they have built will continue to grow with the help of their next generation so that their legend can continue like Genting group.

If you wish to know the other richest Malaysia richest man besides from above 9 billionaires in term of USD, this is last year (2009) 40 richest Malaysian by Forbes. 1 billion in Ringgit Malaysia is around 2.95 billion in US dollar.

Hence, based on last year data, in terms of Ringgit Malaysia, two more tycoons is in the billionaires list besides from the above 9 billionaires, they are Azman Hashim and William H.J. Cheng.

Believed that this year should have more billionaires in term of Malaysia Ringgit, do wait for the Forbes 2010 40 Richest Malaysia list.

original title: 9 Malaysian in Forbes 2010 World's Billionaires List
http://fortunesense.blogspot.com/2010/03/9-malaysian-in-forbes-2010-worlds.html

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March 14, 2010

Swedish Artist Lars Vilks No Regrets Over Prophet Muhammad Cartoon


STOCKHOLM (AP) - A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by drawing the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog said Wednesday he has no regrets and believes the suspects in an alleged plot to kill him were not professionals.

Lars Vilks, who has faced numerous death threats over the controversial cartoon, said he has built his own defense system, including a “homemade” safe room and a barbed-wire sculpture that could electrocute potential intruders.

He said he also has an ax “to chop down” anyone trying to climb through the windows of his home in southern Sweden.

“If something happens, I know exactly what to do,” Vilks told The Associated Press in an interview in Stockholm.

The 63-year-old artist said the suspects in an alleged plot to kill him—seven people arrested in Ireland and a Philadelphia woman held in the U.S.—were “not the real hard professionals. I think they are rather low-tech.”

He said he had learned from American media reports that the woman held in the U.S., Colleen R. LaRose, who had called herself JihadJane in a YouTube video, had visited the area where he lives, but he didn’t know whether that was correct. “I’m glad she didn’t kill me,” Vilks said, with a half-smile.

An eccentric man with disheveled gray hair and thick-lensed glasses, Vilks referred to himself as “the artist” and described his life after his Muhammad drawing was first published by a Swedish newspaper in 2007 as if it were a movie plot.

“It’s a good story. It’s about the bad guys and a good guy, and they try to kill him,” he said.

“They have this woman also which I think is a good part of the plot with this fantastic name, ‘JihadJane,’ who is actually doing some scouting there in the surroundings,” Vilks added. “As I can see it, you have something of a film there. But as I said, I believe they’re a bit low-tech.”

LaRose had discussions of her alleged plans with at least one of the suspects apprehended in Ireland, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation.

Irish authorities said Wednesday those arrested there were two Algerians, two Libyans, a Palestinian, a Croatian and an American woman married to one of the Algerian suspects. They were not identified by name.

Vilks’ drawing was not among the 12 Danish newspaper cartoons of Muhammad that sparked furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006.

It drew international attention more than a year later after a Swedish art gallery refused to put it on display, citing security concerns. A Swedish newspaper printed the drawing alongside an editorial defending the freedom of expression.

Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.

Swedish police have kept a close eye on threats against Vilks, but he doesn’t have round-the-clock protection. He was temporarily moved to a secret location after al-Qaida in Iraq put $100,000 bounty on his head.

The Swedish security police, SAPO, declined comment on the probes in Ireland and the U.S., but said they are reviewing potential threats against Vilks and against Sweden.

At least three Swedish newspapers reprinted Vilks’ cartoon Wednesday, citing its news value and the defense of free speech.

Vilks said he had no regrets about the drawing.

“As an artist you have to take a stand for things. If you do something you have to take full responsibility for it,” he said, adding the purpose was to demonstrate that no religious symbol was off-limits to artistic freedom.

“I’m actually not interested in offending the prophet. The point is actually to show that you can,” he said. “There is nothing so holy you can’t offend it.”

Original title: Swedish Artist Has No Regrets Over Prophet Muhammad Cartoons, Threatens Would-Be Attackers With An Axe
Source:
http://patdollard.com/2010/03/swedish-artist-has-no-regrets-over-mohammed-cartoons-threatens-would-be-attackers-with-an-axe/

rad: Insulting others itself is a sign of stupidity. To response to the stupidity with a stupid act is a sign of immature minded & behavior too - my two cents opinion

The act of the most matured man :

It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had a Jewish neighbor who used to throw garbage (some said stone ) to him every time Prophet passing by the jewish's house. One day Prophet Muhammad found that he was not being thrown.

Prophet went to the jewish's house and asked about his news. When Prophet heard that the jewish was ill, Prophet Muhammad has paid him a visit.

At last the jewish has converted to Islam.

An example had shown by The Prophet Muhammad pbuh. If a muslim really facing his face to Islam, he should follow the way of Prophet Muhammad in facing or handling situation instead of following his own heart or his own logic.

- my two cents opinion
: Rad
http://islambrowser.blogspot.com/2010/03/sweden-urged-to-act-against-publication.html


Swedish newspapers unite to defend freedom of speech over Muhammad cartoons
David Charter, Europe Correspondent - March 11, 2010

Three leading Swedish newspapers and the national broadcaster carried a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body after an alleged plot to murder the artist who drew it was unveiled in the Republic of Ireland.

The threat to Lars Vilks was a threat against all Swedes, the country’s biggest daily newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, proclaimed, adding that the new year axe attack on a Danish cartoonist for drawing the Prophet meant that Scandinavian values of openness were being assaulted.

The drawing by Mr Vilks was published yesterday in the Stockholm-based Dagens Nyheter and Expressen newspapers and the Malmö daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet, in defence of one of the cornerstones of Sweden’s constitution. This states that Swedes have the right to freedom of speech and cannot be restrained from the lawful expression of their views.

The newspapers stopped short, however, of running the cartoon on their websites because of their wider accessibility around the world. Islam forbids representations being made of the Prophet

“In September 2007, al-Qaeda leaders set a price on Swedish artist Lars Vilks’s head,” said Dagens Nyheter in an editorial comment. His “alleged crime” was to draw a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad as a “roundabout dog”; a type of street installation popular in Sweden where sculptures are often placed in the middle of roundabouts. “The threats are attacks on one of the most fundamental rights — the freedom of speech — and should be viewed as a wider treat against an open and free society,” the editorial stated.

Gunilla Herlitz, the Dagens Nyheter editor-in-chief, defended the reprinting of the cartoon as a legitimate part of the story of the day. “I believe that, in this case, the cartoon is a part of the news and therefore we would like to show the readers what this is all about. But the cartoon is published in a context and is not the leading picture on the page.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7057478.ece

Rad: Not only to Prophet Muhammad pbuh, even to others Prophets too, no one has the right to draw in any meaning of the Prophet portrait or their caricature. Whether he is Prophet Muhammad s.a.w (pbuh), Prophet Isa a.s ( Jesus pbuh), Prophet Ibrahim a.s (Abraham pbuh), Prophet Adam a.s ( Adam pbuh) or any other Prophets.

Now they are talking about freedom in art, democracy, part of news and to show the readers what this is all about. They will have so many words to defend their wrong act. As usual people who have done something wrong will talk more to defend their wrong.


Now we can understand what the meaning of freedom and democracy to them. Free to insult people even to Prophet. Free to say wrong act done by them is not wrong. We also knew by now, not every smart man come with healthy mind. That why some of them can make joke on their prophet Jesus as we all can see from movie.

When they said cartoon is part of news, it was right but what are their purpose to draw and publish such insulting cartoon of Prophet Muhammad pbuh with such face from their imagination and with body of dog. Is it news or is it an insulting. Newspaper man should go to school and learn more about meaning of each words and the difference so that they will not wrongly use a word to a wrong situation. Not only to look smart but people must have a healthy mind clean heart too.

Lars Vilks, you got your plan but God plan always better than human. It always true.

As God (Allah ) said in Quran, the translation in english:

"O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah is Rich (Free of all wants and needs), Worthy of All Praise." (Quran 35/15)

"If Allah touches you with hurt, there is none can remove it but He; and if He intends any good for you, there is none who can repel His favor which He causes it to reach whomsoever of His slaves He will, and He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran 10/117)

"If Allah helps you none can overcome you, and if He forsakes you, who is there, after Him, that can help you. And in Allah (alone) let believers put their trust." (Quran 3/160)

"And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him. He will make a way for him to get out (from) every (difficulty), and He will provide him from (sources) he could never imagine." (Quran 65/2-3)

The Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) said, the translation in english:

"Allah says: Son of Adam: Fill your time with My worship and I will fill your heart with richness, and end off your poverty. But if you do not, I would make your hands fully busy (i.e. in worldly affairs) and I would not end off your poverty." (At-Tirmidhi said that it is a good Hadith)


I don't believe your God allow you to do such insulting. better for you to reconcile your act and come to learn Islam and what is the real knowledge inside Islam. Muslim never provoke Jesus, we believe Jesus pbuh is one of the prophet from God. Only you always provoke us and Prophet Muhammad pbuh. Can you see some Discrepancy on you.


March 13, 2010

World's biggest house of cards - Guinness Book of World Records


U.S. cardstacker Bryan Berg poses for photographers after successfully making a new Guinness World Record for the largest house of free-standing playing cards.


The architect Berg used 218,792 cards to create a replica of the Venetian Macau, which is on display in its namesake luxury hotel and casino


The structure weighs 272 kg and measures 10 metres by 3 metres.


Berg works on his masterpiece, which took 44 days to complete and nearly collapsed several times.


The record breaker proudly accepts his certificate form the Guinness Book of World Records.


Berg's creation is modelled on the Venetian, which sits at the heart of Macau's Cotai Strip, the China-ruled city's version of Las Vegasneon alley.

Editor: An
Original title: Architect spends 44 days creating world's biggest house of cards
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/

March 11, 2010

Nadra Maria Hertogh Natrah



i think, some of (the older) dutch people can read malay..but i doubt it. and, since the text is too small or blurry so i just translate a bit of it.

the story is about maria hertogh, a dutch girl who has been given by his mother, adeline, and his grandmother, nor loisenya to che aminah to be raised without the acknowledgement of her father sergeant adrianus pertus hertogh.

she was raised by che aminah who is malay & therefore muslim. so shes being raised in islamic environment eversince.

but, soon after her father was freed from a japan detention camp after the atom bombs being dropped on the cities of hiroshima & nagasaki by the us in WWII, he returned to bandung, java to search for his daughter (which was at that time, in terengganu, malaysia).

meanwhile, in high school, natrah joined a sport competition to represent her school, Sekolah Menengeh Chukai terengganu/ Chukai High School . turn out the event was also being watched by a british officer, arthurlocke.

her group won at the time, so it became twice as visible that she's --'different'. that was the first time arthurlocke see her, and he has this feeling that something must be wrong .. why is that a malay family rasing a foreigner/make her part of the family. so he find a way to executed what he has planned.

with the help of some people, arturlocke been able to tracked che aminah. he then persuaded che aminah and claimed that he can help her to get a legal custody of natrah. he said that the issue only can be settle if she bring along natrah to singapore, because at that particular time singapore is under dutch. so its easier

without further thinking, che aminah agreed and when they arived at singapore she realize that was just a hoax. not helping (and doing quite the opposite), arthurlocke with the help of some dutch officers in singapore managed to get a court letter to prevent natrah from returning home (which the power to do so is not valid if natrah is in terengganu.)

so, natrah was taken from che aminah and was put in girl homes trust centre, york hill, singapore which is a catholic shelter.

however, on 19 july 1950, che aminah who represent by a lawyer named ibrahim, win the custody and was given back the custody

this event made the real parents of natrah unsatistfied. so they find a way to get some help from dutch government to take natrah back.

because che aminah didnt want the same exact thing happen again, natrah , in a nick of time, got married with a teacher, in singapore. natrah at that time was 13 & mansoor was 22, fell in love after their second meet. in islamic law, a 13 yo women is allowed to be married. it was believed that the ceremony was to prevent natrah from being sentenced once again in singapore.

but another thing happened, under dutch/british law it was illegal to be married if youre under 18. so they accused che aminah for forcing natrah /how can only after their second met they've decided to get married. eventhough at that time natrah repeatedly emphasized & told the court that she want to get married by herself & choosing islam as her religion, but the judge didnt sensitive enough to adressed the issue. so, natrah was given to his real parents.

because of this culture clash, not to mention with a slight tint that the court was a bit biased handling the issue, people in singapore get very angry.

its a tragic clash back then----- that 18 people was died and 173 others were injured when confronting with british officers and police. singapore was under siege for two days and two nights.

from then on, the issue can't be saved anymore..

maria hertogh/natrah passed away in huijbergen, holland on july 2009. she was 72.

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The riot was not caused by rejection of the court decision by malay & muslim but due to the propagation done by Strait Times which at that time under british colonial influence. Muslim & Malay were shown their respect to the court decision but when a capture shown Natrah or Nadra knee down to virgin mary in the front page of strait times for many times, this was the reason why the riot happened. All knew that not came from the young lady heart but done by force.



Don't let destiny occur due to our stupidity




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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Hertogh_riots
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Maria Hertogh and Che Aminah binte Mohamed, circa 1950.

The Maria Hertogh riots or Nadrah riots, which started on 11 December 1950 in Singapore, consisted of outraged Muslims who resented the court decision to give custody of Maria Hertogh (or Bertha Hertogh), then 13, to her biological Dutch Catholic parents after she had been raised as a Muslim under the care of Aminah binte Mohamed, whom she regarded as her mother. The riots lasted till noon on 13 December, with 18 killed, 173 injured and many properties damaged—the worst incident of its kind ever witnessed in Singapore.[dubious ]
Prior to the riots, the disputed custody of Maria had received widespread press coverage. Many Muslims living in Malaya and Indonesia believed in the legitimacy of the adoption of Maria and a later short-lived marriage to Mansoor Adabi, two major points of contest in the court proceeding to determine the custody of Maria. They thus lent their support, financial and moral, to organizations that fought to keep Maria in Malaya. But some, such as the Malayan nationalists, seized the incident as an opportunity to further weaken the colonial government's position in the region. The insensitivity of the colonial government towards Muslim sentiments and the involvement of radical elements eventually culminated in the tragedy.

Contents

[show]

[edit] Maria Hertogh

[edit] Beginning

Maria Hertogh[1] was born on 24 March 1937 to a Dutch Catholic family living in Tjimahi, near Bandung, Java, then a part of the Dutch East Indies. Her father, Adrianus Petrus Hertogh, came to Java in the 1920s as a sergeant in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. He married Adeline Hunter, a Eurasian of Scottish-Malay descent brought up in Java, in the early 1930s. Little Maria was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Ignatius at Tjimahi on April 10 by a Catholic priest.
When World War II broke out, Sergeant Hertogh was captured by the Imperial Japanese Army and sent to a POW holding facility in Japan, where he was kept till 1945. Meanwhile, Adeline Hertogh stayed with her mother, Nor Louise, and her five children, among whom Maria was the third and youngest daughter. On 29 December 1942, Mrs. Hertogh gave birth to her sixth child, a boy. Three days later, Maria went to stay with Aminah binte Mohammad, a 42-year-old Javanese woman and a close friend of Nor Louise. This controversial transfer of custody, reversed in a Singaporean court eight years later, was the centre and opening episode of the tragic riots that were to come.

[edit] Adoption or a short stay?

[edit] Adeline Hertogh's version

According to Adeline Hertogh, in the version given in evidence before the court at the hearing in November 1950, she was persuaded by her mother after the birth of her sixth child to allow Maria to go and stay with Aminah in Bandung for three or four days. Consequently, Aminah arrived on 1 January 1943 to fetch Maria. When the child was not returned, Mrs. Hertogh borrowed a bicycle on 6 January and set out to retrieve her daughter. She claimed that she was arrested by a Japanese sentry on the outskirts of Bandung as she did not possess a pass and was thereupon interned.
From her internment camp, she smuggled a letter to her mother, requesting for her children to be sent to her. This Nor Louise did, but Maria was not among them. So Mrs. Hertogh asked her mother to fetch Maria from Aminah. Her mother later wrote and told her that Aminah wanted to keep Maria for two more days, after which she herself would bring the child to the camp. This did not materialize and Mrs. Hertogh did not see Maria throughout her internment. After her release, she could find neither Maria nor Aminah.

[edit] Aminah binte Mohamed's version

The above version was rejected by Aminah binte Mohamed in her affidavits and sworn testimony to the High Court on several occasions. She claimed that Adeline Hertogh had given Maria to her for adoption in late 1942. She asserted that she, without offspring of her own, told Mrs. Hertogh then that she would regard Maria absolutely as her child, whom she would bring up in the Muslim faith. To this, according to Aminah, Mrs. Hertogh replied that she would be glad as she herself had been brought up as a Muslim[2].
Aminah also contested the truth of Adeline Hertogh's internment by the Japanese. She testified that she and Mrs. Hertogh continued to visit each other frequently after the adoption until the latter left for Surabaya to look for a job "about the end of 1943 or the beginning of 1944." Thereafter the two never saw each other again till 1950.

[edit] A new home and a new religion

Anyhow, Maria Hertogh received her circumcision in late 1943, whereupon she was given the name Nadra binte Ma'arof. For unknown reasons her new family moved to Jakarta for a period before moving back to Bandung again, where Aminah worked for the Japanese military police as an interpreter until the end of the war.
Then, in 1947, fearing harm upon the family during the Indonesian National Revolution as Maria was a "Putih", or a "White Child", Aminah moved via Singapore to her hometown in Kemaman, in the state of Terengganu, then Malaya. By then Maria was completely the same as any other Malay Muslim girl of her age: she spoke only Malay, wore Malay clothes and practised her religion devoutly.

[edit] To court

In 1945, with the end of World War II, Sergeant Hertogh was released and returned to Java, where he reunited with his wife. The couple said that they enquired about Maria but could find neither their daughter nor Aminah. They then returned to the Netherlands after requesting the Dutch authorities in Java and Singapore to try to trace the child. Investigations were then made by the Red Cross Society, the Indonesian Repatriation Service, the Royal Netherlands Army and local police. Finally, in September 1949, Aminah and Maria were traced to the kampong they were living in.
Negotiations were opened to retrieve Maria in early 1950. The Dutch Consulate offered S$500 to make up for Aminah's expenses in bringing up the girl for eight years. Aminah rejected the offer and refused to give up her foster-daughter. Nonetheless, she was persuaded to travel with Maria to Singapore in April to discuss the issue with the Dutch Consul-General. However, Aminah's firm position could not be wavered and the Consulate eventually applied to the High Court on 22 April for Maria to be delivered into the custody of the Social Welfare Department pending further order. The Chief Justice heard it on the same day and approved the application ex parte.
The next day, an officer from the department served the order on Aminah and brought Maria away. After a routine medical examination at the Middle Road Hospital, she was admitted to the Girls Homecraft Centre at York Hill. From this point onwards, Maria had made it clear that she wanted to stay with Aminah and did not wish to be returned to her natural parents. However, the High Court ruled on 17 May after a short hearing of about 15 minutes that the custody of Maria be entitled to the Hertoghs.
As Aminah and Maria exited the court via the backdoor, a car from the Consulate was waiting to take Maria away. Maria refused to enter the car and clung on to Aminah, both shouting in Malay that they would kill themselves rather than be separated. A large crowd quickly formed around the commotion. It was only after much persuasion that Aminah agreed to enter the car together with Maria and pay a visit to her lawyer, who explained that Maria had to be given up until an appeal was made. The duo then parted in tears, with Maria returned to York Hill for temporary safekeeping.
At York Hill Maria stayed for two more months, under a further order from the Chief Justice pending appeal, which was filed on 28 July. The verdict was an overruling of the earlier decision. Aside from the ex parte order to hand Maria to the Social Welfare Department, the Appellate Court found ambiguity in the Dutch Consul-General's representation of Maria's natural father, a rather minor and technical detail but apparently significant enough under the circumstance. Both Aminah and Maria were overjoyed.

[edit] Controversial marriage

On 1 August 1950, merely four days after winning the appeal, the events took a dramatic and unexpected turn. Maria was married to 22-year-old Mansoor Adabi, a Malayan-born who was then a teacher-in-training at the Bukit Panjang Government School, in a Muslim ritual. The marriage could have been a manoeuvre by Aminah to prevent further attempts by the Hertoghs to get back their daughter, as Maria returned to live with Aminah after the wedding night and the new couple never consummated their marriage. Whether such speculation was true was unimportant in the subsequent development of events, in which Maria, a willing bride nonetheless, became the central figure.
The first challenges on the appropriateness of the marriage actually came from the Muslim community. On 10 August, a Muslim leader wrote to The Straits Times pointing out that although the Islamic law permits the marriage of girls after puberty (which Maria had reached a year earlier), there were Muslim countries such as Egypt that legislated for a minimum marriage age of 16. He added, however, that it would not be in the interest of "the friendly understanding... between Christians and Muslims" to object to the marriage since it had already taken place. The latter view was held by the Muslim population at large, albeit in a more antagonistic mood against the Dutch and Europeans at large.

(edit) To court, again

Meanwhile, the Hertoghs had not given up legal pursuit to retrieve their daughter. Only a day after the marriage, Aminah received the Hertoghs' representative lawyers from Kuala Lumpur. The lawyers delivered a letter demanding the return of Maria by 10 August, failing which legal action would be taken. Believing that the marriage settled the matter, Aminah and Mansoor both ignored the deadline. The Hertoghs did not. On 26 August, an originating summons was taken out, under the Guardianship of Infants Ordinance, by the Hertoghs as plaintiffs against Aminah, Maria and Mansoor, who were all made defendants.
The hearing did not begin till 20 November. For four months the matter hung in suspense. During this time, Maria rarely left her residence in the house of M.A. Majid, then president of the Muslim Welfare Association, because in her own words, she attracted "too much attention". Nevertheless, media coverage on the incident had grown to a global scale. Letters from Muslim organizations in Pakistan promising financial and other help arrived, some going so far as to declare any further move by the Dutch Government to separate the couple as "an open challenge to the Muslim world". Pledges of aid also came from Indonesia and as far as Saudi Arabia.
The hearing finally opened, and Maria's natural mother, Adeline Hertogh travelled down to Singapore to attend. The judge, Justice Brown, delivered the verdict two weeks later. The marriage, instead of resolving the dispute, had instead complicated it. Justice Brown had two issues on his hand, namely the legality of the marriage and the custody of Maria. He held that the marriage was invalid because:
  1. Maria's country of domicile was, by law that of her natural father, i.e. the Netherlands. Under the Dutch laws, the minimum age of marriage for girls was 16. The English law applicable in Singapore recognized the marriage laws of the subject's country of domicile.
  2. An exception to the above point could not be established because neither Mansoor, born in Kelantan, could be proved to be domiciled in Singapore nor Maria be considered a Muslim by law[3]. During her minority, Maria's natural father, who was a Christian, had the legal right to control her religion. He had testified that he would never consent to her conversion to Islam.
Having overruled the purported marriage, Justice Brown went on to deal with what he described as the "most difficult" question of custody. He noted that his duty to the law required him "to have regard primarily to the welfare of the infant". He believed this meant that he not only had to consider the current wishes of Maria, but also her future well-being. He stated:
It is natural that she should now wish to remain in Malaya among people whom she knows. But who can say that she will have the same views some years hence after her outlooks has been enlarged, and her contacts extended, in the life of the family to which she belongs?"
He also noted that whatever the details of the contested initiation of the custody at the end of 1942 might be, Adrianus Hertogh had not been part of it and had not abrogated his parental rights. He therefore awarded the custody of Maria to the Hertoghs and ordered that she should be handed over to her mother with immediate effect.

[edit] Stay at the convent

When policewomen came to take Maria away, she wept and clung to Aminah and Mansoor. Aminah fainted on the spot and a doctor standing by had to attend to her. Mansoor advised Maria to concede for the time being and promised that he and others would carry on the legal fight. Thus Maria allowed herself to be brought away into a car. Outside, the police, including a Gurkha contingent, held back a crowd of several hundred.
The car delivered Maria to the Roman Catholic Convent of the Good Shepherd in Thomson Road. Mrs. Hertogh stayed at another address for a few days, from where she visited Maria daily, before moving in to the convent herself. According to an official of the Netherlands Consulate-General, such arrangement was because of "greater convenience" while the stay of execution pending appeal was in effect. But it proved to be the falsest step, the spark that lit the fuse of the subsequent riots.
First and foremost, the press was not barred from entering the convent grounds. Nor were they restricted in any way in their approach to the incident, which had been nothing shy of sensational. On 5 December, the Singapore Standard published on its front page a photograph of Maria standing holding hands with the Reverend Mother. There were several more pictures on page 2, under the headline: Bertha knelt before Virgin Mary Statue. The Malay press retorted. The Utusan Melayu published on 7 December three photographs of Maria weeping and being comforted by a nun, as well as articles about Maria's "lonely and miserable" life in the convent.
These pictures, whether presenting Maria as happy or sad, mostly showed Maria surrounded by symbols of Christian faith. The Muslims, who looked upon Maria as one of their own, were deeply offended by such pictures, not to mention the sensational reports, some of which explicitly labelled the case as a religious issue between Islam and Christianity.
On 9 December, an organization calling itself the Nadra Action Committee was formally constituted under the leadership of Karim Ghani, a Muslim political activist from Rangoon. This extreme organization solicited support among local Muslims by distributing free copies of its newspaper, the Dawn (not the Dawn, an English paper published in Pakistan). Karim Ghani had also made an open speech at the Sultan Mosque on 8 December in which he mentioned jihad as a final resort.
In the light of these potent signs of a great disturbance, the Criminal Investigation Department sent a memo to the Colonial Secretary suggesting moving Maria back to York Hill to avoid further inciting Muslim anger. The Secretary did not agree on grounds that he had received no such representations from Muslim leaders, nor did he have the authority to remove Maria without further court orders - weak excuses since Maria could be relocated with her mother's consent. Nonetheless, it cannot be said definitively that moving Maria out of the convent at such a late stage could have averted the riots.

Crowds were enraged by the Court's rejection of the appeal.

[edit] The riots

The appeal hearing opened on 11 December. Maria stayed at the convent and did not attend. Since early morning, crowds carrying banners and flags with star and crescent symbols began to gather around the Supreme Court. By noon, when the hearing eventually began, the restive crowd had grown to 2,000 to 3,000 in number. Unbelievably, the court threw out the appeal within five minutes. The brevity of the hearing convinced the gathering that the colonial legal system was biased against Muslims. The riots erupted.
The mob (largely consisted of Malay or Indonesian Muslims but local Chinese gangs were also reported to have joined in) moved out to attack any Europeans and even Eurasians in sight. They overturned cars and burnt them. The police force, its lower ranks largely consisted of Malays who sympathized with the rioters' cause, were ineffective in quelling the riots. By nightfall the riots had spread to even the more remote parts of the island. Help from the British military was enlisted only at around 6:45 PM. Major-General Dunlop promptly deployed two Internal Security Battalions while calling in further reinforcements from Malaya. Meanwhile, various Muslim leaders appealed over the radio for the riots to cease.
Reinforcements arrived early on 12 December, but riotous incidents continued on that day. The troops and police only managed to regain control of the situation by noon on 13 December. In total, 18 people were killed, among whom were seven Europeans or Eurasians, two police officers, and nine rioters shot by the police or military, 173 were injured, many of them seriously, 119 vehicles were damaged, and at least two buildings were set on fire. Subsequently, two weeks of 24-hour curfew were imposed, and it was a long time before complete law and order was re-established.

[edit] The trials

After the riot, the police set up a special investigation unit which detained 778 people, among them Karim Ghani[4]. Out of these, 403 were released unconditionally and 106 were released on various conditions (they generally had to report to the police station monthly and adhere to a curfew after dark). The police eventually brought rioting charges against 200 people, of whom 25 were acquitted, 100 were convicted, 62 were referred to the Enquiry Advisory Committee, and seven were brought to trial at the Assize Court for wanton killing and five of them were subsequently sentenced to death on the gallows.
On 25 August 1951, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who would later become the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, took over as the president of UMNO, a Malay and therefore Muslim party, that remains the largest and ruling political party in Malaysia today. He immediately set out to save the five on death row. Having garnered support from the Muslim population, Abdul Rahman placed pressure on the authorities, who finally gave in. The British government was expecting their role as the colonial master to end very soon and did not wish to leave behind grim memories. The death sentences for all five were commuted to life imprisonment.

[edit] Reviews

A Commission of Inquiry was appointed by Governor Franklin Gimson. It was headed by Sir Lionel Leach, a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Commission placed large blame on the police command for not having anticipated the violence from many indicators between 2 and 11 December. Furthermore, when the riots first started, the police failed to act promptly to disperse the crowd. The Gurkha contingent standing by was not put into action, while too much dependence was placed on Malay policemen, many of whom defected or at least hesitated to carry out their duties. The British House of Commons criticised the colonial government for its poor handling of the situation.
Present day Government of Singapore also attributed the tragedy to the insensitivity of the colonial government towards the racial and religious feelings of the locals. It cites the incident as a vital lesson learnt in the importance of racial and religious understanding and harmony. It also cites the incident as a case for placing a certain degree of governmental control on the media, especially when racial or religious issues are implicated.

[edit] Epilogue

On the night the riots broke out, Maria Hertogh was moved out of the convent, where the rioters tried twice to march on and were only kept back by the police. Plans were made at York Hill to receive her but she was instead sent to Saint John's Island, an offshore island 4 miles south of the main island of Singapore. The next day, Maria and Adeline Hertogh departed for the Netherlands by aeroplane. After landing in Schiphol Airport, they quickly proceeded to the Hertogh home on the outskirts of Bergen op Zoom.
At first, Maria could only talk to her mother, the only one in the family who understood Malay. She demanded rice with every meal, resenting the western diet. She continued to say her Muslim prayers five times a day. In addition, a policeman in plain clothes was assigned to escort her whenever she left the house, for fear of possible kidnappers who might take her back to Singapore, following reported sighting of "oriental strangers" around town. The house was also placed under surveillance.
Slowly, Maria began to adjust to her new environment. A nun came to the house daily to teach her Dutch until she was proficient enough to attend a local convent school. She also began to attend Mass with her family. Back in Singapore, Aminah and Mansoor had apparently given up hope of retrieving Maria after leave to appeal to the Privy Council was not granted. Earlier interest of the several Muslim groups involved had also gradually died down.
On 20 April 1956, Maria was married to Johan Gerardus Wolkefeld[5], a 21-year-old Dutch Catholic. On 15 February 1957, she gave birth to a son, the first child of ten. However, Maria did not seem to be contented. As she told De Telegraaf, she often had rows with her mother, who lived near by. She also said she still longed for her Malayan homeland. Johan and Mansoor began corresponding. In letters both expressed wish for Maria to travel to Malaya to visit the aged Aminah, but such trip was never made due primarily to financial difficulties. Aminah died in 1976.
The life story of Maria took another dramatic turn on 16 August of the same year, when Maria found herself on trial in a Dutch court charged with plotting to murder her husband. She admitted in court that she had been thinking about leaving her husband but was afraid to start divorce proceedings in case she lost custody of her children. She came into contact with two regular customers at her husband's cafe bar. The trio bought a revolver and recruited a fourth accomplice to carry out the actual murder. However, the latest member got cold feet and gossiped about the murder plan. The police quickly learnt of it and arrested all four conspirators.
In her defence, Maria's lawyers brought up her background, which the court acknowledged. With this in mind, and because the plot was never executed and there was no proof that she offered any inducement to the other three, the three-man bench acquitted Maria. Meanwhile, Maria had also filed for divorce on the grounds of the irreparable breakdown of her marriage.

[edit] Death

On 8th of July 2009, Maria Hertogh died at her house in Huijbergen at the age of 72. The cause of her death was the Leukemia from which she had been suffering[6].

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Her full name at birth was Huberdina Maria Hertogh. To Dutch and other westerners she was normally known as Bertha (or Berta) Hertogh. The name given to her when circumcised by Muslim rites was Nadra binte Ma'arof, which was the name used by the Malays and other Muslims. However, Maria Hertogh was the name most frequently used in court proceedings and the English press. She died in 2008, Huijbergen, The Netherlands.
  2. ^ There was an uncanny parallel between the early lives of Maria Hertogh and her mother. Adeline Hunter, born a Eurasian, was adopted by a Muslim family at a young age. She married Adrianus Hertogh at the age of 15, upon which she converted to Christianity. Maria would later go through the same conversion, at around the same age, albeit involuntarily. Moreover, both were eventually married to Dutch soldiers.
  3. ^ If and only if both conditions were met could the Muslim law practiced in Singapore be applied to the case, which would render the marriage valid.
  4. ^ Karim Ghani was arrested along with several members of the Nadra Action Committee and held at the detention camp on Saint John's Island for 15 months under Emergency Regulation 20 for his part in the riots before being released on grounds of poor health.
  5. ^ Family tree of Johannes Gerardus Wolkenfelt, Berthe and their ten children
  6. ^ Maria Hertogh (Natrah) meninggal dunia di Belandaas reported by Malaysian ambassador to the Kingdom of Netherlands through e-mail to Bernama News Agency.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Torn Between Two Worlds at "Headlines, Lifelines" website of the National Educational Multimedia kit for schools (c) Singapore Press Holdings. First published in 150 years of the Straits Times (15 July 1845-1995).
  • In Dutch language, an Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau photo archive Flash slideshow of select news photos of the events published in Holland
  • Maria Hertogh, returned to Malaysia in 1999 aged 63, for a Dutch TV documentary De Affaire
  • Singapore Media Development Authority and Christopher Chew's Monsoon Pictures Pte Ltd are developing an English language film "The Jungle Girl" aka "Nadra(period drama)" with screenwriter Sarah Lambert, Lantern Pictures, Australia.
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Maria Hertogh (Nadra)

By Tan, Bonny written on 2000-03-13
National Library Board Singapore
Comments on article: InfopediaTalk
Maria Bertha Hertogh a.k.a. Nadra bte Maarof (sometimes spelt Natra) (b. 24 March 1937, Tjimahi, Java, Indonesia - d. 8 July 2009, Huijbergen, Netherlands) was the central focus of racial riots in December 1950, sparked off by controversy over her custody between her Malay-Muslim foster mother Aminah and her Dutch-Catholic parents, the Hertoghs. She was nicknamed Putih meaning "white" by Aminah.

Early Life
Maria was the third child of seven children that Adeline Hertogh bore. She was baptised Maria Bertha Hertogh by her Dutch-Eurasian parents. The Japanese invasion of Java during World War II saw Maria's father become a prisoner-of-war in 1943. Struggling alone and pregnant with their sixth child, Adeline gave Maria to the care of a family friend, Aminah bte Mohammad, on 15 November 1942. The process was witnessed by Adeline's brother, Soewaldi. Maria was brought to Bandung, raised as a Muslim and given the name Nadra bte Maarof at her circumcision a year later.

Aminah and Maria moved to Jakarta for one period but soon returned to Bandung, where Aminah's fluency in Japanese enabled her to work as an interpreter for the Japanese military police. In 1947, fearing that Maria's Dutch background made her vulnerable during the Indonesian War of Independence, Aminah and Maria fled to Terengganu, Malaysia. She grew up in Aminah's hometown Kemaman, Terengganu, where Aminah was highly regarded. Studying at Chukai Malay Girls' School, Kemaman, Maria also was trained in Koran reading outside school hours by an ustazah.

Developments
Reunited after the war, Maria's parents began seeking for their lost daughter in the late 1940s. They lodged a request with Dutch officials to locate their daughter. Arthur Locke, the Administrative Officer (East), was the first to alert authorities to Maria's whereabouts when he spotted her at a school competition in Kemaman. A custody battle then ensued over Maria, which, through sensationalist press reports, drew much public attention and fuelled religious sensitivities.

Initially, custody of Maria was given to Aminah. Within four days of the ruling, on 1 August 1950, Maria was married off to Mansoor Adabi, a 22-year-old teacher at Bukit Panjang Government School heading a second-year Normal Class. The marriage of the juvenile 13-year old-Maria was raised in court, at Adeline's appeal for custody over Maria. On 2 December 1950, custody over Maria was gained by Adeline who whisked her to Amsterdam, Netherlands. On 11 December 1950, riots were sparked off over the custodial ruling, resulting in the death of at least 18 people.

Maria married a Dutch cabinet maker, Johan (Joep) Gerardus Wolkenfeld, on 20 April 1956 and they had 13 children, three of whom did not survive infancy. However, a 1975 television production on Maria's story stirred up Maria's unhappy memories and led her to tragic actions. Miserable over working at her husband's cafe-cum-bar, the "T Pumpke", from early morning to midnight, she plotted to murder her husband through two friends but the plans were found out and she was brought to court on 16 August 1976. However, after reviewing her tragic past, Maria was acquitted within one day of hearing. Her marriage ended by the 1980s. She died of leukaemia on 8 July 2009, at her residence in Huijbergen, Netherlands.

Family
Grandmother: Louise Winterberg a.k.a. Nor Louise. A Eurasian of Indo-Dutch parentage. She had left her Scottish husband, Joseph Hunter for an Indonesian opera actor Raden Ismail. She gained fame as a Bangsawan performer and through this became friends with Aminah.
Uncle: Soewaldi, son of Louise Winterberg through Hunter. Converted to Islam
Father: Adrianus Petrus Hertogh (b. 1905), army sergeant with the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. He is of Dutch origins. He married Adeline Hunter on 23 December 1938.
Mother: Adeline Hunter. Spoke fluent Bahasa.
Sisters: Wiesge (b. 1935)
: Corrie (b. 1936)
Brothers: Kees
: Bennie (both brothers were born between 1938 - 1941)
: Kareltje (b. 26 December 1942)
: another brother (b. 1948)

Adoptive Family
Mother: Aminah bt Mohammad. From a respected Malay family in Kemaman, Terengganu. She married her first husband, Abdul Rani (a.k.a Abdul Ghani) who had been the private secretary to the Sultan of Terengganu in 1919. Abdul Rani, was the cousin to Datuk Bukit Gantang who became Mentri Besar or "Chief Minister" of Perak after the war. She accompanied her husband to Tokyo where he taught Malay language for almost 11 years. They mastered Japanese and adopted a Japanese girl whom they named Kamariah.
Father: Maarof bin Haji Abdul, a jeweller from Bandung, whom Aminah married in the mid-1930s after Abdul Rani had passed away.



Author
Bonny Tan



References

Hughes, T. E. (1980). Tangled worlds: The story of Maria Hertogh. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
(Call no.: RSING 364.143095957 HUG)

Maideen, Haja. (1991). The Nadra tragedy: The Maria Hertogh controversy (pp. 29-41, 103, 303-305). Petaling Jaya: Pelanduk Publications.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.5704 MAI)

Maria Hertogh: Her life at a glance. (1998, July 14). The Straits Times, Home Focus, p. 28.

Zaharah Othman. (2009, July 10). Maria Hertogh, 72, dies of leukaemia. New Straits Times. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/12nadra/Article/index_html


Further Readings

Chee, J. (1992). My name is Nadra, not Bertha [Videotape]. Singapore: SBC.
(Call no.: SING 959.5704 MY)

Conceicao, J.F. (2007). Singapore and the many-headed monster. Singapore: Horizon Books.
(Call no: SING 303.623095957 CON)

Netto, L. (1996). Maria: Based on a true story. Singapore: Derby Publishers.
(Call no.: SING S822 NET)


The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Ethnic Communities
Events>> Disasters
Riots--Singapore
Custody of Children--Singapore
People and communities>>Social groups and communities
People and communities>>Social conflict>>Riots

Librarian Recommendations
>> Maria Hertogh Riots

All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_508_2004-12-23.html


Maria Hertogh Riots

By Tan, Lay Yuen written on 1997-09-29
National Library Board Singapore
Comments on article: InfopediaTalk
The Maria Hertogh Riots between ethnic Malays and the European and Eurasian communities in Singapore occurred on 11 December 1950. The riots took place over a period of three days and saw at least 18 people killed and 173 people injured. It was sparked by the controversial custody battle between Maria's adoptive Malay family and her Eurasian parents.

Background
Maria Hertogh, born to Dutch-Eurasian parents in Java, was adopted during the war by an Indonesian Muslim woman named Aminah. When Maria's father was arrested by the Japanese, Maria's mother gave Maria to Aminah to be raised.
She was given the Muslim name Nadra. In 1947, Aminah moved to Trengganu with Maria.

After the war, the Hertoghs launched a legal battle for the custody of their daughter after they received information in 1949 of her whereabouts in Malaya. The custody battle attracted intense media attention worldwide. Photographs in newspapers of a Muslim girl in a Catholic convent and claims that she had bowed down to the Virgin Mary affected religious sensitivities and whipped up emotions. The Muslim side was championed by Indian Muslim Karim Ghani. As editor of the Jawi daily, Dawn, Ghani instigated emotions within the Muslim community by publishing controversial reports of the case. He also worked out an extensive plan for 1,500 girls to protest in a procession. Exhortations were made at the Sultan Mosque to wage a holy war to force the return of Maria to Aminah. At the appeal hearing on 11 December 1950, the Judge dismissed Aminah's appeal and custody was given to Adeline Hunter, her biological mother. Upon hearing the judgement, huge crowds outside the court rioted, convinced that the colonial laws, the courts and the legal system were prejudiced against Muslims.

Casualties
For three days, mobs of Malay and Indian Muslim rioters attacked any European and Eurasian in sight. They set up barricades along major roads, set cars and houses on fire and took control of districts in the vicinity of Sultan Mosque, North Bridge Road and Jalan Besar. Rioting was stopped only after two troops of the Internal Security Battalion were called in, supported by several Malays within the troops. Even so, scattered attacks continued over two days. A 24-hour curfew had to be imposed for two weeks before British and Malay troops and the Constabulary regained control of the situation.

Altogether, 18 people were killed and 173 were injured. Nine were killed by rioters while the others were killed by policemen. Aside from a Police Inspector and a Special Constable, those killed by rioters had little to do with the Hertogh case and their murder was motivated more by fanaticism and racial hatred.

Significance and Consequences
The riots highlighted the insensitive way the media handled religious and racial issues in Singapore. The British colonial authorities also failed to defuse an explosive situation when emotional reports appeared in the local press of the custody battle accompanied by sensational media photographs of a Muslim girl in a Catholic convent.

Although the rioters were mainly Malays, they included a large number of foreigners including Indian, Pakistani and Indonesian Muslims. Added to this, the mainly Malay Police Force appeared to sympathise with the Muslim rioters and displayed some measure of deliberate inaction and defection during the riots. Gurkha Police Riot Squad Detachment, constituting at least 149 men were unfortunately not utilised and were in fact withdrawn at critical locations.

As a result of this historic event, the Government of Singapore, upon independence in 1965, instituted legislation against racial discrimination. It became an offence to incite racial and religious hatred in Singapore. The local media exercised greater discipline in the coverage of sensitive issues. National integration and nation-building took top priority in the formulation of government policies.

Time-line
1950 : The Hertoghs filed a lawsuit in the courts of Singapore, seeking to assert their parental rights over Maria.
22 Apr 1950 : The court ruled that Maria should be returned to her biological parent after a period of care under the Social Welfare Department.
28 Jul 1950 : Maria was returned to Aminah after the latter appealed against the decision. Shortly after, Maria married a 22-year-old Malay teacher.
13 Nov 1950 : The Hertoghs appealed the decision and the courts ruled in their favour on the basis that Maria was removed from them without their consent. Upon her return to her biological parents, the court further ruled that Maria should be subject to Dutch laws where it was illegal for minors below the age of 16 to be married. Hence, Maria's marriage was declared null and void and she was placed in protective custody at a Catholic convent, the Girls' Home of the Convent of the Good Shepherd, prior to her return to the Netherlands.
11 Dec 1950 : An appeal hearing for Aminah's case was dismissed leading the waiting crowds outside the courts to riot.
12 Dec 1950 : Maria is flown to Holland with her parents to be reunited with her family.
13 Dec 1950 : Order is restored in Singapore.




Author
Lay Yuen Tan



References
Clutterbuck, R. L. (1984). Conflict and violence in Singapore and Malaysia: 1945-1983. Singapore: G. Brash.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 CLU)

Hughes, T. E. (1980). Tangled world: The story of Maria Hertogh. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1980.
(Call no.: RSING 364.143095957 HUG)

Blythe pays tribute to Army. (1950, December 14). The Straits Times, p. 7.

City back to law and order. (1950, December 14). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Curfew brings a quiet night. (1950, December 13). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Five dead, 100 hurt in riots. (1950, December 12). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Hertoghs promise to bring Maria to court if necessary. (1950, December 12). The Straits Times, p.7.

How it all started. (1950, December 12). The Straits Times, p. 4.

Maria in Calcutta. (1950, December 14). The Straits Times, p. 1.

'Stay of execution' appeal on Maria: custody fails. (1950, December 13). The Straits Times, p. 4.


Further Readings

Aljunied, Syed Muhd. Khairudin. (2009). Colonialism, violence and Muslims in Southeast Asia : the Maria Hertogh controversy and its aftermath. London : Routledge.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5704 ALJ)

Maideen, H. (1980). The Nadra tragedy: The Maria Hertogh controversy. Petaling Jaya: Pelanduk Publications.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.5704 MAI)

Netto, L. (1996). Maria: Based on a true story. Singapore: Derby Publishers.
(Call no.: RSING S822 NET)

Riots Inquiry Commission. (1951). Report ... together with a despatch from His Excellency the Governor of Singapore to the Rt. Hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
(Call no.: RCLOS 364.143095957 SIN)

City of troops, police. (1950, December 13). The Straits Times, p. 1.

'Inept handling of situation' - UK Press. (1950, December 14). The Straits Times, p. 1.

'Mosque is place of peace'. (1950, December 14). The Straits Times, p. 7.

Chee, J. (Producer). (1992). My name is Nadra, not Bertha [Videotape]. Singapore: Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5704 MY)

KnowledgeNet. (n.d.). Legal Battles. Retrieved March 20, 2000, from www.knowledgenet.com.sg/singapore/sg/nr/nrmhr001.asp

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Maria Hertogh Riots. Retrieved March 15, 2000, from
www1.moe.edu.sg/ne/Archives/Episodes%20from%20the%20Singapore%20Story/Maria_Hertogh/Maria_Hertogh.htm



The information in this article is valid as at 1998 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Politics and Government>>National Security>>Civil Unrests>>Riots
Events>>Historical Periods>>Aftermath of War (1945-1955)
Race riots--Singapore
Riots--Singapore
Singapore--History--1945-1963
People and communities>>Social conflict>>Riots

Librarian Recommendations
>> Maria Hertogh (Nadra)


All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_83_2005-02-02.html