theSun | TUESDAY MARCH 3 2009
news without borders
Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
DAP man
claims
attempt
to woo him
NEGRI Sembilan DAP chief Loke Siew Fook
says a couple tried to talk him into leaving the
party several weeks ago with attractive terms
that they claimed could be negotiated with the
Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders.
Loke, who is Rasah MP and Lobak assem-
blyman, said the couple claimed that since he
is both a state representative and a parliamen-
tarian, the reward he could get would probably
be more than RM20 million.
Loke, who is also DAP Socialist Youth
(DAPSY) chairman, made the disclosure at a
party function in Seremban on Saturday.
He said the couple, who approached him
on the pretext of wanting to discuss bread-
and-butter issues, did not say they were BN
lobbyists.
He said he has yet to lodge a police report
as he has no evidence against them.
“They told me there is no future on this land
for Chinese and Indians and advised me to quit
DAP. They said they could recommend me to
the BN leaders, and suggested that I get a few
million ringgit and settle down overseas.”
Loke said the couple kept telling him Umno
would not change and “the only way is to leave
Malaysia or at least leave DAP”.
He said the couple claimed that as long
as he quit the party, the BN would make the
necessary arrangements for him, including
providing him with bodyguards to ensure his
safety.
by Loo Sim Ee
newsdesk@thsundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: There is dif-
ficulty in universally accepting
the definition of terrorism which
comes with the core traits of ter-
rorism, violence and fear, says
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM) political science lecturer
Prof Ruhanas Harun.
She said there is no universal
definition for terrorism but “each
terror organisation serves different
purposes”.
Ruhanas was among 14 speak-
ers at the two-day “International
Conference: Youth on Terrorism
2009” themed “Youths for World
Peace” last week. It was attended
by about 200 members of youth
organisations all over the world.
Morocco’s Dr Jamal Eddine
Benhayoun argued that terrorism
should continue to be condemned
as terrorists would continue har-
assing civilians and topple nations
with their inhumane ideologies.
“Their ideologies, whether
based on violence, crime or
desperation, there is a need to
understand the very fundamen-
tals of terrorists without getting
fogged by political motivations in
the name of service to religion or
race, instead of political-economic
factors,” he said.
Philippine Institute for Peace,
Violence and Terrorism Research
chairman Prof Rommel C. Banlaoi
said terrorist organisations such
as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
in the Philippines, the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
in Sri Lanka, the Pakistan-based
Al Qaeda and the massive riots
hitting in many parts of the world
were started by frustrated youths
No universal definition
for terrorism, says don
Jamal Eddine Ruhanas
who could not change their living
conditions.
He said Abdurajak Janjalani
was only 26 when he founded the
ASG in 1989.
“After his death in a police en-
counter in 1998, his younger broth-
er, Khadaffy Janjalani, became the
successor at 22. Since then, the ASG
has been terrorising the public via
its kidnap-for-ransom activities.
“There is no single explana-
tion why youths are inclined to
violence and terrorism. Perhaps
they are, by nature, driven by
exuberance and complex emo-
tions making them highly prone to
various influences that can trigger
Rommel
their ‘rebel instincts’,” he said.
Rommel, who had interviewed
former ASG members aged be-
tween 16 and 35, found that many
of them were economically and
politically deprived and skipped
formal school resulting in illit-
eracy.
“Instead of carrying books
and pencils, they carry guns and
grenades to make a living. They
become child or youth soldiers,”
he added.
Sri Lanka Press Institute direc-
tor-general Ranga Kalansooriya
concurred with Rommel’s views of
similar depressing factors, such as
discrimination against Tamils in
7
governing structures and depriv-
ing the Tamils of citizenship.
“This sparked the uprising of
the LTTE to almost running a de
facto state.
“It is amazing that a terrorist
organisation which started as
an ideology has evolved into a
governmental organisation. The
LTTE not only has established
financial and business networks
and support bases but is also ex-
perts in land, air, and sea combat,
and would have taken a state to
form a Tamil government had the
Sri Lankan government not retali-
ated,” he said.
Global Peace Mission hu-
manitarian aid worker Mohd Asri
Abdul argued that sometimes
youths were pushed to the limits
by certain brutalities, such as Rus-
sia’s invasion of Chechnya and the
prolonged torture of the citizens,
especially women, has resulted in
suicide bombings in Chechnya.
Surprisingly, while most people
would presume that suicide bomb-
ers are predominantly males,
68% of the suicide bombers from
Chechnya during its conflict with
the Russian government were
females.