Varsity grads: Chew says he is disappointed
with Lim for removing the matching grants when some leaders like (from
left) Kok, Salahuddin and Saifuddin were products of the MCA-linked
institutions.
KUALA LUMPUR: MCA has pointed out that several Pakatan Harapan leaders were beneficiaries of MCA-linked institutions of higher learning.
MCA central committee member Datuk Chew Kok Woh named ministers Teresa Kok, Datuk Salahuddin Ayub and Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as the beneficiaries.
He said even Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and state executive councillor Chong Eng were products of Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, then known as KTAR, and now TAR UC.
Chew expressed disappointment that Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had removed matching grants to TAR UC.
He said although TAR UC and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman were set up by MCA, they were never used for political reasons, saying all the graduates could verify TAR UC and UTAR were apolitical.
He said these institutions were professionally run, adding Lim’s decision spoke volumes about his “politics of vindictiveness”.
In fact, he said, the decision was a timely reminder that DAP had done nothing for education except to criticise.
“What has DAP done for Chinese education? Name us one,” he said in a statement.
He said DAP should not punish parents and students by depriving them of affordable education because of political reasons.
Chew feared that Lim’s action would lead to higher tuition fees at these institutions.
He said many parents, who could not afford private colleges and universities, depended on TAR UC and UTAR.
Chew said the two institutions had produced more than 180,000 graduates of high calibre since its inception in 1969, while UTAR has 56,000 graduates since 2005.
“We need to put aside politics to help Malaysians, especially those from the lower-income background,” he said.
Chew said TAR UC and UTAR graduates, including these Pakatan leaders, could vouch that these two institutions were not “MCA indoctrination centres”.
It was recently announced by Lim that the government would only allocate a RM5.5mil development fund for UTAR and TAR UC, instead of a RM30mil matching grant for TAR UC.
Lim insisted that both education institutes break off ties with MCA before the government provides more allocation for the two institutions.
In the Dewan Rakyat, Ayer Hitam MP and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong debated with Lim, stating that the matching grants were vital to help ensure lower student fees for the two institutions.
On Facebook, Dr Wee expressed his disappointment in the Finance Minister’s reply, adding that TAR UC was wholly owned by the TARC Education Foundation and should not be seen as part of MCA’s assets, and that the university college also submitted audited accounts to the Education Ministry every year.
Dr Wee also told reporters in Parliament House that TAR UC might have to increase its fees to cover operational costs.
Founded in February 1969 as KTAR, the institute was upgraded to university college status in May 2013 and renamed TAR UC.- The Star
WHEN Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, in his Budget 2019
presented early this month, removed the RM30mil matching grant for Tunku
Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), it hurt not just the MCA but
also the Chinese community. The government will provide a mere RM5.5mil
as development fund to TAR UC.
UTAR's Faculty of Business and Finance in Kampar, Perak.
MYANMAR, South Sudan, North Korea, Vanuatu... What do these countries have in common with Malaysia?
Yes, they all have not signed or ratified the United Nation’s International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
Malaysia is currently one of 14 countries in the world that have not recognised or signed the UN treaty.
The other countries in this exclusive club include the Cook Islands, the federated states of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Niue and Tuvalu.
Out of 197 countries, 179 countries have ratified or acceded to the ICERD. Four countries – Angola, Bhutan, Nauru and Palau – have signed the ICERD but not ratified it.
The treaty was first mooted in the early 1960s in response to the growing racial discrimination and religious intolerance in the world.
In 1965, the ICERD was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly, with one abstention. The Convention came into force in 1969.
Malaysia and Brunei are the only Islamic-majority countries that have not signed ICERD. All 22 states of the Arab League, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Indonesia, among others, have signed and ratified the treaty.
However, many countries only agreed to be bound by ICERD with certain reservations.
Reservations to parts of ICERD are allowed as long as they are not “incompatible with the object and purpose” of the treaty. Even the US has made a reservation: it does not accept any part of the Convention that would oblige it to criminalise hate speech.
Many – including China, India and Thailand – do not accept a provision that allows national ICERD disputes to be referred to the International Court of Justice. Singapore, which only ratified ICERD in November 2017, reserves the right to apply its own policies on foreign workers, “with a view to promoting integration and maintaining cohesion within its racially diverse society”.
Most of the Islamic states that have ratified ICERD state that they will not recognise or establish relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia is the sole Islamic state that has a reservation that it will only implement the ICERD provisions that do not conflict with the Islamic Syariah.
Tonga and Fiji reserve the right on indigenous citizens’ land. In fact, many countries that have ratified the ICERD have affirmative action policies to ensure marginalised and indigenous groups are given some privileges to help them move up the social and economic ladder.
This is clearly stated in the treaty: state parties are allowed, “when the circumstances so warrant”... to use “positive discrimination policies” for specific racial groups to guarantee “the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
And while the treaty obliges signatories to “pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms”, some have questioned its effectiveness in eliminating racism and hate crime.
To ratify or not to ratify no longer the question
But the ICERD remains a tempest in a political teapot, and so the discussion on the UN Convention must continue in Malaysia, a nation at the crossroads.
https://youtu.be/8yPfmIlpWq8
A NUMBER of individuals and groups denounced the proposal to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) on the ground that it will destroy Malay rights, weaken the position of Islam and erode the power of the Malay Rulers.
Most of the criticisms have no legal basis. However, as hate and fear are potent weapons in politics, the perpetrators have succeeded in polarising society and raising the spectre of violence. The Prime Minister has, therefore, strategically retracted the proposal to ratify.
The debate on this UN Convention will, however, continue and this necessitates a brief discussion of the Federal Constitution and the ICERD.
Equality
The Constitution in Articles 5-13 protects many human rights and these are available irrespective of race. Article 8(1) declares that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. Article 8(2) states that except as expressly authorised, there shall be no discrimination on the ground of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender.
Many other Articles explicitly forbid racial discrimination. Among them are Article 12(1) relating to education and Article 136 regarding impartial treatment of federal employees.
Citizenship (Articles 14-22); the electoral process; membership of Parliament; and positions in the Cabinet, public services, judiciary and the constitutional commissions are all free of racial differentiation.
Permissible exceptions: To the general rule of racial equality, a number of exceptions are explicitly provided. Foremost are protection for the aborigines (Article 8), Malay Regiment (Article 8), Malay Reserves (Article 89) and special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak (Article 153). These preferential provisions are not based on the idea of racial superiority or exclusiveness but on a mixture of historical realities and the impulses of affirmative action. Their primary purpose is to engineer society through the law and to ensure that those left behind in socioeconomic development are able to catch up with the others.
Article 153’s provisions have much in common with India’s special provisions for the Scheduled Castes. Like in India, Article 153 provisions are hedged in by clear limits. For example, Article 153’s quotas do not apply across the board but only in four areas: positions in the public service; scholarships and educational and training facilities; licences and permits; and post-secondary education.
It is also notable that Article 153 enjoins the King to safeguard the “legitimate interests of other communities”.
Likewise, Article 89(2) requires that where land is reserved for Malays, an equal area shall be made available for general alienation.
ICERD
This piece of international law takes a strong stand against apartheid, segregation, discrimination and racial superiority. However, it recognises the need for affirmative action. It acknowledges the need to rectify historical injustices and to enrich formal equality with functional and substantive equality. Articles 1(4) and 2(2) of ICERD permit “special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection”.
This is quite in line with Articles 89 and 153 of Malaysia’s Constitution. However, the ICERD seeks to set limits on the duration for affirmative action. The measures “shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved”.
This has riled up the ICERD critics because Articles 153 and 89 contain no time limits. It is submitted that for all practical purposes the differences between Article 153 and ICERD are insignificant. ICERD opposes “eternity clauses” but imposes no time limit. Article 153 imposes no time limit but is capable of amendment subject to the special procedures of Articles 159(5) and 38(4) – two-thirds majority plus the consent of the Conference of Rulers and the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak.
ICERD in Article 20 allows nations to ratify it with reservations. For example, the United States adopted ICERD but objected to any provision in the Convention that breached the US Constitution. Malaysia can do the same and indeed has done so in a number of situations.
We adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 in section 4(4) of our Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 but subjected it to our Federal Constitution. We adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) but subjected it to our Constitution’s Article 8(5) which exempts personal laws from the Constitution’s gilt-edged provisions for gender equality.
ICERD and Islam
To bolster their opposition to the ICERD, its critics are claiming, amazingly, that ICERD will weaken the position of Islam. To give this claim any credibility requires a willing suspension of disbelief. The ICERD is against racial discrimination and does not address itself to official religions or secularism or theocracy. In any case, Islam promotes racial equality. The ICERD has been ratified by 179 nations, of which 48 are Muslim nations. Out of 50 Muslim countries, only Malaysia and Brunei are non-signatories.
ICERD and Malay Rulers
The ICERD is not anti-monarchial and in no way affects the honours and dignities of the 27 monarchies existing in the world today, six of whom are absolute monarchies.
International law is not law
Even if ratified by the executive, ICERD cannot displace Article 3 (Islam), Article 153 (special position of the Malays and natives) and Article 181 (prerogatives of Malay Rulers). This is due to the legal fact that our concept of “law” is defined narrowly in ArticIe 160(2) and does not include international law.
The constitutional position on the ICERD is, therefore, this: Even if the ICERD is ratified by the executive, it is not law unless incorporated into a parliamentary Act. Even if so legislated, it is subject to the supreme Constitution’s Articles 3, 153 and 181. Unless these Articles are amended by a special two-thirds majority and the consent of the Conference of Rulers and the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak, the existing constitutional provisions remain in operation.
The ICERD is not a law but only a pole star for action. Its ideals cannot invalidate national laws. The agitation against it is contrived for political purposes and perceptive Malaysians must not allow themselves to be exploited by politicians.
By Shad Saleem Faruqi
Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is a holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair at Universiti Malaya.
MYANMAR, South Sudan, North Korea, Vanuatu... What do these countries have in common with Malaysia?
Yes, they all have not signed or ratified the United Nation’s International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
Malaysia is currently one of 14 countries in the world that have not recognised or signed the UN treaty.
The other countries in this exclusive club include the Cook Islands, the federated states of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Niue and Tuvalu.
Out of 197 countries, 179 countries have ratified or acceded to the ICERD. Four countries – Angola, Bhutan, Nauru and Palau – have signed the ICERD but not ratified it.
The treaty was first mooted in the early 1960s in response to the growing racial discrimination and religious intolerance in the world.
In 1965, the ICERD was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly, with one abstention. The Convention came into force in 1969.
Malaysia and Brunei are the only Islamic-majority countries that have not signed ICERD. All 22 states of the Arab League, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Indonesia, among others, have signed and ratified the treaty.
However, many countries only agreed to be bound by ICERD with certain reservations.
Reservations to parts of ICERD are allowed as long as they are not “incompatible with the object and purpose” of the treaty. Even the US has made a reservation: it does not accept any part of the Convention that would oblige it to criminalise hate speech.
Many – including China, India and Thailand – do not accept a provision that allows national ICERD disputes to be referred to the International Court of Justice. Singapore, which only ratified ICERD in November 2017, reserves the right to apply its own policies on foreign workers, “with a view to promoting integration and maintaining cohesion within its racially diverse society”.
Most of the Islamic states that have ratified ICERD state that they will not recognise or establish relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia is the sole Islamic state that has a reservation that it will only implement the ICERD provisions that do not conflict with the Islamic Syariah.
Tonga and Fiji reserve the right on indigenous citizens’ land. In fact, many countries that have ratified the ICERD have affirmative action policies to ensure marginalised and indigenous groups are given some privileges to help them move up the social and economic ladder.
This is clearly stated in the treaty: state parties are allowed, “when the circumstances so warrant”... to use “positive discrimination policies” for specific racial groups to guarantee “the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
And while the treaty obliges signatories to “pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms”, some have questioned its effectiveness in eliminating racism and hate crime.
To ratify or not to ratify no longer the question
But the ICERD remains a tempest in a political teapot, and so the discussion on the UN Convention must continue in Malaysia, a nation at the crossroads.
https://youtu.be/8yPfmIlpWq8
A NUMBER of individuals and groups denounced the proposal to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) on the ground that it will destroy Malay rights, weaken the position of Islam and erode the power of the Malay Rulers.
Most of the criticisms have no legal basis. However, as hate and fear are potent weapons in politics, the perpetrators have succeeded in polarising society and raising the spectre of violence. The Prime Minister has, therefore, strategically retracted the proposal to ratify.
The debate on this UN Convention will, however, continue and this necessitates a brief discussion of the Federal Constitution and the ICERD.
Equality
The Constitution in Articles 5-13 protects many human rights and these are available irrespective of race. Article 8(1) declares that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. Article 8(2) states that except as expressly authorised, there shall be no discrimination on the ground of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender.
Many other Articles explicitly forbid racial discrimination. Among them are Article 12(1) relating to education and Article 136 regarding impartial treatment of federal employees.
Citizenship (Articles 14-22); the electoral process; membership of Parliament; and positions in the Cabinet, public services, judiciary and the constitutional commissions are all free of racial differentiation.
Permissible exceptions: To the general rule of racial equality, a number of exceptions are explicitly provided. Foremost are protection for the aborigines (Article 8), Malay Regiment (Article 8), Malay Reserves (Article 89) and special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak (Article 153). These preferential provisions are not based on the idea of racial superiority or exclusiveness but on a mixture of historical realities and the impulses of affirmative action. Their primary purpose is to engineer society through the law and to ensure that those left behind in socioeconomic development are able to catch up with the others.
Article 153’s provisions have much in common with India’s special provisions for the Scheduled Castes. Like in India, Article 153 provisions are hedged in by clear limits. For example, Article 153’s quotas do not apply across the board but only in four areas: positions in the public service; scholarships and educational and training facilities; licences and permits; and post-secondary education.
It is also notable that Article 153 enjoins the King to safeguard the “legitimate interests of other communities”.
Likewise, Article 89(2) requires that where land is reserved for Malays, an equal area shall be made available for general alienation.
ICERD
This piece of international law takes a strong stand against apartheid, segregation, discrimination and racial superiority. However, it recognises the need for affirmative action. It acknowledges the need to rectify historical injustices and to enrich formal equality with functional and substantive equality. Articles 1(4) and 2(2) of ICERD permit “special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection”.
This is quite in line with Articles 89 and 153 of Malaysia’s Constitution. However, the ICERD seeks to set limits on the duration for affirmative action. The measures “shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved”.
This has riled up the ICERD critics because Articles 153 and 89 contain no time limits. It is submitted that for all practical purposes the differences between Article 153 and ICERD are insignificant. ICERD opposes “eternity clauses” but imposes no time limit. Article 153 imposes no time limit but is capable of amendment subject to the special procedures of Articles 159(5) and 38(4) – two-thirds majority plus the consent of the Conference of Rulers and the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak.
ICERD in Article 20 allows nations to ratify it with reservations. For example, the United States adopted ICERD but objected to any provision in the Convention that breached the US Constitution. Malaysia can do the same and indeed has done so in a number of situations.
We adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 in section 4(4) of our Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 but subjected it to our Federal Constitution. We adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) but subjected it to our Constitution’s Article 8(5) which exempts personal laws from the Constitution’s gilt-edged provisions for gender equality.
ICERD and Islam
To bolster their opposition to the ICERD, its critics are claiming, amazingly, that ICERD will weaken the position of Islam. To give this claim any credibility requires a willing suspension of disbelief. The ICERD is against racial discrimination and does not address itself to official religions or secularism or theocracy. In any case, Islam promotes racial equality. The ICERD has been ratified by 179 nations, of which 48 are Muslim nations. Out of 50 Muslim countries, only Malaysia and Brunei are non-signatories.
ICERD and Malay Rulers
The ICERD is not anti-monarchial and in no way affects the honours and dignities of the 27 monarchies existing in the world today, six of whom are absolute monarchies. International law is not law
Even if ratified by the executive, ICERD cannot displace Article 3 (Islam), Article 153 (special position of the Malays and natives) and Article 181 (prerogatives of Malay Rulers). This is due to the legal fact that our concept of “law” is defined narrowly in ArticIe 160(2) and does not include international law.
The constitutional position on the ICERD is, therefore, this: Even if the ICERD is ratified by the executive, it is not law unless incorporated into a parliamentary Act. Even if so legislated, it is subject to the supreme Constitution’s Articles 3, 153 and 181. Unless these Articles are amended by a special two-thirds majority and the consent of the Conference of Rulers and the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak, the existing constitutional provisions remain in operation.
The ICERD is not a law but only a pole star for action. Its ideals cannot invalidate national laws. The agitation against it is contrived for political purposes and perceptive Malaysians must not allow themselves to be exploited by politicians.
By Shad Saleem Faruqi
Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is a holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair at Universiti Malaya.
South Korean Pastor Lee Jaerock was convicted of the multiple rape of eight
female followers — some of whom believed he was God. — AFP
Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea
South Korea has proven fertile ground for religious groups with
strong, unambiguous ideologies that offered comfort and salvation
A South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers -- some of whom believed he was God -- and jailed for 15 years.
Pastor Lee Jaerock's victims were "unable to resist as they were subject to the accused's absolute religious authority", judge Chung Moon-sung told the Seoul Central District Court.
Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea, with 44 percent of people identifying themselves as believers.
Most belong to mainstream churches, which can accumulate wealth and influence with tens of thousands of followers donating as much as 10 percent of their income.
But fringe groups are also widespread -- experts say around 60 people in the country claim to be divine -- and some have been implicated in fraud, brainwashing, coercion, and other behaviour associated with cults worldwide.
Lee set up the Manmin Central Church in Guro, once a poor area of Seoul, with just 12 followers in 1982. It has now grown to 130,000 members, with a spotlight-filled auditorium, sprawling headquarters, and a website replete with claims of miracle cures.
But three of Lee's followers went public earlier this year, as South Korea was swept with a wave of #MeToo accusations, describing how he had summoned each of them to an apartment and raped them.
South Korean Pastor Lee Jae-rock arrives at the Seoul Central District Court to attend his trial on Thursday. | AFP-JIJI
"I was unable to turn him down," one of them told South Korean television.
"He was more than a king. He was God," added the woman, who had been a church member since childhood.
Lee told another that she was now in Heaven, and to strip as Adam and Eve went naked in the Garden of Eden. "I cried as I hated to do it," she told JTBC television.
Eight women laid criminal complaints, and the court found Lee raped and molested them "tens of times" over a long period.
"Through his sermons the accused has indirectly or directly suggested he is the holy spirit, deifying himself," the judge said.
The victims believed him to be "a divine being who wields divine power", he added.
Lee, who denied the charges, stood with his eyes closed as the judgement was read, showing no emotion, while around 100 followers filled the courtroom to overflowing, some of them sighing quietly.
The 75-year-old's lawyers had accused the women of lying to seek vengeance after being excommunicated for breaching church rules.
- Second Coming - South Korea has proven fertile ground for religious groups with strong, unambiguous ideologies that offered comfort and salvation that appealed strongly during times of deep uncertainty.
More recent versions have claimed a unique knowledge of the path to material and spiritual prosperity -- a message that resonates in a highly competitive and status-focused society.
According to a 2015 government survey, 28 percent of South Koreans say they belong to Christian churches, with another 16 percent describing themselves as Buddhist.
But according to Park Hyung-tak, head of the Korea Christian Heresy Research Institute, around two million people are followers of cults.
"There are some 60 Christian-based cult leaders in this country who claim to be the second coming of Jesus Christ, or God Himself," he told AFP.
AFP/File / MENAHEM KAHANA
"Many cults point to megachurches mired in corruption and other scandals in order to highlight their own presumed purity and attract believers," he added.
On his own website, Lee says that God has "anointed me with His power" but the Manmin Central Church has been condemned as heretical by mainstream Christian organisations, partly because of its claims to miracle healing.
In one example on the church website, Barbara Vollath, a 49-year-old German, said he was born deaf but her bone cancer was cured and she gained hearing in both ears after Lee's daughter and heiress apparent Lee Soojin prayed for her with a handkerchief he had blessed.
South Korean cults can have deadly consequences: in 1987, 32 members of an apocalyptic group called Odaeyang, were found dead at their headquarters in an apparent murder-suicide pact, including its leader, who was under police investigation for embezzlement.
And they can influence the highest reaches of power.
Choi Soon-Sil, the woman at the centre of the corruption scandal that brought down her close friend president Park Geun-Hye, is the daughter of late religious leader Choi Tae-min.
The elder Choi became Park's spiritual mentor after establishing his own church, Yeongsegyo ("Spiritual Life"), combining tenets of Buddhism, Christianity and shamanism.
Source: AFP
On a mission from God: South Korea's many cults
The jailing of a South Korean religious leader on Thursday for the rape of multiple followers is the latest example of religious cults in the country.
The world's 11th-largest economy is technologically advanced but has a history of cult organisations and charismatic religious leaders, some of whom have amassed enormous wealth and influence.
Here are some groups that have previously attracted controversy or had brushes with the law.
Pastor Lee Jaerock, a South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers. Here are other South Korean cult groups that have made headlines
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Pastor Lee Jaerock, a South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers. Here are other South Korean cult groups that have made headlines
The World Mission Society Church of God predicted the end of the world would come on December 31, 1999.
However, being wrong has been no barrier to its fortunes, and an anti-cult group estimates that it has more than 200,000 followers, although it claims more than two million.
Its founder Ahn Sang-hong, who died in 1985, is worshipped as the Heavenly Father, who it says will come for the salvation of 144,000 souls -- the number appears in a biblical prophecy.
Ahn's wife Jang Gil-ja is regarded as the Heavenly Mother. Its aggressive evangelical activities in south east Asian countries sparked controversy. Shincheonji, or the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, suggests that its founder Lee Man-hee has donned the mantle of Jesus Christ and will take 144,000 people with him to Heaven, body and soul, on the Day of Judgement.
But its adherents have long surpassed that number, and critics say they have to engage in endless loyalty competitions to earn credits to be included among the saved, sacrificing their everyday lives and leading to serious family disputes.
Shincheonji 'is the nation of God, created by Him to fulfil what is in heaven on this earth in today´s time', it says on its homepage, adding that Lee 'is creating God´s kingdom of heaven here on earth, exactly as he witnessed it in heaven'.
The female leader of a doomsday cult and three of her acolytes were arrested this year for allegedly holding some 400 followers captive in Fiji and subjecting them to violence and barbaric rituals.
Victims were hit hundreds of times in ceremonies known as 'threshing floors', defectors told South Korean media.
Shin Ok-ju, founder of the Grace Road Church, has gone on trial on charges of violence, child abuse, exploitation and incarceration, among others.
One of South the largest and best-known cults is Providence or Jesus Morning Star, also known by the acronym JMS -- which matches the initials of its founder Jung Myung Seok.
He set it up in 1980 as a breakaway from the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies.
Jung was released from prison earlier this year after serving a 10-year sentence for the rape and sexual assault of four female followers.
He told them to have sex with him to purge themselves of sin.
Guwonpa, or 'Salvation Sect', came to national attention when the Sewol ferry -- whose operating company was run by its leader Yoo Byung-eun and his family -- sank in 2014 with the loss of more than 300 lives, most of them children.
On the run from charges of corruption and negligence, Yoo's body was found in a field, so badly decomposed that authorities were unable to determine the precise cause of death.
In 1987, 32 members of an apocalyptic cult called Odaeyang, meaning 'five oceans', were found dead at their headquarters in the southern city of Yongin in an apparent murder-suicide pact.
Among them was the cult's leader Park Soon-Ja, who had been under pressure from her lenders over $17 million of debts and was under police investigation for embezzlement.
Police said Park's two sons and a cult official strangled her and 28 others before killing themselves.
South Korean Pastor Lee Jaerock was convicted of the multiple rape of eight female followers — some of whom believed he was God. — AFP
Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea
South Korea has proven fertile ground for religious groups with strong, unambiguous ideologies that offered comfort and salvation
A South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers -- some of whom believed he was God -- and jailed for 15 years.
Pastor Lee Jaerock's victims were "unable to resist as they were subject to the accused's absolute religious authority", judge Chung Moon-sung told the Seoul Central District Court.
Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea, with 44 percent of people identifying themselves as believers.
Most belong to mainstream churches, which can accumulate wealth and influence with tens of thousands of followers donating as much as 10 percent of their income.
But fringe groups are also widespread -- experts say around 60 people in the country claim to be divine -- and some have been implicated in fraud, brainwashing, coercion, and other behaviour associated with cults worldwide.
Lee set up the Manmin Central Church in Guro, once a poor area of Seoul, with just 12 followers in 1982. It has now grown to 130,000 members, with a spotlight-filled auditorium, sprawling headquarters, and a website replete with claims of miracle cures.
But three of Lee's followers went public earlier this year, as South Korea was swept with a wave of #MeToo accusations, describing how he had summoned each of them to an apartment and raped them.
South Korean Pastor Lee Jae-rock arrives at the Seoul Central District Court to attend his trial on Thursday. | AFP-JIJI
"I was unable to turn him down," one of them told South Korean television.
"He was more than a king. He was God," added the woman, who had been a church member since childhood.
Lee told another that she was now in Heaven, and to strip as Adam and Eve went naked in the Garden of Eden. "I cried as I hated to do it," she told JTBC television.
Eight women laid criminal complaints, and the court found Lee raped and molested them "tens of times" over a long period.
"Through his sermons the accused has indirectly or directly suggested he is the holy spirit, deifying himself," the judge said.
The victims believed him to be "a divine being who wields divine power", he added.
Lee, who denied the charges, stood with his eyes closed as the judgement was read, showing no emotion, while around 100 followers filled the courtroom to overflowing, some of them sighing quietly.
The 75-year-old's lawyers had accused the women of lying to seek vengeance after being excommunicated for breaching church rules.
- Second Coming - South Korea has proven fertile ground for religious groups with strong, unambiguous ideologies that offered comfort and salvation that appealed strongly during times of deep uncertainty.
More recent versions have claimed a unique knowledge of the path to material and spiritual prosperity -- a message that resonates in a highly competitive and status-focused society.
According to a 2015 government survey, 28 percent of South Koreans say they belong to Christian churches, with another 16 percent describing themselves as Buddhist.
But according to Park Hyung-tak, head of the Korea Christian Heresy Research Institute, around two million people are followers of cults.
"There are some 60 Christian-based cult leaders in this country who claim to be the second coming of Jesus Christ, or God Himself," he told AFP.
AFP/File / MENAHEM KAHANA
"Many cults point to megachurches mired in corruption and other scandals in order to highlight their own presumed purity and attract believers," he added.
On his own website, Lee says that God has "anointed me with His power" but the Manmin Central Church has been condemned as heretical by mainstream Christian organisations, partly because of its claims to miracle healing.
In one example on the church website, Barbara Vollath, a 49-year-old German, said he was born deaf but her bone cancer was cured and she gained hearing in both ears after Lee's daughter and heiress apparent Lee Soojin prayed for her with a handkerchief he had blessed.
South Korean cults can have deadly consequences: in 1987, 32 members of an apocalyptic group called Odaeyang, were found dead at their headquarters in an apparent murder-suicide pact, including its leader, who was under police investigation for embezzlement.
And they can influence the highest reaches of power.
Choi Soon-Sil, the woman at the centre of the corruption scandal that brought down her close friend president Park Geun-Hye, is the daughter of late religious leader Choi Tae-min.
The elder Choi became Park's spiritual mentor after establishing his own church, Yeongsegyo ("Spiritual Life"), combining tenets of Buddhism, Christianity and shamanism. Source: AFP
On a mission from God: South Korea's many cults
The jailing of a South Korean religious leader on Thursday for the rape of multiple followers is the latest example of religious cults in the country.
The world's 11th-largest economy is technologically advanced but has a history of cult organisations and charismatic religious leaders, some of whom have amassed enormous wealth and influence.
Here are some groups that have previously attracted controversy or had brushes with the law. Pastor Lee Jaerock, a South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers. Here are other South Korean cult groups that have made headlines +4
Pastor Lee Jaerock, a South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers. Here are other South Korean cult groups that have made headlines
The World Mission Society Church of God predicted the end of the world would come on December 31, 1999.
However, being wrong has been no barrier to its fortunes, and an anti-cult group estimates that it has more than 200,000 followers, although it claims more than two million.
Its founder Ahn Sang-hong, who died in 1985, is worshipped as the Heavenly Father, who it says will come for the salvation of 144,000 souls -- the number appears in a biblical prophecy.
Ahn's wife Jang Gil-ja is regarded as the Heavenly Mother. Its aggressive evangelical activities in south east Asian countries sparked controversy. Shincheonji, or the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, suggests that its founder Lee Man-hee has donned the mantle of Jesus Christ and will take 144,000 people with him to Heaven, body and soul, on the Day of Judgement.
But its adherents have long surpassed that number, and critics say they have to engage in endless loyalty competitions to earn credits to be included among the saved, sacrificing their everyday lives and leading to serious family disputes.
Shincheonji 'is the nation of God, created by Him to fulfil what is in heaven on this earth in today´s time', it says on its homepage, adding that Lee 'is creating God´s kingdom of heaven here on earth, exactly as he witnessed it in heaven'.
The female leader of a doomsday cult and three of her acolytes were arrested this year for allegedly holding some 400 followers captive in Fiji and subjecting them to violence and barbaric rituals.
Victims were hit hundreds of times in ceremonies known as 'threshing floors', defectors told South Korean media.
Shin Ok-ju, founder of the Grace Road Church, has gone on trial on charges of violence, child abuse, exploitation and incarceration, among others.
One of South the largest and best-known cults is Providence or Jesus Morning Star, also known by the acronym JMS -- which matches the initials of its founder Jung Myung Seok.
He set it up in 1980 as a breakaway from the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies.
Jung was released from prison earlier this year after serving a 10-year sentence for the rape and sexual assault of four female followers.
He told them to have sex with him to purge themselves of sin.
Guwonpa, or 'Salvation Sect', came to national attention when the Sewol ferry -- whose operating company was run by its leader Yoo Byung-eun and his family -- sank in 2014 with the loss of more than 300 lives, most of them children.
On the run from charges of corruption and negligence, Yoo's body was found in a field, so badly decomposed that authorities were unable to determine the precise cause of death.
In 1987, 32 members of an apocalyptic cult called Odaeyang, meaning 'five oceans', were found dead at their headquarters in the southern city of Yongin in an apparent murder-suicide pact.
Among them was the cult's leader Park Soon-Ja, who had been under pressure from her lenders over $17 million of debts and was under police investigation for embezzlement.
Police said Park's two sons and a cult official strangled her and 28 others before killing themselves.
The road shoulder along Jalan Paya Terubong that caved in after a downpour today
Another view of the collapsed section of the road connecting Air Itam and Relau.
Road users fear landslip that killed nine nearby may affect safety of route
GEORGE TOWN: The landslip along Jalan Paya Terubong near Majestic Heights apartments is causing worry among thousands of motorists using the route to work daily.
They are worried if the incident, which occurred after several hours of heavy rain, would pose a danger to them.
The motorists use this hillside road to get to Relau and Bayan Lepas from Ayer Itam and Paya Terubong.
The affected stretch goes past the Jalan Bukit Kukus highway construction site where a landslide on Oct 19 killed nine foreigners.
It is only a few hundred metres away from the tragic site.
State Works Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the state authorities would not close the road as the soil erosion did not pose any danger to road users.
“All motorists and motorcyclists can still use the road safely without concern.
“The hillside area where the soil erosion occurred was already undergoing repairs prior to the incident.
“The contractor in charge will continue to oversee and restore the affected hillside area,” he said.
Zairil said apart from the restoration project, Tenaga Nasional Bhd was also carrying out rewiring works nearby.
“For the time being, the rewiring works have been halted and all power supply has been cut,” he said.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh advised Paya Terubong residents to avoid using the road if possible.
“Yes, we know how vital the road is especially for those who work in the Bayan Lepas factories,” he said.
Without this connection to Bayan Lepas, the residents of Paya Terubong and Ayer Itam will have to use Jalan Masjid Negeri to reach Bayan Lepas. This route takes longer and is time-consuming.
Jalan Masjid Negeri can see a bumper-to-bumper crawl during rush hour with motorists travelling from other parts of George Town to the island’s south.
George Town OCPD Asst Comm Che Zaimani Che Awang said the police were keeping the road under close observation.
Meanwhile, police have finished their investigation on the Jalan Bukit Kukus landslide and the report will be referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s office.
Penang police chief Comm Datuk Seri A. Thaiveegan said they submitted the report yesterday.
It was reported that police had recorded statements from almost 70 witnesses in its investigation on the landslide for criminal negligence.
Apart from the nine foreigners who were killed, four others also sustained injuries in the incident.- The Star
