Malaysian royal's estranged wife ordered home: lawyer

The estranged teenage model wife of a Malaysian prince was ordered by an Islamic court Sunday to return to her marriage and repay a 1.1 million ringgit (326,518 dollars) debt, his lawyer said. The estranged teenage model wife of a Malaysian prince was ordered by an Islamic court Sunday to return to her marriage and repay a 1.1 million ringgit (326,518 dollars) debt, his lawyer said. Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said the northern Kelantan state Islamic High Court ordered Manohara Odelio Pinot to be "loyal" by returning to her husband, Kelantan prince Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, and returning his money. "The court ordered Manohara to be loyal to her husband by returning to him to resolve their marriage problems within 14 days of an oath which the prince will take on January 3," the prince's lawyer Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar told . "The prince is delighted with the outcome and hopes that Manohara will follow the court's order and return," he added. Zainul Rijal said the court also ordered Manohara to return the money to the prince in a lump sum within 30 days of the ceremony. "If Manohara does not return to the prince within the stipulated time that will mean she can be declared 'disloyal' which means the prince would not be obliged to pay her any maintenance," he said. "It also means that should the marriage end in divorce in the future, she will not get any compensation as the divorce would have been caused by her disloyalty," he added. He said Manohara was not represented at the Islamic religious court after her Malaysian lawyer quit last month. In November, Tengku Fakhry won a defamation suit claiming Manohara and her mother had defamed him by claiming he had sexually abused the 17-year-old. In May, the US-Indonesian model slipped away from the prince's guards at a Singapore hotel and returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of the 31-year-old prince. Manohara -- a well-known socialite in Jakarta -- claims to have been cut with a razor and injected with drugs which made her vomit blood while being held under guard in her bedroom at the palace. Her Indonesian lawyer said she had filed a police report on the abuse but Indonesian police say they are unable to investigate as the incidents took place outside their jurisdiction.

Malaysian Court Rules Against Manohara

The High Court has allowed the Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra, to enter a judgment in default against his estranged wife Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother after they failed to engage new lawyers in his RM105mil defamation suit. This means that Manohara and her mother Daisy Fajarina will have to pay Tengku Muhammad Fakhry for defaming him. However, the amount of damages has yet to be determined by the court. A judgment in default is binding in favour of the plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons or has failed to appear before a court of law. Speaking to reporters later, the prince’s counsel Mohd Haaziq Pillay said High Court senior assistant registrar Shazali Hidayat Shariff granted the order in his chambers yesterday after the mother and daughter failed to meet the deadline set for them to engage new lawyers. Earlier this month, Messrs Fakrul Hisham Abdullah and Associates, engaged to act for Manohara and Daisy Fajarina, withdrew as their solicitors on record. “The defendants have been given the opportunity to appear in court with evidence to support their allegations, but until today, they have not turned up,” said Mohd Haaziq. In July, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry filed a suit against Manohara and Daisy for defamation seeking RM35mil each in aggravated, exemplary and compensatory damages as well as costs, interest and other relief deemed fit by the court. He also applied for an injunction to restrain the defendants from further speaking and uttering similar words or statements against him. Manohara, 17, had fled from her husband on May 31 while they were in Singapore to visit the Sultan of Kelantan at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital. She returned to Jakarta after accusing the 31-year-old prince of physically and sexually abusing her, claims which were reported widely in the Indonesian and Malaysian media. As the baseless allegations were meant to disparage him in the eyes of the members of the royalty, the Government and the public, the prince said he was forced to initiate legal proceedings.

Manohara Will Not Return to Malaysia Despite Court Order, Daisy Declares

The mother of Manohara Odelia Pinot has said her daughter will not be returning to her royal Malaysian husband, affirming that she will not comply with an Islamic court ruling ordering Manohara’s return because she fears for her daughter’s safety. “We are disappointed with the court order, which we consider is unfair to our family,” Daisy Fajarina told The Malay Mail on Monday, further declaring, “we will not pay the so-called 1.1 million ringgit [$320,000] debt.” The Shariah High Court in Malaysia’s northern Kelantan state ruled on Sunday, after not being presented with any evidence, that Manohara was compelled to be “loyal” and return to her husband, Kelantan prince Tengku Temenggong Muhammad Fakhry, by Jan. 17. If she refused, she would be deprived of all privileges from her husband. The court also ordered Manohara to pay back 1.1 million ringgit owed to Fakhry. Daisy said that Manohara feared for her safety. “I, as the mother, am afraid too for her to return to Malaysia,” she said. Daisy said that both she and Manohara were prepared to face the consequences of ignoring the court order. Fakhry told The Malay Mail on Monday that he was confident Manohara would return to him. “I am confident that as a Muslim she will observe the order to be loyal,” he said. “My conscience is clear and I am glad that the cases in the Shariah and civil courts have come to a quick end.” Fakhry also won a defamation suit last month claiming Manohara and her mother had defamed him by claiming he had sexually abused her. In May, Manohara, who was 17 years old at the time, ran away from her 31-year-old husband while in Singapore. She returned to her family in Indonesia with accusations of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of the prince.

Malaysian Court Orders Manohara to Return to Prince

Manohara Odelia Pinot, the estranged teenage model wife of a Malaysian prince, was ordered by an Islamic court on Sunday to return to her marriage and repay a debt, his lawyer said. Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said the northern Kelantan state Islamic High Court ordered Manohara Odelio Pinot to be “loyal” by returning to her husband, Kelantan prince Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, and returning a 1.1 million ringgit ($326,518) debt. “The court ordered Manohara to be loyal to her husband by returning to him to resolve their marriage problems within 14 days of an oath which the prince will take on Jan. 3,” the prince’s lawyer, Zainul, said. “The prince is delighted with the outcome and hopes that Manohara will follow the court’s order and return,” he added. “If Manohara does not return to the prince within the stipulated time that will mean she can be declared ‘disloyal’ which means the prince would not be obliged to pay her any maintenance,” Zainul said. “It also means that should the marriage end in divorce in the future, she will not get any compensation as the divorce would have been caused by her disloyalty.” He said Manohara was not represented at the Islamic religious court after her Malaysian lawyer quit last month. In November, Tengku Fakhry won a defamation suit claiming Manohara and her mother had defamed him by claiming he had sexually abused the 17-year-old. In May, the US-Indonesian model slipped away from the prince’s guards at a Singapore hotel and returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of the 31-year-old prince.

Women given a crash course on domestic violence law

A group of women from Kebon Kacang, Central Jakarta, attended a seminar outlining the rights of women under the 2004 Law on Domestic Violence. Three lawyers from LBH Mawar Saron Jakarta legal aid institute donated their time to share with the women an understanding of the law through a series of lectures and discussions. "What if my husband doesn't support me after we divorce?" one of the women asked the practitioners. Friska J.M. Gultom, the institute's deputy director of criminal law division, answered the question by citing Islamic laws stipulating that in a case when a husband divorces his wife, the wife is entitled to her husband's support for 180 days after divorce. Another of the professionals, Lindung Sihombing said men have no right to physically abuse their wives. He gave an example of a husband beating his wife. "If something like that happens, report the incident to the police, a man like that must be taught a lesson," he said. In 2004, the government issued Law 23 on domestic violence. It stipulates that citizens are forbidden from committing physical, mental or sexual acts of violence, which includes neglect, against members of his or her household. Jefri Kani, another lawyer who spoke at the seminar, said the government had not yet provided the public with an adequate education campaign on the law. "Neighborhood administrations should educate their residents about the law, but they often lack the resources to do that," he said. Neighborhood head Putut P Linangkung said making the neighborhood's residents legal-savvy was not yet part of the administration's agenda. "I have only been the neighborhood head for a year. Right now I am still concentrating on matters such as sanitation and civil registration," he said. Educating the densely populated neighborhood, which has more than 22,000 residents living inside an area of only 115 hectares, might prove to be difficult for it's local administration, especially seeing as it is prone to other civic problems such as flooding. "Through this lecture the neighborhood's women have learned how to handle instances of domestic violence. In the current *difficult* economic situation, it is possible that one might resort to acts of domestic violence," Eli Rosdiana, the neighborhood's secretary, said. According to Friska, most of the women who attended the lecture were not familiar with legal matters. One question raised by a woman at the back of the audience reenforced Friska's statement. "So where should I go if I want to divorce my husband?" the young woman asked eagerly to the laughter of some of the other audience members.

Indonesia vs Malaysia: Discovery To Produce Pendet Show To Calm Indonesia-Malaysia Tensions

Ni Ketut Arini teaches girls Pendet in Denpasar, Bali. She was a student of
Pendet creator I Wayan Rindi, who died in 1967

Discovery Channel will produce a 30-minute program on the pendet dance to try and alleviate tensions between Malaysia and Indonesia, Malaysia’s Star newspaper reported on Saturday. Discovery South-East Asia senior vice president and general manager Kevin Dickie said the programme would be aired on the channel throughout the Asia-Pacific. He said the network was deeply concerned by the latest developments in Jakarta and reiterated that the use of the pendet clip was a mistake and was in no way a malicious attempt to undermine Indonesia. “It was a human error by an independent producer that Discovery Network takes responsibility for,” he said in a statement. “We hope the current situation will ultimately lead to a broader debate and understanding of the richness of both Malaysian and Indonesian cultures,” he said. The Balinese pendet dance was featured in a 30-second promotional piece produced for Discovery Channel to promote the series "Enigmatic Malaysia." It led to uproar from Indonesians claiming that it was an attempt by Malaysia to steal the country’s cultural heritage.

Malaysia vs Indonesia: Malaysian Anthem Actually Indonesian, Says Record Company

Hear the songs
Terang Bulan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYSJc0l_UaQ
Negaraku: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crY3muiGERs

Neighbors do not always live in harmony or dance to the beat of the same drum. In this case, however, the fact that Malaysia does seem to be dancing to Indonesian beats has taken a brotherly tiff between the neighboring countries to an entirely new level. Indonesian animosity toward Malaysia has not only been fueled by cases of abuse of Indonesian migrant workers or disputes over territory, but also by the country’s use — or alleged use — of several Indonesian cultural traditions to promote itself. Now, a long-known fact has been dragged out of the closet and thrown into the fray. An executive of Lokananta, a state recording company based in Solo has drawn attention to Malaysia’s national anthem, “Negaraku,” claiming that it is suspiciously similar in tune to “Terang Bulan,” a song written by the Bandung Ensemble and first recorded by Lokananta in March 1956 — a year before Malaysia’s independence was announced on Aug. 31, 1957. “Terang Bulan is a keroncong song, meant for entertainment. Why did they take it for their anthem?” asked Ruktiningsih, head of Lokananta. “Does Malaysia really have no dignity at all?” Keroncong is a melodious musical genre that has its roots in Portuguese music and is usually played on violins, flutes and a small, ukelele-like guitar. Ruktiningsih said that “Terang Bulan” was one of 49 Indonesian songs recorded in Jakarta by national radio station RRI on the orders of then President Sukarno in 1956. The songs were later made into a record by Lokananta. “Copying the song is a violation of intellectual property rights according to the law. We demand that the government take strong action, not just send a note of protest. “We have to unite against Malaysia, as they keep on stealing Indonesia’s assets,” Ruktiningsih said. Lokananta lawyer Jaka Irwanta said “Terang Bulan” and “Negaraku” were 80 percent the same. “We will take the case to the International Court [of Justice] if the Indonesian government is incapable of taking no stronger action than a protest note,” Jaka said. A report in September 2007 that an Indonesian song, “Rasa Sayange,” originally from Maluku, had been used on a Malaysian Web site promoting tourism to the “Truly Asia” destination drew the ire of Indonesians. Just two months later, Malaysia featured a popular East Javanese performance, the reog ponorogo, on the Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Art and Heritage’s Web site, stoking more furor. It did not help that it called it “barongan,” despite exhibiting the trappings as the reog ponorogo, and claimed it as Malaysian heritage. This month, indignation rose a notch higher after the pendet, a Balinese dance, appeared in a television ad on Malaysia. Although it was later discovered that an independent television producer had made the ad for one of its programs, anger toward Malaysia continues to simmer.

Malaysia Agrees on Wages, Passport Concession for Indonesian Workers

Malaysia has agreed on a minimum monthly wage for Indonesian maids and other migrant workers in the informal sector, a key demand of Indonesia during ongoing negotiations on a new labor agreement. “Six hundred ringgit is the minimum range. It’s about equal to our migrant workers’ standard salary in Yemen, which is about $180,” said Sumardoko, a spokesman for the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, adding that the sides will wrap up negotiations on a new memorandum of understanding during a meeting on Sept. 5. He said the Malaysian side also agreed during the latest round of talks in Kuala Lumpur last week to Indonesia’s request to let its migrant workers keep possession of their passports while working there. This change will enable Indonesians to leave an abusive employer more easily and return home if they run into problems. In June, the Indonesian government suspended the sending of new domestic helpers, construction workers and plantation hands to Malaysia following public outrage over the case of an Indonesian maid who had been tortured for three years by her Malaysian employer. Indonesia also demanded revisions to a 2006 labor agreement. Sumardoko said the passport rule will mean Indonesia’s migrants should no longer have problems with the Malaysian police or immigration authorities. “Wherever they go, they will have their documents to prove they are legal,” he said. “If they face other problems, such as disagreements with their employers or if their contracts are terminated before completion, they still hold their own documents.” There are currently about two million migrant workers in Malaysia, Indonesian’s top destination for migrant workers, but only 1.2 million of them hold legal documents. Around 60 percent of Indonesian migrant workers who travel overseas face problems including physical abuse and not being paid. There are currently 4.3 million Indonesians working across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Sumardoko said the ministry had asked for a minimum wage equal to that of Malaysian workers, but he said the country did not have a minimum pay scale for informal workers. Nonetheless, Wahyu Susilo, a public policy analyst at Migrant Care, an Indonesian nongovernmental organization, said 600 Malaysian ringgit ($170) is small compensation for the daily workload. He said the central government should have compared salaries of migrant workers from other countries with those working in Malaysia before agreeing on a figure. Sumardoko responded by saying that many migrant workers in Malaysia currently earn less than the negotiated wage. “On average ­they now earn around Rp 1.25 million [$125].” Sumardoko said both countries would also establish a monitoring team of Indonesian and Malaysian representatives. According to the Ministry of Manpower, the minimum wage was the last hurdle in the negotiations. The two sides had already agreed that workers would get one day off a week, annual leave, contract security and health and life insurance.

Manohara’s Mom In Hot Water Over Alleged Maid Abuse

Aformer maid of Daisy Fajarina, the mother of teenage model-cum-instant celebrity Manohara Odelia Pinot, has called on the Attorney General’s Office to arrest her ex-employer, who her lawyer said had been convicted of abuse by a court in France last year. Shaleha Lanti, 25, who had worked for Daisy since she was 14, including for a period when they lived in France, urged prosecutors on Thursday to arrest Daisy without delay and to cooperate with French authorities. “It is prosecutors who ensure justice, so we came here to push them,” said prominent human rights activist Ratna Sarumpaet, who accompanied Shaleha to the meeting.Ratna said the AGO’s deputy for general crimes, Abdul Hakim Ritonga, had indicated “he was ready to help [arrest Daisy], as long as there was an order from Interpol. ”Shaleha’s lawyer, Robert Keytimu, said Daisy had committed “systematic crimes” against his client. “Daisy tricked my client, forged her identity on a legal document, abused her and fled a conviction by the French court,” he said. Shaleha said earlier she had been promised schooling in France but was forced to work as a maid.Daisy has previously declined to comment on the case when contacted by the Jakarta Globe.

Reported by The Jakarta Globe

Manohara Press Release - Prince of Kelantan raped, tortured me

"Manohara and Mom - Happy Moment After Escaping"

A Teenage model has returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of a Malaysian prince, after her dramatic escape with the help of Singapore police. Manohara Odelia Pinot, 17, said she was treated like a sex slave after her marriage to Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, the prince of Malaysia's Kelantan state, last year. Her mother, Daisy Fajarina, said she would press charges against the prince and blamed the Malaysian and Indonesian governments for trying to cover up the abuse. "The things I've been afraid of were revealed to be true. Manohara has suffered physical abuse. She's got several razor cuts on her chest," Ms Fajarina said. "I will sue him. No parent could be silent if their child was treated in such a barbaric way." The Malaysian Government had ignored her pleas for access to her daughter and had blocked her from entering the country, she said, while the Indonesian embassy had said that Manohara was fine with her new husband. But the young woman - a well-known socialite in Jakarta - said her life at the royal palace involved a "daily routine" of rape, abuse, torture and drug injections which made her vomit blood. "I am still traumatised by all that happened and it has left an impact on me," she said in Jakarta yesterday, after escaping the royal family during a trip to Singapore over the weekend. "Sexual abuse and sexual harassment were like a daily routine for me, and he did that every time I did not want to have sexual intercourse," she was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Globe. "I could never think a normal man could do such things," she said, adding: "Some parts of my body were cut by a razor." She said she was forced to pretend she was happy with the prince and to attend social functions with him as his happy young bride. "Every time I went for events they forced me to smile and would torture me if I did not do what they said," she said. She said she secretly called Singaporean police and pleaded for help after the royal family took her to the city state when they accompanied Mr Fakhry's father, Sultan Ismail Petra Shah II, for medical treatment. A spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry said the Government would help Manohara if she wanted to file charges against her husband. She has already filed for divorce. There has been no comment from the Kelantan royal family or the Malaysian Government.

Author: AFP - From correspondents in Jakarta Indonesia Today

Manohara Kidnapping

"Manohara Wedding Picture"

An Indonesian girl, Manohara Odelia Pinot issued has been kidnapped by his husband Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, a prince of Kelantan (a malaysian kingdom of state). Its profed by her mother Daisy that cannot visit his daughter at kelantan. Manohara issued that she was on domestic violance by her husband and she was depressed on there. Manohara is a daughter of Dasiy, an indonesian woman with a france man named pinot. When manohara in Paris, she met with her husband now. Not so long, Manohara (still 16 years old at that time) was married with him, Daisy are agreed with her daughter wedding but later she regret it, cause she feel that she was separated with her daughter and cannot see her again, phone communication is not allowed indeed. Indonesian Government make no comment about this case. Indonesia Today