AS we head into the 13th general election since independence, it is time to review Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s human rights record. Many bold promises have been made since he took office in April 2009. Have they come to pass? Or have we gone two steps forward and two steps back and remained in the same place?
ISA
MPs and the ISA
By Gan Pei Ling
The Internal Security Act has now been abolished and replaced with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act. But not all Barisan Nasional MPs were keen on abolishing the ISA. Find out what MPs told The Nut Graph about what they thought about the ISA during the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project.
Najib vs Anwar: Who makes a better PM?
By Refsa
WHO will make a better prime minister? Datuk Seri Najib Razak or Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim? Refsa compares both politicians.
Najib’s legal reforms legacy
Holding Court By Ding Jo-Ann
Malaysia will be more open and democratic with “revolutionary” new laws that will herald a “new era”, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Really? Has Najib made good on his promises? We take a look at the prime minister’s legacy of legal reforms since Malaysia Day 2011.
False hope in Security Offences Act
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
THE Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill (Sosma), passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 18 April 2012, will repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) once it comes into effect. The ISA has long been criticised for allowing preventive detention for indefinite periods without trial. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the reform, including the rescinding […]
Taking cheap shots
By Koh Lay Chin
ANYONE familiar with the UK Riots and the Bersih rally would have been gobsmacked by Malaysian politicians comparing the two in gloating fashion recently. According to no less than our prime minister, the UK Riots apparently justify the Malaysian government’s actions in stopping the Bersih rally. Datuk Seri Najib Razak reportedly said the government wanted […]
Zaid Ibrahim: Reformer or sore loser?
By Gan Pei LingFOR sure, Parti Keadilan Rakayt (PKR) has serious problems. But what to make of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim whose image as a principled politician is at odds with his apparent tendency to quit when expectations are not met?
Is the ISA the answer to human trafficking?
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
Corrected on 25 Oct 2010, 5.35pm THREE years ago, amid much fanfare to prove Malaysia’s credentials to the international community, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government enacted the Anti-Trafficking In Persons Act 2007 (Atip). The law gives enforcement officers the power to arrest anyone they reasonably suspect of committing human trafficking offences, even without a warrant. […]
Teresa Kok: “Divided by skin colour and religion”
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
“WAIT till we get to Putrajaya,” Teresa Kok laughs. The three-term Member of Parliament for Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur says even though the Pakatan Rakyat swept into power in 2008 to form the Selangor government, it still faces discrimination. “We are still treated like the opposition,” Kok, who is also state assemblyperson for Bandar Kinrara […]
Student activism: The struggle continues
By Gan Pei Ling
(Corrected at 6:15pm, 4 Sept 2010) THE student movement in Malaysia was once vibrant, independent and autonomous. “Mahasiswa jurubicara rakyat” was the students’ motto in the 1960s. However, the government enacted the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) in 1971 to restrict students’ freedom and their rising influence. Thereafter, the student movement suffered a decline. […]
