Corrected at 3.40pm on 11 Dec 2009 THE Malaysian Bar is disappointed with the Court of Appeal‘s ruling on 17 Dec 2009 that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) can question witnesses beyond office hours. The decision, which overturns the High Court‘s earlier ruling, is inimical to the protection of witnesses, who have the right to refuse […]
Malaysia
1Malaysia, ethnicity and the economy
By Dr Chandra MuzaffarHOW ethnic interests are addressed in the nation’s economic and social development will be one of the major determinants of the success or failure of 1Malaysia. It was with the advent of British colonial rule and the mass influx of Chinese and Indian migrant labour that the question of ethnicity in its present form emerged […]
“Allah” exclusive to Islam?
By Ding Jo-Ann“In our country, if one refers to Allah or mentions kalimah Allah, it will bring to one’s mind that it refers to the God for Muslims. Kalimah Allah is sacred to the Muslims and put at the highest position, and its sanctity must be protected.” “The usage of kalimah Allah as an interpretation of the […]
Malaysia is not an egg
By Ding Jo-AnnSOMEONE should tell the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department that Malaysia is not an egg. Last week, Datuk Ahmad Maslan reportedly confirmed that Biro Tatanegara (BTN) participants are given eggs to signify how “fragile” our community is. There may indeed be beneficial lessons to be learnt from egg-caring as demonstrated by a US […]
Police stats needed for crime prevention initiative
By Deborah LohPETALING JAYA, 14 Dec 2009: MalaysiaCrime, possibly the first local crime-mapping website, is hoping to get official crime data from the police to arm the public with information on crime patterns in their neighbourhoods. However, the Home Ministry has yet to give its official approval to let police share data with the website developers. Online […]
Efforts to curb HIV spread thwarted
By Ding Jo-AnnNeedle and syringe exchange kit used as part of a programme aimed at drug users, who comprise about 75% of those detected with HIV/AIDS in Malaysia TWENTY-three years after the first HIV infection was detected in Malaysia and 11,400 deaths from AIDS later, health workers are still facing obstacles from the authorities in preventing the […]
Peace treaty with CPM commemorated without M’sia
By Deborah Loh
DESPITE being a signatory to the 1989 tripartite Haadyai Peace Agreement, no official representative from Malaysia attended the 20th anniversary commemorative ceremony held on 30 Nov 2009 in Haadyai, Thailand. The two other signatories to the accords, the Thai government and the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), were respectively represented by Thai Deputy Interior Minister […]
Malaysia, the faithless lover
By Ding Jo-AnnWHEN it comes to international human rights obligations, the Malaysian government has behaved like a faithless lover: making promises to the world it never intended to keep. The banning of Sisters in Islam (SIS)’s book Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism, which is now being judicially reviewed in court, is a demonstration of […]
Getting Malaysia out of the rut
By Deborah LohWhat would the fisherfolk think of the government’s plan for a high income nation? IT’S a grand announcement, but what would a fisherfolk or a padi farmer think about the government’s plan to make Malaysia a high income nation by 2020? What would a single mother doing odd-jobs think of the goal to raise per […]
Kota Siputeh: Testing the courts
By Ding Jo-AnnEC chairperson Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof THE nationwide constitutional law tutorial continues with the latest Kota Siputeh case. The court has had to intervene once again to arbitrate between the speaker of a legislative assembly and the Election Commission (EC). This time, the 16 Nov 2009 High Court decision ruled that the EC […]
