Umno and the Home Ministry, which the party’s vice-president is minister of, have proposed a constitutional amendment to stipulate that Islam in Malaysia is of the Sunni sect. Would such an amendment to the federal constitution be possible? And if so, what are the ramifications?
Sivarasa Rasiah
Building Malaysia
By Ding Jo-Ann(All following pics courtesy of Sivarasa Rasiah) GENETICIST. Lawyer. Human rights activist. Subang Member of Parliament. Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president. Sivarasa Rasiah has worn many hats. Sivarasa returned to Malaysia on his 30th birthday in 1986 and began a life of activism in championing human rights. The Rhodes scholar says he began thinking critically about […]
What happens under arrest
By Deborah LohCorrected at 8:45pm, 11 Aug 2009 SIVARASA Rasiah was a human rights lawyer before he entered politics and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Subang in the March 2008 general election. Hence, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president is no stranger to the criminal justice system — and to being arrested himself. On 1 […]
What’s wrong with the ISA?
By Deborah LohPolice and water cannon during the 1 Aug anti-ISA rally (Pic courtesy of Merdeka Review) MOB rule. “Ini bukan budaya kita”. Public nuisance. The 20,000 who marched on 1 Aug 2009 in Kuala Lumpur against the Internal Security Act (ISA) have been labelled these. Whether or not one agrees with using street protests as a […]
AG’s explanation “misleading” (Updated 12:30pm, 29 July 2009)
By Sivarasa RasiahUpdated at 12:30pm, 29 July 2009 ATTORNEY General (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s argument for setting up an inquest to look into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock is simply that, as there is a specific provision under the Criminal Procedure Code for such an inquiry, “it is only proper that a […]
Inquests are hamstrung
By Sivarasa Rasiah, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Lau Weng SanPAKATAN Rakyat views as mockery the cabinet’s decision to limit the terms of reference of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to only investigate the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC)’s investigative procedures, and to have an inquest determine Teoh Beng Hock’s death. MACC’s unjustifiable conduct in their investigations is clearly connected to Teoh’s death, and the actual […]
1BLACKMalaysia campaign for Perak
By Zedeck SiewKUALA LUMPUR, 5 May 2009: The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) has urged all Malaysians to wear black on 7 May to protest the “ongoing Perak coup” by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. “It will be a peaceful but powerful message of civil disobedience: that we, the people, are the politicians’ bosses and […]