YET again, in the tussle over “Allah” and Malay-language Bibles, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government shows how unclear it is about what it means to respect the religious rights of non-Muslims.

PETALING JAYA, 20 July 2010: A proposed move to corporatise the Orang Asli Affairs Department, known by its Malay acronym JHEOA, to take charge of land development for the Orang Asli will impoverish the indigenous peoples. Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) coordinator Dr Colin Nicholas said corporatisation was likely to be among the amendments [...]

PARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Azmin Ali is an intriguing character, to say the least. Here is a man who rose from being a minister’s special officer to becoming a Member of Parliament (MP) and vice-president of an emerging opposition party. In Malaysian political culture, loyalty is often, though not always, rewarded. But Azmin’s loyalty [...]

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 June 2009: The spouse of A Gnanapragasam wants the Home Ministry to hold an immediate inquest into his death while in police custody. “I am very unsatisfied with all that has happened to my husband,” said M Manamegala, Gnanapragasam’s spouse, in a memorandum submitted to deputy minister Jelaing Mersat in Parliament today. [...]

PETALING JAYA, 19 May 2009: The Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-led Selangor government will table a Freedom of Information Enactment (FOIE) bill by the end of 2009. “We hope to table the bill in November or December. That will be in the state assembly sitting at the end of the year,” said Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri [...]

SHAH ALAM, 6 May 2009: The Selangor government will take over land in several areas in Kg Bukit Belimbing and Kg Kuantan to protect the firefly sanctuary in Kuala Selangor. Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong the takeover involved agriculture land on the banks of the Sungai Selangor and once completed, a buffer zone would be [...]