RECENT public demonstrations like the anti/pro-Internal Security Act (ISA) rallies and others have publicly defied the ruling for police permits. Police permits are seen as going against Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 by the United Nations general assembly. Article 20 states that “everyone has the right to freedom [...]

Water cannon being used during the 1 Aug anti-ISA rally (Pic courtesy of Merdeka Review) A FRIEND asked on Facebook: “[The Barisan Nasional] (BN) insists [on keeping the Internal Security Act (ISA)]; do you want to keep the BN?” This question is spot on. It simplifies many issues into a single concern. It almost frames [...]

THE Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) regrets to note that in the process of dispersing the 15,000-strong crowd marching in protest of the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Kuala Lumpur on 1 Aug 2009, the police used tear gas and water [cannons] excessively, which also affected bystanders. The day of the public assembly ended [...]

(Permatang Pauh by-election pic by Danny Lim) SINCE the historic March 2008 general election, it has become clearer to Malaysians that democracy is messy and expensive. Indeed, any politician who tries to convince the rakyat that democracy is an easy and frugal affair is guilty of trying to fool the masses. But what have we [...]

ALOR SETAR, 25 March 2009: Police were not influenced by any political party in dispersing the illegal assembly at the Taman Ria Jaya field in Sungai Petani on Monday night, Kedah deputy police chief Datuk Asri Yusoff said today. He said the action was taken in accordance with the law and the police’s standard operating [...]

THE Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia and the Writers Alliance for Media Independence (Wami) strongly condemn the government’s latest assault on constitutionally enshrined freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. The Home Ministry has just suspended two opposition newspapers — Harakah and Suara Keadilan — for three months, effective 23 March 2009, with no [...]