VICTIMS of sexual harassment are not likely to receive meaningful recourse for their complaints if they go to the Labour Department. This is because the Labour Department director general, Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim, does not seem to understand what sexual harassment is. In fact, he made light of the issue at a recent seminar on […]
Archives for November 2009
Marilah undi!
By The Fairly Current ShowA FREQUENTLY cited statistic from 2006 notes that 70% of the 4.7 million Malaysians who have yet to register as voters are between 21 and 35 years old. So goes the opening description of the upcoming Youth for Change Carnival. Yet after the historic 8 March 2008 general election, Malaysians saw quite possibly the most […]
Judgment in default entered against Manohara
KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Nov 2009: The High Court here today allowed Kelantan prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra to enter judgment in default in his RM105 million defamation suit against his estranged Indonesian wife, Manohara Odelia Pinot, and her mother, Daisy Fajarina, after they failed to appoint counsel. Senior Assistant Registrar Shazali Hidayat Shariff […]
Should governments fear diversity and dissent?
By Shanon ShahBrian McKinnon Class Brothers 2008 Acrylic and foam on canvas 152 x 91cm (Artwork courtesy the artist and Indigenart — Mossenson GalleriesImage © the artist, courtesy Indigenart — Mossenson Galleries) THERE is a visual artwork by an Aboriginal Australian artist, Brian McKinnon, called Class Brothers. It is a striking political poster art, and has a […]
Not just Chinese culture vs unity
By Deborah LohAre vernacular schools standing in the way of national unity? (© Sigurd Decroos / sxc.hu) AGAIN, the issue of abolishing vernacular schools in favour of a single stream system has been raised. As before, the argument is that this will inculcate national unity. Single stream advocates say the only way the different races can learn […]
Cultivating a theatre of Malaysian stories
By Nick ChooPLAYWRIGHT and performer Leow Puay Tin has been involved in the theatre scene for more than 20 years. Working alongside the late, renowned Malaysian director Krishen Jit, she devised Tikam-Tikam: And Her Grandmother Said in 1983, and later wrote acclaimed plays, Three Children (1984), Ang Tau Mui (1993) and Family (1995). A common thread running […]
Fairer deal needed for states
By Ding Jo-AnnCorrected on 6 Nov 2009 at 11.20am PETALING JAYA, 5 Nov 2009: The federal government has too much discretion to decide on the annual budget allocation for states, hence making it difficult for states to plan their development, Pakatan Rakyat-elected representatives said. At a forum on the 2010 Budget last night, Petaling Jaya Utara Member […]
JAIS perlu professional
Oleh Zuraida KamaruddinPENAHANAN Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin bekas Mufti Perlis oleh pihak Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri Selangor (JAIS) telah menimbulkan kekeliruan dikalangan masyarakat Islam terutama di Selangor. Selaku individu yang berada ditempat berlakunya majlis ilmu berkenaan, saya rasa terpanggil untuk menjelaskan beberapa perkara yang mengelirukan berdasarkan kepada beberapa laporan akhbar yang saya rasa telah memetik […]
Arresting Asri an act of injustice
By Dr Chandra MuzaffarTHE arrest of former Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin raises disturbing questions: Isn’t it unjust to arrest a person and take him [or her] to court while investigations on him [or her] are still ongoing? Doesn’t this smack of arbitrariness and high-handedness, and doesn’t it erode established judicial norms and the rule of […]
Captured: Fish fry
By Lainie YeohLainie Yeoh is unimpressed.