R GUNASEGARAN died in police custody on 16 July 2009, the same day that Teoh Beng Hock died. Guasegaran’s body still lies in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) mortuary. His family is anxious to retrieve his remains, perform the requisite religious rituals, and then proceed to cremate his remains. Gunasegaran’s family, though, is in a […]
Letters to the Editor
Cepatkan undang-undang untuk mengganti ISA
Oleh Muhamad Razak IdrisANGKATAN Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) menggesa pihak kerajaan mempercepatkan tindakan bagi proses penggubalan undang-undang baru bagi menggantikan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri atau ISA. Ini bagi memastikan supaya kegiatan protes terhadap ISA oleh sebahagian dari anggota masyarakat di negara ini, sebagaimana yang telah berlaku kelmarin, dapat dielakkan dari berterusan. Antara tindakan segera yang boleh dilakukan oleh […]
Children’s rights violated
By Ragunath KesavanTHE Malaysian Bar denounces the government’s overzealous and abusive show of power in its apparent determination to crush the people’s exercise of its right to the twin freedoms of assembly and expression during the rallies in Kuala Lumpur on 1 Aug 2009. According to media and eyewitness accounts, police used excessive and disproportionate physical force, […]
Suhakam: Respect right to assembly
By Tan Sri Simon SipaunTHE 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 […]
Will to review ISA waning?
By Tony PuaDATUK Mukhriz Mahathir has defended the Internal Security Act (ISA) and lamented that the public fails to see the benefits of a controversial law that allows for preventive detention without trial. Once again, the influential Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy minister took the decades-old stance that the law ensures the country remains peaceful and harmonious. He said […]
Judgment improves criminal justice system
By Ragunath KesavanTHE Malaysian Bar welcomes the judgment of Yang Arif Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah that was handed down in the case of Prosecutor v Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, wherein Yang Arif ordered the prosecution to furnish the defence team, prior to the commencement of a trial, with all documents that are relevant and necessary for […]
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 […]
Access to legal representation a fundamental right
By George VarugheseON 17 July 2009, a group of Kampung Buah Pala residents hand-delivered a memorandum to the Bar Council expressing their concern, inter alia, that they have not been permitted to be accompanied by legal counsel of their choice in their negotiations with the Penang government over land issues. The right of access to legal representation […]
Whipping violates human rights
By Sisters in IslamSISTERS in Islam (SIS) urges the government to review whipping of women as a form of judicial punishment by the syariah courts. Whipping constitutes further discrimination against Muslim women in Malaysia and violates constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination. Only Pahang, Perlis and Kelantan provide whipping of women under their Syariah Criminal Offences Code. Whipping […]
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 […]
