A DEMONSTRATION was held on 19 May 2010 outside RTM headquarters Angkasapuri in Kuala Lumpur calling for media freedom and to protest the termination of former RTM producer Chou Z Lam. Chou alleges that his documentary over the impact of the Bakun Dam on indigenous people in Sarawak was cancelled because of RTM’s leadership’s fears […]
Ding Jo-Ann
Reporting on Sibu
By Ding Jo-AnnInvestigating frontpage stories after the Sibu by-election… (© clarita | morguefile.com) (Corrected at 5.55pm, 18 May 2010) THE day after Sibu fell to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in a closely-watched and fought by-election, what kind of frontpage stories greeted Malaysians in the press? With some newspapers relegating the news of the week to a second […]
Whistleblower gets show-cause letter
By Ding Jo-Ann(File pic by Steven Depolo @ Flickr) PETALING JAYA, 13 May 2010: A doctor who went public with serious allegations of mismanagement and cronyism in an Orang Asli hospital in Gombak has continued to be targeted for her outspokenness. Dr Selva Vathany Kanapathi Pillai told The Nut Graph she received a show-cause letter from the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli […]
A tale of two shootings
By Ding Jo-Ann(Malaysia and UK maps: Wiki commons; gun: svilen0001 @ sxc.hu) MALAYSIA is facing yet another fatal police shooting, this time of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah. The reactions and responses to Aminulrasyid’s case remind me of another fatal shooting which took place in London in 2005. However, the reactions and responses to the London case were markedly […]
Treating religious minorities with respect
By Ding Jo-AnnREV Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), was recently in Kuala Lumpur for the 13th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia. Tveit has been heavily involved in interfaith dialogue as moderator of the Church of Norway-Islamic Council of Norway. He was also co-chair of the WCC […]
JHEOA involved in Orang Asli conversion
By Ding Jo-AnnColin Nicholas PETALING JAYA, 4 May 2010: The Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA) has been involved in the Islamisation of Orang Asli for decades, said Centre for Orang Asli Concerns coordinator Dr Colin Nicholas. “One of JHEOA‘s main objective is to convert Orang Asli to Islam. They don’t say it openly but their budget […]
Suhakam denied shooting guidelines
By Ding Jo-AnnPETALING JAYA, 30 April 2010: The police have denied the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) a copy of its written guidelines on the use of firearms despite requests following a shooting that happened last year. “The police have told us that there are written guidelines. However, it is a very confidential document,” Suhakam commissioner Datuk […]
Choosing to stay
By Ding Jo-AnnWill Quah (all pics below courtesy of Will Quah) WILL Quah believes Malaysian television audiences are a lot cleverer that they’re given credit for. “I’ve heard high-ranking producers and executives say time and again that Malaysian audiences aren’t ready or are too stupid to understand certain issues — like politics, race, religion, wit and international […]
Orang Asli converted against will
By Ding Jo-AnnOrang Asli hospital signboard (Pic courtesy of theSun) KUALA LUMPUR, 26 April 2010: Staff at the Orang Asli hospital in Gombak have systematically attempted to convert Orang Asli to Islam regardless of the “converts’” willingness to do so, several Orang Asli have revealed. Mohd Zaki Abdullah, an Orang Asli Muslim convert who still goes by […]
What is an MP?
By Ding Jo-AnnI WATCHED a rerun of the sitcom Friends recently where Ross and Joey accidentally end up dating the same girl. They then try to win her affection by recounting increasingly embarrassing things about each other to her. “Ross was divorced three times!” yells Joey. “Joey eats his date’s food when she goes to the bathroom!” […]
