MALAYSIANS have been speaking up about crime recently and recounting experiences of violent crime such as robberies, kidnapping and attempted rape. The Nut Graph speaks to political scientist Wong Chin Huat on what it will take for Malaysians to feel safe again and whether crime will be an election issue.
Ding Jo-Ann
Religious raids: Can they or can’t they?
By Ding Jo-Ann
CAN religious authorities like Jawi and Jais raid companies, confiscate books and detain Muslims for publishing and selling a book that is deemed a threat to Muslims in Malaysia? What laws empower religious state authorities to act in the way they have over Irshad Manji’s book? And what laws protect citizens and companies from arbitrary action?
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Penang, Pakatan and local government elections
By Ding Jo-Ann
IF all goes smoothly, Penang will hold local government elections by year end, something not done in Malaysia for almost 50 years, because of the Local Government Elections (Penang Island and Province Wellesley) Enactment 2012. What challenges are in store for the return of local government elections? And how will citizens benefit?
The print media’s failures in Bersih 3.0
By Ding Jo-Ann
IT’S been all about Bersih 3.0 this past week. Stories, tweets, photographs and videos have been shared. And numerous reports have been published by the national press. And yet, anybody reading just the national print media would be left with an incomplete picture of one of the most historic moments in Malaysia’s political development. Ding Jo-Ann shows how the press in Malaysia failed readers in their coverage of Bersih 3.0.
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: What does Bersih 3.0 want?
By Ding Jo-Ann
ON 28 April 2012, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) will hold its third major demonstration in the city known as Bersih 3.0. Despite the government’s efforts at electoral reforms, the movement remains unsatisfied. What really is Bersih 3.0’s purpose?
False hope in Security Offences Act
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
THE Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill (Sosma), passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 18 April 2012, will repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) once it comes into effect. The ISA has long been criticised for allowing preventive detention for indefinite periods without trial. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the reform, including the rescinding […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Has Najib won over Indian Malaysians?
By Ding Jo-Ann
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has obviously been trying to win the Indian Malaysian community’s votes ahead of the impending general election. The list of government initiatives for the Indian community in the recent months has been long. These initiatives range from funding new school blocks to increasing allocated seats for Indian matriculation students; […]
Seksualiti Merdeka: Threat to national security?
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
ON 1 March 2012, the High Court dismissed Seksualiti Merdeka‘s leave application to judicially review a police ban on their annual festival. The November 2011 festival was banned under section 27A(1)(c) of the Police Act. The section (since superseded by the Peaceful Assembly Act) allowed the police to stop any activity on private premises “likely […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Why hasn’t Shahrizat resigned?
By Ding Jo-Ann
WHAT do cows and condominiums have to do with each other? This question arose after it was revealed that the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) had purchased several luxury condominiums. The question was a no-brainer because the NFC received a RM250 million government soft loan to run a cattle-breeding project, not dabble in real estate. The […]
Amending the UUCA — what’s needed?
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
THE quest for greater academic freedom for Malaysian university students has seen an eventful past six months. In October 2011, a landmark Court of Appeal decision declared section 15(5)(a) of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) unconstitutional. The section prohibits students from expressing support for, or opposition against, any political party. In November […]
