STAND-UP comedian Harith Iskander Musa is dead serious when it comes to being Malaysian. Of Malay and Scottish descent, he had a hard time ticking a box within the racial category when he was growing up. “Why don’t we get rid of the four boxes and just have one box. Race: Malaysia,” he tells The […]
United Nations
Saying “no” to child sex trafficking
ON 7 Aug 2010, The Body Shop Malaysia organised a march down Jalan Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur in an effort to join the war against trafficking of children and young people for sexual exploitation. More than 100 people, including students of Inti College University, took part in the march. They distributed leaflets and car […]
The cost of losing credibility
ON 17 June 2010, a startling accusation was made against the Malaysian armed forces. The father of Sergeant N Tharmendran said in a police report that his son, who has been charged with stealing two jet engines from the Sungai Besi air base, was tortured by officers to confess to the theft. The Royal Malaysian […]
Deadlock over climate change
An estimated 100,000 people marched on the streets of Copenhagen on 12 Dec IF a bridge had a 50% chance of collapsing, would you cross it? I wouldn’t. But it seems that most developed countries, except Norway, are willing to take this risk in the face of our global climate crisis, just so they can […]
Citizen-led actions at COP15
ANYONE who thought that the current United Nations (UN) climate negotiations in Copenhagen were just about people in suits talking gibberish (UN speak) would be surprised by the colourful actions at Bella Center. The centre is where the 15th UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) is being held until 18 Dec 2009. Environmental activists, youths, indigenous […]
Police injunction undermines fundamental rights
AMNESTY International Malaysia (AI) is deeply concerned over the use of a blanket injunction reportedly obtained by the police for the 28 Oct 2009 Perak state legislative assembly. Such restraining orders allow for abuse of police powers, as any person within a stipulated range can be arrested without due process and proper examination of facts. […]
A night out with Rela
(All pictures and videos courtesy of Mien Ly) “BUKA pintu! Buka pintu!” shout the volunteers through the grill door, into the hallway of the shop lots in Pudu. They are from Rela, a civil volunteer corp formed by the Malaysian government in 1972 to help preserve “peace and national security”. They are conducting a raid […]
Malaysia’s UN fan club
Updated at 7.50pm, 21 July 2009 MALAYSIA has announced publicly that “respect for human rights has long been established given the country’s character as a melting pot of various cultures, religions and ethnicities.” This announcement was made at none other than Malaysia’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) […]
Modern-day slavery in Malaysia
THE condemnation of Malaysia in the United States State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 should not have come as a surprise. In fact, the Malaysian authorities should have anticipated it. The Malaysian government was put on notice of active trafficking in persons in the country a year ago by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and […]
Where’s the BN’s commitment?
(Source: un.org) THERE was some cheer for me on World Press Freedom Day this year. It was provided by a press release from the Selangor government. To commemorate the annual celebration on 3 May, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim spelt out clearly what his government was doing to promote press freedom. In early […]
