Day: March 11, 2016

Decision on Nik Nazmi’s application to out strike charges on March 23

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Source: The Sun Daily

SHAH ALAM: The High Court here today fixed March 23 for a decision on an application by Selangor state executive councillor Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad to set aside a charge relating to the organising the ‘Black 505’ assembly without sufficient notice in Petaling Jaya, about three years ago.

Judge Datuk Ghazali Cha set the date after hearing submisions from counsel Syahredzan Johan who represented Nik Nazmi and deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.

On Jan 5 this year, Nik Nazmi, 34, who was accused for the third time of the offence, had pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to him before Justice Ghazali. Read more →

We Ask Stakeholders If Foreign Workers Are Entitled To Equal Rights As Local Employees

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Source: Malaysian Digest

In recent years, Malaysia has frequently been linked to human rights abuses in the international media involving migrant workers and and victims of human trafficking.

Malaysia’s human trafficking score was even a topic of international political debate recently when the United States was accused of upgrading Malaysia’s score to Tier 2 Watch List to ensure that we meet the criteria as a signatory of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

FilePic: ANN

FilePic: ANN

According to a report by the Asian Century Institute in 2014, the number of foreign workers in Malaysia rose an alarming 340% to reach 1.8 million by 2010 but have our labour laws kept up with the times to cope with this sudden spike in foreign labour presence in our country?

Malaysia outsources workers from Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.

They are mostly employed in sectors involving heavy manual labour (the infamously labelled ‘3D’ jobs) in manufacturing, construction, plantation, agricultural and domestic help. However some Malaysians do not realize that they are vital for the economy and treat these workers without respect.

What is more worrying is the increase in the number of cases that make headlines involving Malaysians dispensing vigilante justice without any regard for the law. Read more →

Mediation can end unilateral conversion disputes, says new panel chair

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Source: The Malaysian Outsider

S. Deepa lost custody of her son to her former husband, who unilaterally converted their children to Islam. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 11, 2016

S. Deepa lost custody of her son to her former husband, who unilaterally converted their children to Islam. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 11, 2016

A curriculum on mediation is a possible solution to bring an end to disputes arising from the unilateral conversions of children to Islam by one spouse, the new chairman of the Committee to Promote Understanding and Harmony among Religious Adherents (JKMPKA) says.

Datuk Azman Amin Hassan, the former director-general of the Department of National Unity and Integration, under which the committee was formed in 2010, told The Malaysian Insider that resolving the problem of interfaith custody battles experienced by the likes of M. Indira Gandhi and S. Deepa was one of the main issues he hoped the committee would be able to address in its two-year term.

Towards this end, the committee has formulated the mediation curriculum together with Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA), which they hope will offer a solution to religious issues taken to court.

“This has been in the works for two years. The mediation curriculum, which was designed with UIA, is supposed to help when religious issues come up, on how parties can mediate for an amicable solution,” said Azman. Read more →