Day: September 15, 2016

EC’s re-delineation unjustified, says Maria Chin

Raevathi Supramaniam

Source: FMT

Bersih 2.0 chairman says the latest re-delineation exercise by the Election Commission is unconstitutional as it was not carried out fairly. Pic taken from FMT news.

Bersih 2.0 chairman says the latest re-delineation exercise by the Election Commission is unconstitutional as it was not carried out fairly. Pic taken from FMT news.

PETALING JAYA: Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 Chairman Maria Chin Abdullah has slammed the latest re-delineation exercise carried out by the Election Commission (EC), labelling it as totally unjustified.

Speaking to FMT, she pointed out that the Subang parliamentary seat, which is currently held by PKR’s Sivarasa Rasiah, had been severely reduced in number of voters after the exercise was carried out.

“Sivarasa used to have three DUNs (assemblypersons) in his area, but now he only has two DUNs because he lost Bukit Lanjan.

“They actually shifted almost 50,000 voters from his area. That is a lot. What is the justification?

“And that area was his main support base because Bandar Utama, Tropicana and Damansara are all there.

“Now, he is left with only Paya Jaras and Kota Damansara. Paya Jaras has an army camp whereas Kota Damansara is an Umno seat.

“From over 100,000 voters in his area, it is reduced to about 73,000 now.”

At the same time, Tony Pua’s parliamentary seat Petaling Jaya Utara, which is “just over the border” was bloated with 160,000 voters, she said. Read more →

Set up Taman Tugu speaker’s corner — Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow

Raevathi Supramaniam

Source: NST Online

BY DR MUZAFFAR SYAH MALLOW

AS the government is planning to spend millions of ringgit to beautify Taman Tugu in Kuala Lumpur, taking into account the fundamental human right of freedom of speech and expression, there should be a speaker’s corner in the park.

Having a space for those who want to express their views openly is very important and signifies a civilised society. It indicates how much a society has developed in terms of freedom and democracy, as well as the authorities’ courage in allowing citizens to express themselves. As Malaysia moves towards achieving developed-nation status by 2020, it cannot be seen to restrain citizens from voicing their opinions.

As Malaysia moves towards achieving developed-nation status by 2020, it cannot be seen to restrain citizens from voicing their opinions.

People could gather at the speaker’s corner to listen, evaluate and, perhaps, challenge speakers’ views. It’s the people’s right to be able to communicate and express their opinions openly without fear of punishment, as long as they do not abuse this right and go against social norms and the law.

It is guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948. Article 19 of the declaration states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Read more →

Firms question Immigration’s authority to freeze assets over illegal hires

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Migrant workers are led to have their documents inspected during an immigration raid in Kuala Lumpur. — AFP pic

Migrant workers are led to have their documents inspected during an immigration raid in Kuala Lumpur. — AFP pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — The Immigration Department is not empowered to freeze the assets of employers who hire illegal foreign workers without a court order, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has argued.

MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said Section 56 of the Immigration Act 1963 only covers offences and punishments that should be imposed by the court upon conviction, and that freezing a firm’s assets before then was premature.

“This presupposes that the punishment is imposed by the court and not the Immigration Department,” he was quoted saying by local daily The Star.

He cited as example the same law’s Section 56(1) (d), where “anyone harbouring any person whom he knows or has reasonable grounds for believing to have acted in contravention of the Act such as not having a visa, passport or work permit, could be fined upon conviction in court not exceeding RM10,000 or jailed not more than five years”. Read more →

Confronting The Constitutionality of Hudud — Malik Imtiaz Sarwar & Surendra Ananth

Raevathi Supramaniam

CONFRONTING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF HUDUD
Malayan Law Journal Article Supplement Volume 4, [2016] 4 MLJ xii

by

MALIK IMTIAZ SARWAR

LLB (Hons) IIUM; LLM (HK); M St (Oxon)
Advocate and Solicitor, High Court of Malaya

and

SURENDRA ANANTH

LLB (Hons) UKM
Advocate and Solicitor, High Court of Malaya

pdf

 

INTRODUCTION

On 25 November 1993, the Kelantan State Legislature had unanimously passed the Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 (‘1993 Enactment’).1 The aim of the 1993 Enactment was to introduce a broader scheme of Islamic criminal law than had been hitherto established in Kelantan or any other state in the Federation and which overlapped with the federal criminal law framework.

Unsurprisingly, the 1993 Enactment engendered controversy on several fronts. It was contended that the said enactment was unconstitutional for, amongst other things, attempting to create a parallel criminal law system that went beyond the limited scope of the Islamic personal law framework permitted by the Federal Constitution (‘the Constitution’), this exercise involving a usurpation of Parliament’s exclusive legislative authority over matters of criminal law in the public sphere.2 It was also contended that the offences that the Kelantan State Legislature had created were offences that were not reflective of the offences under Syariah Law that were meant to be the basis of the enacted offences.3 Read more →

Opposition lawmakers affected by redelineation in uproar

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Map of redelineated constituencies on display at the Selangor EC office September 15, 2016. Voters have one month to file complaints, if any. — Picture by Kamles Kumar

Map of redelineated constituencies on display at the Selangor EC office September 15, 2016. Voters have one month to file complaints, if any. — Picture by Kamles Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — The Election Commission’s (EC) move to rename and resize several federal and state constituencies is coming under intense criticism from affected lawmakers, who said the move would confuse voters.

DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok, who has been MP for Seputeh since Election 1999, was irate to learn that her constituency will be renamed Sri Petaling.

“I am extremely unhappy with the change of name from Seputeh to Sri Petaling, because the people and voters are used to the name of the constituency, Seputeh, all this while,” she told Malay Mail Online when contacted today.

She also questioned the move to carve out Taman Desa from the constituency and replace its voters with those from Bukit Jalil, and demanded the EC explain the rationale for the shift.

Kok also blamed the population growth in the area — among reasons previously cited for the need to redraw electoral lines — on poor urban planning on the part of the federal government. Read more →

Election Commission changes names for 12 parliamentary, 34 state seats

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

The Election Commission (EC) is seeking to change the names of 12 parliamentary seats and 34 state constituencies nationwide. — Pix by Kamles Kumar

The Election Commission (EC) is seeking to change the names of 12 parliamentary seats and 34 state constituencies nationwide. — Pix by Kamles Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — In its latest redelineation exercise, the Election Commission (EC) is seeking to change the names of 12 parliamentary seats and 34 state constituencies nationwide ahead of the next general elections due in 2018.

In an 18-page notice published in national daily New Straits Times today, the EC said the changes only affected the names of the seats and not the number of seats, whether federal or state, in the country.

The federal seats affected include one Kedah, three seats in Perak, five in Selangor, one in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, one in Negri Sembilan and one in Johor.

The five affected parliamentary seats in Selangor and the sole Kuala Lumpur seat are currently held by the Opposition. Read more →

Activists: Negligent parents should face music

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

According to the police, the father said he found the child in a weak state and rushed her to Kulai Hospital where medical officers pronounced her dead. — Malay Mail pic, drawn from MMO

According to the police, the father said he found the child in a weak state and rushed her to Kulai Hospital where medical officers pronounced her dead. — Malay Mail pic, drawn from MMO

PETALING JAYA, Sept 15 — Parents who cause the death of their children by leaving them behind in hot cars should not be let off the hook easily.

Voice of the Children chairman Sharmila Sekaran said law enforcers must pursue such cases and ensure those guilty are brought to court to avoid more cases of parents leaving their children behind in cars.

“The amended Child Act 2015 has included stricter punishments for parents who neglect their kids, however the authorities must strongly enforce it so parents are punished according to those laws,” she said.

“Law enforcers must step up and recommend these parents are prosecuted otherwise there will be more cases of parents or caregivers leaving children locked up in cars for hours, causing them to die.”

Sharmila said the process of testifying in court acts as an awareness by itself since parents would have to openly admit their wrongdoing which caused injury or death of their child.

“Parents who do not prioritise their child’s welfare should not be handed the pity card as they must be held responsible for their actions,” she added. Read more →

Election Commission posts notice of 13 new Sabah states seats

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

A notice of the 13 new Sabah state seats as published in The Borneo Post, September 15, 2016.

A notice of the 13 new Sabah state seats as published in The Borneo Post, September 15, 2016.

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 15 — The Election Commission (EC) posted today notices of 13 proposed new state constituencies for Sabah.

In notices published in The Borneo Post daily, the new seats are: N.02 Bengkoka, N.06 Mengaris, N.08 Pintasan, N.13 Pantai Dalit, N.17 Darau, N.24 Tanjung Dumpil, N.27 Dampai, N.44 Tulid, N.47 Telupid, N.51 Sungai Manila, N.58 Lamag, N.61 Segama, and N.70 Kukusan.

This would effectively add one state seat to the parliamentary constituencies of Kudat, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Sepanggar, Putatan, Papar, Pensiangan, Beluran, Libaran, Kinabatangan Silam and Kalabakan respectively. No changes were made to the parliamentary seats.

According to the notice, the total number of voters in Sabah stands at 995,729.

The full list of the new constituencies and the number of voters can also be viewed at the district offices and some post offices across the state from today till October 14.

Objections to the proposed recommendation can be made to the state EC office but must be in accordance to constitution.

The state legislative assembly sitting in August approved a motion for the creation of the 13 state seats. Read more →