Day: November 10, 2016

Sarawakian Christian Roneey Rebit finally gets new IC without ‘Islam’

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Lawyer Chua Kuan Ching says Roneey Rebit was glad and relieved that he finally has his IC after years and months of waiting. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Lawyer Chua Kuan Ching says Roneey Rebit was glad and relieved that he finally has his IC after years and months of waiting. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — A Sarawakian Christian has been issued a new identification card (IC) that recognises his non-Muslim identity and does not contain the word “Islam”, his lawyer confirmed.

When asked for updates on Roneey Rebit’s case, lawyer Chua Kuan Ching said her client had applied for the new document from the National Registration Department (NRD) four months ago.

Chua said the lawyers were informed that he had collected his new IC from the NRD’s Kuching office in late October.

She confirmed that both the IC and the NRD’s official registry now reflect Roneey’s religious status as a Christian and uses his name at birth.

“I’m glad that he finally got his IC after years of going around for this matter and months of waiting despite the decision given in March this year,” she told Malay Mail Online. Read more →

TPP ‘dead’ with Trump’s shock win, analysts predict

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

TPPA-copy

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — The United States’ plans for a multi-nation free-trade deal through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement involving Malaysia is doomed after Donald Trump won the presidency, regional analysts told Malay Mail Online.

However, it is not merely because of the Trump factor. According to analyst Oh Ei Sun, the chances of the TPP being implemented would no longer be tenable even if Democrat Hillary Clinton was elected US president.

“Both Hillary and Trump have declared that they are not in favour of TPP, so it will be doomed either way,” the adjunct senior fellow at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies said.

Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, expressed a similar view.

“This is dead in the water, and that outcome will badly hurt the US’ reputation where trade agreements are concerned. With that, the US pivot to the region will also come into question.

“This should lead South-east Asian countries to rely more on their own wits and revisit their options within Asean and in relation to China,” he said yesterday when contacted. Read more →