Day: December 15, 2015

Malaysia tidak akan berdiam diri isu pemerdagangan manusia

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Sumber: The Malaysian Insider

An abandoned human trafficking camp at Wang Kelian, Perlis. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, June 17, 2015.

An abandoned human trafficking camp at Wang Kelian, Perlis. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, June 17, 2015.

Malaysia tidak akan berdiam diri ketika jenayah pemerdagangan manusia terus menjejaskan usaha dalam menegakkan hak asasi manusia dan menghormati kedaulatan undang-undang, kata Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Beliau berkata Malaysia sentiasa komited dengan rakan-rakannya dalam usaha memerangi pemerdagangan manusia dan akan terus menyokong inisiatif yang bertujuan untuk membanteras jenayah itu.

“Gesaan segera sekarang ialah bagi kerajaan-kerajaan untuk menyedari dan mengakui mekanisme dan kawalan ke atas pemerdagangan manusia (yang menjadi masalah) global, jika adapun, adalah tidak mencukupi,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika merasmikan Bengkel Asean dan Inisiatif Koordinasi Mekong Memerangi Pemerdagangan (Commit): Mengenal Pasti Mangsa Pemerdagangan Manusia dan Jenis-jenis Eksploitasi Berkaitan, di Kuala Lumpur hari ini. Read more →

Rukunegara should be made the national ideology, G25 member says

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said several incidents in recent years have threatened national unity and that although they were largely due to political posturing, their recurrence could create fear and instability, ― Picture by Saw Siow Feng

Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said several incidents in recent years have threatened national unity and that although they were largely due to political posturing, their recurrence could create fear and instability, ― Picture by Saw Siow Feng

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Malaysia should revive the spirit of the Rukunegara by formally adopting it as the country’s national ideology and use it to curb racial and religious tensions here before they affect national unity and the economy, a member of G25 said today.

Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said several incidents in recent years have threatened national unity and that although they were largely due to political posturing, their recurrence could create fear and instability.

“The incidents themselves are not frightening but the perception that they are politically motivated and tolerated by the law enforcement authorities is most damaging to the country’s reputation for social and political stability.

“It’s a black mark, which can be a drag on the country’s economy,” he said in a letter emailed to the press. Read more →

Opposition senators want to meet Dewan Negara president over NSC Bill

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Source: The Malaysian Insider

The National Security Council Bill will give the prime minister power to declare any area in Malaysia as a ‘security area’ if it was of the view that the security in that area was ‘seriously disturbed or threatened.’ – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 15, 2015.

Opposition senators are expected to meet Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang tomorrow to urge him to defer debates on the National Security Council Bill to the next sitting.

DAP Senator Chandra Mohan S.T. said all senators and former senators from the Opposition would meet Abu Zahar as the Dewan Negara president had the power to defer the debates.

“The decision to table the bill is determined by the speaker.

“He doesn’t have to table it at this sitting, he can table it at the next sitting, it is within his power,” Chandra said at a press conference after a briefing on the bill by #TakNakDiktator Campaign Coalition.

Coalition spokesperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said despite her disappointment over the attendance of senators at the briefing, the coalition was still willing to meet the other senators on the matter. Read more →

Agong hilang kuasa terhadap tentera jika RUU MKN lulus, kata aktivis

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Sumber: The Malaysian Insider

Peguam dan aktivis hak asasi manusia Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan menyerahkan memo kepada wakil Dewan Negara, Senator Siti Aishah Shaik Ismail (tudung biru) di Parlimen, Kuala Lumpur, hari ini. Beliau berkata, Rang Undang-undang Majlis Keselamatan Negara tidak boleh dilaksanakan kerana banyak peruntukan bertentangan dengan Perlembagaan. – Gambar The Malaysian Insider oleh Kamal Ariffin, 15 Disember, 2015.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong akan hilang kuasa terhadap angkatan tentera jika Rang Undang-undang (RUU) Majlis Keselamatan Negara (MKN) diluluskan, kata peguam dan aktivis hak asasi manusia Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, menambah rang undang-undang itu melanggar 3 artikel dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Beliau berkata, rang undang-undang itu tidak boleh dilaksanakan kerana ada banyak peruntukan di dalamnya yang bertentangan dengan Perlembagaan.

“Kita temui isu baharu yang berkaitan ketenteraan – perundangan itu mengabaikan rantaian arahan secara keseluruhan berkaitan dengan tentera.

“Mengikut Artikel 41, anda akan lihat Yang di-Pertuan Agong memberi arahan kepada tentera.

“Kuasa itu kini diabaikan oleh RUU itu,” kata Ambiga yang juga jurucakap kempen #TakNakDiktator menentang RUU itu.

Beliau bercakap demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas taklimat kepada senator Dewan Negara di Parlimen, hari ini.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong ialah komander kehormat dalam Angkatan Tentera Malaysia.

Di bawah RUU MKN yang diluluskan di Dewan Rakyat, perdana menteri yang mengetuai majlis boleh mengisytiharkan sesuatu kawasan keselamatan dan membenarkan tangkapan, pencarian dan penggeledahan dibuat di kawasan berkenaan tanpa waran. – 15 Disember, 2015.

MENYUSUL LAGI

 

Pautan Artikel Bahasa Inggeris

MP disputes indie analysis of TPP, insists prices of drugs will rise

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

PwC’s report of its analysis on the impact of selected key sectors on Malaysia’s economy showed that generic drugs will not be restricted in the country due to the similarity of the patent terms filed. ― File pic

PwC’s report of its analysis on the impact of selected key sectors on Malaysia’s economy showed that generic drugs will not be restricted in the country due to the similarity of the patent terms filed. ― File pic

PETALING JAYA, Dec 15 — Two independent cost-benefit analyses of Malaysia’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) failed to disprove fears that generic medicines will become more expensive if the country joins the deal, a DAP lawmaker asserted today.

DAP MP Charles Santiago insisted that the studies by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) only said that Malaysia will be allowed “timely access” to the medicines and neglected to mention their affordability.

“This simply means that medicines both, generic and biologic, will be made available, but whether or not the prices will go up, it did not say. However, price of drugs is surely to go up because of exclusivity rights given to pharmaceutical companies,” the Klang MP told a news conference. Read more →

BN senators snub NGO’s briefing on NSC Bill

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Ambiga slammed BN senators for their failure to attend a briefing aiming to persuade them to block the National Security Bill 2015. ― Picture by Saw Siow Feng

Ambiga slammed BN senators for their failure to attend a briefing aiming to persuade them to block the National Security Bill 2015. ― Picture by Saw Siow Feng

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Barisan Nasional (BN) senators today failed to attend a briefing by a coalition of NGOs aiming to persuade them to block the National Security Bill 2015 that was passed earlier by the  Lower House.

The #TakNakDiktator coalition was forced to carry on with six senators from the federal opposition parties, and later criticised the BN members for their absence.

“When you really want to do your job as a senator and when you really believe in your oath and want to do what is right, then you have to listen to all points of view whether you like it or not, especially pertaining to a bill as huge as this,” campaign spokesman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said in a press conference in the Parliament here.

“To date, there are 25,000 signatures on an online petition that was launched against the NSC Bill… if 25,000 people can see the dangers of this Bill, why can’t the (BN) senators see the same dangers that we see?”

An online petition urging the Senate to reject the NSC Bill was launched days after it was passed in the Dewan Rakyat.

DAP Senator Chandra Mohan ST today said the opposition senators will meet Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang to seek approval to defer the debate on the NSC Bill until all issues and questions surrounding the Bill are answered.

The NSC Bill was passed on December 3 amid protests by the opposition and civil society groups against what they claim is a law that would confer wide-ranging powers to the prime minister and set Malaysia on a path towards dictatorial rule.

Putrajaya insists that the law will not be used against political dissent and was aimed at countering threats against “national security” that was loosely defined as including socio-political harmony.

 

Be worried! Academics tell Putrajaya amid law lecturer’s sedition case

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Professor Wan Manan Wan Muda (left) says the government’s prosecution of Dr Azmi Sharom is a violation of their academic freedom of expression. ― Picture by Yap Tzu Ging

Professor Wan Manan Wan Muda (left) says the government’s prosecution of Dr Azmi Sharom is a violation of their academic freedom of expression. ― Picture by Yap Tzu Ging

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 ― Two professors accused the federal government of trampling on academic freedom of expression today with the sedition prosecution of Universiti Malaya law lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom, and cautioned that the intellectual community will not stay silent if their rights are violated.

Professor Wan Manan Wan Muda who heads the Malaysian Academic Movement’s (MOVE), told reporters at the Court Complex here that the government’s prosecution of Azmi was a violation of their academic freedom of expression.

“We have been dormant for the last 30 years, maybe due to better pay and all. But in this case, we considered it a violation of academic freedom, the violation of an academic’s rights to comment within his ambit of research and specialty,” Wan Manan said.

“Now, they have to be worried about us reacting to this suppression and oppression. They have to worry that the students and academics are coming together,” he added, outside the courtroom where Azmi’s case had been heard earlier. Read more →

The case for transferring Azmi Sharom’s sedition trial to High Court

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo says Dr Azmi Sharom’s sedition prosecution should be heard in the High Court first if it is to be resolved by the country’s apex court ultimately. ― File pic

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo says Dr Azmi Sharom’s sedition prosecution should be heard in the High Court first if it is to be resolved by the country’s apex court ultimately. ― File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 ― A case as significant as the sedition prosecution of University Malaya law lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom should be heard in the High Court first if it is to be resolved by the country’s apex court ultimately, his lawyer asserted today.

The academic is seeking to transfer his case from being tried in the Sessions Court to the High Court.

In today’s hearing, Azmi’s lawyer Gobind Singh Deo submitted that there were constitutional issues that could only be resolved by the Federal Court.

However, he said complications might arise if the case were to be heard in the Sessions Court, as the bulk of legal challenges there end in the Court of Appeal. Read more →

MEMORANDUM kepada Ahli-ahli Dewan Negara Berkenaan Rang Undang-undang Majlis Keselamatan Negara 2015

Thulsi Manogaran

DSC_1335

15 Disember 2015

Masyarakat sivil memandang berat Rang Undang-Undang Majlis Keselamatan Negara 2015 (Rang Undang-Undang MKN) yang diluluskan secara tergesa-gesa di Dewan Rakyat pada 3 Disember 2015.

Rang Undang-Undang ini memberi kesan yang buruk kepada rakyat Malaysia dan merupakan ancaman yang belum pernah berlaku sebelum ini terhadap demokrasi berparlimen di Malaysia.

Mengapa perlu ada undang-undang yang seluas ini, terutamanya apabila ianya dilakukan secara tergesa-gesa, tanpa sebarang justifikasi, hebahan mahupun perundingan?

Pembentangan Rang Undang-Undang ini merupakan suatu langkah yang amat berbahaya bagi Malaysia kerana ia menumpukan kuasa luar biasa ke tangan hanya seorang ahli cabang Eksekutif Kerajaan. Mekanisme semak dan imbang yang biasanya didapati dalam mana-mana demokrasi berparlimen adalah sama ada tidak wujud ataupun terjejas teruk di Malaysia.

Read more →

MEMORANDUM to Members of Dewan Negara on the National Security Council Bill 2015

Thulsi Manogaran

DSC_1335

15th December 2015

Malaysian civil society organisations view with serious concern the National Security Council Bill 2015 (NSC Bill) that was rushed through Dewan Rakyat on 3rd December 2015.

This Bill has dire consequences for the people of Malaysia and represents an unprecedented threat to what remains of parliamentary democracy in Malaysia.

Why is there a need for such a sweeping piece of legislation especially since it was done in such haste, without any justification, publicity or consultation?

The tabling of this Bill represents an extremely dangerous step for Malaysia as it concentrates extraordinary powers within the hands of a single member of the Executive arm of Government. Mechanisms of check and balance normally found within parliamentary democracies are either absent or severely compromised in Malaysia.

No person or entity should have absolute and unfettered powers. Concentration of power leads to the temptation for abuse, particularly in times of political crisis. The NSC Bill represents a quantum leap towards a dictatorship and a military-police state.

The serious ramifications of this Bill call for further and extensive consideration by the Dewan Negara. Read more →