Day: August 3, 2016

New line-up brings fresh hopes — Azmi Sharom

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Source: The Star Online

BY AZMI SHAROM

Much is expected of the current Suhakam commissioners. Will they be bold defenders of human rights in Malaysia?

Azmi Sharom - file pic

Azmi Sharom – file pic

WHEN the new list of commissioners for the Human Rights Com­mission of Malaysia (Suhakam) was announced, I was quietly optimistic.

In the line-up are a few individuals who have a good record in defending human rights and this is a good thing.

With its funding slashed, Suhakam now depends on the vitality of its commissioners more than ever.

The new chairman, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, a former diplomat, was a fairly inoffensive choice.

Diplomats being diplomats, they are really hard to pin down, smoothly shifting gears to whatever is required in the name of diplomacy.

They tend to do that even when no longer in the diplomatic corps. I suppose decades as a professional smooth talker can have that effect. Read more →

Danger when leaders legitimise religious extremism, expert warns

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Source: FMT News

 

Muslim academic cites example of politicians in different parts of the world saying Islamic State should be valued for their members’ courage, heroism. Pic taken from FMT News

GEORGE TOWN: An international expert on the Middle East and Islamic politics warns of the danger of radicalisation in countries being further stoked and intensified due to the irresponsible actions of their leaders.

Dr Nader Hashemi said the problem of aggressive extremism becomes particularly acute when violence is legitimised by the leaders through a religious framework, such as Islam.

Hashemi is Director of the Centre for Middle East Studies and Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies.

“Radicalisation happens for many reasons, largely because people feel insecure, they feel vulnerable, and they feel fearful that the future is uncertain.

“But of course it takes on a new level and a much more different dimension when leaders, whether religious or political, legitimise the fear and insecurity that people have in terms of the use of violence,” he said. Read more →

Bersih 5 is on

Raevathi Supramaniam

Source: Malay Mail Online

IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said Bersih 2.0 may proceed with its proposed street demonstration if it abides by conditions stipulated in the Peaceful Assembly Act. File picture shows participants shouting slogans during a rally organised by Bersih 2.0 near Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on August 30, 2015. — Reuters pic

IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said Bersih 2.0 may proceed with its proposed street demonstration if it abides by conditions stipulated in the Peaceful Assembly Act. File picture shows participants shouting slogans during a rally organised by Bersih 2.0 near Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on August 30, 2015. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 ― Bersih 2.0 will announce today the Bersih 5 rally after the police gave approval on condition that it abide by the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

The fifth installment of the electoral reform group’s street protests is being organised to press for action on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case after the US government filed a lawsuit over assets linked to the state investment firm.

Malay Mail Online understands that Bersih 2.0 will organise a series of rallies, starting tentatively in a week or so, before the main Bersih 5 street demonstration planned for October. Read more →

Malaysian man charged with rape escapes jail after marrying 14-year-old victim

Raevathi Supramaniam

Source: Thompson Reuters Foundation

children-rape-reuters

A girl wearing a hijab waits at the Shah Alam stadium during celebrations of Maulidur Rasul, or the birth of Prophet Muhammad, outside Kuala Lumpur, January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Samsul Said

JAKARTA, Aug 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A Malaysian man charged with raping a 14-year-old girl has avoided prison after he married her in a case that has sparked anger from rights groups and calls for a ban on child marriage and justice for victims of sexual violence.

Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, 22, was charged with statutory rape of the girl late last year and faced up to 30 years in jail and whipping for the offence, but he later married the teenager under Islamic law, according to prosecutor Ahmad Fariz Abdul Hamid.

The prosecutor said a court in Kuching, in Malaysia’s eastern state of Sarawak ruled there was no need to proceed with the case after Ahmad Syukri submitted a marriage certificate and the girl withdrew the complaint.

Delivered last week, the court ruling prompted fury from women’s rights groups.

“It is very common for rapists to marry their survivors, especially when they are underage, to cover up their crime,” Kuala Lumpur-based Women’s Aid Organisation spokeswoman Tan Heang Lee told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“There is usually a high risk in this kind of cases that these girls will be subject to a lifetime of sexual abuse. Her marriage is basically an extension to rape,” she added. Read more →