Day: January 16, 2017

Death row inmate’s judicial review bid not interfering with Singapore affairs, says lawyer

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

V. Eswary, pictured with lawyer Surendran (right), filed the judicial review at a High Court here today. — Picture by Choo Choy May

V. Eswary, pictured with lawyer Surendran (right), filed the judicial review at a High Court here today. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — The judicial review bid by a Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore to compel the Malaysian government to take his case to an international court is not an “interference” in Singapore affairs, his lawyer N. Surendran said today.

S. Prabagaran, 29, who is facing death sentence for drug trafficking in Singapore, and his mother V. Eswary, both filed the judicial review at a High Court here today, seeking leave to obtain a mandamus for the Malaysian government to institute legal action against Singapore at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“We are not entering Singapore’s affairs. It’s just wanting justice done for a Malaysian citizen,” he told reporters after filing the judicial review here today.

“Malaysia has the right to raise any cases regarding the treatment of its citizens abroad,” he added. Read more →

Radical ideologies remain in region despite tightened security ― Charles Phang and Tan Jia Ning

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

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Charles Phang and Tan Jia Ning are producers of Channel NewsAsia’s INSIGHT programme.

JANUARY 16 ― Nestled in the heart of Jakarta’s Thamrin district, an area lined with hotels, shopping centres, and several embassies, a refurbished Starbucks cafe stands as a poignant symbol of Indonesia’s resilience against terrorism.

It was here a year ago on Jan 14, 2016, that customers and bystanders bore witness to multiple explosions and gunfire which eventually claimed the lives of four civilians and left more than 20 injured. The attacks claimed by Islamic State (IS) marked the first time the terror group had unleashed its violence on South-east Asia.

They were followed in June by a bomb blast in a nightclub in Puchong, Malaysia, which injured eight people. An attack on Marina Bay was foiled by the Indonesian authorities in Batam.

While Indonesia and Malaysia have succeeded in thwarting several militant plots in recent months, experts we spoke to say that the threat of radicalisation and terrorism still loom large over the region. Read more →

The Kelantan floodgate: Part I — Isham Jalil

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Source: NST Online

KOTA BHARU 28 MARCH 2016. ( FILE PIX 08 DECEMBER 2015 / KBE983C ) Kawasan pembalakan haram yang dirakam anggota penguatkuasa Jabatan Perhutanan Kelantan di Hutan Simpan Kekal Chiku, Gua Musang pada akhir tahun lepas. IHSAN JABATAN PERHUTANAN KELANTAN

KOTA BHARU 28 MARCH 2016. ( FILE PIX 08 DECEMBER 2015 / KBE983C ) Kawasan pembalakan haram yang dirakam anggota penguatkuasa Jabatan Perhutanan Kelantan di Hutan Simpan Kekal Chiku, Gua Musang pada akhir tahun lepas. IHSAN JABATAN PERHUTANAN KELANTAN

BY ISHAM JALIL

This is a story about the Kelantan flood; about how a natural disaster could have been mitigated by humans but wasn’t, and even worsened by them.

In 1990, Pas took over the Kelantan government from Barisan Nasional. Three years earlier, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the then prime minister, had marginally defeated Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in a bitter fight for the Umno president’s post. Tengku Razaleigh, still fresh with wounds from the fight, had his revenge in the 1990 general election when he and his newly formed party, Semangat 46, helped Pas defeat BN to win the state. Dr Mahathir had lost Kelantan to Pas and Tengku Razaleigh, and he was upset and angry.

Subsequently, throughout the 1990s under Dr Mahathir’s administration, the federal budget allocation to Kelantan was significantly cut. Between 1991 and 1995, under the 6th Malaysia Plan, less than one per cent of the RM116 billion federal development expenditure was allotted to Kelantan, the lowest allocation compared with all other states. This practice continued until 2003.

Consequently, there were very few development activities in Kelantan during the 1990s. Highways, roads and dams that were supposed to be built were cancelled. Economic growth was inhibited, and job availability was limited. As a result, there was a mass exodus of locals out of Kelantan during this period. Hundreds of thousands of Kelantan folk had to emigrate to find jobs. Currently, it is estimated that one in three of the 1.5 million Kelantan people live and work outside the state. If Dr Mahathir had intended to punish Pas and Tengku Razaleigh, the Kelantan people were collateral damage. Read more →