Day: May 5, 2017

Don’t use Sosma or Poca against kids, cops told

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Source: FMT News

Rights lawyer Eric Paulsen says it would be excessive to charge children under preventive laws. Pic from FMT News.

PETALING JAYA: A human rights lawyer has spoken against the detention of children under preventive laws such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) and the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca).

“They should be dealt with through laws that are in line with the Child Act,” said Lawyers for Liberty director Eric Paulsen in a comment on recent arrests of suspects in a police operation against the Gang 24 secret society. In the most recent arrest, three secondary school students were among the 13 suspects.

It is not clear which law is being used against the suspects.

Paulsen said the authorities could be seen as taking measures that were too extreme if they were to use Sosma or Poca against children. Read more →

MCMC does not spy on WhatsApp users, says Salleh

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Source: The Star Online

Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak – Pic from the Star Online.

KUCHING: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is only a regulatory body and does not monitor or spy on messages WhatsApp users send on the platform, said Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.

Recent posts which alleged that the commission was monitoring content in the application was “absolutely false news,” the Communications and Multimedia Minister told reporters Friday after launching the Asean International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) 2017 Biz World.

Salleh said that the ministry had only been advising people against abusing the messaging platform as they were bound by the country’s laws and regulations.   Read more →

DAP man defends marriage and divorce bill

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Source: FMT News

M Kulasegaran says the CEO of Centhra needs a tuition on the amendments. Pic form FMT News.

PETALING JAYA: Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran has rejected the opinion that the bill to amend the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act (LRA) infringes on the liberty of Muslims.

Responding to comments made by Azril Mohd Amin, the CEO of Centhra (Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy), Kulasegaran said: “He has failed to realise that the proposed amendments to outlaw unilateral conversion is to deal with people who register their marriages under civil law and then try to cheat the system by converting.

“He should go and understand what the bill is meant for, and maybe take a law tuition class for that.”

He noted that one of the amendments would give civil courts the power to deal with divorces involving Muslims, including those who convert from another religion after their marriages.

Read more →

Silent fear, a tale of two maids in Malaysia

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Source: FMT News

Abuse of Indonesian maids is common, says one who has seen a friend suffer. Pic from FMT News.

KAJANG: Imagine living in a constant state of anxiety or fear, unsure of when you’ll be paid, and knowing that many of your friends are in a similar situation, with some of them facing daily threats of abuse.

This is the story of two Indonesian maids, who told FMT of their life as domestic helps in Malaysia.

Nurul, 33, recalled watching helplessly as the authorities dragged away one of her friends who had attempted to flee Malaysia illegally. “She desperately wanted to go back to her hometown because she could not stand being abused by her employer.” Read more →

Malaysia: Longtime Turkish Residents Detained

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Source: Human Rights Watch

(Kuala Lumpur) – Malaysian authorities on May 2, 2017, detained without charge two Turkish nationals who are longtime Kuala Lumpur residents, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should provide the basis for holding the men – Turgay Karaman, the principal of Time International School in Ipoh, and Ihsan Aslan, a Kuala Lumpur-based businessman – and allow them full access to legal counsel and contact with their families.

On May 3, Malaysia’s inspector general of police, Khalid Abu Bakar, tweeted that police were holding the men on suspicion of national security offenses under article 130 of Malaysia’s penal code, relating to harboring or assisting a “prisoner of State.” But at a news conference the next day, Khalid said the two were being held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA), an administrative detention law. Read more →