Aliran is appalled at the determined effort of the police to stop a peaceful campaign mounted by Jerit to raise awareness of issues such as food shortages, environmental problems, draconian laws and the financial crisis. In a unique way, Jerit is highlighting these very important issues affecting the great majority of our citizens by getting two teams of cyclists to “Ride for Change”.
1 December 2008 marks the 20th year since the creation of World Aids Day. In the past two decades there has been significant progress in prevention and treatment and the campaign acts as a significant advance in awareness raising. Nevertheless, there remain many areas of concern and people with HIV face stigmatism on a daily basis, with no cure obtainable, observes CARAM Asia.
Two weeks ago, on 15 November 2008, more than a hundred Malaysians from all walks of life, and particularly from the grassroots sectors of plantations, fisher folk, farmers, small producers, and concerned Malaysians representing either themselves or various NGOs, academicians and some government bodies historically gathered to express the direct impact of the global food crisis on their lives and to share with us their thoughts, and opinions on how we, together as Malaysians, can lessen this impact and overcome the challenges it poses.
What has aroused the angry reaction of Malaysian Muslims in the case of this fatwa is the fact that it was issued unilaterally without any consultation with society. And this reflects the extent to which the Fatwa Council is in fact a body that is not answerable to the Malaysian public, observes Aliran member Farish Noor.
A leading bookstore in Kuala Lumpur has stopped selling a book written by Farish Noor, pending an investigation by the Home Ministry. The entire stock of the book, From Majapahit to Putrajaya, was confiscated from Kinokuniya’s KLCC outlet on 15 Aug 2008 by officers from the ministry’s Selangor office in a regular annual inspection. Other book titles, mostly on religion, were also seized. The Nut Graph has the report.
Blogger Sharon Bakar wonders why officials have confiscated Farish Noor’s books that were on the shelves of a leading book-shop in the Klang Valley. They have not been official banned – the author is not aware of any ban – so why were they confiscated?
The Kuala Lumpur High Court has acquitted Irene Fernandez, co-founder and executive director of Tenaganita. The first words as she was congratulated, Irene said, “I am free! At last I am free!” A scheduled court appeals hearing, which was to last until Friday, 28 November was today ended when Judge Mohamad Apandi Ali gave his decision and set aside her 2003 conviction and reversed the conviction and sentencing. This report from Tenaganita.
Presiden Aliran P Ramakrishnan, dalam satu mesej hari ini yang disasarkan kepada parti politik dan ahli politiknya, berkata mereka ‘boleh main politik dengan apa carapun’; namun dia memberi amaran kepada mereka agar mereka tidak memikirkan bahawa politik lapok ras, personaliti atau cita-cita rakus boleh membantu mereka menangani tsunami ekonomi yang akan melanda mereka.