World leading contemporary Islamic philosopher and thinker Prof Tariq Ramadan has offered six principles of governance which break the stereotype that frames Muslim administrations as anti-democratic and anti-human rights, reports Susan Loone of Malaysiakini. Continue reading »
Of late there has been talk of setting up a media council. Zaharom Nain asserts that a council with teeth is needed to hold the media accountable to the rakyat.. The repressive legal environment and increasing concentration of media ownership have to be tackled as well. Continue reading »
Suaram applauds the Selangor state government for finally announcing that it will table the Freedom of Information (FOI) Enactment at the sitting of its state assembly from 12-16 July.
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The Malaysian goverment must act immediately on the United Nations’ call for the repeal of detention-without-trial laws and an end to the detention of refugees and asylum seekers, says Suaram.
The favourable public reaction to Penang’s Speakers’ Square is to be expected as it contrasts with the constant moves by the federal government to restrict and prohibit freedom of speech and assembly, observes Toh Kin Woon.
Malaysia is still lagging behind in the introduction of essential laws to uphold the people’s right to information, points out Hamid Ibrahim.
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Workers were made destitute and the dignity of labour trampled upon by ISA detentions and oppressive labour laws, recalls Sai N S Wigneswaran.
The attempt by the Umno-dominated BN government to rush the DNA Bill begs many questions, observes Tota. Despite opposition by the Opposition, whose ranks boast first-class legal brains compared to the lawyers in the government ranks, the Bar Council and legal and medical experts outside, the government exposes itself as a irrational and foolhardy one. No right-thinking Malaysian will buy the government’s claim that the timing of the Bill had nothing to do with Anwar’s Sodomy II trial.
Can we be good, committed, practising Muslims in a society governed by non-Muslim laws, asks Abdullah Saeed in The Australian. That is a question often asked among Muslims in the West.
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Some participants at a seminar organised by an insitution created under the auspices of the Umno-led government want non-Muslims found committing khalwat (close proximity) with
Muslims to also be held liable. They also want heftier
penalties for
Muslims caught for khalwat, prostitution, consuming alcohol
and involvement in gambling activities.
An angry Farish Noor says this is further proof that the so-called ‘moderate and progressive’
brand of Islam that was sold to us as ‘Islam Hadari’ was little
more than another Umno propaganda device; serving to placate the
concerns of the international community while in fact serving only to
extend the power and hegemony of the state at home.