Ambiga Barred from UM Talk; Law Students Submit Memo Free Malaysia Today 7 April 2014 Oleh P Ramani

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Ambiga Barred from UM Talk; Law Students Submit Memo Free Malaysia Today 7 April 2014 Oleh P Ramani Ambiga barred from UM talk; law students submit memo Free Malaysia Today 7 April 2014 Oleh P Ramani KUALA LUMPUR: A group of Universiti Malaya law students handed a memorandum to Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament today to voice their dissatisfaction on academic freedom. According to Richtuyne Yusoff, the students’ spokesperson, UM’s Students Affairs Division’s decision to disallow former Bar council president and ex-Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson S Ambiga from giving a talk on ‘Public Interest Litigation’ in the university was deemed as suppressing academic freedom. Pakatan MPs who were present to receive the memo were Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin and Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari Richtuyne said that on March 25 an official letter was sent to deputy vice chancellor of Student Affairs to seek permission for Ambiga to deliver the lecture. The deputy vice chancellor agreed on the condition that there must also be a pro government speaker at the function to balance the view during the lecture. Nevertheless, on March 27, the approval was retracted with the reason that the lecture was not part of the programme. The talk, organised by the UM Law Society , was to have taken place on March 29. Curbing students rights Richtuyne also attempted to contact Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan to hand in a copy of the memorandum but the latter failed to response to the students. The students said they would pass a copy of the memorandum to the Pakatan MPs to be passed on to Kamalanathan. In the memorandum, the students are seeking the UM management not to intervene into students’ affairs. They also criticised UM for practising double standard by not allowing a high profile public speaker to appear for the talk. The Pakatan MPs meanwhile urged UM to ensure a better academic freedom to the students and stop curbing students’ rights to receive appropriate knowledge from any public lectures deemed to be vital for their education process. Copyright © 2013 – Free Malaysia Today Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/04/07/law- students-hand-in-memorandum-to-parliament/ .
Recommended publications
  • Passing the Mantle: a New Leadership for Malaysia NO
    ASIA PROGRAM SPECIAL REPORT NO. 116 SEPTEMBER 2003 INSIDE Passing the Mantle: BRIDGET WELSH Malaysia's Transition: A New Leadership for Malaysia Elite Contestation, Political Dilemmas and Incremental Change page 4 ABSTRACT: As Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir prepares to step down after more than two decades in power, Malaysians are both anxious and hopeful. Bridget Welsh maintains that KARIM RASLAN the political succession has ushered in an era of shifting factions and political uncertainty,as indi- New Leadership, Heavy viduals vie for position in the post-Mahathir environment. Karim Raslan discusses the strengths Expectations and weaknesses of Mahathir’s hand-picked successor,Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He maintains that Abdullah will do well at moderating the influence of Malaysia’s more radical Islamic leaders, but page 9 doubts whether the new prime minister can live up to the excessive expectations that the polit- ical transition has engendered. M. Bakri Musa expresses hope that Abdullah will succeed where M. BAKRI MUSA (in his view) Mahathir has failed. For example, he urges the new leadership to revise Malaysia’s Post-Mahathir three-decade affirmative action policy and to tackle the problem of corruption. Malaysia: Coasting Along page 13 Introduction All three experts in this Special Report emphasize continuity.All agree that basic gov- Amy McCreedy ernmental policies will not change much; for fter more than 22 years in power, example, Abdullah Badawi’s seemingly heartfelt Malaysia’s prime minister Mohamad pledges to address corruption will probably A Mahathir is stepping down. “I was founder in implementation.The contributors to taught by my mother that when I am in the this Report do predict that Abdullah will midst of enjoying my meal, I should stop eat- improve upon Mahathir in one area: moderat- ing,”he quipped, after his closing remarks to the ing the potentially destabilizing force of reli- UMNO party annual general assembly in June.
    [Show full text]
  • Trends in Southeast Asia
    ISSN 0219-3213 2017 no. 9 Trends in Southeast Asia PARTI AMANAH NEGARA IN JOHOR: BIRTH, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS WAN SAIFUL WAN JAN TRS9/17s ISBN 978-981-4786-44-7 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore 119614 http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg 9 789814 786447 Trends in Southeast Asia 17-J02482 01 Trends_2017-09.indd 1 15/8/17 8:38 AM The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) is an autonomous organization established in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institute’s research programmes are grouped under Regional Economic Studies (RES), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS). The Institute is also home to the ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC), the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre (NSC) and the Singapore APEC Study Centre. ISEAS Publishing, an established academic press, has issued more than 2,000 books and journals. It is the largest scholarly publisher of research about Southeast Asia from within the region. ISEAS Publishing works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about Southeast Asia to the rest of the world. 17-J02482 01 Trends_2017-09.indd 2 15/8/17 8:38 AM 2017 no. 9 Trends in Southeast Asia PARTI AMANAH NEGARA IN JOHOR: BIRTH, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS WAN SAIFUL WAN JAN 17-J02482 01 Trends_2017-09.indd 3 15/8/17 8:38 AM Published by: ISEAS Publishing 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore 119614 [email protected] http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg © 2017 ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Reply to YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Member of Parliament for Bangi and Dr
    Reply to YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Member of Parliament for Bangi and Dr. Kelvin Yii, Member of Parliament for Bandar Kuching I thank you for your questions and your efforts in increasing registration among people in your respective constituencies. I will take your questions in turn below. 1. What is the geographical distribution of those above 60 who have yet to register for the COVID19 vaccine? Currently, registration for those above 60 stands at 40.1%. It ranges from 56.8% in Putrajaya, to 22.9% in Sabah. For States with low registration numbers such as in Sabah, Kelantan (25.1%), Terengganu (29.4%), Kedah (30.9%) and Pahang (31.5%), we are working with MKN, NADMA and the state governments on an outreach programme to encourage people to register, particularly for senior citizens. The outreach programme is not only to help them register for PICK but also to convince them on why it is important for people their age to be vaccinated against COVID-19. We also assure them that the vaccines are safe, effective and if they have any religious concerns, we also reassure them that the vaccines are halal. We are also working with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to register and vaccinate residents and caregivers at elderly care homes. Mobile vaccination teams will be sent to the care homes to vaccinate on site. 2. What steps have been taken to work with state governments in order to increase the vaccine registration rate? I have spoken to all Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers virtually over the last month and a half.
    [Show full text]
  • Media Statement by Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Member of Parliament for Bangi and Assistant Political Education Director for the Democrat
    Media Statement by Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Member of Parliament for Bangi and Assistant Political Education Director for the Democratic Action Party (DAP) on the 29th of March, 2021 Three recommendations to attract FDI back to Malaysia and prevent Malaysia from turning into the “sick man of Southeast Asia” Since the topic of Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) have been in the news lately, I thought it would be useful for me to pull back the curtain and share the challenges and opportunities in attracting FDI to Malaysia based on my one and a half years as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). In doing so, I hope to shine the spotlight on what needs to be done in order to continue to make Malaysia an attractive FDI destination in South East Asia. It is still not too late to reverse the mistakes made in the ONE year of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government and prevent Malaysia from turning into the new "Sick Man of Southeast Asia". Broadly speaking, FDI inflows (by this I mean, manufacturing and services FDI, not equity FDI) into Malaysia comes in two forms. The first is FDI from already existing Multinational Corporations (MNCs) which have already invested in Malaysia. This would include the likes of INTEL’s long standing presence in Penang, SHELL’s Business Service Center in Cyberjaya and Standard Chartered’s Global Business Service center in Teknologi Park Malaysia (TPM), Bukit Jalil, just to name a few. Whether it is manufacturing or services (or manufacturing services), each of these MNCs will have to undertake periodic reviews with their Headquarters (HQs) on the business outlook of their Malaysian operations.
    [Show full text]
  • Kuala Lumpur a State 85 Kuala Lumpur – City-State of the Future? 88
    Contents Executive Director’s Note 3 Section 1: Evaluation of Local Authorities in Malaysia History of Local Govornment Election in Malaysia 6 Revisiting the Athi Nahappan Report Part 1 16 Section 2: Separation of Powers Between the Three Levels of Government The Malaysian Federation: A Contradiction in Terms? 21 How Incompetency in Local Governments Help to Preserve Political Hegemony in Malaysia 25 Double Decentralisation: The Way Forward for Sabah 30 Section 3: Governance in Our Local Authorities Strength from the Grassroots: Practices of Participatory Governance 35 Communications as a Key Competency 39 It’s All About the Money 43 Understanding Local Authority Financial Reports 46 Section 4: Running Our Cities & Towns BRT: Rethinking Expensive Public Transport Projects in Malaysian Cities 51 An Aged-Friendly City For All - Rich or Poor 54 The Truth behind Solid Waste Management and Incinerators 59 A Lucrative Dirty Business 62 The Road Less Taken 68 Section 5: Revisiting the Local Government Election Revisiting the Athi Nahappan Report Part 2 : Recommendations 73 Will Local Government Elections Erode Malay Rights? 79 Local Democracy: More Politics or Less? 82 Beyond Local Government: Making Kuala Lumpur a State 85 Kuala Lumpur – City-State of the Future? 88 Issue 1, 2015 - pg. 1 REFSA QUARTERLY Editorial Team Executive Director | Steven Sim Chee Keong Deputy Executive Director | Wong Shu Qi Editor | Lam Choong Wah Assistant Editor | Rosalind Chua Intern | Yap Lay Sheng Layout Design | PM Wang Published by Research For Social Advancement Bhd (Refsa) 2nd Floor,Block A Wenworth Building Jalan Yew, Off Jalan Pudu 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03 9285 5808 Fax: 03 92818104 Executive Director’s Note By Steven Sim Executive Director, REFSA Local authorities are fertile grounds for mission.
    [Show full text]
  • AHLI PARLIMEN MALAYSIA To: Y. Bhg. Datuk Roosme Binti Hamzah Fax: 03-20704676 Email: [email protected] Soalan Parlimen Sesi
    AHLI PARLIMEN MALAYSIA KAWASAN SERDANG - P102 DR ONG KIAN MING 王建民博士 马来西亚沙登区(P102)国会议员 To: Y. Bhg. Datuk Roosme binti Hamzah Fax: 03-20704676 Email: [email protected] Soalan Parlimen Sesi Pertama 2014 – Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Ahli Parlimen Serdang Questions for the First Parliamentary Session 2014 – Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Member of Parliament for Serdang Oral Questions 1) Dr. Ong Kian Ming (Serdang) asks the Minister of Defense to explain the reason as to why Mejar Zaidi Ahmad was charged for making a report on the problems of indelible ink despite the fact that the Chairman of the Election Commission has admitted that there were problems with the indelible ink. 2) Dr. Ong Kian Ming (Serdang) asks the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment to explain the reason as to why no action was taken, in accordance with the Wildlife Protection Act of 2010, against Rona Wildlife and Anson Wong who appear to be involved with wildlife smuggling as alleged by the Al-Jazeera program “The Return of the Lizard King.” 3) Dr. Ong Kian Ming (Serdang) asks the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment to state the actions which are being undertaken, to prevent the discontinuation of water treatment by Puncak Niaga in Selangor due to the high levels of ammonia present in the affluent discharge from the IWK plant, inclusive of amending the Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 2009 and other relevant acts. 4) Dr. Ong Kian Ming (Serdang) asks the Minister of Education to explain the reason as to why Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) was allowed to charge up to RM1000 to process each visa for international students studying in Malaysia although it failed to achieve its KPI of processing one visa within 14 days.
    [Show full text]
  • Kuala Lumpur International Aut Motive Conference (Kliac) 2018
    Organised by: Strategic Partner: KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL AUT MOTIVE CONFERENCE (KLIAC) 2018 BEYOND MOBILITY: MOVING SUSTAINABLY Opening Keynote: YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Associate Partner: Held in conjunction with the: 21 - 22 November 2018 Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC) Kuala Lumpur www.asli.com.my KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE CONFERENCE (KLIAC) 2018 Going full swing into the 4th Industrial Revolution, mobility has evolved beyond moving from one point to another hence this year’s theme of ‘Beyond Mobility’ for both the Kuala Lumpur International Automotive Conference (KLIAC) and the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS). Joseph Kopser of RideScout aptly described mobility in today’s term as encompassing the entire ecosystem of connectivity options including infrastructure and their synergy, in addition to societal and environmental implications. The automotive industry has advanced beyond selling vehicles to providing solutions in totality in order to move people and goods sustainably. This Conference provides a timely platform for intellectually stimulating and constructive exchange of views to further the growth of the local automotive industry sustainably given the decrease in production, assembly and registration of new vehicles since 2016. It is geared towards addressing local developments in the industry and the wider ecosystem by bringing together experts and leading players to share and discuss their inputs concerning the industry and
    [Show full text]
  • Why Slam Party Now, DAP's Zulkifli Asked Malaysiakini.Com Sept 20, 2013 by Kow Kwan Yee
    Why slam party now, DAP's Zulkifli asked MalaysiaKini.com Sept 20, 2013 By Kow Kwan Yee The intention of DAP’s veteran member Zulkifli Mohd Noor to liken the Malays in DAP as ‘a 50 sen race’ a few days before the party re-election has come under question. “Why now?” asked DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke. He questioned why the former DAP vice-chairperson lashed out the party at this critical moment. NONE“I’m disappointed to see a long-time member making such a comment at this time,” he told a press conference at DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today. The Star had quoted Zulkifli (right) as saying the Malays in DAP were just ‘a 50 sen race’ and without them, it will not be able to reach one million (members). Zulkifli also reportedly called Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng a dictator and accused him of having a hidden agenda to strengthen his standing and that of his father, Lim Kit Siang, in the party. Zulkifli, who had joined the party 26 years ago, was a Penang municipal councillor and is now on the state DAP committee. He hoped the national delegates, who were mainly Chinese, would vote for Malay CEC candidates. Zulkifli is one of 62 DAP candidates who are competing for 20 spots in the CEC elections that will be held on Sept 29. There are seven other Malays contesting. All of them had been defeated in elections during last year’s national congress. After the controversial technical glitch was revealed, it was announced that Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari had been elected into the 20-member CEC list.
    [Show full text]
  • DAP Delegates Keep Status Quo in CEC Malaysiakini.Com Sept 29, 2013
    DAP delegates keep status quo in CEC MalaysiaKini.com Sept 29, 2013 All 20 DAP central executive committee members elected in December last year have been re-elected today. Leading the pack is Liew Chin Tong (1,438 votes), Lim Kit Siang (1,436) and Karpal Singh (1,421) while Boo Cheng Hau (961), Nga Kor Ming (956) and Ngeh Khoo Ham (809) received the least amount of votes among those elected. Zairil Khir Johari, whose appointment to the CEC was in dispute during the December polls, came in 12th with 1,132 votes. The closest any other Malay candidate came to winning a seat was Ariffin SM Omar (441), Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji (441) and Ahmad Ton (351). According to the returning officer Ong Kian Ming, a total of 1,725 ballots papers were casted today, of which 1,663 were valid and 62 were spoilt. Polling began this morning and the results were announced at 8pm. In comparison, the last party polls saw 1,826 ballots cast, of which 58 were spoilt. Ong said that the results were verified by an independent audit company and should not be challenged. The list of elected CEC members are as follows: 1. Liew Chin Tong (1,438 votes) [Ranked 14 in 2012 polls] 2. Lim Kit Siang (1,436) [1] 3. Karpal Singh (1,421) [3] 4. Gobind Singh Deo (1,409) [7] 5. Lim Guan Eng (1,304) [2] 6. Chong Chieng Jen (1,294) [4] 7. Anthony Loke (1,263) [5] 8. Chow Kon Yeow (1,203) [13] 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Malaysia 2020 Tobacco Industry Interference Index
    MALAYSIA 2020 TOBACCO INDUSTRY INTERFERENCE INDEX Background and Introduction Over the past four years, Malaysia has not made any progress in implementing Article 5.3 guidelines of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and is faring poorly in protecting public health policies from interference from the tobacco industry (TI). The findings of this annual TI Interference Index show there is a further deterioration in Malaysia. British American Tobacco (BAT) Malaysia, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Philip Morris Malaysia control 97 percent of the cigarette market.1 BAT is the dominant tobacco company controlling about 58 percent of the cigarette market share. In 2017, BAT shut down its cigarette manufacturing facility in Petaling Jaya, citing increasing contraband cigarettes in Malaysia and a challenging business environment as its reasons. However just one year later, in October 2018, BAT opened a new manufacturing facility in Johor stating it can leverage on the proximity for better management of materials, machinery parts as well as resources. Malaysia still provides an attractive investment environment for the tobacco business. In 2019, BAT claimed it will lay off about 20 percent of its workforce in Malaysia, citing among its reasons tax-led price increase which led to high illicit cigarette trade.2 This report uses the questionnaire developed by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance based on the Article 5.3 Guidelines. Information used in this report is obtained from the public domain. A scoring system is applied to make the assessment. The score ranges from 0 - 5, where 5 indicates highest level of industry interference, and 1 is low or no interference.
    [Show full text]
  • 10:10Am Welcoming Remarks • Zairil Khir Johari, Executive Director, Penang Institute
    Saturday, August 6, 2016 10:00am – 10:10am Welcoming Remarks • Zairil Khir Johari, Executive Director, Penang Institute 10:10am – 11:40am State of the Global Economy: Implications for ASEAN ASEAN has risen in the past as globalisation and international trade elevated the region from being a commodity supplier to an end-product manufacturer. Today, ASEAN is an important hub in the global supply chain. However, global trade is now slowing due to multiple reasons, including external shocks such as terrorism and the recent Brexit. This would induce more uncertainties for ASEAN, which collectively comprises the seventh largest economy in the world. Speakers: • Dato’ Dr Wing Thye Woo, Distinguished Fellow, Penang Institute • Dr Muhammed Khalid, Director of Research, Khazanah Research Institute • Dr Muhamad Chatib Basri, former Finance Minister of Indonesia Moderator: • Dr Ong Kian Ming, Member of the Malaysian Parliament 11:40am – 12:00pm Coffee Break 12.00pm – 12:45pm Keynote Address In the last one year, Malaysia’s international standing has deteriorated following major financial scandals involving the top leadership of the country. Billions of dollars remain unaccountable and domestic investigations have been curtailed. Against this backdrop, Penang offers a beacon of hope not only in clean governance, tolerance and acceptance of diversity but also in good economics performance, social progressiveness and environmentally sustainable development. Speaker: • Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang Moderator • Steven Sim, Member of the Malaysian Parliament 12:45pm – 2:00pm Lunch Break 2:00pm – 3:30pm Southeast Asian Economies Under Stress Many Southeast Asian countries are caught in the middle-income trap. This will present additional challenges to policy-makers as the economies have to adapt to slower global trade and increased level of inequality.
    [Show full text]
  • READING ECCLESIASTES from ASIA and PASIFIKA International Voices in Biblical Studies
    READING ECCLESIASTES FROM ASIA AND PASIFIKA ASIA FROM ECCLESIASTES READING International Voices in Biblical Studies This follow-up to Reading Ruth in Asia (2015) extends Qoheleth’s question in Ecclesiastes 3:9 to the toils of biblical critics: Is there gain READING ECCLESIASTES through oral (e.g., stories, legends, customs, ways) and written (e.g., Tamilin reading? and ChineseContributors scriptures) from Asia texts and as Pasifika they ponder approach this Ecclesiastes question. FROM ASIA AND PASIFIKA inVoices new fromdirections Palestine, through Pakistan, sources and not Pasifika usually add encountered to those from in biblical India, Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, and Australia and expand the conversation theirscholarship. interpretations Topics of of wisdom, this ancient gender, text. justice,Reading vanity, Ecclesiastes bitterness, from Asialife, anddeath, Pasifika labor, isexile, a call pain, for moreand philosophy contextual, inviteintertextual, readers interscriptural, to reconsider JIONEand postcolonial HAVEA readings from within and beyond Asia and Pasifika. research fellow with Trinity Theological College (Aotearoa New is a native pastor (Methodist Church in Tonga) and Theology Research Centre in Australia. He is the author of Jonah: An EarthZealand) Bible and Commentary with Charles (2020) Sturt andUniversity’s the editor Public of Vulnerability and Contextual and Resilience: Body and Liberating Theologies (2020) and Sea of Readings: The Bible in the South Pacific (2018). PETER H. W. LAU He taught at Seminari is an Theoloji honorary Malaysia research 2010–2018. associate at He the is Universitythe coauthor of ofSydney Unceasing and a Kindness:visiting lecturer A Biblical at SydneyTheology Missionary of Ruth (with and GregBible Goswell, College. and coeditor of Reading Ruth in Asia and Lau Havea 2016), author of Esther in the Asia Bible Commentary series (2018), (with Jione Havea).
    [Show full text]