DOCSLIB.ORG

MONTHLY Election Courts UNJUST

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
MONTHLY Election Courts UNJUST MONTHLY Election Courts UNJUST Aliran Monthly : Vol.33(5) Page 1 For Justice, Freedom & Solidarity PP3739/12/2012(031205) ISSN 0127 - 5127 RM4.00 2013:Vol.33No.5 COVER STORY Election Courts are worse than the Election Commission! Justice is not served when petitions are dismissed on technical grounds. by P Ramakrishnan es, the Election Courts YY are worse than the Elec- YYY tion Commission! The recent disappointing de- cisions of the Election Courts have proved that there is no hope for parliamentary democracy even in the judiciary. If the Barisan Nasional is a great let-down for democracy, the Elec- tion Commission is an even greater let-down for the electoral process. But shockingly, the Elec- tion Courts comparatively are far People lining up for post-election payouts off Jalan Sungai Dua (below) worse in that they cannot dis- and in Pulau Betong (above) in Penang. pense justice to the aggrieved party even if there was a glaring injustice. It is clear as daylight that the BN abused the electoral process by openly bribing voters through its many projects launched espe- cially during the period leading up to the GE 13 (including the campaign period itself) by dish- ing out goodies and cash induce- ments to win over the voters. Bil- lions of ringgit in cash or projects were dispensed freely giving an unfair disadvantage to the Oppo- Aliran Monthly : Vol.33(5) Page 2 EDITOR'S NOTE In our cover story, P Ramakrishnan says that Elec- tion Courts are worse than the Election Commis- CONTENTS sion – they are not serving the cause of justice when petitions are dismissed on technical grounds. Charles Hector finds these case dismissals shock- COVER STORY ••• Election Courts Are Worse Than ing – if cases are struck out on technicalities, then it •• Election Courts Are Worse Than The Election Commission! 222 just creates disaffection amongst those seeking jus- ••• Shocking Dismissals Of Election tice, he says. PetitionsPetitionsPetitions 666 Victims of domestic violence are also crying out for FEATURES justice and protection from further violence. Must ••• Protection From Domestic Violence: they wait for someone to be beaten to death or set on When Will It Be Taken Seriously? 999 fire before action is taken, asks Prema Devaraj. They ••• A Perverse Understanding Of Human Rights 121212 are not the only ones. Migrant workers too are often ••• What Holy Month? 141414 denied justice when they complain about their work- ••• Once We Were Beautiful 161616 ing conditions. Rani Rasiah looks at how one em- ••• Shocker In Court: Evidence With ployer presented evidence with ‘blanko’ at a Labour ‘Blanco’‘Blanco’‘Blanco’ 181818 Department hearing! ••• TPPA: No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk!Milk!Milk! 262626 The issue of trade justice looms large as negotia- ••• Coups And Junta Rule Must Be tions for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement Condemned 282828 ••• Burma: Lest We Don't See, draw to a close. Ordinary Malaysians should take A Genocide Is In The Making 303030 the TPPA seriously as it appears to be heavily ••• Have You Signed Up For Our weighted in favour of multinational corporations. New E-Newsletter? 383838 Jeyakumar Devaraj analyses what’s at stake. At the ••• Jangan Pinda Undang-Undang international level, the coups and junta rule in Egypt Sesuka Hati! 404040 must be condemned, says Tommy Thomas. Bonojit Hussain looks at another nation under military rule REGULARS ••• Current Concerns 353535 – Burma – and says it is time for the country’s pro- democracy movement to speak out against targeted OTHERSOTHERSOTHERS attacks on Muslims there. ••• Ismail Hashim 191919 ••• When Questioning Becomes Finally, Francis Loh notes that Mahathir’s advice A CrimeCrimeA 252525 that laws should not be easily amended sounds a bit rich coming from someone with his undemocratic track record. Published by Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)(ALIRAN)(ALIRAN) Aliran is an organisation for ‘social democratic 103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong, reform’. We advocate freedom, justice and Penang, Malaysia. solidarity; comment critically on social issues, offer analysis and alternative ideas keeping in mind Tel: (04) 658 5251 Fax: (04) 658 5197 the national and global picture based on universal Email: [email protected] human rights and spiritual values. We are listed Please indicate if it is a letter to the editor on the on the roster of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran Homepage : http://www.aliran.com welcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage. Printed by Konway Industries Sdn. Bhd. Plot 78, Lebuhraya Kampung Jawa, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang Aliran Monthly : Vol.33(5) Page 3 candidates and supporters filed petitions in the specially set up Election Courts seeking the courts’ assistance for justice. In an environment where everything is stacked against the ordinary citi- zens, courts are looked upon as dispensers of justice, the only hope for some remedy. However, this hope was so cru- elly dashed. These litigants went to court fully believing that there were triable issues involved for the courts to take a serious look into the matter. sition who were cash-strapped. The Election Commission, tasked But their petitions were dismissed with the duty to conduct free and - by what the lay person may per- Electoral process fair elections, did not live up to ceive to be on flimsy procedural perverted that responsibility. It failed to grounds. maintain a clean and honest elec- Voters were given bonus slips toral roll to ensure fairness in the Petitions dismissed on with the promise of cash pay- voting process. The indelible ink technical grounds ments if their respective BN can- that was meant to be used to pre- didates were elected. In this man- vent fraudulent voting turned out They were dismissed because they ner, those aligned with the BN to be a farce and a fiasco, thanks had failed to comply with several perverted the electoral process. to the EC. regulations in accordance with And there was evidence that this Rule 9 of the Election Petition was so because the Aliran team The EC never commented on the Rules 1954 and for failing to sat- has evidence to prove that this one-sided media coverage or the isfy regulation 15 of the Election happened. On 10-12 May, people twisted lies and false propaganda Petition Rules 1954. In one in- who had queued up for payments trotted out by the electronic me- stance, it was quoted that the pe- at a shoplot off Jalan Sungai Dua dia. It maintained its incredible titioner had failed to serve the in Penang told Aliran that cash silence over the BN’s excessive ex- documents personally! was given out to those who came penditure, sumptuous feasts with with the bonus slips. Payments free-flowing beer, and cash hand- Justice is not served when the pe- ranged from RM120 to RM200. outs. titions are dismissed on technical What was surprising was that grounds. It is preposterous that a this took place barely 100 metres The election corruption was so litigant’s right to justice should be from a police beat station. Conve- rampant that it was not possible dismissed because of the failings niently, the police personnel were to overlook or entirely ignore this of his or her counsel. The lawyer out on their ‘ronda’ at that time! electoral offence. It is a fact that concerned ought to know how to that this kind of inducement must file a petition but if for some rea- By all accounts, this was the dirti- have swung votes in favour of the son that petition is defective, why est election ever. State apparatus BN, especially in rural and remote deprive the litigant from having was fully utilised to promote the constituencies where poverty- the case heard? BN cause. Money from the na- stricken residents gratefully cast tional coffers was lavishly used their votes for the BN. Is it too difficult – isn’t it in the to influence voting patterns in It is because of these many wrongs inherent power of the court? - to favour of the BN. that the losing Pakatan Rakyat order the petition to be put right Aliran Monthly : Vol.33(5) Page 4 so that the substantive issues in the petition could be addressed by the court? Justice is not hinged on technicalities but on the question of right and wrong. Forfeiting the litigans’ right to be heard is a grave injustice. In do- ing so, isn’t the court perpetuat- ing a wrong and upholding an injustice? This is morally repul- sive! It is incredulous that the petitions for Machang and Selising con- stituencies were struck off appar- ently on grounds that could not be sustained. It is patently wrong to be done to the litigant, the High such abuses can be curbed. For to observe that the petitions were Court should use its discretion by this, senior judges from the bench not personally served on the re- referring the matter to the Federal should be specially appointed to spondents by the petitioner him- Court. This would allow real jus- hear these petitions so that they self. It is without merit. tice to be done to the petitioner and can differentiate the chaff from the would be fair to the public. grain. Any judge before elevation to the bench must have been a practis- Apart from this, the Election So far, the Election Court rulings ing lawyer. Surely, the judge must Courts have also awarded exor- have left many frustrated and dis- know that the filing of the case bitant costs to the respondents. illusioned with the courts. and the serving of documents to The costs awarded ranged from the respondents are entirely the RM30,000 to RM200,000! Many Let us be reminded by this obser- responsibility of the lawyer’s firm litigants who went to court in vation that can only come through - not that of the petitioner.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Impact of Rohingya Refugees on the Local Host Community the Case of Cox’S Bazar in Bangladesh
    Wahiduzzaman Siddique The Impact of Rohingya Refugees on the Local Host Community The Case of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh Faculty of Social Science Master’s Thesis May 2019 Map of Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh Source: Joint Response Plan for Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis (2018) ii | Page Abstract Wahiduzzaman Siddique: The Impact of Rohingya Refugees on the Local Host Community Master’s Thesis Tampere University Peace Mediation and Conflict Research May 2019 The Rohingya, a Muslim minority group from Myanmar, considered one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Although the Rohingya’s presence in Myanmar can be traced as long as the ninth century, Myanmar government consider them as an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. They are denied their citizenship in Myanmar and living in statelessness for a long time. Violence first broke out between the Rohingya and Myanmar military in 1978 after the military launched a large scaled operation called Operation Dragon King that resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of people and over 200,000 people were forced to flee to Bangladesh. Following the first operation, the Myanmar army has operated several more operation on the Rohingya that led the exodus of a large number of people in neighboring countries. The recent exodus of the refugee from Myanmar started in August 2017, after Myanmar security forces started a new operation with the help of Buddhist militia in Rakhine after a militant group calling themselves “The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army” (ARSA) attacked government forces. This forced estimated 700,000 Rohingya people to flee from Myanmar and seek refuge to neighboring Bangladesh.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Rohingya Laws Timeline
    Materials ANTI-ROHINGYA LAWS TIMELINE A police checkpoint with closed-off Rohingya area, Rakhine State, 2014. (WikiCommons/Adam) 1942 1948 1962 1978 1982 1988 1992 - 1997 2012 1942 January 4, 1948 March 2, 1962 1978 October 15 August 8 Attempts by Burmese and June 2-14 and October Bangladesh governments British Burma is occupied Burma’s Independence from Myanmar becomes a “Operation Dragon King”: Citizenship Law: the “8888 Uprising”: failed Rakhine State Riots: a series to repatriate Rohingya from by the Imperial Japanese Great Britain. dictatorship ruled by the Tatmadaw launches a Rohingya are no longer pro-democracy protests of riots in the state of Rakhine Bangladesh refugee camps Army. Muslim Rohingya in the military (Tatmadaw). “clearance operation” against recognised as one of the bring Aung San Suu Kyi, after a local ethnic Rakhine to Myanmar. More Rohingya Rakhine (formerly Arakan) the Rohingya causing 135 “national races” and daughter of Burmese woman was allegedly raped and flee Myanmar at the same time State are armed in support more than 200,000 to flee become stateless. independence leader murdered by three Rohingya and as conditions there have not of the British, while the Myanmar and go to refugee Aung San and leader a Rakhine mob murdered ten improved. Buddhists of Rakhine support camps in Bangladesh. of the newly formed Muslims in response. the Japanese. National League for Democracy, into the public spotlight. 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2013 2014 May 23 October 9 August 25 March 2018 A law prohibiting inter- Census: A nationwide Population Control Healthcare Law: women 2016 “Clearance Operation”: Villages are burnt: Human Rights Watch Satellite imageries ethnicity and inter-faith census is held for the in some regions are subjected to three- Tatmadaw launches a “clearance “Clearance Operation”: after confirm the Burmese government is bulldozing the burned marriages is passed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Protection of Human Rights of Rohingya in Myanmar: the Role of the International Community
    Department of Political Science Master in International Relations Chair of: International Organization and Human Rights The Protection of Human Rights of Rohingya in Myanmar: The Role of The International Community CANDIDATE: SUPERVISOR: Riccardo Marzoli Professor Roberto Virzo No. 623322 CO-SUPERVISOR: Professor Francesco Cherubini Academic year: 2014/2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………...p.5 1.THE PAST: THE HISTORICAL PRESENCE OF ROHINGYA IN RAKHINE STATE. SINCE THE ORIGINS TO 1978…………………………………………………………. 9 1.1.REWRITING HISTORY: CONFLICTING VERSIONS OF BURMESE AND INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS ………………………………………………………. 10 1.1.1 ETIMOLOGY OF THE TERMS…………………………………………………………………. 13 1.2. ANCIENT HISTORY OF ARAKAN AND FIRST ISLAMIC CONTACTS……… 14 1.3 CHANDRAS DINASTY AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MAGHS…………………16 1.4. MIN SAW MUN AND THE ARAKANESE KINGS WITH MUSLIM TITLES: THE SIGN OF A WIDESPREAD ISLAMIC INFLUENCE……………………………………...17 1.4.1 DIFFERENT VISIONS: WHICH ROLE FOR ROHINGYA IN MYANMAR?...................19 1.5 A NEW INFLUX: FRATRICIDAL WARS BETWEEN THE HEIRS OF THE MUGHALS’ THRONE AND THE ROLE OF THE KAMANS……………………………20 1.6 DIFFERENT WAVES OF MUSLIM ENTRANCES TO ARAKAN………………...21 1.7 1781 THE ADVENT OF THE BURMANS. THE OCCUPATION BY BODAW PAYA AND THE PREMISES OF THE BRITISH DOMINANCE ………………………………..24 1.7.1 KING SANDA WIZAYA AND THE KAMANS IN RAMREE………………………………...24 1.7.2 THE END OF THE KINGDOM OF MRAUK-U AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE AVA ARMY……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….25 1.7.3 KING BERING’S SAGA AND THE ARAKANESE
    [Show full text]
  • The Rohingya Refugee Crisis: a Conflict Amongst Nations
    The Rohingya refugee crisis: a conflict amongst nations Sally Schuster De Hart.1 Abstract The Rohingya people are a Muslim religious minority that practices a Sufi-inflected variation of Islam in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. However, many of them have been displaced to refugee camps in Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh amidst ongoing ethnic violence. According to the UN, the Rohing- yas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. In Myanmar, they live in miserable conditions where they are not allowed by law to possess land, are physically exploited through forced labor and their movement is restricted. Most Rohingyas do not have a state of their own and are subject to racial segrega- tion. This paper focuses on this Muslim minority, their identity, historical background, the refugee crisis and the international community’s effort to help them. Keywords: Rohingya, Myanmar, ethnic groups, perse- cution, religious segregation. 1 Professional in International Relations with a Minor in International Economics from Universidad del Norte. [Also Political Science and Government Student with a Minor in In- ternational Relations from Universidad del Norte]. Resides in Barranquilla (Colombia). [email protected] 77 A C I D Í R U J D A The Rohingyas were first known as Arakanese (or Introduction D Rakhine). They are an ethnic group centered in the I L The Burmese Rohingya minority is a Muslim reli- Arakan coastal region of southern Myanmar. As th A gious minority with about 1.3 million people. They early as 4 century AD, an independent Arakanese U practice a Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni Islam.
    [Show full text]
  • Perilous Plight of the Rohingyas
    Burma H U M A N Perilous Plight R I G H T S Burma’s Rohingya Take to the Seas WATCH -RHME &ERKPEHIWL 1ERHEPE] 'S\©W&E^EV :MIXREQ &YVQE %O]EF 2E]T]MHE[ 0ESW 'LMERK1EM 6ERKSSR 8LEMPERH &ERKOSO 'EQFSHME %RHEQER7IE 4LYOIX +YPJSJ8LEMPERH &ERHE%GIL 1EPE]WME -RHMER3GIER /YEPE0YQTYV -RHSRIWME H U M A N R I G H T S WATCH Perilous Plight Burma’s Rohingya Take to the Seas May 2009 | 1-56432-485-0 Introduction 2 Conditions for Rohingya Inside Burma 6 Burma’s Denial of Citizenship Rights to Rohingya 7 Thailand’s Culpability and a Flawed Policy of Deterrence 8 Ways Forward for Regional Governments 9 Recommendations 11 Acknowledgments 13 PERILOUS PLIGHT BURMA’S ROHINGYA TAKE TO THE SEAS In late December 2008, several small boats packed with hundreds of people, mostly ethnic Rohingya Muslims from western Burma, many of them emaciated, landed in India’s Andaman Islands. Passengers told Indian authorities they had originally landed in Thailand, that Thai authorities held them for two days on a deserted island, and that they then towed them back out to sea, giving them only a few sacks of rice and a little water. Some told officials and doctors that while at sea they had been tortured by Burmese sailors who stopped their vessel. 1 2 Perilous Plight (opposite) A fishing vessel crowded with ethnic Rohingya, (above) Hundreds of Rohingya laid out on a beach in southern guarded by Royal Thai Navy forces who intercepted them off the Thailand guarded by Thai security forces, after their vessel was coast of southern Thailand in January 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Reader Volume 4 | 2020
    The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs Student Academic Journal | Volume 4 GLOBAL READER 20201 2 The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs Student Academic Journal | Volume 4 Student Editors Elizabeth (Lilly) Cady ’23 Isabella Antúnez de Mayolo Mauceri ’20.5 Sabrina Roberts ’21 Suria Vanrajah ’22 Editor & Designer Aine McAlinden Program and Outreach Fellow Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs Printed May 2020 3 Foreword We are pleased to present the fourth edition of the Global Reader, Middlebury College’s interdisciplinary undergraduate academic journal providing a platform for exceptional student work addressing global issues. Published by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs and spearheaded by our Rohatyn Student Advisory Board, the Global Reader has addressed diverse themes over the years ranging from migration and trafficking to food insecurity and water politics. This year, we bring you incisive research on globalization, the impact of border policies on marginalized groups, and international coordination in space debris management, among other topics, as well as a creative work of historical fiction. The Global Reader seeks to advance the Rohatyn Center’s mission to reach across boundaries of discipline, geography, and culture to engage students’ capacity for rigorous analysis and independent thought in a rapidly changing world. Now, more so than ever, we are immensely proud of the students who have brought this mission to life with their inspiring and continued engagement. Even while life as we know it has come to a staggering halt, our student writers remain committed to the dissemination of knowledge of global affairs, each author shedding light on a unique topic of global relevance on this ever-changing and increasingly complex planet.
    [Show full text]
  • The Burmese Labyrinth the Burmese Labyrinth a History of the Rohingya Tragedy
    The Burmese Labyrinth The Burmese Labyrinth A History of the Rohingya Tragedy Carlos Sardiña Galache First published by Verso 2020 © Carlos Sardiña Galache 2020 All rights reserved The moral rights of the author have been asserted The maps on pages vi and vii are reproduced with permission from New Left Review, where they first appeared in Mary Callahan’s “Myanmar’s Perpetual Junta.” 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Verso UK: 6 Meard Street, London W1F 0EG US: 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201 versobooks.com Verso is the imprint of New Left Books ISBN-13: 978-1-78873-321-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-78873-320-5 (LIBRARY) ISBN-13: 978-1-78873-322-9 (UK EBK) ISBN-13: 978-1-78873-323-6 (US EBK) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Typeset in Minion Pro by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY Contents Maps Note on Burmese Terms Introduction: Trapped in the Burmese Labyrinth Part I ‘Discipline-Flourishing Democracy’ 1. The Transition 2. The War in the ‘Green Hell’ 3. Days of Fury in Arakan 4. ‘We Will Build a Fence With Our Bones if Necessary’ 5. The Counted and the Excluded 6. The Burmese Cage Part II History and Its Traces 7. The Worlds of Precolonial ‘Burma’ 8. Burma Under the British 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethno-Demographic Dynamics of the Rohingya-Buddhist Conflict
    ETHNO-DEMOGRAPHIC DYNAMICS OF THE ROHINGYA-BUDDHIST CONFLICT A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Asian Studies By Rachel Blomquist, B.A. Washington, DC November 30, 2015 Copyright 2015 by Rachel Blomquist All rights reserved. ii ETHNO-DEMOGRAPHIC DYNAMICS OF THE ROHINGYA-BUDDHIST CONFLICT By Rachel Blomquist, B.A. Thesis Advisor: Dr. Victor D. Cha, Ph.D. Abstract Ethno-demographic grievances define the conflict between Buddhist and Rohingya- Muslim populations in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Nationalistic Buddhist leaders, such as the controversial monk Ashin Wirathu, maintain that the Rohingya population’s rapid growth and high fertility rates threaten to overtake local Buddhist populations, reflecting local Rakhine State sentiments. This study seeks to identify quantitative and qualitative differences between the Rohingya and Buddhist populations in Rakhine State and to elucidate the theoretical and practical implications for Buddhist-Rohingya relations. Due to the government’s decision to avoid enumeration of self-identifying Rohingya, this study has relied on several recent local surveys to reconstruct a local demographic description of the Rohingya. The “Demographic Security Dilemma” theory, which specifies expectations for minority-majority conflicts and their resolution, will be used to discuss the relevant forces that underlie the Buddhist-Rohingya conflict. 1 1 A previous version of this paper was first published in the Georgetown Security Studies Review. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is dedicated to those who have supported me with this research as well as past endeavors.
    [Show full text]
  • Jurnal HI Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Bangladesh
    JURNAL HUBUNGAN INTERNASIONAL https://doi.org/10.18196/hi.91160 VOL. 9, NO. 1 (2020): April-September 2020 Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Bangladesh: The Case of UNHCR’s Response Taufiq-E-Faruque University of Dhaka, Bangladesh [email protected] Submitted: 25 May 2020; Revised: 21 June 2020; Accepted: 22 July 2020 Abstrak Bagaimana Komisioner Tinggi PBB untuk Pengungsi (UNHCR) menanggapi kedatangan para pengungsi di negara yang menolak standar hukum internasional tentang perlindungan pengungsi?. Melalui metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus, artikel ini berupaya menjawab pertanyaan tersebut dengan fokus pada respons UNHCR terhadap masuknya pengungsi Rohingya ke Bangladesh, negara yang tidak menandatangani Konvensi Pengungsi di tahun 1951 dan 1967. Artikel ini mengidentifikasi adanya kompleksitas rezim yang melibatkan rezim pengungsi internasional serta berpendapat bahwa Bangladesh telah mencoba menantang keterlibatan UNHCR melalui pemberian wewenang kepada International Organization for Migration (IOM) untuk memimpin respons kemanusiaan internasional pada hari-hari awal krisis pengungsi Rohingya tahun 2017-2018. Selanjutnya, artikel ini mengadopsi konsep “challenged institution” sebagai kerangka kerja untuk mengeksplorasi bagaimana UNHCR menanggapi tantangan di atas melalui serangkaian manuver strategis untuk menegakkan mandatnya dalam memberikan "perlindungan internasional" kepada para pengungsi Rohingya di Bangladesh. Temuan utama menunjukkan bahwa meskipun UNHCR muncul sebagai pemangku kepentingan utama dalam merespon krisis
    [Show full text]
  • Intellectual Discourse Volume 28 Number 2 2020
    Volume 28 Number 2 2020 Intellectual Discourse Volume 28 Number 2 2020 Editor Associate Editors Ishtiaq Hossain (Malaysia) Anke Iman Bouzenita (Oman) Khairil Izamin Ahmad (Malaysia) Saodah Wok (Malaysia) Book Review Editor Mohd. Helmi Bin Mohd Sobri Editorial Board Abdul Kabir Hussain Solihu (Nigeria) Syed Farid Alatas (Singapore) Badri Najib Zubir (Malaysia) Thameem Ushama (Malaysia) Daniel J. Christie (USA) International Advisory Board Habibul H. Khondker (UAE) Anis Malik Thoha (Indonesia) Hazizan Md. Noon (Malaysia) Chandra Muzaffar (Malaysia) Hussain Mutalib (Singapore) Fahimul Quadir (Canada) Ibrahim M. Zein (Qatar) Habib Zafarullah (Australia) James D. Frankel (China) John O. Voll (USA) Kenneth Christie (Canada) Muhammad al-Ghazali (Pakistan) Nor Faridah Abdul Manaf (Malaysia) Muhammad K. Khalifa (Qatar) Rahmah Bt Ahmad H. Osman Redzuan Othman (Malaysia) (Malaysia) Serdar Demirel (Turkey) Founding Editor Afar Afaq Ansari (USA) Intellectual Discourse is a highly respected, academic refereed journal of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). It is published twice a year by the IIUM Press, IIUM, and contains reflections, articles, research notes and review articles representing the disciplines, methods and viewpoints of the Muslim world. Intellectual Discourse is abstracted in SCOPUS, ProQuest, International Political Science Abstracts, Peace Research Abstracts Journal, Muslim World Book Review, Bibliography of Asian Studies, Index Islamicus, Religious and Theological Abstracts, ATLA Religion Database, MyCite, ISC and EBSCO. ISSN 0128-4878 (Print); ISSN 2289-5639 (Online) http://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/islam Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Published by: IIUM Press, International Islamic University Malaysia P.O. Box 10, 50728 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Phone (+603) 6196-5014, Fax: (+603) 6196-6298 Website:http://iiumpress.iium.edu.my/bookshop Intellectual Discourse Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • To Read More, Please Click Here
    2 3 Foreword The Rohingya community of Arakan, Burma (Myanmar) is one of the most down-trodden ethnic minorities of the world. They are victims of political oppression, economic exploitation and cultural slavery in their ancestral land - Arakan - where they have been living for centuries. Since the beginning of the 20th century the Rohingyas have been groaning under the crushing wheels of tyranny decades after decades. Ignoring all the irrefutable historical evidences of Rohingyas’ glorious past in Arakan, the Rohingyas have been suddenly made an illegal immigrant community in Arakan by the Burmese military regime through an amendment to the Burma citizenship law in 1982. With the loss of their legitimate right as the bonafide citizens of Burma, the Rohingyas have become homeless in their own home. The authority has been subjecting them to severe persecutions including serious restrictions of their movement even from village to village, ban on their marriage without government permission, religious persecution, extortion, land confiscation and restrictions on access to education. Arakan State is a closed zone for the media and so there is no scope for the world media to cover what is going on with the Rohingyas inside Arakan. A life with fear – is the life of Rohingyas. They pass their life in sub-human condition with half naked body full of hunger and grief. Tears are their permanent companions. They cry in corners and eventually die in silence. Rohingyas want peace. They want their legitimate right as the ethnic community of Arakan. They want a society which would be free from political oppression, economic exploitation, social anarchy and cultural slavery through the restoration of democracy in Burma.
    [Show full text]
  • New Modes of Non-Military Intervention Under the Responsibility to Protect: the Case of the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar’S Rakhine State
    New Modes of Non-Military Intervention Under the Responsibility to Protect: The Case of the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State Zhu Xianghui Associate Research Fellow Myanmar Research Institute & Center for China’s Neighboring Diplomacy Studies, Yunnan University The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a new and evolving principle in international politics and international law, derived from the concept of humanitarian intervention in the 1990s. At the time, the international community failed to prevent or deal with some of the sovereign countries in the outbreak of the conflict and humanitarian crisis, so the then UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan called on the international community at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 to deal with serious and systematic human rights violations as such behaviors affect our common humanity faith. With the support of the government of Canada, the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) was established in 2001. Co-chaired by Australia's former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and Algerian Diplomat Mohamed Sahnoun, ICISS has a total of 12 committee members from a number of countries. The commission released its report in December of that year, which assessed previous theories and practices of "humanitarian intervention," developed for the first time the concept of "the responsibility to protect" and called on the international community to take responsibility for protecting people suffering from genocide and mass atrocities. The 2005 UN World Summit adopted the outcome document on the "responsibility to protect", which means that all countries in the world have unanimously agreed and accepted the principle of “the responsibility to protect".
    [Show full text]