Azalina: Govt to study CJ’s proposal to remove AG’s role over lower courts

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will study the “interesting” proposal to relieve the Attorney-General of his position of overseeing the judges from the Sessions Court and Magistrate’s Court, de facto law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said today. Azalina said the proposal mentioned by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria last Saturday “makes some sense”. “I…

Former PM moves to shore up Opposition in next general election

PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Moh­amad will form a new political party which will join forces with the Opposition in a bid to oust Barisan Nasional in the next general election. The party will be part of a greater coalition comprising PKR, DAP and Amanah, as well NGOs and individuals. The former prime minister said this…

Suhakam: There is room for human rights improvement

KUALA LUMPUR: The new chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Tan Sri Razali Ismail wants the Government to have greater human rights reforms which he says are still lacking. Razali said despite the nation’s development and economic progress, there was still room for human rights improvements. “As Malaysia makes reasonable strides in…

Anti-African banner is unacceptable, says Proham

The act of the management corporation of Waja Apartments in Taman Tun Perak, Cheras in hanging up a banner with the words “Say No To African People” is totally unacceptable, says Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) secretary-general Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria. “It is a racist act and a form of stereotyping. This…

Govt open to replacing death with life

While the study on whether to keep the death penalty is ongoing, the Government is open to proposals on the matter. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri says the Government is considering suggestions to improve the current justice system including whether to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment, as mooted by several parties…

Malaysia receives 68 migrants from Syria

SUBANG JAYA: Malaysia received 68 Syrian migrants who are seeking refuge from the conflict-torn country Saturday. The group, consisting of 18 families with 31 children as young as seven-months, arrived in a chartered plane at the Subang Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base at about 11am. With their bags in tow, the refugees disembarked from…

Court rules ‘celaka Umno’ not seditious

The George Town Sessions Court acquitted and discharged today DAP lawmaker RSN Rayer of a sedition charge over his “celaka Umno” (Damn Umno) remark. Justice Roslan Hamid said the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the Seri Delima state assemblyman. “While the prosecution has proved that he has said those words…

EAIC Finds Detainee Dharmendran Died From Police Use Of Physical Force

The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission today announced it found that N. Dharmendran died in police custody on May 21, 2013, due to the use of physical force by the police. EAIC chairman Datuk Yaacob Md Sam said the commission recommended disciplinary action and criminal charges against the police personnel. He said the post-mortem report of…

Sarawak natives win fight to regain land taken for Baram dam

Sarawak villagers have won their bid to regain native customary land that had been earmarked for the construction of the Baram dam, according to their lawyers. The decision meant that the nearly 20,000 villagers from up to 30 villages will now be allowed to re-enter the land that had previously been gazetted for acquisition under…

The Malaysian Insider to close down

News portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) will cease operations at midnight on Monday, March 14. “Goodbye readers from near and far, and those reading us in Malaysia despite the government block,” TMI chief editor Jahabar Sadiq (pic) wrote in an article on Monday. “The Edge Media Group has decided to shut down The Malaysian Insider…

Mahathir, Opposition sign declaration calling for repeal of laws

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the opposition have signed a declaration calling for the repeal of all recent laws and agreements that violate fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Federal Constitution. “We support a restoration of the integrity of the institutions that have been undermined such as the police, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission, Bank…

Govt to ‘look into’ Rulers’ statement on NSC bill

The Government will “look into” a statement by the Conference of Rulers that some provisions of the National Security Council Bill 2015 should be refined. Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, who had briefed the 240th meeting of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara on the Bill on Tuesday, told Sin Chew Daily that…

A-G mulls stiffer penalties for leaking official secrets

The Attorney-General’s Cham­bers is considering increasing the punishment on those who leak official secrets, said Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali. He said there were increasing cases of official secrets being leaked and reported by the media quoting sources. He said the Chambers was looking into amending the Official Secrets Act 1972 to punish those…

Civil society groups launch campaign to stop NSC Bill

Civil rights groups have joined forces in a campaign against the recently passed National Security Council (NSC) Bill with the hashtag #TakNakDiktator or #NoDictator. “And the #TakNakDiktator campaign is launched! Oppose the NSC Bill! Change avatar (on social media), sign petition, write to the senators,” campaign spokesperson, lawyer and activist from the National Human Rights…