Archive - 13 September 2002

In the past, the judiciary has been criticised for having a huge case backlog. But the past couple of years have seen minor changes in the administration of justice, some of which are expected to bring about major results.

Antara punca kelewatan penghantaran pulang pendang tanpa izin sehingga terpaksa ditahan lama di pusat tahanan imigresen ialah proses dokumentasi yang rumit sebelum mereka boleh diterima semula oleh negara asal masing-masing.

Despite its internal crisis spilling into the open, Umno vice-president Muhammad Muhd Taib is hoping that the Puteri Umno members will be 'mature' enough to resolve it internally and not rope in high-ranking party leaders into the squabble.

Hari ini Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad mengumumkan beliau tidak akan bertanding dalam pilihanraya umum akan datang. Tindakannya itu dilihat selaras dengan janji beliau untuk melepaskan jawatan dalam Umno dan kerajaan Oktober tahun depan.

There was furore and disappointment all around human rights groups following yesterday's Federal Court ruling that the authorities need not reveal their justifications for detaining a person under the controversial Internal Security Act. Top of their fears was the decline of the rule of law in Malaysia.

Home Affairs Ministry had approved over 150,000 work permits to mainly Indonesian workers but their return had been held back because of delay in obtaining visas.

Migrant workers seeking employment in Malaysia are known to have been cheated by employment agents who charge exorbitant fees for bringing them into the country. Indonesia is now trying to put its foot down on these illegal transactions. However, this is only after tens of thousands more had re-entered Malaysia to work illegally.

A newspaper columnist's assertion that "after Malaya achieved its independence in 1957, there has not been any foreign troops in our country" is incorrect. The very survival of Malaya and Malaysia secured by Commonwealth troops who used our country as part of their stomping ground at least until 1971.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar claims the United States embassy failed to inform the government about its intention to close due to a security threat. The closure, he says, casts a negative impression about Malaysia. However, the embassy says it did inform the government.

Which education system is better for Malaysians: bilingual or total English immersion? The current debate raging in the country about the new education policy brings to M BAKRI MUSA's mind a similar experience in the US.

Revenge is last on the minds of the Sept 11 families. Although the events of that day, for them, are 'something from which we will never recover, not in one year, not in a lifetime', they feel that responding to violence with violence will only escalate the suffering, creating fresh wounds and breeding more resentment.