Archive - 24 November 2011

Prime Minister Najib Razak has described the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011, which is being tabled in Parliament, as 'revolutionary' and leaps and bounds better than the existing law.

A quick decision was vital as the cash crunch could come very soon with TNB spending extra for power generation due to gas shortage.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today ruled that trade unions enjoy absolute immunity from being sued under the Trade Unions Act 1959.

The hacking of the website comes two days after Malaysia beat Indonesia in SEA Games football.

Employers found to have ordered their Indonesian maids to do other tasks, other than at the employers’ home, can be fined a minimum of RM500,000 or jailed three to 20 years under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

The Ruler says he has been informed about the accounts of the two state agencies which had been audited by the Auditor-General’s Office.

The de facto law minister says the decision is simply to exercise the right of appeal accorded under the law.

Malaysians are encouraged to protest against the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 by gathering at the KLCC park on Saturday afternoon donning yellow.

Families of Internal Security Act detainees and an NGO submit a memo pleading for the prime minister’s intervention.

The Umno veep says unlike the opposition which barred certain mainstream media, Umno has opened its doors to the online media. [VIDEO INSIDE]

He is brimming with confidence that history will mark the moment when the Bill becomes law. [VIDEO INSIDE]

Selangor Umno deputy chief Noh Omar today said the Selangor Umno will raise issues on unity at the party's general assembly this year.

'This is a continuing process although it basically takes six months,' says Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at the Parliament lobby.

UPDATED 6.40PM The motion to lift three proclamations was passed amidst contention from the opposition that one had been left out.

The Court of Appeal ordered abused Indonesian maid Nirmala Bonat to deposit RM5,000 in security for costs in Putrajaya.

The Komtar assemblyperson allegedly insulted two Muslim women married to Bangladeshis by labelling them ‘traitors to the country’.

UPDATED 6.20PM The debate had initially been scheduled for Nov 24, 29 and 30 and Dec 1 over the Bill that seeks to outlaw street protests.

Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh says this would be in conjunction with the ministry’s visit to the Lamps plant on Nov 30.

Despite strong opposition, the Bill's proponents insist that Malaysians are not prepared for unbridled freedom, a recipe for national disaster. [VIDEO INSIDE]

'Their new positions are further out, closer to the outer-port-limit fringe, and away from the area slated for development,' a trader says.

UPDATED 2.51PM The bill transforms the police from being the 'giver' of the right to assemble, to facilitator, says the gov't.

The statutory entity adds it voice to the litany of complaints aired by concerned citizens through the various NGOs.

The Umno vice-president hinted that seniority alone was not enough, but that his or her background was a key factor in winning voters over.

The villagers were prosecuted for trying to safeguard their family house from being demolished on Oct 15.

UPDATED 1.40PM PARLIAMENT Despite pledging to amend section 15, the gov't will appeal the Court of Appeal ruling.

Nik Aziz says dissolving the parliament and state assembly separately would only create a number of problems.

Palanivel’s press secretary M Karmegan says Letcimi passed away at 10.50pm at Palanivel’s house in Taman Melawati in Kuala Lumpur.

The Machap Umboo Chapel committee expresses sadness at the chapel being served a demolition notice by the Alor Gajah Town Council on Sept 20.

UPDATED 1.05PM The number of evacuees in Terengganu and Kelantan rose to 3,457 compared to 1,712 last night.

The visit to the South Pole was in conjunction with Malaysia’s formal accession to the Antarctic Treaty 1959 on Oct 31 this year.

FREE VOXPOP 'Najib talked about more democratic space - reform means more freedom, not more repression.'

Less than half get jobs in which they can use their qualifications, a study by sociologists at Massey and Waikato universities found.

Selangor's Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson vows to challenge constitutionality of Peaceful Assembly Bill, if it is adopted unchanged.

FREE YOURSAY 'Most of us know that the debacle is because of instructions from BN ministers, who are his colleagues.'

FREE YOURSAY 'Elyas Omar was recalled to Parliament in the 1980s over matters that the PAC wanted him to answer for from the mid-1970s.'

COMMENT In match-up of arguments for and against delayed state polls in Pakatan states, a new reason rises...

FREE YOURSAY 'Ibrahim Ali knows that time is running out for him. There are no more parties for him to hop to.'

COMMENT The new bill is obviously designed to protect the gov't, not to give more democratic space to the citizens.

UPDATED 12.05PM Najib tabled a motion in Dewan Rakyat today to lift three emergency proclamations that have been in effect for 40 years.