Wong Joon Ian

A widow's claim for her spouse's insurance payment is rightly rejected, say industry sources, considering the circumstances of his death — he was shot dead by the police.

A three-member team from Suhakam visits the lock-up where a detainee was allegedly assaulted to death by his cell-mates. Commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan hears the police's version but says the events which led to the tragedy is yet to be ascertained.

Three widows whose husbands were shot dead by the police earlier this year are appealing to National Unity and Social Development Minister Dr Siti Zaharah Sulaiman to provide them with emergency funds.

Suhakam will start a probe into the death of the 32-year-old lorry driver who police said was beaten up by cellmates in a lock-up.

Suspecting foul play, the family of a detainee who died while in police custody is requesting for a second postmortem without the presence of cops from the Klang police district headquarters.

Youth organisations and uniformed groups are lauding the government's proposal to introduce national service. A word of caution from one group is that Malaysia should not blindly follow the models practised in other countries.

The cases of deaths in police custody is now alarmingly high. Prim which has been concerned with such incidents now wants to meet Deputy Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the matter.

Compulsory national service for our youth, so decide our policy makers. But what do the youth think about that? According to a street poll by malaysiakini , some agree that it'll be great for national unity and patriotism; a few wonder what's the connection.

The Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon has been recommended as a suitable home for the four illegally imported gorillas which are now in Taiping Zoo. Scientist Jane Goodall says she has written to minister Law Hieng Ding on the matter.

A 'Memorandum on a Trigger Happy Royal Malaysian Police Force' was submitted to the government by Prim leaders yesterday. Among other things, it asks the Home Minister to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the "alarmingly high incidence" of police shootings.

Angered by the police's high-handedness recently with regard to anti-ISA activities, the Abolish ISA Movement is seeking disciplinary action against a district police chief.

A forum to discuss 'Iraq: Is war the answer' moots the possibility that US is using the war as an excuse to test its nuclear might, including weapons that can strike underground bunkers.

The police have been urged to probe the Malaysian company that imported four endangered gorillas from Nigeria after providing false information that the animals were born in captivity. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), all commercial trade involving wild-born gorillas is outlawed.

The UK and Eire Malaysian Student Department (MSD) director Dr Kamarudin Mohd Nor denies intimidating 'opposition' students.

Police seized more than 100 leaflets, highlighting urban settlers' rights, from members of a housing rights group who were distributing them at a ministry-organised event to celebrate the 'World Habitat Day'.

The organiser of an aborted Merdeka Day dialogue in Britain says it did not use the name of a student umbrella body without their consent to publicise the event, denying the charge by some quarters.

The Malaysian Students Department in Britain dismisses allegations of double-standards on how it treats student involvement in politics. The director, however, proudly claims he is a 'loyal Umno member forever and ever' and warns rebellious students to watch out.

A slew of human rights groups has slammed the police for beating and preventing participants from attending an anti-Internal Security Act (ISA) meeting in Kuala Lumpur last night.

The widely-expected decision by the Umno supreme council on the new English policy was derailed today as party president and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was absent due to a family tragedy.

A former student leader involved in organising the aborted Merdeka talk in Birmingham, UK alleges the Malaysian Student Department is trying to strike fear in students to keep them away from events organised by the opposition.

The Malaysian manufacturing sector, which accounted for one-third of Gross Domestic Product last year, is being stress-tested by external forces. Question is, can it continue being the primary engine of economic growth in its present state?

Traditionally viewed only as perpetrators of violence against women, men are now increasingly in the picture as comrades in the fight against the crime. A recent workshop attended by male members from service providers of all levels shows this heartening trend.

Fomca president Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan is one man who is very pleased with Budget 2003. He is glad that consumer rights in areas like education was highlighted but cautions consumers to spend wisely "because giving people higher salaries may actually cause inflation".

A UKM history professor was warned not to speak at a Merdeka Day event in England causing the cancellation of the Sept 7 function. "Security concerns" was the reason given but the organisers and the UKM don remain baffled by the turn of events.