Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS)

With the latest case of police brutality has been exposed. It has already caused another death as the result of police torture. It is simple that the police top brass would respond to such cases. They would just say the force would conduct its own internal investigation, domestic inquiry, or the policemen involved would be suspended awaiting further investigation. After all these efforts - internal investigation, domestic inquiries, suspension of the police personnel, what we got today? It is still happening. The police brutality and torturing are still happening. The number of death in the police custody are still happening. It has not stop, but instead it has been continuing much like a fanfare within the police force itself. It has already became a routine and a must-do job within the police force today. What are the improvement plans, counter-measures, productive measures or whatever they could name? Yes, they listed down hundreds of them. So does those under the Government Tr...

On the recent statement by the Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim citing the importance and need to have more interfaith understanding, Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS) applaud his call as a step forward towards a stronger political will to ensure interfaith understanding in this country is in place. IRAS has seen this call by the country's top opposition leader as encouraging and we would like to see that the future government would take this step towards implementation once the voters decide the who should be the new government after the next general elections. Interfaith understanding is what the current sitting government in Putrajaya has failed to preserve. What we had seen and are seeing now is the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is disintegrating from within just because of this problem. Umno wanted a more "supreme" position for the Malays (actually for Umno leaders and elites), while MCA, MIC, PPP and Gerakan couldn't do much to pre...

Exposures after exposures were reported at the most recent hearing of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the Illegal Immigrants in Sabah. Does all these look as at it has been fabricated? No, not at all. The scandal in Sabah was real. So does the existence of over more than half a million of illegal immigrants from Indonesia and the Philippines who are now residing permanently in Sabah. Thanks to the Barisan Nasional (BN), particularly the dominant party called Umno, these illegal immigrants are able to stay put in the state until today. Asides, they were also given express citizenship status and granted voting rights when most of the Sabah bumiputras particularly the Kadazan Dusuns, Muruts, Bajaus, Dumpas, Orang Sungai, Rungus and many more in the rural areas are still not able to become voters until today despite their status as real Sabahans and the fact that they are Malaysians. Everyone knows that the scandal, better known as Project IC really exist in Sabah and ...

When Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) chief economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajuddin gave a prediction of a possible Pakatan Rakyat narrow victory in the next 13th general election, overnight, he has became a political enemy of his employer. The BIMB chief economist has been suspended from active duty by his employer until further notice and it was not clear that if he would later face the bank's domestic inquiry for an alleged "misconduct" as claimed earlier by the BIMB's managing director. What "misconduct" has Azrul committed in the forum which he has attended and had his view presented? If the BIMB managing director has mentioned that his view and prediction on Pakatan's possible narrow victory are entirely his personal, then why issue him a suspension on BIMB capacity? Has Azrul ever mention "according to BIMB's prediction, Pakatan will gain a narrow victory"? No he did not say so. Furthermore, Azrul has attended the forum in under...

By Tatiana Gabroussenko " ... Young guerrilla girl Kumsuni delivers letters to comrades, and one day is caught by the police. When the policemen demand the girl disclose information about the guerillas, she spits into the faces of her interrogators. As the policemen drag Kumsuni to her execution, the heroic girl cries out 'Long Live General Kim Il Sung!'" ...Pre-teen boy Ri Kwang-ch'un is a member of a secret anti-Japanese children's organization. Along with others, he helps the "Red Guard uncles". However, one day policemen apprehend the boy. When the "bastards" torture the young patriot, Ri cuts off his own tongue in defiance. His last words are "Long Live the Korean Revolution!" Even if one supports patriotic education of the younger generation, one is still likely to find such notions of slicing off one's own tongue, torture or execution to be much too disturbing and complicated to present to children. Yet the plots ci...

By Simon Roughneen  Ahead of what reform campaigners believe will be Malaysia's "dirtiest ever elections", the long-ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has engineered something of a clean-up. In recent months, it has reformed some old and oft-derided laws, such as allowing indefinite detention without trial and forcing local newspapers to apply each year for a publication permit, a stipulation that encouraged self-censorship.  UMNO and its allies have governed Malaysia consecutively since achieving independence from colonial rule, a longevity not usually associated with electoral democracies. UMNO and its Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition survived the last election in 2008, though it ceded its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time and lost five out of 13 federal states to the opposition, a coalition of three parties led by controversial former UMNO firebrand Anwar  Ibrahim that includes the Islamic party PAS and the Chinese-dominated Democratic...

By Viktor Wong Corruptions, power abuse, mismanagements and all sorts of negative elements within the government and the ruling party, that is what we have been hearing and reading about almost everyday. BN has been governing this country for more than 55 years, it is full of corruptions and power abuse, when Pakatan took over some state in the 2008 general elections, the opposition coalition is also being undermined by such elements during its first few years ruling some states. Well, whenever or whoever who are in power, or having taste the seat of power would certainly fall into this element if he or she were to unable to control their greed while in office. What was the cause onto all such negative elements? No one have ever bother to look deeper into this issue. Even the Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan arrogantly admitted that corruption in the BN government is something usual and it happens around the globe. So, does Ahmad Maslan agrees that corruption should carry on ...