Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS)

We are gravely disappointed the way the rebel government handle and apply the movement control order (MCO) in this country. As of yesterday evening, there were reports both formal and informal indicating that some ministers, deputy ministers, a menteri besar, exco members, MPs or state assemblymen were seen in official functions with many attendees being invited to their events where food and drinks were also served to all invited guests. So, we would like to ask members of the rebel government. Just exactly how many sets of rules does your MCO applies to in this country? One for the normal people with harsh punishment onto offenders, while the other is an exemption for VVIPs like you all happily enjoying in your events and function there by showing of your “V” sign to the ordinary people? If that is so, the rebel government has not been fair towards our people, venting a heavy jail terms to offenders of ordinary background while those in higher caste or with high positions wer...

In a region stricken by violent conflicts and dictatorships, corruption remains endemic in the Arab states while assaults on freedom of expression, press freedoms and civil society continue to escalate. In this environment, it is no surprise that 19 of 21 Arab states score below 50 in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 , which captures levels of corruption in the public sector. SMALL STRIDES, BUT OVERALL STAGNATION While the majority of Arab countries show no significant change in this year’s index, on the ground, a number of countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia are taking small yet positive steps towards fighting corruption and increasing transparency and integrity. While not reflected in its CPI score, Lebanon, for example made small strides in 2017 with the passage of the Access to Information Law. The country also joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI ), the global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. In addit...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 27/2/2017 Well, the so-called PAS-sponsored Himpunan 355 has come and gone. The rally was supposedly to garner support for PAS president Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill, which is expected to be tabled in parliament next month, to enhance punishments under the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, also known as Act 355. PAS’ long-time arch rival Umno has also come out in support of Hadi’s bill, citing the importance of uniting regardless of political affiliation in order to protect the religion from threats. Can PAS and Umno enlighten us on who is “threatening” Islam in Malaysia and how the “threat” has been initiated? Are they able to identify the culprits who have threatened the religion all this while? Prior to PAS’ decision to forward the bill to amend Act 355 to provide for stiffer shariah punishments, did they scrutinise the bill to look for measures that would enforce good governance and curb corrupt...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 9/11/2015 WH Cheng We all have seen and heard of the Budget 2016 tabled by Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak recently. On the surface, it looks so attractive that some people may get overly excited until they look deeper into the content. Our major concern here is, does this budget really serve its purpose? Our nation’s economy has been battered by the continuous depreciation of the ringgit. Inflation has been rising right to the top, and our people could no longer bear the rising cost of living these days. Economically, most of us are in quite a defensive mode because we need to fight for our survival, work even harder to earn more money just so we could put some food on the table for our family. Is this what the BN government has planned all this while? Making sure we are all tied up, frustrated and feeling helpless, so we have no more time to look at the way BN runs this nation of ours to ruins? Let u...

We are in opinion that any religious issues or discussion should remain a household or private matter and it should not be debated publicly. Asides, any religions also should not be put onto the political stage, put into part of political administration, setting up religious laws, religious courts or whatsoever. Just look at today's situation in Malaysia, how a religion has been deliberately used or being misused by many parties, leaders or individuals in the elite circle to serve their own interests, to serve their own political interests, and to ensure they remain power for a longer period. When a religion is misused, it became extreme, thus its leaders and groups become extremists. This religion which was originally a way of life has deviated from its original teachings, deviated from its original objectives, worst of all, even the religious scholars themselves had deviated from their way of life, misused their positions of power to influence our people, creating their ...

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 Koon Yew Yin Last week I received a copy of an email invitation to a joint seminar by two academics, one from University of Malaya and the other from Unversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The title of their talk was “Does race matter in getting an interview? A field experiment of hiring discrimination in Peninsular Malaysia.”. As I have been an employer with over 40 years experience, the seminar topic intrigued me. Unfortunately I was not able to attend. Subsequently, I have been following the internet discussion generated by the seminar. This includes the recent letter from the two researchers requesting an apology from an online news site which reported on the seminar findings. Is Racial Bigotry an Issue in Hiring? According to the letter, the online website had through its headline “Malaysian employers practise racial bigotry, study shows” grossly misrepresented the study. Although the two academics conceded that the article “fairly accurately conveys our main findings and conc...

By Steve Oh The  Malaysiakini  report on Nurul Izzah Anwar's  statement   that there should be no compulsion in religion even for Malays is a watershed idea for the nation. This poignant truth surpasses even the remarkable observation made by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the country's "first rate infrastructure and third world mentality." It shows that Malaysian leaders know what's wrong with their country but do they have the moral courage and political capability to right the wrongs? I am sure Nurul Izzah and her political coalition will win many votes if she makes her suggestion a key policy in their political manifesto. It will bring Malaysia in line with contemporary values of human rights because the Malays are still a bonded people, controlled by all sorts of rules and regulations that exempt other Malaysians. This one-nation two-system method of governance is retrograde and reason why despite all the high-sounding political s...

By Simon Sipaun PROHAM is a new human rights NGO formed by former Suhakam and the Police Commission commissioners. It was launched on 21st March, 2011. Incidentally, 21st March every year is the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This RTD will go a long way towards realizing PROHAM’s hope to see that Malaysia will, sooner rather than later become a party to the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1969 (ICERD). This move represents a realistic approach to the issue rather than sweeping it under the carpet and pretend it is not there. 2. I am unable to find one good reason why Malaysia should persistently continue to be not a party to ICERD. Any government which refuses to be a party to ICERD is a government that supports racism and racial discrimination. How else can I interpret such state of affairs? 175 countries are currently party to ICERD including many Islamic countries. Only 15 cou...