Shadow Policy Committee

We are referring to the recent announcement made by the defence minister today saying that the military will be deployed this Sunday in order to curb people's movement on the streets and eateries around Malaysia. First of all, why do the defence ministry need to deploy the military? Is there an unrest happening on the streets? The police force already have sufficient manpower to deal with the enforcement of the movement control order. Furthermore, General Operation Force (Pasukan Gerak Am-PGA), the enforcement officers of the various municipal councils nationwide and the voluntary security force (RELA) can also be deployed to assist the police force in enforcing the movement control. The military deployment is completely unnecessary since there is no civil disobedience taking place. It is only the people are still unclear of the situation, given the fact of the government's continuous flip flop on relating information and details to the public. Furthermore there are ...

By JOHN R. MALOTT The not guilty verdict handed down last Monday in the sodomy trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim made both sides, Prime Minister Najib Razak and the opposition, happy. Mr. Najib gets an immediate political boost by claiming a victory for the rule of law and an independent judiciary, while Mr. Anwar can focus on the election ahead. This good feeling, however, is likely to be short-lived. Serious challenges lie ahead. The first test of the post-verdict era will be whether the government chooses to appeal the acquittal. Defense experts successfully demolished the government's DNA evidence, but the judge said during the trial that Mr. Anwar's accuser was credible and reliable. With parliamentary elections looming, the government might conclude that forcing Mr. Anwar back into the courtroom will distract and pull him away from the campaign trail. On the other hand, an appeal would be polarizing and cost the government the support of centrists an...

Penang police have given assurances that the safety of places of religious worship in Penang are secure and under control. Penang state government is deeply concerned about press reports that places of religious worship in Penang has been targeted by terrorist militants with links to Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah (JI). As Penang possesses the largest number of temples in Malaysia, it was reported in English papers that some of the prominent ones such as the internationally renowned Kek Lok Si Temple in Ayer Itam has been targeted by militants led by Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. I had spoken to Penang CPO Dato Wira Ayub Yaakob and he said that there have been increased surveillance and patrols by the police in places of religious worship since reports surfaced last week, particularly around Kek Lok Si, Guan Yin Temple. More police personnel had also been sent to Penang, including a helicopter patrolling Penang. The helicopter will be on air until August 14 to ensure heighte...

by Wong Choon Mei Umno and its own ‘special’ brand of IsIam have drawn fire from the Muslim community in the country, which is balking at the uproar it has tried to create by accusing the Penang state government of being anti-Islam and wanting to cancel the birthday march of Prophet Muhammad. “Such processions are only held in this part of the Malay world. With or without the procession, Muslims can remember and celebrate Maulidur Rasul. Do not turn this episode into a racial or religious dispute for political gain,” a reader Syed Imran Syed Ahmad wrote in to a popular news portal. Syed Imran's comment was just one of the hundreds of such feedback that have poured in to news websites and blogs in response to the ruckus kicked up over Penang's alleged intention to do away with the annual procession on February 25. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has already denied the accusations, confirming that the march would carry on as usual. “I would urge Umno to remember the history of Abu Ja...