The Education Ministry has recently announced that it plans to begin vocational training in high schools by 2013, as part of its Vocational Education Transformation programme that hopes to produce at least 3.3 million skilled workers within the next 10 years. Will this successfully reverse Malaysia’s declining trend in vocational school enrolment, and raise the standard of vocational education in Malaysia?

In the following interview, Tim Dillon, Commissioner for Victoria to Southeast Asia, shares about the Australian vocational education and training (VET) system and the lessons from the country's experience. He also shares his views on Malaysia's intiiatives to revamp the current vocational education system, adding that there are many possibilities for collaborations with Australian VET providers. Tim was recently in Kuala Lumpur as part of a VET trade mission organised by the Victorian State Government.

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Last week, the Prime Minister announced the repeal of the Sedition Act 1948, and that it will be replaced with a new National Harmony Act as part of the country’s transformation plan. While critics welcome the long-awaited repeal, many are questioning the need for a replacement act.

In the following interview, Lim Chee Wee, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, talks about whether a replacement is needed, the possibility of a relabelling of the Race Relations Act as well as  the government's progress in lawmaking.

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July 18 marks Nelson Mandela International Day, which was instituted by the UN in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to peace and freedom. 
Mandela, who turns 94 today, gained international respect for his sacrifices in opposing apartheid in South Africa, which included being jailed for 27 years. Following his release in 1990, Mandela led negotiations that paved the way to elections in 1994, and was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
The following are major excerpts from Mandela’s statement from the dock at the opening of the 1964 Rivonia trial, in which 10 leaders of the African National Congress were tried for acts of sabotage to overthrow the apartheid system. The statement encapsulates Mandela’s struggle and vision for equal rights for his countrymen.

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Recently, Pemandu’s National Key Result Area on crime reduction showed an 11 percent drop in crime rates between 2010 and 2011, and a 39.7 percent drop in street crimes during the same period. However, a recent spate of kidnap attempts, snatch thefts and break-ins seem to prove the figures otherwise, as Malaysians grow increasingly concerned about their personal safety.

Eugene Teh, director of Pemandu’s Crime NKRA, addresses the perceived rising crime rate in Malaysia. He also talks about whether Pemandu is spending more on awareness drives as opposed to fighting crime, whether deploying RELA officers at malls is a good idea and whether Pemandu is changing its crime-fighting strategy given the recent reports of increasingly violent crimes.

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The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has said that zoos and wildlife sanctuaries have until August to clean up their act or face closure. This comes after a study by Sahabat Alam Malaysia showed 44 zoos nationwide to have failed to fulfil the standard operating wildlife care, as stipulated by law under the Wildlife and National Park Department or Perhilitan. 

In the following interview, Lim Gaik Kee, spokesperson for Sahabat Alam Malaysia, talks about the mistreatment of animals at the local zoos, reasons behind why they are poorly managed and what measures can be taken to curb the problem.

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Advocacy group My Overseas Vote has pointed out that the Election Commission has failed to meet a three-month deadline to establish a system for Malaysians living overseas to vote in the coming general elections. This follows after the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reform had made the recommendation and given the three-month deadline on April 3. 

Currently, only full-time students and civil servants working abroad are allowed to vote via post. Malaysians residing and working overseas are required to return to the country to vote during the elections.

Andrew Yong, founding member and honorary legal advisor of the London-based group, discusses why overseas Malaysians should be allowed to vote. He also shares his thoughts on the argument that only Malaysians who reside in Malaysia and are directly impacted by policies decided by the lawmakers should be allowed to vote, the challenges faced by overseas voters with the current postal voting system, as well as whether the embassies and consulates overseas are well-equipped for registering and facilitating overseas voters.

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Last week, Hong Kong saw 400,000 people take to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction with the territory’s new CEO, Leung Chun Ying. The protest, which was held in conjunction with the 15th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, was the biggest in Hong Kong since 2003.  

In the following interview, Frank Ching, an independent journalist and columnist based in Hong Kong, on the underlying issues behind the protests.

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The Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee or PJSC will be holding a public dialogue tomorrow (July 7th) to facilitate discussion between the government, MRT Corp and the public on the 51 km Klang Valley MRT project, as the committee claims there has not been enough room for public feedback thus far. 

In the following interview, Stanley Yong, co-chairperson of the committee, talks about why they are opposing not just the current proposed route for the MRT track, but more importantly, the manner by which the public consultation process has been conducted thus far. Yong also discusses the alternative route that the committee has proposed, and whether the campaign is a case of minority interest, since most of the landowners have agreed to the terms proposed by the company.

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Immunisation averts an estimated 2.5 million child deaths a year and vaccination is recognised as one of the world’s most important public health measures. However, will the successful adoption of vaccination programmes be threatened by increasing costs of vaccines, patent issues and public scepticism? 

In the following interview, Dr Edith Maes (Mas), Senior Research Fellow at the Maastricht (Mas-trick) School of Management in The Netherlands, on the issues affecting immunisation in Malaysia. She discusses the economic benefits of national investments into immunisation, whether pharmaceutical firms should do more to make costly vaccines accessible to the poor, public skepticism towards immunisation and whether escalating costs of vaccines will dampen the further adoption of immunisation programmes.   

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Last week, a 2-month old baby died at a childcare centre in Kuala Lumpur, bringing the death toll of children at childcare centres to 14 this year. The figures are a cause for concern, considering five children died at childcare centres last year, and there are currently more than 2,000 unlicensed centres in Malaysia.

In response to the issue, local NGO Voice of the Children (VOC) has launched a petition on June 3, calling on the government to register all childcare centres in the country, and impose a moratorium on unlicensed ones after a year-long grace period. 

In the following interview, Sharmila Sekaran, chairperson of VOC discusses the petition, the Childcare Centre Act 1984, as well as why the Welfare Department is slow in cracking down on unregistered childcare centres.

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