In conjunction with Christmas 2011, Current Affairs looks at interfaith issues in Malaysia throughout the year. 

Dr Amir Farid of the Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship (INSAF) and Dr Herman Shastri, the secretary general of Council of Churches Malaysia, discuss their views on issues such as the DUMC church raid, Sekualiti Merdeka, and if they think religion has been politicised in Malaysia. 

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On December 19th, North Korean state media reported that its 69-year-old leader Kim Jong Il, who rose to power in 1994, died from a heart attack during a train ride on Saturday. Evan Ramstad, Korean correspondent at the Wall Street Journal, says it is not unusual that Kim's death was announced so late, as his father's death in 1994 was also formerly made known in similar fashion.

Political observers and analysts are doubtful whether Kim's son, Jong Eun -- who was appointed to succeed him last year -- will have what it takes to run North Korea.  Ramstad says that given Jong Eun's lack of experience, it is likely that his uncle, Jang Song Thaek,  Jong Il's brother-in-law and close aide, could act as a regent to the young leader. Jong Eun is believed to be in his late twenties. 

Pauline Loong, policy risk analyst at CIMB Securities Hong Kong, also speaks to BFM on the implications of Kim Jong Il's death for China. She believes that China will continue to invest more heavily into North Korea, to preserve stability in the midst of uncertainty.

In the following interview, Ramstad and Loong also talk about the impact of Kim Jong Il's death on North Korea, its nuclear programme as well as the potential intensifying of human trafficking activity from North Korea into China.

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The proposed Computing Professionals Bill by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) has come under fire by IT industry practitioners, who claim that the requirement to register IT professionals with the Board of Computing Professionals will shrink the country's IT talent pool, as many are self-taught. MOSTI has reasoned that the bill will only affect those who tender for the government's Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) projects. Critics point out that the definition of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) projects is vague and open to ambiguity, which may lead to abuse of the Bill. 

PIKOM (Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry, Malaysia)  president Shaifubahrim Saleh tells BFM that PIKOM still wants the IT industry to be self-regulated, and that the proposed IT Bill should be seen in a positive light, as the Bill is meant to raise the standard of IT practitioners in the country. He stresses that the Bill is currently in its draft stage, and MOSTI is open to public feedback for the next one to two months. "If there is any other vehicle that we can actually enhance that further, let's look at it. Let's submit some recommendations. Nothing will be final in the next one or two months," he says, adding that there will be an FAQ published on January 13th for stakeholders and the community to understand the Bill further.

At MOSTI's open day yesterday (Dec 13), Shaifubahrim, along with three other panellists -- Datuk Halimah Badioze Zaman of the National Professors Council, alternate chairman of the Higher Education Ministry’s task force on ICT human resource Prof Zaharin Yusoff and Malaysian National Computer Confederation (MNCC) president Datuk Raja Malik Mohamed -- agreed that they have not yet come to an agreement on what sectors fall under the CNII. 

Shaifubahrim agrees that the definition of CNII needs to be clear to avoid ambiguity. He says it is the Chief Government Security Office (CGSO) who will decide on the definition of CNII, with the consultation of Cybersecurity Malaysia and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) but public feedback is welcome as well.

In the following interview, Shaifubahrim also talks about the purpose of the Bill, the reasoning behind the compulsory certification for CNII project bidders, why the draft was done without first consulting IT industry practitioners and his assurance that the IT Bill will not contradict with the MSC Bill of Guarantees.

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The past few months have been eventful for the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil or RSPO, with Indonesia’s Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) withdrawing its membership in September and then, the RSPO failing to get a quorum to hold its General Assembly for the first time ever last month.

In the following interview, RSPO’s secretary-general Darrel Webber delves into these issues and whether RSPO certification is still relevant, in the face of alternative national certifications. He also discusses meagre sustainable palm oil premiums, the effectiveness of RSPO sanctions, as well as the recently passed Palm Oil Bill in Australia.

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2011 has been eventful - the clampdown on Bersih rallies calling for free elections, the speedy passing of the Peaceful Assembly Bill despite protests from the Bar Council, and the ban on Seksualiti Merdeka activities.

In conjunction with Human Rights Day, Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch gives us an update on how Malaysia fares in respecting the rights of individuals.

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Development Economics Professor at Cambridge University, Ha-Joon Chang, spoke to Carla Sapsford Newman about his counter-intuitive recommendation that Malaysia should stick to its manufacturing roots to ensure future sustained growth. He discusses why, in his opinion, a shift towards a service-oriented economy is not in Malaysia's longer-term interests. He discusses some of the problems associated with service-oriented economies:  rising wages, a brain drain, dependence on FDI from multinational companies and a dependence on a relatively small number of sectors which are more vulnerable to global economic conditions. He discusses why Budget 2012's liberalisation of 17 service sectors is the wrong direction for the country to be moving in.

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In this interview with the Senior Asian Economist at the think-tank IHS Global Insight, Rajiv Biswas, Carla Sapsford Newman explores the reasons behind the rising Malaysian interest in India.

Recent headlines addressed include:

1. The Malaysia-India Free Trade Agreement that went into effect earlier this year;

2. Increased diplomatic and trading ties between Malaysia and India, including a special envoy to India;

3. An ASEAN proposal for a free trade zone (AFTA);

4. The proposed American-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement; and

5. Rising interest from Western multinationals in investing in India.

Mr. Biswas also addressed areas of Budget 2012 which will further facilitate growth in the year ahead, such as a focus on SMEs, which can help offset global economic woes in the US and Europe.

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The UN Resident Co-ordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Kamal Malhotra spoke with Carla Sapsford Newman on the results of their recently released Human Development Report 2011. The focus of the report this year was on equality and equity, and Mr. Malhotra stressed the need for Malaysia to look more broadly at development beyond a basic income threshhold. He said Malaysia has not made significant progress in improving income inequality, and in their capacity index Malaysia has dropped in rankings. He also said that the UN has recommended the government enact ethnicity-blind affirmative action policies to address the growing disparity in wealth between the urban and the rural poor, and in poverty between ethnic groups.

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In a wide-ranging interview with Chua Hak Bin of Merrill Lynch in Singapore, Kathleen Tan discusses the EPF portfolio, foreign investment portfolio, sustainability issues and how it compares to other EPF funds in the region. Currently, the Malaysian Employees Providence Fund is the world's third largest by percentage of GDP.

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