Current Affairs

Recently, constitutional law expert Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi was reported inviting his critics for a dialogue instead of resorting to police reports. The professor had confirmed that a police report was lodged by the government-funded Malaysia Islamic Strategic Research Institute (IKSIM). Prof Shad Faruqi is being investigated under the Section 504 of the Penal Code, which  deals with intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. They were upset with his article published on November 23 in The Star entitled ‘Religious radicalism on the rise’. Shad explained that, “[his] intention is basically to point out that our Constitution is mixed, hybrid and plural. Islam has a very exalted position but as of yet, as things stand under the law, it’s not yet the highest law of the land.” Today, we explore the underlying dynamics of this case.

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Earlier this week, the Court of Appeal set aside a lower court’s order to stay the Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation process, putting it back on track. The High Court had earlier granted a stay to the Selangor state government, pending a bid to have the EC’s redelineation exercise declared unconstitutional. Today we ask, if this redelineation exercise can be completed and passed in time for a General Election if it were to be held before or after CNY; and if this redrawing of constituency boundaries would change electoral outcomes assuming voting patterns were the same as those of the 2013 General Election.

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With its recent wins in state elections the party of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is on course for the political conquest of India. In Gujarat, Modi's home state, the BJP retained power while in the swing state of Himachal Pradesh, voters swung right. The BJP has replaced Congress as the nation’s pan-India party: the BJP and its allies control 19 states while Congress and allies hold four. A comment in the Hindustan Times suggests that BJP formula is intact: in the run up to 2019 elections it will talk of infrastructure, corruption-free governance, and strong leadership and punctuate it with muscular Hindu nationalism. Today, we ask where Modi is taking India. Our guest is the author of “How India Became Territorial: Foreign Policy, Diaspora, Geopolitics” as well as “The Making of the Indian Atomic Bomb: Science, Secrecy and the Postcolonial State”.

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A week after US President Donald Trump declared that he would move the US embassy to Jerusalem, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- whose members met this week --  called on all countries to "recognise the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital”. Today we ask if this will change facts on the ground; if the show of Muslim solidarity by OIC revealed more about existing regional rivalries; if there will be a third Intifada; and if the US move will mean a permanent loss of influence in the region.

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Yesterday was Human Rights Day, established to commemorate the UN Assembly's proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Today we look at issues specific to Malaysia including the right to health in prisons we all as the interface of business and human rights.

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Starting on Tuesday, the UMNO General Assembly has been dominating the headlines this week. From a target to regaining the two-thirds Parliamentary to gloves off in taking on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, the message has focused on the upcoming General Elections. Today we ask how united the party faithful are.

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This morning US President Donald Trump announced that his Administration formally recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will begin the process of moving its embassy to the city. This decision breaks with decades of US policy. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967 and has not been recognised internationally. The Malaysian Government has issued a statement calling for the US to reconsider the move while the United Nations Security Council will meet tomorrow in an emergency session to discuss the decision. Today we try to understand not just the motivations for the move but also its likely impact on regional dynamics.

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A few days ago, former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed amid fighting between his supporters and their former allies, the Houthi rebel movement. Both are fighting current the president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi who is backed by a regional coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with help with the support of Western allies. Today we ask what the balance of forces is in Yemen, and the challenges to ending this devastating civil war. 

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Political tensions and uncertainty in the Middle East peaked this week. We witnessed a high-stakes political purge within the Kingdom of Saudi’s top echelon, a thwarted missile attack on Riyadh’s international airport, the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister and a heightening tensions between Iran and Israel. Today we ask if the purge in the Kingdom is about fighting corruption or about political consolidation? If successor designate Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is he a reformer or a greenhorn? And where the proxy war in Yemen is going.

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Over the weekend, heavy torrential rainfall coming off Typhoon Damrey, which pummelled Vietnam and Cambodia, also took its toll on the northern states of the Peninsular Malaysia.

Amidst the blame game in the aftermath, we turn to Dr. Kam Suan Pheng, soil science expert and retired USM academic. She has spoken extensively about flood mitigation, with regard to Penang Island in particular.

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