Current Affairs

Every year we in the media wait with bated breath for the Auditor-General’s Report. Part One of this year’s report was tabled in Parliament on Monday. This is the newly minted Auditor General’s first report. Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad was made Auditor General in February this year. She gave top marks to all Ministries in comparison to 16 ministries in 2015 and 20 out of 24 ministries the year before that. Today we ask how the Auditor-General herself scores in comparison to her predecessors Haji Ambrin Buang and Ahmad Noordin Zakaria. We also look at the question of corruption, the quality of the civil service and the omission of 1MDB.

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India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, condemned the rise in deadly mob attacks on cattle traders, beef-eaters and dairy farmers, saying killing people in the name of so-called “Cow Protection” is unacceptable. Today we explore the tension surrounding internationalism in India; an underlying case of politicking; and cow vigilantism as a detriment to the Pink Revolution.

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Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular banning the book “Breaking the Silence: Voices of Moderation” subtitled “Islam in a constitutional democracy”, first published in December 2015. One of the contributors to the book, Universiti Malaya law professor Azmi Sharom, has been reported saying that the authorities did not in fact explain why they consider the book “prejudicial to public order”. Another contributor Just World director Chandra Muzaffar says that the book is “It’s a collection of essays which intended to show that extremists and bigoted thinking on matters pertaining to the practice of Islam in the country should be combated in an intellectual manner.” Today we ask if in view of the successful over-turning of the Home Ministry's ban of a book titled “Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism”, this case will go to court.

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On Monday, 30 settlers were arrested for forming a human blockade to prevent lorries from transporting rubber logs from Kampung Gatco. The dispute between the settlers and plantation landowners, Thamarai Holdings, has been generating headlines since 2013. Recently in parliament, Klang MP Charles Santiago called on to Putrajaya to intervene in the long-running Kampung Gatco dispute as proof of the government’s commitment to helping the Indian community. But is this an ethnic issue or a case of a “land grab” affecting a multi-ethnic community of settlers. Today we speak to a son of a settler about the story of broken promises they feel they are caught up in.

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Sabah and Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs have dismissed a call by opposition lawmakers to name Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the Federal Court Chief Justice. They have branded the move a political one. The question of who should be Chief Justice is related to concerns brewing over the extension of tenures of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif and that of the president of Court of Appeal Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin. Yesterday the Sabah Law Society and the Advocates Association of Sarawak joined the chorus of concerned voices over the extended tenure which many claim is unconstitutional. One implication is that the Bench lacks talent. Its in this regard that the name of Tan Sri Malanjum has been raised. Our guest today, former de facto law Minister was reported saying “Richard Malanjum is an exemplary judge deserving the highest post … He must not be bypassed because he is a Christian, or because he is not a Malay.”

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Over the weekend, the United Nations’s released a report which shows that Malaysia together with nine other countries accounted for over 95% of all new HIV infections in the Asia-Pacific region. Produced by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, the report is entitled “Ending AIDS: Progress Towards the 90-90 Targets”. The report shows that HIV infection via sexual transmission outpaced transmissions from intravenous drug use which used to be the main source of transmissions.  In response, the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) was reported saying that it is time to deal will the problem head on by stepping up sex education in our schools. Today we ask if policy makers and organisations like the MAC have been taken by surprise by the UN report; and what pragmatic steps can be taken to stem increased infections.

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Over the weekend, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced 6 different incentives for Felda settlers. Today we ask how significant is this in shoring up support/confidence levels of Felda settlers in the ruling coalition; do such schemes pay off in increased political capital for Barisan Nasional; and is this a bailout and from whose perspective? 

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Yesterday evening Adilur Rahman Khan, from a Bangladesh-based human rights group Odhikar was deported after trying to enter the country. Khan found that he was on a list of banned individuals. Apart from other human rights he is involved in, Khan formerly deputy attorney-general of Bangladesh. He was supposed to deliver a talk at a Anti-Death Penalty conference. While being detained, prior to being deported, the Asian Human Rights Commission urged the international human rights community "to immediately intervene in this case” concerned that Khan’s detention "is the result of collusion between governments in Bangladesh and Malaysia”. 

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The siege of Marawi City in southern Philippines is entering its third month. Militants, many drawn from neighbouring countries, have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State. Philippines Military spokesman said that the urban terrain has hampered the army's progress because the rebels had hunkered down in built-up neighborhoods, many of them with civilians they had taken as human shields. And while the army is seeing at end to the battle, President Rodrigo Duterte is asking the Philippines congress for an extension of Martial Law in the southern island of Mindanao. He had first declared emergency rule in on May 23. Today we ask how the war against terror is going.

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The United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced plans to roll back net neutrality as a principle by which the Internet operates. The move was met with protest from netizens, human rights organisations and major companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. With July 12th declared the Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality. Simply put, net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers and Internet regulators must treat all data on the Internet without discriminating by user, content, website, platform, or mode of communication. Today we ask if FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s argument that repealing the current net neutrality rules will lead to more innovation.

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