Current Affairs

On Wednesday, the Kelantan State Assembly passed amendments to the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2002, which includes a provision allowing for public caning. And yesterday’s Utusan Malaysia’s front page headline read “Caning in Public, Preparation When RUU355 is Passed”. While welcomed by some, the Bar Council Syariah Law Committee chairman Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari says that the Kelantan has acted “in excess of its jurisdiction”. Today we ask what this move augurs for the country as a whole.

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Tomorrow, Prabagaran Srivijayan, a Malaysian, will be executed as he has been sentenced to die for drug trafficking. The Bar Council has urged Singaporean authorities to stay tomorrow’s execution and have asked that his sentence be commuted to life imprisonment. The Malaysian Bar’s position is "that every individual has an inherent right to life, and the right to life is absolute, universal and inalienable, and must be held inviolate, regardless of the crime that may have been committed.” Today we look at the circumstances as well as legal issues involved in this case.

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On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State in the city Mosul. The battle for Mosul lasted almost nine months, left large areas in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced almost a million. Three years ago Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of IS’s caliphate in this city of 2 million. Al-Bagdadi with his small number of fighters was said to have defeated a garrison army of 60 thousand. Bagdadi is now thought to be dead or on the run to Syria where IS isn’t doing much better. Today, we ask if this victory signals the death of IS and if the fundamental questions about the structure of Iraqi state will be addressed.

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On Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the current Chief Justice, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Md Raus Sharif and the President of the Court of Appeal, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, would be appointed as additional judges of the Federal Court. The appointment extends their tenure in the top two posts beyond the mandatory retirement age of 66 years and 6 months. Both are due to retire later this year. The decision has created disquiet amongst the judicial community. Several former judges have expressed concern and the Malaysian Bar has also issued a statement calling the appointments “blatantly unconstitutional”. Today we ask if we are headed to another judicial crisis?

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North Korea announced on Tuesday that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which state media said had reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers, its highest ever missile test. China and Russia have called for concessions in response but the US opted to engaged in a joint military exercise with its South Korean ally. Today we ask why North Korea has embarked on this increasingly aggressive military stance, how it developed this capacity and whether its threat of a nuclear payload is real.

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On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Malaysian government will consider action against Myanmar following the latter's decision to deny entry to a United Nations fact-finding mission on the situation of its Rohingya minority. Zahid added that the government will seek the foreign ministry's advice on whether humanitarian or diplomatic action can be taken. Today we ask if the Malaysian government abandoned the much touted ASEAN policy of mutual non-interference in domestic affairs.

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Last week, a cyberattack known as the Petya ransomware attack began at Ukraine and has spread to various parts of Europe and the US. This follows the devastating WannaCry ransomware attack in May which has infected hundreds of thousands of computers in over 150 countries including Malaysia. Today we look at how vulnerable we are.

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The first July marked the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to The People’s Republic of China. China’s President Xi Jinping was in Hong Kong for a three day visit to mark the anniversary and swearing-in of the new Chief Executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. He reportedly warned Hong Kong not to cross the “red line” of undermining Chinese sovereignty, urging consensus instead of conflict to solve major problems. Xi was also quoted as saying that the “one country, two systems” model governing Hong Kong, “embodies a very important ­tenet, namely, seeking broad ­common ground while allowing for major differences.”

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After two years on the Tier 2 Watch list, Malaysia was upgraded to Tier 2 in the US State Department annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, released on Wednesday. Despite this recognition of Government efforts to combat TIP, is Malaysia really doing enough to prevent trafficking and protect innocent victims?

We hear from Phil Robertson, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch, Asia Division, on his views regarding Malaysia's ranking in the report and what more needs to be done.

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On Monday, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia officially launched the much-anticipated trilateral patrols of the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea. Say observers it is an example of an “indigenous, minilateral security arrangement”, now set against the backdrop of the on-going Marawi City siege. Today, we ask how effective this initiative, which was reported during the recent Shangri-La Dialogues, will be and how it is related to larger geo-political concerns in the region. 

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