Current Affairs

What legal reforms allowed for the recent re-sentencing of Sabahan Yong Vui Kong? And why did a government which for decades was certain in its conviction that it could justify one of the world’s highest rates of executions, change its tune? We speak to M Ravi who, according to Singapore online news portal Online Citizen, “took up his case just weeks before Vui Kong was scheduled to hang on 4 December 2009”. Days before his scheduled execution, M Ravi lodged a constitutional challenge on the mandatory death penalty and secured a temporary reprieve for Yong. We speak to the lawyer who saved Vui Kong.

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In January 2013 Malaysia’s ranking on the Defence Anti-Corruption Index dropped from category D to E, which means that there is a high risk of corruption in its defence spending and operations. While Budget 2014 did not have any big ticket defence items it's important to note that RM23 billion was allocated in the 10th Malaysia Plan for defence, and expectations in the defence industry is that big purchases will be made by 2015. We speak to Dr Kua Kia Soong a sociologist, a one term MP and author of “Questioning Arms Spending in Malaysia: From Altantuya to Zikorsky”.

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Following a defamation suit by several NGOs, the NST yesterday read out an apology in court for a story it published last year titled “Plot to Destablise Government”. They have to agreed to add the phrases "groundless allegations" and "false and without foundation" to characterize their story. Ironically, the story was written by award winning Farah Naz Karim. She was a winner of the Malaysia MPI-Petronas Journalism Awards this year in two categories: Best News Report and Best Investigative Journalism. We speak to the Executive Director of the Center for Independent Journalism on why they embarked on the suit and why they settled for a published apology and legal costs but no damages.

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Strange bedfellows make for stranger politics? Perhaps not. This week the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) threatened to hold a protest in Putrajaya despite being a partner of the coalition that controls the Federal government. Does this signal serious problems in Barisan Nasional or is it just a function of coalition politics? In the run up to the PAS Muktamar, I spoke to Anas Danial, a researcher with the Islamic Renaissance Front on the concept of coalition politics that has emerged in the Islamist movement. Anas explains the term “tahaluf siyasi” that has recently appeared in the Malay language media.

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The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting or CHOGM is coming up next week. While the opening ceremony is due on the 15th of November it is going to be preceded by various other fora including a Youth Forum on the 10th and a Business Forum on the 12th. CHOGM has for years been dogged by questions of relevance. This time the question of CHOGM’s relevance is tied to the suitability of the country hosting the meeting, and the host is none other than the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. It's often noted that Sri Lanka’s decades long civil war ended in 2009, but have the underlying causes of the conflict been resolved?

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Following its victory at the Sg Limau by-election in Kedah, the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) will be facing an internal contest at its month-end Muktamar. The mainstream media has often framed the on-going intra-party dynamics in terms of a contest between religious scholars and professionals. Anas Danial believes it better understood as a contest between conservatives and progressives who might be either scholars or professionals. We also explore the question of succession, commitment to Pakatan Rakyat and the youth vote.

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“Abhisit, Suthep hit with murder charges” That’s how Thailand’s  Bangkok Post headlined the news that Former Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and his then Deputy Suthep Thaugsuban had been charged in connection with the 2010 government crackdown on protesters. The crackdown claimed close to 100 people. Thai journalist Prangtip Darueng, a member of the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, explains the politics and implications of the charges against Mr Abhisit.

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BFM speaks with Tamar Elkeles, VP of Learning and Development at Qualcomm, and Geoff Stead, the head of mobile learning in that company, on the latest developments in mobile learning for companies. Stead is one of the founders of the term "mobile learning".

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Pascal van Nieuwendijk, Director of Public Sector Group at Microsoft, tells the company's strategic intent in the online education space. The interview was done at the Mobilearn Asia Conference, Singapore.

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Dr Lim Heuiseok, Professor of Computer Science & Education at Korea University, tells how mobile learning helps Korean students overcome cultural barriers in class. Dr Lim spoke to BFM at the Mobilearn Asia Conference, Singapore.

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