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AliranEN
Biljana Vankovska The student protests in Serbia, which began in the wake of the tragic event in Novi Sad in November 2024, only occasionally made the front pages of the world’s media.
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Cross-ethnic resistance to colonial domination Malaya had a certain history of cross-ethnic resistance, even insurgency, against British colonial rule. Both the ethnic Malays and the other ethnic groups played important roles in speaking, publishing, rallying and fighting…
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The Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam and the Malaysian Bar, with support from the EU through its grant project ‘Advancing human rights in Malaysia via strategic approaches in education and awareness raising’, successfully conducted an intensive human rights law and…
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Chew Zhun Yee Recently, a theatre performance by The Fever Kinetic, first staged in 2018, resurfaced online and spread widely. Its makers called it a satirical take on the Rukun Negara (national principles).
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The hazy blankets over Southeast Asia are not mere ecological accidents. They are better understood, critics argue, as the atmospheric exhaust of a transborder capital formation, a system of money that moves across borders.
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Rosli Khan Malaysia’s express bus industry is facing a new regulatory burden that raises serious questions about competition, commercial freedom and the government’s understanding of public transport.
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Four years after governments agreed to align public and private financial flows with global biodiversity goals, a new report Regulating Finance for Biodiversity: An Assessment for the Global Biodiversity Framework, finds that major financial jurisdictions have yet to translate…
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Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) urges all political parties – especially those that have been victimised under the current power structure of the Registrar of Societies (RoS) – to commit in their manifestos for the next general election to moving…
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Three things happened in 1948. Israel declared itself a state. The British Mandate in Palestine ended. And the British colonial government declared a so-called ‘emergency’ (1948-60) in Malaya.
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Leading NGOs in Penang today call on the Penang state government to urgently establish a state commission of inquiry into the Paya Terubong landslide tragedy near Taman Seri Rambai on 25 October, which killed a 73-year-old retired doctor.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has become so desperate for regime change in Cuba, he is now begging Cubans to join the CIA. The Cuban Revolution is not falling any time soon though, so Rubio has decided to become a spy recruiter.
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Rezgar Akrawi The leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a historic victory in Brazil’s presidential election on 25 October 2026. The result came amid intense political and social polarisation and the growing influence of the far right in Brazil and across Latin…
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Every year, when the time for the Budget is near, the public conversation about children with disabilities surfaces. There is a request for more services and resources, especially for children with autism. But we fail to ask some key questions.
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The think tank Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (Initiate.my) has recently launched a new open-source database that documents the publications and materials banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
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That is how things work under capitalism. The law, according to some people, primarily exists not to protect people or the environment, but to protect the interests of capital. Source: Caitlin Johnstone / YouTube
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CNN’s Jake Tapper interviews Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was hospitalised after Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attacked her and a group of Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. Source: CNN / YouTube
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This was a presentation by Dr Ti Lian Geh during a joint press conference of Penang Forum and the Residents’ Association of Taman Sri Rambai / Taman Lau Geok Swee in August 2016.
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Three years ago, I wrote an article on the six state elections that were held that year. I noted we should have celebrated small victories while remaining cautious about the Pakatan Harapan government.
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Many would agree that peace is one of the basic prerequisites for society’s advancement politically, socially and economically. On the other hand, wars and social discord retard progress, damage infrastructure and displace people.
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The latest landslide in Taman Seri Rambai in Paya Terubong on 25 October – one of many on Penang Island – has killed a 73-year-old doctor. The Penang Island City Council mayor said the developer’s consultants would assess ground movement behind the affected area, while state…
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We, the members of G25, are deeply concerned with the Ministry of Home Affairs for the apparent disregard for established requirements and the double standards in the administration of Malaysian citizenship exposed by the controversy involving the Football Association of…
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We, the members of G25, welcome the coming into force of the Parliamentary Service Act 2025 (PSA). This is a long-overdue reform intended to restore Parliament’s administrative autonomy and strengthen its independence as a fundamental institution of Malaysia’s constitutional…
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Young people have been taking to the streets across Europe, including in Spain, France and Portugal. They are protesting against the state of schools and the wider cost-of-living crisis.
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Engage (Rakyat in Action) and Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) call for urgent support for families, workers and small businesses affected by haze-related school closures, in particular those in Johor, where all schools have been ordered to close…
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When we talk about saving forests in Malaysia, the instinct is to think big: national parks, huge reserves, major conservation bodies. But Shariff Mohamad took a different approach, by buying three acres of land in Hulu Selangor and simply letting it grow back.
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Kua Kia Soong From Hong Kong to Washington and now from Tehran to Europe – the trouble with cheering for street protests is that the streets belong to everyone.
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On 15 October, the Malaysian human rights commission, Suhakam, represented by commissioner Melissa Mohd Akhir briefed the parliamentary Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development and government agencies on the human rights and gender equality position on…
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Imagine placing three different puzzle pieces on a table and declaring the puzzle complete. That is how the government recently presented its new economic plans to the people. They are meant to support a greener, circular economy.
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The recent issue of children refusing to sit with classmates of a different faith is rather troubling. Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin said a teacher approached him to say some primary school pupils had refused to sit with their Christian or Muslim classmates.
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Sahabat Alam Malaysia is very shocked to learn about the death of a doctor following a landslide that happened in Paya Terubong today. As we know, the Paya Terubong area is very prone to landslides. It is also where massive hill-cutting is happening for a road project.
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Charles Santiago Protection from the peat and forest fire smoke haze cannot stop at telling people in Malaysia to wear masks. Outdoor workers can spend eight hours or more exposed to polluted air.
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M Santhananaban We are fortunate that our country remains an oasis of peace and stability. It offers a level of predictability and prosperity that attracts both foreign investors and workers.
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“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds.” – Bob Marley, Redemption Song Emeritus Professor KS Jomo’s lecture ‘Revisiting the NEP After Half a Century’ in Petaling Jaya on 17 October, was a great chance to reflect on one of Malaysia’s…
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The government has set up a taskforce led by the attorney general to probe alleged ‘corporate mafia’ activity, with a public report promised in three months.
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Voting is often seen as the cornerstone of democracy, giving ordinary people a say in who governs them and the direction their country takes. But what does it mean to participate in politics beyond casting a ballot every few years?
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Since 2006, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report has measured how far countries have come in closing the gaps between men and women across four areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
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Authorities in Pahang suspect 7,000 hectares of the Tasik Bera permanent forest reserve have been illegally cleared for commercial agriculture, and are now taking action to stop it.
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Public confidence in Malaysia’s law enforcement agencies and institutions depends on the rule of law being applied fairly and consistently to all. This means allegations of wrongdoing must be investigated and tried without fear or favour.
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The state constitutional crisis that is playing out in Negeri Sembilan has grabbed the attention of the nation. Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, the 11th Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, was elected on 29 December 2008 and has been outspoken in upholding judicial…
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On 20 October I accompanied a delegation of Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) members to Parliament to lobby for a higher allocation for the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Budget 2027. We met eight MPs from several parties.
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The haze in Malaysia and parts of the Asean region is at its worst in more than a decade. The latest episode has lasted more than 80 days, with no sign of clearing soon. Several Asean countries – including Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia – are battling the crisis.
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Charles Santiago Radzi Jidin, an MP from Bersatu, wants soldiers deployed to arrest undocumented migrants and clear immigration depots through mass deportations. But before we send in the army, we should ask a simple question.
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The National Human Rights Society of Malaysia (Hakam) expresses grave concern over the escalating xenophobia, hate speech and hostility directed at Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, particularly the growing willingness of private individuals to take the law into their own hands and…
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Lim Teck Ghee In Selangor, a voter in Sabak Bernam has roughly six times the say in who goes to Parliament as a voter in Bangi. Across the country, the largest constituency has about 10 times as many voters as the smallest. That is not one person, one vote.
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Last month, we had a bad thunderstorm that detached one of the internet cables right in front of my house. Thankfully, it did not disrupt my phone and internet connections, but it was dangling dangerously low, and the wires at the end of the cable were exposed.
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For decades, many of Malaysia’s establishment politicians were nurtured in the arrogance that they could easily manipulate the people. Their method was to push deep social, racial and religious divisions.
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Chong Wu Ling Anwar Ibrahim is the only prime minister to date with a student movement background who suffered injustice before taking office. He certainly understands the value of freedom of expression and academic freedom better than any other prime minister before him.
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Phlip Rodrigues When a University of Malaya student leader poured scorn on public donations to a fundraising campaign for former Prime Minister Najib Razak, she stirred a hornet’s nest. Ummi Umairah Bakhit, a Bachelor of Economics student, did not mince her words.
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Budget 2027 does contain some measures that offer a bit of relief to ordinary people. These include the rise in the minimum wage to RM2,000 and extra help through the STR cash aid and Sara basic aid schemes.
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The Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam expresses serious concern over the arrest of human rights defenders Amir Hariri Abdul Hadi and Dobby Chew, associated with Mandiri and Hayat respectively, and the reported freezing of bank accounts and imposition of travel…
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Status publishes exclusive audio from a stunning all-hands meeting in which Bari Weiss’ handpicked foreign editor, Shayndi Raice, unleashed a lengthy tirade against her own CBS News journalists.
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The government has abandoned plans to establish an independent national harmony commission, even as racial and religious tensions remain a concern in Malaysia. So without this commission, who has the power to act when racial and religious provocations occur?
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Phlip Rodrigues When Malaysia offered to help Indonesia fight the raging forest fires and end the haze misery, the response was warm but slow. Deputy PM Zahid Hamidi made the offer on 17 September.
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In June, an online petition to expel the Rohingya garnered over 400,000 signatures in Malaysia. For years, Malaysia has offered refuge to Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar. But as refugee numbers grow, anti-Rohingya sentiment has hardened.
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Cleanliness in restaurants is important for public health, customer trust and a thriving business. Most consumers expect cleanliness. Many will walk out of or avoid a dirty place to eat. Owners should put patrons’ health and protection first.
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This updated People’s Election Agenda is a work in progress, not a finished document. Its goal is simple: to help shape public conversation ahead of the remaining state elections and the general election, which must be held by early 2028.
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Engage (The Rakyat in Action!) and Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) express deep concern over the handling of the present haze crisis, particularly the confusion surrounding school closures in Johor and across Malaysia.
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The Malaysian Bar views with serious concern the findings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concerning the management of court bail payments through the e-Jamin system, as set out in its report tabled in the House of Representatives on 5 October.
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AliranEN
Malaysia’s Budget 2027 is a RM459.8bn spending plan. Of this, RM376.8bn (81.9%) is for operating expenditure and only RM83bn (18.1%, or less than one-fifth) for development expenditure. The operating expenditure shows pointedly what it costs to run the country.
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We, the members of G25, express our deep concern over the recurring transboundary haze affecting Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The persistence of this problem, despite decades of regional cooperation and repeated governmental commitments, demands renewed urgency…
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The recently announced 2027 national budget, despite containing some pro-people measures, was ultimately a letdown in terms of creating any real, meaningful impact.
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World Mental Health Day was celebrated on 10 October, and there were various activities conducted in Malaysia. An interesting number of corporate organisations also took part in events.
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Tings Chak On 25 October, Brazilians will return to the polls to choose between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in an attempted coup.
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On 10 October, nearly 300 Indigenous peoples from Miri, Marudi, Baram, Niah, Belaga, Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching participated in the Sarawak Indigenous Solidarity March, which began at Miri City Fan and ended in front of the Miri courthouse.
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Dr Ang Swee Chai is an orthopaedic and trauma surgeon and co-founder of Medical Aid for Palestinians. She has worked for decades alongside Palestinian communities living under occupation.
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We live in a world grappling with growing inequality, political polarisation, a climate crisis and rapid technological change. From socialism and liberalism to nationalism, conservatism and fascism, political ideologies offer different explanations for what’s wrong with society…
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The artificial intelligence company, Anthropic, recently revealed how Claude AI was used in a political influence operation targeting Malaysia. It involved around 1,000 fake social media accounts, a bogus news site, and fabricated intelligence dossiers.
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An orange haze is blanketing Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan as wildfires rage across the province. The smog has drifted throughout the region, obscuring Singapore’s skyline and shutting down schools in Malaysia. Source: Al Jazeera English / YouTube
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With incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro heading into a presidential run-off later this month, Stephanie Weatherbee Brito of the International People’s Assembly outlines the reasons behind the rightward shift in Brazil. Source: Parti Sosialis / YouTube
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Malaysia is considering allowing registered refugees to work in sectors facing critical labour shortages, potentially offering businesses much-needed workers while giving refugees a legal means of supporting themselves.
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EE Cummings said: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” This is true for Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, a South African of Indian-Tamil origin, who is no stranger to the shadow of oppression.
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The Civil Society and Expert Group of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Integrity, Governance and Anti-Corruption (CSEG APPG-IGAR) calls for clear timelines and decisive implementation of Malaysia’s institutional reform agenda within the current parliamentary term.
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A growing number of states across Asean are taking positive steps towards reducing the use and scope of the death penalty, creating new momentum towards abolition in a region historically associated with strong support for this cruel punishment, said Amnesty International ahead…
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Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) calls on the government and lawmakers on all sides to give the opposition and the government backbenchers a structured role in setting the agenda of the House of Representatives.
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Budget 2027 allocates nearly RM70bn to education and almost RM48bn to healthcare, alongside billions more in household assistance. But how much of this public investment translates to better outcomes for children? Are we spending enough?
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The littoral combat ship (LCS) is sailing onto the public horizon again. As of 25 June, overall physical progress in Malaysia’s littoral combat ships construction programme stood at 79.0%, compared with a planned target of 86.5% – a shortfall of 7.5 percentage points.
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Hakam is concerned by the denial of entry into Sarawak of Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president Meenakshi Raman on 29 September, which was conducted reportedly without prior notice or explanation.
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Over the past decade or so far-right parties and leaders have moved from the fringes to the forefront of global politics. Figures like Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni, Narendra Modi and the BJP, Nigel Farage in the UK, AFD in Germany and more whose views were once…
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Mehdi Hasan sits down with filmmaker Alex Gibney, who previously exposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss a new four-hour long exposé on the world’s richest man: Elon Musk.
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Budget 2027 comes at a critical juncture for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, following electoral setbacks for Pakatan Harapan and growing calls from within the ‘unity government’ for an early general election.
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Malaysia’s Budget 2027 includes funding for biodiversity conservation, community rangers and green initiatives, alongside measures to address issues such as flooding and water security.
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Last Friday, the Madani government unveiled Budget 2027, proposing RM460bn in spending for the year ahead, up from the revised RM444bn for 2026. With plans to raise the minimum wage to RM2,000, expand cash assistance and increase tax relief for individuals, the government says…
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Unless they are doctored, high-resolution satellite images of hotspots are rarely inaccurate. Many of these hotspots appear on or adjoining oil palm concessions and pulp plantation forests.
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Article 19, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) welcome the communication and the request for clarification by the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and…
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Charles Santiago The comparison between Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and Chin Peng is seductive. It is also deeply misleading. The 1955 Baling talks between the two took place in a very different context.
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This public dialogue frames the ongoing conflict in Palestine as a fundamental issue of settler colonialism and displacement rather than merely an ethno-religious dispute.
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Since 2025, four states have rejected key safeguards under the amendments to the National Forestry Act that would require a public inquiry before forest reserves are degazetted, as well as the simultaneous replacement of the land.
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Good governance remains one of the central challenges in Malaysia’s political struggle. Beyond political personalities, race and religion, the country needs stronger foundations for the ethical, transparent and effective exercise of public power.
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The news arrived in two parts, hours apart. First, from Oslo: the Nobel Committee awarded its 2026 Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, a former judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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Beberapa mahasiswa yang menyertai flash mob ‘Selamatkan UiTM’ didakwa berdepan intimidasi anggota polis bantuan ketika hendak memasuki semula kawasan kampus selepas menyertai aksi tersebut.
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Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) views with grave concern the defence offered by the deputy minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department responsible for labour, immigration and project monitoring, Gerawat Gala, regarding the arbitrary entry ban…
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Kua Kia Soong Malaysia is not merely buying ships late. We are buying fewer ships for more money – and may receive the first one before it is actually capable of fighting. That is the stark reality exposed by the latest auditor general’s report.
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James Bayu It’s 2026, and the haze is back again! The choking, poisonous smoke from thousands of peatland forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra has returned. Like a supernatural spectre, it spread its ghastly white smog over most of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
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Thirty-four years after it was repealed, the Parliamentary Service Act came back into force on 1 October, promising to free Parliament’s administration from executive control.
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About 40 people from civil society groups marched to Parliament yesterday, urging the government to expedite a transboundary haze law, six years after a stalled attempt to have the House of Representatives debate a similar proposal.
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Margaret Owen, a 94-year-old human rights lawyer, expresses her deep distress and anger regarding the dire situation in Palestine, Source: Owen Jones / YouTube
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Dawn Morais History will not judge us kindly. The genocide in Gaza was televised and yet the rest of the world did not do nearly enough to stop it. Political leaders have not taken steps to end the ongoing genocide and continuing Nakba (catastrophe) in Gaza.
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Rise of Social Efforts (Rose) and Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) urge the Electoral Commission to increase the number of state constituencies in P219 Miri and P218 Sibuti from seven to eight, and to distribute them more equitably: five for Miri…
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This video features an interview by Aliran with Nour Ammar Murtaja, a Palestinian student from Gaza currently pursuing a master’s degree in Malaysia. The discussion provides a first-hand human perspective on the ongoing genocide and its personal toll.
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Miguel Enrique Stédile Recently, before the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections, the US embassy and consulates in the country remained closed, following a generic order from the State Department regarding ‘security concerns’. Elections in Brazil proceed peacefully.
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Farha Yusof Most of us buy medical insurance because we want some peace of mind. If something happens and we need hospital treatment, the financial side is supposed to be one less worry. That is what made a recent case I came across troubling.
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The recent Legislating Equality: Cedaw and Beyond symposium on legislative reform for women’s human rights on 28-29 September, organised by the Bar Council’s women’s rights committee, the Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on…
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Article 19, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), and the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) recently participated in a meeting with the parliamentary Special Select Committee on the Freedom of Information Bill 2026 on 18 August and in the national town…
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As the US and China compete for technology supremacy and AI dominance, Southeast Asian nations need not be shaped by the US-China rivalry. The Southeast Asian economies have grown nearly ninefold since 1998, to $4.5tn today.
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Evelyn Teh and Kam Suan Pheng “Rising from the sea in that first light of dawn that touches reality with a gentle charm, the Penang hills provide an unforgettable landmark for the visitor sailing in by sea.
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The draft Penang Structure Plan 2040, is already well in progress. It has been put up for public display and feedback – but chances are, most people in Penang are not even aware of it.
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Kua Kia Soong In August 2007, I arrived at Kuching airport to officiate at a graduation ceremony for teachers trained by New Era College, where I was then principal. I was not carrying drugs. I was not wanted by the police. I was not entering Sarawak to organise an insurrection.
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Many people in Malaysia may not realise it, but the country is expected to face food security challenges as we approach 2027. This stems from prolonged geopolitical developments.
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The Malaysian human rights commission, Suhakam, commemorates the International Day of Older Persons 2026 under the theme ‘The age of longevity: Rethinking systems for longer lives’.
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Kua Kia Soong Malaysia now has a Reformasi government arresting Reformasi activists. On 22 September, Amir Hariri Abdul Hadi, executive director of youth-led NGO Mandiri, and Dobby Chew, its finance director, were arrested under the anti-money-laundering law Amla after…
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I guess Lim Guan Eng, the former finance minister and now adviser to the Democratic Action Party (DAP), has a soft spot for employers. His call to exclude migrant workers from the minimum wage and the paltry 2% contribution to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) repeats a…
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We, the undersigned civil society organisations and individuals, are deeply concerned by the situation confronting the Orang Asli of Pahang in general, and of the communities of Tasek Bera in particular, who are facing eviction, harassment and arrest and are being treated as a…
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Indonesia’s catastrophic forest and peatland fires are blanketing the region in toxic haze. Rebecca Henschke reports from the ground on the environmental crisis and the urgent questions it raises about climate, industry and political accountability.
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Malaysia’s current Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations date back 45 years to 1981. This is despite the fact that the electorate and the electoral process having changed significantly over the decades. But what about the machinery of our elections?
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V Thomas The women, family and community development minister has said the Senior Citizens’ Bill will be tabled in Parliament in early 2027. The public is still being asked for input and feedback. Here are my suggestions for the bill.
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Charles Santiago On 26 September, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said workers were stuck on RM1,700 while productivity and profits kept rising. He was right.
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Lim Guan Eng was among the first senior politicians to call for migrant workers in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to be exempt from the minimum wage and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) schemes.
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Community Action Network (CAN) Malaysia views with grave concern the recent conduct of Sepang Umno chief Noorazli Said, who misquoted sacred biblical scripture Psalms 129 while making inappropriate remarks during the recent Umno general assembly.
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The Gut Shot Podcast is joined by its geopolitical and economic consultant to governments and companies, Jason Leong. Signals from the ground have now raised alarm among segments of the Chinese Malaysian community.
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We are a country of laws. Yet several events of the past few days have wrought chaos upon the sanctity of the rule of law and the institutions established under the Federal Constitution.
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AI and the relentless subscription to social media pose many new challenges to ordinary people, not just in Malaysia but around the world. The government deserves credit for introducing laws to safeguard the young from AI manipulation and social media abuse.
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A world that turns its back on Netanyahu’s defence of the occupation must also withdraw the contracts, investments and diplomatic cover through which occupation is made to endure
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On the International Day for Universal Access to Information on 28 September, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Article 19 and the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) call on the Malaysian government and Parliament to make the right to access…
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Charles Santiago The Ministry of Home Affairs should be careful about the language it uses to describe Myanmar nationals in Malaysia. People who have fled genocide, conflict or religious persecution are not “foreign fugitives” simply because they lack regular immigration status.
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Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) calls for the abolition of whipping, a form of corporal punishment that is inherently cruel, inhumane and degrading and often amounts to torture. In Malaysia, it has even caused death.
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Guillermo R Barreto In September, like every year, the UN General Assembly commences. Heads of state take the floor to send messages to the world. These messages are broadcast on TV, transcribed, and recorded in official documents and the press.
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Prominent economist Kamal Salih says the New Economic Policy has failed to fully realise its objective of improving the lot of bumiputras, 50 years after its introduction. Source: Free Malaysia Today / YouTube
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Who decides the rules, and who has to live with them? From US President Donald Trump’s tariffs to war in West Asia, the question of who holds power is as urgent as ever.
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American Jewish organisations unveiled a billboard display in New York City’s Times Square reading “Netanyahu does not represent American Jews” and “Zionism is not Judaism”.
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A Chinese blockbuster showed West Asia without Hollywood’s yellow filter – and crossed 1.2bn yuan in two weeks. A cook, a wok and a question a century of cinema never dared to ask: who gets to be the protagonist of their own story? Source: Wave Media / YouTube
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The children’s commissioners of the Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam commends the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for the successful implementation of Ops Pedo3.0, and for their continued efforts to combat child sexual abuse…
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Kua Kia Soong There are moments in history when satire becomes almost impossible because reality has already written the joke. President Donald Trump provided one of those moments on 22 September when he stood before the UN General Assembly and threatened that the US could…
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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) strongly condemns the denial of entry into Miri, Sarawak of its president, Meenakshi Raman, today, 29 September. Meena arrived at the Miri Airport on a 14:40 flight, which landed at about 16:50, but was stopped and refused entry by Sarawak…
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The country is in breach of the international legal principle of non-refoulement and must immediately halt all plans of returning refugees and asylum seekers to Myanmar
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On 18 September, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories announced a decision that shook the country. The king granted a conditional pardon to former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
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On 27 August the Bar Council’s constitutional law and human rights committee organised a forum on statelessness, titled Statelessness: Malaysians in Waiting.
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The Cybercrimes Bill 2026 was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate in July 2026, without a single amendment, to repeal and replace the Computer Crimes Act 1997 (clause 61 of the bill).
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Low Fong Choon In 1967, I was a first-year student at the University of Malaya when my father died of lung cancer. My father was the sole breadwinner, and I was the eldest of 13 children. We were poor.
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Of late, a growing chorus across the political and civil spectrum, including the transport minister, digital minister, a cross-party coalition of 34 MPs, major political parties such as Pas, and over 50 civil society organisations including C4 Center and Bersih have called for…
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It is possible to wrest AI from the logic of monopoly and profit and to turn it into a common good, an instrument that helps to free human beings from the capitalist system
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Malaysia faces a massive climate challenge. By 2050, the country will need between $0.9tn and $1.1tn to adapt to climate change. That money would go towards flood defences and resilient infrastructure for communities.
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We, the members of G25, are deeply disturbed by the unprecedented attempts to remove Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, and by the extraordinary events that have followed.
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A pardon, reprieve or respite may be granted under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution following conviction. Neither a pardon, a reprieve, nor a respite, constitutes an exoneration of guilt or removal of wrongdoing. They do not ‘wipe the slate clean’ of the prior conviction.
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Farha Yusof There is something peculiarly familiar about the haze. The sky loses its colour. Buildings disappear behind a grey curtain. The Air Pollutant Index returns to our conversations. Parents wonder whether their children should be outdoors.
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The proposal by the government to establish a permanent law reform commission is not new. It was raised by the then-deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Liew Vui Keong, as far back as 2011, and again by the then-minister in the department, Nazri Aziz, in 2012.
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Ramindu Perera This 21 September marks the second anniversary of Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power (NPP) government, a political movement led by the left-wing Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
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The Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam expresses concern over recent remarks made at a political gathering in which Christian religious figures and a passage from the Bible were used as part of a sexually suggestive joke.
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Amar-Singh HSS Pisa recently released its 2025 results for Malaysia. The Programme for International Student Assessment is run by the OECD, a group of mostly wealthy countries that compares living standards and policy performance worldwide.
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The World Alliance for Citizen Participation denounces the intimidation and restrictions of human rights organisations Mandiri and Hayat, and their representatives, Mandiri executive director Amir Hadi and Mandiri finance director and Hayat CEO Dobby Chew.
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The authorities must ensure that measures intended to address financial or other offences are not misused to restrict human rights or impede legitimate civil society activity
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The authorities must ensure that measures intended to address financial or other offences are not misused to restrict human rights or impede legitimate civil society activity
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The children’s commissioners of the Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam express grave concern over the recent attack on a two-year-old girl by five roaming dogs in Batu Pahat, Johor.
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Carlos Ron On 20 September 2006, Hugo Chávez stepped up to the granite podium of the UN General Assembly. A day earlier, from that exact same spot, US President George W Bush had spoken.
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Malaysia has agreed to send the first batch of over 1,000 Myanmar refugees home on 29 September. This is part of a wider plan to repatriate 5,000 people, which the government is calling “voluntary”.
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Nadira Ilana is a Sabahan filmmaker, activist and storyteller. Born and raised in Sabah, she has spent years documenting stories that often sit outside the dominant national narrative, tackling questions of memory, identity and nation-building from the Sabahan perspective.
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A second royal pardon has been granted to former Prime Minister Najib Razak, allowing him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence for the SRC International corruption case under ‘house arrest’. Najib was convicted of corruption of the highest order.
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Strategic location does not cancel popular sovereignty, minerals do not erase nationhood, and no great power acquires a country merely by declaring that it needs one
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Lim Chui Choo Growing up in a poor family of eight children, I lost my father when I was 10 in 1963. From then on, I looked up to a giant of a man who helped shape my character and values.
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Atul Chandra At the Brics Business Forum in Bharat Mandapam on 11 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin read out the numbers. The 11 members of this grouping now produce more than 40% of the world’s output. The G7 produces 29.
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Twelve years became six. RM210m became RM50m. And now the convicted felon and corrupt criminal Najib Razak could be going home to serve his sentence. BFM talks to Anand Raj, the president of the Malaysian Bar, about what exactly ‘house arrest’ means in Malaysia and if this…
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Donald Ramotar Latin America and the Caribbean countries are being recolonised. This time it is not by Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Portugal, but by the US. At one time, the US had an anti-colonial position and had advocated for the ending of colonialism.
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There must be transparency and accountability when an exceptional decision is granted to a former head of government convicted of abusing public resources on an extraordinary scale
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Unbeknown to possibly many people, particularly Muslims in Malaysia, there appears to be an easier path to Heaven. The process is quite straightforward. Well, at least according to Pas secretary general Takiyuddin Hassan.
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The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) stands in solidarity with Mandiri executive director Amir Hadi and Hayat CEO Dobby Chew, who have been detained under section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
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Hakam is concerned by Pas president Hadi Awang’s recent remarks calling for the abolition of laws described as “colonial” in order to justify making Sharia supreme in Malaysia.
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Busani Ngcaweni The enlargement of Brics presents Africa with a wider field of economic possibilities by bringing the continent into closer relationship with some of the world’s largest markets, important sources of development finance, and countries possessing substantial…
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We, the undersigned organisations, groups and individuals, stand in support of the memorandum entitled ‘Sarawak youth raise concerns regarding transboundary haze pollution and its environmental impacts’.
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Some $7bn was stolen in the 1MDB scandal. It cost $8bn to cover it up. Clare Rewcastle Brown uncovered it from a spare room in her house, with a blog and a shortwave radio, no newsroom, no budget, no legal team.
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Vijay Prashad President Xi Jinping’s forthcoming visit to the US must be understood as more than an encounter between two heads of state; it must be seen as an encounter between two possible futures. In one future, the US imposes a spiral of confrontation with China.
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We, the members of G25, are once again deeply shocked and dismayed by the decision of the pardons board to grant a further conditional pardon to former Prime Minister Najib Razak, allowing him to serve the remainder of his custodial sentence under house arrest.
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Can a political party truly call itself progressive if ordinary people cannot see themselves in its reforms? TheGoodCastShow responds to a viewer’s defence of Bersama following an interview with Laveen Balaprabhakaran.
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Source: Double Down News / YouTube
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With heavy hearts, we, the undersigned civil society organisations, call upon all Malaysians to build a society that ‘knows shame’ (tahu malu), where the theft of public funds and the betrayal of a public mandate will be shunned by every stratum of society.
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Farha Yusof I grew up in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor – but we are not shaped only by the places in which we grow up. There are older roots and inheritances that precede us. Family histories continue even when life carries us far from where those stories began.
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The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is deeply concerned by the ‘conditional pardon’ granted to former Prime Minister Najib Razak. This would allow him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest until 23 August 2028…
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AliranEN
Many years ago, I wrote a piece in the now defunct The Malaysian Insider with this same title ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful’. The title itself was borrowed from Pantene’s famous 1980s advertising campaign, in which model and actress Kelly LeBrock delivered the now iconic…
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YouTube star and children’s educator Rachel Accurso known as Ms Rachel said the backlash over her speaking out in support of children in Gaza was “painful”, but says, “I know who I am and I know what’s right. Source: CNN / YouTube
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The recent outrage on social media after phase 3 of the Selangor elevated light rail (LRT3) opened showed the same old problem: uncoordinated policy, planning and delivery.
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A new world equilibrium will only come about when hyper-imperialist domination is restricted and the sovereignty and developmental possibilities of peoples is enlarged
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Dae-Han Song The Lee Jae Myung administration leaked the possibility of deploying Korean forces to the Strait of Hormuz on 3 September. The backlash was immediate from Korean civil society that opposes any type of support for Trump’s war of aggression.
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Phlip Rodrigues Dear Nooryana Najwa: You and Umno seemed to think your father, Najib Razak, deserved a pardon. You wanted him out of prison, back home, playing with his grandchildren. All of you still seem to believe ‘Bossku’ was treated unjustly.
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When we talk about 16 September 1963, our standard history textbooks often refer to the formation of Malaysia to a simple timeline of diplomatic handshakes between Kuala Lumpur and London.
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Charles Santiago It’s Malaysia Day, and our political class is once again consumed by the most important question of all: who gets power? Pas and Umno are talking about a one-million-person march to seize power. Anwar, meanwhile, wants to stay in power at any cost.
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Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific (FoE APAC) condemns the recurring transboundary haze crisis in Southeast Asia, as smoke from forest and land fires currently burning in Indonesia, particularly in the Kalimantan region, has reportedly reached neighbouring countries such as…
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Tenaganita congratulates 19-year-old Aqeel Ahmed Bhatti, a young refugee living in Malaysia, on being selected as one of 10 global recipients of the 2026 Leaders of Today Award, from more than 3,400 applications across over 40 countries.
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Naza, a documentary about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, has won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Co-director Yuval Abraham said Israeli intelligence officers described the mass killing of Palestinians as “not by accident, but by design”, and accused the US and…
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BA Hamzah Malaysia has spent decades and billions of ringgit trying to build a nation. Tools like language policy, education and the redistribution of wealth have failed to forge a united Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian nation).
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AliranEN
The Gut Shot Podcast talks to Dr Terence Gomez, an emeritus professor and Aliran member who is an expert on Malaysia’s political economy. It sets aside racial considerations in this analysis to focus on the institutional issues: abuse of power, accountability and misgovernance.
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We have more than enough resources to care for everyone, if we would only redesign our systems to advance the interests of humanity over the interests of capital. Production: Caitlin Johnstone
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When environmental harm crosses borders, who can be held responsible? Asean has had a regional agreement on transboundary haze since 2002, and signed the Asean Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment last year.
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Stephanie Weatherbee Brito and Vijay Prashad Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is innocent. This is a statement of law and fact, since he has not been convicted of any crime.
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Cecilia Ng and Francis Loh “Outwards and upwards” – that was Judy’s secret to getting where she did, she said during an interview in Penang in October 2010.
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Cecilia Ng October 2010 – Judy Cheng-Hopkins of Loh Boon Siew Road is the highest-ranking Malaysian in the United Nations. Her long career in development and humanitarian work in Africa and Asia spans 32 years. Her secret is to aim “outwards and upwards”.
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The Social Work Profession Act 2026 is now going through the final stages of being gazetted. It marks a long-awaited recognition of social work as a profession in Malaysia.
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Imran Mohd Rasid Attending the Penang Peace Dialogue 2026 last weekend – a gathering organised by the Commonwealth of World Chinatowns (CWC) – was truly inspiring.
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The fatal helicopter crash near Long Lellang in Sarawak on 8 September was shocking. It was a tragedy that should never have happened. Investigators are still working to establish what caused the aircraft to catch fire in mid-air and crash.
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AliranEN
When I visit places of natural heritage, at home or abroad, I like to stop and take in the view: rolling landscapes, clear waters, limestone caves and dramatic green mountains. I look closely at the soil, the sunlight and the water systems that keep it all alive.
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G25 Malaysia refers to Pas president Hadi Awang’s statement on 9 September calling for the abolition of what he describes as “colonial laws” obstructing the implementation of Islam.
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We, the members of G25, strongly support public calls for the government to restore the pension of former High Court judge, Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah.
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Malaysia has spent years debating political financing reform, yet there is still no dedicated law governing how political parties raise, spend and disclose their funds.
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M Santhananaban It has been a hectic time in recent weeks, with remand orders and arrests of high-level government and corporate personalities. On Monday, another former cabinet minister is expected to be charged with corruption-related offences.
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Lim Teck Ghee At an online event on 3 September, while touting his agency’s latest report, Superpowers and AGI, CNAS security analyst Jacob Stokes called for the US government to consider diplomatic, espionage, cyber and kinetic measures.
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A video circulating online (see above) shows how economies worldwide are set to suffer under El Niño. Malaysia will not be spared. Climate change and El Niño have already destabilised many parts of the world. Malaysia is feeling it too.
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The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Tabung Haji’s governance has asked a simple question: who pays for it, and who answers for it? Are they the same people? They are not. That gap matters because it will outlast every structural reform now on the table.
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Ameena Siddiqi We promised reform. In 2018, Malaysia was outraged by the marriage of a 41-year-old Malaysian man to an 11-year-old Thai girl. He was a father of six. She had never attended school. She became his third wife.
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The Protect Karpal Singh Drive action committee (ProtectKarpal) welcomes the proposal in the draft Penang State Structure Plan 2040 under review to designate Middle Bank as a marine sanctuary and to recognise it as the plan’s second high-impact project.
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Nation-building obviously involves the participation of everyone in Malaysia, many of whom are ordinary people from diverse backgrounds. They include people who run the government machinery, keep the streets clean, build roads, teach our young, treat the sick, care for the…
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The global order is shifting, with the dominance of the US being challenged by a rising China and a more multipolar world taking shape. For Southeast Asia, these changes bring both opportunities and risks.
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Nothing matches that combination.