August 20, 2008
Legal WorkBench, the Comprehensive Online Legal Resource for Malaysian Practitioners is Now Available, Free of Charge, at the Bar Room of Duta Court Complex
The KL Bar, in collaboration with Crimsonlogic Sdn Bhd, is pleased to offer free access to Legal Workbench, the premier online legal research service for practitioners of Malaysian law at the Duta Court Complex.
The service will be officially introduced to members of the KL Bar on Monday, 25 August 2008. The details of the launch are as follows:
Date : Monday, 25 August 2008
Venue : KL Bar Room, Left Wing 5th Floor, Jalan Duta Court Complex
Time : 10am to 11am
Admission is free
Legal Workbench is a service provided by Singapore Academy of Law and endorsed by the Bar Council, Malaysia.
First launched in 1990, the service provides convenient one-stop access to a vast repository of case law, Singapore legislation and South East Asian reference materials including textbooks and journals for lawyers in Malaysia and the region.
With Legal Workbench, you have at your fingertips:
- Malaysian case law dating as far back as 1932;
- Singapore case law from 1965;
- Heritage Law Reports (1808-1980) – a unique collection of early law reports of Malaya and Singapore not found elsewhere
- English case law comprising an archive of the Weekly Law Reports series from 1953 and the Law Reports from 1865 as provided by Justis Publishing and the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting (ICLR) for England and Wales.
With highly integrated databases this service provides rich cross referencing, and seamless linking between Malaysian, Singapore and English cases saving you critical time and money.
Numerous easy-to–use tools have been included - all designed to help you, the busy lawyer, to manage your research more efficiently and effectively for e.g. through saved searches, reminders, e-mail alerts and automated time-keeping.
For more information on the service, Click here or call toll-free 1800 813 874 or e-mail juliethomas@crimsonlogic.com.
To familiarise you with Legal WorkBench, training sessions will also be offered on 25th and 26th August 2008 at the Malaysian Bar Council Auditorium from 4pm to 5.30pm. To register for the session call Yusniza at (603) 80700892 or e-mail yusniza@crimsonlogic.com
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August 12, 2008
Malacca Bar had its annual dinner on August 9, 2008 (Saturday) at 7.30pm at Bunga Raya Ballroom in Renaissance Melaka Hotel.
About 300 participants comprising of Bar members and their guests turned up for the dinner. The dinner was blessed by the presence of Malacca High Court judge, Datuk Wira Mohtarudin Bin Baki and his wife, who were guests of honour at the dinner. Malaysian Bar Council President, Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan and Vice President, Ragunath Kesavan were also present.
Chairman of the Malacca Bar Committee, Ng Kong Peng welcomed the participants in his speech during the dinner. He also took the opportunity to emphasise on the importance of rule of law and the Bar’s position and tradition in upholding justice and opposing certain legislations such as preventive detention legislations as well as legislations which were discriminatory in nature. He reminded members of the Bar of the society’s expectation on the Bar to be advocates for people’s rights and urged the members to do their part to make our country a better place.
Datuk Wira Mohtarudin also delivered speech at the dinner. He informed the participants that the development of media had created more awareness of rule of law among members of public. As such, legal practitioners need to understand the complexity of practising law. He also spoke about the independence of judiciary which consists of two elements, independence and accountability. Thus, the Bench has to discharge its duty without fear or favour and with judicial conscience as well as wisdom. Datuk Wira Mohtarudin also urged the participants to protect the relationship between Bench and Bar in Malacca so that the good relationship may continue. In the conclusion of his speech, Datuk Wira Mohtarudin invited Bar members to express any problem faced by them to him via proper channel.
The organisers of the dinner gave prizes to participants with best dressing. For the category of men, the winner was none other than Datuk Wira Mohtarudin (his bow tie must be the main reason of his win) who was presented the prize by his wife. A female guest won the prize for the women’s category.
During the dinner, the participants were entertained by a band, Glittering Diva. The dinner ended with the performance from comedian, Andrew Netto.
It was indeed a precious moment for members of the Bar who gathered at this annual event in relaxing mood.
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August 3, 2008
The annual Malacca Bar and Malaysian Medical Association of Malacca (MMA Malacca) Games was held on August 2nd, 2008 at the Malacca Club Sports Complex in Tanjung Kling, Malacca.
The Games provides a platform to enhance the ties of friendship between the two professional bodies in Malacca.
Our Malacca Bar team clinched an overwhelming victory in the Games whereby we extended our control in badminton, table tennis, squash, snooker, tennis, football and boat race. The only category won by the MMA Malacca team was netball. The scores for the matches are as follows:-
Badminton : Malacca Bar 8 MMA Malacca 6;
Table tennis : Malacca Bar 3 MMA Malacca 1;
Squash : Malacca Bar 2 MMA Malacca 0;
Netball : Malacca Bar 4 MMA Malacca 20;
Snooker : Malacca Bar 2 MMA Malacca 1;
Tennis : Malacca Bar 2 MMA Malacca 1;
Football : Malacca Bar 3 MMA Malacca 2
Participants in the closing dinner witnessed the presentation of the trophy. Chairman of the Malacca Bar, Mr. Ng Kong Peng and Chairman of MMA Malacca, Dr. Ashok Phillip gave short speeches respectively. Tribute was also given to Chairmen of the Sports Sub-Committees of both professional bodies, Mr. Sekar Palaniandy (Malacca Bar) and Dr. Koh Kee Leong (MMA Malacca).
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July 31, 2008
by Anthony Chua
A group of volunteers and I made a visit to the Jakun settlement in Bukit Redan in the state of Pahang recently. This is a project supposedly to be undertaken by the Melaka Bar Human Rights Sub Committee and I’m on a fact finding mission. The journey there took approximately 3 hours from Melaka town. We started our journey using the old trunk road. The countryside of Melaka was indeed beautiful and the view of rubber estates and secondary jungles was so unlike the usual city view that I have gotten used to. We passed the scenic Jus reservoir dam about 30 kilometers away in the outskirts of Melaka.
The Jakun are the second largest of the nineteen Orang Asli groups of Peninsular Malaysia. The Department of Orang Asli Affairs label them Orang Hulu (People of the Upriver), a term which the Jakun refer to themselves as well. Jakun settlements can be found in the Malaysian states of Johor and Pahang. In the past, their settlements extended over a much larger area of the southern peninsula.
I was forewarned by the volunteers that this settlement is the poorest of the poor. It was my first time making this trip with the volunteers. I was informed that Bukit Redan is located snugly on the borders of Melaka-Pahang. We arrived just before noon at the settlement which is just five kilometers away from the Muadzam Shah town. The Jakun settlement is just 30 meters away from the main paved road. I understand that the Universiti Tenaga Malaysia campus is in its vicinity.
The Jakun settlement is a community of about 100 inhabitants. Upon reaching our destination, the villagers informed us that that their daily staple diet is none other than tapioca. There is also no water piping installed here; thus a lack of integral water irrigation which is also fundamental for the cultivation of agriculture.
Upon further walking, we discovered that there are two ponds 70 meters away from the settlement. The first pond is utilized for washing clothes and bathing purposes. I was relieved to discover that there is a second pond; albeit a not so big one used for drinking water consumption.
The villagers’ living conditions are deplorable and sickening for the faint-hearted. My heart goes out to them. They live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Any one single house is cramped in to accommodate ten people. These houses are just small, wooden houses on stilts without electricity supply equipped.
Most families have ten children due to paucity of birth control. However I did come across two families and upon noticing something amiss in that there seemed to be considerably less children around them, I asked their mothers as to the whereabouts of their children. The mothers replied that six to seven of their children had died before attaining ten years of age.
It probably wasn’t a surprise that the infant mortality rate is higher in regards to the Orang Asli if we were to compare with urban living in the city. We have better facilities and all of our trite necessities are provided for by the authorities. Even if they are not acceded to, we do have the necessary means to voice out our concerns to the authorities.
Sadly, this does not happen here in this settlement. Due to minimal education and lack of exposure beyond the confines of the community, the Jakun are unable to voice out their concerns through the proper channels of bureaucracy. This process also takes time and as a general rule, the administration is more concerned with the plight of the majority off its peoples compared to the ethnic tribal minorities which make up just less than one percent of the total population in Malaysia.
The children who do grow up and survive in these appalling living conditions have to fend for themselves at an early age. They have to do with neither clean water supply, good hygiene nor rudimentary primary education. The surroundings of their living conditions are filthy, unkempt and disorderly. When they reach their teenage years, the temptation for vice is substantially higher as they are more susceptible to negative influence due to their extreme vulnerability compared to urban teenagers.
These children are forsaken by the education system along with the bane of their very existence. I felt like time came to a standstill. Being in the hourglass of time. Up till the evening when we headed back to Melaka, I remembered the faces of the people here and their way of life. Here at Bukit Redan, I felt a surge of melancholy that these people seemed so carefree yet unaware that their living conditions could improve drastically if more constructive effort and affirmative action were to be given by the local authorities and non-governmental bodies. Perhaps then aptly so the maxim “Ignorance is bliss” is for the best.
Due to lack of access to vaccination from mobile clinics, these children are more likely to be sickly and malnourished. The normal education system is of no significance here as the children of the Jakun lack the pre-requisite to academia which is electricity. Try as they may even for the most industrious, they cannot study without proper lighting in their homes; not to mention having proper ventilation in the comfort of a ceiling fan.
Basic study equipment such as tables and chairs; and stationary; I found out; are not a commodity in all homes. As this is sine quo non for a robust education, these unfortunate children would be lagging behind in their studies and placed under the slow learners’ category in school. This would further dampen their spirits to acquire education.
Sometimes one cannot but believe that there are still people living in austere conditions in Malaysia. One has to come out of his enclave to explore in order to know and believe. Thus, I’m thankful that we made this trip.
I had the opportunity to visit their graveyards which is 50 meters away from their settlement. It’s almost like a makeshift grave of unsung fallen heroes of war. The individual tomb stones appeared stacked into the ground hastily and no identification whatsoever can be deciphered from them. The atmosphere was grim. I was surrounded by creepers and shrubs of the jungle. The village headman, called the Tok Batin by the villagers, informed me that only days ago, the village had mourned the loss of a child. It was a simple burial ceremony in which the child was buried on the day he died. Alarmingly, there was no necessity for a post-mortem, added the Tok Batin. The reason was simple enough. The child had died in his homeland – the settlement. Had the child died in town, a post-mortem to probe the cause of death would have been mandatory according to government rulings. It would then take several days before burial.
I was divert when I asked an old lady how old she was. She said that she was as old as the jackfruit tree next to her home. Yet another old lady said she was definitely older than me as she was toothless. She was grinning from end to end.
It was apparent what simple lifestyles they lead here in Bukit Radan; simple lifestyles without guilt nor guile. Yet at the end of the day, it was not enough to lift my spirits. I felt I could do something in my capacity but just what yet I am unsure. Many Jakun are in a state of transition. They have given up hunting and foraging for food towards agriculture in order to survive. Some will need educational and agricultural assistance during this transition period.
I asked for permission to photograph them and their homes in which they readily obliged. I believe that the ever-widening gap between the poor and affluent in our society needs to be addressed. All the more echoed by Albert Schweitzer:
“The fundamental rights of [humanity] are, first: the right of habitation; second, the right to move freely; third, the right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it; fourth, the right of freedom of labor and of exchange; fifth, the right to justice; sixth, the right to live within a natural national organization; and seventh, the right to education.”
Let’s not deny the peoples of the Jakun their due right to habitation.
Anthony Chua
Chairman Human Rights and Contemporary Issues Sub Committee
Melaka Bar
July 28th, 2008
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July 31, 2008
The Malacca Bar will be having its Annual Games with Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) on 2.8.2008 (Saturday) at the Malacca Club Sports Complex in Tanjung Kling, Malacca. Various sports will be played in the Games from 3pm onwards. The programme will end with a dinner at 8pm. The attendance for the dinner is registration-based (pursuant to Circular No. 31 of 2008 which was sent to members earlier). Members are reminded to come and support our Malacca Bar team in the Games.
For further information, kindly contact the Malacca Bar’s office.
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July 28, 2008
A conference on the Roadmap to Local Government Elections was jointly organised by the Malacca Bar Committee in cooperation with the Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI-Parliament) and the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) on July 26th, 2008 at King’s Hotel. The aim of this conference was to serve as a platform to propel practical but exciting development options to hold elections in local government and to encourage further collaboration between the federal administration and local authorities in regards to civil society advocacy. The outcome of this conference will form the basis for wider public consultation and it is the fervent wish of the organisers that it would ignite institutional reform towards a democratic system of locally elected representatives.
About 60 participants had attended the conference.
In the opening speech, the Chairman of the Malacca Bar Committee, Mr. Ng Kong Peng commented that the implementation of local government elections was a virtual and complete exercise of democratic right by the people. Mr. Ng also recorded his appreciation for the hardwork and effort given by the Chairman of the Malacca Bar’s Human Rights and Contemporary Issues Sub-Committee, Mr. Anthony Chua and his sub-committee members, CSI-Parliament as well as CPI in organising this conference. Chief Executive Officer of CPI, Dr. Lim Teck Ghee told the audience that the authority had systematically tried to expunge local government elections from people’s memory. Before the general election results in March, 2008 were announced, restoration of local government elections was generally regarded as unthinkable. However, after the political tsunami of March, 2008, there is hope of having the elections again. Wong Chin Huat, a founding member of CSI-Parliament opined that the principle of “no taxation without representation” should be upheld. As such, all taxing authority should be elected. He urged the five states governed by Pakatan Rakyat to set out a timetable for local government elections to be carried out in respective states soonest possible.
Session 1 of the conference was entitled “Why Local Democracy”. Moderator of this session was Mr. Ng Kong Peng. The first speaker was Mr. Derek Fernandez, a town planning lawyer and a member of the Petaling Jaya City Council. Mr. Derek gave a presentation on the topic of “An Assessment of the Status Quo Under the Current Laws.” He commented that the will of Pakatan Rakyat state governments in having local government elections was eroding. This should not have happened as the most crucial factor of Pakatan Rakyat’s win in urban areas in the last election was due to its’ component parties’ promise of restoring local government elections. He further elaborated that the need to restore local government elections arises from the many issues concerning poor management and abuse of power in local authorities as highlighted by our local newspapers. People were angry by political interferences in the decision-making of the local councils and they want changes to be made. He also went through the statutory provisions governing local government with the participants, amongst others, section 9 of the Local Government Act 1976 (power of state authority to issue directions) and section 10(2) of the Local Government Act 1976 (criteria for councillors of the local authority to be appointed). The appointment of local councillors under the present scheme or system is a political appointment and certainly there is no transparency. Mr. Derek was of the view that section 1 (4) of the Local Government Act 1976, Article 95B(1)(a) and Article 113(4) of the Federal Constitution actually provided a way out for the state governments to abolish the present appointment scheme and call for the elections for local government. He also opined that certain emergency legislations which suspended the local government elections may be invalid. Article 150(5) of the Federal Constitution was also interpreted by Mr. Derek as requiring emergency laws to contain the express provision on emergency matters and if there is none then such emergency legislations should be invalid.
The next speaker was Mr. Edward Lee, the state assemblyman for Bukit Gasing, Selangor and the President of Resident Association Section 5 Petaling Jaya who spoke on the topic of “The Role of Civil Society in Local Governance.” Mr. Lee shared about his personal experience of taking part in the community activities and assured the participants that he would use his official position to contribute to the restoration of local government elections. He also encouraged the participants to take more active role in local governance by taking step such as attending the local council meetings.
The last speaker for this session was Mr. Victor Oorjitham, a former local councillor serving from 1970 to 1975 in the Petaling Jaya Council. Mr. Victor shared with the participants about the historical background of the local councils. He outlined the differences between the local councillors in the 1970s and their successors since 1980s. In 1970s, when the local councillors were appointed, section 10 of the Local Government Act 1976 was followed strictly. He also gave examples of the types of persons who were appointed in the 70’s. The Petaling Jaya Council included a Banker, the Legal advisor of the Employees Provident Fund, a senior police officer, a senior civil servant from the Treasury, a senior civil servant from the Ministry of Information, the Editor of a leading newspaper, a medical practitioner, himself (Legal Advisor to A.I.A ) and others who came within the guidelines. But, all these people, in addition to the professional expertise they brought to the post, were involved in community affairs. However, in 1980s, the local councillors began to change to be political appointees from component parties of the ruling coalition. Before 1980s, the local councillors were loyal to the public but after that, the local councillors were only loyal to their political masters. Since then, corruption had tarnished the service given by the local authorities whereby by-laws and guidelines were not followed strictly. This had then affected people’s lives and interests.
After a tea break, the conference resumed with Session 2 -“Reviving Local Elections:The State Solutions”. The moderator for the session was Dr. Lim Teck Ghee.
The first speaker for the session was Mr. Andrew Khoo, the Co-Deputy Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the Malaysian Bar. Mr. Khoo went through the statutory provisions passed for the purpose of suspending local government elections and the available statutory provisions for the state authorities to pave way for the local elections to be carried out. He concluded that state authorities may apply the “opt-out” notifications provided by the provisions in their attempt to conduct the local government elections.
The audience then had Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chin Fook Weng, a national speaker for Gerakan, to present Gerakan’s position with regards to the issue. Tan Sri Chin pointed out that Gerakan had actually included local government elections as one of its promises in their manifesto in 1969. However, after going through the state of emergency laws and having formed a coalition with their political partners in Barisan Nasional, it cannot be carried out as there were other issues to be considered. He was of the view that although there has been no local government elections since the suspension of the elections, people have been giving mandate to the elected state assemblymen forming the state authorities to appoint their councillors. As such, this is an indirect elections for local councils. He also stated that our society is fragile and the direct election for local government can only be restored when people become more mature. The Gerakan’s view presented by Tan Sri Chin triggered comments from the participants as they have doubts on the “immaturity” of Malaysian society after 50 years of independence and question on the cause of such “immaturity”.
The next speaker for the session was Mr. Ronnie Liu, the Selangor Government Exco member for Local Government, Study and Research Committee. Mr. Liu began his presentation by making a stand that it was the intention of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor to restore local government elections as there were advantages of doing so. However he mentioned that in view of the fact that the federal government does not propose to amend the laws to restore the local government elections, it may not be practical for the state government alone to conduct the elections at the moment. He was prepared to meet the federal minister who is in charge of the local government and the Prime Minister in order to persuade them to convince the cabinet so that such amendment may be tabled and passed in Parliament. During the Q & A time, Mr. Wong Chin Huat tried to get a confirmation from Mr. Liu on the preparation and timetable for the local government elections to be implemented by the Selangor government. However, Mr. Liu insisted that a thorough study needed to be carried out on the matter first. According to Mr. Liu, a special committee would be set up by the Selangor government in 6-month’s time, as proposed by the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Nevertheless, the actual time needed for the process could not be confirmed now as the state government had other priorities to consider.
After session 2 ended, the participants took a break for lunch.
The third session discussed ways to revive local elections via federal solutions. Professor Abdul Aziz Bari addressed the fact that in the Federal Constitution, the conduct of elections is regulated by the Elections Commission. As long as it is under the prerogative of the federal government, the political will to conduct local council elections shall come from the federal government.
Mr. Sivarasa Rasiah, MP for Subang and Vice President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat spoke next on the parliamentary mechanisms to initiate local government elections via the private members’ bill and select committees. He believes that one should not separate the state and federal process. Clause 4 of Art.113 of the Federal Constitution provides that Federal or State law may authorise the Election Commission to conduct election. Thus the State Assembly could pass local elections law themselves by drafting the law and promulgating it to the public. Mr. Rasiah further mentioned on the difficulties to have the private members’ bills tabled in the Parliament. The Standing Order 15 provides for conduct of meetings in the Parliament and, as always the case would be, the governmental matters would always take precedence over private concerns. To have the private members’ bills discussed or passed at Parliament is an uphill task. Thus, according to him, there is an urgent need for Parliamentary reform. The problem of lack of supporting staff for individual members of parliament needs to be addressed . He compared our Parliament to that of Indonesia where an MP there would be designated five staffers; and in the Philippines, seven staffers would be designated to a single MP. In Malaysia, an MP does his duties without such assistance.
Dr Goh Ban Lee, a retired USM Associate Professor spoke on the National Council of Local Governments (NCLG). On November 28th, 1971, after NCLG deliberated on the Athi Nahappan Report in its meeting, it was held that the suspension of local government elections should continue to be in force. At another meeting held on September 30th, 1972, it was decided that local councils were incapable of running their own affairs satisfactorily. In the pre-independence period, Penang’s local councillors were fully elected. However, because of lack of understanding on the meaning of being councillors, in new Chinese villages, the elected councillors behaved without constraint and were above the law. Dr Goh thus holds the view that elections do not necessarily bring about a good government. Dr Goh said that it was possible to appoint an Independent Committee to select local councillors.
At the end of the conference, a joint press statement was issued and resolutions were adopted. They are as follows:-
Joint Press Statement issued by
Mr. Ng Peng Kong, Melaka Bar Committee Chairman
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives
Mr. Wong Chin Huat, Civil Society Parliamentary Initiative for Parliamentary Reform
This press statement is issued as the outcome of the “Roadmap to Local Government Elections” Conference jointly organised by the Malacca Bar Committee, Centre for Policy Initiatives and Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI-Parliament) on July 26th, 2008 in Malacca.
Participants at the one day conference adopted the following resolutions:
1. the restoration of local elections constitutes an important step forward in reviving democracy, improving the standard of governance and checking the scourge of corruption, excesses and mismanagement presently plaguing the urban population in Malaysia;
2. the restoration of local elections lies clearly within the jurisdiction of the state government, as provided for by the Article 113(4) and Item 4, List II, Schedule 9 in the Federal Constitution. State governments, especially the Pakatan Rakyat ones which have made election promises on reviving local elections, should take immediate steps to formulate state laws to such effect;
3. the Federal Government should, at the same time, initiate consultations with the general public and hold negotiations with the state governments to formulate a comprehensive plan to have local elections that are clean, free, fair and representative.
Speakers at the conference included the following:
Professor Abdul Aziz BARI is lecturing at the Department of Public Law at the International Islamic University.
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr CHIN Fook Weng is a national speaker for Gerakan and a former senator and Associate Professor.
Mr Derek FERNANDES is a town planning lawyer and a member of the Petaling Jaya City Council.
Dr GOH Ban Lee is a retired USM Associate Professor interested in urban governance, housing and urban planning.
Mr Andrew KHOO is the Co-Deputy Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee, with interests running from parliamentary reform, electoral reform to Free Trade Agreements.
Mr Edward LEE is the state assemblyperson for Bukit Gasing and the President of Resident Association Section 5 Petaling Jaya.
Mr Ronnie LIU is the state assemblyman for Pandamaran, Selangor and the Selangor Government Exco member for Local Government, Study and Research Committee.
Mr Victor OORJITHAM is the Chairman of Maxwell Towers Resident Association (local joint action committee) and former local councilor for Petaling Jaya.
Mr Sivarasa RASIAH is the member of Parliament for Subang and the Vice President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Melaka, 26 July 2008
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July 24, 2008
Registration Form for Conference on the Roadmap to Local Government Elections
SPEAKERS
Professor Abdul Aziz BARI is lecturing at the Department of Public Law at the International Islamic University.
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr CHIN Fook Weng is a national speaker for Gerakan and a former senator and Associate Professor.
Mr Derek FERNANDES is a town planning lawyer and a member of the Petaling Jaya City Council.
Dr GOH Ban Lee is a retired USM Associate Professor interested in urban governance, housing and urban planning.
Mr Andrew KHOO is the Co-Deputy Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee, with wide interests from parliamentary reform, electoral reform to Free Trade Agreements.
Mr Edward LEE is the state assemblyperson for Bukit Gasing and the President of Resident Association Section 5 Petaling Jaya.
Mr Ronnie LIU is the state assemblyman for Pandamaran, Selangor and the Selangor Government Exco member for Local Government, Study and Research Committee.
Mr Victor OORJITHAM is the Chairman of Maxwell Towers Resident Association (local joint action committee) and former local councilor for Petaling Jaya.
Mr Sivarasa RASIAH is the member of Parliament for Subang and the Vice President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Moderators/Organizer Representatives:
Mr Ng Kong Peng is the current Melaka Bar Committee chairman.
Dr Lim Teck Ghee is a former UN advisor and past Director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies in ASLI. He is currently the CEO of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.
Wong Chin Huat is a founding member of Civil Society Parliamentary Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI-Parliament).
CONFERENCE DETAILS
Date : Saturday, 26th July 2008
Time : 8.30am – 4.30pm
Venue : King’s Hotel, No.30, Lebuh Ayer Keroh, 75450 Melaka
REGISTRATION FEE
RM 20.00
(Registration fee includes lunch, tea and seminar materials)
PROGRAMME
8.30-8.45am
- Registration
8.45-9.00am
- Welcoming Speeches by the Organizers: Dr Lim TG; Mr KP Ng and Mr Wong Chin Huat
9.00-11.00am
- Session 1- “Why Local Democracy?”
- Moderator - Mr Ng Kong Peng
- Mr Derek Fernandez – “An Assessment of the Status Quo Under the Current Laws.”
- Mr Edward Lee – “The role of civil society in local governance.”
- Mr Victor Oorjitham – “The Earlier Experience in the 1970s.”
- Question & Answer Session
11.00-11.15am
- Tea Break
11.15-1.15pm
- Session 2 -“Reviving Local Elections : The State Solutions”
- Moderator- Dr Lim Teck Ghee
- Mr Andrew Khoo – “How the State can do it.”
- Mr Ronnie Liu – “Why the State has not done it.”
- Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Chin Fook Weng- “Gerakan’s Position On Local Elections”
- Question & Answer Session
1.15-2.00pm
- Lunch
2.00-4.00pm
- Session 3-“Reviving Local Elections : The Federal Solutions”
- Moderator- Andrew Khoo
- Professor Abdul Aziz Bari – “ Institutional Reforms and Federal-State Relations”
- Mr Sivarasa Rasiah MP – “The Parliamentary Mechanism: Private Members’ Bill and Select Committee”
- Dr Goh Ban Lee – “The Constitutional Mechanism: “National Council of Local Governments.”
- Question & Answer Session
4.00-4.30 pm
-Closing & Tea
4.30pm onwards
- a guided tour of the Historical City of Melaka (optional)
Co-organized by :-
• The Melaka Bar Committee
• Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI-Parliament)
• Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)
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July 23, 2008
The Malacca Club would be holding the blood donation campaign and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) demonstration on 27th July 2008 (Sunday) at Rotunda from 3:30pm to 6:30pm.
Members of the Malacca Bar are cordially invited by The Malacca Club to participate in the above events.
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July 14, 2008
Three foreign workers from Myanmar were arrested by the Immigration Department enforcement officers in Malacca on June 25th, 2008 for the alleged breach of S.6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963. On the basis of a complaint lodged by their employer, their temporary work permit has subsequently been revoked. It is understood that these workers are currently detained for an indefinite period at the Lenggeng Detention Centre in Negeri Sembilan.
One of the workers had, on June 11th, 2008 lodged a police report at the Brickfields Police Station, Kuala Lumpur with the assistance of the Labour Resource Centre. In her report, she alleged that the other two workers who were arrested and herself were subjected to frequent sexual harassment and assault while engaged at work. To date, police investigation (Brickfields Report No: MTR/004964/08) is still ongoing.
It is our view that the Myanmar nationals should not have initially been arrested; not least before a preliminary investigation is conducted. In this case, their arrest was carried out based on the report of their employer. Ideally, had the Immigration Department perused the workers’ documents and work permit with their said employer, the arrest would not have occurred. Furthermore, since the Immigration Department has a complete network database of foreign workers in Malaysia, this procedural check would be relatively straightforward.
The workers were alleged of having absconded. However, the arrest actually took place at the workers’ hostel lodging which clearly shows that they had not, in any way, fled.
We are also of the view that it is beyond the jurisdiction of the Immigration Department to arrest the complainant as police investigation on the alleged sexual harassment and assault is still ongoing. Likewise, the ambit of sexual harassment is under the prerogative of the Labour Division, and not the Immigration Department.
We are of the further view that these workers have the right to file a claim against their former employer vide S.20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 through the Industrial Relations Department for the revocation of their temporary work permit.
Mr. Anthony Chua, the Malacca Bar Human Rights Sub-Committee Chairperson had spoken to an officer of the Immigration Department in Malacca to expedite their release. As an auxiliary action, Ms. Florida A. Sandanasamy and Mr. Saharuddin Bin Adnan will be going to the Lenggeng Detention Centre to receive further instructions from the migrant workers.
Members of the Bar who are willing to assist in this matter may contact Mr. Anthony Chua for further information.
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July 8, 2008
A talk with the topic of “Labour Law: Breach of Confidentiality & Trade Secrets in Employment Contracts” will be organised by the Professional Practice & Development Sub-Committee of the Malacca Bar on 11.7.2008 (Friday) at 4pm in King’s Hotel, Malacca. The speaker for the talk is Mr Steven Thiruneelakandan from Kuala Lumpur. For further information, kindly contact Mr. Lawrence at Malacca Bar office.
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