 Apa khabar? Here we are skimming through kamus dewan figuring out Anwar’s random words (do they even exist?) and Mukhriz Mahathir whips out the word ‘opsyen-opsyen’. Pilihan, Mukhriz. The word is PILIHAN!  Source: Twitter/Pejuang letter Also, have you seen the new Nokia rebranded logo? It’s a slow death, soon it will be no-nokia, guys (to new subscribers, we have all agreed that this is a gender-neutral term). Niresh Kaur, Shambavi Shankar |
What’s the tea in Malaysia? Source: tenor Tourists forced to walk on the train track What transpired? As part of the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia efforts, the Aerotrain company decided to let Malaysians and tourists alike experience what it is like to walk on the train track. If you have believed this statement, we suggest installing TrueCaller on your phone to lower your chances of getting scammed.  Source: tenor The fact that this happened not long after the Budget announcement on Malaysia wanting to develop the Subang and Penang airports to attract foreign businesses and tourists seems a little chuckle-worthy. Except, it shouldn’t be. The Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) Managing Director, Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, stated that the train is a 25-year-old and had parts that are not supported anymore. Do we hear an excuse here, sir?  Source: tenor Fun fact: Check out his remuneration here. |
| We missed a few things from the Budget.. 1. Ex-prisoners will receive proper training through the Skill for Inmate Programme and employers are incentivised to hire them, with additional tax deductions. This gives ex-prisoners a fair shot at redemption. Sounds like a win-win to us! 2. The Royal Malaysian Police’s Unit D11 to increase efforts to investigate sexual abuse cases involving women and children, including the formation of a special team dedicated to combating child pornography in collaboration with other agencies. The Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development to establish a Children Development Department within the Social Welfare Department to provide enhanced support to children. 3. The Legal Aid Department to increase the eligibility limit for total legal aid from RM30,000 to RM50,000 and extend their coverage to include civil and Syariah cases. The government is also considering a special Act to provide free legal aid for criminal cases, ensuring access to justice for the underprivileged.  Source: tenor 4. GLC and GLIC companies to contribute to welfare programmes of up to RM250 million to assist the hardcore poor and enhance their quality of life. |
| What is AUKU and why don’t we like it? The Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 aka AUKU is the ultimate buzzkill for university students in Malaysia. This Act was enacted to govern the administration and management of universities. Still, all it seems to do is constrain the freedom of expression that’s supposed to be the hallmark of higher education. So much for expanding your horizons in universities. Let’s take a walk down memory lane: Over the years, there were a few cases of AUKU being misused: 1. In 2015, a few students at Universiti Malaya were charged under Section 15(5)(a) of AUKU, for protesting the Malaysian government’s handling of the 1MDB scandal. This section prohibits students from participating in any political activity on campus. 2. MUDA president, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, was left out of his convocation ceremony for speaking his mind on power abuse and the 1MDB scandal. [source: FMT] 3. Even our PM, Anwar Ibrahim, wasn’t immune to this – he was banned from his alma mater and students were threatened with disciplinary action if they attended his talk. [source: FMT]  Source: tenor Let’s protest about protesting! From a legal standpoint, AUKU and related regulations that punish students for engaging in political activism, whether on or off-campus, are also a violation of their rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and association. Have you all no respect for the Federal Constitution?  Source: tenor It’s never a good idea to stifle the free speech and expression of university students on this day. If we want our universities to be hubs of innovation and critical thinking, then give an outlet for students to express themselves without fear. Repeal or amend AUKU, but do something about it! Plenty of cries from students and NGOs asking the government to repeal the Act. However, the government has confirmed that they have no plans to do so as it would affect how universities are governed (the main purpose of this Act, remember?). Nevertheless, the ministry is apparently planning to formulate guidelines to address this issue, i.e., the government is formulating a plan to give students freedom. Tell us how this makes sense. Just amend the Act if you can’t repeal it.  Source: tenor |
| Other highlights of the week: 1. Singapore to declassify Albatross File – documents containing the tea on the Malaysia-Singapore separation. 2. Pejuang applied to join Perikatan Nasional (PN). We have two questions: Is this even a good deal for PN? Who’s left in Pejuang anyway that’s so significant? 3. Najib acquitted in 1MDB report tampering case as the prosecution has failed to prove a prima facie case. 4. EPF dividends have been announced as follows:5.3% for conventional accounts 4.75 for syariah accounts |
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