In its latest annual report, Amnesty International calls for full abolition of the death penalty. With the 2018 moratorium Malaysia has made progress, but that's not enough. Between July 2023 and January 2024, the death penalty was pronounced 26 times. For lawyer Michael Kong, “open public discussions about justice” are needed.
A single mother was found guilty of the sin of 'khalwat' (closeness) in a state ruled by the Islamist party. The sentence - a first - is scheduled to be carried out in Marang prison on 6 May. A case destined to represent a thermometer of the power relations with fundamentalists in Anwar Ibrahim's Malaysia
A group of 17 Christians took part in the gesture promoted by the diocesan office for human development. In Chow Kit they lived together with street people, sleeping next to them on cardboard boxes.
The government set the deadline for 31 December. For some, the date leaves the federal parliament too little time to legislate in such a sensitive matter. Two visions confront each other as to the place of state secularisation and Islamisation.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's plan is to get civil servants to pay into a non-government pension fund, an unpopular move with political risks among voters. Malaysia is not the only country in Southeast Asia facing hard decisions over retirement policies; few governments in the region are ready to deal with an ageing population.