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news without borders
Cycling for
a difference
PETALING JAYA: Jaringan Rakyat
Tertindas (Jerit), a network of factory
worker unions, farmers, developers,
youth and students will launch a
nationwide cycling campaign on
Nov 30 to raise awareness of real
problems facing the people.
Participants of the People Pedal
Change Campaign are to be flagged off
at three venues – Kangar, Perlis, Skudai,
Johor, and Kota Baru, Kelantan.
“The campaign will create
awareness of current issues like the
fuel price hike, use of the Internal
Security Act, and the environmental
and food crisis affecting the public,”
spokesman for the Jerit secretariat,
Y. Kohila, said in a statement.
She said representatives of hu-
man rights groups, non-governmen-
tal organisations, labour unions and
political parties would cycle through
50 towns and cities around the
country to distribute pamphlets.
The campaign also aims to step
up support for Jerit’s call for:
» a Minimum Wage Act;
» the abolition of the Internal Secu-
rity Act and other inhumane laws;
» comfortable housing for the com-
munity;
» price controls and making goods
affordable;
» local council elections; and
» an end to the privatising of basic
amenities such as water, hospitals
and education.
“Communities in each state will
present a memorandum calling for
these to the mentris besar and chief
ministers,” Kohila said, adding that the
memorandums would later be handed
to the prime minister in Parliament.
How will the change affect us?
by Alan Ting
KUALA LUMPUR: “Change
has come to America” – that was
how Barack Obama described
his victory in the US presidential
election on Wednesday.
Americans and people the world
over were glued to their television
sets, having looked forward to his
victory in the hope that it would
augur well for the world.
Malaysian politicians were also
heard using some of Obama’s catch-
phrases in their political campaigns.
But the most pertinent question is
“will the ‘change’ have any impact
on a small country like Malaysia?”
Political analyst Dr Oh Ei San
says he does not foresee any
significant changes in the bilateral
relationship between Malaysia and
the United States.
The Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) between the US and
Malaysia would, however, be less
of a priority for the new president
than it was for the previous
administration under President
George W. Bush, he said.
Decision gives hope for judicial reform: Bar Council
PETALING JAYA: A decision by the
High Court to free blogger Raja Petra
Kamaruddin from detention under the
Internal Security Act (ISA) has given
rise to hope for judicial reform, the Bar
Council said.
Bar president Datuk Ambiga Sree-
“Even if they were interested in
an FTA with us, they are likely to
emphasise on human and labour
rights as well as environment
protection as key factors during
negotiations,” Oh said.
Malaysia is one America’s major
trading partners, and the country
remains a key export market for
Malaysia’s semi-conductor and
manufacturing sectors.
On the political front, Oh
said, parliamentary Opposition
Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
is perceived to have a closer
relationship with the Republicans
than Democrats.
“At the same time, it could also
be bad news for the ruling parties
and the government of Malaysia as
the US under the new leadership
will likely touch on the Internal
Security Act, this being a human
rights issue.”
Another political analyst,
Liew Chin Tong, said the result
signalled the end of the economics
of privatisation, popularly known
as “Reaganomics”, which was
introduced by former US president
nevasan said in a statement the decision
“gives us hope that our Judiciary has
acted and will act with courage, integrity
and independence when the liberty of an
individual is threatened by the arbitrary
use of power under the ISA”.
“It is to the Judiciary that an indi-
theSun
Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
“This is a new chapter in US
politics as well economic policy,
which will involve a major rethink
of policies such as privatisation.
“Indirectly, for us here, it
would push the government to
refocus its strategy on providing
basic amenities such as transport,
healthcare and education to the
general population,” he said.
In terms of US foreign policy,
however, Liew opined that there
would not be any significant
change as the country is guided to
a large extent by a consensus from
its bipartisan approach.
“They are likely to leave
it to the bureaucrats in the
State Department to make the
decisions,” he said.
However, analyst Dr John Lee,
a visiting fellow at the Centre for
Independent Studies in Sydney,
pointed out that with Obama, just
as it was under former president
Bill Clinton, the centre-point of
America’s security strategy for the
region would be to strengthen its
relationship with China.
vidual turns for the protection of his
rights against the might of the State,
and it bodes well for the nation that the
Judiciary has shown that it is prepared
to hold the Executive accountable for
any abuse of power,” she said.
Sreenevasan said judges and judicial
| MONDAY NOVEMBER 10 2008
Lee said this did not mean the
US would abandon its relationship
with countries in the region.
“When its comes to this all-
important Chinese policy, Obama
is unlikely to see a significant role
for Southeast Asia. There will be
less consultation with the Southeast
Asian alliance, simply because
Southeast Asia will be viewed as
strategically less relevant when it
comes to the issue of managing the
rise of China,” he wrote in a article
published by a local English daily.
Dr Siva Murugan, senior
lecturer and political analyst at
Universiti Sains Malaysia, however
said that even if the US focused
more on China, its efforts to repair
ties with the Middle East and
Muslim countries would place
Malaysia within its sights.
“Not many scholars and
analysts look at this point of view,
that Obama wants better ties with
Middle East and Islamic countries.
For this, you will need the
support of all Muslim countries,
which would include Malaysia.”
– Bernama
officers who uphold the rule of law, with-
out regard to their own interests and
without fear or favour, are true to their
oath of office and deserve respect and
admiration. “We must ensure they enjoy
an environment that promotes such
courage, integrity and independence.”