Zunar awarded “2016 Cartooning for Peace Prize”

I am honored to be one of the winner of  “2016 Cartooning for PeacePrize”. The ceremoney was held at the Palais Eynard in Geneva in thepresence of the Honorary President of the Swiss Foundation Cartooning for Peace, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr KofiAnnan and Municipal Councillor for the City of Geneva Mr Guillaume Barazzone. The other winner is Kenyan cartoonist, Gado. Work of both cartoonistsare exhibited at the Lac Leman in Geneva. KOFI ANNAN’s STATEMENT Gado and Zunar remind us how fragile this liberty remains in Africa…

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MALAYSIA NOW – March 2016

News Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Dissolves in April Chief Minister Adenan Satem announced that the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly will be dissolved on 11 April 2016. Following the dissolution, the Election Commission (EC) will take over to arrange the Sarawak state election. Of 82 constituencies to be contested, 11 will be new. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Azalina Othman Said, revealed that the EC will spend RM135.6 million in this upcoming Sarawak state election. In a written reply to DAP Member of Parliament (MP) Wong Ling Biu, Azalina reported…

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China starts buying Malaysian bonds

China starts buying Malaysian bonds – The Star – read more China’s government has started buying more Malaysian government securities (MGS) and this inflow of new foreign money could rise to 50 billion yuan (RM30bil) in total, according to International Trade and Industry Minister II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan. In an exclusive interview with The Star, Ong said a senior representative of the Bank of China told him about this development recently when he met with the bank on issues pertaining to the use of yuan and ringgit in…

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World Bank downgrades Malaysia’s growth forecast

The Washington DC-based World Bank has downgraded Malaysia’s growth forecast this year by 0.3 points to 4.4%. The international financial institution has posted the biggest downgrades in growth forecasts in the region for the country and Indonesia, both commodity exporters. Indonesia’s estimate for this year was lowered by 0.2 percentage points to 5.1%. The largest forecast upgrade was for Thailand, with the World Bank now projecting an expansion of 2.5% this year, up from 2% in the earlier report.  read more

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Human Rights Council adopts historic resolution on protection of defenders of economic, social and cultural rights

(Geneva) – The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a landmark resolution on the protection of human rights defenders working to promote economic, social and cultural rights by a resounding vote. The Norwegian-led resolution, developed in close consultation with civil society and sponsored by over 60 States from all regions, was adopted by a vote of 33 Member States of the Human Rights Council to just 6 against. Eight States in the 47-seat Council abstained. Earlier, over 180 NGOs from all over the world united to call on Member States of the Council to adopt…

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Daily News Snippets: April 1, 2016

BUSINESS CORRIDORS NEWS Singapore Foreign Minister On Working Visit To Sabah – Bernama – read more Singapore’s Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnanakan will undertake a three-day working visit to Sabah, Malaysia from tomorrow (April 1 to 3). Wisma Putra, in a statement, said Dr Vivian would host a ‘thank you’ reception on April 2, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to express the Singapore government’s appreciation for the assistance rendered by the Malaysian authorities to the Singapore Crisis Action Team following the earthquake in Sabah on June 5 last year. Last year,…

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MALAYSIA NOW – February 2016

NEWS  1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Goldman Sachs The New York Post published an article entitled “FBI Gathers Clues In Massive Goldman Sachs Money Scandal” on 20th February 2016.  The article stated that US law enforcement officials are gathering sensitive documents and identifying potential witnesses from around the world in Goldman Sachs’ involvement with 1MDB. Goldman Sachs is an American investment banking firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It has been reported that “exorbitant” fees for transactions were…

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‘Breaking’ some M’sian law at Bersih 4 in NZ

by Joshua Tan Chong Hui I believed that I had ‘broken’ some Malaysian law in New Zealand, and it was outlawed for an ordinary citizen like me to wear anything concerning Bersih 4. On the contrary, I had worn the shirt, the badges as well as the headband on Aug 29, 2015 when attending the Bersih 4 rally in Wellington. Initially, I was less enthusiastic to this rally, mainly because of my concern that this rally was too closely tied with the urging for Najib Abdul Razak’s resignation. This rally’s…

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Global Bersih Calls On Malaysian Senators To Reject National Security Council Bill 2015

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE GLOBAL BERSIH CALLS ON MALAYSIAN SENATORS TO REJECT NATIONAL SECURITY  COUNCIL BILL 2015 Global Bersih notes with very great concern the passage of the National Security Council Bill by Malaysia’s Dewan Rakyat on 3 December; condemns the unseemly haste and lack of due process with which this was done; and calls on the 66 senators of the Dewan Negara – as well as the Yang di-Pertuan Agung – to reject this bill in order to safeguard the fundamental liberties of the Malaysian people. In doing so, Global…

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High Court Bersih 4 T-shirt Ban Decision Gets International Attention

The Shah Alam High Court upheld the Malaysian Home Ministry Bersih 4 t-shirt ban on 19 February 2016. This drew attention from not only Malaysian media, but also international media. The New York Times covered news of the ban extensively. Richard Paddock also briefly wrote about the 1MDB scandal in his article, Malaysian High Court Upholds T-shirt as a Security Threat. Also mentioned was that the police are in the midst of investigating graphic artist, Fahmi Reza. The New York Times – Malaysian High Court Upholds T-Shirt as a Security Threat

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