PETALING JAYA: Moderate member Mohamed Tawfik Ismail has filed a suit seeking to declare PAS’ Private Member’s Bill as unconstitutional and that it flouts Parliament procedures. Naming Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and its secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah as defendants, Tawfik said the Dewan Rakyat’s decision to allow a motion to table the Bill by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang also is in contempt of the Rulers’ Conference as prior consent was not obtained. The former Umno MP and son of the country’s second deputy prime minister Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman filed the court papers Friday afternoon. His solicitors are expected to serve the papers on the defendants on

MALAYSIANS stand in solidarity with the world in mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack on London and the death and serious injury of innocent civilians from several countries. As a British politician said, an attack on London is an attack on the world. London is the inspirational city for freedom, democracy and tolerance for most countries, particularly those in the British Commonwealth. For many Malaysians, the city is like our second home for education, vacationing and business. London is the birthplace of the parliamentary system of government which most of the world adopts as the ideal system of governing. It provides checks and balance against abuse of power, in line with peo

The organiser was eager for the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) to attend what was slated to be a cosy, uneventful meeting. We were greeted by representatives of a coalition of 17 non-governmental organisations that, in 2014, formed an education pressure group they called Inisiatif Pengislahan Pendidikan Negara (IPPN) or National Education Reform Initiative. Among those present were Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia, the Tamil Foundation Malaysia, LLG Cultural Development Centre Bhd, Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers’ Association of Malaysia), Tamil Education Groups and Merdeka University Bhd (in no particular order) — a hotchpotch of allies. The coalition’s objective is to inculcat

I REFER to the report “Yong: English is key for M’sia to remain competitive” (The Star, March 6) on the role played by Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon as co-chairman of Pemudah together with the previous Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan, to improve the administrative machinery in delivering services to the public. The results of their work can be seen today in several government departments where renewal of passports, licences and permits are much more efficient, giving Malaysia a good name for ease in doing business. Gone are the days when people had to start queuing at 5am at the Immigration Department or Road Transport Office to get the transactions done by lunch time so they c

Kepada semua Yang (Amat) Berhormat ahli-ahli Parlimen, Rayuan agar tidak menyokong Rang Undang-Undang 355 (RUU355) demi memartabatkan konsep Wassatiyah Kesederhanaan untuk kestabilan ekonomi dan negara Merujuk perkara di atas, kami G25 dengan perasaan bimbang merayu, dan berhasrat mendapatkan persetujuan YB agar tidak menyokong / membatalkan RUU355 yang kini akan dibahaskan di sidang Parlimen. Kami berharap YB mengimbas kembali dan perhatikan yang pindaan kepada perlaksanaan undang-undang syariah harus dilakukan berpaksikan kerangka Perlembagaan Persekutuan demi menegakkannya. Perkara 4 Perlembagaan Persekutuan mengisytiharkan yang status Perlembagaan Persekutuan, undang-undang persekutuan

To all Honourable Members of Parliament, Appeal to not support Act 355, to uphold moderation (Wassatiyah) for the good of the economy and the nation We, G25 Malaysia, respectfully appeal for a pledge from each Honourable Member of Parliament to not support / vote against the PAS’ private motion to amend Act 355, which is due to be tabled in Parliament. We hope the honourable MPs would ponder upon and note that any amendment to Islamic laws should be done within the framework of the Federal Constitution. Specifically, Article 4 provides that the Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law which is inconsistent with the Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency,

The policy should not aim at improving Malaysia’s global rankings, but rather must meet domestic objectives. FOLLOWING the forum on governance in Parliament for effective oversight of the Executive and public sector accountability, the Malaysian Economic Association convened its second forum on economic gover­nance last month with a discussion on the governance of the public sector itself. Speakers gave credit to improvements made in the governance of the Malaysian public sector, but also lamented the many emerging indicators of failure to exercise good governance. Positive developments which facilitated better governance included the greater use of technology like E-govern­ment. The case st