The CSO Platform for Reform, a coalition of 75 Malaysian civil society organisations (CSOs), is alarmed by the Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin’s announcement of the state of emergency which was proclaimed on 12 January 2021. This was announced in view of the...
Due to the extraordinary circumstances in 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pusat KOMAS’ national conference took on a new form. We organised the conference in two parts: the first, a virtual conference on Zoom; the second, a hybrid conference in...
We, the undersigned civil society organisations, condemn the startling declaration made by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who has vowed to fight against secularism and liberalism through the Perikatan Nasional...
Pusat KOMAS condemns the attempts by certain irresponsible quarters to turn the recent case of theft and thuggery incident which took place at Low Yat Plaza into a racial issue. Pusat KOMAS would also like to express our strongest objection to the violence and nonsensical responses by the group of about 200 people who claimed to represent NGO's such as Persatuan Kebajikan Islam dan Dakwah Islamiah (Pekida), and also hurled derogatory and unsavoury remarks in front of Low Yat Plaza. We also...
Pusat KOMAS will be organizing a book launch of "WE ARE CONVINCED - Time for a new Malaysia away from Racism" The launch event will be in a forum panel method, where the esteemed speakers will be sharing their insights on the topic of "Malaysia moving away from Racism". These experts will be highlighting and hammering away why a Malaysia away from racism is possible. The speakers for the forum are as below: Details: Date: 7th July 2015 Time: 10 am - 12pm Venue: Armada Hotel, Petaling Jaya...
Pusat KOMAS is increasingly alarmed and concerned about the growing trend of cultural intolerance in Malaysia today. The recently reported incidents are clear indicators of how Malaysia has regressed in terms being a mature and tolerant multi-cultural society. Furthermore it raises many crucial issues on cultural diversity, tolerance and the will and effectiveness of the authorities in addressing these issues. For instance in the incident of the individuals who were refused entry for not...
Your Excellencies, it’s our pleasure to meet and greet the leaders of our nations. Thank you for this opportunity to have this honest dialogue. We just completed a successful ASEAN Peoples Forum 2015 in Kuala Lumpur with 1500 people in attendance from all ASEAN countries, as well as about 500 people in the 4 preparatory meetings prior, with the support of Financial Assistance , without conditions, from the Prime Minister of Malaysia and other donors. I thank you. I am Jerald Joseph, the Chair...
The case of Lena Hendry who was charged under Act 6 of the Censorship Law 2002 came to hearing yesterday in Kuala Lumpur High Court for the decision of the reference made by the Magistrate Court relating to several constitutional issues pertaining to section 6 of the Film Censorship Act 2002. Joshua Tay appeared for Lena Hendry while Tuan Nik Suhaimi bin Ibrahim appeared for the Respondent Public Prosecutor. The decision today was delivered in chambers where the Judge held that the Applicant...
As Malaysia will be chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015, the next ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples Forum (ACSC/APF)i will also be held in Kuala Lumpur in March/April 2015, parallel to the ASEAN Summit. We are proud to say that it was the Malaysian government, under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister, which initiated the first ASEAN civil society conference in 2005. Thus, the ACSC/APF 2015 marks a full circle since the meaningful initiative...
Why the Negara-Ku Movement is a Must, Now In his article 'Why form Negara-Ku?' which appeared in The Malaysia Insider on 14th July, 2014, Ahmad Hafidz Baharom has given our Negara-Ku Movement the opportunity to address several issues. We hope thus to be able to put to rest niggling doubts and misconceptions that not just he but others too might have, so we can move forward to deal with the imperatives of the day. Negara-Ku – why another NGO? Under the...
By Mariam Mokhtar (First appeared in Free Malaysia Today on July 4th, 2014) Lena Hendry is like any other Malaysian. She likes reading, watching films, listening to music and travelling. She went to Convent Bukit Nanas and after graduating in Psychology from HELP University College in Damansara, worked for Komas, a Malaysian human rights non-govermental organisation (NGO). She says: “I am an average sort of person, who wishes to do something, to help Malaysia.” The state of affairs in Malaysia...
We attended court today for the mention of case before Magistrate Tuan Ashraf Rezal bin Abdul Manan. A new mention date was set on the 22nd of July 2014 as there are no updates from the Court of Appeal. Magistrate Tuan Ashraf also stressed that the case has been classified as a high profile case because it involves the relationship between two countries (Malaysia and Sri Lanka) and he requested the lawyers to try to speed up the proceedings so that the trial will start soon.
Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) calls upon Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar to resign over his deliberate refusal to comply with two High Court orders in two child custody cases, which is akin to mutiny. If Khalid refuses to resign, then the necessary procedure of Police Forces Commission must be triggered to result in his dismissal. GBM also censures Prime Minister Najib Razak for affirming the IGP’s renegade misconduct by suggesting the interfaith custody cases should be...