The Ministry of Home Affairs maintained a list of more than 1,700 banned publications as of November 2020. The government also sought to hold online news portals responsible for comments posted by their readers. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is responsible for investigating corruption in both private and public bodies but does not have prosecutorial authority. The government used the COVID-19 pandemic to further this practice. Human Rights Watch called on the government to investigate the deportations and to provide UNHCR with access to all detainees, refugees, and asylum seekers in the country, stressing the risk they faced of a return to persecution. Leong had been arrested three times since November 2020 in connection with a break-in, under a statute designed to combat organized crime and terrorism. Employers were unilaterally able to terminate work permits, subjecting migrant workers to immediate deportation. According to refugee groups, minority Chin and Kachin asylum seekers fleeing persecution and approximately a dozen children with at least one parent in Malaysia were also among them. For examples of social problems in Malaysia include crime, violence, gangsterism, drug abuse, baby dumping, vandalism, and young relationship among youth. Employers may immediately deport pregnant or ill workers. Nevertheless, four states Johor, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang extend equal parental rights to Muslim mothers. What is qualitative research and why is it important? No law specifically prohibits torture; however, laws that prohibit committing grievous hurt encompass torture. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The minimum age of marriage is 18 for men and 16 for women. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process, Section 4. Civilian authorities at times did not maintain effective control over security forces. Defendants have the right to communicate with an attorney of their choice or to have counsel appointed at public expense if they face charges that carry the death penalty. Observers noted that authorities took claims seriously, but victims were often reluctant to report sexual harassment because of the difficulty of proving the offense and the lengthy trial process. Estimates of the street-child population ranged from a few thousand to 15,000, many of whom were born in the country to illegal immigrant parents. In February, Court of Appeal President Rohana Yusuf found independent online news portal Malaysiakini guilty of contempt for user comments posted to an article the portal published in June 2020; chief editor Steven Gan was acquitted. In 2021, the UN's planned Food Systems Summit during the General Assembly will be an important moment, as well as a yearlong focusing mechanism, to help move the world toward a more sustainable model that addresses all these issues and more. Child labor occurred in some family businesses. There were restrictions on Israeli citizens entering the country. Social problems can relate to governments, social behavior, social structure, environmental and economic problems. The sentences for subsequent convictions are fines and up to three months in jail. No judicial review is permitted for these measures. Americans' views of the problems facing the nation. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor, c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment, d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation. The law provides for the rights to strike and to bargain collectively, but both were severely restricted. Although the law does not require groups to obtain a permit for assemblies, police frequently placed time, location, and other restrictions on the right to assemble. Informal Sector: As of 2019 more than one million workers were considered to be in the nonagricultural informal sector. Share this via Twitter Labor union representatives noted that recruiting agents in the countries of origin and locally sometimes imposed high fees, making migrant workers vulnerable to debt bondage. Arbitrary Arrest: Authorities sometimes used their powers to intimidate and punish opponents of the government. Many NGOs complained women did not receive fair treatment from sharia courts, especially in divorce and child custody cases (see section 6). There are no specific regulations, laws, or guidelines to protect the welfare of gig workers, except for the provisions under the Self-Employment Social Security Act 2017 that require self-employed individuals to register and contribute. The police questioned six Al Jazeera staff members and raided the organizations offices in Kuala Lumpur. The SUHAKAM childrens commissioner, Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, declared that the arrests contravened the law, which states that a child being arrested should not be handcuffed, the parents or guardians must be informed of the childs whereabouts, the childs identity must be protected, and the child has the right to consult with counsel of his or her choice. Independent Monitoring: Authorities generally did not permit NGOs and media to monitor prison conditions; the law allows judges to visit prisons to examine conditions and ask prisoners and prison officials about conditions. In May families of 10 inmates filed police reports after their incarcerated relatives claimed to have been abused while under quarantine at Jelebu Prison in Negeri Sembilan. Muslim women younger than 16 may marry with the approval of a sharia court. Ensuring access to health, mental health and behavioral health services. More than 60 offenses are subject to caning, sometimes in conjunction with imprisonment, and judges routinely mandated caning as punishment for crimes, including kidnapping, rape, and robbery, and nonviolent offenses, such as narcotics possession, criminal breach of trust, migrant smuggling, immigration offenses, and others. The law also restricts the formation of unions of workers in similar trades, occupations, or industries. There were four non-Muslim judges serving on the Federal Court. It is vindictive.. In May 2021, speed-testing company Ookla measured Malaysia's mobile internet download speed at 54.54 Mbps and fixed-line broadband at 105.14 Mbps. A 2018 survey by a local transgender rights group reported more than two-thirds of transgender women experienced some form of physical or emotional abuse. Some workers organizations were independent of government, political parties, and employers, but employer-dominated or yellow unions were reportedly a concern. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation - IJPR, is an editorial & peer-reviewed journal publication for mental health care providers, practitioners, nurses, consumers, and applied researchers, bearing ISSN: 1475-7192. The Electoral Commission has established constituencies with widely varying populations, further to the advantage of rural populations. It also discussed digital upskilling, tackling racial and religious discrimination, and Bumiputra's special privileges. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings, c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence, a. NGOs and international organizations involved with these populations made credible allegations of overcrowding, inadequate food and clothing, lack of regular access to clean water, poor medical care, improper sanitation, and lack of bedding in the immigration detention centers. The government did not effectively enforce laws prohibiting forced labor in some cases, and large fines as penalties were not commensurate with those for other analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping. Workers may not strike in a broad range of industries deemed essential, nor may they hold strikes when a dispute is under consideration by the Industrial Court. Individuals or organizations may sue the government and officials in court for alleged violations of human rights; however, a large case backlog often resulted in delays in civil actions to the disadvantage of plaintiffs. In August, Malaysia refused to renew the visas of two Al Jazeera journalists based in the country. The law prohibits defense and police officials and retired or dismissed workers from joining a union. Despite strong objections by opposition political parties and civil society, in 2018 the former Barisan Nasional coalition government approved redrawn parliamentary districts that critics contended unfairly advantaged Barisan Nasional through gerrymandering and malapportionment. The government occasionally censored foreign magazines, newspapers, and news programming, most often due to sexual content. Passport confiscation by employers increased migrant workers vulnerability to forced labor; the practice was illegal but widespread and generally went unpunished. Private-sector strikes were severely restricted. Access to education was limited to schools run by NGOs and ethnic communities, and UNHCR estimated no more than 40 percent of refugee children attended school. The measures included school officials forcing girls to show their blood-soaked sanitary pads; doing swabs of their vaginas with cotton buds, tissues, or fingers; or patting them down to feel if they were wearing a sanitary pad. Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people remains pervasive in Malaysia. Addressing economic inequality and promoting financial asset building. Share this via Email While authorities generally treated attorney-client communications as privileged, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officials may question lawyers who accompanied their clients to nonjudicial commission hearings about their interaction with their clients and the content of their discussions. Sabri added that the government was serious about the issue, as Malaysia is a country that adheres to the religion of Islam.. In September Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin announced that everyone in the country was eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine regardless of documentation status, but many remained skeptical. Recent Elections: The countrys most recent general election was held in 2018 amid allegations of partisanship on the part of public institutions, in particular the Election Commission and the Registrar of Societies. The notice warned residents they could be fined up to 500,000 ringgit ($120,000), serve a five-year jail term, or both, if found guilty of the offense of building structures on government land. As a result, many NGOs registered as companies, which created legal and bureaucratic obstacles to raising money to support their activities. The government arrested and prosecuted some officials engaged in corruption, malfeasance, and human rights abuses, although civil society groups alleged continued impunity. Despite alleged electoral irregularities and systemic disadvantages for opposition groups, Barisan Nasional lost the election to Pakatan Harapan, the first transfer of power between coalitions since independence in 1957. Read summaries of the latest scientific research pertaining to a range of social issues. Freedom of association and collective bargaining were not fully respected. For example, a government unit charged with tightening border controls posted an illustration on social media that showed armed naval vessels threatening a boat and captioned it, Rohingya migrants, your arrival is not welcome (section 2.f., Access to Asylum). LGBTQI+ persons reported discrimination in employment, housing, and access to some government services because of their sexuality. National-level unions are prohibited; the government allows three regional territorial federations of unions for peninsular Malaysia, and for the states of Sabah and Sarawak to operate. You can add more than one country or area. Physical Conditions: Overcrowding in prisons and immigration detention centers, particularly in facilities near major cities, remained a serious problem. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (EDICT) accused the government and police of not taking the issue seriously and called for a coroners inquest to determine the cause of death. In April a Pakistani UNHCR cardholder refugee was assaulted by a group of men in Selangor State who severed his genitals. Hamid was the first judge suspended since the statute establishing the ethics committee came into effect in 2010. As of the same date, there were 1,490 detainees younger than 21 at immigration depots and temporary immigration depots nationwide. Share this via Reddit Police fined each of the activists, including a local city councilor, and detained them for several hours. The stay was issued pending appeal of a High Court ruling dismissing a challenge to the fatwa for lack of jurisdiction. There is a special court for sexual crimes against children, established to speed up trials that often took years to conclude. The verdict ruled on an appeal of a Selangor State sharia courts 2019 conviction of a man for intercourse against the order of nature. The Federal Court found that existing federal legislation outlawing the same conduct for the same reason preempted the state law, meaning it was unconstitutional and hence the case should not have been brought nor ruled on by the sharia court. In July, the minister in charge of religious affairs gave full licence to the religious authorities to take action against transgender people, both through arrests and religious education to return them to the right path. In August, after activist Nicole Fong responded to his statement by posting a series of infographics online critical of the official mukhayyam programwhich aims in part to influence LGBT people to renounce their non-normative gender identity or sexual orientationreligious authorities lodged a police report against her. FEBRUARY 18 With the current four-digit infection cases and no sign that the situation will abate anytime soon, it would seem that Malaysia's macroeconomic conditions will worsen rather than improve for 2021. Therefore, we have compiled a list of the biggest social issues of 2021 in this blog. According to the minister, of 30 investigations opened from March to October, 12 were brought to court, 14 were classified as no further action, and four remained under investigation. Moreover, racism and special privileges leave some . The law prohibits women from working underground, such as in mines, and restricts employers from requiring female employees to work in industrial or agricultural work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. or to commence work for the day without having 11 consecutive hours of rest since the end of the last work period. Back to Malaysia MALAYSIA 2021. In January, the High Court granted Sisters in Islam, a civil society group working to promote the rights of Muslim women, a stay on the enforcement of a fatwa issued against it in 2014. Otherwise, defendants must rely on legal aid, and the amount of time to prepare for trial is at the discretion of the judge. Ordinary Malaysians suffer from the machinations of their politicians. Refugees did not have access to the public education system. In October UNHCR estimated there were 9,040 stateless persons residing in peninsular Malaysia, the majority of whom were of Indian Tamil ethnicity. Employers or employees who violate occupational health and safety laws are subject to fines, imprisonment, or both. The Barisan Nasional (BN) political coalition ruled Malaysia from independence in 1957 until 2018, maintaining power by manipulating electoral districts, appealing to ethnic nationalism, and suppressing criticism through restrictive speech laws and politicized prosecutions of opposition leaders. Sedition and criminal defamation laws led to self-censorship by local internet content sources, including bloggers, news providers, and activists. NGOs reported that stateless children in Sabah State were especially vulnerable to labor exploitation in palm oil production, forced begging, and work in service industries, including restaurants. They were released on bail the next day. The law prohibits all of the worst forms of child labor. In October the minister of home affairs reported that 374 individuals were detained under security legislation from January 1 through September 30. A special committee set up to consider alternative sentences to mandatory death penalty submitted its report to the government in July 2020. He was arrested on July 24 and remanded for investigation. When mothers did not have valid proof of citizenship, authorities entered the childs citizenship as unknown on the birth certificate. SUHAKAM commissioner Hishamudin Yunus declared the best approach towards LGBTQI+ individuals was to help integrate them into mainstream society by respecting their constitutional rights to equality, privacy, and a life of dignity. Everyone would agree about . Even children have been detained in shelters and threatened with prosecution. The minister of home affairs stated refugees might lead to various social ills.. Each constituency elects one member of parliament. In a September response to a parliamentary inquiry, Prime Minister Sabri wrote that as of June, a total of 1,733 individuals from the LGBTQI+ community had been sent to a rehabilitation camp run by the Islamic Development Department, a government agency. Observers generally considered SUHAKAM a credible human rights monitor. Malaysia restricts the rights of followers of any branches of Islam other than Sunni, with those following Shia or other branches subject to arrest for deviancy. Thank you for this excellent article. The government often resisted registering organizations deemed particularly unfriendly to the government or imposed strict preconditions. The religious NGO Ikram warned that some residents rejected the COVID-19 vaccine, believing it to be part of the Jewish agenda, that it contained nonhalal ingredients and tracking chips, and that it could cause death. Although the National Union of Plantation Workers reported it was rare to find children involved in plantation work in peninsular Malaysia, others reported instances of child labor on palm oil plantations across the country. The courts have ruled that the Orang Asli have rights to their customary lands under the constitution, but NGOs contended the government failed to recognize these judicial pronouncements. The NGO EDICT declared police violated the legal mandate that at least one female officer be assigned to take care of underage female inmates. The number of unemployed female graduates is much higher in comparison male graduates. 2020 was an extremely happening year - well, Covid-19, and a General Election that took place amidst this pandemic. Indigenous persons are governed by customary laws with no fixed minimum age for marriage. The time needed for a union to be recognized remained long and unpredictable. Media reported the prison only informed the family on February 19 and only agreed to conduct an autopsy after the family filed a police report. AFP pic Another study in Hong Kong published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health also found that 25.4 per cent of 500 survey respondents reported that their mental health had deteriorated since the pandemic began. Zahid faced charges filed in 2018 of corruption, money laundering, and taking bribes totaling three million ringgit ($720,000) from a company that ran a visa center for the workers, who paid tenfold higher costs for visa services and medical tests over a five-year period without receiving additional protections or benefits. The erosion of support for Muhyiddin's government is tied to four issues. And the politics in Malaysia made it crazier. For example, the rural district of Igan had 18,000 registered voters, while the urban district of Kapar had more than 144,000 registered voters. Close to nine in 10 (87%) HR executives in Malaysia believe the function plays a leading role in responding to COVID-19, KPMG's recent 2020 HR Pulse Survey has found. Commercial sexual exploitation of children existed, and a local NGO estimated in 2015, the last year with reported data, that 5,000 children were involved in sex work in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas. March 11, 2021 End Poverty, Equality, . One of the largest issues in Malaysia is tension between these people groups. Access to those in detention centers was often significantly limited. Migrants and refugees who lost their jobs due to the pandemic were excluded from government aid programs, and many were left unable to feed their families. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining, b. Access to Basic Services: The government provided access to health care at a discounted foreigners rate of 50 percent to UNHCR-registered refugees, but not to persons without UNHCR registration cards. In August police investigated seven activists from youth coalition Sekratariat Solidariti Rakyat for sedition in relation to a planned street protest. Share this via WhatsApp In parliament 33 women held 14.8 percent of the seats, an increase from 10.8 percent in the previous election cycle. Examples can include: Illiteracy. There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. Freedom of Expression: The law prohibits sedition and public comment on issues defined as sensitive, including racial and religious matters or criticism of the king or ruling sultans. These are problems that are specific to a place such as a nation, city or neighborhood. NGOs reported that the government did not take action in cases of domestic violence; victims must keep evidence, gather witness testimony, and ensure their own safety. Dr Chua Sook Ning - clinical psychologist and founder of Relate Malaysia - said the . Social problems has been invited many negative things that can threaten the peace and safety of the country. Police sometimes did not allow detainees prompt access to family members or other visitors. Although faculty members sometimes publicly criticized the government, public university academics whose career advancement and funding depended on the government practiced self-censorship. Social issues news. "Bribe/Corruption/Rasuah" and "Economy/Ekonomi" were the most frequent one-word responses. Advocates remained concerned that Rohingya refugee families were resorting to child marriage for their girls to cope with economic hardship. In September the High Court ruled that mothers who are citizens have the right to confer citizenship to their children born overseas on an equal basis with men who are citizens, but the government appealed the decision. Our findings reveal that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetrator is 13.7% and 3.8%, respectively. Most migrants, refugees, and stateless persons lived in private accommodations and survived on support from UNHCR, NGOs, community-based organizations, refugee support networks, or illegal or informal labor. Malaysia entered the pandemic from a robust economic position but has nonetheless been significantly affected. Public-sector workers have some collective bargaining rights, although some could only express opinions on wages and working conditions instead of actively negotiating. A government voluntary code of conduct provides a detailed definition of sexual harassment intended to raise public awareness of the problem. Employers reportedly restricted workers movement and use of mobile telephones; provided substandard food; did not provide sufficient time off; sexually assaulted workers; and harassed and threatened workers, including with deportation. Coordinator for the Arctic Region, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. A consortium of NGOs released a formal report in 2018 detailing irregularities in the election, including vote buying, the use of public funds for partisan activity, and allegations of biased behavior by public officials. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism urged the Kelantan government to review its recently enforced law, including punishments against homosexual activities and a slew of other offenses. There were no reports of the revised code being used to prosecute LGBTQI+ individuals at years end. Malaysia's Ministry of Health (KKM) reported that one in three of the country's adults are at risk of developing mental health condition for the last 5 years. She faced up to a year in prison and a fine of 50,000 ringgit ($12,000). Police charged two business executives for using fake halal logos, and MACC arrested eight suspects including import agents and enforcement officers. In October the government revived a 2018 criminal defamation suit against British journalist Claire Rewcastle-Brown for her reporting on the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad financial scandal that led to the conviction of former prime minister Najib in 2020 on corruption charges and occasioned his continued prosecution on other corruption and abuse of power charges during the year.
