“AVOID RACISM AND RELIGOUS BIGOTRY: WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT NEW MALAYSIA?”

By Zaliha Binti Idris

MALAYSIA is a multi-ethnic nation, with a predominately Muslim populace. Allegations of bigotry come from racial inclinations epitomized inside the social and money related strategy of the Malaysian government, as appropriately as more extensive pressures between quantities of ethnic gatherings. The possibility of Malay matchless quality is normal in the political circle by numerous Malays. Separation is broad, freely showed and acknowledged,going from suggested ethnic matchless quality to strict bigotry (Hong-Hai Lim,2007).

Image result for racism versus islamophobia in malaysia — **Image Credit: Berita Harian, 4 November 2018. Retrived on 13 November 2019, from https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/kes/2018/11/494558/himpunan-bantah-icerd-berlangsung-aman.**

Around 179 countries have confirmed the Global Show on the Disposal of All Types of Racial Separation (ICERD), be that as it may, Malaysia isn’t one of them (Norshahril Saat, 2018). The specialists of the day had demonstrated an availability to confirm ICERD, anyway presently can’t seem to do as such because of the convention’s contention with the Malaysian constitution and the race and strict standards in Malaysia that had set up since its autonomy in 1957.

Islam in Malaysia is spoken to by utilising the Shafi’ie model of Sunni philosophy and the act of any extraordinary type of the religion like Shia is vigorously limited by the administration. The constitution makes Malaysia a mainstream nation and guarantees opportunity of religion, while sorting out Islam as the religion of the Alliance to symbolise its criticalness to Malaysian culture. Malaysian Chinese practice Mahayana Buddhism and run of the mill Taoism. Hindu is rehearsed by methods for most of Malaysian Indians. Christianity has built up itself in certain networks, essentially in Sabah and Sarawak. It isn’t attached to a specific ethnic gathering.

Image Credit: Bernama, 12 Disember 2018. Retrieved on 13 November 2019, from https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/2018/12/12/perhimpunan-jalanan-demonstrasi-hanya-kes-terpencil-rakyat-malaysia-kekal-bersatu/

Relations between exceptional strict gatherings are usually really tolerant, despite the fact that individuals from the diverse ethnic associations do tend to have more noteworthy homogeneous private relations, fundamentally dependent on ethnicity and religion. Different bunches have been set up to endeavor to advance strict handle among the uncommon gatherings, with strict amicability saw as a need through Malaysian government officials.

For instance, both UMNO and PAS have resolved to be additional elite, and have confirmed that deliberately they had been never again support to sit around idly on non-Malay and non-Muslim votes. Be that as it may, it is very danger in political games and it re-underscore how edgy each UMNO and PAS have end up being in its attempt to hold onto the government specialists (Pakatan Harapan), by means of playing the passionate race and religion cards. Both these gatherings – one a race-based festival and the diverse an Islamic festival – are in risk of bringing us down the elusive way. Another Malaysia has come to fruition. A Malaysian likes to proceed and it is better that UMNO and PAS offer themselves as a decision that is inestimable and believable.

**Credit Image: FMT Reporters, 4 May 2017. Retrieved on 13 Nov 2019, from https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/05/04/pakatan-harapan-invites-public-to-submit-logo-design/.**

The Malays people have been defrauded because of their own conviction which has made them be marked as racists even as they endeavour to advocate their privileges. Different races which undertaking the Malays and which chat on the privileges of their races are never again alluded to as racists on the establishment of human rights. Are Malays or Muslims to be destroyed from seeing the world and suffocated in the trademark of the ‘Malaysia Baru’ race? Malays acknowledge this predetermination due to their Islamic confidence. In the event that Malays didn’t typify Islam, much the same as different races, they would now not be marked racists. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had expressed Muslims have been the “greatest foes” of the colonizers right up ’til today while referring to the records of Malaysia’s colonization.

The compassionate nature and proclaiming of all humankind brought by methods for Islam enabled the Malays to easily acknowledge the appearance of the Chinese, Indians and others with the guide of the colonizers who acquainted their motivation with make issues in the multi-strict and multi-racial network, to amplify their hold on financial interests. These had put Malays and other Bumiputera people group in country regions to rely upon farming and away from the monetary focuses of the towns. They have been not able snare up with different races post-autonomy despite stipulations in the Government Constitution to protect privileges of Malay and Bumiputera.

The recent controversial Malay Dignity Congress confirmed the upward push of the Malays comprising more than a few political leanings, NGO, lecturers and graduates. The congress had sought Malay rights that have been allegedly challenged and oppressed, besides any show of enmity in the direction of other races. Only Malays that are too dull and weak spiritually lose their identification in their own land. Instead of tearing the country apart, with fictional fears, citizens favour to see what it can offer to convey Malaysia to the high stage and get recognise from the global. It is very interesting how Malaysians get truly worked up when it comes to racial and religious issues in the country.

Even though, the Malays keep political power, they cannot without problems have an impact on financial changes in an ecosystem of political freedom and competitive economics that is unethical and undignified. The current scenario is being influenced with the aid of the party of an intense race to achieve political strength which seems via democracy that is influenced by excessive racist behaviour and very ungrateful to the deeds of the Malay-Muslims towards them. If Malay- Muslims had been surely racists, they would now not have allowed the Chinese, Indians and others citizenship’s, financial control, political rights to come to be parliamentarians, Menteri Besar or Chief Ministers has the freedom to exercise their religions. The recent controversial Malay Dignity Congress confirmed the upward push of the Malays comprising more than a few political leanings, NGO, lecturers and graduates.

The congress had sought Malay rights that have been allegedly challenged and oppressed, besides any show of enmity in the direction of other races. Only Malays that are too dull and weak spiritually lose their identification in their own land. Instead of tearing the country apart, with fictional fears, citizens favor to see what it can offer to convey Malaysia to the high stage and get recognise from the global. It is very interesting how Malaysians get truly worked up when it comes to racial and religious issues in the country.

References

Hong-Hai Lim (2007). “Ethnic Representation in the Malaysian Bureaucracy: The Development and Effects of Malay Domination”. International Journal of Public Administration.

Norshahril Saat (16 December 2018). “Commentary: Malaysia’s anti-ICERD rally a reality check for Pakatan Harapan”. Channel NewsAsia.

“Racism has poisoned Malaysian politics for far too long”. The National. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2019.

Virginia Matheson Hooker, Norani Othman (2003). Malaysia: Islam, society and politics. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Westerlund, David (1996). Questioning the secular state: the worldwide resurgence of religion in politics

UNDERGROUND METAL SCENE IN MALAYSIA: TOWARDS THE NEW WORLD ORDER

By Adam Ariffin

The metal music in Malaysia has been one of the genres that create a phenomenon in terms of the mistakenly accused ideology and the way the music itself is being delivered. In order to be specific to the situation, the group of under metal scene in Malaysia is being focused on. The focus group is the underground metal scene. As the element of the underground metal scene itself is divided into sub-genre such as death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal and many others, the acceptance of the underground metal music in Malaysia is still not well received.

Black metal in Malaysia has been labelled as ‘anti-Islamic’ after it has been a sensational of the issues amongst public. The escalation of the panic situation began after the media in Malaysia reported stories regarding religious desecration by the black metal follower (Liew & Fu, 2006). The situation was getting worse when authorities failed to determine categories of the metal music. During the crisis, all kind of music that involved growl vocal, loud music and skull logo was accused as black metal. As the media continues to promote hatred to the underground metal music scene, the government took an action in 2001 to band black metal music. The Northern state of Kedah has been labelled as a centre of black metal and a number of people were detained. Their urine were tested and they were questioned regarding their faith (Hoffstaedter, 2009). Under the shadow of the black metal issues, local Malaysian bands such as Silent Death, Sil Khannaz and Braindead were developed and tremendously accepted by the Malaysian metal followers. The momentum of the scene keep gaining support from the local underground music lover such as Napalm Death, an international metal band that performed in Malaysia in 2001 (Ferrarese, 2015).

Moving towards globalization, people of Malaysia may seem to be very sensitive in issues pertaining religious and culture. The acceptance of the underground metal scene must be looked upon different angles of thinking as the Eastern metal scene has its own forte and approach. In other countries, metal scene situation is usually understood. The Western culture also provides space to the metal bands in expressing their frustration through music. Metal music also can be translated into a reflection of societal changes brought by globalization (Timbang & Ibrahim, 2017). The year 2020 is around the corner and sceptical view of underground metal scene in Malaysia should be changed as we are moving towards a developed nation and the new world order.

References

Ferrarese, M. (2015). Eastern desekratorz and nuclear metal lust:1 Performing ‘authentic’ black metal in Malaysian Borneo. Metal Music Studies, 1(2), 211–231. https://doi.org/10.1386/mms.1.2.211_1

Hoffstaedter, G. (2009). Contested spaces: Globalization, the arts and the state in Malaysia. Ethnicities, 9(4), 527–545.

Liew, K. K., & Fu, K. (2006). Conjuring the tropical spectres: Heavy metal, cultural politics in Singapore and Malaysia. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 7(1), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649370500463182

Timbang, A., & Ibrahim, Z. (2017). Malay Metalheads: Situating Metal Music Culture in Brunei. Situations, 10, 7–26.

WHITE RABBIT CANDY HALAL STATUS

By Faranaz Fatini Binti Zaharan

Instinctual behaviour which exists in all business organizations has created a grapevine communication effect which is known to be the agent of spreading unwanted rumours in the form of a mix of truth and untruth information. According to Fine and Ellis (2013), rumours are defined as the expression of belief towards a certain event that is about to happen and has happened. It does somewhat evoke impactful means towards business organization in either a positive or negative way.

The issue regarding the White Rabbit candy halal speculation that went viral in the early 2019 had caught the attention of the public in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei after the Americans introduced a White Rabbit candy flavoured ice-cream (May, 2019). In the Malaysian perspective, the issue was being discussed in respect to the halal status of this candy flavoured ice-cream as its candy product (i.e. White Rabbit candy) was also known to be one of Malaysian favourite childhood candies (Jayne, 2019).

The issue of the said discussion stemmed from the Malaysian public’s concern and doubt of the validity of the halal certification of the White Rabbit candy product. The government of Malaysia has also launched an investigation on this issue of concern after the Brunei’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) has confirmed that the White Rabbit candy contains unwanted substance that are known to be haram (Astro Gempak, 2019). Originally, this candy was from Shanghai, China is known to be an iconic or essential sweet brand in China and also some other overseas countries, nearly eight decades since the year 1940s (Roxburgh, 2018). It was known to the general public consuming the sweets as the “Mickey Mouse sweets” as, apparently, on its wrappers an iconic Disney character was being displayed (Jayne, 2019).

The deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Fuiziah Salleh has released a statement in TV Al Hijrah announcing that the White Rabbit candy is certified as Haram (Nazari, 2019). The ministry has officially confirmed that the product contains both pork and cow protein through the investigation conducted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) (Liew, 2019). The result of the investigation has brought sadness to not only the Muslim communities of Malaysia but also the Muslim communities of Brunei and Singapore as it has brought nostalgic memories of the candy itself. In an Instagram post posted by Rumah Gelato Frozen Treats (n.d.), the post has displayed grief in which it illustrated a White Rabbit wagon with parting goodbyes captions depicting the company has joined the bandwagon of the American White Rabbit flavoured ice cream of not selling its White Rabbit gelato ice cream product due to the negative viral issue concerning the American White Rabbit flavoured ice cream. Furthermore, similar post also made by Project Ice Cream (n.d.) through the medium of Instagram with a caption of immediate action to discontinue the White Rabbit ice cream production. This could provide the evidence on how food companies, especially the ice cream companies, had taken action in pulling the flavour of the White Rabbit in the market as a respect and acknowledgement to the sensitivities of the Muslims communities.

It could be seen that, the Muslim communities in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei had used the platform of social media to sustain a regular and consistent flow of communication to the general public regarding the controversial issue of the halal status. This also connotes that the public and the countries’ respective Islamic organizations or authorities have shown interest in taking serious actions regarding this issue. The issue has brought the people together in knowing the brand better whilst at the same time taking precaution by carrying out research on product ingredients or contents prior to consumption (i.e. on any other similar products being introduced to the market). It has also brought the awareness that not all candies are certified halal and a research of ingredient content is needed to be made.

References:

Astro Gempak. (2019, September 13). Sah! Tidak halal, gula-gula White Rabbit ada gelatin babi. Astro Awani. Retrieved from http://www.astroawani.com/gaya-hidup/sah-tidak-halal-gula-gula-white-rabbit-ada-gelatin-babi-217431

Fine, G. A., & Ellis, B. (2013). The global grapevine: Why rumors of terrorism, immigration, and trade matter. Oxford University Press.

Jayne, T. (2019, February 27). The iconic White Rabbit candy was once taken off the shelf. Here’s why. SAYS. Retrieved from https://says.com/my/lifestyle/the-iconic-white-rabbit-candy-was-once-taken-off-the-shelf-here-s-why

Liew, E. (2019, September 12). White Rabbit Candy Officially NOT Halal, Contains Pig & Cow DNA. World of Buzz. Retrieved from https://www.worldofbuzz.com/white-rabbit-candy-officially-not-halal-contains-pig-cow-dna/

May, A. (2019). After lab test, White Rabbit candy found to be non-halal.Retrieved from https://hype.my/2019/167808/after-lab-test-white-rabbit-candy-found-to-be-non-halal/

Nazari, T. (2019, September 12). White Rabbit candy IS NOT halal; contains pig and cow DNA. The Rakyat Post. Retrieved from https://www.therakyatpost.com/2019/09/12/white-rabbit-candy-is-not-halal-contains-pig-and-cow-dna/?fbclid=IwAR0Z4hS_qEHpRxLKTeRAkaznetA-q0aHpBlJPuZRcXdB_t6-5XMp1wmf8gY

Project Ice Cream [@projecticecream.bn]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved May 12, 2019, from https://instagram.com/projecticecream.bn?igshid+1cnyq2ja5yfqn

Roxburgh, H. (2018, April 30). How China’s iconic White Rabbit sweets went from a Shanghai favourite to being known the world over. The Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2018/05/01/how-chinas-iconic-white-rabbit-sweets-went-from-a-shanghai-favourite-to-being-known-the-world-over RumahGelato Frozen Treats [@rumahgelato]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved May 17, 2019, from http://instagram.com/rumahgelato?igshid+atqfrs243jvo

THE RISE OF MALAYSIAN ANIMATION INDUSTRY

By Muhamad Saifullah Bin Roslan

The animation industry in Malaysia is still at an infant stage compared to the bigger countries such as the United States and Japan, which is the biggest in the production of animation with famous animation studios such as Pixar, Walt Disney, Dreamworks and Toei Animation. Philip (2019) stated that it is common knowledge that Los Angeles, Tokyo and Paris are among the top established animation hubs. As reported in “Global Animation, VFX & Games Industry: Strategies, Trends & Opportunities” (2019) the total value of global animation industry was US$ 259 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach US$ 270 billion by 2020.

The history of Malaysian animation industry goes back to 1978 when the first animation in Malaysia, a short film, Hikayat Sang Kancil was produced in by the National Film Department of Malaysia (FNM) and this short animation film successfully being screened in 1983. The film was accepted very well among the Malaysian audiences and this situation led to the appearances of more animated short films such as Sang Kancil & Monyet, Sang Kancil & Buaya, Arnab yang Sombong, Gagak yang Bijak and Singa yang Haloba according to Juhan & Ismail (2016).

The Malaysian government strives for the use of digital technology in the industrial sector in 1980 and this resulted in the producing of the first animated TV series, Usop Sontorian and in 1998, the first animated film, Silat Lagenda. Following the success, another animation series, Keluang Man started being aired on the television in 1998. Governmental push for the use of digital technology has resulted in the appearance of 31 animated TV series, and 3 animated feature films in Malaysia (Juhan & Ismail, 2016).

Animation sector in Malaysia starts to enlarge and portray substantial growth during the ruling of the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Suriawati (2012) stated that, due to his excellent premiership caused the Malaysian government to urge for digital technology to be utilized to a maximum level in order to encourage the development of local contents to overcome the invasion of foreign animation that contain of elements which are not suitable for Malaysian cultural lifestyle (Hassan, 2009; Azahar & Russlan, 2010; Kamarudin & Sajilan, 2013).

Due to the emergence of 3D animation, in 2007, a new TV series, ‘Upin & Ipin’ produced by Le’s Copaques Production emerge in the animation scene in Malaysia. The series obtain a lot of popularity within the Malaysian community. The success of this TV series led to the first 3D animated film by Les Copaque Production in 2009, ‘Upin & Ipin, Geng: Penggembaraan Bermula’. Finas (2011) reported that this film became the most successful Malaysian animated film at that time with box-office returns of RM6.2 million.

Following the success of Upin & Ipin, in 2011, another 3D animated series was aired on local TV Station. Boboiboy by Animonsta Production was aired in March 2011. The first film, ‘Boboiboy: The Movie’ was released in March 2016, and it continues on with another series, ‘BoboiBoy Galaxy’ started from November 2016 to July 2018. Only after one season of the new series, another film that is the second film, BoboiBoy Movie 2 was released simultaneously in 4 countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore on 8 August 2019. The Vietnamese dub version of the film was released in Vietnam on 30 August 2019. BoboiBoy Movie 2 is currently the highest-grossing animated film in Malaysia that has ever been recorded with box-office return of RM29.60 million (US$7.3 million).

According to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the Malaysian animation industry was worth RM 567.85 million (US$ 187.7 million). There are now over 100 homegrown studios that have produced more than 20 original IPs and seen their work rate to 120+ countries, with an export value of RM132 million (over $32.2 million). With these statistics, it can be proven that the animation industry in Malaysia is developing and has started to penetrate the global market and compete with international animation.

References

Aiza, M. Z. (2019). Championing Malaysia’s Digital Economy: A Case Study. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

Digital Vector. (2019). Global Animation, VFX & Games Industry: Strategies, Trends & Opportunities. Animation, VFX & Games Market Research.

FINAS. (2019). Collection and Admission for All Local and Foreign Films in Cinema: 2012 – 2018. Retrieved from National Film Development Corporation Malaysia FINAS : https://www.finas.gov.my/en/industry-information/

Juhan, M. S., & Ismail, N. (2016). Character Design towards Narrative Believability of Boboiboy in the Malaysian Animated Feature Film Boboiboy: The Movie. Academic Research and Solutions.

Kamarudin, H. S., & Sajilan, S. (2013). Critical success factors of technopreneurship in the creative industries: A study of animation ventures. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 2(1), 1.

Les’ Copaque. (2019). Malaysia: Animating an International Brand. Retrieved from ASEAN Intellectual Property Portal: https://www.aseanip.org/Portals/0/Case%20Studies/CS%20Malaysia.pdf

Malay Mail. (2019, August 13). MalayMail. Retrieved from MalayMail: https://www.malaymail.com/news/showbiz/2019/08/13/boboiboy-movie-2-collects-rm9.9m-after-just-five-days/1780290

MarketsandMarkets. (2011, November). Global Animation & Gaming Market by Application, Geopgraphy, Market Trends and Forecast (2011-2016). Retrieved from Markets and Markets: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/animation-gaming-market-514.html

Nukman, R. (2019, November 21). Strategis in Producing BoboiBoy Galaxy the Movie 2. (R. Saiful, Interviewer)

Philip, M. (2019, March 17). Why Malaysia is the Asian Animation Market to Watch. Retrieved from Toon Boom Bring Stories to Life: https://blog.toonboom.com/why-malaysia-is-the-asian-animation-market-to-watch

“MENTAL HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY: A MATCH NOT MADE IN HEAVEN?”

By Nor Hasaliza Asikin Binti Nawi

The proliferation of technology has brought 1001 benefits to human’s life through incredible invention and innovation that will change the future. However, there’s the bane behind the boon of these achievements which turn out to be the global issue and the rise in suicide cases is one of the costs that must be paid by the human. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 person dies every 40 seconds and almost 800,000 people take their own life every year, which makes suicide as the second leading cause of death among young people after road injury. By 2020, it is predicted that the rate of death will increase to 1 person dies in every 20 seconds (Ritchie, Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2019).

It might be unfair to pointing fingers solely to the technology proliferate for an upward surge in the suicide cases. However, research indicated that technology has contributed to the issues, especially through the social media. According to The Lancet medical journal, low self-esteem, poor body image, poor sleep and online harassment are contributed by social media (Balasegaram, 2019). As an example, in a few months, there are 2 suicide cases of Sulli and Goo Hara, a K-Pop idol which take their own life after receiving hateful comments and cyber bullying in social media(Hun & Lee, 2019). Earlier, in Malaysia, a 16 years old girl has been reported to take her own life after getting 69% votes on a poll asking if she could die or not via her Instagram account (Balasegaram, 2019). All this is just few suicide cases that covered by the media, while there’s could be numerous attempted depression cases out there awaited and might be ended with a tragic ending.

Suicide is the serious global public health issues which need the tremendous actions at world level due to its impact to the public and our future generation. The preventive action must be taken from now onwards and WHO has been prioritized the reduction of suicide mortality as a global target (“Suicide in The World”, 2019). However, this preventive initiative needs the comprehensive action by each country to ensure that the tragedy that cost millions of lives can be overcome.

In Malaysia, the survey conducted by national mental health survey in 2017 indicated that 1 in 5 Malaysian’s teenagers have suffered from depression with 10% from it have the thought to take their own life (Balasegaram, 2019). Suicides should be put as an uppermost concern in drafting the 12^th Malaysia Plan and Malaysian society must come together in order to nurture a robust world for future generation (Abdul Razak, 2019). Ministry of Health (MOH) has prepared for National Strategic Action Plan on mental health 2019 – 2025 and as part of World Mental Health Day 2019 which initiated by WHO as world’s awareness programs, #Let’s Talk campaign has been introduced by MOH to encourage people in need to seek help (Amirul Ihsan, 2019).

In conclusion, suicide is the serious global mental health issues and the preventive action to combat this threat in order to create a better world for our future generations is the entire world responsibilities. The awareness program or any initiative by the world organization or each country is supposed be discuss and share to the international level in order to give an idea and helps other countries in needs. This is because, day by day the challenges will be vary and towards the industrial revolutions 4.0 it will definitely get greater. Hence, our action’s today will command the world’s of tomorrow, where our future generation will heritage.

References

Abdul Razak, D. (2019, September 13). Tackling suicidal tendencies. Retrieved from New Straits Times https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2019/09/521241/tackling-suicidal-tendencies

Amirul Ihsan. S. L. (2019, October 8). A beacon for mental health. Retrieved from New Straits Times https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/heal/2019/10/527962/beacon-mental-health

Balasegaram, M. (2019, Mei 26). Human Writes: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people today. Retrieved from The Star Online https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2019/05/26/suicide-help

Hun. C. S., and Lee. S. H. (2019, November 25). Suicides by K-Pop Stars Prompt Soul-Searching in South Korea. Retrieved from The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/world/asia/goo-hara-kpop-suicide.html

Ritchie. H., Roser. M. and Ortiz-Ospina. E. (2019). Suicide: one person dies every 40 seconds. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/09-09-2019-suicide-one-person-dies-every-40-seconds “Suicide in The World – Global Health Estimates”. Geneva: World Health Organization (2019). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/09-09-2019

INSIGHT OF DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD’S SPEECH AT THE 74TH UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

By Syahnaz binti Khariul Anwar

The General Debate of the 74^th session of the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) was held in New York from 24^th to 30^th September 2019 (‘UN General Assembly’, 2019). One of the world leaders that took part in delivering the country’s statement was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia. It has been his second time standing before the international eyes since his return to the political arena in 2018, and his speech continued from where he left in the previous UNGA’s session. Overall, his speech during the 74^th UNGA session touched on the economy, social and political spheres which comprised of Veto Power, Israel – The Origin of Terrorism, Climate Change and Catastrophise, Trade, Sanctions and Capitalism, and the way for United Nation to move forward (“Speech text”, 2019).

In his previous speech during the 73^rd UNGA session, he began with the New Malaysia empowerment of democracy that embodies the spirit of the year’s theme of “Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”. He continued with the trade war between powerful countries, new social values that erode nations’ stability and terrorism within the political sphere, specifically mentioning of the sufferings of the Palestine and Rakhine people. He touched briefly on environmentally sustainable development by mentioning on the national’s oil palm sustainable production before ending with a high note on calling the reformation of the veto power within the UN organization (“Speech text” 2018).

This year, the theme of the General Assembly is “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”, and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wasted no time in calling once again for the reformation of the veto power which is seen as a treat to the human right’s principle as well as an erosion to the global democracy. Again, he condemned the occupancy of the Israelis on the Palestine’s land due to the unlawfulness as well as the devious engineering hatred towards Muslim and Islam of terrorism globally. Citing again the Rakhine’s massacre in Myanmar, the invasion and occupancy of Jammu and Kashmir. He spoke of the climate change and trade, sanctions and capitalism. Although the UN has contributed fairly to the health, education and social security improvement, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that the UN should play a much more active role in re-establishing failed governments. Again, as his previous speech, he urged for UN to move forward by reinstating of the original purpose of the UN (New Straits Times, September 28,2019).

Drawing similarities between both speeches, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had focused on the importance of strengthening democracy and democratizing the international system (Tharoor, 2018). As the year before, his speech during the 74^th UNGA once again drew the international attention on the various issues brought up, from the sharp criticism of the UN failures in preventing wars ((‘UN General Assembly’, 2019).; ‘Malaysian PM’, 2019) to the on-going conflict in Jammu and Kashmir (‘Malaysain PM says”, 2019; ‘Malaysian PM raises”, 2019; ‘Malaysian UN Speech’ 2019). However, these criticisms did not go without any backlash from the global public. The silence on the mistreatment of the Uyghurs in China is seen as a move of not wanting to upset China, Malaysia’s biggest trading partner (‘Silence on Urghur’, 2019) with exports worth RM13.3 billion (DoSM, 2019). Unlike Israel and Myanmar whom Malaysia has no direct trading ties with the former and bilateral trade volume of only RM4.4 billion in 2018 with the later, Dr Mahathir has no reservation in using strong words against the occupation of Palestine and the genocide of the Rohingya people. Interestingly, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not seem to mind in upsetting India, one of Malaysia’s biggest oil palm exporters by raising the conflict issue in Jammu and Kashmir. Having to defend himself following the trending #BoycottMalaysia backlash among the Indians, Dr Mahathir said it was in line with Malaysia’s policy of resolving conflicts with non-violence approach.

Being Asia’s most senior statesman, Mahathir’s wisdom and knowledge are sought by world leaders. Yet, despite Dr Mahathir’s fiery speech on championing human rights at the global stage, much is left to ponder of the UN human rights instruments that are yet to be ratified by Malaysia, having only ratified 3 out of 9 core international human rights treaties (OHCHR, 2019). Little was touched on the theme’s quality education, whereas climate action was touched on the surface, in contrast with the promotion of Malaysia’s oil palm industry – an industry that is increasingly shunned by Western countries due to its environmental damage of deforestation. Maybe it’s time for Malaysia to place greater prioritization on the country’s own national policies in responding to globalization challenges, and followed by offering a new fresh insight to the world in achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.

REFERENCES

Aljazeera. (2019, October 1). UN General Assembly 2019: All the latest updates. Aljazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/hold-general-assembly-2019-latest-updates-190916224113531.html

DoSM. (2019). Malaysia External Trade Statistics July 2019. Department of Statistics Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=139&bul_id=cU1NaUVUMGpnWkhHeXFWU3pxWDBuQT09&menu_id=azJjRWpYL0VBYU90TVhpclByWjdMQT09

Economic Times. (2019, October 1). Malaysian PM says India ‘invaded, occupied’ Kashmir at UNGA. Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/malaysian-pm-says-india-invaded-occupied-kashmir-at-unga/articleshow/71362388.cms?from=mdr

Malay Mail. (2019, July 29). Booming opportunities await Malaysian investors in Myanmar. Malay Mail. Retrieved from https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2019/07/29/booming-opportunities-await-malaysian-investors-in-myanmar/1775796

Malaysiakini. (2019, September 28). Silence on Uyghurs because China is powerful- Mahathir. Malaysiakini. Retrievedfrom https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/493663

New Straits Times. (2018, September 29). [Speech Text] Dr Mahathir at 73^rd UN General Assembly. New Straits Times. Retrieved from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/415941/speech-text-dr-mahathir-73rd-un-general-assembly

New Straits Times. (2019, September 28). Dr M’s full speech text at the 74^th UNGA. New Straits Times. Retrieved from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/09/525269/dr-ms-full-speech-text-74th-unga

OHCHR. (2019). Ratification Status for Malaysia. Office of the High Commissioner. United Nations Human Rights. Retrieved from https:// https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=105&Lang=EN

South China Morning Post. (2018, September 28). Malaysia PM Mahathir Mohamad laments world’s ‘pain’ in first speech to UN in 15 years. South China Morning Post. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/2166286/malaysia-pm-mahathir-mohamad-laments-worlds-pain-first-speech-un

Tharoor, I. (2018, September 28). The World According to Asia’s Most Senior Statesman. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/09/28/worlds-most-senior-statesman-returns-center-stage/

The Asian Age. (2019, September 30). Malaysian PM raises Kashmir at UN General Assembly, alleges India ‘invaded, occupied’ it. The Asian Age. Retrieved from https://www.asianage.com/world/americas/300919/malaysian-pm-raises-kashmir-at-un-general-assembly-alleges-india-invaded-occupied-it.html

Times of India. (2019, September 29). Malaysian PM: UN has failed to prevent wars. Times of India. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/malaysia-pm-un-has-failed-to-prevent-wars/articleshow/71349313.cms

Yahoo! News. (2019, October 1). Mahathir’s UN Speech on Jammu and Kashmir causes #BoycottMalaysia Twitter trend. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/mahathir-un-speech-jammu-kashmir-101507515.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKU08wiHksBdJZ9z5rurLqfT0OeRnl-vHJ0ip4AqUt2Fy4Yws4ECPcWoGLDIG7bTDZv55EatVNyJY2DA5jiCE30pSh7IhGPVFhHThpA2sjDuM77s6koI5- rgeVRmb8jk8XOb1VeysOuFEv71Cyyo_ASQ7UuWI2YOxNkwrtT0s9q_

IS BODY SHAMING A CRIME?

By Attilya Binti Zainal

The term body shaming or also known as an appearance-related shame is coined quite recently and it is becoming the talk of the town as the social media is uprising. For as long as you have a body, the person is bound to be subjected to body shaming (‘This is…’, December 15,2018).). Body shaming refers to an action or practice of commenting, judging, criticizing, humiliating or teasing others for their physical appearance, especially their weight (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, n.d) This occurs when the person did not appear to fit the societal standards of beauty as there is a specific ‘perfect’ figure that the person need to attain to be deemed acceptable in a society (‘This is…’, December 15,2018).

The idea of this ‘perfect’ body is so messed up because you could still be punished with harsh words if you are too skinny or too plump for the standard. And what’s worse, not only the body dimensions were scrutinized, it also can go to the length where people can be humiliated for their facial features, skin colour, hairstyles, height as well as the way someone is dressing up (Carpino, 2017). Thus, this has reflected in the way they are being treated in their everyday life including less job opportunities, less payment and others (Burnett, 2016). Therefore, it is crystal clear that body shaming is a form of bullying which may lower down the esteem of the victims.

Due to the fact that the media has heavily portrayed certain beauty standards to the audience, it does make sense that that is the criteria they need to achieve to be socially accepted (Jarret, 2019). Human brains are uniquely functioned, they are wired to like familiarities. Hence, with the constant exposure of body ideals, it has molded the way people think and whatever they captured in the media is what they believed in (Jarrett, 2019). Thus, the acceptance of beauty standards. Consequently, this has made those without the standard, especially the overweight ones to become a subject of jokes in the media.

Little did people know that the constant negative comments thrown to the victims has beaten them up emotionally and physically. There is evidence from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 (Ministry of Health, 2019) that illustrated one out of two Malaysian is obese which brings Malaysia to one of the healthiest nation in Asia. Not only that, two thirds of adults in England were classified overweight in 2017. Meanwhile, according to the National Center for Health Statistics in United States, 70% of the adults is considered obese (‘Does fat…’, September 17,2019). Although the statistics look very worrying, that does not give the tickets to others to simply body shame those with overweight body with such nasty words.

Many people think that body shaming someone is a way of motivating the victims to shed some fats off their body (‘Does fat…’, September 17,2019). Interestingly, proof revealed that body shaming and weight discrimination made things worse and it will only lead to self-destructive behaviour (Sullivan, 2019). He added, the victims might feel ashamed of themselves and lead them to depression, anxiety and eating disorders. In addition, one of the body shaming victims said in an article (‘Does fat…’, September 17,2019). that the downgrading criticisms only made her eat more as that the only thing that makes her feel better. It seems like body shaming someone only create more problems.

There are many instances whereby people condemning others due to their physical appearances. For instance, Zaihani Zain, a well-known Malaysian fashion critic once body shamed someone for making her feeling uncomfortable during a catwalk shows she attended (Petter, 2018). She mentioned in her statement on Twitter that whoever weighing more than 60kg should not attend any fashion show event as their thighs are spilling over and disturbed the comfort of people sitting next to them. However, she received a huge backlash from Malaysian as well as other fashion critics for her insensitive comments.

Why body shaming is a crime? According to Ministry of Health Malaysia, body shaming is an act of bullying whereby it may marks a negative effect towards the victims such as emotional stress, loss of self-confidence, loss of appetite, depression and worse, may lead to suicidal thoughts (Yeap, 2019). Malaysia has finally stepped up their game to increase mental health awareness through criminalizing the offenders with fines up to RM50, 000 or imprisonment up to a year under section 233 (1) (b) Communication and Multimedia Act 1998. Therefore, with this initiative by the authorities, hope that people will be more sensitive to their words and mental health issues can be curbed.

In conclusion, know that people come in different shapes and sizes. Everyone is uniquely beautiful in their own way regardless their appearance. Be wise in choosing your words as it has the biggest power to influence others. Rather than using it to degrading others, people should turn it over with positive and uplifting criticisms. Hence, people will be happier and healthier.

References

Burnett, D. (2016, March 11). A big fat shame: the problems with criticising someone’s weight. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2016/mar/11/big-fat-shame-obesity-media-biology-shaming

Carpino, T. L. (2017). Young Women’s Perceptions and Experiences of Skinny and Fat Shaming (Doctoral dissertation, Carleton University).

Does fat shaming help people lose weight? (2019, September 17). BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49714697

Jarrett, J. (2019, March 21). Words Have Power: Can they lead to an eating disorder? Magnolia Creek. Retrieved from https://www.magnolia-creek.com/eating-disorder-recovery-blog/what-is-body-shaming/

Ministry of Health (2019, April). Retrieved from http://www.moh.gov.my/moh/resources/Buletin%20KKM/2019/E%20BULETIN%20APRIL%202019/files/basic-html/page8.html

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (n.d.). Retrieved from https://anad.org/education-and-awareness/body-image/body-image-articles/body-shaming/

Petter, O. (2018, April 18). Fashion Critic Suggests People Weighing more than 60kg Should not Attend Catwalk Show. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/fashion-critic-weight-60kg-catwalk-shows-invitations-attendance-zaihani-mohd-zain-a8310586.html

Sullivan, B. (2019, September 17). Why Bill Maher is wrong about fat-shaming. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/why-bill-maher-is-wrong-about-fat-shaming-123589

This is what body shaming is doing to your mental health: Why you should refrain from body shaming (2018, December 15). Times Now News. Retrieved from https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/what-body-shaming-is-doing-to-your-mental-health-refrain-from-body-shaming/331436

Yeap, A, (2019, October 18). Body Shaming Is Now A Crime In M’sia, So Calling Someone Fat Online Could Land Bullies In Jail. Must Share News. Retrieved from https://mustsharenews.com/body-shaming-crime-malaysia/

HOW IT FEELS LIKE TO BE THE THIRD GENERATION WORKING AT NST

by Noor Amirah Asraf

I was recently asked about what it feels like to be the third generation member from my family working at the New Straits Times (NST). I have never really thought about this before. Why? Maybe… I needed a job and had seen an NST ad for sub-editors, I applied, went for the interview and got the job.

But this question made me recall the times when my father, Asraf Dahari, who was an NST photographer for 15 years, used to tell us, his children, about the joy he had working here. For as long as I can remember, my father has always described the years he spent at NST as the best time of his life. Even to this day, whenever we talk about NST or when people ask him about his experience working here, he would have nothing but good things to say.

When I told him that I wanted to apply to be a sub-editor at NST, he immediately supported my decision. He even went the extra mile in making sure that I prepared all the documents needed to apply for the position.

When I told him that I got the job that I wanted, he was overjoyed. He kept telling me how he was happy that his daughter chose to continue the family tradition of working here. He was beaming with pride when he sent me off on my first day of work. He told me how he wished my late grandfather, or Tok Ayah, was around to see his granddaughter serve the same English daily they once worked for.

My Tok Ayah, Dahari Ali, first joined NST as a reporter before he was appointed as chief reporter. The last post he held before he retired in 1982 was assistant group editor. My dad idolised his father. I remember well how he used to tell me great stories about Tok Ayah.

Tok Ayah was one of the very few people who supported my father’s decision to become a photographer instead of the engineer that his family wanted him to be. It was him who inspired my father to take pride in what he did for a living. It was him who taught my father to appreciate the hard work put in publishing newspapers — from writing, finding pictures that fit the stories to editing — Tok Ayah taught him not to take even the smallest details for granted. It was Tok Ayah who taught my father that working for a newspaper is a job that comes with great responsibilities –we are responsible for informing people about the things that are happening around us.

Amid mounting excitement to embark on a new adventure in my first real, serious job, I suddenly felt like I had a huge burden to bear.

My father’s and Tok Ayah’s stories that I’ve kept close to my heart all these years, somehow, made me doubt myself when I first started working here.

On my first day of work, I couldn’t help but feel scared. Truth be told, as I was nervously walking to my desk for the first time, I could feel a tight knot forming in the pit of my stomach. I had so many thoughts running through my head. I remember asking myself whether I made the right decision to work here. What if I’m not good enough? What if I can’t live up to my Tok Ayah’s or my father’s good name and reputation? What if people expect me to be as good or even better than them?

As I did not know much about the roles of a sub-editor (except for the basic information about the job that I found on the Internet), I spent the first few weeks trying to adapt and learn as much as I could. I would get anxious whenever some of my father’s colleagues and senior employees who once worked with my Tok Ayah came up to me and greeted me (all thanks to my father who excitedly told his friends on Facebook about his daughter joining NST).

The fact that some people knew my father and Tok Ayah made me feel like I had to prove that I deserve to be here because of my skills, and not because I was someone’s daughter or granddaughter.

The first few months were tough. The nature of my work, which requires me to stay cool, calm and collected, however, left me little time for self-doubt.

My colleagues, too, have been helpful in guiding me as I learn the fundamentals of my job. I slowly learnt to stop comparing myself with my father and Tok Ayah, but instead, make them as my inspiration to keep on improving myself as a sub-editor. I’ve learnt to find joy in completing my tasks the way my father always did when he was working here and emulate my Tok Ayah’s passion and dedication to his job. I’ve discovered that by doing so, I no longer feel the need to prove myself to anyone. The only thing that I should be doing is to have faith in myself and trust my capabilities.

Working here for the past three and a half years has taught me a lot about life and myself. I’ve learnt to appreciate the beauty of language, get out of my comfort zone and be more open to learning new things, and along the way, I’ve not only made new friends but also found a new family. Working here means I get to learn new things every day. Being the third generation working here has only given me the privilege to know why this place holds a special place in my father’s heart. And for that, I will forever feel grateful and lucky to be part of the big NST family.

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (TPPA)

Written by Mahathir Ahamad

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is probably the most talked about economic issue of the year, apart from our age-old favourite housing. Today the TPPA will even be the focus of protest marches around the country. So what is the TPPA? It is a proposed regional regulatory and investment agreement with twelve participating countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. According to the partner countries the TPP is intended to “enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries, to promote innovation, economic growth and development, and to support the creation and retention of jobs.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) took five years and 19 rounds of negotiations before it was concluded on Oct 5, 2015. The deal is aimed at freer trade by reducing tariffs, improving markets access and setting common ground for labor and environmental standards and intellectual property protections. The twelve countries namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam represent 40 per cent of the world economy. The following are the chronology of events leading up to the signing of the TPPA:

2006: Started off as the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement with four countries namely New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei.
2008: March, the United States joined the negotiations and 10 months later, Australia, Peru and Vietnam followed suit.
2009: March, first negotiation scheduled for the new pact, included four more countries (total number: 8). However, the negotiations postponed due to the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
2010: The first round in Australia in March, parties exchanged views and agreed to gather information and draft papers as well as discuss the participation of more countries. The second round of negotiations in San Francisco, California, June the same year whereby parties discussed the agreement architecture and the relationship between the TPP and the existing free trade agreements (FTAs). In the same month, the third round of negotiations in Brunei, whereby Malaysia joined as the ninth member of TPP. The fourth round of negotiations in Auckland, New Zealand, focus on creating the text for individual TPP chapters.
2011: TPP kicked off its fifth round of negotiations in February in Santiago, Chile. Between March and December another five rounds of negotiations took place respectively in Singapore, Vietnam, Chicago, Peru and Kuala Lumpur.
2012: Dallas, Texas, hosted the 12th round of negotiations in May. In the same year, the 13th, 14th and 15th round of negotiations took place in San Diego, California, Leesburg, Virginia, and Auckland, New Zealand, respectively. During the 15th round, Mexico and Canada entered the negotiations.
2013: The 18th Round of TPP negotiations in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Japan formally joined the TPP negotiations on July 23 the same year. The 19th and final round of negotiations took place in Brunei. Thereafter, TPP leaders, ministers as well as chief negotiators held various meetings to iron-out and finalise the agreement over a period of two years.
2015: On Oct 5 in Altanta, TPP ministers announced that they had concluded TPP negotiations and a full text of the agreement, consisting 30 chapters, were made public soon after. On Nov 18, the leaders of 12 countries sealed the TPP free trade initiative in the Philippines on the sidelines of a two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. In Malaysia, the results of a cost-benefit study by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies and PricewaterhouseCoopers on the impact of the TPP was uploaded on the website of the Ministry of International and Trade Industry on Dec 3.
2016: The text of the TPP Agreement (TPPA) tabled in the Malaysian Parliament on Jan 26. Among the 12 nations involved in the TPPA, only Malaysia had brought the TPPA to Parliament for approval before it was signed. After two-days of intense debate, both the Dewan Negara and the Dewan Rakyat approved a motion allowing Malaysia’s participation in TPPA.

Looking at the scenario mention above, the writers have decided to pick The Star Online representing for their local news and Cable News Network (CNN) for their international news on this issue. Thus, we will able to see the evidence related to the coverage, news direction and social implications among the society whom affected to this new economic approach.

The Star Online views: In their business section, it highlight what would be the contribution towards Malaysia’s economy growth. Malaysia’s Parliament authorized the government to sign and ratify the 6350-page Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). From this deal, advantages such cheap labor, Strategic partnership between participant, corporate interests and foreign investor, multilateralism and so on would contribute to national gross expansion and strengthening local currency. Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to increase by US$107bil (RM444bil) to US$211bil (RM876bil) over 2018-2027, which would raise GDP growth between 0.6 and 1.15% in 2027, Hike in export growth is projected to be outpaced by increase in import growth – therefore trade surplus is projected to narrow between 4.3 and 5.2% of GDP in 2027 and Firms to benefit from access to US government procurement, greater digital liberalization and stronger enforcement of trade secret protection.

As we all know, United State is the main power who seems subtly control the agreement. Although the deal might highlight neutrality among participant, yet public need to understand the backbone and the real driver that would determine the future of the deal. The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) faces its biggest challenge with the election of its major critic Donald Trump as US president. The agreement will collapse without the participation of United States, as being clarified by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, minister of International Trade and Industry. For TPPA to be ratified, it needs at least six countries, accounting for 85% of the combined gross domestic product of the 12 signatories and without the United States, there will be no TPPA.

CNN views: As one of the America’s most influential resources in news, CNN distinguish the benefits and the positive outcome in embarking the deal. It would create a free trade zone around the Pacific, bringing together 12 countries that account for 40% of the world’s economy. Critics say it will mean more U.S. jobs get shipped overseas. Advocates say it’ll expand U.S. exports and create more well-paying jobs here at home.

The deal will be a major issue in the presidential election. Already candidates such as Bernie Sanders on the left and Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on the right have come out opposed to it. Hillary Clinton, whose husband pushed free trade deals including NAFTA while he was president, has yet to take a position on the TPP. The deal still needs the approval of Congress before it takes effect in the United States.

The informative discussion published in CNN in order to explain the pro and cons of the deal. There is fierce debate on whether free trade deals are good or bad for American workers. Critics of the deal argue TPP will provide unfair competition for U.S.-made goods from businesses that use low-wage workers overseas. The Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, estimates that NAFTA, directly cost the U.S. at least 700,000 jobs in its first 20 years. However, the TPP could mean lower prices for U.S. consumers and businesses. If the deal means that manufacturers here can use cheaper imported parts or raw materials they’ll be more competitive. Economists who support free trade argue that can improve a nation’s wealth, even if some low-wage jobs are lost overseas in the process.

One thing that attracted me in preparing this report is that previously, CNN does not cover or highlight any news regarding TPPA in their news portal, since August 1^st until 31^st January 2015. But now that the TPP has become a major factor in the presidential campaign, that silence is finally ending. Media Matters for America studied cable news coverage of TPP negotiations from August 1, 2013 to January 31st, 2015, and found that the agreement was mentioned just once on CNN and Fox News during that period. One explanation may rest in who owns these media conglomerates. During the month of July 2016 alone, the TPP was mentioned 455 times by CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC; about six times as often as during the entire 18-month period.

To conclude, media play important role in shaping the content direction towards their target audiences or to be general, the masses. The media itself also being control and shape by the owner or the gatekeeper, which is normally the backbone behind all the agenda and the manipulative hand that constitute the country. If the media said that apple can cure Aids, then the medical industries would be vanish and no value, even though it’s factual enough to persuade the public.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING (ROHINGYA)

Written by Siti Murni

Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labour, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others.This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim’s rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation.

Local Media: The Star

The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest paid for English newspaper in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.It has a daily circulation of about 250,000.

International Media: The Guardian

The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper, known until 1959 as the Manchester Guardian. The Guardian is edited by Katharine Viner, who succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015.

Propaganda of the Event

Human trafficking has caused the number of suicides or deaths is increasing. According to The Guardian, the police had found the body in the Thai border who are suspected victims of human trafficking. There is the fact that excessive when a fisherman said he saw 13 dead. It is apparent illogical, as if he had witnessed the incident, why he had not reported to the authorities. In addition, there are conflicting info as the Malaysian police discovered the bodies of 24 people, but the fishing was only witnessed 13 deaths. It was not immediately clear if the body found when people Rohingya ethnic minority group in Myanmar, whose members have fled widespread persecution in that country.

Meanwhile according to other news, which is Awani News, Two Rohingya man was sentenced today to three years’ jail by the High Court here today after he pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling a migrant Myanmar to Malaysia last year. Judicial Commissioner Abu Bakar Katar ordered the sentence from the date they were captured by the General Operations Force on May 2. He said that during his stay at the camp between August 2014 to March 10, 2015, he saw a migrant died from illness or beaten. They, however, were arrested in the early morning the next day by police in Kampung Guar Musang, Padang Besar current local agents in two cars to Alor Setar. In his judgment, Abu Bakar said that the smuggling of migrants attracted worldwide attention.

Malaysia has detained 12 policemen suspected of human trafficking, two of whom are said to be connected to recently discovered jungle graves. The migrants are mainly Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar – also known as Burma – or economic migrants from Bangladesh. They had earlier thought the graves each held multiple bodies, but Mr Wan Junaidi said it was “one person, one grave. Reports in Malaysian media questioned whether officials on both sides of the border were complicit. Thai police uncovered similar abandoned camps on the Thai side of the border earlier in May. It triggered a crackdown on human trafficking that appears to have led traffickers to abandon their human cargo on boats in the water off Thailand. The boats, crammed with hundreds of starving migrants, started coming ashore in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Asia’s migrant crisis

Rohingya Muslims mainly live in Myanmar, where they have faced decades of persecution.
Rights groups say migrants feel they have “no choice” but to leave, paying people smugglers to help them.
The UN estimates more than 120,000 Rohingyas have fled in the past three years.
Traffickers usually take the migrants by sea to Thailand then overland to Malaysia.
But Thailand recently began cracking down on the migrant routes, meaning traffickers are using sea routes instead often abandoning the boats once at sea.

Chronology of the Event

In the year of 2005: Co-author of the book “Influx Viruses”, Aye Chan of a pro-military government, Mogh / Rakhine State, Rohingyas have been degraded as a dangerous enemy that must be eliminated from the face of the earth. Then, in the year of 2009: The increase in the number of Rohingya boat people at sea: “In the refugee camps in Bangladesh, which has long ceased to accept people, the Rohingya are now looking for a way to Thailand and then travelled overland to Malaysia, and Indonesia. Thai army has been accused of seizing hundreds of refugees, towing them out to sea and “leave them to die” without engine and almost nothing for food or water”. Moreover, in the year of 2014: Ethnic Kachin rebels in the north. Besides that, in the year of 2015: The government temporarily withdraw voting rights of Rohingya Muslims by the proposed constitutional referendum, following the street protests by Buddhists.

Evidence of the Event

Cases of human trafficking around the country actually affected countries, such as Thailand. This can be seen when Thailand began to take precautions to keep improving relations between countries but it riled. This case also proven with a route determined in human trafficking. On 14 February 2016, 14 victims of human trafficking were found in Wang Kelian, Perlis, last May, was buried at the Muslim cemetery in Kampung Tualang, Pokok Sena on Sunday. Chief Coordinator of Funeral Funeral Rohingya, Kedah Islamic Council, Sheikh Fakhrurazzi Yub informed, all the remains of the man buried in one grave about 10 am and finished about an hour later. This proves the Rohingya issue still continues until now.

A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for a senior army officer accused of being involved in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. The warrant is part of efforts to close down smuggling routes through Thailand.On a purely human level, there are currently about 800,000 people in western Myanmar, denied the most basic of rights and discriminated against due to the circumstances of their birth. From a simple human rights perspective it’s a continuing outrage that should shame us all.Migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh have previously been detained in camps in southern Thailand before being sent to Malaysia. The warrant against the general was issued by a court on Sunday, police chief Somyot Poompanmoung was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.