Carolyn Khor's blog

A time to understand human rights: Human Rights Day on 10 Dec Malaysia is still rated fairly free despite fall in Human Development Index ranking. Reuters The existence of a Human Rights Day ironically translates into an apparent lack of human rights in the world, even with laws which are supposedly meant to protect the innocent. In 1950, the United Nations General Assembly declared 10 December as Human Rights Day. It has been twenty years since 1993, when a mandate of High Commissioner was created for the promotion and protection of all human rights during the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna the same year. Furthermore, Women’s Rights are now acknowledged as a fundamental human right. Discrimination and acts of violence against women are at the forefront of the human rights discourse. Human rights cover a wide range of issues including access to basic necessities, equality, life and the right to tell the truth. In the Universal Declaration of H...

Link to MSN Domestic violence is not the norm   Domestic violence, rape and unwanted pregnancies are problems that are synonymous with less fortunate women who are often left in a lurch with a series of problems that follow. The predicaments these women find themselves in are less likely to be publicly acknowledged due to the conservative attitude of the society towards such occurrences.  While it is widely agreed that women are the victims of such incidences, nonetheless cases like these are often swept under the carpet or settled between two disputing parties to save the hassle of going through court proceedings to seek compensation or justice. The instance of the recently divorced 13 year old girl in Kulim who married her rapist highlights the severity of how families are willing to compromise their daughter’s wellbeing in order to save face. Both families of the adolescences conceded to allow their teenage children enter a contract of marriage even though...

Link to MSN Women are often described as gentile, docile, mild, sensitive and emotional. On the other hand, the unflattering sides of women are generally characterised by terms like unforgiving, petty, overreactive, narrow-minded and judgmental. These definitions of women we should then ask - are they what the women really think of themselves or are women being conveniently shoved into neat little categories by those who lack understanding of who the real women are? The way our society has been trained to think from young is skewed towards gender segregation and discriminatory practices. There are no rules to say that baby boys should be dressed in blue and baby girls in pink, but sadly, commercial advertising and consumers alike move along the trend of mass stereotyping. The superiority of man as a gender did not come by accident. It has been reflected in cultures through time, reinforced through language and then practiced through the laws that govern us as a society...

Link to MSN A simple act of kindness goes a long way. What is an act of kindness? Do we really need to ponder what kindness is? Don’t human beings have an innate sense of kindness and compassion that outweighs logical reasoning? Has the world forgotten about all the heroic deeds of ordinary folks? Strangers who save one another out of burning buildings; or people who do not know how to swim diving in to save a drowning child; or people who donate their organs to others just so they can live another day? The above simple act of kindness by Raven Murugesan was shared on Facebook over 9,000 times as of 11PM last night. Raven had suggested to a Muslim cashier to drink and eat a little before continuing work at the checkout counter of a supermarket in Kepong. This occurred during breaking fast time and so only one counter was open at that time. Many people are overwhelmed by the bombardment of racist and racial remarks made by certain quarters intended to aggravate...

Link to MSN The five-foot walkway is often utilised by eateries and hawker stalls to provide seating for their customers who happily munch away, totally unaware why this should be disallowed in the first place. This poses an inconvenince for many people, especially for people with disabilities. Most traders are of the opinion that they are just earning a living, and that the government should allow some leeway for them to sustain their livelihood. Such is the miserable condition of our society. Food outlets usually set up additional tables outside of their shop premises and some even occupy the pavements and auxiliary lanes. Street vendors are no different. Despite the Penang council's effort to provide proper booths with facilities in complexes like food courts and markets, roadside traders quite adamantly insist on flouting local regulations, citing reasons like the loss of regular customers and problems with accessibility if they moved elsewhere. Most offenders sim...

Link to MSN news Muslims offended by ‘Bak Kut Teh’ Ramadan greeting. Alvin and Vivian, the couple who posted the  Bak Kut Teh  greeting for Ramadan have publicly apologized through a video uploaded yesterday to their YouTube channel called SexcussionsAlvivi. The video, which was recorded in Malay with English subtitles, seeks forgiveness from all Malaysians for offending the Muslims during Ramadan. Alvin went on to describe the  Bak Kut Teh  greeting that included a Halal logo that is only used by Jakim (the Islamic authority of Malaysia). He also claimed that both he and Vivian are aware that Muslims were forbidden to take pork, but made the greeting 'for humour'.  The 1:22 minute video shows Alvin speaking in a rather tensed and somber mood, with Vivian sitting next to him. Alvin also conveyed his regrets for his actions. "We truly regret offending religious beliefs and sensitivities in multi-racial Malaysia," he said, adding that t...

Link to MSN news While patience is a virtue, time is also money. Many cities in the world face similar problems with traffic congestion. In densely populated areas, people spend up to 72 hours a month just waiting out jams; and traffic jams often cause impatience among drivers which lead to road rages. A person’s personality is often reflected in the way he drives. During traffic gridlocks, a variety of driving attitudes may be spotted, namely the abiding driver, the inattentive driver, the road hog and the road bully. As road users, we very much wish that drivers are considerate enough not to hog the yellow boxes, run a red light or cut queues. Oh, the incessant honking and warning‘flash beams’ – don’t they just make driving wearisome, tiresome and bothersome! So what do people do while stuck in traffic? It will definitely be good to exert full concentration and calmness behind the wheel. However, balancing these against aggravated situations may well tip the scale ...

Link to MSN news Seen as yet another first for Penang and perhaps Malaysia, a transgender has been engaged to assist Teh Yee Cheu oversee the transgender community’s welfare, after the proposal was tabled and approved in the State Assembly last week. Teh who is the Tanjung Bungah representative, heads the panel with the support of both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan National representatives, including State opposition leader, Jahara Hamid. The committee, set to be formed within two months, aims to collect data and alleviate the status and social stigma associated with the transgender community. The committee plans to also conduct forums and spread public awareness on the issue. “…they have rights over their bodies, and have a right to decide what gender they are most comfortable with,” said Teh. At a press conference today (10/7/13), Teh, who proudly claims to walk the talk, announced that he had engaged transgender Hazreen Shaik Daud as his political secreta...

Nationwide signature campaign to petition against High Court’s acquittal and discharge of suspect. Reeling in from the shock and anger over the prosecution team to provide a  prima facie  case against a rape and murder suspect, civil societies, state and national leaders all helped collect signatures and make police reports nationwide to urge the Attorney-General’s Chamber file an appeal in 14 days. Today is the eighth day. A free man now, Shahril Jaafar was discharged and acquitted by the Alor Setar High Court last Thursday. Shahril had absconded to Perth in 2006 while out on bail during trial. He was only apprehended by the police when he landed at the Subang Airport in January 2012. RELATED LINK 50,000 Signatures sought for Chee Gaik Yap According to the Section 388 (1) of the Criminal Code of Procedures (CPC), it states that:: When any person accused of any non-bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant by a police officer or appears or...

Exchanging oranges for limes, but still better than nothing. Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng is expected to propose on behalf of Pakatan Rakyat, Law Choo Kiang as Speaker and Ustaz Maktar Hj. Shapee as Deputy Speaker for the Penang State Assembly tomorrow (28/6/2013). Both are second term PKR state assemblyman for Bukit Tambun and Sungai Bakap respectively. Deputy Chief Minister 1 for Penang, Rashid Hasnon will second the motion. Lim had also, in his press release, made known that prior to the final decision, Penang PKR chairman, Dato Mansor Othman was unanimously proposed and supported by the Penang EXCO, consisting of both DAP and PKR members, for the Speaker post. He attributes the change to a consultation with Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR’s de facto leader and Parliamentary Opposition Leader. The initial move to propose Dato Mansor may be politically correct, or reversely, simply an olive branch from DAP to iron out the outburst of the ‘Tokong’ issue which emerged s...

The episodes of haze has returned yet again, and this is among two of the bad haze conditions faced since 1997 and 2005. There is no exception to human error when the health of the whole region comes under siege annually due to the clearing of land by palm oil and timber companies in Indonesia. So far, eight concessionaires have been identified by the Indonesian Environment Minister and National Disaster Mitigation Board, Balthasar Kambuaya. An environmental group known as Greenpeace claim that these plantations belong to Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean conglomerates. The forest fire are said to originate from Riau and Jambi, the eastern side of Central Sumatra. Based on reports by the NOAA satellite, there are currently 227 hotspots and it is expected to continue burning well into the following month due to the high temperature and dry weather. Efforts for cloud-seeding in the region have borne little results as clouds do not form over the hotspots. It is also imposs...