M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
Malaysians ask, "What has the Anwar Ibrahim Government done in the first year?”
Criticisms of disapproval by the people are always there. Can any leader stop criticisms?
Dale Carnegie, motivational speaker and bestseller author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, said: “Any fool can criticise, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
The former PM, his aides, Daim Zainuddin and many others may be charged soon. Investigations take time, especially if they incur billions of dollars in theft or corruption.
More than one month ago, Anwar Ibrahim’s approval rating took a hit one year after he assumed office, according to survey results by an independent pollster that cap a patchy report card for the premier and other economic indicators.
Fifty per cent of Malaysian respondents gave Anwar a positive approval rating, based on survey results released on Wednesday (Nov 22) by the Merdeka Center, down from the 68 per cent he scored in December 2022 after he was sworn in as PMX.
The dip in voter sentiment was primarily driven by concerns over the economy and how it affects their livelihoods, Merdeka Center said in a statement, attributing it to anxiety over plans to cut subsidies and introduce new taxes.
On 3rd September 2023, in Johor Baru, PMX Anwar Ibrahim said the government had no problem accepting criticism from anyone, including students, as long as it is not to insult or put people down.
“I have no problem with students criticising vice-chancellors, ministers or even me. I can accept criticism – as long as it’s not to insult or hit out at other races or religions,” he said, adding he had conveyed this to all vice-chancellors of universities in the country.
Anwar said he would also continue engaging with students and youths as this would allow him to learn more about their problems. During a dialogue session with students and educators at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia yesterday, Anwar also stressed the importance of students being critical and creative in their thinking.
“Universities should be a place to train students to think as humans and not create ‘sacred cows’ who do not think (and) are not creative or critical,” he said, adding that for Malaysia to progress, racism, corruption, ignorance and religious bigotry needed to be stopped.
So, what has the Anwar Government done in the light of Reformasi and legislation? Yes!
In Anwar’s first year, Malaysia repealed, amended, enacted, and gave new interpretations to eight legal provisions. These legislations helped strengthen protection for women and children and advance the nation towards gender equality and more humane treatment of those convicted of certain crimes in the belief that people deserve second chances in life.
Malay Mail examined eight key legislations made in 2023 as part of the Anwar government’s promise of institutional reforms and two laws declared unconstitutional by the Federal Court. Read the URL link below for a full version of the changes to legislation.
1. The anti-stalking law or Section 507A of the Penal Code
Four years after the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) called for an anti-stalking law, it finally came into force on May 31 after Parliament amended the Penal Code to introduce an extra provision — Section 507A.
On 29th March 2023, then deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh cited a study by WAO and market research firm Vase.ai titled “Understanding Malaysians’ Experiences of Stalking” that found 36 per cent of Malaysians have experienced being stalked and the fear that comes with it.
The law intends to tackle gender-based crimes in which women are frequently victims. The law can be applied after more than one incident of following or tracking physically or online, communicating or attempting to communicate, loitering around the place of business or home of a person, or giving or sending anything through any medium to a person.
2. Abolishing the mandatory death sentence
Sentencing someone to death to pay for crimes committed has long been a subject of controversy, more so in the 21st century. While Malaysia still allows the death sentence despite overt calls by human rights organisations like Amnesty International to end such practices, the legislature this year moved to allow judges the discretion to decide whether to punish a severe crime offender with death or commute to a lesser penalty, like life in prison.
A total of 12 crimes which carried the mandatory death penalty were repealed on June 16, with 10 from the Penal Code and one provision each in the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 and the Kidnapping Act 1961.
The repeal of the mandatory death sentence was for two reasons, as given by the deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh on April 3 in Parliament: death is irreversible, and no evidence points that sentencing someone will deter others from committing such crimes.
3. Alternatives to the death sentence
With the end of the mandatory death sentence, Parliament also had to provide alternative sentences for the death row convicts and needed to define them as there are repercussions to a lifetime jail sentence. This was done with the Revision of the Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of The Federal Court) Act 2023 on June 16. That means that those who would otherwise be hanged would now spend the remainder of their natural life.
On August 2, a businessman failed in his appeal to commute his death sentence for trafficking in 9.528kg of cannabis.
The amendments moved to protect children on the internet by including videos, photos, live streams, and audio for sexual performances and sexual extortion under Section 15A and Section 15B of the Act, respectively. — Reuters pic
4. Protecting children from sexual predators, especially those who lurk online
Parliament noted the danger of the internet and criminalised sexual extortion of a child and having any involvement or participation in child sexual performances.
As it came into force on June 21, the expansion of the scope of sexual assault against children aimed to cover the loopholes in our digital age with the amendment to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
The amendments moved to protect children on the internet by including videos, photos, live streams, and audio for sexual performances and sexual extortion under Section 15A and Section 15B of the Act, respectively.
This came after the publication of the Disrupting Harm report by a global child rights advocacy network known as ECPAT International, Interpol and Unicef that disclosed that an estimated 100,000 children in Malaysia face sexual abuse online in a year.
5. Decriminalising attempted suicide
Attempting suicide used to carry a punishment of imprisonment up to one year or with a fine or both. So Parliament abolished Section 309 of the Penal Code, which previously criminalised attempted suicide, and it was gazetted on August 11, making it no longer a crime.
In 2021, there were 1,142 deaths reported to be a result of suicide, a stark increase from the year 2020, which recorded 631 deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically deteriorated the mental health of many, and social activists fought for suicide to be decriminalised.
On August 5, 2020, Malaysians started an online petition calling for Parliament and the then attorney general Tan Sri Idris Harun to decriminalise suicide that gained a total of 46,705 signatories.
6. Protecting mental health
With more people facing stress in their daily lives, the government gazetted the amendment of Section 11 of the Mental Health Act 2001 on the same day as it decriminalised suicide.
The new Section 11 now includes protection for those who attempted suicide and provides that crisis intervention officers such as the police, and firemen can forcibly enter the premises to apprehend and take the “mentally disordered” person to a medical officer in a government psychiatric hospital or a registered medical practitioner in a gazetted private psychiatric hospital for examination.
7. Pensions
On June 27, the nation’s highest court upheld an earlier Court of Appeal ruling against a revision to the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980 and deemed the 2013 amendment unconstitutional. The landmark ruling was made after 57 former civil servants challenged Section 3(2) of the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980, which provided for a 2 per cent ch prova 2 per cent ch ided for two per cent of pension increment annually for government retirees.
The 2013 amendment was deemed unconstitutional as Article 147 of the Federal Constitution protects pensioners from subsequent “less favourable” pension laws.
That meant that the Federal Court reinstated the old rate that would see government retirees enjoy the same increase when current civil servants of the same grade get a pay bump. But it appears that the pensioners have yet been able to celebrate their win.
8. A Sexist law that criminalised men enticing married women
The Federal Court made another landmark ruling on December 15 when a five-judge panel chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat struck out Section 498 of the Penal Code and ruled that the act of enticing married women was unconstitutional as it violated the principles of equality enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
The archaic law, made before Merdeka and kept on for decades, would have punished convicted offenders with jail time for two years, a fine, or both. In her written judgment, Tengku Maimun pointed out that Section 498 “only entitles husbands” to rely on the provision and that this is against Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution that expressly states there shall be no discrimination in law on the basis onasis of gender.
A complaint under Section 498 can only be made by the husband of the woman allegedly enticed, based on guidelines laid down in Section 132 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The inability of wives to rely on it also invoked a violation of Article 8(2) woman's husband the Federal Constitution. Thanks to that new ruling, Section 498 is deemed not to be applicable from now on.
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns
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