Malaysia

by Joseph Masilamany | MALAYSIA - ISLAM

A TikTok video shows the cleric secretly encouraging non-Muslim children to convert. The court ruled such practice unconstitutional and ordered controversial Firdaus Wong Wai Hung to delete the videos. The case fuels ongoing debates in Malaysia over religious freedom, parental authority, and the role of faith in public institutions.

by Joseph Masilamany

The G25 and legal expert Jerald Joseph call for reforms to protect the judiciary from political influence. The positions of the next president of the Court of Appeal and the president of the Supreme Court are hanging in the balance. Urgent reform of the 2009 Judicial Appointments Commission Act is also called for.

| 14/07/2025
| MALAYSIA
by Joseph Masilamany

The declaration adopted at the ASEAN summit, proposed by current chair Anwar Ibrahim, outlines a series of goals for 2045 aimed at strengthening the role of the regional organisation. A renewed appeal was made to Myanmar to extend the ceasefire and open up space for genuine dialogue. A meeting has been requested with Donald Trump over tariffs. At the same time, trilateral cooperation with China and the Gulf countries is gaining momentum.

| 27/05/2025
| MALAYSIA - ASEAN
by Joseph Masilamany

The Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision by the High Court. For the judges, the case is procedural, not about personal faith. The woman was never Muslim since the change in religion results from a unilateral act by her mother when she was a child without the consent of her Hindu father.

| 26/05/2025
| MALAYSIA
by Joseph Masilamany

The Tenaganita, an advocacy association, has criticised the Malaysian government for its decision to restart recruiting migrants from Bangladesh after thousands of foreign workers already present in the country were left without work, housing and legal protection, trapped in a corrupt system of exploitation, this according to the NGO’s director, Glorene A Das.

| 20/05/2025
| MALAYSIA
by Joseph Masilamany

During the official visit of the Malaysian prime minister, the two countries rebooted their historic economic, technological and cultural cooperation. Malaysia remains non-aligned in global power politics. Anwar said he raised the issue of flight MH17 shot down in 2014, after a UN body recently blamed Russia for the incident.

| 15/05/2025
| MALAYSIA – RUSSIA
by Joseph Masilamany

The 74-year-old bishop of Penang was born into an ethnic Indian family. He trained at the historic College of Martyrs whose legacy he feels. He leads a vibrant and multicultural Church with indigenous and migrant communities from different backgrounds. At the synod, he pointed to the horizon of a Church that truly “walks with the people”.

| 29/04/2025
| TOWARDS THE CONCLAVE/5
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