The plan outlined policies to increase access to education and attendance in schools, increase access to health education, address stigma and social norms on child marriage, and specify laws and guidelines on child marriages that are in line with government policies guarding the well-being of children. 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. On April 11, Defense Minister Ismail Saabri announced that the government would take stern action against online media that misreport the news. In August, the government withdrew a bill submitted by the prior administration to create an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission because the police objected to it. The government instead introduced a bill to create a toothless Independent Police Conduct Commission that lacks both key investigative powers and the authority to punish wrongdoing. The constitution provides citizens the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; however, several laws restricted this right. The great floods. Protests deemed acceptable by the government usually proceeded without interference. Political Parties and Political Participation: Many opposition candidates were unable to compete on equal terms with the then ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and were subject to restrictions and outside interference during the 2018 election campaign. Supporting the essential social work workforce. Penalties for violations were not commensurate with those for similar crimes. Rape is punishable by a maximum 20 years imprisonment and caning. Also on July 28, authorities detained youth activist Sarah Irdina and questioned her for 10 hours over social media posts promoting the black flag campaign to protest the Muhyiddin governments response to COVID-19. SPEAKERS. COVID-19 recovery. In August the minister of home affairs rejected an appeal by the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance to register as a political party. Investigations revealed Yusrazif received a list of names and passport details of the detained foreigners from two agents and facilitated the release and return of detainees to their countries of origin in exchange for bribes. The government does not recognize marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims and considers children born of such unions illegitimate. The government banned, restricted, or limited circulation of publications it considered a threat to public order, morality, or national security. Malaysia has since experienced other economic fallouts, such as the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, but its effects were comparatively small, with only a drop of 1.5 per cent in GDP. Multiple logistic regression shows that adolescents . Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. Freedom of association and collective bargaining were not fully respected. In such cases courts generally issued an open verdict, meaning that there would be no further action against police. The Attorney Generals Chambers requested a fine of 200,000 ringgit ($47,500), but Yusuf fined Malaysiakini more than double that amount. Examples can include: Illiteracy. A synchronous fiscal, monetary and financial policy response has helped cushion the economic impact. 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. The government cooperated to a limited extent with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers. Male children between ages 10 and 18 may receive a maximum of 10 strokes of a light cane in a public courtroom. According to an investigation published by local media in 2018, there are no standard procedures for the practice and in some cases box cutters and stationery store blades are used. Government officials defended the practice during a UN review in 2018, when a Ministry of Health official stated that the practice was performed only by medical professionals and compared it to immunization programs for female babies. In July, after Al Jazeera aired a documentary about Malaysias treatment of migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the police announced that they were investigating Al Jazeera for sedition, defamation, and violation of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA). There were credible reports that members of the security forces committed some abuses. Also in October, in a widely viewed TikTok video, Muslim preacher Syakir Nasoha accused members of religious and ethnic minorities of killing Muslims, sparking fears this could incite violence against Buddhists (largely citizens of Chinese descent), Hindus (largely citizens of Indian descent), and Dayaks (an indigenous community of Sarawak and Sabah states). The number of labor enforcement officers was insufficient to enforce compliance. The law also restricts the formation of unions of workers in similar trades, occupations, or industries. 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. Migrants, refugees, and stateless persons receive no government support. MACC noted that all transactions associated with the 29 charges against Noor Ehsanuddin were advances that had been fully repaid. The new government has taken a hard line on refugees, with the home minister stating that they have no status, rights, or basis to present any demands to the government. The authorities pushed boatloads of desperate Rohingya refugees who were trying to reach Malaysias shores back out to sea, claiming that they were doing so to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Many human rights and civil society organizations had difficulty obtaining government recognition as NGOs. The affordability of health care is high on the public's list of the biggest problems in the country today, with 56% of adults describing this as "a very big problem" and an additional 30% rating it "a moderately big problem.". It is never a dull day in Malaysian politics, but there seems to be a brief pause - for the time being. According to police figures, a total of 872 teenagers aged 15 to 18 committed suicide between January 2019 and May 2021. In April, news portal Malaysiakini submitted to the Ministry of Education a list of 15 schools that allegedly required female students to undergo intrusive physical examinations to prove that they were menstruating and hence exempted from prayers. This ambiguity over the communitys status in the constitution led to selective interpretation by different public institutions. By April, Top Glove had reimbursed 150 million ringgit ($36 million) to approximately 13,000 existing and eligible former workers. Depression. Education: Education is free, compulsory, and universal through primary school (six years of school) for citizens and permanent residents, although there was no mechanism to enforce attendance. Outside the political and human rights fields, the government generally allowed NGOs to function independently, met with representatives from some NGOs, and responded to some NGO requests. Supermax had repaid nearly 1,750 workers by June and stated it had allocated 23 million ringgit ($5.5 million), including remediation payment to contract workers. The new government, headed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, aggressively cracked down on critical speech and protest, backed away from creating a truly independent police complaints commission, and took a hard line on the treatment of refugees and undocumented migrants. The constitution provides for the right of association; however, the government placed significant restrictions on this right, and certain statutes limit it. The governments Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and SUHAKAM monitored prisons on a case-by-case basis. Umars wife, who viewed the body before the autopsy, said she saw swellings all over the body. In the election the Pakatan Harapan coalition unseated the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, marking the first federal transition of power between coalitions since independence in 1957. On May 13, police detained two boys, ages 12 and 13, at a local police station in Sentul, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, on suspicion of throwing firecrackers at policemen sent to disperse a crowd of approximately 200 setting off fireworks. There was a lack of investigation into accusations of rape and gender-based violence, and little accountability. Among these detainees, 45 were pending trial while 2,836 were convicted prisoners. Those found contravening child labor laws faced penalties that were not commensurate with those for other analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping. Employers or employees who violate occupational health and safety laws are subject to fines, imprisonment, or both. Social problems are matters or situations that reduce quality of life in a society. When mothers did not have valid proof of citizenship, authorities entered the childs citizenship as unknown on the birth certificate. Malaysia's total population was 32.98 million in January 2022.. Data show that Malaysia's population increased by 408 thousand (+1.3 percent) between 2021 and 2022.. 48.6 percent of Malaysia's population is female, while 51.4 percent of the population is male.. At the start of 2022, 78.2 percent of Malaysia's population lived in urban centres, while 21. . Doctors at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang COVID-19 Center canceled their walkout after police allegedly threatened them with arrest. The government, however, also acted against some human rights defenders and NGOs. Americans' views of the problems facing the nation. Discrimination in employment and occupation occurred with respect to women; members of national, racial, and ethnic minorities; and persons with disabilities. Vinaiyagars death in police custody was the tenth since January. Social issues topics list relevant in 2023. In August police stopped a candlelight vigil organized by the NGO Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat to commemorate COVID-19 victims in Kuala Lumpur and arrested 31 activists for violating infectious disease control regulations despite participants following all necessary COVID-19 standard operating procedures for gatherings. Malaysia has a long history of environmental issues. The law prohibits speech with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person.. A prominent human rights advocate stated, the amount is not punitive. The governments national five-year roadmap for 2021-25 targets child marriage. In Kuala Lumpur as well as Selangor and Kelantan States, prisons exceeded capacity by 45 to 50 percent. After the suspension, Hamid retired. Public schools are open to some UNHCR-registered refugees, but not to the children of illegal immigrants. 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. Malaysia has to identify which global issues are in its interest and engage the Americans actively in the bilateral relationship, as well as in multilateral forums. . Parents applying for late registration must provide proof the child was born in the country. The cofounder of youth group Misi Solidariti, Sharon Wah, questioned along with four other activists, declared: Laws that arbitrarily criminalize speech and legitimate criticism remain on the book. Media reported police told the family that Umar had fallen to his death while he attempted to escape. Umars familys lawyer told media, however, that something was definitely not right about the circumstances of his death and indicated he planned to file a suit against police and the government for causing Umar Faruqs death. On June 3, Umar Faruq Abdullah, a truck driver, died at the Southern Klang District police headquarters in Selangor State, a day after police arrested him for stealing a gas cylinder. Advocates and the international medical community remained concerned that the Health Ministry endorsement legitimizes the harmful practice and contributes to the medicalization of FGM. Occupational Safety and Health: Occupational health and safety laws cover all sectors of the economy except the maritime sector and the armed forces. In February the government introduced the Workers Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act as an emergency ordinance during the state of emergency compelling employers and centralized accommodation providers to provide lodging with sufficient living space and amenities for migrant workers to effectively control the spread of COVID-19. In May Home Affairs Minister Hamzah Zainudin declared the government would round up and vaccinate undocumented migrants to help them and protect Malaysians. If the migrants did not come for vaccinations, the government would go after them, he told media, adding that authorities would then work with employers and embassies to get individuals documented only for the purpose of vaccination. By law only registered organizations of seven or more persons may legally function. 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. Authorities arrested Yusrazif as part of a special operation conducted by MACC and the Immigration Department since 2020 at the countrys entry and exit points that saw the arrest of 65 individuals, including 39 immigration officers, 17 agents, and nine civilians. Read summaries of the latest scientific research pertaining to a range of social issues. The standard of care for those in detention is also problematic, with detainees dying of treatable illnesses. Some politicians and human rights activists claimed the government used the loyalty pledge to restrain political activity among these groups. Significant human rights issues included: reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government or its agents; reports of torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention; problems with the independence . 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. (i) High Rate Of Unemployment Among Graduates. When the attorney general orders an official inquiry, a coroners court convenes, and the hearing is open to the public. 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. The government generally restricted publications it judged might incite racial or religious disharmony. 1. As we continue to understand more clearly, issues such as conflict, hunger, and climate change are deeply interlinked. Government procurement and licensing policies favored bumiputra-owned businesses. During the same period, three people died while in police lock-ups, and 188 prison inmates died. The social problems in Malaysia are getting worse to worst nowadays. A youth coalition press statement slammed the use of sedition as excessive intimidation of ordinary individuals. Previously the federal government permitted stateless children to enroll in public school if parents were able to prove the childs father was a citizen, but in November 2020 the minister of education informed parliament that stateless children did not have access to public schools but could attend private schools. Nevertheless, four states Johor, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang extend equal parental rights to Muslim mothers. There are few most notable negative effects of alcohol abuse on teens, such as: Young peopleengage in drug use for different reasons than do adults, and as such, they need different treatment methods to help them break the cycle of addiction. The law provides for six to 20 years imprisonment and caning for persons convicted of incest. In some cases authorities treated early marriage as a solution to statutory rape. Defendants also may apply for a public defender in certain other cases. Penalties for employers who fail to follow the law begin with a fine assessed per employee and may rise to imprisonment. Ministry of Health guidelines allow the practice in general but only at government health-care facilities, which was not always the case. The constitution provides for freedom of internal movement, emigration, and repatriation, but these rights were often restricted by federal and state government officials, particularly in eastern Sabah and Sarawak states. The government reported that 23 people, including two children, died while in immigration detention during the first six months of 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Malaysia, mental health issues are taking a growing toll across the country. 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. As one of the biggest economies in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is an attractive destination for workers from neighboring countries seeking better wages and employment. There were scattered reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, mostly in the prison system. In August MACC charged member of parliament and former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman with money laundering. Smoking . The government restricted access to the internet. They discovered that an international cartel for more than 40 years had smuggled noncertified meat into the country and falsely represented it as halal-certified by using national halal logos with the help of corrupt senior government officials from at least four agencies. All same-sex sexual conduct is illegal. Police reportedly questioned Suaram staff to assess whether the film violated sedition or communications legislation but made no determination. 05:27 AM (GMT) Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to resign on Monday after a tumultuous 17 months in power marked by his government's poor response to . The law prohibits general strikes, and trade unions may not strike over disputes related to trade-union registration or illegal dismissals. The government often resisted registering organizations deemed particularly unfriendly to the government or imposed strict preconditions. Some observers indicated that children born to Muslim refugees and asylum seekers often had an easier time obtaining citizenship than non-Muslim refugees and asylum seekers. 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. In 2019 UNHCR estimated there were 450,000 stateless persons residing in the eastern state of Sabah. Authorities do not register children born to illegal immigrants or asylum seekers. The great floods. In February the High Court issued an interim stay on the deportation of 1,200 Burmese nationals after the deportees were already aboard Burmese naval ships. Mental health is generally related to depression, anxiety and stress. Therefore, all parties need to play their respective roles to curb this social problems. Malaysia's population in 2022. Child labor in urban areas was common in the informal economy, including family food businesses and night markets, and in small-scale industry. Although the codes five offenses infringing the rights of LGBTQI+ persons sodomy, homosexual activities involving women, changing gender, crossdressing as a female, and crossdressing as a male were not among the newly added crimes, observers expressed concern about the implications for the LGBTQI+ community. NGOs continued to criticize the lack of resources dedicated to enforcement of the law. Each year, millions of people have to escape from their home countries because of wars, conflicts, persecution, or climate change (UNHCR, 2022). Muslim women younger than 16 may marry with the approval of a sharia court. Migrant workers must undergo mandatory testing for more than 16 illnesses as well as pregnancy. In September Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat issued directives to improve the detention process and ensure suspects detained for investigation for more than 24 hours had access to legal representation, were in good health, and were allowed to testify in court about their treatment while under detention. Aug 5th 2021. Government Human Rights Bodies: The official human rights commission SUHAKAM is headed by a chairperson and commissioners appointed by the king on the recommendation of the prime minister. The legislation expanded this authority to include housing and local government agencies, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs in order to enforce fines and penalties up to 200,000 ringgit ($48,000), three years jail time, or both, against employers that failed to adhere to regulations. Indigenous persons in peninsular Malaysia, known as Orang Asli, who number approximately 200,000, constituted the poorest group in the country and had very little ability to participate in decisions that affected them. Access to those in detention centers was often significantly limited. According to World Prison Brief, as of August 2020 the country had 69,000 inmates in 52 prisons designed to hold only 52,000 inmates. In July Speaker of the Lower House Azhar Harun repeatedly told female opposition members to shut up during parliamentary proceedings. 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. The number of unemployed female graduates is much higher in comparison male graduates. Laws prohibit such actions; nevertheless, authorities sometimes infringed on citizens privacy. Civilian authorities at times did not maintain effective control over security forces. On July 28, the Selangor State sharia high court charged Ibu Yati and two others with expounding religious doctrines contrary to Islamic law and spreading them through Facebook from December 2020 through February 1. On April 17, A. Ganapathy died of severe injuries at Selayang Hospital in Gombak District, Selangor State, following 12 days in custody at Gombak District police headquarters, according to media reports. There is a special court for sexual crimes against children, established to speed up trials that often took years to conclude. Malaysia continues to detain individuals without trial under restrictive laws. Child labor occurred in some family businesses. 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. 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. Censorship or Content Restrictions: The government maintained the ability to censor media. The court ruled that the money received by Tengku Adnan from a businessman was a donation to UMNO, although it was deposited into an account of a company that belonged to Tengku Adnan. No laws provided for the protection of members of racial or ethnic minorities or groups against violence and discrimination. Members of the Malaysian Bar Council, NGO representatives, and other observers expressed serious concern about significant limitations on judicial independence, citing several high-profile instances of arbitrary verdicts, selective prosecution, and preferential treatment of some litigants and lawyers. That said, the survey has identified three key challenges likely to arise for HR in the coming 12 to 24 months, namely: 13% of the workforce will be made redundant. The NGO EDICT called for an inquiry, adding that for police to abuse tactics to force suspects to confess is inappropriate. In September, Home Affairs Minister Hamzah announced police had started an inquest into the death. 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. In April the High Court upheld a 2019 ban on the comic book Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism by Superman Hew. In July NGO Refuge for the Refugees founder Heidy Quah was charged under communications legislation over a 2020 social media post regarding conditions at an immigration detention center. The law protects foreign domestic workers only regarding wages and contract termination. Subscribe to our Telegram channel for our latest stories and breaking news. If a unions recognition request was approved, the employer sometimes challenged the decision in court, leading to multiyear delays in recognizing unions. The law affords persons with disabilities the right to equal access and use of public facilities, amenities, services, and buildings open or provided to the public. The camp, called the Mukhayyam Program, was a government initiative designed to change the lifestyle and sexual orientation of LGBTQI+ individuals. Discrimination: The constitution prohibits discrimination against citizens based on gender and gives men and women equal property rights, although sharia, which deviates from these principles in some areas, was sometimes applied. In February the High Court sentenced former federal minister and Negeri Sembilan States longest serving chief minister, Isa Samad, to six years imprisonment and a 15.4 million ringgit ($3.7 million) fine on nine counts of corruption and bribery for accepting three million ringgit ($720,000) in bribes in connection with luxury hotel purchase transactions. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining, b. Journalist Tashny Sukumaran was questioned over her report on a round-up of migrant workers, and in June, police opened an investigation of Boo Su-Lyn, editor of the health news portal CodeBlue, under the Official Official Secrets Act and the penal code for a series of articles about the findings of an independent investigation into an October 2016 hospital fire that killed six patients. Moreover, those graduates with essential skills are more preferable compared to them who does not have any skills. Media outlets reported numerous cases of alleged official corruption during the year. nstagram takipi satn almak istiyorsan tkla. 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 law requires a permit to own a printing press, and printers often were reluctant to print publications critical of the government due to fear of reprisal. The political environment was hostile towards women. Moreover, racism and special privileges leave some . Among lots of social issues in Malaysia, i choose 5 social issuesthati felt is the worst in Malaysia. The government confirmed in September 2020 that Malaysia will not entertain requests from China to extradite Uyghur refugees and will allow them safe passage to third countries. Religious and cultural taboos against same-sex sexual conduct were widespread (see section 2.a., Nongovernmental Impact). Eight of 14 Federal Court judges were women, including Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. To date, no Malaysians have been held responsible for their role in the deaths of over 100 ethnic Rohingya trafficking victims whose bodies were found in the camps. Published by Statista Research Department , Oct 5, 2022. For example, if the issue of climate change and sustainable development is of common concern, we should determine exactly how we . Nongovernmental Impact: Groups sympathetic to the sitting government sought to limit freedom of expression through public criticisms of expression deemed dangerous or criminal complaints of allegedly seditious speech.
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