REGULATIONS AND POLICIES FOR SCREENING OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT PROPOSALS IN MALAYSIA

Foreign investors most commonly have the intention to maximise their profit against capital investment and in doing so, they prefer the least-developed and developing countries for investments due to the weak legal frameworks. They can easily bypass their responsibility towards the host countries including corporate social responsibility. In this context, it is very important for the host state to properly screen any foreign investment proposal before allowing it. Malaysia has a central government body which is responsible for screening foreign investment proposals. This study scrutinises the existing regulations or policies of screening to find out whether there are any loopholes or in need of amendments. This paper addresses one major question: is the existing legal framework compatible to ensure proper screening of foreign investment proposals? This study applies the doctrinal legal research method and semi-structured interviews. Four respondents were interviewed with expertise in FDI laws and regulations in Malaysia. Findings show that there is a need for improvements in the existing regulatory mechanisms for the screening of foreign investment proposals and recommendations are provided accordingly

THE MADINAH CHARTER IN LIGHT OF A MODERN CONSTITUTION

The impetus for writing this article came from the notion of Muhammad Hamidullah, a renowned twentieth-century Islamic scholar. He has described the Madinah Charter as the world's first written constitution. As the modern constitutions contain certain fundamental features embedded within them, such as the separation of powers, the rule of law, which includes the fundamental rights and liberties of the people, supremacy of the constitution, and custom of the country, this article examines the objectives and fundamental features of the Madinah Charter. The research methodology adopted in this article is a doctrinal analysis by referring to the Madinah Charter as discussed in the book by Hamidullah, The Prophet's Establishing A State And His Succession. From the objectives and fundamental features of the Madinah Charter, the article extracts some similarities between the objectives and fundamental features embedded in a modern constitution. This brings out the argument of whether the Madinah Charter can be recognised as the world's first written constitution despite not being categorised as a modern constitution

EMPHASISING THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN POLLUTION CONTROL TOWARD PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTIONS

The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) which has globally impacted the social ecosystem is a combination of public health and environmental crises. Amidst the challenges faced in dealing with the consequences of the crises, the pandemic has unintendedly revealed the significance of the current environmental law system to protect human health from pollution. The pandemic has also heightened the realisation that environmental threats are driven by human activities. Consequently, COVID-19 has underscored the need of securing safe and clean surroundings and has emphasised the importance of having measures to protect human health. For Malaysia, strategies aiming at environmental protection could be found within the provisions of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (EQA). Using the library-based research methodology on primary and secondary sources of law, this paper seeks to examine the scope of the EQA on public health protection and pollution control. Against the backdrop of sustainability, the research concludes that the interlinkages of environmental conservation and public health protection mean that the EQA is the most relevant law to attain these two interrelated objectives. It is submitted that COVID-19 has re-emphasised the importance of environmental law within the realm of health protection, which is in turn essential for the sustainable development agenda

ADEQUACY OF PRIVACY REGIME IN BANGLADESH: KEY CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL POLICY MEASURES

Privacy is one of the most desired human rights in this ubiquitous computing era - when a vast majority of our work is done online using personal data. Numerous actors are continually monitoring our activities, and consequently, user privacy came under tremendous threats. In response, various legal and policy measures have been adopted at national, regional, and international levels. The citizens of Bangladesh are also experiencing diverse privacy threats, and hence, they deserve to have adequate legal protections. This context requires a study to search for answers to the question - whether there are any legal protections for privacy in the existing legal regime of Bangladesh comparable with international data protection standards. This study aims to fill the gap using doctrinal legal research methodology. The findings of this study reveal that although there is no privacy or comprehensive data protection law in Bangladesh, privacy is conditionally recognised in the Constitution. There are numerous isolated privacy provisions in some other subsidiary legislation and references to privacy in several case laws as well. The results of this study will enlighten all stakeholders regarding privacy issues and facilitate them to map and design future policy strategies. This eventually contributes to establishing a safer online ecosystem in Bangladesh

ANALYSIS OF WORKERS' RIGHTS IN THE ON-DEMAND ECONOMY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VERTICAL INEQUALITY

The rapid development of digitalisation has tremendously changed the way business operates. In recent years, the on-demand economy or gig economy model has received positive acceptance worldwide due to its convenience and flexibility, both to business owners and consumers. More importantly, the on-demand economy offers a variety of job prospects to workers via digital platforms. These workers are known as 'virtual workers' or 'crowd workers’ are classified as 'self-employed' or 'independent contractors'. This new employment model has received much attention from the legal and human rights perspectives. The classical employer-employee relationship that is not transparent in the on-demand economy has resulted in the exclusion of liability and responsibility of platform companies to respect fundamental human rights protections of the workers. Digital platform companies are criticised for taking advantage of the weakened labour standards and protections, such as lack of collective bargaining power, inadequate social security protection, unlimited working hours, and inadequate safety and health policies at the workplace. In addition, the workers at these platforms reportedly experienced irregular payment schemes. This led to vertical inequality and discrimination between these two groups of workers. Hence, this paper seeks to explore and examine human rights protection concerning workers in the on-demand economy. Additionally, this paper will present a specific discussion on vertical inequality between the two groups of workers and thereafter recommend the need for determination of employment status for the platform workers and also the need to ensure essential human rights protections for all workers irrespective of their employment status.&nbsp

AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK GOVERNING CYBERBULLYING AMONG CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA

The Internet has changed people’s lifestyles since its inception in the nineties. Since then, it has become an essential tool and daily need for all generations, including children. Despite its significant advantages for online class, gathering knowledge and information, it also has its disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that children can be potentially exposed to cyberbullying, either as a victim or a perpetrator. Easier access to the Internet via various types of electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers has contributed to the increase in child cyberbullying incidents. A survey conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2019 discovered that 28% children in Malaysia were victims of online violence. In global statistics among 28 countries, Malaysia was ranked 6th place and 2nd place among the Asia countries in cyberbullying. The objectives of this study are to examine the scenario of child cyberbullying in Malaysia and identify related legal provisions that existed in Malaysia. The method used in this study is doctrinal research by referring to journals, books, conference papers, newspapers, and other periodicals. This research found out that the existing laws are not adequate to protect children from cyberbullying. Thus, it is suggested that there should be specific provisions on cyberbullying protection especially for child in Malaysia

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSES AND ASSIGNMENTS IN IRANIAN LAW: FROM TRADITIONAL RULES OF CONTRACT LAW TO NEW NECESSITIES OF MODERNISATION

Assignments and licenses of intellectual property rights have become very common and important in the Iranian economy. Due to this development, the legal system needed to undergo reforms to cater to the specific characteristics of these types of contracts. To achieve this, the Iranian legislator has attempted to provide a number of articles in the main laws concerning intellectual property agreements. Two bills concerning industrial property and literary and artistic property have been drafted which include several provisions in this regard. This descriptive-analytical article intends to introduce licenses and assignments of intellectual property rights in Iran and explain the rules applicable to them in order to provide a basis for further studies on this topic. The findings of this study show that the attempts made by the Iranian legislators to regulate the assignments and licenses of intellectual property rights, although valuable, are not perfect and thus, it is recommended that specific provisions are enacted to deal with different aspects of those contracts. Until the legislator takes that step, where necessary, such contracts are governed by the general rules of traditional contracts which originate from the rich sources of Imamiah jurisprudence and legal doctrine

EXTENDING INDONESIAN GASTRODIPLOMACY:BLENDING GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI) AND "KOPI INDONESIA"

This paper explores how coffee can contribute to the development of Indonesian gastro-diplomacy. Specifically, it investigates whether 5 incorporating Geographical Indication (GI) and the "Kopi Indonesia" (Indonesian Coffee) logo can strengthen Indonesia's nation brand (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or "Unity in Diversity"). One of the goals of gastro-diplomacy is using food commodities as symbols of a specific identity. Thus far, Indonesian coffee branding has emphasised local identity over national identity. This paper argues that the coffee GI represents the uniqueness of coffee from regions within Indonesia and reflects the country's diversity. At the same time, the "Kopi Indonesia" brand places all of these regional variants under the same umbrella to make coffee products from Indonesia more recognisable on the global market. Unlike previous studies, which view GI and the Kopi Indonesia brand as solely related to marketing and protection of intellectual property rights,  this research shows that the unification of GIs and "Kopi Indonesia" has broader implications. Indonesia has utilised coffee as a tool of gastro-diplomacy, and the policies that the government has implemented around the coffee trade are tied to how the country wants to be perceived on the global stage

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MODEL IN THE PREPARATION OF SHARIA-BASED ACEH QANUN: SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF THE ULAMA

Public participation in preparing legal products in Indonesia is essential for national and regional legislation. Although Indonesia is considered to have “achieved” democracy, many legislations do not agree with the people’s aspirations. This situation eventually led to a judicial review at the Supreme Court. It is expected that legal products in the form of sharia-based Aceh Qanun (regional regulation) can generate legal certainty and justice for society. This research was conducted in Aceh using a legal method based on a prescriptive approach. Results show that public participation in the preparation of sharia-based Qanun is more focused on issues that can give rise to differences of opinions amongst people from multi-religious backgrounds. The views are related to the norms in the bill in terms of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), local wisdom, and exploring problems and efforts to overcome them. The Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama’s (Ulama Consultative Assembly/MPU) role in preparing Aceh Qanuns is limited to providing suggestions for the currently discussed bill. Unfortunately, the Aceh Qanun has not accommodated the rights of MPU to provide recommendations.  MPU’s  proposal for the Aceh Qanun bill  is in the form of suggestions because the ulama’s views do not bind the Aceh Governor and Parliament to enact the bill. The situation happens because the opinions are not in the form of a fatwa (legal pronouncement in Islam) but merely suggestions and recommendations

PROTECTING GIG WORKERS' INTERESTS IN MALAYSIA THROUGH REGISTERED ASSOCIATION UNDER SOCIETIES ACT 1966

The gig economy model has had a significant impact on global economic growth. Through contracts for services, job seekers or gig workers will have opportunities to work in many sectors with limited advantages and benefits. This gig economy model has posed challenges to employment and industrial relations due to the gig workers' status as independent contractors. In the absence of trade unions to speak on their behalf, the service providers may neglect and manipulate their rights and interests. This paper aims to explore the alternative body to protect the interest of the gig workers and to be the main stakeholders in the gig economy. This article uses doctrinal legal research to analyse the best platform for gig workers to unionise. This article analysed legal documents, namely legal provisions from various legislations and case law using the content analysis approach, and thereafter proposed the best legal structure to protect gig workers' rights to unionise. This article found that the registered society structured under the Societies Act 1966 is the most suitable platform which can play an important role similar to trade unions in its functions to represent gig workers' interest in Malaysia