Human rights and the Malaysian constitution examined through the lens of the Internal Security Act 1960

[Introduction]: With its ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, Malaysia is typical of countries in South-East Asia. Although there are 16 major ethnic groups and 48 minor ethnic groups in the country, official statistics list the main people groups are the Malays and indigenous people (65.1%) Chinese (26%) and Indians (7.7%). The country's pluralist society arises both from a slow filtering of people probably from south western China into south east Asia dating from 2500 BC and policies of the British colonisers in the mid-19th century. Among the factors which sets this country apart from its neighbours is that the ethnic and religious identity of the Malays, its main group, is enshrined in the Constitution. The constitutional definition of this group as persons who profess the religion of Islam, habitually speak the Malay language and conform to Malay custom is evidence that Islam is considered an integral part of the Malay persona and a questioning of one part is considered an attack on the other, leading to a heightened sensitivity. In addition, this main group does not form an overwhelming majority of the population. In spite of the relative balance between groups, communalism is a distinct factor in the nations political and economic institutions. The ruling coalition, known as the Alliance in early years and the Barisan Nasional in later years comprises the United Malaysian National Organisation (UMNO), their Chinese and Indian partners, and a number of small (and weak) political parties. Despite UMNOs role as the leader of this ostensibly multi-ethnic coalition, it is frequently at the forefront of communal politicking.5 Riots in Kuala Lumpur, the nations capital city, and elsewhere in 1969 mark a low in communal relations. Coinciding with other parts of the Muslim world, the 1970s saw the re-assertion of Islamic thought in Malaysia. Islamic institutions such as the Bank Islam and the International Islamic University were set up in 1983. From time to time calls by the opposition Partai Islam (PAS) for the setting of an Islamic state are heard. Through an analysis of the ISA the paper shows how executive acts have cast a pall over all of the human rights mentioned in the Constitution. This paper refers to the original purpose of the ISA and contrasts this with the characterisation of present detainees. It outlines the legislative scheme and examines the lack of safeguards within the Act. This paper concludes that the ISA is unlikely to be repealed, although this Act is now unacceptable to many groups within Malaysia. Until informed debate takes place to resolve old and new tensions within this pluralist society, the observation of human rights will continue to be superficial as will be the practice of constitutionalism.This conference was supported by the generosity of the Japan Foundation Asia Centre, AusAID, the Daiwa Foundation for Asia and Oceania, the Myer Foundation and The Australian National University's National Institute for Asia and the Pacific and the Humanities Research Centre

Sustainable Management of the Great Artesian Basin: an analysis based on Environmental Economics and Law

Groundwater has been a vital resource to humans through the ages. Ancient societies depended on the ability to construct and maintain useful wells. The Persians had systems of qanats as far back as 1500 BC. These were underground conduits for tapping groundwater made by sinking a series of wells and connecting them. The technology was also used in Roman aqueducts, and brought by Arabs to North Africa and Spain. The story of the exploitation of Australia's groundwater resources is of far more recent vintage. Interstate rivalry over the control of surface water resources has been recognised as a factor shaping our federal constitution, but few realise how much the management of our underground water resources is interwoven with our colonial history. In important respects, both the policy debate and the development of institutions to manage groundwater have run in parallel with that of policies regarding surface water. The parallels are particularly close regarding two of Australia's most significant resources of each kind: the Murray-Darling Basin and the Great Artesian Basin. Policy, management structures and remedial solutions developed in response to the problems of the Murray-Darling Basin tend to set the tone for discussion of the Great Artesian Basin, in some cases to the point where ideas developed for management of the Murray-Darling Basin are applied directly to the Great Artesian Basin. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for discussion of the current policy issues surrounding management of the Great Artesian Basin, with reference to the historical development of existing legislation and institutions. Of interest is the applicability of lessons learned from the debate over management of the Murray-Darling Basin

Impact of food advertising in social media among local university students in Malaysia

Malaysia is well-known for its multi-cultural people and foods. With the emerging on the social media, it influences the food choice decision among Malaysian Consumers especially the university students who are technology savvy. There are many studies on food advertising, but so far limited studies have been conducted to understand the impacts of social media in food advertising among local university students in Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the overall attitude and behavioral intention of local university students toward food advertising in social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs). 231 samples were recruited with convenient sampling method. With the findings, it can help the academicians and industry practitioners to have better understanding on attributes of food advertising in social media that contribute significantly to students’ food purchase decision

Collaborative Water Planning: Legal and Policy Analysis<br />

Report SummaryThe purpose of this report is to provide readers with an understanding of the main objectives of national water reform, the critical role that is assigned to water planning by the National Water Initiative (NWI), and the legal and policy framework implementing that reform in northern Australia. The collaborative planning process engages the full range of stakeholders, including Indigenous and other local communities as well as industry. It involves making use of scientific and environmental knowledge and socio-economic analysis.Water planning is the only mechanism contemplated under the NWI for constructing the public benefit and sustainability outcomes desired by particular communities. Knowing this makes it all the more important that the objective of open and transparent processes is achieved.Water planning has been carried out in the three jurisdictions of Northern Australia, namely Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, but in many parts of the region, there is little understanding of the NWI in general and the processes which should be used in collaborative water planning in particular.The report is written for readers who do not have a legal background but are particularly interested in water planning in northern Australia. While the complexity of the subject must be acknowledged, the provision of a glossary containing names and terms may assist readers to keep track of and gain familiarity with important concepts and the many organisations, relevant pieces of legislation and so on, that feature in the legal and policy sphere of water planning.This report reviews the legislation, case-law and policy on water planning, with a focus on the process of planning not the content of plans. It also interprets analysis of published material in addition to that surveyed in this project&rsquo;s separate literature review and forecasts possible implications for readers. It starts at the Commonwealth level looking at the Constitution, as well as more recent policy and legislative aspects including the NWI; Native Title and Cultural Heritage legislation; and the National Water Plan. It then provides case studies of the water planning legal frameworks for Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia. It uses New South Wales as a bench-mark as water planning commenced in that state in 1998 and the process has&nbsp; gone through revisions, thus providing opportunity for learning.The structure of the report is outlined at 1.2. An overview of collaborative processes in water planning is used to set the scene for the case studies examining water planning processes across northern Australia. Eleven themes&lowast; are used to structurethe case studies:&bull; Planning objectives that provide for sustainability and adaptive management.&bull; Provisions for standards and procedures for statutory water planning&bull; Provisions that allows for reasonable deadlines&bull; Provisions for socio-economic or other analysis&bull; Community engagement in gathering and assessing scientific data including the communication of &nbsp; science in water planning&bull; Provisions for stakeholder engagement&bull; Provisions for indigenous engagement&bull; Provisions for transparency in decision-making&bull; Provisions clarifying the relationship between planning and political process&bull; Guidelines for use of mediation/negotiation/other conflict resolution techniques&bull; Integration of water plans with other planning processes including broader natural resource &nbsp; management.Table 1 at page 42 sets out the relevant NWI provisions for consultation in waterplanning.A total of 17 proposals are made in relation to eight major areas for improvement in collaborative processes in water planning. Formal recommendations will be included in the culminating part of this project. The eight major areas for improvement are:Collaborative water planning requires the development of clear objectivesIn all jurisdictions except the Northern Territory, the objectives of water legislation acknowledge&nbsp; the role of the community in water planning. Legislation in each jurisdiction should provide a statement of objectives that specifically refers to collaboration in water management and planning. Principles of collaborative planning should be provided either in legislation or in a policy&nbsp; document. It would be helpful for all jurisdictions to adopt a common statement of principles relating to collaboration, outlining what it means, the objectives that collaboration should achieve, and what levels of collaboration are required in different circumstances.Promoting stakeholder engagement through deliberative processesStakeholder engagement is strongly supported by the NWI, and recognised by legislation in most jurisdictions. A broad range of stakeholders is anticipated &ndash; those within or downstream of the plan area, affected water users, communities, industry (e.g. agriculture and mining) and Indigenous peoples. Engagement is seen as critical for creating and maintaining public confidence in water plans and their implementation. States have adopted a rather formulaic approach, with engagement occurring mainly through community panels which may or may not be representative of sectoral interests. There is a lack of reference to or requirement for deliberative participatory processes within Australian water policy and law. Regulatory design in water planning requires a greater emphasis on such processes to develop a range of mechanisms suitable for adoption in a variety of contexts. National principles along the lines of those developed for provision of water for ecosystems would be helpful in this context.Promoting collaboration through transparencyThe NWI emphasises technical assessments and socio-economic analysis as important in providing a sound basis for decision-making. Where these are undertaken, all jurisdictions currently provide for reports to be made publicly available. Satisfaction of this requirement in and of itself does not mean that decisions are transparent. Transparency in decision-making processes is a concept which is relatively new to the management of water, where decisions have long been the domain of administrators as experts. How best to provide for transparency in decision making remains a continuing challenge throughout Australia. The position varies across the jurisdictions of interest to this analysis.Decision makers are now guided by a number of principles or objectives laid down in legislation but discretionary powers remain available. These discretionary aspects of the process provide for flexibility but may also introduce confusion and uncertainty into planning. Flexibility and discretion in decision making are features in a planning framework where, in the current era, final decisions are made by a Minister. Requiring ministers to justify a departure from the usual process, or the making of a decision that contradicts the aspirations of a community panel or technical (including socio-economic) assessments may contribute towards promoting public confidence in decision-makers.Ensuring decisions are based on accurate information and analysisDespite NWI provisions, requirements for technical assessment and their standards vary greatly across jurisdictions. The NWI provides that socio-economic analysis, community input and information from the best available science are pre-requisites for the settling of trade-offs between competing water users. Gathering of base-line data for constructing the water-use profile of the planned area, understanding biophysical, social and economic conditions of the catchments and identifying community issues as they relate to water resource management are first steps in socio-economic analysis. The next step involves generating and evaluating options based on the above and assessing effects of changes arising from water use decisions. The use of these analyses enables decision makers to justify choices made between alternative scenarios.Many of the jurisdictions do not mandate the use of socio-economic or other analysis. A recent national study of water planning found that if carried out at all, socio- economic assessments were highly variable in quality (Hamstead et al 2008). This study further showed that the community has little confidence that the decision has given due consideration to all relevant factors and analyses.Improving the writing of water plansAttention should be given to clear and concise writing of water plans. At present, they are often difficult to understand and expressed in an overly complex manner. Courts have referred to difficulties associated with plans which are written in such a complex way that anyone seeking to understand them had an extraordinarily difficult task; moreover that if the literal meaning of some&nbsp; clauses was adopted, the plan could not operate.On the other side, plans may contain terms that are broad, imprecise or subjective; and performance indicators may be so general that it is difficult to ascertain whether they have been achieved. The setting of performance indicators is highly relevant to ongoing processes and stakeholders will be discouraged and disinterested if they are not able to assess whether plans are actually being implemented.Providing for Indigenous interests in water planningAn area for improvement repeatedly noted is that Indigenous interests are not adequately provided for in planning practice. There is qualified recognition of Indigenous rights to water in the NWI, the provisions of which are attempting to steer a difficult course between the strict legal requirements of native title, and the wider approach that Indigenous social, spiritual and&nbsp; customary objectives have intrinsic value and should be considered in planning.While high level policy statements made by the jurisdictions of Northern Australia contain strong commitments to Indigenous engagement, it may appear rhetorical given that there is a shortfall between the policy and its implementation. Indigenous rights to water have also been narrowly construed by case-law and legislation to refer only to domestic (i.e. non-commercial) uses of&nbsp; water.Indigenous communities have stated clearly that where planning involves their interests, it ought to respect their timeframes and decision-making processes. In view of the attention given to meeting Indigenous needs to access water and participate in water planning, allowing sufficient time will be a consideration.It is suggested that a policy on appropriate Indigenous engagement should be drawn up. For example, a water planning cultural assessment policy could identify cultural values, assets and objectives. Consideration needs to be given to ensuring that native title holders can continue to enjoy their rights to fish and hunt for example, in the face of increased water use and allocations.Identifying and using appropriate dispute resolution processesFew policy guidelines exist across the jurisdictions for mediation of disputes, or the use of conflict resolution mechanisms in water planning. Given that the ability of parties to take disputes for judicial resolution has been limited, it would be reasonable to see further development of more alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (ADR) in this area. In stark contrast with research, knowledge and practice of ADR in private and commercial disputes, environmental or public dispute resolution is in its early phases in Australia. Existing policies related to the use of conflict resolution mechanisms appear to be underdeveloped.There are several techniques adopted for conflict management in water resources, for example mediation, facilitation and consensus building. Where consensus building was introduced as a planning mechanism, it was not well designed and implemented. It is apparent that few of the jurisdictions have developed policy that benefits from existing knowledge on designing systematic approaches to consensus building. All jurisdictions will benefit, at the very outset, from designing a planning system for managing conflict rather than ignoring its existence.The importance of adequate resourcingFinally, this report notes the general deficiency in resourcing collaborative efforts in water&nbsp; planning. Though not directly related to the NWI, the two most recent formulations of national policy relating to water, the Howard government&rsquo;s National Plan for Water Security and the Rudd government&rsquo;s National Plan for Water, have allocated vast sums of money on capital works for&nbsp; modernising irrigation systems and other matters directly affecting consumptive use. Although no&nbsp; definite provisions are as yet available, it appears that despite the NWI identifying water plans as being the key mechanism for delivery of national water reforms, there is limited support of the water planning efforts made in the states, in comparison with the very significant support given to infrastructure building and water buy-back in the Murray-Darling Basin.In general Australian policy-makers and legislatures have been able to work together for water reform in ways that other countries have not been able to. Water planning is not new; however in the past it adopted a technical approach which did not require collaboration with communities. Assessments of water reform progress tell us that agencies in all jurisdictions have yet to adequately meet the challenge of water planning. Slow progress may partially be explained by the difficulties experienced by agencies&rsquo; realignment of priorities, and development of new strategies and skills. In this era of water resource uncertainty, it is essential to gain public confidence in measures designed to deliver on the objectives of water reform. For this reason alone, collaborative water planning needs the full support of governments

Revisiting The Mindfulness Framework In Heritage Tourism

It has been propounded that mindful tourists are able to appreciate and act responsibly at heritage sites, as compared to tourists who are mindless. The mindfulness framework suggested by Moscardo (1996, 1999) has been acknowledged as important, however, there are few gaps in the application: lack of explanation on Visitor Factor in influencing mindfulness and lack of specific measure of mindfulness and interpretive outcome in tourism context. The overall research objective of this study is to enhance the mindfulness framework in explaining tourist interpretative outcome. This research examine the influence of Visitor Factors and Communication Factors on mindfulness. This research is conducted in Penang, a destination listed under the UNESCO World Heritag

Mindfulness And Tourism: The Case Of Penang World Heritage Sites In Malaysia

It has been propounded that tourists who are mindful are able to value and understand heritage sites better compared to those who are mindless. Mindfulness is a concept that helps tourist build interpretation that will enhance the quality of experience and create a sustainable connection between the tourists and the heritage sites. Mindful tourists are tourists who are actively engaged with the interpretation of the heritage sites resulting in greater learning and understanding. Conversely, a mindless individual is an individual who follows a routine, pay limited attention to what he or she is doing and trapped in a rigid mindset. Past research, however does not indicate an availability of measures of mindfulness in tourism. Thus, this research aims to identify, construct and validate the measure of mindfulness in the context of heritage tourism. This research utilised the quantitative research method and is carried out in Penang, a destination listed under the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The item questions, to measure mindfulness were developed based on extensive review of past literature. Data were collected through the distribution of questionnaires to 150 local and international tourists. To generate the measure of mindfulness, factor analysis was conducted. Results revealed from the study suggested four distinct factors in measuring mindfulness, namely curiosity and attention, alertness, emotional engagement and openness and flexibility. These key findings derived from the study offer new insights in understanding and quantifying the concept of mindfulness and further improve the model of mindfulness for future application especially in heritage tourism

Experimental investigation of Reed-Solomon error correction technique for wireless sensor network

In this paper, we propose a Reed-Solomon (RS) error correction code with an error correction capability of 32 bytes for IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network (WSN). This code is chosen based on our experimental investigation and the analysis of error pattern, which revealed that although there are as much as 82% of burst errors out of the total errors are present at WSN, the rate of occurrence of the burst errors decreases when the burst length increases. Experimental results show that the proposed error correction code is able to reduce the packet error rate (PER) significantly for distances shorter than 40 m. At the target PER of 10-3, the proposed technique is able to improve either the transmission distance by about 10 m or the received signal strength indication (RSSI) by about 8 dB compared to the WSN without error correction

Asian broadcasters telling compelling stories using technology: a case study from Malaysia.

Stories are significant on their own when they are given meaning as a consequence of the process by which they are constructed. Technology enables new forms of storytelling among broadcasters, eventually getting the message out impacting larger audiences. Audiences understand reality in a way that is congruent with the constructions of meaning either directly or through mediated socialization. Today, the media has become a powerful tool in this socialization process that audiences tend to refer to reality as portrayed in media. A collaborative research with the Asian-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) elicited and received feedback from 28 of their member countries. The study enquired how Asian broadcasters perceived their challenges in storytelling and crafted their opportunities for broadcasting. It became evident that broadcasters tell ‘big stories’ in quick succession to be relevant by using strategic enablers in particular ways. The transition from traditional media platforms to social media platforms was reported to reinforce storytelling skills. This finding was triangulated empirically at a mass celebration and storytelling event. The technological disruption experienced throughout this study shall be the future challenge to engage ‘a streamlined world of shared platforms that will empower broadcasters’

Pluripotent human embryonic stem cell derived neural lineages for in vitro modelling of enterovirus 71 infection and therapy

The incidence of neurological complications and fatalities associated with Hand, Foot & Mouth disease has increased over recent years, due to emergence of newly-evolved strains of Enterovirus 71 (EV71). In the search for new antiviral therapeutics against EV71, accurate and sensitive in vitro cellular models for preliminary studies of EV71 pathogenesis is an essential prerequisite, before progressing to expensive and time-consuming live animal studies and clinical trials. This study thus investigated whether neural lineages derived from pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESC) can fulfil this purpose. EV71 infection of hESC-derived neural stem cells (NSC) and mature neurons (MN) was carried out in vitro, in comparison with RD and SH-SY5Y cell lines. Results: Upon assessment of post-infection survivability and EV71 production by the various types, it was observed that NSC were significantly more susceptible to EV71 infection compared to MN, RD (rhabdomyosarcoma) and SHSY5Y cells, which was consistent with previous studies on mice. The SP81 peptide had significantly greater inhibitory effect on EV71 production by NSC and MN compared to the cancer-derived RD and SH-SY5Y cell lines. Hence, this study demonstrates that hESC-derived neural lineages can be utilized as in vitro models for studying EV71 pathogenesis and for screening of antiviral therapeutics