Baldgate (also known as botakgate and bald 11) is a Malaysian scandal that began on January 30, 2006, when Malaysian police detained eleven senior citizens for playing mahjong, a gambling game, and shaved their heads. Gambling with chips is common among Malaysian Chinese, but gambling for money is illegal without a license. The incident came only a few days after the independent commission reviewing the Malaysian lock-up detainee abuse scandal of 2005 released its findings.
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand in the north and maritime borders with Singapore in the south, Vietnam in the northeast, and Indonesia in the west. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, with large numbers of endemic species.
A police service is a constituted body of persons empowered by a state to enforce the law, to protect life, liberty and the property of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their powers include the power of arrest and the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. The police force is usually a public sector service, funded through taxes.
Mahjong is a tile-based game that was developed in China during the Qing dynasty and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players. The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have become popular in Western countries too. The game has also been adapted into a widespread online entertainment. Similar to the Western card game rummy, Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation and involves a degree of chance.
The suspects, Chee Kit Sing, 65, Chi Kong Eng, 31, Tee Boon Kiah, 55, Lee Chu Heng, 63, Lim Kee Swee, 64, Lee Swee Fong, 49, and Lim Yew Bee, 54, were arrested at a coffee shop in Kajang, Selangor, on the second day of the Chinese New Year. All of the 103 detainees in the same lock-up had their heads shaved. The eleven men were released the day after their arrest. [1] [2]
Kajang is a town in southeastern Selangor, Malaysia. It is located 20 km southeast of downtown Kuala Lumpur, in the coterminous mukim (commune) of Kajang in the Hulu Langat District.
Selangor, also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west. Selangor surrounds the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, both of which were previously part of it.
Chinese New Year is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in mainland China, and is one of several Lunar New Years in Asia. Observances traditionally take place from the evening preceding the first day of the year to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. In 2019, the first day of the Chinese New Year was on Tuesday, 5 February, initiating the Year of the Pig.
A spokesman for the Kajang police defended the head-shaving as "standard procedure," the same rationale provided for the scandal of 2005. He also stated it was in accordance with Section 9a of the Lock Up Rules. [3] Malaysian Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) gave the incident the moniker of "botakgate". [4]
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara (Senate). The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament.
Lim Kit Siang is a Malaysian politician and party leader. He is a prominent leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the current ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in Malaysia. He had previously served as the Opposition Leader of Malaysia for 1 year (1973-1974), another 24 years (1975-1999) before assuming the role again for a four-year stint from 2004-2008.
The People's Justice Party is a centre-left multiracial political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party (PRM). The party was led by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and increased its parliamentary representation from one seat to 31 seats in the 2008 general election, until the five-year political ban imposed on former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was lifted on 14 April 2008. The party is now the largest party in the Pakatan Harapan coalition that formed the government after a 60-year-long tenure by the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 2018 election. It enjoys strong support from urban states such as Selangor, Penang and Johor.
Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. At different times and places people have shaved all or part of their heads for very diverse reasons including practicality, convenience, low maintenance, fashion, style, religion, culture, and aesthetics.
Operation Coldstore, sometimes spelled Operation Cold Store, was the code name for a covert security operation carried out in Singapore on 2 February 1963 which led to the arrest of 113 people, who were detained without trial under the Preservation of Public Service Security Ordinance (PSSO). In official accounts, the operation was a security operation "aimed at crippling the Communist open front organisation," which threatened Singapore's internal security. The operation was authorised by the Internal Security Council which was composed of representatives from the British, Singapore and Malayan Federal governments.
The Internal Security Act 1960 was a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances. On 15 September 2011, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak said that this legislation will be repealed and replaced by two new laws. The ISA was replaced and repealed by the Security Offences Act 2012 which has been passed by Parliament and given the royal assent on 18 June 2012. The Act came into force on 31 July 2012.
Operation Lalang is a major crackdown carried out beginning 27 October 1987 by the Royal Malaysian Police, ostensibly to prevent the occurrence of racial riots in Malaysia. The operation saw the arrest of 106 to 119 people – NGO activists, opposition politicians, intellectuals, students, artists, scientists and others – who were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA). It was the second largest ISA swoop in Malaysian history since the 13 May riots. It also involved the revoking of the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star and Watan.
The Malaysian lock-up detainee abuse scandal is a scandal involving the abuse allegations of detainees under the care of the Royal Malaysian Police which occurred in 2005.
The Internal Security Department is a domestic intelligence agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore. It has the utmost right to detain without trial individuals suspected to be a threat to national security.
The Al-Ma'unah was a spiritual Islamist militant group based in Malaysia. The group was made famous by their audacious raid on 2 July 2000 on a Malaysian Army Reserve camp in the early hours of the morning and stealing weapons from the armoury. The group was later cornered in the village of Sauk, Kuala Kangsar, Perak and was involved in a stand-off the against the Malaysian Army and Royal Malaysian Police forces. The siege was ended when Malaysian security forces, including the army 22nd Grup Gerak Khas and police VAT 69 Pasukan Gerakan Khas, stormed the camp in Operation Dawn.
Tan Sri Dr. Lim Swee Aun was a Malaysian Chinese politician from the Malaysian Chinese Association, and a Cabinet member.
Nathaniel Tan is a Malaysian of Chinese-Indian Peranakan descent. In July 2007, he came under the spotlight when he was detained by the Royal Malaysian Police for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act. He was then working with current Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. After being detained for a few days, he was released with no charges preferred.
HINDRAF or Hindu Rights Action Force with its slogan of People's Power began as a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organisations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia.
HINDRAF has made a major impact to the political landscape of Malaysia in staging the 2007 HINDRAF rally. In late 2007, several prominent members of the HINDRAF were arrested, some on charges of sedition; following an enormous rally organised by HINDRAF in November. The charges were dismissed by the courts. Five people have since been detained without trial under the Internal Security Act. The group has over the last two years developed a broader political program to preserve and to push for equal rights and opportunities for the minority Indians. It has been successful in continuing to focus attention on the racist aspects of the Malaysian Government policies.
The CCNY point shaving scandal of 1950–51 was a college basketball point shaving gambling scandal that involved seven schools in all, with four in Greater New York and three in the Midwest. However, most of the key players in the scandal were players of the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team.
Wong Chin Huat is a Malaysian political scientist, a political activist and a columnist.
Tan Boon Wah v. Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, Ketua Suruhanjaya, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia and Others was a case decided in the High Court at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 2009. The High Court for the first time defined the meaning of the phrase "day to day" in law, applying it specifically to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act. Ruling that "day to day" refers to general office hours, the High Court held that it was illegal to interrogate suspects or prisoners during the night time, and that doing so violated Article 5 of the Constitution, which protects personal liberty.
Haji Mohamad bin Sabu, commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician who is the founding President of Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He is the incumbent Minister of Defence.
The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 is the law which regulates public protests in Malaysia. According to the Barisan Nasional government, the Act allows citizens to organise and participate in assemblies peaceably and without arms, subject to restrictions deemed necessary and in the interest of public order and security.
The 13th Penang election was held on 5 May 2013. Polling took place in 40 constituencies throughout the State of Penang, with each electing a State Assemblyman to the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission.