Malaysia Today is a Malaysian news blog founded in August 2004.
Malaysia Today was launched about two weeks before the release of Anwar Ibrahim from prison on 2 September 2004; Anwar was once Deputy Prime Minister, but fell from grace after his actions during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and was sacked by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Raja Petra, who was the webmaster of the Free Anwar Campaign website, decided to form Malaysia Today shortly before Anwar's release as part of a "Free Malaysia" campaign. Raja Petra took credit for predicting that Anwar would be released several weeks before it actually occurred. [1]
On 27 August 2008 the Malaysia Today website was blocked by the Malaysian government, [2] allegedly in response to unspecified reader comments to a 16 January 2008 article. [3] The censorship was removed on 12 September 2008, but Raja Petra Kamaruddin was arrested the same day under the ISA (Internal Security Act). On 7 November 2008, he was freed from detention by Malaysian authorities after Shah Alam city High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad granted his habeas corpus petition and ruled that his 12 September detention was illegal.
After he was freed Raja Petra went into exile. The editorial stance of the Malaysia Today blog also notably changed from an anti-Barisan Nasional stance to one that actively defended the ruling regime and attacked the opposition. This led to a sharp decline in credibility and readership with many questioning the reasons behind his U-turn.[ citation needed ]
Politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal representative democratic constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. Legislative power is vested in the federal parliament and the 13 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a certain level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts.
The People's Justice Party ; often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR, is a reformist political party in Malaysia formed on 3 August 2003 through a merger of the party's predecessor, the National Justice Party, with the socialist Malaysian People's Party. The party's predecessor was founded by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail during the height of the Reformasi movement on 4 April 1999 after the arrest of her husband, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The party is one of main partners of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
The Internal Security Act 1960 was a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after the Federation of Malaya 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.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia better known by its acronym SUHAKAM is the national human rights institution (NHRI) of Malaysia. It was established by the Malaysian Parliament under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, Act 597, and began its work in April 2000. Its mandate is to promote human rights education, advise on legislation and policy, and conduct investigations.
Raja Petra bin Raja Kamarudin is a Malaysian blogger known for running the Malaysia Today website and publishing a series of controversial commentaries and articles on Malaysian politics in the website. He is sometimes referred to by the initials RPK. He is currently residing in Manchester, England.
This article lists important figures and events in Malayan public affairs during the year 1962, together with births and deaths of significant Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1993, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians. The deadliest structural failure in Malaysian history occurred when an apartment block in Selangor collapsed, killing 48 people on 11 December.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1998, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians. Malaysia hosted the XVI Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur between 11 and 21 September.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1999, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2004, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1996, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.
Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa, a Mongolian national, was a murder victim who was either murdered by PETN and RDX explosives or was somehow killed first and her remains destroyed with explosives on 18 October 2006 in a deserted area in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Her murder case is significant in contemporary Malaysian politics due to the alleged involvement of persons close to the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2008, together with the deaths of notable Malaysians.
Nurul Izzah binti Anwar is a Malaysian public servant with an extensive history of dedicated service as a legislator, activist, advocate and champion of social change. She also served as Co-chairperson of the Secretariat of the Special Advisory Body to the Minister of Finance (ACFIN) serving Tan Sri Hassan Marican since February 2023. She served as Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister on Economics and Finance briefly before Encik Nurhisham bin Hussein, former EPF Chief Economist, assumed the position in the PMO. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Permatang Pauh from May 2018 to November 2022 and for Lembah Pantai from March 2008 to May 2018. She is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalitions. She has also served as the Vice President of PKR from November 2010 to her resignation in December 2018 and again since July 2022. She served on the Public Accounts Committee from 2018 to 2022 and was the KEADILAN Spokesperson for the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development. She was also an active member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia for the Reform of All Places of Detention (APPGM). She also served as Chairperson of the Consideration of Bills Select Committee from December 2018 to July 2019. In July 2021, Nurul Izzah, in a collaboration with Prof. Fatimah Kari, published a new report on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). This study calculated the varying dimensions of poverty experienced by 332 B40 households in Permatang Pauh. This index would go beyond economic factors and consider social, political, and environmental aspects to provide a comprehensive assessment. By including dimensions like women's empowerment and environmental sustainability, the index aims to promote a well-rounded approach to rebuilding after conflict, prioritizing the well-being of all individuals, especially women. Six months later, Mustapa Mohamed, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Economic Affairs, revealed the government’s plan to revamp the national MPI methodology in response to the study. Mustapha Mohamed officially launched the report on October 2021.
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th and current Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2022. He served as the 12th and 16th Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2015 and again from 2020 to 2022. He has been the chairman of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition since 2020, the second President of the People's Justice Party (PKR) since 2018 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tambun since November 2022. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister and in many other Cabinet positions in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from 1982 to his removal in 1998.
Kamarudin bin Jaffar is a Malaysian politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former Minister Saifuddin Abdullah from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022 and the first term in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Minister Hishammudin Hussein from March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bandar Tun Razak from May 2018 to November 2022, Deputy Minister of Transport in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020 and MP for Tumpat from November 1999 to May 2018. He is a member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the PN coalition and was a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH coalition, Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a former component party of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalitions and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
The Penang Undersea Tunnel is a tunnel under planning between Butterworth on the mainland and George Town on the island of Penang in northern Malaysia. The 7.2 km tunnel will connect Butterworth, Seberang Perai in the east to George Town, Penang Island in the west. When completed in 2025, it will become the first undersea tunnel in Malaysia and the second in Southeast Asia after the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) in Singapore. The undersea tunnel is part of the Penang Roads and Tunnels project.
The Malaysian United Indigenous Party, abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia. It is a major component party within the Perikatan Nasional coalition. BERSATU was approved and registered on 14 January 2017 by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and the use of the BERSATU logo was authorized by the Malaysian Election Commission (SPR). The party held the Prime Ministerial position as well as the majority of positions in the cabinet from May 2020 to August 2021. The party's founding members came from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and Barisan Nasional rebel group Gabungan Ketua Cawangan Malaysia in 2016.
Events in the year 2020 in Malaysia.
The 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis was triggered after several Members of Parliament (MPs) of the 14th Malaysian Parliament changed party support, leading to the loss of a parliamentary majority, the collapse of two successive coalition governments, and the resignation of two Prime Ministers. The political crisis culminated in a 2022 snap general election and eventual formation of a coalition government.