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Top 5 at 5: Seven Decades Later, Still No Apology for Batang Kali

Dato' Quek Ngee Meng, victims' family lawyer and coordinator, Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre | Ankit Sanghvi, victims' family lawyer

13-Mar-25 17:00

Top 5 at 5: Seven Decades Later, Still No Apology for Batang Kali

It has been 76 years since the Batang Kali Massacre which saw British soldiers kill 24 Malayan rubber tappers after accusing them of supporting communist insurgents. We speak to Angkit Sanghvi and Dato' Quek Ngee Meng to discuss the apology that was demanded by the victims' families and what it would take to achieve broader post-colonial reparations.

Other stories we covered:

Updates on Orang Asli land rights lawsuit: The Temiar Orang Asli community in Kampung Kelaik have now urged the Kelantan High Court to visit their village in order to witness the damage left behind by corporations as well as the Kelantan state government. This is all part of an ongoing customary land rights lawsuit which could see the community regain ownership of their ancestral land. We speak to lawyer Rajesh Nadarajan to learn more.
• Fake birth cert syndicate busted: Authorities have arrested 26 individuals tied to a number of fake birth certificate schemes. We reach out to Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna, Director of Our Journey, a civil society organisation focussed on advocacy for migrant rights to find out the lasting impact these falsified documents will have on families.
• Man gets terminated for strenuous activity while under medical leave: The court ruled in favour of a company who terminated a man's employment after he was caught playing sepak takraw and climbing a tree while he had taken four months of medical leave. Employment lawyer Lim Zi Han weighs in.
• Forest in the Amazon cleared to build highway for climate summit: We discuss the irony of the Amazon forest being felled to make way for environmental talks, as well as the various costs of human activity.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Sudais Ferhard, Sneha Harikannan, Lim Sue Ann, Alia Zefri

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan


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Categories:  economypoliticsgovernmentinternationalenvironmentcorruptionLaw/ActivismcontroversiescultureHistory/HeritagemanagingCorporates

Tags:  british soldiersmalayan rubber tapperscommunist insurgentsfake birth certificatemedical leavebatang kali massacrekelantanorang aslitemiarKampung Kelaiklawsuitancestral landsyndicatemigrant rightssepak takrawemployment lawamazon forestclimate summit





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