The Home Ministry has banned 6 books, citing harms to public morality, with 3 of them having LGBTQ+ themes. Ann Lee, Chairperson of Persatuan Penulis Berbilang Bahasa (PEN Malaysia), who also has a doctorate in Southeast Asian Studies joins us to talk about the ban.

Other stories we covered:

· Drug screening for ‘suspicious’ concertgoers: In response to the 4 ecstasy-related deaths from the New Year’s Eve Pinkfish concert, the Selangor government has temporarily suspended concert permit approvals and proposed drug screenings for ‘suspicious’ concertgoers. We spoke to Kee Shu Min, advocate at AmerBON for her thoughts on how this fits into Malaysia’s drug acts. We also reached out to Iqbal Ameer, group CEO of Livescape Group for the perspective of a concert organiser.

· Baby found deceased in unlicensed nursery: The police have launched an investigation at the allegedly negligent nursery. There have been renewed calls for childcare facilities to have stricter enforcement and oversight. Child rights activist, Dato’ Dr Hartini Zainuddin, the founder of Yayasan Chow Kit weighs in.

· PM wants GLCs to empower Bumiputera economy: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issued this challenge to GLCs and GLICs at the first Bumiputera Economic Council’s meeting of the year. We reached out Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow at the Malaysian Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute for his insights.

· Outgoing Chief Justice responds to critics: This garnered support from many individuals as Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat stays determined that her actions were framed to be un-Islamic by some parties. We reached out to Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai, a former judge at the Court of Appeal for his thoughts on Tengku Maimun’s leadership of the judiciary.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Christine Yong, Juliet Jacobs, Sudais Ferhard, Lim Sue Ann

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan

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Categories:  politics,  government,  Literature/Philosophy

Tags:  Pinkfish concert,  home ministry,  banned books,  drugs,  concerts,  childcare centres,  childcare centre abuse,  glcs,  judicial system,  tengku maimun tuan mat,