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Custodial deaths remain an unsolved crisis in Malaysia. It is a silent national tragedy and has consistently presented a set of troubling and enduring puzzles. The death of detainees while in the custody of the police, prison, Immigration Department or even the MACC is frequently highlighted in the local and social media. Some of the more infamous custodial death cases that have shocked the nation, such as Kugan,^[1] Ahmad Sarbaini,^[2] Teoh Beng Hock,^[3] A Ganapathy^[4] and many others will be forever etched in memory. But despite repeated assurances by the authorities for improved Standard Operating Procedures ('SOP') and urgent reforms to the mechanisms for the safe detention of people, deaths in custody continue unabated. These acknowledged problems remain unresolved despite review after review, criticisms and seemingly consensual recommendations for improvements.

Ms Daphne Hong SC, Solicitor-General of Singapore
Ms Koh Swee Yen SC, President of the Singapore Branch of the International Law Association
Members of the International Law Association
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

I. Introduction^[1]

1. Good afternoon. It is my great pleasure to be here with all of you today. I was told that this is the inaugural flagship event for the Singapore Branch of the International Law Association, or the ILA. The Singapore Branch of the ILA has come a long way since I, together with a few other international law enthusiasts, came together to establish it in 2015. Back then, we started with only 15 founding members. I am delighted to learn that the Singapore Branch today has expanded to over a hundred members. This is a significant milestone, as having more than one hundred members means that the Singapore Branch is allowed to nominate two members instead of one to the Executive Council of the ILA as well as two members to the various Committees through which the ILA carries out its substantive work. I would like to thank and congratulate Swee Yen for her capable leadership in growing the membership of the Singapore Branch and, in particular, in expanding its membership beyond the usual suspects of public sector lawyers and academics to now include many members from local and international law firms across Singapore.

Several recent decisions of the Federal Court involving Islamic personal law issues have been publicly defied by various State entities. Such actions in publicly disrespecting the rulings of the Federal Court go against the concepts of the rule of law and separation of powers as embedded within the Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land. In light of this conflicting Federal-State dichotomy of laws, this article seeks to explore the implications of these Federal Court decisions, with a view to examining the role of the Malaysian Judiciary in the context of the Federal-State division of legislative powers as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

INTRODUCTION

On 9 July 2024, the Speaker of the Honorable House of Representatives, Tan Sri Johari bin Abdul ('Speaker'), decreed and declared that the six elected representatives ('MP'), commonly known as BERSATU 6, need not vacate their seats.

The background facts leading up to the Speaker's decision were when the BERSATU 6, namely Zahari Kechik (MP for Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (MP for Kuala Kangsar), Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (MP for Bukit Gantang), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (MP for Labuan), Mohd Aziz Abdul Naim (MP for Gua Musang) and Datuk Dr Zulkaperi Hanapi (MP for Tanjung Karang) had declared their support for the head of the Executive Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim (MP for Tambun).

In retaliation, BERSATU passed a motion to amend its Constitution to prevent its MPs from declaring their support to the unity government. The amendment was in respect to Clause 10.5 of BERSATU's Constitution which would be in line with the anti-hopping provision of Article 49A of the Federal Constitution ('FC'). This amendment came into effect on 1 April 2024.

Malaysia's public healthcare sector risks losing even more professionals if the Health Ministry refuses to take immediate measures to improve their livelihoods. Government healthcare workers, upset with the ministry's decision to reject the proposal to increase on-call allowances, told the New Straits Times that they were overworked and severely underpaid. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one medical officer (MO) said they were bogged down with work, going as far as describing the workload as "crazy". "I've never experienced an increase in allowances ever since I was a houseman in 2016.

Some 1.5 million jobs are expected to be created in Sarawak up to the year 2030, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

He said these jobs will be generated by the many programmes and plans of the state’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, of which one of its objectives is to increase the people’s income.

“Out of the total (1.5 million jobs), about 200,000 would be in the technical or skill sector. I have been told that Petros, as the third largest oil and gas company in the country, will need 20,000 technicians or skilled workers.

The Canadian government has presented a sustainable jobs bill intended to prepare workers for a transition to a lower-carbon economy following years of consultation and opposition from Alberta, Canada’s main fossil-fuel producing province.

Canada, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and sixth-largest natural gas producer, has aimed for a 40 percent to 45 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

As many as 4.5 million Malaysians are likely to lose their jobs by 2030, if they do not improve their skills or attend reskilling and upskilling programmes with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar said this is based on the 2020 World Economic Forum warning that AI could cause a recession in the job market as it is already being used to automate tasks in various industries including manufacturing, healthcare and customer service.