Editor's Note - Issue 2004:5

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The scandal at Abu Ghraib prison shocked and stunned the world. Looking beyond the scandal, Anil Netto discusses the systemic pattern of US torture techniques over the last 50 years and detects some similarities with the way ISA detainees are treated in Malaysia. Accompanying his piece are testimonies by former ISA detainees confirming that they were indeed tortured.

Continuing our analysis of Election 2004, Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj discusses the manner in which the ruling coalition achieved its victory and probes suspicious voter turnouts and voting trends. Dr Wong Kok Keong, meanwhile, analyses the television coverage during the election campaign and points an accusing finger at a couple of prominent TV stations.

Dr Tan Sooi Beng provides a compelling argument as to why we should preserve our unique heritage of loveable rojak songs, which are part of the colourful tapestry of Malaysian culture and the arts.

Continuing his expose of the 1988 judicial crisis, former supreme court Datuk George Seah recounts the conflicting instructions he received at the time.

In a book review of �War of Words�, Dr Shakila Manan discusses the post Sept 11 world and how the language has been �hijacked� to justify the �war on terror�.

Concluding her analysis of women workers in Malaysia, Dr Cecilia Ng highlights the miserable plight of migrant workers and sex workers. In the case of migrant workers, they are a most vulnerable group who lack protection. It is this lack of protection that has led to a constant stream of cases of torture, abuse and exploitation, according to the Penang Office for Human Development.

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