Aliran Monthly, Vol 25 (2005): Issue 11

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This month's cover story focuses on the controversy surrounding Moorthy's conversion to Islam. Aliran is particularly struck by the lack of compassion shown by the religious authorities to Moorthy's wife, who had stood by his side and cared for him all these years since his accident. The lead story also locates the Moorthy case in the context of other controversies which have come to the fore since the Constitutional amendment of Article 121(1) in 1988.

Alas, it apears that non-Muslims are nowadays trapped within two jurisdictions but only have access to the civil court, not the sharia court. Accompanying this story are statements on the controversy by the Malaysian Hindu Sangam and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS).

Two other articles deal with Penang. Koon Yew Yin is flabbergasted that the construction of the RM2 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project has been awarded to an obscure company without an open tender. Meanwhile the Citizens for Public Transport call for a drastic improvement to the island's public transport system, especially its bus service.

We carry three articles on regional affairs. Sarajun Hoda looks at the story in which a brutally raped women turns the tables on Pakistan's conflicting legal systems. Kalinga Seneviratne asks why the Asian Tsunami but not the destruction of Fallujah is big news on the occasion of both anniversaries. We also carry a report by the Asian Human Rights Council on the findings of the inquiry into the murder of Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist Munir Said Thalib who was poisoned on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam. The inquiry has not gone far enough, it opines.

We are proud to announce that Aliran was awarded this year's Integrity Award by Transparency International Malaysia. Read its citation and the speech delivered by P Ramakrishnan on that occasion.

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