Activist Numan Afifi expressed concerns about the escalation and trend towards more prosecution against the LGBTQI+ community in Malaysia, including separate proposals in April to increase sentencing terms against LGBTQI+ offenses under sharia. In July police opened investigations into a protest by contract doctors demanding better job security. Malaysia's total population was 32.98 million in January 2022.. Data show that Malaysia's population increased by 408 thousand (+1.3 percent) between 2021 and 2022.. 48.6 percent of Malaysia's population is female, while 51.4 percent of the population is male.. At the start of 2022, 78.2 percent of Malaysia's population lived in urban centres, while 21. . 5 Social Issues In Malaysia. As one of the biggest economies in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is an attractive destination for workers from neighboring countries seeking better wages and employment. Police detained Reza after he compiled two Spotify playlists of songs that referenced either the queen, Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, or her Instagram question to followers if they were jealous of her and her servants for receiving early COVID-19 vaccinations. There are few most notable negative effects of alcohol abuse on teens, such as: Young peopleengage in drug use for different reasons than do adults, and as such, they need different treatment methods to help them break the cycle of addiction. Department of Labor officials reported they sought to conduct labor inspections as frequently as possible. Malaysia's economy has been adversely affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent mobility restrictions implemented to flatten the curve of the pandemic. The NGO Sisters in Islam declared that Kelantan first minister Ahmad Yakobs characterization of the code as restorative and retributive posed a grave concern and asked what this meant for actions deemed crimes under the code in the context of the looming tabling of legislation in federal parliament allowing sharia courts to mete out stiffer penalties. The Newcastle research found that 85 percent of workers reported paying recruitment fees and 43 percent reported taking out loans averaging more than $2,000 to cover the costs, which took nearly a year on average to repay. In August, Malaysia refused to renew the visas of two Al Jazeera journalists based in the country. Our findings reveal that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetrator is 13.7% and 3.8%, respectively. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of the U.S. Malaysia permits the death penalty for various crimes and makes the sentence mandatory for 11 offenses. 2. The government, however, also acted against some human rights defenders and NGOs. A regulation reserves 1 percent of public-sector jobs for persons with disabilities. . Womens rights groups contended a 2009 fatwa by the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs declaring the practice obligatory made FGM/C more prevalent. Nearly a third reported that their recruitment agency threatened them not to speak about being charged the fees. The Attorney Generals Chambers requested a fine of 200,000 ringgit ($47,500), but Yusuf fined Malaysiakini more than double that amount. The law requires a permit to own a printing press, and printers often were reluctant to print publications critical of the government due to fear of reprisal. Overview. Journalist Tashny Sukumaran was questioned over her report on a round-up of migrant workers, and in June, police opened an investigation of Boo Su-Lyn, editor of the health news portal CodeBlue, under the Official Official Secrets Act and the penal code for a series of articles about the findings of an independent investigation into an October 2016 hospital fire that killed six patients. The Royal Malaysian Police maintain internal security and report to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Although the codes five offenses infringing the rights of LGBTQI+ persons sodomy, homosexual activities involving women, changing gender, crossdressing as a female, and crossdressing as a male were not among the newly added crimes, observers expressed concern about the implications for the LGBTQI+ community. The court scheduled a hearing for October 14, and the case continued at years end. Such policies, together with antidefamation laws and the emergency ordinance prohibiting the spread of fake news enacted in March under the January-August COVID-19 pandemic-related state of emergency, inhibited independent or investigative journalism and resulted in self-censorship in the print and broadcast media. Share this via Printer, As More Climate Chaos Looms, Slashing Fossil Fuels Is Key. The political environment was hostile towards women. Also, there will be strong sentiments for or against reservations. Observers generally considered SUHAKAM a credible human rights monitor. The government arrested and prosecuted some officials engaged in corruption, malfeasance, and human rights abuses, although civil society groups alleged continued impunity. The Court of Appeal ruled that if the Ahmadiyya were proven to have converted from Islam, then the religious authorities would have authority over them, and sent the case back to the High Court for a determination of the original faith of the 39 plaintiffs. Health care costs is the only issue of the 15 asked on . Commercial sexual exploitation of children existed, and a local NGO estimated in 2015, the last year with reported data, that 5,000 children were involved in sex work in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas. Share this via WhatsApp Conditions in prisons and detention centers could be harsh and life threatening. Police raided the publishing company and questioned journalist Tashny Sukumaran and seven Malaysiakini journalists who had authored chapters. There were restrictions on Israeli citizens entering the country. A childs testimony is acceptable only if there is corroborating evidence, which posed special problems for molestation cases in which the child victim was the only witness. The trial of former deputy prime minister Zahid Hamidi for his role in a fraudulent scheme involving hundreds of thousands of Nepali workers seeking jobs in the country continued as of September. The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court, and the government generally observed these requirements. It has recorded more than 800,000 cases in total, but over 110,000 in the past fortnight alone. Defendants have the right to communicate with an attorney of their choice or to have counsel appointed at public expense if they face charges that carry the death penalty. Police sometimes did not allow detainees prompt access to family members or other visitors. Nevertheless, many businesses could operate for years without an inspection. Human rights defenders, journalists, opposition leaders and others were investigated, arrested and prosecuted for criticizing the government. Employers, employment agents, and labor recruiters subjected some migrants to forced labor or debt bondage. The law requires equal pay for male and female workers for work of equal value. Informal Sector: As of 2019 more than one million workers were considered to be in the nonagricultural informal sector. The proposed commission would not even be able to visit lock-ups without giving advance notice, and is precluded from even investigating any act covered by the standing orders issued by the police inspector general. I panicked because I was made to believe that I had committed something wrong. Police fined each of the activists, including a local city councilor, and detained them for several hours. Sati was not deemed a social issue until Raja Ram Mohan Roy criticized the practice and a considerable number of people started supporting him (Ahuja 2014). Social problems are matters or situations that reduce quality of life in a society. Impunity was a significant problem in the security forces due in part to corruption and political influence over the police force. Advocates remained concerned that Rohingya refugee families were resorting to child marriage for their girls to cope with economic hardship. The Malaysian government has implemented deterrent and supportive strategies to reduce the issue by penalising polluters and providing tax . A 2018 survey by a local transgender rights group reported more than two-thirds of transgender women experienced some form of physical or emotional abuse. The director general of the Ministry of Labor may grant exceptions if there are special circumstances making the extra hours necessary. UPDATED: Check out what Singaporeans cared about in 2021. The law provides for limited freedom of association and for certain categories of workers to form and join trade unions, subject to a variety of legal and practical restrictions. At time of writing, the government had not made public the report or taken steps to end the mandatory penalty. Many industries were subject to race-based requirements that mandated bumiputra ownership levels. In June the government expanded social security coverage to local and migrant domestic workers. In October the minister of home affairs reported that 374 individuals were detained under security legislation from January 1 through September 30. National-level unions are prohibited; the government allows three regional territorial federations of unions for peninsular Malaysia, and for the states of Sabah and Sarawak to operate. Even if the father is a citizen, the marriage may be considered invalid and the children illegitimate if the mother lacks proof of citizenship; such children were also considered stateless. There is a special court for sexual crimes against children, established to speed up trials that often took years to conclude. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): The law does not prohibit FGM/C, and it was a common practice among Muslim and some indigenous communities. Eight of 14 Federal Court judges were women, including Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The time needed for a union to be recognized remained long and unpredictable. Employers may immediately deport pregnant or ill workers. Under national security laws, police may enter and search the homes of persons suspected of threatening national security without a warrant. 1 Liew Chin Tong, Middle Malaysia: Centre Ground Is Battle Ground (Kuala Lumpur: Genta Media . Supporters congregated at the police station, and civil rights organizations demanded his release; they were then also called in for questioning. Some of the most trending and social problems among youngsters in Malaysia are smoking, alcohol and drug used, baby dumping, and also there are a few preventive measures that can be taken to stop this epidemic such as role of parents and government. This included any enterprise not registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia or other professional body and included more than one million self-employed or micro businesses, such as in-home workers, street vendors, and small workshops. As of the same date, there were 1,490 detainees younger than 21 at immigration depots and temporary immigration depots nationwide. In May police reported an increase in cases involving child pornography during the movement control order period from March 2020 to April 2021, including child grooming without physical contact using words or showing obscene sexual acts to children. It requires employers to identify risks and take precautions, including providing safety training to workers, and compels companies with more than 40 workers to establish joint management-employee safety committees. According to police figures, a total of 872 teenagers aged 15 to 18 committed suicide between January 2019 and May 2021. In September, however, Hamzah informed parliament the government would require healthcare workers to notify security forces if undocumented migrants appeared at health facilities and vaccine centers. This verdict could potentially nullify some strict anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) legislation at the state level that uses the same rationale as the federal laws. This occurred in August for the second time since 2018, when Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned after losing majority support from members of the lower house of parliament, resulting in a transfer of power to a new prime minister, Ismail Sabri. The next caste census will take place in 2021, the problems associated with it is that it will encourage caste-based politics rather than concentrating on developmental activities. Kossan completed repaying more than 5,500 workers a total 54 million ringgit ($13 million) with a final transfer of 24 million ringgit ($5.8 million) at the end of June. In May Home Affairs Minister Hamzah Zainudin declared the government would round up and vaccinate undocumented migrants to help them and protect Malaysians. If the migrants did not come for vaccinations, the government would go after them, he told media, adding that authorities would then work with employers and embassies to get individuals documented only for the purpose of vaccination. Separate education facilities also existed but were insufficient to meet the needs of all students with disabilities. Member of parliament Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated on July 28, the doctors were questioned from midnight till 4 a.m., this is a form of intimidation and added that the physicians lawyer had been prevented from representing his clients. It is never a dull day in Malaysian politics, but there seems to be a brief pause - for the time being. On May 13, police detained two boys, ages 12 and 13, at a local police station in Sentul, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, on suspicion of throwing firecrackers at policemen sent to disperse a crowd of approximately 200 setting off fireworks. Malaysias efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, while generally successful, had a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. Published by Statista Research Department , Oct 5, 2022. Freedom of the press has also come under attack. Malaysia has since experienced other economic fallouts, such as the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, but its effects were comparatively small, with only a drop of 1.5 per cent in GDP. The amount and availability of bail is at the judges discretion. Private-sector strikes were severely restricted. UNHCR declared that the deportees included at least six individuals registered with the agency. In January, the High Court granted Sisters in Islam, a civil society group working to promote the rights of Muslim women, a stay on the enforcement of a fatwa issued against it in 2014. Media outlets reported numerous cases of alleged official corruption during the year. Moreover, racism and special privileges leave some . Students with disabilities attended mainstream schools, but accessibility remained a serious problem. Freedom of expression came under attack immediately after the change in government, when authorities opened a sedition investigation into activist Fadiah Nadwa Fikri for organizing a protest against the method by which the new government came to power. The government curbed freedom of expression, particularly freedom of the press. The law protects foreign domestic workers only regarding wages and contract termination. Parts of the country were hit with devastating floods that lasted for days at the end of 2021 following non-stop heavy rains in the Klang Valley and the state of Selangor, Pahang, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu. Violence and Harassment: Journalists were subjected to harassment and intimidation. His wife disputed the reports and filed a wrongful death claim against police, stating that his body appeared swollen and beaten. Estimates of the street-child population ranged from a few thousand to 15,000, many of whom were born in the country to illegal immigrant parents. During this time authorities allegedly repeatedly questioned her; deprived her of contact with her lawyer; and detained her in unsafe conditions, including lack of water, food, and access to medicine, at times with possibly COVID-19-positive detainees.