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Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
A more just Malaysia begins with ending the death penalty — Suresraj Therambarajoo
JULY 23 — Minister Azalina Othman Said's recent announcement on the formation of a task force to review Malaysia's death penalty policy signals a moment of real possibility — a chance for our nation to reflect, to listen, and to lead. For too long, the death penalty has been seen as a necessary instrument of justice — a symbol of deterrence, of moral reckoning. But we know now, through the wisdom of experience and the clarity of data, that capital punishment does not bring back the lives lost. It does not heal broken families. And it does not make us safer. What it does do is place a permanent, irrevocable judgment in the hands of a justice system that, however well-intentioned, is not immune to error. We've seen this around the world — and we are not immune. No system designed by humans is infallible. And when the stakes are life and death, even one mistake is one too many. The shift away from mandatory death sentencing in 2023 was a courageous first step. Now, with this task force, we have the opportunity to complete the journey. Abolishing the death penalty in its entirety would not be an act of weakness — it would be a show of strength. It would signal to the world that Malaysia believes in redemption. T hat we are committed to justice that is restorative, not merely retributive. There are alternatives that protect society while affirming human dignity: life imprisonment with the possibility of rehabilitation, sentencing reforms that prioritise proportionality and deterrence, and expanded support systems for victims and their families. These approaches allow for accountability without surrendering our moral compass. President Obama once said, 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' But it does not bend on its own. It bends because people choose to pull it in the right direction. Minister Azalina has opened the door to that choice. Let us walk through it with courage and compassion. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
Business Recorder
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Commissioners, DCs directed to ensure ex-mill price of sugar
KARACHI: Chief Secretary Sindh, Asif Hyder Shah has issued strict instructions to all Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to ensure that the ex-mill price of sugar remains capped at Rs 165 per kilogram. Chairing a meeting to review key issues related to sugar and wheat prices, distribution of Sanads to flood-affected families under the Sindh People's Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) program, and monsoon preparedness, he further directed that retail prices must not exceed an additional Rs. 8 above the ex-mill price, meaning the maximum retail price should be Rs. 173 per kilogram. He emphasized that any violation of this pricing structure must be dealt with strictly. If retailers are found charging beyond the fixed price, immediate action must be taken against them. Moreover, if any sugar mill is found selling sugar above the notified ex-mill rate, its data will be compiled and shared with the Prime Minister's Office for further action. The meeting also received a detailed briefing on the current ex-mill and retail prices of sugar across various districts of the province. The meeting was attended in person by the Secretary Agriculture, Secretary Food, Secretary Implementation & Coordination (I&C), and Secretary Land Utilization. All Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners across Sindh participated in the meeting via video link. Regarding wheat stock management, the Chief Secretary instructed all Commissioners to conduct a thorough survey of wheat godowns managed by the Sindh Food Department. The survey must focus on the quality and condition of stored wheat. The Commissioners have been directed to submit their inspection reports within three days. Distribution of Sanads to Flood Affectees The Chief Secretary also reviewed the status of Sanads (ownership documents) prepared for distribution among the flood-affected populations under the Sindh People's Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) initiative. He directed all Deputy Commissioners to submit updated records of prepared Sanads without delay. Additionally, the CEO of SPHF was instructed to reconcile Sanad data with the respective DCs to ensure transparency and accuracy in the distribution process. Monsoon Preparedness Highlighting the upcoming monsoon season, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah instructed all Deputy Commissioners to remain fully prepared for any eventualities. He assured that funds will be released to each district administration to support necessary preparations and emergency response mechanisms ahead of the monsoon rains. The Chief Secretary concluded the meeting by emphasizing coordinated efforts, timely action, and transparent governance at all administrative levels to ensure public welfare and effective service delivery across Sindh. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Denmark's Lose Says EU Ready to Defend Own Interests
Denmark's Minister for Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose says the EU remains constructive in the trade talks but will be firm that it is ready to defend its own interests. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Print
2 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Chandrababu Naidu is dreaming new dreams at 75. What other CMs are missing
That was in 2000. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) provided crucial support to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government then. Garg was the director of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the finance ministry. He writes that the hoarding of resources 'was clearly unfair and lopsided.' The World Bank assistance, specifically cheaper credits from the International Development Agency (IDA), was meant for low-income and poorer states. 'Using the efficiency of his administration and his political clout, Chandrababu Naidu was able to manoeuvre the system in Delhi, including the DEA, to divert a disproportionate part of the Government of India budget and external assistance to Andhra Pradesh,' writes Garg. Chandrababu Naidu bays for my blood'—This is a subhead in Subhash Chandra Garg's new book No, Minister . In the section, the former finance secretary of India writes how the Naidu-led Andhra Pradesh had 'cornered more than 40 per cent of the total portfolio of projects' approved by the World Bank in 1999–2000. He has cited another example. In 2001, the Andhra Pradesh Structural Adjustment Loan (SAL) for $250 million was being negotiated with the World Bank. The package also included a $100 million grant from the Department for International Development (DFID) to India. The DFID grant and the World Bank loan were to go to Andhra Pradesh on the standard 70:30 loan–grant ratio. The Naidu-led government, however, reached an understanding with the DFID—without the DEA's concurrence—to make it a 100 per cent grant. Garg wouldn't agree to it; he got them to agree to the DEA's terms. Two days after the negotiations were completed, the DEA Secretary asked Garg to again submit the Andhra file to him. The file came back with orders, approved by the finance minister, that an exception be made in the case and that the DFID grant be given to Andhra Pradesh as a 100 per cent grant. 'Evidently, on his return to India, Chandrababu Naidu had moved heaven and earth and forced the government at the highest level to agree to his completely unjustified demand,' writes Garg. 'The utter disregard for fair distribution of central government resources to all the states and the manic zeal and insistence to grab all resources for Andhra Pradesh were disturbing,' he writes. V Srinivas, private secretary to then finance minister Jaswant Singh, later told Garg that VS Sampath, the Andhra finance secretary who went on to become the chief election commissioner of India, sought his help to 'find ways to fix Subhash'. Nobody would be surprised to read ex-IAS officer Garg's account of how Chandrababu Naidu used his clout in the Vajpayee government to wrangle anything and everything from the Centre for his state. Garg's counterparts in other departments would have similar stories to tell. Let me cite just one more example here. Of the 4 million tonnes of rice the Centre sanctioned for the Food for Work programme between September 2001 and April 2002, Andhra alone got 2.15 million tonnes, 53 per cent of the total. And then it got one million tonnes more. Cut to 2025. Naidu hasn't changed. Only that it's now the Narendra Modi-led government that is going out of its way to please the Andhra CM. The Centre has already committed Rs 15,000 crore for Phase I of the Amaravati capital project. The state has secured Rs 12,157 crore from the Centre to support the first phase of the Polavaram irrigation project. In May, PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation for central projects worth Rs 5,000 crore, including a missile testing centre, Unity mall, Rail overbridge and six national highway projects in Andhra. And these are early days yet. Modi 3.0 still has four years left, and Naidu will continue to be vital for its survival. Also read: Chandrababu Naidu is important in both Centre and state. He is his own double-engine now Political opportunism or Andhra First? The former finance secretary of India has only revived an old debate. Chandrababu Naidu's political rivals and critics have a long list of his political 'betrayals'— marrying NT Rama Rao's daughter and then leaving the Congress to join the TDP; ousting NTR to become the CM; leaving the United Front to support the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998; Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi from the TDP allowing then Odisha CM Giridhar Gomang (who was yet to resign as MP) to vote against the confidence motion, which ended up bringing the Vajpayee government down in 1999; joining the NDA in 1999 Lok Sabha election to reap the electoral dividends of the Kargil War; demanding Narendra Modi resign as Gujarat CM post-2002 riots to joining hands with him ahead of the 2014 election; leaving the NDA for the Congress five years later only to re-embrace Modi before 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. It's certainly a long list. Naidu's critics would call them examples of political opportunism. His admirers would cite them as examples of his brilliant political acumen and his ability to play bigger national parties to his advantage. And, ex-IAS officer Subhash Garg as a neutral observer is only the latest to certify that Andhra Pradesh has made the biggest gains from Naidu's political somersaults. I call it his Andhra First politics. Take a look at this report by India Today in May 2002: 'Over the past five years, Naidu has managed to get the Central ministries to pour over Rs 40,000 crore into Andhra Pradesh. While the Central loans have doubled in five years from Rs 1,575.6 to Rs 3,189.9 crore, grants have jumped from Rs 1,528 crore to Rs 3,424.1 crore and external assistance has trebled from Rs 1,118 to Rs 3,640 crore. That the state has cornered a lion's share of resources is proved by just one statistic: while Central grants to all states increased by only 2.6 per cent between 2000-1 and 2001-2, Andhra Pradesh's share rose by 34 per cent.' The report quoted Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury as saying that Naidu's success in extracting resources was due to 'a weak Centre vulnerable to political blackmail'. When you talk to Congress MPs today, as the Modi-led government showers Naidu's Andhra with generosity, they echo similar sentiments. But ask the people in Andhra Pradesh. They would repeat the Onida TV slogan: 'Neighbour's envy, owner's pride.' Also read: Nobody should doubt Chandrababu Naidu's determination. If anything, they should fear it What other CMs need to learn from CBN Chandrababu Naidu, 75, is the third-oldest CM in India today—after Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan, 80 and Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, 76. CBN, as he's known in the state, could afford to rest on his laurels. Creating something like Cyberabad and Genome Valley in Hyderabad would have been a lifetime achievement for any CM. Instead, he is setting new challenges for himself. 'Same things (liked Cyberabad) can't be created but improved versions (can be brought),' Naidu told me in an interview last month. It's not just the creation of the new capital city of Amaravati. CBN has now set out to build India's first quantum computing valley. He has launched a space policy to leverage Sriharikota's strategic location in Andhra Pradesh. It aims to attract investment worth Rs 25,000 crore in space-linked industries. He is very optimistic about his Zero Poverty-P4 (Public-Private-People Partnership) programme. I could tell this by the child-like excitement in his voice when he was telling me about P4. At a time when most Opposition leaders seem to be convinced that poverty can be eliminated only when the rich are made poor, Naidu's P4 is an interesting idea. You don't have to be an Adani or Ambani to participate in it. If you have surplus money to spare, help a family, mentor them. You can do it at the community level, too. What differentiates CBN from other CMs is ideas—original, imaginative and innovative. Look at his counterparts in other states. Most of them are doing the same things, often aping each other. At 75, Naidu stands apart. 'Imagination has no age,' wrote senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary Ram Madhav, quoting Walt Disney, in a column in The Indian Express. He was building a case for PM Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to ignore the unwritten 75-year age ceiling for holding office. Age doesn't matter unless you are a cheese, wrote Madhav. It's true. As I mentioned, Naidu's much younger counterparts in other states already look jaded and spent in terms of originality or ideas or imagination in policymaking. Is Modi 3.0 any different? That's food for thought for another column. DK Singh is Political Editor at ThePrint. He tweets @dksingh73. Views are personal. (Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Hans India
2 days ago
- Health
- Hans India
CMRF cheques worth Rs 42 lakh distributed
Guntur: Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar said the government led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is committed to the welfare of the poor and weaker sections. Through the Chief Minister's Relief Fund timely assistance is being provided, bringing hope and relief to the lives of the poor, he said. He distributed financial assistance from the CMRF cheques worth Rs 42,14,861 to poor beneficiaries at a programme held at his camp office here on Sunday. He stated that the programme reflects the government's commitment to welfare and such assistance offers great relief in times of medical emergencies or financial distress. It reflects the compassionate vision Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu holds for the underprivileged. The CMRF distribution is a crucial part of the CM's efforts to ensure government services reach all sections of society. The government's efforts to safeguard public health are being widely appreciated, he said.
