Latest news with #RoyalCommissionofInquiry
The Star
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Only the guilty need immunity, says Dr M on Batu Putih issue
PETALIING JAYA: Tun Mahathir Mohamad says he does not need legal immunity over the Batu Puteh issue. "Immunity is for people who are afraid to go to court because they know they are guilty. I know I am innocent and I want to prove it," the former prime minister said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (July 23). He said Parliament had "found him guilty" over his role in the Batu Puteh issue. "In the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (July 22), I was found guilty in the case of not making an appeal over Batu Putih," he said. "Even though I was found guilty, no action will be taken because of my age. "The one who found me guilty is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. "He also said no action should be taken against me because I am 100 years old," he said. Anwar in Parliament on Tuesday had said although an inquiry had found Dr Mahathir likely responsible for the loss of Batu Puteh to Singapore, no legal action was initiated due to his age. In February 2024, the government announced that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had consented to the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government's 2018 decision to withdraw Malaysia's application to review the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) decision on the sovereignty of Batu Puteh. At the time, Dr Mahathir led the government. In 2008, the ICJ ruled that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, while Batuan Tengah was awarded to Malaysia. It also ruled that the ownership of Tubir Selatan should be determined based on the delimitation of territorial waters. The RCI, which concluded in December 2024, found weaknesses in the handling of sovereignty issues involving Batu Puteh, Batuan Tengah and Tubir Selatan.
1News
2 days ago
- Health
- 1News
Pacific leaders insist on respect in memorial for unmarked graves
Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be meaningfully involved in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices. More than 50 people gathered at Porirua Cemetery last month after the council's plans became public, many of whom were descendants of those buried without headstones. Daniel Chrisp, the Cemeteries manager, said it was encouraging to see families engaging with the project. Chrisp's team has placed 99 pegs to mark the graves of families who had come forward so far. One attendee told him that it was deeply moving to photograph the site where two relatives were buried. "It's fantastic that we've got to this point, having the descendants of those in unmarked graves encouraged to be involved," he said. ADVERTISEMENT "These plots represent mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and other relatives, so it's important to a lot of people." The Porirua Lunatic Asylum, which later became Porirua Hospital, operated from 1887 until the 1990s. At its peak in the 1960s, it was one of Aotearoa New Zealand's largest hospitals, housing more than 2000 patients and staff. As part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the Government has established a national fund for headstones for unmarked graves. Up to $50,000 allocated to each council to finally recognise those buried without meaningful memorials. (Source: 1News) Porirua City Council applied for $200,000 to install a memorial that would list every known name. Criticism over lack of Pacific consultation Some Pacific community leaders said they were never consulted, despite Pacific people being among the deceased. ADVERTISEMENT Teurukura Tia Kekena, chairperson of the Porirua Cook Islands Association, said this was the first she had heard of the project and was concerned Pacific communities had not been included in conversations so far. "If there was any unmarked grave and the Porirua City Council is aware of the names, I would have thought they would have contacted the ethnic groups these people belonged to," she said. "From a Cook Islands point of view, we need to acknowledge these people. They need to be fully acknowledged." Kekena learned about the project only after being contacted by a reporter, despite the council's ongoing efforts to identify names and place markers for families who came forward. The council's application for funding was part of its response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry. Kekena said it was important how the council managed the memorial, adding that it mattered deeply for Cook Islands families and the wider Pacific community, especially those with relatives buried at the site. She believed a proper memorial should reflect Pacific values, particularly the importance of faith, family, and cultural protocol. Some pegs that mark the resting places of former patients buried in unmarked graves (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) ADVERTISEMENT "It's huge. It's connecting us to these people," she says. "Just thinking about it is getting me emotional. "Like I said, the Pākehā way of acknowledging is totally different from our way. When we acknowledge, when we go for an unveiling, it's about family. It's about family. It's about family honouring the person that had passed. "And we do it in a way that we have a service at the graveside with the orometua [minister] present. Yeah, unveil the stone by the family, by the immediate family, if there were any here at that time." She also underscored the connection between remembering the deceased and healing intergenerational trauma, particularly given the site's history with mental health. "It helps a lot. It's a way of healing the trauma. I don't know how these people came to be buried in an unmarked grave, but to me, it's like they were just put there and forgotten about. I wouldn't like to have my family buried in a place and be forgotten." Kekena urged the council to work closely with the Cook Islands community moving forward and said she would bring the matter back to her association to raise awareness and check possible connections between local families and the names identified. Yvonne Underhill‑Sem, a Cook Islands community leader and Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, said the memorial had emotional significance, noting her personal connection to Whenua Tapu as a Porirua native. ADVERTISEMENT "In terms of our Pacific understandings of ancestry, everybody who passes away is still part of our whānau. The fact that we don't know who they are is unsettling," she says. "It would be a real relief to the families involved and to the generations that follow to have those graves named." Porirua councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo say the memorial must reflect Pacific values (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) Council response A Porirua City Council spokesperson said the council had been actively sharing the list of names with the public and encouraged all communities, including Pacific groups, genealogists, and local iwi, to help spread the word. So far, 99 families have come forward. "We would encourage any networks such as Pacific, genealogists and local iwi to share the list around for members of the public to get in touch," the spokesperson says. The list of names was available on the council's website and includes both a downloadable file and a searchable online tool here. ADVERTISEMENT Porirua councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo, two of the three Pacific members on the council, said Pacific families must be central to the memorial process. Ford said burial sites carry deep cultural weight for Pacific communities. "We know that burial sites are more than just places of rest, they are sacred spaces that hold our stories, our ancestry and dignity – they are our connection to those who came before us." She said public notices and websites were not enough. "If we are serious about finding the families of those buried in unmarked graves here in Porirua, we have to go beyond public notices and websites." Ford said government funding would be limited, and the council must work with trusted Pacific networks to reach families. "It means partnering with groups who carry trust in our community... Pacific churches, elders, and organisations, communicating in our languages through Pacific radio, social media, community events, churches, and health providers." Galo agreed and said the memorial must reflect Pacific values in both design and feeling. "It should feel warm, colourful, spiritual, and welcoming. Include Pacific designs, carvings, and symbols... there should be room for prayer, music, and quiet reflection," he says. ADVERTISEMENT "Being seen and heard brings healing, honour, and helps restore our connection to our ancestors. It reminds our families that we belong, that our history matters, and that our voice is valued in this space." Galo said the work must also continue beyond the unveiling. "Community involvement shouldn't stop after the memorial is built, we should have a role in how it's maintained and used in the future. "These were real people, with families, love, and lives that mattered. Some were buried without names, without ceremony, and that left a deep pain. Honouring them now is a step toward healing, and a way of saying, you were never forgotten." Members of the public who recognised a family name on the list were encouraged to get in touch by emailing: cemeteries@ Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Danyl McLauchlan: The politics of the second Covid inquiry
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Dame Jacinda Ardern: Divisive hero of the pandemic. Photo / Getty Images Phase 2 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 reponse is now under way. Phase 1 was supposed to be the only phase but all of the opposition parties were unhappy with the narrow scope and terms of reference Labour set for the investigation. Those parties are now in government, and Labour is unhappy with the design of the terms of reference. The inquiry's subtitle is 'Lessons learned', and so far we've learned that even the once-elevated nature of our royal commissions can be broken by partisan hackery. These inquiries are supposed to be the gold standard of political oversight. They are convened when something is so terrible or so important – a terrorist mass murder; the abuse of children in state care – it must transcend politics. Most of the mechanisms by which MPs, public officials and corporations routinely conceal their perfidy and incompetence are superseded. Even the police and intelligence agencies can be subject to public oversight. Justice must be seen to be done. This was a problem for Labour. There had to be a review of the nation's greatest crisis since the war. But it's all very well to demand transparency and oversight into state agencies, private companies and even previous governments. Much less appealing to subject themselves to such uncomfortable scrutiny. The heroes of the pandemic response – Chris Hipkins, Sir Ashley Bloomfield, Dame Jacinda herself – could be called before the public hearings and cross-examined as if they were common senior officials. This would never do. After the pandemic Many things went well during the early stages of the Covid response. It really was world beating. But as the crisis wore on some things went … less well. Labour knew that the loathsome jackals in the media would focus on the latter over the former. They would pick over the economic measures – also a success, until they weren't. Our post-Covid recession was one of the worst in the OECD, and naysayers and political partisans would use this unhappy coincidence to publicly besmirch the reputations of then-Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr and then-finance minister Grant Robertson – Ardern's best friend. Unthinkable. And then there were the anti-vaxxers: the true villains of the Covid era. Traitors. Fifth columnists. Literal fascists. Throughout the pandemic Ardern's government diligently insisted it was following the science, but with the benefit of hindsight, some of the claims made about the efficacy of vaccines in preventing transmission of the virus were less evidence-based than the public was led to believe. Unfortunately, these statements were used to justify the vaccine mandates, the most divisive policy of the response. The anti-vaxxers would seize on this, use any public hearings to spread their deranged conspiracy theories. For all of these reasons, Labour's Royal Commission was an unusually private, circumscribed affair. It would be 'future focused' and non-adversarial. It would mostly take place behind closed doors. It would not look to find fault or assign blame. It would have a surprisingly narrow scope: there would be no international comparisons, no examination of the economic impacts or the Reserve Bank's monetary policy. It would not examine clinical or judicial decisions. When the commission's report was published in late 2024 it was very credible, far from a whitewash. But it was limited by design. By then the government had changed, and New Zealand First negotiated a 'a full-scale, wide-ranging, independent inquiry conducted publicly with local and international experts into how the Covid pandemic was handled in New Zealand'. This is phase 2. Labour is as disdainful of this inquiry as the right-wing parties were of its own. Hipkins points out that it also has selective terms of reference, excluding the early stages of the pandemic – when New Zealand First was in government alongside Labour. He alleges it's been designed as a platform for the Covid conspiracy theorists. Belief vs disbelief It is natural for Labour to despise the anti-vax movement. It is hard to feel sympathy for a group that accuses you of genocide, sentences you to death in a show trial then riots outside Parliament while you're trying to contain a pandemic. But one of the stark lessons of the Covid era is that there's a non-trivial percentage of the population that does not trust the government, public health system or the media. They were adept at co-ordinating their resistance using digital technologies. They will be there during the next crisis and Labour never developed a strategy to deal with them beyond sticking their hands over their ears and screaming 'Nazis'. This allegation was, in itself, a category of misinformation. The parliamentary occupiers were primarily hippies, rural Māori and evangelical Christians. Why was the pandemic response so divisive? What tore the team of five million apart? Philosopher Michel Foucault wrote about a form of tyranny he called the biopolitical state. Alongside the democratic government, he pointed to an unelected apparatus of clinics, hospitals, physicians and bureaucracies managing the health of the population, governing hygiene, sexuality and sanity. The biopolitical state denies that politics or ideology exist in medicine or public health. This is all science and they are protecting society. But during the 20th century this form of power sterilised young women it considered promiscuous and subjected gay men to electro-shock treatment. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care documented psychiatrists and nurses torturing children who were Māori, Pasifika, disabled or neurodiverse. One of Foucault's catch-phrases was 'wherever there is power there is resistance', and because biopolitics presents itself as the embodiment of science and reason, those who resist it revolt against reason itself – a perfect description of the anti-vax movement. There's no contradiction in believing our pandemic response was mostly successful and its critics mostly crazy, yet still wanting those sweeping public health measures properly scrutinised. NZ First's motives for its inquiry might be dubious but so were Labour's. At least this new investigation does not pretend that the most profound political event in a generation is beyond politics.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Fuziah: No suspension for PKR MPs who called for RCI into judicial appointments
SEREMBAN: No disciplinary action will be taken against the nine PKR members of Parliament who criticised judicial appointments and called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry, PKR secretary-general Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh said. According to Fuziah, party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Negri Sembilan PKR grassroots today that there's no issue of suspension, as the MPs were merely voicing concerns related to the people. "He clarified that these MPs have a right to raise such matters. While criticism should ideally be discussed internally first, it is not grounds for suspension," she said after the event here. Fuziah was speaking after Anwar spent nearly an hour behind closed doors with Negri Sembilan PKR division heads during his Presidential Tour and Party Organisation Strengthening Seminar held at a hotel here. The meeting, attended by some 1,000 party members, also included PKR vice-presidents Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, Chang Lih Kang and Datuk Seri R. Ramanan, as well as Fuziah, women's wing chief Fadhlina Sidek and youth wing chief Muhammad Kamil Munim. Fuziah said the tour is part of a nationwide effort to rebuild unity among grassroots leaders, including those who lost in the party's recent internal polls. "We're not fighting enemies, just having differences among siblings. Unity is key if we want to move forward," she said. Calls had previously emerged from within PKR for action to be taken against Pandan MP Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and eight other MPs over their criticism of appointments in the judiciary.
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
BTH: Teoh Beng Hock, MACC's apology, judicial update & public trust [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, hosts Amalina Kamal and Hazween Hassan revisit the tragic death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, who died in 2009 while under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The case has resurfaced in the national spotlight following a rare move by the MACC. On the 16th anniversary of Teoh's death, the commission issued a formal apology to his family — expressing deep regret and acknowledging the lasting impact on his loved ones, the agency, and the nation. MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki also announced a goodwill contribution to support the welfare and education of Teoh's child, marking a symbolic step in recognising the gravity of the case. The statement further acknowledges findings from previous investigations — including the 2011 Royal Commission of Inquiry and the 2014 Court of Appeal ruling — although no one has ever been held accountable. This episode explores whether the apology, alongside the MACC's internal reforms, is enough to offer closure to a grieving family and a country still seeking answers. Reforms mentioned include body-worn cameras, enhanced CCTV systems, secure interview rooms, and the adoption of the PEACE interview model to improve transparency and reduce harm. Joining the discussion is Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) CEO Pushpan Murugiah who also weighs in on another issue in the public eye: the ongoing concerns surrounding judicial appointments. The government is reportedly reviewing the appointment process amid growing public scrutiny, as key leadership positions within the judiciary remain unfilled. Watch the episode on NST's YouTube channel @NSTOnline to follow the full discussion.
