Women’s groups and representatives of other civil society organisations have appealed to the Indonesian president Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to spare the life of Filipina single mother Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, who is […]
ASEAN groups plead for clemency for Filipina maid as executions loom in Indonesia
Sumatran elephant found dead and mutilated in Aceh
A Sumatran elephant has been found dead and mutilated in Indonesia’s Aceh province. The animal had its tusks removed and appeared to have gunshot wounds. The chief of the Aceh Natural Resources […]
Indonesian rescue team evacuates another orangutan stranded amidst oil palms
A team from the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) in Medan, Sumatra, has rescued yet another orangutan marooned in a tiny patch of forest surrounded by oil palms. The rescue was carried out […]
Malaysia toughens up Sedition Act with new amendments
The lower house of the Malaysian parliament has passed amendments to the 1948 Sedition Act that have been condemned by lawyers and human rights organisations as a further assault on fundamental liberties. […]
Anti-terrorism Bill in Malaysia reintroduces indefinite detention without trial
The lower house of the Malaysian parliament has passed a controversial anti-terrorism Bill, which the government says is needed to combat the threat from Islamic extremists, but critics say is a grievous […]
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar faces nine sedition charges
The Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, better known as Zunar, has been released on bail after being charged with nine counts of sedition for allegedly insulting the judiciary in tweets about the […]
Fries, face wash, and forests: new scorecard ranks companies on palm oil commitments
Packaged food manufacturers and some companies producing personal care products are progressing in their efforts to source deforestation-free palm oil, but there are many laggards in other sectors, according to a new […]
Outrage grows as Malaysian journalists are arrested over article about Islamic law
Outrage is growing in Malaysia over the continued wave of arrests, which has now extended to the media. Three editors from The Malaysian Insider (TMI) news portal were arrested yesterday, and executives […]
New phone app scans products and shows palm oil certification status
The Australian not-for-profit organisation Palm Oil Investigations (POI) has launched a new mobile phone app that shows consumers whether products contain palm oil and, if they do, the scan reveals the oil’s […]
Malaysian police raid opposition party HQ
Police in Malaysia have raided the headquarters of the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR, or People’s Justice Party). They were searching for evidence to back up the allegation that the MP for […]
More arrests in Malaysia after protest rally in Kuala Lumpur
The planned Kita Lawan (“We fight”) rally went ahead yesterday in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur despite a warning by the country’s police chief that participants would be arrested. It went off […]
Arrests continue in Malaysia amid allegations of police brutality
Two Malaysian MPs, Rafizi Ramli and Chua Tian Chang – better known as Tian Chua – have been arrested prior to a major protest rally in Kuala Lumpur today (Saturday). A third […]
Stop press: arrests and alleged police assaults against Malaysian assemblymen
Six people have been arrested during a sit-in at Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in central Kuala Lumpur. They include two Perak state assemblymen who are reported to have been assaulted by police. […]
New data analysis shows dramatic forest loss in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem
Data analysis by an orangutan conservation charity shows a dramatic loss of forest cover in the environmentally precious Leuser Ecosystem on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Leuser Ecosystem is the only […]
Malaysia’s police chief pulls in lawyer over tweet about rape
The clampdown on dissent in Malaysia took a surreal turn yesterday (Monday) when lawyer Michelle Yesudas was told by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Khalid Abu Bakar, that she was to […]
Precious Sumatran peat forest gets landmark protection
Environmentalists in Sumatra are celebrating a major step forward in their battle to save the Tripa peat forest, which is home to one of the highest densities of orangutans in the world, […]
Malaysian lawyer in detention over comments about Islamic law
Malaysian lawyer Eric Paulsen (pictured left) is being detained after his arrest today under the Sedition Act for tweeting remarks about hudud (the Islamic penal code), which the government in the northern […]
Pro-Anwar activists step up protests with hunger strike and demand for police chief to resign
Yesterday’s demonstration in front of Merdeka Square. A group of activists in Malaysia have started a hunger strike in protest over the jailing of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and other demonstrators are […]
Another MP arrested in clampdown on dissent in Malaysia
The clampdown on the opposition in Malaysia is continuing with the arrest today of the MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua (pictured left). The MP tweeted from Dang […]
Jailed Malaysian MP freed on police bail, but opposition official arrested
Malaysian MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is the eldest daughter of the jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, has been released on police bail after being detained in the Jinjang lock-up in Kuala […]