14 to 16 December 2009
Land Conference

Orang Asli Land Rights Conference 2009 was held at Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 14th to 16th of December 2009. The Conference was implemented by the local organization, Sinui Pai Nanek Sengik (registered as SPNS Communication) and Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Perak (The Network of Orang Asli Villages in Perak). The coorganisers for the Conference were Pusat KOMAS and Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Malaysia (SUHAKAM). The participants for the Conference were the Orang Asli communities from Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

The objectives of this workshop were to gather all the grassroot Orang Asli representatives to continue discussion, understanding and decision as per the struggles to claim the rights on ancestral land; to continue voicing claims for recognition on ancestral land and also issues that are facing the Orang Asli, especially land rights, to the authorities; and to reassert on the type of land rights recognitions that is suitable for the needs of the Orang Asli, to prove that Orang Asli land can be demarcated via community mapping; to further strengthen understanding on UNDRIP, especially the part where it urged states to respect and recognize ancestral domains of the Indigenous Peoples; and to strategise on the struggles to claim the land rights of the Orang Asli. The conference was officiated by the Vice Minister of Rural Development, Y.B. Dato’ Hassan Bin Malek on the 15th of December 2009.

Overall, the conference was a success as the participants managed to have a forum in the parliament and directly telling their problems and issues to the MP’s that were present and also giving their recommendation on what measures can be taken to help them. This is first of such where the grassroot Orang Asli were given an opportunity to directly present their issues to the MP’s rather than going through many channels. Other than that, this conference served as a platform to develop more networks of Orang Asli around the country apart from the networks that are already available.

Thursday, 10 December 2009
FreedomFilmFest2009 Community Video Workshop

The yearlong campaign for FreedomFilmFest2009 ended successfully last weekend with the FFF2009 Community Video Workshop. 20 participants comprising of representatives from grassroots communities, students and FFF2009 volunteers attended this workshop, which aimed to prove that anyone could shoot a video for their respective communities.

Community video is a powerful tool that can be used by a group of people to communicate a local issue effectively to its viewers, be it to the general public or the community itself. A simple and well-produced video does not only pass on a strong and relevant message, it also encourages the local communities who watched it to discuss about the issue shown in the video. These discussions are important to create a greater awareness to the local community, and to spearhead a process of solving the respective issues within the community.

Throughout the workshop, the participants realised that they need not necessarily have an expensive video camera or superior editing skills to produce a short video. To prove that point, the participants were tasked to spend an hour to shoot a video only with their handphones or compact digital camera. The screening of the newly made videos was indeed filled with amusement as everyone learnt to improve what they might have missed out during the filming process earlier in the day.

Last but not least, the participants were also shown various different ways to distribute their videos.

Thursday, 3 December 2009
Anti-discrimination training with students

PBT (Persatuan Bahasa Tionghua), a language association based in USM (University Science Malaysia), recently held its 3-day social awareness camp in Sau Seng Lum, a Buddhist temple in the middle of Old PJ Town.

This year, KOMAS was invited to conduct a workshop on anti-discrimination based on ethnicity, one of the organisation's most popular programme. With fourteen keen and young participants from UUM (Universiti Utara Malaysia) and USM, the workshop started off with a session on analysing the Malaysian reality on race relations.

Participants brainstormed in smaller groups and managed to present a thorough analysis on the various segments of Malaysian society such as employment trends, the economic issues and policies in the government.

A game identifying racial stereotypes gave a clear message to the participants that most times, prejudice happens based on perceptions that is very much influenced by various external sources such as upbringing, media and cultural norms.

This exercise gave an awareness to the participants that, stereotyping may lead to more outward manifestations of racial prejudice.

In short, the participants found the highly interactive and participatory workshop, interesting and able to provide them with an overview of the cause and effect of racial discrimination in Malaysia.

Thursday, 12 November 2009
“Empowering Grassroot Women Leadership” workshop

“Empowering Grassroot Women Leadership” workshop was held successfully last week, from the 5th to 9th of November in Citrus Hotel, Jalan Raja Laut. Forty three participants from eighteen organisations nationwide participated in this workshop. Jointly co-organised by Just Associates, South East Asia (JASS), Persatuan Guru-Guru Tadika (PGGT) and Pusat KOMAS, the workshop proved to an engaging and fruitful event both for the organisers and the participants.

The aim of the workshop was to gather women from all walks of life to share and learn on being empowered especially in leadership and gender inequalities. This initiative, held for the first time in Malaysia, is a follow-up to an international seminar on Women Empowerment held in South Africa late last year.

Renowned female leaders such as Irene Xavier, Dr. Cecilia Ng, Janarthani Arumugam and Mohanarani spoke on relevant topics such as women and politics, globalization and women, labor issues, and gender issues. These issues were discussed thoroughly, and it provided a space for the participants to voice out their opinions and exchange ideas.
On the other hand, the main facilitators, Tijah, an indigenous woman leader from SPNS (Sinui Pai Nanek Sengit) and Mano from AWAM (All Women Action Society) also used games and interactive activities to encourage participants to draw learning points on leadership skills from the activities itself. Overall, the participants had fun and at the same time brought back new knowledge. It was hoped that with this new found empowerment and skills, the participants would be able to serve their communities with renewed vision and vigour.

This workshop served as a platform for women empowerment training in the grassroot level and it will be the first of many women empowerment workshops that are to be planned in the future. There is also a possibility of bringing another workshop of this nature to a regional level where several of the participants of this current workshop will be able to participate in.

5th February 2010
FREEDOM FILM FEST LONDON 2010

FreedomFilmFest is now heading to London this coming February!. The three winning films of FFF2009 as well as other documentaries about the state of human rights in Malaysia will be screened in the one day film festival.

• Date: 6th February 2010
• Time: 2-6pm
• Venue: Amnesty International UK
• The Human Rights Action Centre
• 17-25 New Inn Yard London
• EC2A 3EA

For more information about FFF London, please visit the official website http://freedomfilmfestlondon.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Roadshow campaign “Rakyat’s Call for PIE (Participation Information and Elections)” 

The Coalition for Good Governance (CGG) together with the Politic & Governance Sub-Committee of A 20 Year Plan of Action for Malaysia and the KLSCAH Civil Rights Committee cordially invite all residents in Petaling Jaya to join our roadshow campaign on “Rakyat’s Call for PIE (Participation Information and Elections)”

This campaign is a joint effort with APAC (All Petaling Jaya, Selangor Residents Association Coalition), FOKD (Friends of Kota Damansara) and the local Residents’ Associations to share with the public our proposals to encourage people’s Participation in demanding for the Right to Information and Local Councils Elections.

This campaign also serves to remind the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat Government to keep to its promises as stated in various Elections Manifesto and People’s Declaration in 2008.

We believe that the people’s participation in state affairs at all levels will serve as a check and balance to the Government’s power which in turn strengthens greater democratic  practices and promotes accountable governance. The roadshow will be organized at all the 12 councils in Selangor and will start off in Petaling Jaya.

The kick start of the campaign together with a press conference will be held:

Date: 3rd February 2010 (Wednesday)
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: Balai raya Tamera, Jalan SS24/1, Petaling Jaya (next to MBPJ squash court)

We look forward to your support and presence at our roadshow campaign. If you have any information, please contact Medecci Lineil on 014-8861752 / 016-2208784 or medecci@empowermalaysia.org