· February, 2009

Stories about Malaysia from February, 2009

Malaysia: Operation Valentine

  25 February 2009

Malaysian police arrested 26 unmarried Muslim couples in hotel rooms during Operation Valentine to curb premarital sex. The crime of “khalwat,” or “close proximity” forbids unmarried Muslims to meet behind closed doors.

Iran:”Ahmadinejad, a lion in the Islamic World”

  18 February 2009

Mehdi has published a photo of a cover of a book that he discovered in a university book store in Malaysia. We can see on this cover Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's photo and book's title is “Ahmadinejad, a new lion in the Islamic World”. The blogger adds [fa] Ahmadineajd's speeches...

Global: Appointment of Saudi Arabia's First Female Deputy Minister Makes Waves

  16 February 2009

As millions of women the world over marked Valentine’s Day with gifts from their loved ones, one woman - in a country that has banned the holiday and labels it a ‘sin’ - has good reason to never forget February 14, 2009. Meet Noura Al Fayez, teacher extraordinaire, a product of the US education system, who last Saturday became the first ever woman deputy minister in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Eunice del Rosario round up local and international reactions to the appointment.

Malaysian Obama

  13 February 2009

According to a political analyst, “The Malaysian equivalent of Obama would be a Chinese Muslim who is extremely fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, whose mother is Malay and who got his undergraduate degree from a Malaysian public university.”

Malaysia: Political party squabbles

  13 February 2009

Reacting to the recent political crisis in Malaysia, Niki Cheong comments: “I have always been against the idea of people giving up their seats and forcing a by-election. I always thought that it was a waste of money, a waste of effort and a mockery of democracy.”

Malaysia: War on Dengue and Chikungunya

  5 February 2009

The Malaysian government has launched a dengue awareness campaign in response to the rising number of dengue cases. Aside from dengue, there is another virus which is spreading in several Malaysian states: Chikungunya.