FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION


FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship and/or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used [United Nations, 1966, 1976]. The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as "the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression". Furthermore freedom of speech is recognized in European, inter-American and African regional human rights law [United Nations, 1966, 1967]. Freedom of speech, or the freedom of expression, is recognized in international and regional human rights law. The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights [Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold, 2005; Kumar, Ambika, 2006].

In Islamic ethics freedom of speech was first declared in the Rashidun period by the caliph Umar in the 7th century. In the Abbasid Caliphate period, freedom of speech was also declared by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph al-Ma'mun) in a letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to convert through reason.

According to George Makdisi and Hugh Goddard, "the idea of academic freedom" in universities was "modelled on Islamic custom" as practiced in the medieval Madrasah system from the 9th century. Islamic influence was "certainly discernible in the foundation of the first deliberately-planned university" in Europe [Boisard, Marcel A., 1980].

* Selected REFERENCES / Sources:

Amnesty International: Annual Reports: URLhttp://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/index.html Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold. (2005). Freedom of Expression: The Essentials of Human Rights. United Publishers. Boisard, Marcel A. (July 1980), "On the Probable Influence of Islam on Western Public and International Law", International Journal of Middle East Studies 11 (4): 429–50. Goddard, Hugh. (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Kumar, Ambika. (2006). ‘Using Courts to Enforce the Free Speech Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Published by Chicago Journal of International Law. Summer 2006. URLhttp://www.allbusiness.com/corporate-governance/4082846-1.html United Nations: ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16th December 1966: Entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49. URLhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (United Nations) Wikipedia. (2010). ‘Freedom of Speech.’ Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. URLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression

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17 April 2011

KARATE Medalist & Scholarship !



https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/330945

Karate medallist to return donations, gov't aid obtained


Published      Updated       22 comments


Commonwealth karate gold medallist Nastenka Sureshar said she will be returning the money she has crowd-funded to finance her education after the National Sports Council of Malaysia (NSCM) stepped in.
"While I would like to sincerely thank everyone who had contributed to me through the Skolafund crowd-funding platform, I wish to announce that I will not accept the public donations that have been collected.
"This is because through the national back-up programme, there would be no more need for this fund as most of my expenditure would have been taken care of," she said in an open letter yesterday.
Nastenka said the NSCM last year made her an offer to join the programme but she had made a hasty decision not to accept it, which had then put her in a difficult position.
"After receiving overwhelming attention to my request for financial aid by various parties, I decided to meet again with the NSCM officials to obtain more information on the training package which was offered to me last year to be an athlete under the national back-up programme.
"At that time, I rejected the offer, and I have now realised that it was an unwise decision as I was very stressed out with my final examinations at the time," she said.
Nastenka said the offer would allow her to train full-time and at the same time, study at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) without worrying about lodging, food, transport, and medical care. She will also receive a monthly allowance.
"I have now decided to reverse my decision (and) to accept the offer and I would like to appeal to Malaysia Karate Federation (Makaf) and the NSCM for me to be reconsidered to be allowed to train full-time in Bukit Jalil.
"When I met the NSC officials today (Thursday), I was also very happy that they assured that they still had room to accept my application," she said.
Ministry not to be blamed
Nastenka also apologised to Makaf, the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) and NSCM for causing "unnecessary misunderstanding".
"I would like to stress again that I do not blame Makaf, KBS and NSCM over the matter as they have contributed much to my training and competitions and that my decision to use Skolafund was merely to supplement my own pocket money.
"Once again, I'd like to appeal that this matter not be prolonged as I would like to devote my full concentration to my practice, to achieve my goal to be an athlete who will bring continuous honour to Malaysia in future," she said.
Last Sunday, Malaysiakini highlighted Nastenka's bid to crowd-fund RM6,350 to cover her meals, accommodation, and transport for six months at Uniten.
Her plight gained much attention and by Wednesday, she had raised RM6,995.80 through the platform while MIC Wanita also offered her a monthly allowance of RM1,000 for six months.
Nastenka said she had relied on crowd-funding after failing to secure a scholarship from KBS, which assessed her before her gold medal outing at the 2015 Commonwealth Karate Championships.


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