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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13 October 2014

Car Plate Number in Malaysia !



Source: https://my.news.yahoo.com/m-sian-bmw-car-plates-020052808.html
                        (Accessed on 13 Oct 2014)

Behold, the car number plate that is worth more than most cars inMalaysia.
Datuk Lee Chong Wei recently splurged an incredible RM97,777 for the number plate BMW6. This is not the first time car-enthusiast Datuk Lee Chong Wei has spent an extravagant amount on his car number plate. In 2012, he spent RM69,100 on car number plate BLG1 for his Ferrari F430, a monster of a vehicle capable of going from 0 to 100km in 4 seconds.

Image Credit: Lowyat.net

This, however, was not even the highest bidder on the list. Tengku Sulaiman Shah boasted the highest bid with RM188,100 on BMW5. Even this, however, was nothing compared to MyWatch chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan paid RM174,776 and RM165,000 for car plate numbers BMW8 and BMW 11 respectively, amounting to a total of RM339,776.
To put this in perspective, the MyWatch chairman spent the equivalent of ten Auto Transmission Perodua Axia on a piece of plastic with some words and a number on it. OR if you have really expensive taste, that same amount of money could get you two BMW II6i (Hatch) at the recommended retail price of RM170,800 per vehicle. You could even get a BMW Sedan 328i Gran Turismo for RM329,800 with almost RM10,000 to spare.

Image Credit: bmw.com.my

This prompted many Malaysians to question his source of income on the social media. When questioned about this purchase, Sanjeevan defended his actions by saying that the purchases were an “investment”. In a statement to The Rakyat Post, he further added that he will be able to auction off the number in the future at an even higher price. In addition, he insisted he was doing this with his personal money earned from other ventures.

MyWatch is a Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force that is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) working to protect Malaysian citizens from criminal harm by preventing, identifying, managing, investigating and dealing with fraud and corruption.

You think RM339,776 is too much to pay for car number plates? Well, hold onto your seats, Vulcan Post readers.

Two years ago, Malaysian royal state leader Sultan Ibrahim Ismail spent a mind-numbing RM520,000 ($165,600) on car plate WWW1. Two years prior to that (in 2010), RM300,100 was paid for car plate MCA1.

But all this is nothing, nothing compared to what was paid for car plates BMW1, BMW2, BMW7, BMW9 and BMW10:
RM0.00

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SO IN SUMMARY:  EASY COME, EASY GO !

BMW1 = RM0.00
BMW2=RM0.00
BMW3=RM0.00 ?
BMW4=RM0.00 ?
BMW5=RM188,100=Tengku Sulaiman Shah
BMW6=RM97,777 = Datuk Lee Chong Wei
BMW7=RM0.00
BMW8=RM174,776=MyWatch chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan
BMW9=RM0.00
BMW10=RM0.00
BMW11=RM165,000=MyWatch chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan



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