Media 2023

Labour: Waiting for the business and human rights action plan

The Edge Malaysia | Edmund Bon stressed that mandatory due diligence for labour, governance, and the environment must be implemented. Human rights due diligence should be made in to law. He urged companies to work on initiatives to protect human rights without waiting for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR).

Writer, publisher make final bid to challenge ‘Gay is OK’ book ban

Free Malaysia Today | Lawyer Edmund Bon confirmed that an application with 11 legal and constitutional questions has been filed with the Federal Court to remove a book ban imposed by the government. Applicants must satisfy the court by framing novel legal and constitutional questions that are of public importance and raised for the first time, as required under section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act.

Legal experts divided on royal control over MACC, Petronas

Malaysiakini | The YDPA-in-waiting suggested for MACC and Petronas to report directly to the throne. Lawyer New Sin Yew opined that while the YDPA is entitled to information concerning the government as stipulated in Article 40(1) of the Federal Constitution, for government agencies to report directly to him is a different matter.

Death penalty against 6 men must be upheld in Morais’s murder, says prosecutor

Free Malaysia Today | Lawyers appearing for the appellants argued for their clients to be acquitted as the ingredients of the charge were not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Amer Hamzah Arshad said his client could at best be convicted only for culpable homicide, abduction, and disposing of evidence. Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the COA bench would deliver its ruling on March 14.

Rosmah makes third bid for AG to drop money laundering, tax evasion cases

Malaysiakini | Counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad submitted multiple grounds to strike out of the charges against Rosmah Mansor. The 12 money laundering charges involving RM7.09mil are framed under section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act. The five tax evasion charges under section 77(1) of the Income Tax Act 1967 claim that Rosmah failed to declare her income for five years.

Rosmah Mansor’s AMLA trial: Prosecution failed to disclose offence, say counsel

New Malaysia Herald | Defence counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad presented legal issues pertaining to the AMLA charges and reasons why they should be struck out and Rosmah Mansor should be acquitted. Amer said the MACC had acted ultra vires and the defects in the charges are incurable while the first to 12th charges failed to state the predicate offence.

Unfair to try Rosmah on defective charges, says lawyer

Free Malaysia Today | Rosmah Mansor, wife of former PM Najib Razak, is standing trial on 12 money laundering charges involving RM7.09 million and five charges of failing to declare her income to the IRB. In an application to strike out the charges, lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said there were missing links and 12 of the charges did not involve a “transaction” as defined by law.

Nicotine delisting violates constitutional right to health: Lawyer

CodeBlue | The deregulation of liquid nicotine contravenes the right to health which falls fall under the right to life. Citing international conventions ratified by Malaysia, Edmund Bon submitted in court, “I’m inviting, my Lord, to extend the definition of Article 5 [of the Federal Constitution] for the first time to include the right to health as a right that is logically an integral part of life itself.”

Kevin Morais murder: Duo involved in kidnapping, hiding evidence at best, say lawyers

The Edge Malaysia | Amer Hamzah Arshad argued that the conviction of his client for murder by the High Court was unsafe as his client’s role in the case was only to show where the barrel containing DPP Kevin Morais’ body was disposed of. Amer added that his client can at best be faced with section 365 (for kidnapping) or 201 (hiding of evidence) under the Penal Code.

No common intention to murder DPP Morais, Court of Appeal told

Free Malaysia Today | The prosecution failed to establish a common intention among six accused persons to murder DPP Kevin Morais eight years ago despite turning a seventh accused into a material witness, submitted defence lawyers. Amer Hamzah Arshad acted for S. Nimalan, one of the six accused persons.

Kevin Morais murder: No evidence to show accused had suffocated victim, says lawyer

New Straits Times | Counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad, who appeared for S. Nimalan, questioned, “If there is no identifiable action, let alone any evidence of the appellant’s actions, how can it be said that the asphyxiation suffered by the deceased was intentional or unintentional?” No other evidence indicated that the appellant intended to incapacitate or suffocate the deceased.

Illegal to sell nicotine products to minors after anti-smoking bill passed – SFC

The Sun | Three NGOs filed a judicial review application to quash the order made by the Health Minister to remove nicotine from the list of controlled substances. Counsel Edmund Bon submitted that the newly passed bill controlling smoking products has yet to be ratified into law by the Dewan Negara. There is as yet no law against the sale of liquid nicotine products to children.

Minister’s delisting of nicotine as poison endangers children, says lawyer

Free Malaysia Today | Lawyer Edmund Bon said that the Health Minister’s decision to declassify liquid nicotine as a scheduled poison had failed to take into consideration the rights of children or the country’s obligations under the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Earlier media reports had highlighted that candy laced with nicotine was being sold openly to children.

Anti-smoking bill ‘red herring’ in nicotine delisting: Lawyer

CodeBlue | Anti-tobacco groups argued in the High Court here today that passage of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 was irrelevant to the declassification of liquid nicotine from the Poisons List. Counsel Edmund Bon said that we cannot rely on any statements by the government in relation to this judicial review proceedings because nothing is certain.

Parliament already passed bill forbidding vape sale to minors – counsel

Malaysiakini | Counsel Edmund Bon represented the three NGOS behind the judicial review — the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control, the Malaysian Green Lung Association, and Voice of the Children. He argued that the Health Minister’s decision would lead to the sale of nicotine-containing vape and e-cigarettes to children because there was no law forbidding it, pending the Dewan Negara’s deliberation on the new bill.

Appellate court told conviction on pathologist over Kevin Morais murder unsafe

The Edge Malaysia | Amer Hamzah Arshad said the lower court had erred in its analysis whether murder had been established, as it inferred irrelevant facts. At best, the charge should fall under section 299 of the Penal Code for culpable homicide, or under section 201 for causing evidence of disappearance.

Evidence ‘cherry-picked’ to convict doctor of Morais’s murder, says lawyer

Free Malaysia Today | The High Court sentenced six men to death in 2020 after they were found guilty of murdering DPP Kevin Morais on Sept 4, 2015, between Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, and Subang Jaya in Selangor. Lawyers for the accused submitted there was no evidence to implicate their clients in the murder. Amer Hamzah said that at best, his client had committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Labour: Waiting for the business and human rights action plan

The Edge Malaysia | Edmund Bon stressed that mandatory due diligence for labour, governance, and the environment must be implemented. Human rights due diligence should be made in to law. He urged companies to work on initiatives to protect human rights without waiting for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR).

Writer, publisher make final bid to challenge ‘Gay is OK’ book ban

Free Malaysia Today | Lawyer Edmund Bon confirmed that an application with 11 legal and constitutional questions has been filed with the Federal Court to remove a book ban imposed by the government. Applicants must satisfy the court by framing novel legal and constitutional questions that are of public importance and raised for the first time, as required under section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act.

Legal experts divided on royal control over MACC, Petronas

Malaysiakini | The YDPA-in-waiting suggested for MACC and Petronas to report directly to the throne. Lawyer New Sin Yew opined that while the YDPA is entitled to information concerning the government as stipulated in Article 40(1) of the Federal Constitution, for government agencies to report directly to him is a different matter.

Death penalty against 6 men must be upheld in Morais’s murder, says prosecutor

Free Malaysia Today | Lawyers appearing for the appellants argued for their clients to be acquitted as the ingredients of the charge were not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Amer Hamzah Arshad said his client could at best be convicted only for culpable homicide, abduction, and disposing of evidence. Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the COA bench would deliver its ruling on March 14.

Rosmah makes third bid for AG to drop money laundering, tax evasion cases

Malaysiakini | Counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad submitted multiple grounds to strike out of the charges against Rosmah Mansor. The 12 money laundering charges involving RM7.09mil are framed under section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act. The five tax evasion charges under section 77(1) of the Income Tax Act 1967 claim that Rosmah failed to declare her income for five years.

Rosmah Mansor’s AMLA trial: Prosecution failed to disclose offence, say counsel

New Malaysia Herald | Defence counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad presented legal issues pertaining to the AMLA charges and reasons why they should be struck out and Rosmah Mansor should be acquitted. Amer said the MACC had acted ultra vires and the defects in the charges are incurable while the first to 12th charges failed to state the predicate offence.

Unfair to try Rosmah on defective charges, says lawyer

Free Malaysia Today | Rosmah Mansor, wife of former PM Najib Razak, is standing trial on 12 money laundering charges involving RM7.09 million and five charges of failing to declare her income to the IRB. In an application to strike out the charges, lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said there were missing links and 12 of the charges did not involve a “transaction” as defined by law.

Nicotine delisting violates constitutional right to health: Lawyer

CodeBlue | The deregulation of liquid nicotine contravenes the right to health which falls fall under the right to life. Citing international conventions ratified by Malaysia, Edmund Bon submitted in court, “I’m inviting, my Lord, to extend the definition of Article 5 [of the Federal Constitution] for the first time to include the right to health as a right that is logically an integral part of life itself.”

Kevin Morais murder: Duo involved in kidnapping, hiding evidence at best, say lawyers

The Edge Malaysia | Amer Hamzah Arshad argued that the conviction of his client for murder by the High Court was unsafe as his client’s role in the case was only to show where the barrel containing DPP Kevin Morais’ body was disposed of. Amer added that his client can at best be faced with section 365 (for kidnapping) or 201 (hiding of evidence) under the Penal Code.

No common intention to murder DPP Morais, Court of Appeal told

Free Malaysia Today | The prosecution failed to establish a common intention among six accused persons to murder DPP Kevin Morais eight years ago despite turning a seventh accused into a material witness, submitted defence lawyers. Amer Hamzah Arshad acted for S. Nimalan, one of the six accused persons.

Kevin Morais murder: No evidence to show accused had suffocated victim, says lawyer

New Straits Times | Counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad, who appeared for S. Nimalan, questioned, “If there is no identifiable action, let alone any evidence of the appellant’s actions, how can it be said that the asphyxiation suffered by the deceased was intentional or unintentional?” No other evidence indicated that the appellant intended to incapacitate or suffocate the deceased.

Illegal to sell nicotine products to minors after anti-smoking bill passed – SFC

The Sun | Three NGOs filed a judicial review application to quash the order made by the Health Minister to remove nicotine from the list of controlled substances. Counsel Edmund Bon submitted that the newly passed bill controlling smoking products has yet to be ratified into law by the Dewan Negara. There is as yet no law against the sale of liquid nicotine products to children.

Minister’s delisting of nicotine as poison endangers children, says lawyer

Free Malaysia Today | Lawyer Edmund Bon said that the Health Minister’s decision to declassify liquid nicotine as a scheduled poison had failed to take into consideration the rights of children or the country’s obligations under the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Earlier media reports had highlighted that candy laced with nicotine was being sold openly to children.

Anti-smoking bill ‘red herring’ in nicotine delisting: Lawyer

CodeBlue | Anti-tobacco groups argued in the High Court here today that passage of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 was irrelevant to the declassification of liquid nicotine from the Poisons List. Counsel Edmund Bon said that we cannot rely on any statements by the government in relation to this judicial review proceedings because nothing is certain.

Parliament already passed bill forbidding vape sale to minors – counsel

Malaysiakini | Counsel Edmund Bon represented the three NGOS behind the judicial review — the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control, the Malaysian Green Lung Association, and Voice of the Children. He argued that the Health Minister’s decision would lead to the sale of nicotine-containing vape and e-cigarettes to children because there was no law forbidding it, pending the Dewan Negara’s deliberation on the new bill.

Evidence ‘cherry-picked’ to convict doctor of Morais’s murder, says lawyer

Free Malaysia Today | The High Court sentenced six men to death in 2020 after they were found guilty of murdering DPP Kevin Morais on Sept 4, 2015, between Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, and Subang Jaya in Selangor. Lawyers for the accused submitted there was no evidence to implicate their clients in the murder. Amer Hamzah said that at best, his client had committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder.