Parliament
BNP MPs to submit their resignation to Speaker of Parliament today
All seven BNP Members of Parliament (MPs) will physically submit their resignation to speaker of Parliament on Sunday.
The BNP MPs will submit their resignation letters around 11am, according to BNP sources.
Read more: BNP declares start of ‘simultaneous anti-govt movement’ on Dec 24
BNP’s international affairs secretary Rumeen Farhana announced the decision from the party’s Golapbagh rally on Saturday.
The MPs who resigned are: Md. Zahidur Rahman, Thakurgaon-3; Md. Mosharof Hosen, Bogura-4; Gulam Mohammad Siraj, Bogura-6; Md. Aminul Islam, Chapainawabganj-2; Md. Harunur Rashid, Chapainawabganj-3; Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan, Brahmanbaria-2; and Rumeen Farhana, Women’s Reserved Seat.
Read more: BNP’s divisional rally: Heightened security in and around Dhaka
The MPs sent their resignation through an e-mail on Saturday.
Indonesia’s Parliament votes to ban sex outside of marriage
Indonesia’s Parliament unanimously voted on Tuesday to ban sex outside of marriage and insulting the president and state institutions.
Once in force, the bans will affect foreign visitors as well as citizens. They’re part of an overhaul of the country’s criminal code that has been in the works for years. The new code also expands an existing blasphemy law and keeps a five-year prison term for deviations from the central tenets of Indonesia’s six recognized religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. The code still needs approval from the president, and the government says it will not be fully implemented for several years.
The amended code says sex outside marriage is punishable by a year in jail and cohabitation by six months, but adultery charges must be based on police reports lodged by a spouse, parents or children.
Citizens could also face a 10-year prison term for associating with organizations that follow Marxist-Leninist ideology and a four-year sentence for spreading communism.
Rights groups criticized some of the revisions as overly broad or vague and warned that adding them to the code could penalize normal activities and threaten freedom of expression and privacy rights.
However, some advocates hailed the passage as a victory for the country’s LGBTQ community. After fierce deliberation, lawmakers eventually agreed to remove an article proposed by Islamic groups that would have made gay sex illegal.
The revised code also preserves the death penalty, despite calls from the National Commission on Human Rights and other groups to abolish capital punishment. But the new code adds a 10-year probationary period to the death penalty. If the convict behaves well during this period, their sentence will be reduced to life imprisonment or 20 years’ imprisonment.
The code maintains a previous ban on abortion, but updates it to add exceptions already provided in a 2004 Medical Practice Law, for women with life-threatening medical conditions and for rape, provided that the fetus is less than 12 weeks old.
Under Indonesian regulations, legislation passed by Parliament becomes law after being signed by the president. But even without the president’s signature, it automatically takes effect after 30 days unless the president issues a regulation to cancel it.
Read more: Indonesia approves legislation criminalizing sex outside marriage for citizens and foreigners
President Joko Widodo is widely expected to sign the revised code in light of its extended approval process in Parliament. But the law is likely to gradually take effect over a period of up to three years, according to Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Hiariej.
“A lot of implementing regulations must be worked out, so it’s impossible in one year,” he said.
The code restores a ban on insulting a sitting president or vice president, state institutions and the national ideology. Insults to a sitting president must be reported by the president and can lead to up to three years in jail.
Hiariej said the government provided “the strictest possible explanation that distinguishes between insults and criticism.”
The current penal code is a legacy of Dutch colonial administration. Updates have languished for decades while legislators in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation debated how to adapt the code to its traditional cultures and norms. Indonesia proclaimed independence on Aug. 17, 1945.
A previous revised code was poised for passage in 2019, but President Widodo urged lawmakers to delay a vote amid mounting public criticism that led to nationwide protests in which tens of thousands of people participated. Opponents said it contained articles that discriminated against minorities and that the legislative process lacked transparency. Widodo instructed Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly to obtain input from various groups as lawmakers debated the articles.
A parliamentary taskforce finalized the bill in November and lawmakers unanimously approved it on Tuesday, in what Laoly praised as a “historic step.”
“It turns out that it is not easy for us to break away from the colonial living legacy, even though this nation no longer wants to use colonial products,” Laoly said in a news conference.
“Finalizing this process demonstrates that even 76 years after the Dutch Criminal Code was adopted as the Indonesian Criminal Code, it is never too late to produce laws on our own,” Laoly said. “The Criminal Code is a reflection of the civilization of a nation.”
Read more: Keen to strengthen relations with Bangladesh: Indonesian Ambassador
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that laws penalizing criticism of public leaders are contrary to international law, and the fact that some forms of expression are considered insulting is not sufficient to justify restrictions or penalties.
“The danger of oppressive laws is not that they’ll be broadly applied, it’s that they provide avenue for selective enforcement,” said Andreas Harsono, a senior Indonesia researcher at the group.
Many hotels, including in tourism areas such as Bali and metropolitan Jakarta, will risk losing visitors, he added.
“These laws let police extort bribes, let officials jail political foes, for instance, with the blasphemy law,” Harsono said.
Long-time reformist leader Anwar sworn in as Malaysian PM
Long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Malaysia's prime minister Thursday, in a victory for political reformers locked in a battle with Malay nationalists for days after the divisive general election produced a hung Parliament.
Broadcast live on national television, Anwar took his oath of office Thursday evening in a simple ceremony at the national palace.
Malaysia's king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, named Anwar, 75, as the nation's 10th leader after saying he was satisfied that Anwar is the candidate who is likely to have majority support.
Anwar’s Alliance of Hope led Saturday’s election with 82 seats, short of the 112 needed for a majority. An unexpected surge of ethnic Malay support propelled Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s right-leaning National Alliance to win 73 seats, with its ally Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party emerging as the biggest single party with 49 seats.
The stalemate was resolved after the long-ruling bloc led by the United Malays National Organization agreed to support a unity government under Anwar. Such a tie-up was once unthinkable in Malaysian politics, long dominated by rivalry between the two parties. Other influential groups in Borneo island have said they will follow the king’s decision.
“His Royal Highness reminds all parties that the winners do not win all and the losers do not lose everything,” a palace statement read. The monarch urged Anwar and his new government to be humble, and said all opposing parties should reconcile to ensure a stable government and end Malaysia's political turmoil, which has led to three prime ministers since 2018 polls.
The statement gave no details on the government that will be formed.
Read more: Reformist leader Anwar close to becoming Malaysia's next PM
Muhyiddin, 75, has refused to accede defeat. At a news conference, Muhyiddin challenged Anwar to prove that he has the majority support of lawmakers to deflect doubts over his leadership.
Police have tightened security nationwide as social media posts warned of racial troubles if Anwar’s multiethnic bloc wins. Anwar's party has urged supporters to refrain from celebratory gatherings or issuing sensitive statements to avoid risk of provocation.
Read more: Former Malaysia PM Mahathir loses ground to poll rivals
Anwar’s rise to the top caps his roller-coaster political journey and will ease fears over greater Islamization. But he faces a tall task in bridging racial divides that deepened after Saturday’s poll, as well as reviving an economy struggling with rising inflation and a currency that has fallen to its weakest point. Malays form two-thirds of Malaysia’s 33 million people, which include large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
“He will have to make compromises with other actors in the government that means that the reform process will be a more inclusive one," said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia political expert. “Anwar is a globalist, which will assure international investors. He has been seen to be a bridge builder across communities, which will test his leadership moving forward but at the same juncture offers a reassuring hand for the challenges that Malaysia will face.”
Anwar was a former deputy prime minister whose sacking and imprisonment in the 1990s led to massive street protests and a reform movement that became a major political force. Thursday marked his reformist bloc's second victory — its first being the historic 2018 polls that led to the first regime change since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957.
Anwar was in prison at the time for a sodomy charge he said was politically motivated. He was pardoned and was due to take over from Mahathir Mohamad. But the government collapsed after Muhyiddin defected and joined hands with UMNO to form a new government. Muhyiddin’s government was beset by internal rivalries and he resigned after 17 months. UMNO leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob was then picked by the king as the prime minister.
Many rural Malays fear they may lose their privileges with greater pluralism under Anwar. Fed up with corruption and infighting in UMNO, many opted for Muhyiddin’s bloc in Saturday’s vote.
Parliament passes law allowing digital evidences in court trial
Bangladesh Parliament on Thursday unanimously passed the much talked about “The Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2022” incorporating the admissibility of digital evidences by the court.
Law Minister Anisul Huq placed the bill in the House, which was passed by a voice vote.
As per the law, in a prosecution for an offence of rape or attempt to rape, no question can be asked in the cross-examination as to general immoral character or previous sexual behaviour of the victim. But such question can only be asked with the permission of the court necessary for the ends of justice.
Opposition Jatiya Party and BNP lawmakers thanked the government for placing the bill saying the humiliating provision for women as mentioned in the Evidence Act has been repealed.
Terming the bill “historic and time fitting,” the opposition lawmakers said the demand of rights activists has been fulfilled.
While placing the bill, the law minister said there is a tendency of raising questions about a victim's character through obnoxious questions. Restriction has been imposed on it. No such question can be asked straightway without the permission of a court.
Rights activists have welcomed the government’s move for amending the Evidence Act as the so-called "immoral" character of survivors of sexual violence can no longer be brought into question, digital evidence can be produced in courts, and questions on the character of witnesses in general can be raised only with the permission of the court.
Read more: HC Circuit Bench at Chattogram under consideration: Law Minister
Activists have long argued that defence lawyers attacking survivors with demeaning and obscene questions during cross-examinations is a huge deterrent in the process of justice that has only contributed to normalising sexual violence.
Legal experts and rights activists said they had long been demanding inclusion of digital evidence in the act.
The passed law will give both the prosecution and defence the opportunity to produce digital evidence before the court. Such evidence is not taken into cognisance at present.
According to the proposed law, digital record or electronic record means any record or information generated, prepared, sent, received or stored in magnetic, electro-magnetic, optical or micro films, computer memory, computer-generated microfiche including audio, video, DVD, CCTV footage, drone data and records from cell phone, hardware, software or any other digital device as defined in Digital Security Act, 2018.
Besides, finger, palm and iris impressions and digital footprints, signatures and certificates will also be admissible as evidence before a court.
Evidence, documents and such other things were coming online after the inception of digital or online trials of cases amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the existing law, many legal complications might appear if any aggrieved person files a petition with the higher court, challenging the verdict of the lower court in case of acceptance of digital evidence or documents.
In the law, a provision was kept for making forensic examination of digital evidence.
If the court thinks necessary or any party of the case doubts about the authenticity of such evidence, these can be gone through forensic examination.
Read more: JS passes Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation Bill, 2022
The submission of false or manipulated evidence would be punished as per the laws concerned.
If anyone twists (tampers) evidence, the persons will be dealt with as per the section 211 of the Penal Code or the section 57 of the Digital Act.
JS passes Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation Bill, 2022
The Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation Bill, 2022 was passed in Parliament to expedite exploration of oil, gas and mineral resources in the country. The new law will replace the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation Ordinance, 1985 that is declared void by the court as it was promulgated during the regime of a military dictator. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid moved the Bill and it was passed by voice vote.
Read more: Atomic Energy Commission (amendment) Bill passed in JS As per the Bill, a Corporation will be established titled the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation for carrying out the purposes of this Bill. The Corporation may also be called PETROBANGLA. This will be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and shall by the said name sue and be sued. The main office of the Corporation will be established in Dhaka whereas, if necessary, its offices can be set up in any place in and outside the country taking prior permission from the government. The authorised capital of the Corporation shall be Tk 10,000 crore, which was Tk 200 crore, while the paid-up capital will be Tk 200 crore.
Read more:BSCIC Bill placed in JS aimed at streamlining small and cottage industries The Board shall consist of a Chairman to be appointed by the government, an officer not below the rank of a Joint Secretary of the Ministry or Division dealing with energy and mineral resources to be nominated by that Ministry or Division, an officer not below the rank of a Joint Secretary of the Ministry or Division dealing with finance to be nominated by that Ministry or Division, an officer not below the rank of a Joint Secretary of the Ministry or Division dealing with planning to be nominated by that Ministry or Division and five directors to be appointed by the government. Chairman of the Corporation shall be appointed from the Additional Secretaries of the government. As per the Bill, it can deposit its fund in any scheduled bank as term deposit or invest in any government approved securities.
Opposition out to destabilise politics amid crisis: PM tells Parliament
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told the Parliament that the opposition parties are trying to create political instability in the country, taking advantage of the ongoing economic crisis.
“When the country is in a transition period (crisis), I’ve not seen such worry among those who are in our opposition. Rather I’ve seen that they are trying how to create a political instability, taking its advantage. Is it fair to do that?” she said.
The premier said this while replying to a supplementary question from Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque (Kishoreganj-3) if the government would take any initiative for a unity among all political parties to face the existing economic crisis.
Read more:People who engage in anti-Bangladesh propaganda abroad to be punished, PM tells JS
She said the opposition parties should demonstrate patriotism when the country faces difficulties. Why are they not doing it?, she asked.
“When there is a crisis throughout the world, we should avoid the tendency to unstable the political situation and catch fish in the troubled water,” said Hasina, the leader of the house.
She said her government has been developing the entire Bangladesh and the mass people, without considering which area voted for AL or not.
The PM said her government didn’t sit idle in facing disasters. Many people continue criticizing the government, but they didn’t stand beside the people even giving a fist of rice, she added.
She said unity is not a matter of just words. Everyone will have to come forward spontaneously. “We always believe in unity. We’ll work together with whoever comes forward,” she added.
Read more:Do your best to boost food production to keep Bangladesh free from famine: PM Hasina urges youth
In reply to another supplementary question from BNP MP Rumeen Farhana, the prime minister advised the MPs to stand beside the people instead of finding faults amid the global crisis.
Hasina said the price of every commodity soared following the Russia-Ukraine war and the sanctions and the people of the entire world are now victims. “The MPs should think what they can do for the people of Bangladesh as lawmakers, instead of finding faults in Bangladesh,” she said.
Earlier, Rumeen referred to the think tank CPD and a newspaper questioning what steps are being planned by the government to control the inflation as the food prices are the highest in Bangladesh in South Asia and Bangladesh is among the 42 countries that may face famine.
The premier said everyone should consider the price-hike of essentials in Bangladesh, comparing that in the world markets.
“I am not denying that the prices have not increased in Bangladesh. Since the prices have soared, we are providing subsidies and the goods at low prices to those who cannot afford,” she said.
Responding to a supplementary question from Gonoforum MP Sultan Muhammed Mansur Ahmed (Maulvibazar-2), the PM said Bangladesh still remains in a better position than even many developed countries amid the economic recession.
She said there are also some unscrupulous businessmen who consider only their profits - not the sufferings of the people - and they sometimes hoard goods and create artificial price-hikes.
Sheikh Hasina said she has already taken steps against those who try to hoard goods and create artificial hike in prices and these will continue.
Atomic Energy Commission (amendment) Bill passed in JS
A bill titled Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (amendment) Bill 2022 was passed in Parliament on Tuesday.
The Bill, which was moved by Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, landed in the Parliament aiming to change names of two posts in the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
Read more: BSCIC Bill placed in JS aimed at streamlining small and cottage industries
According to the Bill, there are two posts in the Commission named Finance Advisor and Secretary where the Public Administration Ministry posted deputy secretary ranked employees.
As per a Cabinet Division directive on October 23, 2019 if there is any post called assistant secretary, deputy secretary, additional secretary and secretary in any office under any ministry or division, the name of the post has to be changed.
Read more: Industry-Design Bill placed in JS to protect intellectual property rights
The Bill states that the post of secretary will be named as working executive (admin) while finance advisor will be named as working executive (finance).
BSCIC Bill placed in JS aimed at streamlining small and cottage industries
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Bill, 2022 was placed in Parliament keeping a provision of two years in prison and a maximum fine of TK50,000 for providing false information for borrowing money from the corporation.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun placed in the House and it was sent to the respective Parliamentary Standing Committee for further examination. The Committee was asked to submit its report within 30 days.
Read more: Industry-Design Bill placed in JS to protect intellectual property rights
The Bill says that if anyone damages or replaces any border wall the punishment will be maximum six months of imprisonment or maximum Tk one lakh as fine or both.
If anyone creates obstacles in any work of the BSCIC-appointed developer or contractor then the punishment will be the same.
For illegal land grabbing and construction of infrastructures the punishment will be the same also.
If anyone transfers any plot illegally then the punishment will be one year of imprisonment (maximum) or fine of Tk 50,000 (maximum) or both.
The Bill will make the industrial entities under the BSCIC more effective.
The proposed law will promote women entrepreneurs as the existing law, 1957 is outdated.
The Bill said that the Corporation can take necessary steps to create women entrepreneurs in industrial sector and give them protection.
Read more: Bill to replace law of military regimes placed in JS
As per the proposed law, the authorised capital of the Corporation will be Tk 3000 crore while the paid up will be Tk 2637.22 crore.
There will be a 16-member board of directors for the Corporation and chairman of the entity will be the president.
The Corporation will have 10 directors and the government will appoint all the directors.
Industry-Design Bill placed in JS to protect intellectual property rights
The Bangladesh Industry-Design Bill, 2022 was placed in Parliament in a bid to protect the intellectual property rights of industrial design.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun placed in the House and it was sent to the respective Parliamentary Standing Committee for further examination. The Committee was asked to submit its report within 30 days.
Read more: Bill withdrawn from JS in light of HC verdict on arrest of public servants
A registrar office will be there to issue or cancel patents of any single inventor or joint inventors of any technological innovation under the proposed law.
The Bill is enacting by splitting the Patents and Designs Act, 1911 as there is a huge number of diversified affairs under the century-old law.
There is also a provision in the draft law that the owners will get compensation, and such cases will be dealt with by civil courts.
Read more: Bill to replace law of military regimes placed in JS
The owners will be given the patent of any innovation for 20 years after receiving application, and then it will become public.
Jatiya Party MP Fakhrul Imam objected to the placement of the Bill, but was rejected by voice vote.
BNP demands probe into alleged conspiracy to kill PM Hasina
BNP lawmaker Md Harunur Rashid on Thursday demanded an investigation to determine whether there is actually a conspiracy to kill prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
He came up with the demand while taking part in an unscheduled discussion in the parliament.
Abul Kalam Azad, a member of parliament of the ruling Awami League and former information minister, on Wednesday claimed that there is a conspiracy to kill the prime minister and some AL people are also involved in this plot in exchange for money.
Referring to Azad’s allegation, Harun it deserves a clear explanation since a ruling party lawmaker made the claim in the House.
“There is no way to brush it aside. A deep investigation is needed to find out whether such a conspiracy is really happening or not and who is involved in it,” he added.
Slamming the government on the issue of enforced disappearance Harun said the victims are unable to get protection of the law.
"People being shot dead in the moveent is one thing and missing is a completely different matter. Human rights and freedom of expression need to be discussed. The ruling party says that the country is on the highway of development," he said.
He questioned whether corruption, money laundering, rising commodity prices, or road accidents have decreased or not.
He also questioned what has been the development of the electoral process.
The BNP MP said that India is using the ports of the country. But transit is not being given to Bangladesh.
He criticised Bangladesh’s very soft attitude towards India.
Protesting the attack on BNP’s procession, another BNP MP Rumeen Farhana, said that the prime minister had given clear instructions that the programmes of the opposition would not be obstructed.
“But the behaviour of police administration is different. The prime minister is giving some sort of assurance. And the activists of Juba League, Chhatra League are behaving differently with the opposition party,” she said.
Rumeen dismissed Awami League’s claim that they are in the field to prevent sabotage.
“Why are police being used if Awami League leaders and activists are in the field to prevent vandalism?”
Rumeen said that the government claims that there is democracy in the country, but it does not exist in practice.
About the death of two members of the BNP in Bhola, Rumeen said that there was no investigation into the murders.
She claimed that more than 70 places were attacked in the programmes of BNP which started on August 22.
Responding to Rumeen, AL lawmaker Tofail Ahmed said that before the start of the procession that day, BNP leaders and activists attacked the police with sticks and bricks.
Awami League leaders and activists did not take to the streets that day, Tofail said adding in the 2001 election, they could not even stay at home, he said.
Also read: Plot to assassinate PM Hasina on, warns AL lawmaker