PHOTO: Malaysian Deputy PM Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail – Proplegacy

The Malaysian Government, in another backwards step as it caves in to conservative religious factions, is considering a new curfew on Under 18 year olds.

Authorities are mulling the possibility of setting a curfew for young Malaysians to be out of the house without adult supervision. They claim it is “to shield them from negative activities and influences”, according to the article from Bernama News.

This was among matters raised and agreed upon at the Cabinet Committee on Eradicating Drugs meeting chaired by Malaysian Deputy PM Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

She says authorities are seriously considering a curfew for children under 18 as records show that glue sniffing is serious among the young.

Malaysia would not be the first country to introduce a curfew on teenagers and children, with Iceland having something similar. Under Iceland’s Child Protection Act, children under 12 may not be outdoors after 8pm unless accompanied by an adult.

“It may not be easy to implement but we feel this is necessary and can definitely help prevent young people from being involved in negative activities,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Eradicating Drugs also discussed drawing up a law to prevent, treat and monitor abusers of psychotropic substances, including inhalants such as glue.

“This is still at the proposal stage. We have yet to figure out the punitive actions as well as educational elements that we want to have as part of the law.

“But what is for sure is that we need to ensure that our future generation is not addicted to psychotropic products and glue sniffing,” she said, adding that while the habit might not look as dangerous as injecting oneself with drugs, the effect of glue sniffing is equally, if not more, dangerous.

Dr Wan Azizah said to encourage drug addicts to seek treatment, the committee proposed those who “check-in” into rehabilitation centres voluntarily be left out from the offenders’ registry.

Read more about this proposal in Malaysia HERE.

PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX, identical to the crashed jet

“It’s broken into two pieces so hopefully it’s still useful.”

Just as hopes of finding the second black box of the crashed Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX began to fade, investigators say they finally found the voice cockpit recorder (CVR) of the doomed flight. Data retrieved from the device could help determine whether pilot error or specific issues with the MAX 8 contributed most to the October 2018 crash.

The discovery is a critical part of the puzzle to explain how a brand new Boeing 737 MAX fell out of the sky just after take-off.

The plane vanished from radar 13 minutes after take off, slamming into the Java Sea moments after pilots had requested to return to the airport, killing all 189 people onboard.

The bright orange cockpit voice recorder was discovered early yesterday in the mud about 10 metres from where search and rescue teams found the flight data recorder in November.

Haryo Satmiko, deputy head of Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee was hoping the device would still be useful in uncovering important evidence.

“It’s broken into two pieces so hopefully it’s still useful.”

“This will really help the investigation and could give some more answers on the causeof the crash.”

The flight data recorder supplies information about the its speed, altitude and direction. The Cockpit Voice Recorder actually records the conversations and communication of the pilots.

A preliminary report on the crash speculates that the pilots of the new Boeing 737 struggled to control the plane’s anti-stall system just before the accident. The report was also critical of Lion Air Indonesia for not grounding the plane before the fateful flight as four previous flights had reported issues with the automated anti-stall system.