NewsTracker Answers for week of Apr 16, 2012

Q: The Malaysian government introduced legislation that would limit the time it could detain people suspected of security-related offenses without formal charges to 28 days, replacing a law that allows indefinite detention without trial. Where is Malaysia on this map?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Malaysia shares a peninsula with Thailand and the island of Borneo with Indonesia and Brunei. What body of water separates the Malay Peninsula from the island of Borneo to the east?

A. Indian Ocean

B. Gulf of Thailand

C. South China Sea

D. Strait of Malacca


C. The South China Sea is part of the Pacific Ocean encompassing an area from the Strait of Taiwan to the Strait of Malacca, which separates the Malay Peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest. The Strait of Malacca is the main shipping channel between the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.


Q: Which island city-state lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula?

A. Hong Kong

B. Singapore

C. Macao

D. Monaco


B. Singapore was briefly part of Malaysia when it was formed in 1963. Singapore and Malaysia were British colonies before their independence. Their governments are modeled on the British parliamentary system and their laws are based on English Common law.


Q: Rights groups say Malaysia's Internal Security Act has long been used to silence government critics. Which of these nations does NOT allow indefinite imprisonment without trial?

A. United States

B. Singapore

C. China

D. None of the above


D. All three nations have security laws that allow them to imprison people indefinitely. The United Sates has indefinitely held more than 300 people at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly a decade. Those prisoners are from other countries, but Congress passed a defense bill last year that allows the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without trial.


Q: Like Malaysia and Singapore, the U.S. legal system is based on English Common law. What English legal concept is supposed to prevent detention without judicial review?

A. Habeas corpus

B. Ex post facto

C. E pluribus unum

D. Stare decisis


A. Habeas corpus, Latin for "you have the body," is a writ requiring that a detained person be brought before a judge. It requires that a prisoner be released from unlawful detention, that is, detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence. It has historically been an important legal instrument safeguarding the freedom of individuals against arbitrary state action.