CELEST Newsletter

CELEST is proud to present our newsletter. We hope it will encourage discussion on contemporary issues on the integration of law and ethics with science and technology.  We hope that you will enjoy reading it!

 CELEST (2020) Issue 4 Stem cell research and therapy PDF (4.89 MB)

In this month’s newsletter, Dr Mohammad Firdaus Abdul Aziz highlights the promising benefits of stem cell-based therapy to cure many kinds of diseases and the importance of the general public to be aware of the current development of this 21st century medical technology.

 

 CELEST (2020) Issue 3 Embracing Telemedicine in the New Normal PDF (3.39 MB)

In this month’s newsletter, Associate Professor Dr Tay Pek San discusses the remit of the Telemedicine Act 1997 and the legal challenges in implementing telemedicine in Malaysia.

 CELEST (2020) Issue 2 Telemedicine in Malaysia during Covid-19 pandemic PDF (4.51 MB)

In this month’s newsletter, Dr Mohammad Firdaus Abdul Aziz discusses the application of telemedicine in light of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the protection for patients' privacy and confidentiality in Malaysia.

 CELEST (2020) Issue 1 Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Technology PDF (2.46 MB)

In this month’s newsletter, Dr Ainee Adam offers some insight into how we might approach the regulation of Artificial Intelligence. She explores the thoughts of Confucius and Bentham on laws and regulations and ponders the possibility of adopting the views of these philosophers in addressing the issue of regulating AI technology.

 CELEST (2019) Issue 5 Regulation of digital currency exchanges PDF  (7.37 MB)

2019 Year-End Message from the Director As we bid goodbye to 2019 and look forward to 2020, it is time for us to step back and take stock at what CELEST has done for this year so that we can chart a more defined path that we could pursue in the coming year.

Featured Article Dr Sherin Kunhibava writes on the regulation of digital currency exchanges in Malaysia. She identifies both the benefits and risks of this recent innovation and notes that although regulation is necessary to protect the public, regulators must be careful not to stifle innovation. She then provides an overview of the positions taken by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Security Commission of Malaysia on digital currencies exchanges and the regulations issued by each institution.

 (2019) Issue 4 Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: An Appraisal of the Recent Trends PDF(1.43 MB)

Featured Article Dr Mohammad Ershadul Karim discusses the regulation of Artificial Intelligence and provides an overview of regulatory responses in different contexts. He explains both the problems with and the importance of definitions and highlights a number of challenges that arise from the use of AI applications. He concludes that broad principle-based anticipatory regulations coupled with assessment tools or check lists would pave the way for countries to safely develop AI applications while continuing to consider more detailed mechanisms.

 (2019) Issue 3 Bridging the Digital Divide PDF (307.97 KB)

In this issue, Dr Izura Masdina writes on bridging the digital divide. She explores the three different aspects of the digital divide and focuses on an aspect which is not adequately acknowledged and addressed: the empowerment divide. She argues that the Malaysian government’s initiatives to bridge the digital divide and address inequality within society are unlikely to succeed unless policies are put in place to bridge the empowerment divide as well.

 (2019) Issue 2 Think Again Before You Re-Post Content Online PDF (2.22 MB)

In this issue, our researcher, Dr Sik Cheng Peng highlights the importance of respecting the copyright in a work when sharing digital content online.

 (2019) Issue 1 The Ethics of Data Sharing in Low and Middle Income Countries PDF (1.30 MB)

Data sharing is rapidly becoming a vital part of biomedical research. Researchers are increasingly required to share data as many funding agencies and scientific journals commonly adopt data sharing policies. There are however, a number of ethical challenges involved in sharing data.

 (2018) Issue 3 Media Law in Malaysia - Time for a Makeover? PDF (2.97 MB)

2018 Year-End Message from the Director As the end of the year draws to a close, it is time to pause and reflect on how CELEST has fared in its aim to promote legal research in science and technology. Media Laws in Malaysia: Time for a Makeover? Dr Zalina bte Abdul Halim, who is a senior lecturer at the Law Faculty, UM discusses how constant advancements in technology have pushed the traditional boundaries of communications and media.

 (2018) Issue 2 Does Your Personal Data Remain Private In The Cloud? PDF (846.59 KB)

Cloud computing often deals with personal and sensitive data of individuals or entities. Such data should be protected from any unlawful access and, accordingly, requires the highest level of privacy.

 (2018) Issue 1 Malaysian biobanks - is the current governance framework adequate? PDF (1.16 MB)

Welcome to Our Inaugural Newsletter! Biobanking’, also known as ‘biorepositories’ and ‘genetic databases’, is widely regarded as an important means to facilitate biomedical research. It functions as repositories of human biological samples. The Council of Europe has offered a definition of ‘biobanking’ as: “the collection of biological materials which has a population basis; it is established to supply biological materials or data for multiple future research projects, contains biological materials and associated personal data that may include or may be linked to genealogical, medical and lifestyle data; it may be regularly updated and receives and supplies materials in an organized manner.”