The deliberate use of biological agents and the emergence of infectious diseases which can produce harm to human health and give effects to the public health and security are well recognised. A few years back, an attack of biological agents would be the most unthinkable situation to happen. However, the threat of bioterrorism is real and it is growing. It continues to be a major challenge today and the possibility of bioterrorism is undeniable as it is increasingly defined globally as ‘not if, but when’. Therefore, this paper attempts to give a brief explanation on the threat of bioterrorism as to the emergence of infectious diseases and the legal history of international law on bioterrorism. The main objective of this paper is to find out the need for bioterrorism law in Malaysian i.e. a legal approach. The study is a social legal research, which uses a qualitative approach. Thus, due to lack of materials and publications in Malaysia, in order to achieve the objectives, the methodology used was based on a semi structured interviews conducted with three respected experts in public health and security to explore the real situation in Malaysia. The authors found out that the finding of this study had established that an outbreak of infectious diseases can now be viewed as a threat that may result to bioterrorism if there is no preparation to handle it. Keywords: Bioterrorism, biological agents, infectious diseases, legal and preparedness

Abstract:The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) does not explicitly refer to sustainable development despite the fact that other United Nations (UN) disarmament documents prescribe that international environmental law principles and sustainable development be considered among arms control agreements. This study's objective is to utilize the principle of integration's three components of environmental, economic, and social development, as found in the International Sustainable Development Law (ISDL) from the New Delhi Declaration (Delhi Declaration) of Principles of International Law Relating to Sustainable Development, in order to evaluate whether the BWC contains such components; thereby, making it possible for the BWC to contribute to sustainable development. The methodology of this study is necessarily qualitative, given that it is a socio-legal research that relies on international agreements such as the BWC, declarations, resolutions, plans of implementation, other non-binding documents of the UN, and secondary resources-all of which are analyzed through a document analysis. The results show that the BWC addresses the environment (Article II), prohibits transfers relating to export controls, international trade, and economic development (Article III), while at the same time, covering social development concerns, health, and diseases that make up the international social law (Article X). Since the BWC is found to be capable of contributing to sustainable development, it is concluded that ISDL cannot be restricted to international environmental, economic, and social law, but should be expanded to include international arms control law.

Pistol, senjata api, pisau, grenad, peluru berpandu, rifel adalah antara bentuk senjata fizikal yang mungkin dikenali orang ramai. Meskipun begitu, perkembangan dalam bidang sains dan teknologi serta pertumbuhan yang luar biasa dalam pembangunan manusia telah membawa kepada kemajuan pengetahuan yang meluas dan lebih baik dalam kalangan pakar untuk menghasilkan senjata moden yang lebih berkesan pada masa akan datang. Pada masa kini, senjata fizikal tidak lagi dieksploitasi untuk mengakibatkan kemusnahan dan kerosakan. Sebaliknya, bahan kimia, biologi, radiologi dan letupan nuklear (CBRNE) digunakan untuk tujuan mewujudkan ketakutan yang maksimum, kematian dan kemusnahan orang ramai dan masyarakat. Pada masa yang sama, persepsi orang ramai terhadap senjata juga akan berubah sekiranya mereka memiliki pengetahuan tentang pelbagai senjata dan cara-cara penggunaannya. Oleh itu, artikel ini bertujuan mendefinisikan senjata yang berbentuk konvensional dan bukan konvensional melalui cara penggunaannya dengan merujuk kepada statut-statut yang relevan dan sedia ada di Malaysia. Terdapat juga usaha untuk membincangkan berbagai-bagai jenis senjata melalui kepelbagaian penggunaannya bagi setiap jenis senjata.

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Dalam memastikan sektor pertanian terus berdaya saing, kerajaan telah memperkenalkan skim bantuan subsidi baja kepada petani. Matlamat skim ini adalah untuk membantu meringankan beban petani selain mengoptimumkan hasil pertanian khususnya bagi sektor tanaman padi, getah dan kelapa sawit. Walau bagaimanapun masih wujud ketirisan dalam pemberian skim bantuan baja yang telah menyebabkan kerugian jutaan ringgit kepada negara. Perbuatan penyelewengan ini merupakan satu jenayah komersial yang perlu dibenteras segera kerana melibatkan isu integriti, rasuah dan pecah amanah. Sehubungan itu, artikel ini membincangkan faktor penyelewengan selain menganalisa peruntukan undang-undang yang berkaitan berhubung isu ketirisan skim bantuan subsidi baja secara deskriptif. Masalah ketirisan ini perlu ditangani dengan segera bagi memastikan skim bantuan subsidi baja dapat disampaikan kepada petani dengan lancar dalam memastikan agihan skim baja dapat diuruskan secara telus mengikut lunas perundangan dan seterusnya memberi manfaat kepada petani dalam mencapai pulangan yang lebih lumayan.