Power

Political reporting and analysis on the big questions facing the region.

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 20, 2021 • 10 min read

Analysis Jokowi’s Papua strategy: Development above all else?

By Arie Ruhyanto • Jul 20, 2021
Indonesian president Joko Widido is known for his business-first approach to politics – nowhere is this more true than in Papua. But while the region has seen development and infrastructure growth, ecological damage and unsolved rights abuses undermine this legacy

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 15, 2021 • 10 min read

History The journalists who witnessed East Timor’s fight for independence

By Allegra Mendelson • Jul 15, 2021
After a quarter century of Indonesian occupation, East Timor was on the brink of self-rule in 1999. Amidst a brutal conflict, sisters Sophie and Lyndal Barry were among a band of journalists documenting the country's long and bloody road to independence

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 14, 2021 • 3 min read

Podcast The Anakut podcast: Cambodia’s controversial internet gateway

By Andrew Haffner • Jul 14, 2021
Proposals for an internet gateway in Cambodia have inevitably drawn comparisons to China's Great Firewall. In this episode of Anakut, we speak with digital security expert Moses Ngeth and James Griffiths, author of The Great Firewall of China, to hear what this plan could mean in practice

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jul 12, 2021 • 4 min read

Myanmar coup Rohingya wary as Myanmar’s anti-junta resistance reaches out

By Agence France-Presse • Jul 12, 2021
Myanmar's shadow government, formed in the aftermath of the February 1 military coup, has taken an unprecedented step towards reconciliation with the Rohingya, but many within the persecuted Muslim minority remain wary after decades of violence and discrimination

Power • Jul 09, 2021 • 9 min read
Analysis

Craving a legacy, will Jokowi push ahead with capital move?

Indonesian president Joko Widodo has earned a reputation as pro-business – to the detriment of all else in the eyes of his critics. With the country's pandemic-ravaged economy risking plans to move the capital, he will be keen to see his defining legacy come to fruition
By Edbert Gani Suryahudaya • Jul 09, 2021

Power • Jul 08, 2021 • 3 min read
Malaysian politics

Key Malaysian party withdraws support for embattled PM

UMNO, the biggest party in Malaysia's ruling coalition, said Thursday July 8 that it was withdrawing support for embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin following months of instability
By Patrick Lee/AFP • Jul 08, 2021

Power • Jul 07, 2021 • 2 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar protesters mark 1962 rallies against first junta

Five months since the military coup, protesters across Myanmar hit the streets on Wednesday July 8 to mark the anniversary of the 1962 student protests against the country's first junta regime
By Agence France-Presse • Jul 07, 2021

Power • Jul 07, 2021 • 3 min read
Podcast

The Anakut podcast: Cambodia’s role in ASEAN

We have a hot one for the second episode of Anakut Season 2. Things get animated as former Cambodian ambassador to Japan Pou Sothirak and former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan discuss Cambodia's role in ASEAN, under scrutiny as its ties with China grow stronger
By Andrew Haffner • Jul 07, 2021

Power • Jul 01, 2021 • 15 min read
Myanmar military

My time at the Myanmar military’s propaganda arm, The New Light

In Myanmar, military paper The New Light is infamous, reporting on the mundane and the pleasant as it's remained absurdly quiet on the coup. Back in 2015, author Jessica Mudditt got a glimpse into the propaganda machine, becoming one of the paper's first foreign editors
By Jessica Mudditt • Jul 01, 2021

Power • Jun 30, 2021 • 4 min read
Myanmar coup

‘Revolution Love’ sweeps Myanmar protest barricades

Since the coup, regular life in Myanmar has been interrupted. With bars closed and dating apps difficult to use with regular internet blackouts, young people have started finding love in the midst of the anti-coup protests
By Natalia Che/with Ei San/AFP • Jun 30, 2021

Power • Jun 29, 2021 • 3 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar jade industry becoming ‘slush fund’ for junta

Myanmar's multi-billion-dollar jade mines are on the verge of becoming a "slush fund" for the military junta, as consumers are urged to boycott purchasing any gemstones
By Agence France-Presse • Jun 29, 2021

Power • Jun 29, 2021 • 11 min read
Thai democracy

Amid politics and pandemic, Thai democracy movement attempts revival

By late 2020, the Thai pro-democracy movement looked set to bring about major changes. But in the months since, legal warfare from authorities and a public health crisis has ground protests to a halt. Now, activists are returning to the streets, but is momentum gone?
By Wanpen Pajai • Jun 29, 2021