Politics

Politics • STORY OF THE DAY • Aug 27, 2021 • 8 min read

Analysis Top-secret list shadows Thailand’s never-ending battle against its ‘enemies’

By Mark S. Cogan • Aug 27, 2021
This month, a top-secret document emerged in Thailand. It revealed not only a list of 183 people deemed enemies of Prayut's military-backed government – among them a monk, a journalist and two 15-year-old girls – but also a paranoid state's long-standing urge to purge 'unThai' elements

Politics • STORY OF THE DAY • Aug 25, 2021 • 3 min read

Philippines Philippines’ Duterte says will run for vice president in 2022

By Agence France-Presse • Aug 25, 2021
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared he will run for vice president next year to continue his "crusade" against drugs and insurgents - a move driven by fear of criminal charges, critics says

Politics • STORY OF THE DAY • Aug 24, 2021 • 6 min read

Opinion In Vietnam, Harris must not ignore human rights for geopolitics

By Carolyn Nash • Aug 24, 2021
US Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Vietnam today on the second stop of her Southeast Asia tour. But with geopolitical considerations guiding affairs, Amnesty International's Carolyn Nash says the region's many human rights issues must not be ignored

Politics • STORY OF THE DAY • Aug 20, 2021 • 1 min read

Kleptocracy Scandal-plagued party reclaims Malaysian leadership

By Agence France-Presse • Aug 20, 2021
Former deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob appointed as Malaysia's new prime minister with a scandal-plagued party, reclaiming the leadership lost in 2018

Politics • Aug 17, 2021 • 2 min read
Malaysia

Malaysian king meets party leaders in hunt for new PM

Malaysia's king met political party chiefs Tuesday as the hunt began for a new prime minister, a day after the last leader resigned
By Agence France-Presse • Aug 17, 2021

Politics • Aug 16, 2021 • 3 min read
Malaysia

Malaysia’s Prime Minister quits after just 17 months in office

Malaysia's Muhyiddin Yassin and his government resigned after criticisms over power-grabbing amidst coronavirus outbreak, throwing the country into fresh political turmoil
By Sam Reeves and M. Jegathesan/AFP • Aug 16, 2021

Politics • Aug 12, 2021 • 9 min read
Myanmar coup

In the US, activists push for bill that would strip the Tatmadaw of billions

Last weekend Myanmar activists in the US marched to the White House calling for lawmakers to formally recognise the NUG, shut off the Tatmadaw’s international sources of revenue and reassign $1 billion in assets to the provisional government
By Ryan Anders • Aug 12, 2021

Politics • Aug 10, 2021 • 11 min read
Analysis

What Singapore today can learn from its ethnic riots of the 1960s

As Singapore marks 56 years of independence, Joshua Wan turns back the clock to a time when ethnic relations in the city-state were more fraught, revisiting and comparing two race riots in the 1960s as he draws insights for maintaining peaceful relations today
By Joshua Wan • Aug 10, 2021

Politics • Aug 09, 2021 • 8 min read
Analysis

ASEAN’s Myanmar dilemma isn’t over with new special envoy

Last week, Brunei's Erywan Yusof was confirmed as ASEAN's new special envoy to Myanmar, in a move towards finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis. But a middle-ground candidate from the autocratic sultanate, his appointment offers limited hope for progress
By Hunter Marston • Aug 09, 2021

Politics • Aug 06, 2021 • 7 min read
Analysis

Thailand’s human rights narrative runs contrary to reality, even at the UN

Despite cases of lèse-majesté piling up and pro-democracy protesters facing serious charges like sedition, Thailand’s third time through the Universal Periodic Review later this year will most likely be as inconsequential as previous UN human rights inspections
By Mark S. Cogan • Aug 06, 2021

Politics • Aug 04, 2021 • 2 min read
Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister rejects mounting calls to quit

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin rejected citizen's calls for resignation after poor governance but will face a no-confidence vote in parliament
By Agence France-Presse • Aug 04, 2021

Politics • Aug 03, 2021 • 22 min read
Aviation safety

Killed by corruption: Graft in Indonesia’s aviation industry and Adam Air 574

Indonesia sits among the worst ranking nations globally for fatal airline crashes, with Adam Air 574 offering a stark example of why. Though 14 years have passed since this devastating accident, few lessons, it seems, have been learned
By Kylan Dempsey • Aug 03, 2021