As we near the first anniversary of Pakatan Harapan’s historic electoral victory on May 9, many will write about the achievements and failures of the new Malaysian federal government. I want to reflect instead on three lessons I learned in the past year, especially from this vantage point of being in federal government for the first time.First, people do not vote out of material interests alone. Many politicians tend to think that economic interest drives voters, and they thus promise…
Coronation of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn gives rare glimpse of Thai royal relations
A normally inscrutable king pulls his sister in for a hug and selfies of royal siblings rebound across Instagram – the coronation of Thailand’s Rama X has provided people a rare glimpse into a highly-private family cocooned by palace protocols.King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, was crowned on Saturday in a sumptuous ceremony rich in symbolism and ritual.The monarchy is the apex of Thai society and projections of its power are unmissable in the kingdom, from towering portraits of the stern-faced king…
There are Filipinos in Alaska – they’re called Alaskeros, and they’ve been there for more than 200 years
Jerry Manolo always dreamed of seeing snow. He grew up in the Philippines, where the average year-round temperature is 26.6 degrees Celsius, but daydreamed of living in a rustic log cabin hidden among glacial, snow-capped mountains, hiking over frozen lakes and sledding down powdery white hills.When he told friends and family of these visions, they thought he was crazy. But Manolo didn’t listen. In 2003, he visited the coldest state in the United States, where the average low in the chilliest…
In ‘New Malaysia’, reality bites a year after historic Pakatan Harapan victory
M AY 9, 2018 will probably be remembered as the day Malaysians registered to vote were all doing the same thing: out queuing up to cast their ballot, and then waiting until 3am to know the results. Then waiting again for another 18 hours for the new government to be sworn in.Everybody has their own story of that day, of the camaraderie among voters at the polling stations, of the tensions and frustrations of the slow results and the utter joy at realising a new government had been elected,…
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn crowned Rama X in symbolic ceremony in Bangkok
The three-day coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn began at the Grand Palace in Bangkok on Saturday with a dazzling display of pageantry marked by Hindu and Buddhist rituals that came two and a half years after his father’s death.At 10.09am, a time picked by astrologers, the holy ablution ceremony began – a symbolic purification ceremony using water collected from around Thailand.A canon-salute marked the moment, while horns and pipes were played and Buddhist monks chanted.King Vajiralongkorn…
Two dead, thousands evacuated as Cyclone Fani pummels India’s Orissa
Two people died on Friday after Cyclone Fani slammed into eastern India, officials said, as the storm sent coconut trees flying, blew away food stands and cut off power and water.The monster weather system, which made landfall at the eastern city of Puri in the morning, is one of the strongest to come in off the Indian Ocean in years, with winds gusting at speeds of up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour.In recent days authorities in Orissa state, where 10,000 people died in a 1999 cyclone,…
Vietnam races to launch 5G network, but Chinese tech giant Huawei notably left out of plan
Vietnam may soon become one of the first Southeast Asian countries to go 5G, with local telecoms firms racing to develop the country’s first nationwide network. But the cutting edge advancement is likely to come with one notable absentee: Chinese tech giant Huawei.The country’s biggest carrier, Viettel, announced on April 25 it had successfully tried out a 5G broadcast station in Hanoi with a speed of 600 to 700Mbps, reportedly on par with Verizon in the US. A full 5G network test is expected…
Experts welcome FCA’s business plan priorities but say more action needed
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has laid out its priorities for the coming year, with Brexit named as its most immediate focus.
1MDB scandal: fugitive financier Jho Low allegedly bought diamonds for his mother using stolen funds. Now the US government is seizing them
A US$1.7 million diamond jewellery set, allegedly bought for the mother of fugitive Malaysian financier Low Jho, will be handed over to the US government, US prosecutors said in a court filing.Low, known as Jho Low, has been charged in Malaysia and the United States for his role in the suspected theft of about US$4.5 billion from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, has consistently denied wrongdoing.Explained: Malaysia’s 1MDB scandalIn 2017, the US…
LGBT rights in Singapore: gay community continues battle to be accepted, 10 years after Christian power grab at women’s group Aware
As mysteries go, this was in a class of its own.One day in March 2009, Singapore’s most prominent women’s organisation held its annual general meeting, and everyone expected it to be uneventful. Not many members were expected to turn up, and a team had already agreed to form its new committee. It would be over quickly.Except that it did not go that way, that day. Just before the meeting began, a stream of strangers appeared and soon outnumbered the surprised Aware members present. The new faces…