Singapore’s leaders need strong backing from voters to weather uncertain times, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said as he called on members of the ruling party to prepare for a “tough fight” at the next general election.Speaking at the People’s Action Party convention, Lee pointed to some economies around the world where public faith in governments has eroded, and both traditional and socialist parties have been weakened, The Straits Times reported. Populist movements may have upended the…
Malaysian artists join opposition to Penang’s land reclamation project
“It looks as if someone was trying to build something as large and expensive as possible, without taking the effort to plan it properly,” entrepreneur Curry Khoo said as we sat in a coffee shop in Bayan Lepas, close to Penang International Airport.We discussed the proposed Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), consisting of five light rail and monorail lines, highways, viaducts and tunnels – one undersea, another cutting through the hills of the picturesque Penang Island.Earlier this week, Khoo…
Muslims slam ruling as India’s top court grants bitterly-disputed holy site to Hindus
India’s Supreme Court on Saturday handed Hindus complete ownership of a disputed plot of land, ruling in favour of a temple on the religious ground and ordered that alternative land be given to Muslims to build a mosque.The dispute over land ownership has been one of the country’s most contentious issues.The 16th-century Babri Masjid mosque in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state was destroyed by Hindu hardliners in December 1992, sparking a massive wave of Hindu-Muslim…
Sam Rainsy lands in Malaysia as Hun Sen’s government vows to ‘destroy him’
Self-exiled Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy landed in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday after promising to return home to rally opponents of authoritarian ruler Hun Sen.“Keep up the hope. We are on the right track,” Rainsy said on arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in a message to supporters. “Democracy will prevail. Democracy has prevailed in Malaysia. Democracy will prevail in Cambodia.”Asked whether he planned to return to Cambodia he said: “I cannot say…
Philippine clerk’s US$14 million theft forces closure of 50-year-old brokerage firm
A clerk who stole more than 700 million pesos (US$13.87 million) worth of stocks over eight years from one of the Philippines’ oldest brokerage firms, forcing its closure, will be at the centre of a wide-ranging investigation called for on Friday by the country’s stocks regulator. R&L Investments Incorporated closed its doors on Monday after its owners uncovered a long-running scam by an employee that had wiped out “almost all of our stock position”, owner Lucy Linda Lee was quoted as saying…
In wealthy Singapore, about 1,000 people sleep rough every night
A landmark study on homelessness in Singapore has found that on any given night, between 921 and 1,050 people sleep in public spaces such as parks and unenclosed lobbies.Most are older men who sleep rough because they cannot afford housing, want to be near their workplace or have issues with family members or housemates, among other reasons.The study was led by assistant professor Ng Kok Hoe at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, with the help of 480 volunteers, social workers mobilised…
Five Malaysians caned and jailed for attempted gay sex, in case slammed by LGBTI rights group
Five men in Malaysia were sentenced to jail and canings on Thursday by an Islamic court for attempting to have gay sex, local media and a rights group said.Sodomy and same-sex acts are illegal under Islamic law in Muslim-majority Malaysia, although convictions are rare.The Selangor Shariah High Court sentenced four men to six months’ jail, six strokes of the cane, and a 4,800 ringgit ($1,163) fine for “attempting intercourse against the order of nature”, the Malay-language daily Harian Metro…
Malaysian leader Mahathir vows to fix ‘draconian’ laws as activists decry slow pace of reforms
As Malaysia’s Pakatan Harapan administration reaches the 18-month mark in power, human rights watchdogs have questioned the slow pace of the government’s reforms.Last year, the government said it had identified 113 laws to be repealed, amended or drafted, including laws that Malaysian civil society had long claimed violated fundamental liberties and international human rights standards, such as the colonial-era Sedition Act and the Security Offences Act.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mahathir…
Demand for Hong Kong flights has ‘stabilised’, says Singapore Airlines boss Goh Choon Phong
Singapore Airlines on Wednesday said the continuing anti-government unrest in Hong Kong had left only a “relatively minor” dent in its financial performance amid concerns in the region about the impact on businesses.Chief executive Goh Choon Phong said it was “too early to say” whether a recovery was under way in the market for travel to the protest-hit city, despite several airlines based outside the region noting an uptick in demand to levels not seen since the turmoil began.“Of course, there…
Malaysian cat killer jailed for putting animal into laundry dryer
A man in Malaysia who killed a pregnant cat by putting it into a running dryer at a launderette has been sentenced to 34 months in jail, local media reported.K Ganesh, 42, was handed the prison term on Tuesday after being found guilty of breaking animal protection laws at the self-service laundry outside Kuala Lumpur in September last year, official news agency Bernama reported.He will remain free on bail for now as he plans to appeal.Decomposing bodies of dogs and cats found at Hong Kong…