Asian Legal Review

The Philippines has a strong chance of gaining a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), according to observers. Manila has renewed its bid, with its foreign secretary stressing the country’s track record as a “pathfinder and peacemaker”.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo reiterated the Philippines’ UN aspirations in a speech in New York earlier this week to more than 300 diplomats and guests at his country’s Independence Day celebrations.
He pointed to the…

Two Malaysian lawmakers – along with the businessman who exposed them in covert videos – have been arrested in Sabah state, anti-corruption authorities have confirmed, in a scandal that has raised questions over protections afforded to whistle-blowers.
Sabah, Malaysia’s second-largest state, is among the country’s poorest and has long been plagued by corruption allegations, including those linked to former chief minister Musa Aman, controversially appointed governor earlier this year.
On…

Southeast Asian nations are urging the evacuation of their citizens from Iran and Israel as the air war escalates, with Malaysia warning of “rapidly deteriorating conditions” and Thailand preparing to bring back tens of thousands of migrant labourers from Israeli farms and factories.
Thousands of Iranians have fled the capital of Tehran this week, since Israel launched strikes that have killed more than 220 people, mostly civilians. Two dozen have been killed in retaliatory missile attacks on…

About 150 Filipinos in Israel have requested help from Manila to return as the conflict escalates with Iran. However, most of the 30,000-strong community, primarily domestic workers and carers, are reluctant to leave their wards behind.
The Philippine embassy in Israel revealed the number of repatriation seekers on Tuesday.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac told ABS-CBN News the same day: “By the very nature of their work, they’re caregivers, 75 per cent of OFWs [overseas foreign workers]…

Japanese women in their twenties were twice as likely to take extended sick leave as their male counterparts, a recent survey has found, prompting calls to health officials to pay more attention to sex and age in preventing long-term sick leave.
Mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders, and pregnancy-related complications like severe morning sickness were the main reasons women called in sick for periods longer than 30 days, The Japan Times reported on Monday, citing…

Malaysia will press on with planned cuts to petrol subsidies, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said, despite mounting public pushback over government measures to cut costs and raise taxes.
The government is expected to slash costly petrol subsidies as early as July, a move that Anwar said was necessary to deflate the country’s multibillion-dollar subsidy bill and make sure the savings reach those most in need.
But the move has raised concerns that it could trigger inflation if consumers have to…

Malaysia’s government is under pressure to fix damaged highways and tackle the country’s poor road safety record after a Singaporean cyclist became the latest casualty of roads that claim the life of one person every two hours.
A 42-year-old Singaporean man died on Saturday when he was run over by a gravel-laden truck after he hit a pothole and fell from his bike in the Kulai district of the southern Johor state, police said.
His death came barely a week after 15 university students were killed…

First, a head emerged from a drain hole in broad daylight. Then came arms and legs.
Like a scene out of a horror film, such was the eerie image that unfolded when a woman was spotted crawling out of a sewer on the corner of the streets of Adelantado and VA Rufino, one of the busiest areas in the financial district of Makati City in the Philippines.
The photo, which had quickly gone viral online and was later published by several local media outlets, was taken by a hobbyist photographer, who…

With Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr about halfway through his six-year term, questions are growing over whether his successor will uphold his firmer stance on the South China Sea or, as one senior official has warned, retreat to the symbolic “jet ski” posturing and softer policies seen under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.
Last month’s midterm elections delivered a split Senate, with Marcos-aligned candidates winning five of the 12 contested seats and Duterte allies clinching the…

Up to 10,000 foreign nationals linked to the controversial Philippine offshore gaming operations (Pogos) remain in the country despite a ban on the sector last year, with calls from lawmakers mounting to track down those at large and quickly deport them.
Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) chief Gilbert Cruz revealed the numbers – mostly Chinese nationals – in the past week to a committee at the House of Representatives overseeing hearings on Pogos and alleged links to human…