Just how much clout does the Hong Kong-based billionaire Robert Kuok have in the eyes of his fellow Malaysian Chinese after being away from home for more than four decades?
The Barisan Nasional, Malaysia’s ruling coalition, could be poised to find that out the hard way after one of its stalwarts launched a blistering verbal attack against the 94-year-old with a general election just around the corner.
Observers are warning the coalition’s already weak support from the minority…
Law Commission seeks views on boosting take-up of commonhold
The Law Commission is seeking views on why the “little-known and little used” commonhold model of home ownership has not become a popular alternative to residential leasehold.
Singapore court clarifies approach to ‘natural justice’ breaches
The High Court in Singapore has further clarified when it will be willing to set aside an adjudicator’s decision for being a breach of natural justice, as opposed to a simple error of law.
US, Norway help Philippines catch child sex video suspect
Norwegian and US authorities have helped the Philippines capture a man they say exploited children by having them join sex videos which he then showed to paying foreign clients online, officials said on Friday.
National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Gierran said law enforcers from Norway and the US joined Filipino authorities in a raid on Thursday that led to the arrest of the suspect, Anselmo Ico Jnr, and the rescue of five minor – his alleged victims – in a poor village…
Retail Sector Council can ‘give industry a voice’ on Brexit challenges, says lawyer
The UK’s new Retail Sector Council can give the country’s retailers a stronger voice before government on the challenges posed by Brexit, according to a lawyer who specialises in retail work.
Ultra-nationalist Myanmar Buddhist monk freed from prison
An ultra-nationalist Myanmar monk was released from prison on Friday after serving time for inciting unrest in an anti-Rohingya protest in 2016, a rare punishment handed to one of the country’s hardline Buddhist clergymen.
Parmaukkha, who was handed a three-month jail term, has helped peddle a fiery brand of Buddhist nationalism and Islamophobia in Myanmar, a country accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. The monk was arrested in November over a rally he…
South Korean writers, artists accused of abuse to be erased from textbooks as country gets behind #MeToo
Three prominent South Korean writers and artists who have been accused of sex abuse will have their works and almost all mentions of their names removed from school textbooks, the government said Thursday, as the country’s nascent #MeToo campaign spreads.
A growing number of women have spoken out about abuses they suffered at the hands of powerful figures in multiple fields, making headlines in a country that remains socially patriarchal despite economic and technological advances.
Those…
South Korea probes secret plan for military crackdown on candlelit protests against Park Geun-hye
South Korea will investigate allegations that ousted president Park Geun-hye planned to send military troops to quash the candlelit protests that culminated in her impeachment last year, the defence ministry said Thursday.
Activist group the Centre for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK), citing multiple leaks, said top military leaders had studied plans to crack down on demonstrators calling for Park’s resignation over a corruption scandal.
South Korea was ruled by military dictators for…
One bad reason need not cancel out withholding of consent
ANALYSIS: A landlord which withholds its consent to a lease assignment will not necessarily be doing so unreasonably where it has multiple reasons for doing so, and only one of those reasons is itself unreasonable.
Sanctions on N Korea to stay as South’s leader Moon urges cautious optimism about talks
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday sanctions on North Korea will not be eased for the sake of a summit with Pyongyang, as China urged both sides to “seize the current opportunity” to promote the denuclearisation of the peninsula.
In the first meeting of its kind, South Korean officials who met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday said he expressed his willingness to denuclearise the Korean peninsula if his country’s security is assured.
Next month…