Proposals that would require companies with defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to notify scheme trustees and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) about a wider range of corporate activities have the potential to delay deals, experts have warned.
Malaysia’s terrorism threat must be addressed at community level to prevent resurgence of groups such as Islamic State
The concept of “New Malaysia” is rife with sentiments of change. But since the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the country’s general election on May 9 last year, taking power from a party in place for 60 years, one problem has remained unchanged – the threat of terrorism.The new government took the helm amid a terrorism landscape shaped by a militarily weakened Islamic State in Syria and the southern Philippines. A five-month conflict between jihadist groups and government forces at Marawi in…
Malaysia is back from the brink of one-party rot, but Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan must continue to forge ahead as obstacles mount
On May 9, 2018, after more than six decades in power, Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional was voted out of office.Just a few years prior, democracy and the rule of law in the country almost died. At the height of the scandal involving government fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), then prime minister Najib Razak fired dissenters in his cabinet, sacked the attorney general and shut down media companies.But the rot synonymous with a toxic one-party system runs deeper and started a long time…
Indonesian volcano Mount Sinabung erupts again, spewing massive column of smoke and ash skywards
An Indonesian volcano erupted on Tuesday, sending a massive column of ash and smoke 2,000 metres into the air, coating local villages in debris.Mount Sinabung on Sumatra island – which has been rumbling since 2010 and saw a deadly eruption in 2016 – spewed the thick plume after activity picked up in recent days.Disaster agency officials said the eruption has the “potential” to affect flights, but it had not issued a formal notice for planes to avoid the area.Local residents living along rivers…
Thai election: official Thai election results may herald pro-junta government
The official results of Thailand’s March 24 election due this week are set to boost a push by a pro-military party to form a governing coalition, unless an imminent court ruling complicates the picture.The party, Palang Pracharath, is a proxy for the junta government and is duelling for power with an anti-junta alliance. Many small parties are expected to get parliament seats in the official count and are likely to back the pro-military group, said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an expert in Thai…
Japanese warships off Okinawa could soon carry ground troops as Tokyo keeps eyes on Beijing
Japan is considering deploying ground troops aboard Maritime Self-Defence Force warships in waters off the country’s southwest. It would be the latest enhancement of the nation’s capabilities in the region and a clear signal to Beijing that Tokyo will defend its territory, analysts said.Quoting unnamed government sources, the Yomiuri newspaper reported officials had weighed having as many as 300 members of the Ground Self-Defence Force’s (GSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade operate from…
Lessons learned from a year at Malaysia’s levers of power
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,…