Disgraced former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, 66, on Friday took part in an Islamic oath-swearing ceremony to proclaim his innocence in the murder of Mongolian model and translator Altantuyaa Shaariibuu, just days after a policeman sentenced to death in the case claimed Najib had issued the order to kill her.“Since the time of entering the age of ‘taklif’ [having responsibilities] until this point, I have never ordered any individual to kill a Mongolian national named Altantuyaa…
First Xinjiang, then Hong Kong … now US turns human rights attention to Tibet
Washington has angered Beijing in recent months with a flurry of legislation targeting China’s treatment of human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Tibet is now joining the list.The US House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee on Wednesday approved a bill calling for stronger US support for religious and human rights in Tibet, a step on the way to it becoming law.Known as the Tibet Policy and Support Act of 2019, the bill is expected to go to the House for a full vote, although a date…
‘Muslims caused fear of Islam’: Mahathir Mohamad opens Kuala Lumpur Summit, amid Saudi disgruntlement
Jihad, oppressive governance and neocolonialism. These are some of the key issues facing the Muslim world, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the opening session of a highly anticipated summit of Islamic countries in Malaysia on Thursday.In a keynote address to the three-day Kuala Lumpur Summit, Mahathir lamented the plight of Muslims worldwide saying they were embattled not only by Islamophobia and violence, but poor governance too.“Today we have lost the respect of the world. We are no…
South Korea’s conservative protesters, like Britain’s Brexiteers, reject rule by doctrinaire leftists
Conservative protest is now a global phenomenon. The resounding success of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the latest elections for the House of Commons shows the overwhelming support of a significant majority of Britons for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Also, less widely understood, the vote revealed popular revulsion over the policies and outlook of the doctrinaire leftism of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. Conservatives won 365 of the 650 seats in the Commons, giving them an…
The Maguindanao massacre: the Philippines’ bloodiest political killing
Philippine history is dotted with political killings, and this Thursday a Manila court will issue a verdict on one of the bloodiest – the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.On November 23 that year, 58 men and women – including 32 journalists – were slaughtered and dumped into roadside pits during an attack that was also one of the world’s worst mass killings of media workers.The leaders of the powerful Ampatuan family, who ruled Maguindanao, are charged with ordering the killings in a bid to quash an…
Malaysia revives 1MDB-linked mega project as it strengthens economic ties with China
The controversial Bandar Malaysia mega-project linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) global financial scandal received a new lease on life on Tuesday after the government signed a deal with a China-backed consortium to continue the venture.Malaysian Finance Ministry subsidiary TRX City said it had entered into a deal with IWH-CREC, a consortium between the Beijing-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) and local developer Iskandar Waterfront Holdings to develop the 48…
Lawyer for Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak says hitman’s claim ‘laughable’
A Malaysian death row inmate’s explosive claim that he murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006 on the explicit orders of the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is part of a conspiracy by those seeking to undermine the ex-leader, Najib’s lawyer said on Tuesday.A day after the statutory declaration from prison by former policeman Azilah Hadri was made public, Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah put forth a stunning claim of his own – that the convicted killer had “met a VVIP…
Asem can help Asia and Europe forge a truly powerful partnership
The foreign ministers’ meeting of Asem that I chair might sound like a rather bureaucratic acronym, but is, actually, politically a highly relevant event for our continents. The Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) forum brings together 53 partners made up of the 28 European Union member states, Norway, Switzerland, the EU, 21 countries in Asia and the Asean secretariat. Together we represent 55 per cent of global trade, 60 per cent of global gross domestic product, 60 per cent of the global population…
Philippines court throws out US$3.9 billion Marcos family forfeiture case
A court in the Philippines threw out a high-profile, 32-year-old forfeiture case on Monday involving the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, citing insufficient evidence to order the return of US$3.9 billion of allegedly ill-gotten wealth.The country’s anti-corruption court decided in favour of the Marcos family for the fourth time since August, with judges ruling that photocopied documents could not be used as evidence, so the case would not proceed.Opinion: Why Marcos the dictator still…
For Assam’s protesters, the red and white gamosa has become their flag
At the epicentre of deadly protests in Assam, a red and white cloth has come to symbolise the struggle of the Indian state’s indigenous “sons of the soil” against a new citizenship law that they see as a dangerous threat to their unique culture.Traditionally worn by fishermen and peasants, millennials and others in the far-flung region have co-opted the gamosa, tieing it around their heads, their waists and emblazoning it with anti-government slogans.“This is like a flag for us,” said Jatin…