Arifin Kurniawan towers over his 55-year-old father’s prostrate figure. With his hand placed firmly on the older man’s head, the blonde-haired son barks out instructions in Hokkien.
Only moments before, the 21-year-old Chinese-Indonesian had cut his tongue deliberately with a sword – using the blood to write Chinese characters on rice paper. Bathed in an eerie red light, with statues of countless deities lining the walls and the air filled with chanting, the Fat Cu Kung shrine…
Malaysian government mocked for featuring barking rooster in Chinese ‘Year of the Dog’ ad cock-up
Malaysia has apologised after a government ad in Chinese-language newspapers featuring a picture of a barking rooster to mark the Year of the Dog sparked a flood of mockery.
The full-page advert by the domestic trade, co-operatives and consumerism ministry showed a rooster emitting the word “wang”, used to represent a dog’s bark in Mandarin.
The advert, printed in Chinese-language newspapers in the multi-ethnic country on Thursday, also carried a message welcoming a “…
Many businesses are still at risk from tax corporate criminal offence
Four months after it became a criminal offence for a business to have an employee or other ‘associated person’ who facilitates tax evasion, many businesses have still not got the polices and procedures in place that could protect them, said Catherine Robins, a tax expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.
Is Chinese carmaker Geely being anti-Malay in cost cutting drive at Malaysia’s Proton?
Proton, the long-ailing Malaysian carmaker partly-acquired by China’s Geely last year, is under fresh scrutiny after Malay car dealers this week accused the company’s new management of being tone-deaf to affirmative action policies favouring the majority ethnic group.
The criticism prompted a key government minister to vow to intercede amid concerns the troubled carmaker could become a lightning rod for discontent against Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling coalition in…
Australia’s scandal-hit deputy PM Barnaby Joyce to take leave after admitting extramarital affair with pregnant ex-staffer
Australia’s scandal-hit deputy prime minister will take leave next week, it was announced Thursday, avoiding him assuming the role of acting leader while Malcolm Turnbull is in the United States.
Barnaby Joyce has been under immense pressure over an affair with a younger former staffer, who is now pregnant with their child, and allegations that he breached ministerial rules.
The crisis has dominated the front pages and parliament question time for a week, with calls mounting for him to…
Bank negligent after paying out client money on fraudulent instruction from sole director
A bank which made payments from a client account on the fraudulent instruction of the client’s director and sole shareholder was liable in negligence after the client company went into liquidation, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.
Japanese lawmaker wants North Korea kept ‘under siege’ despite charm offensive at Winter Olympics
South Korea must stay in line with US and Japanese plans to keep North Korea “under siege”, the chairman of Japan’s lower house committee on foreign affairs said, referring to the policy of maintaining maximum pressure on Kim Jong-un’s regime.
Just days after Kim’s smiling sister invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to a summit with her brother in Pyongyang – an overture he’s yet to formally accept, Yasuhide Nakayama attacked Seoul’s…
Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei denies featuring in viral sex video
Malaysian badminton ace Lee Chong Wei has denied featuring in a sex video that has gone viral and has lodged a police report over what he described as “malicious” allegations.
The world number two, who is married with two children, slammed the video as an attempt to “slander, malign and defame my good name and character”.
There had been speculation on social media in recent days that Lee featured in the video, which showed a naked man and woman together.
“I…
Court of Appeal: broadly-worded settlement clause precluded later claim for negligence
A broadly-worded settlement clause between a London law firm which sued its former client for unpaid fees was sufficient to prevent a later claim for negligence, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.
New Zealand lawmaker Bill English quits after election loss
New Zealand’s opposition leader Bill English said on Tuesday he would leave parliament after losing last year’s election.
The former prime minister told reporters he was resigning as leader of the conservative National Party and leaving parliament later this month.
English, 56, has served as a lawmaker for 27 years. He took the reins as prime minister in December 2016 after his predecessor John Key resigned. A former farmer, English built a reputation as being reliable and…