Singapore’s diplomats aren’t shrinking from any challenge to defend the Lion City’s national interest against major powers such as China, even at the risk of occasional reprisals.
In an interview with This Week in Asia, Chan Heng Chee, one of the country’s top envoys, dismissed talk that the foreign ministry was split on this issue after one of its former top guns questioned whether the island state was imprudently stepping on the toes of bigger countries. In a…
Bogus Malaysian cops tie up woman and kill her husband
By Sharanpal Singh Randhawa An Indonesian woman was tied to a tree and watched in horror as five bogus policemen robbed and killed her husband at a hill near the Bukit Bintang Maya housing project in the Malaysian crowd of Sungai Petani. State CID chief Senior Asst Comm Mior Farid Alathrash Wahid said they found the body of Myanmar national Min Tun Um, 54, with stab wounds on his abdomen, and his neck slashed.. “The couple had been married for two years. The man was selling…
UK government urged to avoid data transfers ‘cliff edge’ at point of Brexit
The UK government has been urged to take steps to avoid a potential “cliff edge” ending to transfers of personal data between the UK and EU when the UK formally exits the trading bloc.
Thai police to charge prankster ‘My Mate Nate’
Police in Thailand will charge online prankster Nathan Bartling, 24, over putting coins on the rail tracks for trains to run over and making a cat fight a scorpion on his YouTube channel “My Mate Nate”. Police Colonel Alongkorn Sirisongkram, chief of the Prawet police, said on Tuesday Mr Bartling would be charged with trespassing under a 1921 law on railways and highways and with cruelty to animals. Mr Bartling has been told to report to Prawet police to acknowledge the…
An election like none other, is it time for change in Malaysia?
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Najib Razak, caused a ruckus when she allowed others in the government to address her as the “First Lady” as early as 2009.
Malaysia does not have such a concept, unlike countries with Republican traditions such as the United States or France. Nevertheless, the honorific stuck.
If Anwar and Mahathir have kissed and made up, should Najib be worried?
While controversial to some, it barely merits mention on a list of unusual factors as voters…
The trend of increasing penalties for health and safety offences continues with new manslaughter sentencing guidelines, says expert
ANALYSIS: Prospective new sentencing guidelines for manslaughter offences promise to continue the trend that has been developing of increased penalties for health and safety offences in the workplace.
Disabled pilot plans to make fastest round-world trip
Khamaruzaman Mohd Yusof, a former Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officer and a person with disabilities, wants to set a world record by flying solo around the world next year. The 57-year-old served the RMAF for 13 years from 1979, where he developed his love for flying. He took up flying courses and received his pilot’s wings from the Southern Illinois University in the United States using his own funds. Khamaruzaman became physically disabled in 2007 after an accident while…
Duterte renews Mindanao peace push amid Marawi stand-off
President Rodrigo Duterte is seeking to revive a peace accord aimed at ending decades of insurgency in Mindanao in the southern Philippines, where government troops have battled Islamic State-linked militants for two months.
As much as 30 per cent of the bill that Duterte’s predecessor failed to pass has been revised, with the draft now providing for other Muslim groups to be included in the process, Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said on Monday at a…
Bollywood's biggest stars take over New York stadium with song, dance, glitz and glamour for 18th annual India film awards
India’s biggest Bollywood stars led a triumphant celebration of dance, music and fashion at the International Indian Film Academy awards on Saturday, cheered by thousands of ecstatic fans just outside New York.
The five-hour show at an American football stadium in New Jersey, where the glittering Manhattan skyline was visible from the parking lot, was a riot of colour, glitz and stunning dance routines. Best picture went to Neerja, a thriller based on the true story of a purser who…
Three inmates killed as 14 escape Philippine jail in restive south
Three inmates were killed on Sunday and another was wounded after escaping from jail in a southern Philippine island that is the stronghold of Islamist militants, police said.
The casualties were among 14 prisoners who escaped from a police station jail in war-torn Jolo, authorities said.
Jolo is a base of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group and some of the inmates were linked to the militants, according to provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Mario Buyuccan.
“They cut the…