Following his re-election, Indonesian President Joko Widodo will proceed with an ambitious plan to develop 10 new tourist destinations, including Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara province, an island 30 minutes from Bali by plane.Widodo last week visited the special economic zone of Mandalika in southern Lombok, where more than 17 trillion rupiah (US$1.2 billion) has been invested since 2014. Widodo reaffirmed his commitment to upgrading the island into a “high-standard” destination, with one eye on…
Li Huanwu, grandson of Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew, marries boyfriend Heng Yirui – and Chinese social media users cheer them on
A grandson of Singapore’s late founding father Lee Kuan Yew revealed on Friday he had married his boyfriend in South Africa, prompting a flurry of mostly positive reactions in his country, where male homosexuality is banned, and around the region.Li Huanwu, the second son of Lee Hsien Yang, was featured in an Instagram post by his partner Heng Yirui on Friday who said: “Today I marry my soulmate. Looking forward to a lifetime of moments like this with [Huanwu].”The picture showed both in…
If Donald Trump kills off Chinese firm Huawei, do Asia’s 5G dreams die?
When it comes to the roll-out of next-generation 5G cellular technology, few regions in the world could be as excited as Southeast Asia, a region famed for intensive smartphone use.But this week’s dramatic escalation in the United States’ crackdown on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been a cold shower for those anticipating the mass-market arrival of a technology hyped as heralding a new dawn of driverless cars and artificial intelligence.Just weeks ago, Huawei had seemed assured of playing a…
Entrepreneurs’ Relief: preference shares were ‘ordinary share capital’, says Tribunal
Preference shares which carried the right to a fixed cumulative preferential dividend were ‘ordinary share capital’ for the purposes of calculating entrepreneurs’ relief, the First-tier Tribunal has decided.
Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn urges post-election parliament to focus on national stability
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday urged the country’s newly elected lawmakers to prioritise national stability and the well-being of citizens as he opened the legislature’s first session since the disputed March 24 election.The constitutional monarch’s speech before elected MPs and senators came as a local media report suggested a breakthrough had been made following a weeks-long impasse over who will govern the country as it transits from five years of junta rule to a post-election…
‘Nowhere they can hide’: Malaysia’s new hard-nosed police chief Abdul Hamid calls out 1MDB fugitive financier Jho Low
Come back to face justice because you cannot hide forever – that was the message from Malaysia’s hard-nosed new police chief to fugitive financier Jho Low, believed to be the mastermind behind the country’s multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.Appointed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad earlier this month, Abdul Hamid Bador’s comments came amid heightened expectations that efforts would be intensified to complete the investigation and finally deliver justice on the whole notorious affair in coming…
Thailand’s constitutional court blocks Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit’s bid for prime minister role
Thailand’s constitutional court on Thursday suspended the MP status of a politician popular with millennial voters after he was accused of breaking an electoral law, a day before parliament was set to reopen.Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party and a former business tycoon, is accused of holding shares in a media company when he registered in February to run in the country’s March 24 election.Thanathorn has rejected the accusation, saying he had transferred the…
Indonesia riots: police draw Islamic-State links to deadly Jakarta protests that killed seven
Indonesian police on Thursday said members of an Islamic State-affiliated group had infiltrated into the mobs involved in violent protests that broke out in Jakarta this week.National Police Spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told a press conference on Thursday that among 442 detained protesters, two were members of the radical Islamic Reform Movement (Garis), that had pledged loyalty to IS, and sent almost 200 Indonesians to Syria.“They intended to carry out jihad during May 21 and 22 protests,” Iqbal…
Singapore monetary authority consults on payment services regulations
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has carried out a consultation into proposed payment services regulations that will enable it to carry out its functions under the new Payment Services Act.
Japan’s biggest phone companies mull pulling Huawei handsets
Wireless operators in Japan have begun to drop Huawei mobile phones after the US put the Chinese telecom-gear giant on a blacklist blocking it from buying vital US components.NTT Docomo, Japan’s largest operator, said on Wednesday it stopped taking pre-orders for Huawei’s new P30 handset, while its rival KDDI said it would indefinitely delay introduction of the phone, without elaborating.SoftBank’s YMobile announced a similar move, saying it is looking into concerns over the availability of…