ASEAN

Indonesians across the archipelago took to the polls on Wed (17 Apr) amid heightened Islamic religious conservatism and the proliferation of “fake news” surrounding the Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno presidential candidate pairings prior to this election. This year’s election – which currently sees incumbent President Joko Widodo being re-elected, as he and his running mate lead the …

AFP – Indonesia’s heavy metal-loving leader Joko Widodo faces off against ex-military general Prabowo Subianto in the race to lead the world’s third-biggest democracy Wednesday, a re-run of the 2014 election contest narrowly won by Widodo. A record 245,000 candidates are running for public office from the presidency down to local legislator positions, including an Olympic gold medallist, a pop …

Various news outlets reported on the polling scene at the Indonesian embassy in Singapore on Sunday morning (14 April) where Indonesians turned up in droves to cast their votes in this year’s presidential elections. The Indonesians based in Singapore did not want to miss the chance to make their votes count in choosing between current president Joko Widodo (better known …

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial had been adjourned to 14 May, due to the previous trial dates being taken for Najib’s RM42 million SRC International case. Najib’s trial in the High Court started on 3 April (Wednesday) with one prosecution witness testifying so far and will resume on 15 April to 10 May. The Federal Court …

The Government of Singapore stated that it has not received any communication or information from Malaysia related to the development of a ship-to-ship transfer hub in the Straits of Johor by KA Petra Sdn Bhd and Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd. “We are seeking more information from Malaysia on the project, including its precise location, as well as any potential implications …

Malaysia’s Member of Parliament of Permatang Pauh, Nurul Izzah Anwar, has rejoined the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after resigning the bipartisan panel in protest two weeks ago over the appointment its chief. Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee from opposition party UMNO was appointed as Chairman of the PAC by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. Appointing an opposition MP as PAC chief …

Last October, the annual Leaders’ Retreat that was supposed to be held in November was postponed due to scheduling constraints on the Malaysian side. Prior to this, the 8th edition of the retreat was held Singapore on 16 January this year between former premier Najib Razak and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson confirmed with …

Starting next week, adultery and gay sex in Brunei will be punishable by death via stoning. This is one of the many new controversial laws under the stricter Syariah law that was on hold for the past four years. This latest hard-line move from the small nation in Borneo drew immediate reactions of shock and horror among rights groups. Brunei …

In the aftermath of a general election dubbed by exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a “rigged” one that was tampered by “serious interference” from the junta, several pro-democracy political parties in Thailand have announced that they have enough seats, albeit unofficially, to form a majority coalition. Bloomberg reported pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai party leader Sudarat Keyuraphan as saying on …

by Kiat Sittheeamorn On 24 March, over 40 million registered Thai voters are expected to go to the polls for the country’s first elections since 2011 and since the military takeover in 2014. Are these elections going to be free and fair? Freedom, in the context of elections, pertains to the voters and candidates’ opportunity to participate in election without …