Hoang Thi Ha
Myanmar’s State Administration Council has challenged a decision by ASEAN’s foreign minister to bar its leader from attending the grouping’s year-end summits. The legal merits of the Council’s position are disputable.
Michael Schaper|Jason Gehrke
In Southeast Asia, little attention has been given to greening the franchise sector. Yet, it has potential to contribute significantly to regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Joergen Oerstroem Moeller
The European Union and ASEAN are supporters of a rules-based global system. As such, they can use their collective weight to persuade Washington and Beijing to focus less on their bilateral tensions and more on solving contemporary problems.
Janjira Sombatpoonsiri
A combination of political suppression and public fatigue appear to have resulted in a marked decline in online and offline political protests in Thailand this year.
Vu Thi Phuong Mai|Phi Minh Hong
Small and medium sized enterprises in Southeast Asia have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. A way forward is for them to leverage on digital technologies to open up new markets.
Lee Hwok-Aun
The 12th Malaysia Plan, a key planning document for the country's development, has been expedited through Parliament with no debate. The process of formulating the plan needs a reset.
William Choong|Ian Storey
AUKUS is a wake-up call to ASEAN that it needs to be more proactive on security issues and cannot take its centrality for granted.
Clarissa Ai Ling Lee
In Malaysia, even an innocuous hashtag can be sidelined and overwhelmed by other octothorps. In the case of #kitajagakita, it played a part in the falling from grace of the country’s eighth premier.
Shad Saleem Faruqi
Despite its key role in Malaysia’s governance, Parliament has been in abeyance for much of 2020 and 2021. Reform of the law and practice of Parliament are necessary to give effect to the constitutional provisions on Parliament’s functions and to enhance Parliament’s institutional efficacy.
Moe Thuzar
ASEAN's decision to allow only a 'non-political' representative from Myanmar is a blow to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing's bid to gain recognition at the grouping's high table. The question here is how long ASEAN can maintain unity and stay the course.