blackbox

The UMNO General Assembly and the Rocky Road Back to Putrajaya

In the May 2018 general election, UMNO lost power for the first time in history but clawed back into government in March 2020 through defections from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. However, the party is now deeply split. A close examination of the positions of various UMNO leaders demonstrates that not all is well within the party, and its path to recapture Putrajaya is rocky.

Muhyiddin’s Special Envoy to the Middle East: Largely Ceremonial

Hadi Awang delivering a speech on the occasion of the Badar Al-Kubra on 30 April, 2021. (Photo: Dato’ Seri Tuan Guru Jaji Abdul Hadi Awang/ Facebook)

Hadi Awang, the Malaysian prime minister’s special envoy to the Middle East, has done little to advance Kuala Lumpur’s interests in that region. His role is more political than functional.

The ASEAN Way: Zen and the Art of Great Power Maintenance

A Vietnamese navy ship (L) near Chinese navy ships at a military port in Zhanjiang, in China's southern Guangdong province as part of a China-ASEAN joint maritime exercise on 22 October, 2018, to ease tensions in the South China Sea. (Photo: STR/ AFP)

Recent official rejections of China’s “nine dash line” claims in the South China Sea by Southeast Asian disputant states are not about closer alignment with the US.

Biden Versus Trump in Southeast Asia: Where the Rubber Meets the Road 

President Biden And Vice President Harris Participate In Virtual Leaders Summit On Climate

Expectations of the Biden Administration’s engagement with Southeast Asia are running high, but, like his predecessor, President Biden did not register any meetings or phone calls with Southeast Asian leaders in his first three months in office.

DAP Johor Party Elections: A “Fourpeat” for State Chief Liew Chin Tong

Liew Chin Tong’s win in the Johor state party elections is a win for Lim Kit Siang in the coming DAP national party elections.

Vietnam’s 2021 National Assembly Election: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Nguyen Tuong Thuy (L), one of the former independents associated with the 2016 “self-nomination movement”, during his trial at a courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City for anti-state charges on 5 January, 2021. (Photo: STR/ Vietnam News Agency/ AFP)

The process of self-nomination to Vietnam’s legislature is fraught with political peril, which reflects the calibrated rules of the election under the communist regime.

Next Thai Election, Next Thai Electoral System?

An electoral official tallies the vote count at a polling station in Bangkok on 24 March, 2019 after polls closed in Thailand's general election. There have been talks to change Thailand’s current mixed-member apportionment (MMA) electoral system. (Photo: Chalinee THIRASUPA/ AFP)

The main ruling party and opposition parties want to change the electoral system to their advantage before the next election.

The Riau Islands’ New Leadership: Glimmers of Light Amid the Gloom

(Screengrab: KPU Bea Cukai Batam, Youtube)

A new leadership team in Indonesia’s Riau Islands has bold plans to steer the region back into growth, after a gruelling year fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. If they play their cards right, they are in it with a fighting chance.