ASEAN needs to decide whether Myanmar’s State Administration Council has the legal capacity to engage in international relations that has direct impact on ASEAN’s own legal capacity as an inter-governmental organisation.
Category Archives: Commentaries
The Religious Challenges Behind Enforcing Emergency Covid-19 Restrictions
Although the mainstream Muslim organisations had supported closing mosques during Indonesia’s current round of emergency Covid-19 restrictions, the government subsequently compromised. This is another indication of the growing influence of conservative Muslim voices on Muslim issues.
Indonesia Suspends Paid Vaccination Programme: Signs of Growing Political Pressure
In Indonesia, a paid vaccination programme bombed out in a span of days. Putting economics above health priorities had added to the negative political climate for the government.
Managing Moral Authority: Thai King’s Revived Devotion to Buddhism
King Vajiralongkorn’s recent enthusiasm in religious matters could be a game-changer in Thailand’s cultural politics.
Indonesia’s Defence Procurement Strategy: Diversification but at What Cost?
Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto has been on an accelerated drive to modernise the TNI. But there are significant drawbacks to his procurement strategy of diversification.
Sandboxes Amidst a Rising Tide
Thailand’s so-called “sandbox” schemes to jumpstart the country’s tourism sector is laudable. But they might be achieved at a cost.
Revisit Two-Coalition System in Malaysia
The recent jolts to Malaysia’s political landscape show that there is a strong basis for a return to a pluralistic and accountable two-coalition system.
Stock Market Fever in Vietnam
Covid-19 pandemic or not, Vietnam is seeing a buoyant stock market, thanks to a retail investor boom and an easy monetary policy.
Are We Witnessing the Bankruptcy Proceedings of the Malay Agenda?
After a series of power grabs, there are few ideological differences among the country’s political parties and groupings in power. If UMNO as a phenomenon has run out of gas, its raison d’etre — Malay supremacy — needs some reconsideration.
Malaysia’s Higher Education Sector: Time to Soar to a Higher Plane
The pandemic presents a plum opportunity for extensive reforms in Malaysia’s higher education sector.