Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin pulled off a historic coup in February last year, when he ditched the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition to form a new government. Eighteen months on, he might soon be getting a taste of his own medicine.
Category Archives: Commentaries
Team Biden: A Southeast Asia Reset
Compared to China, the Biden Administration has been slow off the blocks in the game of winning friends and influencing people in Southeast Asia. It has its work cut out for it.
Between Religious Rituals and Safety Protocols in the Time of a Pandemic
Religious leaders have an important role to play, in word and deed, to safeguard the physical and spiritual well-being of their flock during this pandemic.
Land of Smiles Riven by New Political Faultlines
Seven years after the 2014 coup, Thailand is seeing a new political divide along generational and ideological lines.
Thailand’s No Sa-lim Shopping List: Taking Aim at Big Business
Thai pro-democracy protestors have started to boycott big businesses deemed as pro-regime. While the sheer pervasiveness of these companies makes effective boycott difficult, it has not deterred protestors from exercising their power as consumers.
Secretary Austin’s Visit to Vietnam: Building Trust to Strengthen Defence Ties
The expected signing of a memorandum of understanding to resolve war legacy issues during US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to Vietnam will go a long way in developing bilateral defence ties.
Congress and America’s Negative Turn Against China: Strategic Ballast
In recent years, the US Congress has played a major role in America’s unprecedented turn against China.
The United States’ “Mini” Shangri-La Dialogue: Stand and Deliver
When Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, speaks at the 40th Fullerton Lecture in Singapore tonight, he will need to go beyond speaking about esoteric concepts such as the “rules-based international order” and promise that Washington will provide tangible deliverables in the form of pandemic assistance, economic growth and trade.
ASEAN and the Problem of Legitimacy
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.
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.