Commentaries | FULCRUM

COVID-19: Singapore’s Model Response

Judgements on how different governments respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will have an effect on their national images and soft power quotients.

Assessing the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on ASEAN

The effects of COVID-19 are hitting ASEAN economies at a time when other risk factors such as a global growth slowdown were already rising. Any assessment of impacts must recognise that the spread of the virus is evolving in unpredictable ways

Thailand: Spooked by Little Ghosts

The negative reaction by many Thais towards returning workers from South Korea underscore the need for understanding and cooperation in a time of the coronavirus

Thailand: Ample Fuel for the Flash Mobs

Current flash mobs in Thailand are taking a leaf from student movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Their similarity to student protests in Hong Kong has sparked concern

Thai Opposition: Self-inflicted Wounds

Recent fighting among opposition parties, and within them, has effectively granted the Prayut coalition government a longer lease of life

Duterte’s ‘Independent’ Foreign Policy: Independence from Criticism

The Duterte administration has stressed the independent nature of its foreign policy. Apparently, this has been equated to freedom from foreign criticism.

Malaysian PM Muhyiddin: Sins of Omission?

In his maiden speech as Malaysia’s new prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin sought to steady a teetering nation by what was said. But a brooding sense of unease prevails, due to what was not said about the issues that matter.

USS Theodore Roosevelt’s Vietnam Visit: Low Key, High Touch

Hanoi’s decision to host the visit of the USS Theodore Roosevelt underscores its determination to pursue better relations with the US

Bangsa Johor: A Tale of Two Political Personalities

The political dramas gripping Kuala Lumpur in the past week have not reverberated down south in Johor. With relative ease, Barisan Nasional has taken control of the state assembly.