COMMENTARIES

26 Jul 2021

ASEAN and the Problem of Legitimacy

Sharon Seah

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.

26 Jul 2021

The Religious Challenges Behind Enforcing Emergency Covid-19 Restrictions

Syafiq Hasyim

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.

COVID-19 Health Indonesia Religion

23 Jul 2021

Indonesia Suspends Paid Vaccination Programme: Signs of Growing Political Pressure

Max Lane

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.

COVID-19 Health Indonesia

23 Jul 2021

Managing Moral Authority: Thai King’s Revived Devotion to Buddhism

Katewadee Kulabkaew

King Vajiralongkorn’s recent enthusiasm in religious matters could be a game-changer in Thailand’s cultural politics.

Religion Thai Monarchy Thailand

22 Jul 2021

Indonesia’s Defence Procurement Strategy: Diversification but at What Cost?

Ian Storey

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.

China-Indonesia Relations Indonesia U.S.

Cargo containers stacked at Yantian port

21 Jul 2021

Unpacking China’s Merchandise Trade with ASEAN during the Global Pandemic

Xiaojun Li

While the global merchandise trade shrank by 5.3% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral trade between China and ASEAN increased in the meantime by 6.7%, thanks not only to a steady increase in bilateral trade but also to the relative decline of trade between China with its other major trading partners.

Asean Trade ASEAN-China Relations China

21 Jul 2021

Sandboxes Amidst a Rising Tide

Kevin S.Y. Tan|Kevin Zhang

Thailand’s so-called “sandbox” schemes to jumpstart the country’s tourism sector is laudable. But they might be achieved at a cost.

COVID-19 Health Open Borders Thai Economy Thailand Tourism

19 Jul 2021

Revisit Two-Coalition System in Malaysia

Khoo Boo Teik

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.

Bersatu Malaysia Malaysian Politics UMNO

19 Jul 2021

Stock Market Fever in Vietnam

Nicolas Lainez|Trịnh Phan Khánh

Covid-19 pandemic or not, Vietnam is seeing a buoyant stock market, thanks to a retail investor boom and an easy monetary policy.

Techonology Vietnam Vietnamese Economy

Mahathir Mohamad (R), Anwar Ibrahim (C) and Muhyiddin Yassin

16 Jul 2021

Are We Witnessing the Bankruptcy Proceedings of the Malay Agenda?

Ooi Kee Beng

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 Malaysian Politics UMNO