Category Archives: east asia

Thailand Election by the Numbers

By admin | February 18, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Thailand conducted a “peaceful” election yesterday amid worsening political tension in the country. Let us first review some essential numbers: Thailand has 48 million eligible voters out of a population of 65 million. According to the Election Commission, voting took place in 89 percent of 93,952 polling stations nationwide. But the […]

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Malaysia’s Kangkung Meme

By admin | February 5, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Kangkung, or water spinach, has been trending in Malaysia since last week after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak cited it as an example of a commodity that has become less expensive over the course of his administration. Najib was responding to protests against rising prices caused by the government’s decision to […]

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Protests Greet New Year in Southeast Asia

By admin | January 18, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Southeast Asia was rocked by street protests during the first week of the new year – a troubling preview of the unfolding political and economic crisis gripping many countries in the region. In Malaysia, consumers rallied against the looming price hikes in petrol, sugar and other basic products. In Cambodia, garment […]

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Southeast Asia in 2013: Disasters and Election Protests

By admin | January 12, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Southeast Asia experienced numerous disasters in 2013: oil spills, dengue outbreaks, earthquakes, bus crashes, and massive floods. But the two biggest were the trans-boundary haze pollution that affected Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia; and super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which wrought devastation in the central part of the Philippines. The haze was caused […]

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East Timor-Australia Spying Scandal

By admin | December 31, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It seems Australia likes to spy on its neighbors. After Indonesia, it is East Timor’s turn to criticize Australia for alleged espionage targeting its leaders. Australia is accused of conducting an operation that targeted East Timor’s Cabinet when the two countries were negotiating a gas treaty in 2004. After learning about […]

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Thailand’s Provocative Protesters

By admin | December 9, 2013

Written for The Diplomat News of Thai protesters occupying several government buildings in Bangkok reminded many of similar provocative rallies which shook the nation’s capital in 2008 and 2010. Indeed, one way to analyze how the current crisis will unfold is to review how various political forces reacted in the past. In 2008 the People’s […]

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Why Rallies Are Not Really Rallies in Manila and Phnom Penh

By admin | October 31, 2013

Written for The Diplomat, before the September 11 anti-pork EDSA event. Since last month, Cambodians and Filipinos have been staging massive outdoor rallies in their respective capitals but curiously they are denying that these are protests. After accusing the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of manipulating the July 28 election results, the opposition Cambodia National […]

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Beauty, Race, and Politics on the Pageant Circuit

By admin | October 28, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Beauty queens Megan Young of the Philippines and Moe Set Wine of Myanmar soon found themselves facing issues of race and racism after winning the Miss World and Miss Myanmar competitions, respectively. Moe Set Wine will represent Myanmar at the Miss Universe pageant after she was crowned Miss Myanmar early this […]

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Suu Kyi Lectures Singapore on Materialism

By admin | October 21, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Singapore received a stinging, albeit friendly criticism from Nobel Peace Laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who reminded one of the world’s richest countries that there are greater goals to achieve in life than wealth. Suu Kyi attended a leadership summit in Singapore where she discussed, among other […]

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Thailand Opposition Behaving Badly

By admin | September 26, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It seems Thailand’s opposition politicians are getting desperate. Last month, 57 members of parliament belonging to the opposition Democrat Party were evicted from the session hall after they repeatedly protested the ruling of the presiding officer. When parliamentary police officers were called in to escort the MPs out, they forcibly resisted, […]

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