Category Archives: east asia

Southeast Asia’s Last Strongman

By admin | June 14, 2011

Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father and architect of modern Singapore, resigned from the Cabinet a week after the ruling People’s Action Party suffered its worst performance in the polls since 1965. Lee was Prime Minister for 31 years from 1959 to 1990, and continued to lead Singapore as Senior Minister for 14 years and […]

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ASEAN and Human Rights Hypocrisy

By admin | May 29, 2011

Burma’s bid to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014 was politely dismissed when the bloc concluded its latest summit in Indonesia without a clear commitment on the matter. Instead of receiving support for its bid, Burma was advised by fellow ASEAN members to build better infrastructure first if it really wants to […]

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War, Elections, and Sexuality

By admin | May 15, 2011

War, elections, and teenage sexuality are the top media stories of the first quarter of the year, at least as far as Southeast Asia is concerned. The border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand has grabbed global attention because of intensified fighting between the two sides’ troops since February. The recent skirmishes have already resulted in […]

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Malaysia: Najib’s email gift

By admin | May 8, 2011

All Malaysians aged 18 and above will receive a 1Malaysia email account. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Najib Razak last week, when he stated he wanted ‘direct and secure communication between citizens and the government.’ The concept of a ‘Malaysian’ email was actually first floated last June, when the government unveiled its seven-point […]

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Singapore’s Yale Conquest

By admin | April 17, 2011

Last week, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Yale announced their plan to establish Singapore’s first liberal arts college, which will be known as the Yale-NUS College. The new college will initially accept 150 students whose education will be supervised by Yale faculty members. But students shouldn’t expect to receive a Yale diploma because […]

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Myanmar’s Parliament Revelations

By admin | April 2, 2011

Burma’s Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) and Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) have been holding sessions since January 31, but it wasn’t until two weeks ago that members were allowed to question government ministers. The transcript of the meetings published by the state-owned paper New Light of Myanmar provides a peek inside the parliament. So what have […]

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Internet freedom under threat

By admin | March 22, 2011

Written for The Diplomat Internet freedom is under attack in many countries in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, for example, a webmaster is facing prosecution for comments written by other people in an online forum. In Cambodia, anti-government websites have been inaccessible on numerous occasions since January. In Malaysia, meanwhile, a proposed new law would empower […]

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No Christmas for Malaysian Muslims?

By admin | March 6, 2011

The Malaysian Department of Islamic Development recently posted on its website the ‘Guidelines for Muslims Celebrating Religious Festivals of Non-Muslims,’ issued by the National Fatwa Committee for Islamic Religious Affairs during its 68th muzakarah (discussion) on April 12, 2005. The guidelines have been posted there to serve as a reminder to Muslims not to violate […]

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The meaning of Egypt in Southeast Asia

By admin | February 20, 2011

Unless you’re a hermit living in the boondocks, you’ll have heard something about the massive anti-government protests in Egypt that started late last month. The protesters have become global celebrities as they’ve taken a brave stand against the three-decades-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak. The ‘million-man march’ has also made Tahrir Square in Cairo a […]

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Indonesia’s threat to BlackBerry

By admin | February 10, 2011

Last month, Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring announced on Twitter his disappointment over the failure of Research In Motion (RIM), the company that owns BlackBerry, to filter pornographic content in Indonesia. He warned that Indonesia would block BlackBerry’s browser if RIM wouldn’t censor access to porn within two weeks. It’s unfortunate that Tifatul’s […]

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