More than 1,100 suspected terrorists have been arrested in Indonesia since 2015, with more killed in counter-terrorism operations or during attacks. As of 2018 there was 432 terrorist inmates housed across 117 prisons, with hundreds of others undergoing or awaiting trial. However, while the Indonesian government is successfully enforcing its anti-terrorism law, the proliferation of extremist charities […]
Myanmar’s efforts to reverse a legacy of isolation began with the quasi-civilian government (QCG) led by former president U Thein Sein. From 2011–2015, his government undertook a series of political, economic and social reforms that built the foundation for future democratic development (FDD). Key reform initiatives under his administration included renewed engagement with ethnic armed […]
In mid-February, Indonesia’s Health Minister, Terawan Agus Putranto pointed to divine intervention when explaining that no cases of COVID-19 had been identified in Indonesia. Despite his advice for continued prayer the first case was confirmed on March 1. During the following weeks many more cases were confirmed. As of March 30, the total stood at […]
Shortages of water are a huge problem for Thailand. The government’s attempts to promote industrial investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) — Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao — has caused water demand in the region to rise drastically. This has diverted water away from farmers and local people creating an increasingly unfair distribution of water […]
The relationship between the United States and Asean in 2015 rested on two things. The first was a coherent set of strategic, economic and political policies. The second was a concerted and public effort from the United States to demonstrate that Asean was an important partner in the region. US respect for Asean centrality came […]
The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a human tragedy. Measures introduced to deal with it could save lives, but are having wide-ranging economic effects and inducing economic contagion. There are already studies estimating the economic impact of the pandemic, but greater focus is needed on the transmission mechanisms of the economic contagion and in […]
In the late 1990s the Indonesian economy was in the midst of one of the deepest economic crises in recent global history. The 32-year authoritarian rule of former president Suharto had ended ingloriously, with no political roadmap for succession. There were various ‘Yugoslav’ scenarios of territorial disintegration. There were also ominous ethnic disputes, generating a […]
Malaysia has experienced a dramatic political transition with conservative political parties returning to government. The new Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) coalition recently used legal means to grab power, making Muhyiddin Yassin the country’s eighth prime minister. The alliance includes the 1MDB scandal-tainted United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). To understand […]
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is an anomaly in Indonesia’s corrupt institutional environment. As the KPK Law 30/2002 produced one of the world’s most effective anti-corruption agencies, critics and state powerholders had duplicitously argued for the KPK to be reinvented to function as a government-friendly ‘watchdog’ focusing on corruption prevention. In late 2019 these arguments […]
A high-profile feature of current Vietnamese politics is the anti-corruption drive led by Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). As the anti-graft campaign enters its fifth year, Trong has announced that 10 more grand corruption cases will be put to trial in 2020. But should Trong step down […]
The South China Sea remains a focal concern within the international community, grabbing headlines and placed firmly on the agendas of many bilateral and multilateral political and academic summits. While likely to remain relatively stable in 2020, worrying developments and uncertainties are on the rise. Though negotiations over the text of the Code of Conduct […]
Identified by The World Bank (WB) as among the top three fastest growing economies in East Asia in 2019, Vietnam’s economy last year again demonstrated its resilience in the face of a falling Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) and dwindling business confidence globally. Compared with 3 per cent growth in world gross domestic product (GDP) […]
