Spoilt by a diet of state spending and protection, Malaysia’s economy has lost its sparkle, but reforms to revive growth and cut public debt may mean dumping affirmative-action policies that underpin government support....
Podcast / 09.10.2007
Myanmar Wants ‘Smooth Relations’ With Suu Kyi
Hear Commentator Hanna Ingber Winn, who lived in Myanmaar in 2003....
Podcast / 09.10.2007
Three Groups Oppose Myanmar’s Government
Opposition movements from Africa to Russia and beyond are making news about their struggle. In this first in a series of conversations about opposition movements Bridget Welsh of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland says the monks demonstrating on the streets of Myanmar are...
News & Commentary / 28.09.2007
An international crisis
Sanctions against Burma by only a few countries will not produce change. Others need to follow the US's lead and move towards multilateral action....
News & Commentary / 11.06.2007
Sticky weather in Kelantan
In 2005 the Young Turks in PAS led by deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa swept to power, bringing a promise of greater dialogue and engagement. They aimed to re-brand the party to strengthen its national electoral position, with the hope of expanding its support reminiscent of the heyday 'reformasi' era....
News & Commentary / 25.09.2006
Damage Assessment
From Time Asia When the cat’s away, the mice will play. And play they did last week in Thailand. In a bloodless coup led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the military ousted Thaksin Shinawatra from power while he was attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York City. ...
News & Commentary / 25.05.2006
Sarawak at the crossroads
In a decisive victory, the opposition won eight seats (excluding one independent seat) in the May 20 polls, a record not seen in Sarawak since the 1987 elections and in Chinese areas since the 1974 polls....
News & Commentary / 10.04.2006
It’s the System, Stupid
Southeast Asia needs to build up institutions, not individuals...
News & Commentary / 10.08.2005
Higher education crisis deepening?
Less than four months ago, Terence Gomez's forced resignation raised a series of issues about problems in higher education - inadequate salaries, biased appointments and promotions, over-politicitized university management, limits on academic freedom, and, in some cases, gross administrative incompetence. After robust debate, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wisely intervened to correct the...
News & Commentary / 16.06.2005
Winds of change in PAS?
With the election of dynamic young professional leaders to key leadership positions within Islamic Party PAS, change is clearly in the air. Older stalwarts were replaced by a younger cohort of politicians committed to political pragmatism, including working with non-Muslims. The dynamic new deputy party leader, Nasharudin Mat Isa, three non-ulama...