Najib looms large over Anwar’s first electoral test

Malaysian leader faces Faustian choice ahead of state elections his UMNO coalition partner believes could be won by setting jailed ex-PM free

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is intensifying efforts to appeal to Malay Muslim conservatives ahead of key state elections, a lurch to the right that risks alienating his ruling Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) multiracial and mainly liberal support base within his months-old “unity” government.

While the ethno-nationalist opposition bloc accuses the governing coalition of going soft on ethnic Malay rights and upholding Islam, progressives increasingly see Anwar as failing to walk the talk on clean governance and reform as his key political ally, graft-accused deputy premier Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, continues to agitate for the pardon of incarcerated ex-premier Najib Razak.

Zahid, president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), had been a key target of PH’s anti-corruption messaging on the campaign trail ahead of November’s general election. Though the once-hegemonic party delivered its worst-ever result at the polls, Zahid himself emerged as a kingmaker after agreeing to partner with the party’s decades-old foes in an Anwar-led administration.

UMNO is the governing coalition’s sole ethnic Malay party, but it remains to be seen whether it can muster the support of the key demographic, who account for around 60% of Malaysia’s 33 million people, at state polls expected to be held in August. Having purged detractors, UMNO’s top leadership appears insistent that pardoning Najib for his corruption conviction is the ticket to electoral success.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.

US-China handshake but no dialogue at Shangri-La

Superpower rivalry ran on high at Singapore defense forum where everyone agreed that armed confrontation would be catastrophic

United States-China tensions were on full display at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security summit held in Singapore from June 2-4, with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu refusing a formal meeting with his US counterpart even as he acknowledged the dangers of open confrontation between the two superpowers.

“It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US will be an unbearable disaster for the world,” said Li, who was appointed China’s highest-ranking defense official in March. He added in his June 4 speech that bilateral ties were at a “record low” and said the US needed to act with sincerity to prevent a further worsening of relations.

“Attempts to push for NATO-like [alliances] in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations,” Li added, echoing long-held Chinese criticism of Washington’s efforts to establish alliances in the region as part of what it views as a containment strategy to thwart China’s geopolitical rise.

Li also struck a moderate tone, though, saying his country sought dialogue over confrontation and that the world was big enough for China and the US to grow and co-exist together. Reports suggest that Li declined a formal meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in principle as he has been subject to US sanctions since 2018 for his role in procuring Russian military equipment.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.