How a lie could bring down Singapore’s opposition

Singapore’s opposition Workers’ Party is ensnared in a controversy that could see its leaders fined and jailed

Less than 18 months after making historic electoral gains, Singapore’s largest opposition party, the Workers’ Party (WP), has been shaken by a controversy that threatens its credibility and puts its leadership at risk of being sanctioned with fines or jail by the city-state’s legislature, where the ruling party commands a supermajority.

The scandal has dominated political headlines in Singapore since November 1, when WP lawmaker Raeesah Khan admitted she lied in parliament about accompanying a sexual assault victim to a police station where the latter was allegedly mocked and treated insensitively by a police officer handling her complaint.

After sharing the anecdote in August during a debate on women’s empowerment, Raeesah came clean three months later, confessing she did not follow the victim to the police station, but heard the account in a sexual assault survivors support group she was part of, nor did she have the victim’s consent to share the account publicly.

Raeesah, 28, said she attended the group session because she had been sexually assaulted at the age of 18 while studying abroad. Telling the complete story, she implied in a tearful speech, would have required publicly outing herself as a sexual assault victim, an experience she had not told her parents about at the time.

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.

Omicron stalks SE Asia’s post-Covid hopes and dreams

Caseloads and deaths are down and reopening gathering pace but the new highly contagious variant could scupper those plans

Southeast Asian nations have been eager to leave behind a year that saw record-high Covid-19 caseloads, skyrocketing death rates and economically debilitating lockdowns. With rising inoculation rates recently stabilizing the situation across most of the region, the rapid global spread of the vaccine-eluding Omicron variant threatens to reverse those gains.

The emergence of the highly mutated pathogen, first identified in South Africa and classified as a "variant of concern" last month by the World Health Organization (WHO), is stoking fears of a pandemic resurgence as several global countries, most notably the United Kingdom, face runaway transmissions linked to the ultra-contagious strain.

Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have each detected Omicron cases, raising the specter of new waves of infections and hospitalizations, a scenario that threatens to delay or reverse reopening plans, prolong travel curbs and new rounds of economic and social pain after two years of widespread suffering.

A University of Hong Kong preliminary study showed the Omicron variant infects around 70 times faster than the Delta and original Covid-19 strain. The study found that the variant replicated less efficiently – more than 10 times lower – in the human lung tissue, which may signal a lower severity of disease, particularly among the vaccinated.

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.

Ruling leaves Najib on the hook for 1MDB

Court rejects ex-premier’s appeal of a landmark corruption conviction in decision that deems his actions a ‘national embarrassment’

A landmark corruption conviction against former prime minister Najib Razak was unanimously upheld by Malaysia’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday (December 8), a ruling that could slow the ex-leader’s political comeback ambitions and sow new divisions in the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) where he remains highly influential.

The appellate court dismissed the former premier’s appeal to reverse a guilty verdict handed down last July in relation to the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit (US$9.9 million) from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a now-defunct investment vehicle of the scandal-plagued 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.

Najib, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and handed a 210 million ringgit ($49.7 million) fine on seven charges encompassing abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. Appellate court Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil said he agreed with the High Court’s earlier conviction and sentencing.

But the former premier’s avenues for appealing his guilty verdict are not yet exhausted. Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib’s lead defense counsel, said his case would be appealed next at the Federal Court, the country’s highest and final appellate court. The Court of Appeal then granted a further stay of execution for Najib’s sentencing and conviction.

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.

Make or break for ASEAN to matter in Myanmar

Cambodia's chairmanship of regional bloc is not expected to bring a breakthrough in Myanmar's intensifying morass

After being excluded from last month’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in an unprecedented rebuke of Myanmar’s recalcitrant military regime, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was similarly conspicuously absent from two virtual ASEAN meetings with the European Union (EU) and China this week.

In what analysts viewed as the most severe sanction against any ASEAN member has ever been dealt by the regional bloc, ASEAN leaders barred the commander-in-chief, increasingly regarded as an international pariah, from attending an October 26-28 summit and called for a “non-political” Myanmar figure to participate instead. The junta refused.

Frustrated by Naypyidaw’s failure to honor pledges to allow an ASEAN special envoy access to deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected lawmakers overthrown in February’s coup, the decision to bar the junta chief was seen as a last-ditch effort to salvage credibility lost to the months-long impasse.

Now, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen taking the reins of ASEAN’s annually rotating chairmanship in 2022, debate is swirling over whether Phnom Penh has the mettle to display leadership by dealing sternly with Myanmar or instead defer to China, its closest political ally and economic benefactor, in its handling of the crisis.

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.

Najib on the comeback trail with Melaka poll sweep

Corruption-tainted ex-prime minister leads UMNO to thumping state election win that could bolster his bid to retake the premiership

To those who celebrated the downfall of Malaysia’s graft-tainted and since criminally-convicted former premier Najib Razak at 2018’s watershed election, heralded at the time as a democratic new beginning, the results of the bellwether state election in Melaka on November 20 are sobering.

The ex-prime minister, despite being virtually synonymous with the globe-spanning multi-billion dollar the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, was the political face of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s resounding victory over the weekend, clinching a supermajority in the state legislature by capturing 21 of 28 seats.

Analysts see the decisive win for Najib’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the lynchpin of the BN coalition, as a sign that the historic ruling party could go on to once again dominate national politics after the upcoming general election, which is not due until 2023 but is widely expected to be held in the latter half of next year or even earlier.

The results are also being seen as proof that Najib, who governed Malaysia from 2009 to 2018, has shaken off the taint of graft he has always adamantly denied and retained his popularity with voters even after being sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption and other charges last year, a verdict he has appealed while mounting a political comeback.

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.

Spotlight on Singapore’s propensity to kill

Mentally disabled Malaysian on Singapore's death row for drug trafficking sparks a global outcry

Activists, lawyers and rights groups are calling on authorities in Singapore to halt plans to impose the death penalty on 33-year-old Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a mentally impaired Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking, after a court stayed his imminent execution until further notice after he tested positive for Covid-19.

The announcement on Tuesday (November 9) came less than 24 hours before Nagaenthran was due to be executed by hanging at Singapore’s Changi Prison and gave relatives and advocates a glimmer of hope that his life will be spared. The Court of Appeal has yet to grant a prohibitory order against Nagaenthran’s execution sought by his lawyers.

Prominent rights lawyer M Ravi mounted an eleventh-hour judicial appeal before the High Court on Monday, arguing that executing a “mentally disabled person” would violate Singapore’s constitution and its international obligations as a signatory to a United Nations-sanctioned treaty protecting the rights of disabled persons.

The court dismissed the plaintiff’s argument but granted a temporary stay of execution to allow for an appeal of that decision. “We have got to use logic, common sense and humanity,” said judge Andrew Phang as he stayed the execution prior to the court’s adjournment. It is still unclear whether his death sentence will ultimately be commuted.

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.

Ismail on a spending spree to revive Malaysia

New prime minister advances nation's richest ever budget with an eye on post-Covid recovery and possible early elections

After nearly two years under Covid-19 movement restrictions that have stifled the economy and shuttered thousands of small businesses, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government is betting that the largest budget in the country’s history will ease unemployment and spur a robust post-pandemic recovery.

The ambitious 332.1 billion ringgit (US$80.2 billion) spending plan is Ismail’s first since taking the reins as the nation’s ninth prime minister in August. The 2022 budget includes increased developmental spending, support for businesses, subsidies and cash aid, and a dedicated fund for combating Covid-19 and boosting public health care capacity.

Having signed an unprecedented political ceasefire with the opposition shortly after taking power, Ismail’s budget will likely win approval when Parliament votes on the plan in mid-November, analysts say. Ismail’s predecessor, Muhyiddin Yassin, only narrowly passed the 2021 budget amid speculation at the time that his government would fall.

The expansionary spending plan and its various support measures for low-income earners set the stage for an early general election that analysts suggest could be called as early as the middle of next year. Malaysia’s next polls must be held by 2023.

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.

Power price surge could zap Singapore’s recovery

Spiking LNG prices have knocked four power providers out of business and forced regulators to intervene in the market

A dramatic spike in global liquified natural gas (LNG) spot prices and other supply issues have sent shockwaves across Singapore’s electricity market, causing at least four power providers to exit the retail market and the city-state’s power regulator to announce pre-emptive measures to safeguard energy security.

So far there has been no disruption to local electricity supplies. But experts and analysts say the question is less about keeping the lights on and more about whether businesses and consumers will have to pay substantially more for power amid an ongoing global fuel crunch. Higher power costs would, in turn, diminish prospects for a robust post-pandemic economic recovery in the global business hub.

China, the United Kingdom and other bellwether global economies are likewise grappling with power shortages and supply disruptions linked to price volatility, which Singapore is highly exposed to as it generates 95% of its power from natural gas imported by pipeline or tankers. The city-state is also one of the few countries in Asia to fully liberalize its retail electricity market.

Gas prices have surged since the beginning of the year due to a confluence of factors ranging from rising consumption driven by recovering economic activity, increased heating needs from harsher-than-usual winter conditions and a series of unplanned global production outages. Industry watchers say it’s anyone’s guess how long current price volatility levels may last.

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.

Highly vaccinated Singapore sets a worrying example

City-state has one of the world's highest vaccination rates at 84% but new Covid cases nonetheless recently hit a new record high

With 84% of Singaporeans fully vaccinated against Covid-19, one of the highest percentages worldwide, many had expected authorities would by now be easing, not maintaining, social distancing and other contagion-curbing restrictions. But that’s exactly what officials are doing as the island nation seeks to cope with its largest outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MoH) announced on Wednesday (October 20) that stricter curbs introduced in late September as part of a so-called “stabilization phase” implemented to minimize health care system strains would be extended for another month as daily cases have soared to all-time highs.

As other nations begin pursuing reopening strategies and treating the coronavirus as endemic, Singapore’s experience is now being looked upon as a sobering case study, particularly for countries that have until now kept cases low by relying on strict measures but are under mounting pressure to manage, rather than eradicate, Covid-19.

Singapore’s daily cases hit a record 3,994 on October 19, with the seven-day average number of new infections more than tripling in the last month. The overall death toll has more than quadrupled over the same period, rising to 280 on October 21 from just 65. Authorities, meanwhile, have attested to rising pressure on hospitals and healthcare workers.

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.

Criminally convicted Najib free to leave Malaysia

Convicted ex-PM and his graft-accused wife allowed to enter Singapore after facing travel bans under previous governments

Criminally convicted former Malaysian premier Najib Razak, 68, and his graft-accused wife Rosmah Mansor, 69, are set to travel abroad for the first time in more than three years after courts in Kuala Lumpur allowed the pair to temporarily reclaim their impounded passports to visit their pregnant daughter in Singapore.

Lenience shown to the ex-premier and his wife have arguably validated misgivings that with the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) – the long-ruling party Najib once led – now back in power, the corruption-accused pair have a better chance of wriggling out of their legal troubles either through appeal, acquittal or even an eventual royal pardon.

A ruling by the Court of Appeal on Monday (October 18) permitted Najib to travel abroad from October 20 to November 22, just days after the country’s High Court approved a similar application for Rosmah, both of whom were barred from leaving Malaysia after the defeat of Najib’s scandal-plagued coalition at a historic 2018 general election.

In his application to the court, the ex-premier said he needed to provide mental and emotional support to his daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib, who experienced serious complications when giving birth to her first child and is due to deliver her second child soon at a private hospital in Singapore, where she lives.

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.