Malaysia, Singapore doomed to Covid-19 recessions

Palliative stimulus measures will help but prognosis for both trade-geared Southeast Asian nations is negative 2020 growth

Malaysia and Singapore, two of Southeast Asia’s worst virus-hit economies, are reaching for policy levers to mitigate the economic impact of their respective Covid-19 outbreaks.

Both are projected to slip into recession this year, despite the recent announcement of multi-billion-dollar stimulus packages, with no sign yet that Covid-19 cases have plateaued or that business is set to return to normal in either trade-geared nation.

The stimulus packages rolled out on both sides of the causeway late last week follow earlier spending plans announced in February, largely in response to an initial loss of tourism due to the sudden departure of Chinese travellers after the pneumonia-like disease first erupted in Wuhan, China.

The health emergency has since swept the globe, with coronavirus cases sweeping Europe and the United States now seen as the epicenter of the World Health Organization (WHO)-declared pandemic.

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.

Covid-19 curve still rises under Malaysian lockdown

Southeast Asia's worst virus-hit nation extends a nationwide lockdown as Covid-19 infection rate continues to climb

Confirmed Covid-19 infections have more than doubled in Malaysia since unprecedented nationwide restrictions on movement went into effect on March 18, shuttering non-essential businesses and bringing military patrols onto the nation’s streets.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced today (March 25) that his government’s Movement Control Order (MCO) would be extended to April 14, two weeks beyond its initial March 31 cut-off date.

Foreign and interstate travel is banned under the order, and people may only leave their homes for essential shopping, which has brought the economy to a near standstill. Police have so far arrested 110 people for flouting the order.

The trend of new coronavirus infections “is expected to continue for a while before new cases begin to subside,” said the premier in a televised address. Malaysia has confirmed 1,796 cases of the disease, the highest number in Southeast Asia, while the death toll stands at 19, second only to Indonesia, where 58 have died.

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.

Singapore’s model response faces viral second wave

City-state’s Covid-19 containment has been widely lauded but returnees from overseas pose potent new risk

In an unprecedented move for one of the world’s most open economies, Singapore will deny entry and transit to all short-term visitors beginning Tuesday (March 24) to prevent a “second wave” of Covid-19 cases linked to arrivals from countries with mushrooming infection rates.

Around 80% of new cases between March 19 to 21 came from inbound Singaporeans and residents, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said on March 22. Those permitted to work in the city-state and their dependents are exempted from the new travel restrictions provided they are employed in essential fields such as healthcare and transport.

While the wealthy island nation has earned plaudits for its success in curtailing the outbreak without imposing draconian lockdown measures, it is now bracing for an economic downturn with forecasts of a recession on the horizon. Singapore’s leaders are also mulling whether and when to call a general election which by law must be held by April 2021.

The city-state currently has 455 confirmed Covid-19 cases, a figure that has more than doubled over the last week concurrent with a global surge in transmissions. The stricter entry measures were announced a day after the nation acknowledged its first virus-related deaths: two patients, both elderly with underlying conditions, who perished on March 21.

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.

From putsch to pandemic in quarantined Malaysia

New lockdown to prevent 'second wave' of Covid-19 cases has spread panic and confusion in Southeast Asia's worst-hit nation

Malaysia has imposed nationwide restrictions on movement to combat its worsening coronavirus outbreak, a move that has stoked panic and confusion and will severely impact an economy already staggered by political turmoil.

The Muslim-majority nation is now the worst hit in Southeast Asia with 790 cases and two fatalities, both announced just hours before the new restrictions on movement took effect at midnight on March 18. Authorities announced 117 new cases today (March 18).

Malaysians are now barred from all international travel until at least March 31 amid a shutdown of all non-essential businesses, schools and universities, and places of worship. It is the first time in the nation’s history such restrictions have been invoked to tackle a public health crisis.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was sworn-in to office less than three weeks ago when the country had just 29 coronavirus cases, announced the sweeping restrictions in a televised address in the evening of March 16 in an effort to curtail an escalating “second wave” of infections.

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.

Malaysia loses its grip on Covid-19 outbreak

Nation now has most virus cases in SE Asia with doubts rising about new government's ability to contain the spread

A sudden spike in coronavirus infections has triggered alarm in Malaysia, with the Muslim-majority country now reporting the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia.

The country experienced its biggest single-day jump in infections on March 15, with 190 new cases. That number rose again on March 16 (Monday) with 125 more infections, bringing the national total to 553.

Until now, Malaysia had a relatively low number of coronavirus cases and appeared to have well-managed the situation through selective travel restrictions and a transparent response that earned World Health Organization (WHO) praise.

The rapid surge in new infections follows a tumultuous and unexpected shift in political power in Putrajaya, which saw the country operate for two weeks without a Cabinet or a health minister. For Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s weeks-old government, the widening outbreak is proving to be a baptism of fire.

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.

‘Malay first’ government takes hold in Malaysia

New PM Muhyiddin Yassin has appointed one of the least diverse Cabinets in multi-ethnic nation's modern history

As the dust settles after a tumultuous political transition, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s new coalition government has taken shape against a backdrop of rising economic uncertainties. Muhyiddin announced his Cabinet appointments on March 9 after pledging to unveil a “clean” line-up that would rise above ethnic and socio-economic divisions.

Among those returning to power are politicians with the United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO), the former ruling party that expelled Muhyiddin in 2016 after he spoke out against top-level corruption. UMNO was trounced at the May 2018 polls, leading to the rise of the now-ousted Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

Malaysia’s new premier had served as deputy to disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak, who now faces trial on numerous corruption charges related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

Though many who served in Najib’s discredited administration have risen again under Muhyiddin, those selected to join his Cabinet were reportedly required to pass criminal and graft screenings.

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.

Is Malaysia’s position on MH17 tragedy shifting?

Trial begins for downing of Malaysia Airlines flight with a change in tone from Mahathir to Muhyiddin

A long-awaited court trial of four suspects implicated in the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 began today (March 9) at The Hague in the Netherlands. Three Russian nationals and one Ukrainian have been indicted for the murder of all 298 passengers aboard the ill-fated flight, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine more than five years ago.

“This is a significant milestone toward finding the truth and establishing justice for the victims of the flight MH17 tragedy,” read a March 7 statement issued by Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “For justice to prevail,” the statement said, will require a “credible and transparent process based on the rule of law.”

The statement is one of the first issued by Malaysia since Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn-in on March 1, and signals a distinct new tone from outgoing premier Mahathir Mohamad’s outlier position on the proceedings.

During his nearly two-year tenure, Mahathir alleged that the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) leading a probe into the disaster had been biased and politicized against Russia. Though economic ties between Moscow and Putrajaya are modest, the two countries forged closer strategic links during Mahathir’s first and second premierships.

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.

Muhyiddin off to polarizing start in Malaysia

New premier expected to favor Malays over minorities in what could be an especially short-lived government

“I am not a traitor,” declared new Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in his first televised address since his March 1 inauguration. The newly appointed leader was addressing criticism from his immediate predecessor, elder statesmen Mahathir Mohamad, who in recent days has accused him of “betrayal.”

Mahathir, 94, resigned last week in the midst of a political crisis that shattered his Pakatan Harapan (PH) governing coalition, with Muhyiddin, his home minister, filling the vacuum after being appointed by the nation’s constitutional monarch. That, however, hasn’t stopped the wily nonagenarian from challenging the legal standing of Muhyiddin’s days-old premiership.

Mahathir’s PH coalition, which he claims has support of at least 112 of Parliament’s 222 lawmakers, the minimum needed to form a simple majority government, has promised to launch a no-confidence debate against Muhyiddin at the legislature’s next sitting.

Analysts expect Muhyiddin to delay a scheduled March 9 session of Parliament to bide time to win support from East Malaysian lawmakers whose backing would numerically give him a clear and comfortable majority.

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.

Muhyiddin’s rise undoes Malaysian democracy

New premier's appointment installs a non-elected government and restores scandal-tainted UMNO to power

In a stunning outcome to a week of unprecedented political turbulence, former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister on Sunday (March 1) after being appointed by the nation’s constitutional monarch.

The move forces out elder statesman Mahathir Mohamad, 94, who was elected prime minister in a historic May 2018 victory that unseated the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition but resigned on February 24 amid political machinations that aimed to deny the premiership to his promised successor Anwar Ibrahim.

Muhyiddin’s appointment by Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, installs a new coalition government without an electoral mandate and will effectively return the scandal-plagued United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party that was ousted at the ballot box less than two years ago to power.

Protests against Muhyiddin’s assumption of the premiership have already erupted, with activists criticizing the backdoor maneuvering of political elites they regard as unethical and unaccountable, a rally cry that could galvanize larger demonstrations in the days ahead.

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.