The duo who stole Malaysia’s democracy

Muhyiddin Yassin and Azmin Ali's 'Sheraton Move’ coup has one year on resulted in nation’s worst political crisis in decades

Malaysia is in the grip of arguably its worst political crisis since independence, with critics and politicians accusing embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of abusing his power to stifle any challenge to his unelected rule.

Parliament has been suspended under a state of emergency on public health grounds, the economy is in deep decline and the nation’s democracy is unmistakably under heavy strain. It all marks a dramatic turn from May 2018, when the nation basked in its first democratic transition of power since achieving independence.

One year since former prime minister Mahathir Mohammad’s shock resignation after that historic electoral upset, many have come to blame the two-time premier for the political coup orchestrated by his then-allies to topple his popularly elected government.

That coup brought Muhyiddin to power after a weeklong political impasse now known as the “Sheraton Move”, a backroom political maneuver that brought the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition’s 22-month reformist rule to an early and highly unexpected end.

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 holds media freedom in contempt of court

Court ruling sets punitive precedent by holding top news site Malaysiakini liable for third party comments critical of the judiciary

Malaysiakini, widely considered the most popular independent media portal in Malaysia, was deemed liable for contempt of court in connection with reader remarks posted in the comments section of an article, a ruling that observers see as the latest blow to freedom of the press in the Southeast Asian nation.

In a Federal Court judgment on Friday (February 19), the online publication was found to be fully responsible for publishing third-party comments that “undermined the system of justice in the country” in a six to one decision. Malaysiakini was fined 500,000 ringgit (US$123,762), more than double the 200,000 ringgit fine prosecutors had sought.

Delivering the majority decision, judge Rohana Yusuf said the comments “involved allegations of corruption which were unproven and untrue,” and that the court could not accept Malaysiakini’s contention that it is not liable for public postings given that it owns, designs and controls its online platform in the way that it chooses.

“I am terribly disappointed,” said Steven Gan, Malaysiakini’s editor-in-chief, following the court ruling. “I think the decision made against us is perhaps an attempt to not only punish us but shut us down. It will have a tremendous chilling impact on discussions of issues of public interest and delivers a body blow on our campaign to fight corruption.”

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. 

Bellwether Singapore pivots from the pandemic

City-state is moving away from pandemic-induced big spending but forecasts point towards an uneven economic recovery

With an economic recovery underway and its worst-ever recession receding, Singapore is pivoting away from pandemic-induced big spending to renew its focus on key structural changes to stay competitive in the years to come. That is at least how the city-state’s latest budget, unveiled on February 16, is being pitched.

But as the small island-nation emerges from the crisis of a generation, forecasts point to an uneven recovery across various sectors of its bellwether economy. That unevenness, say economists, is bound to be reflected in regional growth performances, as neighboring countries continue to battle Covid-19 resurgences and move haltingly to vaccinate their populations.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat introduced the S$107 billion (US$80.5 billion) budget this week, acknowledging that while Singapore is heading towards a recovery fraught with uncertainties, the latest spending plan shifts the focus “from containment to restructuring” while retaining scaled-back support for the hardest-hit economic sectors.

“While last year’s budgets were tilted towards emergency support in a broad-based way, this year’s budget will focus on accelerating structural adaptations,” said the 59-year-old in reference to seismic socio-economic and political “mega-shifts” triggered by Covid-19, which he said were on a scale greater than the 1929 Great Depression.

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 Covid-19 app spreads contagion of distrust

Revelations that Singapore's TraceTogether contact tracing app used for criminal investigation has eroded trust in government

When Singapore rolled out TraceTogether, a smartphone app and physical token that uses Bluetooth technology for contact tracing, assurances were given at the highest official levels that personal data collected would be used solely to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Harish Pillay, a software engineer and transparent technology advocate, was an early supporter of the government-developed app who emailed the minister in charge of the initiative last March to volunteer his services and request that the program’s source code be shared “to ensure that [the app] does what it claims to do.”

Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister in charge of Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, accepted Pillay’s offer and released the source code, allowing developers from around the world to pick apart a technology that has become vital to the city-state’s successful coronavirus containment strategy.

“There was trust asked for at the start of the program,” said Pillay, who joined the TraceTogether campaign and publicly endorsed its use. “Many people, like me, felt that it was clear and transparent and [were] supportive. I was happily stating that I feel confident and comfortable with the safeguards.” Now, Pillay says he feels like he was let down.

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’s emergency fails to tame surging viral wave

Experts say government needs to take more localized tack as infection rates rise despite strict movement control orders

Health experts are calling on Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government to review its Covid-19 strategy as the nation battles a deadly third wave that has seen record daily infections rise since the controversial declaration of a state of emergency last month.

Warning that the country’s healthcare system risks being overwhelmed, the premier declared emergency rule on January 12 in a move that critics and opposition parties cast as an attempt to cling to power after his government’s razor-thin parliamentary majority was eroded by defections.

While the maneuver has given Muhyiddin a political lifeline, the Covid-19 resurgence has continued unabated with new cases climbing sharply since authorities tightened restrictions under a movement control order (MCO) covering all states in the country except Sarawak, which is under less severe curbs.

With intersecting health, political and economic crises in play, the government is under pressure to bring the worsening outbreak under control while simultaneously limiting adverse effects on the nation’s recession-hit economy. But its approach so far, observers say, has fallen short of protecting lives while preserving the livelihoods of Malaysians.

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.