Will Anwar help set Najib free?

Malaysian premier may need to set his self-proclaimed good governance principles aside for the sake of his government’s survival

Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, a politician who went from prisoner to prime minister, must make a decision that will define his long-sought premiership. Will he collude with a graft-tainted coalition partner seen as launching scurrilous attacks on the judiciary in a bid to exonerate its jailed former leader – ex-prime minister Najib Razak – or will he abide by the principles of reform and good governance that he has long-claimed to uphold?

The question has unsettled reform-minded Malaysians who see the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman as their last best hope of righting the wrongs of a political system that has for decades been riddled with corruption. Even when Anwar opted to join forces with his long-time nemesis the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) after November’s election, he was given the benefit of the doubt.

But to the dismay of many supporters of his “reformasi” cause, the 73-old-premier has stood by, seemingly reluctant to push back against his UMNO coalition partners agitating for their former leader’s freedom. While Najib’s fate is by no means Anwar’s decision alone, analysts see him wielding significant influence as a member of a committee evaluating his potential pardon.

Those in the jailed ex-premier’s inner circle say Anwar has more to gain than lose politically by acquiescing to UMNO’s demands. “The pardon just makes sense for Anwar’s political survival. And if he really wants to do the things he wants to do in terms of reforming the system, he needs that time and he needs that support,” said a source close to Najib who requested anonymity.

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 stops tightening amid faltering growth

MAS latest central bank to hold policy settings steady due to fading global economic growth and US and European bank ills

Singapore’s central bank defied expectations that it would tighten monetary policy for a sixth time since October 2021, announcing on Friday (April 14) that it would keep its policy settings unchanged despite stubborn price pressures at a 14-year-high and amid advance estimates that first-quarter economic growth fell well short of expectations.

The bellwether city-state had been among the first countries to tighten in response to rising inflation, though the latest move suggests the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has grown more concerned about the darkening global growth outlook in the wake of recent turbulence that has shaken American and European banking sectors.

“Concerns of a growth slowdown seem to be outweighing inflation, despite elevated core inflation in recent months,” said senior economists Chua Hak Bin and Lee Ju Ye of Maybank Investment Banking Group. In a research note reviewed by Asia Times, the pair wrote they had expected a “final re-centering of the [policy] band up to its prevailing level given sticky and elevated core inflation.”

The MAS uses exchange rates, managed against a trade-weighted undisclosed basket of currencies from Singapore’s major trading partners, instead of interest rates as its primary policy tool to manage imported inflation. Pre-announcement polling from Reuters and Bloomberg had put analysts expecting no change to monetary policy at all in the clear minority.

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.

Anwar’s nonalignment pays off big in Beijing

Malaysian leader wins $38 billion worth of investment vows from China all the while maintaining his New Cold War neutrality

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has cast his recent maiden state visit to China as a major foreign policy win, securing a record 170 billion ringgit (US$38.6 billion) worth of investment commitments from Beijing all the while asserting his country is non-aligned in the escalating New Cold War pitting Washington versus Beijing.

The billions of dollars of investment promises were spread across 19 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) covering various areas including green energy, electric vehicles and the digital economy, as well as an agreement to expedite long-delayed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure projects in Malaysia.

Anwar praised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature development initiative and called for its resumption in Malaysia following a three-year pandemic-caused lull. Previous Malaysian governments had suspended major China-funded projects such as the East Coast Rail Link and Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline over corruption concerns, but they were eventually reinstated under renegotiated terms.

“Translating lofty ideals into practical reality, solidarity and cooperation is best exemplified in the realization of the Belt and Road Initiative,” Anwar waxed effusive in a speech at the Boao Forum for Asia held in China’s Hainan province on March 30. The forum is often referred to as the “Asian Davos” and is convened annually to promote regional economic integration.

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.