Umbrellas to firebombs, HK protests burn and rage

Black-clad protestors mark Umbrella Movement’s fifth anniversary with political graffiti, petrol bombs and flag burnings

Thousands of Hongkongers descended on Tamar Park on Saturday (July 28) evening for a rally to mark the fifth anniversary of the Umbrella Movement. As anti-government unrest enters its seventeenth week, some believe the lesson learned is that past peaceful protests have failed to achieve the change that many here continue to agitate for.

Black-clad demonstrators spray-painted the phrase “We are back” along Harcourt Road, a reference to “We will be back” banners that marked the end of the Umbrella Movement, which unfolded over ten weeks in 2014 and saw peaceful civil disobedience protests demanding universal suffrage and mass sit-ins under the banner of “Occupy Central.”

What had then been the largest and most protracted episode of civil disobedience in Hong Kong’s history has since been eclipsed by this year’s ongoing political crisis, which has seen both record-breaking peaceful marches and often violent unrest and clashes between police and protesters shake the Chinese-ruled financial hub for nearly four months.

Saturday’s event, which featured musical performances and rousing political speeches, was cut short over safety concerns after protesters blockaded a road adjacent to the city’s legislature building, bringing traffic to a halt. Police used water cannons to disperse the crowd outside of the Chief Executive’s Office in the evening.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Trump ambassador pick to test Singapore ties

Little-known US businesswoman Barbera Thornhill’s suitability for the top role already faces tough scrutiny

A little-known Californian businesswoman and philanthropist is tipped to be America’s next ambassador to Singapore, a crucial and overdue appointment to one of Washington’s closest strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific.

Barbera Hale Thornhill, president of Impact Design, a Los Angeles-based interior design firm, was nominated for the role by US President Donald Trump on September 19.

Thornhill’s nomination came two days before Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong began a week-long official trip to New York City, where he is due to speak at the United Nations General Assembly. 

Lee is expected to meet with Trump, and although no meeting has been announced, he could also be introduced to the president’s ambassadorial pick.

But there are already doubts as to whether the prospective envoy will be able to reaffirm relations with a long-standing ally that has been notably impacted by Washington’s trade war and openly questioned the Trump administration’s policy direction.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Singapore claws back at pet cat ban

City-state’s public housing authority bars cat ownership but activists and others are fighting back for feline rights

Thara Jeyaraman has plenty of mouths to feed. Around 60, to be exact.

The 50-year-old Singaporean has fostered animals since 2003 and provides twice-daily meals to dozens of community cats in the city-state. As a registered animal caregiver, she works to sterilize and neuter strays, boarding them in her own home before releasing them back to the housing estates from where they were picked up.

At any one time, there are about 20 cats lodging in her five-room unit. Technically, though, the presence of even a single cat in her home runs afoul of the law.

More than 80% of Singapore’s population live in public housing units, or Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, which have long prohibited keeping cats as pets. According to regulations, residents are permitted to own a dog provided that it belongs to one of 62 HDB-approved breeds.

A variety of small animals from hamsters and guinea pigs to turtles, tree frogs, birds and even chinchillas are permitted as long as they are legally imported. Felines of any breed, however, are not.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

AmCham survey shows HK losing its corporate edge

80% of respondents said city’s turmoil has affected their investment decisions; Singapore is the top relocation destination

A new American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham) survey, conducted in collaboration with market researcher Ipsos, gives arguably the clearest indication yet of how business sentiment and investment decisions are being impacted by Hong Kong’s three-month-old political crisis.

Sixty-seven percent of senior managers, business directors and chief executive officers (CEOs) from company respondents said that Hong Kong’s reputation as a regional base of operations for businesses has been tarnished, according to the survey’s findings released on September 12.

Eighty percent of respondents, meanwhile, indicated that Hong Kong’s political turmoil has affected their future decisions to invest in the city. Sentiment is generally more conservative among companies without a business presence in Hong Kong (88%), compared to those with office space in the city (75%), the survey showed.

Over 20% said they were considering whether to move capital or relocate business functions out of Hong Kong, though more than 70% of respondents said they had no such plans. Among those companies considering to relocate, 91% indicated that their preferred destination would be Singapore.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

The ties that bind Mahathir to Moscow

Malaysian leader looks to Russia for arms and deals to rebalance his diplomacy away from China and the US

Malaysia and Russia’s friendly ties were on full display at last week’s Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, where Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad led a delegation aimed at spurring bilateral investment and defense links.

Speaking at the forum’s key event, Mahathir said Russian efforts to develop its most sparsely populated region “may mean the opening of a new market for Malaysia” and that Malaysian investors would flock to Vladivostok if greater economic opportunities in the region beckon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified the development of his nation’s Far East as a priority in pursuit of deeper engagement with Asia-Pacific economies. Mahathir’s three-day visit follows recent high-level defense consultations, including sales pitches for Russian-made aircraft.

After locking horns with China in a bid to renegotiate costly infrastructure deals and snubbing US President Donald Trump’s trade war, Mahathir’s embrace of Russia signals his bid to diversify Malaysia’s big power diplomacy. Against the backdrop of an increasingly bitter Sino-US rivalry, the Kremlin is all too willing to oblige.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Lee’s last election coming soon in Singapore

Leader has vowed to step aside after expected polls but his long-ruling PAP may face its stiffest ever electoral test

Singapore is officially on the cusp of an election season following an announcement this week that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong initiated a review of the city-state’s electoral boundaries.

While Lee’s long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is widely expected to score another win, it may face its stiffest challenge to date as a new generation of PAP leaders square off against an energized opposition that draws on the support of the premier’s estranged brother.

Speculation has been rife that a snap poll could be called after Lee earlier hinted that elections, which legally must be held before April 2021, could be held as early as this year. The election is expected to be the premier’s last before stepping down to make way for the PAP’s so-called fourth generation (4G) leadership.

The panel tasked with evaluating the electoral map and making recommendations to reshape constituencies, known as the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), will submit their report to the premier prior to its public release.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Moment of truth approaching for Trump’s trade war

New fourth round of tariffs on Chinese goods will hit US consumers and firms especially hard, just as the US enters an election season

An already bitter trade war between the United States and China went a notch further on September 1, with the two economic superpowers imposing new tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s goods.

But despite bipartisan consensus that Beijing engages in unfair trade practices and agreement on need for a recalibration of trade ties, former US officials and market observers believe President Donald Trump is fast losing support for his trade war among American business executives, farmers and swing voters.

And while there are reports that bilateral negotiations could resume later this month, the rhetoric on both sides signals more trade trouble ahead.

A stinging editorial published on Sunday by Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua accused the US of “economic warmongering” in response to the new tariff increases of 15% on more than US$125 billion in China-made goods, including an array of consumer electronics, linens and footwear.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Trade war salvos singe Singapore’s chipmakers

Falling electronics exports and rising retrenchments could soon drag the trade-reliant city-state into recession

Ly Chong, chief operating officer at Hybrionic Pte Ltd, a Singaporean hybrid microcircuit producer which employs nearly 300 people, says his business has been “drastically” impacted by the US-China trade war.

The company builds electronic circuits and modules used in automobiles, healthcare devices such as hearing aids and telecommunication electronics. Ninety-five percent of the firm’s products are exported to the US market but its supply chain is linked to China.

“Because of the trade war and our end-customers, we were asked to hold back our shipments of an automotive product that represented 40% of our total sales,” Chong told Asia Times in an interview.

That product, Chong said, has traditionally been sent by his firm to China for assembly into a module which is then shipped to Mexico and the US. Sales volumes of the device have recently drop by some 60% because of US tariffs, he said.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Radical Indian preacher rocks and roils Malaysia

Zakir Naik, a fugitive Islamic televangelist wanted by New Delhi, could lose his safe haven in Malaysia for inflaming racial tensions

Malaysian authorities are under pressure to act against Zakir Naik, a fugitive Islamic televangelist wanted in India on radicalization and money laundering charges who recently suggested that Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese minority community should be expelled.

Speaking at an event in Kelantan state on August 8, Zakir claimed that Malaysia’s minority Hindus have “100 times more rights” than Muslim minorities in India but are more supportive of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi than Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Naik then mentioned Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese community, which represents around 21% of the national population as he addressed rising calls for him to leave Malaysia, where he now holds permanent residency despite India’s calls for his extradition.

“You know, someone called me a guest. So, I said, before me, the Chinese were the guests. If you want the new guest to go first, ask the old guest to go back,” he said. “The Chinese aren’t born here, most of them. Maybe the new generations, yes,” Naik added.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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

Goldman’s 1MDB troubles grow deep and wide

Wall Street bank’s legal liability in Malaysia’s multibillion dollar financial scandal is likely much larger than markets and analysts recognize

Goldman Sachs is under potentially punitive new legal pressure after Malaysian prosecutors filed criminal charges against 17 of its current and ex-executives, raising the stakes and new questions of institutional culpability in the multibillion dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption and money-laundering scandal.

Malaysian Attorney General Tommy Thomas said last week that custodial sentences and criminal fines would be sought against the accused, all of whom held key leadership positions across three of the bank’s subsidiaries. The charges were filed under a Malaysian law that holds senior executives responsible for any offenses that may have been committed during their tenure.

Those indicted “occupied the highest executive positions in those three Goldman Sachs subsidiaries, and exercised or ought to have exercised decision-making authority over the transactions of those corporate bodies,” which, Thomas said, were involved in the “fraudulent misappropriation of billions in bond proceeds.”

The newly accused include Richard Gnodde, chief executive of the US investment bank’s international subsidiary, Michael Evans, an ex-Goldman executive who is now president of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and 15 other current and former directors from the bank’s international divisions including in London and Singapore.

Read the full story at Asia Times.

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