Muhyiddin’s Sabah win sets stage for snap polls

Malaysian leader's alliance wins pivotal state election seen as referendum on his popularity amid opposition challenge to unseat him

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s political alliance emerged victorious in closely contested elections in the state of Sabah on Saturday (September 26), an outcome that is likely to strengthen the premier’s position as he faces down an attempt by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to unseat his government.

Widely seen as a litmus test of Muhyiddin’s ability to keep parties aligned with his loose Perikatan Nasional (PN) governing coalition unified as an electorally cohesive bloc, the state elections were seen as a gauge of his personal popularity that will guide decisions as to when snap polls could be called.

Official results from the Election Commission of Malaysia showed that Muhyiddin’s informal Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) opposition alliance clinched a simple majority in the 73-seat state assembly with victories in 38 seats. Winning parties within the grouping, however, failed to reach a consensus on their chief ministerial candidate, leading to an impasse.

Muhyiddin, 73, who is president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), or Bersatu, had proposed Hajiji Mohd Noor, the party’s chief in Sabah, as GRS’ candidate for chief minister, while Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), insisted that the state’s next leader come from his party.

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.

Sabah polls could decide Malaysia’s next leader

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's bid to form a new government may hinge on this weekend's state poll

Skepticism and uncertainty hang over Malaysia in the wake of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s bold declaration on September 23, in which he claimed to command support among a “majority” of lawmakers needed to topple Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government.

Hours after announcing that the premier’s nearly seven-month-old government had fallen, Muhyiddin addressed a campaign rally in Sabah, where a bellwether state election is due to be held on Saturday (September 26). Casting Anwar’s bid as an attempt to destabilize the country’s politics, his message to voters was clear: “I’m still your prime minister.”

Insisting he would remain the country’s legitimate leader unless Anwar could substantiate and act on his assertion through “processes and procedures” set under the Federal Constitution, Muhyiddin, 73, called for calm and stressed the opposition leader’s statements remain “a mere claim.”

Anwar, who during a Wednesday press conference emphasized that he has the support of individual lawmakers rather than parties, has yet to reveal the names of those allegedly supporting his bid to take over Putrajaya. Parties within Muhyiddin’s loose Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance have denied that their members are defecting to back Anwar.

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 on the verge of a countercoup in Malaysia

Malaysian opposition leader claims he has secured enough defections to unseat PM Muhyiddin Yassin’s government

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed to have secured the parliamentary majority needed to form a new federal government in a surprise announcement on Wednesday afternoon (September 23), signaling that another change of government could soon be afoot in the Southeast Asian nation.

“With a solid and convincing majority, it means that as of this moment, the government of [Prime Minister] Muhyiddin Yassin has fallen,” said the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president during a surprise press conference at the Le Meridien Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. He refused to reveal the exact number of lawmakers supporting him.

The bombshell declaration has been met with skepticism from analysts and observers and is the latest twist in what has been the most politically turbulent year in Malaysia’s recent history, which saw the collapse of the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration helmed by Mahathir Mohamad less than seven months ago.

The political implications of Anwar’s hastily convened press conference – in which he stated he had been approached to take over the government by “a number of MPs from various parties who expressed deep dissatisfaction with the current leadership” – continue to be unclear given that he not yet provided proof of having the majority support of lawmakers.

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.

Foreigners not as wanted as before in Singapore

City-state's openness to foreign talent could be closing as rising unemployment pushes government to prioritize local hiring

Record job losses are testing Singapore’s openness to global talent, magnifying local unease with foreign job seekers that was already apparent before Covid-19 drove the wealthy city-state into its deepest-ever recession.

Under pressure to revive the economy and create jobs, policymakers are responding cautiously with new measures to shore up local hiring while leaving the door open to skilled foreign workers needed to compete in various advanced industries.

Total employment in the city-state fell 129,100 in the first half of 2020, while the overall unemployment rate rose to 2.8% as of June. Retrenchments rose sharply to 11,350 in the first half of the year, with the likes of Singapore Airlines recently announcing plans to cut 4,300 jobs, or around 20% of its staff.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed in an address to Parliament that while his government would “always be on the side of Singaporeans”, the city-state must resist pressures to “turn inward” as policies to safeguard Singaporean jobs are adjusted in the wake of the pandemic-induced economic 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.

The changing face of Singapore democracy

Opposition leader Pritam Singh is well-placed to challenge the PAP's long-time stranglehold on the city-state's politics

When Singaporeans went to the polls on July 10, voters handed the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) another landslide general election victory with 61.2% of the popular vote and all but 10 of 93 seats in Parliament.

But when party leaders addressed the media in the early hours of the following morning, the winners weren’t smiling. Instead, those rejoicing the loudest were supporters of the opposition Workers’ Party (WP) as jubilant crowds spontaneously gathered to wave party flags and honk horns, rare sights and sounds in politically placid Singapore.

WP clinched 10 seats, up from six previously, unexpectedly capturing two group constituencies in addition to their stronghold single-seat Hougang ward. Prime Minister and PAP secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong conceded that the results showed “a clear desire for a diversity of voices in Parliament.”

Two months on, the city-state’s unicameral legislature now features the largest opposition presence since Singapore’s independence and, for the first time in its history, a Leader of the Opposition (LO) formally appointed by the premier.

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 set to let UAE off the 1MDB hook

Closed door settlement could result in a hugely diminished payout without scandalous details ever aired in an open court

When the Malaysian government announced a US$3.9 billion settlement deal with Goldman Sachs in July, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin used the opportunity to reiterate his administration’s commitment to recovering assets linked to the sprawling multi-billion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

Prominent detractors, though, panned the deal, despite it paving the way for the largest yet recovery of pilfered state funds, with Goldman committing to a $2.5 billion cash payout and a guarantee to return at least $1.4 billion in assets linked to three bond transactions worth $6.5 billion that the US investment bank had structured and arranged for 1MDB.

Leaders of Malaysia’s previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, which oversaw charges brought against Goldman and its executives, have suggested that Malaysia was shortchanged in the settlement, which also saw pending criminal charges against the bank dropped. To critics, the outcome amounted to a veritable slap on the wrist.

Reports indicate that another such settlement is in the works, this time with an Abu Dhabi state investment fund over 1MDB-related transactions linked to a legal challenge filed by Malaysia in a London court. Observers say the settlement could lead to a smaller-than-expected payout without details of the controversial case ever being aired in an open court.

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 shapeshifting politics signal trouble ahead

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's tenure could be brief with shifting political winds and snap polls on the horizon

Six months since his appointment as Malaysia’s premier, Muhyiddin Yassin now finds himself between a rock and a hard place. With his ruling coalition of convenience mired in internecine strife, a new party launched by his bitterly estranged predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, threatens to weaken further his standing ahead of anticipated snap polls.

Though a general election is not due until late 2023, speculation is rising that a vote could be held within the next six months. Electoral considerations have already forced Muhyiddin to find new footing within a tangle of overlapping political alliances as he seeks a racially inclusive strategy to broaden his party’s appeal.

While Muhyiddin’s popularity has grown on his perceived as competent handling of Covid-19, open divisions in his informal Perikatan Nasional (PN) governing pact, the pandemic’s economic fallout and discontent over controversies involving ministers flouting virus control measures have ended his political honeymoon.

With a mere two-seat parliamentary majority, Muhyiddin found himself up against a wall when leaders from the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the largest bloc in his coalition, said they would not formally join the PN coalition following the sentencing to jail of former UMNO leader and ex-premier Najib Razak for corruption in late July.

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 migrants still captive to Covid-19

Migrant workers ringfenced in overcrowded dormitories continue to bear the brunt of the city-state’s viral outbreak

Passing their days within a ringfence, Singapore’s foreign workers have spent the past four months coping with fears of contracting Covid-19 and the associated dread of being quarantined in perpetuity.

Confined to the cramped living conditions of their dormitories, signs abound that the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of low-paid laborers in the island republic, which nonetheless has earned global praise for its comprehensive coronavirus handling.

Mass dormitories housing some 323,000 foreign workers emerged as the epicenter of the city-state’s outbreak after being put on lockdown in April when clusters were first identified. While cases remained low among the population at large, infections in the dormitories rose dramatically and pushed Singapore’s caseload to one of the highest in Asia.

Singapore’s total number of Covid-19 cases now stands at 56,099, with dormitory infections accounting for around 95% of the total caseload. The asymmetric impact of the outbreak, moreover, has spotlighted the need for broader reform of dormitory standards and the uncomfortable realities of severe inequality in the wealthy city-state.

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.

Cause for contempt of Malaysia’s politicized courts

Malaysia's politics descends into duel of tit-for-tat corruption charges that threatens to strain judicial credibility

When Najib Razak became the first former Malaysian prime minister ever to be convicted for corruption, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition that brought the charges against him while in power hailed the verdict as a “big victory” for Malaysians.

Sentenced to 12 years behind bars and fined nearly US$50 million in the first of several cases linked to multi-billion-dollar corruption allegations at the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund, the landmark ruling vindicated those who had spoken out against rampant graft as Najib’s scandal-plagued rule lurched toward authoritarianism.

By ostensibly allowing the judiciary to operate independently under his watch, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin managed to allay concerns that charges against Najib and other senior leaders from his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) – a linchpin in the premier’s fragile ruling coalition – would be dropped or subverted.

Opposition lawmakers, however, are raising new questions about Malaysia’s legal process following the August 7 arrest of former finance minister and senior opposition leader Lim Guan Eng, with PH leaders labeling bribery charges leveled against him in connection with a $1.5 billion China-linked infrastructure project as barefaced “political persecution.”

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.

Why Malaysia’s Muhyiddin fears a free press

Malaysia's new government is harassing and intimidating journalists in a fierce new clampdown on media freedoms

Advocates are sounding the alarm over a rapid deterioration of press freedom conditions in Malaysia following a series of police raids, arrests and interrogations of whistle-blowers and reporters who risk being jailed for years under draconian legislation often used to target the media.

Six journalists from Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera are among those currently under criminal investigation for alleged sedition, defamation and transmitting offensive content after the network aired on July 3 a documentary chronicling Malaysia’s controversial treatment of undocumented migrants during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a separate case, Steven Gan, the editor-in-chief of the news organization Malaysiakini, widely considered the most popular independent media portal in Malaysia, faces contempt of court charges in connection with reader remarks posted in the comments section of an article that authorities said had threatened public confidence in the judiciary.

“We are already seeing a pattern where media freedoms are really being affected purely through the way certain media outlets or journalists are being targeted,” said Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Wathshlah Naidu. “This pattern can already show that there is a certain concerted effort by the government.”

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.