Commentaries

2018/2, 8 January 2018

On 7 January, Malaysia’s opposition coalition, PH (Pact of Hope) held its first ever convention. Attendees include delegates from four political parties: Amanah (National Trust Party), DAP (Democratic Action Party), PKR (People’s Justice Party) and PBBM (Malaysian United Indigenous Party). The meeting is an important milestone for the opposition for a number of reasons. First, never before in the Malaysia’s political history has the opposition showed this level of unity. Past coalitions were weak ideologically and mired with infighting. Second, in an unprecedented move, the four parties settled on seat allocation for the elections. According to Saifuddin Abdullah, PH’s Chief Secretary, the seat allocation are as follows: Amanah (27 seats); DAP (35 seats), PBBM (52 seats); and PKR (51 seats). Although the agreement only refers to seats in the Peninsula, the opposition’s ability to settle this before the elections is commendable because it will prevent any overlapping claims or misunderstandings during the campaigning period. At the convention, PH also announced its candidates for Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister: Mahathir Mohamed for the former and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for the latter. The move is a sign that PH is targeting Malay and rural voters— which remain ruling BN’s (National Front) stronghold—on top of its traditional urban and non-Malay voters.

2018/1, 5 January 2018

While the United States and other Western democracies are discussing the feasibility of imposing targeted sanctions on Myanmar over the Rohingya issue, China is quietly working on further broadening and deepening its cooperation with Myanmar.  A flurry of recent bilateral visits back and forth illustrate China’s moves to shape the trajectory of its relations with Myanmar.

2017/72, 21 December 2017

The National Security Strategy as unveiled by US President Donald Trump on 18 December 2017 is the first cogent iteration of his foreign policy agenda since taking office in January this year. Transcending beyond President Trump’s speeches and Twitter comments as well as the often-conflicting remarks made by his principal officials, this formal document – which is legally required of all US presidents – sheds light on the Trump Administration’s foreign policy and national security priorities, especially to Southeast Asia.

Yorrys Raweyai, former Coordinator for Political, Legal and Security Affairs for the Golkar Party Central Committee and an important party figure, recently shared his views on the problems facing the party at a seminar held at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. The Golkar Party needs to dramatically improve its popularity to prepare for the 2018 rounds of local elections, and the 2019 legislative and presidential elections. Not shying away from pointing to the current chairman Setya Novanto as the party’s current biggest problem, Mr Raweyai shared his conviction that the party’s two main issues are leadership and image.

2017/70, 30 November 2017

Australia’s recently released Foreign Policy White Paper situates Southeast Asia at the nexus of an increasingly “complex and contested” Indo-Pacific region where China’s rising power and influence is challenging America’s strategic dominance and putting the rules based order under strain.

2017/69, 28 November 2017

House Speaker and Golkar Chairman Setya Novanto’s attempts to evade the Corruption Eradication Commission‘s (KPK) investigation into his alleged involvement in the national electronic identification card (e-KTP) graft scandal seem to be never-ending. Since first named as a suspect in the US$173 million corruption case in July 2017, the Golkar party chairman has tried many strategies to avoid the KPK, from feigning illness and hospitalisation, to filing a successful pre-trial motion to have his suspect status dismissed.

2017/68, 16 November 2017

Ten years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers in ASEAN in February 2007 under the Philippines’ chairmanship of ASEAN, the ASEAN heads of state/government have signed the ASEAN Consensus on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers – a document aimed at giving effect to the commitments of the Declaration.

 2017/67, 7 November 2017

One thing we have come to expect from US President Donald Trump is to expect the unexpected. A case in point is Trump’s last minute change of mind on his participation in the East Asia Summit (EAS) on 14 November 2017. The Trump Administration scored some major brownie points when Vice President Mike Pence announced in April this year that the president will attend the summit. Just as ASEAN prepares to roll out the red carpet to welcome Trump on his first presidential visit to Southeast Asia, the Washington Post broke the news on 24 October that Trump would in fact skip the EAS. The matter came full circle when Trump made the announcement before embarking on his five-country Asia visit that he would attend the EAS after all.

2017/66, 5 November 2017

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi made a surprise one day visit to conflict-ridden Maungtaw district of Rakhine state last Thursday, her first visit since ARSA attacked 30 police posts on 25 August. Her visit was intended to reduce international pressure on Myanmar on the recent Rohingya crisis and assure local Rohingya villagers about the government’s development programmes for Northern Rakhine. She met with some Rohingya villagers, inspected preparations for the refugees repatriation programme, met border guard police troops and families, and visited an ethnic Mor village. She also chaired a meeting with the state government and urged it to solve Rakhine crisis through diplomatic, development and security means.