Commentaries

2017/24, 17 May 2017

The Bandar Malaysia project was launched in May 2011; a 197ha development under the 1MDB Real Estate arm that was meant to be a new business district of Kuala Lumpur as well as a major transport node, housing the terminus of the High Speed Rail (HSR) to Singapore and perhaps Bangkok. After the fallout from 1MDB, Bandar Malaysia fell under the auspices of TRX City Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidy of Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance (MOF). In December 2015, 60% of Bandar Malaysia was sold to a consortium comprising Iskandar Waterfront City (now Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH)) and the China Rail Engineering Corporation (CREC), a Chinese state-owned company, at a signed value of RM12.35 billion (S$4 billion). IWH-CREC thus became the master developer for Bandar Malaysia. The projected market value of that agreement today, based on the illustrated selling price of RM2000 psf, is RM42 billion (S$13.6 billion).

2017/23, 16 May 2017

Indonesia has moved to disband the decades-old hard-line group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI). In his speech on May 8, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security, Retired General Wiranto listed three grounds: Firstly, HTI has not assumed a positive role in the country’s efforts to achieve national goals. Secondly, HTI’s activities are contradictory to the aims, principles and characteristics of Pancasila and the Constitution of Indonesia. Thirdly, HTI’s activities have caused conflicts in society, which may threaten security and order and endanger the integrity of the unitary state of Indonesia.

2017/22, 12 May 2017

On Tuesday, 9 May 2017, the North Jakarta District Court sentenced outgoing ethnic Chinese Christian Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (also known as Ahok) to two years in jail for blasphemy against Islam.

2017/21, 12 May 2017

Analysts are now convinced that the bombs that exploded outside the “Big C” supermarket in the southern Thai provincial capital of Pattani on Tuesday afternoon were the work of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN). The bombs—a small one apparently planted in motorcycle in the store’s parking area whose explosion was followed by that of a larger one planted in a stolen pick-up truck in front of its main entrance—left sixty people injured.

2017/20, 2 May 2017

US Vice-President Mike Pence’s visit to Indonesia from 20-21 April 2017 was an opportunity for the US to reassure Southeast Asians that the Trump Administration has not forgotten the region. It also afforded the opportunity for the new administration to get a first-hand account on how the region’s largest country views the US.  It was a learning experience for the US as much as it was for Indonesia.

2017/19, 24 April 2017

US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to four Asia-Pacific countries – South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia – have brought some measure of relief to a region anxious to know if the erstwhile Pacific power was still interested in them. Given that President Donald Trump has yet to make any overseas trip 100 days into his presidency, these visits by the Vice President provide hints of where the priorities of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy lie. As it relates to Asia, it is becoming clear that the Administration not only seeks to reassure its traditional treaty allies, but also sends a strong message that Southeast Asia has not gone unnoticed in Washington, DC.

2017/18, 24 April 2017

Incumbent Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (affectionately known as Ahok) has been decisively defeated in the Jakarta gubernatorial run-off election that took place on Wednesday, 19 April. While the formal result from the Jakarta Electoral Commission is still pending for another month, quick count exit polls from various polling institutions showed that former education minister Anies Baswedan and entrepreneur running mate Sandiaga Uno have won a landslide victory after securing 58 percent of the votes compared to Ahok and running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat’s 42 percent. This result is a disappointing end for Ahok and his loyal supporters in what has been one of the most controversial, widely-covered, and agenda defining elections in contemporary Indonesia.

2017/17, 11 April 2017

On 6 April, the Malaysian Speaker of Parliament, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, allowed PAS President, Abdul Hadi Awang, to table the Private Member’s Bill to amend ACT 355 (Syariah Courts Criminal Jurisdiction). Mr Abdul Hadi then provided details of his proposal. However, Mr Pandikar postponed further debate on the issue until the next parliamentary sitting. The Speaker’s move angered several opposition lawmakers, who felt they have the right to speak up on the issue. Mr Abdul Hadi’s Bill proposed that the maximum punishments that Malaysian Islamic courts can mete out be raised from the current three years jail, RM 5000 fine, and six lashes of the cane to 30 years’ jail, RM 100, 000 fine, and 100 lashes.

2017/16, 6 April 2017 

Speculations of China’s rise and America’s relative decline have been around for some time, and the Trump presidency has rekindled discussions on the prospect of China replacing the US as the most dominant global power. The Trump-Xi summit in Miami, which starts tomorrow, may fuel this perception in a number of ways.