Malaysia’s government has requested that the social media giants Meta and TikTok present a plan of how they intend to clamp down on offensive content on their platforms, as the government reported a sharp increase in content removal requests. According to a joint statement yesterday from the Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Malaysian police, the … Read more
As Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim approaches the midpoint of his second year in office, he finds his work cut out for him. The national currency, the ringgit, was one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies in 2023, having declined 4.3 percent against the U.S. dollar. This year has so far brought no respite: on February 20, … Read more
Yesterday, a day after the close of the special Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia delivered a speech at the Australian National University in Canberra. The Malaysian leader’s speech ranged over a number of issues, from Western hypocrisy and the war in Gaza to the importance of ASEAN … Read more
Next week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Melbourne for the second ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. The March 4-6 summit marks 50 years since Australia became the bloc’s first official Dialogue Partner, and will also be attended by Xanana Gusmão, the leader of aspiring ASEAN member … Read more
Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are on the cusp of finalizing a free trade agreement and should have it squared away by June, Malaysia’s trade minister said yesterday. In an interview with Reuters in Abu Dhabi, Malaysian Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said that the two sides were “in the last round of … Read more
The heir of a glorified line of politicians, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak (2009-2018) embodied the promise of a new era of liberalism in both the economic and social realms. However, history has yet to determine which part of his story will leave the deepest mark on Malaysia: his reforms or his political downfall. … Read more
On January 30, Malaysian politics witnessed a significant event with the ascension of Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to the throne under the nation’s unique rotational monarchy. This transition has stirred both curiosity and concern, particularly regarding the intersection of wealth and power, as the 65-year-old sultan from Johor State is one of Malaysia’s richest men, … Read more
The Thai government and Muslim separatist rebels in southern Thailand have agreed on a roadmap to try to end the region’s long-running conflict, according to the Malaysian of facilitator the talks. In a news conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening, Malaysian facilitator Zulkifli Zainal Abidin said that the two sides had agreed “in principle” to … Read more
On Friday, Malaysia’s Pardons Board confirmed that imprisoned former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has received a royal pardon halving his 12-year prison sentence. In 2020, Najib was convicted of involvement in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, and began serving his sentence in August 2022, after exhausting the various avenues of legal appeal. Almost immediately, his … Read more
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s prison sentence for corruption has been reduced from 12 to six years by the Pardons Board following a meeting earlier this week, according to a media report published yesterday. Citing sources “including senior government officials,” the Singapore-based Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that the Board, which met on January … Read more