Malaysians Braced for Election and its Aftermath

Published on May 2, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Malaysians are widely expected to elect Prime Minister Najib Razak to another term in office when they go to the polls on Sunday, but any victory will fall far short of a ringing endorsement and could herald trouble ahead.Najib’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO) – the pro-Malay lead political party in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition – has never been as unpopular as it is going into this election, according to analysts, who have pointed out that an absence of independent and reliable opinion polls makes forecasting difficult.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .

US Soldier in Found in Vietnam

Published on May 1, 2013 by Luke Hunt

A new documentary called Unclaimed claims to introduce the world to former Army Sergeant John Robertson, lost over Vietnam in 1968 and left behind for over four decades.Read more in The Journal..

Chrissy Amphlett Dies at 53

Published on Apr 24, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Chrissy Amphlett, Australian former lead singer of the rock band Divinyls, passed away yesterday morning in New York where she lived with her husband and former Divinyls drummer Charley Drayton.Read more from Jonathan DeHart in The Diplomat..

Dirty Tricks on Malaysia’s Campaign Trail

Published on Apr 17, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Allegations of dirty tricks have emerged in the campaigns for the May 5 Malaysian elections after a number of websites were hacked and broadcasts by radio stations were apparently jammed.Websites belonging to Radio Free Malaysia, Radio Free Sarawak and the news portal Sarawak Report, among others, were subjected to DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks, which editors blamed on the Malaysian government.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Invading Iraq: Lindsay Murdoch on Iraq and Lies

Published on Mar 24, 2013 by Luke Hunt

I was not aware the Pentagon had called me a liar. I was sitting at the time in a knee-deep hole in the Iraq desert wearing a chemical warfare suit and flak jacket, helmet strapped on and gas mask within grasp. An editor in Sydney took the call from the Pentagon’s Lieutenant-Commander Jeff Davies a day after the beginning of the ground war in Iraq 10 years ago today.Read more from Lindsay Murdoch at Fairfax..

Vietnam's Progressive Gender Policies

Published on Mar 23, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Few countries have pressed the buttons of civil rights groups more than Vietnam. Its crackdown on bloggers and dissent is in itself a contradiction of its efforts to open up a constitutional debate which has had only mixed success and led to the jailing of ordinary citizens simply for expressing their opinions.However, there are those in Vietnam who have cultivated government policies which are in-keeping with the processes of a modern state and daring in the handling of sensitive issues.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Sultan says Not Leaving Sabah

Published on Mar 18, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III are not withdrawing from Sabah, and he has instructed them to conduct guerrilla warfare against Malaysian forces.Read more from Perseus Echeminada at The Philippine Star..

Sabah Not Under Control

Published on Mar 16, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Despite official claims that the Sabah situation is now under control, Malaysian forces are apparently still worried about the activities of the members of the Sulu “royal army.”A Sabah-based radio station reported on Friday that Malaysian policemen and soldiers had searched a cemetery in Semporna for a cache of firearms suspected to have been hidden there by the Sulu intruders.Read more from Allan Nawal at the Inquirer..

Ieng Sary Dead, Pressure on ECCC

Published on Mar 15, 2013 by Luke Hunt

The death of prominent Khmer Rouge figure, Ieng Sary, has added further pressure to the UN-backed Cambodian war crimes tribunal to find justice for long-suffering Cambodians, with just two living defendants who have been charged with crimes against humanity.Read more in The Diplomat..

Armed Foreigners Seized in Malaysia

Published on Feb 14, 2013 by Luke Hunt

The security forces hauled up a group of armed foreigners clad in military fatigues for encroaching into the waters off Lahad Datu, Sabah on Tuesday. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the encroachment was believed to be due to problems occurring in southern Philippines.Read more in The Malaysian Insider..