Malaysia's Maid Controversy

Published on Jun 8, 2012 by Luke Hunt

In most countries, access to hired help for around the house would hardly count as a national priority. In Malaysia, however, it’s an issue that Prime Minister Najib Razak needs resolved before he goes to the next election – and after a couple of years of wrangling, he appears to have got his wish.Read more in The Diplomat..

Lady Gaga: Threat to Kids?

Published on May 11, 2012 by Luke Hunt

The self-appointed culture police are at it again. Indonesia’s hard-line Muslims are promising to block American singer Lady Gaga from taking to the stage during a scheduled June 3 performance in Jakarta. Among their many complaints are that the pop diva is a danger to children.In threatening to mobilize 30,000 people, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) also described the hottest artist in contemporary music as vulgar, very dangerous and argued that her sense of dress were threatening to a child’s sense of morality. Read more in The Diplomat from Luke Hunt..

Malaysia to Open its Books

Published on Apr 27, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Burma has won much of the international spot light over the past six months for its attempts to introduce political and economic reform. Just slightly further afield, Malaysia has also instigated its own reforms, but with much less fan fare.These included the repeal of the Internal Security Act, which allowed for detention without trial and laws governing the press and freedom of assembly. Now, the Malaysian government of Prime Minister Najib Razak has agreed to open its financial sector for a review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

ASEAN + China and Bhutan?

Published on Apr 10, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Within the various corridors of power across Southeast Asia, tongues are still wagging over the outburst delivered by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at last week’s ASEAN summit.At the heart of the speech was Cambodia’s close relationship with China, and his message was simple: Beijing’s generous financial backing of his government didn’t compromise Cambodia’s standing as the annual host of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).Read more in The Diplomat..

Hun Sen Blasts Crazy Media

Published on Apr 5, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Leaders of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc have laid the final groundwork for the establishment of an integrated economic community by 2015, but rifts have emerged over how to handle Chinese hegemony following the 20th annual summit of the group.As the summit was wrapped up, key documents were approved that covered workers’ rights, drug initiatives and the overarching declaration of “One Community One Destiny” designed to pave a way for a cherished economic community encompassing about 500 million people. Read more in The Diplomat..