LONDON: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday (Dec 14) urged governments to treat e-cigarettes similarly to tobacco and ban all flavours, threatening cigarette companies’ bets on smoking alternatives. Some researchers, campaigners and governments see e-cigarettes, or vapes, as a key tool in reducing the death and disease caused byContinue Reading
The three allies also reiterated their commitment to freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea. China has in recent years ramped up military and political pressures on Taiwan, which it claims as its territory. To reinforce that both the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea are internationalContinue Reading
JAKARTA: Indonesia has ordered the military to help farmers plant rice as severe drought has reduced output of the staple in Southeast Asia’s most populous country, lifting prices, requiring increased imports and threatening food security. With planting behind schedule due to dryness fuelled by the El Nino weather phenomenon, PresidentContinue Reading
“NEEDS ARE GROWING” Wu and his wife were devastated when Xuanmo, their only child, died of a sudden stroke last year at the age of 22 while attending Exeter University in Britain. The accounting and finance student, keen sportsman and posthumous organ donor “had such a rich and varied life”,Continue Reading
“The public’s doubts are around me over political funds, which is leading to distrust in the government. As an investigation is going on, I thought I wanted to set things right,” Nishimura told reporters. Kishida said a day before that he would deal with the allegations “head-on”. “I will makeContinue Reading
Among those who have been charged under the Sedition Act include Kedah chief minister Muhammad Sanusi Mohd Nor as well as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) information chief Razali Idris.
Sanusi was charged on Jul 18 with two counts of sedition for comments in a political speech earlier that month.
The first charge was in relation to him making seditious remarks against the Selangor ruler while the second charge was related to uttering seditious words regarding the establishment of the unity government.
Last month, Bersatu’s Razali was charged under the Sedition Act for claiming that the government controlled the judiciary as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
And just last week, Malaysian police arrested a 36-year-old man after he expressed support for diplomatic relations with Israel in an interview with an Israeli social media influencer. According to local media, the man was investigated under the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act.
As for the PPPA, it has been applied at least seven times this year with five bans enacted under the act – comprising four books and the banning of the Swatch Pride watch collection.
In May, a total of 172 watches, worth RM64,795 (US$13,900) were confiscated from several Swatch outlets all over the country for supposedly violating the PPPA, with Swatch contesting the ban in court.
And earlier in February, a woman was investigated under the same law for being in possession of 22,929 sex toys worth an estimated RM1.1 million during a raid at a warehouse in Penang.
According to various news reports, she was later fined RM5,000 after pleading guilty in court.
A report on civil and political rights by human rights organisation Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) on Dec 8 meanwhile said that there was significant regression when it came to freedom of expression.
It said that despite the government’s initiative to engage with stakeholders, the political will for substantive reforms to the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act remained precarious.
“This is substantiated by the swift backpedalling to the narrative used by previous administrations of the adequacy of existing laws in tackling 3R (race, religion and royalty) matters, explicitly stated or implied,” said the report.
The report also said that lawmakers, including Mr Anwar, have continued to justify the continued application of the Sedition Act especially on the “basis of unavoidable necessity as to maintain national security and stability, and public order”.
The Suaram report also noted that Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act continues to be widely used to address fake news and address any online discourse that is deemed offensive.
It said that a significant example was the arrest and four-day remand of two 18-year-olds earlier in February for criticising this year’s Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) – Malaysia’s equivalent of the O-levels – History paper.
“The ambiguous Section 233 provided law enforcement unfettered discretion in interpreting and enforcing the provision,” said the report, which added that there may be an increase in use of the section of the law instead of the Sedition Act to investigate cases related to race, religion and royalty.
Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior research fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore and a former adviser with the French defence ministry and NATO, described the past 15 years as “the collapse of the Oslo process”, as the election of Hamas in Gaza and the increaseContinue Reading
China is watching its Communist neighbour’s increasingly closer relations with Washington with interest. After Biden’s visit, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong travelled to Beijing in October to meet with Xi. The Chinese leader told him that the two countries have developed a deep friendship of “camaraderie and brotherhood”, and that they should regard the bilateral relationship as a priority in their respective foreign policies – a veiled reference, or a reminder perhaps, of keeping ties strong, no matter how much the US comes knocking.
Beijing has long-standing economic relations with Hanoi, but could do more to bring big-name Chinese companies to invest, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, a former Vietnamese ambassador to the US, told me from Hanoi.
“China is lagging behind some other countries, namely the US, in this regard. Personally, I would like to see big names like the Chinese versions of Apple or Intel in the high tech space, and the digital economy investing more here.”
But while using economic incentives to gain political leverage may be what the great powers are trying, it’s unlikely the strategy will be that straightforward. Vietnam will continue to be guided by a foreign policy that has allowed it to strike relationships with countries that are often at odds with one another.
It’s not just about managing the US and China, Lye Liang Fook, senior fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told me.
“There is a new upgraded relationship with Japan as well. This visit by Xi is another indication of Vietnam’s delicate balancing act, but it also shows how the country has been been striking a healthy equilibrium with the major powers.”
SINGAPORE: Some bus zone counters and electronic gates (e-gates) at Johor Bahru land checkpoint will be closed from Friday (Dec 15) for upgrading works.
The upgrading works at Sultan Iskandar Building – the customs, immigration and quarantine complex (CIQ) in Johor – are set to be completed on Jan 15, 2024, according to a Facebook post by the CIQ communications unit on Tuesday.
The Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) counter will also be affected during this period. Eligible travellers who wish to use the e-gates at the checkpoint have to register their fingerprints at the MDAC counters on their first visit. They can use the e-gates on subsequent visits.
Travellers were advised to take the closures into consideration when making their travel plans.
Heavy traffic is expected during Singapore’s school holiday period from Nov 16 to Jan 2, Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said previously.
NEW DELHI: A man jumped into the lawmakers’ area of the lower house of India’s parliament on Wednesday (Dec 13), in a major security breach on the 22nd anniversary of a deadly attack on the complex. TV channels showed a man wearing a black jacket jump from the visitors’ areaContinue Reading