His income had fallen by around half compared to before the pandemic. Traders declined to be identified in order to freely discuss the politically sensitive topic of dealing with North Korea. Dandong’s customs authority declined to comment on the current state of trade. WIGS, SEAFOOD AND GINSENG Doing business withContinue Reading
What is often not recognised is that Mr Anwar’s options may be limited.
First, he will have to decide if he wants a mini reshuffle, replacing new ministers in key portfolios and keeping the rest intact, or a major reshuffle where changes are not only made to the Cabinet, but also to the top layer of the civil service, government-linked companies and key statutory bodies.
Second, and this is the tricky bit, Mr Anwar will have to “balance” the representation in Cabinet. After a decades-long wait for the prime ministership, Mr Anwar was finally sworn into power on Nov 24 last year. There were many twists and turns, but a Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led ruling coalition finally came together comprising previous ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Parti Warisan.
Each party in his unity government must get their share or it will lead to political instability. There is already unhappiness among the Chinese that PH component party Democratic Action Party, with the largest number of seats in Parliament on the government side, is under-represented. UMNO and the East Malaysians, on the other hand, are over-represented.
On top of that, Mr Anwar must consider the status of those he wishes to appoint. Obviously, they must hold senior positions in their respective parties or have some special skill set.
Mr Anwar must also carve up the work in “overlap” areas to avoid perceptions of conflict. For example, sections of the business community are not happy with the way the Ministry of Economy under Rafizi Ramli and the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry under Tengku Zafrul Aziz are creating additional red tape and approvals because two ministries are involved.
Many in the business community would prefer the Economy Ministry, which was first established in 2018, to be scrapped and its core functions returned to the finance ministry.
SHANGHAI: The return of Australian barley imports to China has brought a happy buzz to at least one industry – brewers of craft beers who are hoping for a much-needed reduction in costs. The last three years have not been good to China’s nascent craft brewing sector. First, the pandemicContinue Reading
Before the tragedy, spectators would sit on long uninterrupted rows of raised concrete floors making the stadium have a capacity of 38,000. But under the planned individual seat arrangement, the capacity will drop to 21,650, Mr Matondang said. Speaking at a parliamentary hearing on Sep 6, Mdm Diana Kusumastuti, theContinue Reading
Before the tragedy, spectators would sit on long uninterrupted rows of raised concrete floors making the stadium have a capacity of 38,000. But under the planned individual seat arrangement, the capacity will drop to 21,650, Mr Matondang said. Speaking at a parliamentary hearing on Sep 6, Mdm Diana Kusumastuti, theContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, the United States said on Thursday (Sep 28), warning the trend could lead to a “sharp contraction” of global freedom of expression. The US State Department said in a report that Beijing hasContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: A handful of Canadian websites were defaced and the site for the country’s armed forces was briefly disrupted Wednesday (Sep 28) amid simmering tensions with India. The low-level hacks were claimed by an obscure pro-India group going by the name “Indian Cyber Force”, whose logo includes an American baldContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: The Philippines’ removal of a Chinese floating barrier near the Scarborough Shoal in a disputed part of the South China Sea was “a bold step in defending their own sovereignty”, a senior US defence official said on Thursday (Sep 28). Manila had expressed outrage over China’s placement of aContinue Reading
SARAJEVO: Lawmakers in Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic on Thursday (Sep 28) passed a draft law that labels non-profit groups funded from abroad as “foreign agents”, despite criticism from the opposition, civic organisations and Western diplomats. The legislation provides for establishing a special registry of non-profit organisations working in the regionContinue Reading
Beijing and Washington are paving the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Both sides are discussing a trip to Washington by Xi’s top economic-policy aide, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, the report said citing people briefed on the matter.Continue Reading