CNA Explains: Why has Malaysia launched a royal inquiry into the Pedra Branca dispute?

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Politics expert James Chin of the University of Tasmania echoed similar sentiments, pointing out that it was in the interest of many Malaysians for the federal government’s handling of the matter to be divulged fully.

“I think this is one of those issues which the Malaysian public want a full accounting of,” he said.

“It’s important for this issue to be investigated because many Malaysians were very surprised by the ICJ findings … and lots of people in Johor are unhappy that they lost the islands.”

Analysts also speculated that the RCI may have been convened with the support of Johor’s ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, who will be appointed the country’s king on Wednesday.

Dr Azmi said Sultan Ibrahim has been vocal on the issue given the proximity of the disputed islands, and that he would likely be keen for the RCI to proceed. 

“The selection of the commission will need to be recognised by the new Yang Di Pertuan Agong when he is elected … so I think yes, the timing of the convening of this RCI has something to do with the Sultan of Johor,” he added. 

In June 2022, Sultan Ibrahim told the Johor State Assembly he was “bitterly disappointed” by the federal government’s decision to cancel the appeal of ICJ’s decision. 

“The Johor state government was not consulted at all, especially given that it is a sovereign land of Johor. I want the government to act firmly against the individuals who acted against the rights of the state,” he said. 

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said that while the Cabinet has approved the formation of the RCI, the appointment of its members will need consent from Sultan Ibrahim.

“It will only be executed with the formal appointment and swearing-in of the new king,” said Dr Ahmad Zahid. 

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A land bridge too far? Thailand’s revived Kra megaproject a divisive issue among local residents

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Murmurings about rampant land speculation, buying large areas cheaply with the aim to sell at a profit later when value rises, are loud in the community. Many are adamant that political figures are behind the push to purchase land around the project.

In this mostly ageing community of lifelong farmers, the prospect of selling up and moving remains a hard sell.

Further east, the terrain flattens and falls away to the straw sands of the Thai Gulf, the finish line of the land bridge, where shipping containers would be processed onto waiting ships bound for China or Japan.

For now, small resorts, seafood restaurants and aquaculture farms line the coast at Lang Suan in Chumphon.

Development has been lethargic here and life moves accordingly for those who call it home.

Little reliable information has been disseminated to the community here. The same whispers about aggressive land buying persist. But in the eyes of some, with progress comes sparks of opportunity.

Mr Perawat Thiparat, a local restaurant owner, says he thinks increased economic activity will naturally draw more people to the area, and to his family’s resort. 

“When I heard about the project, I thought it might be good for the economy and there would be development, but I don’t know what impacts it will make,” he said, while fishing off a pier at sunset.

On the very same pier, Sureephon Sophonmanee thinks she might be the sole opposing voice in the area. The 57-year-old still plies the seas in a small fishing boat to make a living.

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This luxury getaway in Bali lets you choose your own path to wellness

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Others, like the quantum healing visualisation session, as well as the women circle healing and unveiling masculine healing are perhaps more suited for those who may be more ready to face their emotional and mental “blockages” head on.

The first session of the day was vibrational sound therapy, where metal Tibetan singing bowls are used to create healing sounds at specific frequencies. When done well, proponents of this practice swear by its therapeutic benefits. Unfortunately, I found it impossible to get anywhere close to nirvana because the well-meaning instructor had placed the metal bowls right next to our ears, so each chime felt like an alarm clock jolting me right back to my senses.

Thankfully, the next chakra balancing activity, which featured a gentle series of stretching and strengthening exercises as well as another shorter sound therapy session, worked wonders at resetting my jangled nerves.

(Tip: Those who would like to maximise their wellness activities should check out the timetable of sessions before making reservations to ensure their stay overlaps with the classes and workshops they are interested in attending.)

After all that activity, it was time to visit the crowning glory of Mandapa’s wellness line-up – its spa. Besides a range of facilities like steam rooms, saunas and a rooftop vitality pool which is open to the resort’s guests, there is also an extensive treatment menu of facials, scrubs, massages, and all manner of beauty treatments. As its name implies, the Blissful Marma Massage, which features firm, flowing strokes, worked like a charm in soothing muscular tension.

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CNN Philippines to close due to financial losses

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MANILA: CNN Philippines will stop operations from Jan 31 due to “significant financial losses”, its owner announced on Monday (Jan 29), in the latest blow for the media industry in the Southeast Asian nation. The broadcaster began operating in the Philippines in 2015 as a franchise of CNN, delivering mainlyContinue Reading

‘Disaster on top of a disaster’: Weakening Myanmar junta using weapons on innocent civilians, says UN envoy

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Myanmar’s military junta has been getting weaker for months, but that has spelt more problems for the country’s people in the short term, United Nations rights envoy Tom Andrews said on Monday (Jan 29).

Since October, the junta has lost over 4,000 soldiers who have either surrendered or defected, and the military has also been losing ground in territory, he noted.

“They’ve lost military outposts and weapons, including significant artillery, so they’re losing ground. The problem (is) as they do so, they have been responding by attacking villages,” he said, adding that they have very sophisticated powerful weapons of war to do so with.

While the weakening of the junta is good news in the long term, the junta’s response of turning on the people of Myanmar is a “very significant problem”, he said.

“It’s a disaster on top of a disaster,” the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar told CNA’s Asia First.

Since the coup nearly three years ago, 2.3 million people have been displaced and 18.6 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid, said Mr Andrews, who is also a Robina senior human rights fellow at Yale University Law School.

Last year, over 10,000 Myanmar children died due to what the UN describes as acute and severe malnutrition.

“Myanmar kids are literally starving to death. More than half the country has fallen into poverty. This country of Myanmar is suffering incredibly ever since the coup occurred nearly three years ago,” said Mr Andrews.

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With generals barred, Myanmar junta sends bureaucrat to ASEAN meeting

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Military-ruled Myanmar sent a bureaucrat to Monday’s (Jan 29) meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Laos, Indonesia’s top diplomat said, adding the move was in line with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) policy on the conflict-torn country’s attendance. Myanmar’s ruling generals remain barred from ASEAN’s key meetingsContinue Reading

Timeline: China Evergrande’s worsening debt crisis

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A Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande Group on Monday (Jan 29). Evergrande is the world’s most indebted real estate developer and has been at the centre of an unprecedented liquidity crisis in China’s property sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the world’s second-largest economy.Continue Reading