TAIPEI: At least nine people were killed in a fire at a golf ball factory in southern Taiwan over the weekend, including four firefighters who died in an explosion, officials said on Monday (Sep 25). The fire, which began on Friday evening and raged all night, also injured more thanContinue Reading
SEOUL: North Korea on Monday (Sep 25) slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for criticising its cooperation with Moscow following leader Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it is “natural” and “normal” for neighbours to keep close relations. Yoon, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last week, saidContinue Reading
As a country’s population ages, economic growth starts to decline. The rate and the extent of the decline will depend on the foundation that the earlier, younger high-growth economy was able to lay, including for human capital, physical infrastructure and governance.
Although an imploding working age population may be attenuated by a higher labour force participation rate, especially of elder workers (that is, those aged 65 or above), on average, older workers are not as productive and innovative as younger ones. This usually translates to lower labour productivity growth and a slower rate of innovation.
The natural growth rate of a country’s economy, which is the rate of economic growth that could be sustained over the long term and is determined by demographic changes and technical progress, will also decline. This results in a lower appetite for corporate investment and consequently, lower firm productivity.
What seems to be preoccupying policymakers now is how to “get rich before getting old”, as touted in the Grand Strategy for Indonesia’s 2045 Vision. This mindset must change: Indonesia should close its development gap by getting its foundations right, then get rich, not vice versa. The sequence of reforms matters.
President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, in his two terms has made tremendous progress in building certain structural foundations for the country – including in transportation, electricity generation, irrigation systems, regulatory reforms aiding investment, the financial and health sectors, and tax harmonisation.
This is his legacy in improving the welfare of Indonesians. However, there are big development gaps that Indonesia’s next president still needs to close in the next critical 10 to 15 years, primarily laggard human capital and the eroding quality of governance.
In a speech delivered in Terengganu, Abdul Hadi had declared PAS’ struggle as jihad (holy war), and criticised UMNO for upholding a colonial Constitution, laws of unbelievers and pre-Islamic legislation. Conversely, PAS leaders were upset with Mahathir’s government for not uplifting the poorer east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu. PAS deemed UMNO to be secular.
As recently as 2019, Mahathir requested that PAS withdraw from Amanat Haji Hadi.
Now Mahathir and Abdul Hadi (and PAS) appear to have buried the hatchet, for political reasons.
On the one hand, Mahathir has joined the PAS bandwagon to revive his statesman image. As the father of Malaysia’s industrialisation, and the man who turned the country into an Asian Tiger economy in the 1990s, Mahathir does not want to end up in Malaysia’s annals of history as a downed political juggernaut.
At 97, Mahathir continues to garner respect from the international community, particularly in Japan and South Korea, and is regularly invited to speak at international forums. Moreover, the Islamic world remembers Mahathir for speaking up for the Muslims during the Bosnian war and the Palestinian issue.
It is on the domestic front that respect for him has waned significantly. With PAS’ strong electoral performance in the recent general and state elections, Mahathir is now trying to be on the winning side again, easing the memories of his 2022 defeat.
The storming of a north Kosovo monastery has thrown attention on persistent trouble in the ethnic Serbian-majority region 15 years after Pristina declared independence. Here are facts about the unrest. WHAT IS BEHIND THE FRICTION? Independence for ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo came on Feb 17, 2008, almost a decade after aContinue Reading
China – the world’s biggest emitter of the pollutants driving climate change – operates thousands of coal mines, even as Beijing has pledged to peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. While safety standards in the country’s mining sector have improved in recent decades, accidents still frequently plague the industry, oftenContinue Reading
“THIS IS OURS” “We are very grateful for this assistance,” said Johnny Arpon, 53, whose 10m boat Janica arrived at the shoal in time to stock up on extra diesel. Some of the Filipino fishermen crowding around the BRP Bankaw in small outriggers to receive provisions climbed aboard to eatContinue Reading
But in recent years, some of China’s policy tightening measures against private enterprises have raised concerns and undermined the expansion of the middle class, as their careers and economic prospects mainly depend on the private economy. This demographic dividend is disappearing due to China’s rapidly ageing population. Both labour shortagesContinue Reading
One girl and 41 boys, ages 8 and older, gathered for a race. The families used their cars and motorcycles to herd the horses to the starting line. Parents smiled and motioned for us to follow as they lined up their cars next to the horses. When the horses took off, we did too, speeding across the grass alongside the racers at nearly 50mph.
Just as the first horse crossed the finish line, it began to hail. What would have been a celebration turned into an exodus. Some of the riders crossed the finish line and then headed straight into the hills, braving pellets of ice.
As we drove on toward the hot springs, torrential rain overpowered the windshield wipers, and we began to slide. We passed Priuses, a favourite car in Mongolia, mired on the roadsides. Each time we forded a swollen river, the water rose closer to the cab, until we got stuck and it finally leaked in.
The storm had also flooded the hot springs. As we shivered in a tepid pool, one English-speaking boy commiserated: “Sorry you missed the hot water.”
ALONG CAME A SPIDER
After days of slow, off-road driving, we finally arrived at sparkling blue Khuvsgul Lake – our final destination. We wanted to spend the night in a ger, so we called Erdenesukh Tserendash, a 43-year-old horse herder who goes by the nickname Umbaa. His number was on Facebook.
Umbaa, his wife and two sons welcomed us into one of his family’s tents, lit by bulbs hooked to car batteries. For dinner, the family served boiled sheep and horse meat on a communal tray with carrots and potatoes. After dinner, they cracked open the bones and sucked out the marrow, and before bed, we sipped tea with yak milk. As I lay there scrolling, in the light of my phone, I noticed something on my face and swatted. It was a spider the size of a quarter.
The next day, Umbaa took us on a full-day horse ride. We cantered across meadows of wildflowers, saw reindeer and climbed a mountain overlooking the lake, lazing in the sun for lunch, an idyllic finale to our journey.
While modest fashion in the Muslim world typically refers to outfits that are less revealing and cover certain areas of the body, interpretations vary in different cultures. The definition of modest fashion is also “personal and subjective” to the individual, added Vivy. “It’s very difficult to define modest fashion. What we offer are clothes with loose silhouettes, with longer hemlines that are more covered. Less is more, and so far, that has worked well. We’re not trying to define modesty for anyone, we’re just offering what we think women might want.”
Vivy wants Duck to be a brand not just for women who wear the hijab. “We have customers who wear our tops with shorts, or our scarves as a top to the beach. It’s really up to individuals to style our products.”
When expanding into different markets, there are also design preferences and tastes that Duck needs to take into consideration. “In the UK, they don’t really wear a lot of prints. In Asia, they are more accepting of loud designs,” shared Vivy. “These are things we learn along the way. We might have to create a special line of products for different markets, which makes supply chain a bit more complicated.”
To better understand her customers all around the world, Vivy holds occasional in-person meet-ups during her travels. “As a founder and an entrepreneur, I’m always curious about my customers. I always want to get their feedback. What do they like and more importantly, what do they not like?”