Malaysia’s move to tax nicotine-laced vape products could generate revenue for healthcare spending, but it may exacerbate the youth smoking problem instead, says Malaysia health journalist Loh Foon Fong.Continue Reading
The extreme pressure heaped by parents on children to perform well in exams to secure places at prestigious high school and universities is a recurrent theme in K-dramas, says the Financial Times’ Christian Davies.Continue Reading
Imprisoned former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak is hoping to use a lone dissenting judgment to fight for his release. Lawyers and political analysts are sceptical this will work, says CNA’s Leslie Lopez.Continue Reading
The trajectory of the next Thai government will depend on post-election coalitional configurations, not policy pledges, say an ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute researcher and a political science observer from University of Michigan.Continue Reading
The stance taken by PAS in its simmering tiff with Malaysia’s royal households underscores the growing confidence among party leaders following their impressive electoral in the 2022 general election, says CNA’s Leslie Lopez. Continue Reading
No amount of positive coverage from Malaysia PM Anwar’s trip to China will change perceptions that he was intentionally snubbed by Saudi leadership during a recent trip, says CNA’s Leslie Lopez.Continue Reading
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sees the strategic logic for closer ties with Japan, but his political opposition does not and Tokyo can afford to play hard to get, says international relations professor Robert Kelly of Pusan National University.Continue Reading
For some years, powerful politicians have been proposing ways to keep Indonesia President Joko Widodo in power beyond his legally mandated two terms. Jokowi himself has been inconsistent in dispelling the rumours, say Indonesia law experts Tim Lindsey from the University of Melbourne and Simon Butt from the University of Sydney.Continue Reading
After the end of their golden era in the 90s, Hong Kong films are seeing a domestic revival. But they still struggle at international box offices, says Jacky Leung.Continue Reading
Dynastic politics in modern democratic Indonesia form the bedrock of several leading political parties, but the Widodo family does not currently have the luxury of a family party machine to fall back on, says this academic.Continue Reading