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Daily News on the Southeast Asian Region
27 July 2020
(pm) - 28 July
2020 (am)
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Greetings
This is a daily information alert service containing articles and commentaries from international and regional news sources. The alert is released every Monday to Friday, focussing on Southeast Asia and special topics relevant to ISEAS' research interests. You can click on any of the links below to directly access the subject of your immediate interest. If you think your friends and colleagues would find this alert useful, please invite them to
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Southeast Asia Countries
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Brunei Darussalam
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Laos
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Timor-Leste (East Timor)
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Region
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 Cambodia
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More than $23M handed out to poor: The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation said on Saturday that it completed transferring more than $23 million to poor people, covering more than 530,000 households. It is estimated that about 30,000 poor households missed the deadline to receive the benefit.
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Wither tourism? Can Cambodia resuscitate the sector post-Covid-19? With international tourism annihilated, it is now down to respective governments to resuscitate the sector. Cambodia must do the same but critics are sceptical of its intentions
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Indonesia
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Corruption threatens RI's infrastructure push: Experts: Rampant corruption threatens to derail President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration's push to develop the country's infrastructure to help boost economic growth, experts have said following several arrests of former employees of a state-owned construction company for alleged embezzlement.
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Majority of public want regional elections delayed: Surveys: Jakarta-based pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia interviewed 1,200 respondents across Indonesia from July 13 to 16 on whether the elections should take place during the outbreak. It found that 63.1 percent of respondents preferred the year-end polls be postponed, while 34.3 percent said the elections should occur as scheduled. The remaining 2.6 percent of respondents did not provide answers.
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Special autonomy not enough: Priests: While some Catholic priests, such as the late Neles Tebay, had become prominent voices urging dialogue between Jakarta and Papuan people, this is the first time the indigenous priests have formed a group to voice their aspirations.
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Where is the brake? The upward trend in infections in Jakarta is alarming because the COVID-19 restrictions have been eased to get the economy moving but without proper oversight. Worse, a survey by Indikator Politik discovered recently, 65 percent of respondents do not want mobility restrictions reinstated, although 84.7 percent say they are "very concerned" about the outbreak.
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Accurate data still eludes govt COVID-19 social aid distribution: In a recently published study by the SMERU Research Institute conducted between late April and mid-May in five cities and regencies of the country, researchers found instances where government social assistance ended up in the wrong hands. The study found that 400 of the 2,000 listed recipients surveyed in a certain district should have been ineligible for aid, either because they had escaped poverty or were already deceased.
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Indonesia to push peace agenda in second UNSC presidency: Retno said Indonesia would strive to issue two documents during the presidency. The first document will focus on adjusting approaches to handling people allegedly involved with terror groups through the prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration approach.
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OPINION: Optimizing Indonesia's economic diplomacy: ...from the perspective of international law, there is one important issue in concluding economic treaties that should be carefully considered in order to ensure the objective of the economic diplomacy mentioned above can be optimally achieved. This important issue relates to dispute resolution. As a subject of international law and party to the economic treaties, the Indonesian government should be aware of and anticipate any potential economic disputes related to the agreed commitments.
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Will spurning Chinese cash come back to haunt Indonesia's Natunas? Chinese investment is no longer welcome in the Natunas, says the regent of the Indonesian islands, amid continuing incursions by Chinese fishing vessels into the Natuna Sea that havestrained ties between Jakarta and Beijing. In its place, Abdul Hamid Rizal called for Western countries to "open their chequebooks" to help develop the islands' economy.
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Why Covid-19 could complicate haze prevention: Although the Covid-19 pandemic has dominated headlines in 2020, it is unfortunately not the only danger to public health that Singapore and South-east Asia face this year. With the return of the dry season, there is a chance that transboundary haze released by forest and peat fires in Indonesia might return. Early action is needed to ensure that the region does not end up battling health threats on multiple fronts.
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Malaysia
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Mephistopheles Of Wall Street: Goldman Sachs, 1MDB And Malaysian Settlement: Malaysia's politicians were crowing. "We are confident that we are securing more money from Goldman Sachs compared to previous attempts, which were far below expectations," stated Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz. "We are also glad to be able to resolve this outside the court system, which would have cost a lot of time, money and resources." The second part of this statement is worth pondering. Not willing to go the distance with Goldman? Costs in terms of litigation and time? Such language is surely not the sort a sovereign power uses regarding a corporation, which speaks much to the problem. Malaysians would have reason to be suspicious, wondering if their government had thrown in the towel a bit too early against a company famed for its financial vigilantism. The very fact that the Malaysian government made a deal with Wall Street's Mephistopheles should have also done its bit to cause alarm.
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Analysts see bigger things in store for small Sabah party with Anifah as chief: Political analysts say a change of fortune may be on the way for a little-known local outfit in Sabah following its move to elect a former federal minister as its new president. Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS), considered one of the smaller parties in Sabah and largely unknown at the national level, elected Anifah Aman as its leader on Sunday. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) senior lecturer Lee Kuok Tiung said PCS could now work with larger parties like Umno or Parti Bersatu Sabah as Anifah, with his political network, could open up doors for collaboration.
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Withdraw agreement with Goldman Sachs, Dr M tells govt: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has suggested that Putrajaya withdraw its agreement to accept the US$2.5 billion offered by Goldman Sachs following a settlement over the 1MDB scandal, reached between the government and the international investment bank. This comes after Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said on Sunday that Goldman Sachs would pay US$2.5 billion in cash and guarantee at least US$1.4 billion from proceeds of assets bought with misappropriated 1MDB funds.
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High Court finds Najib guilty of misappropriation of RM42m SRC International funds: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been found guilty by the High Court today for abuse of power and misappropriating over RM42 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd. In delivering his judgement to a packed courtroom, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said Najib was complicit in the deposits of RM42 million from SRC International in his private account.
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No easy road for Azmin, Zuraida to win in GE15: MB: Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari has admitted that it will be an uphill battle for PKR to wrest back the Gombak and Ampang parliamentary seats held by party defectors Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin in the next general election. Despite this, Amirudin (above) vowed that it would not be an easy road for the two if they are fielded as candidates in the next poll.
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PN scraps Harapan's planned UUCA abolition: The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has abandoned plans by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration to abolish the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) by this year. In a written reply yesterday to former education minister Maszlee Malik (IND-Simpang Renggam), the Higher Education Ministry said the act was still relevant.
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Hard to wrest back Azmin's seat, admits Selangor MB: Amirudin believes that the opposition still has hope, especially in semi-urban and urban areas. "I believe with our track record and achievements, the people can compare between individuals and what the party has done. ... We must understand that the representation (for the seat) must not focus on only one group (Malays).
[Includes 4-minute video clip]
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Anwar pilihan pertama untuk calon PM [Anwar first choice for PM candidate]: Amanah dan DAP dipandu prinsip-prinsip asas berikut: Pertama, pentingnya setiakawan kesemua pasukan dan parti anti-Perikatan Nasional, yang diwakili oleh 109 ahli Parlimen yang menentang penukaran Speaker Parlimen yang dilakukan secara tidak demokratik dan sewenang-wenangnya ...
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Kes aneh penganiayaan terhadap Lim Guan Eng [The strange case of the betrayal of Lim Guan Eng]: Dalam semua kes Najib, bukti perbuatan rasuah tersebut - iaitu penggunaan wang - adalah jelas. Dalam kes Lim, di sebalik semua 'petir dan guruh', bukti wang atau gratifikasi yang dituduh berlaku tidak wujud. Namun begitu, fakta ini semua tidak penting bagi mereka yang mempunyai agenda untuk mencemarkan imej Lim, dan pada masa yang sama, merosakkan reputasi dan integriti parti DAP serta Pakatan Harapan.
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Mat Sabu khuatir negara terjebak masalah perkauman jika ketuanan Melayu tidak dikawal [Mat Sabu concerned country will be stuck with racial problems if Malay superiority is not controlled]: Beliau memberi amaran yang Malaysia sedang menuju kemerosotan perkauman, dan jika dibiarkan, akan seperti AS dalam tempoh satu abad. "Inilah juga bahaya jika kita membicarakan ketuanan Melayu. Kita perlu mengutarakan agenda orang Melayu yang berwibawa, orang Melayu yang bertakwa dan orang Melayu yang berintegriti, bukan ketuanan Melayu. ..."
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Tak bijak masuk kerajaan Perikatan, kata pemimpin Umno [Not a smart move to enter Perikatan government, says Umno leader]: GABUNGAN dengan Bersatu, PAS dan puak Azmin Ali dalam Perikatan Nasional (PN) adalah tindakan yang tidak bijak, kata pemimpin kanan Umno Tajudddin Abdul Rahman. Ahli Majlis Tertinggi Umno itu berkata, ini kerana Umno akan berkelahi dengan parti tersebut disebabkan isu pembahagian kerusi untuk bertanding pilihan raya umum akan datang.
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Anwar is upbeat PH will win GE15: He said PH was not only hopeful of a victory, but it was also the first and only choice for Malaysians. He told Sin Chew Daily at his office that "PH will definitely win" and in the worst case scenario, the current deadlock would continue.
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It's all about seat allocation: Ilham Center CEO Mohd Azlan Zainal says Umno appears to have a simple and direct formula on seat allocation, which is "all seats it won previously belong to them." Judging from Umno rhetorics, "previously" may not mean just seats the party won in 2018, but also before that!
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土团岂会任由巫伊摆布
[Bersatu won't be ordered around by Umno-Pas]:
面对四分五裂的巫统、趁乱捞取资本的伊党，慕尤丁仍然掌握一定的主动权。巫统若以为撇开土团就能取得马来社会的话语权，那也太小看慕尤丁的能耐了。慕敏两人的终极目标应是重回巫统，掌控巫统，继而领导巫统，打出马来人大团结的旗号才来举行大选，一举击垮安华和马哈迪为首的在野阵营。这是延续他们的政治生命的最佳途径。
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慕尤丁的大选选项：
10
月或明年初
[Muhyiddin's general election options: October or early next year]:
9
月选举的条件最好，因为还贷假期（
6
个月免于还贷的宽限期）在
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月届满；
10
月
1
日开始借贷人就必须摊还银行贷款，若没钱还贷，就会出现怨气。
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Turning Warisan into national party will prove unpopular among Sabahans: Local political analysts are of the view that Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) should remain a Sabah-based party, instead of spreading its wing's to the rest of the country. They believed that any move to change its current position would see the party, which was established in 2016, being perceived as without principles. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) academician Dr Romzi Ationg said this was because the key political view and slogan of Warisan has always been "Sabah for Sabahans".
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Perbandingan Slim dan Chini [Comparison of Slim and Chini]: Secara perbandingan, PRK Parlimen Chini hadir ketika politik negara beralih tumpuannya disebabkan pandemik koronavirus (Covid-19). Pada masa yang sama, signifikan PRK Parlimen Chini juga tidak begitu ketara disebabkan kekuatan majoriti kerusi diperoleh Perikatan Nasional (PN) dalam DUN Pahang.
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Myanmar
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Military has always guaranteed security for political talks: information team: He (Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun) was referring to pending political talks between the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) and the Northern Alliance formed with three ethnic armed groups. It is up to the NRPC to take charge of implementing Myanmar's peace process to decide to hold talks with and inviting those armed groups.
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Natural gas mainly used for power generation: In eight months of the current fiscal year, natural gas-fired power generation exceeds 7,500 KW hours and the electricity generated by hydropower, 6,100 KW hours, according to the statement by the Central Statistical Organization.
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Myanmar Army Defends Rakhine Internet Ban Rights Groups Say Hinders Aid, COVID-19 Awareness: The internet service ban, which comes up for renewal on Aug. 1, has brought two benefits, Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told RFA on Monday. "First, it has reduced the content posted by the AA and its supporters that incite the ethnic tensions between the Rakhine and Bamar people," he said... "Second, it has reduced the sharing of military-related news and classified information on the internet," Zaw Min Tun said.
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Philippines
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Duterte Threatens Criminals, Seeks Death Penalty for Drugs: The Philippine president is also seeking emergency powers and urging the return of the death penalty for drug crimes.
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At a glance: The President's 5th SONA: Following are the accomplishments that President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday...
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Fiscal malady: The financial performance of the Duterte administration in the first six months of 2020 has exposed the critical fiscal situation the government is currently in. Expenditures from January to June exceeded revenues by P560 billion, a budget deficit that was 1,214 percent more than the gap in the same period last year.
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Reactions to SONA: 'Anticipated road map meandered into roadside': "We were hopefully waiting for him to mention Create (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act), which he did, but he did not mention Arise (Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines). We were actually waiting for that," said Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines. At a time when the country wrestled with its highest unemployment rate in 15 years, business groups wanted to hear Duterte's thoughts about the P1.3-trillion economic stimulus bill called Arise.
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Worse times loom, Duterte warns Filipinos: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday warned that "worse times loom ahead" for over 100 million Filipinos, as his government struggles to stay on top of a still raging Covid-19 pandemic. "We are being tested as a people and as a nation," he said in his annual address to the nation. "All I ask is you continue to put your faith in your government and work with us in achieving what is best for the country and our people," he said. But he offered scant details about what he intends to do in the coming days to contain a spike in infections that continue to stall efforts to restart a sinking economy.
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Duterte admits being 'inutile' in asserting rights in the South China Sea: In his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monda, Duterte asked his critics to "call off" because he cannot afford to go to war against China. "Now, plenty of critics, both sides, claim about nothing has been done to retake forcefully or physically the South China Sea. Alam mo (You know), unless we are prepared to go to war, I would suggest that you better just call off and treat it as a diplomatic endeavor," he said. Duterte reiterated that the Philippines is claiming certain areas in the sea but China is in possession of the disputed waters.
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Singapore
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Same old Singapore or new 'dawn'? What the election meant: The Progress Singapore Party failed to win a single seat in the city-state's general election on July 10. Nevertheless, the year-old party says that it has received about 1,000 membership applications since the election period. The continued inflow arguably supports the narrative that emerged after the polls: The 10 opposition parties lost, yet in some ways they succeeded. And Singapore might never be quite the same.
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Thailand
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Phuket learns the hard way: Phuket has been forced to take on board a difficult lesson: that it shouldn't have clung to tourism as its single, dominant cash cow. The country may have managed to flatten the Covid-19 curve, but the economic curve risks going into freefall. Tourism has been one of the hardest-hit sectors and Phuket businesses, which rely almost exclusively on foreign arrivals, dread to estimate when the current economic crisis, one of the worst in recent memory, will bottom out.
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Farmers, businesses to be prepped on tapping RCEP potential: Thai farmers and entrepreneurs will be educated on how to utilise the benefits of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) before the agreement is signed by member nations in November in Vietnam, Oramon Sapthaweetham, director-general of Department of Trade Negotiations, said.
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Thai food exports resilient amid Covid-19 crisis, Canadian market has high potential: Thai food exports are picking up as many countries are accelerating imports amid quarantine conditions, the Department of International Trade Promotion said. Somdet Susomboon, director-general of the department, however added that overall Thai exports have not expanded much due to the Covid-19 impact which caused a global economic slowdown and affected trading partners.
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Vietnam
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Vietnam's Next Wave of COVID-19 Has Arrived: Vietnam just confirmed four new community cases in Da Nang, ending its 99-day streak of no community transmission of COVID-19. Vietnam now faces the risk of the next COVID-19 wave, which has been seen in many other countries . Nevertheless, Vietnam will likely be able to bring the next wave under control, thanks to its experience and its improved readiness in terms of necessary equipment.
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Government plan aims to improve adaptation to climate change: In implementing the Government's Resolution 93/NQ-CP in 2016 adopting the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the plan emphasised the integration of climate change adaptation into strategies and planning schemes, investment in adaptive activities, science and technologies, and improvement of public awareness of this issue. Viet Nam is one of the countries worst affected by climate change, and the Government has identified it as a risk that threatens to ruin the country's sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts.
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ASEAN/Southeast Asia
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What's the secret to Southeast Asia's Covid success stories? Weather and architecture may have made it easier for the public to avoid enclosed spaces. But the big difference has been attitude - both of leaders and of the public. The Mekong countries never thought they were immune from a problem in the People's Republic of China. And they have vivid memories of the 2003 SARS epidemic. They took the threat seriously from early on and responded with a SARS strategy, not a seasonal flu strategy.
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Russia locks onto Southeast Asia to boost arms sales: Battered by protracted Western sanctions, Russia has intensified efforts to sell arms to Southeast Asia, looking to lift its economy and diversify diplomatic relations in an increasingly polarized world.
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Southeast Asia's Vanishing Species: According to Mongabay, an environmental science and conservation information platform, the reasons Southeast Asia is "facing an extinction crisis" are varied and unique to each country. Nevertheless, the number one cause could be pointed to deforestation.
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Drought, Dams on Mekong River Drop Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake to Record Low Levels: Ham Oudom, a consultant on natural resources and water governance, recently told RFA that in addition to climate change, massive dam construction on the upper Mekong river-particularly in China and Laos-is also a contributing factor to low water levels on the Tonle Sap. "They build dams upstream and also need water for their own countries' consumption, so the water level downstream is reducing," he said, adding that the decrease has been noticeable "over the past few years." "This isn't simply about water-it also relates to economic issues, as people are becoming even more indebted to microfinance institutions." Stimson's Eyler agreed that upstream dams are compounding the effect of the drought.
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Asia Pacific
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What lies ahead for global value chains in Asia? Against a backdrop of trade tensions, disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and a global recession, global value chains (GVCs) are being tested like never before. Three key forces will shape the reconfiguration of GVCs in Asia over the coming years. First, production activities will move outside China as US-China rivalry continues to intensify. Tariffs and other economic sanctions imposed by the United States will lead many firms -- including Chinese ones -- to shift production from China to other Asian countries, especially ASEAN countries.
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As the World Gets Tougher on China, Japan Tries to Thread a Needle: While its top allies have taken a harder line on China -- especially the United States, which dramatically escalated tensions this past week by closing the Chinese Consulate in Houston -- Japan has pursued a delicate balancing act, mindful of the economic might of its largest trading partner and its own limited military options.
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The Threat is On the Rise': Taiwan Is Increasingly Worried About China. They're Not Wrong: William Choong, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told VICE News that the Chinese threat has always been there, but there has been a change in intensity, with the People's Republic of China is becoming increasingly assertive regionally. "To use the cliché, the writing has been on the wall for Taiwan," he said.
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East/South China Sea
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The Environmental Costs of China's Maritime Ambition: ...Chinese fishing vessels have caused tensions on account of incursions in areas under the exclusive jurisdiction of other states; accusations of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing; and repeated harassment of small Vietnamese, Philippine, and other fishing vessels in the South China Sea, especially near disputed territories, where the fish catch has been steadily decreasing.
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Managing potential conflict, demilitarising the South China Sea: The US-China rivalry in the SCC has escalated beyond trade, access and commerce to outright power rivalry and confrontation. The question remains whether the region is indeed "peaceful" as commonly referred to by China, Asean and countries that are indirectly interested in open and free seas.
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Consequences of 'new' US South China Sea policy unclear: Most affected countries, including China, are in wait-and-see mode as the US election nears.
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Chinese envoy supports Duterte-Xi consensus on South China Sea dispute: Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian on Monday called on the Philippines to continue the "important consensus" between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping of setting aside the maritime disputes in the South China Sea as he criticized "some superpower" for stirring up rivalry and geopolitical tensions in the region.
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China Launches Propaganda for Recognition of Disputed Maritime Claims: Chinese scholars have had scores of reports published in internationally recognized scientific journals containing a mention of their country's 'nine-dash line,' the core of its claim to the hotly contested South China Sea, an American research institution said this month. China is using the journal pieces to promote its claimed demarcation line, Vietnamese scholar Nguyen Thuy Anh wrote in a July 15 article for the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative under the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Journal articles are just China's latest effort to publicize its nine-dash line for a wide global audience in hopes that the constant reminders will legitimize its claim over the claims of other countries, analysts say.
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South China Sea Showdown: Here's How America Is Trying To Contain China In Its Own Backyard: The latest confirmation is the addition of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Both the PDI and other US actions are implicitly directed against one target: the People's Republic of China (PRC). Over the past decade, and especially during President Donald Trump's administration, the perception has grown within America's political and policy elites that China is no longer a constructive economic and diplomatic partner. Instead, officials see Beijing as a strategic competitor at best and an outright adversary at worst.
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Superpower relations and the region
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Why China must beware a less confident US, politically divided and pessimistic about its future: What the West views as China's assertiveness is a response to the challenges it perceives to its sovereignty. Meanwhile, the US has rarely been at peace in its history. While American overconfidence after the Cold War led to the deadly war in Afghanistan, the US' lack of assurance is fuelling its campaign to suppress China
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