As Malaysia celebrates its 62nd Independence Day today, the country can reflect upon six decades of peace and progress since the country’s first Prime Minister, Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj, declared Malaya’s independence from the British in 1957.Its rich resources paved the way for a thriving trade in agriculture and commodities, and diversification efforts have since created healthy manufacturing and services sectors - with the country’s open economy making it one of the world’s leading export

The top official of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) in the Philippines recently told local media that the Duterte administration remains committed to ensuring the safety of journalists in the country.

Beijing told visiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that its position on the South China Sea was not up for negotiation, a spokesman for the leader said Friday.China claims most of the contested sea, including waters close to Philippine shores, and has rejected a United Nations (UN)-backed international tribunal ruling that said its assertion to the Sea is without legal basis.Duterte is under growing pressure at home to challenge China – after largely setting aside the standoff for yea

East Timor on Friday marks 20 years since a UN-backed vote ended a bloody, decades-long occupation by Indonesian forces and paved the way for it to become an independent nation.On 30 August 1999, nearly 80 percent of East Timorese voted to split from neighbouring Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975, starting a brutal 24-year military occupation.But joy over independence quickly turned to terror as Indonesian security forces and proxy militias went on a scorched-earth

Indonesia's Papua plunged into chaos again Thursday as angry protesters torched buildings in its capital after nearly two weeks of riots and demonstrations in the easternmost province of the archipelago.More than a thousand demonstrators marched around Jayapura hurling stones and setting fire to shops and an assembly building following a deadly clash in another part of the jungle-clad province, which shares the island with independent Papua New Guinea.Carrying placards bearing the image

Myanmar's navy will join maritime drills with the US in Southeast Asia next week, a spokesman said Wednesday, in a rare show of military cooperation despite Washington slapping sanctions on top army brass over the Rohingya crisis.The inclusion in the drills does not violate US travel bans against Myanmar's commander-in-chief and three senior figures for overseeing a bloody campaign that drove 740,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh two years ago.But there are growing calls to furth

Malaysian ex-leader Najib Razak's most significant 1MDB trial begins Wednesday, centring on allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars linked to the state fund ended up in his bank account.Claims that Najib and his cronies pilfered massive sums from the fund and spent it on everything from real estate to artwork contributed to the defeat of his long-ruling coalition to a reformist alliance.After losing power last year, Najib was arrested and hit with dozens of charges related to 1M

The Malaysian government should take a long, hard look at the mirror and ask itself if the country really is the world champion of conquering poverty.The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, spent 11 days in Malaysia meeting state and federal government officials, international agencies, civil society, academics and people affected by poverty in urban and rural areas this month.His travels through five states saw him visit a soup kitchen,

Indonesia will move its capital to the eastern edge of jungle-clad Borneo island, President Joko Widodo said Monday, as the country shifts its political heart away from congested and sinking megalopolis Jakarta.The proposed location – near the regional cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda – is an area at "minimal" risk of natural disasters, where the government already owns some 180,000 hectares (445,000 acres) of land, he added."The location is very strategic – it's in the

Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference.While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – which gives 49 of the world’s least developed countries tax-free access to vital EU markets for all exports except for arms and ammunition – is removed, Cambodia’s rice industry could be staring at tough times