ASEAN

The transformation of the global economy brought about by the proliferation of digital technology has placed Member States of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a "good position" to reap new opportunities for regional economic growth, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his keynote speech at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi yesterday (12 Sep). …

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) has expressed its strong opposition against the verdict of the Insein Court in Yangon on 3 Sep, which sentenced two Reuters journalists - Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo - for breaching s.3(1)(c) 1923 Official Secrets Act. The two journalists were arrested on 12 Dec last year and were subsequently charged under …

A UN backed fact finding mission, mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate allegations of abuse of the Rohingya in Myanmar, have called for the leaders of Myanmar’s military to be prosecuted for genocide in the Rakhine state as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine and northern Myanmar. The group of investigators issued the …

In a move that has been described as "unusually prompt", Facebook has removed 18 accounts and 52 pages associated with the Myanmar military, including the page of its commander-in-chief, after a UN report accused the armed forces of genocide and war crimes. I applaud this swift action. As many have already noted, social media plays a major role in the spread of news, …

Southeast Asian lawmakers from Singapore, Malaysia. Timor-Leste, Philipines and Indonesia have signed a statement calling for the international community to take urgent measures to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations against the Rohingya people. They also call upon members of the United Nations Security Council to immediately refer the human rights situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal …

Singapore is hosting the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings from Monday (30 July) to Saturday (4 August). In a press release on Saturday (28 July), it is announced that Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will chair the 51st AMM, 19th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM), 8th East Asia Summit (EAS) FMM, and 25th ASEAN Regional Forum …

The Singapore Government has offered to send humanitarian supplies and equipment as well as personnel to assist Laos with the flood relief efforts following the collapse of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower dam in Attapeu Province, Laos on 23 July 2018. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has announced on Wednesday (25 July) that the Singapore Government will make a contribution …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is closely monitoring and probing new leads surfacing from Malaysia and elsewhere in relation to the 1MDB scandal, said MAS managing director Ravi Menon on 4 July. In a briefing on the central bank’s annual report, Mr Menon said that the MAS has “proactively” responded to “every request for information made by the Malaysian authorities," according …

Dr Cherian George, professor of media studies at the journalism department of Hong Kong Baptist University and a former journalist of The Straits Times in Singapore, has criticised social media giants such as Facebook for not being proactive enough in fighting the spread of deliberate misinformation and malicious content throughout its platforms. Speaking at a panel discussion on fighting fake news at …

Singapore, the world’s largest sand importer, has come under fire in the past several years for its alleged massive involvement in illegal sand mining. According to a recent report by The Guardian, the Singapore government has claimed to import only 3 million tonnes of sand from Malaysia in 2008. However, the figure cited by the Malaysian government was 133 million …