ASEAN

by Kiat Sittheeamorn On 24 March, over 40 million registered Thai voters are expected to go to the polls for the country’s first elections since 2011 and since the military takeover in 2014. Are these elections going to be free and fair? Freedom, in the context of elections, pertains to the voters and candidates’ opportunity to participate in election without …

Tan Chuan-Jin flew in from Singapore to Malaysia yesterday (18 March 2019) for his inaugural Official Visit since his election as Speaker of Parliament in September 2017. Tan was invited by Speaker of Malaysia Yang Berhormat (YB) Dato’ Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof to deliver a speech today on governance from a parliamentary perspective and share his views for the Dewan …

Following the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart, the party that fielded Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi as its candidate for the Prime Minister post in the upcoming 24 Mar election, former members of the Party have announced a “Moving Forward for Democracy” campaign in a bid to prevent the retention of military junta rule in Thailand. Bloomberg reported on Sat …

In the aftermath of Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi’s nomination by the Thai Raksa Chart party for the Prime Minister post in the upcoming election, Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled on the dissolution of the Thaksin Shinawatra-linked party on Thursday (7 Mar). The ruling, which is final and binding, was delivered at the court “amid 1,000-strong security in a 500m …

(Manila/Bangkok, 22 February 2019) – The Philippine government should drop the politically-motivated charges against Senator Leila de Lima, a prominent critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s abusive “war on drugs,” Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and FORUM-ASIA said today. De Lima has been arbitrarily detained inside the headquarters of the Philippine National Police since 24 February 2017, in violation of her …

Veteran journalist and CEO of Rappler Maria Ressa was arrested on Wednesday (13 February) at her office, in connection with a “cyber-libel” case filed by businessman Wilfredo Keng in 2017. Rappler, which has been critical of the government in Philippines, said that the charges were over an article published in 2012, updated in 2014, about Keng’s alleged ties to a …

The King of Thailand has expressed his objection to Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi’s controversial registration as a candidate for the Prime Minister of Thailand in the upcoming Thai general election, which is scheduled to take place on the 24th next month. The royal announcement was made on behalf of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, which was published in the Royal Gazette …

In a shocking move, Thailand’s Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi has been nominated a prime minister for the country’s long-delayed general elections by Thai Raksa Chart, a party founded by allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The registration of the 67-year-old, the elder sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as a candidate on Friday (8 February) means this is the …

The Malaysia-Singapore Working Group, which was established by the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore in relation to maritime issues surrounding the Johor Bahru Port Limits and Singapore Port Limits, had their first meeting on Monday (28 January) in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The Malaysia-Singapore Working Group established by the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia Saifuddin Abdullah and Singapore Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and was tasked to study and discuss the legal and …

While many South-east Asian nations are known for having strict laws against drug use and possession, Thailand has decided to approve the use of marijuana for medical and research purposes on Tuesday (25 Dec), which marks the first instance in which the use of a recreational drug is legalised in the region. Thailand’s history of marijuana use for medicinal purposes …