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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has appointed the former Lawyers For Liberty director Latheefa Koya (pictured) for a two-year term as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief. "I didn't discuss with the cabinet. Normally I make the decision myself because I don't have to ask the...

Thailand is due to select its prime minister this week amid a rising number of attacks on pro-democracy campaigners.  The generals who seized power in the May 2014 coup promised that they would clamp down on corruption in government, bring stability and then hand back...

Singapore’s purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell last month, signalling a contraction in manufacturing amid the US-China trade dispute and a global economic slowdown. The PMI declined to 49.9 in May, falling below 50 for the first time since August 2016, said the Singapore Institute of...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has assured investors and donors that their money is safe in the archipelago, saying he was cracking down on corruption and enforcing economic reforms.  Duterte said his good governance had created an enabling environment that allowed businesses and investments to prosper.  “Who...

Malaysia has signed a deal to swap environmentally ruinous palm oil for Chinese weapons.  Malaysian industrial minister Teresa Kok said US$145 million worth of palm oil, or about 200,000 tonnes, would be exported to China in exchange for construction services, natural resources and defence equipment. Malaysia...

A cargo ship carrying 69 sea containers filled with Canadian rubbish has left the Philippines to be returned home as Asean increasingly rejects western trash.  The containers, which had been clogging up the major Manila International Container Port in Subic Bay, are now on the...

Malaysia says it will send back 3,300 tonnes of waste to its original countries because it was rotting, contaminated, had been falsely labelled or smuggled into the country.  At the weekend vast piles of imported plastics were exposed beside a palm-oil plantation an hour from...

Vietnam’s economy could eclipse that of Singapore by 2029 as it has the potential to grow at about 6-6.5 per cent, DBS Bank has forecast.  The Vietnamese economy offers low-cost labour, an improving business climate and one of the world’s fastest growth rates. The nominally communist...

Myanmar has granted early release to seven soldiers jailed for the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims during the 2017 military crackdown in Rakhine State.  The soldiers were reportedly freed in November 2018, meaning they served less than one year of their 10-year prison sentence for...

Prem Tinsulanonda, a former Thai military chief, prime minister and key adviser to the royal family, who has been one of Thailand's key political figures since the 1970s, has died aged 98. Prem died of heart failure at Bangkok's Phramongkutklao hospital. He has donated all his...