Sharon Ong

One week of political turmoil starting with former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation on February 24 has finally culminated in a decision from the Malaysian King. On Saturday (Feb 29), Malaysian King Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah announced that Pagoh Member of Parliament Muhyiddin...

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and heir apparent to current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took “a tad longer than usual” with his speech when unveiling Singapore’s Budget 2020 on February 18.  This year is no ordinary year after all for the Lion City.  Just the...

Indonesian regulators are not quite ready to ‘chill’ yet at Netflix’s growing presence and popularity among citizens, but things could be looking up for the US-based streaming and content giant. When Netflix first arrived in Indonesia back in 2016, state telecommunications provider Telkom announced it...

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir, also currently the world’s oldest PM, has resigned as of 1PM (Feb 24) today after 655 days in power.  Dr Mahathir handed in his resignation to the nation’s king after a day of rife political speculation sparked by a...

Shy, scaly and highly elusive, pangolins exist primarily in Asia and Africa. Today, they are also currently the most heavily trafficked mammal in the world. Nearly 900,000 pangolins are known to have been trafficked across Southeast Asia in the past two decades.  TRAFFIC is Southeast Asia’s...

The sky is indeed the limit for superapp aspirant and ride-hailing giant Grab. The Singapore-based startup is partnering with German air mobility startup Volocopter to explore the economic and social feasibility of operating air taxis in Southeast Asia. Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter looks forward to...

After being rejected by five other countries, Holland America Line vessel the ‘Westerdam’ has finally docked in Cambodia yesterday (Feb 14). The 2,257 passengers and crew on board the cruise were all smiles as Cambodia’s authoritarian leader Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed them with roses...

Grab Holdings Inc has confirmed it is challenging Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC)’s proposal to levy a US$21 million fine on the ride-hailing giant.  Grab, along with subsidiaries GrabCar Sdn Bhd and MyTeksi Sdn Bhd, was accused last year of enacting restrictive clauses on its partner-drivers by...

Singapore has just confirmed 47 total cases of the Wuhan coronavirus. Several of these cases have no travel history to mainland China nor any relation with prior cases.  The Health Ministry raised the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level from Yellow to Orange last...

Both China and Singapore are pulling out all stops to deal with the Wuhan virus, as the death toll climbs to 106 and health experts warn that there could be more than 4,500 confirmed cases. The coronavirus, which induces pneumonia-like symptoms, originated in the central...