https://www.scmp.com/rss/323052/feed Find out what Asia’s movers and shakers are up to ­– and how they spend their private time en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia has given the family of missing pastor Raymond Koh access to a long-classified government report after dropping a legal challenge, but questions remain unanswered over his case, according to rights groups and lawyers. The situation surrounding Koh has revived memories of other Malaysians who are believed to be victims of enforced disappearances in the country. Koh has not been seen after the then 62-year-old was abducted in broad daylight in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on February 13,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348987/malaysia-drops-appeal-abducted-activists-case-family-still-seeks-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348987/malaysia-drops-appeal-abducted-activists-case-family-still-seeks-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:41:39 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A New Zealand doctor has sent the US embassy in Wellington an invoice for his clinic’s fuel bills, saying that President Donald Trump and his administration should take responsibility for starting a war that has sent oil prices spiralling. Shane Dunphy asked the embassy to reimburse him for the NZ$2,790.95 (US$1,600) in petrol vouchers he gave staff at Onslow Medical Centre in the capital so that they could travel to work, The Guardian newspaper reported. “Because of the current fuel crisis,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348977/new-zealand-doctor-bills-us-embassy-rising-fuel-costs-payment-expected-within-7-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348977/new-zealand-doctor-bills-us-embassy-rising-fuel-costs-payment-expected-within-7-days?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:25:40 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof An Indonesian woman who spent nearly 15 years on death row in a Malaysian prison for drug trafficking has returned home after receiving clemency, in a case rights groups say highlights the exploitation of poor migrant women in cross-border drug operations. Ani Anggraeni, also known as Asih, boarded a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta late on Thursday after being freed from custody. In a video message shared with This Week in Asia while en route, the 66-year-old said she was still struggling to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348886/indonesian-grandmother-freed-malaysian-death-row-returns-home-feels-unreal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348886/indonesian-grandmother-freed-malaysian-death-row-returns-home-feels-unreal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 04:49:18 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Malaysian minister visited and provided financial aid to the widow of a motorcyclist who was killed in a drink-driving accident that threatened to inflame racial tensions in the country. Transport Minister Anthony Loke visited the family of the late Amirul Hafiz Omar, 33, on Sunday, accompanied by Road Transport Department Director General Aedy Fadly Ramli. He gave Amirul’s 32-year-old widow, Nor Nadia Abdul Majid, money from his own pocket to help the family with expenses. “However, no amount... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348794/malaysian-minister-offers-personal-aid-family-man-killed-drink-driving-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348794/malaysian-minister-offers-personal-aid-family-man-killed-drink-driving-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 08:30:25 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A parking dispute in Kuala Lumpur has expanded into a wider debate over entitlement, public humiliation and online bullying in Malaysia, after a woman who damaged a car blocking her own issued a public apology that many said looked coerced. The row began on Tuesday in Wangsa Maju, a densely populated suburb of the Malaysian capital, where videos shared on Threads showed a woman unable to reverse out of her parking spot after a red Perodua Ativa was left double-parked behind her car for about an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348751/malaysian-womans-apology-damaging-double-parked-car-triggers-outcry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348751/malaysian-womans-apology-damaging-double-parked-car-triggers-outcry?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 04:16:48 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar The firing of an Indonesian immigration officer at a Batam seaport, following reports of extortion of foreign tourists, has raised questions about the prevalence of such practices across the country’s entry points. Batam, in Indonesia’s Riau Islands province, is a popular destination for visitors from nearby Singapore as it boasts scenic beaches an hour’s ferry ride from the city state. The island’s appeal has recently been marred by allegations of extortion by immigration officers at Batam... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348544/extortion-widespread-indonesias-entry-points-officers-firing-sparks-concern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348544/extortion-widespread-indonesias-entry-points-officers-firing-sparks-concern?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:40:54 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran A Filipino singer’s Golden Buzzer moment on Britain’s Got Talent has quickly become a fresh rallying point for Southeast Asian pride under the #SEAblings banner, as audiences in the region increasingly champion one another’s artists on the global stage. Matty Juniosa, a 27-year-old from the Philippines, drew a standing ovation after performing Prince’s “Purple Rain” on the British television competition on Sunday, earning the coveted Golden Buzzer from acerbic judge Simon Cowell and a direct... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348538/filipino-singer-matty-juniosas-golden-buzzer-win-stokes-seablings-southeast-asian-pride?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348538/filipino-singer-matty-juniosas-golden-buzzer-win-stokes-seablings-southeast-asian-pride?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:31:22 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof For years, Malaysians watched singer-actress Bella Astillah’s heartbreak unfold in public. Her tribulations – a troubled marriage, cheating scandal and very public split – struck a chord with many, underscoring the stigma that divorced women face in a conservative Muslim-majority society. When lawmaker Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, 33, proposed to her – first on Mount Kinabalu and later at a formal engagement ceremony in Kuala Lumpur – it resonated with many Malaysians who felt Bella was... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348466/bella-astillah-and-syed-saddiqs-new-chapter-captivates-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348466/bella-astillah-and-syed-saddiqs-new-chapter-captivates-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 02:16:59 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A horrific road crash in Malaysia’s port city of Klang that left a motorcyclist dead on Sunday has spiralled into racially charged commentary after initially being treated as a drink-driving case. Police said the crash happened at about 11.40am on Jalan Raya Barat, when an allegedly speeding Honda City driven by a local man in his twenties overtook several vehicles, crossed into the opposite lane and struck a motorcycle coming from the other direction. The rider, a local man in his thirties, was... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348378/drink-driving-death-malaysia-spirals-race-baiting-inflames-ethnic-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348378/drink-driving-death-malaysia-spirals-race-baiting-inflames-ethnic-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:30:26 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A Thai undertaker’s extreme mission to prove he was not hoarding fuel went viral over the weekend after he brought a coffin containing a body to a petrol station to convince attendants the extra fuel he needed was for cremation, not black market resale. Thais have been pressed into energy-saving mode by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has throttled oil and gas supplies to much of Asia. Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul insists there is enough fuel for over three months, while the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348358/thai-undertaker-brings-corpse-petrol-station-prove-fuel-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348358/thai-undertaker-brings-corpse-petrol-station-prove-fuel-need?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:50:34 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong The death of one of South Korea’s most notorious police officers, known for his torture methods on prisoners, has revived painful memories of human rights abuses during the country’s era of military-backed authoritarian rule. Lee Geun-an, dubbed the “torture expert”, succumbed to multiple organ failure on Thursday at the age of 88. He had faced lifetime criticism for never expressing remorse and referring to himself as a “patriot”, once comparing his interrogation methods to “art”. Survivors of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348204/death-south-korean-torture-expert-reopens-authoritarian-era-wounds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348204/death-south-korean-torture-expert-reopens-authoritarian-era-wounds?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 01:30:10 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Even as the Philippines thrashes through the throes of an energy crisis born of the Iran war, Filipinos themselves largely appear uninterested in blaming the man who started it. Instead of Donald Trump, public ire has instead coalesced around Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and his administration for failing to quell soaring prices. Fuel costs have rocketed across the archipelago since the United States and Israel first struck Iran on February 28, following the near-total closure of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348025/trump-stays-popular-philippines-despite-iran-war-fuel-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348025/trump-stays-popular-philippines-despite-iran-war-fuel-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:32:13 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A Malaysian minister on Wednesday denied he was the unnamed politician at the centre of fresh allegations in the country’s so-called corporate mafia controversy, amid wide speculation over the individual’s identity. Ramanan Ramakrishnan, human resource minister, and vice-president of the ruling People’s Justice Party (PKR), rejected claims he had taken 9.5 million ringgit (US$2.4 million) in exchange for “helping resolve” the alleged matter. The controversy gained traction following news reports... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347884/minister-caught-malaysias-corporate-mafia-saga-denies-us24-million-bribe-claim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347884/minister-caught-malaysias-corporate-mafia-saga-denies-us24-million-bribe-claim?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:15:52 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Chinese national accused of raping and strangling a woman during a violent home invasion appeared in a New Zealand court on Wednesday to face charges, seven months after he was extradited from Singapore. Zhang Xuesong reportedly fled to China following the alleged March 2024 Auckland break-in, complicating efforts to arrest him as no extradition treaty exists between the two countries. The 41-year-old subsequently visited Singapore, where he was returned to New Zealand last September. Zhang,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347853/man-extradited-singapore-new-zealand-faces-rape-home-invasion-charges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347853/man-extradited-singapore-new-zealand-faces-rape-home-invasion-charges?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:40:19 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong A Philippine prison was supposed to contain Park Wang-yeol. Instead, according to South Korean investigators, it became his office from which an alleged drug trafficking empire was run, complete with a “VIP” lifestyle, a Telegram alias and a girlfriend summoned to his cell on demand. On Wednesday, after nine years of failed extradition attempts, that arrangement finally came to an end. Bearded, silent and dressed in casual clothing, the 48-year-old arrived at Incheon International Airport near... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347820/south-korean-sugar-cane-killer-extradited-philippines-over-drug-empire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347820/south-korean-sugar-cane-killer-extradited-philippines-over-drug-empire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 06:29:22 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A state-sponsored forced labour programme that has escalated in recent years generates up to US$500 million annually for North Korea, according to a report by a global rights group. The report also warns that workers are trapped in “brutal” conditions where they are subjected to “control, abuse and coercion”. Published on Wednesday by Global Rights Compliance – an international human rights foundation – the report contains first-hand testimonies from North Koreans exploited in the programme and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347778/rights-group-exposes-north-koreas-forced-labour-scheme-reaps-us500-million-annually?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347778/rights-group-exposes-north-koreas-forced-labour-scheme-reaps-us500-million-annually?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:03:29 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In a quiet suburb of the Malaysian city of Klang, Farouk* scrolls through his phone, replaying videos of a toddler learning to walk, laugh and reach out to steady himself – milestone moments of a son whom he is forced to love through a screen. “He is now two years old, but I have never held him,” the 26-year-old Rohingya man said. “I have only seen him twice from afar at the gate.” Farouk’s wife gave birth in a Malaysian immigration detention centre a day after the family were arrested in early... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347559/malaysias-rohingya-spend-another-eid-torn-their-families?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347559/malaysias-rohingya-spend-another-eid-torn-their-families?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysian police are on a hunt for thieves who stole 30 urns from a funeral home in the southern state of Negeri Sembilan, in a bizarre case with possible links to a cross-border criminal group holding the ashes of deceased for ransom. The Xiao En memorial park reported the incident in late February, when it discovered that at least 15 urns had gone missing from a columbarium. Police later revised the figure to 30. The cemetery groundsmen received a WhatsApp call from a foreign-registered number... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347126/funeral-urns-stolen-ransom-malaysia-trigger-police-hunt-cross-border-gang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347126/funeral-urns-stolen-ransom-malaysia-trigger-police-hunt-cross-border-gang?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:10:04 +0000 Alan Robles Alan Robles Philippine police have foiled a school shooting and rescued seven students radicalised by “foreigners” online to stage an attack in Laguna province near Manila, amid growing calls for stronger parental safeguards against digital threats. Officers rounded up the suspects – five boys and two girls, aged 12 to 17 – on February 2 after receiving a tip-off about an alleged plot they intended to carry out a fortnight later, the Philippine Star reported. The teens, who were turned over to social... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347111/philippine-police-thwart-roblox-linked-school-shooting-plot-7-teens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347111/philippine-police-thwart-roblox-linked-school-shooting-plot-7-teens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:22:21 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Distrust in Australian police among Queensland’s Indian diaspora is set to deepen after an officer was caught on body camera hurling expletives at an Uber driver, leading the victim to sue the force in federal court. The officer said, “f*****g Indians, mate, they are a bunch of f*****g perverts” to a colleague in 2023, before they charged the man with committing an indecent act for allegedly masturbating in public, court records showed. A court later quashed the charges because two witnesses... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347022/australian-police-officers-pervert-remark-against-indian-driver-sparks-outrage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3347022/australian-police-officers-pervert-remark-against-indian-driver-sparks-outrage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:50:45 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Shigeaki Mori, the Japanese atomic bomb survivor whose hug with then US president Barack Obama at a 2016 remembrance event in Hiroshima went viral globally, has died at the age of 88, just days after warning that the world seems on the brink of another nuclear catastrophe. Tributes have been coming in since Mori died in Hiroshima on Saturday, with many pointing out that as well as being a survivor of the world’s first atomic weapon, he was also a keen amateur historian who attracted attention in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346998/japanese-atomic-bomb-survivor-who-hugged-obama-hiroshima-dies-88?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346998/japanese-atomic-bomb-survivor-who-hugged-obama-hiroshima-dies-88?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:12:20 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Nepal’s prime minister-in-waiting came to power on a promise of change. Now he faces the monumental challenge of taking on a system weighed down by corruption and poor governance while meeting the towering expectations of the millions who backed him and his anti-establishment party. Balendra Shah – a rapper, engineer and former mayor of Kathmandu popularly known as Balen – handily defeated former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli in the election on March 5, with his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346981/nepal-voted-change-can-its-rapper-engineer-pm-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346981/nepal-voted-change-can-its-rapper-engineer-pm-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 05:40:30 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The arrest of a 17-year-old stateless teenager during a school outing to buy Eid clothes at a Sabah mall for allegedly failing to show valid residence papers, has returned scrutiny to Malaysia’s treatment of undocumented people. Niko Ansboy, a student at Borneo Komrad, an alternative school for stateless children, was waiting outside a store during a school trip to the 1Borneo Hypermall when police detained him on Sunday. He was stopped by officers patrolling after the Kota Kinabalu District... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346779/arrest-stateless-teen-malaysia-highlights-plight-sabahs-1-million-non-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346779/arrest-stateless-teen-malaysia-highlights-plight-sabahs-1-million-non-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:49:26 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles The Philippines ranks among Asia’s most gender-equal societies by several international measures. Yet ask Filipino women where they truly belong and most will still tell you: at home. A new survey has found that 83 per cent of Filipino women agree “being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay”, up from 70 per cent when the same question was posed in 1994. The findings, released by independent pollster Social Weather Stations earlier in March to coincide with National Women’s Month,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3346760/most-filipino-women-think-womans-place-home-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3346760/most-filipino-women-think-womans-place-home-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 10:30:11 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Lingan bin Man pulls up to the fishing jetty in the early afternoon, guiding his small boat towards a narrow strip of wooden planks as waves crash against the dock. On board are his wife and toddler. Together, the Malaysian family inspects the day’s catch: 2kg (4.4lbs) of clams after three hours at sea. “I can sell this for US$7,” the 52-year-old said. For fishermen in Kampung Sungai Kurau, a village on Pulau Carey, an island in Selangor state, this has become the new normal. Members of the Mah... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346725/malaysias-us6-billion-megaport-imperils-mah-meri-way-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346725/malaysias-us6-billion-megaport-imperils-mah-meri-way-life?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:00:12 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran For many of those rescued from Southeast Asia’s scam compounds, escape is not the end of the ordeal. They leave behind the locked gates, surveillance and violence, but often return home carrying injuries, trauma and the stigma of having been forced to scam others. Just as difficult is what comes next: trying to explain the experience to the people waiting for them. “Some of them are not able to tell their family members or their community what has happened,” said human rights advocate Andrey... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346532/southeast-asias-scam-compound-survivors-suffer-stigma-and-silence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346532/southeast-asias-scam-compound-survivors-suffer-stigma-and-silence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji When the alert arrives on his phone, Yashwant Deshmukh knows exactly what to do. The Dubai-based political analyst moves away from the windows, waits for the second message confirming the missile has been intercepted, and then goes back to work. “It has become a drill,” he said. For the roughly 9 million Indians living and working across the Gulf, the war on Iran has shattered one of the region’s most durable illusions: that cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Manama would remain apart from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346524/iran-war-fallout-puts-9-million-indian-workers-line-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346524/iran-war-fallout-puts-9-million-indian-workers-line-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 08:00:12 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Two votes. That was the margin by which Malaysia’s prime minister, a man with a supermajority in the 222-seat lower house, failed to pass a bill his own coalition had spent weeks publicly championing. After the numbers were read out, the cameras cut to Anwar Ibrahim. He was mid-laugh, chatting with his deputy. The bill, defeated on March 2, was supposed to be a quick win – a term-limit proposal capping any prime minister at two terms or 10 years in office, chosen precisely because it was... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346522/graft-and-gridlock-anwars-malaysia-reformist-cracks-widen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346522/graft-and-gridlock-anwars-malaysia-reformist-cracks-widen?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 02:30:08 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India’s Supreme Court has allowed the parents of a 31-year-old man to withdraw life-sustaining treatment after more than a decade in a vegetative state, a ruling experts say could shape how the country implements its legal framework for passive euthanasia. The decision in the case of Harish Rana is widely seen as one of the clearest real-world applications of the principle that patients have a right to die with dignity under India’s constitution. Rana, an engineering student, had been in a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346540/indian-man-13-year-vegetative-state-allowed-die-supreme-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346540/indian-man-13-year-vegetative-state-allowed-die-supreme-court?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:23:40 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall They were killed by American bombs. They were held at gunpoint by Japanese guards who fired indiscriminately into the crowded holds and when the ship finally went down, many were left to drown. Eight decades later, the United States is coming back for them. Hundreds perished when the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru was sunk in Subic Bay in December 1944. Now, the Pentagon has launched a multi-year mission in waters off the Philippines to retrieve their remains. As many as 250 Americans are... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346424/us-returns-wwii-dead-japans-hell-ship-tomb-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346424/us-returns-wwii-dead-japans-hell-ship-tomb-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 02:30:08 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The Iranian women’s national football team arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday after leaving Australia, where several members of the delegation had sought asylum, as a viral social media video fuelled unverified claims that some players might want to remain in the Southeast Asian country. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Kuala Lumpur-based governing body for Asian football, confirmed the team was currently staying at a hotel in the Malaysian capital while onward travel arrangements were... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346386/iranian-womens-football-team-lands-malaysia-video-fuels-fresh-asylum-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346386/iranian-womens-football-team-lands-malaysia-video-fuels-fresh-asylum-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:59:49 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has ordered an investigation after watching a viral video showing an employee from the Migrant Workers Office in Bahrain telling off overseas Filipino workers (OFW) stranded in the kingdom due to the escalating Iran war. “The president was not pleased with this. He became angry on behalf of our OFWs because of the mistreatment by some public servants,” the presidential palace’s press officer Claire Castro said, according to the Inquirer on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346328/philippines-marcos-angry-over-mistreatment-bahrain-based-ofws-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346328/philippines-marcos-angry-over-mistreatment-bahrain-based-ofws-official?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:54:59 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Takato Ishida, the 36-year-old governor of Fukui, has sparked a fresh wave of online attention after new Instagram posts from his prefectural assembly revived the fascination that followed Ishida’s election earlier this year. Many of the reactions have focused less on policy than on Japan’s youngest sitting prefectural leader, with social media users repeatedly praising his appearance and describing him as unusually “handsome” for a politician. The attention first surged shortly after Ishida... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346240/japans-so-handsome-youngest-governor-36-sets-social-media-abuzz-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346240/japans-so-handsome-youngest-governor-36-sets-social-media-abuzz-again?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:01:26 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s corruption trial opened in Kuala Lumpur on Monday with a courtroom fight over the admissibility of TikTok videos, which prosecutors hope will link millions of ringgit in illicit funds to his Bersatu party. Among the most keenly observed cases involving Malaysia’s political elite in years, the proceedings come three years after Muhyiddin was first charged in connection with projects under his administration’s Covid-19 recovery efforts. Malaysian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346110/muhyiddins-corruption-trial-opens-fight-over-tiktok-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346110/muhyiddins-corruption-trial-opens-fight-over-tiktok-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:49:38 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Bangladeshi man who spent over three years on bail in Malaysia fighting local child pornography charges has been spirited to Alaska by the FBI to face what prosecutors describe as one of the most prolific child exploitation cases in US history. Zobaidul Amin, 28, was brought from Malaysia to the United States last Wednesday and made his initial appearance in a federal court in Anchorage the following day, where he pleaded not guilty to all 13 counts, according to the US Department of Justice... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346092/malaysia-had-him-bail-child-abuse-us-had-other-plans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3346092/malaysia-had-him-bail-child-abuse-us-had-other-plans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 08:29:01 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Warissara* survived the crash. It was the next four hours that killed her. The 21-year-old had been riding home from her restaurant job on the night of February 20 last year, caught in heavy rain on a slick Bangkok road, when she came off her motorbike. Emergency responders who arrived at the scene found only a few visible scratches – and detected the smell of alcohol. She had no identification on her. The call was made: send her to the police station, not the hospital. She arrived at... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346046/mistaken-drunks-left-die-thailands-police-have-deadly-blind-spot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346046/mistaken-drunks-left-die-thailands-police-have-deadly-blind-spot?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:23:09 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing a fresh political test after the family of late former finance minister Daim Zainuddin sued his government over claims they were involved in a plot to topple the administration. The legal challenge is turning what began as a police investigation into a wider debate over whether Anwar’s reformist government is applying its principles consistently or selectively. Critics say the controversy risks complicating one of Anwar’s central claims since... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345982/malaysia-anwars-reformist-image-risk-daim-family-sues-over-zionist-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345982/malaysia-anwars-reformist-image-risk-daim-family-sues-over-zionist-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:29:58 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele A narrow lane behind Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, once home to one of the Malaysian capital’s earliest theatre scenes, is being given a second life. For decades, the street now known as Jalan Sang Guna faded into the background, its ageing shopfronts and infrastructure deteriorating as pedestrians drifted towards the brighter stretches of nearby Petaling Street, leaving the passage a short cut rather than a destination. Persistent drainage failures meant the lane was prone to flooding during heavy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345875/revived-alley-kuala-lumpurs-chinatown-tests-balance-between-heritage-and-renewal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345875/revived-alley-kuala-lumpurs-chinatown-tests-balance-between-heritage-and-renewal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau When Joshua Tan turned up to Chinese New Year dinner last month, he hadn’t expected to spend the evening defending his career. He was 27 and freshly employed as a junior software engineer in Singapore. The questions from relatives were pointed: is your job safe? Can’t the computer just do it? It was an awkward conversation, equal parts interrogation and familial concern. But Tan knew the anxiety behind the questions was real. Not so long ago, he and his classmates had been so sought-after by... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345747/singapores-workers-brace-ai-disruption-its-inevitable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345747/singapores-workers-brace-ai-disruption-its-inevitable?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari A 35-year-old rapper and engineer who entered politics just four years ago has beaten a former prime minister in Nepal’s crucial parliamentary election, in a contest widely seen as a referendum on a generational shift in leadership after last year’s youth uprising. Balendra Shah – the former Kathmandu mayor widely known as Balen – surged ahead of 74-year-old communist leader K.P. Sharma Oli in a race for a seat in Nepal’s House of Representatives in the eastern district of Jhapa, election... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345808/nepal-election-rapper-turned-politician-balen-shah-poised-become-next-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345808/nepal-election-rapper-turned-politician-balen-shah-poised-become-next-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 09:18:21 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee At the bustling Han Market in central Da Nang, two Vietnamese vendors tease a middle-aged South Korean tourist by calling him harabeoji, or “grandfather” in Korean. “I’m offended!” he jokes. The women grab his arms and laugh. “It’s OK, it’s OK.” The man had returned to their stall after buying 200,000 dong (US$7.60) worth of macadamia nuts the day before. It is a small moment of banter, repeated dozens of times a day in a city that many people from South Korea jokingly call their own unofficial... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345771/da-nang-south-korean-province-why-coastal-city-hit-east-asian-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345771/da-nang-south-korean-province-why-coastal-city-hit-east-asian-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:00:08 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Mutilated human remains, including a severed head, that were discovered on a Bali beach last month have been identified through DNA testing as those of a Ukrainian tourist who police say was kidnapped earlier in the resort island’s south, according to Indonesian authorities. Bali police said forensic analysis had confirmed that body parts found near Ketewel Beach in Gianyar Regency belonged to Ihor Komarov, a 28-year-old Ukrainian national who had been reported abducted in mid-February. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345757/dna-confirms-mutilated-remains-found-bali-beach-belong-kidnapped-ukrainian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345757/dna-confirms-mutilated-remains-found-bali-beach-belong-kidnapped-ukrainian?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:24:02 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles Philippine lawmakers have moved two impeachment complaints against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio a step closer to formal proceedings, advancing a case that could ultimately threaten her political future as a potential contender for the presidency in 2028. The drawn-out process also carries political risks for both camps, with some lawmakers arguing that a failed Senate conviction could ultimately strengthen Duterte-Carpio ahead of the 2028 race. The House of Representatives’ justice... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345604/philippines-advances-sara-duterte-impeachment-case-not-cakewalk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345604/philippines-advances-sara-duterte-impeachment-case-not-cakewalk?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:25:50 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s anti-corruption investigation into a flagship chip-design deal with Britain’s Arm Holdings took a more combustible turn on Thursday after a former government aide declared: “I am not Jho Low 2.0.” The remark – invoking the fugitive financier at the centre of Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal – came as the country’s anti-corruption agency pushed back against his claims, while allies of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned the investigation risked appearing heavy-handed. The dispute has dragged... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345514/malaysias-arm-chip-deal-probe-turns-political-ex-aide-says-i-am-not-jho-low-20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345514/malaysias-arm-chip-deal-probe-turns-political-ex-aide-says-i-am-not-jho-low-20?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 04:34:15 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran #SEAblings – short for “Southeast Asian siblings” – has increasingly been used by young Southeast Asians to signal regional solidarity, be it over a controversial concert or a political event. Whether such moments are fleeting or have the potential to morph into a sustainable movement is a subject of debate. The hashtag’s latest surge in use followed a dispute over camera rules at a K-pop concert in Kuala Lumpur, which escalated into a much wider online clash. For some sociologists, the point is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345477/why-seablings-became-southeast-asias-symbol-digital-solidarity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345477/why-seablings-became-southeast-asias-symbol-digital-solidarity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:30:09 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Singaporean fashion photographer and former model Chuando Tan has turned 60, and his birthday photos are once again fuelling disbelief online over the youthful appearance that first made him a social media sensation nearly a decade ago. Tan shared a reflective message alongside photos posted to Instagram on Tuesday to mark the milestone, quickly attracting hundreds of thousands of likes and a wave of comments from followers marvelling at how little he appears to have aged. “Today, on my 60th... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345441/singapores-ageless-photographer-chuando-tan-turns-60-and-fans-still-cannot-believe-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345441/singapores-ageless-photographer-chuando-tan-turns-60-and-fans-still-cannot-believe-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 11:10:09 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A South Korean woman arrested for killing men in motel rooms by spiking their drinks met the clinical criteria necessary to be considered a psychopath, police said on Wednesday. The 22-year-old suspect, identified only by her surname Kim, had scored high marks on the “revised psychopathy checklist”, investigators told The Korea Herald. The test, which measures 20 traits such as callousness, impulsivity, lack of empathy and irresponsibility, has a maximum score of 40. Anyone who scores 25 and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345411/south-korean-drink-spike-killer-quizzed-chatgpt-lethal-doses-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345411/south-korean-drink-spike-killer-quizzed-chatgpt-lethal-doses-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:01:24 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall A walled mansion in one of Kobe’s most desirable suburbs is heading for a court-ordered auction, but its murky past as a target of gang attacks may put off potential buyers. The two-storey house, long the home of Kunio Inoue, head of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi – a breakaway faction of Japan’s largest yakuza syndicate – is being forcibly sold after judges held him liable for crimes committed by one of his subordinates, in a rare test of Japan’s anti-organised crime laws. The Osaka High Court issued... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345300/japanese-gang-leaders-house-sale-us330000-or-more-will-anyone-bite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345300/japanese-gang-leaders-house-sale-us330000-or-more-will-anyone-bite?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 02:00:15 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan A group of quick-thinking villagers swooped to the rescue of a runaway train in the East Malaysian state of Sabah on Tuesday, sacrificing a vital motorised rail trolley to force the carriage to stop. The incident unfolded at about 7.30am as the train was carrying passengers – including teachers and families with young children – on their regular morning commute from Tenom to the Pangi subdistrict in southwest Sabah, on the island of Borneo. The train suffered a brake failure, according to local... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345302/quick-thinking-villagers-malaysias-sabah-stop-runaway-train-rail-trolley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345302/quick-thinking-villagers-malaysias-sabah-stop-runaway-train-rail-trolley?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 11:40:37 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A Malaysian student has pleaded not guilty to desecrating the Koran and posting offensive content online, in a case that has stirred widespread anger in the Muslim-majority country during the holy month of Ramadan. Vikneswaran K. Selvanathan, 21, appeared before the Sessions Court in Kuantan, Pahang, on Tuesday to face two charges: defiling a sacred object and transmitting “grossly offensive” material on social media in violation of Malaysia’s communications law. He is accused of stepping on a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345255/malaysian-student-charged-desecrating-koran-viral-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345255/malaysian-student-charged-desecrating-koran-viral-video?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 07:30:09 +0000