https://www.scmp.com/rss/324393/feed Ushar Daniele is the Post’s Kuala Lumpur–based correspondent covering Malaysia, Southeast Asia and the wider region. She focuses on current affairs, geopolitics, the economy, climate change and the environment. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera English, CNN and VICE News, and she has earned two awards for excellence in digital and television reporting. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele US interceptions of Iranian-linked tankers in Asian waters suggest Washington’s maritime pressure campaign may be spreading eastward, raising new risks for Southeast Asian states overseeing crucial sea lanes. Analysts said that although Southeast Asian nations were not parties to the war, countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were not insulated from rising US-Iran maritime tensions. For these states, the bigger risk may not be a Gulf conflict spilling directly into their waters,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351281/why-us-interception-iran-tankers-asian-waters-pose-new-risk-asean-neutrality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351281/why-us-interception-iran-tankers-asian-waters-pose-new-risk-asean-neutrality?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:10:33 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia’s durian growers say they are in “survival mode” as an early bumper harvest collides with a surge in fuel and freight costs, squeezing an export trade built around getting premium fruit into China fast. Hot weather has brought harvests forward, swelling supply just as exporters face higher packaging, energy and transport costs, with the Iran war disrupting fuel supplies and making cargo more expensive. The strain is exposing the vulnerability of Malaysia’s durian industry, which has... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351176/malaysias-durian-growers-survival-mode-early-glut-and-iran-war-hit-export-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351176/malaysias-durian-growers-survival-mode-early-glut-and-iran-war-hit-export-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:59:38 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia’s busiest container port has started refusing Middle East-bound cargo unless shipping lines can guarantee prompt pickup, in one of the clearest signs yet that the Gulf crisis is working its way past oil and into the everyday trade that moves across Asia. Longer transit times, missed sailings and sharply higher insurance premiums are now rippling across the region’s logistics chain, with wine, spirits and other time-sensitive goods acting as an early indicator of disruption that analysts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3350711/delays-rising-costs-hit-asias-trade-gulf-crisis-spills-beyond-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3350711/delays-rising-costs-hit-asias-trade-gulf-crisis-spills-beyond-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:36:22 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The bust of an illegal transfer of oil between tankers in Malaysian waters has returned the spotlight to the shadow fleet trade in fuel – much of it from sanctioned nations – in Southeast Asia, which continues despite the paralysis of legitimate shipping routes triggered by the Iran war. Two tankers were intercepted in waters off Bagan Ajam, off the coast of Penang, on Saturday during an alleged illegal transfer of more than 700,000 litres of diesel worth an estimated 5.43 million ringgit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349950/malaysian-bust-spotlights-shadow-fleet-oil-trade-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349950/malaysian-bust-spotlights-shadow-fleet-oil-trade-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:30:20 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Iran’s threat to impose tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz is stirring concern far beyond the Gulf, sharpening fears that one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints could be used as political leverage rather than governed by international rules. The concern is especially acute in Asia, which remains heavily reliant on Middle East energy supplies and exposed to any disruption in the waterway, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil passes. Analysts warn that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349686/irans-hormuz-toll-threat-lays-bare-asias-energy-vulnerability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349686/irans-hormuz-toll-threat-lays-bare-asias-energy-vulnerability?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:23:36 +0000 Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof The US war on Iran has triggered the worst energy crisis in memory and punched a hole in Southeast Asia’s energy-importing economies. Still, a top former US diplomat insists America remains a dependable ally and will be central to the region’s trade and security for years to come. The Trump administration’s attack on Iran had inflicted pain on Southeast Asian allies dependent on Middle Eastern energy imports, said Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, a former assistant secretary of state for East... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349533/us-remain-key-ally-asean-despite-iran-war-fallout-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349533/us-remain-key-ally-asean-despite-iran-war-fallout-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:20:35 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Tehran’s decision to let Malaysia-linked vessels through the Strait of Hormuz highlighted Iran’s growing use of access to the strategic waterway as leverage, analysts said, with only a limited number of ships now able to pass and access increasingly determined by political ties rather than treated as a neutral commercial right. For Malaysia, the move drew attention not only to Tehran’s close ties with Putrajaya but also to scrutiny surrounding sanction-sensitive oil trade and ship-to-ship... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349284/iran-does-not-forget-its-friends-malaysia-ships-pass-hormuz-amid-selective-access?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349284/iran-does-not-forget-its-friends-malaysia-ships-pass-hormuz-amid-selective-access?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:52:57 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Among the stories Sarawak instrument craftsman Salomon Gau inherited from his elders is one that begins not with wood or strings but with spirits. He recalled being told how spirits first showed villagers how the earliest forms of the sape – a traditional carved wooden lute from Malaysian Borneo – should be made and played, at a time when the instrument was central to ceremonies, storytelling and social life. “The first one was the two-string version. The four-string one is already quite new,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348962/renewed-interest-traditional-malaysian-lutes-comes-strings-attached?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3348962/renewed-interest-traditional-malaysian-lutes-comes-strings-attached?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 02:30:09 +0000 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 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The risks of environmental calamity in the Strait of Hormuz are mounting with each passing week of the Iran conflict, conservationists have warned, as giant tankers filled with fuel are trapped in a small area and Iran continues to fire missiles and drones at Gulf oil assets. The potential for catastrophe in the waterway was sharpened on Monday when a Kuwaiti crude tanker was set ablaze at Dubai Port in an Iranian attack that damaged its hull, sparking warnings of a possible oil spill. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348680/environmental-risks-grow-iran-war-traps-oil-tankers-strait-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348680/environmental-risks-grow-iran-war-traps-oil-tankers-strait-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Ushar Daniele Joseph Sipalan,Ushar Daniele For a few weeks after the bombs started falling on Iran, Southeast Asian governments told their people not to worry. Emergency funds would cushion the blow. Subsidies would hold. Prices would stabilise. A month on, with oil well above US$100 a barrel, long queues for fuel forming at petrol stations across the region and Thailand restarting coal plants it had mothballed years ago, the reassurances have worn thin. Against this backdrop, an old question has resurfaced with fresh urgency: why does a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348186/iran-war-energy-shock-revives-aseans-power-grid-plans-its-way-go?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348186/iran-war-energy-shock-revives-aseans-power-grid-plans-its-way-go?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Massive carbon emissions from military activities and war-driven fossil fuel dependence are undermining the global energy transition, climate advocates warn as they point to the ongoing Iran conflict exacerbating this long-standing blind spot. Activists from Climate Action Network Southeast Asia, Oxfam and the Fossil Fuel Treaty convened in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week to discuss strategies to protect the global environment at the Southeast Asia-South Asia Preparatory Meeting for the Santa... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348144/wars-threaten-global-climate-activists-push-cop31-discuss-defence-spending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3348144/wars-threaten-global-climate-activists-push-cop31-discuss-defence-spending?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:57:30 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysian users are among victims targeted by a newly uncovered iPhone spyware operation that researchers say was used by multiple threat actors across countries, in a sign that sophisticated mobile-hacking tools are spreading through a murkier commercial and criminal ecosystem. The spyware, known as DarkSword, was observed targeting entities in Malaysia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and was uncovered by investigators shortly after they exposed another exploit kit, Coruna, linked to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3347739/iphone-spyware-darksword-hits-malaysia-exposing-spread-sophisticated-hacking-tools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3347739/iphone-spyware-darksword-hits-malaysia-exposing-spread-sophisticated-hacking-tools?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:31:37 +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 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The apparent docking of two light US combat ships in Penang over the weekend has raised eyebrows among Malaysian government critics regarding the country’s position on the US-Israel war on Iran, and questions over the deployment of de-mining vessels thousands of miles from the conflict zone. The USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara were seen on Sunday at the North Butterworth Container Terminal, according to social media images and the Financial Times, which cited a US Fifth Fleet spokesperson... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346932/why-us-warships-pit-stop-malaysia-raising-eyebrows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346932/why-us-warships-pit-stop-malaysia-raising-eyebrows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 15:45:42 +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 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 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Scam syndicates allegedly from Malaysia are increasingly relying on couriers and physical handovers when targeting victims in Singapore, as tighter banking safeguards make fraudulent online transfers harder for them to pull off, according to police and crime experts. Recent police cases suggest some criminals are turning to cross-border transfers in which victims are pressured into handing over cash or valuables in Singapore before the proceeds are passed through “mules” working for scam... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346543/more-malaysian-scammers-target-singapore-based-victims-pass-cash-gold-mules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346543/more-malaysian-scammers-target-singapore-based-victims-pass-cash-gold-mules?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 06:00:16 +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 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 Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof By late afternoon in Putrajaya, the smell of smoke fills the air. Charcoal pits glow along the side of the road as office workers and families with school-aged children in tow move through the haze with the deliberate purpose of people who have not eaten since dawn. This is a Ramadan bazaar in full bloom: rows of bright pink drinks in plastic cups, towers of kueh – bite-sized sweet and savoury snacks – in every colour, and, at one particularly busy stall, rows of whole chickens turning slowly... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3345746/1-holy-month-1-years-income-malaysias-ramadan-bazaar-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3345746/1-holy-month-1-years-income-malaysias-ramadan-bazaar-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 08:00:12 +0000 Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele A man in a Mercedes drives up to a Bangkok forecourt, cash in hand, ready to buy an electric vehicle he hadn’t planned on owning. Southeast Asia’s EV revolution has found a new accelerant. “He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to fill up his car any more,” said Samart Prakotkancharna, managing director of Ratchapruek P Car Centre in Thailand’s capital, describing the scene that played out on his forecourt. Cash buyers had been streaming in all week, spooked by rising diesel prices and hunting for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345751/iran-war-oil-shock-accelerates-southeast-asias-ev-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345751/iran-war-oil-shock-accelerates-southeast-asias-ev-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Two men were arrested on Thursday after shots were fired at a car carrying the Malaysian border police chief, in what authorities believe was retribution for a crackdown on rampant smuggling. The porous border between Malaysia and Thailand is a notorious crossing used by crime gangs trafficking people, drugs, weapons and other contraband, including food and subsidised diesel for sale into the Thai market. Before dawn on Wednesday, two suspects wearing helmets on a motorcycle fired shots at a car... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3344725/2-arrested-after-malaysian-border-police-chief-targeted-gang-shooting-near-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3344725/2-arrested-after-malaysian-border-police-chief-targeted-gang-shooting-near-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:59:08 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Yik Wai Chee doesn’t think of himself as a believer. The 33-year-old senior executive at a Malaysia-based AI company is the kind of person who deals in data and decision-making frameworks, not destiny. Yet for years, he has consulted bazi, the ancient Chinese system of elemental forecasting, as a kind of strategic gut check on his life. “For me, it is just a long-term ‘luck check’ to see if there are general strategies I can adapt to get through some life challenges,” he said. “If it doesn’t... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3344153/ancient-chinese-astrology-gets-gen-z-rebrand-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3344153/ancient-chinese-astrology-gets-gen-z-rebrand-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 03:00:15 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia has drawn a hard line against becoming a dumping ground for the world’s toxic scrap, but enforcing that pledge means sifting through millions of shipping containers each year – a daunting challenge shared by ports across Southeast Asia. Last week, Kuala Lumpur imposed an immediate ban on e-waste imports, reclassifying the material under an “absolute prohibition” and declaring the country would not be a “dumping ground” for the world’s waste, in an effort to curb a trade that often blurs... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3343458/malaysia-says-no-e-waste-dumping-can-its-ban-stop-global-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3343458/malaysia-says-no-e-waste-dumping-can-its-ban-stop-global-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 08:00:10 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele The persistent tuberculosis cases in Malaysia are indicative of an outbreak that could be under-reported for a disease that is easy to diagnose and treat, according to medical experts. Malaysia had detected 10 active TB clusters nationwide as of February 7, with a total of 2,571 cases. Four of these clusters – defined by health authorities as two or more epidemiologically linked cases identified within a specific setting or time frame – were found in Selangor, Malaysia’s most populous state. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3343224/malaysia-risks-under-reporting-tb-cases-slow-burn-epidemic-persists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3343224/malaysia-risks-under-reporting-tb-cases-slow-burn-epidemic-persists?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 13:39:20 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In the dead of night, officers from Malaysia’s maritime agency boarded two tankers that were transferring millions of barrels of oil in the waters off Penang, as the re-emergence of ageing vessels from a shadow fleet in the country’s waters has put the spotlight on the illegal trade in Asia. The January 29 bust was a rare disruption to a trade worth billions of dollars each year – much of it from sanctioned oil-producing nations Russia and Iran, and involving ships plying the waters in the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3342393/malaysian-waters-see-return-illegal-oil-transfer-dark-fleet-tankers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3342393/malaysian-waters-see-return-illegal-oil-transfer-dark-fleet-tankers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:05:21 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Subsidised fuel meant for Sabah fishermen has become a lucrative criminal cargo for smugglers who criss-cross the Sulu Sea selling it for double the price in the Philippines, costing Malaysian taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Last year, Malaysian marine police seized around 90,000 litres (24,000 gallons) of petrol and nearly a million litres (265,000 gallons) of diesel with a value of 88 million ringgit (US$22 million) in scores of cases. Sabah’s fleet of thousands of fishermen can buy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3341920/malaysia-loses-millions-subsidised-fisher-fuel-flows-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3341920/malaysia-loses-millions-subsidised-fisher-fuel-flows-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 23:57:07 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Since losing his job two years ago, Singaporean Gurpal Singh has been making weekly trips by car across the border to the Malaysian city of Johor Bharu to buy cheaper groceries and fuel. But as Malaysia’s currency continues to strengthen, bargain-hunting visitors from Singapore like him are getting less value for their purchases. On Tuesday afternoon, the Singapore dollar was trading at 3.11 against the Malaysian ringgit, down from 3.15 in early January and 3.26 in October last year. Economists... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3341448/malaysian-ringgit-strengthens-singapore-shoppers-johor-reap-less-savings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3341448/malaysian-ringgit-strengthens-singapore-shoppers-johor-reap-less-savings?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:02:56 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele From the eyeliner-heavy angst of My Chemical Romance to the double-denim pop of Blue, reunion tours by early-2000s Western acts are selling out Southeast Asian arenas, powered by an unlikely driver: Gen Z fans who were toddlers, or not yet born, when the bands first topped the charts. When My Chemical Romance (MCR) announced its Southeast Asia tour, 60,000 tickets for their Kuala Lumpur show on April 30 sold out within hours. The rush prompted organiser Hello Universe to add a second date at... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3341031/emo-nu-metal-why-2000s-bands-are-striking-chord-gen-z-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3341031/emo-nu-metal-why-2000s-bands-are-striking-chord-gen-z-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jan 2026 10:54:11 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Rohingya migrants – including children – held in detention centres across Malaysia are at risk of forced removal, rights advocates warn, as the government carries out a biometric registration scheme to determine who can stay and who will be deported. Tens of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine State described by the United Nations as among the world’s most persecuted people, have sought sanctuary in Malaysia since the 1990s. As Malaysia does not formally recognise... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340831/malaysias-rohingya-face-new-threat-removal-biometric-documentation-begins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340831/malaysias-rohingya-face-new-threat-removal-biometric-documentation-begins?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:51:15 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele An effort to prod Malaysian employers into hiring more locals for white-collar jobs by doubling the minimum salary for foreign staff has caught expatriates cold and stirred anxiety among some firms over a reduced labour talent pool. From June, the salary threshold for expatriate Employment Pass (EP) holders will be substantially raised as the Ministry of Home Affairs tries to reduce reliance on foreign labour and open pathways to work for its own citizens who are plagued by low wages and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3340625/malaysias-new-expat-salary-rules-dubbed-ridiculous-stoking-fears-talent-drain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3340625/malaysias-new-expat-salary-rules-dubbed-ridiculous-stoking-fears-talent-drain?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 02:43:14 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele As silver prices surged past S$100 (US$78) an ounce in recent weeks, Singaporean Faris Ghani saw a long-running bet finally begin to pay off. The 35-year-old relocation consultant has been quietly accumulating the metal since he was 21, betting that silver – long overshadowed by gold – would one day have its moment. That moment appears to have arrived. On Monday, spot silver traded near record highs of about US$94 an ounce, more than tripling from around US$30 an ounce a year earlier. The surge... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3340416/silver-steps-out-golds-shadow-southeast-asian-investors-chase-record-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3340416/silver-steps-out-golds-shadow-southeast-asian-investors-chase-record-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 08:23:46 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele A typical day for Aizat Halim begins at 5am, as he sets out on a drive to his fruit farm in Janda Baik, about 50km (30 miles) from his home in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur – a distance that reflects the gap between his current and former lives. Farming, the 31-year-old said, was always his first career choice, despite graduating in marketing from colleges in the US and the United Kingdom. In 2020, he started a pineapple farm on family land, leaving a cushy air-conditioned job as a marketing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340192/southeast-asias-young-farmers-dig-future-call-return-land?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3340192/southeast-asias-young-farmers-dig-future-call-return-land?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele When Nestle began pulling its baby milk formula off shelves last month over fears of contamination with a dangerous toxin, Malaysian father Mukhriz Hazim felt his trust in the world’s largest food company begin to falter. Since news of the contamination scare first emerged primarily in Europe in December before spreading across the world, the 33-year-old father has taken to scouring the ingredients list on every formula box with almost forensic precision. “If big nutrition companies are selling... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3339603/nestle-formula-recall-rattles-malaysian-parents-who-are-we-going-trust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3339603/nestle-formula-recall-rattles-malaysian-parents-who-are-we-going-trust?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 03:00:12 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele For Sana Kok, anime has always been more than entertainment. The 28-year-old Malaysian still remembers the first series he caught on television as a child: the bright colours, larger-than-life characters and cinematic storytelling unlike anything else he had ever seen. By his teens, action-packed anime titles had become a fixture of his evenings. “Anime has some of the best storytelling out there,” said Kok, now a digital marketer who sees his childhood fascination reflected in a new wave of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3339415/soft-power-hard-cash-southeast-asias-billion-dollar-anime-obsession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3339415/soft-power-hard-cash-southeast-asias-billion-dollar-anime-obsession?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jan 2026 05:00:10 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In March last year, Erica Cheong and her husband, Harris Zainol, welcomed their firstborn son, Isaac. Like many new Malaysian parents living and working in Kuala Lumpur, the couple found the transition to parenthood overwhelming. “We needed someone to help care for the baby, given that my parents are elderly and my in-laws work full time,” Cheong told This Week in Asia. After speaking to friends who have employed domestic helpers, the couple, both 35, decided that doing the same was their best... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3338555/ageing-asia-needs-domestic-helpers-can-it-keep-them-safe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3338555/ageing-asia-needs-domestic-helpers-can-it-keep-them-safe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 04:00:15 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele As a near-weekly flier, Qyira Yusri is attuned to the rising menace of in-flight theft, mainly by Chinese gangs targeting flights across Asia to pilfer cash, credit cards and luxury handbags stored in overhead compartments. She checks everything twice before boarding, puts aside her passport and phone and only places carry-on luggage overhead in her eye line. For the 30-year-old, whose next flight to Bangkok from Malaysia will be her 55th in a work-packed year, a healthy dose of paranoia... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3338155/mile-high-crime-club-theft-syndicates-target-asias-airlines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3338155/mile-high-crime-club-theft-syndicates-target-asias-airlines?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:30:08 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In dark blue suits, the elders of the Khoo clan gathered outside the prayer halls of the Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, a grand 190-year-old clanhouse in George Town, the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. One by one, they stepped inside for the Tung Chen ceremony, held annually on the first day of the winter solstice, a ritual that draws together members of the Khoo clan, one of the oldest Peranakan communities, from far beyond Penang. As smoke filled the air, Khoo Kay Hock, a senior... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337783/honouring-ancestors-shaping-empires-story-southeast-asias-peranakan-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337783/honouring-ancestors-shaping-empires-story-southeast-asias-peranakan-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 08:00:16 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Rashid arrived on the Malaysian island of Langkawi as a young child after spending weeks at sea in a fishing boat crammed with Myanmar’s unwanted: Rohingya Muslims driven out by soldiers and ethnic Buddhist militias who had razed their villages. A decade on, the now 14-year-old has witnessed countless boats arrive on the island over the years, as his stateless community continues to flee persecution. “We did not choose Malaysia because we thought it was a good or nice country,” he told This Week... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337690/rohingya-crisis-deepens-myanmar-election-offers-no-hope-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337690/rohingya-crisis-deepens-myanmar-election-offers-no-hope-return?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 03:00:09 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele As climate change fuels more frequent floods and storms across Southeast Asia, forests and wildlife are being pushed to their breaking point, with conservationists and scientists warning of a worsening impact on ecosystems due to a lack of oversight and countermeasures. In late November, cyclone-driven rains battered Indonesia’s Sumatra island, triggering floods and landslides that killed more than 1,000 people, left hundreds missing and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, according... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3337344/southeast-asian-floods-set-threaten-more-wildlife-due-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3337344/southeast-asian-floods-set-threaten-more-wildlife-due-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 03:00:12 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele A Malaysian court on Monday granted rapper Namewee a full acquittal from his drug use charge after the prosecution presented a negative urine test in court. Namewee’s lawyer, Joshua Tay, confirmed the acquittal with This Week in Asia. Tay told the Kuala Lumpur magistrates’ court that since the pathology report was negative, there was no prospect of recharging his client, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee. “The appropriate order should be a discharge and acquittal,” Tay said. Magistrate S... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337303/malaysian-rapper-namewee-acquitted-drug-use-charge-after-negative-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3337303/malaysian-rapper-namewee-acquitted-drug-use-charge-after-negative-test?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 07:28:13 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Lion dancers, drummers, stilt walkers and unicyclists flooded the streets of George Town on Sunday as the northern Malaysian city staged its annual Chingay parade, a century-old procession best known for performers balancing towering flagpoles on their chins and fingertips. This year’s spectacle carries added weight. Malaysia and Singapore have jointly nominated Chingay for recognition on Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a move organisers hope will elevate the tradition onto the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337285/malaysias-chingay-parade-dazzles-george-town-unesco-bid-singapore-gains-steam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337285/malaysias-chingay-parade-dazzles-george-town-unesco-bid-singapore-gains-steam?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 07:15:08 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele As the holiday season approaches in the United States, the rush for Christmas gifts is straining manufacturers thousands of kilometres away in Southeast Asia, where supply chain shocks triggered by US tariffs are hitting exports of everything from mittens and headphones to toys. Manufacturers have spent much of the past year trying to adapt to the tariffs, which have driven up production and logistics costs while also disrupting delivery schedules. Now, the seasonal demand spike has only served... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3336255/trumps-tariffs-southeast-asia-put-us-christmas-gifts-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3336255/trumps-tariffs-southeast-asia-put-us-christmas-gifts-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:14 +0000 Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Daniel Ho’s clients want the best money can buy: branded residences and glass-wrapped penthouses complete with panoramic views and high-rise parking spots fit for supercars in the elite enclaves of Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila. A world away, or so it seems, mid-level asset manager Charoen Kijvekin sees a very different reality playing out. His clients are debt-stricken Thais trying to claw back repossessed homes from auction and families on the bottom rung of the property ladder... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3336254/southeast-asias-rich-buy-sky-garages-while-middle-class-lose-their-homes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3336254/southeast-asias-rich-buy-sky-garages-while-middle-class-lose-their-homes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia’s home minister has urged senior clerics to lodge formal complaints over claims that a mysterious South Korean Christian “cult movement” has been attempting to spread its teachings among Malaysian Muslims. The controversy surfaced after religious leaders in Perlis – a conservative northern state where Muslims form the overwhelming majority – reported that a South Korean group had been proselytising there under the banner of a peace initiative. Malaysia is a multi-faith nation but Islam... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336190/malaysian-religious-leaders-urged-provide-evidence-south-korean-cult?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336190/malaysian-religious-leaders-urged-provide-evidence-south-korean-cult?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 06:40:34 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysian lawyers have accused Melaka police of acting unlawfully after a skirt-wearing mother and daughter were barred from entering a station to report a car accident, reigniting debate over censorious standards applied to how women dress in government buildings. The pair were involved in a car accident but turned away from a Jasin district police station on Monday as they attempted to make a report. Melaka state police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar has defended his officer’s action “due to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3335920/malaysian-police-accused-unlawfully-barring-2-women-station-over-dress-code?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3335920/malaysian-police-accused-unlawfully-barring-2-women-station-over-dress-code?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:24:16 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Last year, Mutalib Uthman could only look on helplessly as flames consumed his home, reducing everything he owned to ashes in a wall of thick, black smoke. The book publisher from Selangor said a faulty fuse box on the lower floor had sparked the blaze inside his home in Bandar Baru Bangi. Despite a neighbour trying to help with a fire extinguisher, the two-storey home near Putrajaya was quickly destroyed. “The box was inside the store room, which was full of unused items,” he told This Week in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3335187/wake-hong-kong-blaze-southeast-asias-fire-hazards-come-under-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3335187/wake-hong-kong-blaze-southeast-asias-fire-hazards-come-under-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 08:38:46 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele As the clock strikes 8am in Penang, Syamil Azizi slips into his daily grind: picking up passengers across the island in his little Perodua runabout. At noon, he pauses just long enough to pick up his two daughters from school before returning to the road, often until well past sundown. Weekends offer no reprieve. Then, the 33-year-old swaps his helmet for a chef’s hat, working weddings and school functions as part of a seven-day grind that keeps his family afloat but offers little security... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334557/malaysias-millions-gig-workers-promised-safety-net-critics-see-holes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334557/malaysias-millions-gig-workers-promised-safety-net-critics-see-holes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:14 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In north-central China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region – where desert mountains frame ancient mausoleums and Islamic culture shapes daily life for the Hui Muslim community – a new Indonesian feature film has transformed the landscape into a stage for cultural diplomacy. The production, Assalamualaikum Beijing 2: Lost in Ningxia, blends Chinese settings with Indonesian storytelling in a way that analysts said signals a more deliberate effort by Jakarta and Beijing to use filmmaking as a tool for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3334333/indonesia-scripts-soft-power-diplomacy-push-film-shot-chinas-ningxia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3334333/indonesia-scripts-soft-power-diplomacy-push-film-shot-chinas-ningxia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 07:12:19 +0000