https://www.scmp.com/rss/509222/feed Norman Goh is an independent journalist based in Kuala Lumpur, and he produces the weekly political podcast "Bicara Minggu Ini". He follows Malaysian politics and current affairs, focusing on East Malaysian socio-political issues. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Former Malaysian squash champion Choong Wai Li and her husband, Irish national Ronan Collins, were over the moon when their first child was born in Hong Kong seven years ago. They had decided their son would take his mother’s nationality, and immediately began preparing for the application via the city’s consulate. Little did they know, what they thought would be at worst a dreary, albeit relatively quick process, would morph into a years-long struggle striking at the heart of the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149298/malaysian-mums-urge-pm-take-stand-childrens-citizenship-continue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3149298/malaysian-mums-urge-pm-take-stand-childrens-citizenship-continue?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 04:00:14 +0000 Malaysia’s outgoing Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was called various names during his 17 months in office – the shortest stint of a leader in the Southeast Asian country. From being labelled a pengkhianat, or traitor, for his infamous internal coup against ex-allies Pakatan Harapan, to stomaching the unfortunate label of “PM cirit birit” – or “diarrhoea prime minister” – following much-publicised digestive trouble in June, the mudslinging has been brutal. The hypercompetitive nature of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3145244/who-will-be-malaysias-next-prime-minister-heres-how-race-could?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3145244/who-will-be-malaysias-next-prime-minister-heres-how-race-could?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Aug 2021 14:18:07 +0000 Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will resign on Monday and pave the way for the country’s protracted political crisis to be resolved, a minister has said. “We just finished the meeting. Tomorrow, there will be a special cabinet meeting. After that, he will head to Istana Negara [National Palace] to submit his resignation,” Redzuan Yusof, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, told the Malaysiakini news portal. Muhyiddin, 74, announced the decision to lawmakers during a meeting... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3145096/malaysian-prime-minister-muhyiddin-yassin-poised-resign-monday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3145096/malaysian-prime-minister-muhyiddin-yassin-poised-resign-monday?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 2021 05:00:33 +0000 When does political deal making cross the line into criminality? In Malaysia, this question has come squarely into focus after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday offered major concessions to the opposition in exchange for their backing in a no-confidence vote next month. The embattled leader, who pitched his deal in a televised address, outlined eight proposals including a promise to hold fresh polls by July 2022. The main objective of his offer, Muhyiddin argued, was to maintain... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3145071/unity-deal-or-corruption-malaysian-pm-muhyiddin-yassins-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3145071/unity-deal-or-corruption-malaysian-pm-muhyiddin-yassins-last?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 2021 01:00:24 +0000 Malaysia’s disparate opposition groups, including the former ruling alliance Pakatan Harapan, on Friday uniformly rejected Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s offer of sweeping concessions and fresh polls by next July in exchange for support in an upcoming vote of no confidence. The Pakatan Harapan bloc led by Anwar Ibrahim said Muhyiddin’s proposal in a televised address earlier in the evening was “the first time in history where a prime minister without legitimacy made a blatant offer of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3144991/malaysias-political-crisis-facing-no-confidence-vote-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3144991/malaysias-political-crisis-facing-no-confidence-vote-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Aug 2021 10:56:26 +0000 Dozens of influential Malaysian civil society groups have expressed dismay and alarm after a 17-year-old student who took a male teacher to task for allegedly joking about rape in class was served with a defamation suit and called up by police for “breaching the peace”. Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam in April became a national talking point after she called out the teacher – without naming him or her school – and sparked intense conversation about sexual harassment in schools and entrenched misogyny... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3144201/makeschoolasaferplace-anger-and-dismay-after-malaysia-investigates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3144201/makeschoolasaferplace-anger-and-dismay-after-malaysia-investigates?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Aug 2021 03:00:39 +0000 Malaysian contract doctors who staged a wildcat walkout on Monday in protest over unfair treatment are satisfied with the wide public attention their industrial action has received and will cooperate with police investigations, according to a spokesman. Organisers of the Hartal Doktor Kontrak – or “contract doctors’ strike” – estimated that some 6,000 to 8,000 of the 23,077 contract doctors in the national health care system took part in the walkout at 11am. This Week in Asia could not... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3142609/malaysias-striking-doctors-defiant-after-police-probe-vow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3142609/malaysias-striking-doctors-defiant-after-police-probe-vow?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jul 2021 14:08:15 +0000 As Malaysia’s health system heaves under the weight of a Covid-19 daily caseload that remains stubbornly high, thousands of young contract doctors like Anthony John are volunteering at virus response centres to ease the pressure off counterparts with permanent jobs. The task at hand is grim, with these centres and hospitals operating at near capacity and doctors on some occasions required to triage patients based on their chances of survival. Despite anxieties about the future of his career... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3142402/coronavirus-malaysias-contract-doctors-prepare-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3142402/coronavirus-malaysias-contract-doctors-prepare-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jul 2021 01:30:15 +0000 It’s durian season again and across Asia, aficionados of the turpentine-scented delicacy have been hard at work sniffing out the best bargains. From Hong Kong to Singapore, those with the most discerning palate – and cash to splash – often zoom in on the Mao Shan Wang or “Civet Cat King” cultivar, also called Musang King in Malaysia, where it is grown. So prized is the Musang King’s custard-like texture and bittersweet taste that buyers in Hong Kong readily pay up to HK$400 (US$52) for a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3140671/durian-boom-exposes-ugly-land-tussles-malaysias-pahang-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3140671/durian-boom-exposes-ugly-land-tussles-malaysias-pahang-home?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jul 2021 01:30:13 +0000 Before Covid-19 hammered the Malaysian economy, Kuala Lumpur native Jeremy Johnson made 7,000 ringgit (US$1,670) a month as the general manager of a coffee company, and even had a car as part of his work benefits. His family of six were firmly entrenched in the middle class: what Malaysia calls the M40 – for the 40 per cent of households considered “middle income” – defined as those earning 4,850 ringgit to 10,959 ringgit a month. But movement restrictions forcing people to work from home and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3140392/covid-19-terminal-rising-middle-classes-malaysia-and-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3140392/covid-19-terminal-rising-middle-classes-malaysia-and-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jul 2021 00:30:08 +0000 White flags could be seen flying outside homes and poverty relief organisations across Malaysia this past week as citizens cried out for food and other assistance amid the country’s latest Covid-19 lockdown. The surreal scenes, reminiscent of similar protests that swept the South American nations of Guatemala and El Salvador last year, emerged from a grass-roots social media campaign centred on the #benderaputih (white flag) hashtag that began trending on Monday. Community organisers told This... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139760/malaysians-raise-white-flags-hunger-spreads-under-lockdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139760/malaysians-raise-white-flags-hunger-spreads-under-lockdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jul 2021 07:30:17 +0000 In the interior of Malaysia’s Sabah state, two thirds of which remains under forest cover, citizens are deeply sceptical about Covid-19 vaccinations. The state has experienced its fair share of trauma during the pandemic, stemming from its experience as the “ground zero” of the nationwide third wave of infections that stretches back to September.  Despite having witnessed deaths and hospitalisations, “many are afraid” of what inoculations might do to them, Jannie Lasimbang, a Sabah state... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138655/malaysias-covid-19-vaccination-drive-revs-sceptics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138655/malaysias-covid-19-vaccination-drive-revs-sceptics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jun 2021 05:00:23 +0000 Malaysia’s sultans may have limited constitutional powers, but what they say after a special meeting on Wednesday could determine whether the government looks to extend a state of emergency that dates back to January, analysts say. Along with the suspension of parliament, the emergency – which expires on August 1 – has granted Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government vast executive powers that critics say are being used to throttle opponents rather than deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. It... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3137251/malaysias-sultans-meet-public-anger-against-muhyiddin-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3137251/malaysias-sultans-meet-public-anger-against-muhyiddin-government?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jun 2021 01:30:00 +0000 Malaysia’s severe Covid-19 situation may be front and centre of public attention, but in the northern state of Penang, state administrators are contending with a separate headache as a debate against a multibillion-dollar island-building plan once again rears its head. Environmentalists contend that the 4,500 acre blueprint for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, also known as BiodiverCity, will have a devastating impact on marine ecology and insist it is not necessary given vast tracts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3136527/nurul-izzah-anwar-joins-critics-could-penang-south-reclamation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3136527/nurul-izzah-anwar-joins-critics-could-penang-south-reclamation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000 As the coronavirus situation deteriorates in Malaysia, brickbats are coming thick and fast for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin – not just from the official opposition, but from ostensibly friendly forces as well. Former prime minister Najib Razak – voted out of office in 2018 and facing jail time for convictions linking him to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal – has emerged as a complainer-in-chief of sorts against the current administration. A third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3135533/malaysia-begins-total-lockdown-disgraced-najib-rises-complainer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3135533/malaysia-begins-total-lockdown-disgraced-najib-rises-complainer?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jun 2021 01:00:17 +0000 April 23 was a regular day in school for 17-year-old Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam – until it wasn’t. A PE teacher’s discussion about sexual harassment inexplicably led to him cracking a rape joke. He allegedly told the class, “if you want to rape someone, make sure they are above 18”. Malaysian teen who exposed teacher’s rape jokes in video stands up to trolls The remark drew guffaws from the boys, while female students like Ain stayed silent, aghast. The teacher added that boys were unlikely to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3133546/malaysians-reflect-rape-culture-after-schoolgirls-tiktok-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3133546/malaysians-reflect-rape-culture-after-schoolgirls-tiktok-video?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 12:30:13 +0000 When Malaysia’s former police chief last week took aim at government officials over their links to elite officers as he passed the reins to his successor, insiders who had long discussed the issue in hushed tones found their suspicions brought out in the open. Abdul Hamid Bador, who stepped down as the national inspector-general of police on May 3, had unleashed an unbridled attack at Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government that drew particular attention to the current Home Minister Hamzah... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133047/malaysian-ex-police-chief-abdul-hamids-expose-makes-waves-wont?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133047/malaysian-ex-police-chief-abdul-hamids-expose-makes-waves-wont?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 May 2021 13:30:12 +0000 Malaysia’s decision to exclude the AstraZeneca vaccine from its main Covid-19 inoculation drive is the latest vote of no-confidence in the jab, and complicates an already sluggish roll-out of vaccines across Asia. China on Thursday beat the United States in terms of total doses administered but Thailand, the Philippines and India are scrambling for available doses while in Hong Kong, take-up of a vaccination programme open to anyone above the age of 16 has been lacklustre. On Wednesday,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3131670/will-malaysias-decision-drop-astrazeneca-shot-main?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3131670/will-malaysias-decision-drop-astrazeneca-shot-main?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Apr 2021 13:16:40 +0000 For years, the Southeast Asian countries that are party to the South China Sea dispute have faced criticism over their approach to advance their respective cases. Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei each contest China’s sweeping nine-dash line claim over the resource-rich waterway. Indonesia, while not a claimant, has also challenged Beijing’s efforts to fish in its waters, particularly in its economic exclusive zone off the coast of the Natuna Islands. The five countries are part of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3129538/southeast-asia-waking-need-unity-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3129538/southeast-asia-waking-need-unity-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Apr 2021 01:00:16 +0000 With air travel crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic, AirAsia led by its founder Tony Fernandes – often touted as the “Richard Branson of Asia” – has been vigorously stepping up the budget carrier’s year-long diversification plan.  As the pandemic’s true extent became apparent last May, the Malaysia-based regional budget carrier launched a food delivery business in Kuala Lumpur that gained traction among citizens who were at the time under a strict partial lockdown.  The endeavour has since... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3129096/malaysias-airasia-aims-be-more-airline-aviation-struggles-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3129096/malaysias-airasia-aims-be-more-airline-aviation-struggles-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Apr 2021 00:00:20 +0000 Malaysia’s parliament is suspended, a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to abate, and there is no indication that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will press ahead with his previously stated plans to hold an election once the ongoing state of emergency expires in August.  Yet there is a palpable sense of an uptick in political activity across the country as heavyweights begin planning for the impending polls.  This weekend, the nation’s eyes will be on the annual general meeting of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3127037/umnos-beauty-its-embrace-diversity-malaysias-biggest-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3127037/umnos-beauty-its-embrace-diversity-malaysias-biggest-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Mar 2021 14:29:15 +0000 A move by Pyongyang to sever ties with Malaysia, following the extradition of a North Korean national to the United States on money-laundering charges, could be aimed at testing the administration of US President Joe Biden, according to analysts. Pyongyang announced on Friday that it was cutting diplomatic ties after a Malaysian Federal Court panel earlier this month threw out an appeal by the North Korean, Mun Chol-myong, to stop the extradition. Mun faces four charges of money laundering in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126222/north-koreas-move-cut-ties-malaysia-test-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126222/north-koreas-move-cut-ties-malaysia-test-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Mar 2021 13:18:11 +0000 The head of Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, Khairy Jamaluddin – who on Thursday became the first person in the country to receive the Sinovac inoculation – has stressed that domestic trials showed the China-made vaccine was “safe and good”. The minister for science, technology and innovation had earlier turned down the opportunity to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, saying he wanted to receive the Chinese-made alternative so as to allay concerns among citizens about its efficacy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3126007/china-made-sinovac-jab-shot-arm-malaysias-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3126007/china-made-sinovac-jab-shot-arm-malaysias-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Mar 2021 10:33:05 +0000 A Malaysian court’s decision last week to overturn a decades-old policy banning Christians from referring to God by using the Arabic word “Allah” is unlikely to close the chapter on the saga, analysts say, with the government on Monday appealing against the ruling following pressure from conservative Muslims. With the country likely headed for fresh elections later this year, the resurgence of the issue – and the possibility of rekindled tensions among Muslims and Christians – might give... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3125528/malaysian-courts-decision-allow-use-allah-christians-heralds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3125528/malaysian-courts-decision-allow-use-allah-christians-heralds?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Mar 2021 11:45:06 +0000