Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts

Aug 28, 2014

Jun 9, 2014

Jun 8, 2014

May 29, 2014

May 28, 2014

Apr 25, 2014

‏Check @Diplomat_APAC Why Obama Should Meet Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia http://bit.ly/1kbtyVc

@Diplomat_APAC has an article about Obama's trip to Malaysia and how it matters to Malaysia's democratic development
Recent public opinion research in Malaysia indicates a continued slide of the government and its leader’s performance based on unpopular public policies. The public opinion research firm in Malaysia, the Merdeka Center recently released a survey conducted between March 7 and March 20. The survey revealed that only 38 percent of respondents think the country is headed in the right direction. Regarding the government’s handling of the economy, the survey results are similar: 39 percent are satisfied while 56 percent are dissatisfied. The Merdeka Center survey also showed that 44 percent are dissatisfied with Prime Minister Najib Razak’s leadership. The level of dissatisfaction with Najib is the highest since the Merdeka Centre first tracked his performance in May 2009, a month after he took office.

Mar 19, 2014

Check @Diplomat_APAC on the limits of ASEAN’s Maritime Cooperation

Flight MH370 Shows Limits of ASEAN's Maritime Cooperation | The Diplomat
http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/flight-mh370-shows-limits-of-aseans-maritime-cooperation/
it is apparent the ongoing MH370 saga has exposed serious shortcomings in efforts to establish an effective regional SAR emergency management regime.
ASEAN’s past experience providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) to the victims of the 2006 tsunami and Cyclone Nargis in 2005 indicate that it will study the lessons learned from the search for MH370 and incorporate them into future SAR policy planning.
At the same time, It commented on how Malaysia's authority handle the incident problemically:
Malaysia should review its management of the MH370 incident, study the lessons to be learned, and make recommendations to relevant ASEAN bodies about how to process and verify information coming from such diverse sources as civil airline authorities, military radar, commercial satellite information and information from intelligence-gathering satellites. Malaysia should also review its handling of the international media, identify any possible shortcoming or deficiencies, and draw up draft guidance for consideration by other ASEAN members. It is clear that a balance must be struck between providing timely information and ensuring that the information is accurate. Some guidance must be drawn up to manage the expectations of the media about what they can expect in an emergency situation.
The larger implications of the MH370 incident on future multilateral regional cooperation are less clear. The initial search area of the missing MH370 took place in the Gulf of Thailand/South China Sea in a semi-enclosed area outside the maritime zone enclosed by China’s nine-dash line. All of the ASEAN littoral states, except Cambodia, followed Malaysia’s lead and offered assistance despite minor disputes over maritime boundaries.

Mar 13, 2014

On the Malaysian Govt and the missing plane incident

There is an article which may answer you doubt about the response of Malaysian govt’s on the missing place

Why Malaysia Will Say Almost Nothing About the Missing Plane
Businessweek via @BW
http://buswk.co/1kLvDJK

no one should have expected much better from the Malaysian government

This lack of accountability filters down, especially at state-owned enterprises such as Malaysia Airlines, which are notorious in Malaysia for insider dealing, corruption, and lack of transparency. Even before the crash, Malaysia Airlines' parent company had lost money the last three years, including a huge loss of more than $350 million in 2013, in part because of its terrible management. One comprehensive study of government-linked companies, conducted by a group of economists in Australia and Malaysia, found that Malaysia state-run firms had worse corporate governance than publicly traded Malaysian companies not controlled by the state. Partly because investors understood that state-run companies were so poorly managed, the study found lower overall valuations on the Malaysian stock market. In other words, these state companies traded at a discount because of their mismanagement.

Although no one seems to have determined whether the flight's disappearance is related to terrorism, do not expect the Malaysian government to be the one providing any answers to the public if it turns out terrorism was involved. Malaysia has long had a relatively liberal visa policy toward Muslims from other countries, in part because it needed foreign workers and in part because this policy had traditionally been popular. (That policy, in part, is why Osama bin Laden recommended Malaysia as a place for terror operatives to meet and for wounded fighters to recover.)

This cooperation has always been extremely unpopular with the majority of Malaysians, and so successive prime ministers have worked hard to conceal it from public discourse.

Feb 25, 2014

Check: Malaysia in The Trans-Pacific Partnership

The Economist just have a Blog about the TPP talk in SG:
 
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: No end in sight | The Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/02/trans-pacific-partnership-0s
Malaysia's trade minister, Mustapa Mohamed, said there had been no discussion at all in Singapore about the link between TPA and TPP. But it must have been on everybody's mind. Mr Froman stalwartly pointed out that every country has its domestic processes and that the administration was "building support on Capitol Hill". Not fast enough, however, for many of the TPP participants, who face political difficulties of their own, such as Malaysia's worry that TPP might outlaw its affirmative-action policies in government-procurement in favour of "Bumiputras" (ie, mainly ethnic Malays, as opposed to Chinese and Indians), and undermine support for the ruling coalition.
More on Malaysia & TPP from New Straits Times:

TPP: Malaysia continues to seek flexibility - Latest - New Straits Times
http://www.nst.com.my/business/latest/tpp-malaysia-continues-to-seek-flexibility-1.492818
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said overall there is still a lot of work that remains to be carried out. “In the area of goods market access, Malaysia is prepared to undertake comprehensive commitments, but this would depend on the overall balance of the negotiations. Malaysia has thus far made good progress in the bilateral discussions on market access.” On tobacco, Malaysian officials convened informal consultations with officials from a number of countries to pursue an exception from the TPP for tobacco and tobacco products. “Negotiators will be consulting on a suitable timetable to continue work with a view to find a solution to the remaining issues.” Malaysia, he said,  will continue to undertake domestic engagement with various stakeholders to share with them the outcome of the Singapore meeting and the way forward.

Feb 10, 2014

Dec 8, 2013

What does Southeast Asia look in OECD’s latest PISA survey? (Updated)

Yesterday, news talked about the PISA result. There were five ASEAN countries participated in PISA 2012. They were Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Most SE Asian PISA-related news was only appeared in their local news headline but not in international news. This post summarized the PISA result of SEA participants and the local commentary about the result.