Today Trends

When Anwar Ibrahim finally won the prime ministership, supporters might have been happy for his Pakatan Harapan coalition government to bring reform to Malaysian government and politics, even at the price of stability. Instead, Anwar has brought an unexpected stability — at the price of slow-pedalling economic and democratic reforms. After the removal of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party machine as the cornerstone of Malaysian politics in the historic 2018 elections, no single party was able to act as the dominant and disciplining force in the system. Powerbrokers competed for the support of blocs of parliamentarians, with factional defections causing the mid-term collapse of both Mahathir Mohamad’s government in 2020 and Muhyiddin Yassin’s in 2021. When Anwar was appointed prime minister after his Pakatan Harapan coalition placed first in the November 2022 general election, the spectre of a similar parliamentary coup hung over him. But Anwar has defied those an...

When we talk about the state, Charles Tilly memorably argued, the word ‘protection’ has a double meaning — at once reassuring and menacing. The reassuring part is that the state promises to protect us from harm, the menacing part is that the state can also act like a racketeer, rescinding protection instead of extending it. We can say something similar about the word ‘compromise’ when we talk about democracy. On the one hand, democratisation cannot succeed and stabilise unless parties compromise over the rules of the game, especially the peaceful transfer of power and mutual respect for electoral results. But ‘compromise’ has negative connotations too. When winners compromise their principles and platforms to build coalitions with their erstwhile rivals, the hopes that voters placed in a democratic transfer of power can be disappointed or even dashed. Simply put, democratic compromise is healthy, but compromised democracies are unhealthy. Malaysia’s gradual democratic transforma...

2023 was a year of progressive consolidation of power for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Unity Government. After assuming office, Malaysia’s perennial prime minister-in-waiting navigated his way around an uncertain mandate, an increasingly polarised political climate and state government elections. Anwar ended the year in a more secure position — but will face an increasingly impatient electorate in 2024. The November 2022 general election did not yield a clear-cut majority to any grouping or coalition. Following the intervention of Malaysian then monarch, Anwar was invited to assemble a unity government. Drawing on ties with his former party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Anwar cobbled together a sprawling group of parties and coalitions to secure a parliamentary majority. The unorthodox manner of his appointment and the disparate nature of the ruling grouping led many to question Anwar’s mandate and possibilities of survival . Despite an initial flurry of measu...

South Korea has emerged as a solid partner for war-ravaged Ukraine. Not only do South Korea and Ukraine have common experiences straddling geopolitical fault lines, but Seoul has proven it is ready to share its experiences in postwar reconstruction and redevelopment with Kyiv. Alleviating suffering of the Ukrainian people and helping Ukraine re-emerge from the ashes of war is Seoul’s immediate priority in its burgeoning partnership with Kyiv. But in the long term, the emerging South Korea–Ukraine relationship in the realm of lithium also stands to benefit Europe more broadly by helping Europe break China’s grip on the production of renewable batteries.   South Korea has become a battery cathode export powerhouse . Access to lithium, a resource which Ukraine reportedly has in abundance , is absolutely critical for South Korea’s ambition to hold a 40 per cent share of global battery production by 2030. The partnership between Seoul and Kyiv presents an opportunity for South...

Amid a global rush for critical minerals, India is looking to develop its lithium supply chain through various means, including leveraging private and public industries to sustain its future sectoral growth and to fix strategic vulnerabilities. Much of this will be pushed by technology adoption and the transition to green energy, with lithium potentially making a critical contribution to India’s economic growth and national security. In 2023 the Ministry of Mines released a ‘ Critical Minerals for India ’ list. The document defines  critical minerals  as those which ‘are essential for economic development and national security’ and whose ‘lack of availability’ or ‘concentration of extraction or processing in a few geographical locations’ may lead to the disruption of supply chains.  Lithium is categorised as a  ‘strategic’ mineral  with 100 per cent import dependence, placing it at the top of the priority list. Rising imports indicate that the challeng...

Since the 1980s, Cambodia’s relations with the United States and China have fundamentally shifted. In 1988, former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen described China as ‘evil’. But in 2016, he described ties as ‘ironclad.’ At the same time, Phnom Penh’s relations with Washington have worsened. Three main reasons accounting for this pattern are economic, political and security issues. Security — specifically the Cambodian government’s desire to remain in power — is the main reason for improved ties with China and deteriorating links with the United States.  While Cambodia maintains warm ties with China, it seeks to avoid an adversarial relationship with the United States. Demonstrating a preference for amicable ties with the world’s leading power, Cambodia has spent half a million dollars in a public relations effort in Washington to advance its ties with the United States. As a staunch supporter of Cambodia, China allocates economic funding, political support and ample assistan...

The decision to introduce ridesharing services is controversial in Japan. Taxi shortages are a serious issue in rural areas. This has also become an urban problem with increasing foreign tourists resulting in long queues at taxi stands. Amid these issues, debate has arisen on the merits of continuing the partial ban on ridesharing apps such as Uber and Grab. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the number of taxi drivers in 2021 decreased to 60 per cent from the peak in 2009. This is mainly due to the ageing demographic of the drivers — those aged 60 and over accounted for 64 per cent of total drivers in 2022. Successive years of mass driver retirement is an unavoidable future challenge, while young drivers have higher turnover rates as their wages are performance rather than seniority-based, unlike many other occupations. The current situation is one of increased demand for taxi services and reduced supply, with little change to the taxi fares...

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee’s announcement that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will introduce its own national security law in 2024 was a surprise to many given the effectiveness of the national security law Beijing imposed on the territory in 2020. Political dissent has all but been crushed since mass pro-democracy protests shook the city in 2019. The imposition of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been central to that . Hong Kong’s police and security apparatus are now openly guided by mainland Chinese agencies in a break from the post-1997 policies of autonomy and non-interference . They have targeted pro-democracy politicians , civil society organisers and media figures, with a promise to pursue overseas dissidents ‘ for life ’. The 2020 national security law is an imposing piece of legal artillery with broad and flexible offences. It offers life imp...

The post-pandemic landscape has seen increased deglobalisation of the multilateral trading system and a greater emphasis on regional development. The mantra of low-cost, ‘just in time’ supply chain dynamics has morphed into ‘just in case’, with efforts aimed at resilience through nearshoring, friend-shoring and onshoring. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is coming out of the other side of this shift as an economic growth engine and a top recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI inflows increased from a pre-pandemic annual average of 7 per cent from 2011 to 2017 to 12 per cent from 2020 to 2021. In 2021, inflows of FDI into the ASEAN region increased by 42 per cent to US$174 billion. In 2022, FDI inflows into ASEAN reached US$224 billion. Singapore was the leading destination for greenfield FDI within ASEAN. The net inflow for FDI is projected to be US$27.47 billion in 2023 and US$20.18 billion in 2024. The US–China trade and tech rivalry has made ASEAN ...

In 2023, North Korea continued the foreign policy line it has followed since the failed attempt to compromise with the United States, undertaken during the former Trump administration. The year was marked by four significant shifts in diplomacy, though these shifts might be less important than they appear. First, North Korea’s domestic policy was largely shaped by the rivalry between the United States and China. Around 2019, amid deepening confrontation with the United States, China deemed it necessary to maintain stability in North Korea, viewing it as a strategic buffer zone, and began providing aid. This aid, though modest and unlikely to spur economic growth, was enough to prevent the North Korean economy from collapsing since such collapse could lead to a regime implosion and put stability at risk. North Korea has a long record of mistrust towards China, but in their current situation they have few alternatives. The United States is likely to maintain a hardline attitude — an...