Can Malaysia’s ruling coalition work together? PM Anwar squares up to new political realities

The alliance between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional is a tenuous one, so holding it together is a daunting task. But are there bigger challenges in store for Malaysia’s new leader? 

After being an also-ran for years, Mr Anwar Ibrahim has taken the top job in Malaysia’s government. Can he deliver?

Derrick A Paulo
Zainudin Afandi

04 Feb 2023

KUALA LUMPUR: After Malaysia’s recent general election produced a hung parliament, artist Faye Lim was thrilled when Pakatan Harapan (PH) got the chance to form the government again.

The 32-year-old was among those who opposed the internal coup in 2020 that had brought down the previous PH government.

So in December, when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chairman of PH, won a vote of confidence in the Malaysian parliament to emerge as the undisputed leader of the new unity government, it was what Lim wanted.

“Give people a chance to finish what they start,” she said. “If (politicians) are always going to keep repeating … ‘I’ll never work with’ (or) ‘I don’t want’, then … (they) aren’t thinking about us as a whole nation holistically.”

Senior counsel questions handling of Keppel bribery case as other lawyers weigh in; Indranee to address matter in Parliament

A view of the Brani, Keppel and Tanjong Pagar container terminals in Singapore on Aug 19, 2022. Reuters

February 2, 2023


SINGAPORE — A senior counsel has questioned the decision by Singapore authorities not to prosecute six former senior management staff members of Keppel Offshore & Marine for a US$55 million (S$73 million) bribery case involving Brazilian oil giant Petrobras.

However, other lawyers who weighed in on the subject, while acknowledging the lack of clarity and how it might appear questionable to the public, suggested that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) might have reason not to divulge certain legally protected information.

Singapore ranked 5th least corrupt country in 2022

While Singapore was ranked fifth on the Corruption Perceptions Index, this was its lowest ranking in five years

File photo of skyline buildings of the Central Business District in Singapore on Nov 16, 2022.
(Photo: CNA/Hanidah Amin)

31 Jan 2023 

SINGAPORE: Singapore was ranked as the fifth least corrupt country in the world in 2022, according to anti-corruption body Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

However, it was also the lowest ranking in five years for Singapore, which placed third in 2018 and 2020, and fourth in 2019 and 2021. It remains the only Asian country to be in the top 10.

The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, , scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). [Singapore scored 83 pts.]

Malaysia to export 100MW of electricity to Singapore after joint agreement

A view of HDB flats at night. (File photo: Xabryna Kek)

Lee Chong Ming

30 Jan 2023 

SINGAPORE: A two-year trial that will see Singapore import 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Peninsular Malaysia began on Monday (Jan 30), after a joint agreement between YTL PowerSeraya and TNB Genco.

This marks the first time that electricity from Malaysia will be supplied to Singapore on a commercial basis. 

US four-star general warns of war with China in 2025

29 Jan 2023 

Crew members signal to a F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet preparing to take off for a routine flight on board the
USS Nimitz aircraft carrier during a routine deployment to the South China Sea, Mid-Sea, Jan 27, 2023.
(Photo: REUTERS/Joseph Campbell)

WASHINGTON: A four-star US Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.

Chinese turn to traditional remedies to fight Covid-19

An employee working at a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy in Beijing. AFP

January 24, 2023


BEIJING — As Covid-19 rips through China's vast population, making millions sick and fuelling a shortage of drugs, many are turning to old-school traditional medicines to battle the aches and pains of the virus.

President Xi Jinping has promoted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since the start of the pandemic, while health officials have hailed its "important role" in fighting the coronavirus.

Encompassing a range of treatments from herbal remedies and massages to acupuncture and diets, TCM has been used for thousands of years to treat all manner of ailments.

Critics say it is pseudoscientific and ineffective in treating actual illness, and there is little peer-reviewed data to back claims of its efficacy.

But millions in China use it, often in conjunction with modern medicine to alleviate symptoms. 

After being used as a test bed, Ngee Ann Polytechnic gets free driverless bus service

An autonomous minibus now ferries passengers around campus and from King Albert Park MRT station, as part of a partnership between the polytechnic and homegrown company MooVita.

Passengers queueing up outside King Albert Park MRT station for the autonomous minibus to Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
(Photo: Liew Zhi Xin/CNA)

Foo Yueh Peng
Eileen Chew

24 Jan 2023

SINGAPORE: It is one of the latest driverless vehicles allowed on public roads.

Called the MooBus, it has recently been deployed by homegrown company MooVita in its first commercial operation.

And this bus service is free for a year for students and staff of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, where MooVita has used the campus roads as a test bed over the past few years, culminating in this autonomous shuttle.

The 13-seater, measuring seven metres long, ferries passengers from King Albert Park MRT station to 10 stops on campus from 7:30 to about 9:30 a.m. on weekdays (excluding public holidays), while a lunchtime service goes round only on campus.

The electric vehicle is self-driving, capped at 20 kilometres per hour, for much of the 3-km route within campus. A safety operator, however, is required on board by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).