Synopsis Indonesian President Joko Widodo “Jokowi” began his second term in office with lofty ambitions. Adding human capital development to his previous focus on infrastructure, Jokowi also pushed for the passage of numerous omnibus laws to make Indonesia more attractive to investors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic...
As Singapore prepares for Phase 1 of the country’s reopening next week, the Government has announced a 4th stimulus package. Called the Fortitude Budget, the packages focus on supporting businesses and saving jobs. Here is a recap on the four stimulus packages announced by the...
After two months of relative quiet, the Malaysian political scene heated up again in the lead-up to the first parliament sitting under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government on 18 May. For Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, there are questions of external opposition led by his former...
As public health efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic continue around the world, so too have economic efforts such as stimulus packages. Governments across ASEAN have announced numerous such budgets to support businesses and citizens, including Singapore’s recent announcement of the Fortitude Budget, and more...
In May last year, the SIIA launched the SIIA Haze Outlook report to understand the probability of severe transboundary haze in the region. It presented an initial risk assessment framework based on meteorological data, efforts by government, NGO, and private sector to mitigate the drivers...
By Simon Tay and Jessica Wau For South China Morning Post The coronavirus pandemic has been global in reach and impact, yet cooperation has been anything but. National governments largely fend for themselves, for better or worse. The absence of global cooperation is, moreover, not a simple...
Synopsis The Malaysian parliament convened on 18 May 2020 for its first sitting since the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government came to power in early March 2020. Political developments, previously sedate due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, came back to the fore along with it. A no-confidence...
In the three weeks since the start of May, tremors in the Malaysian political landscape have intensified. Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was accepted, and he teamed up with Anwar Ibrahim to criticise the Perikatan Nasional government....
As countries continue to address the challenges posed by COVID-19, the past week has seen a variety of developments. Countries such as Thailand have further eased their movement restrictions, while Indonesia is poised to undertake a US$8.6 billion bailout of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The emergence...
By Simon Tay and Kevin Chen For The Jakarta Post Over the past week, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia started easing restrictions taken against the COVID -19 pandemic, and Singapore is poised to do so as well in the coming weeks. Such moves come as welcome relief for...