“I think what Singapore is doing is trying to draw a line in the sand in order to head off what it sees as Malaysia's more assertive stance on various bilateral matters,” said Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of...
Indonesia Jakarta’s First Light Rail Transit System to Begin Operations in April 2019 (10 Jan) PT Light Rail Transit (LRT) Jakarta Project Director Iwan Takwin said that construction on phase one of Jakarta’s LRT system is 97 percent complete, and that commercial operations are expected to commence...
Dr Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said that Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook's visit to China could be viewed as “one of the first steps in the ‘rewarming’ of the bilateral ties after a brief chill”. “The...
"Singaporean interest in Johor, especially Iskandar, is going to be crucial in the near future as Chinese investments pull back," Singapore Institute of International Affairs' senior fellow Oh Ei Sun told The Straits Times. Singapore contributed nearly a quarter of the foreign investment in Iskandar as...
China claims about 90 percent of the sea that extends from Hong Kong to Borneo, spanning 3.5 million square kilometers. China and rival claimants in Asia value the sea for its fisheries and fuel reserves. The UK government does not have a claim. Washington regularly sends...
Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs noted that Malaysia does not practice a dynastic monarchy at the federal level, but rather a rotational one. “As such, the people’s respect is for the institution rather than the individual king....
Dr Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs think tank, said there was a need for a rail link across the breadth of the Malay Peninsula to facilitate the transport of goods. “The existing east coast rail line can be upgraded...
Indonesia Indonesia Closes the US$3.85 billion Freeport-McMoRan Mine Deal (21 Dec 2018) Indonesia’s state-owned mine company PT Inalum took control of the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc on 21 December, Friday, giving it control of the massive Grasberg copper mine. The deal hands Inalum a 51.23% stake...
By Simon Tay and Liyana Othman For The Straits Times As the global community seeks to address environmental and climate change concerns, attention has been increasing about palm oil. In recent months, the European Union passed a directive that disallows commodities like palm oil to be used...
Indonesia Jokowi to Double Cash Handouts under PKH (11 Dec) Social Affairs Minister Agus Gumiwan Kartasasmita told reporters that the PKH aid programme would double in scope from US$1.3 billion to US$2.6 billion in 2019. The programme, aimed at 10 million families, will be dispersed in four...