South East Asia

Summary
108


At Political Front
• Indonesia
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promises Saturday to improve the government's efforts in guaranteeing civil rights of ethnic Chinese living in the country.
Addressing the national celebration of the Chinese New Year, the president said that he would order religious affairs minister, national education minister, central and regional governments to continue their efforts in securing civil rights of ethnic Chinese following the recognition of their existence and their belief, Confucianism, as one of the religions officially regarded by the state
• Malaysia
ONE of the first things Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak did when he took over as prime minister was to announce his concept of 1Malaysia. He took great pains to publicise it and even created a special website for it. His aim was to reach out to as many people as possible, sending out a personalised e-mail to a long list of names.
The broad concept of 1Malaysia, based on the principle of “People First, Performance Now”, is to bring the country’s multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-religious people together as “one” to create a united, harmonious, strong and successful nation. It may be seen as his response to the dynamics and changes taking place in the country and the world today.
At the outset, the concept was loosely put forward and there was some confusion over what it really meant. Perhaps the prime minister wanted to get feedback from the rakyat of all ethnic background to help him craft and define the concept better.
The initial looseness in the concept had also allowed his critics to brush it aside as “wishy-washy”, “nothing new” or that it was in fact very similar to past concepts on national unity such as “Bangsa Malaysia” (by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) or “Rakyat Malaysia” (by MCA) or even the “Malaysian Malaysia” (by DAP).
The common goal is of course to live in harmony regardless of whatever their race or denomination is.The major races of Malaysia are Malays, chinese and Indians. There are also countless numbers of other ethnics who were already living on the land long before the arrival of the chinese and Indians.
It is becuase of this rich tapestry of its people that made this land both beautiful and interesting. Bringing these groups together and urging them towards a common goal is not easy.Thus, the concept of 1Malaysia whereby all races must regard themselves as an important component of this dream and should treat his or her fellow countryman as equal. Everything on this land is shared.
The Unesco's statistics for 2009 placed Malaysia at 11th out of 137 nations that allocated a huge budget for education.On the average for this decade, Malaysia's allocation for the education sector is about 25 per cent or a quarter of its budget, making education the sector that received the lion's share of the government's expenditure.With such a huge allocation, the nation's education system is continuously undergoing transformation and improvement.The goal is none other than creating a society that focuses on education and knowledge, above everything else.
The position of Islam as a religion which is protected by the Federal Constitution and placed directly under the power of the Rulers, must be understood and respected, said the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.He said the followers of other faiths are allowed to practise their respective religions peacefully although these religions are not allowed to be preached to Muslims.
Foreign Relations
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States wants more counterterrorism and military cooperation with Indonesia.But Clinton told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. must make sure that human rights abuses do not resume before increasing such work with the large, moderate Muslim country.
She says that the Obama administration believes it is possible to satisfy U.S. laws and expand cooperation with a country that has been subject to American sanctions over past human rights abuses.President Barack Obama will travel next month to Indonesia, where he lived as a boy.
Indonesia hopes to sign a framework agreement with the United States to bolster economic, political and security ties when President Barack Obama visits the country in March, a top Indonesian official said. There will be six agreements to be signed in the visit. We would use it largely for the prosperity of the country," Hatta said on the sidelines of a coordination meeting in the financial ministry's premises here. Indonesia is recognized as one of the surviving countries in the crisis that rammed global economy since late 2008. Indonesia booked positive growth amid the crisis along with China and India
• Philippine
The US embassy in Manila has praised Philippine authorities for their arrest of a Filipino Muslim militant wanted for the kidnapping and murder of American tourists.
Jumadail Arad was arrested on Thursday while trying to board a ferry bound for the south of the Philippines.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo can make all kinds of claims about the accomplishments of her presidency, but what she will be long remembered for is the legacy of political instability she leaves behind. So important is stability to the functioning of a democracy that one of the crucial achievements of any administration is the peaceful and orderly transfer of power to a new set of leaders at the end of its term. That is why the election of a new president is always a milestone in the life of a democratic polity, and it is especially significant after a long period of uncertainty. Persistent political crisis burdens the legal system, and, in the long term, it engulfs the rest of society’s institutions - the economy, the religious sphere, the civil service, the armed forces, etc.
Negotiators of the Philippines government and a separatist group have intensified their respective campaigns in the country's south as a prelude to a referendum that is critical to a tentative peace process which was renewed in Malaysia late last year
At Economic Front
• Indonesia
Indonesia may delay raising energy prices as a dispute over a 2008 bank bailout divides President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s coalition, PT Bank Danamon said, undermining efforts to rein in almost $11 billion in subsidies.
Government allies Golkar and the Prosperous Justice Party this week joined the opposition in calling for a probe into the finance minister and vice president over the rescue of PT Bank Century. Faced with a split in his coalition and public anger at the bailout, Yudhoyono may resort to populist measures to contain inflation, economists Helmi Arman and Anton Gunawan said.
• Thailand
Thailand’s industrial production rose for a fifth straight month in January as the global economic recovery helped boost demand for the nation’s automotive parts and electronics.
Thailand's finance minister Korn Chatikavanij gives a speech before receiving the "Global Finance Minister of the Year" award from The Financial Times' Banker magazine in Bangkok Feb. 22. Thailand's GDP grew 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier and the Thai economy expanded 5.8 percent, reports showed yesterday. Economists expect Malaysian data for the December quarter, due tomorrow, may show GDP increased 3.4 percent.
Asia is paving the way for a global recovery from recession, after central banks in the region slashed interest rates to record lows and governments increased spending by more than $1 trillion (R7.6 trillion).
The strength of Asia's rebound has seen policymakers in the region lead the way in withdrawing stimulus."Asia's recovery is at least two quarters ahead of the US and monetary authorities have been contemplating exit strategies for some time," said David Carbon, the head of economic and currency research at DBS Group Holdings in Singapore."With higher US rates on the cards, Asia's central banks can pursue their exit strategies with less to fear on the inflow and currency front."
Thailand's finance minister says the political uncertainty gripping the country could damage economic growth and investor confidence. Some investors are concerned a Thai Supreme Court verdict against former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, due later this week could lead to protests that could destabilize the fragile economy.
• Malaysia
Economists are starting to revise upwards their gross domestic product (GDP) forecasts for 2010 after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak revealed better-than-expected GDP data for the final quarter of 2009.GDP for the fourth quarter came in at 4.5%, higher than market expectations of a 3.2% increase, while the economy contracted 1.7% for the full year, less than the average 2% in a survey.
• Singapore
The government has outlined two key focus areas to help grow capabilities for companies and boost Singapore's status as a global business hub.A new Partnerships for Capability Transformation programme will be formed to enhance collaboration between multi-national corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises.
At Social Front
• Indonesia
Hundreds of Muslims from outside the area where a 600-member church meets in West Java staged a protest there to call for its closure this month in an attempt to portray local opposition.
Demonstrators from 16 Islamic organizations, including the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), gathered on Feb. 15 to demand a stop to all activities by the Galilea Protestant Church (GPIB) in the Galaxy area of Bekasi City.
The Rev. M. Tetelepta, pastor of the church, told Compass that the church has had the required consent of local residents and official permission to worship since its inception in 1992.
Rescuers said Wednesday that hopes were fading for more than 60 people missing after a landslide struck south of the capital Jakarta, killing at least seven people.
Landslide
• Malaysia
The region's first humanitarian relief hub run by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will be set up in Malaysia at a cost of RM17 million.
The depot, to be located at the Subang airbase, will be WFP's fifth such hub in the world and is designed to deliver humanitarian relief items within 48 hours of a crisis occurring.Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa said the RM17 million construction cost would be borne by Malaysia besides US$1 million (RM3.40 million) that would be contributed annually towards the operational cost of the hub.
• Philippine
Almost two years after the infighting between the Philippine government forces and separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front resumed because of an aborted homeland deal, there remain at least 100,000 displaced people in Mindanao.
• Cambodia
Malaria, one of Cambodia's deadly diseases, which has caused nearly 300 deaths in Cambodia in 2009, Director of National Malaria Centre Duong Socheat said Monday.
Citing Socheat, China's Xinhua news agency reported that some 280 Cambodians died from malaria last year, a sharp increase from a year earlier that recorded only about 200.

South East Asia

Summary
107

At Political Front

• Indonesia

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised Saturday to further protect the civil rights of Chinese Indonesians, particularly followers of Confucianism. The pledge marked the President’s address to thousands of Chinese Indonesians attending the commemoration of the Chinese New Year at the Jakarta Convention Center in Central Jakarta.“In the future I will ask the minister of religious affairs, the minister of justice and human rights, the minister of education and other officials in the central and regional governments to improve protection of the civil rights of Confucianism followers and Chinese descents,” Yudhoyono said.

Indonesian government bans buffaloes from attending street protests after president expressed his hurt at being compared to the animals।

• Philippine

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo can make all kinds of claims about the accomplishments of her presidency, but what she will be long remembered for is the legacy of political instability she leaves behind. So important is stability to the functioning of a democracy that one of the crucial achievements of any administration is the peaceful and orderly transfer of power to a new set of leaders at the end of its term. That is why the election of a new president is always a milestone in the life of a democratic polity, and it is especially significant after a long period of uncertainty. Persistent political crisis burdens the legal system, and, in the long term, it engulfs the rest of society’s institutions - the economy, the religious sphere, the civil service, the armed forces, etc.

• Vietnam

The world has come to expect fractured history and fallacious analysis from American presidents. The world welcomed the election of Obama in part because he promised an end to nonsense flowing from presidential podiums. Obama’s speech at West Point confirmed instead that the office of the president can reduce intelligent and articulate men to the level of George W. Bush. One begins to suspect that citizen Bush might not be as stupid and ignorant as President Bush seemed. Let me deal with one aspect of Obama’s speech: his denial of the relevance of Vietnam to Afghanistan.

At Economic Front

• Indonesia

Indonesia's central bank expects the U.S. Fed's discount rate hike to have a positive impact on Indonesia's economy, central bank deputy governor Hartadi Sarwono said on Friday.

Economic growth in Indonesia in 2009 was higher than expected, namely 4.5 percent, with growth in the fourth quarter at 5.4 percent. The growth is still very much supported by consumption with a rate of 4.9 percent. In the last quarter exports and investment also showed indications of recovery.

• Philippine

A drought in the Philippines has destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops, reduced the country’s water supply and is threatening widespread blackouts as power companies contend with low water levels in hydroelectric dams, officials said Friday.

“It is such a difficult situation because we have just survived the typhoons in October that destroyed 1.5 million metric tons of rice and countless basic infrastructure,” Joel Rudinas, an under secretary at the Department of Agriculture, said Friday. “We are bracing for the worst.”

• Thailand

Banking giant HSBC is upbeat about Thailand's eco?nomic outlook, predicting growth of 4.6 per cent for this year.

"The main driver of the cur?rent recovery is domestic demand and not, as is often assumed, exports," Frederic Neumann, senior economist at HSBC Asia Pacific, told a "Green Light 2010: Economic Prospect for Asia and Thailand" press conference yesterday.Most analysts predict a lower Thai growth rate of 4.2 per cent, partly due to political concerns and the fragile recovery in domestic demand.

The country’s industrial output index is expected to expand between 6 and 8 per cent in 2010 as global economic recovery boosts orders for Thai products, director of the Office of Industrial Economics Sutthinee Phuphaka said on Wednesday afternoon.

Thailand's political conflict is unlikely to hit the country's exports as it is projected the exports for quarter 1, 2010 (January-March) will grow at least 17 percent year on year, Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said Friday.

The government will be able to control the political situation and to prevent political violence to occur, Porntiva said, the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) under the state-owned Public Relations Department, reported.

Thailand's exports have been improving in light of the global economic recovery, while the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) has also helped boost the Thai exports, she explained.

THOUSANDS of protesters forced Thailand's biggest bank to close its headquarters yesterday, raising tensions one week before a court ruling on the fortune of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Bangkok Bank shut its head office for the day and sent 3,000 staff home because of the rally by Thaksin's supporters, who say the bank has links to a royal aide whom they blame for the 2006 coup that toppled their idol.Police said around 1,500 demonstrators had gathered in Bangkok's Silom business district. The protest movement, known as the "Red Shirts" because of their signature clothing, said 10,000 attended.

• Malaysia

Malaysia needs to undertake a major transformation of the economy, even if it involves a short term cost or initial setback, to achieve developed nation status by 2020.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop explained that Malaysia needs such a transformation as it can ill afford to be stuck as a middle income country, albeit a high middle income nation.

"To achieve developed nation status, our economic model needs to transform to become increasingly knowledge-intensive and innovation-led," he said on the second day of the 1Malaysia Economic Conference here on Tuesday.

WITH 2020 only a decade away, Malaysia has a lot of catching up to do if it is to become a high-income economy.This was the message conveyed by several prominent speakers at the recent 1Malaysia Economic Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

• Cambodia

Cambodia's garment industry, its third-biggest currency earner, shed almost 30,000 jobs in 2009 after a drop in sales to the United States and Europe and could struggle this year, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Oum Mean, secretary of state at the Labor Ministry, said 106 factories had closed in 2009, putting 45,500 people out of work.

On top of that, 66 factories suspended operations, leaving another 38,000 on half pay, after a slump in export orders as shoppers in the United States, Europe and elsewhere cut back on clothing purchases due to the global financial crisis.

• Singapore

SINGAPORE raised its economic growth forecast for this year after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter data, citing a pickup in trade and industrial production and stable financial markets.

The government now expects gross domestic product to grow by 4.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2010, up from a forecast of three to five per cent made only a month ago, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said yesterday.

The economy shrank 2.8 per cent in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted, annualized quarter-on-quarter basis, much better than the initial government estimate of a 6.8 per cent contraction made last month.

Singaporeans have been urged to grow the country's external wing so that the republic can prosper further. And on a recent trip to Oman and Bahrain, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong told Singaporeans there to expand their opportunities while in the Middle East.

Singaporeans are making inroads into the Middle East, albeit slowly.And those already there encourage others to explore the opportunities as Singapore's expertise is needed and welcomed.

The government upgraded Singapore's growth forecast for this year, after the economy did better than expected in the fourth quarter.

For 2010, it now expects economy to expand by 4.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent, up from the previous prediction of 3 per cent to 5 per cent.However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has warned that while the first half may look good, there are potential downside risks in the second half.

• Vietnam

The government took the right measures at the right time to weather the global economic slump, says State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Giau said, giving kudos to the interest rate subsidy program.

“In late 2007 and early 2008, when the global recession took its toll on many countries, including Vietnam, the government had to switch its focus from controlling inflation to preventing an economic slump and ensuring stability,” Giau said in an interview published on the central bank website.

At Social Front

• Indonesia

Islamic police in Aceh, Indonesia, patrol daily for women wearing tight clothes and unmarried couples sitting too close.

Sharia police in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, reprimand two women for wearing trousers that they regard as too tight, in December 2009. The police unit, called the "Wilayatul Hisbah", patrolled the beach to look for unmarried couples, Muslim women without headscarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.

“Excuse me,” says Iskandar, as his mobile phone beeps for the umpteenth time in the past half hour. It’s another anonymous tip-off, alerting him to a young couple who have been seen spending time together alone.

Three Muslim women were caned last Tuesday (February 16) for engaging in illicit sex, said Malaysian home minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

They were the first women in Malaysia to receive such punishment under sharia law.Two of them where whipped six times and the third was given four strokes of the rotan at Kajang Prison.

The issue of caning of women has ignited a fierce debate in the country after 32-year-old Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced to be caned for drinking beer in July last year.

The sentence against her has yet to be executed

"On the day I was caned, I was scared but, at the same time, I knew I deserved it and was willing to take the punishment," said one of the women, a 25-year-old who went by the name of "Ayu".

She told the New Straits Times that the punishment -- administered while they were fully clothed and by a female prison officer wielding a thin rattan cane -- did not hurt.

The judge in the politically charged sodomy trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday (February 18) refused to disqualify himself from hearing the case. The defence counsel also accused Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife of being the 'black hands' behind the prosecution.

• Philippine

The Philippines should ban its citizens from working in the Gulf due to the widespread abuse of domestic workers by local employers, according to a survey of Kippreport readers.

In a recent online poll, 44 percent of respondents said they agreed with a proposed ban on Filipinos coming to the Gulf because “domestic workers are treated like slaves and are subjected to abuse”. A third of respondents disagreed with a ban, saying that “the Mideast offers valuable employment opportunities for Filipinos”, while 23 percent said that the government “should not meddle in such matters”.

Last month a group of Philippine politicians called on the country’s government to ban domestic workers from going to the Middle East and Gulf states, according to a report in The National.

In 2008, Human Rights Watch issued a report entitled “As If I Am Not Human” detailing the problems faced by the 1.5 million domestic workers in the Kingdom. The report highlighted a range of abuses including “non-payment of salaries, forced confinement, food deprivation, excessive workload, and instances of severe psychological, physical, and sexual abuse.”

Ironically, authorities in Saudi Arabia recently proposed a ban on housemaids from certain Asian countries - not because they were subject to ill treatment, but because they claim the maids were themselves responsible for abuse. Authorities said housemaids coming from countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia and Vietnam are indifferent to the local culture and have been involved in “child murders and incidents of violence”, Kipp reported recently.

• Thailand

Around 1,000 anti-government protesters have gathered in the Thai capital Bangkok ahead of a crucial supreme court decision next week involving the country's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

About 20,000 security personnel have been deployed around the country amid concerns the demonstrations could turn violent over the court ruling, which will decide the fate of the ousted leader's $2.2bn fortune

A large number of migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos face the threat of deportation from Thailand if the Government goes ahead with its nationality verification process, an independent United Nations human rights expert warned today.

In January, the Thai Cabinet passed a resolution allowing for a two-year extension of work permits for approximately 1.3 million migrants provided that they were willing to submit biographical information to their home governments prior to 28 February 2010.

• Philippine

Nearly five months after tropical storm Ketsana and two typhoons ravaged northern Philippines, evacuation centres are starting to close but thousands of people are still displaced, aid workers say.

• Brunei

An alarming number of government servants are 'walking with a time bomb' after recent studies have shown that 55 per cent of them are struggling with obesity and another 60 per cent suffer from high blood sugar and high blood pressure respectively.

South East Asia:Summary 106

At Political Front
• Indonesia
There are currently hundreds moderate Muslim organizations in Indonesia, many of them set up following the fall of President Soeharto in May 1998. The nurturing of these civic organizations may be as important to the future of Indonesia's democracy as is the curtailment of extremists.
Furthermore, simple political maturity, such as developing true parties with accountability and that stand for something beyond personality as well the development of an educated and experienced electorate should protect and stabilize Indonesia's democracy.
• Thailand
In order to pool together a million people to take part in their anti-government rally later this month, Thailand's anti-government red-shirt movement and the opposition Pheu Thai Party are making moves to mobilise masses across the country, an informed source said on Thursday
• Malaysia
The political crisis occurring in states under Pakatan's rule is proof of the opposition pact's inability to govern, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis said.He said that differences among opposition leaders, resulting in some of them leaving the party, showed weaknesses in the administration."The don't have the agenda to help the people, only the agenda to criticise the government," he told reporters after opening the Rompin Umno convention at Universiti Tenaga Nasional in Muadzam Shah, near here on Saturday.
FORMER Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a living legend of our nation and also a world renowned figure. He has been an inspiration for so many of us.He has attracted us in so many of his ways, from intelligence, persistence, far-sightedness, dedication and also his versatility and the list goes on.
As a person who grew up during his premiership, I have been motivated and inspired by him.His love for people and his desire to help others can be traced back to the days when he was a doctor in Kedah and he built a sampan and used it to go to remote places to give medical treatment to people.
Unfortunately, he has also made us feel “uncomfortable” in recent years with his constant criticism of our leaders. People feel that he shouldn’t be doing this at his level.
Geo-Strategic Front
• Cambodia
Cambodia has hit out at Google over what it called a “radically misleading” map of the disputed Thai-Cambodia border, accusing the world’s biggest search engine of being “professionally irresponsible”.
Thailand and Cambodia have been in a standoff in the disputed territory since 2008, with occasional gunfights claiming several lives. Thailand and Cambodia have been in a standoff in the disputed territory since 2008, with occasional gunfights claiming several lives.
At Economic Front
• Indonesia
Indonesia’s economy probably expanded at the fastest pace in a year in the fourth quarter as lower interest rates and government stimulus spurred consumer spending.
Asian economies from China to Vietnam are picking up speed after policy makers boosted spending and cut borrowing costs to counter the global recession. Indonesia has fared better than its neighbors during the slump as it relies less on exports and consumer confidence has been buoyed by the most stable political climate since the ouster of former dictator Suharto in 1998.

• Philippine

Philippine inflation is likely to average just over 4.5 percent this year despite possible food supply tightness from an ongoing drought, the central bank said Friday.
The figure is above the 3.2 percent average for 2009 and the December 2009 spike of 4.4 percent.“Based on potential near-term price movements, the current inflation outlook shows a hump-based path that could settle slightly above the middle of the 3.5 to 5.5 percent target range for 2010,” it said in a report.
• Malaysia
There will be a master plan for the development of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to ensure their growth is synchronised with the new economic model to be disclosed soon, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The master plan, added Najib, would look into the needs of SMEs such as funding, capacity building and logistics support, as well as helping them explore export markets.The aim was to help the SMEs grow from just being small companies into more successful entities with the ablity to capture local and global markets.
European countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and China are among Malaysia’s focus markets for the export of services this year.
Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) trade and promotion deputy chief executive officer Dr Wong Lai Sum said there were tremendous opportunities for Malaysians to export services to these places.
“This is especially in the area of outsourcing, professional and construction related services.
• Cambodia
OFFICIALS from Cambodia and Laos said Wednesday they were optimistic about the future of bilateral trade following a rise of 4 percent last year, despite the onset of the global economic crisis.
Official figures released by the Laos Embassy in Phnom Penh showed that trade between the two ASEAN neighbours remained very low, however, at just US$274,780 in 2009 compared to $264,180 the previous year.
At Social Front
• Indonesia
Indonesian lawmakers said Monday they found irregularities in the controversial 2008 bail-out of a minor bank.Members from the special parliamentary committee investigating PT Bank Century 710-million-dollar bail-out, said the bank's owners as well as officials from the Finance Ministry and central bank were involved in the alleged crimes and called for a legal investigation. However, the legislators stopped short of naming specific individuals. The cash injection was condemned by government auditors and led to accusations of graft and illicit campaign financing.
President Yudhoyono has strongly denied any involvement, insisting the bail-out had been necessary to protect the economy from a crisis.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the country should enhance its role in ASEAN for national economic benefits ahead of its chairmanship of the group in 2013, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Jakarta Post as saying on Wednesday.
"Our role in and contribution to ASEAN should not only be maintained but enhanced for the economic interest of Indonesia. We have to ensure that Indonesians can reap the benefits of ASEAN to increase their welfare," said Marty in his closing speech at a week-long meeting of ambassadors on Tuesday.
• Malaysia
The Court of Appeal will rule on Wednesday on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s application to quash his sodomy charge. Court of Appeal judge Justice Abu Samah Nordin, who headed a three-member bench, fixed the date after hearing submissions from Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh and lead prosecutor Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden yesterday.
“We need time due to the lengthy submissions by both parties,” remarked the judge, who sat with Justices Sulaiman Daud and Azhar @ Izhar Ma’ah.Anwar had last Dec 1 failed in his bid to strike out the sodomy charge against him, based on the ground that a medical report suggested there was no penetration.
More Filipino maids will be available from the end of next month if negotiations between authorities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and recruitment agencies are successful.It may also be more affordable to hire maids from the region, as its Department of Labour and Employment will seek a “workable salary” that would be a win-win solution for both maid and employer, said ARMM state labour secretary Myra Mang-kabung-Alih.

South East Asia:Summary 105

At Political Front

• Indonesia

A political analyst from the University of Indonesia says that the current Coordinating Economic Minister, Hatta Radjasa, is the real president in the midst of the weak leadership coming from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“Currently, there are two dominant groups in the Cabinet. One that belongs to Mr. Silver Hair [Hatta] and the other that belongs to Vice President Boediono,” Thamrin Tamagola told a discussion at the House of Regional Representatives (DPD) in Jakarta on Friday.

“After the presidential election was over, Boediono group’s dominance has been put aside by that of Hatta. Now, the country needs to watch out whether Hatta manages to prevent Boediono having any authority, because the former’s policy and ambition to eradicate every law that regulates foreign investment has a disastrous potential for the people and the country,” he added.

Mr Obama, who spent part of his youth in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, has said he is looking forward to pay a visit to the city.

The US president has been invited by Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.In Australia, Mr Obama will meet Prime Minster Kevin Rudd to solidify the good relationship they established in earlier meetings.

Indonesian authorities said Friday that a statue of US President Barack Obama as a boy would be moved to a Jakarta elementary school he once attended after public protests.

The bronze statue of a 10-year-old Obama was erected at a historic central Jakarta park in December, and it immediately drew criticism from Indonesians who said they believe an exemplary compatriot should receive such an honour.More than 55,000 people joined a page on the popular social-networking website Facebook to demand the statue be removed, and some protestors have threatened to tear down the bronze.

Thailand

Thailand's prime minister said Saturday he saw no threat of his government being ousted in a coup despite speculation back home, insisting that the rule of law would triumph over intimidation.

He called on all parties to respect the rule of law when the court issues its decision on Thaksin's assets Feb. 26.Abhisit acknowledged that some in Thailand were "frustrated" that the legal system has been slow in addressing transgressors among his own supporters, who were believed responsible for breaking into a government TV office, seizing the prime minister's office for three months and occupying Bangkok's two airports.

The Democrat Party does not fear a House dissolution as a recent survey showed that it could win as many as 240 seats in a general election, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday.Mr Abhisit’s remark was made while he was explaining the current political situation to students of King Prajadhipok’s Institute.

“We are confident that our party would win more parliamentary seats in the Central region and the North, but it is difficult to beat the opposition camp in the Northeast,” he said.He said the party's projection is possible and not a daydream.

• Philippine

Philippine presidential candidate Benigno Aquino's once-vast lead in the opinion polls has shrunk to just a few points, according to a survey published on Monday, a week before the start of campaigning.

Aquino, who had been predicted to take 60 percent of the vote in polls published when he first filed his candidacy for the May election, has seen his comfortable lead dry up as rival Manuel Villar gains momentum.

The Philippines government has offered southern Muslim separatists what it calls enhanced autonomy.Manila's chief negotiator Annabelle Abaya says the government hopes this fresh offer will convince the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to sign a peace accord before a new Philippine president is sworn in at the end of June.

She says in the concept of enhanced autonomy, President Gloria Arroyo is offering to share powers.Power-sharing with the large Muslim minority would cover such areas as tax collection and the control of natural resources in areas of the south that Filipino Muslims claim as their ancestral domain.

The offer was made in Malaysia last week when Moro and government panels met in Kuala Lumpur in the first formal peace talks since fighting broke out in 2008 over a failed draft peace accord.

Geo-Strategic Front

• Cambodia

The Cambodian government sent a strongly-worded letter Friday to US internet giant Google, complaining that its online Google Earth map incorrectly places parts of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple in Thailand.The letter comes ahead of an expected visit this weekend by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen to the temple, which is situated on land claimed by both Cambodia and neighbouring Thailand.

At Economic Front

• Indonesia

The 2009 economic growth rate was predicted to reach 4.3 percent, placing Indonesia in an elite group of countries with positive growth.

From a price stability perspective, inflation in 2009 was recorded only as high as 2.78 percent, the lowest in the last decade.

The Indonesian balance of payments in 2009 reached a surplus of around US$12 billion, supported by current account and capital account surpluses.

Indonesian foreign reserves at the end of 2009 were recorded at $66.1 billion, which is the equivalent of 6.6 months of imports and the repayment of all foreign government debts due.Such a positive development in the external sector has fundamentally contributed to the strengthening of the rupiah, particularly since the second half of 2009. A World Bank Economist, Timothy Bulman, said that Indonesia's economy has returned back on track following a period of lower growth last year due to the global economic crisis, a local media reported here on Friday.

Tomothy said that the country's economy is almost ready to return to the boom conditions prior to the 1998 financial crisis, when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth often reached between 7 to 8 percent. According to Timothy, besides investments, Indonesia is ready for and needs breakthrough like easing transport and logistic bottlenecks and connecting Indonesia's domestic market to the region's

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa said on Friday that the country had extended operation period at four main sea ports following the implementation of the ASEAN-China free trade on Jan. 1.

More imports have been predicted to flow in Indonesia which has huge domestic market with over 230 million people, but, with soaring global demands and prices of exports from emerging markets, it is predicted that the country's exports would rise.

Further Indonesian diplomacy should aim to attract more foreign investment to help reach economic growth of 7 percent in 2014, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told around 200 Indonesian envoys.

• Brunei

SABAH economic and business planners have expressed interest in forming alliances with Brunei in the halal business in a bid to strengthen trade ties.

• Vietnam

Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam could rise 10 percent to between $10 billion and $11 billion this year, thanks to the global economic recovery, a government minister was quoted as saying. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung Friday said there are grounds to predict Vietnam’s economy will expand around 7 percent this year.

Vietnam has launched its first dispute at the World Trade Organization with a case against US anti-dumping measures on its key exports of shrimp.

The communist state only joined the global trade arbiter three years ago, and its economy like China's has benefited strongly from membership in the world trading system and its rules.

The trade dispute with the United States not only has symbolic significance, given the two countries' war that ended 35 years ago, but defends a product that brought in some US$1.5 billion in exports last year.

• Philippine

Spending on May elections and rebuilding work after last year's deadly typhoons are likely to boost the Philippines' economy this year above the official growth forecast, a senior official said Friday.

• Malaysia

Consumers in Malaysia believe the recession is over and look towards the future with renewed confidence, according to market research firm InsightAsia.

Its Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for Malaysia rose by 16 points to 112 in the fourth quarter of 2009, lifting the figure above the neutral point of 100 for the first time last year.

Malaysia’s exports rebounded in December, climbing the most in 17 months amid a global economic recovery that led the government to predict higher overseas sales this year.

At Social Front

• Indonesia

The government said it would ask Indonesia to lift an eight-month ban on sending maids to work in Malaysia, but would not increase salaries by as much requested by Jakarta, a news report said Monday.

Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam said a meeting between labour officials of the two countries this month could end the ban, adding that the outstanding issue was salaries for Indonesian maids.

The new anti-pornography law in Indonesia has caused fear among minorities and secularists.A recent arrest in the Indonesian city of Bandung over a nightclub show has caused the more liberal members of Indonesian society to speak out over the event, in which four women were arrested for dancing in their underwear. They say the law, promoted by Islamic conservatives to outlaw materials or actions raising feelings of lust, could be used to ban cultural paintings, traditional dances and Hindu temple carvings.The rights groups have suggested the anti-pornography law is part of a push by some Islamic parties for sharia, or Islamic law.

• Malaysia

Malaysia's charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is in the dock again on sodomy charges in a suit that threatens to reverse the startling revival in his political career.

• Cambodia

Cambodia plans to draft a new law in a bid to stop the growing number of attacks in which jealous wives, vengeful businessmen and others have hurled acid at their rivals, a government official said Thursday.

The Cambodian government said on Monday that more than 10,000 ducks have died and some 30,000 others are being sick in the country's southern province of Takeo.

He said that those dead ducks were reported happening a few days ago and now some 30,000 others are being sick.Kao Phal said while sample testing is being examined, he could not tell what the cause to the deaths of the ducks was.

At environmental front

• Thailand

Thailand has been told it needs to build a massive sea wall to prevent massive damage from land subsidence and rising sea waters.

South East Asia:Summary

Report # 104

Business and Politics in Muslim World

Tatheer Zahra Sherazi

23 January to 29 January

Summary

At Political Front

• Indonesia

INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, facing falling domestic popularity despite winning plaudits from investors, has found time to release his third album of pop songs in Jakarta.

The president's album, entitled "I'm Certain I'll Make It," comes as his government's popularity has declined over the expensive bailout of a local bank in 2008.

"In my struggle to serve the country, sometimes during my leisure time, I express my feelings in the form of arts," yesterday's edition of an English-language newspaper, the Jakarta Post, quoted Yudhoyono as saying. "This came as a surprise for us, that he had a chance to sing while the people are crying," Rijalul Imam, the head of the Indonesian United Students Action group, was quoted as saying by Detik.com.

The popularity of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has dropped, partly owing to controversy over a bank bail-out and perceived back-pedalling in fighting corruption, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

A nationwide survey of 2,900 people conducted this month found that Yudhoyono still enjoyed good ratings from a substantial majority of Indonesians but his approval ratings had fallen to 70 per cent from 85 per cent in July, the Indonesian Survey Institute said.

The pollster attributed the drop to respondents' unhappiness with the president's performance in areas such as law enforcement and the economy.

An ongoing tussle over the government's decision to bail out a failing small bank in 2008 and Yudhoyono's perceived waning commitment to fighting corruption has contributed to the decline, it said.

Thousands of Indonesians have taken to the streets to express dissatisfaction with the performance of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has completed the first 100 days of his second term.

They say the president has failed to crack down on corruption and they reject his economic policies which give free rein to the market.

Demonstrations were held near the presidential palace in the capital Jakarta and in several other cities including Surabaya and Ambon in the Moluccas. In Ambon, the protesters tried to storm the regional government building and set fire to a poster of President Yudhoyono.

• Malaysia

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied claims that he is trying to stir up anti-Christian by saying that the Sept 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York was staged.

"Many people may think that I am trying to stir up the matter by publicly commenting that the attack on the United States was staged but I am firm with my

point of view," he told reporters after attending a dinner organised by the Penang Medical Practitioners' Society here on Saturday.

The former prime minister said there were groups of people who thought that he was trying to stir anti-Christian sentiments by commenting on the attack at

this point of time.

• Thailand

The outcome of the asset seizure trial next month is expected to affect the intensity of red shirt protests in the future, former premier Somchai Wongsawat

says.He said the verdict would have a direct impact on the political situation.

The case is filed in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions against ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Mr Somchai's

brother-in-law. The court will deliver its verdict on Feb 26.

Mr Somchai, a former judge, said political stability depended on how the red shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship supporters react to the

Verdict. Many red shirts are loyal supporters of Thaksin.

• Philippine

The Justice secretary who served under the administration of former President Joseph Estrada said that President Gloria Arroyo could pick the next chief justice before her term ends this year.

In a two-page opinion, former Artemio Tuquero wrote that President Arroyo was not precluded by law from appointing the replacement for Chief Justice Reynato

Puno, who retires on May 17. Tuquero, a former dean of the University of the East College of Law and of the Manuel L. Quezon University College of Law, added that he strongly believes that once President Arroyo appoints the next chief justice, it should remain valid unless declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The Liberal Party leaders have said that President Arroyo’s successor should pick the next chief justice, arguing against so-called midnight appointments.

• Singapore

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday said restructuring of the economy, dealing with population shortfall and updating the political system were the three priorities for the city-state.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Institute of Policy Studies entitled Singapore Perspectives 2010, he said updating the political system would be the

most difficult one to achieve.

Geo-Strategic Front

• Cambodia

A Cambodian cargo ship, MV Layla S, was hijacked off the Somalian port of Berbera in the Gulf of Aden, a top maritime authority said in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The crew members are said to be a mix of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Somalian and possibly Syrian nationals.

At Economic Front

• Brunei

Brunei Darussalam will be embarking on a new project that will highlight the Islamic side in this region by offering tourism packages, which will also impart knowledge on the spread of Islam and its significance.

Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, said, "We should promote the Islamic theme" considering that we are an Islamic nation.

According to Sheikh Jamaluddin, CEO of Brunei Tourism, it is hoped that the project will be ready by next year to be presented to other tourism ministers who will be in Cambodia for the 2011 Asean Tourism Forum (ATF).

The Malaysia Tourism Board and Brunei Tourism have verbally agreed to discuss the framework of the project and hope to follow the footsteps of the Buddhism Trail that started in Myanmar.

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei could be on its way to becoming a data/information storage hub for countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, said Graeme Kemlo from Senatas, an internationally recognised and accredited company for its high-speed network encryption technology.

The general manager of marketing communications said that this information was disclosed to him by a government agency which could not be disclosed during press time.

"I am only telling you what we were told but there is apparently a plan afoot to establish a series of data centres which will effectively allow organisations, governments and businesses, among others to send their data to Brunei to be backed up," he said.

• Philippine

The Philippine economy grew at its slowest pace in 11 years in 2009 as the global economic crunch hit exports and investment, officials said Thursday.

Growth in gross domestic product faded to 0.9 percent in 2009 from 3.8 percent in 2008 -- the weakest since the economy shrank 0.6 percent in 1998 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.

Last year's growth was still within the government's 0.8 percent to 1.8 percent target and shows the Philippine economy's resilience, said acting National Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos.

• Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, on Saturday, slammed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescriptions’ asserting that

there were no universal recipe to financial crises.

He said “IMF has been proven wrong” in Malaysia’s case during the 1997-99 Asian financial crisis. Razak, whose keynote address at CII Partnership Summit-2010’ inaugural was read out by Malaysian Minister for International Trade, Dato Mustapa Bin Mohammed, said during that crisis his government’s decision to

peg the exchange rate of Malaysian ringgit to that of US dollar was received with “horror” by the IMF. However, Malaysia responded to the crisis in its own way and took a series of measures to stem the outflow of capital and to stabilise its currency, which

turned out to be the “most judicious” given the circumstances, Razak said, adding, the IMF’s diagnosis and prognosis was proved wrong. Malaysia was thus

affected to a “much lesser extent” by the Asian financial crisis than other countries which accepted IMF’s prescription, he said. Though globalisation was

about change, countries differed in their ability to respond to this change, he pointed out.

Hence, “we have to recognise that nations differ in their capacity to change and they must be given the space to arrive at their own solution, whether on

issues related to subsidies, the removal of trade barriers or financial deregulation,” he said.

Malaysia’s rubber products export is expected to hit RM11.1bil this year with the bulk contributed by rubber gloves, said Malaysian Rubber

The Arab Health 2010 exhibition ended here Thursday with Malaysian companies racking up US$4.19 million in sales and another US$30.35 million in potential business deals.

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) brought in 15 healthcare-related companies from Malaysia for the four-day show while 10 others took part outside the Matrade umbrella.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier) has maintained its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast of 3.7% for Malaysia this year in view of the improving macroenomic indicators.

It also sees a 5% GDP growth for 2011 after estimating that the domestic economy contracted 3.3% in 2009.

“The technical recession is likely to end in the fourth quarter 2009,” the research institute said in its report on the Malaysian economic outlook released yesterday.

• Cambodia

Peter Costello’s first major private sector venture is a $US600m investment fund aiming to bring agricultural technology to Cambodia, one of the world’s most corrupt countries.

Last year, Costello retired from federal politics and became managing director and partner at corporate advisory outfit BKK Partners, founded and run by ex-

Goldman Sachs and NAB execs and chaired by Alistair Walton, a long-time Costello mate from his days in student politics.

At Social Front

• Indonesia

The Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) lambasted the government for failing to protect Indonesian workers overseas, saying more than 1,000 of them had died while doing their jobs last year.

SBMI chairman M. Miftah Farid said more than 6 million Indonesians were now making a living abroad due to the government's failure to provide enough jobs. "Ironically, the government has also failed to protect workers who are forced to find jobs overseas," he said as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday.

Indonesian authorities are considering a petition to tear down a statue of US President Barack Obama as a boy, only a month after the bronze was unveiled in Jakarta.

The statue of “Little Barry,” as Obama was known when he lived in the capital in the late 1960s, stands in central Jakarta’s Menteng Park.

“The statue is of Obama as a child, not as the US president. His relatives and friends who erected it said it’s meant to motivate children to study hard and dream big,” Bintarto said.

Members of the “Take Down the Barack Obama Statue in Menteng Park” group on Facebook say Obama has done nothing for Indonesia.

• Malaysia

Malaysian prosecutors charged three Muslim men Friday in the firebombing of a church-the first suspects in a string of assaults on places of worship amid a dispute over whether no Muslims can refer to God as "Allah."

Arson attacks, vandalism and other incidents at 11 churches, a Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer halls in recent weeks have been a blow to

decades of multiracial harmony in this Muslim-majority country.

• Thailand

PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey yesterday slammed Human Rights Watch's (HRW) annual report as a distortion, and questioned its sources of

information.Mr Sathit claimed that the report, released last week, contained inaccuracies, especially concerning the government's handling of street protests in Pattaya

and Bangkok in April last year.

He said allegations that the government's handling of the situation was responsible for fatalities was absolutely untrue."It contradicts the facts. The US government even complimented the Thai government for maintaining law and order and avoiding loss of life. Foreign press correspondents were also there [covering the protests] and their reports did not match HRW's," he said.Mr Sathit called into question HRW's sources of information, and suggested that the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) may

• Philippine

The Philippine military on Monday commissioned six upgraded Armed Personnel Carriers which it said will boost its capability in fighting threat groups,

particularly the leftist New People's Army.

"The launching marks a step towards the military's efforts to upgrade its fleet of APCs. The new armored vehicles will play a key role in supporting the

nation's Security Operations," said the military public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner.

The Philippine government and Muslim separatists held two days of talks in Malaysia as they work towards a peace deal to end decades of

conflict, officials said Thursday.Malaysian facilitator Othman Razak said negotiators from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest of the country's Muslim rebel groups, met in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday and Thursday.

After a 16-month impasse, the two sides last month resumed negotiations towards ending a separatist rebellion in the southern island of Mindanao that has

left more than 150,000 people dead.In the latest talks they reviewed each other's draft positions, Othman said, adding they would meet again on February 18-19 when they will "identify next steps towards achieving a comprehensive, compact and a negotiated solution".He also said that international monitors would return to Mindanao "in the coming weeks."The Philippines' chief negotiator, Rafael Seguis, said there had been no breakthrough in this week's talks.

The Philippines will borrow more this year to finance a higher budget deficit, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Data from the department showed that the government is set to borrow P4.83 trillion, or 58 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), up from an earlier goal of P4.723 trillion, or 56.7 percent of GDP.An indicator of economic performance, GDP is the amount of final goods and services produced in the country.

• Cambodia

Sam Rainsy, the leader of Cambodia’s largest opposition party, has been sentenced to two years in jail after a closed court found him guilty of pulling up

posts used to demarcate the border between Cambodia and Vietnam.

A court found Sam Rainsy guilty of pulling up posts used to demarcate the border between Cambodia and VietnamMr Rainsy, currently in Paris, said the conviction was politically motivated. He had led a protest last October to highlight what he said was land

encroachment by Vietnam.“I don’t care about this sentence,” Mr Rainsy said. “I will continue to fight for justice for Cambodians who are victimised by land grabbing, including border encroachment.”

At environmental front

Indonesia, the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter, has announced plans for a $1bn fund to invest in emission reduction projects across the country.

Last year, Indonesia made a high profile commitment to cut its greenhouse gases by 26 per cent against business as usual levels by 2020, and the government is now putting in place a number of policies to help meet the target.

Central to the initiative will be the new Indonesia Green Investment Fund, which will initially backed by $100m from the Government Investment Unit, a sovereign wealth fund which will also manage the new fund.

City administration officials said Friday they had made sufficient preparations to face possible flooding in the city.

"We have prepared medicine, ambulances and medical staff which will be needed in the event of a flood," said head of the Jakarta Health Agency Dien Emawati.

Floods occur every rainy season in Jakarta, usually hitting the city in January and February.