South East Asia

Summary
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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.