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Sep 29, 2024 | 
freemalaysiatoday.com | Shankaran Nambiar
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Sep 29, 2024 | 
freemalaysiatoday.com | Shankaran Nambiar
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Aug 3, 2024 | 
channelnewsasia.com | Shankaran Nambiar
KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, is known to be bold. Anwar’s decision to join BRICS, with Malaysia this week formally submitting its application, is in keeping with his determination to pursue a “fiercely independent” foreign policy. True, he chose to announce the intention to join the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa when China’s Li Qiang visited Malaysia in June, but it was not a surprising declaration.
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
lowyinstitute.org | Shankaran Nambiar
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, is known to be bold. Anwar’s decision to join BRICS, with Malaysia this week formally submitting its application, is in keeping with his determination to pursue a “fiercely independent” foreign policy. True, he chose to announce the intention to join the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa when China’s Li Qiang visited Malaysia in June, but it was not a surprising declaration.
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Feb 29, 2024 | 
freemalaysiatoday.com | Shankaran Nambiar
China is in a pickle and it seems that the current crisis spells the end of the China dream. Or maybe not. It is undeniable that China faces its share of problems: domestic demand is weak, there is a real estate crisis and non-performing loans abound. All of this is true. Weak demographics is another factor that we can add to the list.
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Feb 19, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Michael Rose |Gaurab Shumsher Thapa |Alexander R Arifianto |Shankaran Nambiar
In 2024, as Timor-Leste prepares to mark 25 years since its vote for freedom from Indonesia both its many achievements and potentially existential risks are both plain to see. 2023 was an El Nino year, and word around Dili was that might mean drought. The anxiety had been hard to perceive from abroad — with news feeds focused more on ASEAN and the election — but in Dili it was the weather that had people worried.
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Feb 17, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Alexander R Arifianto |Shankaran Nambiar |Aristyo Rizka Darmawan |Liam Gammon
After nearly four years of preparation and four long months of intense campaigning, the Indonesian presidential election finally took place on 14 February 2024. It resulted in a landslide victory for President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s favoured candidate, Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s defence minister and a former army general who served under the country’s late dictator, Suharto.
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Feb 13, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Wee Chian Koh |Shankaran Nambiar |Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits |Muhammad Rafi Bakri
Brunei’s post-pandemic recovery has been weaker than expected. The economy grew only marginally in 2023 — after contracting the previous two years — with the level of output lower than a decade ago. The economic stagnation raises questions about Brunei’s future prosperity. The hydrocarbon-based economic model, which has served the country well for decades, is ripe for change. Brunei’s economy has struggled to recover despite the country’s success in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Feb 13, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Shankaran Nambiar |Muhammad Rafi Bakri |Yohanes Rama Adiwicaksana |Wannaphong Durongkaveroj
In the third year under military rule, Myanmar faced greater socioeconomic hardship caused by intensified conflict across the country, severe macroeconomic instability and natural disasters in 2023. The UN estimated that 18.6 million people — one-third of the population — will likely be in need of humanitarian aid in 2024. This figure includes almost 2.6 million people who are internally displaced as of January.
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Feb 12, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Shankaran Nambiar |Liam Gammon |Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits |Muhammad Rafi Bakri
The Malaysian economy has proved its resilience yet again, achieving a growth rate of 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. Though this was a reasonable rate given the rather tepid global environment, it was only marginally larger than the 2.9 per cent that was marked for the second quarter of 2023. Malaysia’s focus extends beyond the pace of its growth. There has been disquiet on the economic front even as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration has tried to keep the coalition going.
