Tashny Sukumaran
AsiaOne
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Past articles by Tashny:
Malaysia's coronavirus vaccination efforts dogged by accusations of queue-jumping, Malaysia News
A week after the launch of its national immunisation plan, Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts have come under scrutiny following allegations that political aides and workers were jumping the queue. The immunisation plan is expected to be completed before the end of 2021, after which Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said the government intends to hold elections. “Whether or not this... → Read More
In Malaysia, power struggles, pandemic woes mar Muhyiddin's first year in office, Malaysia News
Malaysia ’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday reiterated his promise to hold elections after the coronavirus pandemic was under control, saying the government’s main focus now was “to steer this country clear of the double whammy of health and economic crises”. The embattled leader, speaking in a televised address to mark his first year in power, focused on summing... → Read More
Echoing Hong Kong protests, Malaysia's '5 demands' to king over coronavirus go viral, Malaysia News
A hashtag urging Malaysia ’s king to intervene in Covid-19 measures or change the government has gone viral in the country, garnering widespread support, especially from younger generations. The #KitaMintaLima (We ask for five) hashtag, reminiscent of Hong Kong protesters’ “Five demands, not one less” slogan, calls on Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to take five steps amid growing discontent... → Read More
Malaysian-Chinese see red over Lunar New Year reunion dinner policy flip-flop, Malaysia News
The Malaysian government’s hasty policy U-turn regarding an important Lunar New Year family dinner event has done little to mollify its ethnic Chinese citizens, who have criticised not just the measures but also the government’s policy inconsistency on the matter. Its previous policy on the matter – implemented to combat the spread of the coronavirus – was that the gatherings... → Read More
Could Malaysia's fake halal meat scandal impact its export reputation?, Malaysia News
For Syahiirah Junaidi, a Kuala Lumpur resident, the recent halal meat scandal in Malaysia is beyond her control. The country was in December rocked by reports that a cartel had for decades been allegedly bribing officials to import and sell Muslims non-certified meat, including horse and kangaroo — when the meat was neither ritually slaughtered according to Islamic custom nor... → Read More
Malaysia draws battles lines with EU over palm oil, focusing on public relations blitz, Malaysia News
Even as Malaysia struggles to contain a pandemic that has wrought significant damage on its economy, it now faces a potentially greater fiscal challenge: Defending its main cash crop – the oil palm – against European Union efforts to stifle the consumption of palm oil-based biofuels. The government recently filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation, charging that the... → Read More
'Jho Low 2': Malaysia says Tedy Teow has fled to Thailand after $110m Macau scam, Malaysia News
An enigmatic Malaysian businessman with links to the rich and famous disappears, apparently fleeing the country and leaving in his wake hundreds of millions of missing ringgit, a string of angry investors and a host of questions about how this could have been allowed to happen. You could be forgiven for thinking this is Low Taek Jho, or “Jho Low”,... → Read More
Muhyiddin under renewed pressure in Malaysia as key ally Umno considers political split, Malaysia News
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s political troubles aren’t over yet – just weeks after he managed to survive a knife-edge parliamentary session, his key ally and the country’s largest political party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), is mulling a split from his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) ahead of potential snap elections. The move has seen him attempt to... → Read More
Da'i Syed's sex scandal: A test from God for Malaysia's reality TV Islamic preachers?, Malaysia News
He is not the first reality television star to fall from grace and is unlikely to be the last, but when the young celebrity Islamic “preacher” Syed Shah Iqmal was charged with rape, unnatural sex and outraging the modesty of one of his female followers, it seemed like half of Malaysia had an opinion. Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohammad Shaiful,... → Read More
Malaysian PM averts danger with slim budget vote win, Malaysia News
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin ’s government has won a knife-edge final vote on the 2021 budget, handing the embattled leader a much-needed breathing space after the parliamentary deliberations emerged as a bellwether of his political future. With Tuesday’s (Dec 15) victory, the 73-year-old leader has now definitively disproved opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim ’s repeated claims that a… → Read More
Malaysian women and children bear brunt of coronavirus lockdown, Malaysia News
Women and children have been hardest-hit by coronavirus restrictions in Malaysia, experts say, with domestic violence and calls to abortion helplines both increasing during lockdown. Women’s groups reported a threefold increase in distress calls over the past year, while a reproductive rights group said calls from women seeking access to safe abortions increased nearly 50 per cent over 2020… → Read More
Malaysian corruption trial halted as PM Muhyiddin faces pressure over draft budget, Malaysia News
A corruption trial involving Malaysian politician Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was on Monday (Dec 7) halted after the public prosecutor called for a discharge not amounting to acquittal, citing “new developments” in the case. “There have been new developments that need to be investigated properly and the prosecution does not want to waste this honourable court’s time, because we are... → Read More
The nearly man: will Anwar Ibrahim ever lead Malaysia?, Malaysia News
There is little doubt that 2020 will go down as an annus horribilis for Malaysia. It’s been harder hit by the Covid-19 pandemic than neighbours such as Thailand and Singapore, with part of the damage self-inflicted: most of the country’s more than 70,000 cases so far occurred during a third wave of infections that began in October, after earlier outbreaks... → Read More
Malaysia's Muhyiddin Yassin wins draft budget vote, overcoming leadership test, Malaysia News
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, under fire on multiple fronts and grappling with weak parliamentary support, on Thursday won a crucial victory as lawmakers greenlit a draft 2021 budget. The prime minister came to power in March by inducing a self-coup of the Pakatan Harapan government led by the elder statesman Mahathir, to which Muhyiddin had belonged. Amid the turmoil,... → Read More
Muhyiddin pleas for unity on Malaysia budget in face of potential revolt, Malaysia News
Malaysia's crucial 2021 budget bill will be officially introduced in parliament on Friday with last-minute tweaks still being made and numerous hurdles that must be overcome to push it through, despite the government’s collaborative approach. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who came to power in March through a political coup that saw the previous Pakatan Harapan ruling administration… → Read More
Coronavirus strikes Malaysian parliament, but glimmer of hope for budget, Malaysia News
Malaysia's parliament opened on Monday with a glimmer of hope that a federal budget with bipartisan support could be agreed, albeit with stringent conditions, despite increasing doubts about Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s grip on power. However, the sitting was cut short when it emerged several officers had tested positive for Covid-19, raising questions over whether the rest of the year’s… → Read More
Malaysian survivors of Telegram porn scandal lead calls for change, Malaysia News
Child pornography, revenge nudes and upskirt images – these are just some of the things Shalini saw when she infiltrated one of the Malaysian Telegram groups created to share and trade illegal pornographic content on the instant-messaging service. “There was so much child porn being traded openly. There was a father who secretly filmed his own daughter and sent it... → Read More
Najib warns Umno to be wary of pact with Malaysia's Muhyiddin, Malaysia News
Malaysia ’s political uncertainty continued on Tuesday as scandal-tainted former leader Najib Razak warned his party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), that it risks defeat at the next elections if it continues to cooperate with current prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin . Najib, who is appealing a 12-year jail term a court handed him in July for corruption and abuse... → Read More
Malaysia water disruptions rankle amid coronavirus spike, Malaysia News
A series of major disruptions to the water supply in Malaysia ’s richest state of Selangor has shone a spotlight on problems with the country’s water management system that have persisted for years. The most recent spate of dry taps in Selangor coincided with a fresh partial lockdown aimed at curbing a rash of Covid-19 cases – raising hackles as... → Read More
Malaysia's Anwar cries foul as embattled PM Muhyiddin said to eye bid for emergency powers, Malaysia News
Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Friday criticised a purported plan by the government to suspend parliament and rule by decree in the midst of surging coronavirus cases, saying the move would herald “dictatorship and authoritarianism”, as reports swirled that embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was manoeuvring to gain emergency powers. Other critics too slammed the ruling… → Read More