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How Will Malaysia’s Najib Razak Fare in 2018?

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How Will Malaysia’s Najib Razak Fare in 2018?

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been doing the Christmas/New Year rounds, touting his government’s successes while predictably ignoring his crackdown on dissent, the jailing of the country’s more popular opposition leader, religious bigotry fed by Islamic hardliners, and the problematic aspects of his own record.

It’s a festive message typical of Najib’s New Year addresses. But it is also a recipe which bodes badly for a leader who, though widely expected to capitalize on a heavily gerrymandered electoral system and probably win a national poll due within the first half of 2018, is nonetheless badly damaged by scandal and continues to undermine his country’s future prospects.

Rarely has a political leader of any political stripe clung to power in the face of such a breathtaking array of charges and investigations into colossal corruption and even murder. Despite this, Najib has ignored calls for his resignation, which in a real democracy would have been a mere formality.

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That’s why his gestures of goodwill — to many an empty vessel of self-promotion – over the festive season are struggling to find any traction, particularly the lectures from his New Year’s address.

Lines like “I believe that the fathers of our independence would be proud to see what their countrymen and women have achieved” were as glib as they were predictable.

“Our economy beat all expectations” was hardly convincing, especially when he added, “because of the efficient, business-friendly environment this Government has been creating.”

This was mixed with some spin-doctoring like, “Malaysia’s leadership was also recognized at the United Nations”; gross annual assumptions like, “for it was a year in which we redoubled our efforts to ensure good governance in all sectors”; and a warning that his government “is cracking down on the crony capitalism culture.” Few Malaysians would find these remarks credible given Najib’s own record.

Then, he took aim at his critics while hinting at a leadership challenge, commenting that “neither is it acceptable for a former leader to attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government in the hope that his ambitions for his son may be realized.”

It was a veiled reference to Malaysia’s longest serving leader Mahathir Mohamad, who has led calls from within Najib’s opponents for the premier to step down. In the process, the former prime minister has won over many of his own political detractors. Meanwhile Mahathir’s son, Mukhriz, has said he harbors no designs on the leadership.

But Najib did not end it there.

“In a democracy all that should matter is the wishes of the people as expressed at the ballot box, not the selfish dynastic desires of one man,” he said.

That was an odd line given Najib’s own record, but even more galling for those familiar with Malaysian history, given that Najib’s father also served as prime minister.

Stranger still was Najib’s reference to the “wishes of the Malaysian people.” If he truly values popular sentiment, then Najib might consider releasing Anwar Ibrahim from prison and installing him as prime minister, given he won almost 51 percent of the popular vote at elections almost five years ago but lost through gerrymandering.

The trials and tribulations of Najib’s scandalized time at the helm of Malaysian politics have been scrutinized by journalists, the police, and authorities across the world.

As long as Najib and his unpopular first lady Rosmah Mansor remain ensconced, the murder of Mongolian model and translator Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa as well as their personal records of dealings will remain in the international debate, alongside a French court case into Malaysia’s acquisition of two submarines amid charges of graft.

Beyond this, Najib’s appeasement of Islamic hardliners has badly tarnished Malaysia’s reputation as a secular state and compromised a cornerstone of any democracy: the separation of powers between church and state, and arguably the courts as well.

A blanket ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah” made about as much sense as a police investigation into a teenage boy who “liked” Israel on a Facebook page. It should be noted that such anti-Israel sentiment didn’t stop Najib from reportedly employing an Israeli public relations firm to spruce up his image.

Najib’s Middle East policy, according to political commentator Din Merican, is muddled and smacks of “sheer hypocrisy.” He opposes U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but maintains close ties with the Israeli government while boasting of his friendship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who is threatening to cut financial aid to the Palestinians.

Najib’s handling of two downed airliners fell short of the mark, as was the case with his handling of the crisis with North Korea, after assassins chose to kill Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother Kim Jong-nam inside a Malaysian airport.

But on the economic front, the latest scandal has been breathtaking.

Authorities in Singapore and in the United States, Switzerland, and Hong Kong are still investigating the disappearance of more than $1 billion from the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund amid allegations it was stolen by people close to Najib.

They believe that money went into his personal bank account, although Najib and officials from 1MDB have denied any wrong doing.

Despite the denials, a string of arrests has followed and sentences meted out by the courts over the past year, which, despite Najib’s feigning of indifference, must have unnerved him.

An election must be called by mid-year. But though Anwar may be released by then, the upholding of his 2014 conviction for sodomy, sharply criticized by civil society groups as being politically motivated, means he won’t be allowed to contest the poll.

The important issue between now and then is whether or not Najib’s own party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), will attempt to limit the political fallout by ousting him before the poll (rather than sometime after) or take their chances on a scandalized leader whose tenure has proven remarkable for the sheer scale of the allegations brought against him.

Najib’s Christmas cheer and message of hope and stability for the New Year was calculated and timed for a holiday noted for goodwill and cultural celebrations. Whether he is still around to trot out similar disingenuous lines 12 months from now remains to be seen.

Luke Hunt can be followed on Twitter @lukeanthonyhunt


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North Korea Fires Several Cruise Missiles Towards Yellow Sea: Seoul Military

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North Korea Fires Several Cruise Missiles Towards Yellow Sea: Seoul Military
South Korea and U.S. soldiers stand guard during a ceremony marking the 63rd anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice agreement at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, July. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea on Wednesday (Jan 24), Seoul’s military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state.

Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

“Our military detected several cruise missiles launched by North Korea towards the Yellow Sea at around 7am today,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

“The detailed specifications are being closely analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities,” it added.

Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.

The latest launch comes as South Korea is conducting a 10-day special forces infiltration drill off its east coast, “in light of serious security situations” with the North, that runs until Thursday, according to the South’s navy.

“We will achieve our mission to infiltrate deep into the enemy’s territory and neutralise them completely under any circumstances,” the drill’s commander said in a statement.

“PRINCIPAL” ENEMY

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the South his country’s “principal enemy”, jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach and threatened war over “even 0.001 mm” of territorial infringement.

Hours after the missiles were fired by Pyongyang Wednesday, Seoul’s defence minister said North Korea would face the end of its regime if it ever waged war.

“If the Kim Jong Un regime makes the worst choice to start a war, you must become the invisible force that protects South Korea and … eliminate the enemy’s leadership in the shortest possible time and end their regime,” Shin Won-sik said.

Shin made the remarks during his visit to an air force base operating the South’s advanced stealth fighter jets.

Recent months have seen a sharp deterioration in ties between the two Koreas, with both sides jettisoning key tension-reducing agreements, ramping up frontier security, and conducting live-fire drills along the border.

The North Korean leader Kim also said Pyongyang would not recognise the two countries’ de facto maritime border, the Northern Limit Line, and called for constitutional changes allowing the North to “occupy” Seoul in war, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

“OVERWHELMING RESPONSE”

In Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol told his cabinet that should the nuclear-armed North carry out a provocation, South Korea would hit back with a response “multiple times stronger”, pointing to his military’s “overwhelming response capabilities”.

At Pyongyang’s year-end policy meetings, Kim threatened a nuclear attack on the South and called for a build-up of his country’s military arsenal ahead of armed conflict he warned could “break out any time”.

Earlier this month, the North launched a solid-fuel hypersonic missile, just days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the country’s tense maritime border with South Korea, which prompted counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some border islands belonging to the South.

Kim also successfully put a spy satellite into orbit late last year, after receiving what Seoul said was Russian help, in exchange for arms transfers for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

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AFP

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North Korea Fires Intermediate-range Ballistic Missile: Seoul Military

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North Korea Fires Intermediate-range Ballistic Missile: Seoul Military
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un labelled South Korea his country's "principal enemy" while on a tour of a major munitions factory earlier this week. (Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP)

North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday (Jan 14), Seoul’s military said, days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the tense maritime border with the South.

“Our military detected one suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea” at about 2.55pm (5.55am GMT), Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The statement gave no further details, adding that authorities in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo were analysing the specifications.

“Our military maintains full readiness by closely sharing information related to the launched ‘North Korean missile’ with the US and Japan,” the JCS said.

Japan’s coast guard also confirmed a suspected missile launch by North Korea, citing information from the country’s defence ministry, and warning vessels to take care.

North Korea’s last missile test was of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it fired into the East Sea on Dec 18.

The apparent test comes days after North Korea conducted a series of rare live-fire drills near the maritime border with the South, prompting counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some South Korean border islands.

Leader Kim Jong Un also earlier this week branded Seoul his “principal enemy” and warned he would not hesitate to annihilate the South, as he toured major weapons factories.

“The historic time has come at last when we should define as a state most hostile toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea the entity called the Republic of Korea,” Kim was reported as saying on Wednesday by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), referring to the two countries by their official names.

Analysts said at the time that the shift was significant, signifying a shift in Pyongyang’s approach to Seoul into “ultra-hawkish mode”.

TIES WOEFUL

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades, after Kim enshrined the country’s permanent status as a nuclear power into the constitution and test-fired several advanced ICBMs.

Last year, Pyongyang also successfully put a reconnaissance satellite into orbit, after receiving what South Korea claimed was Russian assistance, in exchange for arms shipments for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Traditional allies, Russia and North Korea have recently boosted ties anew, with Kim making a rare overseas trip to see President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s far east in September.

Top Russian officials, including Moscow’s defence and foreign ministers, also visited North Korea last year, with the flurry of trips both ways fanning concern among Kyiv’s allies over the possibility of a potential arms deal.

KCNA said on Sunday that Pyongyang’s foreign minister would visit Russia this week.

In 2023, Kim test-fired a string of advanced ICBMs including a purported solid-fuel version.

At Pyongyang’s year-end policy meetings, Kim threatened a nuclear attack on the South and called for a build-up of his country’s military arsenal ahead of armed conflict that he warned could “break out any time”.

Pyongyang declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power in 2022 and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons programme, which the regime views as essential for its survival.

The United Nations Security Council has adopted many resolutions calling on North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes since Pyongyang first conducted a nuclear test in 2006.

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AFP

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Indonesia’s Marapi Volcano Erupts Again, a Month After Deadly Incident

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Indonesia’s Marapi Volcano Erupts Again, a Month After Deadly Incident
Mount Marapi volcano spews volcanic ash during an eruption as seen from Nagari Bukik Batabuah in Agam, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, January 14, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Iggoy el Fitra/ via REUTERS

Indonesia’s Marapi volcano erupted on Sunday (Jan 14), with ash rising 1,300m from the peak six weeks after a fatal eruption, according to the country’s geological agency.

The volcano in West Sumatra province erupted at least twice by 3.37am GMT on Sunday, the agency said, urging the evacuation of people within 4.5km of the centre of the eruption, with the possibility of lava flows in rivers and valleys.

“In case there’s a rain of ash, we urge residents to also use masks in order to prevent respiratory illness,” the agency said.

Mount Marapi volcano spews volcanic ash during an eruption as seen from Nagari Bukik Batabuah in Agam, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, January 14, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Iggoy el Fitra/ via REUTERS

In December more than 20 people were killed after Mount Marapi, one of Sumatra’s most active volcanoes, erupted and spewed grey clouds of ash as high as 3km.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates.

Volcanic ash from Sunday’s eruption covered nearby houses, vehicles and evacuation tents set up by the local disaster agency, Reuters footage showed.

A number of residents went to health facilities for respiratory check-ups, and the authorities distributed masks.

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REUTERS

 

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Indonesia Temporarily Grounds Boeing 737-9 Max Jetliners After Alaska Airlines Incident

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Indonesia Temporarily Grounds Boeing 737-9 Max Jetliners After Alaska Airlines Incident
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 Max flies above Paine Field near Boeing's manufacturing facility in Everett, Wash., Monday, March 23, 2020, north of Seattle. A window panel blew out on a similar Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 Max seven minutes after takeoff from Portland, Ore., on Friday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Indonesia has temporarily grounded three Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners, following an incident last week in which an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.

The three aircraft, grounded since Saturday, belong to the Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air. The decision was made by the country’s Transportation Ministry in coordination with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the safety and security of flight operations.

An emergency landing on Friday by the Alaska Airlines jetliner prompted U.S. federal authorities to ground some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The FAA grounded all Max 9s operated by Alaska and United and some flown by foreign airlines for inspection. The inspections are focused on plugs used to seal an area set aside for extra emergency doors that are not required on United and Alaska Max 9s.

The grounded Lion Air planes use a mid-cabin emergency exit door that is different than the one on the Alaska Airlines’ plane involved in the incident, said Adita Irawati, a Transportation Ministry spokesperson.

Danang Mandala Prihantoro, a spokesperson for Lion Air, said the airline “has taken preventive steps” by grounding the planes and is “carrying out further inspections on the mid-cabin emergency exit door.”

In 2019, Indonesia temporarily grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 jets to inspect their airworthiness after a Lion Air plane of that model crashed in October 2018, killing all 189 people on board.

 

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North Korea’s Kim turns 40. But There Are no Public Celebrations of His Birthday

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North Korea’s Kim turns 40. But There Are no Public Celebrations of His Birthday
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un turned 40 on Monday with no announced public celebrations at home, after he entered the new year with artillery barrages into the sea and vows to expand his nuclear arsenal.

Since taking power in late 2011, Kim, the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, is believed to have established an absolute leadership similar to his predecessors. But his birthday has yet to be officially celebrated, unlike his late father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung. Their birthdays are two of the North’s biggest holidays and are marked with great fanfare, loyalty campaigns and sometimes massive military parades.

On Monday, North Korea’s state news agency published a lengthy article extolling Kim’s guidance of major construction projects in the past decade. It also reported Kim visited a chicken farm with his daughter the previous day. But it made no mention of his birthday.

Some observers speculate Kim may think he’s still relatively too young or needs bigger achievements to hold such lavish birthday festivities. Others say the lack of a public birthday bash may be related to his concerns about attention to his late Japan-born mother.

Kim’s headlong pursuit of a bigger nuclear arsenal has invited punishing U.S.-led sanctions, which together with border closures during the pandemic were believed to have badly hurt the North’s fragile economy. Kim has subsequently admitted policy failures as his vow that North Korea would “never have to tighten their belts again” remained unfulfilled.

“For Kim, it’s still probably politically burdensome to idolize himself as he’s still young and hasn’t accumulated much achievements,” said Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.

Kim Yeol Soo, an expert at South Korea’s Korea Institute for Military Affairs, said it will likely take some time for his birthday to become an official holiday because elderly members of the North’s ruling elite would still think he’s too young.

Birthdays are central to the mythology of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, who had ruled North Korea with a god-like status since the country’s founding in 1948.

Their birthdays — April 15 for Kim Il Sung, and Feb. 16 for Kim Jong Il — are typically celebrated with tributes to their giant statues, dance parties, fireworks and art performances. On some milestone birthdays, North Korea’s military holds huge parades with goose-stepping soldiers and powerful weapons capable of targeting the U.S. and South Korea.

Kim Il Sung’s birthday was designated as an official holiday in 1968 when he turned 56, according to a website run by South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea. Kim Jong Il’s birthday reportedly became an official holiday in 1982, when he turned 40.

North Korea has never formally commented on Kim Jong Un’s birthday. The only time Kim has been honored in public on his birthday was in 2014, when former NBA star Dennis Rodman sang “Happy birthday” before an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang. The Unification Ministry-run website states that Kim Jong Un was born on Jan. 8.

There are also views that Kim may be worried about bringing unwanted attentions to his mother, Ko Yong Hui, a Japan-born dancer who was known as his father’s third or fourth wife. Ko’s links to Japan, which had colonized the Korean Peninsula in the past, and the fact that she wasn’t Kim Jong Il’s first wife, are considered as disadvantageous for Kim’s dynastic rule.

“The fact his mother came from Japan is his biggest weak point that undermines his legitimacy of the Paektu bloodline,” Park Won Gon, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, said, referring to the Kim family’s lineage named after the country’s most sacred mountain.

“When Kim Jong Un’s birthday becomes an official holiday, he won’t still publicize details about his birth,” he said.

Despite no known public birthday events, experts believe Kim Jong Un faces little political challenge and is expected to intensify his run of weapons tests ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

In a key ruling party meeting in late December, Kim vowed to enlarge his nuclear arsenal and launch additional spy satellites to cope with what he called unprecedented confrontation led by the U.S. In the past few days, he had his troops fire artillery shells near the disputed sea boundary with South Korea, raising tensions with his rival.

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AP

 

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At Least 4 Dead in Suspected Train Arson in Bangladesh Before Election

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At Least 4 Dead in Suspected Train Arson in Bangladesh Before Election
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire on passenger train, before the general election in Dhaka, Bangladesh [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

At least four people, including a child, died in a suspected arson attack on a passenger train, police said on Saturday (Jan 6), the eve of a general election that the main opposition party is boycotting.

In addition to the deaths, eight were injured when the fire spread to four compartments of the Dhaka-bound Benapole Express around 9pm on Friday.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), boycotting for the second time in three elections, calls the polls a ploy by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League to legitimise a sham vote that will deliver her party a fourth straight term.

Hasina, refusing BNP demands to resign and cede power to a neutral authority to run the election, accuses the opposition party of instigating anti-government protests that have rocked Dhaka since late October and killed at least 10 people in the South Asian country.

Last month protesters set a train ablaze, killing four people during a countrywide strike called by the opposition.

Senior BNP official Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said Friday’s incident on the Benapole Express was “undoubtedly an act of sabotage and cruelty against humanity”, blaming the ruling party for it.

Awami League party leaders were not immediately available for comment.

The train fire in Dhaka’s Wari area was brought under control by seven firefighting units after about an hour, fire service official Shahjahan Sikder said.

“Investigation is underway, but it seems the train was deliberately set on fire,” said railway police official Ferdous Ahmed.

An official at the Wari police station said police suspected “sabotage” and would be able to confirm the cause of the fire only after the investigation.

The BNP has asked citizens to shun the poll and called a two-day strike in the country from Saturday.

About 800,000 police, paramilitary and police auxiliaries are to guard polling booths on Sunday. Officials of the army, navy and air force have also been deployed across the country to maintain peace.

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REUTERS

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