Singapore has identified seven companies it says were involved in wildfires in Indonesia that are choking the city state with haze, and plans to issue notices requiring them to take preventive measures, the Business Times reported. The companies will receive notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act requiring them to stop or refrain from burning and submit plans to prevent a recurrence, the newspaper reported, citing Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu at a Friday ..

A Malaysian ruler known for being reserved has publicly berated his chief minister over efforts to unseat him, telling the politician to go away and withdraw his claim that the monarch no longer holds the throne. Negeri Sembilan, south of Kuala Lumpur, has been caught in a dispute since April over who is its rightful ruler, bringing down one state government aligned with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahims ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and leaving its newly appointed chief minister without...

Indonesia has spent months trying to persuade investors that its economy is on the right course. A weakening rupiah, mounting budgetary pressures and a series of contentious policy decisions have made that task harder. Doubts about the management of Southeast Asias largest economy have now coalesced around its central bank, whose independence has come under intense scrutiny recently as President Prabowo Subianto seeks to steer economic policy. The appointment of Destry Damayanti initially as...

Authorities in Thailand have uncovered an audacious scheme involving hundreds of metres of internet cable sent over the Thai border to keep a suspected Myanmar scam compound online, after finding two ramshackle village homes using enough daily bandwidth to power an entire village. Officers raided the homes in Nong Lu, a Thai border village in Kanchanaburi province, which is the gateway to the Three Pagodas Pass in Myanmar now a notorious hub for cyber scammers. Many scam centre leaders have...

The governor of an Indonesian province bearing the brunt of weeks of raging forest fires has sought to douse anger over his trip to Singapore, as Jakarta welcomed help from its neighbours choked by transboundary haze to contain the crisis. East Kalimantan Governor Rudy Masud, who was spotted having breakfast with his wife at the famous integrated resort Marina Bay Sands in a photo posted online on Sunday, said he travelled to the city state for a medical check-up. Rudys clarification came...

Malaysia has ruled out taking stronger measures against Indonesia over the worsening regional haze, even as widespread school closures and mounting public frustration fuel calls to punish those responsible for forest fires in the neighbouring country. We need to safeguard the close relationship between the two countries. So, we are not going as far as sending a diplomatic note or taking legal action, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told local media on Thursday. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ..

Indonesian officials, looking to alleviate poverty in their country and eyeing the rise of rural economies in China, are turning to Beijing for help that may include stoking the exports of a potentially lucrative durian crop. Indonesian Transmigration Minister Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara began a seven- day visit to China on Monday, with Indonesias state-owned Antara news agency saying consultations with Beijings Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, companies and academic...

As the Philippines braces for months of drought and shortages in key resources due to the current El Nino season, questions are mounting over whether it could have prepared better to deal with a crisis that has been predicted well in advance. The governments haphazard response to El Nino reflects its persistent track record of failing to do adequate disaster and infrastructure planning, according to climate and risk specialists. El Nino is a weather phenomenon that causes changes in winds and...

Singapore is looking into which companies may be responsible for the forest and peatland fires in Indonesia that have caused the worsening haze, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday. Where warranted, we will take action under Singapores Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and explore joint action with other countries, he said in a social media post. The haze situation was worsened by the extended dry period, Wong added. Singapore had offered its assistance to Indonesia and would...

Canada and Singapore are among the countries that remain committed to strengthening trade ties with China, despite growing global fragmentation and a push by governments towards greater self-sufficiency, officials from both countries said on Wednesday at an economic forum in New Delhi. Canadas minister of international trade Maninder Sidhu said China was the countrys second-largest trading partner and highlighted opportunities for cooperation in areas where the two economies had complementary...

A private jet hired from Malaysia seemingly destined for the Philippines but stopped on the tarmac by Laos drug police who found suitcases stuffed with 512kg of crystal methamphetamine, has returned the spotlight to the unrelenting flow of narcotics from the Mekongs drug laboratories. Cyberscams have dominated headlines and authorities attention across Southeast Asia for over a year as the leading criminal enterprise worth tens of billions of dollars annually. But methamphetamine in its...

Malaysias powerful Conference of Rulers and the government need to intervene and find a solution to the months-long royal stand-off in Negeri Sembilan and constitutional limbo over the status of the states ruler, according to political analysts. Negeri Sembilans royal house has been locked in a bitter deadlock since April over whether incumbent Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir or his proposed replacement, Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Jaafar, is the rightful ruler. The feud has taken down a state...

Every time Kristaen Albert returns home, he reaches for one of the dozen cans of oxygen on a table by the entrance of his house in Central Kalimantan. The air in his neighbourhood has turned dusty amber, with air quality far exceeding hazardous levels. My breathing is noticeably heavier whenever I step outside. Its hard to concentrate and stay focused, and it is really affecting my work, Albert, a 31-year-old software engineer, told This Week in Asia. Living in this haze is awful. The...

A South Korean manufacturing company owner accused of severely injuring a migrant worker by firing high-pressure air from an industrial air gun into his body has been sentenced to three years in prison. Judge Koo Na-young of the Suwon district court on Thursday sentenced the owner of a metal-cleaning company, a man in his 60s identified only as A, to three years in prison on charges of aggravated bodily injury and violations of the Labour Standards Act. The court dismissed the case against As...

Lorelai Jacinto had worked as a domestic helper in Riyadh for two and a half years before she flew home to the Philippines on September 19, increasingly worried that the conflict in the Middle East was making it unsafe to stay. When the conflict with Iran happened, I started feeling like it wasnt safe there any more because I was right there in Riyadh myself, so the bombing, the missiles, were closer to us, Jacinto told This Week in Asia. I got worried, I got scared that maybe I wouldnt be...

Malaysian property tycoon Lee Yeow Seng is making waves as one of the most aggressive buyers of commercial real estate in Singapore, and he is not done yet. His IOI Properties Group is in exclusive talks and due diligence to purchase two property assets Chijmes, a retail venue inside a former Catholic convent in its civic district, and the nearby Capitol Kempinski hotel, CEO Lee said in an interview. He declined to disclose how much a final agreement will value the two assets at, citing...

Philippine officials want a new anti-foreign interference law ahead of the 2028 presidential election, as a raid on a suspected online scam centre near the countrys military headquarters and reports of Chinese-linked money transfers to a company tied to Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpios family fuel national security concerns. On Monday, immigration and military operatives arrested 76 foreigners at a facility in Quezon City suspected of being linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators...

When Daniela Cruz arrived in Singapore last week, hazy skies obscured the picture-perfect sights she had seen on social media, offering a different view of the city state from the one she had expected. The 27-year-old bank associate had travelled from Australia for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, but the smoky weather dampened her experience. The buildings we saw on social media were covered in haze, and it made conditions extremely hot and humid, she said. The haze blanketing...

A Malaysian court on Wednesday rejected Najib Razaks bid to suspend his 15-year jail sentence in the 1MDB scandal pending the jailed former prime ministers appeals, ruling that his health and other grounds did not justify a stay. The decision means his sentence is set to begin after his current prison term ends in August 2028. Najib, 73, received a conditional royal pardon last month allowing him to serve that separate sentence in the SRC International case at home, but he must first pay a 50...

A long-awaited code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea risks becoming a toothless agreement, analysts have warned, as Beijing and Southeast Asian nations scramble to hammer out a deal by the end of 2026. More than three decades since it was mooted, the proposed pact has remained gridlocked over how to balance competing territorial claims among China and four rival claimant states Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines. Maritime experts speaking at a conference in Kuala Lumpur ..

Asian countries must remind themselves about what happened during the regions financial crisis in the late 1990s and guard against a recurrence of such shocks, the head of the Philippine central bank said on Wednesday. Before the Asian financial crisis started in 1997, regional economies saw huge capital inflows that prompted the World Bank to describe it as the East Asian miracle, Eli Remolona, governor of the central bank, said in an International Monetary Fund panel on the outlook for the...

Stilt houses in villages north of Bangkok are no longer high enough to stay dry as Thai authorities deliberately flood riverside communities to spare the capital. Inside the home of Kamonchanok Sathaphonamonwut, raised more than three metres (10 feet) above the ground in Ayutthaya province, her family of three sleeps on makeshift platforms and cannot use the waterlogged toilet. Her village has been flooded six years in a row, pushing some to move away, while others have raised their houses...

Malaysians aged 30 and below bought some 5.4 billion ringgit (US$1.32 billion) worth of goods and services on short-term credit in the first half of this year, the countrys Finance Ministry has revealed. The ministry said it had recorded 65.9 million buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases among younger consumers in the first six months of 2026 equivalent to more than one in three, or 37.9 per cent, of total purchases nationwide. As of June 30, the outstanding BNPL financing balance among this...

Motorists have been left queuing for hours at petrol stations across Indonesias resort island of Bali in recent days amid reports of a crippling fuel shortage. Long queues have been spotted all around the island, including in the capital Denpasar, Badung and Tabana, according to the Bali Post. On Tuesday, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster stressed that there was enough fuel to go around, suggesting that panic buying might have caused the shortages at the pumps. People need to be patient because ..

The Philippine military has rejected calls to restore direct communication channels with its Chinese counterpart, despite warnings from Beijing that their absence risks miscalculation during confrontations and could further escalate tensions in the South China Sea. On Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it would not communicate with its Chinese counterpart in advance of its maritime operations, arguing that such channels were ineffective without mutual respect for international...

The US governments plan to live-stream the execution of a former Army member convicted in a deadly 2009 mass shooting is raising questions about how effectively Southeast Asian governments can restrict graphic online content. Analysts say while authorities may have powers to restrict access to the live stream, containing clips and altered copies of the killing posted to social media could prove far more difficult. The issue gained fresh urgency on Tuesday, after Australias Environment ..

US President Donald Trumps decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports and allow fresh supplies to reach global markets could give India greater leverage in its own dispute with Washington over discounted crude purchases, analysts said. Beyond the energy dispute, they said the move could also open up diplomatic opportunities for New Delhi, from pressing for more consistent treatment by Washington to building on its efforts to help negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Under the...

An Indonesian officials claim that the country exports oxygen and not just smoke to its neighbours has renewed criticism of Jakartas handling of its annual forest fires, with analysts warning that defensive nationalism risks undermining regional cooperation to tackle the recurring haze crisis. The remarks by Syahganda Nainggolan, the newly appointed head of the Government Communication Agency, reignited criticism over Indonesias handling of its ongoing forest and peatland fires, which have...

The Philippine Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, approved the prosecutions withdrawal of most of the charges against Vice-President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, in a trial that could kill her hopes to run for president in 2028. Prosecutors have been presenting evidence against Duterte since July on charges that she betrayed public trust, amassed unexplained wealth, violated the constitution and committed corruption, bribery and other high crimes. Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro told the...

An investment surge into artificial intelligence may be helping prop up a global economy battered by energy supply shocks, but the technologys potential to cull jobs requires swift mitigation if Asias youth are to secure a place in the future workforce, delegates were warned at the IMFWorld Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on Monday. Soaring energy prices, persistent inflation and mounting debt framed the opening of the week-long summit, which was last hosted in the Thai capital in...

Malaysians have reacted with sarcasm and disbelief to an Indonesian officials claim that his country provides the regions oxygen, as toxic smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan chokes neighbouring nations. Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesias government communications agency, prompted the backlash after invoking his countrys forests when questioned on Saturday about the severe smog that has forced school closures and triggered health warnings across Malaysia and...

With his reformist credentials battered by coalition compromises and a looming general election, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has used his 2027 budget to launch a fresh wave of anti-corruption measures. But as his government nears its four-year mark, analysts warn that restoring public confidence will require more than additional funding and tighter legislative oversight. The measures, announced when Anwar presented Malaysias 2027 budget on Friday, include 1.1 billion ringgit ..

Singapore again ranked as the worlds most polluted city on Monday, according to Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir, as the fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands intensified by a turbocharged El Nino weather phenomenon keep emitting toxic haze. The city state has rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment and schools were closed in parts of neighbouring Malaysia, as both countries grapple with persistently unhealthy air quality due to fires in nearby Indonesia. The fires have...

Share in Genting plunged by the most in 28 years after the leisure group controlled by Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay announced plans to raise about 1.25 billion ringgit (US$306 million) through a renounceable rights issue. The stock fell as much as 17 per cent to 1.56 ringgit, the biggest decline since 1998. The issue price would be fixed at a discount ranging between 25 and 30 per cent, Genting said in a bourse filing on Friday, adding that proceeds raised would be used to repay its...

AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes met with officials from Malaysias finance ministry two weeks ago to discuss potential government support for Southeast Asias largest low-cost airline, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The talks reflect growing government concerns about the financial health of the countrys largest domestic carrier following a spike in jet fuel prices, the people said. Discussions centred on the prospect of the government backing AirAsias fundraising...

Indonesian authorities and conservation workers have successfully moved eight orangutans to a safe location after the endangered primates homes were destroyed by wildfires in the forests of Borneo. The Southeast Asian nation is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, mainly on Sumatra and Borneo islands, and the government has warned the blazes could continue until November, aggravated by the El Nino weather pattern. Three mother-child pairs and two adolescent male orangutans were...

On a recent Friday night in a Bangkok dive bar, a group of young Myanmar exiles sang softly along to a mournful ballad played on an acoustic guitar. None among the crowd had any plans to leave, either for their homeland or home for bed. They fled war, a broken economy and forced conscription into a military that seized power in the 2021 coup. While their future in Thailand is uncertain, their ties to home are kept alive by the hard currency they send back each month to parents and siblings ..

On Facebook, public hospitals in Malaysias Bornean states have been rolling out Selamat Datang [welcome] banner posts to embrace medical staff reporting for duty. Tawau Hospital on Sabahs east coast recently published a group photograph welcoming newly arrived medical officers. Kinabatangan Hospital posted similar banners hailing arrivals across various departments, while in neighbouring Sarawak, Kapit Hospital accompanied its greeting with a portrait of a newly arrived doctor. But behind...

The dust has yet to settle in Malaysias Negeri Sembilan, where a royal row has led to the fall of a state government and left the public wondering who, exactly, is in charge. Observers warn that the months-long constitutional crisis could create ripple effects well beyond the states borders, testing the entire nations systems of monarchy and government. The dispute centres on which of two men: the incumbent, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, or his intended replacement, Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku...

Chinese investors could face significant disruption if Indonesia imposes a moratorium on new nickel smelters to curb global overproduction and protect local industries across its vast minerals sector, analysts said. Indonesia was weighing a halt to the construction of smelters that produce semi-finished nickel products amid a global supply glut that had driven down commodity prices, state news agency Antara reported, citing energy and mineral resources minister Bahlil Lahadalia. Semi-finished...