Adli Hakimi knows the first obstacle in Johors state election is not the ballot box, but the Causeway. The 26-year-old nurse is among Johors workers based in the city state often called SGD fighters online for earning stronger Singapore-dollar wages who are weighing leave, shifts and border queues before polling day on July 11. For Malaysia, the challenge is keeping immigration glitches and Causeway congestion at bay so that these voters can take part in one of the countrys most closely...

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said Malaysia would maintain its legal pursuit of Jho Low even if the fugitive financier were to receive a US presidential pardon. Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, was charged in 2018 with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the sovereign wealth fund and violating anti-bribery laws in Malaysia. He also reportedly used the stolen loot to gain access to Hollywood A-listers and buy luxury homes, a superyacht and fine art...

The mother of Siranudh Psi Scott, the 29-year-old scion whose childhood abuse accusations against his brother triggered public sympathy and revealed a rupture inside one of Thailands richest families, on Friday dropped her ungrateful child lawsuit against her younger son as she appealed for space to heal her family. Chiranuj Bhirombhakdi filed a lawsuit in February against Psi under a 1908 law that enforces filial duty, in a country where family ties border on the sacrosanct. Psi, a...

Washington has recently approved a proposed US$22.3 million sale of additional Hellfire missiles to Singapore, with the US State Department declaring that the transfer and associated arms support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. While observers say the sale is a routine purchase by the city state for training and to replenish an advanced arsenal, Americas language on the move signals a broader strategy to strengthen a network of US allies and partners while avoiding...

Johors caretaker chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi has criticised Malaysias federal government for delays in the launch of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) master plan, arguing that it is needed to sustain the initiatives momentum. In response, Economic Minister Akmal Nasir, who oversees the project at the federal level, has maintained that the government remains committed to the projects success and the delays have not affected the JS-SEZ as investor numbers have remained...

A corruption investigation into Indonesian President Prabowo Subiantos flagship free meals programme has widened after prosecutors named an active police brigadier general as a suspect and referred a case involving a military officer to the countrys military crimes unit. The Attorney Generals Office (AGO) on Thursday identified Lalu Muhammad Iwan Mahardan, a police brigadier general who serves as deputy secretary for promotion and cooperation at the National Nutrition Agency, as the seventh...

Rebels in Indonesias restive easternmost region of Papua on Thursday shot dead an American pilot and set a civilian plane on fire in what a spokesperson for a local separatist group described as a message to the US and Indonesian governments. A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia has long raged in the resource-rich western half of Papua, where attacks by independence fighters have grown deadl

Knife-edge state polls in Johor and Negeri Sembilan may reconfigure Malaysian politics, as a regrouped Malay nationalist right seeks big wins to pressure Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim into calling an early election. Barisan Nasional (BN), the Malay-led bloc, is going head-to-head against Anwars Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the ballots to be held this month and next, in a move by a key government coalition member that could destabilise the prime ministers fragile administration from within. Analysts...

Thailands foreign ministry denied on Thursday that French President Emmanuel Macron knelt before the countrys king during his state visit to Paris this week, after an AI-generated picture circulated online. King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthidas trip was the first official visit by a Thai monarch to France since 1960, marking the 170th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations. During a state dinner at the presidential palace, Macron presented the 73-year-old...

Eight Buddhist monks died in northeastern Thailand on Thursday and over a dozen more were injured after an 11-year-old boy driving his parents truck crashed into pilgrims walking along a deserted rural road. Images of the devastation, shared across social media, showed the bodies of orange-robed monks lying on the road with their alms bowls strewn across the accident site in Mukdahan province, about 600km northeast of Bangkok. Five monks were killed at the roadside while three others died...

A young couple in Indonesias conservative Aceh province were publicly caned on Thursday after an Islamic sharia court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok live stream. Acehs sharia court ordered the two people to be whipped with a rattan cane 21 times each for kissing without being married. At least 100 people witnessed the caning, carried out by a group of people wearing robes and hoods on a stage in Bustanussalatin City Park in Banda Aceh. The couple, a...

India has asked WhatsApp to justify the implementation of a planned feature covering usernames and to freeze the roll-out in its biggest market, escalating a crackdown on messaging anonymity that began with Telegram, according to a government letter. The move comes as authorities in India grapple with a spike in cybercrime, with scammers exploiting low digital safety awareness among millions of internet users. Earlier this week, Metas WhatsApp said it had begun a phased global roll-out,...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnrs trip to Canada highlights deepening ties at a time when Ottawa is seeking to court middle powers and establish its presence in the Indo-Pacific. Marcos is in the Canadian capital for a four-day visit that started on Wednesday, where he is set to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney in an effort to strengthen cooperation on trade, labour, energy and tourism, and enhance defence and maritime ties. He is also slated to meet Canadian business leaders and...

Malaysias heritage state of Penang has begun using body camera footage to prosecute litterbugs, widening a national clean-up drive that could see offenders fined or ordered by a court to carry out community service. The tougher enforcement, which took effect on Wednesday after a six-month grace period, gives patrol teams from the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Perai City Council powers to record offences at public hotspots across one of Malaysias best-known tourist states. Penang...

The arrest of a 65-year-old woman accused of selling abortion pills in Manila has offered a glimpse into the shadow economy growing around ending unwanted pregnancies in the Philippines, one of the few countries in the world where the procedure remains criminalised in almost all circumstances. For women and girls trying to end unwanted pregnancies, access often depends on online sellers, market vendors, whispered referrals and the uncertain quality of pills bought far from formal medical ..

When Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto promised to build 80,000 village cooperatives across the archipelago, the aim was to drive rural growth, strengthen food security and give communities greater control over essential goods and services. But the deaths of five trainees preparing to manage the cooperatives have cast a shadow over the US$13.4 billion programme, one of Prabowos flagship initiatives alongside free nutritious meals and affordable housing. The trainees were required to take...

Malaysia has given its courts the power to prosecute some sexual offences against children committed overseas, extending the reach of its law beyond national borders as abuse allegations increasingly cross countries, devices and jurisdictions. But lawyers and child rights advocates say the change will only be as strong as Malaysias ability to secure evidence, obtain cooperation from foreign governments and support child victims through complex cross- border cases. The amendment comes amid...

Malaysias Johor election has opened a new front in the countrys long-running racial politics, after former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Islamist party PAS urged voters to put Malay-Muslim political power ahead of party loyalty in one of the countrys most closely watched state polls. The southern state, which borders Singapore and sits at the centre of Malaysias cross- border growth plans, is also a stronghold for the United Malays National Organisation. The Barisan Nasional (BN)...

Just days after she last saw a girl, known to her friends as Cake, on Pattaya Beach, Ning began to realise the unfolding horrors that shocked Thailand. Ning said she regularly saw the teenager at the beach, where many young women gathered daily, drawn to the Thai resort citys neon-lit nightlife as an escape from unemployment. On Saturday, the 17-year-old was found dead, her body placed inside a black suitcase and dumped in scrubland beside a railway track. I would see her often. I didnt...

The chief executive of Singapores largest and oldest telecommunications company took a pay cut last year despite the company posting a sharp rise in profits, after a series of network failures dented its operational record. Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon received S$6.8 million (US$5.3 million) for the financial year ended March 31, down 16.9 per cent from S$8.2 million a year earlier, according to the companys annual report released on Tuesday and first reported by The Straits Times. The pay cut...

One year after lifting its long-standing two-child limit, Vietnam is offering incentives for people to have more babies as the communist country risks getting old before it gets rich. A new population law and regulations coming into effect on Wednesday extend maternity leave from six to seven months for mothers having a second child as well as offering financial help. If Hanoi residents Nguyen Kim Bich and her husband have a second child, she will get an extra month of maternity leave, free...

Oman Air is looking to capitalise on the Gulf states appeal as a largely untapped tourism destination as it launches flights from Muscat to Singapore on Thursday and considers an expansion to North Asia over the next year. The new nonstop Singapore service was underpinned by a lower cost base and the airlines year-old membership in the Oneworld alliance to aid with connections, as serving the city state with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur failed nine years ago, Oman Air CEO Con Korfiatis said...

Norman Wong sold his Hong Kong flat and relocated to a rented home in Malaysia after concluding the city no longer offered the quality of life he expected for the price. What am I actually getting for this money in terms of quality of life? asked Wong, a healthcare professional from Kowloon. Space is at a premium in Hong Kong that most of us have simply accepted as the norm. When I started seriously looking at Malaysia, I realised I didnt have to accept that any more. Wong is part of a...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr faced a stern challenge on Tuesday after the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) religious movement staged a protest on Metro Manilas busiest highway to demand that the presidential palace stop going after one of its members, Senator Rodante Marcoleta. The rally at Edsa the highway where a 1986 people power uprising helped topple Marcos father, who was the countrys long-time dictator has raised the stakes of a looming criminal case involving...

Indonesias former education minister Nadiem Makarim, one of the countrys best- known tech founders, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a Jakarta court found him guilty of abusing his authority in a corruption case linked to US$87 million in state losses. The verdict against the Gojek co-founder could unsettle business sentiment and dampen foreign investment appetite in Southeast Asias biggest economy, adding to concerns about legal certainty in cases involving government...

Setting up a new regional chamber of commerce will fulfil a long-felt need to bridge the gap between the Greater Bay Area and Asean, with Hong Kong acting as a natural connector, the business groups inaugural chairman has said. But given existing agreements and bilateral relations between the city and individual member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, analysts said the economic benefits introduced by the new chamber were likely to be more modest than dramatic. The Asean...

It has been nearly five years since then Workers Party (WP) MP Raeesah Khan uttered her first lie in Singapores parliament but its aftershocks continue to reverberate, as some political observers argue that public fatigue has set in. They say it would be in the interest of both the ruling Peoples Action Partys (PAP) and the WP to avoid further drawing out the issue when there are more pressing matters to address for citizens. Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at...

For most of his adult life, Siranudh Psi Scott kept a dark secret. Allegedly abused by his older brother as a teenager, he buried the trauma, chose to remain silent and outwardly at least carried on as a scion of one of Thailands most powerful families. Then, last month, he shared a raw, emotionally exposed confession with his hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Psi, 29, publicly accused his brother Sunit of sexual abuse, eliciting a groundswell of public empathy, testimonies...

More Singapore residents aged below 40 had never married in 2025 than in 2020, government data released on Tuesday showed, with the sharpest increases among those aged 25 to 34. The findings come from the Department of Statistics General Household Survey, Singapores mid-decade national household survey conducted between the once-a-decade Population Census. The survey also found that women who had been married had fewer children on average than five years earlier; English strengthened its...

East Timor is seeking to turn closer ties between Asean and Chinas Greater Bay Area into investment and technology opportunities, even as the blocs newest member faces a major challenge of building capacity to benefit from regional integration. While collaboration between the two regions could become a powerful engine of growth, policies had to ensure inclusive and sustainable advancement, East Timors Vice Prime Minister Francisco Kalbuadi Lay said at the South China Morning Posts GBA-Asean...

Malaysia will deploy military veterans as full-time hostel wardens at a group of elite boarding schools from Wednesday, in a new push to curb bullying after a series of abuse cases stirred widespread public anger over student safety. The first 16 former Malaysian Armed Forces personnel will report for duty at eight Mara Junior Science Colleges, in a move reminiscent of Netflixs hit K-drama Teach You a Lesson, where a Special Ops veteran takes on school bullies. Mara Junior Science Colleges ..

The Philippines is uniquely positioned to serve as a gateway for Greater Bay Area businesses into Southeast Asia, the countrys trade secretary said on Tuesday, as she outlined Manilas push to promote a pro-investment environment. Speaking at the South China Morning Posts GBA-Asean Summit 2026, Cristina Aldeguer-Roque urged investors to view the Philippines as a springboard into the region and to tap into the countrys young, digitally fluent workforce. We are a maritime, demographic and...

Singapore authorities have caught a rider seen in a viral video striking a Superman pose while riding an e-bike in the latest of a series of crackdowns. In the video, taken in the early hours of May 23 outside Keppel MRT station, the rider is caught on camera going faster than cars on his vehicle. At one point, he even lies on his stomach with his legs extended as if he is flying. Based on the 170 metres he covered in about 8 seconds, his speed is calculated to be almost 80km/h (50mph). In...

Security around the Malaysia-Thailand border has been tightened after two Malaysian men were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Narathiwat province, an area riven by a deadly insurgency against Bangkok. While police say the men Abdullah Syarapi Abd Rahman, 45, and Muhammad Yusri Udin, 38, both from Kelantan are not believed to have been the target of the improvised explosive device (IED), the incident highlights the dangers of the ongoing conflict in Thailands southernmost...

Esmeraldo Maligsa, a farmer and president of the Bohol Ube Growers Association, harvests 2,000kg (4,400lbs) of ube, the purple tuber native to the Philippines, every seven months. He and the other farmers in his group manage a collective yield of between five and eight tonnes, fetching prices of 90 pesos to 100 pesos (US$1.50 to US$1.60) per kilogram. Such is the going price for ubi kinampay, dubbed the Queen of Philippine yams. Grown in Bohol province and nearby areas in central Philippines,...

Malaysia has narrowed its search for a replacement anti-ship missile system to four potential suppliers after Norway revoked an export licence for a deal that Kuala Lumpur said was already more than 90 per cent paid for. The cancellation came after Oslo tightened arms-export rules in a shift that analysts say reveals how access to advanced arms can depend as much on supplier-country politics as on signed contracts. Turkey, South Korea and two unspecified European nations were being assessed ..

A labour saga in Singapore involving migrant workers going unpaid for months after a contractor fled the country has raised questions about wage policies for unskilled staff, even as authorities respond with the city states characteristic speed and efficiency. Last week, hundreds of migrant workers in services such as air conditioning, plumbing and construction showed up at the Ministry of Manpower building in a rare labour confrontation in the city state. On Sunday, Minister of State for...

Malaysia has set up a special task force to tackle potential disruptions on the causeway linking Johor to Singapore ahead of a state election next month. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has said ensuring smooth cross-border movement is his ministrys highest priority as tens of thousands of Malaysians are expected to return home to cast their votes in the Johor state election on July 11. We are not taking any chances. We have Plan A and Plan B ready to go. That is the directive I have...

People in the Philippines are flocking to install solar power on rooftops and escape the burden of soaring electricity prices, making it the worlds biggest spender on solar panels since the war in Iran started. Top power distributor Meralco has raised prices by 10 per cent since the Middle East conflict began in late February. Now, a median household spends around 12 per cent of monthly income on electricity, assuming it consumes 200 kilowatt-hours around the monthly average for three...

Vietnam is increasingly using broadly written laws to arrest activists, dissidents and others that authorities consider a threat to the Communist Partys rule, according to a new analysis released on Monday by a human rights group. The 88 Project, which focuses on rights issues in Vietnam, documented 56 such arrests last year, the third consecutive year of increases and double the number in 2022. The report included only arrests where the defendant could be identified by name and the case...