Author: Haris Indriani

Dubai/Astana (10 June – 60). The Pamiris are an ethnic minority group in Tajikistan, culturally distinct from the majority Tajik population. They have faced persecution and discrimination in their mountain homeland bordering Afghanistan that some experts say amounts to ethnic cleansing and even genocide. One of the lead persecutors is Ministry of Internal Affairs “Maj. Gen.” Shorukh Syedzada, a former football team manager with no law enforcement experience and a confidante of the president’s son and heir designate. The Pamiris continue to be marginalized and oppressed by the authorities. As a result, many Pamiris have been forced to flee their…

HONG KONG – Hong Kong is the platform connecting capital and expertise that can facilitate two-way investment flows between the Chinese mainland and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations), as well as technology transfer from the mainland, senior management from ASEAN companies reckon. On Dec 4 and 5, 20 representatives of 15 ASEAN enterprises from countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam joined the first business networking visit organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government for enterprises of Belt and Road countries operating in Hong Kong. The companies represent industries such as investment, finance, tourism, construction, environmental protection, energy…

San Francisco, United States of America – President Joko Widodo attended the ABAC ASEAN Caucus Day at the Four Seasons Hotel, San Francisco, United States, on Wednesday (15/11) local time. During the meeting, Jokowi welcomed the establishment of the ASEAN Caucus to strengthen ASEAN’s centrality in the APEC Business Advisory Council. “The maintained regional stability, is also a strength. This is an important asset that allows the ASEAN voice to be heard more loudly in various forums, including in APEC,” said the President in his address. President Jokowi conveyed that ASEAN is one of the strategic regions with strong potential…

The victims died after buying the bootleg booze to be consumed at a wedding party on Saturday, according to a local police report. Bandung, Indonesia: A dozen Indonesians died and four were in critical condition after drinking illegal bootleg liquor, authorities said today, the latest deaths caused by home-made alcohol in the Muslim-majority country. Most Indonesians practise a moderate form of Islam and alcohol is available in big cities, but high taxes make it expensive and some people can turn to potentially dangerous home-made liquor. The government-run Subang district general hospital in West Java province admitted 18 victims for “alcohol…

As ASEAN leaders wrapped up a three-day summit in Indonesia in September 2023, a video viewed hundreds of thousands of times in Tagalog-language social media posts falsely claimed China had been kicked out of the bloc after the Philippines confronted it about the disputed South China Sea. China, however, has never been a member of the 10-nation association and remains an ASEAN dialogue partner. While Manila spoke of the need to counter “hegemonic ambitions” in the South China Sea at the summit, it did not threaten to exclude Beijing from future meetings. As of October 31, there are no credible…

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita is optimistic that Indonesia will be able to hasten the realization of the net zero emissions (NZE) target for the industry sector 10 years earlier by 2050. During the 2015-2022 period, GHG emissions level in Indonesia’s industrial sector amounted to 8 to 20 percent of the total nationwide GHG emissions. Meanwhile, energy utilization for the industrial sector contributed to 64% of the emissions component in 2022, with 24% caused by industrial waste and 12% from industrial process and product use (IPPU). “The effort of decarbonization in the industry sector is not impossible to achieve.…

Quang Ninh (VNA) – The 6th bilateral meetings between the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and Japan and China were held in Ha Long city, the northern province of Quang Ninh, on October 11. The 6th Meeting of the ACDM Plus Japan was co-chaired by Pham Duc Luan, ACDM Chairman and General Director of the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority, and Murakami Takeo, Director for International Cooperation at the Disaster Management Bureau of the Cabinet Office of Japan. Speaking highly of Japan’s support for ACDM activities as well as the promotion of collaboration between public and private entities of ASEAN and Japan…

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia Day should be celebrated at the state and district levels nationwide on Sept 16 every year to enable a more inclusive appreciation and celebration of the formation of the Malaysian federation. Head of the History Programme at the Research Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Dr Suffian Mansor said the Malaysia Day celebration should be emphasised among Malaysians because it is one of the important historical events for the country. “In that spirit, the Malaysia Day celebration can strengthen the country’s national integration so that the people realise that independence is not limited…

The investment and trade minister said incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles would be a good proposal for inclusion in the budget. KUALA LUMPUR: Incentives to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles (EV) would be worthy of inclusion in the 2023 federal budget, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said yesterday. He said Indonesia is the only member of Asean that has introduced subsidies for the purchase of electric motorcycles. He said incentives to promote the purchase of EVs in Malaysia would be a good proposal for the budget. Tengku Zafrul added that the ministry would continue…

Reforming its decision-making processes to act faster, and narrowing the economic development gap between member-states to foster more unity are steps ASEAN should take, say analysts. JAKARTA: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to take firmer positions on issues like the Myanmar crisis and disputes in the South China Sea or risk being sidelined amid geopolitical rivalry, say analysts. They add that failure to do so may even see the regional bloc face the prospects of being deemed obsolete as major powers are forming smaller, exclusive groupings among themselves, which may weaken the much-vaunted ASEAN centrality that accords…