Author: Ismail Dimas Ervya

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police detained another 155 suspects in the investigation into alleged child abuse at care homes linked to a Muslim conglomerate. A total of 77 women were among those arrested on Saturday (Sep 21) during raids on 82 welfare homes, clinics and businesses, reported local media. This brings the total number of arrests to 355, after the Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain announced earlier on Saturday that 200 had been detained so far in the ongoing probe known as Ops Global. The 200 included 31 members of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB). Seventeen of them are key figures…

In its current form, the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights lacks the necessary forward-thinking provisions for effective environmental and social safeguards. This needs to change as the people of this region deserve nothing less. Climate change, paired with aggressive development activities and their resulting environmental harms, continues to make the ASEAN region one of the most dangerous places for protecting human rights and environmental rights. Since 2021, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) has documented 330 cases of violations against environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) in Asia, 80 percent of which have occurred in ASEAN. Many cases, however, go unreported. Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam,…

Jakarta – Three victims of the plane crash on BSD City, South Tangerang, Indonesia, have been taken to the National Police Hospital, Keramat Jati, East Jakarta. All victims were confirmed dead. They are pilots, co-pilots and aircraft technicians. “Information from colleagues, the pilot was thrown out of the plane,” said South Tangerang Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Ibnu Bagus Santoso, Sunday, May 19, 2024. The light aircraft with wing number PK-IFP flew from Tanjung Lesung, Banten, to Pondok Cabe airfield, this afternoon. The crashed plane was carrying three people and crashed near Sunburst field, Cilenggang, BSD City, South Tangerang City, at…

All men in Russia are required to do a year-long military service, or equivalent training during higher education, from the age of 18. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting out the routine spring conscription campaign, calling up 150,000 citizens for statutory military service, a document posted on the Kremlin’s website showed on Sunday (31 March). All men in Russia are required to do a year-long military service, or equivalent training during higher education, from the age of 18. In July Russia’s lower house of parliament voted to raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted to 30…

The U.S. military should reassess its force posture in Europe and reduce its reliance on revolving door-style unit rotations, a major think tank’s analysts concluded in a Monday report. The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ transnational threat team based their study on official documents, open-source materials and interviews with subject-matter experts. The report’s authors recommend that the Army abandon the rotational armor brigade deployment model that “eats up … the Army’s force structure and long-term readiness.” Currently, two armor brigades are deployed to Europe. Instead, the report said, the service should permanently station an Armored Brigade Combat Team in Poland to…

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Mekong Development Research Institute (MDRI), yesterday in Hà Nội presented key findings of the study “Assessment of Disability Inclusion in Local Governance in 2023.” HÀ NỘI – People with disabilities (PWDs) have a low level of engagement disaster risk management and access to information, according to a UNDP study. The UN Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with the Mekong Development Research Institute (MDRI), yesterday in Hà Nội presented key findings of the study “Assessment of Disability Inclusion in Local Governance in 2023.” Addressing broader issues of disability inclusion in public administration…

Dec 8 (Reuters) – Thailand and conflict-torn Myanmar will create a task force to boost humanitarian assistance to people displaced by fighting and could expand that to include other aid agencies, Thailand’s foreign ministry said on Friday. Thailand hopes the plan will lead to constructive engagement between military-ruled Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, and the international community, it said in a statement. Violence has intensified in Myanmar’s border regions as an alliance of ethnic minority armies carry out coordinated attacks against the military, emboldening pro-democracy resistance fighters to target security forces elsewhere. The United Nations estimates more…

SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s biggest bank Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) (MBBM.KL) said on Friday it had appointed Alvin Lee Han Eng as chief executive officer for Maybank Singapore, effective Jan. 1. Lee is also appointed as the new country CEO and CEO of Malayan Banking’s Singapore branch, Maybank said in a statement. Lee will be responsible to drive the entire spectrum of Maybank’s operations in Singapore, which the bank counts as one of its home markets, Maybank added. Lee is currently Maybank’s head of community financial services in Singapore and Group Wealth Management head, according to the statement. He will…

On ASEAN, there is broad agreement on two points. First, effective economic integration in ASEAN has serious potential. Second, ASEAN has so far failed to realize much of this potential, despite ambitious roadmaps. Consequently, business confidence in ASEAN as a region is starting to erode. Valuable opportunities to enable resilient and sustainable value chains in the region are thereby lost. To realize the potential of ASEAN in practise, however, it is essential to collect input from multinational businesses operating in Asia. They are, after all, vital end users of the ASEAN internal market. For this reason CompaRe, the Leiden Jean Monnet…

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday told the world and business leaders attending the APEC CEO Summit 2023 that now is the time to invest in Thailand. The Thai PM noted that the government is ready to work with all partners, old or new, public or private, to push economic development under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Srettha is in the US this week for the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in San Franciso, being held from November 11-17. Government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke on Thursday reported the gist of the PM’s address to the summit, which opened with Srettha…