Asia

When Malaysian artist Darwisy Mustafani received a commission to paint the country’s king and queen, he did not reach for an ordinary canvas. Instead, the 25-year-old from the northeastern city of Kota Bharu transformed songket – the lustrous handwoven fabric once reserved for Malay courts and ceremonial dress – into a portrait of the sultan and his wife before a golden-domed palace. The portrait, commissioned in 2024 by Malaysia’s police force as a gift for Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar and Queen...

Kim Ji-soo wrapped up a visit to the coastal city of Qingdao in northern China just last weekend, but she is already contemplating where she will go on her next visit. “It seemed affordable, nearby and I wanted to visit a new city,” said the 57-year-old Seoul resident, who had been to Beijing before. “I enjoyed the food and the vast space the most,” Kim said, adding that the city’s bustling energy – which she attributed in part to the number of newborns and young children with their parents –...

The revelation that an alleged Malaysian scam kingpin was released after paying 10 million ringgit (US$2.4 million) fine has sparked public outrage over claims of preferential treatment for a man at the centre of a controversial photo-op with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Liow Soon Hee – better known as Nicky Liow – was cleared of all 26 money-laundering charges involving more than 36 million ringgit, the country’s top prosecutor said on Friday. Authorities earlier believed he led a multimillion...

Rina left Myanmar shortly after the 2021 coup as military violence escalated against pro-democracy protesters like herself and the economy of her country, once a Southeast Asian frontier that had flickered with promise, ground to a virtual halt. Now in Bangkok, the 21-year-old has found work in a cafe, a regular, albeit low-salaried income, the minimum required by the millions of her age group forced to survive outside a domestic economy in ruins, where civil war has killed an estimated 100,000...

The release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in the Philippines was supposed to be a shared cinematic moment for fans who had waited months for the latest instalment in the superhero franchise. But for some deaf viewers, the experience was defined less by the action on screen than by what was missing: subtitles or captions that would allow them to follow the dialogue. That frustration, captured in a viral Facebook post, has pointed to a wider accessibility gap in the country, where advocates say...

The Philippines is seeking to move its South China Sea row with Beijing into classrooms, a push that analysts say could shape how young Filipinos understand the country’s maritime claims while raising questions over potentially blurred lines between education and state narrative-building. Congressmen in the House of Representatives introduced legislation on Thursday requiring the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to develop standardised teaching materials on the...

Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, has stepped back from the deputy presidency of his ruling People’s Justice Party (PKR), raising questions over his ability to hold together the political movement he built after a bruising run of electoral setbacks and defections by former allies. PKR’s leadership has sought to frame the move by Nurul Izzah, one of the party’s most recognisable reformist figures, not as a resignation but as a temporary break – exposing...

South Korea’s football governing body is facing further pressure after allegations emerged that it arranged sexual services for foreign referees in 2011 and 2012 in an apparent effort to influence officiating. The allegations centre on confidential audit documents prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016, according to a report by South Korean broadcaster JTBC. The report quoted a former Korea Football Association (KFA) official as saying the association sought to have...

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) said on ⁠Friday it has ⁠ordered mandatory drug testing ⁠and will conduct stricter screening for all pilots across its airlines, following the arrest of a Malaysia Airlines pilot for alleged trafficking in Indonesia last month. The unidentified pilot, 39, was detained ‌on July 28 after authorities found 26kg (57lbs) of the mind-altering drug MDMA in his luggage upon his arrival in Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur. Urine tests also showed the Malaysian Airlines pilot had...

A Malaysian court on Friday deferred charges against former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who could not attend his hearing in a multimillion-dollar corruption investigation after being admitted to hospital for a heart condition. Ismail Sabri, 66, has faced corruption accusations following the arrests of a senior aide and several others last February over alleged abuse of power and money laundering. Police also seized about 170 million ringgit (US$41.5 million) in cash held under different...

At least five people were killed at a school near Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Friday morning after a student went on a gun rampage, with the tragedy shocking the nation and reopening questions over access to firearms. The 14-year-old suspect had killed his grandparents before opening fire at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, about an hour outside the capital, and then took his own life, officials said. Those killed at the school were all teachers and staff, and police said the shooter fired at...

The Philippines is reopening Metro Manila to new outsourcing hubs as it tries to defend its place in the global services market and win more complex work from multinational companies. Officials, industry executives and property analysts say the move could help the country compete for higher-value offshore functions – from software engineering and finance to healthcare documentation, data work and AI-related services – by making more modern, incentive-eligible office space available in the...

When Massive Attack covered Seo Taiji & Boys’ “Regret of the Times” at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival on August 1, the British band framed it as a tribute to a song that had once defied authoritarian control. Now, a South Korean city councillor wants to use a government audit to investigate the band over the performance, a move critics say risks reviving the very dynamic the song was written to resist. “Regret of the Times”, released by Seo Taiji & Boys in 1995, was itself once at the centre of...

Chae Young-sun, a 69-year-old retired government employee living in the South Korean city of Gwangju, has stopped taking daily walks since a searing heatwave began gripping most parts of the country more than a month ago. “I’m worried about my health because it’s simply too hot to go for a walk,” he said. “Yesterday afternoon, I finally summoned the courage to take a short walk around my neighbourhood. Even though I stayed under the awnings of a market, I was sweating profusely and had to seek...

Jetstar’s plan to charge passengers for overhead locker space is set to test how far budget airlines in the Asia-Pacific region can go in making travellers pay separately for what was once part of a basic fare. The Australian carrier’s move comes as rising costs and competition push airlines to find new revenue beyond the ticket price, potentially giving regional rivals cover to study similar fees. Aviation analysts described the plan by Qantas’ low-cost arm as an “extreme” form of unbundling –...

A pilot allegedly caught with tens of thousands of Ecstasy pills in Jakarta is the most high-profile case in a recent string of arrests that police and criminologists say points to a growing problem: transnational syndicates are using Malaysia to move drugs and recruit couriers. The case was followed within days by other arrests involving Malaysians in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, suggesting a pattern of criminal organisations exploiting the country’s transport links, porous borders and...

Britain’s new Labour government is trying to reassure Southeast Asia that its push to rebuild ties with Europe will not come at the region’s expense, analysts have said, after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband made an Asean meeting in Manila his first overseas stop. Appointed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham on July 20, Miliband attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting about 48 hours after taking office – a choice observers said pointed less to a policy reset than...

North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan on Thursday, Seoul’s military said, with the launch coming after Pyongyang lambasted Japan’s military build-up in the Pacific. North Korea, which since 2019 has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state, featured among growing regional threats in a recent Japanese government assessment. Tokyo’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said this week that Japan’s military needs to be boosted with a “sense of urgency...

A Philippine Navy personnel who previously served aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, one of Manila’s most sensitive military outposts in the South China Sea, is under investigation over alleged illegal drug use, sources have told This Week in Asia. The 34-year-old sailor was also involved in resupply missions to and from the grounded warship, which has long served as an Armed Forces of the Philippines outpost at the Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila calls the Ayungin Shoal. One source who tipped off...

Uniqlo’s new stand-alone hijab line for Malaysia was meant to expand the Japanese clothing giant’s reach in one of Southeast Asia’s most prominent modest-wear markets, but its initial marketing has been met with online controversy. Ahead of the exclusive launch next Monday, teaser images posted on Uniqlo Malaysia’s social media showing the scarves wrapped turban-like around the head, leaving parts of the neck and upper chest visible, triggered debate over whether the campaign reflected Muslim...

Indonesia has sought to assuage security concerns ahead of its 81st Independence Day as it vows to fight misinformation about potential disorder in its capital marring the celebrations, saying the situation is “fully under control”. Some shopping centres and office complexes in Jakarta installed additional safety barriers on their premises last week, sparking wild speculation of possible unrest surrounding the August 17 event. Images of the heightened measures went viral on social media,...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday failed to explicitly pledge that Japan will maintain its non-nuclear principles, simply saying the government “is upholding” the long-held policy, as the country marked the 81st anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima. At a press conference after a memorial ceremony in the western Japanese city, Takaichi said Japan will promote “realistic and practical” efforts towards a world without nuclear weapons, repeating the wording she used in...

“Ozempic face” could spawn the next K-beauty craze. South Korean biotech L&C Bio plans to launch an injectable skin booster made from donated human fat to restore lost facial volume, betting demand for cosmetic fixes tied to blockbuster weight-loss drugs will drive its next phase of growth. L&C – which pioneered the use of donated human tissue in K-beauty skin boosters – developed the technology about five years ago, CEO Lee Whan Chul said in an interview. The company holds patents on the...

Claims that the recent magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck southwestern Japan was man-made have been spreading online, with experts dismissing the theory as unrealistic in technological, financial and practical terms. On July 28, the day the deadly earthquake hit Kumamoto prefecture, a user on social media who has previously shared false claims about earthquakes wrote that the “seismic wave is of an explosion, not a quake” in a post that has had around 3 million views as of Wednesday. Searches...

While global markets watched closely for another joint move by Washington and Tokyo to prop up the Japanese yen this week, Australian dollar traders have been laser-focused on the actions of another economic power: China. Some analysts view the Australian currency as particularly sensitive to policy moves in Beijing. If China intervenes to boost domestic growth, that could also lift the Australian dollar, the theory goes. But in reality, the currency’s exposure to the world’s second-largest...

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s once-commanding approval rating has continued to slide in a new survey, as voters weigh his ambitious welfare and village-economy agenda against concerns over household finances and the government’s ability to deliver. The poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) put Prabowo’s approval rating at 51.1 per cent, down from 81.2 per cent in November and 66.4 per cent in March, while dissatisfaction with his performance rose from 16 per cent in...

Meta Platforms’ ⁠CEO Mark ⁠Zuckerberg has apologised to the ⁠Indian government over child sexual abuse material on the company’s platforms and for operational errors, local television channels reported on Wednesday. Zuckerberg apologised for the presence of the material, as well as deepfake content and operational ‌lapses on Meta’s platforms, financial news publication Moneycontrol reported, citing sources. The publication added the apology was conveyed during a meeting between Meta executives...

Malaysian authorities vowed to identify and close security loopholes in its airports after a pilot allegedly transported drugs from the country before being arrested in Indonesia last week. Malaysia’s home and transport ministries would implement steps to improve aviation security, and would place police officers at certain checkpoints, the government’s spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said in a briefing on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting. “Malaysia Airlines will also revise their protocols for...

A rare joint intervention to stabilise the yen has given US-Japan relations a near-term lift, according to analysts. But whether that goodwill endures depends on how long the currency’s rebound can survive mounting market and policy pressures. Friday’s operation, Washington’s first yen purchase since 1998, came after the Japanese currency had slumped to a four-decade low of almost 164 yen to the US dollar. The intervention briefly lifted the yen to a three-month high of 155.2 on Friday before it...

Malaysia is considering a levy on electric vehicles (EVs) to fund charging infrastructure, even as export and pricing conditions on high-volume foreign assembly projects have left Chinese giant BYD’s planned 1.3 billion ringgit (US$318 million) factory in limbo. Economists and industry experts warn the two policy moves could raise ownership costs while weakening Malaysia’s appeal as a manufacturing base at a time when regional rivals are competing for EV investment. EV sales more than doubled to...