Asia

Former Malaysian transport minister Ling Liong Sik died on Saturday. He was 82. Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong confirmed the news to Bernama when contacted on Saturday. “We received the sad news of Tun Dr Ling’s passing today. Further details will be announced from time to time,” he said. Ling’s death was also conveyed in a message sent to the trustees of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, where he served as chancellor. In a statement to The Star on Saturday, Wee said the...

“You don’t even have to look for it,” nine-year-old Anaqi said of the short videos he watches online. “It just shows up automatically, and it’s super interesting.” That instinctive pull is familiar to his father, Firdaus Omar. The 39-year-old Malaysian civil servant said his two children – Anaqi and his six-year-old brother – could spend hours watching the kind of short, noisy, endlessly recommended clips now commonly dismissed online as “brain rot”. He is worried about the effect of such...

Many of Tokyo’s popular and iconic Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan’s post-war advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old and frail. Some have fallen and many others require support, triggering safety concern as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favourite flower. Two cherry blossom trees collapsed on Thursday, one at Kinuta Park in downtown Tokyo and the other at the Chidorigafuchi greenway. The one in Kinuta Park damaged a fence while the other tree...

A Workers’ Party disciplinary panel looking into secretary general Pritam Singh’s conduct has completed its investigation into whether the chief had contravened the party’s constitution, after his court conviction for lying under oath to a parliamentary committee. “The panel will present its finalised report and recommendations to the Central Executive Committee in April,” Singapore’s opposition party said in a statement on Saturday. “The Notice of the Special Cadre Members’ Conference will be...

Soon-to-be brides and grooms seeking ⁠short cuts to shed pounds before the big day have become the latest consumer target ⁠for weight-loss drugs in India. New Delhi wellness clinic Klarity Skin Clinic touts a “Mounjaro bride” package, while other clinics have woven weight-loss injections into “pre-wedding” transformation packages typically focused on skin treatments and hairstyle makeovers. In a social media video, Klarity offers “guided nutrition, Mounjaro and smart workouts” to prepare brides...

South Korea has spent a decade and billions of dollars trying to build a world-class fighter jet. Now that the finish line is drawing near, it’s nearly time to find out who will buy one. The first mass-produced KF-21 Boramae, developed jointly with Indonesia since 2015, was unveiled by Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon on March 25. Analysts say the aircraft could pave the way for South Korea, already one of the world’s top 10 arms exporters, to grab an even bigger slice of the global...

State-run public transport in Pakistan’s capital and most populous province will be free for the coming month, officials said, after the government drastically raised fuel prices due to the Iran war. The announcement came after street protests and long queues of motorcycles at fuel stations triggered by a late-night decision on Thursday to impose a 42.7 per cent rise in the price of petrol to 485 rupees (US$1.70) per litre. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif back-pedalled late on Friday, saying he...

Efforts by South Korea and France to secure safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz are likely to be centred on a post-war defensive armada with other countries. Analysts also say both nations are wary of joining the Middle East conflict at this point in time and antagonising Iran. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday revealed he had agreed with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to cooperate on safety in the strategic oil supply strait. Lee made the remarks after a...

Later this month, Indonesian cinema-goers will finally get to see what audiences in Berlin saw in February: Jokor Anwar’s Ghost in the Cell. The horror-comedy, which had its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, has been celebrated by influential trade magazine Variety for rising above mere “escapist entertainment” to channel societal anxieties about corruption and environmental destruction. Yet it is only the latest example of Southeast Asia’s creative moment...

A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, in what appear to be the first such transits since the war in Iran closed the crucial waterway. The CMA CGM Kribi container ship exited the strait on Friday, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and two people familiar with the situation. That is the first ship linked to western Europe that is known to have made it through since the war began more than a month ago. Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines...

Police in Sri Lanka arrested 152 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, on Friday for allegedly running a cyberscam operation out of a hotel in the island’s northwest, officials said. The raid took place in the coastal town of Chilaw, 80km (50 miles) north of Colombo, following a tip-off, said police spokesman Frederick Wootler. “Those involved in scamming will be dealt with under our criminal law, while others could be deported,” Wootler said. Local police sources said two Chinese men who tried to...

The dust and debris of the US-Israeli war on Iran have yet to settle, but its strategic shock waves have reached East Asia. From Tokyo to Taipei, a reassessment is under way. The conflict, intended to project American resolve, has been a brutal stress test for the US-led order – with catastrophic results for Washington’s credibility. Far from cementing its primacy, America’s misadventure has revealed a superpower that is overstretched, vulnerable and seen as an unreliable partner. This erosion...

Pakistanis faced record fuel price increases on Friday, as petrol and diesel prices rose by up to 54 per cent driven by the war in the Middle East that has caused global oil prices to surge. The increase adds pressure to a cash-strapped nation already grappling with high inflation, as economists warned the hike would push up food prices and living costs. Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Pervez Malik said late on Thursday that the increase was “unavoidable”. He said the government was forced to...

Malaysia has given the family of missing pastor Raymond Koh access to a long-classified government report after dropping a legal challenge, but questions remain unanswered over his case, according to rights groups and lawyers. The situation surrounding Koh has revived memories of other Malaysians who are believed to be victims of enforced disappearances in the country. Koh has not been seen after the then 62-year-old was abducted in broad daylight in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on February 13,...

A New Zealand doctor has sent the US embassy in Wellington an invoice for his clinic’s fuel bills, saying that President Donald Trump and his administration should take responsibility for starting a war that has sent oil prices spiralling. Shane Dunphy asked the embassy to reimburse him for the NZ$2,790.95 (US$1,600) in petrol vouchers he gave staff at Onslow Medical Centre in the capital so that they could travel to work, The Guardian newspaper reported. “Because of the current fuel crisis,...

Human remains have been found aboard a cargo ship struck by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz last month, the vessel’s owner said on Friday, after three crew members were reported missing following the attack. US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to respond by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for global oil supplies. The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree was struck in March while travelling through the strait after departing Khalifa port in the...

Malaysia has so far been spared the worst of the regional energy crunch, but experts say the government needs to move quickly and take more aggressive measures to prevent a worsening economic crisis if the Iran war becomes a drawn-out conflict. Much of Southeast Asia has been hit hard by the energy crisis, with thousands of motorists ditching their vehicles over the lack of fuel and governments burning through billions of dollars and scrambling to find alternative fuel sources to rein in prices...

The Iran war is rattling Asian chipmakers as damage to Qatar’s gas facilities chokes off supplies of helium, an essential ingredient in manufacturing products ranging from smartphones to medical scanners. Analysts warn that the supply disruption is expected to trigger ripple effects across the global economy for some time. Pradeep Philip, head of Deloitte Access Economics, said that while there had been considerable focus on the energy shock arising from the conflict, the crisis over helium...

Indonesia and Malaysia have ordered civil servants to work from home to save fuel amid the Iran war but with digital surveillance measures far stricter than those used during the pandemic. Civil servants in Indonesia must activate location tracking and respond to work communications within five minutes. Their Malaysian counterparts must log into a geolocation monitoring system every hour. Those who fail to comply face escalating sanctions. The work-from-home policies, announced within days of...

Fourteen Chinese nationals and a Malaysian man have been detained by the immigration department for various offences in Kuala Lumpur. In the first case, three Chinese nationals were detained for using fake passes as supporting documents to obtain entry visas to the United States. Immigration director general Zakaria Shaaban said the arrests were made following intelligence gathering and an enforcement operation conducted on Wednesday. “A team from the enforcement division detained one man and...

Japan’s order for hundreds of Tomahawk missiles from the US is under threat as the American-Israeli war with Iran burns through inventories, the latest example of how the conflict is drawing in supplies and troops at the expense of defending against Washington’s primary strategic rival, China. Tomahawk missiles are a centrepiece of Tokyo’s new strategy of equipping itself with long-range strike capabilities to deal with challenges from China and North Korea. But Washington has informed Tokyo...

Indonesia is accelerating the transition to clean and renewable energy while pushing for more investments in oil and gas projects, critical minerals and rare earth mining, amid the global energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict. In the past week, Jakarta signed a raft of deals with international partners to develop renewable and fossil fuel projects, aimed at achieving energy security as an insurance against the impact of heightened geopolitical tensions. Green energy could also...

His makeover from junta chief to president now complete, Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing may seek to tiptoe back into the international fold as a civilian leader. But critics say the change is just a “veneer” that poses a challenge for Asean, the regional bloc that has frozen out Myanmar from its top summits, while its military wages war on its own people. On Friday, a parliament stuffed with military loyalists made Min Aung Hlaing president. They were put there by an election held five years after...

An Indonesian woman who spent nearly 15 years on death row in a Malaysian prison for drug trafficking has returned home after receiving clemency, in a case rights groups say highlights the exploitation of poor migrant women in cross-border drug operations. Ani Anggraeni, also known as Asih, boarded a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta late on Thursday after being freed from custody. In a video message shared with This Week in Asia while en route, the 66-year-old said she was still struggling to...

Korean Air said on Friday it will faithfully respond to legal procedures in the United States, where a lawsuit was filed in Virginia on behalf of the estate of Porscha Tynisha Brown, who died at age 33 in March 2024, during a flight from Washington to Incheon operated by the airline. Burns Charest, the law firm representing the complainants, claimed her death resulted from a series of critical failures by Korean Air flight personnel. According to the complaint, Brown experienced sudden...

The Philippines is weighing a new anti-disinformation law, but digital rights advocates and researchers warn that the leading proposals could give the government sweeping powers while doing little to stop the networks that actually drive online influence campaigns. In February, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr asked Congress to prioritise 21 measures before adjourning in June, including an anti-disinformation law that he said should be “balanced” – fighting fake news while maintaining freedom of...

A Malaysian electrician was recruited by a syndicate and travelled to Singapore to set up devices in a rented house that would blast thousands of automated scam calls, with call origins masked to appear like they were being made locally. The devices transmitted over 50,000 call sessions over a 50-minute period, linked to around 18,000 phone numbers, 40 of which later featured in 42 police reports. The call sessions contained automated voice messages perpetuating scams from purported government...

After playing in a forested area in the Solomon Islands, Billy’s children often break out in rashes or itchy boils at home. A few years ago, the family became dizzy, suffered headaches and vomited – they believed it was due to the clams from nearby mangrove beds that they had eaten. “It was lucky that we stopped the children from eating them,” said Billy, whose family lives a hand-to-mouth existence in the village of Yandina in the Russell Islands. The 50-year-old farmer suspected that...

A month into the Iran war, Washington still says it expects to achieve its objectives in weeks, not months. That may prove optimistic. The terms on offer from the United States and Iran barely overlap, and markets remain unconvinced a durable settlement is close. But one fact is clear: the war’s most consequential effects may be felt not only in the Middle East but across East Asia. It would be a mistake to see this as only an oil story. It is also about hierarchy. In East Asia, the war is...

The Philippines is the latest country to consider banning minors from social media, joining a regional wave led by Australia and Indonesia, but technology analysts warn that restricting access alone will do little to address the platform design flaws that expose young users to harm. Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday called for legislation to limit minors’ access to social media platforms, days after Indonesia began enforcing a ban on under-16s using “high-risk” platforms such as...