Golden Jubilees, an Easy Escape and a Hard Fall
Hello friends!
I have been super busy this fortnight but it has paid off: on Timor Leste and Australia and on Indonesia’s enduring fight against communism for Asia Times, reporting on gendered violence in Indonesia for Splice Newsroom, Jakarta’s fascinating coffee scene for South China Morning Post. Please read, share, praise etc. etc.
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🇵🇭 And Bautista Goes Down 🇵🇭
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) scandal has quietly bubbled away in Manila over the last few months, but escalated quickly this week after chair Andres Bautista announced he would resign from the role on Wednesday following attempts to impeach him. The House of Representatives had earlier in the day voted to overturn the initial overturning of the initial impeachment. Are we still following? Either way, Bautista has very clearly seen the writing on the wall.
Bautista faces allegations of misbehaviour after amassing ‘unexplained wealth’ exposed by his estranged wife. Back in August, Patricia Bautista told President Rodrigo Duterte and then signed an affidavit saying her husband has almost PHP 1 billion (US$19.5 million) in hidden bank accounts, houses and other assets. Hell hath no fury, with Patricia noting in the affidavit that she was aware he is ‘liable for impeachment.’ Andres has held on to the chair tightly since then, but with mounting public pressure he announced he will leave the position at the end of the year. The term was set to end in 2022. Good, says Duterte. But why wait, the op-eds ask, go now!
Meanwhile, Duterte says the war on drugs is no longer under the police’s purview. This isn’t the first time I’ve said this (death of a businessman, anyone?) in these pages and despite this being issued as a memorandum, the rest of the address sounds very much like the off-script Duterte we know. He’s already tipped a ‘loss’ in the war. Polls are in, Pulse Asia says he’s still on track as one of the country’s most popular presidents ever but Social Weather Stations reports an 18 point drop in satisfaction just over a year into his term. “You think that we are a bunch of morons here. Because we can have the diplomatic channel cut tomorrow. You leave my country in 24 hours. All. All of you,” Duterte tells European Union diplomats.
🇮🇩 And Setya Dodges It Again🇮🇩
By missing a week I dropped the ball on two major stories in Indonesia: Bali’s Mount Agung and the pretrial win from speaker of the House and Golkar chair Setya Novanto. Anyone with even a cursory interest in the region is surely to have heard enough about Agung, so we’ll just leave that one for now. In fact, here’s a nice combo of the stories. Setya had been embroiled in the monster e-KTP case which saw millions in state funds misused in a farcical roll-out of identification cards across the country. (It’s true, one of my good pals had the top layer of plastic peel from hers immediately giving the impression of the worst fake ID ever) By the end of September though, he had won a pretrial motion against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). One day I’ll do a handy ‘what is a pretrial motion’ piece because this happens a lot and confuses me each time. Bullshit, the KPK said, immediately telling press the hunt is still on after reportedly obtaining evidence from the US’ FBI. We’ll see what happens here, surely the laws of the universe dictate if someone dodges danger this frequently eventually they’ll go down.
Another raid on LGBT men has seen 51 arrested in Central Jakarta. The real price of gold in Lombok: Indonesian women with toxic mercury levels. ‘The Making of a Palm Oil Fiefdom’ from the Gecko Project is a game-changing piece. We are SO CLOSE to the 18-month countdown until the presidential poll, this survey predicts Jokowi will be returned. Jakarta’s in-coming governor Anies Baswedan is working hard on the draft budget. Here’s a tough one, Anies: Jakarta is one of the world’s least safe cities. In-coming vice governor Sandiaga Uno has appointed his brother to run the OK OCE program. Are you sure? That sounds like a bad move. Yeah, good point.
🇲🇾 And It’s No Reality Show, Anymore🇲🇾
The trial in the February assassination of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, continues in Kuala Lumpur with more suspects identified in the case. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong were charged alongside four other suspects in March, but authorities held off on identifying them until the case reached court this month. The two women pleaded not guilty while evidence offered during the trial showed traces of VX nerve agent used to kill the North Korean on their clothing. The trial will feature a recreation at the airport where he was killed, which I’m sure will totally not frighten the hell out of the thousands of travellers who pass through there each day.
While we wait for a verdict, relations between North Korea and Malaysia have virtually broken down. Previously reported as one of North Korea’s strongest friends in the region, Malaysia is absolutely not having it anymore confirming it unlikely to replace the Pyongyang-based ambassador who was recalled following the death. Trade has trickled.
Police have arrested a group of terror suspects, including an 18-year-old, while 45 foreign fighters — largely affiliated with the Islamic State — have been arrested so far this year. The typically quiet sultans of Malaysia have publicly called for religious respect and harmony prompted by a perception of increased intolerance. Does a UMNO/PAS alliance guarantee a Najib win?
🇰🇭 🇻🇳 🇱🇦 🇹🇭 🇲🇲 And Over in the Mekong 🇰🇭 🇻🇳 🇱🇦 🇹🇭 🇲🇲
Cambodians are growing ‘weary’ of all this politics lately, and who can blame them. With elections next July, it’s looking like an easy win for Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party. This week saw the government file a lawsuit with the ‘Supreme Court asking for the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)’ claiming the party had been involved in a scheme to overthrow the government. Almost half of the CNRP MPs are believed to have fled the country in recent weeks. So where is the world, asks deputy leader Mu Sochua.
Flooding and landslides across central and north Vietnam have seen over 50 killed with dozens still missing and thousands of houses have been destroyed or damaged. It’s the worst flooding in decades and this photo essay from Quartz shows the magnitude of the disaster. Blogger and activist Phan Kim Khanh will face trial on charges of spreading propaganda against the government later this month.
All quiet on the Laos front this week.
Thailand is off to the polls next year! Wait, probably not. Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died a year ago, will be cremated at the end of a ceremony this month with preparations well underway. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faces lese-majeste charges but asks for fairness.
The Rohingya crisis continues in Myanmar, with a recent surge in people fleeing into Bangladesh. De facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has unveiled plans to resettle the Rohingya, using a combination of Burmese and international resources. BBC has added to its great range of resources on the topic, seeking to explain the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army insurgency group. Dhaka Tribune has a lovely op-ed on welcoming the refugees, while the Bangkok Post wants to know where Asean is. And the rest of the world, while we’re at it. Wirathu is in Rakhine State, for some reason, while aid agencies and media are still barred. This is really something.
🇧🇳 🇹🇱 🇸🇬 And the Rest 🇧🇳 🇹🇱 🇸🇬
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah celebrates his golden jubilee this month, with his 50 years on the throne in Brunei placing him just behind Queen Elizabeth 2 as the world’s longest-reigning. A lot of the reporting on this has been idiotic (guess which British tabloid went with the ‘bling’ Brunei alliteration?) so even though it’s a huge event there is still only a little to go on!
Timor Leste? My piece on the Timor Sea, of course! With a fresh minority government in Dili, opposition forces warn any failures on the government’s behalf will be fought.
Did you know six of the world’s top 50 bars are in Singapore? I didn’t! That’s mad. Singapore Press Holdings will cut 400 jobs including from the Straits Times. Kirsten Han takes a look at mandatory national service in the 50th year of the policy.
