Saving Malaysia’s Last Great Rainforests

Published on Feb 12, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Environmentalists have fought a dogged battle with Malaysian politicians and big business interests in recent years. Results, however, have been mixed, as much of the country’s rainforests have been lost to the planting of palm oil and rubber plantations. With an election due, campaigners hope to put the environment, and the damage it has endured, back on the political agenda.This intention to revive debate about environmental issues was made clear by Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at a recent rally in Kuala Lumpur. The rally was attended by tens of thousands of supporters who were calling for an end to government corruption and a serious effort to clean up the country’s environment.Read more in The Diplomat. .

Burma's Rough Road

Published on Dec 8, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Burma’s rollercoaster reform ride is again sending mixed signals to the outside world. Within a few days, the country has been rebuked by a senior UN official for imposing “dire” conditions on the displaced Muslim Rohingyas, a former leader of the 2007 democracy protests has been re-arrested, and President Thein Sein has cancelled a trip to Australia and New Zealand citing domestic concerns.Read more in The Diplomat..

Vietnam's Officials Face Confidence Vote

Published on Nov 24, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Under a new law just passed in Vietnam, communist officials in government – including the prime minister – will face an annual vote of confidence by the country’s 500-strong National Assembly that could help shore up confidence in the government and bureaucracy.The move is a welcomed one, given Vietnam’s latest tussle with corruption which has hampered its economy and raised doubts about the tenure of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung due, at least in part, to his close associations with dubious business leaders in companies like ship builder Vinashin.Read more in The Diplomat..

An American Pivot in Asia

Published on Nov 16, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Last week, Barack Obama was re-elected to serve a second term as president of the United States. President Obama’s first trip abroad since his re-election will be to Southeast Asia from November 17-20 to attend the East Asia Summit (EAS), the regional grouping of 18 Asian-Pacific nations, including the United States, held in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. Mr. Obama’s visit will make history as the first time a U.S. president has ever visited the country.Underscoring the president’s attendance at the EAS will be his visits to Thailand and Burma (also known as Myanmar). President Obama’s trip to Thailand will commemorate 180 years of uninterrupted diplomatic ties, making it the oldest bilateral relationship the U.S. has with any Asian nation. Conversely,....

Time to Cool Burma's Rapprochement

Published on Nov 4, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Since Burma first initiated its political and economic reforms, businesses with an eye to profits and governments with a regional political strategy in mind have been gushing in their praise of Burma’s President Thein Sein.Problems elsewhere in the country were ignored and the President’s word that his government was doing its best was enough to placate critics of his country’s never ending internal conflicts.But the ongoing violence in Rakhine state pitting Buddhists against Muslims and Thein Sein’s rejection of outside mediation from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other interested groups is getting beyond the pale.Read more in The Diplomat..