ASEAN IN FOCUS

Australians on death row in Indonesia to be transferred for execution

Two Australians on death row in Indonesia will be transferred from a prison in Bali to the location of their execution this week, the head of provincial prosecutors’ office said on Monday (February 16). Momock Bambang Samiarso told reporters that Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, Australians who were sentenced to death in 2006 for a plot to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia, will be sent to a maximum security prison at Nusakambangan Island in central […]

Hong Kong woman found guilty of abusing Indonesian maid

Indonesian Erwiana Sulistyaningsih called for equal rights for all migrant workers in Hong Kong at a news conference on Tuesday (February) after her former employer was found guilty of abusing her. Erwiana stood with migrant worker representatives at the news conference holding up signs that said “End Slavery”. The landmark case triggered outrage over mistreatment of maids and shed light on abuse that many women face in overseas jobs. Former beautician Law Wan-tung, 44, sobbed […]

Malaysia’s Anwar jailed for five years after losing appeal in sodomy trial

(Reuters) – Malaysia’s highest court rejected on Tuesday an appeal by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim against a 2014 sodomy conviction, sending the politician who poses the greatest threat to the long-ruling party back to prison for five years. Human Rights Watch condemned the court decision, decrying what it called Anwar’s persecution which it said put at risk the democratic freedom of all Malaysians. Anwar, the ruling party’s rising star in the mid-1990s before he fell […]

Malaysia’s Anwar faces final judgment in sodomy case

(Reuters) – Malaysia’s highest court will deliver a decision on Tuesday on an appeal against a sodomy conviction by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, with a ruling against him likely meaning a five-year prison term that would stymie his political ambitions. Anwar was the ruling party’s rising star in the mid-1990s before he fell out with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Since then, the former deputy prime minister has been beset by legal problems and spent […]

Malaysia gets ready to welcome ASEAN Community 2015 during its chairmanship

Malaysia will carry the hopes and aspirations of more than 600 million people in the region as it chairs ASEAN in the final stages of establishing an ASEAN Community 2015. Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman said Malaysia is “conscious of our role in the region as well as in the global community.” Dato’ Sri Anifah stressed the importance of working together with other ASEAN Member States in maintaining ASEAN centrality in confronting the […]

UN envoy says humanitarian efforts in Myanmar still minimal, unacceptable

U.N. special envoy on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said on Friday (January 16) that some advancements had been made in addressing the serious humanitarian and human rights issues she saw in Rakhine State in July 2014, but she added that much more needed to be done. “In my view the situation remains at crisis stage. Humanitarian access is still minimal and high risk,” Lee told reporters in Yangon. She said further […]

Disaster management in ASEAN

Lessons Learned from Typhoon Ruby & Yolanda In the context of an integrating ASEAN Manila, Philippines – As the Philippines weathered Typhoon Ruby last December – the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 2014 and just one year after the world’s worst recorded storm Typhoon Yolanda – the country was reminded that cooperation and coordination is key in disaster relief. With ASEAN providing their technical and financial support for Typhoon Ruby, the prospects for […]

40 bodies recovered off the coast of Borneo, presumed to be from missing AirAsia flight

(Reuters) — Search and rescue teams carried debris, presumed to be from missing Air Asia flight QZ8501, onto land from a helicopter on Tuesday (December 30) evening. Indonesian rescuers searching for the missing plane, carrying 162 people, pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday. The navy said 40 bodies had been recovered as dusk fell. The plane has yet to be found and there was no word on […]

A Look Back: ASEAN in focus

In preparation for the upcoming ASEAN integration, NET 25 established “ASEAN in Focus” to give our viewers new perspectives in the exciting opportunities said event will bring to our country. Let’s take a look back on the various guests and their interesting points of view in this special year-end presentation.