Muhyiddin Yassin warns of the rise of a new dictatorship and the collapse of democratic institutions in the country.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/malaysia-a-new-dictatorship-under-najib-ex-deputy-prime-minister/
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Showing posts with label Prashanth Parameswaran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prashanth Parameswaran. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 February 2016
Malaysia A ‘New Dictatorship’ Under Najib: Ex-Deputy Prime Minister (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
Muhyiddin Yassin warns of the rise of a new dictatorship and the collapse of democratic institutions in the country.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/malaysia-a-new-dictatorship-under-najib-ex-deputy-prime-minister/
India Hosts First Multilateral Military Exercise with Asian Nations (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
New Delhi will host Force 18 with fellow ADMM Plus countries.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/india-hosts-first-multinational-military-exercise-with-asian-nations/
Thursday, 11 February 2016
Philippines Captures Top Militant of Splinter Rebel Group (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
High-ranking leader Hasan Indal nabbed in a joint operation.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/philippines-captures-top-militant-of-splinter-rebel-group/
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/philippines-captures-top-militant-of-splinter-rebel-group/
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
India, Thailand Talk Defense During Vice President Visit (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
India and Thailand discussed opportunities to broaden their defense and security cooperation during a historic visit by India’s vice president to the Southeast Asian state last week.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/india-thailand-talk-defense-during-vice-president-visit/
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/india-thailand-talk-defense-during-vice-president-visit/
Thursday, 4 February 2016
More ISIS Attacks in Indonesia Likely Amid Leadership Rivalry: Report (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
More terror attacks in Indonesia are likely as Islamic State (IS) leaders battle for influence, a new report by an influential Jakarta-based group has found.
As Indonesia recovers from the deadly attacks which rocked Jakarta on the morning of January 14, a trio of Indonesians based with ISIS in Syria are competing to encourage and fund their contacts in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to undertake attacks, while some groups in Indonesia simultaneously act on their own without direction from the Middle East, the report released by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) on February 2 concluded. The competition among these groups, the report argues, is likely to fuel violence in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
“More terrorist attacks in Indonesia are likely as local ISIS leaders compete at home and abroad to establish their supremacy,” the report argues.
Of the trio of Indonesians in Syria, Bahrumsyah (alias Abu Ibrahim) commands Katibah Nusantara, the Indonesian-Malaysian military unit in ISIS, his rival Salim Mubarok (alias Abu Jandal) heads a dissident unitKatibah Masyaariq, while Bahrun Naim has tried to stay neutral between the two Katibahs, the report notes. A range of pro-ISIS groups also exist within Indonesia, including Partisans of the Caliphate (Jamaah Anshar Khilafah, JAK) led by the imprisoned cleric Aman Abdurrahman and loosely aligned with Abu Jandal’s Katibah Masyaariq; the Mujahidin of Eastern Indonesia (Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, MIT) in Poso, Central Sulawesi led by Santoso, Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist; and Katibah al-Iman formed by Abu Husna, a former leader of Al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian offshoot Jemaah Islamiyah.
The attacks in Jakarta on January 14 may serve as a catalyst for rivalries among groups and fuel violence. While the report contends that the attacks were locally organized by Aman Abdurrahman and JAK rather than ordered by Bahrun Naim from Syria as originally thought, it also says that Bahraumsyah had immediately ordered one of his men in Indonesia to do something similar after hearing about the attacks, indicating a deadly one-upmanship among pro-ISIS leaders. Meanwhile, Bahrun Naim continues to try to position himself as the ISIS leader best able to inspire attacks, although his efforts in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore had been thwarted. And at home, while police have arrested several key members of Katibah al-Iman, other local groups like it may exist. This battle for influence among local and foreign groups makes the work of Indonesia’s security forces much tougher.
“Indonesian police have done good work in foiling several other terrorism attempts but this one-upmanship among pro-ISIS leaders has suddenly made their task much tougher,” says IPAC director and longtime terrorist expert Sidney Jones.
The threat from these pro-ISIS groups could rise even further in the coming months, the report warns, which could result in more attacks in more places with more deaths. As it is, IPAC says, trans-border contacts are increasing, with Bahrumsyah transferring funds to both Indonesia and the Philippines and Bahrun Naim’s social media network reaching across borders. Better weapons, greater planning, and more training could also be game-changers for what is termed Indonesia’s “low-tech, low casualty jihadism,” with fighters even coming back from Syria to enhance jihadi skills.
Meanwhile, as the threat metastasizes, the risk is that the Indonesian government under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will initially undertake several steps like strengthening anti-terrorism laws and improving deradicalization programs but ultimately become distracted by other priorities.
“The problem is that while attacks like those on 14 January help rivet the attention of senior officials for a few weeks, other priorities inevitably take over and Indonesia slips back into taking for granted that the problem has been solved,” the report said.
As Indonesia recovers from the deadly attacks which rocked Jakarta on the morning of January 14, a trio of Indonesians based with ISIS in Syria are competing to encourage and fund their contacts in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to undertake attacks, while some groups in Indonesia simultaneously act on their own without direction from the Middle East, the report released by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) on February 2 concluded. The competition among these groups, the report argues, is likely to fuel violence in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
“More terrorist attacks in Indonesia are likely as local ISIS leaders compete at home and abroad to establish their supremacy,” the report argues.
Of the trio of Indonesians in Syria, Bahrumsyah (alias Abu Ibrahim) commands Katibah Nusantara, the Indonesian-Malaysian military unit in ISIS, his rival Salim Mubarok (alias Abu Jandal) heads a dissident unitKatibah Masyaariq, while Bahrun Naim has tried to stay neutral between the two Katibahs, the report notes. A range of pro-ISIS groups also exist within Indonesia, including Partisans of the Caliphate (Jamaah Anshar Khilafah, JAK) led by the imprisoned cleric Aman Abdurrahman and loosely aligned with Abu Jandal’s Katibah Masyaariq; the Mujahidin of Eastern Indonesia (Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, MIT) in Poso, Central Sulawesi led by Santoso, Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist; and Katibah al-Iman formed by Abu Husna, a former leader of Al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian offshoot Jemaah Islamiyah.
The attacks in Jakarta on January 14 may serve as a catalyst for rivalries among groups and fuel violence. While the report contends that the attacks were locally organized by Aman Abdurrahman and JAK rather than ordered by Bahrun Naim from Syria as originally thought, it also says that Bahraumsyah had immediately ordered one of his men in Indonesia to do something similar after hearing about the attacks, indicating a deadly one-upmanship among pro-ISIS leaders. Meanwhile, Bahrun Naim continues to try to position himself as the ISIS leader best able to inspire attacks, although his efforts in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore had been thwarted. And at home, while police have arrested several key members of Katibah al-Iman, other local groups like it may exist. This battle for influence among local and foreign groups makes the work of Indonesia’s security forces much tougher.
“Indonesian police have done good work in foiling several other terrorism attempts but this one-upmanship among pro-ISIS leaders has suddenly made their task much tougher,” says IPAC director and longtime terrorist expert Sidney Jones.
The threat from these pro-ISIS groups could rise even further in the coming months, the report warns, which could result in more attacks in more places with more deaths. As it is, IPAC says, trans-border contacts are increasing, with Bahrumsyah transferring funds to both Indonesia and the Philippines and Bahrun Naim’s social media network reaching across borders. Better weapons, greater planning, and more training could also be game-changers for what is termed Indonesia’s “low-tech, low casualty jihadism,” with fighters even coming back from Syria to enhance jihadi skills.
Meanwhile, as the threat metastasizes, the risk is that the Indonesian government under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will initially undertake several steps like strengthening anti-terrorism laws and improving deradicalization programs but ultimately become distracted by other priorities.
“The problem is that while attacks like those on 14 January help rivet the attention of senior officials for a few weeks, other priorities inevitably take over and Indonesia slips back into taking for granted that the problem has been solved,” the report said.
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Thailand Expects More Investment from China in 2016 (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
Thailand is anticipating more investment from China this year, Thailand’s finance minister said this week.
China is already a significant investor in Thailand: during the first nine months of 2015, Beijing invested more than 12 billion baht (about $4 billion) into Southeast Asia’s second largest economy, making it the fourth biggest foreign investor there according to the Board of Investment (BoI). But with Thailand’s economy struggling to take off, officials have been eying even more investment from key countries, including Beijing.
The government has declared 2016 a “Special Investment Promotion Year,” with a range of investment privileges designed to woo foreign investors. These include a double depreciation expense for acquiring new assets, a fast track for the approval of public private partnerships (PPPs), and several tax deductions and exemptions.
Over the weekend, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong led a mission to Beijing to meet a group of leading Chinese investors, including China National Building Material Group and Power China Group. After outlining Thailand’s investment program as well as potential privileges in ten selected industries, Apisak said that a number of Chinese enterprises had expressed interest in several priority areas across the country. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC), China’s largest bank (which also funded the meeting), has also reportedly said that it is willing to offer funding for Chinese investors hoping to invest in Thailand.
In terms of specific new opportunities, much attention in particular has been focused on China Investment Corporation (CIC), a sovereign wealth fund that has expressed interest in investing in the Thailand Future Fund (TFF). TFF, set up to raise 100 billion baht ($2.8 billion) for infrastructure projects across the country, has been marketed by the Thai government as a good opportunity to invest in one of the country’s growth engines. According to the Thai newspaper The Nation, Apisak said that to facilitate the investment, the State Enterprise Policy Office will deal directly with CIC.
In addition, relevant groups within Thailand are also planning to make it easier for China to invest in the country more generally. For instance, Jitti Tangsithphakdi, the president of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, told the Thai newspaper The Bangkok Post this week that the Chamber plans on setting up 14 departments to help facilitate Chinese investors interested in Thailand. In addition, he said that it was also mulling the establishment of a one-stop service center for Chinese investors by working with government agencies, including BoI and the Ministry of Commerce.
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Myanmar’s New Parliament Convenes With Looming President Selection (Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat)
On February 1, Myanmar’s newly elected parliament convened its first session following watershed elections last November, which saw a landslide victory for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).
In those elections, the NLD, which is led by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, captured 390 out of 491 contested seats in both houses of parliament, surpassing the two-thirds majority it needed to form a government and handpick the next president (a quarter of the total of 664 parliamentary seats in both houses are reserved for the military according to the constitution). The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) only won 42 seats (See: “Myanmar’s Opposition Clinches Majority in Election Win”).
While 80 percent of elected seats in the new parliament will be made up of members of parliament (MPs) from the NLD, many of them are political novices thrust into the limelight following the country’s first openly contested general election in a quarter century.
On Monday, hundreds of these new NLD lawmakers were sworn into Myanmar’s parliament. As expected, the new parliament also elected U Win Myint of the NLD as the speaker of the lower house and U Ti Khun Myat of the USDP as deputy speaker.
“Today is a day to be proud of in Myanmar’s political history and for the democratic transition,” U Win Myintsaid in an acceptance speech.
One of the new parliament’s most important tasks will be to select a new president when the country’s outgoing leader Thein Sein steps down at the end of March. Although Suu Kyi herself is banned from assuming the presidency, her party will have a big say in who is appointed. Under the country’s laws, each of the parliament’s two chambers – both dominated by the NLD – will appoint one presidential candidate, with military officials, who hold a quarter of all seats, also putting forward one candidate. The two chambers will then vote on the three candidates, with the winner becoming president and the other two serving as vice-presidents.
Regardless of who wins the presidency, Suu Kyi has said that she will be “above the president,” although she has not clarified exactly what such a role would entail. A new government must be formed before March 31, when the current one will be dissolved.
Friday, 29 January 2016
Thursday, 28 January 2016
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Thursday, 21 January 2016
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Friday, 25 December 2015
Thursday, 10 September 2015
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