In the past five years, tropical forests and peatland areas greater than the Netherlands have burned in Indonesia, Greenpeace on the other hand, lambasting the government of President Joko Widodo for enabling the pulpwood and palm oil industry to operate with impunity while bearing major responsibility” for the fire crisis. The influential environmental group said in a new study on …

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xijun with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Kung Phoak takes part in the virtual opening of the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship (ACYLS) 2020 with the aim of enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two partners. According to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo the ASEAN-China Young Leaders …

KUALA LUMPUR – As a show of support and solidarity to the current government Perikatan Nasional amid the Covid-19 pandemic and economic woes, UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid calls for a “political ceasefire” amid the political struggles amongs parties. In a statement released today, Zahid said that all party leaders who holds a cabinet position have been instructed …

KUALA LUMPUR – The Attorney General (AG) today that the office will not be persecuting Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali for his failure to undergo home quarantine after returning overseas because the Health Ministry did not issue such orders. According to the Attorney General, the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 or Act 342 said that there must …

METRO MANILA – The camp of Kapamilya star Liza Soberano on Thursday has denounced the red-tagging of the actress in several social media platforms. According to the statement released by the actress’ lawyer, Juanito Lim Jr. He said that they denouced in the strongest term the ‘red-tagging’ of Ms. Liza Soberano. Expressing her love and respect for women and children …

MANILA – Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced yesterday that all hotels under areas classified as general community quarantine and modified GCQ may now be allowed to operate at a full capacity. Puyat said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has authorized the Department of Tourism (DOT) to make the decision on whether allowing operational …

In the Job Creation Legislation, the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) raised questions about the security of the environment-or the lack thereof-and called on the government to ensure sustainable development. Thomas Helbling, IMF mission chief for Indonesia shared that while the new omnibus law would ease restrictions defined as barriers to job-creating investment and higher efficiency, which could boost development …

Royalist organisations have called on their followers to offer the monarchy greater respect. Loyal Thai group leader Warong Dejkitvigrom said the demands of the pro-democracy protesters, especially those concerning the monarchy. He said there were ulterior motives for the People’s Party 2020 and community leaders didn’t want to reveal themselves to escape legal action. The demonstrators and the government seem …

Japan and Indonesia have agreed to strengthen their security relations by expediting talks on the export of Japanese defense technology and consulting their defense ministers and foreign ministers in the near future. As Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in Bogor, south of Jakarta, this reflects concerns about increasing Chinese regional assertiveness. …

KUALA LUMPUR – Umno and PAS, the two largest parties in the country have agreed to formally register their alliance as Muafakat Nasional (MN) with the Registrar of Societies (RoS). The move was announced in a joint statement from the new coalition Secretary-General I and II, Tan Sri Annuar Musa and Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan. The announcement was shared by Annuar …