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Wednesday, June 17, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Goodbye Mahathir, Good Luck Abdullah
As Mahathir Mohamad ends this week his 22-year tenure as prime minister, Malaysians are caught in a flurry of last-minute tributes, both genuine and manufactured.POLITICS: Despite Tough Words, Doubts Remain on Islamic Group’s Clout
The summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest Muslim bloc, ended this week with resolutions decrying western domination and supporting the Palestinians, but critics say it failed to lift perceptions that the group remains gripped by paralysis.POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Remarks on Jews Overshadow Islamic Summit
The summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) here has been overshadowed by the anti-Jewish remarks in the opening speech of outgoing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is also the summit's chairman.POLITICS: Islamic World under Siege by West, Internal Divisions
Leaders of 57 Islamic nations are gathering here for their summit, amid mistrust, and a sense of betrayal, fear and danger that Islam and the ‘ummah' or community are on trial and under siege - not just by the west but also by its own lethargy and deep divisions within it.POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Memoirs Reopen Wounds of Communist Insurgency
Malaysians are woefully divided over Chin Peng, the man who led a bloody and violence-filled communist insurrection four decades ago that killed thousands of people but is now seeking forgiveness for that still-sensitive episode in history.POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Respect for Rights Commission Wanes
The high marks that Malaysia's National Human Rights Commission previously got for scrutinising the government's human rights record has waned, and some critics now say it has all but become irrelevant.MALAYSIA: Opposition Unveils New Tack with Eye to Next Poll
If the fresh strategies for a 'New Malaysia', just announced by Malaysia's battered opposition coalition of just two parties, take hold, the government of outgoing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad may lose ground once again.RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Gov’t Walks Tightrope on Acehnese Asylum Seekers
The Malaysian government is walking a tightrope on the fate of some 2,500 Acehnese asylum seekers in the country, as it tries to balance increasingly vocal demands to shelter them with pressure from Indonesia to deport them.RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Gov’t Walks Tightrope on Acehnese Asylum Seekers
The Malaysian government is walking a tightrope on the fate of some 2,500 Acehnese asylum seekers in the country, as it tries to balance increasingly vocal demands to shelter them with pressure from Indonesia to deport them.MALAYSIA: Country Looks Back at Legacy, Costs of Mahathir’s Rule
Malaysia's Independence Day celebration this year was different - it was organised as a farewell gift for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and showcased his achievements as his 22 years in power comes to an end on Oct. 31.MALAYSIA: Arrests of Acehnese Show Double Standards – Critics
After a perilous five-day journey by sea in 'tongkangs' or slow wooden boats, Acehnese displaced by the escalating war in their troubled Indonesian province cross the narrow Straits of Malacca, and land on the long west coast of peninsular Malaysia./ARTS WEEKLY/MALAYSIA: Film Dares to Venture into Race Relations
Malaysia's obsession with the 'Malaysia Boleh' or 'Malaysia Can Do It' culture has sent its citizens up Mt Everest, across the English Channel and soon into space, albeit on a Russian rocket.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Hambali Driven to Defeat ‘Enemies of Islam’
This week's capture of 38-year-old Hambali, who real name is Riduan Issamuddin, has effectively ended the career of a successful and dedicated Islamic militant who was fired by zeal at the age of 20 to leave his Indonesian village, and go defeat the 'enemies of Islam'.SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Malaysia’s Arms Purchases Raise Eyebrows
When Russian President Vladimir Putin flew home on Thursday after a two-day visit to Malaysia, he left 900 million U.S. dollars richer and confident that Russia had finally pried opened a rich and yet untapped South-east Asian market for high-technology Russian weapons.MALAYSIA-SINGAPORE: Political Storm over Water Comes, Goes
Just like tropical thunderstorms, yet another round of public sparring has erupted between neighbours Malaysia and Singapore over the perennial issue of the water Malaysia supplies to Singapore.MALAYSIA: Gov’t Pulled in Opposite Directions on Pesticide Use
To know paraquat is to like it, says a promotional video by the Swiss-based Syngenta, the world's biggest agro-chemical company. But for weed sprayer Anggamah, to know paraquat - with which she is intimate - is to hate it.MALAYSIA: ‘Noon Bride’ Phenomenon Calls for Action, Activists Say
They are confined in luxury condominiums to satisfy a select club of the rich and old in Malaysia, who visit them regularly in late afternoons. These 'noon brides' are visited by patrons who wine, dine and have sex with them, before going home to their families.POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Disquiet Rises as End of Mahathir Era Nears
Behind the praise and euphoria that attended Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's final appearance before the ruling party he had led for 22 years lurks general disquiet over the country's future and keen anticipation of a political re-alignment after his era.POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Disquiet Rises as End of Mahathir Era Nears
Behind the praise and euphoria that attended Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's final appearance before the ruling party he had led for 22 years lurks general disquiet over the country's future and keen anticipation of a political re-alignment after his era.HEALTH: Three Months Later, More Questions than Answers on SARS
After all the speeches at this week's first global conference on SARS, the diagnosis has to be that although three months of unprecedented international cooperation has stemmed its spread this time around, much more remains unknown about the deadly virus.MALAYSIA: After Detainees’ Release, Activists Target Security Law
When about 200 activists outside Malaysia's Kamunting jail on Sunday demanded the release of six opposition leaders, they had no inkling they were about to score a major victory against a draconian security law used to keep these dissenters behind bars.« Previous Page
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