Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur-based singer Alena Murang's new album "Sky Songs," released on April 1, is a musical and linguistic tribute to the people of the Kelabit Highlands of northeast Sarawak. (Courtesy of Alena Murang)
Arts

Borneo's Dayak culture rebounds through film and pop

Hit zombie movie and singer bring the island's indigenous people to the world

12 May 2021
Local officials stand near a community quarantine checkpoint in Metro Manila in February. Surging coronavirus cases prompted further lockdown measures.
Economy

Philippines and Malaysia log GDP falls as COVID waves blur outlook

Manila reports 4.2% contraction while neighbor's decline slows to 0.5%

11 May 2021
SoftBank's investment is part of its growth strategy announced in 2018.
Finance

SoftBank invests $60m in Malaysian digital marketing business

Japanese company to hold 23% stake in deal with Axiata Group

11 May 2021
A police officer checks documents at a roadblock in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, on May 10.
Coronavirus

Malaysia imposes new nationwide COVID lockdown to curb surge

Muhyiddin announces gathering ban and other rules, warning of 'national crisis'

10 May 2021
In the Malaysian-Taiwanese film “Miss Andy” (2020), the character Evon (Lee Lee-zen), left, develops an attraction for her co-worker, Teck (Jack Tan), who is among the few people who treat her with respect. (Courtesy of MM2 Entertainment)
Arts

Overseas release brings Malaysian LGBTQ film to the screen

Unwanted at home, groundbreaking movie 'Miss Andy' wins fans in liberal Taiwan

7 May 2021
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services saw a considerable drop in patients from the Middle East, Australia and Myanmar last year. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Health Care

Asia medical tourism catches cold from COVID travel curbs

Thailand's BDMS and Malaysia's IHH see profits halved in 2020

7 May 2021
A soldier talks to children in a southernmost province of Thailand: A meeting in May will indicate how the peace process is going in the kingdom's Deep South, Muslim majority provinces. (Photo by Toyoaki Fujiwara; insignia blurred out)
Interview

Thailand's Malay Muslim rebel brings core issues to peace talks

BRN envoy wants Bangkok to apply 'values of democratization' in Deep South

3 May 2021
Nurses tend to patients in a coronavirus intensive care unit at Vibhavadi Hospital in Bangkok on April 26. 
Coronavirus

Thailand's new COVID wave slams hospitals, ignites public anger

Malaysia restrictions prove futile; Philippine medical system short of beds

28 April 2021
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, on April 26.
COVID vaccines

Malaysia defends tapping oil-backed fund to buy COVID vaccines

Finance minister says there is 'no choice' as Najib and others blast move

26 April 2021
Prem M. Nath's horror films always add a flair of South Indian and Tamil religion and rituals that make them unique among other Southeast Asian horror movies. (Courtesy of Kuman Pictures)
Arts

'Haunted' hotel sheds light on Malaysia heritage neglect

Abandoned colonial building stars in popular new 'found-footage' horror film

21 April 2021
A Malaysian ad against "fake news" in 2018: Reporters Without Borders says a new decree banning COVID-19 misinformation allows the authorities "to impose their own version of the truth."
Politics

Malaysia falls 18 spots on press freedom index as ASEAN languishes

Reporters Without Borders warns of COVID providing pretext for censorship

20 April 2021
A medical worker prepares a dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 in Serdang, Malaysia, in March.
COVID vaccines

Malaysia weighs mandatory COVID vaccines as shots enter Phase 2

Inoculations for seniors start Monday but slow registration worries government

16 April 2021
A typical northern Malaysian teatime spread, including bite-sized snacks called kuih. (Courtesy of FriedChillies Media)
Life

How traditional cakes became a force for good in Malaysia

Effort to rescue recipes for 'kuih' offsets economic distress

16 April 2021
Malaysia's central bank hopes the move will improve the country's position in global supply chains and attract foreign direct investment. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Economy

Malaysia eases currency protections as ASEAN vies for investment

Region's economies embrace deregulation to capitalize on US-China tensions

15 April 2021
Coastal plastic: Vietnam is among the top five countries that send litter to sea, along with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, according to Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit based in Washington. (Source photos by Reuters)
Environment

Vietnam tests waters for plastic credits to fight marine pollution

New approach takes page from carbon trading but fears remain of 'greenwashing'

15 April 2021
Creador, a Malaysian private equity firm, sees "excellent demand" in its current fund.
DealStreetAsia

Malaysia PE firm targets $600m in first close of fifth fund

Creador seeks more deal opportunities in Thailand in addition to India and Malaysia

12 April 2021
Zahairi Baharim, Malaysia's ambassador to Myanmar, presents his credentials in 2018.
Myanmar Crisis

Malaysia envoy's meeting with Myanmar junta sparks uproar

Foreign ministry rejects criticism that move lends regime legitimacy

8 April 2021
A woman looks checks her smartphone at a train station in Kuala Lumpur: Celcom Axiata and Digi.com hope to create Malaysia's largest telecom company by merging before year's end.
Telecommunication

Malaysia's Celcom and Digi finalizing merger talks

Combined entity would be Southeast Asian country's largest telecom company

8 April 2021
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak faces dozens of corruption charges and is currently appealing a conviction and 12-year prison sentence.
Malaysia in transition

Malaysia ex-PM Najib served bankruptcy notice over $400m tax bill

On Facebook, former leader links move to UMNO split with Muhyiddin

7 April 2021
Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta. Analysts revised up Indonesia's economic growth for 2021.
Economy

Vaccines seen helping Singapore and Indonesia rebound: survey

Economists cut 2021 growth forecasts for Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand

6 April 2021
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrives at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya on April 5.
Malaysia in transition

Malaysia's Najib begins appeal to overturn 1MDB-related jail term

Lawyer vows to make case ex-PM 'was not aware' of illegal funds

5 April 2021
Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, left, bumps elbows with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Nanping, in China's Fujian Province, on April 1.
International relations

China's ASEAN diplomacy pushes back against US 'encirclement'

Beijing backs summit on Myanmar while courting Malaysia and others

2 April 2021
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, pictured in November 2020: his main contribution is increasing religious and social tensions.
Opinion

Malaysia's toxic UMNO gang wants another chance to make things worse

Crises do not change a government, but reveal its true stripes

1 April 2021
Malaysia's central bank expects a rebound in growth in 2021.
Economy

Malaysia GDP to rebound up to 7.5% in 2021, central bank predicts

Economy to regain pre-pandemic level by midyear as vaccines accelerate

31 March 2021
A Top Glove factory on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur: U.S. authorities say they will seize disposable gloves made by the company after finding evidence of forced labor in their production.
Companies

Malaysia plans probe of Top Glove after US forced labor finding

Medical glove maker denies worker abuse but vows to improve operations

31 March 2021