This week, SEAmplified: March 4th, 2024
The latest in SEA politics for the week of March 4th, 2024.
Welcome to this week’s roundup! The latest on Southeast Asian politics summed up in a neat 5-minute read, straight to your inbox every week.
News roundup
Indonesia’s General Elections Commission (KPU) is in hot water after data breaches in the 2024 voter roll and inaccuracies in its new tabulation platform eroded public trust in its ability to reliably determine the results of the country’s 2024 elections.
Malaysia’s currency, the ringgit, is expected to remain weak amid China’s economic doldrums, a strengthened greenback, and a delay in domestic economic reforms. That said, observers suggest that the ringgit could bounce back in value in H2 2024.
Singapore has raised the minimum salary requirement for Employment Pass applicants to meet from S$5,000 to S$5,600, and to S$6,200 for financial services professionals. The move, according to the country’s Ministry of Manpower, ensures a “level playing field” for Singaporeans.
The Philippines could ban the dubbing of English-language films and TV shows after a bill was introduced in February in light of the country’s declining English proficiency standards. The Philippines ranked sixth-lowest in reading comprehension out of 81 countries in the 2022 International Student Assessment (PISA).
Thailand has, as part of a joint operation with China and Myanmar, facilitated the transfer of roughly 900 Chinese nationals who were trapped in scam centres based in a Myanmar border town back to China. In November last year, another joint operation saw Myanmar also hand over 31,000 fraud suspects to China.
Vietnam’s Department of Forestry has estimated that the country could sell roughly 40 million carbon credits and generate US$200 million in annual revenue. Much of that potential revenue, however, remains untapped due to regulatory obstacles and the lack of clear legal frameworks.
Community highlights
Few newsletters neatly summarize the latest developments coming out of Indonesia as well as Marcus Tantau’s 5 Things You Should Know About Indonesia. If you need a quick roundup of Indonesia’s biggest headlines every week, this one’s for you.
On a similar note, the team behind Vietnam Weekly roll out in-depth analyses on key issues in Vietnam. Most of the insights here fly under the mainstream news radar, and really show their deep, on-the-ground expertise.
If you prefer deep-dives into big issues instead, check out Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran’s ASEAN Wonk. His analysis slices through complex geopolitical topics like a hot knife through butter. *Full posts require a paid subscription.
Keeping a close watch on issues in the South China Sea? Duan Dang’s authoritative newsletter is your perfect companion for staying abreast of the latest developments in the contentious region. *In Vietnamese only
Publicly available data can be difficult to come by in Southeast Asia, but the good folks at seasia.stats make it look easy with their rich repository of quick statistics.