Southeast Asia Thread

Mahathir on the passing of Lee Kuan Yew. I'm not so sure on speaking of Sukarno and Kuan Yew in the same breath, especially as "strong leaders". Kuan Yew almost certainly counts, but a massive kleptocrat?

There is at least one Malaysian restaurant chain that is indeed stack taxing GST on... tips. Or as they call them here "service charges"

edited 30th Mar '15 3:40:26 AM by Krieger22

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Technically, that is not stack taxing since that service charges are imposed and collected by the businesses themselves, not the government.

The real stack taxing is GST on imports, which is charged on import duties, something which is imposed and collected by the government. This is imposed on all import items, including purchases from foreign individual sellers. I wondered how this would work on downloadable products or imports using foreign bank accounts....

By the way, tips are given to employees and optional or variable , but service charges are none of those.

edited 30th Mar '15 7:56:19 AM by murazrai

Malaysia:

Malaysia to support Palestinian bid for statehood - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will support Palestine's bid for statehood when it re-submits its resolution to the United Nations (UN) Security Council after failing to get enough votes in a previous attempt.

Buying sprees to avoid tax - PETALING JAYA: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will kick in at midnight has sent many consu­mers on buying sprees, that have intensified over the past few days, to avoid the new tax.

PAS could be wiped out in next GE, says Kit Siang - PETALING JAYA: PAS could be completely wiped out in the next general election as a result of the party’s move to implement hudud in Kelantan.

In a blog post on Tuesday, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang (pic) admitted that all three Pakatan Rakyat component parties would suffer dearly if the Opposition pact could not be saved but warned that it was PAS which would emerge the biggest loser.

Journalist groups, NGOs slam arrests of The Malaysian Insider editors - PETALING JAYA: Journalist groups and non-governmental organisations have condemned the arrests of four The Malaysian Insider editors and The Edge’s publisher under the Sedition Act.

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Indonesia:

Nine Indonesians die after drinking tainted alcohol - JAKARTA: Nine Indonesian men have died after consuming alcohol mixed with mosquito repellent, police said Monday, the latest deaths in the country linked to tainted drinks.

Expert witness supports appeal by death row Australians - JAKARTA: Lawyers fighting to save the lives of two Australian drug smugglers on death row returned to court Monday to challenge the Indonesian president’s rejection of their pleas for mercy.

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Thailand:

Thailand admits ‘urgent’ need to improve aviation safety - BANGKOK: Thailand admitted Monday it “urgently“ needs to improve airline safety procedures as several carriers face bans on new international flights after a UN aviation agency raised concerns.

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Singapore:

Singapore teen in court over anti-Lee Kuan Yew video - SINGAPORE (AFP) - A Singaporean teenager arrested for posting an expletive-laden You Tube video attacking the country’s late founding leader Lee Kuan Yew and Christianity was charged Tuesday with jailable offences including obscenity and hurting religious feelings.

To be wholly honest, I'm less concerned with any GST-induced price increases than I am with traders/people in the supply chain deliberately raising prices beyond the costs GST incur.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Malaysia:

Blog post that summarises the laws recently passed by the Malaysian Parliament.

At least the esteemed MPs got themselves a nice pay rise as well.

Indonesia:

Two Islamist parties want to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks

The lawyer of the Bali Nine will push ahead with a Constitutional Court challenge even if the two Australians are executed.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

The folks in Bali would, I imagine, have something to say about the idea of banning alcohol there. And the other islands with large non-muslim populations. And any Muslims who don't mind the odd tipple or selling it to others. And the Bintang manufacturers.

(Admittedly, what they'd probably say is, "Not again!" and go through what they said the last few times an alcohol ban was proposed)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/22/us-malaysia-church-idUSKBN0ND07N20150422

Relevant stuff for the Christian minority in Malaysia.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

At least one writer for The Economist is unimpressed with Malaysian PM Najib's leadership.

The Australian ringleaders of the Bali Nine are meeting their families as their execution draws closer.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Cross posted from the terrorism thread: Joseph Liow of the Brookings Institution on Malaysia's Daesh conundrum.

The two Australians in the Bali Nine have been executed, with Australia recalling its ambassdor in response.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

The Real Singapore website is closed with the editors for violating the Sedition Act.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

http://www.establishmentpost.com/aceh-moved-common-ground-rohingya-reception/

[feel smug superiority]

Singapore made some arrests, reported in the Strait Times, in country due to their own nationals having ISIS sympathies.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/saiful-drops-defamation-suit-against-013324671.html

Some sudden news regarding Anwar's latest case.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

A controversial report by the Royal Malaysian Police's Special Branch suggests that up to 80% of Malaysian border security personnel is corrupt.

The Malaysian Defense Ministry has authorised Royal Malaysian Army patrols along the Malaysian-Thai border.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Malaysian opposition pact is dead again for the exact same reason as before.Personally I blame Anwar Ibrahim, his party's indecisiveness is obvious then as it is now. Not that the party can do much when he regularly purged his party of people who even thinks that he might not be a good Prime Minister after all.

If a chicken crosses the road and nobody else is around to see it, does the road move beneath the chicken instead?

I feel like I should say that history's gonna repeat itself.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

I would say there will be variations, especially considering that there are third parties which are on each others' throats on top of NGOs which do the same. This means there will be three sides of the ideological and political struggle:

• Liberals, which they considered themselves as moderates who want to make this country more liberal, but I digress as they have gone extreme long before the calls for moderation.
• Islamists, who wants to strengthen the status of Islam in this country
• Nationalists, who want to maintain the status quo.

Back in the 90's and early 00's, Islamists are barely visible outside of PAS, but when related NGOs that (contrary to popular belief) suddenly rise to prominence after working within their circles for a long time, they gain a lot of momentum. I personally prefer if this struggle ends with a three way draw which forces all sides to consider each others' legitimate points.

edited 20th Jun '15 8:31:44 AM by murazrai

I'd say that the sole reason this "moderate" bandwagon exists is due to the fact that the Malaysian government considers "liberalism" a bogeyman for some reason. "Moderation" is simply a case of the Golden Mean Fallacy.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-teen-anti-lee-video-undergo-mental-tests-072837468.html

Amos Lee and his current stint as of now.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

Najib's career as PM is getting into trouble in recent days due to allegations of corruption.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

Najib's call for a MH 17 tribunal is still not gonna work since Russia's flexing its SC muscle.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

The editor of the Sarawak Report has vowed a tell-all on Lester Melanyi following the latter's accusations that the Sarawak Report tampered with documents on PetroSaudi International’s deal with 1 Malaysia Development Bhd.

PAS Non-Muslim wing co-founder quits PAS claiming to have lost faith in PAS leaders.

edited 18th Jul '15 9:05:38 AM by Krieger22

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has reshuffled his Cabinet. The outgoing Deputy Prime Minister was only informed an hour before the public announcement.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Involves China, but also involves Indonesia, so I'm crossposting to the SE Asia and China threads.

Widodo wants China to build Indonesia into Asia production base

Keeping in mind that as what's apparently a Taiwan-sourced site, they're going to have their own biases on the subject of the PRC, am I totally off my rocker in reading the article as saying that Indonesia wants to effectively be a vassal state of the PRC (see how they're doing things in Africa, with the "economic development" involving imported Chinese personnel instead of using locals for the work)?

Because in no way does my (admittedly far from perfect) understanding of the region suggest that Indonesia is going to be an equal partner with a country that has over six times its population and roughly 10 times the GDP, whatever Indonesia's leadership may think.

All your safe space are belong to Trump

Indonesia has tended to lean towards the anti-Chinese part of ASEAN if I recall correctly, so...

The amount of disputed territory in the South China Sea they have is decidedly smaller than those of just about everyone else, and in any case, things have changed a lot since the fall of Suharto. I wouldn't put it past the PRC to use that as leverage though.

Malaysian PM Najib is mulling tightening internet laws again claiming that he is "being demonised on social media". Well, that is going to help with the vitriol being dumped on his social media pages.

The Sukarno Education Foundation has awarded Kim Jong-un a peace prize. No, really. What is it with Southeast Asian countries and meaningless "peace" related crap, I will never know.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot