Asia - South China Morning Post

The Malaysian government will appeal against landmark high court rulings ordering authorities to pay millions of ringgit in damages to the families of missing activists Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.

In two statements on Thursday, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) said it would challenge rulings that found the government and police liable for the enforced disappearances of Koh and Amri, two notorious cases which campaigners claim reflect Malaysia’s embedded culture of impunity.

Koh, a...

A British woman allegedly teaching tantric yoga and “sacred sexuality” on Thailand’s Koh Phangan has been arrested for working illegally as authorities crack down on undocumented foreign workers on the island popular with foreign backpackers.

Maria Shchetinina, 40, was in the middle of a class conducted at the back of a New Age restaurant when police raided the premises on Tuesday, local media reported.

They had been tipped off by social media users reporting “risque” photos posted by a “Maria...

An associate professor from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has raised eyebrows – and hackles – after a video of her suggesting that the Romans learned their shipbuilding techniques from the Malays went viral.

Solehah Yaacob’s controversial statements, dubbed “pseudo-history” by critics, have prompted her academic colleagues to urge the university to take firm action against those who tarnish its reputation.

“The Academic Staff Association expresses deep concern over recent...

An agreement between Australia, the United States, Japan and the Philippines to set up an Indo-Pacific defence council hints at a shift towards the “Squad” group of nations maturing into a formal minilateral grouping, analysts say.

On Saturday, the four countries’ defence chiefs met on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus in Kuala Lumpur, where they reportedly expressed support for a framework to establish an “Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Cooperation Council”.

The Squad...

A Japanese man has been arrested on suspicion of illegally employing a 12-year-old Thai girl at a private-room massage parlour in Tokyo, where she is believed to have been forced to provide sexual services to male customers, police said on Thursday.

Masayuki Hosono, 51, is suspected of employing a child under the age of 15 at “Relax Time” in Tokyo’s Yushima district in violation of labour standards laws, with police investigating the case as a possible incident of human trafficking.

Police, who...

Malaysian rapper Namewee has released a new song, titled “Very Shuai” – which translates to “Very Handsome” – while being held in remand.

The 42-year-old, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, is currently detained for six days to assist in investigations into the death of Taiwanese influencer Hsieh Yun Hsi.

According to China Press, the track – an old demo recorded back in 2014 – was released on Spotify on Wednesday, coinciding with the day Namewee surrendered himself to authorities.

The...

The Singapore government is not seeking to memorialise founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and family by preserving his former home and instead is enabling future generations of citizens to understand their country’s struggle for independence, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo has said.

Detailing the reasons behind the government’s intention to preserve 38 Oxley Road as a national monument, Neo told parliament on Thursday that the space and its importance could not be...

Banks across Asia are pouring billions into artificial intelligence systems to detect fraud, but regulators and analysts say the region is still losing ground to nimble and adaptable scam syndicates using the same technology to find new ways to steal money.

AI is now central to how lenders monitor transactions, screen sanctions and verify customers, helping them flag suspicious activity faster. Yet experts say the systems remain limited by what data they are trained on and by how quickly...

When American recording artist Brittany Porter met Sultan Muhammad V, ruler of the Malaysian state of Kelantan, she thought their fairy tale romance led to an engagement. A year later, she discovered that the Islamic nikah ceremony was in fact a religious marriage, a revelation that came only after the country’s former monarch had cut off contact.

“In April 2024, we went on our first trip together to Oman. I thought we got engaged there, because in my culture the big ceremony is a wedding, which...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 140 people and left another 127 missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year, as the storm headed towards Vietnam.

Marcos’ emergency declaration, made during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon’s aftermath, would allow the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and...