Asia - South China Morning Post

Indonesia’s blasphemy law has once again come under scrutiny after former vice-president Jusuf Kalla was reported to police over remarks linking past Muslim-Christian conflicts to beliefs about martyrdom.

The case is unusual because it involves Christian complainants against one of the most senior Muslim figures in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation and reflects what critics have long called the law’s central flaw: its susceptibility to politicised use.

Kalla, a career politician...

The US government has imposed sanctions on a Cambodian senator alleging he is at the heart of a sprawling scam network, as the Southeast Asian nation comes under intense pressure – including from China – to eliminate a cybercrime industry worth nearly US$20 billion a year.

The US Treasury tagged Senator Kok An, a tycoon with close ties to former leader Hun Sen whose son is now prime minister, and 28 other associates as “specially designated nationals” suspected of controlling “scam compounds...

As my wife and I quaffed our way through a sumptuous five-course South African wine tasting dinner at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) early this week, the world food crisis and global food insecurity seemed a very long way away.

Yet as the US war on Iran approached its third month, with the Strait of Hormuz still blocked and a host of critical commodities hostage to the conflict, our FCC wine dinners must surely be in jeopardy. More seriously, millions worldwide may face much...

As Southeast Asian leaders descend on Cebu in the Philippines for the 48th Asean summit on May 8, immediate concerns such as the global energy crunch will top the agenda. Yet a year-end deadline to finalise a long-delayed code of conduct in the South China Sea looms for bloc chair Manila.

At a panel at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta on Thursday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro stressed that completing the code this year was “something that we owe the world as well as the...

Although he was already married, a man began dating a domestic helper he was introduced to and later got married to her in Batam, Indonesia.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) caught wind of the bigamy and flagged the case to the police, who arrested both the man and the woman.

Low Kok Peng, a 61-year-old Singaporean man, was sentenced to two months’ jail on Friday. He pleaded guilty to one charge of bigamy under the Women’s Charter.

His co-accused, 50-year-old Indonesian woman Komariah, was...

US interceptions of Iranian-linked tankers in Asian waters suggest Washington’s maritime pressure campaign may be spreading eastward, raising new risks for Southeast Asian states overseeing crucial sea lanes.

Analysts said that although Southeast Asian nations were not parties to the war, countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were not insulated from rising US-Iran maritime tensions.

For these states, the bigger risk may not be a Gulf conflict spilling directly into their waters,...

Burger King in Japan is tempting franchisees of rival fast-food brands like McDonald’s and Mos Burger by offering them 40 million yen (US$250,000) cashback to jump ship.

The offer, under its franchise switching plan, is on the table until 3pm on September 30, according to a statement by the chain issued on Wednesday.

Applicants must have been in business for at least three years, submit financial statements for the past three financial years and identify a general manager for the converted...

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik condemned US Republicans’ claim that South Korea was discriminating against e-commerce giant Coupang, calling it “interference in domestic affairs”.

His remarks followed a letter sent by 54 US lawmakers in the Republican Study Committee to South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, in which they claimed Seoul was taking discriminatory and unfair actions against the US-based company that is under police investigation and government scrutiny...

The death of a Bangladeshi gaming influencer in an alleged drink-driving crash involving a Malaysian soldier has sparked cries for justice and renewed demands for punitive laws, as anger grows over a second similar fatal case in less than a month.

Muzahid Millad, 22 – better known as Advance Gaming – died on Wednesday after the suspect’s car reportedly veered into the opposite lane on the Maju Expressway, colliding with the e-hailing vehicle in which the content creator and his wife were...

India’s agreement to review Dhaka’s request for Sheikh Hasina’s extradition could hint at more flexibility over a deeply political issue, but observers warn that does not mean New Delhi is ready to hand the former Bangladesh ruler over just yet.

The ex-prime minister fled to India in August 2024 after her regime fell to protesters.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on April 17 it was conducting a formal review of Dhaka’s extradition request.

The announcement – a significant shift...