Current Affairs

A week ago Bank Negara sparked a public debate by introducing the concept of “living wage”, where the conversation has been largely dominated by the question of a “minimum wage”. Bank Negara defines a living wage as that which is necessary for an individual or a household to participate in society, with opportunities for personal and family development and freedom over severe financial stress. In its 2017 Annual Report, the central bank said based on a study in 2016, the living wage in Kuala Lumpur ranges from RM2,700 a month for an individual, to RM6,500 monthly for a couple with two children.

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Parliament passed the Election Commission’s proposal on Wednesday, and yesterday it received Royal Assent. Seems to be a done deal. Yet there are several legal challenges to the Election Commission’s redelineation report. This would include the challenge by 107 objectors representing 10,000 voters in Selangor at the High Court. A judgement is expected on April 11th. Today we look at the Court of Appeal dismissal of the appeal brought by the Selangor state government. While the court acknowledged that the Selangor government had locus standi, it said that the issues brought before them including unfair redelineation was "not justiciable." We ask what does this mean.

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The Prime Minister tabled the Election Commission’s final report on constituency redelineation in Parliament yesterday. The motion was passed with 129 votes in favor and 80 against. Despite the ongoing legal challenges, all that is required now is Royal assent before the new boundaries coming into force. Today we explore the shape of the new boundaries and its impact on the upcoming GE14. 

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“Elections are voters choosing governments, while redelineation is governments choosing voters,” says Wong Chin Huat on the Election Commission’s Redelineation Report recently presented to Members of Parliament.  The report has been embargoed until Wednesday, giving Members of Parliament time to digest the proposal before the document is made public and possibly debated in Parliament. Today, we ask why this redelineation exercise has courted controversy from its inception, and what is likely to happen to the electoral game. 

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Last week, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced that the country is to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. He has accused the ICC and the UN of a crusade against him. This comes after the ICC opened a crimes against humanity investigation into his war on drugs that’s claimed thousand of lives. 

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Yesterday, the coalition Gagasan Sejahtera launched its GE14 manifesto at the Astana Banquet Hall in Cyberjaya. The manifesto is titled "Malaysia Sejahtera”. Gagasan Sejahtera is a coalition anchored by PAS, and joined by several lesser known parties which currently have no representation in the federal Parliament. These parties are Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (BERJASA), the oldest of the parties, and relatively new parties Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia, Parti Cinta Malaysia and Parti Harapan Malaysia. Today we ask if the Gagasan Sejahtera is a genuine coalition and if it stand any chance at the polls.

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Later today, Swiss lawmakers will be voting on a motion to amend the law on how to handle ill-gotten bank profits seized by authorities. This is related to the 104 million Swiss francs (RM430 million) that is currently held by the Swiss Treasury -- monies from a fine by the Swiss bank regulator Finma on three banks.

Yesterday 1MDB released a statement saying the money does not belong to 1MDB, and cannot be claimed by the government of Malaysia.

The Ministry of Finance has also refuted Swiss lawmakers’ allegations that 1MDB’s assets have been misappropriated.

Civil society groups however have been calling for the repatriation of seized funds to Malaysia. One of the NGO is the Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fonds.

We speak to Lukas Straumann, Executive Director of Bruno Manser Fonds.

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Pakatan Harapan unveiled its election manifesto last Thursday.  The 60-point, 194-page manifesto - dubbed as 'Buku Harapan' - sets out the coalition’s policies. Criticism of the manifesto have not only come from rivals, but also some independent voices from both sides of the political spectrum. For instance, adviser to human rights organisation SUARAM, Kua Kia Soong, pointed to gaps in the manifesto with regard to how we don’t tax the super-rich adequately. Today we speak to analysts at a think-tank devoted to small government and free-market based solutions on their assessment of the manifesto.

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Last week in an unexpected move, US President Donald Trump accepted an invitation by North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un to hold a summit meeting.

If it happens it will be a first after other firsts. There was the February 10 visit by Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the South’s Blue House. And then March 5, visit by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the headquarters of the Korean Worker’s Party. Also in the offing a possible a third inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom in late April.

Today we explore North Korea’s intentions, mixed messages from the White House and prospects for “irreversible denuclearization” on the Korean peninsula.

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Last week, China announced that its defense expenditure in 2018 would be over 1.1 trillion yuan - that’s about 684 billion ringgit. This year’s defense budget marks an 8% increase from last year. It’s only slightly more than the 7% hike seen in 2017, but it’s possibly the largest spending in the last 3 years.

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