Current Affairs

Last week, a White Paper on the threat of militancy and terrorism was tabled in Parliament to combat the rising influence of ISIS in the country. It coincides with the release of the Global Terrorism Index Report in which Malaysia is ranked 48 out of 128. We assess the report, and find out what this ranking means for regional security.

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Today, the United Malays National Oganisation (UMNO) annual general assembly begins in earnest. It started with the surprise but rumoured appearance of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who led the party and government for over two decades. Along with party president Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin the nation can expect to hear what the party that has dominated the coalition that has governed since Independence have to say.

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Yesterday, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) President as well as the Deputy President, addressed different groups of delegates at its annual general assembly. While Najib Razak’s reported message at a closed door meeting of 5000 delegates was about the party’s need to reach out to other communities, Muhyiddin Yassin reportedly launched a broadside against “liberal” Malays, calling them a bigger threat to the party than the Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). Party rejuvenation is one of the key themes this year. BFM will be reporting live from the UMNO General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Center over the next three days.

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Defending his deficit budget, the newly-minted Mentri Besar Azmin Ali, notes that his predecessor’s balanced budget was often followed by supplementary ones. He has promised not to follow that footsteps, barring a disaster. This morning we look at how political this Pakatan Rakyat budget is, changes in target groups especially the rural sector, the politically curious decision to increase the poverty line (and its consequences), its emphasis on education (especially its large allocation to Universiti Selangor) as well as its commitment to protect permanent forest reserves.

Aziff Azuddin contributed to this report.

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Despite the absence of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who was widely expected to give a fiery speech at the opening of Perkasa’s National Unity Convention, the day-long session did outline the core themes in current Malay politics. In his place former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad articulated the concerns of the coalition grassroots organisations and that former leaders of key institutions – military, police, bureaucracy - supported a memorandum on “national unity”. This morning we ask if Perkasa wants to set UMNO’s agenda; and what is meant by “national unity” and “Malay dominance”?

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A recent suggestion by the Home Minister to give birth certificates to stateless children was met with criticism by some who believe that it might lead to possible abuse by undocumented migrants. To allay their fears, the Prime Minister has said that these stateless children will be given a document that will not lead to citizenship. We ask whether this is good policy and if it complies with the international commitments the government has undertaken. We also ask what the building blocks of a sustainable and just solution might be.

This is a report by Muhammad Haniff Baharudin

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The Borneo state’s newly minted Chief Minister Adenan Satem unveiled his first Budget last week, with an allocation of over RM6 billion. Observers note no significant departures from the priorities and policy orientation of his predecessor, now the Governor of the Sarawak. Is this an election budget, rewarding rural constituency largely in the hands of Sarawak’s Barisan Nasional coalition? And what about the continuing infrastructure support for the ambitious Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy? We explore.

This is a report by Keith Kam and Aziff Azuddin.

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The 3rd in this year's series of Auditor-General's Reports has been released. This Report scrutinises government projects such as 1Azam, as well as the performance of our civil service. Much of the media has been distracted by sensational headlines like such as “RM12mil in pensions paid to 3,786 deceased military veterans”, or “YTL Communications fined RM2.4 million over 1BestariNet”. But do these headlines get to the heart of the problem? What is the contribution of weak policy formulation to the problems we see in these Reports? We explore this question today.

This is a report by Sharyl Kaur & Aziff Azuddin

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With the Badminton World Federation now officially naming Datuk Lee Chong Wei as the Malaysian shuttler who failed the drugs test at the World Championships in Copenhagen, the spotlight is now on whether the banned substance found in his system, Dexamethasone, is a performance-enhancing drug. A medical doctor helps shed some light on Dexamethasone, why it's banned in sports, and the time it takes to be flushed out of the body.

This is a report by Audrey Raj.

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Three countries, three summits. Obama’s Asia-pacific tour has begun, on the heels of a domestic political drubbing, which saw the Democratic Party lose control of the US Congress. Obama is “expected to try to kick-start his ‘rebalance’ and reiterate his commitment to the region”. He begins at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Beijing, China, after which he will be in Myanmar for the East Asia Security summit in Naypyidaw. After which he will attend the G-20 Summit in Brisbane, in Australia. We touch on some of the issues he will be expected to address, and local politics he will encounter, on his trip.

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