dpa international | Simon Roughneen

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad quits government – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Mahathir Mohamad on Monday resigned as Malaysia’s prime minister and his Bersatu party has quit the governing Alliance of Hope coalition. Mahathir’s move comes after a weekend of drama, with parties from both government and coalition meeting all day Sunday and Anwar Ibrahim, the designated successor to Mahathir, alleging “betrayal” by allies. Anwar and Mahathir met on Monday morning, shortly before Mahathir, at 94 the world’s oldest Prime Minister, announced he would quit. Mahathir previously said he wanted to remain as leader until after Malaysia hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November.

Malaysia’s leader-in-waiting alleges plot to topple government – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR – Anwar Ibrahim, the designated successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, accused members of Malaysia’s governing coalition of betrayal as a series of all-day party meetings fuelled speculation that a new government could be formed at his expense. “We are waiting for further information, but there were attempts to bring down the Pakatan government involving our former friend Bersatu (the party led by Mahathir and one of four governing coalition parties) and a small faction from PKR (the coalition party led by Anwar) who has betrayed us,” Anwar said, in a video posted on Facebook.

Announcement of Malaysia power handover date put off again – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s 94-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad again declined to set a date for the long-promised succession of Anwar Ibrahim, a former rival. “For tonight, there is no time, no date fixed,” Mahathir said, seated beside Anwar during a midnight press conference in the administrative capital Putrajaya. Anwar said that Mahathir has the coalition’s “full support.” “In the meantime, I will just be patient,” he said.

Coronavirus means Ash Wednesday restrictions for Asia’s Catholics – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Catholics in Southeast Asia will have to do without one of their most recognizable motifs due to the coronavirus outbreak. On February 26, the Christian holy day of Ash Wednesday this year, Catholics in Malaysia and the Philippines will have dry ash sprinkled onto their heads instead of the usual smearing of a damp grey-black ash cross. Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, stated that the measures were motivated by “our concern for the well-being of our brothers and sisters” and the taking of the “utmost care and efforts towards the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.” The virus that has spread to around two dozen countries, has killed over 2,200 people, mostly in China, where the pandemic originated.

Southeast Asia’s “jaw-dropping” wildlife trade a concern as virus outbreak continues – dpa international

Frogs for sale in a Singapore wet market (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — Newly compiled statistics published by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, show that more than 200 tons of African elephant ivory and almost a million pangolins have been trafficked through South-east Asia since the turn of the century. “Not a day goes by without a wildlife seizure taking place in South-east Asia, and all too often in volumes that are jaw-dropping,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy TRAFFIC’s Southeast Asia director. The trade in wildlife across Asia has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, amid speculation that the virus – which has killed more than 2,000 people – originated in a central China wet market where wild animals were sold and eaten. “llegal wildlife trade will always provide opportunities for viruses to jump from wildlife to people,” TRAFFIC’s senior communications officer Elizabeth John said.

Former Australian and Malaysian prime ministers at odds over MH370 air tragedy – dpa international

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak arriving at Kuala Lumpur High Court on February 10 2020 for one of his ongoing corruption trials (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday that there is “no proof” that the pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was responsible for the unexplained disappearance of the aircraft in 2014. Najib was reacting to comments by former Australian premier Tony Abbott, who said in a TV documentary about MH370 that “my understanding – my very clear understanding – from the very top levels of the Malaysian government is that from very, very early on here, they thought it was a murder-suicide by the pilot.” Abbott, who was Australia’s prime minister at the time of the flight’s disappearance, did not name any officials in the recording, which will air on Australian TV on Wednesday evening. In comments on his personal Facebook and carried in local media, Najib said that it was unfair to blame the pilot “unless and until a black box and cockpit voice recorder were obtained.”

Singapore minister cannot mask scorn for coronavirus panic-buyers – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Leaked audio has emerged of Singaporean Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing criticizing not only his fellow citizens for hoarding but Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam for wearing a medical mask while holding at a press conference. The source of the audio is unknown, but appears to be a recording of a closed-door meeting last week at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The recording, which has been widely shared on Singaporean social media, features Chan claiming that the sight of the mask-clad Hong Kong leader Lam prompted panic-buying in Hong Kong. If Singaporean officials had emulated Lam, Chan said, “our hospital system would have broken down” as there would be “no more masks.”

Singapore to spend over 4bn dollars to dampen coronavirus impact – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Singapore announced its 2020 budget on Tuesday, pledging 5.6 billion Singapore dollars (4.02 billion US dollars) to assist businesses and households affected financially by the coronavirus outbreak. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced the measures in Singapore’s parliament, where he said another 800 million Singapore dollars will be allocated to support “frontline agencies” that are fighting coronavirus in the city-state, where 77 cases have been confirmed. Heng warned that “the outbreak will certainly impact our economy” and said that inbound tourism and air traffic had already dropped as Chinese outbound tourism plummets. Singapore Airlines announced on Tuesday that it was temporarily reducing flights “due to weak demand as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Malaysians tagged as Asia’s worst plastic polluters – dpa international

Plastic packaging in a Kuala Lumpur mall (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — A report published on Monday listed Malaysians as the biggest per capita users of plastic packaging in a region responsible for more than half the plastic litter in the world’s oceans. The report by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) covers China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, which together account for “around 60 per cent of plastic debris entering the ocean.” The average Malaysian uses 16.78 kilograms of plastic packaging each year, according to WWF estimates, with Thailand next at 15.52 kg per person per annum. “Rapid economic growth has led to an immense increase in the use of plastic, especially for packaging consumer goods,” the WWF stated, linking plastic use with rising affluence across the region.

US woman retests positive for coronavirus in Malaysia – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said on Sunday that a US citizen had retested positively for coronavirus after arriving on a flight from Phnom Penh. Cambodia’s Health Ministry asked its Malaysian counterpart to retest the 83 year old woman after the positive diagnosis was first announced on Saturday, marking Malaysia’s 22nd coranavirus infection.