Asia Sentinel

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The outlook isn't that good, an academic says

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A win for the opposition is nearly impossible

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Malaysian PM turns to old foe's allies for help

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Election aftermath could soon claim its real loser, the current PM

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It was always about what would happen afterwards

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Racial lines harden as corrupt electoral rules trump desire for change

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Opposition coalition faces uphill struggle, observers say

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An open letter to friends in the international media

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Corruption, race and public weariness combine to give the opposition a real chance

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If the opposition coalition comes to power, would PAS Islamists try to shut down gambling?

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Whether they'll vote or not is another question

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Ominous signs for the Barisan?

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The current campaign bypasses the biased mainstream

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Decision further indicates abandonment of multiracial political coalition

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Home field advantage

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There are fears of violence, but observers think they're overblown - or hope they are

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One if Anwar wins, the other if Najib does

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UMNO may have to go it alone as Chinese, Indian parties crumble

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Prime Minister announces dissolution of Parliament

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UMNO mouthpiece New Straits Times speculates it will be tomorrow

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The issue of ownership of Sabah and Sarawak belongs in the Hague

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Drag on the country's treasury, PM says

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East Malaysian state's relationship to the southern Philippines causes concerns

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Tale of murder, bribery, double cross and a plot against Anwar Ibrahim follow private eye to the grave

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The 'gangster's lawyer,' representing French munitions giant, an apparent suicide in France

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More things for voters to worry about

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Private detective who tied prime minister to relationship with murdered woman has heart attack

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Father of youth who said he was raped by Malaysian opposition leader says Najib's office was responsible

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Could it become a regional flashpoint?

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The long wait is nearly over. Did Najib delay too long?

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Nobody seems to know or care

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Even before the election is called, the political scheming grows in volume

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Two years of fevered campaigning appear to be almost over

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Businessman Deepak Jaikishan says he was Rosmah's bagman

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Prime Minister Najib, his wife and UMNO leaders remain silent in the face of charges

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Deepak Jaikishan names well connected lawyer in murder cover-up

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Former Malaysian information minister insults former Indonesian President

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A rattled Najib tries to figure out how to counter allegations of criminal cover-up

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Carpet seller implicates, PM's brother in bid to silence murder witness

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Party forced to deal with corruption allegations in the midst of its annual general assembly

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A key figure says he helped PM's wife get a witness out of town

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Highly doubtful that is going to happen, though

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Sub scandal lawyer, booted out in 2011, scheduled by opposition to address parliament

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PAS says it wants to run any opposition government that might be elected

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Authorities would like to shut opposition sites, but former PM promised it would stay free

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Whatever happened to the Hong Kong probe into Malaysian money laundering?

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Durex the condom maker says they’re doing just fine

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OECD report finds "serious deficiencies" in following up corruption probes

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What did Musa Hassan know, and when did he know it, and did he intend to tell it?

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Retired Malaysian police chief schedules mysterious Bangkok press conference Monday to announce “new revelations” in murder for hire case

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Six years on, troubling questions remain about the Mongolian beauty's death, and who ordered it

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There's precious little

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Justice says the home ministry isn't allowed to block permit to publish print edition

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With elections looming and the outcome probably closer than ever before, the government goes on the attack

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Prime Minister Najib seeks to deliver the goodies to his core constituencies

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But sukuk trading has a long way to go yet

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When the going gets tough, the tough jail the whistleblowers

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As environmentalists, political opposition plan further action, Australian company gets on with it

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Never mind 150 million euros in bribes, a dead woman and a global scandal, go for the whistle-blower's throat

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Temporary operating license a possible harbinger for November election

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Does the Klang Valley’s water company mainly service UMNO?

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Government prefers to look the other way on Beijing's South China Sea ambitions

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Companies commission investigators show up at NGO's door

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The murdered woman went to France with the man previously accused of her murder

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The 133 official documents uploaded onto this website are from the Directorate-General of the French National Police and the Judicial Police Directorate’s anti-organized and financial crimes unit.

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Leaked prosecution documents show a pattern of official misdeeds in two countries

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Parliamentary select committee okays rare earth plant, but cautious prime minister holds the cards

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Polls keep receding into the future, with analysts talking about hung parliament

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Mysterious French operative at center of massive arms scandal

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Maltese opposition MP alleges French company may have laundered some of the money

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French defense giant said substantial amounts of money had to be channeled to UMNO

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Bangkok press conference set for tomorrow expected to deliver more details of scandal

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Government plans for a press council are actually plans to restrict press freedom

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Science minister says he’ll announce a decision in two weeks

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Five-minute time lag allows extra bits to be snipped out to preserve "sensibilities"

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High-ranking opponent of April 28 rally loses his Senate post

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New documents appear to tie him to demands for kickbacks

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Police crackdown on rally in Kuala Lumpur once again earns international criticism for government

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Electoral reform protests intend to defy police to occupy the city's central square

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Cancellation of an aluminum smelter leaves the Bakun Dam with no reason to exist

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Street theatre intensifies prior to expected election

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But says its policy is to cooperate fully with authorities

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Sarawak NGO charges Sabah chief minister with funneling money to Swiss bank accounts

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Money may have been funneled to UMNO officials through Hong Kong incorporated company

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Disappointed with the pace of electoral reform, and with elections looming, Bersih 2.0 calls on its followers to march in April

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Head of Women's wing, enmeshed in Cowgate, apparently will retain her post

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French case draws closer to Malaysian officials

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Embarrassing cases are pushed forward past anticipated summer polls

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Opposition, Barisan tangle over rare earth plant as global confrontation looms

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Women's minister departs after five-month scandal over misuse of public funds

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A murky and embarrassing case is closed, hiding top government officials’ involvement

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Maybe, if it isn’t delayed again

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Environmental organization says Malaysia is destroying its rainforest, particularly in Sarawak, at a frantic pace

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Questions of insider trading in national car shares remain unanswered a month after sale to a Mahathir crony

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Does Kuala Lumpur have a home-grown version of China’s ’50-centers?’

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Opposition coalition condemns license for plant, vows to fight

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Case reopens doubts about Malaysian justice system

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(UPDATE: Prosecutors said today they had filed an appeal against the not guilty verdict delivered by High Court Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah on Jan. 9.)

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With Sodomy II out of the way, look forward to March polls -- maybe or maybe not

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Now what?

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Case could backfire on the government

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Selangor conservative leads a revolt against modernizers

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Charges of looting Sarawak could just be electioneering, he says

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Two years later, the government’s case still looks manufactured

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A Swiss NGO says Abdul Taib Mahmud’s holdings span the globe and then some

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A new set threatens

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Government delivers a carrot, tables a stick in parliament

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Conservative values might make it easier for the authorities this time

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Prurient and puritanical, the country gags, goes gaga for naughty tales

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Civil rights groups, Asean caucus, Malaysian opposition party, oppose plan

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Asian dimension as French state-owned arms company faces murder, bribery allegations

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Thousands of people still struggle to regain what they lost

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Bersih 2.0 can challenge decision saying it’s illegal, judge says

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High Chinese prices, electoral situation, western scarcity of rare metals become factors

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Seemingly dramatic changes may not be very dramatic but very political

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Both Malaysia and Australia ask what next

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There are strong institutional reasons for the lagging performance against its regional neighbors

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He says accuser acknowledged readying himself for sex

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Opposition leader accuses Premier Najib Tun Razak and his wife of framing him

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Or is it a ploy to buy time?

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Planting favorable news stories in the international media now over?

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Government effort to plant stories tarnishes major TV networks worldwide

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Religious police accuse Christians of attempting to convert Muslims

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Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s wife blazes her own controversial trail

If they ever planned to move, they certainly say they aren’t going to now

Putting regional office in Indonesia is a blow for Prime Minister Najib

Leader of a team investigating kickbacks to Malaysian and French politicians is taken off a plane at KLIA

Aide hounded to death, royal commission finds

French prosecutors edge closer to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak

Making fun of the government is not allowed

Crackdown lowered rally numbers but made Malaysian government look bad

Malaysian Saturday Rally Back On, Along with Confrontation

Electoral reform organization agrees to king’s call to hold rally at a stadium

{mosimage}Massive corruption suspected in billion-dollar deal tied to Prime Minister Najib

{mosimage}A widely respected Malay leader asks in an open letter how opposition aide Teoh Ben Hock died

{mosimage}How did an opposition party aide manage to throw himself off  an anti-corruption agency building?

{mosimage}Despite continuing to win by-elections, organizational difficulties abound

{mosimage}Manohara: Row, row, row your boat, gently back up the stream…

{mosimage}Watch for the danger flares in Terengganu 

{mosimage}A research-rich Celebes Sea block spurs a confrontation between two navies

{mosimage}The former PM appears about ready to have a go at yet another successor

{mosimage}Mahathir says Don't Singaporize Johor

{mosimage}A weakened Prime Minister Najib seeks to quell dissent – moderately

{mosimage}Ruling Coalition and the opposition continue to squabble over the spoils as voters fume

{mosimage}Crisis erupts in Perak state over who controls the statehouse

{mosimage}An alleged kidnapping complicates the life of the Malaysian premier, UMNO and the country's royalty

{mosimage}The former prime minister is expected to complicate life for newly minted Premier Najib

{mosimage}But the case leaves an indelible stain on Malaysia's political and legal systems

{mosimage}Three by-elections do little to clear up a muddy political picture

{mosimage}An obscure by-election in a sleepy East Malaysia town is a harbinger

{mosimage}Malaysia's leading ethnic party names a scandal-ridden party hack as its head and the country's leader

{mosimage}Are Kuala Lumpur's rent-seekers raiding the public purse again?

{mosimage}A statement by the confessed murderer of Altantuya Shaariibuu raises more questions

{mosimage}The anointment of Najib Tun Razak as prime minister could hit some bumps in the road

{mosimage}Brunei gives up its claim to a small but important sliver of Malaysia

{mosimage}Manufacturing insults out of thin air

{mosimage}Political leaders scramble for power as the economy descends into the doldrums

{mosimage}As intraparty elections near in the country's biggest political party, the temperature rises

{mosimage}The government can criticize the country's sultans. The opposition can't

{mosimage}A Malay-language translation gets our correspondent in trouble

{mosimage}The NGO's annual document finds authorities misusing security laws

{mosimage}As the coalition crumbles, leaders turn on each other

{mosimage}Maybe the ouster of a state government might not be such a good idea

{mosimage}A charismatic leader faces sexual perversion charges and a state coalition shows signs of coming apart.

{mosimage}Grim prognosis for the ruling national coalition

{mosimage}Malaysia's ruling coalition sets out to buy a by-election

{mosimage}Malaysia's cabinet approves a low-cost air terminal to help out a political ally

{mosimage}Malaysia's fledgling art scene grows political tendrils

{mosimage}Our Correspondent dares arrest by riding with potential threats to the state

{mosimage}The acquitted Abdul Razak Baginda does little to dispel suspicions over Deputy Prime Minister Najib’s involvement

{mosimage}The dismissal of charges against a prominent blogger fuels speculation over why and how

{mosimage}A Malaysian politician dares to speak truth to power

{mosimage}The acquittal of a top political figure in the murder of a Mongolian translator appears unlikely to stop controversy

{mosimage}If Abdul Razak Baginda didn’t order two elite cops to kill a Mongolian translator, who did?

{mosimage}The United Malays National Organisation is said to be suffering from senility

{mosimage}Two years after Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered, her accusers continue to sit in a courtroom

{mosimage}Despite public promises of a political takeover, Anwar Ibrahim is still but a voice in the opposition wilderness

The opposition leader increases the pressure on Prime Minister Badawi, who faces more trouble in his own party

After the government jails journalists, anger is rising

Malaysia's army chief tells everybody to cool off

Government leaders appear increasingly likely to dare unrest by seeking to jail Anwar Ibrahim

The Malaysia Today website is blocked by authorities, but immediately launches an alternative site

Now for the hard part: Having won his by-election, Malaysia’s opposition leader seeks the big prize

Can the opposition leader translate electoral success into a parliamentary majority?

Malaysian voters will decide tomorrow if Anwar Ibrahim will return to parliament. If he wins, will he be the next prime minister?

Malaysia’s politicians authorize a spate of dams they don’t appear to need

If Anwar becomes prime minister, will he be out to collect the scalps of those who engineered sexual perversion charges against him?

Economy may suffer as political battle turns into a legal tussle over questionable rape allegations

Police say they will arrest Malaysia’s opposition leader on sexual perversion charges

Opposition leader shakes off sodomy charges to say he’ll run

The tangled political web in Malaysia grows messier

A medical report surfaces saying the male aide who filed charges against the opposition leader wasn’t molested

A high court judge rules that the deputy prime minister doesn’t need to answer questions about a murder

Malaysia’s legal pursuit of Anwar Ibrahim is destroying the country’s reputation

Opposition leader denounces charges against him as protest gathers steam

Malaysian opposition leader is taken on sodomy charges as opposition pressure grows

A promise to step down in two years probably means the prime minister won’t be defenestrated any sooner

Deputy Prime Minister romantically linked to murdered Mongolian translator in court declaration

Were the latest sodomy charges against Malaysia’s leading opposition politician trumped up?

Historic track still runs but deforestation radically alters the view

After four years in a Malaysian jail, a Sri Lankan businessman is no longer regarded as a nuclear outlaw. Why?

Charges of sexual perversion against opposition leader roil the country’s already chaotic political scene

Najib Tun Razak says he had nothing to do with the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. So why won’t he testify in court?

Kuala Lumpur comes up with a controversial plan to turn a vast area of Borneo into rice paddies

Bank Negara sits on a report that a government-owned bank has lost millions on loans to politicians and royalty

It looks increasingly like Adbdullah Badawi will call it quits later this year or early next

Lorrain Esme Osman, who was at the center of the Bank Bumiputra scandal, appears to be a factor in the downfall of Bertie Ahern

The cracks in Malaysia’s ruling coalition and biggest party are widening after the shock of the March elections

Will Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s past haunt his challenge to the country’s weakened prime minister?

Beset by opposing forces, the Malaysian prime minister is in a pickle

After an election debacle, Malaysia's government has to cope with democracy for the first time

The ruling national coalition takes its biggest beating since independence

The harried opposition’s best hope is to break the ruling coalition’s two-thirds majority in Parliament

The cycle of blaming foreign workers for its woes has begun in Malaysia

A Royal Commission in Kuala Lumpur expands to embarrass the bench, becoming a free for all in the process.

AirAsia is betting it can beat two of Asia’s most established airlines on the lucrative Singapore-Malaysia route

Slain Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu sinks further from public consciousness

Bored with politics: UMNO is sooo last century

Malaysia’s national oil company may have some unwanted help as it goes abroad to seek additional energy supplies

“Allah” may mean “God” everywhere else, but not in Malaysia

A top Chinese official is driven from politics after a videotape of a sexual tryst makes the rounds in Malaysia

A small Catholic newspaper is given a reprieve over its use of the word ‘Allah’ for ‘God’

In a confusing and emotionally fraught decision, Malaysia’s high court delivers judicial primacy to syariah courts again

The government brings legal actions against organizers of recent protests

Respected figures accused of accepting payoffs while police look the other way

Worries over the legal system and electoral irregularities led to a rare call for street protest in Malaysia this weekend. Will the police allow it?

Malaysia looks unlikely to win its case at The Hague over an island dot with sizeable implications

The country’s nine sultans seem ready to stand up for judicial integrity, a move that could shake the business-as-usual attitude of the government

The country’s judiciary is increasingly corrupt, says Perak’s Azlan Shah

In going after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, the government is avoiding confronting judicial manipulation

Star witness says she was coerced as prosecutors challenge inconsistencies.

A Malay woman’s long battle to legally convert to Christianity highlights Malaysia’s religious and ethnic divide.

Will the online gadflies be able to outsmart the authoritarian impulses of their rulers? They have so far.  

Pressure mounts in Kuala Lumpur to put the brakes on a scandal-tainted Malay politico

A sudden spate of sleaze allegations unsettles politics at the top of Malaysia’s biggest political party

Mixed-blood models dominate much of Asia’s advertising scene, sometimes generating jealousy and xenophobia

Sweltering in a Kuala Lumpur jail, accused murder conspirator Abdul Razak Baginda gets his trial moved up by a full year

Malaysia’s Islamic fundamentalists square off against rising modernism in an increasingly secular state

Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia have signed a pact to preserve what’s left of Borneo’s tropical rainforest. Do they mean it?

UPDATE

Powerful accused killer of a young Mongolian woman admits to affair in court