Matteo Bernasconi

Historian made @GVAGrad & @uzh_ch, with detour @NUSingapore - here mostly to read & learn, with focus on Southeast Asia.

[Reuters Legal @ReutersLegal]

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court convicted two executives at an oil exploration company accused of embezzling over $1.8 billion from Malaysia's state investment fund 1MDB https://t.co/gyoB0xuFdd

[Aaron Connelly @ConnellyAL]

After Lawrence Wong becomes Singapore's prime minister on 15 May, the only ASEAN leaders* to have assumed office before 2021 will be the Sultan in Brunei and Jokowi in Indonesia—and Jokowi steps down in October. Unprecedented breadth of leadership transition in Southeast Asia.

[Thomas de Waal @Tom_deWaal]

The news everyone feared but hoped could be avoided. Azerbaijan launches military assault on Karabakh. Bitter terrible news for the people in Karabakh and for the whole region. Read live updates here https://t.co/pEdETJT7BN

[Norman Goh @imnormgoh]

What a day.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was discharged not amounting to acquittal, after the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed the prosecution’s application, to drop 47 charges of misappropriation of RM31 million from Yayasan Akalbudi.

Earlier last month, the lead prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran in Zahid’a case was dropped on August 8.

Outgoing Attorney-General Idrus Harun has been on leave pending his retirement on September 6. Government’s chief secretary Zuki Ali announced that the current solicitor-general Terrirudin Mohd Salleh will be his successor, effective Sept 6.

Will Zahid’s discharge backfire? Certainly. The reactions will flood soon, and this will not augur well with Anwar’s promises to fight against corruption.

Is the discharge surprising? Not at all.

Come this September 19, the court is set to hear a joint trial on former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s seven corruption charges related to Jana Wibawa program.

[Aaron Connelly @ConnellyAL]

In 2014, Prayuth launched a coup against against a Pheu Thai government. Now the party that Prayuth founded following his coup will become Pheu Thai's junior coalition partner. An unthinkable turn of events, were it not for the emergence of a third force in Move Forward Party.

[Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) @SouthCaucasus]

#Bergkarabach: Von der Welt vergessen. Seit einem Monat wird die Enklave Bergkarabach von #Aserbaidschan regelrecht ausgehungert. Über eine nahende Katastrophe.
Von Alice Bota ⁦@AliceBota⁩ und Maria Mitrov ⁦@MariaMitrov⁩ via ⁦@zeitonline⁩ https://t.co/dClos7ui9T

[Farhan @lamkanahraf]

Damning data on Malaysians' salaries.

Dari data statistik gaji sektor formal DOSM yang dikeluarkan hari ini, 82% pekerja sektor formal bergaji kurang dari RM5k.

Even more worrying, 35% earn less than RM2k.

We have a serious problem, and @rafiziramli is working every day to fix it.

Dasar gaji progresif (Progressive Wage Model) is really needed now more than ever.

[Melissa Chan @melissakchan]

Imagine if Secretary Blinken totally disappeared for a month and Biden wouldn’t talk about it and people wonder if he had cancer or something and then it’s just announced he’s gone. This is China. It is weird, and should’ve been bigger news but the world has normalized autocracy.

[Xinghui Kok 郭馨惠 @xinghui_kok]

Singapore politics has been way too interesting lately what's going on? https://t.co/R2GVX0aiwH

[Oren Samet @realosamet]

#Thailand's unelected senate just blocked @Pita_MFP from becoming prime minister. It's a major rejection of popular will and sets up more drama to come.

So what happens next? And where is Thailand headed?

A brief 🧵 1/n

#โหวตนายก #นายกพิธา #WhatsHappeningInThailand

[Colin McCarthy @US_Stormwatch]

We are watching a disaster unfold in real-time as near Category 5 Cyclone Mocha approaches landfall in Bangladesh/Mynamar, one of the most vulnerable places in the world to storm surge where hundreds of thousands of refugees are currently living in low-lying camps near the coast.

[Matteo Bernasconi @MBernascona]

@NikkeiAsia i.a. on the interesting interconnection between fires in Southeast Asia and rising meat consumption in China:

[Nikkei Asia @NikkeiAsia]

Crop burning chokes Thailand

NASA satellites show fires ablaze across Southeast Asia, where more people are struggling for breath due to dense smog from farmers resorting to slash-and-burn agriculture.

https://t.co/DamMDbi4By

[Matteo Bernasconi @MBernascona]

"Last month, Malaysia’s central bank warned that the average Malaysian is at risk of running out of retirement savings 19 years before their death." Malaysians face poverty after retirement as pension crisis looms https://t.co/DrpVVarEFk via @AJEnglish

[Murray Hiebert @MurrayHiebert1]

Indonesia asks Chinese bank to cut interest rate as rail project exceeds budget @restyworo https://t.co/K1kgCIFoWP via @scmpnews

[EDA - DFAE @EDA_DFAE]

Der #Bundesrat 🇨🇭 hat heute seine erste Strategie für #Südostasien 🌏 verabschiedet.

Bis 2026 sollen die #bilateralen Beziehungen mit den 11 Ländern dieser dynamischen Region durch konkrete Massnahmen vertieft werden 👇
https://t.co/GYzYj5pY2Q

[Igor Driesmans @EUAmbCambodia]

The 2023 survey by @ISEAS shows that the perception of the EU 🇪🇺 has improved further. 42.9% (!) of Southeast Asians say that the EU is their preferred and trusted strategic partner in hedging against the US-China rivalry. #SSEA2023 #Indopacific #GlobalGateway

[Apurva Sanghi @ApurvaSanghi]

How's the M'sian economy doing? Our World Bank take on headline macro:

1. M’sia’s 2022 growth among HIGHEST in E. Asia
2. Recovery BROAD-BASED
3. 2022 Govt revenue HIGHER vs 2021
4. Inflation coming DOWN
5. Un- and under- employment both going DOWN

All true headlines BUT...

[Mekong Review @MekongReview]

While the western world breathes a sigh of relief at Sean Turnell’s release, Burmese youths fight on with a determination that belie their age: our Free to Read this week with @jagowriter. https://t.co/EM6QHOyFJn

Our Christmas subscription offer: https://t.co/Qs5B2zGLUX

[Max Walden @maxwalden_]

Sobering assessment by Bloomberg: “Should the president get his move right, the benefits for Indonesia–and Jokowi himself–will be significant.

But the reality of Nusantara is likely to be a long way from his near-term, high-tech vision.” https://t.co/yBkhsxKabb