Climate striking across Asean

Hello friends,

I’m trying out a new thing for weekend reads where I’ll take a look at an over-arching trend touching on at least a few Southeast Asia states. The first one was going to be haze, but the climate strike has been a lot less demoralising so let’s start there. 

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Keep up the good fight, Asean!Erin Cook

Bangkok’s young die-in at the Environment Ministry 

BBC’s Jonathan Head notes that it appeared more foreigners took part but, as this great video shows, it’s young Thais running the show. Leading the charge is 12-year-old Ralyn Satidtanasarn, better known as Lilly to her friends. Her mission is to stop the use of plastic bags — or at least slow it down dramatically. “I am a kid at war. I try to stay optimistic but I am also angry. Our world is disappearing,” she told AFP while picking up trash along a Bangkok canal. 

“We're young, but we're not dumb. We know it's happening. We need change. We demand better,” she said at the ministry. She was joined by around 200 other young participants who staged a lie-in protest at the entrance of the building. "This is what will happen if we don't act on climate change now," said 21-year-old organiser Nanticha Ocharoenchai. 

Desperation in the Philippines

Manila has long been considered one of the most at-risk cities in the region. We’ve been talking about fears of inundation there well before Jakarta got its look-in. This has been reflected in a new YouGov survey which looked at 28 countries — including Asean cousins Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. The Philippines ranked number one out of everyone everywhere when it comes to expectations of the impact of climate change on respondents lives. A staggering 75 percent of Filipinos say climate change will have a ‘great deal’ of impact, while 19 percent say it will be a ‘fair amount.’

Youth activists on Friday know this, but the also know it won’t affect everyone equally. "[Ateneans] might be better off in coping with the effects of climate change, but it won't be the same case for other vulnerable people. This is why we are not just fighting for ourselves, but for others, as well," Ateneo Environmental Science Society president Kitkat Poe said. 

A day later but just as fierce in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia’s climate strike is taking place today instead. Though for schoolkids there I doubt it matters too much given so many schools have been cancelled amid the choking haze. I was really struck what organiser Nurul Fitrah Ahmad Merican, 30, told Malay Mail. Malaysia, compared to archipelagic friends, has been shielded somewhat from disaster but not for much longer. “I think it is essential to start the conversation on climate change now with the people close to us ― our friends and families. The average layman is ignorant of the issue as Malaysia has always been a country safe from natural disasters. As we are experiencing more and more extreme weather, I think it is crucial to make these stories known to the public to create awareness,” she said. 

Malaysia’s young people will be backed by a group of oldies — lawyers, activists, economists etc etc. “The world will see an unprecedented ‘strike’ by children, youths and others to bring attention to the climate emergency that threatens to engulf all of humanity. It shouldn’t take children to ask adults to fix the problems that adults created in the first place,” the group said in a statement. 

Good luck today, KL! 

Singapore won’t go it alone

Singapore will be joining their KL friends in meeting today. As we’ve covered a lot in the regular Dari Mulut ke Mulut, Singaporean leadership is an outlier not just in the Asia-Pacific but globally for its willingness to confront the threat head-on (although there’s always room for improvement, of course). The Singaporean day of action — which is approved by the police and Parks, phew! — is looking beyond the city’s own existential threat.

“Even though Singapore has robust adaptation measures, the climate crisis will inevitably affect our neighbours and other people in this world. That’s not a future we want: Where only Singapore is protected,” the organisers say in a FAQ document. Here’s hoping it won’t be entirely drowned out by the roar of the F1…

A long week in Indonesia

I’ve been a bit worried that it might seem like Indonesia phoned it in yesterday. That the archipelago is on fire and the turn-out would let people continue believing Indonesians aren’t pushing back and fighting against the destruction of their own country. It’s been an extraordinarily tough week in Indonesia and it’s not just the peatlands on fire anymore. 

This week has been non-stop protests. Protests against changes to the criminal code and the destruction of the anti-corruption agency have taken place all week with varying degrees of success. That so many young people, after nights on Rasuna Said and in Senayan, still showed up is huge to me. Young progressives are copping it from every angle, but they’ll keep pushing back.