Hello friends!

A big welcome to a whole lot of new subscribers who join us this week after I finally had exciting news for Twitter.

Ordinarily, today’s newsletter is one for premium subscribers with special reads for all on the list sent somewhat erratically throughout the week. I offer free premium subscriptions for readers aged 30 and under from all Asean member states and Timor-Leste. If that’s you, hit that reply and let me know a bit about you.

I hope we will be able to share some good last-minute news from Singapore later this week. Let’s wait and see.

Erin Cook

🇹🇭 Thailand pushes the line

I’m fascinated by these quiet yet public displays of protest in Thailand. These seemingly simple stands taken like that above, reportedly in Chiang Mai, of a three-finger salute spraypainted to the ubiquitous royal portraits. 

The first sign I ever saw was as subtle as can be imagined. A weekday afternoon viewing of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, two young men — the only others in the cinema — walked to the back of the theatre as the familiar pre-movie presentation began. Heads hung, no speaking, returning to their seats as soon as it was over. Now I’m certainly aware that it’s a particular type of person who sees that movie at that time, but these young fellas were onto something. Bloomberg reports that the humble cinema has become a venue for dissent, nearly half of the 60 ticket-holders during the reporter’s viewing of the new Bond film stayed seated.  

🇸🇬 🇲🇾 Causeway splinters on death penalty case

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri has called on his Singaporean counterpart to show mercy when it comes to 33-year-old Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, the Malaysian national set to be hanged on Wednesday, local time. PM Ismail has asked Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to consider clemency for Nagaenthran, who is mentally impaired and believed to have been coerced into the drug trafficking charges he has been found guilty of. 

Representatives from the European Union have also called for the Singaporean authorities to commute the sentence. “No compelling evidence exists to show that the death penalty serves as a more efficient deterrent to crime than imprisonment ... Moreover, rehabilitation as an objective of modern criminal law is frustrated by the application of capital punishment. Furthermore, any errors — inevitable in any legal system — are irreversible,” a statement from the Delegation of the European Union said, as reported by Coconuts Singapore. 

The case threatens to become a diplomatic incident in addition to a lightning-rod moment for Singapore’s fierce anti-death penalty movement. Why are six of the seven Malaysian nationals currently on death row in Singapore Malaysian-Indians? "This begs the question — is this a result of institutional racism, socioeconomic inequality, or another undiscovered factor?" Malaysia-based human rights group Sebaran Kasih said in a statement to Malaysiakini.

A very, very important conversation is taking place here and it’s just as important to note here that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ isn’t flag-based. A few months back VICE Asia undertook a stunning investigation exploring the extent of police violence and deaths in custody of Malaysian-Indians. The issue of racism in the justice system is bigger than any country.

🇵🇭 A little pre-Nov 15 update

We haven’t walked too far yet on the road towards the May election in the Philippines. Nominations closed last month but ‘substitutions’ are allowed until the November 15 deadline. I figured we better wait for the argy-bargy to wind down but that was naive.

I know better than that! While the official line-up won’t be set in stone for another week and a bit, there are some headlines to watch for. 

Firstly, what’s Duterte up to? The outgoing president is constitutionally unable to run for another term and, last month, ruled out running for vice-president. Rumours have continued to swirl that he may pop his hand up before November 15 (and the tone from the Manila press pack says no one there will be shocked if he does), but he’s also eyeing the senate. 

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and longtime ally Bong Go have confirmed he’s thinking about it, waiting to judge if his country ‘needs him’ to run. Don’t believe the hype, says former campaign spokesman Peter Tiu Laviña, the senate is a ‘freak show’ and Duterte is no clown. 

Elsewhere, rights groups are trying to derail the Bongbong Marcos 4 President train before it even leaves the station. At least one petition to nullify his candidacy has been filed with more expected in the coming weeks, focusing particularly on his alleged ineligibility to run for the office based on his previous tax offences and allegedly lying on his certificate of candidacy. Marcos has rejected the claims. 

Relatedly, here’s Duterte on an unpopular and self-serving belief: political dynasties are good, actually.

🇲🇲 Who is fighting who, and for what?

The discussion around defections from Myanmar’s state security has been a quietly consistent thread since very early in the coup, particularly following reports from within India of law enforcement members heading across the border. This isn’t something I’m too familiar with, so I really appreciate the fantastic reading available at the moment. 

The Economist has a look at how the people’s militias may have caught the Tatmadaw unawares, particularly in the areas dominated by ethnic-majority Bamar communities where the military typically draws its recruits from. Very interesting, however, does note that this may be an aberration rather than a long-lasting ‘fair fight’. 

It’s a fascinating complementary piece to this analysis from Robert Bociaga in the Diplomat, which looks at the emerging trend of defecting military and police members and how the resistance movement is helping them. Please read in full. 

Hundreds of rights groups are behind a call to the United Nations Security Council to establish a meeting to discuss a ceasefire in Chin state, Reuters reports. The state, known as ‘restive’ well before the February coup, has seen violence escalate over the years with an expected ‘flushing out’ of ethnic military groups imminent, says the newswire. 

🇻🇳 ‘Let them eat viral salt’

Vietnam’s Public Security Minister General To Lam got busted eating it up at Nusr-e, the posh London restaurant run by the Turkish celebrity chef/living meme Salt Bae. Ugh, okay. He also paid a visit to Karl Marx’s tomb. Honestly, you’d scratch that out if you wrote it, so on the nose. Netizens are, obviously, unhappy with the money spent by the Minister and his cohort on their trip abroad as so many suffer at home. 

Click through here for an infographic from VN Express showing the devastating impact the recent COVID-19 wave had on the country’s workers, including record job losses and the lowest take-home pay in a decade. Hope that salt bae was so cute though! 

Around the region

🇵🇭 A fond farewell

I am very, very sorry for omitting this link last week. The Philippines media circle and those across the region are mourning the death of photographer Romeo Gacad. Gacad’s career took him from photographing the heady days of his own country in the 1980s around the world, including award-winning work in Afghanistan. It was an absolute treat to see so many friends and colleagues of Gacad share their favourite work and stories across Twitter in the last few weeks. A true giant, it seems.

🇮🇩 An apology for dad

Following those explosive revelations last month of the extent of the United Kingdom’s involvement in the overthrowing of Indonesian president Sukarno and the horrifying years of violence following that, his famous family is demanding an apology. Writes daughter Kartika Sukarno for the Guardian:

🇱🇦 Record drug haul

The golden triangle copped its biggest headline yet after Laotian authorities seized a record haul at the end of October. Authorities collected over 55 million methamphetamine tablets in the sting, three times more than they seized in all of last year combined Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, told news wires. Drug trafficking in the area has increased in recent months as economic desperation across the border in Myanmar heightens.