Jakarta, or that town from Footloose?

Hello friends!

A bit of a slow-down last week after my brain nearly exploded, but after a truly transformative lulur jawa followed by a night of rum at a Hen’s Night I am entirely fixed! 

I have got a lot of notes from the previous unsent issue, however, so it is still quite exhaustive of the fortnight.

I’m running a cute little Christmas promo for 25 percent off a premium subscription, so if you’d like to join us for the year ahead do so here. It’s going to be a big one, Myanmar at the polls, Singapore at the polls (I promise you that it is more interesting than it seems!), Vietnam heading Asean and half the region taking on the European Union! Understanding Southeast Asia in 2020 will be more important than ever.

See you later in the week!Erin Cook

🇹🇭Off the bat, I’m going to do a longer Thailand one later in the week. I feel like there have been a few important developments that we haven’t looked out in-depth enough with space constraints but after this weekend, ooh boy let’s do it. 

🇮🇩This is always a weird time of year in Indonesia. Flare-ups over Christmas draw lines, prompting hideous comments and thoughtful writing on the true nature of unity and diversity in Indonesia. Abroad, it’s often reported with handwringing about the inevitable caliphate regardless of the much wider context. Domestically, Indonesia can afford to — and has to be — much more nuanced in the coverage. There is an air that this happens annually and probably will continue to happen annually but each instance must be interrogated before being pushed out for the latest.

Sometimes these can be a little bit funny and ends with the kind of social media roasting only Indonesia is capable of. This past weekend’s Djakarta Warehouse Project (a dance festival I briefly considered going to because I truly think Calvin Harris and I could be together but found a much better offer) has driven the usual suspects apoplectic. Prior to the two-day event, the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI) demonstrated out the front of City Hall calling on Governor Anies Baswedan to cancel the permit. 

“Our beloved governor supports immoral acts. He allows [thousands of] people to attend the DWP to conduct immoral acts,” GPI head Irwan AHN said. Which, beyond this, really sets up the expectations these groups will have for a presidential candidate Anies. Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) also got involved, slamming the festival but also the administration having given nightclub Colosseum an award for promoting tourism. Which is that ‘person you hate makes a good point’ meme, because what the actual heck was that about. 

There’s a couple of emerging ones in the last few days but scant English language just yet, so stand by! For now, President Jokowi is reminding about the importance of tolerance while authorities are doing usual preparations to secure places of worship ahead of the holiday. 

Elsewhere, World Bank puts losses from this year’s fires at US$5.2 billion, which is almost exactly the industry’s exports in 2018. It’s go time! The Trade Ministry has filed a challenge against the European Union’s biodiesel regulations at the World Trade Organization. Expect to hear a lot of this in the coming months as it comes to a head. 

🇵🇭A monster 6.8 earthquake in Davao del Sur, Mindanao, on Sunday has left at least four dead including a little girl. The mayor of Padada, where two people have been confirmed dead and half a dozen remain trapped in a destroyed shopping centre, has declared a state of calamity. Meanwhile, President Duterte, who was having a hair cut (or napping?) at home in Davao City when it hit, has ordered government agencies involved in the response operate around the clock for now. This looks like a nasty one, expect an update next week.

Vice President Leni Robredo has delayed the release of her report into the war on drugs in response. She used a media appearance scheduled for today to instead push for more assistance to the affected. 

In the shadow of the SEA Games, the Philippine National Police denied allegations of routine human rights abuses in the drug war. The report, released by the ICC and looking at the three-year-long war, alleges rape and torture are commonplace. 

PNP’s Brig. Gen. Banac provided a written statement, as reported by Coconuts Manila. “The rehashed narratives of alleged abuses remain to be unfounded and devoid of truth from the beginning but had been repeatedly told and retold over and over to make sound factual. The PNP maintains the regularity of all police operations in its major campaigns against crime, illegal drugs, and terrorism where the possibility of armed confrontation with suspects is always present.”

Typhoon Kammuri ripped through the lower end of Luzon last week leaving at least 13 dead. Thousands more were evacuated while flights were grounded. Crop damage in lower-lying areas is expected to reach US$16 million while 135 schools and over 1,000 homes have been damaged. 

🇸🇬I just started reading This Is What Inequality Looks Like and I am so thrilled. It’s exactly the sort of Singapore read I’ve been looking for forever. Will no doubt rave about it again as soon as I’m finished.

Here’s a good sign we’re shaping up for an election shortly. The Singapore Democratic Party has said it received notification from Google that it “will not accept advertising regulated by the Code of Practice for Transparency of Online Political Advertisements.” It’s part of the fake news legislation, but SDP argues that it negatively impacts smaller opposition parties.

But that’s not SDP’s only problem. The party has been a target of the fake news laws after the Ministry of Manpower demanded the party amend Facebook posts about wage growth. SDP has complied with the notice but will appeal. 

The Australian national on charges for having thrown a wine bottle from his flat hitting and killing an elderly man is in even bigger trouble now. Prosecutors have charged him with additional charges after alleging the incident was “religiously aggravated.”

🇰🇭The tally of former CNRP activists assaulted since Sam Rainsy’s announcement in August has hit 13. Tep Chansokheya, a 51-year-old former councillor in Phnom Penh, says she was left unconscious after an attack on Friday. “I think this stems from a political issue, not a personal conflict, because I … never have had an argument with anyone. [Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government] robbed me of my elected position and they must find justice for me,” she told Radio Free Asia. She alleges police dragged their feet in issuing a report.

Meanwhile, the European Union say Cambodia has not done enough to keep its EBA status. Cambodia had until Thursday to respond before a formal decision is made in February. 

It’s a bit quiet at the moment. I did enjoy this longer one about the history of Cambodia-US relations but will go into it further in the longs newsletter. 

🇻🇳Vietnam is still reeling from the Essex truck tragedy a week after all remains returned home. Elsewhere, this feels like an especially heavy week for American links about the war which I, as a rule of thumb, typically ignore. Uniqlo opened. 

Vietnam is getting ready for its tilt as chair of Asean. Here’s a look care of the Interpreter at how this and other pressing factors might influence foreign policy, particularly, of course, in the South China Sea. 

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Quiet old Laos. Brunei is all SEA Games again. There is a very sweet Timor-Leste one, with Filipinos rooting hard for their national sides at the Games. The Philippines is sitting very strong and sturdy at number on the medal tally but Timor looks like it might take nothing home. But the Timorese have found a lot of support in the Philippines, becoming the second side to barrack for. Love the wholesomeness of it — I hope we see some Pinoy Power get Dili into the bloc for real.

🇲🇲With Aung San Suu Kyi on her way home, we’ll have a proper update on her time at the Hague later in the week. 

Ma Hnin Zar Phyu, wife of Arakan Army chief Major General Tun Myat Naing, will be charged by Thai authorities on immigration laws. She had hoped to extend her visa, and that of her children, in Chiang Mai before authorities there told her her passport had been revoked by Myanmar. She is currently in immigration detention and faces deportation. 

🇲🇾Loved this one from Friend of the Letter Jewel Topsfield on Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who has just swung by Australia. He has some interesting ideas about reshaping leadership within Asean and deepening relations with Australia and New Zealand. Is Asean at, hmph, a crossroads? I think we’re starting to see more of this conversation with a particular emphasis on economy rather than political issues. 

Here’s some hand-wringing over the Tattoo Malaysia Expo, despite it having been supported by the Tourism Ministry. Dengue rates have hit an all-time high this year with deaths reaching 146 so far. The Health Ministry warns reported cases could reach 150,000 by the end of the year.