The Week Ahead: Ramadan begins, constitutional charge and India sends refugees home

Hello friends!

I quite like this new Monday newsletter. It’s fun! 

Over at Australian Foreign Affairs, I have what’s probably the final Indonesian presidential election piece I’ll be doing for a while. It was also really good fun to write! 

Now let’s crack in.

Erin Cook

A happy and safe Ramadan to everyone

It’s Ramadan time! The Muslim fasting month begins this week which means I’m about to go to town on free drinks and snacks at the mall. It’s a rough year with the cost of living biting across the region. For less well-off Indonesian Muslims, it means queuing for hours at food security agency depots to secure subsidised rice and cooking oil. But don’t stress too much, the government says. “The supply of food commodities is completely secure. The people do not have to worry about rice,” Trade Ministry director for domestic trade Isy Karim said last week, as reported by the Straits Times. 

Across in Malaysia, the government is making similar comments over meat supplies. Even if things get a bit dicey, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu will find a way. “"If the supply is inadequate, we can import goods as we have established agreements with exporting nations like Thailand and China,” he told reporters over the weekend, as reported by the Edge. 

And in Brunei, the Seasonal Maximum Price Setting is in effect on Ramadan favourites to keep prices from going bonkers, the Borneo Bulletin reported last week.

Elections body readies for challenges in Indonesia

Things are getting fishy as vote counting continues in the Indonesian election. Just to be explicitly clear and get the headline out of the way: nothing sizably weird (or particularly convincing) in the presidential race so don’t expect much movement there. For a look at how that’s shaking out, premium readers can look back on Thursday’s email.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) is readying for a likely showdown in the Constitutional Court. The agency spent last week preparing by getting data together and doing simulation runs. This would sound kinda fun if we didn’t have some funny business on the horizon. For more on that, give the podcast down below a listen! 

Myanmar refugees repatriated from India

On Friday, India began deporting Myanmar refugees who fled across the border in 2021. It follows an announcement a few weeks back that it would end the visa-free program between the two countries. Deportations are expected to continue into the week. The US is unhappy and “concerned by reports that recent deportations from India to Burma included refugees and asylum seekers,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters over the weekend. But, India never signed on to the refugee convention and is having its own scary and violent domestic issues, so I can’t imagine words won’t do much at all. 

Cha, cha, cha, cha, cha

Here we go! The Filipino Congress will begin a plenary debate on the Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 towards charter change — the wildly controversial amendment of the Constitution. It’s all aimed at making investment and boosting the economy a touch easier, Filipino President Bongbong Marcos Jr has told voters. But given it’s all about amending a constitution written after his dad was torn down by the people for abusing power, can’t fault anyone for being a little sceptical. 

“The plan is to have three days of debates, with the second-reading vote set shortly after the termination of discussions and the period for amendments on the third day,” Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Representative Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr told the Inquirer.

Not everyone is happy with it. Four opposition senators have flagged concerns. “Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 is flawed both procedurally and substantially,” Albay 1st District Representative and Liberal Party president Edcel Lagman said in a statement. Rappler reported he also ‘pointed out that even the approved committee report failed to discuss the presentations and position papers submitted before the committee in the past two weeks.’ 

Anthrax scare in Thailand, Laos

Watch your raw meats in Thailand and Laos this week, the Thai government warns. Multiple cases of anthrax have been reported in Laos and are believed to be linked to the consumption of raw meats. “Please avoid eating uncooked meat. The meat must be truly cooked,” Kenika Ounjit, a deputy government spokeswoman, told the Bangkok Post.

Don’t have to tell me twice. 

Reads you better not miss

As global acts sell out Singapore gigs, homegrown artistes call for more support to help local music scene flourish (Channel News Asia)

Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift. Yeesh! Singapore’s home to plenty of actually decent music, so why can’t we do more to support that? There have been some great opportunities for high-profile opening acts, but there’s still some way to go. “We are on our way to a better landscape for local music, but we're not there yet,” singer Shareefa Aminah, known as Shazza, told CNA.

Too true. Let’s make Singapore a music city says jazz veteran Jeremy Monteiro. “Let's have more live music, whether it's folk music, classical music, or even guitar guys singing in cafes and pubs. It doesn't even have to be places that sell alcohol,” he said. 

'They tried many times to corrupt me'. Australians speak out against foreign spies (SBS)

We touched briefly last week on foreign intelligence messing with diaspora communities within Australia, particularly Cambodia. How, exactly, do they do that? SBS took a look in this expansive piece. “If they dare to send people brazenly hitting people in another country, why wouldn't they do it in Melbourne? It's about money, about status, a title they would receive in return for this criminality,” former Victorian state MP MP Hong Lim said. 

Indonesia, Malaysia consumer boycotts hit McDonald's, Starbucks and others (Nikkei Asia)

I’m absolutely zero percent shocked to hear enormous brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks are feeling the bite in Indonesia and Malaysia from the pro-Palestine boycott movement. Local license holders have tried to stress (or sue) that they’re a different entity to, say, the Israel McDonald’s that provided food for the Israeli Defence Force or the Starbucks that targeted employees in the US for supporting Palestine. 

“The most pronounced impact that we're seeing is in the Middle East, and in Muslim countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. So long as this conflict, this war is going on ... we're not expecting to see any significant improvement in [these markets],” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said during a recent earnings call.

👀 🇲🇲 Where are the women when it comes to Myanmar?

All-male panels are a feature of Southeast Asia, sadly, but it does seem like when it comes to talking about Myanmar it’s much more common. International Women’s Day makes my blood boil mostly, but this from SEA Junction on how and why this phenomenon is so common is a balm! Recorded last year and released this week, you’ve got to watch it.

🎧🇮🇩 A guest spot on Reformasi

This week I did my best Jeff Hutton impression and filled in on Reformasi with Kevin O’Rourke. Great timing too, because I have a lot of questions. We chatted Indonesia’s post-election landscape and the parallels between Indonesia and the Philippines.