The Week Ahead: Marcos heads to DC (again) and things are heating up (literally)

Hello friends!

Moving to a new platform the week I began a new job was folly, I see this now. Back to regular operations this week although I will mix up the usual send dates on account of wanting to get a new Myanmar update out as soon as possible.

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On the upside, this new job means a lot more time on Canberra buses. Usually terrible, but I did work my way through my enormous Pocket list and have today a whole bunch of the best reads from across the internet for you. A bumper one for Cambodia nerds!

See you then,
Erin Cook

Marcos heads to DC as US, Australia and Japan team up with Manila for drills

Busy week in Washington DC — and probably then the Second Thomas Shoal — with US President Joe Biden playing host to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday. Philippines' acting foreign affairs undersecretary Hans Mohaimin Siriban said the meet isn’t ‘aimed’ at a certain country or anything, Reuters reports. Oh, for sure! 

“We can expect an alignment of views among the three countries on the recent incidents,” Siriban said and noted we can expect a joint statement to come from proceedings.

The meeting follows joint naval and air drills between the trio and Australia (hey, where’s our invite!) on Sunday, Benar News reports. The South China Sea drills obviously come amid a particularly tense time between the Philippines and China in the waters so let’s see how this looks all at the end of the week.   

It’s getting dangerously hot in here

Extreme heat has the entire region sweltering this week. Record temperatures are expected across Southeast Asia and authorities and communities are moving to keep things cool. Some schools in the Philippines will go online, the Guardian reports, while Thais have been told to stay inside, according to the Bangkok Post.

I’m a little worried about what this means across Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei — all of which will see millions celebrate Eid this week. In Indonesia, millions are hitting the road to get home in what’s known as mudik and, sadly, deaths are an annual report. Add bananas heat to the equation and it could be a disaster. 

Authorities in Vietnam declared a state of emergency over drought conditions over the weekend. Thousands of people face a “severe” shortage of fresh water due to the drought and salinisation in the Tien Giang province. ‘The Mekong Delta faces saltwater intrusion every year, but more intense hot weather and rising sea levels — both driven by climate change — are increasing the risk,’ the AFP reports. 

Where socks meet Malaysia’s most stressful legal issue

This KK Mart story isn’t going anywhere, with a big development expected this week. Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has been a huge champion of boycotts on the convenience store chain and he now faces charges himself. An investigation paper is expected to be delivered to the Attorney-General's Chambers this week with charges, including under the Sedition Act, expected, Bernama reported (via Malaysiakini because I cannot get that danged website to work ever.)

People’s Justice Party MP and lawyer Hassan Abdul Karim has offered to represent him if Sedition is the game. “Knowing how cruel the Act is, as a lawyer and MP who wants to see the Sedition Act abolished in our independent Malaysia, I sincerely offer myself, if he (Akmal) chose to accept me as one of the lawyers in his legal team if he’s eventually charged,” he told media over the weekend. 

Attacks on Myanmar capital could signal shift

Are there moves afoot in Myanmar? The National Unity Government last week reported drone attacks on the junta-held capital Naypyitaw. ‘It deployed 29 drones armed with explosives to the airport, air force base and army headquarters,’ the BBC reported. Seven were shot down by the junta. No casualties were reported. 

We’ll move this week’s Myanmar newsletter up a little since I haven’t been able to crack in for a while and there is a lot to catch up on.

Philippines’ self-appointed ‘son of God’ ever closer to arrest

They’re going to get Apollo Quiboloy this week, I swear! The walls have been closing in on the wanted alleged human trafficker/immensely wealthy preacher for the last few weeks and now he’s saying he’ll come on in as long as the FBI and the US embassy won’t come for him. Two associates in Davao City surrendered last week in one of his particularly revolting cases, this one involving the sexual assault of a minor. 

“You want me to appear to face these cases? These are my conditions. Give me a guarantee that the Americans will not interfere with these cases in the Philippines. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Authority, and the US Embassy should not interfere,” he said in a statement issued by Sonshine Media Network International. 

Or, he won’t be caught alive, Rappler reports. That’s the other statement: “Remember this: I will die with honour. I will stand for the oppressed, those deprived of justice, and those deprived of fairness in this country. Here, my blood will be shed. Here, I will die. Let it be, as long as it’s a Filipino who kills me. That’s OK with me.” 

Let’s see what this week brings us in this bonkers case increasingly about celebrity and factionalism and less about justice. 

Bonus: Asean! Remember that thing?

Finance ministers from across the bloc finished up a meet in Luang Prabang over the weekend, the Associated Press reports here. Things are generally good — overall growth for the Asean region this year is around the 5% mark. Not so great for host Laos, however, which is in debt distress. Will get into it further in our Mekong newsletter this week. Always a good Laos week when someone gets Keith Barney on the phone 🙏 

Reads you better not miss

Gold teeth and a broken heart: Dirrikaya’s adventure unravels Australia’s hidden history (ABC Compass)

This is my pick for the ‘holy smokes you must read’ of the week. The recitation of ‘hey, Indigenous Australians had trade relations with Makassar for centuries!’ is rote now in Australian spaces discussing the bilateral relationship (nevermind that it relies on the history of a people eternally subjugated by mainstream Australia, nor does it seem to charm Indonesia who is wildly underwhelmed to hear that the remarkable history of maritime trade over centuries included what is now Australia — duh. Anyway, moving on.) 

Like much of history, the real story comes alive when we learn about a specific personal history. Two photos of a young Indigenous family uncovered in Makassar were shown on Australian TV. “My cousin Amos rang me and goes, ‘Guess what, those photos on ABC are our great-grandfather Dirrikaya.’ I was so shocked! And he started telling me about how our ancestors had sailed away to Indonesia with the visiting fishermen,” Sylvia Tkac says in this feature. 

Click through, the photos are truly amazing and so is the story of Dirrikaya. “I think Dirrikaya wanted adventure,” Tkac says in the piece. Looks like he got it! 

Cambodia’s Unique Islamic Sect Fights to Resist Assimilation (The Diplomat) 

Fascinating feature here on Kan Imam San, an Islamic sect found only in a few small Cambodian villagers of ethnic Chams. “They pray only on Fridays, have their own scriptures and writing systems, and do not observe all the rules of Halal. Their behaviour often seems to go against what the overwhelming majority of global Muslims would understand as Islam. However, they view themselves as the preservers of the authentic Islam of their ancestors,” Daniel Zak and Chantara Tith report. It was once the majority, but Sunni Islam has taken hold among a majority of Chams and so begins the tensions. You’ve got to read this one. 

Southeast Asia’s Soldiers of Fortune in the Russia-Ukraine War (Fulcrum) 

A couple of weeks back Moscow announced it had a whole bunch of foreign fighters on the side of Ukraine — and that included Indonesians, Thais and Filipinos. This is a nightmare to get confirmation on, from what I understand, but people who know these things are taking the reports seriously. Is it legal, asks Ian Storey here for Fulcrum. Not really, but it depends on the home country. But more intriguing is what is it that compels someone to leg it to the other side of the world to defend a country that has nothing to do with your homeland? Money, citizenship and maybe a little bit of cowboy-ing. 

Lost homes, lost traditions, lost habitats: the cost of Indonesia’s brand new city (The Guardian)

The way it’s explained, you could be forgiven for thinking Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara, organically grew out of the jungle in Kalimantan. It, of course, did not. The costs are high to the state but this feature shows the costs for local communities who have found themselves shoved out of the way or watching their landscape change are enormous. “It makes us feel so far away from the area and from our families,” says Yati of the Balik community. She’s been promised compensation — but it hasn’t arrived just yet. 

The return of Cambodia's food lost during the Khmer Rouge regime (BBC) 

Ros Rotanak is a rarity in Cambodia — a celebrity chef. Better known as Chef Nak, last year she won Best of the Best Cookbook in the World at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for her SAOY book. Accolades aside, what’s interesting here is the rebuilding of the Khmer cuisine tradition after the devastating destruction of the Khmer Rouge. “The Khmer Rouge's restrictions on cooking at home forced many to prepare their food in secret. The consequences of being caught were serious, even fatal,” Dr Sambo Manara of Paññāsāstra University says. 

The fast life and slow exit of Thai showman Chuwit (Nikkei Asia)

Can’t go wrong with a Chuwit Kamolvisit profile. The lawmaker/massage parlour operator/anti-corruption campaigner/character for the ages quietly left the country for chemotherapy treatment in the UK, where, a friend tells Nikkei, he can get more rest than in Bangkok. This piece is a recap of an incredible, if at times revolting, life in Bangkok’s seedier side. Someone give a filmmaker some money, please. 

An ex-diplomat and king’s head: Inside the secret global trade of Asian art (Politico EU) 

Here’s a lede for the ages: ‘The tale of the small, gold Buddha begins more than 200 years ago, when a goldsmith crafts it for the court of the Cambodian king. It ends — as far as it’s possible to tell — in 2018, when István Zelnik, a Hungarian former diplomat with a penchant for antiques, puts it up for sale on an online auction site.’ And this story just gets better from there. On scams, lies and the transnational fight to get Cambodia its gorgeous antiques and treasures back. 

Thousands, some in trance, pay homage to sacred Thai tattoo master (Reuters)

Once a year fans of Luang Phor Pern, a monk who died in 2002, gather at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok to take part in the Thai Wai Khru ritual. This year, thousands headed over to celebrate Sak Yant, the fantastic tattoo style the monk is credited with popularising. Great story here from Reuters, but no snaps so do a Google (or enjoy the Instagram search I did). 

Indonesia’s e-bike shops are building their own batteries (Rest of World)

I probably sing the praises of RoW too much, but a feature like this makes it hard not to kiss their butts. It’s so good! Dharmawan Kusna Handoyo is one of a load of people in the emerging DIY battery business as e-bikes boom in Indonesia. But batteries are danged expensive and a homemade option is an attractive option. It’s made the broader industry tougher to regulate, but that’s Indonesia baby! Great snaps here of Dharmawan at work. 

'Act of rebellion': trans actor finds stage in Singapore (AFP)

Beautiful piece here from AFP about Medli Dorothea Loo, a former child star, who found her career path effectively ended after transitioning. As AFP notes, Singapore has a vibrant and exciting LGBT community but deeply held social values have been blamed for keeping that community out of mainstream representation. “I think me being on stage as a trans body, as a trans voice, is a little act of rebellion. It's like kind of a middle finger to 'Singaporean values,” Loo told the wire. 

Will Power Tame Indonesia's Prabowo? (Global Asia) 

What will a Prabowo Subianto presidency look like in Indonesia? Nobody knows! But some have savvier views than others and Yohanes Sulaiman is one I’ll always turn to. Prabowo’s renowned for his bluster and chest-thumping in the past but much of that was tempered in this year’s campaign, could it be that the more confident he is that he’s getting what he wants the less interested he is in playing the strongman? I don’t know, maybe. That ignores 2014 polls I guess. Who cares. Let’s hear from Yohanes: “But one thing is sure: Prabowo sincerely believes he is the leader that Indonesia needs in this turbulent age. Where this will bring the country, only time will tell.” 

The Marcoses’ three-body problem (Rappler)

The Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte Uniteam ticket was unstoppable in 2022. “A body moving at constant speed in a straight line will continue moving at constant speed in a straight line unless a force acted upon it,” John Nery writes for Rappler. That’s blown up. Nery explores why here, but the section that really gets me is his take on President Marcos Jr’s approach to China. “This must stem in part from the recognition that there is an international aspect to the project of rehabilitation; in his view, the course of cleaning up the family name runs through key Western capitals,” he writes. Intriguing. 

In Indonesia, deforestation is intensifying disasters from severe weather and climate change (Associated Press)

It’s been a horror few months in Indonesia with landslides and flooding killing dozens and destroying communities. Deforestation is to blame, say environmental experts who warn that unless something is done it’s only going to get worse. “This disaster occurred not only because of extreme weather factors, but because of the ecological crisis. If the environment continues to be ignored, then we will continue to reap ecological disasters,” rights group Indonesian Forum for the Environment said in a statement. Here’s a stunning factoid: since 1950, more than 74 million hectares of rainforest have been destroyed in Indonesia. That’s more than two Germanys, Global Forest Watch reports. 

🎧🇮🇩 What’s next for Jakarta?

I’m joining Kevin O’Rourke and Steven Handoko on Reformasi Dispatch for a while and it’s a great time to be chatting with brains like theirs. This week, we chatted about what exactly is going on with Jakarta. It’s not technically the capital anymore, but Nusantara is barely more than a glamping-meets-construction site out bush. So where does that leave one of the largest cities in the world? (And with all this Constitutional Court chat I can’t resist bringing up Move Forward over the way in Thailand) Have a listen and subscribe!

🎧 🇸🇬 After a sloppy few months what’s up for Singapore?

Michael BARR and Bridget WELSH talking about ELECTIONS in SINGAPORE? My own personal SEO have been hit here. Singapore has been unusually messy politically lately, so where are we heading? The next generation doesn’t have a huge amount of leaders, Barr flags, and Lawrence Wong, the planned future prime minister, is “no politician” he says.