Hello friends!

My plan to have a couple of medium-sized briefs has been thwarted! There is political chaos in Malaysia, again? Still?

As I always note, Malaysia can be very overwhelming for outsiders and I’m never sure I’ve got everything (The Sheraton Move was a very humbling experience, personally). Subscriptions to Between the Lines and Malaysiakini serve me very well and is highly recommended always, but especially when things get this messy.

And before we crack in: Hello to all the new readers this week! I’ve had some very generous publications and organisations I love help boost this newsletter in the last few days and it is always appreciated. Please let the young (under 30) Asean or Timorese national in your life know they’re eligible for a free subscription 🥰 just email back and let me know.

Stay safe out there and see you later in the week,Erin Cook

🇲🇾 PM halts parliament — again

The week before last when I said you better get onto Between The Lines, holy smokes did I mean it. As foreshadowed by the team there, the return of parliament and expiration of the emergency order at the start of August kicked off a fresh round of ‘what the hell is going on?’ 

So. Okay. First of all, this one from the Straits Times looking at who is who and what they want in this latest season of Game of PJ Thrones which I’ve found immensely handy. 

The least well-known cast member for foreigners (at least myself!) is Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, known less formally simply as Sultan Abdullah or Agong. How Malaysia’s rulers rise to the top gig is absolutely fascinating and surely unique to the world. Please read this one from all the way back in 2019 for some context. 

Least well known because until recently the rulers have typically weighed in very little on the domestic politics of the day, sticking above the fray. But these are extraordinary times. Sultan Abdullah has found himself more prominent as the political crisis unravels amid the pandemic — a unique set of circumstances explored here at length by Serina Rahman last month.  

He became involved again last week after Parliament resumed sitting after months of hiatus. Opposition MPs took the government and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to task. They say the PM was trying to avoid a vote in parliament — this is highly likely, he’s got the wolves at his door and is hoping to dodge a no-confidence motion — and this caused confusion about what actually needed to happen for the emergency decree to close. 

At this point, the Agong, whose approval will be needed to officially end the emergency, is mad. Like, real mad. One analyst told Bhavan Jaipragas that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get annoyed enough about the politicking and bullshit and just kick Muhyiddin out himself, though others disagreed. Ooh, we’ve got a big few weeks ahead.  

Cut to this weekend, MPs all receive a note saying there’s been a COVID-19 breach and parliament is on hiatus again until further notice. 

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad isn’t enjoying the schadenfreude, he’s setting a fire under his successor. Standing next to Anwar Ibrahim (yeah, I know right?) he let loose Monday. 

"Thousands have died but he is happy to be prime minister. This type of prime minister has never been seen in Malaysia … It is really unfortunate for our country that the people are suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic and economic problems, but they are more focused on politics and want to be the government,” he said during a protest address outside parliament, as reported by Malaysiakini. 

He did also, in that same address, say that police were keeping MPs from entering the building. Malaysiakini later spoke with Kuala Lumpur police who have denied the accusation saying it’s usual protocol when notified of rallies. 

Meanwhile, the people have absolutely had enough. People are dying. Vaccines are rolling out but cases continue to climb and the economic and social crises are bearing down. Protests are prohibited under current restrictions on social gatherings, but the fury is too real. Protestors gathered in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to demand Muhyiddin resign. 

We will be back on what the people say. 

I couldn’t find where exactly to squeeze in this deep nerd constitutional crisis explainer but it’s very good so give it a read if you really want to go in.

Across the region

🇸🇬 🇻🇳 🇵🇭 🇺🇸

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin visited Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines last week. Defence isn’t my bag at all, so I shall defer to Greg Poling. Am especially interested in what Greg calls the ‘accurate prioritisation’ of US interests in the region after picking those three over other spots. Fair cop, I think, especially given how tough the situations in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia currently are — but I did spot a couple of very smart friends in Jakarta feeling a little snubbed on main. 

🇱🇦

Laos is keen to get tourism up and moving again. The central government has instructed local agencies to “reopen tourism under the new normal as appropriate in each locality and in accordance with the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The Laotian Times notes the imminent opening of new rail connections between Laos and China, a decent vaccine roll-out and — fantastic news! — nearly a fortnight of no community transmission in Vientiane. Well done, Laos! 

🇹🇭

A civil servant was detained in Thailand over the weekend accused of spreading rumours that a coup against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha was imminent. Bangkok Post reports that the suspect is yet to be charged but could see additional charges added including defamation. The suspect says he thought it was true and mistakenly forwarded it online. They should rename the Streisand Effect, don’t you think?