News Updates for Week of February 21st

Thailand – Army Did Not Kill Reuters Cameraman


Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has concluded that Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto, who was killed during political protests last year, was not shot by security forces, the head of the DSI said on Sunday.
That conclusion contradicts a preliminary finding in a DSI report leaked to Reuters in December, which indicated the bullet that killed the Japanese journalist on April 10 came from the direction of troops.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_639469.html

Thailand – Future Uncertain for Children in Baby Scam


The fate of around nine unborn children hangs in the balance as Thai authorities weigh what to do with the offspring of Vietnamese women freed from an illegal baby breeding ring in Bangkok.
A total of 14 women, half of them pregnant, were freed on Wednesday from an operation using them as surrogates for wealthy childless couples overseas who placed orders for newborns online. A few were offered up to US$5,000 (S$6,364) per baby.
'There is a risk that those children might end up as stateless, that they won't get citizenship anywhere,' said Benedict Phillips, Asia strategy director at Save The Children. Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit has described the gang, which operated under the name Baby 101, as 'illegal and inhuman' and suggested some of the women had been raped.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_639452.html

Malaysia – Businessman Pays SGD 9 Million Ransom

A businessman from Singapore was forced to pay a staggering SGD $9 million to secure the release of his family in what has been described as Malaysia's largest ransom payment in recent years.
The nightmare began when the businessman's wife, their maid and daughter were driving home. They were forced off the road by another vehicle in Permas Jaya recently. Subsequently, the kidnappers took over the wheel and drove off with the three of them to an undisclosed location.
Bukit Aman sources said that the kidnappers sent an MMS of the three victims being held at gunpoint to the businessman before demanding a ransom of $50 million. The kidnappers warned the millionaire, who has businesses in real-estate and gaming, not to alert the police and to pay up if he wanted his family back. It is learnt that after negotiations, the kidnappers agreed to a ransom of $9 million and demanded that the money be prepared in large denominations of Singapore dollars.
Apparently, the businessman was then instructed to drive to a plantation in Kulaijaya to drop off the money. Sources said that the victims were only released at least two days after the ransom was paid. It is learnt that they were blindfolded and gagged during the ordeal which lasted several days. The three victims, who were all unharmed, were eventually dropped off around Danga Bay.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_639384.html

Thailand – Former Tennis Star and Miss Universe to Breakup


Former tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan and 2005 Miss Universe Natalie Glebova will tell the public about their breakup for the first time in a prerecorded television program.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_639178.html

Indonesia - Increase in Arms a Cause for Concern


From petty crime to armed robbery to major terrorism operations, the increasing use of illicit firearms in Indonesia has reached a level that security experts warn must be addressed.
“Armed robbery has been around for years, but the cases seem to have intensified recently,” said Suryo Guritno, an independent weapons expert. 

Police say there were almost 1,000 crimes involving guns or explosives last year. 

In a special report, the Jakarta Globe looks at the various ways civilians, for whom legally owning a gun is almost impossible, can get their hands on weapons. 

In Cipacing, West Java, dubbed Indonesia’s air rifle manufacturing capital, homemade pistols can be bought for as little as Rp 2.5 million(USD 300), but they are often of such poor quality that they either misfire or break after a few shots. Real handguns are for sale at black-market prices of about Rp 15 million (USD 1700).
More worrying are those smuggled out of police or military armories, which one army deserter says is relatively easy to do. This appears to have been the source for a group of militants accused of running a terrorist training camp in Aceh. 

Two police officers are being tried for selling 28 weapons and 20,000 rounds of ammunition from a police warehouse to the terrorist group.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/alarm-as-illicit-weapons-fuel-rise-in-gun-crimes/425540

Malaysia and Turkey Joined in Police Training

Malaysia and Turkey have agreed to cooperate in police training which will also see Turkish police personnel attending the Malaysian Academy on Trans-national Organised Crime (Matoc) in Langkawi, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. Datuk Hishammuddin said the exchanges would help build stronger relations between the police forces of both countries.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_639144.html

Philippines - Marcos victims in Philippines to get compensation

About 7,500 victims of human rights abuses during late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos' regime will receive compensation for their suffering starting next week, 25 years after a peaceful revolt forced Marcos into exile in Hawaii, their lawyers said on Thursday.
It is the first time the victims will receive any compensation since they filed a class suit in 1986.'The distribution is historic and a triumph after 25 years of struggle to achieve justice,' said American lead lawyer Robert Swift. Mr Swift said victims will receive the equivalent of US$1,000 each starting in a ceremony on Monday. Mr Swift and his Filipino co-counsels, assisted by the Commission on Human Rights, will distribute checks personally to claimants or their heirs in Manila and 15 other locations in the country.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_638458.html

Thanks again for checking in!
Stay classy,
SEASA

News Updates for Week of February 14th

Happy Valentine's! Hope you had a good one with many exchanges of chocolates and letters lol!

Malaysia - Young Suicides Cause for Concern

A rash of suicides in Malaysia has raised concerns over the problems that ail its youngsters, who appear to make up the bulk of the victims. In the past two weeks, seven cases have been reported in the media. In the whole of 2008, there were 290 cases of suicide, according to the National Suicide Registry, which began collecting figures in mid-2007. Last year saw 445 cases in the first eight months alone.
The registry estimates there are now about 60 suicides every month. More than half those in 2008 involved Chinese. Experts have linked it to stress, increasing mental health problems and Internet escapism.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_636673.html

Thailand – Thousands of Red Shirts Rally in Bangkok


8,000 Thai 'Red Shirts' gathered in Bangkok on Saturday to mark nine months since a bloody crackdown on their anti-government rally and to press for the release of detained leaders. ‘We came today to ask for justice for our people who died exactly nine months ago at this place,' said Thida Thavornseth, leader of Red Shirt movement. More than 90 died and nearly 1,900 were injured in clashes between protesters and the army during the two-month rallies in 2010 calling for immediate elections
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_636773.html

Myanmar – Suu Kyi Must Apologize for Sanctions


Myanmar’s military rulers called on Saturday for the party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to apologize to the public for backing Western sanctions it said were restricting the country's development. Analysts believe she is using her influence on the West as leverage to coax the reclusive generals towards reforms, but their latest rebuke suggests they are still unwilling to cooperate.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_636737.html

Singapore – All Singaporeans Will Get up to SGD800 (USD630)

A total of SGD3.2 billion (USD2.5 billion) will go into the 'Grow And Share' package that will benefit more of the middle and lower-income groups, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. A sum of SGD3.4 billion will also be spent on longer-term investments to enhance the well-being of Singaporeans.
Growth dividends stand at SGD1.549 billion and will benefit about 2.5 million Singaporeans. Each Singaporean will receive between SGD100 and SGD800 in cash, based on assessable income.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_636654.html

Thailand – Attacks Would 17


Seventeen people were wounded in Thailand's insurgency-ridden far south when insurgents launched a grenade attack on a karaoke bar and then detonated a bomb nearby, police said on Sunday.
Two women were injured in the M-79 attack on the bar in Narathiwat town on Saturday night, which was followed 25 minutes later by a bomb blast in front of a massage parlour just 100m away, wounding 15 people. Shadowy Islamic insurgents have waged a bloody campaign in Thailand's southernmost region since early 2004, leaving more than 4,400 people dead, including both Muslims and Buddhists, in near-daily attacks.

http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_637034.html

Singapore – Low Birth Rate


The Singaporean Government will look at ways to help single men and women find partners, in a bid to tackle the problem of falling birth rates.
More people are staying single and those who are married are putting off having babies, said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, on Sunday.
It was announced last month that Singapore's total fertility rate hit a historic low of 1.16 last year.
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_637106.html

Indonesia – Controversial Film Tax


Under fire for a potential new tax on foreign films that has led distributors to halt their importation, the government on Sunday promised to review the move. 

The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, said the government wanted to support the development of the domestic film industry with the proposed new tax. 

“We will review the Directorate General of Taxation’s circular issued in January on the new levy on imported films,” he said. “This is because we are not going to pursue regulations that have a bad effect on the public and threatened to kill the cinema industry here with their implementation.” 

The minister said the government, if necessary, would also invite distributors to discuss how much they were prepared to pay. Imported films already pay a 23.75 percent excise duty and another 10 percent income tax. Local governments also levy up to a 15 percent tax on ticket sales.
There has been a barrage of criticism, both here and abroad, over the proposed tax. The Motion Picture Association, which represents some of the biggest studios in Hollywood, on Thursday told journalists in Jakarta that it would stop movie exports to the country because of the possible new levy, which was rumored to cost as much as 43 cents per meter of film imported.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/govt-pledges-review-of-controversial-new-indonesianfilm-tax/423848

Have a good week ahead!
SEASA <3's

East Timor Pleads to UN for Accountability

"We are still not yet free of the shadow of serious crimes committed during the 24 years of Indonesian occupation. We have suffered a lot during that period; physically and psychologically", these were the words given by the Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal(ANTI) in a letter to UN as a plea for action.

ANTI looks to take action to end impunity given to those who partook in the criminal actions that occurring during this time. General Ban ki-Moon, a UN Secretary, was given heat by ANTI for his failure to bring this issue into the light during his most recent report to the Council.

The organization's main concerns are that the continued lack of action against this issue will diminish country stability and will encourage similar crimes elsewhere in the world. The concerns, and the future of the UN mission in Timor, will be discussed further on the next council meeting on February 22.

Last Security Council Report:

http://www.laohamutuk.org/reports/UN/UNDocs/2011/SGRept11_32.pdf

Link to the Article:

http://www.etan.org/news/2011/02anti.htm

Malaysia Reports an Alarming Suicide Rate

Recent reports suggest that the suicide rate in Malaysia adds up to an an average of two suicides per day as the growing pressures and stresses of family dilemmas, school, and work prove too much for many Malaysians today.

The National Suicide Registry in Malaysia has reported 425 deaths caused by suicide over a course of eight months last year(January through August) coming to an average of nearly 61 people per month. They say "reported" but that excluding the multiple unreported deaths that would skew the statistic upward.

Hopefully, measures are being aught to try and reduce these figures, in particular for those within the age range of 16 to 25 who are, according to the Health Ministry, the highest suicide instances.

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_633334.html

A Vice-free Valentine's Day

Islamic officials in Malaysia are pushing to reduce the number of vice activities that occur on Valentines day, a day that has been known for such frivolities, both in Malaysia and elsewhere around the globe. Their goal is with these crack-downs is to continue to encourage a sin-free life.

Jakim officials will carry out a campaign with the theme 'Mind the Valentine's Day Trap' to prevent celebration of that day. They are able to further legitimize their actions because of the specifics of Islamic religious beliefs, which reject anything that is not consistent with the beliefs of the Islamic teachings, and according to a ruling six years ago, the day had connotations of Christian faith.

Link to the article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_634485.html

Thailand to Keep the UN out of Border Disputes

Recent reports indicate the growing tension that surround the Thai-Cambodian border dispute centered around the temple of Preah Vihear. A closed-door meeting will be held to explain the situation and Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand Prime minister seems assured that they can explain how the standoff was the cause of Cambodia and that all of Cambodia's claims are "wrong".

These disputes over borders are responsible for four days of violence around the area earlier in this month and while Cambodia is appealing for an intervention via a third country, Thailand is leaning more towards placing Cambodia in an unfavorable light through it's case evidence(media reports, pictures).

Link to the article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_634524.html

Peace Talks to Commence with Communist Party in the Philippines

The Communist party of the Philippines(CPP), has caused a number of problems for the Philippine government since it's founding in 1968. Peace talks between the party and the Philippine government and set to take place in Norway proceeding years and years of disagreements and confrontations.

Alexander Padilla, a chief government negotiator, says that 'Our most optimistic projection is that... substantive agreements can be reached in 18 months' time and peace achievable in three years,'. These talks seem to look promising, but the CCP, just a few days after these talks were scheduled, an attack was mounted on a town in Northern Philippines with communist rebels responsible.

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_634513.html

Deforestation at Large in Malaysia

Recent reports by a research group called Wetlands International have confirmed a substantial deforestation rate in Malaysian forests, reportedly at a rate almost three times faster than the rest of Asia.

The actual numbers indicate that in Sarawak, the largest Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, about ten percent of the forested are uprooted annually over a five year period. A parallel range of years for the rest of Asia shows a 2.8 percent deforestation rate. Taken all together, approximately 353,000 hectares of rain forest land was deforested within these last five years alone.

These recent studies may very well indicate and correlate with a higher demand for palm oil, a product produced largely in Malaysia and neighboring Indonesia and made largely from the stripped forests.

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_630609.html

Aung San Suu Kyi in Support of Egyptian Protesters

"We're all with you": These were the words of Aung San Suu Kyi, a recently freed, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and an icon for Democracy in Burma. These words were in response to the growing situation in Egypt involving one of the largest displays of protest in the nation's history.

Issues involved in the protests include but are not limited to police brutality, low minimum wages, inflation, and the lack of free speech and elections. Suu Kyi supports the efforts of these protesters seeking a better Egypt and comments that people "have much better means of getting in touch with each other and arranging mass public demonstrations such as they have done in Egypt".

World views on the situation have been mixed but hopefully a peaceful solution can be found.

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_630684.html

Poh Chen Shui CAUGHT in Fiji Bank Fraud

Recently, a Singaporean businessman by the name of Poh Chen Shui was caught for engaging in a bank fraud that's worth was 50 million Euros(Equivalent to over 80 million U.S. dollars)

What happened is that Shui went to Fiji and started up a business back in January of 2009 with two Fji natives: Rajnesh Singh and Atunaisa Veitata. The trio called this company Full Creations Investments Ltd. A forged bank draft with the worth of 50 million Euros was then deposited by Veitata in an attempt at easy money but was discovered by the bank to be fake.

Reports indicate that Rajnesh Singh was using this forgery in an attempt to buy several acres of land belonging to an Anglican Church.

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_631859.html

Vang Pao's Appeals for Arlington Burial Denied

Vang Pao, a general in Laos, was recently denied burial at the famous Arlington Cemetery where many heroes had been buried in the past, including the Kennedy's, other former presidents and military leaders.

Vang Pao has recently passed away at the age of 81 after having served for the Royal Lao Army from the 1940's up to 1975. Based on the pre-established conditions of burial at Arlington Cemetery as described by the Federal Code of Regulations, there is no rule specifically preventing Pao's burial there.

The committee organizing the funeral wanted to do it in a traditional Hmong style alongside burial with honors at Arlington but were unfortunately denied. Pao's dedicated supporters and followers are currently appealing to U.S. President Barack Obama to potentially overturn this decision.

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_631917.html

Picture of Vang Pao:

http://riverdaughter.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/vangpao.png

Continued Border Disputes Between Cambodia and Thailand

Recently, a third day of fighting has broken out between the two neighboring Southeast Asian nations Cambodia and Thailand. Despite a cease fire, deployed troops continue to ravish the disputed border situated around the Preah Vihear Temple.

The temple itself was began in the 9th century as a tribute to Shiva. It is situated in the Phnom Troap mountain ranges in Northern Cambodia.

A world court ruling back in 1962 confirmed that the site belongs to Cambodia but this claim has been disputed by many Thai people. This was not the first act of violence in this border dispute, perhaps the first and most famous of these modern day confrontations began in 2008 labeled as the "Cambodian-Thai Stand-Off".

Link to article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_631864.html

Map of Cambodia-Thailand:

http://www.search-internetmarketing.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/fe36d_CambodiaThailandBorder.jpg