Who is he? Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (commonly known as Nik Aziz) is a prominent Malaysian politician and Islamic religious leader. He was the spiritual leader of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), one of the three parties that make…
By Murray Hiebert & Nigel Cory The jailing of veteran Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy (for the second time) marks a turning point for Malaysia and Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration. The highest court’s rejection of Anwar’s final…
What should we expect from the U.S. strategic rebalance to Asia in 2015? What are the prospects for economic reform in China and Japan? How should we interpret leadership changes in India and Indonesia? Are new strategic alignments emerging in…
Who is she? Carrie Hessler-Radelet is the newly confirmed director of the Peace Corps. Nominated by President Barack Obama in July 2013, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 5. Hessler-Radelet served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching…
By James Wallar Malaysia will assume the chair of ASEAN in 2015, the year the grouping has pledged to achieve the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Observers should not expect a “big bang” in November 2015 when ASEAN heads of state…
By Nigel Cory Malaysia’s national security focus is shifting to its eastern state of Sabah, evidenced by the money, personnel, and equipment allocated to the state in the 2015 defense budget. This shift comes in response to incidents along Sabah’s…
By Nigel Cory Thankfully there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in Southeast Asia, with a few people testing negative after reporting symptoms common to the disease. Nine people arriving in Malaysia from West Africa with fevers tested negative…
By Nigel Cory Malaysia’s opposition People’s Alliance coalition has been put to the test this year. Prominent members have been charged with sedition in a surge of cases against government opponents and academics. It has lost every 2014 by-election in…
By Nigel Cory Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was charged with sedition on September 24 for statements he made at a political rally three years earlier. Shortly before, on September 19, a Malaysian court sentenced a student activist to a…
By Kriti Sapra Not only is the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a jihadist group which seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, making waves in the Middle East, increasingly it is worrying…