New Mandala

Over at The Irrawaddy London School of Economics Research Fellow Maung Zarni has terse words for “the legions of Burma experts, seasoned Burma watchers and Rangoon-based Burmese elites” who he suggests have got their analysis wrong. Those New Mandala readers who follow these debates closely will find his contribution intriguing. One portion suggests: Perhaps the [...]

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Those New Mandala readers who follow debates about Burma’s nuclear ambitions (or lack thereof) will want to read this new exchange of letters relevant to the international analysis of the issue. I hardly pretend to have the technical credentials to judge the evidence or to fully appreciate the subtleties of dealing with defector testimony. But, [...]

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In just over two-and-a-half years since Malaysia’s 2008 “political tsunami” loosened the Barisan Nasional’s stranglehold on political power in the country, Malaysia has had no fewer than 13 by-elections — an average of one every 10 weeks. Speculation is rife that a snap general election, not due till 2013, will be called together with the [...]

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A newly awakened consciousness has expressed itself in some discontent in the institution and unfortunately there has been a tendency to conflate calls to reform the institution with calls to abolish it… – David Streckfuss quoted by Kelly Macnamara, “Thai web editor may face 70 years in jail”, AFP, 23 November 2010.

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From a New Mandala reader in Cambodia: “… I have just gone to koh pich. There is a big problem at the bridge. Too many people trying to cross and many vendors blocking the way. Soon people are going to die from a stampede”. This is a text message that remains in the SMS draft [...]

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I recently had the opportunity to accompany my parents, U Aung Nyein and Daw Than Than Nu — candidates for the Democratic Party (Myanmar) — on their campaign activities in the cities of Mandalay and Yangon. It was a decidedly low-budget affair, and involved a large pickup truck loaded with a handful of young volunteers, [...]

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This is an open thread on the shocking tragedy in Phnom Penh. From the Sydney Morning Herald: A stampede in the Cambodian capital has left more than 340 people dead and hundreds injured after panic erupted at a water festival that had attracted millions of revellers. Dozens of ambulances with their sirens blaring raced to [...]

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A nice touch from yesterday’s Bangkok Post, spotted by a New Mandala reader: Things seem to be back to normal at the Bangkok Post today.

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New Mandala contributor Sarinda Singh has an article in the latest issue of The Australian Journal of Anthropology (TAJA), “Appetites and aspirations: Consuming wildlife in Laos” (Volume 21, Issue 3, pages 315–331, December 2010). Readers who have been following Sarinda’s recent posts on logging on the Lao-Cambodian border and the Nam Theun 2 dam in [...]

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Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Australia generated much attention both in Australia and in Malaysia. Among the many damaging views that Anwar presented about the present administration, one in particular raised the ire of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).  Anwar stated, in an interview with Sky News Australia, that it was an insult to Islam to say that Malaysia [...]

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On the occasion of the 450th anniversary of Vientiane becoming the “capital of Laos” – to be marked with a state spectacular at the National Stadium tonight – the central bank has issued a commemorative banknote with the denomination of  100,000 Kip (images here, other Lao banknotes here). The Vientiane Times has reported concerns that [...]

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