Year of high drama
jQuery.noConflict() Year of high drama
TODAY revisits key events that shook the region this year
Eva WongEvaWong [at] mediacorp.com.sg Published: Monday, 28 December 2015
From the murders in January of 12 people at the Parisian satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo by shooters shouting “Allahu Akbar”, to a series of coordinated attacks in November that killed 130 people in multiple venues – a concert hall, a stadium, restaurants and bars – Paris became a focus of high-profile acts of terrorism by those affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) this year.
Until now, the bulk of hostilities conducted by ISIS extremists had been confined to the Middle East, but the attacks by its offshoots in Paris and other parts of the world mark a worrying shift in strategy and focus. Underscoring the global nature of the terrorist threat, police in Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia this year made multiple arrests of suspected militants and thwarted planned attacks on civilians and government officials.
The new images upped the ante on the fight over the Spratlys – thought to contain rich oil and gas deposits and claimed by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines. American leaders have repeatedly called on China to halt reclamation and militarisation of disputed areas, but Beijing has in turn accused the US of provocations and heightening tensions. In October, a US navy destroyer challenged territorial limits around one of the islands with a so-called freedom-of-navigation patrol, triggering an angry rebuke from China.
Initial fumbles in first recognising the outbreak and then its severity hurt the government of President Park Geun-hye and shone a spotlight on the quirks of South Korean hospitals, with their crowded emergency rooms and practice of relatives helping to nurse patients, exposing them to infection. The outbreak sparked concern around the region including in Singapore, which conducted temperature screenings for passengers arriving from South Korea and the Middle East.
How will this scandal end and what are its implications for Malaysia? Malaysians were still reeling from revelations of RM42 billion (S$13.7 billion) in debt incurred by state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), when news broke in July that Malaysian investigators had traced US$700 million (S$982.3 million) in deposits to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank
accounts. Mr Najib said the money came from a Middle Eastern donor and refuted all allegations of wrongdoing. But the ensuing public outrage brought at least 1,000 people into the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur in August to call for Mr Najib’s resignation.
The protesters, dominated by ethnic Chinese Malaysians dressed in yellow shirts, were followed a month later by a “red shirt” protest later by pro-government ethnic Malays bearing signs with race-linked slogans, putting the capital on edge. Meanwhile, the country reeled from rising living costs and the ringgit sank to its weakest in two decades.
The environmental disaster was marked by conflicting responses among Indonesian officials on the matter; some welcomed help to put out the raging fires, while others, such as Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, blamed the winds for fanning the flames, and chided Indonesia’s neighbours for not thanking Indonesia for 11 months of fresh air the rest of the year.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants Japan to strengthen its position against threats from China and North Korea – a move that was welcomed by the US, a longtime ally – but there is lingering distrust over the Japanese government’s motivations in light of its World War II history.
Due to constitutional restrictions imposed by the junta, Ms Suu Kyi may not become the country’s President, but the Nobel Peace Prize winner has made it known in no uncertain terms that she will be the one holding the reins of power.
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