The Great Koala Hunt: Mahathir and Australian-Malaysian culture clash

Yesterday Malaysian PM Mahathir launched an attack on Australia for issuing travel advisories against travel to South East Asia in the wake of the Bali attack, as well as their treatment of Muslim's suspected of association with terrorist groups. But why did Mahathir single out Australia, when several European countries had also issued advisories?

Does Singapore need to get down?

Singapore's own are starting to question the culture of rules and regulations that in some ways have 'made' Singapore, but in other ways have reduced spontaneity and risk taking.

Hong Kong 10 dollar folding stuff to be re-issued

Hong Kong is re-issuing their $10 HK note in September, having stopped issuing them in 1996 after the introduction of the $10 coin in 1994. While Hong Kong's recession may initially be seen as a cause, the government says there is a different reason...

Oops! we did it again... (Cuddling couples vs. crusading cops in Malaysia)

Malaysia's Islamic police have a reputation for blatant voyeurism in their crusade to wipe out close proximity between Muslims.

World Cup Soccer Asian Bar Style

An Australian Rules football fan experiences World Cup soccer Asian style from big screens in classy hotels to black and white tellies on the blink in outside beer bars of South East Asia - and concludes that all soccer coaches are clones of European actors, to succeed in soccer you have got to be a good thespian first, and preferably a good cheat as well. Who says expat businessmen in Asia can't become soccer players after all?...

Lou Dobbs' War Against Islamists

A US broadcaster whose CNN telly program is broadcast worldwide is on a mission to re-brand the US War Against Terror as a War Against Islamists. Lou Dobb's reasoning is simplistic and dangerous.

Getting work done between surfing

At least a decade after all those promises of computers creating efficiencies, the dark horse naysaying prediction that computers may well hijack the work place and make it even more inefficient is winning the argument...

Pretty maids all in a row

One of the first seemingly-ironic culture shocks of starting to work in 'developing' South East Asian countries like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia is that the middle class all seem to have largely invisible 'ghosts' wandering around the house. They are rarely acknowledged and treated as virtual 'lepers'. These are the maids of South East Asia.

Mahathir, leadership, kicking the bucket, and Malaysian culture

To the great dismay of many, Mahathir informed us on Labor Day that he would not be hanging around as PM till he kicked the bucket, in response from a Dorothy Dix suggestion in parliament that he should....

Time Asia's 25 Greatest Living Asian Heroes

Time Asia's selection are an eclectic group. But it is prefaced by a welcome homily to the unsung hero, in the context of an Asia which celebrates the group rather than the individual.

Abercrombie and Fitch Asian cartoons accused of racial stereo-typing

Political correctness gone mad? - or a company badly out of touch? A US clothier with an affluent up-market clientele released a new line of T-shirts last week featuring Asian stereotypes of many decades back, and promptly withdrew the line after complaints from the San Francisco Asian-American community. Regardless of your personal take, its bad PR for Abercombie and Fitch.

Two Villains and Three Heroes

Tommy Soeharto and Marianne Pearl provide our quotes of the week...

SPIN! Malay to be second ASEAN language

Now what politically-correct boffins are behind this crazy initiative?

End of the show for Spike

Asian leaders take themselves far too seriously, and 'face' is the great value.. But the greatest gift, as Grandma Rat used to say, is the ability to laugh at ourselves. And that was the great lesson that Spike Milligan taught us on one rainy night in Perth Western Australia 20 years ago...

Chinese New Year for Indonesia

President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia announced on the weekend that Indonesia would celebrate Chinese New Year by an official holiday from next year.

Shanghaied in Shanghai

You have to go back a few decades to experience the old romantic city of Shanghai. It was a city with heart, style and life. Shanghai is now pitching to recover it's lost glories as one of the world's great cities.. but something is missing....

The Year of the Horse Hitch

The airports and roads in Asia are in crush mode as the Chinese New Year holidays commence.

Koizumi knocks back the Durian

The pungent smelling durian, the king of fruits to many South East Asians, was presented as a gift to Japanese PM Koizumi by Thai counterpart Thaksin during his visit to Thailand earlier this week....