Domestic Politics
Aceh, the deeply conservative and autonomous region on Sumatra island, unveiled of its first female flogging squad. Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Banda-Aceh is the only region in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Sharia Law. Despite the President's call for the public floggings to stop, public whipping remains a common punishment for behavior that is considered a 'morality crime.' [CNA]
The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) recently released an annual democracy index for 2019 ranks Indonesia at 64th, with a score of 6.48, a slight improvement on their 2018 score. Malaysia continued its ascent and ranked at 43rd, with a score of 7.16. The index is based on five indicators: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. [Jakarta Post]
Indonesia's insurance industry is in trouble after state-owned Asuransi Jiwasraya and the military’s Asuransi Sosial Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (ASABRI) defaulted on payments on nearly US$2 billion worth of policies and investment. [Asia Times]
International Relations
In response to recent travel bans imposed on Filipino officials accused of human rights abuses, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement and has reportedly turned down Trump's invitation to a US-ASEAN meet that is scheduled to take place at Las Vegas later this year. [Asia Times]
The ICJ panel of 17 judges unanimously ruled that the Myanmar government must take "all measures within its power to prevent genocide". In response, the Myanmarese authorities remain defiant and declared that the ruling presents a "distorted picture of the situation". [BBC]
Health
Malaysia, which has seen four confirmed cases of the coronavirus, has now imposed a temporary ban on Chinese nationals from the Hubei province. [Jakarta Post]
On Tuesday, the Philipines announced that it will no longer issue visas on arrival to Chinese nationals as a precautionary measure, despite having no confirmed cases within its borders as of now. Jaime Morente, the commissioner of the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration, clarified that "there is no order barring Chinese nationals from entering the Philippines." [Jakarta Post]
Two more confirmed Coronavirus cases led authorities in Singapore to turn away visitors from Hubei province who do not already hold visas to the island nation. With seven people now infected, authorities decided that even those with existing visas will have to be quarantined for 14 days.[SCMP]
On Monday, A Chinese national in the coastal city of Sihanoukville became the first confirmed case of Coronavirus in Cambodia. [CNA]
Environment
The Malaysian government announced that it will now invoke anti-terrorism laws and money laundering laws to protect its critically-endangered wildlife from poachers. [Strait Times]
Image Source: South China Morning Post