CNA Correspondent - Malaysia's State Elections: Will political tides shift and put a dent in Anwar's government? - CNA

Six states in Malaysia go to the polls on Aug 12 with 245 state assembly seats up for grabs. CNA correspondents Melissa Goh and Afifah Ariffin preview the upcoming elections and the issues voters are grappling with which will put the unity government to the test. 

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2023-08-08 23:44:42Z
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Malaysia state polls: Anwar's economic policies under fire but unlikely to be affected by election results, say analysts - CNA

SELANGOR: A keen follower of the political scene in Malaysia, 38-year-old voter Ahmad Farizul tries to attend as many political rallies as possible during the campaign period for the state polls to get a sense of what is going on.

The Kuang resident in the state of Selangor considers himself to be a fence-sitter and could vote for any coalition or even an independent candidate.

At almost every political rally, the sales executive observed politicians from both sides of the aisle speak about the rising cost of living and make promises to solve this by creating new jobs, reducing inflation and raising incomes at the same time. 

“Sometimes I feel that both sides are saying the same thing. The only difference is they claim to be better and cleaner than the other side,” Mr Ahmad told CNA at a Perikatan Nasional (PN) event on Aug 5.  

Both the unity government and opposition coalitions have been making economic issues a key focus of their campaigns amid rising inflation and cost of living.

While the opposition said the state polls are a referendum on the unity government, political observers and economists believe that the government can still carry out its economic policies regardless of the election results.

Residents from six states - Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang - will vote for 245 lawmakers in the state assemblies on Aug 12.

Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah are under the rule of the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), which is a member of the opposition PN coalition together with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Gerakan Malaysia (Gerakan).   

Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang are under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which leads the current unity government. 

PH is for the first time working with former rivals Barisan Nasional (BN) in the polls, which come about eight months after federal elections resulted in a hung parliament.    

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2023-08-08 22:03:29Z
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Japan Declines to Confirm Major China Cyberattack on Defense Network - Bloomberg

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1. Japan Declines to Confirm Major China Cyberattack on Defense Network  Bloomberg
2. Japan says cannot confirm leakage after report says China hacked defence networks  CNA
3. China hacking Japan’s defense network could be part of a sweeping ‘espionage 101 campaign’  MSNBC
4. Japan says no leaks of defense secrets to China confirmed  Nikkei Asia
5. Analysis | China's hacking of Japan's defense networks 'was bad — shockingly bad'  The Washington Post
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-08-08 20:26:15Z
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South Korea scout jamboree SOS issued to BTS megastars - CNA

Sung, also a member of the parliament's national defence committee, said the jamboree had "tarnished our country's reputation due to inadequate preparation and poor management".

The defence ministry told AFP that it had "nothing to comment" on Sung's request.

About 43,000 people had gathered on South Korea's coast last week for the World Scouts Jamboree.

But it was plagued by problems, initially with a heatwave that led to mass sunstroke casualties. Poor sanitation was another problem.

An approaching typhoon led organisers to scrap the campsite proceedings completely this week.

Thousands of students were being evacuated to Seoul and other parts of the country on Tuesday.

Even before the typhoon warning, Korean media had called the jamboree "a national disgrace".

But Sung's request prompted angry responses from some BTS fans online.

"Please don't use BTS to cover yourselves up!" one wrote on Twitter, which is now being rebranded to X.

"Isn't it absurd that (the South Korean authorities) are putting the responsibility on BTS to clean up the mess they produced - by not adequately preparing for the Jamboree?" wrote another.

BTS has played a significant role in promoting South Korea's culture, once even serving as the country's presidential envoy.

Last year, they threw a free concert in Busan in support of South Korea's bid to host the World Expo 2023 in the southern port city.

It was their last concert as a group before the members started joining the army for mandatory military service.

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2023-08-08 07:05:00Z
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Scouts begin South Korea jamboree evacuation over extreme weather challenges - CNA

At the site, German volunteer Axel Scholl, 62, told AFP he was "at his limits" working to safely evacuate all the scouts in the heat.

"The worst thing about all of this is ... it was for the kids. I'm 62 years old but this was all for the kids. Now they all go home disappointed. It should have been such a nice experience," he told AFP, wiping away tears.

He said Poland - which will host the next jamboree in 2027 - will have learned a lot about what can go wrong from this year's experience.

"I feel very very sorry for the Korean nation and Korean people because I think they would have loved to present their country, their culture, their community in a more positive way," he added.

The Singapore contingent, which relocated to Daejeon city over the weekend, said that activities will go on as planned. 

The leader of the Singapore contingent told CNA on Monday that they are set to move to Seoul on Wednesday and fly back to Singapore on Saturday as planned. 

"A REALLY GREAT TIME"

Korean media have called the jamboree "a national disgrace" saying that authorities had six years to prepare but even so the site had poor drainage, rudimentary showers and toilets, and participants were afflicted by gruesome bug bites.

Following a deluge of online complaints from parents, government organisers admitted there had been "shortcomings" in the area of hygiene and the scout chief acknowledged in a post on LinkedIn that the event had a "bumpy start with ... services and facilities".

But scouts at the campsite told AFP they were sad to leave.

"It was really hot, but we had a great time. It took some while to get used to the circumstances but the youth, they had a really great time," Nicola Raunig, 27, Austria scout unit leader, told AFP.

"I'm sad it will end now," she said, adding that she had hoped participants could have enjoyed "the whole experience".

"But we will make the best out of it," Raunig said.

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2023-08-08 05:09:00Z
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Japan Declines to Confirm Major China Cyberattack on Defense Network - Bloomberg

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Japan Declines to Confirm Major China Cyberattack on Defense Network  BloombergView Full coverage on Google News
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2023-08-08 02:32:39Z
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Ukraine hails Jeddah talks as blow to Russia, China says it's staying impartial - CNA

A senior Ukrainian official said on Monday (Aug 7) talks about the Ukraine war held in Saudi Arabia dealt a "huge blow" to Russia, while key Kremlin ally China declared it remained impartial in the conflict following its participation in the discussions.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the weekend talks that were seen as an attempt by Kyiv to build a broader coalition of powers to support its vision of peace.

Moscow on Sunday dismissed the talks, aimed at establishing principles for a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, as a doomed Western attempt to align the Global South behind Kyiv.

But Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak told a briefing in Kyiv that no other peace initiatives were discussed at the weekend meeting in Jeddah apart from Ukraine's, and that all countries present at the talks had fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.

He added that the participants agreed to hold another meeting of political advisers within about six weeks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promoted a set of 10 principles that Kyiv wants to serve as the basis for peace to end the full-scale war launched by Moscow in February 2022.

The principles include the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukraine's territory to its control. Yermak said all the countries present at the talks in Jeddah fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone conversation China would uphold an independent and impartial position on Ukraine as it strives to find a political settlement to the issue.

Wang's comments to Lavrov were announced in a Foreign Ministry statement on Monday that said China would be an "objective and rational voice" at any international multilateral forums and "actively promote peace talks".

The statement came after the ministry said earlier on Monday the talks had helped "to consolidate international consensus".

China's attendance in Jeddah signals possible shifts in Beijing's approach, but not a U-turn in its support for Moscow, analysts said.

China was represented in Jeddah by its Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs and former ambassador to Russia, Li Hui, who in May toured six European capitals to try to find common ground for an eventual political settlement of the conflict, now in its 18th month.

Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine it launched in February 2022. It has offered its own peace plan, which received a lukewarm response in both Russia and Ukraine, while the United States and NATO were sceptical.

In Berlin, the German government said the Jeddah conference was a successful meeting because it showed the willingness of the international community to work towards ending the war.

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2023-08-07 19:36:00Z
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