National government
Ministries and other national bodies
ASEAN and the logic of collective action
The ten member states of ASEAN aspire to “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.” Their foreign ministers meeting in Laos this July demonstrated again how far the distance is between goal and reality. Like the European Union, the regional organization of Southeast Asia is pulled ...
Cambodia spoiled ASEAN statement on sea: reports
Cambodia helped to scupper an ASEAN joint statement on the South China Sea last week, according to news reports, an echo of the success it had killing a similar statement when it was chair of the regional bloc four years ago. The Foreign Affairs Ministry issued its ...
Energy and electricity merger complete
A merger between the ministries of electric power and energy, ordered by the new government in March, is now complete and the new structure will be submitted to the cabinet for approval, officials said. U Pe Zin Tun will head up the new ministry. The ...
‘Super Minister’ Suu Kyi to Remain NLD’s Leader
Chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to lead the National League for Democracy (NLD), despite holding ministerial positions that constitutionally ban her from party activities, according to the NLD spokesperson. Burma’s 2008 Constitution states that if a government minister is a member of any political ...
PM gives ministers an 'F', lashes out at illegal logging task force
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen unleashed a tirade against underperforming government officials in a pair of speeches on 25 February – musing aloud about reshuffling his Council of Ministers and wondering why rockets had not yet been deployed in the Kingdom’s recent “crackdown” on illegal logging. Speaking ...
Four million people to vote in National Assembly election
Some four million citizens out of Laos’ population of about 6.4 million are eligible to vote in the upcoming election of members of the National Assembly (NA)’s Eighth Legislature. The National Election Committee (NCE) made the announcement on 22 February when briefing the media about the progress ...
Third round of transition talks loom
Power-sharing talks between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing are expected to resume this week – possibly as early as today – according to sources close to the National League for Democracy. The last round of negotiations on 25 January seems ...
NLD signals end to squatter crackdowns
The sight of bulldozers smashing shanty towns as police drive out squatters from their flimsy homes could be a thing of the past, as National League for Democracy MPs take the helm in Yangon and Mandalay regions, as well as in Nay Pyi Taw. NLD MP U ...
New Speaker flags human rights focus
Mandalay witnessed a distinct changing of guard on 8 February as its new hluttaw took office, with the newly appointed Speaker stressing the importance of being accountable to the public. He added that human rights and economic and social development will be priorities, and promised to ...
Mid-term public investment need estimated at almost $495m
Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has completed its mid-term public investment for 2016-2020 under the Law on Public Investment to submit to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Under the plan, total public investment need for the period is estimated at nearly VND11 trillion (US$495 million), equal to ...
