18/12/2025

THURSDAY | DEC 18, 2025 7 Myanmar targets 200 for disrupting polls YANGON: Myanmar said yesterday it was seeking to prosecute more than 200 people under a law forbidding “disruption” of elections. The government is touting phased elections starting Dec 28 as a step towards reconciliation in Myanmar. The government introduced legislation in July to shield the election from “obstruction, disruption and destruction”, and threatening up to 10 years in prison for people who criticise or protest against the vote. “A total of 229 people” are being pursued for prosecution under the law “for attempting to sabotage election processes”, Home Affairs Minister Tun Tun Naung said. Convictions under the July laws in Myanmar’s opaque courts can result in up to a decade in prison, and authorities have made arrests for as little as posting a “heart” emoji on Facebook posts criticising the polls. The legislation also outlaws damaging ballot papers and polling stations – as well as intimidating or harming voters, candidates and election workers, with a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. The military government announced last week that it was seeking to arrest 10 activists who staged a demonstration, tossing political pamphlets in the air in Mandalay city. A man was jailed in September for seven years with hard labour for a Facebook post questioning the poll, while three artistes were arrested the following month for allegedly undermining the vote. Those three – a director, an actor and a comedian – were detained “for making false and misleading criticism on social media” of other artistes who produced a pro-election film, state media said. At least one has been prosecuted for “cursing, threatening and punching” an election organiser. Those imprisoned under the law will join more than 22,000 people jailed on political grounds, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. – AFP TOKYO: Myanmar said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health”, a day after her son told Reuters he has received little information about the 80-year-old. Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in Naypyidaw. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a 27-year sentence on charges including incitement, corruption and election fraud – all of which she denies. “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health,” a statement posted on Myanmar Digital News said on Tuesday, using an honorific for the former leader. The statement offered no evidence or details about her condition. “The military claims she is in good health, yet they refuse to provide any independent proof, no recent photograph, no medical verification, and no access by family, doctors, or international observers. If she is truly well, they can prove it,” Aris said yesterday. A Myanmar government spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment. Aris had said earlier this week he hopes a multi-phase election starting Dec 28 might offer an opportunity for the military to release Suu Kyi or move her to house arrest. Myanmar’s military has a history of releasing prisoners to mark holidays or important events. Suu Kyi was freed in 2010 days after an election, ending a previous long period of detention. “I have no intention of interfering in Burma’s politics. But after years of total isolation, secrecy, and silence, any son would begin to fear the worst,” Aris said in response to the statement. “My concern is growing because my mother has been hidden for so long.”– Reuters Suu Kyi in good health, son told

Pheu Thai turns to Thaksin nephew in fight back

BANGKOK: With general elections just months away and its billionaire patriarch in prison, Thailand’s embattled Pheu Thai party is turning to another member of the divisive Shinawatra family to help mount a comeback. Yodchanan Wongsawat (pic) , 46, the nephew and son of former prime ministers, is Pheu Thai’s leading candidate for the top job in the Feb 8 general election. o PM candidate open to coalition govt option “I’m a very small guy, but I’m on the shoulder of a giant,” said Yodchanan, referring to the Shinawatra family, which has yielded four prime ministers in two decades, including his uncle, Thaksin Shinawatra and father, Somchai Wongsawat. Thaksin was jailed for one year in September for avoiding an initial prison sentence for conflict of interest and abuse of power while he was prime minister from 2001 to 2006. Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn

“If we can translate (policies) and make the people know that vision, people would protect us.” An engineer by training with a PhD from the University of Texas in Arlington, Yodchanan spent most of his adult life in academia and is a professor in biomedical engineering at Mahidol University. Although a political novice, having only served as an adviser on tech-related policies to the last Pheu Thai-led government, Yodchanan says he plans to bring his experience in managing complex scientific and multi-disciplinary projects to politics. Over the decades, the Pheu Thai party has nominated political novices and successfully propelled them into office including Yingluck Shinawatra in 2011, and Srettha Thavisin and Paetongtarn Shinawatra in 2023. Amid the conflict with Cambodia and nationalist fervour, it is unclear whether the party would be able to distance itself from the Shinawatra family’s once links with Hun Sen. Analysts say the next election could result in no clear majority for any of the parties contesting. Yodchanan indicated he was open to working in a coalition government. “We want to win, obviously, but if we cannot, we can pair with the party that would have the same intention.” – Reuters

Shinawatra, was ousted as prime minister by a court order in August over a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen, until recently a close Shinawatra family ally, when both countries were on the brink of an armed conflict. Fighting erupted weeks later and flared up again on Dec 8. Pheu Thai’s support has nosedived during the upheaval, and this month polled at only 11.04% in a nationwide survey conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration, from 13.96% in September and 28.05% in March. Thailand was plunged into an earlier-than-expected election season after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved parliament earlier this month following a disagreement with the largest grouping in parliament, the opposition People’s Party. Yodchanan says he believes that Pheu Thai’s political legacy, including populist policies like universal healthcare and cash handouts that won it years of support among people in rural areas, can still help. “We still believe we can win,” he told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Displaced Thais queueing for food at a shelter in Buriram province on Tuesday. – REUTERSPIC

‘Cambodia must announce ceasefire first’ BANGKOK: Thailand said on Tuesday that Cambodia must be first to announce a truce to halt fighting between the two nations after more than a week of deadly clashes in a reignited border conflict. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country supported the ceasefire initiative of Asean chair Malaysia with Washington’s participation.

over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins on the frontier. Asean foreign ministers are due to meet on Monday in Malaysia for emergency talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution. Thailand said on Tuesday that between 5,000 and 6,000 Thai nationals remain stranded in the Cambodian border town of Poipet after Phnom Penh closed its land border crossings on Saturday. Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said the border closures were a “necessary measure” to reduce risks to civilians amid the combat, adding that air travel remained an option for departures. – AFP

But fighting has continued daily since Dec 7, spreading to seven provinces on each side of the border, and Bangkok denied Trump’s claim of an agreed truce. Cambodia said on Monday that Thai forces had expanded their attack “deep into” Cambodian territory. Phnom Penh accused Thai forces of bombing Siem Reap province, home to the Angkor temples for the first time in the latest round of clashes. The conflict stems from a territorial dispute

“As the aggressor onto Thai territory, Cambodia must announce the ceasefire first,” said Thai Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maratee Nalita Andamo, adding that Cambodia must also cooperate in de-mining efforts at the border “sincerely”. Cambodia did not immediately respond to Thailand’s statement. President Donald Trump, who intervened earlier this year, last week claimed the two countries had agreed to a ceasefire.