03/02/2026

TUESDAY | FEB 3, 2026

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Philippine VP faces new impeachment complaints

RED NOTICE FOR OIL TYCOON

JAKARTA: Interpol issued a red notice for the arrest of one of Indonesia’s biggest oil tycoons over a US$285 million (RM1.1 billion) corruption scandal. Mohammad Riza Chalid, 66, is wanted for his alleged involvement in corruption at Pertamina between 2018 and 2023, including for money laundering and manipulating a lease agreement. Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol’s Indonesia National Central Bureau, said a red notice had been issued by Interpol on Jan 23. Riza, his son, Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza and several Pertamina officials are accused of importing crude oil at higher prices rather than source it domestically. – AFP SINGAPORE SETS UP SPACE AGENCY SINGAPORE: The city-state is establishing its National Space Agency (NSAS) to advance space technology capabilities and tap emerging opportunities in the space economy. Its Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said NSAS, set to begin operations on April 1, reflects Singapore’s commitment to becoming a leader in space technologies and services, backed by its strategic location and strong technological capabilities. It will spearhead Singapore’s efforts to harness the value and opportunities of the space economy. Singapore is home to about 70 space companies. – Bernama HEALTH IMPROVING, SAYS MARCOS MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr assured the public that his health condition is improving, saying doctors gave him a positive assessment following medical observation. In his latest vlog, Marcos said his condition was “nothing serious” and he only needed time to regain strength after being placed on a restricted diet. Marcos was diagnosed with diverticulitis, a non-life threatening inflammation of pouches in the colon, after he was brought to the hospital and spent a night under medical observation on Jan 21. On advice, he skipped public engagements but continued doing paperwork and attending meetings. – Bernama HANOI GETS TOUGH WITH SOCIAL MEDIA HANOI: Plans are in place to beef up cyber, information and data security by aligning citizens, social media users, telco subscribers and internet resources. Vietnam News Agency reported that the plans are part of Directive No. 57 on strengthening cybersecurity, information security and data security, which has been issued by Politburo member and Permanent Secretariat Tran Cam Tu. The directive calls for addressing and eliminating “junk” text messages, fake accounts and anonymous usage; and to apply mandatory identity verification measures for social media users and age control mechanisms to protect children in cyberspace. – Bernama

BR I E F S

such cynical disregard for public trust. It does not allow the vice president to treat public funds as a personal war chest while stonewalling all attempts at oversight,” one of the complaints said. Duterte has previously rejected the allegations. Marcos too is facing a separate impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives. Asked for comment on the new complaints against Duterte, the president’s communications office said it was for Congress to decide. “We respect the rule of law and we respect due process. The president wants to fight corruption as much as he can, and people deserve to know the truth,” it said. Unlike last year’s complaints, the impeachment effort against Duterte will need to hurdle additional procedures imposed by the Supreme Court last year. A midterm election last year also saw more Duterte allies join the Senate, members of which serve as jurors in impeachment cases. Marcos is separately facing impeachment complaints accusing him of bilking taxpayers out of billions of dollars for bogus flood control projects. Rage over ghost infrastructure projects has been building for months in the archipelago country of 116 million, where entire towns were buried in floodwaters driven by powerful typhoons last year. The House justice committee began hearings over the Marcos complaints yesterday. Outside, a group of about 100 protesters gathered by the left-wing Makabayan bloc held aloft banners calling for the ouster of both Marcos and Duterte. – Reuters/AFP

Marcos cannot run again due to a single-term limit but is expected to back a successor. Civil society and leftist groups filed two separate complaints against Duterte yesterday based on similar grounds to those lodged last year. Those included her alleged misuse of public funds, bribery for government contracts and threatening to kill Marcos, the first lady, and the former House speaker who is also the president’s cousin. The complainants also accused Duterte of ignoring congressional inquiries. “The constitution does not permit

election and prevailed after a similar impeachment bid last year, which the Supreme Court struck down for violating constitutional safeguards. A lawyer for Duterte said the fresh challenge “comes as no surprise”. “We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes,” said her lawyer Michael Poa. The complaints are the latest twist in the Philippines’ tumultuous politics, with the vice-president still locked in a bitter battle with former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ahead of the next election.

o Duterte ready to confront allegations

MANILA: Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte faced another round of impeachment complaints yesterday after surviving attempts to remove her last year, with rights groups and activists accusing her of betraying the public’s trust. The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte is widely seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential

Filipino protesters call for the impeachment of Duterte and Marcos in Quezon City, Metro Manila, yesterday. – AFPPIC

Rural Thai voters shift old loyalties UBON RATCHATHANI: Rubber farmer Pinittaya Boonlieng sat with friends in a key political battleground in Thailand to discuss how to vote in the Feb 8 general election – a choice that once would have been simple in a region long loyal to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. switched parties, particularly after the removal of Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as premier. Thaksin is in prison and a wave of nationalism washing over Thai politics has weakened Pheu Thai, which is also drawing flak for its inability to deliver on handouts.

Pinittaya, the rubber farmer, said she is considering backing the ruling Bhumjaithai Party, not because of its ideology or policies, but because she likes her local candidate, a former Pheu Thai lawmaker. “I am choosing the candidate,” Pinittaya, 48, said. “The party is less important.” Six other farmers interviewed by Reuters in Ubon Ratchathani and a neighbouring province shared the same sentiment, showing how farm communities battered by falling crop prices, rising costs and mounting debt are shifting from party-based loyalty to backing candidates they believe can help them. Manee Ruamtham, 62, a rice farmer in Sisaket province, said she was once a Pheu Thai voter but walked away from the party when it failed to deliver on its promise of a 10,000 baht (RM1,250) cash handout after it took power in 2023.

Thaksin’s populist Pheu Thai party has dominated agrarian Ubon Ratchathani and neighbouring provinces in northeastern Thailand for decades, but that grip is weakening and voters are switching allegiance to powerful individual candidates. In this region, Pheu Thai is polling at 30.1%, slightly behind the national frontrunner, the reformist People’s Party, according to a survey by the University of Khon Kaen last month. The Bhumjaithai Party of Premier Anutin Charnvirakul is third at 27.2%. In the last election in 2023, Pheu Thai won 73 of 133 direct constituency seats available across 20 provinces in Thailand’s northeast, which houses 4 million of the country’s 8.56 million registered farmers. Many of its candidates from the 2023 election remain popular, reflecting the patronage politics they have followed, although some have

Nuchanat gestures next to a supporter during a rally. – REUTERSPIC

farmers, to fight for decent wages,” said Nuchanat, a former long-time Pheu Thai supporter. “But one day it wasn’t about this anymore, so how can I answer the people?” But not all rural voters are abandoning Pheu Thai. In Ubon Ratchathani, 53-year-old tapioca farmer Ubon Thanomsup said she may still back the party she has supported for many years, largely because of the local candidate. “The candidate lives in our area, so he is nearer to help,”she said. – Reuters

“What they did isn’t right,” she said. “People lost faith in the party.” Paetongtarn blamed steep tariffs proposed by the United States for stalling the handout programme, and her administration was eventually ousted due to the Cambodia crisis, leaving the handouts unfinished. Manee said she will vote for Nuchanat Jaruwongsethian, a local candidate who is a former Pheu Thai lawmaker. Nuchanat defected to the Kla Tham party, an ally of Bhumjaithai. “People voted for me to fight for