PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a new column, Asean Today.



theguardian.com Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, has died aged 91, its current leader has confirmed. In a statement, the serving prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said the country's former leader died in the early hours of Monday morning local time.

wsj.com Mr Lee led the nation from 1959 to 1990 and is widely credited with transforming the small trading entrepot into a wealthy financial center after it became a republic in 1965.

Asean Update Debate about Lee's legacy began immediately. Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, said: ''Lee Kuan Yew's tremendous role in Singapore's economic development is beyond doubt, but it also came at a significant cost for human rights - and today's restricted freedom of expression, self-censorship and stunted multi-party democracy is also a part of his legacy that Singapore now needs to overcome.''

globalpost.com Most autocrats drive their nations into the ground. Lee did the opposite. For three decades as Singapore's prime minister, starting in 1959, he oversaw one of the most successful social engineering feats in human history.

afr.com Alone among the countries of south-east Asia its government has no tolerance for corruption. For this, as with so many other aspects of Singapore today, Lee Kuan Yew's role has been of the first importance.



bloomberg Six months after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stood before the United Nations and urged Muslims worldwide to be moderate in their religion, members of his own party are supporting a law that punishes adulterers with death and thieves with amputation.

abc.net.au Lawyers representing some of the families of MH17 victims say there will be a meeting later this week about Malaysia Airlines' compliance with an international treaty on compensation. Australian Tim Lauschet has been asked to provide financial information about his mother, one of the 298 people killed when the airliner was downed over Ukraine last year.

channelnewsasia.com Singapore's Transport Ministry has confirmed that it is working towards a third-quarter timeline to reach a bilateral agreement on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.



aljazeera.com You know a country is overpopulated when people cannot afford to queue. In Indonesia this is visible every day at bus and train stations. Transport facilities have long lost their battle with exploding demand. Even the most polite people turn into animal-like creatures when a bus or train arrives.



bloomberg Money pouring into the Southeast Asian economy from the likes of manufacturers Samsung Electronics Co. and Intel Corp. is giving Vietnam a second run at becoming Asia's next tiger economy.



smh.com.au International aid agencies based in Cambodia have rejected the Australian government's resettlement deal, saying it is not appropriate for a country that has been accused of human rights abuses and has no refugee resettlement experience.



theguardian.com Editorial: Thein Sein's period in office has brought significant improvements - the release of some political detainees, more freedom of assembly and association, a lively press - but these are not enough. He now needs to do what a president should do and take a more forceful lead.



aa.com.tr The Philippines welcomed the result of a global survey that suggests that Filipinos are the world's joint fifth happiest citizens - the most positive outside of Latin America. The Philippines also ranks high in the list of countries where corruption in government is prevalent.