KUALA LUMPUR - South East Asia has been rocked by violence at 2 of its major nations, Singapore and Thailand, while a third, Malaysia was roiled by a meeting of its ruling party Umno that exposed deep-seated and spiraling racial and religious tensions in the country.
Most people in the region were shocked when they woke up to news of a 400-strong mob going on rampage in squeaky-clean Singapore.
The workers riot - the first in decades - has since been brought under control. It is believed to have erupted after a South Asian worker was knocked by a bus in Little India.
The unexpected ferocity of the 'uprising' which saw several police cars overturned and set ablaze is an undeniable signal that all may not be that ideal in the model island state, the wealthiest in the region.
"The Little India riot last night was a very grave incident. Several police officers were injured, and vehicles damaged or destroyed. The situation is now under control, and investigations are underway," S'pore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long wrote in his Facebook page.
"Whatever events may have sparked the rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal behaviour. We will spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law."
Singapore police have since arrested 27 suspects and hinted that more were on the way.
First riot in decades give Singaporeans a rude shock
Thailand: Dissolution not enough, protesters want People's Council
Over in Thailand, the situation is much more serious and the momentum has shifted into high gear following the dissolution of Parliament by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Yingluck, the sister of former Thai premier Thaksin, was forced to call for new elections after 153 Opposition lawmakers resigned from the 500-seat Thai Parliament.
But protesters are not appeased. They want her to quit in favor of a a non-elected 'People's Council', and have snubbed all her efforts to strike a compromise.
"The solution to our current problems needs to start with the showing of responsibility. The Prime Minister has never showed any responsibility or conscience," Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrat party and a former premier, was quoted as saying in the foreign newswires.
Sneaky law
The Thai unrest which began last month has seen 5 deaths and nearly 300 injured. The crisis boiled over after Yingluck's ruling party tried to ram through a controversial amnesty bill through the legislature.
Critics say it was designed mainly to bring back Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid jail time for a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated.
As a result, said Abhisit, Yingluck's government had become "illegitimate''and his Democrat party had no choice but to pull out of the lower house.
The Democrats, who claim 153 seats in Parliament, are closely allied with the protesters. They have not won an election since 1992, and some of their leaders appear to have given up on electoral politics as a result.
This is because Thaksin has been able to galvanize support from rural voters, who consistently give him their sizeable ballots despite widespread accusations against him for atrocious corruption.
Thai protesters in Bangkok
Indeed, Thailand has been plagued by political turmoil since the army toppled him in a 2006 coup. He has refused to withdraw from politics and is believed to be running Thailand by 'remote' through his sister.
Yingluck, meanwhile, has reiterated an offer to set up a national forum to find a way out of the crisis. She said if there was still no resolution, a national referendum could be held, but she did not specify on what.
"Any government that comes to power without elections would significantly affect our image and confidence in the country,'' Yingluck said, referring to protesters' demand for a specially appointed "People's Council'' to rule.
The Thai conflict pits the elite and the educated middle-class against Thaksin's power base in the countryside, which benefited from his populist policies that were designed to win over the rural poor.
"I think Yingluck is confident of winning. Whether she will take the next step and step down or not, at least she has shown great courage and poise which is more that we can say here for our Prime Minister Najib Razak," Malaysian Opposition lawmaker Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Malaysia: Rise of officially sanctioned extremism and fanaticism
n Malaysia, the nation has been gripped by a controversial meeting held by ruling party Umno, which ended on Sunday.
Umno is Najib's Malay-based political party and despite his pledges to keep Malaysia a "moderate" nation, he and other Umno leaders such as fast-rising vice president Zahid Hamidi, have condoned and some say, even encouraged party members to threaten the minority races with further discrimination should they not vote for the Umno-BN in the next general election.
Intolerance and arrogance were also shown towards believers of other religions and even within Islam itself, with Umno bigwigs using the opportunity to accuse an Opposition politician, Mat Sabu, of being a Shiite.
"The only issue is to address the Malay community’s fear of losing political clout, and to say that under Pakatan Rakyat’s government, our focus is to address their needs, the bottom 60 per cent, regardless of race but of course they would be the major recipients," MP for Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah said.
“If you look at the income levels, I think the fact speaks for itself, the only problem we have is to communicate and to continue to challenge this racist dogma that they (Umno) keep repeating.”
Hundreds of thousands of Malaysians protest electoral cheating during the May 5 general election
Like in Thailand, almost impossible for the Opposition in M'sia to win due to massive gerrymandering
For example, in the May 5 general election, Anwar failed to wrest control of the federal government despite winning 53% of the total votes cast. Najib's Umno party, which won only 47% of total votes, managed to hold on winning 133 of the Parliament's 222 seats.
Unhappy voters and supporters of the Opposition had then staged a series of Black 505 rallies to protest the electoral cheating. However, Najib has refused to respond.
"Najib does not have the courage of Yingluck, he doesn't dare face popular demand and this has resulted in Malaysia regressing back into an authoritarian and even extremist state," said Tian. - Malaysia Chronicle
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