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Foreign correspondent and historian Frank Palmos reflects on his first translating job in Java in 1961.

The global success of a motorbike gang with roots in the Netherlands’ Indonesian community is indicative of the socioeconomic marginalisation of many Indonesian migrants.

Sabah needs leaders and statesmen determined to solve its long overdue need for autonomy, without fear of injuring a federal government's pride.

Bersih’s legal strategy to check on electoral integrity has exposed and revealed much about the redelineation process, testing the relationships between Malaysia’s political institutions.

When you’re accused of blasphemy, displays of humility and oligarchic pedigree may be the best defence.

A supposed announcement of his candidacy actually reemphasises how ambivalent Prabowo is about fighting Jokowi again.

The resurgence of ‘old’ Mahathir against the Najib coalition has been matched with the ‘new’, the cheap smartphone.

A new book on West Sumatran 'angkot' reveals the complex tensions between tradition and modernity in contemporary Minangkabau society

As Malaysia rushes to its GE14 on 9 May, the new anti-fake news law is primed against the state's critics, emboldening speech vigilantism by outsourced censors linked to the ruling UMNO party.

With Malaysia's Parliament now dissolved in the official rush to GE14's polling day, Sabah and Sarawak are again crucial states determining the winning coalition.

Bringing New Mandala readers fresh perspectives on the causes and consequences of populist rule in the Philippines.

The New Books in Southeast Asian Studies podcast explores the idea that elections can be instrumentalised by dictators to reinforce their rule.