RAJA’S RULE
Decolonisation and revolution long ago removed royal families from power in most of Asia, leaving Japan’s emperors as the last hereditary monarchs of much significance to periodically exert some subtle influence.
But the past year has seen the region’s most abundant class of royals – the rajas and sultans of the old Malay dynasties – exert unexpected power over the country’s fragmenting political parties.
Nine of the Malaysian states are constitutionally headed by traditional Malay rulers who meet every five years to elect a king, or Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as the national head of state.
On Monday July 26, the Malaysian Parliament resumed sitting after the longest suspension since 1969 due to the COVID-19 crisis which had allowed Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to avoid testing whether he actually had a majority. But the prime minister was aiming to avoid any votes which would test his fragile majority.
Indian business and community leaders call on the government to reverse its drastic ban on arrivals from India, ahead of an urgent meeting with the immigration minister Bianca Healey Credit: Steve Christo
Indian Australian business groups and other community leaders have spoken out in opposition to the Australian government’s ban on arrivals from India.
The public comments come in advance of a meeting with Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke on Wednesday.
The ban is currently blocking 9,000 Australian citizens, including 650 considered vulnerable, from re-entering Australia.
Members of the Indian Australian business and wider community have rebuked the government’s ban on arrivals into the country by anyone who was in India within 14 days of their departure, ahead of an urgent meeting with the immigration minister today.
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It is natural for tax agent Nagaraj Veerachettiar to get a bit stressed around this time of year as he gets his software business ready for the busy period that swamps him each July.
But in 2021, a unique trouble has landed in the mix. The founder of GovReports, which helps companies with their tax returns, is one of thousands of Australians stuck in India.
GovReports founder Nagaraj Veerachettiar is stuck in southern India due to Australiaâs travel ban.Â
He has travelled to Coimbatore in southern India, as he does each year, to take advantage of the âtechnical know-howâ of local staff to upgrade his software.