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.
Lengthy border closures in Australia prompt calls for amnesty for migrant workers straitstimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from straitstimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens returning home if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back. The government threatened to prosecute them with a possibility of five years of jail term or a penalty of 66,000 Australian dollars (USD 50,899).
MELBOURNE – A defiant Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday stood firm on his decision to halt flights from India in a bid to curb the Covid infections and a possible third wave of the deadly contagion, saying positive cases have started to come down as a result of the pause.
Australia s COVID-19 travel ban on citizens returning home from India challenged in court
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Last Updated: May 06, 2021, 02:12 PM IST
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Synopsis
The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back.
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The move has left over 9,000 return travellers stranded in India
Australia s controversial temporary ban on citizens returning home from coronavirus-hit India was challenged in the federal court in Sydney on Thursday by a 73-year-old Australian, who has been stranded in Bengaluru since March last year.
The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back.
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.