![]() ![]() Contributor Kymberley Chu explores the origins and potential impact of the strike, and how it could lead to meaningful policy changes for contract doctors. But last month, thousands of doctors began a grassroots Contract Doctor Strike, demanding better conditions for contractors amidst the ongoing pandemic. They may not be light-hearted readings, but they’re worth your time.ĭifficult and dangerous conditions, repeated 12 hour shifts, and flimsy contracts are leading to high rates of burnout among contract Malaysian doctors, with the situation only worsening as Malaysia’s health facilities have become overwhelmed by Covid-19. We’ve got a selection of other fine features, including the mounting toll of Covid-19 on doctors in Malaysia and the pandemic’s severe impact on children’s education in Cambodia. This week, the Globe had its own take on Kamala Harris’ visit, with an analysis from Amnesty International USA’s Asia Advocacy Director Carolyn Nash urging the VP to not allow geopolitical concerns to overshadow conversations over human rights abuses in Southeast Asia. We’ll see how an intensifying China-US rivalry and a more engaged Biden administration affects Southeast Asia over the next three years or so, but for now if political pettiness means more vaccine donations to a country in desperate need of them then there is a silver lining to rising diplomatic tensions. With Harris’ flight delayed for several hours before she could arrive in Vietnam to announce the donation of one million vaccines, Chinese diplomats swooped in to pledge two million doses to Hanoi. “We are going to speak up when there are actions that Beijing takes that threaten the rules-based international order.”Ĭhinese state-affiliated media, in turn, dubbed Harris’ visit “lip service diplomacy”, while Beijing pushed back at Harris’ presence with some calculated political theatre. “We welcome stiff competition, we do not seek conflict but on issues such as the South China Sea, we are going to speak up,” Harris said at a news conference in Hanoi on August 26. The South China Sea was one area in which Harris expressed allegiance. Greater economic cooperation and geostrategy were on the agenda, as the Biden administration is attempting to regain ground lost in Southeast Asia to China during the Trump years. A flurry of coverage followed the visit, noting everything from a possible outbreak of the mysterious Havana syndrome, to a customised species of purple flowers named after Harris.īut more important than the introduction of a bouquet of Papilionanda Kamala Harris, the visit to many represented the rebirth of Obama’s “Pivot to Asia” policy after a brief spell of withdrawal under Trump. ![]() However, there have been more consequential goings-on over in Singapore and Hanoi, which this week welcomed an important guest, US Vice President Kamala Harris. I’ve had to leap across ditches, tread carefully across planks with my bike tucked under one arm, and find creative alternatives to get down the block. Hello, and welcome to another edition of the editorial! In Siem Reap, where I’m based, things are slow except for the sounds of the ongoing, city-wide road renovations that have turned even the simplest outdoor excursion into an adventure. ![]()
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