12 December 2024
Morning Shot: What's fuelling Myanmar's civil war?
New reports from this week say that one of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh.
Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
This follows just less than a week after a second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group says it is ready for China-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border.
On this episode of Morning Shot, we’ll be speaking with Dr Felix Tan, an independent political observer who lectures on International Relations and has published works on Myanmar shares his insights on what’s fuelling Myanmar’s civil war and whether there’s a realistic path to reconciliation and stability for the country.
Presented by: Emaad Akhtar
Produced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)
Photo credits: Wa Lone / Reuters

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3 May 2024
Weekly Wrap Up: PM Lee bids farewell in final major speech, marking the start of DPM Wong tenure
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered his last major political speech as head of government at the annual May Day Rally.
This comes a fortnight before he is set to pass the baton to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who will be sworn in as the Republic’s fourth prime minister, at a ceremony to be held at the Istana on May 15.
Did PM Lee's last major speech in a way mark the start of DPM Lawrence Wong's tenure as PM?
Dr Felix Tan, Independent Political Observer tells us more.

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24 April 2024
Regional Round Up: Najib's saga continues, will it affect his chance for house arrest?
From former Malaysian PM Najib Razak not divulging a meeting with the Saudi King to MACC investigators to Myanmar’s former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were reportedly moving out of jail to house arrest last week.
Dr Felix Tan, Independent Political Observer gives us an analysis of those headlines and more.

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19 January 2024
Weekly Wrap: Iswaran resigns, faces 27 charges including corruption, what now?
S Iswaran has resigned as Transport Minister and a member of the People's Action Party (PAP).He has been charged with 27 offences yesterday, two of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one of obstructing justice and 24 of obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant.
So what happens next? Will it be hard to replace him at West Coast GRC?
Dr Felix Tan, Independent Political Observer shares his analysis.

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