Orgil Dugersuren

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim came to power in late 2022 after years of political struggle. While his electoral victory was heralded as a major win by reformists, there is growing disillusionment with his government’s reformasi agenda. The rapidly changing landscape of Malaysian politics has placed Anwar at odds with his former allies in the Bersih civil society coalition, which in June 2024 gave the government what it called an ‘F’ grade for slow reforms.

On 14 August 2024, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that he will not seek another term as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). This decision ends his tenure as prime minister, with his successor to be determined by the LDP leadership election scheduled for September. The circumstances of his resignation reflect the fault lines within the LDP and public distrust of the party.

The past few years have been a season of misery for several South Asian economies. Sri Lanka defaulted on its debts in 2022, sparking an economic crisis that resulted in a catastrophic 7.3 per cent decline in GDP and a further 2.3 per cent decline in 2023.