Why does the West back the wrong Asian leaders?
The supposed bastions of liberalism need to fix their picker
On August 27th Malaysian prosecutors charged Muhyiddin Yassin, the leader of the opposition, with sedition. His crime? Complaining that the king did not ask him to form a government after the last general election, even though he claimed to have the support of a majority of parliament. It was the second indictment for Mr Muhyiddin. Last year, prosecutors charged him with misuse of funds while prime minister from 2020 to 2021, which he denies.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The definition of madness ”
From the August 31st 2024 edition
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The Adani scandal takes the shine off Modi’s electoral success
The tycoon’s indictment clouds the prime minister’s prospects
Priyanka Gandhi: dynastic scion, and hope of India’s opposition
Poised to enter parliament, she may have bigger ambitions than that
The Caspian Sea is shrinking rapidly
This has big implications for Russia, which has come to rely on Central Asian ports
Racial tensions boil over in New Zealand
A controversial bill regarding Maori people punctures its relative harmony
Once a free-market pioneer, Sri Lanka takes a leap to the left
A new president with Marxist roots now dominates parliament too
The mystery of India’s female labour-force participation rate
A good news story? Maybe