10/02/2026

TUESDAY | FEB 10, 2026

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Bhumjaithai prepares for coalition talks

soldiers can win against anyone. And I still believe we need to keep the border checkpoints closed, not open them,” he said. The prime minister previously indicated that if he was re-elected, the incumbent ministers of finance, foreign affairs and commerce would retain their roles in a new Cabinet. The left-leaning People’s Party has already ruled out the possibility of joining a coalition led by Anutin, with its leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut saying late on Sunday that it would not seek to form a rival coalition. Polls at the end of last month had the People’s Party significantly ahead of Bhumjaithai but analysts said the surge in nationalism provoked by the Cambodia conflict favoured the conservatives. Voters also backed a proposal to change the constitution, with nearly two-thirds in favour of replacing a charter put in place after a 2014 military coup, which critics say gave too much power to an undemocratic senate. It is estimated that it will take at least two years to implement the new constitution, with two more referendums required to endorse the drafting process and the final text. – Reuters

Thailand’s proportional electoral system. Anutin called the election in December after less than 100 days in office, and has sought to capitalise on a wave of nationalism generated by Thailand’s three-week conflict with Cambodia in December. He described the election result as “a victory for all Thais”. Bhumjaithai had received 30.2% of the constituency votes, with analysts saying it consolidated the conservative vote after the surge in nationalist fervour, and took a string of seats from the once dominant Pheu Thai controlled by the Shinawatra family. Asked about forming a coalition, Anutin said in a news broadcast that he wanted to form a government with a strong majority but he was still waiting to see the final election results. “We need a strong government,” he said. Underscoring the role that nationalism played in the vote, Anutin also vowed to build a wall along Thailand’s border with Cambodia and strengthen the military. “I still have to build the wall. I must keep strengthening the military’s capabilities. I believe Thai

The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives last year only to see the country’s Supreme Court throw the case out over procedural issues. Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment triggers a Senate trial. A guilty verdict would see Duterte barred from politics and sidelined from a potential 2028 presidential run. Yesterday’s filing – brought by some of those behind the former complaint – accuses Duterte of bilking taxpayers of at least US$10 million (RM39.3 million) while serving as vice-president and as secretary of education. “This is not political, we are not politicians,” Reverend Joselito Sarabia, a Catholic friar and one of the complainants, told reporters outside the House complex. “We believe there is a moral concern. That’s why we are here again,” he said, adding it was time for Duterte to “answer all accusations”. The complaint also cites an alleged death threat against President Ferdinand Marcos made during a late-night press briefing that Duterte has since said was misinterpreted. Representative Leila de Lima, who endorsed the complaint, said she was confident it would advance to a House vote, calling it an “improved version of the articles of BANGKOK: Thailand faced a realignment of conservative politics yesterday after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won a stronger-than-expected general election victory, with coalition talks expected to start in the coming days. With 94% of votes counted, Bhumjaithai was way ahead of its rivals after Sunday’s vote, securing 193 of the 500 seats in Thailand’s parliament, according to Reuters’ calculations based on election commission data. The election result sent Thai stocks up by around 3%, hitting their highest level in more than a year as the risks of further political instability receded. The People’s Party, which led some polls in the run-up to the vote, trailed on 118, with the Pheu Thai Party third with 74. A handful of other parties won a combined 115 spots in the 500-seat parliament, according to Reuters calculations, but the final number of party list seats could change under o Anutin promises Cambodia border wall

Anutin at Government House in Bangkok yesterday. – AFPPIC

Duterte faces third impeachment case MANILA: Members of the Philippine clergy filed an impeachment complaint yesterday against Sara Duterte, the third to hit the country’s vice-president in just over a week.

Four Singapore telcos hacked SINGAPORE: Four telecom

cyberattacks and is in fact a victim of such threats. The Chinese Embassy in Singapore did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The statement was the first time the government has revealed the type of infrastructure that UNC3886 targeted. Last July, the government said it was responding to cyberattacks targeting high-value strategic assets. In a joint statement, the four companies said that all telcos face cyber threats such as Distributed Denial-of-Service, malware, phishing as well as more sophisticated advanced and persistent threats. “We adopt defence-in-depth mechanisms to protect networks and conduct prompt remediation when issues are detected,” they said, adding that they work with government agencies and industry experts to improve security and resilience. – Reuters and S$50,000 (RM154,913) fine,”it said. On Jan 23, the suspect claimed in an online post that explosive devices were placed at 12 spots at the air base and in vehicles of senior officers. According to Mindef, the threat was confirmed to be a hoax after bomb sweeps and other precautionary measures were conducted and evidence suggested the suspect was a lone perpetrator. “The Singapore Armed Force treats all security threats seriously. Perpetrators of fake security threats will be dealt with under the law,” it said. – Bernama

companies – Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba Telecom – were targeted by cyber espionage group UNC3886 in attacks last year, Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency said yesterday. The agency said the hackers were able to penetrate and gain access to some parts of the telecom systems, but could not disrupt services and did not access personal data. “They also managed to exfiltrate a small amount of technical data; this is believed to be primarily network related data to advance the threat actors’ operational objectives,” it said. Google-owned cyber security firm Mandiant has described UNC3886 as a “China-nexus espionage group” that has attacked defence, technology and telecommunications organisations in the United States and Asia. Beijing routinely denies any allegations of cyber espionage, and says it opposes all forms of

Duterte is accused of bilking taxpayers of US$10 million. – AFPFILEPIC

Man held over bomb hoax SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old full-time National Serviceman (NSF) was detained in connection with a false bomb threat at Paya Lebar Air Base. Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said the suspect was placed under close arrest on Jan 28.

said the move against the president had been unlikely to succeed given the support he enjoys among House lawmakers. Former allies, Marcos and Duterte have been engaged in a high-stakes political brawl that erupted within weeks of their winning a landslide victory together in the 2022 presidential election. Duterte supporters widely believe Marcos engineered Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands to face charges related to killings that took place during a brutal crackdown on drugs. – AFP

impeachment” sent before. De Lima spent more than six years behind bars on drug charges that rights groups have said were trumped up by the vice-president’s father. Last week, Philippine civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition filed separate similar impeachment complaints against Duterte. They were filed just days before a House justice committee dismissed a pair of impeachment complaints against President Marcos, saying they lacked the necessary substance to move forward. Analysts who spoke to AFP had

“The NSF is being investigated. Depending on the outcome of investigations, he could be charged under Section 268A of the Penal Code 1871 – Communicating False Information of Harmful Thing, where he will be tried by court martial. “This offence carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment