Political developments have taken centre stage over the past month. Aside from Donald Trump’s election victory, most attention in Asia has focused on Korea, where President Park Geun-hye is clinging to her job with her fingernails following allegations that her close friend had gained undue influence overpolicy. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the 1MDB corruption scandal is showing no signs of disappearing after an estimated 40,000 people took part in anti-government protests at the weekend. In the Philippines, President Duterte is continuing to attract controversy with his outbursts, including a recent diatribe where he described President Putin of Russia as his “idol”. Finally, in Thailand,although calm has prevailed since the king’s death in October, it is still early days and the political outlook remains highly uncertain.
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