VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's new prison lodgings may be less than an hour's drive from his mansion in Kuala Lumpur's affluent Bukit Tunku neighbourhood, but it is a world away from the luxury he is used to.

Najib lost his final appeal on a 12-year jail sentence for corruption on Tuesday, and was taken under heavy security to the country's largest jailhouse in Kajang - a sprawling complex southeast of the capital that holds up to 5,000 prisoners and includes a women's facility .

First convicted in July 2020, Najib had been out on bail pending appeals. The country's top court upheld his guilty verdict over criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering charges for illegally receiving about $10 million from a former unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The son of Malaysia's second prime minister, Najib held the premiership from 2009 to 2018, when public anger over the multi-billion dollar graft scandal at 1MDB brought election defeat.

Having been golf buddies with U.S. presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and other world leaders, the British-educated son of Malay nobility will now count murderers and drug traffickers among his fellow inmates in Kajang.

One of them, Azilah Hadri, was a member of Najib's security detail before he was convicted of murder for the 2006 killing of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Azilah is currently on death row, while a fellow policeman who was convicted along with him sought sanctuary in Australia, where he remains.

In a 2019 court filing seeking to set aside his conviction, Azilah accused Najib of ordering the murder, a claim the ex-premier denied. The Federal Court rejected Azilah's application in 2020.

The Prisons Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment on what conditions Najib will face in jail. On Facebook, it denied as fake news a post by another user saying that the prisons provided special privileges for "VIP inmates" such as televisions and air-conditioning.

Otherwise, rights groups say Malaysian prisons suffer from overcrowding, poor hygiene, and lack of medical facilities, with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and scabies common.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who spent a total of eight years incarcerated at another Malaysian prison, has said he experienced inhumane and degrading conditions, including being served rotten fish "all the time", according to media reports.

However, Najib's former deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, told parliament in 2016 that Anwar obtained privileges based on medical advice, including a customised hospital bed, a desk, hot showers, and a special diet.

Anwar was also given access to the prison library, received regular visitors, and was allowed to leave for hospital treatments and to attend trial, according to Ahmad Zahid.

Anwar was jailed twice on corruption and sodomy charges, which he maintains were politically motivated. He was pardoned by the king and released days after Najib's election defeat in 2018.

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The only times that Najib is likely to leave Kajang, are when he is escorted to court to attend hearings in four other cases related to corruption at 1MDB and other government agencies.

U.S. and Malaysian authorities say over $4.5 billion was stolen.

Malaysian investigators say they traced more than $1 billion to Najib's bank accounts, but he has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The opulent lifestyle of Najib and his family came to light with the discovery of about $275 million worth of cash, jewellery, and other luxury goods in residences used by Najib and his family.

Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, has pleaded not guilty in a corruption case unrelated to 1MDB. The court is set to deliver its verdict in her trial on Sept. 1. (Reuters)

 For the first time a South Korean general is commanding annual joint drills with American forces, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, a step toward Seoul's long-delayed goal of gaining command of allied forces in the event of a war.

The allies began on Monday their largest joint military drills in years, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, with a resumption of field training, aiming to strengthen readiness for potential weapons tests by North Korea.

The exercises include an 11-day "computer simulated, defensc-oriented training event" to improve allied readiness, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement.

In the exercise, U.S. Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, who commands USFK troops, the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command (CFC), and the United Nations Command (UNC), switched positions with his deputy, South Korean Gen. Ahn Byung-seok, USFK said.

The move was based on future command plans outlined by U.S and South Korean defence secretaries last year, LaCamera said in the statement.

"This is significant because, for the first time ever, the CFC deputy commander will take the lead as the future CFC commander," he added.

Since the 1950-1953 Korean War, the American military has retained authority to control hundreds of thousands of South Korean forces alongside the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the country if another war breaks out.

President Yoon Suk-yeol has said South Korea is not ready to take operational control of those joint forces, after a push by his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, faced delays over the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues.

Yoon has cited a need for greater surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, among other factors.

South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup participated in Wednesday's drills, which the ministry said aimed at better deterring and responding to North Korea's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.

North Korea has criticised the joint drills as a rehearsal for invasion, calling them a "hostile policy" that proves Washington and Seoul are truly not interested in diplomacy. (Reuters)

Japan will restart more idled nuclear plants and look at developing next-generation reactors, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a major policy shift on nuclear energy a decade after the Fukushima disaster.

The comments from Kishida - who also said the government would look at extending the lifespan of existing reactors - highlight how the Ukraine crisis and soaring energy costs have forced both a change in public opinion and a policy rethink toward nuclear power.

Japan has kept most of its nuclear plants idled in the decade since a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 triggered a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Quake-prone Japan also said it would build no new reactors, so a change in that policy would be a stark turnaround.

Kishida told reporters he had instructed officials to come up with concrete measures by the year end, including on "gaining the understanding of the public" on sustainable energy and nuclear power.

Government officials met on Wednesday to hammer out a plan for so-called "green transformation" aimed at retooling the world's third-largest economy to meet environmental goals. Nuclear energy, which was deeply opposed by the public after the Fukushima crisis, is now seen by some in government as a component for such green transformation.

Public opinion has also shifted, as fuel prices have risen and an early and hot summer spurred calls for energy-saving.

"It is the first step towards the normalisation of Japan's energy policy," said Jun Arima, a project professor at the University of Tokyo's graduate school of public policy.

Japan needs nuclear power because its grid is not connected to neighbouring countries, nor is it able to boost output of domestic fossil fuels, he said.

Last month the government said it hoped to restart more nuclear reactors in time to avert any power crunch over the winter.

As of late July, Japan had seven operating reactors, with three others offline due to maintenance. Many others are still going through a relicensing process under stricter safety standards imposed after Fukushima.

Kishida also said the government would look at extending the lifespan of existing reactors. Local media earlier reported this could be done by not including the time reactors remained offline - years in some cases - when calculating their operating time.

Under current regulations, Japan decommissions plants after a predetermined period, which in many cases is 60 years. (Reuters)

Japan will waive pre-departure COVID-19 tests for vaccinated travellers to the country, but daily caps on entrants will remain in place, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday.

Japan has maintained some of the strictest pandemic border measures among major economies, requiring travellers to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure.

"From Sept. 7, we will no longer require people who have been vaccinated three times to present proof that they are not infected," said Kishida, who addressed reporters online as he is recuperating from COVID at his official residence.

Domestic and foreign business groups have urged a greater relaxation of Japan's border controls, saying the measures risk inflicting further economic pain.

Kishida said in May that he wanted to bring Japan's border measures more in line with those of other Group of Seven nations.

Japan in June opened up to tourists for the first time in two years, but requirements that they apply for visas and stick to guided, package tours have kept actual numbers of inbound visitors small.

Local media reported on Tuesday that Japan may raise a daily cap on inbound travellers from 20,000 to 50,000, but no decision has been made, Kishida said.

"We will continue relaxing these measures gradually," he said. "We hope to announce something soon based on the quarantine setup and the situation with infections."

The border easing comes as Japan deals with a seventh wave of infections, driven by the infectious BA.4 and BA.5 variants, that have forced companies to idle production lines and driven COVID deaths to a record 343 on Tuesday.

All the same, Kishida is pushing a living "with corona" strategy of weathering the surge without imposing restrictions on businesses or mobility, and focusing medical resources on elderly and high-risk patients. (Reuters)