Asia Sentinel was created to provide a platform for news, analysis and opinion on national and regional issues in Asia. It is independent of all governments and major media enterprises. It is open to contributions not only from journalists but from professionals in fields such as finance, diplomacy, science and the arts. It has no ideology other than a belief in the benefits of a free media. It will not publish editorials but give free rein to diverse opinions.
The founders believe that with the retrenchments in recent years of regional weekly and daily print publications, there is a need and demand for such a site. They also believe that internet publishing is now beginning to become a commercial proposition and that Asia Sentinel can become a self-sustaining site. Meanwhile they welcome new investors who share their outlook.
The editors will impose no writing formulas but will edit solely for clarity, brevity and accuracy.
Who we are:
- John Berthelsen, Editor – Formerly managing editor of The Standard newspaper in Hong Kong, Berthelsen was also a correspondent for Newsweek Magazine, the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Sacramento Bee. He has lived in and reported from five different countries in Asia.
- Philip Bowring, Consultant Editor – A 30-year resident of the region, Bowring is Asia commentator for the International Herald Tribune and the former editor of The Far Eastern Economic Review.
Pressenza states: Asia Sentinal is a commercial operation and has not so far allowed itself to partner with Pressenza, which is run by volunteers, which is understandable from their point of view. However, we appreciate their effort at important news dissemination and want to bring our readers attention to this site. Their editorial team is top class and recalls the ‘old’ Far East Economic Review line-up of Far East specialists before it was brought out by DOW Jones… The Pressenza editorial line is quite different from Asia Sentinel with our universal humanism stance but still, here we all are!
We give here a sample of their reportage and a link to the site:
Recent top story:
Malaysia Vainly Seeks to Keep Lid on Scandal
The lengths Malaysian authorities are willing to go in the effort to keep a lid on continuing financial scandals involving Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, has taken a new turn with a threat to arrest a prominent lawyer for assisting a US businessman in making a sworn statement on his brother’s reported involvement into the stalled probe.
Police are demanding that Americk Sidhu, who assisted in writing the sworn statement by Atlanta-based businessman Charles Morais of his murdered brother’s reported involvement in the stalled Najib investigation, come in for questioning. Khalid Abu Bakar, Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police, told local media on Nov. 30 that “we are giving Americk two days to step forward and have his statement recorded.”
On Nov. 26, Morais read a sworn statement to a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that his brother Anthony Kevin Morais, a Malaysian deputy prosecutor whose body was found in a cement-filled oil drum that had been dumped in a river, had said he was assisting in the investigation of Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, before he disappeared. Morais said he had also received a USB drive from his dead brother, to be kept for safekeeping. But he gave no details about what was on the USB drive. Almost immediately after holding the press conference, Charles Morais left the country to go back to the US.
The investigation into allegations of an unexplained US$681 million infusion into Najib’s bank accounts, and the money’s subsequent disappearance, plus irregularities involving the ill-starred 1Malaysia Development Bhd. state-backed investment fund, have metamorphosed into one of Asia’s biggest potential scandals.
For more see: http://www.asiasentinel.com/politics/malaysia-vainly-seeks-keep-lid-najib-scandal/
http://www.asiasentinel.com/
