· August, 2013

Stories about Governance from August, 2013

Crowdsourcing Malaysia’s 2014 Budget

  31 August 2013

Through the #bajet2014 website, Malaysians can give specific ideas in drafting the government's 2014 budget. They can also use the special page to approve or reject a particular proposal

Iran: Facebook Diplomacy

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, posted a short piece with six questions about Syria on his Facebook page which received 1,100 comments as of Friday, August 30. Some called Zarif on the hypocrisy of criticizing Western intervention as intervention, when Iran has its own presence on the ground.

VIDEO: Angolan Prison Authorities Crack Down on Prisoners

  31 August 2013

A video showing what appears to be prison guards and firefighters beating a group of prisoners in Luanda (warning: graphic) has been widely shared on Angolan social media. Amnesty International reacted saying that the footage “is shocking and must be investigated,” The footage, recorded on a mobile phone and distributed...

Strike in Colombia Gains Momentum

  28 August 2013

Colombia's national strike, which began with an agrarian strike on August 19, is “gaining momentum with shows of support from the citizenry”, as Steven Cohen writes in Colombia Reports: More than 10,000 people participated in “cacerolazos” — protests in which participants bang on kitchen pots and pans — held throughout...

Online Reporting of Bribery in Thailand

  27 August 2013

Bribespot Thailand encourages Thais to report cases of bribery and corruption in the country. Through an interactive map, the website also identifies bribery hotspots in Thailand.

Prison Overcrowding in Indonesia

  24 August 2013

Leopold Sudaryono tackles the problem of prison overcrowding in Indonesia. In 2011, there were 144,000 prisoners in the country. Prisons were reported to be overcrowded by 45 per cent on average. Among the factors contributing to the problem are lack of alternative sentencing options at trial and delays in the...