Asia in 3 minutes: Anyone for a game of Kleptopoly in Malaysia? And if you thought Korea’s nut rage heiress was bad ... wait till you meet her sister
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Malaysia’s anti-graft board game replaces Monopoly with Kleptopoly
A new Malaysian board game based on “Monopoly” is making a timely statement about the 1MDB scandal ahead of the general election. “Kleptopoly” features a motley crew of figures central to the controversy and items allegedly bought with money looted from the state fund. Designed by an anti-graft watchdog, “Kleptopoly” sees players move tokens around a board and pick up high-end properties, with the richest – but least corrupt – player declared the winner at the end. The US Department of Justice alleges that US$4.5 billion was looted from 1MDB, which was founded by Prime Minister Najib Razak, by officials at the state fund and their associates in a campaign of fraud and money-laundering. Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing. “We hope that people do play the game, and talk about these issues ahead of the upcoming elections,” said Ho Yi Jian, from the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, which produced “Kleptopoly”.
What next? The scandal has come into focus as Malaysians prepare for an election on May 9, with Najib hoping to extend his coalition’s six decades in power.
‘Oxygen cocktails’ are an alternative to dirty air in Mongolia’s capital city
Fed up with the smog in Mongolia’s capital, residents have resorted to sipping “lung” tea and “oxygen cocktails” in a desperate bid to protect themselves from pollution, despite health officials saying there is no evidence they work. Ulan Bator topped New Delhi and Beijing as the world’s most polluted capital in 2016, Unicef said in a report warning of a health crisis that has put every child and pregnancy at risk. With contamination from road transport and power plants adding to the toxic mix, on January 30 air pollution was 133 times higher than the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Some businesses are cashing in by selling “oxygen cocktails”. Advertisements in Mongolia boast that “drinking just one oxygen cocktail is equal to a three-hour walk in a lush forest”.
What next? Non-profit organisations such as Parents Against Smog say the government is not doing enough to reduce air pollution and argue that ordinary people should not have to suffer financially to protect their health. The group organised a protest earlier this year.
