Footsteps, Fault Lines, and Floods of Waste
Issue 31— Key Developments Across Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia
Editor’s Note
by Nabil Haskanbancha, Editor-in-Chief
This week’s stories spotlight Southeast Asia’s diverging responses to urban pressures. South Tangerang in Indonesia continues to grapple with a deepening waste crisis. Emergency status was declared in late 2023, yet garbage remains uncollected weeks after landfill closures and failed interventions. Years of poor coordination and reliance on open dumping have now escalated into a regional environmental emergency affecting millions.
In Malaysia, the Perikatan Nasional opposition bloc is facing internal uncertainty after the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin as chairman. PAS is expected to assume leadership, but concerns are mounting over the alliance’s ability to retain voter confidence and maintain cohesion ahead of national polls.
Brunei, meanwhile, is seeing a rise in community-based running events such as the BMW Half Marathon and Ramadhan Night Run. These activities are quietly fostering local economic circulation and contributing to the country’s soft branding through inclusive civic participation.
Indonesia 🇮🇩
Indonesia Faces Urban Waste Reckoning in South Tangerang
by Muhammad Rayhansyah Jasin
Mountains of piles of household trash have been piling up in front of the City Hall of South Tangerang, Banten Province, for more than a week now as protestors have demonstrated public frustration over Jakarta’s suburban city waste mismanagement. South Tangerang Mayor, Benjamin Davnie, has declared an emergency status on the city’s waste issues since December 23. Yet, despite the expiration of the two-week notice and the formation of waste task forces, lines of undisposed garbage remain visible throughout the city, with no short-term solutions in sight. The waste tragedy was first noticed in early December after the forced closure of Cipeucang Landfill as the 5 hectares treatment plant had taken too much space and moved closer to residential areas, leading local residents to seal its access. Cipeucang Landfill’s maximum daily intake of 400 tonnes of waste had been overridden with up to 1100 tonnes of new shipment from the South Tangerang city alone.
However, South Tangerang’s waste crisis had long been brewing even before the closure of the Cipeucang Landfill, as many municipalities across Indonesia continue to rely heavily on open dumping methods. This persists despite the 2008 law intended to prohibit such practices starting in the 2010s. Due to weak enforcement and a lack of political will, the central government effectively turned a blind eye, leaving local governments to manage their waste independently. It was not until February 2025 that a national order was issued to close 343 dumping grounds. By then, however, the damage had already been done, with several cities now quite literally drowning in their own waste.
In response to the bad odor publicity of the waste mismanagement, South Tangerang city government is currently in the process of acquiring 5 hectares of new lands for the construction of brand new Waste-Generated Power Plants (PSEL). The proliferation of PSEL as a one-stop solution over waste production is part of the 18 national strategic projects under the Prabowo Administration to imitate Jakarta’s Bantargebang PSEL facility which can generate up to 700 Kilowatts of electricity from 100 tonnes of waste. Environmental organizations such as Walhi contended however opposed this plan, labelling PSEL as a quick-fix that would only partially address the problem. “The main priority of waste management should be at-source reduction, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle Processing Site framework (TPS 3R), and community-based waste treatment”, said Wahyu Setiawan, Walhi’s Manager of Sustainable City Campaign Manager.
The Ministry of Environment issued an ultimatum to South Tangerang Mayor Benyamin Davnie, stating that failure to resolve the crisis by June 2026 would result in civil proceedings against the city government for public negligence. Nevertheless, the national government cannot escape accountability. It has been complicit in this crisis due to a lack of clear coordination between Jakarta and its regional counterparts. Warnings about Cipeucang Landfill’s overcapacity were raised as early as 2020, yet no concrete action was taken.
The resulting stench and waste overflow have affected surrounding areas, including Depok, Serang, and Tangerang City, severely disrupting the livelihoods of millions of Jakarta’s urban workers. Political will and accountability are essential to solving such systemic problems. Without confronting hard questions and acknowledging government failure, the public will be left to endure the sickening reality of living alongside mountains of unmanaged waste.
Rayhan is pursuing an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Public Policy at Central European University and the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Relations and Political Economy from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. His current research focuses on the socio-economic impacts of Indonesia’s nickel mining industry on local communities and national development.
Malaysia 🇲🇾
Coalition Tensions Surface in Malaysia Opposition Bloc
by Edrina Lisa Ozaidi, in WP Kuala Lumpur
The local newspaper records a current commotion that causes the public to raise their eyebrows. Malaysia’s primary opposition bloc, Perikatan National (PN) undergoes a big leadership transition, triggered by the unexpected resignation of its long-standing chairman. While oppositional forces should focus on consolidating powers for the next general election, this has led to an introduction of instability to the alliance’s core mission.
The catalyst for this uncertainty was Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to step down as PN chairman effective January 1, 2026. Although he remains president of his party, Bersatu, his departure from the alliance’s top post has created an urgent need to restructure the opposition’s leadership. Muhyiddin, who briefly served as the nation’s prime minister, has long been seen as a unifying figure, bridging the ideologically diverse components of the alliance.
Following his exit, the baton leadership is set to pass to the Islamist party (PAS), the coalition’s most dominant partner in terms of parliamentary seats. PAS President, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, has since called for an emergency PN supreme to formally accept the resignation and appoint a successor. While his exit does not come with an official reason, alleged speculation suggested it was due to tension between the participating parties over a state alliance assembly and the position of the state chief minister.
Several potential successors from PAS are being discussed, including Tan Sri Abdul Awang, the current PAS president and PN deputy chairman; Dauk Seri Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, with a past portfolio of a state chief minister and favoured by the public; Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, known with his vocal character and one of the state’s chief ministers.
However, this transition does not come without risk. Under Muhyiddin’s leadership, PN demonstrated considerable strength during the 2022 “Green Wave,” successfully securing control of four states: Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis. With a potential change in leadership, the next chairman will face both public and coalition expectations to deliver a performance that matches or surpasses that of their predecessor. However, analysts warn that a PAS-led-alliance may struggle to attract moderate and non-Malay voters, potentially leading to lower voter turnout and a narrowed path to victory in the next national polls.
Besides that, another member of the alliance, the Gerakan Party, is likely to face significant challenges. Given that Gerakan’s support base is predominantly non-Malay, the party may struggle to justify its partnership with the PAS-led coalition, especially if the alliance begins to adopt more Islamic-oriented policies. This could alienate its core supporters and weaken its electoral prospects. For Perikatan Nasional, the challenge is clear: it must manage the leadership transition smoothly to project unity and stability, or it risks losing the momentum it has built against the current unity government.
Edrina is a communications professional with a background in international relations. She holds a degree from the University of Nottingham Malaysia and has worked across public relations and social media for organizations in the development, education, and corporate sectors. Her work focuses on crafting narratives around regional affairs and strengthening media engagement across Southeast Asia.
Brunei Darussalam 🇧🇳
Why Brunei’s Running Events Are More Than Just a Fitness Trend
by Syimah Johari, in Bandar Seri Begawan
Running events are often dismissed as lifestyle or fitness trends, but their cumulative impact hints at something broader: informal economic activity, social branding, and low-cost public engagement. In 2025, Brunei hosted a growing number of running events – from an annual Ramadhan Night Run, and a New Year Run to the country’s first ever half marathon later in the year. These events have increasing participation from a diverse group of people within the population. Beyond signalling a lifestyle shift, Brunei’s running calendar has also emerged as a quiet gateway to economic circulation and soft-nation branding.
Like many other places, running has seen a quiet boom in Brunei, shifting from a personal fitness habit into a shared cultural activity. For some, this looks like committing to 10,000 steps a day; for others, it means chasing a new personal best in time or distance. This growing interest has long been supported by running clubs – from casual, pressure-free communities such as Ten Percent Running Club to more structured groups, like the BSRC Running Club that offer formal training. In recent years, this foundation has translated into a steady rise in organised running events across the country. By 2025, many of these races have become recurring and well-attended, creating pockets of economic activity through sponsorships, event merchandise, and refreshment vendors.
These running events may not dramatically shift national GDP figures, but they do create everyday economic movement. Each race involves people paying registration fees, local brands coming on board as sponsors, and small vendors setting up stalls to sell food, drinks, and merchandise. The Brunei Night Run 2025, for instance, was supported by GoMamam, a homegrown delivery start-up, while the BMW International Half Marathon – the country’s first ever half marathon – drew sponsorship from BMW Brunei (QAF Auto Sdn. Bhd) alongside GoMamam. As these events become more frequent, they turn one-off participation into repeat spending, creating a steady rhythm of work and opportunity for organisers, vendors, and service providers across the year.
Beyond economic effects, running events also contribute to Brunei’s soft nation branding. Unlike formal tourism campaigns or official slogans, soft branding emerges from how a country is perceived through everyday life rather than overt promotion. Although these runs are not explicitly designed as branding tools, they nonetheless project images of an active, inclusive, and community-oriented society. Participants share their experiences organically, streets are briefly transformed into spaces for people rather than cars, and public life becomes more visible and lived-in. For a small state like Brunei, this kind of informal visibility often spreads further and carries more credibility.
While running is an individual activity, its broader impact is collective. Achieving a personal best is rewarding, but having recurring events builds shared meaning and contributes to both the economy and national image. Over time, running can evolve from a mere fitness trend into a meaningful contributor to public life, often without us even realizing it.
Syimah is a graduate of King’s College London with a BA in International Relations. With a strong focus on diplomacy, regional cooperation, and development policy, she is passionate about contributing to meaningful change through public service. Currently, she is involved in poverty alleviation work through a local NGO.
Editorial Deadline 11/1/2026 11:59 PM (UTC +8)
Intresting take on how Brunei's running events create informal economic circulation! The connection to soft nation branding is particularly clever, showing how community activites can shape perceptions without overt promotional campaigns. Would love to see similiar analysis of other grassroots economic drivers.