Cambodia’s Cabinet has approved a draft bill that will toughen penalties for anyone denying atrocities were carried out in the late 1970s under the rule of communist Khmer Rouge, whose brutal policies are blamed for the deaths of 1.

Malaysia assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with the aim of fostering political stability and economic prosperity for its members.

Anwar Ibrahim’s background, together with Malaysia's reputation as a progressive leader in ASEAN, should be cause for optimism. However, the appointment of Hun Sen and Shinawatra suggests there is a disconnect between Ibrahim’s words and actions.

Lim Kimya was shot twice and died near the Khao San Road tourist precinct on January 7 by former Thai naval marine Ekkalak Pheanoi who then fled into Cambodia where he was apprehended and extradited. Thai police say Ekkalak has confessed to the murder.

Thai national Ekalak Paenoi, center, the prime suspect in the killing of former lawmaker of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Lim Kimya, is escorted by police officers at the police airport in Bangkok on Jan 11, 2025, after returning from Cambodia. (Photo: AFP)

The Prime Minister emphasised that if the government had orchestrated the murder, they would not have apprehended the suspect and handed him over to Thai authorities.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet denied on Monday his government and father, former leader Hun Sen, were involved in the killing of an opposition politician in downtown Bangkok this month.

For government critics in Southeast Asia, fleeing abroad does not necessarily mean safety. Thailand is growing particularly dangerous for foreigners seeking protection.

Lim Kimya, a French-Cambodian citizen who worked as a French bureaucrat before entering the Cambodian parliament for the CNRP in 2013, was shot twice and died near Bangkok’s popular tourist center of Khao San Road on the evening of Jan. 7.

The Cambodian case comes as Thailand is already under scrutiny over the case of 48 Uyghurs, detained in Bangkok for almost a decade, amid reports Thailand is preparing to send them back to China, and the case of a Vietnamese activist who Hanoi wants to extradite and jail for terrorism.

French citizen Lim Ani spoke after a funeral held at a pagoda near Paris for government critic Lim Kimya. The widow of a former Cambodian opposition party lawmaker who was killed in a brazen street attack in Bangkok said she believes the shooting was “definitely political” and not the result of a personal dispute.

Cambodia Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Friday that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has the potential to help