The recent violent unrest in Kazakhstan, during which 164 people were killed and thousands have been detained, has brought unwelcome attention to a country that may be the size of western Europe but which normally attracts few headlines. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s command for security forces to “shoot to kill without warning” and the appearance of soldiers from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation that he requested to restore order have led some people to assume this is familiar: another instance of an authoritarian leader of a former Soviet republic struggling to deal with popular opposition to his rule.
The reality may be very different and much more complicated. There may quite possibly have been “an attempted coup d’etat” as Mr Tokayev, who some believe to be a real reformist, put it on Monday. Either way, any genuine popular discontent may also be aimed far more at Mr Tokayev’s predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the “First President”, as Kazakhstani state-aligned media call him, who led the country from 1990-2019 and who for good or ill is most responsible for the state it is in today.
Mr Nazarbayev made much over the years of how he was following the model of Singapore and Malaysia – multiracial countries that nevertheless built stable democracies, stressing order and harmony and making huge economic progress. Mr Nazarbayev first asked Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew and long-time prime minister for advice in 1993, and in his 2007 book, The Kazakhstan Way, he wrote that Mr Lee was one of his two role models.
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence on 16 December last year, Astana Times published a lengthy essay praising Mr Nazarbayev’s nation-building and the dominant role of his Nur Otan party. It said that politicians had been willing “to unite for the sake of further progressive transformations of the country laid out on the contours of a multiparty model with a dominant political force based on the experience of the so-called Asian Tiger states, such as Singapore… Malaysia, etc.”
But there are very big differences between the courses broadly followed in Singapore and Malaysia and that advanced by Mr Nazarbayev.
First of all, while Singapore and Malaysia were dominated by strong leaders in Mr Lee and Dr Mahathir Mohamad for decades, neither man encouraged the kind of cult of personality that is synonymous with Mr Nazarbayev. When first prime minister (1981-2003) Dr Mahathir refused to allow any buildings to be named after him, while Mr Lee stated that he wanted his house to be demolished after his death as he did not want it to become a shrine to his memory (the fact that it still stands has led to a family feud).
In Kazakhstan, however, December 1st is a national holiday in honour of the “First President”. Mr Nazarbayev’s life has been celebrated in film, theatre, music, art and most famously, statues; while the capital he built, Astana, was renamed Nur-Sultan after him just three days after he stepped down from office, and he still officially remains “Elbasy” or leader of the nation.
Secondly, leaders in Singapore and Malaysia are accountable and have to win fiercely fought elections. In both countries leading ministers have lost their seats, and in 2018 Malaysia’s “dominant political force”, the Barisan Nasional, found itself out of government. Singapore’s ruling PAP has never lost at the polls, but when it secured “only” 60 per cent in the 2011 general election it led to very searching questions and an urgent realisation that the party needed to connect more closely with the electorate.
Mr Nazarbayev won his last presidential election in 2015, on the other hand, with 98 per cent of the vote. Far from all of his record is bad, and he may have enjoyed significant support, but let’s just say that 98 per cent is a surprisingly high figure.
Thirdly, Singapore and Malaysia have both prepared cadres of capable and experienced younger leaders; successions have been planned (exhaustively, in the case of Singapore); and transitions have been smooth. Recent events have shown this is not the case in Kazakhstan, not least as Mr Nazarbayev stayed on as chairman of his Nur Otan party until last November and as chairman of the powerful national Security Council until he was removed by Mr Tokayev on January 5th.
To be fair to Mr Nazarbayev, there were many achievements under his rule. In a 2019 report the London think tank Chatham House labelled Kazakhstan “an upper middle income” state, “one of the most successful economies in the region and… among the best-performing of the post-Soviet resource exporters.”
He did institute significant economic reforms, it continued, but added that “political reforms conspicuously lagged during his presidency – with Mr Nazarbayev choosing not to establish an independent judiciary, a parliament with meaningful oversight powers, or even a constitution that is respected by the authorities themselves.” This is not even to mention the allegations of civil liberties and the documented killing of demonstrators by state police in what became known as the Zhanaozen massacre in 2011.
By contrast the freedoms, the protections under the law, and the ability to raise – if not always effectively redress – perceived wrongs enjoyed by Malaysians and Singaporeans are immense.
The problem is not that the “First President” followed the models of Singapore and Malaysia. It is that he did not follow them properly
Neither Singapore nor Malaysia are western-style liberal democracies (I mean no criticism by that), and the idea has often been raised that their populations were willing to live under a less freewheeling political climate than in the west in exchange for the state ensuring rapid economic growth that benefitted all. If so, to a great extent their governments have delivered.
Singapore has some of the best social provision and one of the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Inequality is still high in Malaysia, but there have been countless programmes, from the land development provided to rural workers in the '60s and '70s to the 1Malaysia clinics established in 2010 which provided services for RM1, that have demonstrated that governments have been trying to reach out to all citizens.
In Kazakhstan, however, this “bargain” has not been kept. The wealth gap as grown, with some elites becoming among the super-wealthy, while the reality for many, as University of Toronto professor Edward Schatz recently put it, has been that “the gap between the promise of becoming middle class and the reality of living with barely enough became harder to bear over the past decade.”
Mr Tokayev may be harvesting the discontent sowed by the failure of the seeds planted by his predecessor, Mr Nazarbayev. But the problem is not that the “First President” followed the models of Singapore and Malaysia. It is that he did not follow them properly across the board. If his hero Lee Kuan Yew was still alive, he would tell him so in typically robust language.
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Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
The%20specs
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
MATCH INFO
Brescia 1 (Skrinia og, 76)
Inter Milan 2 (Martinez 33, Lukaku 63)
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 112-4 (10 ovs)
Banton 53 no
Northern Warriors 46 all out (9 ovs)
Kumara 3-10, Garton 3-10, Jordan 2-2, Prasanna 2-7
Qalandars win by six wickets
liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
LAST 16 DRAW
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Valencia
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Juventus
Tottenham v Leipzig
Napoli v Barcelona
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
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U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
DUBAI WORLD CUP RACE CARD
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Well Of Wisdom
7.05pm Summrghand
7.40pm Laser Show
8.15pm Angel Alexander
8.50pm Benbatl
9.25pm Art Du Val
10pm: Beyond Reason
