Selamat sejahtera and Salam Malaysia MADANI, Annyeonghaseyo and a very good morning. May I welcome you to Kuala Lumpur for the 33rd Maekyung Global Forum 2025, a truly significant gathering that brings together some of the sharpest minds and most influential leaders from both Malaysia…
Is an inclusive, unifying, and all embracing Malaysian nationalism possible? As someone who grew up in the 1990s when Vision 2020, Bangsa Malaysia, and Malaysia Boleh were buzzwords, my answer is “yes”. For me, even back then, those were not mere catchphrases but real hope…
This week I made two separate day trips, one to Johor and another one to Penang. In spite of a hectic schedule, I was so drawn to a book that I finished reading it during the long car ride and in between meetings. The book…
One evening in my first year in Canberra at the Australian National University, a lecture by Professor Brij Lal (1952-2021), an academic of Fijian-Indian origin, made me ponder. The British began ruling Fiji in 1874, the same year the Pangkor Treaty was inked. The Indians…
More than 20 years ago, when I was a student at the Australian National University, I was thrilled to discover the writings of Professor Wang Gungwu, especially those on the Chinese diaspora. I continue to follow his works until this day, and have had the…
It is unfortunate that political debates in Malaysia often descend to just shouting matches among hardcore groups of different political hues. More than a decade ago in the lead up to the 2013 general election, I published a book with the title “Middle Malaysia: Centre…
I would like to encourage you to pick up a copy of “Equality: What It Means and Why It Matters” by Thomas Piketty and Michael Sandel. Piketty is known for tomes like “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” (2014) which even avid readers like me struggle…
May I welcome you to MITI to celebrate the 58th ASEAN Day Commemoration and the official opening of 7th ASEAN Economic Integration Forum (AEIF). I would like to congratulate MITI and UKM for organising this gathering. A bit of history As the saying goes, “nature…
Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is attributed as saying that a week is too long in politics. This means, a month feels like eternity. This was probably how keen observers of Malaysian politics felt throughout July 2025. The retirement of Chief Justice Tun Tengku…