Annyeonghaseyo. I am delighted to be invited to say a few words at the Malaysia-Korea Look East Policy Business Summit and to join you in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Look East Policy. Building lasting friendships Let me begin by sharing my personal story with…
I am deeply honoured to be invited to deliver a keynote speech for the National E&E Forum 2023 organised by Malaysian Semiconductors Industry Association (MSIA). One of the best sellers of the year is Chris Miller’s Chip War: The Fight For The World’s Most Critical…
There is a need to rethink cities and housing as Malaysia embarks on a new mission. I would like to touch on three major points on how we should move away from the Garden City idea of separating where we live and where we work.…
Southeast Asia and China are geographically close, yet in the last century only a handful of those who made their mark in the region have been able to influence the inner workings of their giant northern neighbour. These include business titans Tan Kah Kee and Robert Kuok, plague…
It’s a great honour to be invited to speak at the National Resilience College (Maktab Ketahanan Nasional), Puspahanas. The NRC is the part of Malaysia’s professional military education. Slightly more than a dozen of officers at colonel or brigadier-general level are chosen to undergo a…
In the 1970s, Milton Friedman talked about the purpose of a corporation. He argued that a corporation had only one purpose — to make profits for its shareholders. For over three decades, this was the prevailing logic in the global economic system. But after the…
In economics, halal should be beyond food. This is what I gathered from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s thought when he gave a speech at Global Halal Summit. He made three important points. First, “maqasid syariah” (higher purpose) shapes not only the halal sector…
Let me begin with a small but meaningful change instituted by the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on batik and building temperature. Yes, wearing batik to work. In the early weeks of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s premiership, he…
A fresh look at the immense potentials of Greater Johor Bahru, also known as the Iskandar region, would serve as the catalyst for Malaysia’s second economic takeoff. Greater Johor Bahru should be positioned as the nation’s second metropolitan after the Klang Valley, and to achieve…
For Malaysia to hold its social fabric coherently, and, more narrowly, for the Unity ticket to win the 16th General Election, economic policies must be shaped to result in general prosperity from the bottom up. A clear economic message has emerged from the recent six…
To all Malaysians who created the GE14 miracle, keep fighting. We will be back stronger.