Lee Hwok-Aun
The 13th Malaysia Plan focuses on the need to thrive based on economic complexity. While the term is fairly new, the challenges of transitioning the economy to a higher value-added one remain the same.
Muyi Yang|Xiwei Xu|David Lo
Booming growth in data centres is escalating electricity demand and risks undermining the region’s energy transition goals. Hardware improvements are insufficient; Southeast Asia must also promote energy-efficient AI software.
Amirul Adli Rosli
Growing anti-Shia sentiment in Malaysia underscores the prevalence of apocalyptic views among Muslims in the country.
Dien Nguyen An Luong|Nguyen Khac Giang
This Long Read argues that Vietnam’s propaganda apparatus is increasingly shaped by internal tensions between two informal but influential elite coalitions. On one side are conservative actors embedded in the military and ideology apparatus, who prioritise ideological orthodoxy and regime security. On the other are reformist pragmatists, often drawn from diplomatic and economic institutions, who place greater emphasis on performance legitimacy, international engagement, and administrative modernisation.
Peter T. C. Chang
As Malaysia’s Chinese chambers of commerce foster ties with China and represent new Chinese migrants, they must address concerns that their roles deepen existing socio-economic divides along ethnic lines.
Gurjit Singh
ASEANFocus+ is delighted to feature Ambassador Gurjit Singh, author of The Mango Flavour: India and ASEAN After a Decade of the Act East Policy (ISEAS Publishing, 2025). Drawing on his decades of experience as a diplomat, Ambassador Singh reflects on ten years of India's Act East Policy and assesses whether it has fulfilled its goal of deepening engagement with Southeast Asia.
Napon Jatusripitak
The dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Thai prime minister was predictable. The chaotic search for her replacement is not.
Kai Ostwald
It is likely that Myanmar will hold its national elections soon. It is also likely that the polls will lack the basic requirements for parliamentary legitimacy or a national mandate.
Beltsazar Krisetya
Despite growing calls for collaboration, the technological core of content moderation remains largely a black box. While multi-stakeholder partnerships are increasingly invoked in regional policy discourse, external oversight or shared governance of the underlying moderation technologies remain limited.
Ryan Hass
As China and the US intensify competition in the AI domain, Southeast Asia countries will find themselves in the same old dilemma of “not choosing sides”.