All That Money Cannot Buy: Patterns of Satisfaction in Malaysia’s Happiness Index
Lee Hwok-Aun
Malaysia’s Happiness Index shows that ploughing resources into health, family life, education and faith yields dividends.
Articles
The AI-Robotics Revolution, China-US Rivalry and Southeast Asia
John Lee
China is best positioned to achieve mass implementation of ‘embodied AI’, i.e., the integration of AI with robotics. This provides significant opportunities for Southeast Asian economies keen to develop real-world applications of AI. However, how far countries will go in adopting China’s AI technology stack will be shaped by US-China strategic competition, which is increasingly being played out in the AI and robotics sectors.
Malaysia’s Participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla: Solidarity or Pageantry?
Mohd Faizal Musa
Malaysia made a spectacle of its support for the GSF, revealing the tension between moral leadership and moral theatre in the country’s Palestine policy.
Post-Sri Mulyani, Indonesia’s Unrestrained Growth Ambitions Carry Serious Risks
Siwage Dharma Negara|Maria Monica Wihardja
Sri Mulyani’s successor Purbaya has already signalled a greater willingness to support Prabowo’s populist programmes — in ways that could potentially over-expand credit, raise debt burdens, and erode investor confidence.
Advancing RCEP Integration: Forging a More Resilient and Inclusive Economic Future
Tham Siew Yean
The potential of RCEP can only be unlocked when micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, which constitute the backbone of the ASEAN economies, can navigate and utilise its provisions with ease.
Grand Compromise or Grand Damage to Thailand’s Party System?
Napon Jatusripitak|Mathis Lohatepanont
Thailand has been caught in a series of political compromises made between strange bedfellows. If this continues, voters will become more cynical about the political system’s ability to deliver outcomes that hew to the popular mandate.
Trump in Kuala Lumpur: Upstaging ASEAN?
Tang Siew Mun
US President Donald Trump’s decision to attend the upcoming ASEAN Summits in Kuala Lumpur has put the Malaysian authorities in a pickle.
Türkiye’s Defence Diplomacy in Southeast Asia: The New Kid on the Block
Ian Storey
Over the past ten years, Türkiye has increased its share of the global arms market and has become an attractive defence partner for countries in the Global South. In Southeast Asia, Turkish arms manufacturers have taken advantage of rising defence budgets to win contracts for military vehicles, drones, missiles and naval ships.
MAGA Show on ASEAN’s Stage: Guarded Expectations
Joanne Lin|William Choong
President Trump will make a spectacle of his presence in Kuala Lumpur, but is unlikely to offer ASEAN the reliable, long-term engagement it seeks.
Malaysia’s Islamic Authorities Risk Sowing Societal Confusion through Hasty Bans on Some ‘New Age’ Practices
Mohd Faizal Musa
By indiscriminately condemning as heretical some ‘New Age’ practices, such as those involving healing and astrology, Malaysia’s Islamic authorities could inadvertently undermine some Malay cultural traditions.