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.
Author Archives: blackbox
Beyond Green Data Centres: Leaner, Smarter AI for Southeast Asia’s Sustainable Digital Future
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.
Elite Competition and Narrative Inconsistency in Vietnam’s Propaganda Apparatus
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.
Chinese Chambers of Commerce: Balancing Malaysia-China Ties and Domestic Divides
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.
From Deadlock to Dealmaking: Thailand’s Chaotic Search for a New Prime Minister
The dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Thai prime minister was predictable. The chaotic search for her replacement is not.
Myanmar’s Wartime Polls: Managing Expectations
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.
From Principles to Protocols: Embedding Partnerships into Content Moderation Technologies Against Mis/Disinformation
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.
US-China AI Competition: Southeast Asia Will Need to Strike a Balance
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”.
Why are Dream Jobs a Difficult Reality for Indonesian Youth?
Competition for jobs in Southeast Asia’s largest country is fierce, frustrating, and fraught with feelings of disappointment for its youngest workers.
Rebranding of Sisters in Islam: The Need to Judge by Deed, Not by Name
The rebranding of Sisters in Islam might actually strengthen rather than weaken the group’s long-term advocacy of women’s rights in Malaysia.