Anti-Vietnamese sentiments in Cambodia are longstanding and run deep. Effectively addressing such sentiments in Cambodia demands a nuanced, multifaceted approach that goes beyond short-term political actions. It requires fostering a narrative of genuine inclusion and shared future aspirations, one that promotes mutual respect, empathy, and understanding.
Category Archives: Long Reads
Global Inequality and Digital Vulnerability: Unpacking Online Scams and Human Trafficking
Online scams and digital-enabled human trafficking have escalated into complex transnational operations. An estimated 220,000 people were coerced into scam compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar in 2023 alone. A holistic, people-centred strategy is urgently needed. Solutions must include economic inclusion, social safety nets, digital literacy, and international cooperation to tackle root vulnerabilities.
Data Centres, Energy Demand and Sustainability: Can Malaysia Strike the Right Balance?
Malaysia’s ambitions to be a digital powerhouse demand urgent consideration of rapidly increasing energy demands. Based on current figures, Malaysia appears to have overcommitted to data centre expansion, especially in Johor, without sufficiently robust sustainability guidelines in place.
Indonesia’s Energy Sector Reforms Under Prabowo: Moving Backwards?
The Prabowo government’s ambitious goal for Indonesia of achieving energy self-sufficiency faces significant challenges due to the country’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels and renewed large-scale biofuel ambitions.
The Elusive Code: Why ASEAN Needs a New Playbook for the South China Sea
The Code of Conduct (COC) negotiations between ASEAN and China have reached an impasse, hindered by legal ambiguities, strategic divergences, and ASEAN’s internal divisions. ASEAN must move away from a binary approach that equates success with legal binds, and instead explore more pragmatic alternatives.
Power and Opposition Under Prabowo’s Political Cartel
After months of speculation about what a Prabowo government would be like, the picture has become clearer. A large parliamentary coalition, also described as a ‘political cartel’, has coalesced to support Prabowo and his government. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) stands as the only party that is neither a part nor a supporter of this coalition.
Facilitating Gainful Labour Migration in Southeast Asia Remains an Elusive Task
ASEAN has focused on facilitating high-skilled labour mobility, although the vast majority of migrant workers occupy medium- and low-skilled jobs. Disparities in labour standards and uncoordinated migrant labour systems continue to impede the realisation of an integrated regional labour market.
Towards a Just Energy Transition in Southeast Asia
A number of policy frameworks have been developed at the regional and national levels to facilitate a just energy transition, but the implementation of these policies is constrained by low levels of public participation, lack of financing and fossil fuel lobbies.
Malaysia’s Chinese Primary Schools: Saved Yet Threatened by Rising Inflows of Malay Students
Non-Chinese pupil enrolment in Malaysia’s vernacular Chinese primary schools (SJKC) has grown significantly over the past decades, from just 3-6 per cent in the 1990s to approximately 20 per cent by 2020, primarily driven by Malay pupils. These demographic shifts in SJKCs present a profound existential challenge to the Chinese community in Malaysia on whether they should preserve the cultural purity of SJKC or adapt to these demographic realities.
Green Hydrogen in Southeast Asia: Connecting National Strategies with Public Support
ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s 2024 Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Survey highlights a notable rise in public enthusiasm for green hydrogen year-on-year. However, continued public support towards green hydrogen will depend on the ability of policymakers to deliver on their promises. Public enthusiasm may turn negative if the public is forced to pay a high cost for green hydrogen, or when concerns over its safety arises and remains unaddressed.