The presence of new Chinese migrants, known as xin yimin, in Malaysia reflects China’s resurgence as a global economic powerhouse, bringing with it opportunities for Malaysia in terms of trade, investment, and cultural exchange. But there are significant challenges to their ability to integrate with the broader Malaysian society.
Category Archives: Long Reads
The Critical Impact of Extreme Heat on Rice Production in Southeast Asia
Extreme temperature and heat stress poses an increasingly critical threat to rice production and food security in Southeast Asia, with far-reaching consequences for the region’s economy, society, and environment.
Cambodia’s Major Dilemma: Handling Anti-Vietnamese Sentiments
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.
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.