CONTRIBUTORS

Tham Siew Yean

Dr Tham Siew Yean is a Visiting Senior Fellow with ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Professor Emeritus, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Articles by Tham Siew Yean (36)

Prime Minister of Laos, Sonexay Siphandone; President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto; Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet; Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanah Bolkiah and President of Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr attend the 47th ASEAN Summit to amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26 October 2025. (Photo by Farid Bin Tajuddin / Anadolu via AFP)

ASEAN Services Liberalisation: Big Promises, Modest Progress

Tham Siew Yean

ASEAN’s slow growth in services trade stems from persistent reservation and diluted liberalisation. Member states need to consolidate the region’s rules-based framework — and facilitate services trade.

From Promise to Peril? The Hidden Risks in Malaysia’s Mine-to-Magnet Rare Earth Push

Tham Siew Yean

Malaysia’s push to build a full rare earths value chain faces significant technology, trade, investment, and governance hurdles across the mining, processing, and manufacturing stages.

ASEAN Business Entity: Integration at the Cost of Inclusion

Tham Siew Yean

The ABE initiative professes to promote regional economic integration via greater intra-ASEAN investments, but ASEAN should focus on attracting high-quality investment, enhancing industrial upgrading, and mitigating geopolitical risk.

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.

Saving Malaysia’s AI Dream Amid Shifting US Tech and Trade Policies

Tham Siew Yean

Malaysia must urgently pursue AI chip supply diversification and supply chain vigilance to mitigate the detriments of potential export curbs and tariff hikes.