unity in malaysia essay

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 13, 2018 - August 19, 2018

How diverse or heterogeneous is Malaysia? From the beginning of our existence, from more than 400 years of being colonised by different powers (Portuguese, Dutch, British, Siamese and Japanese) and from the migration of people into the Golden Chersonese or Tanah Melayu, we today have more than 60 ethnic, sub-ethnic and indigenous tribes in Malaysia.

The Malaysia we live in comprises speakers of 137 living languages and of these, 41 are spoken in Peninsular Malaysia. The majority of Malaysians will probably not even know that among the original inhabitants of these lands are the Balabak, Bukitan, Bulongan, Iranun, Ida’an, Kayan, Kejaman, Lahanan, Lisut, Lugat, Rungus, Tabun, Tagal, Kwijau, Mangka’ak, Maragang, Minokok, Rumanau, Tambanuo, Tidung and Ukit. Perhaps, we are more familiar with Melanau, Bidayuh, Bajau, Suluk or with the major ethnic groups of Malay, Chinese and Indian.

But even among these, there are more sub-ethnic groups, including Java, Batak, Betawi, Banjar, Boyan, Minangkabau, Bugis, Brunei Malay, Melayu Asli, Cocos Malay, Cape Malay, Baba Malay and Ambonese Malay. Among the Chinese, we have the Hakka, Kwongsai, Foochow, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hainanese, Teochew and Hockchew. And among those categorised as Indians, we have the Punjabis, Malayalees, Marathis, Sindhis, Gujaratis, Parsis, Bengali, Pathans, Tamils, Telugus, Kannada, Biharis, Goans, Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils. More than 100 languages and almost as large a number of ethnic, indigenous and tribal groups … Perhaps, there are few countries in the world that are as plural or as diverse as Malaysia.

Therefore, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, in his book, Reflections on Malaysian Unity and Other Challenges, tries to look at and address the issues a country like ours faces in trying to maintain unity. But as history has shown and as we ourselves have learnt in our short 60 years of independence and in a millennium of existence, it is always a work in progress. And if it is a work in progress, by any standards, compared with the rest of the civilised world, we have done well.

Chandra has touched on numerous aspects of unity — the current trends in our society, the challenges, citizenship and integration, the Malaysian identity, our commonalities, the national language, religion, culture, liberalism and religious pluralism, corruption, integrity, the rulers and sovereignty. As an academic and as a thinker, he has put forward suggestions on how Malaysia can deal with these and other issues that affect unity.

In the context of corruption, Chandra’s scrutiny of why we have not succeeded in curbing corruption, written in June 2015, seems today prescient. He wrote: “At the root of the phenomenon of relative deprivation is the lavish lifestyle of the opulent elite. In fact, it is partly because of their addiction to this lifestyle that some members of the elite resort to monumental acts of corruption. They abuse their power to accumulate wealth through foul means. They set a bad example for the rest of society. Elite corruption, as many studies have shown, is most difficult to combat because of the power at the disposal of the elite — unless there is a major political upheaval.”

Chandra concludes that a lack of governance, corruption and abuse of power lead to inequalities and inequitable distribution of wealth and income, hence further widening the fissures in society.

One would be hard-pressed to disagree with Chandra’s assertions now that we have seen how, after 60 years of status quo, Malaysians have voted in a new government, which has promised to address the inequities in our society. There is a sense of euphoria and elation, and expectations are very high. However, we must remind ourselves that such evolution has and will always happen in any society, as it has happened over thousands of years, and that new beginnings, such as what we have in today’s Malaysia, are part of that evolving process.

The 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope said hope springs eternal in the breast of man. As Malaysians, we are now hoping that there will be changes for the better, and that both the new and old will learn lessons from the mistakes of the past. Malaysia, as mentioned earlier, continues to be a work in progress and there are high expectations for a new dawn.

Allow me to touch on some of the main subjects in the book, which I believe, are crucial to keep “our work in progress” in momentum and to keep the peace and harmony we have largely enjoyed, not only since independence but also in our last 500 years of history since the Malacca Sultanate.

With more than 100 living languages and almost as many indigenous, tribal and ethnic groups, who embrace all the major religions of the world, it must be acknowledged that language, democracy and, in Malaysia’s case, the monarchy, all have significant roles in not only maintaining but also enhancing our unity.

In our country, the majority population speak the Malay language, which we have adapted and which we know as Bahasa Malaysia — the Malaysian language. It is our lingua franca — our bridge or common language, or link language, which is systematically used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language or dialect. Lingua francas have developed around the world throughout human history, either for commercial reasons or for cultural, religious, diplomatic and administrative convenience. In the case of Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia is our lingua franca and is key and integral to ensuring that our unity as a people prevails.

Chandra rues that many institutions and organisations have failed to use Bahasa Malaysia extensively and hence, this has resulted in some Malaysians not developing a sense of ownership vis-à-vis the national language. In fact, he says even the Malay elite need to be convinced that Bahasa Malaysia has the ability to bring our various communities together for the greater good. I quote from his chapter on identity:

“In a vast archipelago, it was Bahasa [Melayu] that broke down barriers and helped evolve a shared cultural ethos that gave the diverse peoples of Nusantara a sense of oneness in the old days.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is no less true today than it was 500 years ago when the first Arab, Indian and Chinese traders came to Melaka. It is no less true today than it was when the first influx of the fore-

fathers of today’s citizens came to this land seeking greener pastures. It is no less true today than it was in 1957 when we gained independence and when outsiders predicted that we could never make it work because we were too diverse, we were too different. But we proved the worrywarts and naysayers wrong. And Bahasa Malaysia played a very crucial role, as depicted by government campaigns in the early days of independence, such as Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa (Language is the Soul of the People), in breaking down the barriers and developing our sense of oneness.

Yes, we have had some rough patches, but which country in the world hasn’t?

But the reasons we have succeeded are outlined in Chandra’s book:

• The national language;

• A political leadership not obsessed with power;

• A constitutional monarchy that has largely stuck to its constitutional role;

• Accommodation and acceptance of minority groups by the majority ethnic group;

• Freedom of religion; and

• Democracy.

It’s not perfect. We have cracks and fissures. We need to work on the separation of powers. We need to ensure the role of the monarchy is not abused, and neither should its role as the safety net and protector of all citizens be diminished. We need to ensure that the majority do not suppress the rights of minority groups to their culture and religion, and neither should we have tyranny of the minority over the majority. Our democracy works, as we saw in the recent peaceful transition of power, and we are encouraged by the commitments that have been made to strengthen our institutions and by the reforms that have been articulated.

In his writings on integrity, Chandra has one section on prime ministers and the phenomenon of power. There, he recalls that our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, stepped down from his post for three months in 1959 in order to strengthen his party, the Alliance, for the general election. Chandra concludes that the Tunku’s willingness to give up power “was extraordinary by any standard” and “showed that the privilege of position was not central to his life”. And in 1969, after growing criticism of his leadership, the Tunku relinquished his position, choosing not to cling to power.

It was the same for his successor, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who exercised enormous power as director of the National Operations Council (NOC) following the May 1969 riots. But instead of perpetuating NOC rule — which he could have — Tun Razak and other key leaders brought back parliamentary democracy rather than the unfettered power of absolute authority.

His successor, Tun Hussein Onn, gracefully stepped down after five years due to ill health, and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after having steered the country through the crippling Asian financial crisis and winning a decisive general election in 1999, announced his decision to step down willingly barely three years later. Despite great pressure from his party leaders and the public to stay on, Dr Mahathir stepped down in 2003 and handed over

power to his chosen successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Again, six years later, despite winning a heatedly contested general election, although by a reduced majority, Tun Abdullah stepped down for a smooth transition to his successor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak. And nine years later, after Barisan Nasional lost the general election, there has again been a smooth and peaceful transition of power to the government we have today, once again, headed by Dr Mahathir. Our unity is intact, our evolution continues …

We may not agree with everything the author says, but what is more crucial is that it gives us food for thought and a desire to achieve greater unity as a people and as a nation. He provides us with historical perspectives on a past that we need to understand before we can plan for the future. Malaysia has progressed; that cannot be denied. But there is certainly much more that we can do, and if the past is any indicator of the future, I am confident we will pull through. We just have to be progressive in carrying out our “work in progress”.

Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah is the Sultan of Perak. This article is an excerpt from his speech at the launch of the book titled Reflections on Malaysian Unity and Other Challenges by Dr Chandra Muzaffar in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday.

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Unity and harmony in Malaysia: problems and challenges

Abdullah @ Chuah Hock Leng, Osman (2012) Unity and harmony in Malaysia: problems and challenges. British Journal of Science, 6 (1). pp. 28-37. ISSN 2047-3745

Malaysia is very much a diversified nation with a population of about 28 millions from different ethnic groups and with a variety of religions. Despite having no significant nor violent racial and religious conflict since 1969, there have been signs of emerging ethnic tension and sensitive issues every now and then in the nation. This study demonstrates how the political, economic, social and educational issues are contentious to unite or divide the people. The main ethnic group in Malaysia consists of the Malays who constitute the majority of more than half of the population, who are mostly Muslims. This is followed by the minority groups of Chinese and Indians. Islam is the official religion in Malaysia and of the Malays while there are other religious faiths of Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Hinduism. In the states of Sabah and Sarawak, there are natives of smaller ethic groups such as Kadazan, Dayak, Iban and others. The various ethnic groups celebrate their festivals throughout the year and their customs and value systems too are different from one another. The Malays and the natives are known as bumiputra whereas the Chinese and Indians are non-bumiputra. This research seeks to study the problems and challenges on the subject of unity and harmony in Malaysia with regard to the diversity of languages, religions, cultures and how the dimensions of politics, economics, education and social affect them.

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News & Opinion Opinion

Unity in Diversity Through Equality: The Malaysian Dream

Inter-Racial Harmony
National Unity

Written by Joel Jeshurun, a member of Akar Umbi Kita, a programme for emerging advocates against racial discrimination by Architects of Diversity, Imagined Malaysia, IDEAS and the European Union. This article is published in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.” This quote is from the infamous speech, “I have a dream”, by Martin Luther King Jr. that inspired many to promote civil rights equality in the United States. A timeless quote that applies even until today, here and now.

The truth is, being from a different race or minority group in Malaysia, you are required to work harder and outshine the others to even stand a chance in accomplishing your dreams. You strive to be the best because you know that is the only way you can climb the social ladder.

One way or another, we all have our own stories of being discriminated against and encounters with racism. Mine is no different.

I had waited my whole secondary school life for a chance to participate in a debating competition but this chance was taken away due to a racial quota that was put in place. I truly felt the weight of despair and hopelessness at that moment. Racial discrimination is not something that could be put into mere words but felt.

Although what I was going through at the time had something to do with my passion and in taking part in something I loved, it was disappointing to know that I had lost my last chance to be in a debate competition during my secondary school life only because of my race.

I believe Malaysia will eventually lose its potential talents due to racial discrimination as we are capable than so much more than just mediocrity. It is nothing new to the ears when many say they would rather choose to migrate and leave the country for better opportunities due to the way of politics and policies that are formulated because they are discriminatory to Malaysians. As time passes by, many have come to realise that Malaysia is going backwards, while the few elites at the top are governing us according to their whims and fancies.

I cannot say I feel a sense of belonging in my nation or a genuine sense of being Malaysian when racism is still prevalent. The reality that racial discrimination has somewhat become a norm is not to be neglected. The first step we can take to tackle this is to acknowledge that not all of us are treated the same nor are we all privileged.

It seems as if the concept of equality may not be grasped by many because of the complacency within our society due to one race getting more benefits over the other. We are so connected to our own racial identities to a point where we may forget that we are all Malaysians first and the rest need not matter at times.

In schools alone, a survey done by Sekolah Semua and Architects of Diversity, a youth movement, had revealed that ethnic Indians had suffered the most discrimination and 92 percent of the respondents say that no action or investigation was taken after the incident was reported to authorities while the majority of them did not even report the incident as it was perceived to not make any difference.

Similarly, as I recall not much was considered when I first told my experience of being side-lined from the debate team to the head of student affairs. Speaking from a former student’s perspective, it is needless to say that racism goes beyond just racial quotas. Inequalities lead to discrimination, and the ones affected the most are the victim themselves.

Inequality refers to the phenomenon of unequal or unjust distribution of resources and opportunities among members of a given society. Equality in opportunities will move Malaysia forward to greater heights and many of us know it, but how can this be achieved when the system is built to be racially discriminatory and the policies do not cater to the needs nor is it based on meritocracy?

Discrimination occurring even in subtle ways, through conversations and interactions in our daily lives can perpetuate a lot of harm and disunity within the fabric of our society, whereas institutionalised racial discrimination does even more damage to the country than what we might think.

With Malaysia having a place in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), they must do better in addressing inequalities through values of inclusivity, acceptance, and understanding of one another, bringing about change that is concrete and long lasting just from treating everyone as Malaysians first.

Protecting and preserving our diverse culture is essential but so is taking measures to bring about social equality. Equality is a human right, and it should be seen that way by all Malaysians. Understanding one’s culture and customs helps promote unity in diversity. This effort can be made concrete through the value of equality.

Our economy thrives on how well we are able to co-exist with one another in peace and how we distribute wealth amongst each other. Lack of action against all forms of discrimination could indirectly impact our economic growth.

We have seen the same plan being used in the name of reducing economic disparities through affirmative action for decades, yet we see no light at the end of the tunnel but rather abuse and discrimination when the rich and elite cronies have seem to benefit from the Bumiputera equity ownership, as was mentioned by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the debate of the 12 th Malaysia Plan. Professor Dr. Edmund Terrence, political economist from University Malaya in 2018 said that the circulation of Bumiputera equity figures stopped after 2008. This lack of transparency in data is detrimental when we do not know how effective the old policies such as the New Economic Policy or equity ownership have been in alleviating the Bumiputera out of poverty and into a level playing field. By the looks of it, it seems to have failed to uplift most of the poor Bumiputera out of their plight and improve their standard of living.

The sole purpose of the affirmative action policy known as the New Economic Policy was to alleviate every citizen regardless of race out of poverty and eliminate identification of race with economic function. Special measures were taken to uphold and help the Bumiputera, and that is not discriminatory as it is seen as a means of bringing a level playing field in society.

However, the goal of reaching this level playing field has not been entirely successful even after decades, and it has come at the expense of discriminating other communities such as the Orang Asli, Chinese and Indians because of the elite few who choose to fill their pockets and fulfil their personal agenda.

It is pivotal that racial discrimination in Malaysia is taken to international standards as a human rights issue and not something that can be swept under the rug.

Racial discrimination is something that we as Malaysians may be all too familiar with or feel sensitive about. It is an issue that haunts us one way or another through our encounters in our daily lives, be it through dealing with stereotypes, verbal abuse, hate speech, racial slurs, xenophobia, being frowned upon within society or the feeling of being an outsider in your very own country. Not forgetting, as well, the racially charged rhetoric used among politicians as a means to divide and conquer.

This situation can change for the better, starting from taking the initiative to revive the efforts of tabling a specific legislation regulating racial discrimination, in accordance with international frameworks.

One of those international frameworks is the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) which was pledged to be ratified during the reign of the Pakatan Harapan government. Yet, it received backlash and annoyance from the public. Some political parties called it the “Western Propaganda”. There were even public rallies and misconceptions of it being against Islam or misaligned with the Federal Constitution.

This international law, in actual fact, allows preferential treatment as long as there is justification for it to exist, as seen in its provisions stated in Article 1(4) which permits special measures which are proportionate to addressing substantive discrimination and target certain groups disadvantaged in society. As such, it definitely aligns with the spirit of our Federal Constitution.

The spirit and intent of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution calls to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. It also includes the legitimate interest of other communities as well. It was wholeheartedly meant to level the playing field among Malaysian society and not be discriminative or accord Malay supremacy.

The intent of Article 153 is clear, that no one should be left behind. When the objectives of preferential treatment such as scholarships, employment in the public service, educational quotas and special facilities to the Malays have served its purpose, a continuation of it would be deemed unreasonable. There would be no need for quotas in debating competitions, in accessing higher education or employment. In the end, it is all about political will and the urgency for institutional reforms.

It is time that Malaysia goes through a real change of political landscape and for that we need to have a disruptive force, a force to be reckoned with and we are all capable of being that force if we decide to dream. What the forefathers had envisioned was a Malaysia which we call home and where we all hold proud our Malaysian identity. To achieve that, all races must be able to live cohesively and in social equality.

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The important of unity in Malaysia

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Malaysia Celebrates 65 Years of Unity in Diversity

By Editorial Team

KUALA LUMPUR — Come Aug 31, Malaysia will celebrate 65 years of unity in diversity. It is this diversity of race, culture and religion that makes Malaysia truly unique.

Malaysia today stands out in the world as an example of how different ethnic communities can live in peace and harmony and work together for the progress and well-being of the nation since achieving independence on Aug 31, 1957.

As a catalyst for national unity, the Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) concept document was launched on Oct 8, 2021, as a guiding framework towards achieving harmony and prosperity for the people.

During his speech, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said despite the different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs of Malaysians, Keluarga Malaysia celebrates this through inclusivity and the spirit of nationhood.

“The plurality that we celebrate today will become the seed that will grow in the heart of every Malaysian. This must be an asset that we defend,” he said at the pre-launch.

At the official launch of the Keluarga Malaysia concept on Oct 23, 2021, the prime minister said that the Malaysian Family idea mooted by the government is not just mere rhetoric or a slogan.

He explained that the idea was the spirit that the government had instilled in the administration of the country, where the interests and well-being of the people are preserved, just like taking care of a family.

Uniqueness of Malaysians

Community activist Chong Choon Hau, 37, said the ability of the people to live together in harmony is the bedrock of Malaysia’s strength as it portrays the uniqueness of Malaysians, especially in the eyes of the world.

This is further reinforced by the government’s commitment to strengthen national unity and integration, he added.

“I have also been brought up in a multi-racial environment. Most of my friends are Malays, besides Chinese, Indians and other races. I am comfortable with them,” said Chong, who was born and bred in Temerloh, Pahang.

Chong, also known as Ah Hau, has been devoting his efforts to community and volunteer work since 2009 and is also proud to have friends from various backgrounds who have selflessly given their time to help him when he needed volunteers for his aid missions.

He said his friends have been his pillars of strength for every mission he was involved in.

“For example, there were missions that I myself initiated, such as helping flood victims in Pahang or other states, including Kelantan. I’m grateful to have friends who are always ready to help,” he added.

“They are not only willing to help financially but also contribute their time and energy…their involvement have made my volunteer work easier,” he said, adding that assistance is provided regardless of the recipient’s race, religion or background.

“Some quarters criticised my efforts and questioned why I should be channelling the aid to the public when it is the government that should be undertaking such initiative.

“But for me, as long as we are physically able, we should step forward and help others. If we leave everything to the government, what then is our duty as a member of the community,” he said.

Strengthen Unity

Besides helping the poor and needy, Chong also teaches Mandarin to Malay students at a school in Lancang, Pahang.

“It all started two years ago when a teacher at the school asked me whether I was interested in teaching Mandarin to the students.

“I didn’t give it much thought as it was really a good offer. There are more advantages to be derived when we can understand another language … I myself took the initiative by learning the language and culture of others. For example, I also disbursed bubur lambuk to the Malays in my area during Ramadan,” he shared.

For Chong, the spirit of unity should be nurtured among the people in line with this year’s National Day theme, ‘Keluarga Malaysia Teguh Bersama’.

“We should be guided by an old proverb, ‘united we stand, divided we fall’…. embracing the spirit of unity is the key towards a truly peaceful Malaysia,” he said.

Family Togetherness

For Dr Siti Hajar Md Hanif, 36, the spirit of family togetherness and caring attitude should be instilled in maintaining family harmony among Malaysians of various races.

Dr Siti Hajar said her marriage to a Chinese gave her the benefit of learning other languages and cultures.

“My father-in-law is Chinese and a Christian and my mother-in-law is Indian and a Hindu…understanding each other’s culture and religion helps strengthen the bond between us.

“We should learn to accept other people’s culture as long as it is not against our religious practices, and at the same time, we still need to respect each other,” said Dr Siti Hajar, who runs a health clinic in Kuala Lumpur.

Earlier, Dr Siti Hajar’s family story attracted public attention last April when she shared a video clip through her Tik Tok account on her mother-in-law, who cooked special dishes for her breaking fast during Ramadan.

The footage garnered 1.3 million viewers with encouraging comments from the public who commended Dr Siti Hajar on her warm ties with her mother-in-law despite the difference in their religion.

“I was expecting my third child then and had expressed my craving for nasi tomato to my mother-in-law, and much to my delight, she immediately prepared the dish for me to break my fast,” she said.

Celebrate Diversity

The mother of three said that through the mixed marriage, she was exposed to new cultures, including celebrating other festivals and at the same time, she was able to learn to communicate in more than one language.

“Our medium of communication is in English, Hakka dialect and Malay. Other languages that are taught at home are Mandarin and Tamil.

“Tamil is mainly used by my children whenever they speak to their grandmother (mother-in-law). I picked up the Hakka language whenever I return to my husband’s hometown in Perak,” she shared.

According to Dr Siti Hajar, she has never stopped her husband from celebrating his own culture including the use of chopsticks while having his meals or decorating the house with tanglong during the Chinese New Year.

‘’Our family celebrates every festival, including Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali. For me, our diversity in religion and race is no obstacle as I have been taught racial unity since my school days.

“What’s important is we should not be arguing over issues which touch on religious sensitivities as every individual has his or her own faiths. Once we respect the boundaries, I am sure Malaysians can sit together at one table as one good family,” she said.

— BERNAMA

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Understanding national unity in post-GE15 Malaysian society

Shifting from a singular to a tri concept of unity, cohesion and reconciliation

NATIONAL unity is a very dynamic and relevant theme for public discussion. One concern arising from GE15 based on the voting pattern is how divided Malaysians are on the choice of the party or coalition which should run the government at the federal level.

The question before us is are we more divided or have we become politically more mature?

Why have the voters not given any coalition the majority needed? Is this because the voters are unable to agree on the federal government or because they want politicians to form a more inclusive and representative government?

It is clear different communities have different aspirations for the kind of Malaysia they want – a more ethnic or religious or linguistic society.

However, all they have in common is the commitment to both the federal constitution and the Rukun Negara – the five principles for nation building.

Distinguished professor Datuk Shamsul Amri Bharuddin of Kita-UKM was recently speaking at the mySDG Academy on January 26, where he provided both a historical overview and a conceptual framework for understanding national unity in Malaysia. In his presentation, he made five significant points which might throw some answers.

Historical overview

First, Prof Shamsul provided a historical overview of the development of the national unity department which eventually has become a full ministry. The government established a national unity department after the May 13 riots in 1969.

It was, however, the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin administration which established a unity ministry on March 10, 2020.

The Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration as well as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration continued this tradition.

In addition, in 2021, the federal government for the first time launched a National Unity Policy and Blueprint which further consolidates this theme as a key national agenda.

Conceptual understanding

Second, Shamsul provided a conceptual understanding of the term national unity from a monolithic, singular understanding of national unity to a tri-concept of national unity, social cohesion, and reconciliation.

He said the major shift took place with the findings of the National Unity Consultative Council which met between 2013 and 2015. Here, national unity is seen as something we desire but currently experience social cohesion where there is a spirit of give and take, a spirit to agree and disagree. This leads to reconciliation, which is achieved through bargaining, negotiation and mediation.

We have been experiencing a spirit of tolerance, appreciation and acceptance among the various ethnic, religious, linguistic and economic communities. Therefore, the theme of social cohesion better explains the Malaysia experience.

Analytical tool

Third, he stressed on the analytical tools used for measuring national unity from a perspective of half empty or half full. What is keeping us together? What is working as there is no violent conflict but clearly a way of living together in Malaysian society.

Shamsul cited a unique Malaysian calendar popularly used in Malaysia which is in all languages including Mandarin and Arabic scripts, with dates for horse-racing and gambling as well as Chinese symbols for the year like dragon and monkey to illustrate the idea.

He notes examples of agreeing to agree and agreeing to disagree. Here, he noted ten components of social deficit which need to be managed and resolved. These are ethnicity, religion, class, education, language, inter-generational gap, gender, politics and federalism, spatial or urban-rural divide and finally media.

Here is where according to Shamsul that barraging, negotiation and mediation takes place.

Peace is the absence of violence

Fourth, Shamsul expounded his views that there are many areas where our various communities are in agreement and where the spirit of consensus is working.

He cited another Malaysian example of “street weddings” which is a local initiative where local roads are blocked for a family event and everyone in the local community adjusts to this communal celebration.

While there are grievances in society, these matters have to be continuously monitored and efforts to find reconciliation are most urgent and essential.

This, according to Shamsul, is the pillar of a resilient Malaysia.

Where do we go from here

Fifth, in hearing these views on Malaysia, one can note the many positive aspects of harmony and living together but at the same time, we have challenges.

Therefore, we need to take steps for greater understanding as well as addressing disinformation and misinformation which exists on many of the social deficits highlighted earlier. The direction towards reconciliation is most urgent.

In application to the localisation of sustainable development goals (SDGs), the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on the Sustainable Development Goals has reached out to 86 local communities and in undertaking 236 SDG micro solution projects via 97 solution providers, we are seeking community resilience at the grassroots. This theme of national unity, social cohesion and reconciliation has great potential in building inclusive communities. In doing so, it will ensure no individual or community (ethnic, religious, linguistic) is left behind in Malaysian society.

This article first appeared in The Vibes on 29 January, 2023

Denison Jayasooria

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Co-Founder & Senior Fellow East Asian International Relations (EAIR) Caucus Malaysia

Dr Hoo is the co-founder of the EAIR Caucus, a Malaysia-based multi-stakeholder networking platform. She is concurrently a member of the Asia-Pacific Nuclear Advisory Panel hosted by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) and Editorial Board Member of the Amsterdam University Press IR and Politics Series. She was a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Adjunct Lecturer in Defence Studies at the Malaysian Armed Forces’ Defence College. While her main research focus is on Korean peninsula security, she also works on the security-economic nexus of power competition in East Asia, and the intersection of nuclear weapons and other domains, including maritime, emerging technologies and conventional defence.

Senior Associate Centre for European Security Strategies (CESS) Germany

Senior Fellow Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand

Dr Thitinan is professor of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University. He has held visiting positions at Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, University of Victoria in New Zealand and Yangon University. He serves on several editorial boards of academic journals, including Journal of Democracy . He has also produced more than 1,000 opinion articles in mass media, such as Project Syndicate , The Bangkok Post, The Straits Times, Nikkei Asian Review, South China Morning Post, International New York Times and Financial Times . His current work focuses on the comparative politics and geopolitics/geoeconomics of ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific in view of the US-China rivalry and competition.

Executive Director Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia

Dr Yose’s research activities focus on international trade, regional integration, and the globalisation of value chain. He is active in many networks of research institutes in East Asia, such as in Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade, ERIA Research Institutes Network and Think 20, the think-tank network of G20 countries. He is now serving as Co-Chair of the Indonesia National Committee of Pacific Economic Cooperation and member of the governing board of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. 

Director of Special Projects Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Shahriman’s research interests include Malaysian foreign and defence policies, Southeast Asian maritime security affairs, and Malaysia-China relations, including in the context of the South China Sea. He also manages the Institute’s China engagement initiative, which promotes Track II dialogue between Malaysia and China. He was a consultant to the Defence Ministry on Malaysia’s inaugural Defence White Paper, specifically on budgeting and implementation issues. He is a member of the Malaysian chapter of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP).

Senior Fellow The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research Japan

Dr Fukushima was a professor at School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Aoyama Gakuin University, and Director of Policy Studies at the National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA). She is also a member of the International Advisory Board of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy and non-resident fellow of the Lowy Institute. She has served on Japanese government committees. She is the author of Japanese Foreign Policy: The Emerging Logic of Multilateralism and Multilateralism Recalibrated .

Visiting Professor  Institute of South Asian Studies  National University of Singapore    Prof Raja Mohan is the founding director of Carnegie India and the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi. He was professor of South Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. He has published widely on India’s foreign and security policies, Asian geopolitics, maritime strategy, and the global governance of new technologies.  He is working on a book about India and the Asian balance of power. He is associated with several think-tanks in India, including the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, Observer Research Foundation, Centre for Policy Research, and Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. 

Senior Economist Natixis   Hong Kong SAR    Nguyen covers emerging Asia at Natixis CIB. She produces forward-looking insights that serve fixed income, equity and FX markets, and analyses comparative economic developments at the local, regional and global level, taking into account the impact of geopolitical events on economic growth and assets. She is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, whose global network provides a unique opportunity to think deeply about complex trends and share them among policymakers, investors and corporate leaders. She is a former consultant at the World Bank, conducting research on foreign direct investment and indicators for country-specific labour market trends and patterns.

Director European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) Belgium

Lee-Makiyama’s academic work spans across trade diplomacy, global economic governance, and economic security. His advice is often sought after by European Union institutions and member states, G7/20 governments, and all the principal organisations on economic cooperation, including APEC, ASEAN, OECD, World Trade Organisation and various UN agencies. He is also affiliated with the London School of Economics and other leading academic institutions. He is a regular commentator on the BBC, Financial Times , Nikkei , Al Jazeera, Chinese state media, CNBC and CNN. Before academia, he was posted to the UN and WTO as a diplomat for Sweden and served as a commercial attaché.

Founder  Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia

Dr Dino was appointed as Special Staff of the President for International Affairs in 2004. In that capacity, he assumed many roles, including presidential spokesperson, foreign policy adviser to the Indonesian president and speech writer. He is also the former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2012, he won the prestigious ‘Marketeer of the Year’, the same award won by President Joko Widodo. Dino is the founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia, the largest foreign policy association in the country.

Secretary-General Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Singapore

Pedrosa leads PECC’s flagship annual report, the State of the Region. He has edited several books, including Towards Balanced and Sustainable Growth Strategies for Post-Crisis Asia with Masahiro Kawai, Tan Khee Giap and Grace Aw; and An APEC Trade Agenda: The Political Economy of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific with Charles Morrison. He has also written extensively on economics and trade issues. He is a member of the advisory board of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report. Before moving to Singapore, he was the coordinator of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Southeast Asia cooperation programme based in Manila and co-editor of its journal on regional economics and politics. He has also worked for the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Philippine government.

President Emirates Policy Centre United Arab Emirates

Dr Al-Ketbi is a professor of Political Science at the UAE University. She is also a consultative commission member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, adviser to the Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy, and advisory board member of T20 International. She sits on the board of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Observer Research Foundation in India, and Middle East Institute in Washington. She is the author of four books: The UAE’s Role in Empowering Religious Diplomacy ; The UAE Power Building Model: Mohamed bin Zayed’s Vision; The UAE Power-Building Model and Foreign Policy Shifts; and Iran and the Biden Administration: A Potential Return to Negotiations.

Assistant Professor Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Singapore

Dr Raska’s research and teaching focus on defence and military innovation, including the effects of emerging technologies, such as AI, on force planning and future warfighting concepts, and next-generation hybrid conflicts and digital warfare. He is the author of Military Innovation and Small States: Creating Reverse Asymmetry and co-editor of the AI Wave in Defence Innovation . He is a member of the Expert Advisory Group in the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain.

Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia Military Modernisation IISS Asia Singapore

Dr Evan has held senior research positions at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has also held non-resident affiliations with Carnegie China; Lowy Institute for International Policy; ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute; National Bureau of Asian Research, Sydney University; German Marshall Fund of the United States; and S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). His research on civil-military relations, military change, and Southeast Asian defence and foreign policies has appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals and global media outlets.

Vice-President Studies and Foreign Policy Observer Research Foundation India

Pant is a professor of International Relations with King’s India Institute at King’s College London. He is also Director (Honorary) of Delhi School of Transnational Affairs at Delhi University. His current research focuses on Asian security issues. His most recent books include  India and Global Governance: A Rising Power and Its Discontents ;  Politics and Geopolitics: Decoding India’s Neighbourhood Challenge ;  America and the Indo-Pacific: Trump and Beyond ; and New Directions in India’s Foreign Policy: Theory and Praxis ; India’s Nuclear Policy, among others. He is a regular contributor to various Indian and international media outlets, including Japan Times , The Wall Street Journal , The Hindustan Times and The Telegraph .

Vice-President Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc The Philippines

Raquiza is professor of Southeast Asian Studies and Philippine Development Studies at the Asian Centre, University of the Philippines. She is also the convenor of the political economy programme of UP Centre for Integrative and Development Studies and Chair of the Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia, a regional network of leading area studies and research institutions. Her current research is on the US-China competition and its implications for the Philippines and regional security while past works focused on comparative political economy, politics and governance. She is the author of State Formation and Economic Development in Southeast Asia: the political economy of the Philippines and Thailand.

Director of Centre for Strategic Studies Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand

Dr Capie’s research interests focus on conflict and security issues, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, and New Zealand’s foreign and defence policy. He has held visiting positions at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University and at LUIS Guido Carli in Rome. He is currently regional Co-Chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) and was a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons Group from 2012 to 2019.

Head of the Department of International Relations   Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)  Indonesia 

Dr Lina heads CSIS, one of Indonesia’s oldest think-tanks and provides leadership for a wide range of policy debates in the country and across ASEAN. She is also the coordinator for the CSIS Myanmar Initiative Programme. Her research interests include Indonesian foreign policy, conflict resolution, human rights and non-traditional security issues in Southeast Asia.

Research Professor Research Centre for Politics  National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)  Indonesia     Prof Dewi is an academic at the Indonesian Academy of Sciences, Board Chairman of the Habibie Centre, and Co-Founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. She is a former Distinguished Visiting Professor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore, and School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. She has also served as Deputy Secretary to the Indonesian Vice-President. She has written widely on Indonesia’s foreign policy, and ASEAN regional political and security issues.

Secretary-General ASEAN

HE Dr Kao is the 15th Secretary-General of ASEAN. Prior to assuming this position in January 2023, he served as a two-term Minister Delegate attached to the Cambodian Prime Minister and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Dr Kao’s career has focused on strengthening Cambodia’s international relations, particularly in ASEAN, driving policy advocacy and promoting research, education, and development. He has authored dozens of books and articles on Cambodia and ASEAN.

Executive Deputy Chairman S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)   Singapore 

HE Ong is concurrently director of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies and head of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at RSIS. He remains as Ambassador-at-Large at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is also Singapore’s non-resident High Commissioner to Pakistan and non-resident Ambassador to Iran. He was the Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation from 2015 to 2023. His previous postings include High Commissioner to Malaysia and India, ASEAN Secretary-General and Ambassador to Nepal.

Director-General   National Security Council   Malaysia   

Datuk Nushirwan began his career as an administrative and diplomatic officer in 1994, attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has extensive experience in public service, specialising in international relations. Throughout his 29 years of service at the ministry, he has been responsible for various important tasks, especially those involving the economy, human rights and security. In 2014, he served as Ambassador to Iran before returning to assume the responsibilities as the Deputy Secretary-General for Bilateral Affairs. He was appointed as Ambassador to China in 2019. He was awarded with an honorary professorship by Tianjin University in recognition to his efforts in strengthening Malaysia-China bilateral relations despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. He assumed his current post in May 2023.

Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN 

HE Seam is a career diplomat, starting at the legal directorate of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998, before serving eight years in Brussels at the European Commission and the Permanent Representation of France to the EU. Upon his return to Paris in 2009, he was promoted to Assistant Director for Food Security and Deputy Director for Development and Global Public Goods at the ministry. He has served as Consul-General of France in Houston, US; Ambassador to Fiji; and Ambassador of the EU for the Pacific, based in Suva. He is also an Honorary Colonel in the French Army Citizen Reserve.

Vice-President Centre for China and Globalisation

Gao is Chairman of China Energy Security Institute; Chair Professor of Soochow University; and adviser and director to many companies and institutions in China and abroad. He has extensive experience in government, diplomacy, securities regulation, legal, investment banking, PE, corporate management and media.  He was also Deng Xiaoping’s English interpreter in the 1980s. He served as the China policy adviser at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in 1999 and 2000.  His prior investment banking experience include senior positions with Morgan Stanley, CICC, Daiwa Securities, and as General Counsel and SVP of CNOOC Limited.  

Director of Research Lowy Institute   Australia 

Lemahieu manages the Institute’s globally recognised team, focusing on China, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Given his expertise in economic, security and development issues, he developed the Asia Power Index , an annual data-driven assessment that maps the changing distribution of power in the region. He oversees other innovative multi-year research projects, including the Global Diplomacy Index , Southeast Asia and Pacific Aid Maps and Lowy Institute Poll . H e also provides commentary in international media, advises at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and conducts strategic dialogues. He has worked at IISS and Oxford Analytica, contributing to geopolitical-risk analyses in Asia. 

Senior Fellow Stimson Centre United States

Sun is the Director of the China Programme and Co-Director of the East Asia Programme at the Stimson Centre. Her expertise is in Chinese foreign policy, US-China relations, and China’s relations with neighbouring countries and authoritarian regimes. She was a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she focused on Chinese national security decision-making processes and China-Africa relations. She was a China analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG) based in Beijing, specialising on China’s foreign policy towards conflict countries and the developing world. Prior to ICG, she worked on US-Asia relations in Washington for five years.

Chairman Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Datuk Prof Faiz leads the institute’s policy development and Track-Two diplomacy, including through the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). He is also the Malaysian representative to the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons (ARF EEP) meeting and Co-Chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). His diverse career spans media, law enforcement, education, corporate law and public interest litigation, as well as strategic and international affairs advisory to federal and state governments. He is the founding dean of Selangor Business School (UNISEL) and the author of books on jurisprudence, public policy and strategic management.

Analyst Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Meena’s research focuses on Indian foreign policy, the geopolitics of South Asia and Malaysia and ASEAN’s relations with the region. She also looks at the various Indo-Pacific strategies in the region, focusing on the approaches of ASEAN, the European Union, Australia and the Republic of Korea. She is also interested in understanding how inter/intra-regionalism, mini-lateralism and multilateralism function in the Global South and the larger Indo-Pacific. Her writings have appeared in The Diplomat, The Interpreter, Asia Times and Financial Express.

Managing Director Episteme Consultants Singapore

As managing director of Episteme Consultants, Dr Kliem helps international stakeholders from businesses and civil society to get on the ESG ladder, identify political risks and implement ESG projects. He is also the director of the energy and climate office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, based in Hong Kong, and an adjunct fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. He works on sustainability, ESG issues, political risks in Asia and Europe as well as on mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

Deputy Executive Director (Academic and Student Affairs) Asia-Europe Institute Universiti Malaya

Dr Nurliana is a senior lecturer at the East Asian Studies Department, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Malaya. She is also a fellow at the Centre for ASEAN Regionalism, AEI . Her recent publications include books Southward Bound: Examining the Regional Policies of Taiwan and South Korea and The New Normal and Its Impact on Society: Perspectives from ASEAN and the European Union . She was a recipient of the Korea Foundation ASEAN Fellowship and POSCO TJ Park Foundation Asia Fellowship. Her research interest s include int ernational security and development with a focus on East Asia and specifically Malaysia-Korea r elations.

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Chancellor  Korea National Diplomatic Academy  Ministry of Foreign Affairs   

Prior to the appointment as KNDA chancellor, Dr Park was professor and director of the Institute for Japanese Studies and Institute of International Affairs at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Seoul National University. In 2022, he served as a senior staff at the Subcommittee on Foreign Relations and Security of the Presidential Transition Committee. He is one of the key members of President Yoon’s foreign policy team. Park is a board member at several think-tanks, including Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Sejong Institute, East Asia Foundation, and Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. He is the author of several books, including LDP Politics and the Transformation of Postwar Japanese Regime .

Sir Roland Wilson Scholar (Economic Security & Statecraft) Crawford School of Public Policy Australian National University

Mitchell does targeted research to help solve national policy challenges. Her research explores economic security and statecraft in a new global order – one in which Australia faces sharper trade-offs between sovereignty, security and prosperity. She is also an economic security non-resident fellow at the US Studies Centre where she has published a report that defines what ‘economic security’ is and how to achieve it. She is an economist and former diplomat, having served in New York, South Africa and Mexico. Most recently, she was one of a cadre of senior experts providing strategic advice to the prime minister and the Australian government.

President Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies

Gen Muniruzzaman’s career in the army spanned 38 years at all levels of command, staff and faculty. An experienced UN peacekeeper, he headed the post-election UN Mission in Cambodia that oversaw the transition from conflict to peace. He is also the chairman of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change, an international expert body that works on the security dimensions of climate change. He has worked and published extensively on climate security and gave the first international call on the link between climate-change impacts and security at COP15 in Copenhagen. He was named as one of the top 25 strategic voices on climate change by the Weather Channel.

Adjunct Senior Fellow S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Singapore

An award-winning, two-time Pulitzer Prize and European Press Prize finalist, Dr Dorsey is a veteran columnist and foreign correspondent who covered politics, including multiple transitions from autocracy to democracy, elections, military coups, revolutions, popular uprisings, and ethnic and religious conflict.  His blog – The Turbulent World – is widely read and listened to by government officials, policymakers, business executives, journalists, editors, opinionmakers and analysts. His book, The Battle for the Soul of Islam , describing the competition for religious soft power in the Muslim world between Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is set for publication next month.

Research Fellow Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

Dr Ngo’s current research focuses on international security issues, such as the impact of AI on international security and implications for national security; how states deploy strategic narratives in their foreign policy; and territorial conflicts. His works have appeared in East Asia , Journal of Strategic Security , and he is a frequent contributor to international platforms like The Diplomat, East Asia Forum and The Interpreter by the Lowy Institute.

Chairman Singapore Institute of International Affairs

Prof Tay is a public intellectual and adviser to major corporations and policymakers. He is currently an associate professor at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, senior consultant with WongPartnership, a leading regional law firm, and board member to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. He has taught at Harvard Law School and Yale University, and served on boards of leading global companies, including MUFG Bank of Japan, Toyota Japan and Deutsche Boerse (Asia). He has also served as chairman of the National Environment Agency and a nominated MP.

Distinguished Fellow United Services Institution of India

Lt-Gen Panwar served the Indian Army Corps of Signals for four decades, during which he commanded two logistics formations – an electronic warfare brigade and a communications regiment. He is presently a distinguished fellow at the United Services Institution of India, the oldest defence think-tank in India, and is engaged in evolving strategic thought in the areas of information operations, network-centric warfare and disruptive military technologies. Since 2021, he has been an active participant in Track II diplomatic efforts to achieve consensus on principles and good practices for responsible AI development in the military domain, involving experts from the US, China, EU, Russia and India.

Research Fellow Melbourne Climate Futures & Melbourne School of Population and Global Health University of Melbourne Australia

Dr Workman is a social scientist developing healthier climate and energy policies. As a deputy director of the Climate Collaborative Action for Transformative Change in Health and Healthcare (CATCH) Lab, she is leading a project to co-design climate policies, collaborating with government policymakers to develop resources that support the inclusion of health into cross-sectoral policies. She is also supporting the Indo-Pacific Climate Hub, an initiative to accelerate transformative climate-resilient development and ignite change for a sustainable future in the Indo-Pacific.

Senior Lecturer School of Politics and International Relations Australian National University

Dr Lim is the host of the ‘Australia in the World’ podcast. He researches in the field of international relations at the intersection of economics, security, and global governance. His major research interests focus on geoeconomics (including economic coercion and technology competition), grand strategy and international order, and Australian foreign policy. Initially trained in law and economics, he previously worked as associate to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, a corporate lawyer and researcher at International Crisis Group in Brussels.

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Pro Vice-Chancellor University of Tasmania

Prof Farrelly specialises in the analysis of political conflict and social change in mainland Southeast Asia, with a long-term focus on Myanmar. He was the founding Director of the Australian National University’s Myanmar Institute and has researched Myanmar politics for more than 20 years. The second edition of his co-edited book , Myanmar: Politics, Economy and Society , was published by Routledge in 2023 and is accessible online.

Senior Lecturer Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya

Dr Passeri was a research fellow and adjunct professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna and visiting research fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His interests are on nationalism in East Asia, small-power diplomacy and political developments in Myanmar.

Fifth holder of the Tun Hussein Onn Chair in International Studies, ISIS Malaysia

Prof Zakri is a founding director and professor at the International Institute for Science Diplomacy & Sustainability at UCSI University. He is chairman of Atri Advisory,a consulting company advising governments and international organisations on sustainable development.

Zakri is also pro-chancellor of two universities – Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and Multimedia University. He is the joint chairman of the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), chairman of the Business Council on Sustainable Development and chairman of the National Biodiversity Roundtable. He was the science adviser to the prime minister and former director of the Institute of Advanced Studies, United Nations University.

His professional interests include crop science, biodiversity and science diplomacy. Among his awards are Fulbright-Hays fellowship; ISSAAS Matsuda award; Zayed International Prize for the Environment; Midori Prize for Biodiversity; Asean Biodiversity Hero; United Nations Malaysia award; and Anugerah Akademik Negara.

Zakri has had three species named after him: beetle ( Paleosepharia zakrii ), cicada ( Pomponia zakrii ) and pitcher plant ( Nepenthes zakriana ).

Adviser to chairman, Sunway Berhad

Raman has served more than 40 years in the communications industry, initially as a journalist and later in the private sector. He began his journalism career with the New Straits Times, before moving to The Star. Subsequently, he occupied senior editorial positions at The Atlanta-Journal Constitution newspaper and CNN International. Upon his return to Malaysia in 2008, he served as group communications head at AirAsia before setting up shop as a consultant.

Japan-Asean roundtable (Survey Form)

Ambassador of Japan to Asean

Amb Kiya joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987 and served in various capacities in countries ranging from Nigeria to Belgium. He has also worked in the Defence Ministry as former consul-general of Japan in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of “Why Should we Act for International Cooperation? Looking beyond Humanitarian and National Interest Considerations” and “Challenges of Japan’s Policy towards the United Nations – A Practitioner’s View”.

Asia-Europe Institute Universiti Malaya

Assoc prof Furuoka has lived in Malaysia since 1987. From 1991 to 1999, he worked as a senior assistant at the Consulate-General of Japan in Penang. He then moved to academia and has taught economics for 25 years at three Malaysian public universities – Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Universiti Malaya. Furuoka specialises in Asian economy, with a focus on Japanese foreign direct investment and official development assistance in Asean.

Ambassador Embassy of Japan in Malaysia

Prior to his appointment as ambassador to Malaysia, Amb Katsuhiko was attached with Japan’s embassies in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and served at the permanent mission to the United Nations. He was also director-general of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

School of Social Sciences Nanyang Technological University Singapore

Dr Koga is an associate professor at NTU and heads the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme. Concurrently, he is a non-resident fellow at the National Bureau of Asia Research (NBR), the US; and a member of the research committee, Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), Japan. He has published on East Asian/Indo-Pacific security, US and Japanese foreign policies, the US-Japan alliance and Asean.

Senior Lecturer Department of East Asian Studies Universiti Malaya

Dr Geetha is an expert on East Asian international relations, teaching courses related to East Asian regional affairs. She teaches, researches and publishes on inter-Korean issues and East Asian international relations. She was a participant in the Study of the United States Institute exchange programme and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, academic exchange.

Fellow Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Calvin’s research interests include economic growth and development, labour markets and the design of social-assistance programmes. He has looked at the impacts of the US-China trade conflict on the Asia-Pacific region and the design of cash-transfer initiatives. Calvin has collaborated on projects with federal and state governments, multinational development organisations and civil society organisations, focusing on digitalisation of small and medium enterprises and infrastructure development in Asia-Pacific.

Researcher Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Angeline’s research covers East Asia’s international relations, with a particular focus on China. She is interested in China’s foreign policy, Japan’s strategic approaches to Southeast Asia and the impact of the US-China tech rivalry on the region. She contributed to “Focus in Continuity: A Framework for Malaysia’s Foreign Policy for a Post-Pandemic World” published by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 2021. She was a visiting research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in 2023.

Izzah’s research areas look into foreign policy and security developments in the Asia-Pacific, including the ongoing unrest in Southern Thailand and Southern Philippines and regional security cooperation in Asean. Her o ther research interests include nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and civil-military relations. She is also part of the Secretariat for the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia – Pacific (CSCAP).

Capacity Building Officer All-party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on SDGs

Hirzawati is a former research fellow at the East Asian International Relations and is co-writing a chapter on the Korean Peninsula. She was a presenter at a seminar series on the comparison between Malaysia and South Korea’s post-Covid policy. She is also a frequent attendee of seminars and forums on topics related to Korean Peninsula affairs.

Deputy Executive Director Internationalisation, Research, Value Creation & Enterprise Asia-Europe Institute Universiti Malaya

Dr Rogers has taught at the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College and the Malaysian Defence Armed Forces College. His area of specialisation includes political science, international relations and history (China and Central Asia). His research interests are government and politics of the Central Asian republics in Xinjiang.

Deputy Director-General Asean Bureau Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea

Lee joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1999 and is now overseeing the Asean bureau. His stints include first secretary, Southeast Asian division; director, South Asian and Oceanian affairs; coordinator of the New Southern Policy; and director for planning and finance.

Associate Professor Department of International Relations Yonsei University

Dr Kim is a former senior lecturer in the Southeast Asian Studies Department, Universiti Malaya. He is currently serving as vice-president of the Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies. His research focuses on Asean and regionalism in East Asia. Some of his major outputs include ‘Asean Socio-Cultural Community and Human Security’, East Asia Research, 2022; ‘The Crisis in Myanmar and the Continuity and Change of Asean Norms’, Southeast Asian Studies, 2020; ‘The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks: Socialising China into an East Asian Community?’, Asian Survey 57:3, 2017.

Senior Fellow Centre for Regional Studies Asan Institute for Policy Studies

Dr Lee is a former visiting professor at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), Korean National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA). His research focuses on Southeast Asian politics and international relations, East Asian regional cooperation, and non-traditional and human security issues.

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Ambassador ROK Embassy in Malaysia

Yeo was appointed as ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Malaysia in October. Prior to the appointment, he served as deputy minister for political affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he joined in 1990. Yeo has held postings in China, Norway, Afghanistan and New Zealand. He had also served as foreign policy adviser to the prime minister.

Undersecretary International Relations Division (Culture) Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture

Yeo assumed her current post in April 2020 and has been at the forefront of cultural diplomacy efforts to promote Malaysia’s diverse arts, culture and heritage overseas. Her experience includes serving in various capacities across central agencies and ministries, with a focus on interdisciplinary advisory, research and policy development. Yeo is a founder member of Talent Corp, which spearheaded public-private partnership to deliver facilitative immigration instruments.

Teaching Fellow Monash University Malaysia

Koh’s research interests are in history, political and national identity formation. He has lectured and tutored extensively in the Monash School of Arts and Social Sciences as a sessional staff and briefly in Sunway University’s School of Arts. He also taught Global Studies and Contemporary Issues in the Monash Foundation Year in Sunway College. Today, he assists in the Global Studies major under the School of Arts and Social Sciences. Koh’s introduction to the Korean Wave was through early variety programmes and films that got him through his master’s.

Chair, Brunei Darussalam Institute of Strategic Studies (BDIPSS); 2023 Chair of Asean-ISIS Brunei Darussalam

Ambassador of the European Union to Malaysia

Rokas has 26 years’ experience in the field of foreign affairs, having joined the European Commission External Relations Directorate General in 1994. His previous postings included chargé d’affaires a.i. and head of EU Delegation to New Zealand, first secretary of the European Commission’s Office in Hong Kong and Macau and head of the China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Mongolia division at the European External Action Service.

Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law & Interim Dean Hofstra University United States

Ku’s primary research interest is the relationship of international law to domestic laws and foreign policy. He has also conducted research on a wide range of topics, including international dispute resolution, international criminal law and the impact of international law on US-China relations. He has been a visiting professor at the College of William & Mary Marshall – Wythe School of Law in Williamsburg, Virginia; a Fulbright distinguished lecturer in law at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, China; and a fellow at National Taiwan University, Taipei. He is a member of the New York Bar and a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

Prime Minister of Malaysia

Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, sworn in on 24 November 2022. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1993 to 1998, also serving as Minister of Finance from 1991 to 1998, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; Minister of Agriculture in 1984; and Education Minister in 1986.

For championing the cause of the poor and taking a principled stance against corruption and abuse of power, he endured years of incarceration. Anwar is viewed as one of the forefathers of the Asian Renaissance. He has held visiting professorships at St Anthony’s College at Oxford, the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and at the School of Foreign Service in Georgetown University. He is a sought-after speaker on governance and accountability, geopolitics, the relationship between Islam and democracy, the need for greater civilisational dialogue and contemporary politics in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

Executive Director Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy Republic of Ireland

Heinl’s work focuses on conflict-prevention strategies related to international cybersecurity policy, strategic technologies, regional security architectures and the Asia-Pacific/Southeast Asia/EU. She recently served on the Irish government’s Commission on the Defence Forces and continues her work as an expert within flagship EU cyber diplomacy and Indo-Pacific security cooperation initiatives.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia

Ouyang arrived in Malaysia in December 2020. He previously served as director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, deputy director-general and subsequently director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs. Ouyang has held various positions in the Department of Treaty and Law, including as counsellor.

Senior Fellow Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Thomas’ interests lie in the security/strategic challenges and impacts of major power dynamics on Asean and its member states, the South China Sea dispute, and Malaysia’s national security and foreign policies. He also looks at the policy implications of refugees, asylum seekers and other displaced people in Malaysia, and the government’s refugee policy of “not having a policy”.

Executive Director Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia

Yose’s research activities focus on international trade, regional integration and the globalisation of value chain. He is active in many networks of research institutes in East Asia, such as in Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade, ERIA Research Institutes Network and Think 20, the think-tank network of G20 countries. He is now serving as co-chair of the Indonesia National Committee of Pacific Economic Cooperation and member of the governing board of Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia.

Visiting senior official, Australian High Commission

Barraclough is a career diplomat with a strong background in Southeast and South Asia. He has served two postings in Jakarta, his most recent as economic minister counsellor during Australia’s negotiation of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. He has also been posted to Brussels and Noumea. Barraclough was awarded the Devahuti prize by the Indian government in 1991. He has also worked in education in Pakistan and Australia.

Member of the Executive Board Federation of German Industries (BDI) Germany

Niedermark has wide experience in Asia-Pacific, having served as regional manager of the German Asia-Pacific Business Association in India to secretary-general of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul. From 2006, he worked for the chemical company BASF and was appointed head of the Berlin office in 2009. In his capacity as corporate communications vice-president, he was responsible for the company’s government relations in Berlin and Brussels. In 2020, he was appointed an executive board member of BDI, Berlin.

Researcher Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Vietnam

Vu is also an alumnus of the ocean law and policy programme, Centre for International Law – National University of Singapore. His expertise includes international law, law of the sea, international environmental law with a geographical focus on Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. He has broad experience in legal service, diplomacy, civil service and academia.

Jimbo is also managing director of International House of Japan. He served as special adviser to the former defence minister and senior adviser at the National Security. His main research fields are in international security, Japan-US security relations, Japanese foreign and defence policy, multilateral security in Asia-Pacific and regionalism in East Asia. He was a former policy adviser for various Japanese governmental commissions and research groups, including National Security Secretariat, Defence Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His policy writings have appeared in NBR, The RAND Corporation, Stimson Centre, Pacific Forum CSIS, Japan Times, Nikkei, Yomiuri, Asahi and Sankei Shimbun.

Department of Political Science Doshisha University Japan

Terada was assistant professor at the National University of Singapore and professor at Waseda University, Tokyo. He also served as a visiting fellow at University of Warwick, a Japan scholar at Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington and an adviser for the US-Japan Institute. His areas of specialty include international political economy in the Indo-Pacific, theoretical and empirical studies of Asia-Pacific integration, and Japanese politics and foreign policy. His latest works include ‘Politics on TPP/CPTPP: turning Japan into one of the world’s major FTA powers’ in Critical Review of Abe Administration and ‘The evolution of Japan-Asean relations: core moves for Japan’s initiatives in Asian Regionalism beyond Southeast Asia’ in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics .

Vice-president China Foreign Affairs University China

Sun is the secretary-general of China National Association for International Studies, and deputy editor-in-chief of Foreign Affairs Review . She has published and translated books, and written articles and papers on international relations, China’s foreign policy and international political linguistics in journals, such as World Economics and Politics , Foreign Affairs Review , International Studies and Journal of International Studies . She is the author of Language, Meaning and World Politics – the Language of the Bush Administration and the Iraq War .

Faculty of Law and Justice University of New South Wales Sydney Australia

Klein is an Australian Research Council future fellow. She is currently president of the Australian branch of the International Law Association and a trustee for the UK-based charity, Human Rights at Sea. Her research focuses on law of the sea and international dispute settlement. She was previously dean of Macquarie Law School and acting head of the Department for Policing, Intelligence and Counterterrorism at Macquarie University. She worked at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP for the government of Eritrea and in the office of legal affairs at the United Nations. She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.

Executive Director Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace Cambodia

Sothirak also serves as adviser to the government, having held the post of secretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ambassador to Japan, MP and minister of industry mines and energy. He was the visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore and has written extensively on issues confronting the development of Cambodia and the region.

Council Secretary & Senior Research Fellow Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) Singapore

Yeo Lay Hwee is director of the EU Centre, vice-chair of AseanCham-EU, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and adjunct senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. She also teaches at the National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University. She is an expert in EU-Asean/Asia-Europe relations and has an interest in regionalism, multilateralism and global governance. She sits on several academic advisory boards, including Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University, Leiden Asia Centre in Leiden University and Asian Vision Institute in Cambodia. She co-edited Asean-EU Partnership: the Untold Story.

Chairperson, Department of Political Science University of the Philippines-Diliman Philippines

Arugay’s research interests are civil-military relations, comparative democratisation, security sector governance, and foreign policy. He is also editor-in-chief of Asian Politics & Policy . He manages the Philippine studies project of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof-Ishak Institute (Singapore) as a visiting fellow. Arugay is a trustee of the Foundation for the National Interest, Inc, a new independent think-tank based in Manila. He was a visiting scholar in the Carter Centre, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Chulalongkorn University, University of Sydney, Jeju Peace Institute, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and National Institute of Defence Studies (Japan).

Deputy Executive Director for Research Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia

Shafiah joined CSIS in December 2000 and her research interests include issues of regional security in the Indo-Pacific, Asean, maritime security, Indonesia’s foreign policy, and development cooperation. In 2017, she joined the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies Singapore as a senior fellow at the Maritime security programme. She was the chief editor of The Indonesian Quarterly , an academic journal published by CSIS, doctoral fellow at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg and recipient of various scholarships and research grants. She served in the panel of jury for the 2022 and 2021 Adam Malik Award.

Distinguished Professor De La Salle University Philippines

De Castro is the holder of the Dr Aurelio Calderon chair in Philippines-American relations. He was a visiting fellow at the National Institute for Defence Studies, Japan, and visiting researcher at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. He also served as a consultant to the National Security Council during the Aquino administration. He consults on courses on international relations, strategic and security studies at the National Defence College, Special Intelligence Training School, General Staff and Command College of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Foreign Service Institute.  As a member of the Albert Del Rosario Institute of Strategic and International Studies board of trustees, he writes monthly opinion columns for the Philippine Star and Business World .

Deputy Director & Visiting Professor Tama University Japan

Glosserman is also a senior adviser (non-resident) at Pacific Forum, Honolulu, where he served for 13 years as executive director. He is author of Peak Japan: The End of Grand Ambitions and co-author of The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash . He has just completed a manuscript on “the new national security economy”, examining the geopolitical intersection of national security and high technology. He is a member of the editorial board of the Japan Times and where he writes a weekly column on geopolitics and technology. He is an adjunct lecturer at the Management Centre of Innsbruck.

Founder and President Center for China and Globalization (CCG) China

Wang is also the vice-chairman of the China Association for International Economic Cooperation and dean of the Institute of Development Studies of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu. As a thought leader on global relations, international business, global governance, global investment and trade, he has published more than 100 books in Chinese and English.

Chairman of the Board China-Southeast Asia Research Center on the South China Sea China

Wu is also chairman of Huayang Centre for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance; and founding president and chairman of the academic committee of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies. He serves as chairman of the advisory board of Institute for China-America Studies, adjunct professor of Nanjing University and chair professor of Xiamen University. His research interests cover the South China Sea, maritime delimitation, maritime economy, international relations and regional security. He has published widely in academic journals on South China Sea, regional security issues, international relations and the development of Hainan Free Trade Port.

Director of Legal, Corporate & Government Affairs for Asean and New Markets Microsoft Malaysia

Jasmine has extensive experience in legal, policy, regulatory engagement and communications. She is the first Malaysian appointed to the Internet Governance Forum multistakeholder advisory group and was honoured with the inaugural WIM’s Tan Sri Napsiah Omar women leaders’ award. She is currently an adjunct professor at Unitar International University and has received an honorary doctorate for her leadership in and contributions to public policy and governance.

Director, Cybersecurity and Critical Technologies Pacific Forum United States

Manantan leads the cyber Asean initiative, and the US Cyber, Technology and Security partnerships with Japan, Australia, Taiwan and South Korea. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, National Chengchi University, Taiwan, and a former research consultant at the Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington. He has held visiting fellowships at the Japan Foundation, Centre for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Tokyo, Japan, and the East-West Centre, Washington.

Senior Fellow, Asia Program Carnegie Endowment for International Peace United States

Elina focuses on developments in Southeast Asia, particularly the impact and implications of technology reshaping power dynamics, governance, and nation-building in the region. She was the former director of political-security affairs and deputy director of the Washington office at the Asia Society Policy Institute. She spent most of her career at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, where she last held the position of director, foreign policy and security studies. Elina was also formerly with the Brookings Institution’s project on US relations with the Islamic world.

Head of School, Social Sciences University of Tasmania Australia

For more than 20 years, Farrelly has researched political, social and economic issues across Southeast Asia. In 2006, he founded New Mandala, a website which remains a prominent public forum in Southeast Asian studies. He previously held a range of academic positions in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, including as deputy director of the Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs and as founding director of the ANU Myanmar Research Centre. He also served as associate dean in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific. In 2020 he was appointed to the board of the Australia-Asean Council.

Executive Director Philippine-American Educational Foundation Philippines

Amador is CEO of Amador Research Services, interim president of the Foundation for the National Interest, and founder and trustee of the non-profit FACTS Asia. He regularly participates in Tracks 1.5 and 2 events and writes on national security and foreign affairs for various publications. He was a civil servant for more than a decade and worked on foreign affairs and national security issues. He co-edited A Handbook on Philippine Public Diplomacy and co-authored the monograph ‘Reviewing Philippine-US Bilateral Defence Relations: The Legal, Military, and Diplomacy Perspectives’. Amador is involved in designing executive education programmes on foreign affairs and national security for defence, military, and private training and educational institutions.

Fellow & Coordinator, Myanmar Studies Programme ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore

Moe joined ISEAS in 2008, serving as a lead researcher in the Asean Studies Centre up to August 2019. Prior to ISEAS, Moe spent 10 years at the Asean Secretariat, where she headed the human development unit. A former diplomat, she is researching Burma’s foreign policy implementation for her PhD at the National University of Singapore. Moe has contributed to several compendia on Asean/Southeast Asia and on Myanmar. She co-authored Myanmar: Life After Nargis and co-edited Urbanisation in Southeast Asia: Issues and Implications and Asean and India: The Way Forward .

Director, Institute of Security & International Studies (ISIS) Thailand; Assistant Dean, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University Thailand

Pongphisoot is also an assistant professor and assistant dean of the faculty of political science, Chulalongkorn University.  His research interests focus on great power competition in Southeast Asia, Thailand’s foreign policy, and norms and identity in international relations. He is working on several projects, including the normative constructs influencing Thailand’s strategic choices between the US and China, and geopolitics of great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, especially the Mekong subregion. He served as an analyst at Thailand’s Office of the National Security Council before embarking on his academic career.

Senior Fellow & Co-founder Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia

Jusuf is the vice-chairman of the board of trustees CSIS Foundation. He served as vice-chair of the Indonesian National Committee for the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, co-chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and co-chair of the Council of Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific. He is also publisher of The Jakarta Post . A lawyer by training, Jusuf was assistant professor of law at the University of Indonesia and has served in various national and international organisations. He has edited a number of books on political and security developments in the Asia-Pacific region. His memoir, Shades of Grey , was published in 2013.

Executive Director Asia New Zealand Foundation New Zealand

Draper has extensive international background in negotiation and relationship management. He joined the Asia New Zealand Foundation in September 2015, coming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade where he had worked in various roles since 1991. These included director United Nations, Human Rights and Commonwealth Division, which saw him driving New Zealand’s successful campaign for a UN Security Council seat. Since joining the Asia New Zealand Foundation, he has enhanced its international focus and created new opportunities for New Zealanders to experience Asia first-hand. He is a commentator on Asia and has a long-running fortnightly column published in newspapers across New Zealand and on Stuff.co.nz, one of the country’s biggest news media sites.

Former Executive Director & Senior Fellow National Maritime Foundation (NMF) India

After 35 years as a missile warfare specialist and commanding two warships, Gurpreet retired from the Indian Navy in January 2023 as professor, Naval War College Goa. He formulated seminal doctrinal documents for the navy: Indian Maritime Doctrine, Handbook on Law of Maritime Operations and Indian Maritime Security Strategy. He is the author of three books and numerous academic papers on geopolitics, maritime strategy and naval operations. As executive director of NMF, he represented India in IORA, EAS and CSCAP, and contributed to drafting the National Maritime Policy. He is member of an international committee of experts at US Naval War College Newport for drafting the new manual on law of naval warfare.

Head of Center for Asean-Indian Studies Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security Republic of Korea

Choe leads the Korea National Diplomatic Academy’s research on Southeast Asia, South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific. His current research focuses on the role of Korea in the geopolitical dynamics and regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific. Among his most recent writings are South Korea’s New Southern Policy: The Limits of Indo-Pacific Geopolitics; The ROK’s Indo-Pacific Strategy under President Yoon: Key Elements and Strategic Implications; The Quest for Strategic Balance and South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Conundrum.

Team Leader, Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS) Bundeswehr University Munich Germany

Stumbaum is a frequent speaker on Asia-Pacific security issues and advises the European Union and the German government. Working at the intersection of academia and politics, she has worked as a lecturer/visiting fellow at European, American, Asian and Chinese think-tanks, universities and government agencies, including the European External Action Service and the German Ministry of Defence. She is the former director of the EU’s Asia-Pacific Research and Advice Network and NFG Research Group; senior research fellow/executive director at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI); and Fritz Thyssen fellow, WCFIA, Harvard University.

Assistant Professor, Regional Security Architecture Programme S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Singapore

Teo’s research interests include multilateral security and defence cooperation in Asean and Asia-Pacific, middle powers in the Asia-Pacific and international relations. Her latest book is Middle Powers in Asia Pacific Multilateralism: A Differential Framework . She is the co-author of Security Strategies of Middle Powers in the Asia Pacific and the co-editor of Minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific: The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue , Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, and Asean . Her articles have appeared in International Theory, The Pacific Review, Asia Policy and various commentary platforms.

Associate Professor of War Studies University of Potsdam Germany

Rieck also teaches international relations at Humboldt-Universität in Berlin and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid. His research focuses mostly on German and European defence policy, comparative regional integration and regional powers. He has worked at the foreign policy institute at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Berlin, European foresight programme at the tech think-tank Stiftung Neue Verantwortung and Latin American Institute of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies GIGA. He was a former DAAD Carlo Schmid fellow at the United Nations in Mexico City.

Executive Director of Policy, Asia Society Australia Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute Australia

Maude has more than 30 years’ experience in foreign policy and national security and has served in Singapore, the United States and Malaysia. He is the former deputy secretary, Indo-Pacific Group, in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a senior official to the East Asia Summit. In 2017, Maude headed a task force, which supported the Australian government’s foreign policy white paper. He was also the director-general of the Office of National Assessments and senior adviser on foreign policy and national security issues to prime minister Julia Gillard.

Senior Fellow Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia

Rizal was Indonesia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) from 2016 to 2020. He joined CSIS in 1990 as a researcher and assumed the role of executive director in 2009 until 2015. He has worked extensively on issues, such as Southeast Asian security, Asean, Indonesia’s defence and foreign policy, military reform, Islam and politics, and domestic political changes in Indonesia. He was the first Indonesian to receive the Nakasone Award in July 2005 and named as one the 100 Global Thinkers in 2009 by Foreign Policy magazine.

President Emeritus & WSD-Handa Chair in Peace Studies Pacific Forum United States

Cossa is president emeritus and worldwide support for development-Handa Haruhisa Chair in Peace Studies at the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum. He is senior editor of the Forum’s electronic journal, Comparative Connections, and co-author of its regional overview. He is a member and former international co-chair of the Asean Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons Group, and a founding member and former co-chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. He is a former military officer, who served as a special assistant to two US Pacific Command commanders.

President & Senior Research Fellow Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) China

Chen specialises in the studies of the United Nations, China’s foreign policy and China-US relations. He has led numerous research projects commissioned by the China National Foundation of Social Sciences Studies and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is the chief editor of China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies , a flagship English journal on China’s diplomacy. He is also the adjunct professor of SIIS. He is adviser to the Independent Team of Advisory for ECOSOC Dialogue on longer-term positioning of UN Development System, a member of Asean Regional Forum’s Expert and Eminent Person and senior adviser on economic diplomacy to China’s Foreign Ministry.

Secretary-general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Amran started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992, and his stints include multilateral diplomacy. He has served in missions in New York, Geneva and Jakarta before being accredited as ambassador to Turkey in 2014. This was followed by appointed as a permanent representative of Malaysia to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva in 2016. He returned to Putrajaya in 2019 to head the Department of Bilateral Affairs and was appointed the ministry’s 17th secretary-general in 2022.

Prof Emeritus, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Tham is also a visiting senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. She was formerly director and professor of international trade at Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), UKM. Her research interests cover trade in goods and services as well as foreign direct investment (FDI). She sits on several editorial boards for international journals and board of Global Development Network (GDN). She is also a member of the task force appointed to review the new industrial master plan 2030. She is currently working on BRI projects in Malaysia, trade in higher education services and digital trade in Asean.

CEO, Strand Aerospace Malaysia

Naguib is also president of Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA). Naguib holds a BEng aerospace engineering from UMIST and a MSc from Cranfield. He began his career growing a UK aerospace start-up, and then returned to Malaysia to build Strand Aerospace Malaysia into an organisation leading the design and analysis engineering services industry. In 2021, Naguib founded Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Accelerator Centre of Excellence (Amrace) dedicated to accelerating the transformation to smart businesses with sustainable business practices. He speaks frequently on aerospace and other technology subjects at global events.

Professor of Law, School of Business and Economics, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Rozanah graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s in law and obtained her PhD from the International Islamic University, Malaysia. Her areas of interest and specialisation are industrial safety (OSH) law, employment law and business law. She is internationally recognised, holding the post of visiting associate professor, Tashkent-State-Technical-University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan; visiting fellow at Alliance Manchester Business School, Lincoln International Business School and UWA Business School. She has carried out research and consultancy activities with public and private agencies, including the International Labour Organisation, World Bank Group, Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia, Department of Occupational Safety and Health , Legal Affairs Division (Prime Minister’s Department), and the National Valuation Institute.

Professor, Department of Economics, International Islamic University Malaysia

Aslam received his PhD from the School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, UK. He led the ‘turn-around’ plan of the Department of Economics and established the Centre for Islamic Economics, IIUM, where he acted as coordinator of its strategic development plan. He is currently director of the academic development division, leading efforts to redevelop and revamp IIIT ESEA research and publication agenda. He has researched and published extensively in various areas of economics and development studies. He co-founded an Islamic microfinance programme, I-Taajir, which serves the B40 community.

Secretary-general, Ministry of Defence

Muez holds an honours degree in economics from University of Malaya, a public administration diploma from INTAN and a master’s degree in economics from Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. His career in public service is extensive, particularly in the economic, entrepreneurial and agricultural policy spaces. Prior to his current placement at the Ministry of Defence, he was the secretary-general of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. He has also been actively involved in amending several laws related to trade. For example, he deposited Malaysia’s instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol, which is primarily concerned with the country’s trademark system at the international level.

Deputy secretary-general (policy), Ministry of Finance

Johan is a chartered accountant (ICAEW) who graduated with an economics degree from the University of Cambridge. Since 2004, he has served in various roles, including deputy secretary-general (policy) and national budget director at the Ministry of Finance, deputy director-general of the Economic Planning Unit and CEO of Talent Corporation Malaysia. He was appointed secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance on 27 February 2023. Before joining the government in 2004, he worked in corporate finance and accounting roles.

Founder & Executive Director Asian Trade Centre Singapore

Elms is also president of the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA) and the board director of the Asian Trade Centre Foundation (ATCF). She sits on the board of the Trade and Investment Negotiation Adviser (TINA) at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UNESCAP). She is on the international advisory council for APCO and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s trade and investment council. Prior to founding ATC/ATCF and the ABTA, she was head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade & Negotiations (TFCTN) and senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

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Member of the board Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Munir is chairman of the Asean Business Advisory Council, Malaysia, of CARI Asean Research and Advocacy, and president of the Asean Business Club. He also sits on the board of the honorary council of advisers for EUROCHAM Malaysia and is board chairman of the Institute for Capital Market Research Malaysia. He is an advocate of deeper Asean economic integration. He is an honorary fellow of LSE and visiting senior fellow at the Centre of International Affairs, Diplomacy and Strategy.

Deputy head of mission European Union Delegation to Malaysia

Goosmann joined the EU Delegation to Malaysia in September 2021. He served as a German diplomat between 2009 and 2021 and was posted to Quito and Jakarta. Prior to the diplomatic stint, Goosmann worked as business consultant, university lecturer and in a think-tank. He speaks English, Spanish, French and (some) Bahasa Indonesia.

Senior fellow Centre for Strategic and International Studies

Poling directs the Southeast Asia p rogram me and Asia m aritime t ransparency i nitiative at the Centr e for Strategic and International Studies. He is a leading expert on the South China Sea disputes and conducts research on US alliances and partnerships, democrati s ation and governance in Southeast Asia, and maritime security across the Indo-Pacific. He is the author of On d angerous g round: America’s c entury in the South China Sea .

Southeast Asia programme director Lowy Institute

Patton is the project lead for the Asia Power Index , the Lowy Institute’s annual data-driven assessment that maps the changing distribution of power in the region. She has worked in various Southeast Asia-focused positions, including senior analyst in the Southeast Asia branch at the Australian Office of National Intelligence.

Analyst Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Qarrem’s primary research interests include international trade, political and institutional economics, wages & productivity growth and the development of local MSMEs. His recent work focused on government strategic plans for MSME development, formalisation of informal entrepreneurs and various sector-specific government development plans. He was a former consultant specialising in public sector economic advisory.

Senior analyst Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Tashny’s research interests include domestic politics, labour migration, gender parity and equality, and the regional role and position of international human rights mechanisms. She is the founder of 50-50 Malaysia, a tool to connect policymakers, journalists and the public with female experts in, on or from Malaysia. Tashny also operates Kolektif BungaRaya, a support group for survivors of sexual harassment and assault.

Senior director (research) Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Alizan is currently completing his PhD at Keio University on understanding the influence of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address interlinkages across SDGs. His research area includes governance of and for sustainable development and global environmental governance. He was the lead author for the national readiness study to implement the SDGs for the Economic Planning Unit. His other areas of research include institutions for sustainable development and sustainable consumption and production.

Director Centre for Asean Regionalism Universiti Malaya (CARUM) Malaysia

Rahul specialises in politico-security affairs of the Southeast and East Asian region, Asean-EU regionalism, comparative regionalism and the role of major and middle powers in the Indo-Pacific, especially in the context of the China-US competition. His latest publications include Asia and Europe in the 21st century: new anxieties, new opportunities, and India’s Eastward Engagement from Antiquity to Act East Policy.

Department of Political Science National University of Kyiv

OLEXIY HARAN is Professor of Comparative Politics at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy (UKMA). Since 2002, he has served as founding director of the UKMA School for Policy Analysis and from 2015, research director at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a leading analytical and sociological think-tank.

He is the co-editor of Constructing a Political Nation: Changes in the Attitudes of Ukrainians during the War in the Donbas (2017 , Ukraine in Europe: Questions and Answers (2009) and Russia and Ukraine: Ten Years of Transformation (Moscow 2003) . His latest book is From Brezhnev to Zelensky: Dilemmas of Ukrainian Political Scientist (2021) . Haran was a member of the Council of ‘Maidan’ movement (2013-2014) and has also spent weeks at the frontline in Mariupol, Luhansk, Avdiivka and Donetsk airport.

Foreign Minister of Australia, 1988-1996 President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, 2000-2009 GLF Member

Evans was one of Australia’s longest serving foreign ministers (1988-1996), best known internationally for his roles in developing the United Nations peace plan for Cambodia, bringing to a conclusion the international Chemical Weapons Convention, founding the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and Asean Regional Forum (ARF), and initiating the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. He has maintained strong academic and scholarly connections throughout his career and has written or edited nine books and journal articles on foreign relations, politics, human rights and legal reform.

Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1999-2008 Administrator, UNDP, 2009-2017 GLF Chair

Clark was elected prime minister of New Zealand in 1999, 2002 and 2005. She became administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in April 2009 and was the first woman to lead that organisation. She was also chair of the UN Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues. She now engages in public advocacy across a range of issues.

Attorney-General of Indonesia, 1999-2001 UN Special Rapporteur DPRK, 2010-2016 GLF Member

Marzuki served as attorney-general of Indonesia under the first democratically elected president, Abdurrahman Wahid. As AG, he led a wide-ranging corruption investigation into former president Suharto and family and prosecuted cases of corruption, mass murder and human rights abuses. In 2010, he was chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka and also served as special rapporteur for North Korea (2011-2016). Marzuki is currently chairman of the UN fact-finding mission to Myanmar.

Minister of Defence of South Africa, 1991-1992 Minster of Constitutional Affairs and Communication, 1992-1994 Minister of Constitutional Development and Provincial Affairs, 1994-1996 GLF Member

Meyer served as defence minister and minister of constitutional affairs and communication under president FW de Klerk. Together with Cyril Ramaphosa, chief negotiator for the African National Congress (ANC), Meyer negotiated the end of apartheid and helped pave the way to the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. Meyer subsequently served as minister of constitutional development in Nelson Mandela’s cabinet. He has also been involved in peace processes in Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guyana, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Kenya, Kosovo, Myanmar, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Senior fellow for East Asia Lowy Institute

Richard McGregor is senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, Australia’s premier foreign policy think-tank.

McGregor is a former Beijing and Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times and the author of numerous books on East Asia.

His most recent book, Xi Jinping: The Backlash, was published in August 2019. His book on Sino-Japanese relations, Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century (Penguin Books, 2017), won the prime minister of Australia’s literary award for non-fiction. He is also a senior associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in the US.

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Research professor Center for Asean-India Studies Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security Korean National Diplomatic Academy

Dr Cho is also a visiting professor teaching Asean regionalism and Asean & Oceania courses at Yonsei University. His main research topics consist of international relations of the Indo-Pacific region, especially the Mekong subregion and South Asia. His recent policy papers include reports on India’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and international cooperation in the Mekong region. His academic articles have appeared in Defence and Peace Economics, Pacific Focus, and other Korean international relations journals.

Associate professor Department of International and Strategic Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Universiti Malaya

Dr Varkkey’s areas of expertise include transboundary haze governance in Southeast Asia and global palm oil politics. Her monograph on The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Politics was published by Routledge in 2016. Her latest book is a collection of essays on the politics of haze and the environment in Southeast Asia called The Forests for the Palms: Essays on the Politics of haze and the Environment in Southeast Asia published by ISEAS Singapore in 2021. She has almost two decades of experience in qualitative research, including conducting fieldwork and interviews among various government and non-government stakeholders, and has built up extensive research networks across Southeast Asia. She has edited and produced reports for the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Unicef and the Asean Secretariat.

Senior executive (research) IDEAS

Prior to joining IDEAS, Jazreen had a brief stint in legal (particularly the e-commerce sector) and previously worked at an international chamber of commerce where he performed business research, market intelligence, international trade, and assisted SMEs. His interests include (but are not limited to) international political economy, sustainable developments, and global K-Pop diplomacy.

Deputy undersecretary Policy and Strategic Planning Division Ministry of Defence

Sahipulhijaimanis’ purview includes international defence cooperation, traditional and non-traditional security issues, defence policy and military capability development. He was the lead officer for the formulation of Malaysia’s first Defence White Paper and the civilian adviser for the National Military Strategy review. Prior to the posting at Ministry of Defence, he was at the Ministry of Transport where he was the director of policy and monitoring, Road Safety Department.

Coordinator for the Indo Pacific Strategy Task Force Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea

Lim Sang-woo is the Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Strategy Task Force. He graduated from Georgetown University, Washington DC with a Master of Science in Foreign Service in 2003 and subsequently was posted in the US, Republic of Congo, Brazil and Madagascar. Under the Moon administration, Lim Sang woo has served as the Senior Assistant Secretary to the President for Foreign Policy in the Office of National Security and as Senior Advisor to Foreign Minister in the ROK MOFA. From Oct 2021, Lim Sang Woo helmed the North American Affairs Bureau as Director-General before shifting to play the role of Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Strategy Task Force in 2022.

Senior lecturer Strategic Studies and International Relations Programme Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Dr Hoo’s main research interests include Korean Peninsula issues, international relations theory and relations between Southeast Asia and the two Koreas. She was editor of The New Southern Policy: Catalyst for Deepening Asean-ROK Relations (ISIS Malaysia, 2020) and co-editor of a forthcoming volume on North Korea-Southeast Asia relations.

Board of directors ISIS Malaysia

Sulaiman is chairman of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). He was the former director-general of the Economic Planning Unit and has held posts in the Finance Ministry and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry. He is also a board member of ISIS Malaysia and CEO of the National Recovery Council (MPN).

Kato currently organises the Japan Future Leaders School, a summer school in Fukuoka, focusing on educating the future generation of leaders from not just Japan, but all Asia. She is also chair of AFS Intercultural Programme, an exchange programme for high school students.

Former prime minister of Malaysia

Dr Mahathir’s first term as prime minister ran from 1981 to 2003. During his first tenure, he opened up the country and developed Malaysia into a prosperous and dynamic economy in Southeast Asia. Among his many legacies are the home-grown automotive industry and the Look East Policy. He served as prime minister again from 2018 to 2020.

Associate Professor

Mochinaga is an associate professor at the Department of Systems Engineering and Science at Shibaura Institute of Technology. He focuses on global cybersecurity, technology policy and regulatory issues. As a consultant for the Japanese government, he has contributed to cybersecurity policy development, including technology development, critical infrastructure protection and technical standards.

Senior lecturer Queensland Centre for Population Research University of Queensland

Dr Bernard is a demographer at the University of Queensland. She works on internal migration in partnership with international organisations and government departments on a range of theoretical, methodological, and applied issues. Her contributions to formal demography include developing measurement and estimation techniques that facilitate large-scale international comparisons of migration levels, patterns and selectivity. She is currently chief investigator on two Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects and a Linkage Project in partnership with the University of Melbourne, University of New England, Shanghai University, Australian Bureau of Statistics and Treasury’s Centre for Population. She serves as associate editor of the Journal of Population Research and will co-chair the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Lifetime Migration from 2023 to 2025.

CEO Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)

Prior to his appointment to MDEC, Mahadhir was co-founder and CEO of Futurise, an agency under the Finance Ministry mandated to drive the National Regulatory Sandbox. In 2020, Mahadhir was handpicked to be part of the founding team of the National Economic Implementation and Strategic Coordination Agency (Laksana) under the Finance Ministry. Mahadhir has a proven track record of over 20 years in various industries including financial services, energy, information technology and media, serving established global and local organisations such as Deloitte Consulting, Kodak, Petronas and AmInvestment Bank.

Personal data protection commissioner Communications and multimedia ministry

Mazmalek is actively involved in international organisations, such as the International Telecommunication Union and Asia-Pacific Telecommunity. He was the former director of the Malaysian Emergency Response Services 999 (MERS 999) and worked on the enactment of the Protection of Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA 2010) and rural development of ICT and related matters. He was a negotiator in the Malaysia-Australia FTA, Trans-Pacific Partnership on telecommunications and e-commerce and Malaysia-European Union FTA.

Co-founder Mereka

Ambika is co-founder and chief operating officer of Mereka, an education technology start-up. She joined the Biji-biji Group in 2014. She was the ex-CEO of Biji-biji Ethical Fashion, which won the United Kingdom’s common objective leadership award in 2019. As the head of sustainability, Ambika developed and implemented multiple award-winning campaigns and was an East-West Centre’s 2020 Changing Faces Women, 2018 YSEALI professional fellow and Malaysian Public Service Department scholar.

Faculty of Business and Economics Universiti Malaya

Devadason’s previous positions include Centre for Latin American Studies head and Faculty of Economics and Administration deputy dean (research and development). She received her Ph.D. (Economics) from Universiti Malaya in 2006 and M.Soc.Sci. (Economics) from the National University of Singapore in 1992. Her research focuses on international trade and regional integration and her research work has seen print in international journals such as World Development , The Pacific Review and Journal of Contemporary Asia . She currently serves as an editor in chief to the Institutions and Economies (Universiti Malaya) journal, associate editor to the International Journal of Social Economics (Emerald) and member to the editorial boards of the Journal of Contemporary Asia (Taylor & Francis) and the International Journal of Rural Management (SAGE) .

Senior fellow ISEAS Yusof Ishak

Dr Lee was previously a senior lecturer in development studies at the Universiti Malaya and authored Affirmative Action in Malaysia and South Africa: Preference for Parity (Routledge, 2021) and has written various ISEAS perspective and trends articles on Malaysia’s affirmative action, inequality, education and labour.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department

Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for the economic portfolio. He was appointed in March 2020, and has since been overseeing the nation’s overall medium and long-term socioeconomic development planning.

Born in 1950, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed holds a first-class honours degree in economics from the University of Melbourne as well as a master’s degree in economic development from Boston University. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 1995. He has since held a number of senior positions in the Malaysian government, including Minister of International Trade and Industry, Second Finance Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-industry, Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Entrepreneur Development, Deputy Finance Minister, and Executive Director at the National Economic Action Council.

Head of Policy and Climate Change WWF Malaysia

Head of research Women’s Aid Organisation

Sharifah Shazana Agha is currently Head of Research at Women’s Aid Organisation, a Malaysian non-profit organisation working to improve gender equality and end violence and discrimination against women.

In the last 10 years, she has actively been a part of various research and advocacy initiatives advancing gender equality and children’s rights in Malaysia. In particular, she has contributed towards several projects focused on increasing and retaining the participation of women in the labour force and at decision-making levels.

Currently, she is a co-principal researcher for a research study focused on strengthening paid and unpaid care work policies in Malaysia in the context of endemicity. Shazana graduated from Monash University and holds a Master of Arts from University of Malaya in the area of Gender Studies.

Regional head, group economics & market analysis CIMB

Intan Nadia Jalil is the Regional Head, Group Economics and Market Analysis for CIMB Bank Berhad. Her previous appointments include CEO of PNB Research Institute, associate director of economics at the Malaysian Aviation Commission and deputy director of research at Khazanah Research Institute. Nadia has 17 years’ experience in macroeconomics research, and in developing comprehensive economic development policies, strategies, and plans in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, including a term as Malaysian economist for the World Bank. Nadia holds an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and graduated from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom with a BA in Economics.

Economist World Bank Malaysia

Amanina is an economist in Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank. She works in social protection, skills and jobs, labour markets and migration, focusing on Malaysia. Prior to joining the World Bank, she completed a PhD in Applied Economics at Monash University Malaysia. Amanina was also a visiting researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

CEO Strategic Change Management Office (MyDIGITAL) Economic Planning Unit

Fabian was appointed chief executive officer for the Strategic Change Management Office on 19 April 2021 and mandated to drive change management and ensure the successful delivery of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint. Fabian received his BSc. from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA and his Masters in Public Policy from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo.

Senior director Think City

Izan was the founder and former CEO of Cendana, Malaysia’s Cultural Economy Development Agency dedicated to building a sustainable cultural economy. Under her, Cendana delivered RM37 million in economic impact within two years of its inception. An accountant by training, Izan has dedicated most of her career to the arts, from managing Enfiniti Vision Media to establishing the My Performing Arts Agency (MyPAA). Guided by her unwavering belief that the arts and cultural sector can do more to contribute to the economy with a proper ecosystem, Izan now heads Think City’s partnerships and creative sector division.

Group CEO MyCreative Ventures

Junady has more than two decades of experience covering an array of corporate disciplines, having previously held posts at entities, such as BIMB Holdings Bhd, Rothschild Malaysia, UEM Group, Renong Berhad, Aseambankers Malaysia (now known as Maybank Investment Bank) and PWC. Prior being appointed as the CEO of MyCreative Ventures, he served as senior director of strategic planning at Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju) of the Prime Minister’s Department, where among his key responsibilities was the development of proposals to the Malaysian government for strategic interventions towards developing a long-term road map for Bumiputera economic and socio-economic participation.

Senior fellow Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Eddin is the founder of PUSAKA, which aims to preserve the oral transmission and research the cultural and religious politics and aspects of ritual in traditional theatre. He is the co-author of The Spirit of Wood and Rukunegara: A Brief History. He was the former chairman of a reform committee looking into national and vernacular education. Eddin is a graduate of University of Newcastle Upon Tyne and University of London.

Vice-president TalentCorp

Dean SEGi University & Colleges

Foong has been involved in early child care and education and tertiary education for over 30 years, locally and in the United Kingdom. She is currently the dean of the Faculty of Education, Languages, Psychology & Music at SEGi University & Colleges, is the secretary of the Professional Development Board of Early Childhood Care & Education Council Malaysia and an executive committee member of the National Association for Childcare and Education Malaysia.

Min Hui is an analyst with ISIS Malaysia whose research interests centre around gender equality policy with a particular focus on creating gender-sensitive systems and policies ftoward a more inclusive Malaysia. She is also on the Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Urban Poverty and B40 community, working closely with parliamentarians to analyse issues related to low-cost public housing. Previously, Min was a former external affairs analyst at the World Bank. She holds an MA in Public Policy from King’s College London.

Lecturer Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Yanti has taught human anatomy and histology for 28 years, and had just completed research on climate change impact on early childhood education, sponsored by Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood. She is also a research member in a recently completed a UNICEF-sponsored, Malaysia-centric research grant on climate change and impacts of environmental degradation on children’s health and wellbeing.

Co-founder Klima Action Malaysia

Ili Nadiah is the co-founder and programme director of KAMY, a climate justice and feminist organisation to strengthen the ecosystem of climate justice and climate governance in Malaysia through research and lobbying, and civil society empowerment for a just and peaceful transition.She is also a consultant working in climate policy and risk and business and human rights.

Senior analyst Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Afandi holds an MA in Sustainable Development Management from Sunway University. His interest lies in sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation and natural resources management. He had worked as an environmental consultant where he led several projects on strategic planning, policy preparation, land use planning and technical studies. He also served as a resource person for the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG).

Group head and lead economist, regional surveillance Asean Macroeconomic Research Office

Senior analyst, ISIS Malaysia

Farlina’s work and comments have appeared in the local and international media, such as New Straits Times and South China Morning Post. She was involved in crafting various dialogues and forums on cybersecurity, radicalisation and Malaysia-Korea relations. She was also a part of SEARCCT’s Experts on Violent Extremism and Community Engagement (EVOKE) Council (2018-2019).

Chief strategy & transformation officer Social Security Organisation (Perkeso)

Edmund Cheong Peck Huang is currently the Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer of the Social Security Organization (PERKESO) of Malaysia. Prior to this he was the Deputy CEO of the PERKESO Tun Razak Rehabilitation Centre. He was also instrumental to the implementation of PERKESO’s ICT Core Systems. Edmund is also given the responsibility to be PERKESO’s Project Lead for drafting the National Blueprint for Social Wellbeing alongside with experts from the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Bank Negara (Malaysian Central Bank) and other social security agencies. The National Blueprint for Social Wellbeing is an initiative of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in coordinating and improving social protection for all Malaysians. He is currently a technical committee member of the Malaysian Social Protection Council (MySPC).

Deputy director of research Khazanah Research Institute

Dr Gong’s ongoing research focuses on digital policy, including digital inclusion, the digital economy, and digital governance. She leads the team that produced KRI’s book on digital policy issues, #NetworkedNation: Navigating Challenges, Realising Opportunities of Digital Transformation.

Director Social Wellbeing Research Centre, Universiti Malaya

Professor Norma is the director of the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC) at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, Universiti Malaya. She is also a professor at the Department of Administrative Studies and Politics at the faculty, where she served as dean from 2004-2009. She was also a Ragnar Nurkse visiting professor at Talinn University of Technology, Estonia, in 2015. Her research interests cover public and social policy, governance and social protection.

Senior fellow ISEAS Yusof Ishak

Chief Executive Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

As chief executive of the country’s premier think-tank, Herizal determines the institute’s strategic direction. This includes designing ISIS Malaysia’s research and engagement programmes, building its research and policy development capabilities, and managing relationships with the government, private sector, civil society organisations, diplomatic community and other think-tanks. Herizal also leads the institute’s Track-Two diplomacy through the Asean Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (Asean-ISIS), Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

Chairman Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V., Germany

Dr Lammert was appointed the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung chairman in January 2018. As an active participant of German politics for nearly four decades, he helped to shape important offices. He served as president of the German Bundestag for 12 years. In the governments of Helmut Kohl, he served as parliamentary state secretary in the Ministries of Education and Science, Economic Affairs and Transport. In 2003, Lammert was awarded a lectureship for political science at the Ruhr University Bochum, which appointed him honorary professor in 2008. His numerous publications deal with social, economic and cultural policy issues.

Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the ninth Malaysian prime minister, was appointed to the post on 21 August 2021. Ismail was named as deputy prime minister in July 2021 and had served as opposition leader. He is the Bera MP, which he has represented since 2004. He was the former minister of defence; youth and sports; domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism; and, rural and regional development.

New Zealand Ambassador to Asean

Calman has been part of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry since 2013, where he has held leadership roles in the Pacific and development group, including overseeing global development, scholarships and as a special adviser. He has extensive experience in climate change and development issues. His previous postings included Canberra and as deputy head of mission in Beijing.

Foreign Minister Malaysia

Saifuddin is the Indera Mahkota MP and has served as communications and multimedia minister and deputy higher education minister. Saifuddin is an advocate of new politics, youth empowerment and social entrepreneurship. He actively promotes basketball and debate and is the founder of the Women’s National Basketball League and co-founder of the Malaysian universities’ royal debate. During his first tenure as foreign minister (2018-2020), he authored the Foreign Policy Framework of the New Malaysia, which served as Malaysia’s key foreign policy priorities. He has published eight books, the latest of which is New politics 2.0: multiracial and moderate Malaysian democracy (2017).

Assoc Prof of Political Science Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

Nguyen is associate professor of political science at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) and deputy director-general of the DAV East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. He served as counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (New York) from 2016 to 2019. His research interests include international relations in the Indo-Pacific, security and maritime issues in Southeast Asia, and foreign policy of Vietnam.

Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia

Lee is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently first assistant secretary of the multilateral policy division. He has served as head of mission in Bangladesh, and deputy head of mission in Jakarta and Port Moresby. Lee holds a PhD in development studies and a BA (hons) in jurisprudence from Adelaide University and a graduate diploma in foreign affairs and trade from Monash University.

Chair, Asean-ISIS Network; Vice-President, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

Dr Hoang was the former director-general of the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies and has published dozens of articles in foreign and Vietnamese journals on Vietnam’s foreign policy, politics and security in Southeast Asia, and American and China’s policies towards the East and Southeast Asia. He is the author/co-author of several books on the same subjects. He was also the former ambassador to Indonesia and served as minister counsellor at the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington DC, and non-resident ambassador to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

Dean, Institute of New Structural Economics Peking University, People’s Republic of China

Lin is dean of Institute of New Structural Economics and Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, and professor and honorary dean of National School of Development at Peking University. He was a former senior vice-president and chief economist at the World Bank. He is the author of more than 20 books, including Justin Yifu Lin on China’s economy ; Beating the odds: jump-starting developing countries ; Going beyond aid: development cooperation for structural transformation ; Against the consensus: reflections on the Great Recession ; and Demystifying the Chinese economy .

Institute of Social Science University of Tokyo, Japan

Ito is one of the editors of The Asian Economy: Contemporary Issues and Challenges (Routledge, 2020). His research covers the Chinese industrial development, China’s outward FDI activities and innovation in Asia. Related works to this talk include Japan’s economic pragmatism: cooperating and competing with China , Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Strategic Japan 2021 programme discussion paper, and China’s belt and road initiative and Japan’s response: from non-participation to conditional engagement , East Asia , 36 (2019): 115-128.

College of Asia & the Pacific Australian National University (ANU)

Golley is an economist in the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU. Her inter-disciplinary research focuses on the Chinese economy, including the economic geography of China’s industrial development, the economic impacts of demographic change and more recently, China’s growing geoeconomic capabilities and the impact of its bilateral political relations on patterns of trade. She is currently an executive member of the Australia China Business Council and an advisory board member for the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Director, Environment and Development Division United Nations ESCAP, Thailand

Dr Nam was appointed director, UNESCAP Environment and Development Division, in April. Prior to the current assignment, he served as deputy head, UNESCAP East and North-East Asia office and environmental affairs officer at the UNESCAP headquarters and ENEA office. He was a former lecturer at Hanyang University in Seoul and has served as an expert member of the presidential commission on sustainable development and northeast Asian cooperation initiative of the Republic of Korea. He is a founding member of Green Korea United, a leading environmental civil society group.

Lecturer, Department of Economic Development Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Dr Nyda teaches statistics, quantitative research methods, applied research, geographical information systems and research methodology in Royal University of Phnom Penh. His current research projects include education, environment and disaster risk management, climate change, agroecology, and market research. In the area of climate change, the research is related to drought early warning systems in Cambodia, climate vulnerability assessment, agricultural techniques for drought resilience and the role of social entrepreneurship for drought resilience communities.

Adviser The Australia Institute

Hemming is an adviser in the climate and energy programme at The Australia Institute. She has more than a decade’s experience working in policy, marketing and academic publishing roles for both not-for-profit and government sectors. Her current work focuses on the involvement of the fossil fuel industry in carbon markets and the subsequent social licence and claims these markets afford the industry. A recent area of research is the impact of Australia’s Indo-Pacific carbon offsetting scheme and global carbon markets on the Indo-Pacific region.

Regional Director Southeast Asia, Climate and Energy British High Commission, Singapore

Moody oversees the UK government’s climate change and clean energy strategy in the Asean region, and mobilisation of regional policy, development programming and commercial work to deliver it. This includes directing the UK’s unique network of climate change and policy attachés across Southeast Asia, who carry out policy advisory and engagement to raise ambition across the region. His career included overseeing the £50 million portfolio of prosperity fund programmes of technical assistance in the South Africa region, UK Overseas Territories, and domestic policy on education, justice and police accountability.

Asst Prof, Department of Political Science University of The Philippines Diliman

Dr Tana’s research focuses on Japanese foreign policy, Philippine external relations, human security and peacebuilding. She obtained her PhD at the National University of Singapore in 2019.

Former Ambassador for Disarmament New Zealand

Higgie was a career diplomat and international law specialist with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) until her retirement in 2021. She has served as international trade law adviser (responsible for all WTO litigation) and New Zealand’s first ambassador for counter-terrorism and director of MFAT’s international security and disarmament division. In the 12 years before her retirement, she was New Zealand’s global ambassador for disarmament. During this time, she was president of the Conference on Disarmament in 2015 and served as chair of the missile technology control regime. She remains as an ambassador-at-large for MFAT and chair of the Geneva-based Voluntary Trust Fund for the Arms Trade Treaty.

Senior Fellow Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, People’s Republic of China

Dr Tong is based in Beijing, where he conducts research on strategic security issues, such as nuclear weapons policy, deterrence, arms control, non-proliferation, missile defence, hypersonic weapons, and China’s security and foreign policy. He is an associate editor of the journal Science & Global Security and is a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials. Tong also serves on the board of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) and on the advisory board of the Missile Dialogue Initiative. He is the author of Tides of change: China’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines and strategic stability and Narrowing the US-China gap on missile defence: how to help forestall a nuclear arms race.

Distinguished Fellow Centre for Air Power Studies, India

Dr Manpreet has worked on nuclear energy, strategy, arms control and disarmament. She is author and editor of eight books and more than 120 papers. She lectures regularly at National Defence College and other establishments of Indian armed forces, police, foreign services and universities. She is a regular participant at policy conferences, Track Two initiatives and the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). She sits on the board of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) and is co-chair of Women in Nuclear – India.

Lecturer, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Andhika is a PhD candidate on nuclear engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea. His research interests include nuclear security, nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear energy modelling. His research in nuclear security includes the potential security impact and proliferation resistance of small and modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced nuclear technology. He is also acting as president of the Institute of Nuclear Material Management (INMM) KAIST student chapter and a former summer fellow at Nuclear Non-proliferation Education and Research Centre (NEREC) KAIST.

Programme Lead Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy and Defence Dialogue (AP4D), Australia

Tyler brings decades of experience in Australian foreign policy to her role as programme lead of the newly established AP4D. For 13 years she served as national executive director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA). Under her leadership, the AIIA was recognised for three years running as the top think-tank in Southeast Asia/Pacific. In 2017, she co-authored Think Tank Diplomacy, the first book-length discussion of the role of policy institutes in the international sphere.

Director, Client and Business Development (International) at WMG University of Warwick

Dr Kogila Balakrishnan is the director for client and business development (international) at WMG, University of Warwick. Kogila is a consultant and adviser with cross-sector experience in technology offsets, defence and security industrial strategy and collaboration. She is an adjunct professor at the Malaysian Defence University and a fellow at the Institute for International & Strategic Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.

Chief research scientist, BT

Dr Hercock has more than 20 years’ experience in leading security research projects in the UK and was theme leader for cybersecurity in the UK MOD Information Fusion Defence Technology Centre. His research interests include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and complex adaptive systems. He has written on AI and security concepts and frequently provides expert advice to the government on defence, cybersecurity and AI issues. In 2020, he was appointed fellow at the Oxford Changing Character of Warfare Centre, Pembroke College.

Director Economic Geography Studies Group Institute of Development Economics (IDE-JETRO)

Satoru Kumagai is the director of economic geography studies group in IDE-JETRO and the lead programmer for its geographical simulation model. He researches on issues around international trade and economic development in East Asia, focusing on the Malaysian economy and middle-income trap. He was a former visiting research fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) and works as a specialist to evaluate transport infrastructure development projects for the Asian Development Bank and World Bank.

Senior fellow Regional Strategic and Political Studies Programme ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore

Choong is senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and managing editor of Fulcrum, the institute’s commentary website focused on Southeast Asia and its wider environment. He was Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) from 2013 to 2020. Prior to joining IISS, Choong was a senior writer at The Straits Times, where he focused on defence, diplomacy and US policy in Asia.

Former foreign minister; Senior fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Chulalongkorn University Thailand

Kasit was Thailand’s former foreign minister from 2008 to 2011. A former diplomat with a 37-year career, he is now actively involved with civil society organisations, focusing on the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers as well as religious beliefs in a democratic context.

Former secretary-general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Former chairman & chief executive, ISIS Malaysia

Rastam is former secretary-general of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Malaysia. He has served as high commissioner to Pakistan, ambassador to Bosnia Herzegovina and to the Republic of Indonesia, and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. He has also served as chairman and chief executive of the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.

Executive director RIKEN

Dr Yuko Harayama is executive director for international affairs, promotion of early career researchers and diversity at RIKEN, Japan’s largest research organisation for basic and applied science. Prior to joining RIKEN, she spent five years at the Cabinet Office of Japan as an Executive Member of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI). In this capacity, she represented Japan in different international science and technology meetings, including the G7 Science and Technology Ministers’ meeting. She is a Legion D’Honneur recipient (Chevalier) and was awarded honorary doctorate from the University of Neuchâtel.

Senior research associate Khazanah Research Institute

Dr Rachel Gong is a senior research associate at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). Her ongoing research focuses on digital policy, including digital inclusion, the digital economy, and digital governance. She leads the team that produced KRI’s book on digital policy issues, “#NetworkedNation: Navigating Challenges, Realising Opportunities of Digital Transformation”. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and received her PhD in sociology from Stanford University.

Dr Prashanth Parameswaran Fellow Wilson Center

Dr Prashanth Parameswaran is a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, based in Washington, DC, and a senior columnist at The Diplomat, one of Asia’s leading current affairs magazines. He has conducted grant-based field research on Southeast Asian politics and security issues across 11 countries in Southeast Asia, consulted for companies and governments, and taught courses affiliated with the US Department of Defence and the Department of State.

Elbridge Colby Co-founder and principal The Marathon Initiative

Colby is co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative, a policy initiative focused on developing strategies to prepare the United States for an era of sustained power competition. He is the author of The Strategy of Denial: American Defence in an Age of Great Power Conflict , which The Wall Street Journal selected as one of the top 10 books of 2021. He was the former director of the defence programme at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS) and served as deputy assistant secretary of defence. Colby led the development and rollout of the 2018 National Defence Strategy (NDS), which shifted focus to the challenges to US military superiority and interests posed by China and Russia. He was the Robert M. Gates senior fellow at the CNAS; principal analyst and division lead for global strategic affairs at CNA; and worked on strategic forces, arms control, WMD and intelligence reform matters.

Senior economist, The World Bank

Smita is based in the Malaysia  inclusive growth and sustainable finance  hub where she leads the programme on private sector development, innovation and entrepreneurship. Her expertise is in science, technology and innovation policy, skills development, business environment and competitiveness. She has led regional flagships publications in Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and Pacific and Africa on innovation and entrepreneurship issues and multi-sectoral operations of both development policy and investment policy instruments. Smita has also led policy dialogues on innovation and entrepreneurship in China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Datuk  Fadzli  Abdul  Wahit     Chief strategy officer Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)  

  Fadzli  has more than 30  years’ experience advising government and semi-government clients in Malaysia on policy development, economic and feasibility study, strategy planning and advisory, corporate restructuring and corporatisation  and privatisation  of public utilities industries. He  was a former partner/executive director at KPMG  Malaysia and  has  led  projects related to IT, project management, strategy and  business process and human resources.

Director and Senior Fellow Humanitarian Agenda

Kurtzer is director and senior fellow with the Humanitarian Agenda, an initiative that leverages the expertise of the Center for Strategic & International Studies to explore humanitarian challenges. Previously, he served as head of public and congressional affairs for the Washington Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, representing the ICRC to a broad spectrum of audiences in the United States and Canada.

Commissioner National Human Rights Commission Malaysia (SUHAKAM)

Joseph has been a human rights defender and trainer consultant at both local and international levels. He served as a member of various human rights organisations, including the Commonwealth Foundation, Asian South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education, Asia-Pacific NGO Steering Committee of World Conference against Racism. He is presently a board member and adviser of the Anti-racism and Non-Discrimination Programme of Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat, and was appointed as a Commissioner of SUHAKAM in June 2016 for the term 2016-2019.

Harris’ primary research areas include policy responses to mis- and dis-information; the consequences of mis- and dis-information on democracy and society; and Southeast Asian and Malaysian politics, human rights, and democratisation. His other research areas include China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Asean-Korea relations, and the geopolitics of the Mekong River.

PhD candidate, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University

Aaron served as an international programme officer at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur between June 2019 and June 2021. He has also worked as a social research officer at the Centre for Asean Regionalism Universiti Malaya and Asia-Europe Institute, UM. His research interests are in Korean studies, inter-Korean relations, regionalism in the European Union, Asean and the Pacific Islands, and Malaysian and Japanese politics.

MASK Network member

Wong is former deputy chief executive and board member of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. He is now an independent researcher and consultant on human security and political economic matters, as well as a mental health practitioner in training.

Associate professor, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia

Dr Danial is associate professor at the Department of Political Science, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, IIUM. He is chief editor of Intellectual Discourse Journal of IIUM, and an editorial board member of Jurnal Parlimen Malaysia and Al-Shajarah Journal. He is also principal researcher for the Extremism Analytical Research Unit and project leader of the award-winning flagship project on peacebuilding and civilisational development or 2LEAD4PEACE. The project focuses on creating platform, bridging the gap and capacity building for PCVE (preventing and countering violent extremism) stakeholders. Danial is also Malaysian coordinator for collaborative research between IIUM and the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, University of Maryland.

Senior research fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, Seoul National University

Dr Ko is currently a senior research fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, Seoul National University and adjunct senior lecturer, Sunway University Business School in Malaysia. She is the author of Asean Super App War and Future Growth Market Asean, which are the first Korean books to analyse tech firms and business environment and market trends with many business cases in Asean. She has conducted research on directors’ remuneration, corporate reforms and mutual fund performance in Malaysia and has extended her research work across the whole area of emerging and frontier markets.

Director, External Relations, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs

Dr Zokhri has held some academic positions in international relations (IR) research and teaching, serving as the deputy dean of student affairs at Management and Science University. His area of research focuses on the changing nature of diplomacy and sovereignty of developing nations, especially Malaysia. This led to the establishment of Eirene Research to explore leadership and diplomacy in IR. He co-founded ARUS, an avenue to nurture talents and empowerment for Malaysian youth. He is now the director of external relations at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, Malaysia (IDEAS).

Associate professor, Department of International Relations, Yonsei University Wonju Campus

Dr Kim is an associate professor in the Department of International Relations at Yonsei University Wonju Campus. Before joining Yonsei University, he served as an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations at Changwon National University and as a senior lecturer in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Universiti Malaya. His research areas include Asean and East Asian regionalism. He has authored a number of journal articles and presented papers at domestic and international conferences on regionalism and normative matters in international relations.

Director, Institute of China Studies, Universiti Malaya

Dr Ngeow is director of the Institute of China Studies at Universiti Malaya. He is the editor of Researching China in Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2019) and Southeast Asia and China: Exercises in Mutual Socialisation (World Scientific, 2017, together with Lowell Dittmer). Ngeow has also written more than 40 articles in scholarly journals and book chapters and published short pieces in South China Morning Post, East Asia Forum and Channel News Asia.

Professor and director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health in Malaysia

Dr Jemilah is a medical professional with more than 20 years’ experience managing crises in health, disasters and conflict settings. She is currently professor and director of the newly established Sunway Centre for Planetary Health. She is also the pro-chancellor of Herriot-Watt University Malaysia. She served as special adviser to the prime minister on public health from April 2020-September 2021. She was also a member of the government’s Economic Action Council and sits on the Malaysian Climate Action Council and Consultative Council for Foreign Policy.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Malaysia

Ambassador Lee was a former environment minister (2006-2007). He has held various senior appointments in the field of environment, including secretary-general of the Korean Federation for Environment Movement, head of Korea Institute for Social and Environmental Policy, and president of Korea Environment and Resources Corporation. Prior to the posting as ambassador to Malaysia in 2019, Lee was chairman of the Northeast Asia Peace Economic Association of Korea.

National vice women chief Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)

Sangetha is passionate about levelling the playing field for women and lifting the gender and race barriers in Malaysian politics. She founded Lead Up Malaysia, a social enterprise with the objective of upskilling and motivating B40 women and girls. She is the vice-chief of PKR Wanita.

Area director Social Innovation Area University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid

Salazar brings an extensive professional experience in government and international organisations. She began her career as a lawyer, a director-general of tourism and chief executive of the school of tourism of Spain’s Ministry of Economy. Her career continued as a law professor at Rey Juan Carlos University. In 2013, she moved to New York to serve as senior adviser to UN Women. A year later, she became the director of the Foundation Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid. Salazar has directed numerous development projects on capacity building, gender policies, governance, and economic empowerment of women. At present, Salazar is the general coordinator of the Spanish cooperation in Egypt, focusing on access to justice and the democratic transition of the country.

Salzman is the Donald Bren distinguished professor of environmental law with joint appointments at the UCLA School of Law and at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. In 12 books and more than 100 articles and book chapters, he has addressed topics, such as drinking water, trade and environment conflicts, ownership engineering, and creating markets for ecosystem services. Before entering academia, he worked in Paris in the environment directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and in London, as the European environmental manager for Johnson Wax.

Youth chairman, Malaysian Chinese Association

Wong is a politician serving as the national youth chairman and Federal Territory state liaison committee at MCA. She is the first female MCA Youth chair in its 63-year history. Wong joined MCA in 2001. She started her political career as acting director of the youth bureau of MCA women’s wing from 2008 to 2013 while working as personal assistant to a former deputy minister. When MCA youth’s wing was first opened to females in 2013, Wong was elected as vice-chairman. In the same year, she ran in the Seputeh parliamentary seat in GE13. In November 2018, she made history as the first female MCA Youth chief. Wong sits as a board member and director of the Human Resources Development Corporation.

Director, Sejahtera Centre , International Islamic University Malaysia

Zainal is the director of Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity, International Islamic University Malaysia, while serving as an associate professor at the Department of Political Science, Kuliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science. His area of academic specialisation is international political economy and he has a strong interest in education for sustainable development. He has participated in several international workshops and conferences on the subject as both speaker and discussant. His current research interests are sustainability science, education for sustainable development and public policy analysis.

Primary care physician , Klinik Rakyat PJ

Subatra is a doctor with experience in anaesthesia and intensive care. Her MA in International Development Studies focused on barriers to maternal and child healthcare access in migrant populations. At present, she runs a primary care women’s clinic focusing on sexual and reproductive health in Petaling Jaya. She has worked at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok, where she focused on the 20-year review of the ICPD programme of action. She was the vice-resident of AWAM (2018-2020) and cureently the President of the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia.

Lead economist, The World Bank

Apurva is the lead economist for the Russian Federation, based in Moscow. Apurva led the economic growth cluster of the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department when he was based in Washington. His comment pieces have appeared in Financial Times ; The Economist ; Project Syndicate , and popular blogs, such as the World Bank’s and Brookings. Apurva is also a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Extreme Events and was the team leader for the joint World Bank–UN flagship project on the economics of disasters.

Senior researcher, ISIS Malaysia

Tengku Qistina focuses on women and gender issues. She writes on domestic violence, women’s policies and women’s empowerment and is inspired by her voluntary work in Kelantan, where she develops programmes for her family’s foundation. Her social work has also exposed her to the vast rural-urban divide and women’s role and vulnerability. She has written extensively on the subject in her New Straits Times column since 2016. She is also founder of the Network of Women in Foreign Affairs and Security (WISEA) in Malaysia.

Co-founder and education director , UNDI18

Qyira is the c o- f ounder and e ducation d irector of #Undi18 , a grassroots movement spearheaded by a group of young people who lobbied successfully the g overnment to amend Article 119(1) of the c onstitution to reduce the minimum voting age in Malaysia from 21 to 18. Qyira is a f ellow at the Institut Für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) and a d emocracy d iscourse f ellow at the De La Salle University. She was recently listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work in s ocial i mpact. With #Undi18, she leads the voter education initiatives by creating workshop modules and content to ensure that by GE15, Malaysian youth are prepared to vote. Some of the program me s and initiatives include Parlimen Digital, Seeds for Democracy and Youth Defence Summit

Regional head, Group Economics and Market Analysis, CIMB

Intan is the regional head, Group Economics and Market Analysis, CIMB Bank. She was previously the CEO of PNB Research Institute, associate director of economics at the Malaysian Aviation Commission and deputy director of research at Khazanah Research Institute. Nadia has 17 years’ experience in macroeconomics research and in developing comprehensive economic development policies, strategies, and plans in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

Climate Consultant UNICEF

Senior fellow, ISIS Malaysia

Denison holds a PhD in sociology from Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom and was a Chevening scholar. He is the head of the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG). He is also a member of the Shared Prosperity Action Council, National Unity Advisory Council, National Science Council, EPU poverty circle and SDG national steering council.

Batang Lupar MP ; APPGM-SDG chairman

Rohani is the MP for the Batang Lupar constituency in Sarawak, representing the United Traditional Bumiputera Party (PBB). In 2013, she served as women, family and community development minister, and has also served as deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister and deputy domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister. As MP, she is known for her friendly personality in the Batang Lupar area. She was elected chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG) in August 2020 and is a member of the Special Independent Committee on Emergency 2021.

Broadcast journalist, Astro Awani

Saraya writes and reads news for Astro Awani’s Awani Tonight. She covers current affairs and is passionate about the environment and wildlife, women, children, youth empowerment and education. Saraya reaches the youth through educational and entertainment content created on TikTok and Instagram, as she is a believer in youth power to push for change.

Petaling Jaya MP ; APPGM-SDG vice-chairman

Maria has worked for women’s rights for more than 30 years and played a key role in lobbying for the Domestic Violence Act 1994 and laws related to violence against women. As the former e xecutive d irector of Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower) , she worked with marginalised communities , such as low-income women and indigenous communities. A strong advocate for electoral and institutional reform s , she led the Bersih 4 and Bersih 5 rallies for free and fair elections. Just before Bersih 5 in 2016 , th e former Bersih 2.0 chair man was detained without trial under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 for 11 days in solitary confinement. In 2018, Maria won the Petaling Jaya seat. As an MP, she continues to advocate for a life of dignity for all Malaysians.

Chief digital business officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation

Aiza brings more than 20 years’ experience and expertise to strengthen MDEC’s resolve to lead Malaysia’s digital economy forward. She oversees and steers the digital adoption ecosystem in e-commerce, business digital adoption, data ecosystem development and digital infrastructure. Aiza also leads external innovation opportunities to expand commercial strategies and build corporate business and innovations for MDEC.

Senior economist, Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia

Chen holds a PhD in international economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. His research interests include international trade and development, digital economy and Asian regionalism. He advises governments, international organisations, and the private sector on development issues related to digitalisation and regional integration.

Dr Juita Mohamad Indo Pacific Fellow Perth USAsia Centre

Principal assistant director Cyber Integration Legal Division, National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA)

Azleyna’s division is responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans to enhance Malaysia’s cyber laws to address current and emerging threats, and to enhance the capacity and capability of cybercrime enforcement.  Azleyna  was a former deputy director at the Network Security Management Department , Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) . She  is currently chairman of the Malaysia Working Group on Information Security Management Systems WG/G/5-1, organised as a mirror committee to the i nternational ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27 WG1 committee. 

National Cyber Security Principal Telstra Australia

Stockwell leads Telstra’s national cyber security team, covering cyber policy, strategic intelligence, critical infrastructure regulation, agency engagement and nationally significant cyber initiatives. Before joining Telstra, she was director of cybercrime intelligence in the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Leveraging on her deep understanding of cyber attacker motivations and capabilities, she helps senior executives apply a national security lens to their risk programmes and advises the government on maximising industry capabilities to keep the nation cyber safe. She is a board director of the Australian Women in Security Network and a member of RMIT’s industry advisory board on cyber.

Fellow International Cyber Policy Centre Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Rajiv has worked in the cyber, intelligence and security business for more than 20 years, over which time he has seen the internet evolve from an academic curiosity to today’s hyperconnected world. He now leads his own consulting business, MDR S ecurity, providing advisory services to government and businesses to grow capacity and capability through building partnerships. Rajiv’s experience span s a broad range of business and technical domains, with roles in business analysis, technical architecture, program me delivery, operational management, strategy, business transformation, client relationship management and more. He is based in Canberra, Australia.

Freelance journalist; Consultant, Tech Research Asia; Owner, InSight Editorial Services

Yapp first cut his teeth as a cellular radio frequency optimi s ation engineer in one of Malaysia ’ s largest telcos 25 years ago. After more than five years, he became a tech report er at The Star I n.Tech , where he won several awards for b est o nline t echnology reporting. Yapp left to start his own editorial consultancy 15 years ago and five years ago , became a freelance executive consultant at Tech Research Asia, based in Australia .  He is also a freelance journalist for international publications , such as IDG, Computer Weekly, Forbes Asia and Digital News Asia.

Cyber affairs and Critical technologies Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Australia

Feakin is Australia’s inaugural a mbassador for cyber affairs and critical technology . He commenced as ambassador for cyber affairs in January 2017, before having the mandate expanded to reflect the central role that technology issues have in geopolitics. He leads Australia’s international engagement to advance and protect national security, foreign policy, economic and trade, and development interests in cyberspace and critical technology. Feakin was a member of the independent panel of experts that produce d the 2016 c yber s ecurity s trategy. Following that, he led the creation of the i nternational c yber e ngagement s trategy.

Independent broadcast journalist and gender activist

Tehmina has more than eight years of live breaking news and current affairs programming experience. Most recently, she has anchored Money Matters, TV3 Malaysia’s flagship financial talk show. She was with Bernama from 2014-2020, anchoring and producing special projects and annual highlights like the national budget and election coverage. She also anchored and produced Tea with Tehmina , Bernama Today and The Nation, focusing on topics of national and regional current affairs. Tehmina is a Thomson Reuters Foundation fellow and TedX Malaysia alumni. She is a versatile and experienced moderator of high-level debates and conferences on a wide range of subjects ranging from business to economy, technology, politics, women’s rights, sustainable development and media freedom.

CEO, Social & Economic Research Initiative

Helmy is a consultant respiratory physician who heads the Lung Centre at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Previously, as an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, he co-founded Asthma Malaysia and is actively involved in national tobacco control policy work. One of 20 recipients worldwide of the Young Physician Leader award in 2015, Helmy is also the CEO of the Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI), a think-tank that looks into the rising inequality from the intersection of technology and society.

Chief executive, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy

Azrul worked as a health development programme specialist for more than 19 years on issues related to social welfare, public health, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, gender-based violence and humanitarian assistance. He has served at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS); International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Unicef and Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC). He is a writer and was a columnist at the Malay Mail and China Press . Azrul is currently a board member of the Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) based in Malaysia.

Visiting fellow, ISIS Malaysia

Khor is a physician with international experience in the public, private, non-profit and think-tank sectors. Currently, he specialises in health systems and policies and global health, holding fellowships at Chatham House, the United Nations University (UNU-IIGH) and ISIS Malaysia. Previously, he held senior practitioner roles in clinical medicine, refugee and disaster relief, clinical research, and pharma anti-corruption. He holds postgraduate degrees in internal medicine, public health and public policy.

Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya

Adeeba is the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and an adjunct associate professor at Yale University, US. Her research effort focuses on the intersection of HIV and substance use for which she has played several leading national, regional and international roles. She is a member of the World Health Organisation panel on health science and technology policy, president-elect of the International AIDS Society and a member of the UNAIDS panel on HIV. She played a key role in the establishment and remains actively involved in a regional HIV research network initiative – TREAT Asia. She was the recipient of the Tun Mahathir Science and Merdeka awards and the first recipient of the Australian Advance Global Award in the category of alumni in 2012.

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff is principal fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA). He is currently on secondment as deputy director general of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) at the prime minister’s department.

He has served as director general of the National Integrity and Good Governance Department (JITN), and president and chief executive officer of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (INTEGRITI).

Before joining KITA, Datuk Dr Anis had also spent more than ten years at the UNDP as well as at the United Nations Volunteers headquarters in Bonn, Germany from 1994-2005. He was a member of the election reform committee, and the investigation committee on governance, procurement and financial procedures.

Nguyen is vice-president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) and director-general of the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. Prior to his current designation, Nguyen was deputy director-general of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the DAV. His research focused on major powers relations, regional security governance, maritime security and Vietnam’s foreign policy.

Nguyen also served as minister counsellor of the Vietnam Embassy in Ottawa, Canada (2015-2018) and second secretary of the Vietnam Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden (2004-2006) .

He also served at the Asean department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which period he extensively participated in regional summits, and had hands-on experience on many regional processes and issues involving Asean.

Channer is the senior policy fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Based in Canberra, she produces analysis on foreign and defence policy in the Indo-Pacific, engages with key Australian government agencies, and builds and sustains the centre’s domestic and international network. 

She is a 2021-22 Fulbright scholar and visiting fellow with the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. She has led a diverse career across politics, government, think-tanks and the not-for-profit sector.

IT Specialist DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Mourtos is an IT specialist (INFOSEC) with the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Previously, he was with the National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Services (NCATS) team. He now serves as an adviser to the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA.

Visiting Fellow Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia; Associate Fellow, Chatham House The United Kingdom

Khor Swee Kheng is a Malaysian physician with international experience in the public, private, non-profit and think-tank sectors. Currently, he specialises in health systems and policies and global health, holding fellowships at Chatham House, the United Nations University (UNU-IIGH) and ISIS Malaysia. Previously, he held progressively senior practitioner roles in clinical medicine, refugee and disaster relief, clinical research, and pharma anti-corruption. In these roles, he was based in Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai and Paris, covering more than 90 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He holds postgraduate degrees in internal medicine (Royal College of Physicians), public health (Berkeley) and public policy (Oxford), and is published in international media, think-tanks and academic journals.

Director-General World Health Organisation (WHO) Geneva

Tedros was elected director-general of the World Health Organisation in May 2017. He was the first director-general elected from among multiple candidates by the World Health Assembly and was the first person from the African region to head the world’s leading public health agency. Tedros has held many leadership positions in global health, including as chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Board.

Vice Chair Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) China People’s Republic of China

Born in December 1952, Qian Lihua joined the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in February 1969. He has served in various roles, including soldier, cadet, interpreter, staff officer, deputy director-general, director-general of bureau, deputy chief and chief of the Foreign Affairs Office. He was promoted to major general in 2004. Having graduated from the Beijing Foreign Studies University, Defence Language Institute (UK), University of Birmingham (UK), and PLA National Defence University, he is currently vice-chair of the Chinese CSCAP national committee and vice-president of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

Associate Research Fellow China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) People’s Republic of China

Xu Longdi has been with the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) since 2009. He is an associate research fellow who specialises in international relations theory, international security, and EU politics and foreign policy. He received his PhD in international relations from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2009, MA in international relations from East China Normal University in 2006, and BA from Nanjing International Studies University in 1999.

European Union Ambassador to ASEAN Jakarta

Driesmans has served as the EU ambassador to Asean since 2019. He was previously a member of the cabinet of Federica Mogherini, high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy/vice‐president of the European Commission. His responsibilities included Asia-Pacific, cultural diplomacy, transport and fisheries. He previously served as principal assistant to the COO of the European External Action Service (2014), desk officer for Asean (2013‐2014), and deputy head of the political, economic, trade and information section of the EU Delegation to South Africa (2009‐2013). Driesmans has been an official of the EU since 2003.

Head of Delegation in Myanmar International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Before his appointment as ICRC resident representative in Myanmar in August 2018, Sakalian was based at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva. Between September 2015 and June 2018, he held the position of operations coordinator for the Americas, with a special focus on activities in the United States, Mexico, Central America, Haiti and Cuba and later, regional director for the Americas in charge of operations and humanitarian diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere. Prior to Geneva, he headed the ICRC project on armed violence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, headed the sub-delegation in Nyala, Sudan and acted as adviser for multilateral affairs in Asia-Pacific based in Malaysia.

Professor, Department of Political Science University of the Philippines-Diliman; Fellow, Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation (APPFI) The Philippines

Kraft is a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City. He has been working on issues that involve Asean, regional security in Southeast Asia, security sector reform, and intra-state conflict in the Philippines. His latest publications include Great Power Dynamics and the Waning of Asean Centrality in Regional Security (2017); Philippine Foreign Policy in a Changed Strategic Environment: The Duterte Administration and China (2018); Asean and the Protection of Migrant Rights (2019); and Korea’s New Southern Policy, Asean, and the Philippines: Middle Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia (2020).

Group Chief Risk & Compliance Officer Axiata Group Berhad Malaysia

Abid Adam is the Axiata Group chief risk & compliance officer (GCRCO), responsible for providing strategic direction, implementation, oversight and guidance for cybersecurity, data privacy, enterprise risk management, and compliance/ethics across Southeast Asia. Before joining Axiata, Adam led cybersecurity function and implemented transformational programmes for a large multi-national financial services organisation spanning across Africa, Asia and Latin. Adam also serves at the World Economic Forum Digital Asean initiative and is a member of leading global institutions, such as ISC2 and ISACA, and sits on customer advisory boards and community forums of leading organisations.

Editor-at-Large, Nikkei Asian Review; Senior Fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand Thailand

Gwen Robinson is a senior fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, specialising in regional security and economic issues with a focus on Myanmar. She is also editor-at-large at Nikkei Asian Review, a journal of Asian affairs. She was previously a correspondent and editor with Financial Times in Europe, America and Asia (1995-2013), covering Southeast Asia in 2011-14.

Professor of International Relations; Head of Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore

Mely Caballero-Anthony is professor of international relations and president’s chair for international relations and security studies. She is also head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. She teaches courses on non-traditional security in Asia and security governance and has served as the secretary-general of the Consortium on Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia since 2008. Her research interests include regionalism and multilateralism in Asia-Pacific, global governance, human security and non-traditional security, nuclear security and conflict prevention. Her latest books include Negotiating Governance on Non-Traditional Security in Southeast Asia and Beyond, An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies and Asia on the Move: Regional Migration and the Role of Civil Society.

Co-Founder Global Awareness & Impact Alliance (GAIA) Brunei Darussalam

Asyura Salleh is the co-founder of the Global Awareness & Impact Alliance (GAIA). She is also a non-resident Vasey research fellow for the Pacific Forum, and the special adviser on maritime security for the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Affairs (YCAPS). Her policy experience lies in her work for the UNODC global maritime crime programme, Stable Seas and Brunei Prime Minister’s Office. Asyura’s research interest lies in maritime security in the Asia-Pacific, with a focus on transnational maritime crime and maritime governance. She holds a master’s in war studies from King’s College London and earned a doctorate in international relations from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

Public Policy Manager Google Singapore

Bauer is Google’s head of public policy for Malaysia and South Asia (excluding India). He leads Google’s work with policymakers, government officials and key political stakeholders in those countries. Before starting his current role in October 2017, Bauer spent three years working in Google’s Washington, DC office. He also previously worked on president Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and as a paralegal at a law firm representing political candidates and parties.

Deputy Director of Research Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) Malaysia

Sarena is a deputy director of research at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). She has a PhD in plant sciences from the University of Oxford. Her PhD used genetic technologies to understand disease control affecting the globally important crop: rice. Due to her interests in agriculture and food security, Sarena is currently conducting policy research at KRI related to food security and agriculture.

Graduate School of Law and Politics Kobe University Japan

Tosh Minohara is professor of international relations and security studies at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Kobe University. He is the founder and chairman of the non-profit organisation, Research Institute of Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA). He currently serves as a senior adviser to the international media consulting firm KREAB. His core academic interests deal with the diplomatic, political and security dimension of US-Japan relations. Minohara is the author and editor of multiple monographs, volumes and articles, including op-eds with the official LDP newspaper, Jiyuminshu, as well as Sankei Shimbun. He is the recipient of the Shimizu Hiroshi Prize (2002) and the Japan Research Award (2019).

Assistant Director Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Branch Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia

Working for the ambassador for cyber affairs, Whitworth focuses on multilateral cyber policy, particularly Australia’s engagement in UN processes on international law and norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. She served as Australia’s lead negotiator for a protocol to the Budapest convention on cybercrime to provide transborder access to data, and as the cybercrime expert to the UN. Her previous experience at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and Department of Home Affairs focused on cybercrime law reform, telecommunications security policy and combatting online child exploitation. Whitworth holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Technology Sydney and a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.

Senior Lecturer Centre for Defence and Security Studies Massey University New Zealand

Anna Powles is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. She specialises in geopolitical and security issues in the Pacific region and her current research examines New Zealand foreign and security policy in the Pacific; the Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific; non-state security actors and security cooperation in the Pacific; and foreign interference in the Pacific. Powles is an associate scholar with the MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, and has previously held visiting fellowships with the East-West Centre in Honolulu.

Director General International Vaccine Institute Republic of Korea

Jerome Kim, MD, is an international expert on the evaluation and development of vaccines and is the director-general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver safe, effective and affordable vaccines for global health. IVI’s oral cholera vaccine is used around the world to prevent this deadly diarrhoeal disease. Its typhoid conjugate vaccine, tech-transferred to SK bioscience and PT Bio Farma, is completing phase III testing. Dr Kim is also an adjunct professor, Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University and at the Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University. He has authored more than 300 publications.

Dr. Sriprapha Petcharamesree is senior lecturer of the Ph.D. Program in Human Rights and Peace Studies (International) of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University in Thailand. In October of 2009, she was appointed by the national government to act as the Thai Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, a role she served in until December of 2012.

In addition to her academic duties, she is currently Co-Chair of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism advocating for effective regional human rights systems in the ASEAN region.

She holds a degree in Political Science from Thammasat University as well as a D.E.A. in Comparative Politics and a Ph.D. in International Politics with distinction from the University of Paris-X.

Ms. Ivy Kwek  is the Research Director for Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), a progressive, not-for-profit think-tank in Malaysia; and con currently a Visiting Scholar at the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, National ChengChi University of Taiwan . Prior to this, she was the Special Functions Officer to the Deputy Minister of Defence of Malaysia (2018-2020), during which she was involved in the drafting of the first Malaysian Defence White Paper. She also has experience working in various policy advisory and governmental affairs roles for international organizations and in diplomatic circle, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ), and in the British High Commission in Kuala Lump ur .

Ivy holds a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London and was an alumna of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program by the US Department of State. She is also a co-founder of Projek Pertiwi, a blog dedicated to raising awareness on defence and security issues among Malaysian youth, and have frequently commented and published on current affairs on various international and local media outlets.

Dr Satu Limaye is Vice-President of the East West Center (EWC), serving concurrently as Director EWC in Washington and theAsia Matters for America initiative. He is Founding Editor of theAsia Pacific Bulletin. He is also Senior Advisor, Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) and Senior Fellow on Asia History and Policy at the Foreign Policy Institute at Paul H.Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS).

He is a graduate of Georgetown University and received his doctorate from Oxford University (Magdalen College) as a George C. Marshall Scholar. He publishes and speaks widely on Asia-Pacific regional issues and supports various US government, foundation, fellowship and professional organizations. Among his current affiliations are the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) Advisory Council and The Asia Foundation Task Force on US-Southeast Asia Relations.

Ms Kendra Rinas has served as chief of mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kuala Lumpur from May 2018. She has over 15 years of experience working with refugees and migrants, managing migration initiatives including labour migration, refugee resettlement, health assessments, counter trafficking and anti-smuggling, and partnering with governments and NGOs on promoting well-managed migration.

Rinas previously served as head of IOM’s sub-office in Damak and head of refugee resettlement for South Asia, also based in Nepal.

Prior to joining IOM, she was operations coordinator with the Resettlement Support Center Africa, based in Kenya; country coordinator in N’djamena, Chad; and processing supervisor in Accra, Ghana. Rinas obtained her MS in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University School of Business, and BA in Political Science and Religion from Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, Minnesota.

Datin Sunita is a professional independent director and strong advocate of the importance of governance in general and risk management in particular. She founded Climate Governance Malaysia, which is the country chapter of World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative. She is fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, promotes gender diversity on boards with the 30% Club, member of the Global Advisory Board of Nottingham University’s School of Business as well as the Advisory Panel of the UN Global Compact Network Malaysia’s Sustainability Centre of Excellence, and workstream lead for government policy for the CEO Action Network, an industry-led initiative to increase sustainability and climate resilience.

Meena is legal adviser and senior researcher at Third World Network (TWN) and president of Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM). She served as chair of Friends of the Earth International from 2004 to 2008. At TWN, Meena coordinates the climate change programme and has been actively involved in intergovernmental climate negotiations from Bali to Cancún. She has been monitoring and reporting on these negotiations as well as providing analysis and support to developing country governments and civil society participants. In the past 25 years, she has presented papers in numerous conferences on such issues as environmental and consumer protection, climate change, agriculture and fisheries, and globalisation and trade.

Lavanya joined WWF-Malaysia in 2013. She represents the organisation at various national and international levels of engagement on climate change, biodiversity and SDGs, and was part of the WWF network leadership team on climate and energy. She is also part of the CSO-SDG Alliance secretariat that supports the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) on SDGs. Previously, she coordinated the preparation of Malaysia’s Second National Communication to the UNFCCC, worked at the UN in Geneva on post-conflict issues, and practiced law in Malaysia. Lavanya is passionate about ensuring that nature’s contributions are properly recognised and valued by society and integrated into development and economic agendas

Jim Loi is a partner and the chief operating officer at The Asia Group, an advisory firm that supports Fortune 500 corporations with market entry and expansion strategies and complex conflict resolution initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. Previously, Loi served in a range of economic, political, and security-related policy positions at the U.S. Department of State, including as the deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the director for East Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, and the director for China and Japan with the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Dr Menon works on trade and investment issues and economic development in the Asian region. His last post was at Asian Development Bank (ADB) as Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist. He was also at the ADB Institute in Tokyo from 2005 to 2008. He started work as an academic in Australia, spending almost a decade at the Centre of Policy Studies at Monash University at its original campus in Clayton, Melbourne. He has also worked at the University of Melbourne, Victoria University, and American University in Washington, DC. He holds adjunct appointments with the Australian National University, University of Nottingham, UK, and IDEAS, Malaysia. He has authored/edited 15 books, 40 chapters in books and 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Ms Melody Chen is Assistant Research Fellow at the Department of International Affairs, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. Her research areas include health policy, trade and health, and issues impacting health in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). She is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute of Health Policy and Management, National Taiwan University and holds a Master’s degree from the Department of Public Health, Taipei Medical University. Her most recent project is with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to enhance public participation in APEC health-related programmes. She has also written extensively on the pandemic and health cooperation.

Dr Wen-Chen Shih is Professor of Law at the Department of International Business, National Cheng-chi University. Her areas of specialty include international economic and trade law, and international environmental law. Aside from teaching, she also serves as a legal consultant on international trade law and international environmental law issues for Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, and Environmental Protection Administration.

Mr. Terence Too Yang-Yau graduated with Master of Science in International Relations from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts Majoring in Economics from St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. He has served with UNICEF as Research Officer and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, both supporting the country office’s programme planning and monitoring processes based on results-based management and human rights based approach principles, as well as directly implementing various programmes in the areas of data and statistical capacity building, and in disaster risk reduction and resilience activities. Prior to this, he has served in WorldFish Centre as a researcher and coordinating editor of Naga, the WorldFish Quarterly, a peer reviewed journal; and at the Socio-economic and Environmental Research Institute, undertaking research on a range of economic and governance issues for the Penang State Government. His research interests include social welfare policies and programmes, labour migration, development policy, and disaster risk reduction and community resilience.

Barney has a legal background and practiced commercial law for six years before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2001. During his time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade he has worked on a wide range of issues, from trade negotiations to climate change and international law. Previous appointments include postings to the New Zealand embassies in Tehran and Geneva, and Ambassador to Egypt in 2014-2018 (where he was also non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, and New Zealand Representative to Palestine).

Barney is currently a Lead Negotiator in the MFAT’s Trade and Economic Group, responsible for New Zealand’s trade negotiations with China, as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). His previous role in Wellington was the Manager of the Trade Law Unit in the Ministry’s Legal Division. The Trade Law Unit provides legal support in trade negotiations, advice about the consistency of New Zealand policy with our international trade law obligations, and leads New Zealand efforts to resolve trade disputes through international dispute settlement processes.

Barney attended the University of Otago in New Zealand where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws with Honours, and completed his Professional Legal Studies in Wellington where he was admitted to the Bar in 1995.

Dr Narongchai, a Thai economist / technocrat, is known for his continuous involvement in the economic development of Thailand in many capacities, and in ASEAN and APEC affairs. He had previously served in the Thai government, including as Advisor to several Thai prime ministers, Minister of Energy, Minister of Commerce, as well as Senator and a member of the National Legislative Assembly. He has worked on ASEAN and APEC affairs all along, being an initiator of AFTA and the APEC Leaders Meeting. He has also served as Chairman of the Thailand Committee for PECC. Dr Narongchai is on the board of several publicly listed companies in Thailand, and was also Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand. Having graduated with a PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, Dr Narongchai has a keen interest in education and research. He is the founding member of Thailand Development Research Institute and is Chairman of the Khon Kaen University Council.

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali is Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI). In his previous portfolio as Minister of Economic Affairs (May 2018-February 2020), Azmin was instrumental in introducing the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. He oversaw a broad spectrum of agencies including those directly involved in infrastructure, wealth creation and redistribution, private equity ownership and the short as well as mid-term economic planning and implementation of the country’s socio-economic development. During his tenure as Chief Minister of Selangor (2014-2018), he was instrumental in placing Selangor more prominently on the regional map after having maintained the state as the biggest contributor to the national GDP. Azmin is a member of the Economic Action Council (EAC) and is also on the Board of Directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Education and Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Shanti Jagannathan is Principal Education Specialist in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB). She works on ADB education sector policies and strategies, and provides technical advice to ADB’s lending and non-lending education operations in the Asia and Pacific region. Shanti has over 25 years of experience with education sector transformation initiatives and reforms in school education, technical and vocational education, and training and higher education in Asia. She has led policy research studies on skills for greening economies, Asia’s knowledge-based economies, innovation and implications of industry 4.0 on education and training, among others. Shanti has contributed to international cooperation in education at policy and operational levels, and has been on advisory bodies, steering committees and working groups on education development, gender equality, elimination of child labour, democracy and human rights, and scholarships for underprivileged students.

Mohammad Manzur Rahman is the founding director for Marketing and Innovation at Aspirasi, a fintech specialising in micro-financing and micro-insurance, a subsidiary of the regional leader Axiata Group. Manzur has spent over a decade in the mobile telecom industry as well as in the government sector, leading design, implementation and deployment of digital financial services, brands and solutions across various countries in Asia. He is also a business graduate from NSU and has attended executive education programmes at London Business School, INSEAD and IMD. Manzur is currently based in Washington, DC.

Sharifah Najwa Syed Abu Bakar is Chief Officer of Knowledge Management and Strategy Division, SME Corporation Malaysia, a central coordination agency for SME development under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC). Her current role includes working closely with local and international stakeholders in analysing and formulating SME development policies, as well as coordinating SME development across government ministries, agencies, the private sector and various regional and international platforms, such as ASEAN, APEC, UN, OECD, and OIC, among others. She has extensive experience in various international trade negotiations. She is Lead Negotiator for Malaysia for Economic and Technical Cooperation as well as the SME Working Committee for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). She is also involved in designing various developmental programmes to facilitate internationalisation of SMEs in Malaysia and the region. She has been working in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in carrying out the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP).

Dr Naoko Iwasaki is Professor at the Institute of e-Government in Waseda University, President of International Academy of CIO (IAC), and Deputy Director of APEC e-Government Research Center. Dr Iwasaki’s research areas are CIO, D-Government, ageing society and ICT, and smart digital city. She received her Master of International Relations and PhD of Global ICT from Waseda University. She has been project overseer of APEC project on “Smart Silver Innovation” since 2019, committee member of JANPEC since 2015, committee member on “Government Innovation” of MIC in 2015, and project director on “Silver Business Innovation” of METI in 2015. She served as Deputy Chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) on SDGs in 2018 and 2020. She was co-editor of A Decade of World e-Government Rankings (IOS Press, 2015), and received the “Jantima Memorial Award for Women CIO and ICT Leadership” in 2017.

Dr Peter Cowhey holds the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy, and is Dean of the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. An expert on the future of communications and information technology markets and policy, he specialises in US trade policy, foreign policy, the Internet and international corporate strategy. His two recent books are Digital DNA: Disruption and the Challenges for Global Governance and Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets: The Political Economy of Innovation . In the last year, Cowhey served as Chair of a bipartisan group of experts on technology, foreign policy and US-China relations. Previously, Cowhey was Chief of the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the Clinton administration. In 2009, he had a 12-month assignment as Senior Counselor to Ambassador Ron Kirk in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Cowhey is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr Jayant Menon is Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, following his early retirement from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he was Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist. He started work at Monash University on its original campus in Clayton, Melbourne. He has also worked at the University of Melbourne, Victoria University, ADB Institute in Tokyo and American University in Washington, DC. He holds adjunct appointments with the Australian National University, University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) and Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Malaysia. He has served on the Advisory Boards of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and University of Nottingham, Malaysia. He has authored/edited 15 books, 40 chapters in books and 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Andrew Kam graduated with a first class degree in Economics from National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 2002. He received the prestigious Chevening scholarship in 2006 to pursue his MSc in Economics at University of Warwick. In 2008, he was awarded the Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship to pursue his PhD in Asian Studies at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in University of California, Santa Barbara (2015/2016). He is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), and Associate Professor of Economics at UKM. He has served as a consultant to many national and international organisations – Malaysian Productivity Corporation, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, UNCTAD and UNESCO. He is currently working with the National Economic Recovery Council and helped drafted the COVID-19 National Economic Recovery Plan on Trade and Investment.

Muhundhan Kamarapullai (or Muhu) has over 20 years of experience in the domains of digital transformation, entrepreneurship, education, healthcare and organisational capability development. At Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), he is Director of the Business Digital Adoption Division. He leads a team that looks into policies and initiatives to support traditional businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises’ (brick and mortar) move towards digitalisation.

Lu Guangtong is a researcher and engineer of Digital Economy Lab, Department of Information Policy, China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. He mainly engages in research on the Internet platform, digital service tax and international cooperation in the field of digital economy. He is the lead researcher of the digital service tax research project conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, and one of the key authors of the “Blue Book of Industry and Informatization: Annual Report on the Development of Digital Economy” (2018-2019 and 2019-2020). Lu also serves as Secretariat of the Chinese delegation to the G20 Digital Economy Task Force in 2020.

Elina Noor is Director of Political-Security Affairs and Deputy Director of Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington, DC. A native of Malaysia, Elina’s work focuses on security developments in Southeast Asia, global governance and technology, and preventing/countering violent extremism. Previously, Elina was Associate Professor at the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Prior to that, she was Director of Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. Between 2017 and 2019, Elina was a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. She was educated at Oxford University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Georgetown University.

Dr Kim Heungchong had served the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) for 19 years before he led the institute as President since June 2020. He has been deeply involved in the policymaking process of the Korean government in the fields of economic, trade and diplomatic policies. He was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in University of California, Berkeley, and has held visiting positions at Ifri (Paris), VUB (Brussels) and Marmara University (Istanbul). He is the President-elect of the European Studies Association of Korea for 2021. Dr Kim’s expertise includes trade policy, European studies and regional integration. He has published more than 70 papers and books, and has actively contributed to various newspapers and TV programmes in Korea and abroad. Before joining KIEP, Dr Kim was an Honorary Member of the High Table in Christ Church, Oxford. Dr Kim read economics at Seoul National University and University of Oxford.

Ambassador Su Ge was appointed as the PECC Co-Chair on 27 June 2018. Ambassador Su Ge is a senior diplomat and scholar. He has been President of China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Ambassador Su received his MA and PhD from Brigham Young University and was a Post-doctorate at Harvard University. He was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at Georgetown, John Hopkins and Washington Universities. Before joining CIIS in 2000, Ambassador Su was a professor at Foreign Affairs College and a doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University. Since 2003, he has served consecutively as Minister Counselor in Chinese Embassy in the USA, Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname and Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland.

Eugene Wong is CEO of Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA) Limited. He was recently Managing Director, Corporate Finance & Investments of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). His portfolio covered initial public offerings (IPOs), corporate bond and sukuk issuances, collective investment schemes and take-overs. He oversaw the SC’s ASEAN-related initiatives and was Chair of the Deputies of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG). In addition, he was Co-Chair of the ASEAN Working Committee on Capital Market Development (WC-CMD). Eugene was responsible for accounting related matters at the SC and was a Board Member of the Audit Oversight Board. He served as Advisor to the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board, and was previously a Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and Chairman of its Ethics Standards Board.

Datin Sunita Rajakumar is a professional independent director and strong advocate of the importance of governance in general and risk management in particular. She founded Climate Governance Malaysia, which is the country chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative. She is Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, promotes gender diversity on boards with the 30% Club, a member of the Global Advisory Board of Nottingham University’s School of Business as well as the Advisory Panel of the UN Global Compact Malaysia’s Sustainability Center of Excellence, and a workstream lead for the CEO Action Network, an industry-led initiative to increase sustainability and climate resilience. Besides, she is Chair of Caring Pharmacy and independent director of Bursa-listed Dutch Lady Milk Industries, MCIS Insurance (a member of the Sanlam group) and Zurich General Insurance, as well as trustee of five charitable foundations.

Dr Richard Cantor is Chair of the United States Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (USPECC). Cantor serves as Chief Credit Officer for Moody’s Corporation and Moody’s Investors Service, a position he has held since 2008. From 2009-2019, he also served as Moody’s Corporation’s Chief Risk Officer. Appointed by the US State Department in 2015, Cantor served a three-year term in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), during which he chaired ABAC’s Financial and Economic Working Group. Prior to joining Moody’s, Cantor held a variety of positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and was an adjunct professor at New York University’s and Columbia University’s business schools. He has also taught Economics at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and The Ohio State University. Cantor obtained his BA in English and Economics from Tufts University, and PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr Kiki Verico is Deputy Director of the Institute for Economic and Social Research – Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI). He is a tenure track lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Department of Economics, FEB UI. Since 2020, he has served as an industry and international trade advisor to the Finance Minister of the Republic of Indonesia. Kiki obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics (Monetary) from University of Indonesia in 2000, International Masters in Regional Integration (IMRI) from University of Malaya and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (double degree) in 2005, and Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies (Regional Economic Integration) from Waseda University in 2013. He is the single author of a book entitled The Future of the ASEAN Economic Integration (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).

Dr Vo Tri Thanh is currently Senior Expert (former vice-president till October 2015) of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM). He holds a BSc from the Moscow State University, and a Master’s degree as well as a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University. Dr Vo mainly undertakes research and provides consultation on issues related to trade liberalisation and international economic integration and macroeconomic policies. His other areas of interests include institutional reforms, financial system and economic development.

Felix Weidenkaff works at the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations in Bangkok as Employment Specialist to provide technical advice on employment as part of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific (ILO DWT-Bangkok). Previously, Felix served in the Employment Policy Department of the ILO in Geneva, leading research, capacity building and advisory services on evidence-based policymaking, active labour market policies as well as partnerships for youth employment. Prior to joining the ILO in 2012, Felix worked in the Division on Investment and Enterprise of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Felix holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Tan Khee Giap is Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and Chairman of the Singapore National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dr Tan graduated with a PhD from University of East Anglia, Norwich, in 1987. He has consulted extensively with government ministries and statutory boards of Singapore, and served as a consultant to such international agencies as the Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute, United Nations Industrial Development Group, World Gold Council, ASEAN Secretariat, Central Policy Unit of Hong Kong, Kerzner International, Las Vegas Sands and Marina Bay Sands. Dr Tan is the lead author of more than 20 books and has published extensively in international refereed journals. His current research interests include econometric forecasting, cost of living and purchasing power index, global liveable cities index, ease of doing business index, and competitiveness analysis sub-national economies of China, India, Indonesia and ASEAN.

Ambassador Sergio Ley-Lopez is Chairman of the Mexico National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. He has served in various capacities with the Mexican Foreign Service since 1984: Cultural Counselor in Beijing (1984-1990); Deputy Chief of Mission in Singapore (1990-1993); Consul General in Shanghai (1993-1995); Director General for Pacific and Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-1997); and Ambassador to Indonesia (1997-2001) and China (2001-2007). He is currently Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Business Section in the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE). He is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), and Editorial Board Member in the International Affairs Committee for El Universal (a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City).

Dr Shiro Armstrong is a Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy. He is Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre, Editor of East Asia Forum , and Director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER) in the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University. He is also Visiting Associate Professor at Keio University, Research Associate with the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) at Columbia Business School, and Visiting Scholar at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Japan. He is the Australian representative on the Research Institutes Network (RIN) of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Vangelis Vitalis is Deputy Secretary of Trade and Economic at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is also Chair of the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) for New Zealand’s host year in 2021 and Chief Negotiator for the free trade agreement with the European Union (EU). Previously, Vangelis was the chief negotiator who concluded the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Before that, he led the conclusion of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Vangelis has also worked as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, and chaired (in his personal capacity) the OECD Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment (JWPTE) and the OECD Global Forum on the Environment and Climate Change. Prior to taking up his role in 2017, Vangelis served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the EU and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

Dr Richard Record is the Lead Economist for Malaysia in the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice. Based in Kuala Lumpur, he manages the Bank’s engagement on economic policy issues in Malaysia, including publication of the flagship Malaysia Economic Monitor and the report on Malaysia’s Digital Economy – A New Driver of Development. Richard has previously worked across a number of countries in the East Asia and Africa regions, managing programs on macroeconomics, trade and private sector development, including assignments based in Lilongwe, Vientiane and Hanoi. He holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in economics respectively from the London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Manchester.

Don Campbell serves as International Co-Chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and Chairman of the Canadian National Committee for PECC. He is Senior Strategy Advisor with DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. Don has an extensive background in the international arena in both the public and private sector. From 2000-2007, he was Group President at CAE Inc. His distinguished career with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade includes serving as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and G8 Sherpa (1997-2000), Canadian Ambassador for Japan (1993-1997), Deputy Minister of International Trade (1989-1993) and Canadian Ambassador to Korea (1984-1985). He is Distinguished Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation (APF) of Canada, serves on the Global Council of the Asia Society, New York, and is a member of the board of directors of the Japan Society, Canada. He serves on the board of directors of Toyota Canada Inc. as well as private company boards.

National Unity 2.0: A Necessary Upgrade and Revival in Malaysia’s Nation-building Ambitions and Approach

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Due to political uncertainties in the past two decades, Malaysia’s nation building project has more or less stagnated.
The old model for nation-building—herein called National Unity 1.0—possessed three distinct characteristics: simplicity, a mechanistic approach and a literal interpretation. With its failure, there is now a need to go beyond the seasonal and one-off integration efforts that characterised it.
The old primordialism framework in understanding the nation or ethnic identity as fixed, natural and ancient was always controversial, and considered highly unscientific. It has pointedly been challenged by the social constructivist view.
To take the place of National Unity 1.0, an innovative paradigm titled National Unity 2.0 is introduced as an upgrade which employs bolder initiatives to both go from the top downwards and from the bottom upwards, which equips it to become deeply rooted in the community.
The National Unity 2.0 framework is an ongoing process that tackles the challenges of national integration by accepting both moments of unity and moments of divergence, and fostering tolerance for differences in religion, tradition and way of life.

Introduction

In the ordinary life of Malaysians in the 1990s, the notion of national unity was relentlessly reiterated by RTM through nostalgic patriotic songs such as Sejahtera Malaysia, Jalur Gemilang, Setia, et cetera. It was also repeatedly emphasised by political leaders at various official functions, during festivals and in school textbooks. Unfortunately, this ideal of national unity was taken too much as a formality, and was soon sidelined or even forgotten in the face of political divisions and contestations over the past two decades—in fact ever since the Reformasi movement took off in 1998. In recent years, excessive politicisation of racial matters has further impeded the progress of interracial relations and affected the nation-building project.

This paper reflects on the historical evolution of the national unity concept and introduces an innovative paradigm. The preceding model will be referred to as National Unity 1.0, while the innovative paradigm is named National Unity 2.0. We delve into the experiences and narratives associated with National Unity 1.0. Additionally, drawing upon the most recent policy documents, we outline and elaborate on the National Unity 2.0 paradigm, and provide pertinent policy suggestions.

National Unity 1.0

There were three periods in National Unity 1.0. At independence, our country’s founding fathers were major facilitators for consociationalism, where each ethnic group was represented by its own political party within a ruling coalition of parties. In this early period, national unity was mainly managed among political elites, with limited participation of people from the ground. This system broke down in 1969.

The second period of National Unity 1.0 started after the May 13 racial riots, with the implementation of concepts such as Rukun Negara and Rukun Tetangga. The Rukun Negara as Malaysia’s national philosophy was declared in response to the severe racial turmoil known as the 13 May riots. The Rukun Tetangga was launched in 1975 as a platform for unity programmes held by the government at neighbourhood level. A study on Rukun Tetangga in Penang showed that various types of activities were organised with high participation of different ethnic groups. [1] The Rukun Tetangga did provide an important channel for interracial face-to-face socialization. It also played the role of mediator whenever any inter-ethnic tension arose.

The third stage of National Unity 1.0 covered the period of rapid industrialisation of the Malaysian economy, with a formulation of Vision 2020. In this stage, national pride was built and national unity thickened with the economic growth achieved in the 1990s. But it was abruptly ruined by the Asian Financial Crisis. What followed instead were dynamics of division and conflict fuelled by the political elites.

In sum though, National Unity 1.0 possessed three distinct characteristics: it was based on simplicity, a mechanistic approach and a literal interpretation. Its simplicity was evident in its emphasis on physical proximity between the communities, such as the notion that sharing a meal would lead to unity. The mechanistic aspect involved treating humans like machines, as seen in initiatives like the Vision School plan, which assumed that unity could be achieved by studying together with a physical bridge connecting them. Lastly, it was interpreted in a literal sense; the term padu in the national language signifies a unity that had to be unwavering and devoid of any differences. Consequently, any deviation from this standard was viewed as a failure. [2]

Revisit Nation Building

As described by Benedict Anderson, a nation is an imagined community socially constructed through common culture, history and language. Be that as it may, the ideal of nationalism prevails with elements of utopianism and absolutism ‘regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail’ and ‘pasts are restored, fellowships are imagined and futures dreamed’. [3]

This social constructivist view clearly challenges the old primordialism framework that understands national or ethnic identity as fixed, natural and ancient. Furthermore, the archaic paradigm of nation building as one necessarily based on race and bloodline is revealed as superficial. Within academe, diverse perspectives on the fluid nature of nationhood are more widely embraced. Any definite assumption on race and religion to underly a static view of history is highly contestable and indeterminate.

In addition to nation building, the concept of state building also serves as a relevant point of reference in the Malaysian context, and allows for greater flexibility beyond the confines of the nation-state’s rigid framework. Shifting towards state building would help dilute excessive reliance on race and religion rhetoric. The notion of a nation-state has, in most countries, precipitated internal conflicts or even civil wars. Instead of emphasising race and religion, state-building theory advocates enhancing the capacity of the state. State capacity pertains to the government’s strength in realising policy agendas, tax collection and law enforcement in order to provide public goods for citizens.

National Unity 2.0

National Unity 2.0 upgrades the national integration paradigm by a bold employment of a multi-pronged approach. According to the National Unity Action Plan 2021-2030 (Action Plan), many programmes and initiatives in the early phase of unity were seasonal and one-off, characterised by simplistic understanding, mechanistic practice and rigid expectation. Understood that way, the early phase of national unity remained relevant all the way till 2020. [4]

The new Action Plan redefines national unity through three distinct processes: unity, cohesion and reconciliation. Unity represents the ultimate goal; cohesion addresses social deficits, acknowledging moments when different races may agree to disagree through processes like bargaining, negotiation and mediation. Reconciliation involves creating persistent plans within society to establish an integration platform that flows from the top down, from the bottom up, and is deeply rooted in the community. [5] This Action Plan most accurately encapsulates National Unity 2.0, wherein unity is viewed as an ongoing process guided by a flexible framework. It aims to accept both moments of unity and moments of divergence, in the process fostering tolerance for differences in religion, tradition and way of life.

Changes in social and demographic trends provide a backdrop for National Unity 2.0. Firstly, interracial contact opportunities have expanded and broadened througt the years, either in daily environment or in social media. In the daily life of Malaysians, interracial encounter and collaboration are common, especially in the work place. This has deepened interaction, and brought about new social norms and values. While national politics may sometimes strain interracial relations, visible and invisible interactions have fundamentally transformed these, and given rise to new patterns and meanings on a day-to-day basis, in public spaces or at person-to-person levels.

Secondly, Malaysia is presently experiencing demographic aging and is projected to transition into an aged society within the next two decades. The country has been having a lower-than-replacement birth rate since a few years ago, and recorded in 2022 the lowest fertility rate in 50 years, with 1.6 children. Among all ethnic groups, the Chinese had the lowest fertility rate, with only 0.8 children. [6] This demographic shift will result in labour shortages, potentially impacting economic growth and putting great strain on retirement systems. The regional competition with emerging Asian countries has heightened the fight for talents. Brain drain or brain gain has become an important factor in the game. Given these challenges, it has become all the more meaningless for the Malaysian political discourse to continue being about inter-ethnic disputes.

National Unity 2.0 has the potential to transcend mere cohesion and reconciliation. It can be elevated towards achieving an even higher level of interracial interaction. This bottom-up approach should foster more genuine and sincere forms of interaction for rebuilding the nation.

Recommendations

1. Challenge stereotypes and unconscious biases Malaysians grow up in a multiracial country but are plagued by racial prejudices and stereotypes. It is time to confront these chauvinisms honestly and professionally. In order to attain this, we would suggest the following:

Recognise and address stereotypes and unconscious biases within each community.
Produce video series on racial prejudices and micro-aggressions.
Disseminate anti-bias education through diverse communication channels.

2. Promote racial reconciliation and healing As stated in the National Unity Action Plan, a new process requires reconciliation. Such a process will improve and strengthen interracial relations. In order to attain this, we would suggest the following:

Enforce preemptive measures to combat racism, such as providing training on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Advocate for media literacy to empower social media users in mitigating racial biases through the self-monitoring of racial and religious sensitivities, and the employing of de-escalation techniques.

3. Inspire transethic solidarities through existing civil organisations and business communities In Malaysia, there exists a robust layer of social capital networks sustained by the civil organisations registered with the Registry of Societies, albeit that some are organised along ethnic or religious lines. These organisations have consistently contributed across various facets of society, possessing abundant resources and expertise. In order to attain this, we would suggest the following:

Promote the active involvement of civil organisations, such as Chinese associations, in enhancing interracial relations and allocating resources to benefit all races.
Foster genuine business partnerships among diverse racial groups with new Ali-Baba relationships.

4. Establish a racial discrimination feedback mechanism There is a need to establish an effective complaint mechanism to show commitment to the eradication of racial discrimination, and the promoting of a more inclusive society. In order to attain this, we suggest the following:

Set clear guidelines on racial discrimination feedback which are aligned with relevant laws and policy.
Establish a complaint platform managed by personnel with a deep understanding of cultural sensitivities.
Ensure swift response, mediation and resolution to all complaints.

The foundation of national integration gains strength through both apparent and underlying levels of interaction, connection and networking. An event known as Keretapi Sarong, which was orchestrated by an NGO to commemorate Malaysia Day, remarkably resonated with individuals from all ethnic backgrounds. [7] This starkly contrasted with another protest event centred on parochial lines. The undercurrent of national unity is steadily gaining momentum. Consequently, it is now imperative to take a significant leap in our approach to national unity.

This necessitates an active role from the public, guided by clear directives from the government.

For list of references, kindly download the document to view.

Editor: Ooi Kee Beng Editorial Team: Alexander Fernandez and Nur Fitriah (Designer)

[1] Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk & Mohd Zaini Abu Bakar. 2007. “State-induced Social Capital and Ethnic Integration: The Case of Rukun Tetangga in Penang, Malaysia”. Kajian Malaysia, 25(1): 41:60.

[2] Kementerian Perpaduan Negara. 2021. Pelan Tindakan Perpaduan Negara 2021-2030. Putrajaya: Kementerian Perpaduan Negara, pg.12.

[3] Anderson, Benedict R. O’G. 1991. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, pp.7 & 154.

[4] Kementerian Perpaduan Negara. 2021. Pelan Tindakan Perpaduan Negara 2021-2030. Putrajaya: Kementerian Perpaduan Negara, pg.12.

[5] Ibid. 15.

[6] Free Malaysia Today. 2023. “M’sian fertility rate in 2022 lowest in 50 years”. Free Malaysia Today, https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/10/17/msian-fertility-rate-in-2022-lowest-in-50-years/ (accessed 18 October 2023).

[7] Wang, Ping. 2023. “Diversity-driven ‘keretapi sarong’ ploughs through conservatism: Don”. Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/680053 (accessed 10 October 2023).

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Reward for fostering unity

Tuesday, 30 Apr 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: Recognising its efforts in promoting unity and leadership, the Star Media Group (SMG) has been awarded the National Unity Media Leadership award.

The award was conferred at the Sejahtera Malaysia Forum which highlighted the objectives of Rukun Negara.

The event was organised by KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific, Dialog Rakyat and UCSI University yesterday.

In his keynote speech, National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang emphasised the need to turn the principles of Rukun Negara into reality for every Malaysian.

“The Rukun Negara has been our guiding star, continuously fostering patriotism and unity. The harmony and unity among Malaysia’s multiracial community over the last five decades are direct manifestations of the five principles of the Rukun Negara,” he said.

Meanwhile, The Star managing editor Brian Martin said SMG is committed to promoting unity and understanding among the diverse communities as one of the leading media groups in the country.

“I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of SMG. This commitment goes beyond just our award-winning journalism.

“SMG’s platforms, from our flagship publications to our innovative radio stations and dynamic digital presence, all strive to foster open dialogue and celebrate Malaysia’s rich tapestry.

Recognition: Martin (centre) receiving the National Unity Media Leadership award from Aaron. Looking on are (from left) Yeoh, Ng and Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Omar Abdul Rahman. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star

“We even extend this mission through events, bringing people together to engage in meaningful conversations. Building a well-informed and inclusive society is key to a nation’s success, and SMG is dedicated to playing this role across all our ventures,” he said after receiving the award at Le Quadri Hotel here.

The forum also saw the son of former deputy prime minister Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Tawfik Ismail, receiving the special icon award for his strong advocacy of moderation and unity.

The former MP also called for a bigger budget allocation for the National Unity Ministry to continue holding more programmes to unify the people.

“Your portfolio is the most important and most needed to mend fences and build rapport, and for me, personally, deserves a budget equal to if not more than that given to the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) as you serve a wider constituency,” Tawfik said, referring to Aaron’s ministry.

At the Sejahtera Malaysia Forum, KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific president Tan Sri Michael Yeoh said the programme underscores the importance of collaboration and dialogue in building a harmonious nation.

UCSI Group founder and executive chairman Datuk Peter TS Ng said platforms like the Sejahtera Malaysia Forum enable companies to reaffirm their commitment to fostering understanding and empathy among Malaysia’s diverse communities.

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