This is a recent article I wrote for Critical Asian Studies. In the article I raise the point that any intervention in Myanmar should take careful note of the complexities of Myanmar’s political economy and the country’s institutional quality where democratic institutions are still at a nascent stage. ASEAN, specifically, needs to take a more…
This is an article I wrote in 2016, before Malaysia’s eventful May 2018 election that saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) losing control of the government and the first time that Malaysia saw a new coalition government, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) taking control. At the time the PH government included many former BN members, including the…
Unlike common belief, there is always the tug of war between capitalism and democracy. Some are suggesting that rampant capitalism as we see now is putting democracy under threat. The effects iof capitalism is evident from widening rich-poor divide, the rule of markets over state’s policy and the evident rise in populism. This review takes…
Malaysia is set to announce its budget for 2021 this coming 6 November. How will the Malaysian budget look like? How different will this budget be compared to the pre-covid 19 budget statements. One certainty is that Malaysia’s budget deficit is set to breach its self-imposed limit of 5.5% of the GDP. For this coming…
Habit is difficult to break, they say, because if you take the H there is still “a bit”. Even if you take away the “a” there is still the “bit”. And even if you remove the “b” there is still “it.” There is some truth about habit and change. Why is it that some societies…
Singapore opened its 14th parliamentary session recently. This came on the back of a general election held in early July. By any measure of democratic elections Singapore’s recent election is a thumping victory for the People’s Action Party (PAP) which has ruled the 700 square km island- state since 1959. While the overall result is…
Seven weeks ago, the Malaysian government imposed a lockdown, known locally as the Movement Control Order (MCO). This came after the country experienced a spike in Covid-19 cases in early March. The government was swift in imposing the lockdown and the the public took the MCO very seriously. The result has been impressive. Unfortunately the…
It is almost impossible to discuss present institutions prevalent in Malaysia’s political economy without mentioning the New Economic Policy (NEP). It is an institution that has consumed the mental make up of most Malaysians and created a fair amount of discourses amongst observers. For the critics, especially neo liberals, the NEP is seen as costly…
The Covid-19 pandemic threatens to see a further retreat of globalisation. Donald Trump’s recent executive order to limit immigration to the US, his announcement to withhold US funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and his threat to India’s initial refusal to release the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 patients, hint that states could turn…
The global economy is already in recession as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conservative estimate is that the pandemic will cost the global economy at least some US$ 1 trillion dollars this year with the World Economic Forum estimating the world economy to grow by just 0.5 percent this year. The figures however…
