-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
By Ooi Kee Beng ASEAN is almost seven decades old. The wish to get along despite cultural diversity and political differences is a value in itself. One should ask why ASEAN has survived so long despite an underwhelming track record. What is it that its founding fathers understood, and how precious are the lessons learned … Continue reading
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)-China Summit held on May 27 in Kuala Lumpur shed light on the collaboration among Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and China amid Trump’s tariffs worldwide. In an exclusive interview recently, Ooi Kee Beng, Executive Director at Penang Institute, Malaysia, noted that the summit, gathering 10 … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, June 2025 Editorial in Penang Monthly. “Does Penang Exceptionalism still exist?” That question was put to me recently by a learned and slightly agitated visitor. I assume the query stems from distress over how recent developments in the state have been too much, too hasty, and too uncontrolled. It is a … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, presentation at the Baichuan Forum: “Global South in Transition: Geopolitical Dynamics and Development Cooperation”, 24-25 May 2025, Organised by CUHK-Shenzhen and Iinstitute for International Affairs, Qianhai Adopting different timespans provide for different glimpses of the subject in question. Different timespans also impact the concepts being used to decide them. This weekend, … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, for The Edge Malaysia, in the column “Picking on the Present”; 26 May – 1 June 2025. AS A RULE, one should focus more on structure, purpose and process when talking about Governance. This is all the more important when one is to discuss the notion of “Good Governance”, and the … Continue reading
https://www.penangmonthly.com/tag/may-2025/ I reached my 70th birthday in May 2025. My dear colleagues, led by my old friend Liew Chin Tong, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister for International Trade and Investment, decided to use the May issue of Penang Monthly (of which we are co-founders) to highlight what they see as my contributions in leadership and parenthood, and … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, speech at Ayer’s House, given as part of the Adelaide’s History Festival, on 12 May 2025 SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS are very complex matters. I come from a family with four brothers, and two half-brothers and a half-sister. And I have three children from two marriages. Much insights—and moments of exasperation—have been gained … Continue reading
By Dr OOI KEE BENG My being here today, in Adelaide, South Australia, is still a great surprise to me. This is because there are certain geographical journeys in one’s step-by-step trip through life that one does not envisage for a variety of reasons. Australia was never on my to-see and to-do list. I lived … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, in The Edge Malaysia’s column “Picking on the Present”, 17-25 April 2025 Continuing the line of thinking presented in this column last month, on “Recognising Colonial History as the Genesis of Malaysian History”, we are given a shocking current example of how excessive nostalgia for post glory, by its nature, always … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng A shorter version published on 13 April 2025 by South China Morning Post as “Decoding Trump’ s tariffs and the world’s multipolar future” can be read at South China Morning Post, 13 Apr 2025: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3306221/decoding-trumps-tariffs-and-worlds-multipolar-future?display=plus Perhaps what the world is missing in trying to make head or tail of Trump’s tariff … Continue reading
Wikibeng 