Mohan Kuppusamy

Mohan Kuppusamy

State leaders in Kuching have demanded that Sarawak’s share of its gas and oil royalties be raised from 5 per cent to 20 per cent.
THINKING ALOUD

East Malaysian states’ rights push may upend S-E Asia’s political order

Historical grievances on parliamentary seat allocations and revenue sharing now dominate political debate in Sabah and Sarawak

The Optus headquarters in Sydney. Australia’s second-largest telco has had to deal with issues such as hackers stealing customer data and service outages.
THINKING ALOUD

A hard time ahead for Optus, Singtel’s Australian telco

Will Optus overcome the recent spate of crises?

South Korea is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum this year. A meeting on the sidelines between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could improve their beleaguered relationship.
THINKING ALOUD

Hints of Xi-Trump rapprochement while Apec slides into irrelevance

The leaders’ first face-to-face meeting since 2019 is getting more attention than the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit itself

The Modi government has set a target of becoming a fully developed nation by 2047.
THINKING ALOUD

What holds India back from moving up the industrial ladder

The real problem for Delhi is not so much how it might open itself to China’s capital and technology, but rather its...

A HSR project linking Kuala Lumpur (pictured) with Singapore is estimated to cost well north of RM80 billion.
THINKING ALOUD

High-speed rail link proposal gets yet another airing

There is considerable Malaysian opposition to the prospect of a HSR between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Who would foot the bill?

Nearly one-third of citizens in Pacific nation Tuvalu are seeking a landmark climate visa to live in Australia as rising seas threaten their palm-fringed shores.
THINKING ALOUD

What will happen when the small Pacific states disappear under the sea?

There are many questions but few answers about the fate of small island nations like Tuvalu

The Memorial Cenotaph at the Peace Memorial Park, with the Atomic Bomb Dome in the distance, in  Hiroshima, Japan.
THINKING ALOUD

Eighty years after Hiroshima, is the world any safer from nuclear war?

AS THE 80th anniversary of the nuclear strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki rolls around next month, it is worth asking how safe...

A  labourer works at a site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province in China.
THINKING ALOUD

China’s grip on rare earth supply has Trump over a barrel, for now

The country has built up its capacity for both mining and refining rare earths over decades

epa12179371 The logo of the Group of Seven, G7, with a Canadian maple leaf is on display before the official arrival ceremony of the G7 Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, 16 June 2025.  EPA-EFE/LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL
THINKING ALOUD

Whither the G7 (now G6?) summit

WHAT is the G7– the elite grouping of advanced economies – good for? Conventional wisdom has it that this is about setting...

From a macroeconomic perspective, everything is going well; cut-throat competition is driving efficiency and innovation.
THINKING ALOUD

China’s EV manufacturers face their ‘Evergrande moment’

The dramatic decline in the number of carmakers provides a useful metric about brutal market conditions