Research & Commentary

This paper evaluates bus stop quality across Greater KL, showing widespread infrastructure gaps and proposing standards to improve safety and waiting experience.

This working paper investigates the challenges and constraints facing the development of green industries in Malaysia. It explores the historical context of the country's industrialization and provides policy recommendations to guide a successful green transition.

Current approaches to classifying the poor or the middle class through income orexpenditure patterns utilize a predetermined standard of living to arrive at demarcationlines in the household income distribution, either in absolute or relative terms.

This working paper explores the potential risks rising temperatures bring to Malaysia’s public health.

Launched in 2023, MyDigital ID enables Malaysians to access multiple government and selected private digital services using a single verified login. As a Single Sign On (SSO) platform, it simplifies access, reduces repeated verification and supports more efficient delivery of digital services. These practical benefits make authentication a sensible and appropriate starting point for a national digital identity initiative. International experience shows that many digital identity systems begin with authentication and develop gradually over time. In several countries, SSO has served as a foundation on which additional capabilities were introduced after governance arrangements, safeguards and public confidence were well established. In this respect, MyDigital ID’s current focus does not limit future options. Rather, it provides immediate value while preserving flexibility for future policy choices that align with national priorities. This research finds that MyDigital ID is progressing positively as a secure and reliable authentication platform within Malaysia’s broader digitalisation agenda. Its technical design aligns with recognised security standards, while its role as a verification layer that relies on authoritative government databases supports both system integrity and privacy protection. As adoption increases and integration expands, continued attention to governance clarity, accessibility and long-term planning can further strengthen public understanding and confidence in the system. Viewed in this way, MyDigital ID can be understood as a public digital asset that delivers immediate service improvements while remaining adaptable to future needs. A measured and phased approach allows benefits to be realised today, while ensuring that policy choices remain aligned with institutional readiness and public expectations.

Public transport in Greater KL is often “good enough”, but easily set aside. GKLMOB Phase 1 examines the everyday frictions behind this fragility.

This paper evaluates bus performance across Greater KL, highlighting reliability issues, operational constraints and opportunities for service improvement.

Public transport in Greater Kuala Lumpur is not failing outright. In fact, many commuters describe it as usable, functional, and sometimes even preferable to driving. Yet small, everyday breakdowns in reliability, access, and provision of information mean that it is also fragile. When things go wrong, even briefly, commuters are pressured to default back to private vehicles. Greater KL’s public transport problem is not failure, but fragility. These insights emerge from Phase 1 of the Greater Kuala Lumpur Mobilities (GKLMOB) study, a multi-method research programme examining how people experience public transport in their daily lives. Phase 1 brings together qualitative interviews, operational performance analysis, and spatial assessment to understand why ridership growth remains uneven despite significant public investment in transport infrastructure. Rather than focusing on attitudes or preferences, the study examines how the public transport system performs in practice, and how commuters respond to that performance.

Ketidaktentuan global kini menekan industri pembinaan melalui kenaikan kos dan gangguan bekalan. Namun, dalam sistem perumahan Malaysia, tekanan ini akhirnya ditanggung oleh pembeli rumah, khususnya bagi projek yang masih dalam pembinaan. Realiti ini bukan sekadar cabaran ekonomi semasa, tetapi mencerminkan kelemahan struktur yang memindahkan risiko kepada pembeli. Artikel ini mengupas bagaimana pembeli rumah menjadi pihak paling terkesan serta keperluan intervensi dasar untuk melindungi mereka.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping education, questioning its impact on critical thinking, skill development, and self-discovery, while arguing for balanced use of technology to preserve meaningful human learning.

Trump Tariffs and the US policy tools that continue to shape the world economy.

The article argues a U.S.–Israel attack on Iran sparked regional conflict, disrupted energy flows, raised oil prices, and risks global inflation similar to the 1973 oil crisis.