As governments across the globe come to terms with the economic crisis induced by COVID-19, leading voices in civil society, politics and academia are now starting to look towards the future. New roadmaps for foreign policy are being drawn using the lessons learned from the pandemic.

In this episode, we will focus on Southeast Asia by looking at the example of Malaysia and exploring the country’s response to the global crisis as well as its strategic position in-between the US-China rivalry. Muddassar Ahmed sits down with a panel of experts to discuss what the future holds for Malaysia, including the relationship with ASEAN, China’s posturing in the South China Sea and the Uyghur humanitarian crisis among other topics.

Our panellists include Tricia Yeoh (CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs), Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar (Former Cabinet Minister of Malaysia for Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Justice) and Dato’ Mohamad Abu Bakar (Professor at the Department of International and Strategic Studies at the University of Malaya). The discussion was co-organised by the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC-IIUM).