It was great to be last week at the National University of Singapore- my academic and work alma mater where I spent a half a decade plus for graduate studies in environmental engineering and human geography as well as worked on Ministry of Education funded projects as a research staff.
Always great to meet mentors, peers and friends who are the global best in their fields whether it is in climate change, education futures or geopolitics or history.
A place which keeps on giving and a reminder of the generosity of the Singaporean tax payer funded scholarships, have been on a couple of them and the impact it has on my life. Always happy to pay it forward, in any shape or form for my second home- this is home, truly / where I know I must be… this is where i know it’s home (Kit Chan, 1998/2010/2025)
Super grateful to the tiny red dot which punches persistently over its weight.
A quick take from Kota Bahru, Kelantan State in Northern Malaysia- a PAS run state for 35 years, an hour from the Thai Border is borderlands at best. There are layers and nuances to this Malay Muslim Heartland also known as the Verandah to Mecca. As a person who grew up in an Arab country, the Jawi script and the Azaan brings a certain cultural familiarity.
Kota Bahru is often portrayed in the media as a backwater of sorts, a border town with little broader global significance apart from being a catalyst of the opposition benches. When driving from Kuala Besut in Terengganu state, after a couple of days in the almost picturesque and heavenly Perhentian Islands- upon entering Kelantan, the landscape of 55km from Kuala Besut to Kota Bahru was a story in itself, of agricultural riches and beautiful masjids, quite the standard of the Malay heartland. We passed through Masjids every few kilometres with religious schools also dotting the landscape. There were many central government hoardings near federally funded schools, the Sekolah Kebangsan’s. They are contesting for mindspace, while the grip is clearly with the Ulema dominated PAS. PAS has a neat digital game, as seen from the green wave of the previous elections.
There were Buddhist pagodas on the way, a Sikh temple in Kota Bahru and a prominent China Town to note. Of course, the presence of the Muslim way of life is all over, a Dakwah centre next to the museums cluster and only a bus load of Bule tourists unlike other touristy places such as Penang. But, the power of Halal Tourism globally cannot be underestimated, as Kelantan is reaching out to the Muslim tourist from Paris to Dubai to spend their beach holidays in peace in tune with their faith needs.
Each person as the erudite tour guide who dropped us to Kota Bahru quipped: this is a normal place, please come and see for yourself, all we want is work and want to send our children to college.
Geopolitical risk is felt on the ground, reading papers and writing think tank articles on second hand papers has limits.
A Bangladeshi running a water taxi in a marine park. I heard Bangla and started speaking on safety concerns between island points in Perhentian. He was shocked to hear Bangla as most tourists, read all are Westerners. To find an Indian holidaying at an atas marine park does not sit well with the racial stereotype.
He asked where am I from, and how do i speak Bangla? I said should i speak Hindi then, if I am a Bengali? He smirked and started speaking normally saying that there are a few dozen Bangladeshis who run the water taxi operations in fairly distant Perhentian Islands. From a country which has a riverine system, it is a natural talent pool.
Bangladeshis from Venice to Penang bolster labor pools globally. Whether the world wants to speak the Bangladeshi dialect is another question of identity, migrant value chains and local politics.
While walking through the commercial heart of Ipoh town, as I turned into Jalan Merchant; I read a succession of signage’s which felt like the Indian Ocean- Patel, Karachi Trading and Kamdar which were textile shops. I crossed the street and heard ‘Dafali Wale, Dafali Baja’ the Rishi Kapoor starrer and met Mr. Rup, the Sindhi Hindu Gentleman who chatted with me. His father came to Malaya during the 2nd World War. He opens his shop in the morning with Bhajan’s and listens to old school Bollywood film music in the afternoon. He spoke fluent Hindi, and his wife is from Bangalore.
These oral histories are embedded in the Indian Ocean port cities where Kutchis and Sindhi’s had built a trading infrastructure from Gibraltar to Panama as Markowitz had written.
Mr Rup and Me Ipoh is known for it’s Chinese Temples as wellJalan Merchant, Ipoh
Malaysia on the ticker. The best way to know the body politic of a nation is to travel via road. From KL to northern Malaysia in the Peninsula, along a beautiful road network stopping by Warungs to get a sense of the country beyond touristy brochures and travel bloggers.
As one of a handful of Indian scholars who write on the Bahasa speaking universe, Malaysia is more than KLCC and Bukit Bintang.
When public transportation turns into migrant mobilities on a Sunday, as Bangla is heard in the air, both in whispers and in snatches. Bangla in the public sphere is both seen and not seen.
A Majestic Afternoon of Ideas with the global humanitarian leader, Bapak Adrian Pereira , a consistent mentor to me for many years. So much to learn from his rich legacy of social change as he runs his non profit, The North South Initiative for the past decade with areas of intervention in the refugee, migrant worker and platform worker space.
Usually at the cutting edge of advocacy backed by empirical research, Bapak Adrian does the slow work, by cutting across scales from the Kampung to the Dunia.
It was an honor to moderate a panel on the rights of nature, with three honchos of environmental law in Asia, with Dr Georgina of UNEP, Dr Linda of NUS APCEL and Ms. Abe of Client Earth. This technical panel had a full house with a non law background undergraduate audience had an intellectual feast of ideas regarding the rights of nature. @abe.1 had an incredible presentation with case studies from Perak!
Sometimes in a panel full of key insights, the job of a moderator is to allow space in a tight schedule, for the engagement to happen. The audience was engaged with questions from students from China and Thailand. Dr Linda’s insights regarding green courts in China was useful. Dr Georgina set up the panel with an excellent context driving conversation.
Regen Asia 2025 was a Grand Prix of a sustainability event of 600 participants from all over Asia and eighty speakers who were the brightest congregation of talent under one roof. Excellent work by the organising team of all enterprising students. Fabulous work by Bernise and Shaun as mentors. It was great to meet sustainability friends from the NUS ecosystem after years!
Learnt a great deal about the latest ideas on regeneration and resilience. Quite a paradigm shifting event.
Change Thinker 