Public think tanks’ silence on US-Malaysia deal untenable
From Samirul Ariff Othman
In periods of geopolitical contestation, a nation depends on its publicly funded think tanks to speak with clarity and conviction.
Their task is simple: to analyse, to inform, and to safeguard the national interest.
Yet at the very moment the rakyat are debating the recent US–Malaysia trade agreements signed during US president Donald Trump’s visit, our premier institutions are nowhere to be found.
While Asean is struggling to navigate an increasingly polarised region, Malaysia faces immediate questions about tariffs, market access, China relations, sanctions exposure, and the long-term shape of our export economy.
These issues demand rigorous, non-partisan examination — particularly from bodies financed by Malaysian taxpayers.
Instead, one of Malaysia’s leading think tanks chose to hold a conference on taxation.
The optics are not merely unfortunate; they are bewildering. This is the same institute whose previous taxation event was widely…
