Expert helps to shape trade, connectivity and security

For China Daily

It used to be said that what you do not know cannot hurt you.

Today, in a world tugged on one side by globalization, at the other by the forces of isolationism, what you do not know can have serious repercussions.

For people like Michael Yeoh, a public intellectual and entrepreneur, forecasting the future, helping to shape it and building bridges between his native Malaysia, Asia and the wider world has been his life for almost a quarter-century.

He is the CEO and cofounder of the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute, one of the region’s most respected think tanks. According to the University of Pennsylvania’s annual global index, it ranks among the top 50 institutions that have a significant impact on public policy and developing new concepts.

An honorary professor of law and the author of books on leadership and business management, Yeoh cuts a scholarly dash. A cheerful individual, he speaks carefully and concisely.

When asked about a possible fulltime career as an author, Yeoh said: “Not fiction — not yet.”

Born in 1952 in the then small town of Kajang, as a youth Yeoh studied in Christian missionary schools in Taiping and Penang, both in western Malaysia. Today, his hometown in the western Malaysian state of Selangor is a bustling suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking to China Daily, Yeoh said his education gave him a “good grounding in values such as honesty and integrity, humility and service to others”.

Yeoh completed his higher education in Australia. “I studied at Monash University in Melbourne and read economics and accountancy,” he said.

“At that time I thought Monash had a good economics program, something newer than some of the more traditional, older universities in Australia.”

Economics gave him basic analytical skills, while accounting provided “a good base for business and management”, he noted.

While admitting he could have stayed longer overseas after graduating in 1977, “absorbing more of the culture … perhaps studying a little bit more”, he joined the professional services firm PwC.

Yeoh returned to Malaysia after his practical accountancy training, where for the next few decades he worked with numerous companies.

He sat on the boards of several listed companies in Malaysia, in sectors such as finance, education, IT and healthcare. He has been a member of the MalaysiaBritish and Malaysia-US chambers of commerce, and served as the secretarygeneral of the Malaysia-China Business Council.

Yet, it is his work with ASLI that has earned him much renown. Since its establishment in 1993, the think tank has raised its profile to emerge as one of Southeast Asia’s foremost in the segment. Part of the reason for its importance is its pioneering position.

“We were the first private independent think tank (in Malaysia). Before that, there were many government think tanks but they were all government owned,” Yeoh said.

And while other such institutes have since followed, ASLI’s position as a nonpartisan organization has given it an edge. It currently collaborates with think tanks in China, Australia, Singapore and Indonesia.

“I would even say building up ASLI is among my biggest achievements,” said Yeoh.

The think tank has also created a Centre for Public Policy Studies, an independent institute to openly debate issues faced by Malaysia. These include the rights of indigenous Malaysians, youth participation in politics, and the Belt and Road Initiative — the plan initiated by China to build an infrastructure and trade network.

As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, Malaysia has seen an influx of Chinese investment through construction and rail projects.

While most of Yeoh’s working week is spent on the administrative aspects of running ASLI, he still finds time to regularly travel overseas for seminars and conferences.

ASLI hosts many major events, bringing in statesmen and political heavyweights, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Chinese president Hu Jintao, former US president Bill Clinton and the late South African president Nelson Mandela.

Yeoh met Clinton as early as 1986, as part of the United States Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. The then governor of Arkansas conferred a Goodwill Ambassador Award on his future Malaysian host.

More appointments and awards followed. In 1993, Yeoh was acknowledged with a state decoration from the Malaysian king. The title of Dato, an honorific title conferred by the governor of Penang, followed in 1997.

“I just get invited (to boards),” he explained modestly about his positions. “People have recognized what I’ve done in the past and it’s just building on my success and past record.”

Today, security is among the most serious concerns for Asia, he said.

“I think probably right now, and for the next five years, (a big issue) will be security and the threat of terrorism. We don’t know where (that threat) is going to come from and we are very worried by what has been described as lone wolf attacks.”

Yeoh admitted that he enjoyed one position in particular. It was acting as the Malaysian government’s representative, with ambassador status, at the High Level Task Force on ASEAN Connectivity in 2010.

“One of the things we did was to develop a master plan on connectivity (in the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). I think if it can develop a master plan, ASEAN can become a more connected region,” he said.

“In our master plan we focus on three pillars — three limbs.”

The first pillar, he explained, was physical connectivity — “transport infrastructure, power plants and logistics”. The second was institutional connectivity, basically joint policy framing, corporate facilitation and investment liberalization.

“Our third pillar is people connectivity, which looks at freedom of people, education, culture, tourism and the building blocks of people connectivity.”

Such connectivity has become a focus for governments worldwide.

Last June, when the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, Yeoh was among the many experts who found themselves surprised by the result.

“The result was a big shock to me,” said Yeoh.

What this has to do with Asia may seem miniscule, even immaterial. Yet, some analysts saw something else in the UK’s retreat from the EU: A specter for Asia.

However, Yeoh disagrees. The EU is not a model for ASEAN, he said. “We don’t think we can go that far.”

In relation to global and regional peace and security, key questions remain.

Among these are: How will Asia continue its impressive economic growth? What impact will the policies of US President Donald Trump have on the region? What of the nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula?

And just as important: Will Asia continue to embrace free trade?

“I think ASEAN has to be relevant,” he said. “It has to be more coherent and deliver on its potential and promises.

“It has great potential, so it has to ensure that all the various plans and strategies are executed efficiently for businesses to grow and for countries to prosper.”

a public intellectual and entrepreneur