Law & Paneir

Posts

Building Digital Walls to Defend Sovereignty – Part 2

The accelerating convergence of quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and stablecoin technologies has placed Malaysia’s financial sector at a crossroads. These innovations promise efficiency, speed, and inclusion but they also introduce unprecedented vulnerabilities that could destabilise the nation’s economy and sovereignty. As financial crimes become more sophisticated, borderless, and automated, the idea of creating a national intranet: a semi-closed digital ecosystem similar to China’s “Great Firewall” or its “national internet” is gaining quiet traction in security circles. The question is not simply technological but existential: can Malaysia afford to remain open in a world where cyber and financial terrorism can paralyse an economy in minutes? To understand why this debate matters, one must first appreciate the growing complexity of financial terrorism. Unlike traditional terrorism, which relies on physical violence, financial terrorism weaponises economic systems by...

Violence in schools: Lessons from Malaysia and the UK

Youth violence in schools is a rising concern in both Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Although these two nations differ in context and systems, recent incidents have revealed troubling similarities. The rise in school-based knife crimes, particularly those involving students, signals deep structural and emotional challenges that require immediate attention. Comparing Malaysia’s recent high-profile school stabbing in Bandar Utama with the UK's long-standing issue of youth knife crime offers valuable insights into shared vulnerabilities and the urgent need for cross-sector solutions. In the UK, knife-related incidents in schools have been steadily increasing. Teachers report students carrying knives to school, and violent altercations have become more frequent in certain areas. While there are varying reasons behind this trend ranging from gang involvement to personal protection—the root issue often ties back to emotional distress, lack of adult support, and easy access to weapo...

Malaysia, Orientalism and Europe’s Waning Influence

As the Russia-Ukraine war drags into its third year, its impact has stretched far beyond the borders of Eastern Europe. What began as a regional conflict has become a global litmus test for power, ideology, and influence. For Europe, the war has exposed deep vulnerabilities not just in military terms, but in its economic stability, political cohesion, and moral authority. From Malaysia’s vantage point in Southeast Asia, the shifting tides of this conflict present a unique opportunity to reassess long-standing global hierarchies and revisit the legacy of Orientalism in framing international relations. The Western response to the war, particularly from European capitals, has relied heavily on moral narratives. Russia has been framed as a revisionist power led by an authoritarian regime, threatening the liberal democratic order. This portrayal echoes Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism, a framework where the West historically cast the East as irrational, backward, and dangerous. ...

Quantum, Coins, and Code: Malaysia’s New Crime Frontier – Part 1

Malaysia stands at a critical juncture in the evolving digital landscape, where three converging technologies i.e. quantum computing, stablecoins, and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping not only the global economy but also the very nature of crime. These forces, each revolutionary in their own right, are colliding to produce a perfect storm of vulnerabilities. As Malaysia continues to pursue its national digitalisation agenda, it must also confront the darker implications of this technological convergence: the rise of transnational cybercrime, illicit finance, and data manipulation. The challenge now is not just to innovate, but to safeguard. The most immediate technological shock comes from Google’s unveiling of its Willow quantum chip, which recently demonstrated a verifiable quantum advantage: meaning it performed a specific computation far faster than any classical supercomputer could manage. While the experiment was highly specialised, the implications ripple across ...

Tariffs reshape trade for the vulnerable

When the United States launched its sweeping tariff overhaul in 2025, global attention gravitated toward its implications for China and Mexico. Yet the deeper, more troubling story lies elsewhere in how these trade measures are disproportionately impacting developing and least-developed countries. Malaysia’s decision to enter negotiations with the U.S. for sectoral exemptions reveals how middle-income nations are trying to preserve trade stability in a rapidly shifting global system. However, for countries without strategic leverage or economic heft, the path forward is far more precarious. Malaysia will host the ASEAN Leaders Summit from October 26 to 28, where its trade minister, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, is scheduled to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The goal is to hammer out a bilateral tariff agreement that could exempt certain high-value Malaysian exports including semiconductors, agriculture products, and processed manufacturing goods from the newly imposed tari...

M'sia needs to adapt to hybrid security threats immediately

The global security landscape is shifting rapidly. The recent remarks by MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum point to a “new era” where the threat is no longer limited to traditional terrorism. Today, states like Russia, China, and Iran are using espionage, sabotage, digital propaganda, and even proxy violence to destabilise rival nations. This convergence of state hostility with extremist tactics signals a significant evolution in the threat environment, one that Malaysia must urgently recognise. For decades, Malaysia’s national security apparatus has been shaped around internal stability, counter-insurgency, and conventional counter-terrorism. These remain relevant, but they are no longer sufficient. The threats we face now are more complex, diffuse, and layered. They involve cyber intrusions into government databases, attempts to manipulate domestic narratives through disinformation, and the radicalisation of young people via encrypted social media platforms. In short, we are no...