Club Lunch: Missing Plane, Missing Billions: Malaysia in Crisis and the Politics of Hope

Monday, July 6, 2015
12:30PM FOR 12:45PM – LUNCH
1:15PM – ADDRESS
1ST FLOOR

Speaker: Wong Chen
Malaysian Opposition Member of Parliament

Of late, Malaysia had been in the news for all the wrong reasons. There had been the still unresolved mystery of Flight MH370 last year, the downing of Flight MH17, the jailing of Anwar Ibrahim, accusations of improprieties at the sovereign wealth fund, the much disputed handling of Rohingya migrants, growing signs of intolerance towards Christians and, most recently, naked tourists blamed for an earthquake. The speaker contended these seemingly unrelated events are symptoms of a failing government that has lost its way. He shared his experience as a member of Parliament with a front-row seat on Malaysia’s slide into economic disarray and more limited democracy. He shared his thoughts on what needs to be done for Malaysia to regain its mojo.

Wong Chen was the Malaysian Member of Parliament of Kelana Jaya. He was a self-described policy wonk who chaired and co-wrote the alternative Pakatan Rakyat Budget 2015. A former corporate lawyer, Mr. Wong was also the Chairman of the Investment and Trade Bureau of Anwar Ibrahim’s party, The People’s Justice Party.