In Malaysia, refugees remain mostly invisible and face various challenges in terms of protection, healthcare and education. They are often preserved as ‘illegal immigrants’, therefore always at risk of arrest, detention, punishment and deportation. The worse sufferers of these are the children and youth, who are also considered to be illegitimate and deprived of rights including the right to education. This is a case study of a young Rohingya refugee man whose dedication and struggles, despite his problematic identity imposed by various authorities, continue to find a way out and serve fellow refugees through a community organization. However, the dream to have an education and flourish as a full-fledged human being remains a far cry for those marginalized, underprivileged Rohingya refugees and their children. Their experience in Malaysia is far from exceptional, of the sufferings that refugees are forced to bear in many countries in South and Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, this case aims to facilitate the basic understanding of displacement, the refugee situation, international law and particularly refugee children’s rights to education. It provides a deeper understanding of the root causes of Rohingya’s current ‘stateless’ situation in Malaysia, identifies the challenges faced by a refugee community organization, refugee children’s struggles and rights to education. It initiates thoughts to examine the government policies and look for alternative strategies that may benefit the refugee children as well as the national development in the long run. Dilemma: Are Rohingya in Malaysia ‘refugees’ or ‘economic migrants’? Should the children of Rohingya be given access to education? Should Malaysia sign the 1951 Refugee Convention? Theory: Statelessness theory Type of the Case: Experience-based applied single case study Protagonist: Present Options Malaysia can take the stand that being nonsignatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol, it is not bound to come up with policies for refugees. By providing ‘temporary’ shelter to a significant number of refugees and asylum-seekers, Malaysia has done enough for the refugees. At the international level, Malaysia is considered to be sympathetic towards refugees. Refugee and asylum seekers’ presence has been exerting pressure on Malaysian culture and society. In contrast, refugee and migration issues are receiving attention from the government and civil society in Malaysia. Former government has tried to adopt some policies like providing short-term work permit for a small number of registered Rohingya refugees in certain plantations and manufacturing sectors on an experimental basis to avoid social and economic risks posed by unemployed refugees. Malaysia should sign the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol because it is a member of the United Nations (UN) and party to many other major international human rights documents such as Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to name a few. Discussions and Case Questions What are the root causes of Rohingyas’ current statelessness situation and how should the Malaysian government tackle the issue? What are the challenges faced by Rohingya community organizations in integrating with the society? Should Malaysia look at improving the Rohingya children’s access to education or the community should take on the responsibility?

There has been perpetual controversy regarding the leadership of ASEAN, that is complicated and hitherto been a cause for concern. The largest and most populated country in Southeast Asia is Indonesia, and has been regarded as the de facto leader in ASEAN for its influence to spur progress within the organization. However, this does not undermine the role of the other four founding members of ASEAN, specifically Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. Singapore has been considered the leader of ASEAN in the economic realm, championing and pushing forward economic agendas of the organization and its member-states. Moreover, the Philippines have been a strong advocate in promoting and enhancing the socio-cultural development within the organization. Conversely, the role of Malaysia in ASEAN has been scholarly neglected. This study seeks to fill the gaps by analysing the role of Malaysia in ASEAN since 1967, and propose that Malaysia has had a significant degree of influence within the organisation. By incorporating document analysis, this study presents the findings on Malaysia’s pivotal role in ASEAN. The results conclude that Malaysia was and is still a key leader in the organization and the country should continue to exercise its prerogative for the benefit of its national interest, in addition to maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

This chapter examines state capacity as an explanatory factor in order to reconceptualise political leadership in a regional context. By state capacity, this book means the willingness of member states to utilise their tangible, intangible, and institutional power resources in terms of governance capacity to lead regional initiatives. This involves the state's utilisation of tangible, intangible, and institutional power resources in order for a state or a combination of states to be able to effectively lead regional initiatives. This book argues that tangible resources such as economic advantage, size of a country, administrative machinery, and military capabilities, as well as intangible resources such as foreign policy, political system, and culture provide advantages for a particular state to play leadership roles in regional community-building efforts. Furthermore, institutional power resources can also provide more leverage for a state to exert influence in the development of regional community-building. Therefore, this book argues that state capacity is crucial in the provision of regional political leadership as it helps to sustain the benefits of regional integration and to continuously build and strengthen regional community-building through policy implementation and policy continuity. Conversely, the lack of such capacity can impede the progress of regional community-building efforts. This chapter is organised into three sections. The first section surveys the scholarly literature on state capacity, which includes tangible, intangible, and institutional power resources, and its importance for exercising

Malaysia's decision to join and rectify the agreement showed that the country is serious about business, trade liberalisation and its support for a fair and transparent trade regime. Moreover, Malaysia is expected to earn approximately USD 200 million in exports, while RCEP will provide immense opportunities for trade and investments, enhanced connectivity, and deepening regional economic integration. This study aims to analyse the extent to which Malaysia's participation in the RCEP can benefit the country's growth and development. For this goal, a SWOT analysis will be carried out to assess the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of joining RCEP, from Malaysia's perspective. Findings suggest that Malaysia is indeed one of the main beneficiaries of the RCEP agreement in comparison to other ASEAN nations. However, much needs to be done by Malaysia to reap the benefits of the world's largest trading bloc, while maintaining its national interests amidst a more liberal and open market setting.

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