This concurrent session looks towards futures in which public health, education and social care function as social foundations for everyone rather than as services that are increasingly provided by private markets. It explores how these systems could operate as shared social commons: universally accessible, high quality and organised around dignity, care and capability to ensure all income groups and regions can live, learn, work and age well. What would it feel like, in everyday life, if health, education and care truly formed the bedrock of Malaysia’s wellbeing? Why is re‑centring these social foundations essential for a resilient post‑high‑income Malaysia and what changes would this demand from policy and institutions? 

Moderator

Tan Heang-Lee
Fellow
ISIS Malaysia

Speakers 

Hazwan Najib
Chief Executive Officer
ProtectHealth Corporation 

Kularetnam Vijayakumar
Chief Executive Officer
Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman (YTAR)

Lee Min Hui
Social Protection Specialist
Unicef  Malaysia

Dr Yap Wei Aun
Chief Executive Officer
Health Transformation Office (HTO) 
Ministry of Health

This concurrent session looks towards futures where Malaysia thrives within ecological limits while expanding opportunities for human flourishing. It considers what it would mean to treat land, water, forests, cities and energy systems as shared ecological commons, managed to sustain life and livelihoods over generations rather than to maximise extraction for short-term gain. Panellists will explore how such futures could reshape development priorities, spatial planning and risk management in the face of climate risk and environmental degradation. What might a liveable, lower‑carbon Malaysia look like for households and communities? How could aligning economic choices with ecological realities underpin a more secure, just and prosperous post‑high‑income future? 

Moderator

Zayana Zaikariah
Senior Researcher
ISIS Malaysia

Speakers

Dr Goh Chun Sheng
Assistant Professor
Institute of Asian Studies
Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Nithi Nesadurai 
President 
Environmental Protection Society Malaysia (EPSM) 

Dr Serina Rahman
Associate Fellow
Malaysia Studies Programme
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute 

This concurrent session looks towards futures in which work and livelihoods in Malaysia are organised around security, time and voice, alongside income. Panellists will imagine what “good work” and “time to live” could look like in a post-high-income Malaysia: stable livelihoods, working hours compatible with care and rest, and workplaces where people have a meaningful say over their conditions. How might changes in labour standards and social protections – as well as different ways of organising jobs, workplaces and ownership – reduce precarity and stress while supporting innovation and productivity? What would it take for work to support, rather than undermine, a good life? 

Moderator

Shakira Teh Sharifuddin
Senior Economist
The World Bank

Speakers 

Dr Christopher Choong
Deputy Director of Research
Khazanah Research Institute

Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal
President
Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC)

Dr Katherine Trebeck
Economic Change Programme Director
The Next Economy 

This concurrent session looks beyond Malaysia’s borders to imagine possible futures for how we should engage with the world amid fragmentation, war and climate collapse. It will explore future visions for a post-high-income development model oriented towards peace, shared prosperity and mutual benefit, rather than extractive growth models or volatile external markets. Panellists will explore how these potential futures could reshape Malaysia’s trade and industrial strategies, international partnerships with the Global South and its place in a new world economic order. What roles could a post-high-income Malaysia play in shaping a more just and inclusive global economic community in the coming decade? And how could external engagement, in turn, better serve the wellbeing of all Malaysians?

Moderator

Jaideep Singh
Analyst
ISIS Malaysia

Speakers 

Dr Mari Pangestu   
Special Envoy of the President  
Indonesia   

Dr Pia Dannhauer 
Associate
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) 

Dr Sanchita Basu Das
Senior Economist
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Prof Yeah Kim Leng
Director of Economic Studies Programme
Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia
Sunway University