Following President Trump’s "Liberation Day" announcement threatening ASEAN with up to 49% tariffs, IDEAS argues that the member states of the 600-million-strong bloc panicked. Vietnam and Cambodia rushed to cut deals immediately, and Malaysia eventually followed suit with the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), albeit after initial attempts to rally the region failed.We sit down with Dr. Stewart Nixon, author of the report "Divided We Fall," to dissect why ASEAN chose self-preservation over solidarity and the potentially dangerous concessions buried in the fine print.We discuss:The "Panic" Discount: How Vietnam and Thailand’s rush to Washington sparked a regional "arms race" of concessions, handing leverage directly to Trump.Section 5 & Sovereignty: The controversial clause in Malaysia's deal that links trade policy to US national security, effectively forcing Malaysia to police US interests against China within its own borders.The "Transshipment" Trap: Why vague definitions of "circumvention" in the new deal create a compliance nightmare for manufacturers planning their supply chains.Convenor vs. Captain: Why the ASEAN Chair failed to rally the troops, in stark contrast to the EU’s unified stand against Washington.The Illusion of Safety: Dr. Nixon argues that buying "certainty" from Trump is a myth, citing how the USMCA did not protect Canada or Mexico from future tariff threats.

Quantum computing is advancing faster than many realise, and when it does, it could break the encryption that protects banking systems, payment infrastructure, and government data.In this episode of Tech Talk, we speak with Wo Swee Teck, Managing Director at Securemetric Technology, about why Post-Quantum Cryptography is no longer theoretical, and what the real risks are of delaying preparation.We explore Malaysia’s readiness following guidance from NACSA, how banks and government agencies are approaching crypto-agility, and what organisations often underestimate about cryptographic migration. From legacy systems to long-term trust, this conversation looks at the operational, economic, and national implications of the quantum era.