Our guest
The journey behind the conversation
Economist, political scientist, parliamentarian, deputy minister and now university leader. Few people in Malaysia have seen the AI question from so many sides.
Trained across three disciplines and three countries
Dr Ong Kian Ming read economics at the London School of Economics, took a master's degree in economics at the University of Cambridge, and completed his doctorate in political science at Duke University in the United States. That combination of economics, political science and public policy shapes the way he reads technology questions: not as engineering problems alone, but as questions of institutions, incentives and national interest.
From lecture theatre to public analysis
He began his professional life in teaching and research, lecturing in Malaysian higher education and building a reputation as one of the country's most rigorous analysts of electoral data, economic policy and governance. His work on the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project brought careful, evidence-led scrutiny into public debate long before data literacy became fashionable.
Parliament and Government Two terms as a Member of Parliament, and Deputy Minister at MITI
Elected to the Malaysian Parliament in 2013 and returned in 2018, he served constituents for two full terms before stepping away from electoral politics. Between 2018 and 2020 he served as Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, working on investment, trade negotiation, industrial policy and Malaysia's position in global supply chains, the very terrain on which the country's AI and semiconductor future is now being decided.
University leadership, industry engagement and public thinking
He now works in senior university leadership as Pro Vice-Chancellor for international engagement, building partnerships between Malaysian higher education, global universities and industry. Alongside that he writes, teaches, advises and appears widely in public conversation on economics, governance, technology and Malaysia's development, which is exactly the vantage point this fireside conversation draws upon.
