Kuala Lampur, April 2 -- When Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia's public sector and GLCs would begin work-from-home (WFH) starting April 15 to cushion the impact of a global energy crisis, many Malaysians may have viewed it as just another policy adjustment. It is actually a clear and urgent signal that what is happening thousands of kilometres away is already reshaping our daily lives.

The ongoing geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel, and conflicts in the Middle East are often framed as distant issues. For many Malaysians, it feels removed by assuming that something is happening "over there."

But global systems do not operate in isolation. A disruption in critical chokepoints like the Strait of H...