Penang CM Chow Kon Yeow says trust, not connectivity alone, is key to sustaining cooperation amid rising geopolitical rivalry and uncertainty
GEORGE TOWN: Trust, rather than connectivity alone, will determine whether countries can continue working together as geopolitical rivalry intensifies, said Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He said while countries were becoming increasingly connected economically and technologically, they were also facing greater geopolitical competition, strategic rivalry and uncertainty.
“Different peoples do not have to become the same in order to build something together,” he said during the Penang Peace Dialogue 2026 dinner gala at Jen Hotel here yesterday.
Chow said Penang’s long history of coexistence offered lessons for a world grappling with differences among peoples and nations.
He said peace should not be viewed simply as the absence of conflict, but as the ability of different peoples to live, work and prosper together despite their differences.
“For centuries, George Town and the Straits of Malacca have brought together people, religions, ideas and trade from across Asia and beyond.
“Penang has never been defined by a single culture, language or way of life.
“Our identity was built through encounters between people who were different, learning to trade, interact and live alongside one another,” he said.
He added that ancient maritime routes that once connected Penang to the world had evolved into modern global supply chains, with the state’s manufacturing, semiconductor and technology sectors deeply integrated with markets across Asia and beyond.
“That interdependence creates opportunity, but it also creates vulnerability,” he said.
Chow said when stability prevailed, trade flourished, investment flowed and people prospered, but when divisions deepened, disruptions could quickly spread across borders and supply chains.
He said the question was therefore no longer simply whether the world was connected, but whether those connections could withstand greater strategic rivalry and diverging interests.
“In the past, we often spoke of infrastructure as the foundation of connectivity. In a more multipolar world, trust must also become an infrastructure of cooperation.
“Connectivity can bring countries together, but trust is what allows them to remain together when interests begin to diverge,” he said.
Chow said dialogue did not require agreement on everything, but required an ability to understand differing interests, keep communication channels open and identify areas where cooperation remained possible.
He said this made the theme of the dialogue, “Bridging Civilisations in a Multipolar World”, particularly relevant.
“We are not here to make different societies think alike, but to better understand one another and find ways to work together despite our differences,” he said.
Addressing former Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Chow said Indonesia brought a particularly relevant perspective to the discussion.
He cited the 1955 Bandung Conference as an example of countries with different histories, political systems and interests coming together to establish principles for coexistence without surrendering their independence.
“More than seven decades later, the circumstances have changed, but the challenge remains familiar: how do we protect our interests while keeping the door to cooperation open?” he said.
Chow said Indonesia had continued to play an important role in shaping that conversation, from Bandung to Asean.
He also said the success of a peace dialogue should not be measured by whether participants left with the same views, but by whether they were more willing to listen to those with differing perspectives and more prepared to find common ground.
“And perhaps that is Penang’s small contribution to this larger conversation: we can be open to the world without losing who we are, and we can be different without being divided,” he said.
Chow said he hoped the gathering would bring together people who might not normally meet, facilitate discussions that might otherwise not take place and build relationships that would continue beyond the event.
He welcomed Widodo and the other participants to Penang on behalf of the Penang State Government and people of Penang.
“May tonight’s conversations broaden our understanding, deepen trust and remind us that in a more uncertain world, peace depends not on eliminating our differences, but on having the trust and wisdom to manage them and continue working together,” he said.
