REGIONAL: 3 Southeast Asian Billionaires Makes Forbes Asia’s Philanthropy Heroes List

Posted by Asia Views | Dec 14, 2025 | 0 |

VNExpess/CNBC/TheStar/StraitsTimes/Bloomberg-Dec 11

Three Southeast Asian billionaires, based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, have been named on Forbes Asia’s list of 10 individuals and families in Asia-Pacific recognized for their philanthropic contributions. These three 2025 honorees, featured on the unranked list for their philanthropic contributions over the past two years, share a common emphasis on supporting education as their way of giving back. Malaysian Jeffrey Cheah, 80, tycoon last month announced a RM500 million (US$121 million) education endowment, one of Malaysia’s largest, to drive academic excellence, world-class research and innovation at Sunway University, which he started in 2004. Singapore’s billionaire Wee family’s philanthropic arm, Wee Foundation, and banking empire United Overseas Bank in April donated S$110 million (US$86 million) to Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. A few months later, it donated another S$5.7 million to the Nursing Academic Fund, which it launched in 2022 to back graduate studies and professional training for nurses at SingHealth hospitals. Nicknamed the “coal king,” Indonesian Low Tuck Kwong, 77, built his fortune through Banyan Resource, the coal production and port operation company he founded in 2004. His net worth is estimated at US$24.4 billion. Born in Singapore, Low moved to Indonesia in 1972 and became an Indonesian citizen in 1992. The coal magnate has made contributions in Indonesia, including to the Bandung Institute of Technology and the University of Indonesia. Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/billionaires/3-southeast-asian-billionaires-makes-forbes-asia-s-philanthropy-heroes-list-4992579.html

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

REGIONAL: 3 Southeast Asian Billionaires Makes Forbes Asia’s Philanthropy Heroes List

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