OOI KEE BENG spent a significant part of his career at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). He arrived in ISEAS in Singapore from Sweden in 2004, and left in 2017. During the first half of his time at the Institute, he was in the Regional Socio-Cultural Studies and the Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP). From 2011 until his departure, he was Deputy Director, charged with overseeing the Institute’s entire research programme.

Always a doer, Kee Beng inspires by example. Very prolific as an academic, during his time at ISEAS, he was active in three broad areas.

Kee Beng perhaps became best known for a series of very influential biographies of Malaysian and Singaporean first-generation leaders. This includes but is not limited to the likes of Ismail Abdul Rahman, Lim Kit Siang, Goh Keng Swee, Yusof Ishak and Lee Hau-Shik. Coupling in-depth archival research with key informant interviews, these biographies afforded the public and researchers an intimate and human perspective into the lives and times of these foundational personalities. As an aside, this work put the ISEAS library on the region’s radar as a safe and respectful abode for personal libraries and documents.

Kee Beng also wrote prolifically on Malaysian politics, including a trilogy that analysed the country’s transition away from Mahathir through the Abdullah Badawi period and into the Najib era. He also wrote or co-edited books on the run-up to or aftermath of the 2008, 2013 and 2018 general elections, namely March 8: Eclipsing May 13, Done Making Do: 1Party Rule Ends in Malaysia and Catharsis: A Second Chance for Democracy in Malaysia.

The third area of his research was on regional issues. This includes the winner of the ASEAN Book Publishers’ Association Award, Continent, Coast and Ocean: Dynamics of Regionalism in Asia and The Third ASEAN Reader, both of which he co-edited. And, perhaps the book with the most far-reaching impact is the critically-acclaimed The Eurasian Core and its Edges: Dialogues with Wang Gungwu on the History of the World.

In addition to his research work, Kee Beng published in newspapers from the region, including his frequent contributions to the Straits Times op-ed page, his column in The Edge and innumerable articles elsewhere. He also regularly appeared on Channel NewsAsia, showing the Institute’s more introverted researchers the tantalising possibilities of engaging with the media.

As Deputy Director (2011-2017), Kee Beng reconfigured the way the Institute engaged with the wider community. Firmly believing that researchers should share more of their research in a timely and accessible manner, ISEAS began to produce a monthly newsletter summarising and analysing key events in the region. This then evolved into the shorter and more analytical Perspectives, produced from 2012 onwards; and then the longer and more in-depth Trends, published from 2014 until the present. Professionally copy-edited and produced as well as quickly released, these outputs really multiplied the reach and impact of researchers.

In line with his penchant for new ideas, Kee Beng started a wide-ranging and ambitious research project looking at how neighbouring Southeast Asian countries relate to each other. However, explicitly eschewing conventional land-based approaches, Kee Beng pushed us to look at how the sea simultaneously connected and divided adjacent nations. On a personal level, this led to a very enriching part of my career, where I, along with colleagues from ISEAS and beyond, looked at interactions between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia across the Singapore and Johor Straits.

Beyond the ideas and the innovation, Kee Beng was very active at the coalface of the publication process. With a keen eye for detail, colour and flair, he took the lead in revamping covers, designs and websites. And, he personally edited the bulk of the Institute’s output, from Perspectives to Trends, as well as many compilations. Over the years, my own outputs often benefited from his deft touch, ranging from reframing to retouching a title or phrase.

During his sojourn at ISEAS, Kee Beng brought a new vision about what research ISEAS should carry out and how it should engage with the public. In line with this, he was able to dismantle mental and procedural barriers about how researchers should work with each other and relate to their own scholarship. Kee Beng’s ideas, innovation and inspiration left ISEAS an immeasurably improved institution.