Kuala Lampur, Oct. 21 -- As Malaysia prepares to draw the curtain on its Asean Chairmanship and hosts the East Asian Summit (EAS) on October 28 2025, the region stands at a crossroads.

Hundreds of senior-official and ministerial meetings have debated everything from ceasefire monitoring to energy cooperation.

Yet one issue, too often dismissed as peripheral, now sits at the heart of regional stability and moral legitimacy - the digital scamming epidemic.

If Asean wants to end the Summit on a high, it must show collective resolve to stamp out this cancer that corrodes economies, destroys lives, and undermines trust in governance.

The new enemy within

Across South-east Asia, from northern Myanmar's border towns to Cambodia's coastal en...