As Malaysia takes the helm as ASEAN chair in 2025, one of the most ambitious regional goals is taking centre stage: the finalisation of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA). This framework aims to build a seamless, integrated digital economy across one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic regions. The discussions around DEFA are often dominated by high-level policy talk of trade rules, data governance, and cross-border payments. But a crucial question is often overlooked: what is the technological foundation on which this entire interconnected ecosystem should be built?
Choosing the right technological principles is not a minor detail—it’s a strategic decision that will determine whether the ASEAN digital economy becomes a vibrant, collaborative powerhouse or a fragmented collection of siloed, proprietary systems. In a recent conversation with Kelly Switt, Global Head of Industrial Business at Red Hat, she argues that the answer isn’t a specific product or a single vendor, but a philosophy that has powered technological progress for decades: open source.
This isn’t just about saving costs on software licenses. It’s a strategic argument for using open source as a foundational policy to ensure the long-term success, resilience, and sovereignty of the region’s digital future.
The Great Equaliser for a Diverse Region
One of the biggest challenges for DEFA is the sheer diversity of the member states’ economies. A technological framework that works for Singapore’s hyper-developed digital landscape must also be accessible to emerging digital economies within the bloc. According to Switt, this is where open source excels, acting as a “great kind of equaliser”.
The core principle of open source is the democratisation of technology. By providing free and open access to cutting-edge software, it levels the playing field. Local startups in Malaysia and across ASEAN can access the same powerful tools as global tech giants, allowing them to innovate and scale without being locked into expensive, proprietary ecosystems. This fosters a more inclusive and competitive environment, which is essential for broad-based regional growth. A report from the World Bank on digital trade highlights that interoperability, a key feature of open-source standards, is critical for reducing barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the global digital economy.
“If you think about it, it’s about freedom of access, right? And the democratisation of the technology.”
Kelly Switt,
Global Head of Industrial Business at Red Hat
For a framework like DEFA to succeed, the digital systems of ten different nations must be able to communicate seamlessly. Open source, with its emphasis on common standards and interoperability, provides the common technological language needed to connect these diverse economies.
Building a Resilient and Scalable Talent Pool
A digital economy is only as strong as the people who build and maintain it. One of the most significant, yet often underestimated, benefits of an open-source-first strategy is its impact on talent development.
Switt points out a critical flaw in relying on closed, proprietary systems: knowledge becomes siloed. When a company builds its operations around a niche technology, it becomes dependent on a small pool of experts. “When someone leaves, so goes all the knowledge about how a system operates”. This creates a significant risk for businesses and for a nation’s overall tech capacity.
Open source flips this dynamic. By building on globally recognised platforms and communities, companies and governments can tap into a vast, continuously evolving talent pool. The communities driving the most valuable open-source projects are powered by thousands of contributors, all sharing knowledge and building skills collaboratively. This creates a virtuous cycle: as more organisations adopt open source, the demand for these skills grows, encouraging universities and training institutions to incorporate them into their curricula, which in turn expands the local talent pool. The Linux Foundation’s annual “Open Source Jobs Report” consistently finds that proficiency in open-source software is one of the most in-demand skills in the tech industry, with a majority of employers actively seeking to hire professionals with this expertise.
For Malaysia, which is attracting record foreign investment to become a premier hub for data centres, building this scalable workforce is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity. The massive physical infrastructure being built will require an equally massive pool of skilled talent to operate it, and open source provides the most effective path to developing that workforce at scale.
Fostering True Innovation and National Sovereignty
The traditional relationship between a technology user and a vendor is often a passive one. A company buys a product and is locked into that vendor’s ecosystem for updates, support, and future innovation. This “vendor lock-in” poses a strategic risk, particularly at a national or regional level. It can stifle local innovation and create dependencies that undermine digital sovereignty.
The open-source model fundamentally changes this relationship. It transforms users from passive ‘customers’ into active ‘collaborators’ in a shared innovation ecosystem. Switt notes that this shift is already happening in industries like manufacturing, where customers are pushing their suppliers to adopt more open systems to gain better control over their data and operations.
“Innovation comes from the sharing of ideas. You’re creating this talent pool in a very open, collaborative, innovative environment.”
Kelly Switt,
Global Head of Industrial Business at Red Hat
By adopting open-source principles, the ASEAN bloc can ensure that its digital infrastructure remains flexible and adaptable. It allows member states to build upon a common foundation while retaining the freedom to customise solutions for their unique needs. It fosters an environment where innovation is driven by a diverse community of collaborators, not dictated by the product roadmap of a single corporation.
A Strategic Choice for ASEAN’s Future
As Malaysia guides ASEAN towards finalising the DEFA, the choices made today will shape the region’s digital landscape for decades. The debate over its technological foundation should go beyond comparing features and prices. It should be a strategic discussion about what kind of digital economy ASEAN wants to build.
The argument for an open-source-first approach is compelling. It offers a path to a more equitable, interoperable, and innovative digital future. It empowers local talent, prevents strategic dependencies, and ensures that the benefits of the digital economy are shared broadly. Making open source a core principle of DEFA is not just a technical decision; it’s a powerful policy choice for a truly sovereign and collaborative digital ASEAN.
