Passing Glimpses of the Present: Penang, Malaysia and the Region In a Time of Geopolitical Swings is a collection of Ooi Kee Beng’s thoughts, which exhibits a return to geopolitical affairs in his intellectual attention. It is far from true that Malaysian politics never really change. Much has indeed changed. But changes are never what you really expect. That makes them both exasperating and exciting. As a Malaysia-watcher, as a scholar of decolonisation and Asian nation-building, and as a post-modern philosopher, Ooi Kee Beng has allowed himself to be inspired by current events rather than overwhelmed by them. He seeks signals in the noise.