"Mr. Najib's win wasn't the result the urban middle classes were expecting, " said James Chin, a visiting fellow at the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

WSJ: Malaysia Opposition Leader Vows to Fight 'Rigged' Vote

"They were close to getting a two-thirds majority, and that will mean a stable and secure government, " said James Chin, a Malaysian political science professor and a visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

WSJ: Malaysian Prime Minister Wins Election

"What remains to be seen is whether Lewis is up to exerting influence in the alien administrative context of Singapore and NUS, " said Michael Montesano, a research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and a Yale alumnus.

WSJ: Yale's Singapore Joint Venture Taps a President

Indeed, Linda Lim, a professor of Southeast Asian studies at the University of Michigan Business School, notes that the country's puny savings rate, chronic budget deficits and high ratio of nonworking dependents to workers make it look more like a Latin American than an Asian nation.

FORBES: The Ronald Reagan of the Pacific

Founded in 2002 and celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012, the firm conducts syndicated and custom research studies on Chinese gamers, Southeast Asian gamers, online games, offline games, consoles, handhelds, regulatory issues, piracy, development, online operators, distribution, and retail.

FORBES: Booming Chinese MMO Games Market Forecast To Generate $6.1 Billion In 2012