Who we are

The South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO) is a health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) located in Peninsular Malaysia. Established as a research platform by an international partnership of universities, SEACO was officially launched on 20 November 2011 by Y.A.B. Dato’ Haji Abdul Ghani bin Othman in Johor Bahru.

We have a Governing Board with an Independent Chair, a representative of the Director General of the Malaysian Ministry of Health, a representative of the Scientific Advisory Group and representatives of each of the Partners.

Operationally, we are managed by Monash University, Sunway Campus, and hosted by the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

SEACO collaborates with researchers from Monash University and other prominent universities across the globe. Our raison d’être is to provide a base from which high quality, internationally relevant science can be conducted that will be locally, regionally and internationally relevant.

​This observatory was established with the intention to be a generic research platform capable of supporting a wide range of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research in the clinical and biomedical sciences, social sciences, economics, education and environmental sciences. At our core, we are a technology to capture and make usable, rich longitudinal data about a geographical area including the individuals, families and households within the communities in it. We also observe the relationship between the people, their health and wellbeing, and the broader environment.

Research for a healthy community

SEACO is all about research, however, our success is highly dependent on the generosity and support of the communities with whom we work.

Obtaining data via willing participants, who reveal confidential information for the purpose of our researches, is only possible due to the trust they have in us. To ensure the safekeeping of their hard earned trust, we have strong security systems in place so data is not lost, misrepresented or wrongfully revealed. Our data collectors also practice three key priorities - Safety, Privacy, Quality (Keselamatan, Privasi, Kualiti).

We are committed to use our researches for the benefit of the individuals and communities involved.

Vision

SEACO conducts community-based “whole of life research” at a world class research and training site with high quality infrastructure, and informs internationally, nationally and locally relevant questions related to population health and well-being.

Mission

SEACO delivers high quality data from research findings in health science, sustainable development, and better governance and policy, with the opportunity to build artificial intelligence and data science.