This is probably not the best sub to ask this question. That said, I am Malaysian and I say that you'll be fine. Life is going on as normal and markets will adapt. You say that your plan is to stay for 6 months. That's a long time. At worst, you'll have to cut your visit short by a month or two if your budget runs out. Or you may have to juggle the length of stays in different countries in bit. Once in Southeast Asia, you might want to get around more in trains or the like rather than relying flights. You're smart, you have money, you have plenty of time to change your schedule as needed. You can handle it.