KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Asean Business Club president Tan Sri Munir Majid has suggested the bloc urgently establish a high-level commission to make decisions that will enable its 10 members to achieve full economic integration.
He said the commission, which could be permanent or on an ad hoc basis, should enable regional leaders to make binding decisions, at least on socio-economic and emergency matters, so the region can move forward.
This, Munir said, could be among the major tasks ahead for Malaysia when it becomes Asean chair next year, more so with Asean still lacking an effective and binding decision-making body despite being formed in 1967.
He lamented that during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was no coordination between leaders in purchasing vaccines as a group, leading to countries buying them separately and many lacking vaccines.
“We made a proposal in 2020 to set up an Asean high-level commission to make emergency decisions at the height of the crisis, but the leaders don’t meet when a crisis hits,” he said when moderating a discussion on the expectations of Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship, organised by the Asean Business Club.
Other panellists at the discussion were Japan’s Ambassador to Malaysia Takahashi Katsuhiko, Kuala Lumpur Business Club (KLBC) deputy president Datuk Fad’l Mohamed, and United States Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan.
Kagan amplified these remarks, saying Asean needs such a commission if it is serious about joining the G20.
An influential group, the G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union.
It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development, and Indonesia is a member of the grouping.
Just as the EU was aggressive about being admitted into the G20, Kagan said Asean should reach a consensus about joining and make its voice known.
He said Washington was confident that over the next 30 years, India and Asean will play an economic role “as the largest single drivers of global growth”, one that China has played in the last three years.
“And if the United States wants to be effective in the region, we need to be engaged and effective with Asean,” he said.
Katsuhiko said Japan will work with Malaysia as 2025 Asean chair to pursue greater geopolitical cooperation, digitalisation and climate change as “Asean cannot do everything alone” to achieve economic integration.
He also said a survey showed that over 80 per cent of Japanese companies in Malaysia want to continue doing business in the country.
To this end, both countries have agreed to support each other in enhancing the semiconductor business and undertaking projects in the digital economy, he said.
Katsuhiko said Tokyo was preparing government funding for Japanese companies, which could contribute to strengthening supply chain resilience in Malaysia, and, in the process, overcome global supply chain restrictions.
KLBC’s Fad’l Mohamed lamented the proliferation of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and regulations against economies across the region.
When Malaysia is Asean chair, NTBs, which he described as “low-hanging fruit,” are something the bloc could work to reduce or eliminate to push economic and financial integration, said Fad’l, who is also the managing director of RHB Bank Bhd wholesale banking.
Nevertheless, he lauded efforts in the regional sustainable finance space where “there has been a lot of effort put in, in terms of finding levels of harmonisation”.
“There’s a sustainable finance working group out there within Asean that has developed clear taxonomy standards among member countries,” he said, adding that seamless payments systems across countries in Asean were a clear case in point of financial integration.
Fad’l added that an advantage for Malaysia in assuming the chairmanship is that “we’re not starting from ground zero; we can leverage on some of the (economic) efforts put within Asean working groups, particularly on the financial side”.
Munir said: “Given the geopolitical situation today, it warrants us to start thinking a lot more as a collective bloc, particularly after 57 years and based on Asean’s regional economic strength.”
In apparent reference to the economic fallout from the Russian-Ukraine war, he said geopolitical events impact risk premiums and commodity prices, which translate into higher living costs in Asean countries, which will require collective action.
— Bernama
