By Yasmin Ramlan
KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — Asean must drop its overambitious plans and focus on achievable steps to deepen economic integration, said Asean Business Advisory Council (BAC) chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak.
Citing the region’s failure to deliver on the Asean Economic Community (AEC) promises, he stressed that new geopolitical challenges, such as the recent United States (US) tariffs, require Asean to act urgently with practical reforms — starting with initiatives like the Asean Business Entity (ABE) and regional IPO frameworks to foster intra-regional trade, investment, and growth.
“If Asean cannot bind together stronger now, if it cannot turbocharge economic integration workstreams now — when can we?” Nazir said, calling the current geopolitical landscape a critical turning point for the region.
“Really, it should be about achieving tangible, piecemeal progress, not grand plans… despite the fact that politicians always love grand plans,” he said during his keynote address at the Asean Investment Conference at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.
Nazir, who is also the former chairman of CIMB Group, said that Asean must learn from the AEC's shortcomings.
“Although tariffs were brought down on almost all items, non-tariff barriers rose practically in tandem.
“Many restrictions remain on movements of people, capital, and investment. Asean still resembled ten fragmented markets instead of a single production base,” he said.
Nazir recalled the bank’s push to become an Asean-wide financial institution in anticipation of regional integration by 2015 but said the expected synergies and rapid growth never materialised.
“I recall being disappointed by the AEC launch at the end of 2015 and somewhat jaded by the persistent gap between the ambition and rhetoric and reality of our regionalism,” he said.
Despite this, Nazir is now optimistic about Asean prospects, pointing to three main reasons — shifting geopolitical tides, a new generation of regionalist leaders, and a more grounded approach to integration.
He also highlighted the importance of Asean carbon market cooperation, noting that Malaysia has already launched a national carbon market association to build capacity and collaborate within the region.
“This is a pivotal time for Asean. It sounds like a cliche, but when the world is pivoting toward the unknown, it is not,” Nazir said.
