Of the many meetings throughout the ASEAN Summit week, the one that I was most proud of was the ASEAN Joint Foreign and Economic Ministers’ (AMM-AEM) Meeting held on 25 October. The last time the foreign and economic ministers of ASEAN sat together for a…
I would like to thank ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Satvinder Singh and the ASEAN Secretariat for the report on the outlook of this year and the next. I would also take this opportunity to welcome Timor-Leste for joining the group and be part of this big…
I would like to congratulate Datuk Professor Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), and Dr. Ram Madhav of the India Foundation for organising this inaugural India-ASEAN Strategic Dialogue. I visited Delhi twice—last year and this year—to attend the…
I am glad to see different entities coming together, building something in common in ASEAN. I hope this initiative will also be geared towards achieving public purposes. ASEAN cannot just depend on purely a Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), which has been the case for the…
This week I made two separate day trips, one to Johor and another one to Penang. In spite of a hectic schedule, I was so drawn to a book that I finished reading it during the long car ride and in between meetings. The book…
May I welcome you to MITI to celebrate the 58th ASEAN Day Commemoration and the official opening of 7th ASEAN Economic Integration Forum (AEIF). I would like to congratulate MITI and UKM for organising this gathering. A bit of history As the saying goes, “nature…
I would like to thank Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC) and Securities Commission for inviting me to deliver the Keynote Address at this important Sustainable and Responsible Investment Conference 2025, held in collaboration with the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI). The theme, ‘Shaping the…
I would like to congratulate the organisers of the ASEAN Semiconductor Summit (ASEMIS) 2025 and also welcome delegates from around the region and beyond. Today’s semiconductor industry is no longer just a pillar of economic growth, it is a cornerstone of national security, technological prowess…
I would like to make four points today. First, by 2045, where do we see ASEAN? This is a very important question, and I would like to see ASEAN becoming a middle-class society. This means ASEAN should not just be a production site. ASEAN should be a middle-class society with a sizable consumer population. In this case, China is a good example. When China joined…
I am honoured to speak to distinguished business leaders here at this event. As Malaysia chairs ASEAN this year and as leaders of this region congregate in Kuala Lumpur for the 46th ASEAN Summit and related Summits, I would like to reiterate the importance of…