Malaysia spearheading efforts for Timor-Leste’s full Asean membership, says Tok Mat

The Star

Malaysia has contributed USD100,000 in total to the Timor Leste unit at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wisma Putra announces.  Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said this was to expedite and assist Timor-Leste’s Asean permanent membership.  Read more at https://bit.ly/3Q41GrV  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer in the MQT session, which was led by

00:10a respected friend of mine, on the role of Malaysia's first objective as the chair of ASEAN 2025

00:21in promoting the unity of resilience and regional relevancy in the political, security, economic, socio-cultural

00:29and also what has been done by Malaysia as the chair of ASEAN for us to help

00:38so that this team can continue to be absorbed as a permanent member of ASEAN.

00:47Ladies and gentlemen, as the chair of ASEAN this year, Malaysia is fully prepared

00:55to shoulder the responsibilities entrusted to us.

00:59This is certainly a valuable opportunity for Malaysia to improve the profile and image of our country

01:07as well as to show Malaysia's leadership and efforts as a diverse chair.

01:14For the knowledge of the Board of Directors, this is the fifth time we have been the chair of ASEAN,

01:22which ended in 2015 with 10 members with a 10-year rotation.

01:30If the team is absorbed as a permanent member, there will be 11 ASEAN members.

01:38Fortunately, the theme chosen this year by us as the chair of ASEAN is

01:44inclusivity and sustainability.

01:51This is Malaysia's main leadership in leading ASEAN.

01:56This theme, ladies and gentlemen, is among others to emphasize the importance of dialogue and cooperation

02:03that is inclusive and compatible to ensure that the ASEAN region remains safe and stable.

02:11That is our strength because the strength of ASEAN is a safe, stable and independent region.

02:19This is our motto, the original concept of the establishment of ASEAN five countries.

02:24This is what our former leaders want to achieve so that the ASEAN region becomes a safe, stable

02:37and independent region.

02:43It will enable all aspects of life continuity to be continued by ensuring that no one is left

02:50behind in dealing with geopolitics, economy and infrastructure challenges.

02:54In promoting this unity, the resilience and relevancy of this region is global.

03:01Malaysia has outlined three main priorities,

03:05which are, first, as I mentioned during the inauguration of ASEAN foreign ministers on

03:1318th and 19th January this year,

03:16contrary to what was said by some of the new writers saying that ASEAN has no leadership,

03:22there is no agenda.

03:23We have set an agenda and all of it is well received by ASEAN members.

03:29First, our guidance to promote ASEAN is that Malaysia will give a boost to increase efforts

03:40to ensure that the ASEAN region remains safe, stable, safe and independent when faced with

03:47international geopolitical challenges.

03:50This will be carried out through building strategic confidence, dialogue and diplomacy

03:57through the principle of ASEAN centrality.

04:02Second, our guidance as ASEAN leaders is in terms of economy.

04:10Malaysia will give a boost to efforts, as I mentioned last Monday at the end of the month,

04:16to increase trade and intra-ASEAN investment which is still very low, not even 25%.

04:27Malaysia has the opportunity and space to increase trade and investment while ASEAN

04:34is a very large country and we can benefit from it.

04:37Third, we are encouraging efforts to raise the level of ASEAN trade agreements,

04:45such as A3 and ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement or DFA,

04:52where both of them are designed to strengthen the economic resilience in this region.

04:58Third, our goal is that Malaysia will promote an inclusive, safe and competitive community

05:07by prioritizing efforts to close development gaps, improve quality of life and deal with

05:13the impact of climate change so as to defend the economy and development can be felt by

05:20all layers of society in this region, including the rural communities.

05:25We have coordinated this with the government to promote ASEAN and its aspirations

05:34to form a community that serves the people or with the permission of a people-centered community.

05:41During this year's ASEAN-Malaysia Summit, ASEAN will launch ASEAN 2045 Community Vision

05:50and four strategic plans that will implement these seven strategic plans for the next 20 years.

05:59In the past, the ASEAN Community Vision was 10 years.

06:03We, as the host country during 2015, have a 10-year ASEAN Vision.

06:12Now, we want to make it 20 years, and it has been agreed by all the leaders of ASEAN countries.

06:20That is the ASEAN 2045 Vision, from 2025 to 2045.

06:25Malaysia is given the responsibility and the respect once again as a Permanent Shepherd,

06:30that is, we are the country that is committed to this vision.

06:34We will do this by ensuring four pillars.

06:39The usual three pillars are the pillars of security and politics, the pillars of economy,

06:45the pillars of social culture, and we will add another pillar, that is, we want to make connectivity.

06:53Because the continuity and connectivity between ASEAN countries is very important.

07:00It will become a large network where the mobility of people in ASEAN will be facilitated,

07:09mobility of goods will be facilitated, and it will be a catalyst for our economic pillar,

07:18that is, for us to trade and also to increase investment between ASEAN countries.

07:25Ladies and Gentlemen, this Vision expresses ASEAN's aspiration to promote this network

07:31as a network that is integrated in terms of its political, economic, and social aspects.

07:37Next, let's take ASEAN as an example to the world.

07:41As the main advocate, with the permission of the Permanent Shepherd that I said earlier,

07:46this vision, Malaysia will ensure that it becomes the main structure in dealing with the challenges of the time

07:54and will come through various strategic collaborations that have been identified

07:59to all the pillars of security and stability in this area.

08:04Stability and security are the strengths of ASEAN and ASEAN cannot be broken.

08:10Our strength is that we are a strong cooperative bloc and we ensure that this strength

08:18as a strong ASEAN network, we are not coexisting but we collaborate with each other.

08:26So this is our strength.

08:27And many countries are now competing to sign the TAC agreement,

08:34that is, the Security and Cooperation Agreement with ASEAN.

08:39This year alone, we will sign five or six countries from European and surrounding countries

08:47together as a friendly country in ASEAN.

08:50So far today, ladies and gentlemen, the discussion on these four strategic plans has been smooth

08:56and in line with the plan that we have established.

08:59Two of these strategic plans, the security and culture policy, have been successfully completed

09:08at the office level.

09:10And there are two more, that is, the economy and connectivity are still at the office level

09:18but almost 90% have agreed with all ASEAN countries on these four pillars.

09:24And we will launch it later when we have a summit or a summit of ASEAN leaders

09:34on May 46, God willing, we will launch what is called the Kuala Lumpur Declaration

09:43on the ASEAN Vision 2045 for the next 20 years.

09:48So, ladies and gentlemen, that is what we have done,

09:51guidance for us to act as a pillar for ASEAN countries to be closer together.

09:59There is an effort to divide us, that is what we really want to avoid,

10:05so that the ASEAN agreement remains intact, ladies and gentlemen.

10:10The ASEAN agreement, ASEAN cooperation,

10:12understanding among ASEAN countries is very necessary,

10:16especially at a time when the geopolitics of the world economy has broken down

10:21and is no longer stable as we once felt at one point in time.

10:26So, it is even more important,

10:29even stronger effort for us to strengthen the ASEAN unity,

10:34the ASEAN agreement as a secure, stable bloc

10:39and have a strong potential for economic development.

10:45We are a safe country and many people want to come to trade and invest here.

10:50And ASEAN is now the fifth largest economic growth in the world.

10:57In 2030, ASEAN's GDP will be the fourth largest economy in the world.

11:05This is an opportunity that we need to take,

11:09with the condition that we must agree together and ensure that this ASEAN unity remains intact and intact, God willing.

11:17Regarding Timor-Leste, the second question was asked by the Prime Minister and the Vice President,

11:24Timor-Leste has also stated its desire to become, since they became an independent country in 2011,

11:31stated its desire to become a member of ASEAN, a permanent member.

11:36And we, the ASEAN Secretariat, have done it in various ways.

11:41And in 2022, the leaders of ASEAN have agreed to incorporate Timor-Leste as a sovereign state.

11:57So, we are doing it and for the first time,

12:01because in the past, before the Timor-Leste case,

12:05to become a permanent member of ASEAN, there were no regulations,

12:10there were no criteria or roadmaps that they must comply with.

12:14But it has been done in Phnom Penh since Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and entered as a permanent member.

12:24ASEAN has also stated that anyone who wants to become a permanent member of ASEAN must meet various criteria

12:34and must have a lot of instruments.

12:37So, Timor-Leste is the first country that needs to go through to meet these criteria.

12:43There are a lot, there are 88 instruments in total that Timor-Leste needs to meet.

12:49And most of the instruments are in the economic sector or economic pillars.

12:55Of these 88, 69 of them are in the economic sector.

13:03They need to meet these instruments.

13:06During the Vientiane case last year, Malaysia has also suggested that Timor-Leste does not need to meet these 88 criteria

13:18if they can meet the 20-30% that they have met before.

13:23And we give them time or time so that they can meet it slowly

13:31and so that they can become a permanent member of ASEAN this year.

13:38It seems that the suggestion was well received by ASEAN members and we have also established it.

13:46At the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, we have established a special unit to help,

13:55we call it the Timor-Leste unit,

13:58where Malaysia has also provided financial assistance to establish the unit of 200,000 USD.

14:05And this unit functions to help Timor-Leste

14:09so that they can immediately meet all the requirements or regulations that they need to comply with

14:17and they will be able to integrate us as a permanent member of ASEAN this year, God willing.

Category

Transcript

Recommended