Malaysia’s trade chief defends slow-moving Asean as ‘master of its own house’
‘Where others retreat, Asean responds, and when others collide, Asean connects’, Tengku Zafrul Aziz tells a summit in Singapore
Tengku Zafrul Aziz offered a robust defence of the 10-nation bloc’s consensus-driven approach at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Thursday, insisting that its slow deliberations were a strength, not a weakness.
Addressing an audience of business leaders, government officials and investors, Zafrul argued that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was one of the world’s few effective middle-power platforms, offering a rare space where representatives of the United States, China, India, the Middle East and Europe can engage on equal terms.
As the current Asean chair, Malaysia made no apologies for its fierce neutrality, Zafrul said, stressing his country’s determination to keep the region open to all and be “master of its own house”. This was the surest route to peace and prosperity, he contended.
Once Asean decides, it is the voice of 10, not the will of one
“Where others retreat, Asean responds, and when others collide, Asean connects, and when others fall, Asean springs forward,” Zafrul told the summit. “But critics say Asean sometimes moves too slowly. Sure, consensus-building is time-consuming, but once Asean decides, it is the voice of 10, not the will of one.”