Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-Bac) Malaysia has called upon Asean to become more dynamic and realistic in the ever-changing global environment.
Wednesday, 12 July 2017
PETALING JAYA: Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-Bac) Malaysia has called upon Asean to become more dynamic and realistic in the ever-changing global environment.
Its chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid urged the bloc to get clearer and sharper on the issues confronting the region, even if it is not capable of overhauling the way its decisions are made.
Asean, a regional inter-governmental organisation comprising 10 member states including Malaysia, will turn 50 years old this year.
Asean-Bac will organise the Asean@50 Conference next month to commemorate Asean’s significant contributions to the region in the past half a century.
“As Asean reaches 50 and looks ahead, it needs to become more dynamic and realistic in a global environment which is getting ever more challenging and is being transformed by rapidly changing technology.
“In this regard, I would like to put forward two specific proposals, namely the setting up of an Asean Youth Council (AYC) and the need to draft an Asean social and education policy document,” said Munir.
He added that the establishment of AYC is crucial to deliberate on the youth’s view in shaping the bloc’s trajectory, moving forward.
Munir also noted that the roles of the youth in Asean were limited, despite 60% of the region’s population being under the age of 35.
“There needs to be a more broad-based involvement of Asean youth than just in business entrepreneurship, especially when it comes to the future shape, character and policies of the regional organisation.”
