Forum unites Asean policymakers to determine action steps for Malaysia

KUCHING: Policymakers, industry experts, business professionals, and corporate leaders gathered at the inaugural The Asean Post Forum themed “Reimagining Southeast Asia 2018” ( Forum) yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.

The forum was officiated by Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. Also in attendance were Datuk Darell Leiking, Minister of International Trade and Industry; Maria Castillo Fernandez, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Malaysia; Narong Sasitorn, Ambassador of Thailand to Malaysia; diplomats from Embassies of Asean and EU countries as well as representatives from Malaysia’s corporate and business elites.

The forum aims to promote and facilitate compelling conversations, present hardhitting questions and examine insights that help drive greater integration within South East Asia.

It also aims to encourage Malaysian businesses as well as civil society champions to engage in the Asean dialogue and embrace regionality.

An initiative under The Asean Post, the forum aimed to facilitate better understanding and offer insights that affect decision making processes and outcomes in relation to the many pressing issues and challenges within the region.

During the event, Saifuddin said, “Malaysia is in the third stage of democracy where civil society is expecting the decisionmaking process at the policy level to be more participatory.

“This ‘deliberative democracy’ thinking forms the new government’s approach to our foreign policy framework. In addition, we are also looking to align with and embed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in our framework to focus our efforts.

“To facilitate complex conversations like these, we need an effective media platform like The Asean Post that can play a key role to ensure that these conversations are accurately and objectively framed.”

One of the prime initiatives of The Asean Post is to bring together inf luential professionals, businesses and organisations from all Asean member states, who share a common goal in line with the aspirations and ambitions of the regional bloc. The Forum featured prominent speakers discussing key topics and issues related to geopolitics, renewable energy, markets, technology, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“We are pleased to announce the official launch of The Asean Post. We have, over the past year, been working with various partners to further deepen the Aseanconversations.

“As a regionally- focused technology-driven, communications and intelligence platform, or Platform as a Service ( PaaS), we curate and produce thought- provoking insights driven by data that expertly frames critical issues shaping the future of South East Asia.

“We look forward to collaborating within different markets and working with partners to encourage greater focus on the Asean region and its potentials.

“With the global centre of economic gravity rapidly shifting to Asean, we believe that the Asean dialogue will shape greater integration and propel SEA forward,” said Rohan Ramakrishnan, founder and chief executive officer of The Asean Post.