KUALA LUMPUR: Asean has been urged to
implement doable measures to spur integration under the Asean Community which
will be launched tomorrow.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun
Razak, who will hand over the Asean chair to Laos on Sunday, also called on the
grouping to build a community of nations that would prosper together.
Speaking at the Asean Business and
Investment Summit, Najib said he had received a report from the business
community recommending measures to improve economic integration under the Asean
Economic Community (AEC).
The report was produced by the Asean
Business Advisory Council.
The AEC, which seeks to create a single
market and production base in the region, is one of the three pillars of the
Asean Community which will be formed by the end of next month.
“Some of them (the recommendations) are
very doable,” said Najib, citing the proposal for an Asean Business Card to
facilitate business travellers in the region as an example.
“If Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation) can do it, why can’t we? When you arrive at an airport and you see
a sign saying Asean lane, you get a feeling that being someone from the region
means something.”
Najib said cultivating a sense of
belonging to Asean was the next step in the regional body’s community-building
journey.
“It will take generations, but we have
to begin the journey now.”
Najib said there were many other things
that could be done to make it easier for businesses in the region.
They include removing non-tariff
barriers and non-tariff measures, helping small and medium enterprises and
micro enterprises to operate beyond national boundaries within Asean, creating
freer movement of skilled personnel.
Beyond businesses, Asean, he said,
should look at measures to create a greater interaction and understanding, for
example by making it easier for youths to study in any member country.
Najib said that as long as Asean stood
united with its core values, he was certain the region could deliver continued
sustainable and inclusive growth.
“This is the Asean Community that we
need to build, and we need to prosper together.”