00:00ASEAN works best when you don't go for, you know, giant ambitious leaps and achieve very little.
00:08Instead, you go for concrete small steps and move forwards progressively.
00:12Do you have any message specifically for This Is ASEAN 2025 and what you hope to achieve?
00:32I think we learnt from the past about what ASEAN can and cannot do, what ASEAN should and shouldn't do.
00:39In 2007, when, you know, I remember running CIMB at the time and was so taken by the ASEAN Economic Charter.
00:48And we thought that when we grow up, when ASEAN grows up, we want to be like the EU.
00:53Well, we don't. That is not the right model, probably, but it's definitely not the right model for us.
00:59ASEAN works best when you don't go for, you know, giant ambitious leaps and achieve very little.
01:06Instead, you go for concrete small steps and move forwards progressively.
01:12Small but concrete steps.
01:15ASEAN Business Advisory Council Chair Nazir Razak believes that a more modest and targeted approach works best for ASEAN in achieving its goals.
01:25His remarks come amid growing global uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and the rising tide of protectionism worldwide.
01:32Businesses across ASEAN have raised concerns about mounting barriers to trade and investment
01:38and are calling on governments to present clear plans for navigating geopolitical rifts.
01:43You know, the world now accepts that, you know, completely unfettered free markets is no longer a reality, right?
01:55And we accept that within ASEAN, within ASEAN nations, we all have our domestic political priorities
02:04and there will be restrictions.
02:06So those are accepted now, more accepted than ever.
02:11What do you think can be done to attract more global capital, even in the midst of regulatory barriers?
02:18So it's a question of, you know, negotiating the right deals.
02:23And even in the case of the Malaysia-U.S. relations, there's conversations around the various non-tariff measures
02:32and how to bring them down.
02:35So I think it's more about identifying the opportunities.
02:39And then after that, it's about working through what needs to be kind of brought down
02:46in order to crystallise those opportunities.
02:55Shut up.
02:56Okay.
