KUALA LUMPUR — As chair of ASEAN, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is clearly asserting Malaysia’s position – and that of the regional grouping – as key players in the Global South and a rising force to be reckoned with, demanding a global shift from the dominance of bipolarity to equitable power-sharing through multipolarity.
Throughout his visits from South America to Southeast Asia, and most recently to Russia, the Prime Minister’s clear message has been for deeper South-South collaboration to consolidate economic and political influence, enabling these nations to carve out their own destinies rather than be dictated to by the North or developed countries.
Anwar’s call for a stronger Global South is therefore timely, as emerging economies grow in stature and influence, seeking a greater say in shaping the global economic and political agenda.
Given that the Global South represents 85 per cent of the world’s population and accounts for more than 40 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) – a share that is only expanding – its call for equity is highly justified.
As part of this strategy, Malaysia is now one of the nine partner countries in BRICS, an informal grouping of emerging economies. Its membership is fast expanding from the original five – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates became official members in 2024, giving the grouping greater clout in undertaking economic initiatives.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said that the other driving force behind Malaysia’s Global South push is the principle of a shared future – a concept that has been well received by fellow leaders.
Speaking to Malaysian media during his recent visit to Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister said Malaysia is – and will continue to be – focused on broadening its regional and global partnerships amid rising geopolitical realignments.
As an open trading economy, it is vital for Malaysia to continuously seek opportunities to protect its economic interests.
His call for the Global South to have a more influential voice in Moscow was similarly expressed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Malaysia in April.
In addition, Anwar galvanised support from the Global South to call for reforms in the international financial system, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The Prime Minister strongly believes the IMF and WTO should reform the international financial architecture to support free trade without discrimination against smaller nations.
“The rise of protectionism has begun, even among G20 nations that were originally proponents of free trade principles.
“This is why we proposed for the IMF to undertake reforms to the global financial architecture and for the WTO to support free trade without discrimination of smaller nations,” he said.
Anwar also said that Putrajaya remains committed to fostering shared growth, strengthening regional cooperation, and remaining open to trade, development and commerce.
“We will continue to promote an inclusive and sustainable approach to peace and security, both within our immediate region and beyond.”
As this year’s chair of ASEAN, Malaysia will work to revitalise underused platforms such as ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and South Korea) and the East Asia Summit – the only regional forum for strategic and security dialogue where competing powers can meet in a neutral and constructive environment, he said in an article published by Project Syndicate, a non-profit organisation of newspapers.
The upcoming ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit – comprising 10 Southeast Asian economies and six oil-rich Middle East nations – is expected to further elevate cooperation among the Global South.
These gatherings present major opportunities to engage ASEAN’s key trading partners and reaffirm the grouping’s commitment to rules-based multilateral cooperation, as ASEAN, BRICS and the Global South broadly share a common stance in resisting unilateralism. — BERNAMA
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