Summit and sambal: KLCC reflects real ASEAN spirit

by AUFA MARDHIAH

AS LEADERS gather in Kuala Lumpur for the 46th ASEAN Summit, many people within the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) are still unclear about the event — or even what ASEAN stands for.

The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) did a quick quiz with visitors around the area and found that most could name a few member countries but struggled to explain the meaning behind the regional bloc.

“I don’t know…A is for Asia?” said Nalisa Amira Sudinar, 29, a social media executive working nearby.

With some help, she correctly answered the full ASEAN acronym — “Association of South-East Asian Nations”.

Ahmad Fikri Roslan, 34, guessed “Association Southern Asian Nation”, but knew that the summit helps strengthen ties between countries.

Even Ina Widianti, 26, a tourist from Indonesia, was unsure when ASEAN started.

“I think 30 years ago?” she said, before learning it was formed in 1967.

“I hope the summit helps build stronger relationships and supports tourism and trade,” she added.

All three respondents named countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia as ASEAN members, but none could identify their country’s leader attending the summit.

“It is important that they meet — for economic and development progress,” said Nalisa Amira.

All of them also agreed that better cooperation among ASEAN nations is important.

Ahmad Fikri said the meeting is crucial and that people, especially citizens of member states, should know about it because it involves “our country and others”.

However, when shifting the topic towards culture, the two foreign tourists Ina and Siiriin Tarmizi, 37, from Singapore were very well aware of the delicacies between ASEAN countries.

“For the food here, I like nasi lemak and teh tarik, which we had for breakfast earlier today,” said Siiriin, expressing her delight towards the dish.

Ina also successfully named a few ASEAN dishes — nasi goreng from Indonesia, tom yum from Thailand, chilli crab from Singapore and banh mi from Vietnam.

This shows that beyond the political border, people are well familiar with their neighbouring countries’ cultures.

While policies are being discussed inside KLCC, the mood outside shows that regional unity can also be felt in everyday conversations — even if not everyone knows what ASEAN means.

The summit, held from May 23 to 28 at the KLCC, brings together top officials and heads of government from 10 member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — along with Timor-Leste as an observer.

The meeting marks an important milestone as Malaysia chairs ASEAN in 2025.

Formed in 1967 with just five founding members, ASEAN was created to promote regional peace, stability and economic growth during a time of Cold War tension and political uncertainty in South-East Asia.

Since then, it has evolved into a bloc of over 680 million people, working on areas such as trade, diplomacy, infrastructure, digital connectivity and climate cooperation.