A couple of days ago, in a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the socialist party PSM outlined economic challenges facing Southeast Asia and strategies to create an equitable region. The memorandum was received by one of the special officers to the PM.
BFM discusses the various challenges and opportunities ahead for Asean with PSM chair Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj:
The biggest political and economic challenges currently plaguing the Asean region, from the decline in government revenue, suppressed wages and the climate crisis
Problems with institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and alternative strategies
- How can Asean nations develop their internal markets and productive capacities? One of the reasons we rely so heavily on foreign investment is because we have no choice due to our productive capacities
Why it is important to develop a sense of regionalism and for Asean nations to negotiate with foreign powers (ie China and Brics) as a unit
Unequal development in Asean and how it prevents economic cohesiveness in the region. As we know, Singapore is one of the most developed economies in the world; Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the like are perhaps middle economies; Myanmar continues to endure tremendous hardship – there is an ongoing civil war and revolution.
Presented and produced by: Dashran Yohan/BFM
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