KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN needs stronger regional cooperation to bolster energy security and address the capital coordination challenges facing the region’s energy transition, said Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said there is an enormous investment gap, with ASEAN requiring an estimated US$200 billion (US$1 = RM4.09) annually through 2030 to finance its energy transition.
He noted that despite almost all ASEAN economies committing to net zero, projects continue to take too long to reach bankability, regulatory frameworks remain fragmented, cross-border financing is limited and risk-sharing mechanisms are inadequate.
"We do not have an ambition problem. We have a capital coordination problem,” he said in his keynote address titled "Bridging the Investment Gap in Regional Energy Shifts” at the 7th International Sustainable Energy Summit (ISES) 2026 here today.
Tengku Zafrul outlined three regional measures that ASEAN could pursue, beginning with the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), which is targeted for full integration by 2045.
He said the integrated grid would allow the region’s diverse energy resources, including hydropower from Laos, geothermal energy from Indonesia, wind energy from Vietnam and solar power from Malaysia, to reinforce one another.
Secondly, Tengku Zafrul proposed an Asean Green Investment Facility that would pool sovereign, pension and private capital to de-risk strategic projects across the region.
"Because no single treasury should have to shoulder this alone,” he said.
Finally, Tengku Zafrul called for shared emergency protocols, joint fuel reserves, coordinated crisis communication and regional supply-chain monitoring to strengthen ASEAN’s preparedness for future disruptions.
"(This is) so that the next shock does not catch this region flat-footed the way the last one did,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul also said Malaysia stands ready to lead the regional energy agenda through initiatives including the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030, National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and Green Investment Strategy.
"But leadership is about who brings everyone else along. The gap is regional. The shocks are regional. The solutions, too, must be regional.
"Let us act with urgency, because every day we wait, we pay for it in exposure. Let us act with unity, because a fractured region is a vulnerable one, and a connected region is an unbreakable one,” he added. - Bernama
