BRICS can learn from Asean

One for the album: (Front row, starting third from left) Star Media Group (SMG) group chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt, UOB Malaysia chief executive officer Ng Wei Wei, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong, Asean Economic Community deputy secretary-general Satvinder Singh, Tengku Zafrul, Asean Business Advisory Council Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak, Philippines’ Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) for the Industry Development Group of the Department of Trade and Industry Ceferino S. Rodolfo, Centennial Asia Advisors founding director and chief executive officer Manu Bhaskaran, Boston Consulting Group managing director and partner Nurlin Salleh and SMG chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng in a group shot with the participants of the Asean Economic Opinion Leaders Conference 2025 at Menara Miti in Kuala Lumpur. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The positive experience of South-East Asian countries under the Asean regional grouping over the past five decades can serve as an example of how economic blocs like BRICS can work, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (pic).

The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said some may argue that BRICS lacks the cohesion necessary for long-term stability without a unifying force.