Sharing Malaysia’s experience as Asean Chair, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the country had worked with its South-East Asian neighbours to manage tariff shocks, supply-chain pressure and rapid technological changes.
“We have found that when policies are aligned and rules are predictable, shocks pass through with less damage.
“The lesson is clear; resilience comes from common preparedness, not isolation,” he said.
Anwar said global resilience cannot be built on fiscal exhaustion, observing that many developing economies spend more on servicing debt than on education or investment.
“Countries need the capacity to invest ahead of disruption, not after. Multilateral development banks must be ready to deploy more quickly and work closely with countries to support the investments that build resilience.
“Malaysia is ready to work with all partners to meet this common challenge and to help sustain an open global economy that gives our people a fair chance to thrive,” he said during Malaysia’s intervention at Session 1 of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
The Prime Minister pointed out that without early investment in transition, workers, especially the young, will face these shifts alone.
“We have seen the consequences before when societies were unprepared for globalisation: stagnant wages, eroded trust and the rise of politics that feed on grievances.
“With AI (Artificial Intelligence), destabilisation becomes a real risk if countries enter this transition unprepared. This will be one of the defining challenges of our times.”
Anwar said countries must equip their people, especially the youth, for the speed of technological change, whereby opportunities for training and credible safety nets are essential.
“Second, open and predictable trade remains vital. In South-East Asia, we are doubling down on international trade. We have seen that connected markets and clear, stable rules strengthen supply chains and give firms the confidence to invest,” he said.
The Prime Minister again stressed the importance of resilience, this time in dealing with disasters.
Describing South-East Asia as one of the world’s disaster epicentres, accounting for around half of global disaster fatalities and more than US$4.4bil (RM18.34bil) in economic losses, Anwar said the region had learnt that resilience depends on anticipatory investment.
“That is why our region has built one of the most active disaster-response systems in the developing world through the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance,” he said.
What needs to be in place is a broader, multi-level approach to climate action, adding that Asean’s experience shows that regional platforms can advance climate action, disaster cooperation and energy connectivity even when global processes struggle, he said.
“We must embrace technological pragmatism. If fossil fuels cannot be eliminated overnight, then we need the technologies that reduce their footprint. Malaysia is investing strongly in this direction, including the development of carbon capture and storage hubs.”
Anwar said countries must accelerate adaptation where impacts already threaten lives and livelihoods, especially in food and water security, adding that without stronger adaptation and support for farmers, tens of millions more people could face hunger by 2050.
“Malaysia will work with all partners – global, regional and local – to advance a climate strategy that is ambitious yet grounded in the realities our people face.
“To sustain these efforts at scale, international climate finance must be accessible, predictable and aligned with the needs of developing regions.
“Only then can we secure livelihoods and advance shared prosperity,” he added.
The 21-member G20 is an intergovernmental forum that was founded in 1999 in response to several world economic crises. This is the first time that the summit is being held on African soil.
