A new Asean post 2025?

IT was a brief but memorable event: a five minute presentation of the breathtaking sight of bright spiral lights and colours, with dancers and percussionists performing on stage to launch the Asean Community – a landmark achievement for a group which started with just five founding members in 1967.

The Asean Community launch took place in Kuala Lumpur in 2015, the year Malaysia was the Asean Chair. Witnessed by leaders from Asean and their dialogue partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Russia – and even United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon, then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak declared that the community was not just about the economy.