Malaysia as Asean chair in 2015: What to expect

On November 13, at the close of the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Naypyidaw, Myanmar President Thein Sein handed the ceremonial chairman’s gavel to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, marking the official handover of the annual rotating Asean chair from Myanmar to Malaysia for 2015. As one of the four original founding members of Asean, Malaysia will be tasked with leading the organization in a year filled with important developments in the areas of community-building, economic integration, and regional architecture.

Regional community-building will top the agenda. Malaysia will preside over the organization during a critical the year in which it is expected to form an Asean Community (AC) by December 31, 2015. While Asean elites have long been skeptical that the deadline will be met, Malaysia will help formulate the “post-2015” ten-year roadmap for this community-building from 2016 to 2025. Work on this has already started, but it will nonetheless be a gargantuan task.