Malaysia does good in bringing ASEAN closer to people: FM

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has delivered on its promise to bring ASEAN closer to the people during its 2015 chairmanship of the regional grouping, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said.

"Some of the initiatives undertaken by Malaysia during its chairmanship include boosting interface involving leaders with different sectors of society such as youth, civil society, business community and lawmakers," he told the press on Wednesday ahead of the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits later this week.

Malaysia has been pushing to create a "people-centered ASEAN," which is reflected in the theme of its chairmanship "Our People, Our Community, Our Vision."

Anifah added that the country's chairmanship has also underlined the concept of moderation in tackling regional and international issues.

The formation of the ASEAN Community by Dec 31, 2015, which entails closer integration through three pillars of political security, economy and socio-culture as well as a framework for the community's post-2015 vision will top the agenda of the meetings.

On the heels of the 27th ASEAN Summit, 18th ASEAN+3 Summit and the 10th East Asia Summit will also be held to discuss regional cooperation and future dialogue relations.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit and formally inaugurate the 27th summit on Saturday.

The series of meetings is expected to adopt 18 documents ranging from climate change, economic growth to maritime cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

ASEAN, founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.