Asean member countries should transcend
nationalistic agenda and ease regulatory frameworks to promote competitiveness.
Unless this is done, Asean might end up facing the plight of eurozone
countries, a leading Malaysian corporate figure said yesterday.
According
to YTL Corp Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Dr Fancis Yeoh, more leadership
is needed to overcome political barriers that impede economic benefits. As an
example, he is proposing the establishment of an Asean energy grid.
"Let's
volunteer to do this regulatory framework so that entrepreneurs can take the
opportunity of a 600 million market," he told reporters at a press
conference after speaking at the CIMB Asean Conference 2012 in Kuala Lumpur.
If an Asean
energy policy can be established where regulatory framework for all energy
policies in these countries are the same, it will promote crossborder
investment in areas such as piplines, gas and exploration, he said.
YTL
Corp Bhd owns YTL Power International Sdn Bhd a utility company which is
involved in, among others, power generation projects in Malaysia, Singapore and
Indonesia.
In
Singapore's deregulated energy market, YTL Power wholly-owns Power Seraya Ltd
which has a licensed generation capacity of about 25% of the country's power
generation capacity.
While a
regional energy policy will be a tough and challenging effort, it will be a
significant milestone, Dr Yeoh said.
Removing
subsidies in the energy sector, for example, gas subsidies in power generation
would be one of the biggest challenges, although necessary to reflect economic
reality, he said.
"If
you can find a framework that can actually introduce competition and
investment, you will make the electricity prices quite competitive and
inexpensive for Asean," he said, adding that there would be no need to
worry about electricity subsidies affecting current account deficits.
If a
country can no longer afford subsidies, such as what is happening in Greece,
industries will lose competitiveness and there will be unemployment, he said.
Market
prices for energy will also encourage responsible consumption, Dr Yeoh noted.
After
tackling the regional energy policy, Asean member countries should look into
forming a "strong water policy" as it is fast becoming a scarce
resource, he said.
Dr Yeoh
noted that crossborder cooperation initiatives will be achievable once
political barriers are removed.
Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien
Loong have been able to agree upon areas of economic cooperation and solve
long-standing conflicts with more ease than before, he noted.
Dr Yeoh
said that Asean countries should realise the benefits of an integrated market,
with transparent regulatory frameworks that welcome global investors before the
region gets lulled into unproductiveness as a result of nationalistic
tendencies.
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