ASEAN MUST PROJECT ITSELF AS ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT REGION - MALAYSIAN PM

From Mokhtar Hussain

NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun
Razak said Malaysia and the other Asean countries must project themselves as an
attractive region for investment compared to other markets, such as China and
India.

He said Southeast Asia had the capacity to emerge as a progressive region
for investment and trading opportunities with the United States.

"It is most important that as a country and as a region, we should portray
our national and regional profile at a high level.

"Otherwise, there is a possibility of Malaysia and our region to be eclipsed
by other economic areas such as China and India," said Najib, who is also
Finance Minister, at an Aidilfitri "open house" for Malaysian students in the
United States, here on Saturday.

As such, he said, he regarded the discussions between Asean and US leaders,
chaired by US President Barack Obama, here on Saturday as an important
development.

Najib, who is implementing a transformation programme to make Malaysia a
high-income economy, said that unlike in the past the Southeast Asian region was
getting more attention and focus from the United States for promotion of
investment and trade.

He said many did not know that Malaysia and the other Asean countries as a
group represented a huge investment zone and had great potential for trade with
the United States.

"It is a fact that investment in Asean is huge as a group compared with US
investment in China and India," he said.

Besides Malaysia, the other Asean countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

-- BERNAMA