AEC will not ignore poor and unskilled workers - Najib

On the contrary, he said the strong growth and inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) had led to the creation of jobs, with the average ASEAN unemployment rate now at a low of 3.3 percent.

"There is no doubt that the AEC has opened up huge opportunities for skilled workers, as our countries are looking to grow from higher value-added activities and knowledge-based sectors," he added.

He said the AEC has provided a major impetus towards ASEAN sustaining strong economic growth that has led to an overall rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, so the ASEAN population certainly enjoys higher living standards.

"However, that does not mean that poor and unskilled workers are ignored," he said Thursday in a written response to questions posed by Bernama on the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits 2015 beginning Saturday here.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said ASEAN was also giving greater attention to labour related issues.

"We want to improve job quality and ensure reasonable wages for employees. The priority is to promote inclusive growth that takes into account the needs of workers in the region, narrow the development gap, and reduce or if possible, eliminate poverty," he said.

Najib will chair a series of summits this weekend between the 10 ASEAN economies and his counterparts from the grouping's dialogue partners which, among others, includes US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The AEC would be formally established at the ASEAN Summit.

To a question as to whether regional economic problems such as depreciating currencies and the slump in global oil prices would be a dampener on the effective realisation and implementation of AEC, he said: "Overall, the implementation rate of the AEC Blueprint measures have been a highly commendable 92.7 percent.

"Some 469 measures have been implemented with 37 still pending, and some will be addressed on a priority basis in early 2016."

He stressed that economic integration, especially among countries with different levels of development, would always be challenging, and of course external factors will have an impact.

"ASEAN might have missed or may miss some deadlines, but in general, we are moving strongly ahead," said Najib.

There is a firm recognition among ASEAN leaders that the AEC is for the good of the region, and the AEC 2025 Blueprint which will be unveiled on Nov 22, demonstrates their commitment, he added.

However, Najib cautioned that "there is still much more work to be done."

"Creating an open and truly integrated economic community cannot be done overnight, which is why we have allowed ourselves a 10-year period in which to set it up.

"We need to ensure ASEAN is firmly on the global radar as an attractive region for investments and global business activities, and the AEC is key to that," he said.

Asked about concerns that private sector companies do not have an ASEAN strategy except for big banks so as to take advantage of the AEC, he said: "This is not the view shared by all companies. In the past it may be true that ASEAN was viewed as 10 different markets. But businesses are now confident that the AEC, while it may not be there yet, is becoming a reality and barriers to trade are being reduced or eliminated.

"Companies have indicated that ASEAN integration is one of the main reasons for expanding their operations in the region, along with the rise of our middle classes and limited growth in other markets."

A special report by the CIMB Group and The Economist showed that 81 percent of non-ASEAN companies are likely to have a regional strategy, whereas only 55 percent of ASEAN companies had it.

"So, we need to ensure that our own businesses take full advantage of the coming opportunities.

"From the Malaysian perspective, we are seeing SMEs beginning to branch out into the other ASEAN markets. It’s not just the banks," said Najib.

The AEC 2025 Blueprint outlines further measures to address the concerns of the private sector, including continuously harmonising rules and regulations, standards and promoting greater transparency, enhancing liberalisation in the services sector, and relaxing limits on foreign equity participation and easing joint-venture requirements.

This, said Najib, would spur greater FDI inflows into the region.

"We will also support financial services and capital market integration and modernise payment systems, so that we can have an integrated, efficient and safe domestic and cross-border payments.