ASEAN is durable and time-tested - PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN's strength lies not in drama, but in its durability having withstood wars, crises and coups over nearly six decades since the region's establishment in 1967, and together, has what it takes to tackle Washington's move to impose debilitating tariffs that saw global markets taking a rout.

In instilling much-needed confidence for the region, Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said ASEAN, which Malaysia is now Chair, has always moved forward, even if it is was "only by inches, often frustratingly, but forward nonetheless."

ASEAN, he said, has always been a creature of evolution, not revolution.

Therefore, US President Donald Trump's move to impose tariffs is not the first challenge to multilateralism, nor will they be the last, but if ASEAN can hold its nerve - stay open, pragmatic and cohesive - it may yet be among the last believers in a world that works better when it works together, the Prime Minister said at the ASEAN Investment Conference, here, today.

-- BERNAMA