Signing declaration was a deeply emotional moment for me - Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has disclosed that signing the declaration on the formation of the ASEAN Community was a very personal and emotional moment for him.

The prime minister said what struck him was that he was continuing his late father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein's legacy in the development of the regional grouping which came into being in 1967.

Tun Abdul Razak was Malaysia's second prime minister (1970-1976).

Najib said he was filled with emotion to have been fated to ink the historic document, continuing what his father had started 48 years ago when the latter was foreign minister.

"It was a very personal moment for me and I was very moved," he told a press conference at the conclusion of the 27th ASEAN Summit and related summits here on Sunday.

"I could never imagine that I would be signing the documents 48 years later. This is the most important evolution in ASEAN history," he said.

Back in 1967, then foreign minister Tun Razak joined four other regional counterparts in signing the Bangkok Declaration that gave birth to ASEAN.

Earlier, in his opening remarks during the signing ceremony of the ASEAN Community 2015, Najib said he was 15 years old when his late father together with Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore and Thanat Khoman of Thailand signed the declaration that gave birth to ASEAN.