KUALA LUMPUR: The calls made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last year to revisit the proposal for the establishment of Asian Monetary Fund will be important for the region in mitigating the impact of global economic crises.
Khazanah Research Institute senior advisor Emeritus Professor Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram said this was because the International Monetary Fund is no longer seen as being able to deliver its role to provide the necessary assistance during crises since the 1990s.
"In the middle of last year, the prime minister made a speech and spoke on the Asian Monetary Fund. I think that was an important idea to put forward and a lot of (interest) have been invested into this.
"I think we should not exaggerate what regional monetary funds could achieve.
"However, if we look at what is happening in Latin America, they are in a better situation now regionally as far as regional monetary arrangement is concerned," said Jomo during a dialogue session at the 2024 Global Intellectual Discourse here today.
The session titled the "Malaya Dialogue: Where is Malaysia Heading? The Next Economic Frontier and Future of Malaysia in the Era of New Global Uncertainties" was moderated by Professor Datuk Dr Rajah Rasiah.
Other panelists included United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network president Professor Dr Jeffry D. Sachs and Professor Datuk Dr Woo Wing Thye, who is a visiting professor at Universiti Malaya.
Present to grace the event was the sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
Anwar last year reiterated his call for the establishment of an AMF, which was first mooted by Japan, in his intervention at the 42nd Asean Summit 2023's opening and plenary session held in Indonesia.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister said the setting up of the AMF could help to enhance the region's regional economic independence and safety net.
Jomo, at today's dialogue, also stressed the importance of Malaysia and members of Asean to maintain its neutrality and a zone of peace.
"This (stance was agreed upon) over half a century ago but we have take the matter seriously. We have to ensure that Asean remains nuclear-free.
"Unfortunately, a few countries in the region have already allowed some kinds of arrangement, allowing nuclear-powered "craft" passing through Straits of Malacca.
"We need to very firm about this because we ran a risk of becoming unwitting parties to regional conflicts and that is a really serious threat (to member countries in the region)," he said.
