KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 21): Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar has called for Asean nations to adopt a common time zone of GMT+8 to foster greater economic integration across the region.
Among the 10 member countries, four (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines) have fully adopted GMT+8 — aligned with China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and western Australia, according to the chairman of the local stock exchange.
Another four countries, namely Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are currently on GMT+7, while Myanmar uses GMT+6.30. Indonesia, on the other hand, utilises multiple time zones, with central Indonesia using GMT+8, western Indonesia (including Jakarta) GMT+7 and east Indonesia GMT+9.
“My only wish is to see most of Asean adopting a common time zone of GMT+8 sometime in the near future,” Abdul Wahid said in his keynote speech at 2025 Malaysia Economic and Strategic Outlook Forum (Mesof) here on Tuesday.
“I believe such a move will further integrate Asean as a compelling economic bloc,” he added.
Malaysia Institute of Economic Research (MIER) executive director Dr Anthony Dass said that a unified time zone among Asean countries would serve as foundation for a singular voice within the regional coalition.
“When you have a common time — that is the regional coalition. So you start with this simple thing [same time zone] — and when we [Asean countries] get in, start negotiating, we become very strong, a single voice, not just in trade or geopolitical, but for other key contents as well," Dass said at the forum.
This year, Malaysia assumes the Asean chairmanship with the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability”, marking the fifth time it has done so, having previously been chair in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
Source: TheEdge - 22 Jan 2025
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