Malaysia's PM Anwar bullish on Asean grid and Myanmar conflict

Grouping has built consensus on various issues, including trade, US tariffs, he says

- Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is bullish that "very constructive" outcomes will result from the Asean Summit and related meetings that Malaysia is hosting as regional leaders began meeting on May 23, citing progress on a regional power grid and the Myanmar civil war.

He told a May 25 interview with select regional press outlets, including The Straits Times, that Kuala Lumpur has been "engaging very aggressively" with others in the 10-nation grouping, which has built "consensus on a number of issues", including intra-Asean trade and the United States' blanket import tariffs.

On the power grid, the Premier said the plan to connect "Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore is considered done" and it was now a matter of fast-tracking the overland route as well as an undersea cable from Sarawak, the East Malaysian state that is planning to nearly triple its renewable energy capacity to 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2035.

He noted that there are two separate cable routes, landing either in West Malaysia or Singapore, but "in my initial discussions with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, whichever is earliest... we are fine with both".

In April, Asean secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn said that a regionwide grid would require an investment of US$764 billion (S$981 billion).