Southeast Asian nations must not create a ‘neglected underclass’

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told a group of businessmen at an ASEAN summit on April 28 that economic growth needed to reach everybody.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was the sixth or seventh largest economy in the world, he said. ASEAN members needed to learn from other large economies, the risks of great income imbalance.

“One of the lessons of the rise of extremist populism in Europe too is that a neglected underclass of those who felt left behind by economic growth, prosperity, and the benefits of globalization can overturn elections and political systems,” he said.

ASEAN, now 50 years old has tripled its economy in that time. However, stability and future growth depended on inclusivity. Najib urged ASEAN nations to learn from, not repeat the errors made by others.

“The turmoil in the European Union and the strong swells of anti-EU opinion in many countries on that continent demonstrates the dangers of Europe-wide institutions of not having sufficiently won the support of member state populations,” Najib concluded.