Parliaments Key To ASEAN Integration - AIPA President

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Parliaments must be at the forefront of regional integration efforts to ensure peace, stability and inclusive growth in Southeast Asia, said Dewan Rakyat Speaker and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) President Tan Sri Dr Johari Abdul.

He said the various achievements of the recently concluded ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur underscored the importance of parliamentary scrutiny, domestic ratification processes and legislative implementation in advancing regional initiatives.

“The achievements of our recent ASEAN Summit underscore precisely why parliaments must be at the forefront of our integration efforts. In the face of intensifying pressures, regional integration is more vital than ever.

“These initiatives require parliamentary scrutiny, domestic ratification processes and legislative implementation that our national assemblies will ultimately oversee,” he said in a speech at the 46th AIPA officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, today.

Johari also reminded parliamentarians of their fundamental duty to carry the voice of the people and that their legitimacy and survival as democratic institutions depended on upholding this trust.

“We entered public life for service and to carry the voice of the people, especially those who cannot easily speak for themselves.

“Our legitimacy, our relevance and indeed our survival as democratic institutions, depend on never losing sight of this sacred trust,” he added.

According to Johari, in the era of the Internet of Things, parliaments must be “whiter than white” by upholding transparency and accountability in real time, as democracy must deliver on its promises or risk losing its meaning.

He said AIPA’s role was crucial in aligning national legislation with ASEAN’s regional frameworks, turning regional aspirations into domestic legal realities.

“Be it in digital trade, sustainable finance, green technology, food security, climate action or social protection, all require legal frameworks that unlock innovation while protecting our people,” he said.

Johari also reminded that parliamentarians were not only lawmakers but also “bridge-builders” entrusted with shaping peace, stability and inclusive progress across the region.

He noted that the theme of AIPA 2025, ‘Parliaments at the Forefront for Inclusive Growth and a Sustainable ASEAN’ was aligned with Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme, ‘Inclusivity and Sustainability’, showing that parliamentary diplomacy is an important partner to ASEAN’s executive agenda.

-- BERNAMA