Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship – How Malaysians Abroad Can Benefit From This Vital Period.

It has been an exciting year for Malaysia’s growth. From an abundance of investments into various industries to the strengthening of our currency, opportunities for further growth in the nation continue to arise. Malaysia will officially assume the Chair of ASEAN on 1 January 2025. This means the nation will have expanded responsibilities as well as a larger influence over the region during this period.?

The role of the ASEAN chairman serves to strengthen relations with external partners and accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. It also plays a pivotal role in responding to crises, chairing meetings held between the Committee of Permanent Representatives and hosting the ASEAN Summit, which acts as the highest policy-making body in ASEAN.?

As Malaysia takes to the global stage with its chairmanship, the nation’s increased influence in the region entails plenty of benefits for its citizens, both at home and abroad. So how can Malaysians everywhere take advantage of this chairmanship to accelerate their own career growths or contribute to the nation’s growth?

Leveraging growth opportunities.?

As ASEAN chair, Malaysia’s increased regional influence and presence means stronger support networks for Malaysians based throughout the ASEAN region, bringing new opportunities for Malaysians working abroad due to ongoing trade agreements and initiatives. One such example is the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The AEC envisions the ASEAN region as a single economic market that is fully integrated into the global economy, so Malaysia’s collaboration with the AEC could potentially mean more jobs, business ventures and investment opportunities for not just Malaysians at home, but those abroad in technology, finance and manufacturing.?

On the topic of investment, according to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia plans to leverage its 2025 ASEAN chairmanship to position itself as the region’s premier investment destination. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim states that Malaysia’s leadership will be used as an opportunity to attract greater economic partnerships and showcase its potential to global investors. This is great news for Malaysians abroad as their familiarity with both Malaysian and international markets is likely to position them as highly skilled and valuable talents in their respective fields.?

Malaysia’s leadership in ASEAN can also facilitate cultural exchanges, scholarships and educational opportunities across member countries. This benefits Malaysian students, researchers and professionals by increasing cross-border academic partnerships and cultural programs, which could provide career opportunities for Malaysians living outside Malaysia.

Malaysia could also foster initiatives on home ground that could reverberate across the ASEAN market. Thanks to the success of TalentCorp’s KESUMA Green Skills Fair in Malaysia this year, we can look forward to a Green Skills Fair in 2025 that will come with stronger implementation of green skills and sustainable practices across the ASEAN region, with Malaysia spearheading the process. The fair aimed to increase engagement and awareness of job opportunities while providing talents with the necessary skills to contribute effectively to the thriving green economy. The success of the fair along with Malaysia’s chairmanship sets the stage for a repeat of the fair on a regional scale with the nation hosting once more.?

These new opportunities that come with the chairmanship indicate that Malaysians across the ASEAN regions are likely to have more facilitations available to upskill themselves in their careers and play a part in Malaysia’s growth during this time.?

You can be a part of your nation’s success.?

Malaysia’s chairmanship represents what MyHeart stands for – cross-border collaboration that benefits Malaysia and enhances the regions that collaborate with us. Malaysia will stand at the heart of the ASEAN region in 2025, facilitating collaboration and exchanges between member countries. This puts Malaysia in a beneficial position. In fact, Malaysians abroad can also do their part to enhance their nation's growth to ensure the best possible outcome of the chairmanship.?

You can do this by contributing your skills, expertise and insights back to Malaysia via knowledge-sharing initiatives. Much like Malaysia’s position encourages cross-border collaboration, Malaysians abroad can do the same from wherever they are.

An inspiring example would be the exemplary work of Dr. Sasikala Sankaran Pillai, whose desire to contribute to the nation led her to her role as the Chief Internal Auditor at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. She contributes to the nation’s growth by coordinating ASEAN Audit Committee meetings and working closely with other chairing countries while representing Malaysia.?

Dr. Khusairy, a Malaysian engineer, also continues to support Malaysia’s sustainable engineering landscape while in Washington via knowledge sharing and policy-making as a certified Graduate Engineer by the Board of Engineer Malaysia (BEM) and Professional Technologist and Graduate Technologist by the Malaysian Board of Technologists (MBOT). His contributions align with the nation’s goal to implement more sustainable practices.

If you’d like to be a part of Malaysia’s advancement during our chairmanship run, share your knowledge and skills back home using MyHeart’s Collaboration initiative.?