KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must leverage every available regional and international platform to directly address shared concerns with key partners, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In his keynote address at the Common Action Forum (CAF) titled Sovereignty and Fair Interdependence: The Global South and the Democratisation of Prosperity, he said that promises of reform must go beyond rhetoric and be translated into tangible action.
"When nations perpetrate violence with impunity, when millions remain in poverty, and when climate disasters devastate vulnerable communities — these are policy and moral failures that demand urgent action.
"The time for half-measures and incremental change has passed. We face a clear choice: continue with a system that marginalises most of humanity, or build a new order based on genuine partnerships, shared prosperity, and sustainable development.
"We must act boldly to create the future our world so desperately needs," he said.
Anwar said that Malaysia's Asean chairmanship next year, under the theme of "Inclusivity and
Sustainability", challenges systems that exclude developing nations.
"Our vision of Asean centrality highlights how regions of the Global South can maintain independence while engaging constructively with global powers," he said.
"Malaysia's engagement with BRICS reflects our recognition that, as a rising upper-middle-income nation, we share common economic interests with other emerging powers. Countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa offer significant market opportunities."