OPENING SPEECH 

BY 

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM

PRIME MINISTER  

IN CONJUNCTION WITH 

THE JOINT OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 43RD ASEAN MINISTERS ON ENERGY MEETING AND ITS ASSOCIATED MEETINGS AND THE 2025 ASEAN ENERGY BUSINESS FORUM

         16 OCTOBER 2025 I 2.30 PM 

KUALA LUMPUR CONVENTION CENTRE,

KUALA LUMPUR

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Salam Sejahtera.

YAB Datuk Amar Haji Fadillah bin Yusof,

Timbalan Perdana Menteri;

Rakan-rakan Menteri-menteri; dan

Saudara-saudari yang dihormati sekalian.

1. Kita bersyukur ke hadrat Allah SWT dan menyatakan penghargaan kepada rakan-rakan, khususnya Dato’ Sri Fadillah yang dapat mengemudi sidang ini dan saya bisikkan kepada Dato’ Sri Fadillah sebentar tadi bahawa melihat kepada beberapa rangkaian pertemuan Menteri-menteri ASEAN, sidang Menteri Tenaga ini di antara yang lebih berhasil dan substansive dengan hasil yang sangat konkrit. Tahniah!.
2. Ini satu penanda aras yang sukar dicapai. Tapi baiknya, kerana dia di antara mesyuarat yang terakhir. Jadi sukar diikuti yang lain, jadi menunjukkan keupayaan yang baik dan saya bangga dengar rumusan keputusan yang dibuat. Tidak mudah dan tahniah kepada seluruh tenaga. Kerana tenaga ini merupakan di antara strategi utama dalam kepengerusian ASEAN kita. Dan kita lontarkan idea ini sejak awal sehingga termeterai dalam satu perjanjian atau persefahaman dalam sidang ini.

Fellow Ministers, Excellencies and ladies and gentlemen,

3. I began just now by expressing my profound thanks and gratitude to the Ministers and countries in ASEAN who have been very supportive of this venture. The last few years and particularly this year, we made it very clear that one of the trusts of our chairmanship is energy. Energy transition with the focus on energy or power grid or ASEAN power grid covering initially Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and coming into Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and then Sarawak, of course one of these hub, energy hub in the region going to Indonesia and the Philippines.
4. So, listening to the YAB Datuk Amar Haji Fadillah summation of the conference today, I made this reference to the fact that we have had series of meetings of ministers from, say, January this year — Foreign Ministers, now probably the last energy ministers meeting.
5. And I must commend not only YAB Datuk Amar Haji Fadillah, but the entire ministers and the secretariat, because this is probably the most substantive with formidable results seen in the collaboration of a cohesive ASEAN fraternity. So, thank you very much and congratulations.
6. These meetings, of course, come at a very pivotal moment. Across the world, the energy landscape is shifting under the pressures of decarbonization, supply security and affordability. For ASEAN, home to 680 million and because we are quite productive, we can reach 700 million very soon if you measure productivity in that sense. But other than the population growth, it is still, despite the uncertainties, tariff pressures, etc., it is still the fastest, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And this transformation must be managed responsibly and collectively.
7. So, this year, the region has achieved key outcomes for the energy sector. We have adopted Phase One of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation and endorsed the Enhanced Memorandum of Understanding for the ASEAN Power Grid. Again, thanks to my colleagues in ASEAN for being not only supportive, but I think energetic. I thought only the Minister of Energy would be energetic, but I think it represents the entire leadership. These decisions mark major progress in regional cooperation, integration and being able to focus on energy transition.
8. The new Plan of Action will serve ASEAN’s policy compass for the next decade. It sets clear pathways to expand renewable energy, improve efficiency, and strengthen regional interconnection. It also places equity at the centre of our transition. This ensures that all Member States advance at their own pace toward a low carbon, sustainable and integrated energy future. And this is again to my mind an exceptional feat within the ASEAN fraternity.
9. Every field that we discuss, be it digital transformation or energy transition or growth generally with trade, investments and intratrade we always consider the fate of level of success and progress of all countries and this of course is consistent with many of our national policies, because we cannot cope with that obsolete understanding of progress when you tolerate or condone inequity and great disparity between regions or sub regions, the rich and the poor.

Ladies and gentlemen,

10. A central pillar of that vision, I should say the crown jewels, if I may, is the ASEAN Power Grid, the APG. Now conceived more than two decades ago, deliberation after deliberation, but only in the last few years. I must commend again the ministers for taking a more concerted action, knowing that time is the essence that is also the z/the gist of our times and therefore, to achieve ASEAN’s aspiration, to connect our power system, share resources and build resilience and interdependence. This will enable us to harness renewable energy potential, reduce our reliance on fossil or fuels and deliver reliable, affordable electricity and energy across borders.
11. We has long supported the APG and beyond our interconnection with Singapore and Thailand, we are part of the Lao PDR–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project, which has enabled multilateral power trade. Brunei is exceptional because of its close proximity to Sarawak and therefore to Indonesia and the Energy Minister of the Philippine, you see, assuming the chairmanship kept on reminding me while I was focusing on Fadillah’s speech, they said, “Don’t leave the Philippines.” I can assure you that ASEAN has to work as one, so you can be rest assured. Thank me if we are successful, if we are slow, blame Minister Fadillah (humorous tone).
12. So together we have an opportunity to embark on this phase of the Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines framework, and we’ll make ASEAN a truly integrated entity grid.
13. A well-connected grid strengthens regional integration, attracts green investment, creates quality jobs, and positions ASEAN as a hub for clean-energy industries and technologies. The challenges are harmonising regulations, financing and infrastructure.
14. And again, I thank you for your achievement with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank because this would be essential and critical to ensure success, but together we can also ensure effective governance significant, surmountable with trust, commitment and political will.
15. So, we need to redouble our efforts: accelerate the process, interconnection projects, align regulatory frameworks, and deepen public-private collaboration.
16. So, the ASEAN Energy Business Forum provides the ideal platform for these partnerships – to turn plans into power lines and vision into reality.
17. The APG is the backbone of regional cooperation that links sustainability, security, and affordability in real terms. Malaysia remains fully committed to this shared agenda. With unity of purpose, we can balance the energy dilemma and power ASEAN’s growth for decades to come.
18. Excellencies, friends, you know that ambition must be matched with resources. The APG requires sustained investment and innovative financing. So again, we must commend your efforts and your ability to attract the interests of major institutions and the participation of the private sector to ensure the success of the power grid financing.
19. Let me end by again expressing my gratitude, thanks, and commendations, because my other colleagues may be rather upset, because if you distinguish the differences of all these conferences, and the number of those that I personally have attended, from security to energy to digital to, of course, foreign, finance, I think, without exaggeration, the Energy Ministers Conference probably is a landmark, the most successful one thus far. Thank you.
20. But real cooperation is still being written. So, the challenge for you is to return and come back next year to Manila and ensure that what we have decided can be affected as soon as possible.

Thank you. Terima kasih.