<article>The full implementation of the <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community" target="_blank">Asean Economic Community</a> (AEC) by the end of this year is unlikely, although the overall compliance had already passed the 90 per cent mark.</article>

The full implementation of the <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community" target="_blank">Asean Economic Community</a> (AEC) by the end of this year is unlikely, although the overall compliance had already passed the 90 per cent mark.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Wahid Omar said that despite not being able to meet the full compliance target, the AEC had made good progress since the start of this year.
“Starting this year, we were at about 80 per cent. I’m told that we have already crossed the 90 per cent mark. I don’t think we’ll achieve 100 per cent compliance by the end of this year, but we have come a long way to achieve the 90 per cent to 95 per cent overall progress,” he told local media on the sidelines of <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.economist.com/events-conferences/asia/southeast-asia-summit-2015" target="_blank">The Economist’s Southeast Asia Summit 2015</a> yesterday.
In a <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/aec-unlikely-meet-end-2015-deadline?type=Corporate" target="_blank">Digital Edge Daily report</a>, Wahid noted that the various Asean countries are at different stages of development, and that the mutual recognition concept had always been encouraged.
The private sector would also be invited to step in and play its role to lead the Asean initiative going forward. Wahid said the small and medium enterprises must not be neglected in order for the people of Asean to benefit from the integrated community.
International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed added that although 2015 had been a challenging year not just for Malaysia but also others in the Asean region, the focus should remain on the bigger picture, as the current headwinds are short-term in nature.
“I’m not saying that these challenges would not have an impact on our journey forward, but there is no going backwards. There’s no stopping us from this very important venture as we are getting closer to realising the AEC’s objectives towards closer economic integration.
“At times, we are so engrossed in our own domestic challenges that we are oblivious to the bigger picture, so a push may be required sometimes,” he said.
On growth expectations for Malaysia, Abdul Wahid said the economy is still expected to grow between 4.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent in 2015, taking into account the average growth of 5.3 per cent in the first half of this year and the expected moderation in the second half.
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The full implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by the end of this year is unlikely, although the overall compliance had already passed the 90 per cent mark.

AEC unlikely to be implemented by end-2015

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AEC unlikely to be implemented by end-2015

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