Putrajaya: Amid ongoing global trade realignments, supply chain uncertainties, and great power rivalries, ASEAN must evolve from being merely a geographical bloc into a governance bloc, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said. He emphasized that these challenges are no longer distant or abstract as they are being felt directly through rising food prices, infrastructure planning disruptions, and in labor markets.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Shamsul Azri noted that for ASEAN, these challenges are compounded by the diversity of economies, capacities, and governance systems, yet this diversity also presents a strength. "Our ability to adapt, to cooperate, and to uphold shared principles of transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness is what will define our regional future," he stated in his opening remarks at the ASEAN Auditor Conference 2025, organized by the National Audit Department of Malaysia (NADM).
His speech was delivered by Auditor-General Datuk Seri Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi. Shamsul Azri highlighted that governance today is about fostering trust, especially in an ASEAN region where citizens are increasingly informed, connected, and expect greater integrity from public institutions.
He emphasized that public institutions must respond not with bureaucracy but with boldness, openness, and competence. "Our public service must be agile enough to translate these macro challenges into micro reforms," he added, citing Malaysia's public service reform journey driven by a comprehensive agenda anchored on five reform thrusts: value and governance, human capital, organizational development, service delivery, and public-private synergy.
Shamsul Azri also stressed the growing need for collaboration within the ASEAN public sector, urging greater cooperation among auditors, policymakers, and digital governance leaders to create public value. The ASEAN Auditor Conference 2025, held in conjunction with Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship and the appointment of Malaysia's Auditor-General as Chair of the ASEAN Audit Committee (AAC), is hosted by NADM at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).
The conference gathers 2,243 participants from the public and private sectors, with regional and international attendees, including several Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from ASEAN and Asia, such as Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, and Yemen.