BANGKOK, Feb 10 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has proposed for the Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) to be revised to strengthen the buffer against economic crises.

He said the region stands to gain substantial benefits from the revision of the AMF, which was proposed by Japan to combat the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

"We cannot have the international infrastructure being decided by outsiders. We can work with them but we should have our own domestic, regional and Asian strength, not necessarily to compete but to have a buffer zone (against economic crises),” he said.

In his keynote address at the Future of Asean lecture organised by the Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce here today, Anwar proposed for the revised AMF to include countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.

The AMF proposal by Japan to combat the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was never established following opposition from the United States, and China’s reluctance to support it.

Meanwhile, Anwar said Asean nations should collaborate with each other for mutual economic benefits.

"Asean nations tend to compete with one another. For example, in the automotive industry, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand had competed to build cars.

"This was due to each nation’s fierce independence and protectionist policies of the 1990s.

"It is a better approach that each country focus on a single type of vehicle. For instance, Malaysia could have built cars while Indonesia and Thailand would focus on buses and trucks,” he said.

Anwar said it is unfortunate that the countries have to grapple with the problem of China and the United States.

"(There’s) little we can do but making sure we remain fiercely independent while engaging with China and the US while benefiting from new arrangements, new facility, to positively affect the vast majority of our people.

"The Asean FTA and all other initiatives, which have been ongoing, acknowledge the vast number of successes.

"Therefore, we should push trade and investment by using comparative advantage,” he said. — Bernama