By Nabilah Saleh
Malaysia can build on its legacy as ASEAN chair last year by strengthening economic partnerships, institutional support and skills development with Timor-Leste to help the bloc’s newest member achieve meaningful regional integration, according to a Malaysian academic.
Universiti Malaya (UM) Associate Professor of International Relations and Human Rights Dr Khoo Ying Hooi said Malaysia’s role in facilitating Timor-Leste’s admission as ASEAN’s 11th member had provided a strong foundation for longer-term cooperation that could benefit both countries.
Her remarks come as Timor-Leste marks its first anniversary as an ASEAN member today, exactly a year after its historic admission on Oct 26 last year, during Malaysia’s chairmanship of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
“For Malaysia and other ASEAN members, I think the lesson is that regional solidarity cannot end with just the admission,” she told Bernama in an exclusive interview ahead of the upcoming ASEAN Summit in the Philippines.
Khoo said existing cooperation in education, technical training and connectivity should translate into sustained institutional support, stronger economic partnerships and opportunities accessible to ordinary Timorese.
Timor-Leste also approved a national roadmap on Oct 21 to implement its ASEAN economic commitments through 2030, supported by 19 sectoral strategic action plans.
Khoo said the development demonstrated progress, although considerable work remained to implement ASEAN agreements, harmonise domestic regulations and strengthen administrative capacity.
“ASEAN has certainly demonstrated the political will to expand, but practical integration is a much more demanding process. In that sense, political inclusion has moved ahead of full economic integration, although I would not necessarily regard this as a failure,” she said.
She noted that Timor-Leste continued to face structural challenges, including limited export diversification, infrastructure constraints and dependence on petroleum-related financial resources.
“Access to a regional market does not automatically translate into competitiveness,” she said, stressing the need for stronger connectivity, human capital development, trade facilitation and domestic productive capacity.
Khoo said ASEAN’s existing mechanisms, including the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and technical assistance programmes, required adequate resources and sustained political commitment.
“We should not place the entire responsibility for successful integration on Timor-Leste, particularly when these development disparities were well understood before its admission,” she said.
MALAYSIA’S ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT ROLE
On bilateral opportunities, Khoo said Timor-Leste’s membership could strengthen Malaysia’s involvement in investment, education, technical expertise and skills development.
“I think there are several concrete opportunities for Malaysia, although we should be realistic about their scale. Timor-Leste is a relatively small economy, so I would not portray its membership simply as the opening of a large new consumer market,” she said.
She cited Malaysia’s exports to Timor-Leste, which reached approximately RM91 million in 2025, up 8.3 per cent from the previous year, alongside RM78.48 million in potential export sales generated through a MATRADE trade mission to Dili last November.
However, she stressed the importance of distinguishing potential business deals from actual investments or completed transactions.
Khoo also highlighted opportunities in energy, infrastructure and specialised services, citing cooperation between Malaysia’s Weststar Group and Timor GAP in offshore aviation services, including training for Timorese technical personnel.
“This is the kind of partnership worth expanding, where Malaysian companies gain business opportunities while contributing to the development of local expertise and employment,” she said.
She said education and technical cooperation offered further potential through scholarships, vocational programmes, academic exchanges and joint research, particularly in agriculture, public administration, environmental sustainability and tourism.
“For Malaysia, this also creates opportunities to strengthen its role as a regional education and training hub,” she said.
However, Khoo cautioned that expanding Malaysian exports without strengthening Timorese businesses could widen existing economic imbalances. She called for greater collaboration with local producers in coffee, agriculture, fisheries and tourism.
“Ultimately, Timor-Leste’s membership offers Malaysia opportunities to expand its regional economic presence, but the longer-term value lies in developing partnerships that create benefits on both sides,” she said.
PEOPLE-CENTRED INTEGRATION
Khoo said Timor-Leste’s integration should also be assessed through improvements in education, employment, vocational training and market access, particularly for women, young people and rural communities.
“One year is certainly too short to expect major economic transformation, but it is long enough to begin examining whether membership is creating opportunities beyond the diplomatic and political elites,” she said.
She stressed the importance of involving civil society organisations, universities, women’s groups and local communities in shaping regional policies.
Khoo said Timor-Leste’s experience in conflict resolution and democratic transition could also offer a valuable perspective on ASEAN’s approach to Myanmar. However, its influence would depend on the bloc’s wider political dynamics, particularly the longstanding challenges posed by consensus-based decision-making and the principle of non-interference.
She cautioned that ASEAN membership alone would not guarantee stronger democratic institutions, particularly if regional obligations became a bureaucratic exercise rather than a means of improving governance and accountability.
“Ultimately, successful integration must be measured by whether institutions become more accountable to citizens, not simply more compliant with ASEAN procedures,” she said.
Looking ahead, Khoo said ASEAN’s broader challenge was to ensure that its institutional capacity and economic integration advanced alongside its enlargement.
“Otherwise, we risk having an ASEAN of eleven members politically, while significant disparities continue to limit what membership means economically,” she said.
— BERNAMA
