IMT-GT Must Be Strengthened As A Pillar Of ASEAN Economic Integration

GEORGE TOWN, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- The Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) must be strengthened and repositioned as a key instrument to translate ASEAN’s economic integration into tangible outcomes at the sub-regional and grassroots levels.

Former Penang Governor, Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, said the success of ASEAN’s integration cannot rely solely on free trade agreements, summit declarations, or macro-level frameworks, but must instead be realised through practical cooperation, particularly in border areas, port cities, and production corridors.

"ASEAN’s success is never dependent on macro frameworks alone. What happens at the micro level -- cooperation taking place in border towns and provinces, cities, ports, checkpoints and production corridors involving logistics, travel time and rail investment decisions -- is more relevant to local communities.

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“It is here that ASEAN’s growth triangles play a strategic role; they are not simply a strategic option but an essential pathway for sustainable growth, resilience and shared prosperity,” he said in a plenary lecture on ‘The ASEAN Free Trade Area and Sub-Regional Cooperation’ at Sains@Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), here today.

 The former Foreign Ministry secretary-general said the IMT-GT, which encompasses regions in Sumatra, northern Peninsular Malaysia, and southern Thailand, was designed to complement ASEAN’s broader economic architecture by leveraging geography, proximity, and economic complementarities among participating regions.

Ahmad Fuzi noted that trade within the IMT-GT sub-region increased from approximately US$368 billion in 2019 to nearly US$660 billion in 2023, alongside the development of physical connectivity projects such as roads, bridges, seaports and airports.

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He added that progress has also been made in customs, immigration, and quarantine (CIQ) facilitation, particularly along the Malaysia-Thailand axis, including the upgrading of the Bukit Kayu Hitam ICQS complex and the signing of a CIQ cooperation framework in 2025.

However, he acknowledged that the IMT-GT continues to face structural challenges, including non-tariff barriers, inconsistent standards, complex bureaucratic procedures, and persistent connectivity gaps, especially in last-mile logistics.

"The IMT-GT does not suffer from a lack of ideas; it suffers from a lack of maturation. A credible pipeline must move systematically from ideal to feasibility to financing, and to delivery or execution, otherwise it risks becoming a planning exercise rather than a development engine,” he said.

Ahmad Fuzi also highlighted Thailand’s proposed land bridge initiative, stressing the importance for Malaysia -- and Penang in particular -- to remain strategically positioned within evolving regional logistics and trade networks.

To rejuvenate the IMT-GT, he proposed repositioning it as a functional logistics corridor, with performance measured in terms of time, cost, and reliability, while leveraging halal and agro-food value chains, cross-border tourism, and green and digital trade initiatives.

Earlier, he attended The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) Policy Dialogue Series themed ‘ASEAN Policy Solutions for Shared Growth’ organised by CPR USM, which brought together policymakers, economists, academics, and institutional leaders to discuss inclusive and sustainable growth across ASEAN.

-- BERNAMA