THE recent death of Datuk Faudzi Naim Noh is seen as a great loss to the business community operating within the subregional grouping of Indonesia - Malaysia - Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT).
Faudzi was a long-serving IMT - GT Joint Business Council chairperson, who played a key role in the past four decades to raise awareness about regional economic cooperation.
Faudzi aged 72, passed away from old age at the Seberang Jaya Hospital and was laid to rest at the Muslim burial ground near the Lotus Hypermarket there.
He died just weeks before Malaysia was to once again assume chairmanship of the regional grouping of ASEAN - a dream he had shared as an opportunity for the country to consolidate and tap the vast potential the region has in promoting mutual growth.
The position is done on a rotating basis among ASEAN's 10 member nations.
Formerly of the Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce management, Faudzi was encouraged by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when the latter was the deputy prime minister to lend his business acumen and diplomatic craft to IMT - GT.
He was a constant voice for regional growth and remained steadfast in his beliefs despite the setbacks the community had endured due to the political and economic uncertainties, said his former colleague Yasir Hafiz Munawar Ali, who is now based in Dubai, UAE.
Yasir said that Faudzi had cemented extensive networking within the IMT region, bringing together businessmen in southern Thailand, northern Malaysia and Sumatra (Indonesia) to explore mutually beneficial projects.
Yasir said he was also active in propagating the halal hub, one of Malaysia's strengths, to a wider audience.
Faudzi in one of his last interviews, spoke about the importance of promoting IMT-GT as an integral part of the ASEAN, saying that the globalisation move cannot be reversed.
Instead, it must be harnessed to its fullest potential but Malaysia must be ready to explore it by reducing bureaucracy and raising awareness about regional growth, said Faudzi, who added that a working IMT - GT fund should be established to help entrepreneurs grow their products and services.
He envisioned the IMT-GT area as one of the engines of growth for ASEAN.
The ASEAN economic region is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, with a combined GDP of USD$3.3 trillion and a trade value of USD$3.8 trillion in 2022.
Its GDP is slated to be the fifth-largest globally, behind the US, China, Japan, and Germany.
The region covers 4.5 million square kilometres, which is about 3% of the world's land area.
By 2030, the consumer market in ASEAN could reach USD$4 trillion, as 70% of the population is expected to have middle-class income. - October 9, 2024.
