Kuala Lampur, July 6 -- When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim touched down in Brazil this week to attend the BRICS Summit, it was not just Malaysia's voice that he carried - it was Asean's, and by extension, that of the Global South. As Chair of Asean in 2025, Malaysia is in a unique position to forge new alignments at a time when the world is becoming dangerously fragmented. Trade wars are mounting.

Currency volatility is growing. War in Gaza rages on, while regional rivalries in the Taiwan Strait and Eastern Europe continue to fester. Amid this global disorder, a powerful but underappreciated alignment is emerging - one that connects Asean, BRICS, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the China-Japan-Korea (CJK) trilateral, and th...