KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chairman Nazir Razak pointed out that a lack of political will and public acceptance is hampering planned regional economic integration.

He told Nikkei Asian Review in an interview that the private sector in Southeast Asia under the leadership of Indonesia should push harder to achieve a single economic market.

"Political resistance is about sovereignty, but it is also about lack of mass appeal," said Nazir, who is also the ASEAN Business Club co-chairman.

"ASEAN has never done enough to sell the importance of the concept as a trade-off to the masses," he noted.

According to Nazir, Asean needs strong, charismatic leaders in the mold of previous leaders such as former President Suharto of Indonesia, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to steer the region.

"Asean recognises that Indonesia is the big brother, and we would like it to step forward and take on leadership for the region," he said, adding that current President Joko Widodo has all the ingredients needed, provided he can convince his people about the advantages of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

The 10 member countries of the Asean established the AEC in 2015. It envisions Asean as a single market and production base, a highly competitive region, with equitable economic development, and fully integrated into the global economy.

Nevertheless, Nazir said it does not necessarily mean that regional companies should consolidate.

"When you consolidate, you have to buy legacy and deal with national sentiment," said Nazir, whose bank is expected to open a subsidiary in Vietnam and the Philippines this year after launching a successful operation in Cambodia from scratch.

Meanwhile, Nazir has proposed that businesses should form independent bodies among themselves to implement, monitor and push forward projects under the economic integration plan.

Despite having an extensive regional network, CIMB still unable to establish a centralized back-office operation due to the differences in national laws.

"When I think of that, there is very little focus and leadership to drive economic integration," he shared, suggesting that regional banks should be allowed to move senior staff freely "at very little cost to everyone."

Nazir said Asean should learn from the experience of the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union by emphasizing more mutual benefits and focusing less on sovereignty issues.

"Brexit has vindicated Asean, as the pact has been very focused on trade and investment," he said.

"It has been careful not to talk about any political integration and clearly left the single currency off the table," he added.