There has been perpetual controversy regarding the leadership of ASEAN, that is complicated and hitherto been a cause for concern. The largest and most populated country in Southeast Asia is Indonesia, and has been regarded as the de facto leader in ASEAN for its influence to spur progress within the organization. However, this does not undermine the role of the other four founding members of ASEAN, specifically Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. Singapore has been considered the leader of ASEAN in the economic realm, championing and pushing forward economic agendas of the organization and its member-states. Moreover, the Philippines have been a strong advocate in promoting and enhancing the socio-cultural development within the organization. Conversely, the role of Malaysia in ASEAN has been scholarly neglected. This study seeks to fill the gaps by analysing the role of Malaysia in ASEAN since 1967, and propose that Malaysia has had a significant degree of influence within the organisation. By incorporating document analysis, this study presents the findings on Malaysia’s pivotal role in ASEAN. The results conclude that Malaysia was and is still a key leader in the organization and the country should continue to exercise its prerogative for the benefit of its national interest, in addition to maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

中文翻译：

---

马来西亚在东盟的领导作用：一项评估

关于东盟的领导层一直存在争议，这是复杂的，迄今为止一直是引起人们关注的原因。东南亚最大，人口最多的国家是印度尼西亚，因其对促进组织内部进步的影响而被视为东盟事实上的领导人。但是，这并没有削弱东盟其他四个创始成员，特别是新加坡，泰国，菲律宾和马来西亚的作用。新加坡一直被认为是东盟在经济领域的领导者，支持并推动该组织及其成员国的经济议程。此外，菲律宾一直是促进和加强该组织内社会文化发展的坚定倡导者。相反，马来西亚在东盟中的作用被学术界忽略了。这项研究旨在通过分析自1967年以来马来西亚在东盟中的作用来填补空白，并提出马来西亚在该组织中具有很大的影响力。通过纳入文件分析，本研究提出了有关马来西亚在东盟中的关键作用的发现。结果得出结论，马来西亚过去和现在一直是该组织的主要领导者，该国除了维护该地区的和平，稳定与繁荣之外，还应继续行使其特权以维护国家利益。