Malaysia places 72nd as ASEAN trails major economic groups on illicit trade resilience

Malaysia ranked sixth within ASEAN and 72nd globally for its resilience to illicit trade, the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (Tracit) reported. ASEAN’s score of 49.7 on its Illicit Trade Index fell below the averages for Asia Pacific and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Asia Pacific recorded 50.9 points, compared with the OECD’s 64.4. Of the 158 countries assessed, Singapore placed 29th, leading the ASEAN rankings. Indonesia came 39th, Thailand 56th, Vietnam 61st and the Philippines 69th. No member of the bloc reached the top 20.

The findings were presented at the Regional Intellectual Property Summit on Enforcement. Tracit said the region performed relatively well on customs, trade and border controls, but identified weak regulation of supply-chain intermediaries in nine of its 10 economies. It warned that criminal networks could exploit marketplaces online, postal and courier services, maritime operators and free trade zones.

For online commerce, Tracit recommended regional standards obliging platforms to check seller identities, block unlawful listings proactively and ban persistent offenders permanently. Malaysia is developing tighter platform-accountability rules, while initiatives in Vietnam and the Philippines could help support a broader regional approach, the organisation said.

Its other proposals included closer scrutiny of transit and transshipment cargo, interoperable customs systems for recording intellectual property rights, stronger anti-corruption action and greater accountability for free trade zones. Tracit director-general Jeffrey Hardy urged stronger safeguards against illicit trade as ASEAN pursues its Vision 2045 integration goals.