Asean pushes for single time zone
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Kuala Lumpur (dpa) - A single time zone across members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations could come a step closer this year, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday.
The bloc's time zones currently range from GMT + 6:30 in Myanmar toGMT + 9 hours in eastern Indonesia. The proposal would set Asean Common Time at GMT + 8 hours, the same as Beijing.
"We hope there will be some consensus by the time we meet next in November," Najib said. Some leaders in the 10-member regional grouping were strong supporters, but others "did not oppose it but asked for more time for some domestic considerations such as the prayer time for the monks," he told reporters after a plenary meeting at the summit in Malaysia.
