Yes, for western branded bikes, can get 8 speed shimano claris brifters.
But if you are willing to consider China brand, options open up for you up to shimano 105  11speed groupset.
I'll go for the China brands over the western ones. More worth the money.

Go check out RN Samy bikes in Batu Caves.

Up a bit (for real) Twitter Thunder Full Carbon Shimano 105 full.

I regretted with my Specialized Peter Sagan Venge. Damn.

Up a bit (for real) Twitter Thunder Full Carbon Shimano 105 full.

I regretted with my Specialized Peter Sagan Venge. Damn.

Some decent China brands are CAMP, Twitter. JAVA.

Also can consider Raleigh sojourn, (not truly UK raleigh but Malaysian license/unlicense copy) under 2k for 9 speed sora set.

But this is not the end of story, you need to make sure they have the frame size that suits your height.
You cannot just buy any road bike.
Also, different manufacturer has own way of counting frame sizes. Only consistence is across their own models.
And remember, the higher the speed count, the faster the chain wears out. Only reason to get multi-speed is for smoother gear change, but generally I don't give a shit about that, so 9 speed sora for me is plentiful.
Yes, I'll also stick with alloy.
I dislike carbon bikes, even though they're lighter, the price you pay is not worth the weight ratio. Also, in a crash, they're much harder to repair or even detect the flaws.
And because they're using resins, these degrade over time depending on how often it is exposed to the sunlight.
Carbon bikes do not lasts.... they will degrade.

If ur into brand name get specialized allez but need top up a bit. Else , if dont mind name get twitter with 105 shimano groupset

For carbon road bikes, best to get disc brake version. You don't want to wear down your expensive rims.

Furthermore your carbon rims are shit in the rain, cannot even compete with alloy rims.

Disc frames and rim brake frames are totally different, cannot modify to each other.
The problem with rim brakes on carbon bikes is you need special pads for carbon wheels and they don't work well in the wet compared to alloy rim brakes.
It's ok to get even cable disc brake road bike since they work better in the wet than rim brakes. The only thing better than them are hydraulic disc brakes.
I personally would go for something like this.

https://shopee.com.my/JAVA-S3-Disc-Brake-Ro...4857.2806267188

TS if you buy used you got many option to consider even name brand. For 3K, you can get specialized allez with 105 r7000, even cannondale caad 12, these 2 are consider a good entry level bike which when you cycle in group you can show face. I shit you not, sooner or later when you ride a twitter/camp/java, you'll find the urge to change to a good name brand road bike. Thats what I did, buy a used specialize frame and moded it out to look like price expensive but when in reality it cheap

TS, are you planning to trail with a group of friends with expensive road bicycle?