ASEAN called on to promote collective efforts<\/p>\n
By Riyadi<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
\ncalled for collective efforts in the region yesterday to move
\ntoward economic integration and improve competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Recent experience with currency manipulation should lead the
\nnine member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) to liberalize more trade and investment without
\nignoring the dangers of liberalization, Mahathir said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the opening of the 29th ASEAN economic ministers
\nmeeting here, Mahathir warned about the possibility of developed
\nnations using a liberalization theme to coerce developing
\ncountries, as the history of human civilization was \"full of
\nexploitation of the weak by the strong and the powerful\".<\/p>\n
\"We must not just think of a level playing field but also the
\nrelative strength of contestants,\" Mahathir said at the opening
\nceremony.<\/p>\n
\"Liberalization is not about doing away with rules and laws
\naltogether, but about every economy submitting to the same set of
\nrules and regulations and laws on a world scale,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said ASEAN countries should act together to combat unfair
\npractices in international trade and efforts to exploit \"our
\nweaknesses in order to weaken us further\".<\/p>\n
\"We have struggled hard to gain independence and we cannot
\nafford to lose our sovereignty in the name of a free,
\nunrestricted breaching of our economy and other borders,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
To face the growing unfair and uncertain world, Mahathir
\nsaid, ASEAN economies should stand together as a group by forging
\ngreater economic integration through the ASEAN Free Trade Area
\n(AFTA), expected to materialize by 2003.<\/p>\n
\"We need AFTA to increase competition and upgrade the
\nefficiency of our industries in order that they become more
\ncompetitive in the world market,\" he said.<\/p>\n
While implementing initiatives toward greater economic
\nintegration, Mahathir said, ASEAN countries should not overlook
\nthe critical element of reducing transactional costs or the costs
\nof doing business in the region.<\/p>\n
He said each member country needed to review regulatory and
\nadministrative procedures at a national level to make them
\nsimpler and more transparent.<\/p>\n
\"We have to squarely combat corrupt practices,\" Mahathir said.<\/p>\n
In an effort to reduce the cost of doing business in the
\nregion, each ASEAN country should review the efficiency of their
\nutilities industry, he said.<\/p>\n
The costs of electricity, gas, water and telecommunications,
\nfor instance, must be pressed to the minimum level so that they
\nbecame less of a burden to businesses, he said.<\/p>\n
\"In the same way, we need to make our ports and airports more
\nefficient, our haulage and freight forwarding services more
\nresponsive,\" said the prime minister.<\/p>\n
ASEAN countries, he continued, also needed to upgrade,
\nstrengthen and expand their services sector to complement their
\nstrength in the manufacturing and industrial sector.<\/p>\n
Mahathir warned that ASEAN countries could not rely anymore on
\nthe manufacturing sector as the only engine of growth, because
\nits contribution to the gross domestic product had almost reached
\nan optimum level.<\/p>\n
The lack of strength in the services sector was responsible
\nfor the widening account deficit in most ASEAN economies, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
ASEAN member countries also needed to cooperate in
\nmacroeconomic policy formulation to ensure a stable, sustainable
\neconomic growth for the region.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Mahathir said, ASEAN economies should pursue
\nall those economic integration processes in a sustainable, clean
\nand environmental-friendly way to avoid costs associated with
\nenvironmental degradation.<\/p>\n
These economic integration initiatives would in turn make
\nASEAN an attractive area for long-term, \"nonspeculative\" foreign
\ninvestment and attract more world-class producers.<\/p>\n
\"We must continue to welcome real long-term investment, but
\nmust be wary of operations which do not create any real wealth
\nfor us,\" Mahathir said.<\/p>",
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