Ong pledges to restore ASEAN image<\/p>\n
P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse, Bandar Seri Begawan<\/p>\n
The new secretary-general of ASEAN said among his first tasks is
\nto rectify what he termed the distorted image of Southeast Asia
\nwhich is dampening efforts to woo investors and tourists.<\/p>\n
Ong Keng Yong, an ex-diplomat and currently press secretary to
\nthe Singapore Prime Minister, said some people tend to have an
\nimpression that the region was reeling from riots or kidnappings
\nwhen such cases were in fact isolated.<\/p>\n
"Whenever there is a riot in any of our countries in Southeast
\nAsia, they assume that everything is like that in Southeast Asia,
\neverywhere they go," the 48-year-old Ong told reporters on the
\nsidelines of a flurry of ASEAN meetings in Brunei.<\/p>\n
"I remember when I was visiting New York, people asked me how
\ndo we cope with this kidnapping of tourists. Actually, this
\nkidnapping of tourists happened only in one part of Southeast
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
"This drives home the point that people outside of Southeast
\nAsia do not have sufficient knowledge of us. So we must go and
\ntell people that this is not the case."<\/p>\n
Ong will take over the powerful post from incumbent Filipino
\nfree trade campaigner Rodolfo Severino, who is retiring.<\/p>\n
The Singaporean said he would build on efforts made by
\nSeverino to promote the region, praising his predecessor for "a
\ngreat job keeping ASEAN moving in the last five years, which have
\nbeen economically hard times for the whole region."<\/p>\n
Ong, who read law in Singapore before obtaining a post-
\ngraduate degree in Arab studies from Georgetown University in
\nWashington, said he was awaiting a "specific and clear mandate"
\nfrom the ASEAN leaders meeting in November.<\/p>\n
Severino told Agence France-Presse his successor could be
\ngiven "greater leeway and a stronger mandate."<\/p>\n
At the last ASEAN summit in Brunei, the leaders sought a
\nstronger mandate for the secretary-general, who is the chief
\nadministrator of the Jakarta-based ASEAN secretariat, and
\ndirected officials to work out the "specific terms."<\/p>\n
Pending the mandate, Ong said "the overall philosophy would be
\nto continue making ASEAN known to the rest of the world -- get
\ninvestors to come, get business people to come.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia once led world economic growth and was a magnet
\nfor foreign investment but lost its luster after a financial
\ncrisis swept through the region in 1997, analysts said.<\/p>\n
Ong said "the world outside sees Southeast Asia as more or
\nless the same kind of territory -- what happens in case of riots
\nor clashes between religious communities, well they see as
\nsymptomatic of the whole region.<\/p>\n
"So this is an image we need to correct."<\/p>\n
"Just like Europe, that patch of territory has 15 to 25
\ncountries. What happens in a European country around the
\nMediterranean coast is not likely to be repeated in the European
\nterritory around Copenhagen or the Baltic Sea.<\/p>\n
Ong said it was important for ASEAN business leaders to
\nexplain the "true" picture of Southeast Asia to those outside the
\nregion.<\/p>\n
"If you are promoting Singapore, promoting Malaysia or
\npromoting Thailand in terms of any particular business or
\ninvestment, it is necessary also to sort of set the context that
\nwe are part of Southeast Asia, which is so big.<\/p>\n
Ong said efforts should also be made to make the peoples of
\nSoutheast Asia "more gungho" about ASEAN.<\/p>\n
"We may have our own respective national interest but at the
\nend, it can be to our advantage if we are able to have all the
\ncitizens of ASEAN countries when they travel around or when they
\ninteract with foreigners to play up this thing about we are part
\nof ASEAN, this is a place where there are many opportunities,
\nthere are things that you can do."<\/p>\n
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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