ASEAN should open to criticism

ASEAN should open to criticism

By Adi Sasono

This article is an excerpt from a paper presented at the third ASEAN Young Leaders' Forum in Singapore from Oct. 25 to 26, 1995.

JAKARTA (JP): ASEAN is often portrayed, especially by western journalists, as relentlessly pursuing economic growth, while disregarding human rights, environmental degradation and practicing undemocratic politics.

Although this is not a balanced view, we should give it serious consideration as we develop our own vision for the future of economic and political development.

Every member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is concerned with human rights and democracy but, in implementing these principles, we need to take account of the level of economic and political development in each country.

We cannot automatically adopt the standards of human rights and democracy held by the West -- we have to determine our own pace.

We realize that, sometimes, economic development is better served by political stability than democratic politics. This does not mean we sacrifice political democracy altogether, it is simply a matter of priority.

ASEAN has now reached a stage of economic development where it can afford to pay more attention to human rights and democracy. The challenge is how to adopt these principles in ways that match our own cultural values, which are often mistakenly attacked by our critics.

When we talk about our values and cultures, we should not be defensive against western principles, but open to any positive influence that may contribute to the development of our society, economically, socially or environmentally.

In the fast-changing world, where information flows freely, we cannot isolate ourselves from the values of the outside world. But we must be careful not to readily adopt them, without first assessing the risk they may pose to our way of life and our existence as a sovereign nation.

These days, the role of the international -- especially western -- media has quite a strong influence on the opinions of educated people in Southeast Asia. And news about human rights violations, environmental degradation and the misconduct of bureaucrats often features prominently.

ASEAN governments complain that the western media focuses more on the bad things that happen in the region than the good. This happens, possibly, because the economic success of ASEAN nations creates a feeling of envy in some parts of western society. It could also be attributed to a tendency for the western media to feel it has a duty to lecture Asian countries about human rights and democracy.

Nevertheless, we have to acknowledge that there is often an element of truth in what the western media says. Thus, in some cases, their criticism deserves our serious attention, if we are to further the cause of political democracy here.

The challenge for ASEAN is how to maintain high economic growth while opening up our society, domestically as well as internationally.

An open society means greater respect for individual rights, freedom of speech and freedom to participate in politics.

There is concern among several ASEAN countries that, by nurturing greater political participation, they will fall victim to social disorder, which could disturb economic development.

We should not be worried about this. Having a more open society does not mean neglecting social order, nor other important values, like family and religion.

For us, freedom of speech -- or any other right -- is not above social order or social harmony. We must find a way to be an open society without losing our affection for family and religious values, which are strongly embedded in our social life.

An open society does not mean a western society. It means we can communicate and share what we believe in and what other societies believe in, so that we can live in peace and harmony in an integrated world. What we need is mutual respect between different cultures, so that we can work together for the benefit of humanity.

But, to avoid economic penalty, political openness has to go hand-in-hand with efforts to sustain high economic growth. In fact, democracy can even broaden the opportunities for the private sector to indulge in more dynamic economic activities.

Most ASEAN nations are at the stage of development where labor-intensive production is being replaced by technology and higher levels of skill. As such, any effort to enhance competitiveness entails greater concern for human resource development.

There is evidence that human resource development in ASEAN countries contributes significantly to economic growth and equity. Universal enrollment in elementary schools and increasing enrollment in secondary and tertiary schools are important factors in creating sustainable economic growth in Southeast Asia.

The challenge for many ASEAN nations is to increase the quality of schooling and encourage private participation in education and training. For Singapore, and to some extent Malaysia, private sector involvement in training and apprenticeship is an important link between education and the labor market. In other nations, Indonesia included, private participation in training is still very limited.

And in terms of technology, ASEAN is still behind East Asian countries like Korea and Taiwan, where many export products are made using advanced electronic systems. Success on the global market is no longer determined by resource endowment but by the availability of skilled labor and technology.

The extent to which ASEAN members cooperate, especially within the private sector, on issues of human resources and technology will determine our level of competitiveness as we enter the 21st century. Such cooperation is not easy considering the level of technology in the region as a whole. Nevertheless, cooperation in technology transfer and research and development will not only mean costs can be shared, but also that certain technologies can be mastered more quickly.

The growing importance of human capital and technology in the economy can only be good for overall productivity. This is contrary to the opinions of some American economists, who say that growth within ASEAN, and East Asia, does not involve any significant efficiency and productivity gains. But, clearly, it is not physical capital, natural resource or unskilled labor that determine sustainable growth, but human capital and technology.

The writer is chairman of the Center for Information and Development Studies.