ASEAN's quest for an identity gains urgency
ASEAN's quest for an identity gains urgency
Shefali Rekhi, The Straits Times, Singapore
Poll highlights need for closer ties but leaves open ways and
means of achieving integration
The Straits Times AsiaPoll signals a yearning for a stronger
ASEAN identity but also highlights just how much needs to be done
to achieve it.
This was the view of analysts and ASEAN watchers who studied
its findings.
Mr K. Kesavapany, director of the Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies in Singapore, a long-time follower of ASEAN's
development, summed it up this way: "Thirty-eight years have gone
by, but we have not crossed the bridge."
He added: "I am pleasantly surprised that 60 percent of those
polled feel they identify with others in ASEAN.
"But my own feeling is that this consciousness is there among
the ruling elite in capital cities. Much more needs to be done to
integrate the places elsewhere.
"If at all progress has been made, it is only in the area of
trade, and even then, not all countries have kept to their
commitments."
In other areas such as services, particularly finance, there
is little progress to record, and in the area of transport, the
proposal for an ASEAN open skies agreement has long been pending.
"ASEAN countries also have to agree on a set of core values so
that everyone knows what the grouping stands for. I am afraid
that a lot more work needs to be done before one can, with all
honesty, say that ASEAN integration is well and truly in place,"
he said.
Others shared his assessment. Manila-based researcher Minerva
Generalao said policymakers should question the notion people
have of ASEAN identity in order to build on it.
"ASEAN is so diverse. There are so many barriers --
historical, linguistic, cultural, religious -- to a common
identity. So, is the notion of identity the same and common for
the respondents?"
The poll found, for example, that when respondents were asked
where they would like to live and work, just over a third -- 36
percent -- made Europe their first preference, while an equal
number opted for either ASEAN or the United States.
Many said, more candidly, that they would prefer to work in a
non-ASEAN country if they had a choice.
Even while many expressed a desire to visit another ASEAN
country, less than half had actually traveled around the region,
and only 44 percent said they planned to do so in the next six
months.
Thailand and Singapore were the top destinations, followed by
Malaysia. Most other countries registered just single digits in
terms of being a draw for visitors.
Analysts cited a variety of reasons for these findings. Intra-
regional travel remains in its early stages. Road and rail
connections are limited, and costs can be prohibitive, not to
mention the hassle involved.
Budget airlines are just beginning to take off, but many
cities remain unconnected or under-serviced by frequent or even
regular air links.
Indonesia's Makmur Keliat, executive director of the Center
for East Asian Cooperation at the University of Indonesia,
pointed out that despite all the talk about integration, Jakarta
imposes a ""departure tax'' of 1 million rupiah (S$170) on
Indonesian citizens.
"Actually, other ASEAN governments have pleaded with us to
revoke this strange policy because it limits the movement of
Indonesians to visit other ASEAN countries," he told The Jakarta
Post, Asia News Network's Indonesian member.
ASEAN does not have the equivalent of a pan-regional rail or
airline network that would allow young people or businessmen to
roam about freely and cheaply.
There are also no regional networks for exchanges among youth
groups, and networks now are more often bilateral and ad hoc
affairs. Nor are there television stations with a regional reach
which might raise an ASEAN consciousness among the people.
But, if the views expressed by the people polled are anything
to go by, there seems to be a growing awareness of the need for
change, and a desire to see more linkages among member countries
fostered.
A blueprint to integrate the region exists in the form of the
ASEAN Economic Community, which leaders have agreed to achieve by
2020.
This is envisaged to be a single market and production base
where there would be free flow of goods, services, investments
and other things.
The importance of achieving this is not lost on most people:
It would enable businesses to opt for economies of scale, thus
making the region a magnet for foreign direct investments, as
well as for tourists.
Achieving this, however, will require major policy changes and
dramatic shifts in mindsets. It could also take quite a while.
Apart from conflicting national economic and political
interests, fears of loss of respective national identities will
also have to be addressed.
But Universiti Putra Malaysia political science lecturer Jayum
Javan believes it would work to a nation's advantage.
"In fact, it will further enhance it," he told Malaysia's
leading daily, The Star.
"In Europe, Germans, Austrians, Italians, and Greeks, for
example, are more eager to distinguish themselves from one
another after the (European) Union."
While there seems to be some consensus on the need for closer
ties, the critical issue now seems to be how rapidly this should
be pursued.
Malaysian political scientist Nidzam Sulaiman believes the
process should be gradual to minimize shocks.
"ASEAN countries should be allowed to move at the pace they
want. That is what regional cooperation is all about," he said.
Others argue, however, that given the pace of change brought
on by globalization and the rise of China and India, ASEAN can
scarcely afford a languid pace of integration. They propose
a two-track approach: Those more ready and willing might hasten
their integration, and the rest can follow at their own pace.
But one thing is clear: ASEAN needs to move together faster,
in real and practical ways, if their people's wishes for a closer
identity as expressed in the poll are to be realized.