Lost in a haze: Asian century goes up in smoke

Lost in a haze: Asian century goes up in smoke

By Christopher Lingle

HONG KONG (JP): The debate over the relevance of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a force for
regional cohesion continues. Those wishing to assess the capacity
of the former economic "Tigers" of East Asia to provide regional
leadership in the new millennium need look no farther than the
smoke-filled skies around the southern rump of the region. Parts
of Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are covered by an
acrid and noxious "haze" emanating from fires raging over
thousands of hectares in neighboring Indonesia.

The "haze" may obscure the views in some of the capitals of
these ASEAN stalwarts, but it makes perfectly clear that the
ASEAN's leaders are incapable of dealing with regional problems.
Indeed, it is this failure of collective leadership that
contributed to the crisis of confidence leading to runs on their
currencies followed by economic and financial crises. It beggars
the imagination that these same leaders could assume the
economic, political or diplomatic helms.

Once again satellite photos show that the appearance of forest
fires burning out of control in wide-ranging areas of Indonesia
has become an annual ritual. Much of the blame goes to the
failure of local authorities to enforce strict fire-control laws.
There are laws on the books that prohibit the uses of fires for
land conversion, yet enforcement remains weak or non-existent.

Certain economic forces are also at work. There is also the
need for export revenue and job creation encourages the expansion
of plantation industries for the production of palm oil, timber,
rubber and cocoa. While small scale farmers use traditional
slash-and-burn methods to clear land for planting, plantation
companies set most of the fires currently raging in Sumatra and
Kalimantan.

It is instructive to look at the response of regional
governments, both individually as members of ASEAN. Singapore's
commitment to being a fully-wired Island led to offering full-
color satellite pictures of the smoke and fires on a web site.
There are also hourly measures of Pollutant Standards Index (PSI)
for the enlightenment of their suffering masses. Malaysia's past
attempts to seed any cloud that might blow over the peninsula
have given way to declaring the information about pollution
levels a state secret.

These problems drew gained wide attention in 1994 and continue
without substantial inter-governmental response. As then,
inaction and refusal to comment on the internal affairs of their
partners is a defining characteristic of ASEAN inter-state
relations. The quiet diplomacy of the ever-pragmatic ASEAN
leaders is based upon "brotherly solidarity" which is a code for
avoiding confrontations that might lead to the "loss of face" by
neighboring regimes. While this orientation towards consensus
building has been touted as a great strength of ASEAN, there are
signs that this approach to problem solving breaks down in the
face of more complicated issues.

While there are indicators that the haze is hazardous to
health, the inaction of the regimes in this region to such crises
lends support to the unfortunate perception that individuals are
worth little in Asia. This response is understandable in the
context of regimes based upon patriarchal, collectivist ideals
where the goals of society are placed above concerns for
individuals. Many leaders of ASEAN countries insist that Asians
are not interested in for promoting individual liberty or
protecting individual rights support this view.

Then there is the lack of collective political will to take
decisive actions. Doubtless, this is due in large part to the
lack of political accountability. However, the search for
solutions is also complicated by the prevalence of corruption in
much of East Asia, itself a form of policy pollution.

In Indonesia, corruption, collusion and nepotism (known by the
local acronym as KKN) may be part of the problems of resolving
the effects of the wanton clearing of the rainforests of Java,
Sumatra and Kalimantan. It is well known that Indonesian
president Suharto's children were involved with many development
projects as were some of his cronies, Bob Hasan, in particular.
To date, few offenders have been brought to book over their
excesses.

The Asian Development Bank has reported that East Asia faces
"staggeringly high costs" from environmental damage. These costs
will only rise in the future until governments in the region are
more accountable. Those who hoped for an impending "Asian
Century" can only be disappointed to know that it has gone up in
smoke.

The writer is an independent corporate consultant and adjunct
scholar of the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney who
authored The Rise and Decline of the Asian Century (Hong Kong:
Asia 2000, 1998). His E-mail address is: CRL@po.cwru.edu.

Window: ...the search for solutions is also complicated by the
prevalence of corruption in much of East Asia, itself a form of
policy pollution.