Quiet revolution in Southeast Asia

Quiet revolution in Southeast Asia

This is the second of two articles based on an address
presented by Deputy Foreign Minister of Thailand Sukhumbhand
Paribatra at the seminar on "The 1999 Indonesian Elections:
Lessons Learnt and Challenges to Consolidate the Transition"
organized by the International Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance in Jakarta on July 27, 1999.

JAKARTA: The fourth challenge is the challenge of human
security. We live in a fast-changing world. International and
regional interdependence is rapidly increasing. The existing
state boundaries continue to be accepted as legitimate lines of
political division and points of reference for the conduct of
relations among states. But individuals' security and wellbeing
are now more and more affected by transnational problems, such as
the environment, drugs, diseases, trade in women and children,
and piracy.

In such a world, the question is: should the ends of national
policies and regional cooperation be simply the enhancement of
the security and wellbeing of states and the region?

My answer would be an emphatic "No".

I believe that all of us should be concerned with the security
and wellbeing of the individual as well as the state's and the
region's, that we should also proactively seek to promote "human
security".

At minimum, "human security" means freedom from fear and
freedom from want.

At maximum, "human security" means the achievement of a
political, social and economic environment, which guarantees the
dignity and rights of the individual and provides the framework
for the development of the individual's capabilities to the
limit.

To enhance "human security", there has to be a fundamental
attitudinal change on the part of governments, especially where
their perceived roles as guardians of their states' sovereignty
and security are concerned. "National security" and "human
security" need to be seen as two sides of the same coin.

There has to be also a sense of shared responsibility and
shared destiny both among governments and between governments and
peoples. Resources, both national and regional, both public and
private, need to be fully mobilized to the enhancement of "human
security", especially for the benefit of the poor and the
uneducated, the disabled and the marginalised, and the women and
children, who are innocent victims of circumstances,
discrimination, abuse and exploitation.

The fifth challenge is the challenge of societal change.

As discussed earlier, in the first two decades of the new
century, all the states in the region are likely to undergo far-
reaching economic and social changes.

During these processes, social and political awareness is
likely to increase, expectations multiply, and the agenda of
politics and governance expand.

If history is any guide, it is likely that such agenda will
sooner or later include such key questions as: individual rights
and civil liberties; human dignity and community interests;
political legitimacy and good governance; rights to political
participation and better livelihood; and the rule of law and
freedom from religious persecution and certain forms of social
and economic exploitation. History also suggests that failure to
address this challenge of societal change creates conditions for
conflict, instability and violence, as in the cases of Thailand
in 1970s and the Philippines in the 1980s.

To address this challenge, I believe that there must be
process of self-renewal on the part of all societies concerned.

One form of self-renewal is continuing political reform. It is
ultimately necessary, both as a means of adjustment to and
accommodation with newly emerging societal demands and as a means
of bringing about politically sustainable economic growth over
the longer term.

Another form of self-renewal is the promotion of what I call
"development with a human face".

The direction of social and economic development must serve,
not only efforts to bring about national or regional security and
wellbeing, but also the causes of both the civil society and the
human person.

Development must go beyond statistics and empirical data of
social and economic progress. It must increasingly embrace the
human dimension and respond to the changing needs and
expectations of societies and all the individuals who are members
thereof.

Complex and far-reaching changes and challenges lie ahead for
Southeast Asia, as we approach the dawning of the new millennium.
It will not be easy for the regional states to address them in an
effective and constructive manner. Regional cooperation provides
some answers. But in the absence of a convergence of norms,
values, beliefs, and political and diplomatic practices among
them, regional cooperation itself may become a victim of these
changes and challenges. No one can or should intervene to change
the existing domestic political arrangement in another country,
for this will surely fail and cause irreparable damage to
regional cooperation. This means that regional dissonance may
continue to be a fact of life.

But continued regional dissonance in the end may also cause
irreparable damage to the cause of regionalism. Therein lies the
dilemma.

Realities are harsh and intractable. The challenges facing
Southeast Asia can not be wished away like figments of
imagination. Governments and leaders have to accept many things
as facts of life. A person in my humble position even more so.
But one always has the right to dream and one can always dream.

I have a dream that ASEAN will become an increasingly
influential actor in world affairs, leading by wisdom, experience
and moral example.

I have a dream that ASEAN will become an increasingly
integrated regional community, with a growing convergence of
values and interests and with the capacity and will to address
all issues of common concern, especially those that touch the
daily lives, security and wellbeing of ordinary citizens.

I have a dream that one day all Southeast Asians will reach a
consensus that democracy, despite its imperfections, is the best
form of governance in a less-than-perfect world, that democracy,
far from being a western concept or value, can be planted and
nurtured to full and vibrant growth in our own way, in our own
conditions, in accordance to our expectations, priorities and
needs.

I have a dream that one day all Southeast Asians will be fully
committed to the task of promoting the fundamental principles of
democracy, namely human rights and civil liberties, voluntary
participation, good governance, accountability, transparency and
the rule of law.

I have a dream, as the authors and adopters of the ASEAN
Vision 2020 statement of December 1997 did, that one day all
Southeast Asian societies will be vibrant and open ASEAN
societies, where all the citizens enjoy equal access to
opportunities for further development, regardless of their
gender, race, religion, language, or social and cultural
background, and where the civil society is empowered and human
dignity protected, with special care given to the disadvantaged,
the disable, and the marginalised.

I have dream that, in this Southeast Asia of the future, in
this Southeast Asia which is undergoing a quiet revolution, on
the strength of its successful political reform, Indonesia as the
region's largest country will continue to stand proud and tall
and make a leading contribution towards the peace, prosperity and
progress of all Southeast Asians.