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365158
Mon, 04/27/2015 - 12:39
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ASEAN Needs To Be Thorough In Addressing Its Vision - Former Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- ASEAN needs to be thorough in addressing its vision to ensure it benefits the 600 million people of the region. Former International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said unless the vision was fully understood, there would be barriers among the member countries. "So (if the vision is not being understood), we will never be an ASEAN, especially, when it has to do with the young people," she told reporters on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN Leadership Forum here, Monday. The forum was held in conjunction with the Malaysia-chaired 26th ASEAN Summit themed, "Our People, Our Community, Our Vision." Rafidah said that currently, ASEAN had too much of "visioning," pointing out that before a vision could be fully realised, another was announced. "That's fine, (but only) on paper. But you must remember that ASEAN is a living entity and we have to compete with those outside of it for all the things we have to do, especially the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). "The AEC can only be a game changer if we can ensure that the two main pillars of the ASEAN community, namely political security and social cultural, are equally strong," Rafidah said. She asserted that only these two pillars could determine the ASEAN identity, the level of the regional grouping's ASEAN understanding among its people, and its acceptance as their way of life, like the Europeans. She also pointed out that ASEAN leaders first need to be strong players in order to be a game changer. Rafidah said that by year-end, ASEAN member countries should look back on what they have achieved in terms of fulfilling the vision. On the other hand, she said that each year when a member country hosted a summit, it would come up with a new vision and create new things to do, rather than carrying on with the one already in existence. "As a result, we are not getting a (firm) grip (on the existing vision)," she added. Rafidah said if the vision was not fulfilled, the members should be more aggressive in making improvements, rather than coming out with another one. However, she applauded the private sector on its initiatives to conform to the AEC and getting into the ASEAN mode, by establishing ASEAN companies among others. Unfortunately, she said there were some constraints on the business community, such as the non-tariff barriers and the different level of efficiency among the ASEAN member countries. According to Rafidah, some of the problems faced by ASEAN were not "domestic", but rather, came from external sources such as terrorism, extremism and cross-border threat. Unless these issues were addressed, she said ASEAN would not become a safe, secure and strong regional entity. "We do not want to be like Europe and we can't, as we are so diverse in governance, political structure and so forth. But, we must do what we need to make the people of ASEAN aware on what it takes to be ASEAN," she added. Rafidah also took note of the younger generation, saying the future of ASEAN was about these digital-driven citizens, "who are the most ready generation to regard themselves as "ASEANESE". "Why don't we work on them? Once they understand the ASEAN, they will then, do the needful to spring these ideas and spread it across the young hub of the region," she said. -- BERNAMA

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