Malaysian DPM Calls For Free Flow Of Information Among Asean Member States

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin (picture) Thursday called on Asean member states to lay out a multi-platform framework, by engaging both the mainstream and social media to facilitate a free flow of information to enlighten the people in the region and create mutual support and assistance among members. He stressed that this must be given utmost priority so that the Asean's 600 million people would not be groping in the dark on this important development in the region. "I believe that by being empowered with the right kind of information, we can then go on with our work with a greater sense of purpose and mission," he said when opening the 11th Conference of Asean Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI), at a leading hotel, here. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that in order to realise the vision of an Asean Community, there was a need to promote greater understanding and appreciation of the political systems, culture and history of its members. In this context, Muhyiddin said he would like to see more Asean sectoral bodies taking more projects and activities through academic conferences, workshops and seminars. "We must also encourage the release of periodical publications on the dynamics of Asean member states's political development, culture and history for dissemination to the public," he said. In his speech, Muhyiddin also called for greater public awareness of the roadmap for the establishment of the Asean Community, stressing that awareness was empowering, but awareness without action was worthless. "We have to get our act together and implement whatever action programmes needed to fulfil our aspiration. Therefore, the theme of the 11th AMRI is indeed timely and relevant," he said. The three-day conference carries the theme "Media: Connecting Peoples and Bridging Cultures towards One Asean Community". The Asean Community comprises three pillars, namely the Asean Political-Security Community, the Asean Economic Community and the Asean Socio-Cultural Community. Each pillar has its own blueprint and, together with the Initiative for Asean Integration (IAI) Strategic Framework and the IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), they form the roadmap for an Asean Community. Muhyiddin also said that Asean member states had to work harder to create an Asean identity that represented its collective personality, norms, values and beliefs. "To be able to do so, we must intensify our efforts to create a sense of belonging, consolidate unity in diversity and enhance deeper mutual understanding among Asean member states of their culture, history, religion and civilisation," he said. The 10-member regional grouping, with a combined population of some 600 million, comprises Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. He recalled that in Asean, the National Communication Plan was formulated to support Asean identity and awareness in building efforts through various programmes. "I believe that we need a greater push in this area if we were to attain the required level of public awareness among our 600 million people," said Muhyiddin. In his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister said that he was pleased to note that Malaysia had actively pursued the mission of AMRI and continued to implement programmes and projects that enhanced cooperation in the media, information and broadcasting sectors. In this context, he cited the Asean awareness programmes, exchanges of radio and television news, co-productions in films and television programmes as well as exhibitions. Muhyiddin said Asean was culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse, as such this diversity must be appreciated and embraced and "it must become an intrinsic part of our thinking". Touching on social media, he said that it was already an important aspect of the global community as clearly seen in the recent events in the Middle East. "Therefore, learning from this development, we must engage our people through the social media. The social media provides us with an excellent medium to reach out and understand the aspiration and the concerns of our people," he said. While saying that the success that Asean experienced was grounded in economic growth, Muhyiddin also said that Asean had matured politically as well. "More people are enjoying greater freedoms than ever before. I am confident that progress in this area will continue to be made," he said. (photoBERNAMA) MALAYSIA