Inklings of a Vision for ASEAN - Part 2 (Governance & Politics)

I will deal with this part in two sections which are actually rather seperate in nature. Governance refers to the administrative organization of public services to deal with policy matters while politics is the political structures (governments and parties alike) and influences that currently exist in the various nations in SEA. I will use Singapore as my reference point on the topic of governence, while obviously all nations need to be considered under the political section.

Currently, Singapore has 2 important inter-ministerial committees for the areas of homeland security(counter-terrorism) and sustainable development. The ideological background behind such committees that cross the various ministries of trade & industry, defence, home affair, national development, health, environment etc. is to enable vertical and horizontal integration when it comes to policy making. In simple terms, it is a recognition that homeland security and sustainable development are unique policy areas that require a multi-dimensional coherent approach to draft policies that will be able to meet multi-dimensional problems. I think SEA-integration requires a similar approach. It cannot be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work solely on integration because clearly many other ministries are critically important. Off my head, I can think of Trade & Industry (for obvious trade and economic reasons), Education (in terms of educating the young), Health, National Development (in a possible sharing of expertise, and exchange of best practices), Defence, Home Affairs (under the current counter-terrorism cooperation), Environment & Water resources (under umbrella of sustainable development), Transport (creating infrastructure and links), Finance (possible loan schemes and co-op plans). It really does seem that all ministries need to be involved! So there lies the proposal of governance structure - inter-miniterial committees to work on ASEAN integration throughout the ASEAN states.

Politics. SEA has a plethora of different types of political systems. I will categorize these as the stable democracies, the instable democracies and the communist nations. There is an underlying reason for such a categorization. Going by incidents in the past 20 years, the three most populous nations of Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines can be grouped under instable democracies. The common feature being repetitive change of governments overthrown more often by extra-democratic ways such as coups or 'People Power' revolutions. The 2 clear stable democracies are Malaysia and Singapore which have seen the ruling parties of UMNO & PAP come to power in successive elections ever since their independance. Cambodia can also be considered an immature stable democracy ever since Hun Sen came to power. The communist nations include Vietnam, Burma, Laos. If we were to combine communist nations and stable democracies together, we get a larger grouping of more than 3/4 of the nations in SEA which have seen stable governments. This notion of stable governments does not carry any other notions of transparency, possible repression or human rights. All I mean is that these governments have been in power for a long time, and look like they are going to continue to be in power for yet some more time to come. This offers an opportunity to form un-interrupted political solidarity that governments of Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines will be compelled to be committed to, regardless of which party comes to power. Backed up by stable civil services who are structured and tuned to SEA integration, it is possible that SEA integration can hold firm even among political instability or different political ideologies.

To complete this part of the essay, I will touch on the political instability. It is easy and simple to classify the problems of SEA governments to corruption, repression of human rights and competing interests. However, I think these generalizations besides being helpful in promoting euthopic morale-boosting one-liners of , "Respect Human Rights! Say NO to Corruption!" or "Less Power for the Military" and enhancing the own moral good-feel in those who look down on such nations, are actually quite useless in reality. What are human rights? What is corruption? What is power? The actual meanings on the ground for these terms differ from place to place! The issues are far more complicated than the normal outsider can ever understand or even imagine. So, does this make the situation only more complicated and unsolvable? Am I arguing against human rights and democracy and freedom? No! What I am arguing is that greater political and civil service integration will help improve the understanding of the different political systems, which thereby can strengthen integration and ultimately enable ASEAN to take on an important and mutually respected role in pursuing the very goals of human rights and freedom. UN's weakness is that the various states feel that the other states do not understand their local conditions, and therefore any recommendations or attempts at peace are not taken seriously by governments. A strong ASEAN can only form when the different governments have trust in each other and bother to explain their own national circumstances before being open to criticism and feedback. Noone is going to accept feedback from someone he feels does not understand him at all!

But of course, we must be practical. There must always be a reason for integration : mutual benefits. If that does not exist, there is no reason to cooperate unless under a completely altruistic world which we are not in anyway. In today's world, benefits are only measured under economic terms, i.e GDP. And that is where this essay will turn to next.

Inklings of A Vision for ASEAN (Part 1 - The Cultures)

I quote from Brunei's Foreign Affairs & Trade Minister, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah from his inaugural Southeast Asian lecture in Singapore on Tuesday with reference to real action to realise ASEAN plans, "It won't be easy of course. We are 10 members with 10 different ways of life, different faiths and at least half a dozen systems of government. But I hope that ASEAN will find the way. To do this, I think that somehow we have to discover what I would like to call the common ground which any community shares. It will need a vision like the one ASEAN's founders had over 40 years ago. But if we can find out how to do it, I believe we have a very good future indeed".

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I think he sums up the situation in ASEAN very well, as well as the need for a common vision built on common ground which the entire community can share. But obviously, the main issue to deal with then is, what vision can ASEAN share? After the losing the common political ground of post-colonial independance and nationalism, and experiecing competely different economic development paths, what is there left for us to hold to as a grouping of nations?

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I wouldnt claim to have a well thought-off vision because I simply do not have the fundamental cultural, political or social awareness which such a vision will require in its drafting. By culture, I refer to the "different ways of life, different faiths", by politics, the "half a dozen systems of government" and by social, I mean the varying standards of living and economic situation in the different countries. However, with my limited knowledge, and drawing on much more general themes of understanding, respect and trust, I will try to present my inlkings of a vision for ASEAN, a vision that is built on the common grounds of culture, economics and politics.

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My feel is that culturally, ASEAN is a very strong rooted society where cultural traditions, customs and languages are very dominant. The continents of South America, Africa & the regions of SEA have all been colonized by the various European states in the past 200 years. The dominant language in S. America now is either Spanish or Portuguese (Brazil), in Africa, the dominant language is English, or French, or Portuguese, depending on which was the colonial master. But in SEA, the dominant language in Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia, in Malaysia Melayu, in Thailand Thai, in Phillipines Tagalog, in Vietnam Vietnamese, in Laos Laotian, in Burma Burmese, in Cambodia Cambodian and so on and forth. Perhaps the only exception would be Singapore, where English is the dominant language. Now, this may be a hindrance to forming a common cultural identity, especially when the native languages are so dominant that a large percentage of the local population are only able to converse fluently in their native language. But I see this as an inherent strength, a phenomenon rivaled only in Europe. And I would argue, that the only solution to finding a cultural common ground amongst such a mulplitude of languages would be the language of understanding and respect.

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Rather than seeing this 'language of understanding and respect' as something airey-fairy, I think they are very tangible realisations of it. To start with, a determination to respect another culture and language would go hand-in-hand with steeled endeavour to learn about the other cultures and languages. I would propose that the linguitically able, pursue other SEA languages, rather than French, or German, or Spanish. I would propose that cultures and traditions that seem out-dated, 'irrational' or even repressive to the individual quest for science and reason; be respected instead in their humble pursuit of identity and home. Before modern-day globalists are quick to whitewash my thoughts as an 'nostalgic romantic harking back to past glory days', let it be clear that unlike Greece, or Egypt or Rome; Southeast Asia does not need to hark back to days gone and lost. The culture that still runs strongly in SEA is one that never lost its way, and continues to touch the raw nerves and souls of many local south-east asians. These are cultures that have seen glory days of ancient empires, witnessed systematic ideological and political attacks under colonial imperialism, and shone through the darkness of post-nationalist economic and social unrest. These are cultures that have retained their relevance through the passage of time.

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Therefore, if Southeast-asians are not able to come together and truly respect and admire the rich cultures of each other, then there will never be a greater Southeast-asian identity. If there is to be a leading nation to spearhead this drive for a greater identity, then it must be a leadership founded first and foremost, on the respect for the various local ways-of-lives, on the respect for the various local faiths. After that, then can we talk economics, urbanisation or development. (which will be the subject of the next part in this essay)

Teach the Children

Just before the CNY period, 3 incidents happened in my life that gave me food for thought. It is often that we hear people saying, 'teach the young'. But what exactly should we teach our young? I type all this from the perspective of both a child, as well as an adult. The first incident was my watching of a video. It was sent to me by a friend who knows my interest in the subject, and it is a presentation given by Mr Jamie Lerner, who developed Curitiba in Brazil according to his town planning ideals. (wikipedia Curitiba to find out more). Admist quite a few themes, one strong theme in his speech was to 'Teach the Children to Recycle" and then the children will teach their parents. It is a scheme implemented in the schols in Curitiba years ago which has been met with astounding succes today as far as recycling rates are concerned. The interview can be seen on http://www.ted.com/ So yes, I think we should teach children in schools to recycle, to cope with climate change and other environmental problems, we need a fundamental mindset change in our consumerist attitudes and the school and recycling is the perfect place to start.

The second incident was onboard a train returning from Bath (where I spent last Saturday with Yun Ching & his girlfriend Li Hsien in) to Cardiff. We were seated next to a family of 4, with 2 young kids. They were playing a game making use of dominoes. Basically, a simple game which is difficult to describe. But fundamentally, it was an eye-opener seeing the process. There was a time when the young son decided to go against the rules and insisted on his way. The father was firm, "If you go against the rules, then there is no fun for everyone else and we might as well stop playing, precious.' When the son eventually decided to give in and play accordingly, the parents applauded his decision. In the end, the son was the last in the game and complained that he was the loser. The father explained '' You did very well precious, and it was really tough luck! But I didnt win too, nor did sis, only Mummy won.' Thereafter, a part of the game, he asked his children what was 4+4. And it took quite a while before his daughter could answer 8. But he patiently waited, and praised her when she got the answer. It was then did I realise that the children actually still could not count very well even as they were playing the game. But the game, was a very good way of exposing them to numbers. But more than that, the constant encouragement, the firmness in tone, but also the lesson in morals on display was quite amazing and heartwarming. It requires time, objectivity on morals but also emotional encouragement. Quite a difficult combination.

The third incident, which is probably the most personal as I am not an observer but a participant involves me re-gaining contact with a couple of Thai friends I first knew in 2000. In 2000, as part of RI's Interact Club, we went to Thailand for a CIP. A very special part of the project involved us conducting an English Camp with a village primary school, the special part being that this would be done in collaboration with a City Secondary School. So, what happened was that we first went to the city school, Sathit and met up with the students there and had an orientation/ice-breaking camp before going to the village together the next 2 days to conduct the camp. After the trip, we exchanged contacts with both the village children and also the city children. However, I soon lost contact with them as they did not have emails then, and I stopped replying to the snail mails. In late 2007 however, I decided that it would be very sad if I did not make an attempt to re-establish contact, me being the sentimental and nostalgic person that I am. So, I sent a couple of cards to their old addresses. And lo and behold, I soon received replies, now on email. The kids have all grown up, all of those I am in contact with now are in Chiang Mai University, a couple are doctors, pharmacists. And there is also a vet studying in Chulalongkorn. And this includes a village child. I was really happy that they were doing so well, and also delighted that we are in contact again. We chat online like we have been good friends forever, but if you think about it, we only knew each other for 3 days, before losing contact for 6-7 years? While there could be lots of emotional stories I could tell you from this experience, I think the point I wish to make here would be somewhat more objective.

Many Singaporeans students also go on Overseas Community Involvement Projects these days, but I am not sure how many keep in contact with their foreign friends after the project is over. I remember clearly that in 2000, after I returned from Thailand, I wanted to make sure that I kept in contact. But still, I failed to do so, yet it was always at the back of my head, and that is why today I have re-established contact. But what lessons does this give us? I think more than anything else, it is a true lesson on humility and empathy. When many of us go on CIPs, we have a sense of sympathy, and when we return, we always bring back stories of how we learnt more from the locals and their way of life and friendliness. (any of you who have gone on such trips will definitely have the same stories) However, unless you keep in contact, and realise that after 6-7 years, the very same people who you first went to teach English, are now also in the Univesity as you are, and learning Medicine, Law etc, then does the real humility strike you. And that is the first lesson in empathy. Different ways of life, different cultural and social and economic backgrounds and lead to similar success stories. That is why I think the structure of my Thailand CIP was good, because it gave us an opportunity to meet both city and village students, and the city students were as unfamiliar with the village students as us. To fostering greater understanding and relationships with our South-east Asian neighbours, I think it is crucial that our students are exposed on such trips, rather then the usual we can help them build a school, or teach them english etcetc. It is crucial to recognise that under an increasingly globalising world today, when people are given similar opportunites, they can and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, and your friendships will be built on true equality and respect without a single tinge of "colonialistic pitÿ". Empathy starts when you realise that your beliefs, and your way of life are simply your personal choices that you make in your personal surroundings and that everyone has the right to their own as well.

Remebering a Chinese New Year of Yesteryear

This will be the second CNY that I am not spending with my family in Singapore, also the second year that my family is spending without my mum. As the world moves into a New Year, I thought I would spend some time to pen down my recollections of my Chinese New Years' before 2007.

There would be half-day of school on the eve of CNY. School would basically be made up of celebrations in the hall with performances by the Chinese dance and musical groups, and we students would exchange greetings among ourselves and with our teachers. At that time, I would often wonder how my classmates would spend their CNY, because my CNY would revolve completely within my family for the next few days. After school, we would go down to my Grandmother's place, where the ancestral prayers would be held. In between the praying, I would go and sleep. Then, it would be time for the steamboat reunion dinner, with the suckling pig, prosperity fish and vegetables. We would discussions whether the pig, crabs were better this year than the last. And then, rise to the occassion with loud cheers of Huat ah! On CNY Eve, Channel 8 would normally show some Jackie Chan flick, which we would normally watch again before going home. Grandma would give us our red packets which we use to shou shui(put under the pillow and sleep on for the night). Both aunties would give us the special edition mint coins of the year, and uncle would present us with his red packet.

At home, my mum would continue the spring cleaning with the maid, my dad would begin the prayers, and I would jump around assisting both, before settling down into the couch with my siblings to watch the CNY countdown on Channel 8. I think I never missed a single one. The house lights would be on through the night, and I would try to sleep as late as possible. It says it brings one's parents good health and a longer life, I found it quite nice to stay awake and imagine the world staying awake too.

On the morning of the first day, my siblings and I would wake up, and present 2 oranges each to Dad and Mum and receive ang baos in return. Thereafter, the family would gather around the dining table for Tang Yuan. Then, we set off back to Grandmother's place for a new round of Xin Nian Kuai Le! Wan Shi Ru Yi! Shen Ti Jian Kang! Gong Xi Fa Cai! After a simple lunch, we would head to our maternal Grandmother's house to visit and give our greetings. Most of the other aunties and uncles and cousins would also be gathered here, and it would be very busy. We would have a special mee sua for lunch, and then there would normally be a lion dance performance in the sprawling gardens. Some years, we would be late and miss the show. We would spend the afternoon there, playing with our other cousins, which was always very enjoyable. We would return to my paternal grandmother's house for dinner before returning home.

The second day would be the relative visiting day, as we travelled from Pasir Ris to Alexandra to Woodlands to greet the relatives of both sides. It was always quite a tiring process, and often as a young child, I found it quite boring since there wasnt much to do at these places as compared to my grandmother's house where we could play with the cousins. Yet, I also found it nice, to meet these relatives as it really was once-in-a year. To me, that made it more precious and important, maybe to others, it becomes somewhat pointless. But I thought, CNY was not about renewing ties, it was about letting yourself know your heritage, your roots, your relatives. And that was why it was special. Every redpacket I would keep, because it symbolized the well wishes to me, and I always treasured that. The money I would pass to mum who would bank into our accounts, but the red packets were always more meaningful to me. I now own an entire collection of the various designs of red packets over the years. And I think they bring me luck and happines above all. Because, with so many people wishing you such good wishes year after year, how can you not be lucky if you appreciated each and everyone of them?

The night of the second day would always be fun. We would return to out paternal grandmother's house and there, all the relatives would be gathered for the feast my aunty would prepare. I enjoyed seeing everyone, and even just sitting there, it was always nice to be part of a big and happy family. The third day of the New Year is my maternal grandfather's birthday and this would be celebrated over a lunch or dinner. Again, a good chance to meet my cousins, aunts, uncles and importantly, to wish my grandfather a wonderful year and good health! We would also be responsible for the birthday cake! And then the next day, I would reluctantly return to school, not because I dreaded school, but because, the New Year celebrations were over, and somehow, I would feel a little empty and lonely.

2008. My grandmother, and uncle and aunty are now staying with us. My mother and maternal grandmother have left us. I am studying in the UK. And suddenly, I realise that all my above memories have become a part of CNY history to me. As I try hard to keep my life the same year after year, it only gets increasingly harder. Sometimes, I wonder why people always seem to want change, always are unsatisfied with what they have. Yet, whatever I can keep the same, I will. I still look forward to hear or see from my family and relatives, be it only on webcam. I still put my grandmother's red packet under my pillow when I sleep. I still get my sister to keep all my hong baos. And I still wish and remember every single one I know, and who know me, the same blessings that I have been wishing all these years..Xin Nian Kuai Le! Wan Shi Ru Yi! Shen Ti Jian Kang! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Maybe for some, the more you repeat these greetings, the more meaningless they become. But for me, the more I repeat it, the more I believe they will come true, for everyone. Many a great person have said that the only constant is change. And we will always hope that change brings us to the better, or that we make the best use of change. But for me, the only constant is love and tradition. And that is why, the Chinese New Year was invented and celebrated. To give us, the opportunity to remember all the hands we once held. To give us, the practices and rituals that we carry on year after year for a sense of constantcy. To give us, the chance to wish together, that the New Year will bring good changes. Yet, it you do not hold on doggedly to love and tradition, obviously it is all going to change. But if you do, you will realise that there are many beautiful memories still that will go on forever in spirit, as you repeat new years with the same practices and maybe new people, but still remember the people that previous years were made together with.

And with that, I wish you Happy New Year!

新年快乐！

多几个小时，不管你在世界的哪一边，我们都会一起进入鼠年了！
今年的新年，会跟以往一样吗？还是会比较特别？会有很多亲戚朋友吗？还是自己一个人？我觉得，有机会会会亲戚朋友，哪怕是一年一次，也是好事！即使曾经有过什么纠纷，能不能在一年里的那么几天，完全忘掉吧！如果，人在他乡，也不会寂寞，因为知道亲戚朋友都在庆祝，那不是也一样美好！
其实，不管你生活如何，不管你处境如何，不管你身体如何，不管你心境如何，我想，就沉这么一个普天同庆的日子里，忘记一切，沉浸于欢乐的气息中，好吗？不是一种安慰，不是一种自欺，这是一种现实。
人，本来就喜欢快乐！所以，有新年，所以，有红包，所以，有祝福，所以。。。

新年快乐！万事如意！身体健康！笑口常开！