Asean to gain competitive edge as one community: ST survey

(THESTAITTIMES)AseanwillbemorecompetitiveoncetheAseanEconomicCommunity(AEC)isareality,goingbyanewregionwidepoll.

Businesseswilldobetter,workopportunitieswillgrowandliveswillimprove,accordingtothesurvey,whichwasconductedbyTheStraitsTimesandcoveredthe10Aseannations.

Manyrespondentsexpecttotravelalotmoreinthecomingyears.

IftheAECisregardedasasinglemarketof625million,ithasthepotentialtobetheworld'sfourth-largesteconomy,aftertheEuropeanUnion,theUnitedStatesandChina,someexpertssay.

TheAECkeptafairlylowprofileintheplanningstages,butexpectationsarenowgrowingaboutthebenefitsofbeingpartofaneconomiccommunity,asthecrucialdateofDec31nears-markingtheofficialformationofthecommunity.

Yet,thepollresultsshowthatpeoplewithintheregionremaincircumspectaboutthegainsmadesofarandscepticalabouthowfastmatterscanprogressonregionalintegration,givencurrentrealities.

Aseanwasformedin1967withfivemembernations-driveninnosmallpartbyfearsoverthespreadofcommunism.Onekeygoalfromthestartwastopromoteeconomicgrowthamongmemberstates.

TheAECaimstotakeAseanintegration-whichhasalreadyseenstepssuchasencouragingregionalcountriestograntvisa-freetraveltoAseancitizens-toanewlevel.

Inthepoll,fewrespondedwitha"yes"towhetherAseanisclosetobecomingacommunity.

Asignificantmajorityacknowledgedthatitisdifficulttodobusinessintheregion.

Andclosetohalfsaidpeople'smindsetswillbeachallengeinbringingtheregionclosertogether,attachingfarmoreimportancetothisfactorratherthanrulesandlegislationintheregion.

TheStraitsTimesembarkedonthispollonOct20togaugesentimentacrossAseanastheregionnearsthishistoricmoment.

STwassupportedbyalltheEnglishAseanpapersoftheAsiaNewsNetwork,agroupingof22newspapersseekingtopromotecoverageofAsianaffairs.

ResponsessurgedinfromMalaysiaandthePhilippinesinthefirstfewweeksafterthepoll'slaunch,whileittooklongertogettheminimumnumberof80responsespercountry-foracrediblesample-fromSingapore,IndonesiaandThailand.

Norewardwasofferedforjoiningthepoll.ItwasclosedonDec9,after50daysonline.

OnlyAseancitizenscouldparticipate.ResponsescamefromallovertheworldandlanguageissueslikelypreventedmoreresponsestothestrawpollfromtheremainingAseancountries.

SaidMrOngKengYong,Singapore'sAmbassador-at-Large:"Theresultofthepollclearlyshowsthatthereisgeneralacceptancethatworkingtogetheras10countrieswillyieldabetteroutcomeforeveryoneinAsean.

"Unfortunately,thereisstillinsufficientawarenessofhowthe10countriescanoperatetheAseanCommunityintoaregionalsystemwhichprovidesbenefitsfortheAseancitizens."

TheestablishmentoftheoverarchingAseanCommunityconceptfortheregionwasagreedtobyregionalleadersin2003.Itwillhavethreepillars-theAEC,thePolitical-SecurityCommunityandtheSocio-CulturalCommunity.TheAseanCommunity'sestablishmentwillbedeclaredformalonDec31.

ForDrOoiKeeBeng,deputydirectoroftheIseas-YusofIshakInstitute,thepollresultsshowthatAseanbusinessmenareverysupportiveofregionalintegration.

"Buttheirhopethatitwillsucceedismuchstrongerthantheexpectationtheyhavethatitwillsucceed,atleastintheshortterm."

Intheworksforseveralyears,theAECisexpectedtospurtradeandboosteconomies,withgovernmentshavingalreadyagreedtotheloweringoftariffaswellasnon-tariffbarriers.

Connectivityisalsosettogetaboost,withindustriestobeintegratedacrossvariouscountriesandfreemovementofgoods,services,investmentandskilledlabourandfreerflowofcapitaltobeencouraged.

Herearesomeofthekeyfindingsofthepoll,which655peopletook:

Over75percentoftherespondentssayAseanwillbecomemorecompetitivegloballyaftertheAECisareality.

Slightlymorethanhalfexpectbusinesstoimprove.

Halfofthosepolledarecertainthatlifewillbebetter.

Two-thirdsexpectworkortraveltoriseinthenextthreeyears.

OnlyaquarteroftherespondentsbelievethatAseanisclosetobecomingacommunity.Morethanone-thirdareclearthatitisnotclosetobeingacommunitywhiletheremainingareuncertain.

Amongotherfindingsofthesurvey:Closetotwo-thirdsofthosewhotookthepollalreadyidentifywiththeirpeersintheregion,althoughthemajorityagreethatpeopleintheregiondonotshareacommonidentity.

ThesurveywashostedandpromotedbyTheStraitsTimesaswellasjournalistsfromthesenewspapers:TheStar(Malaysia),PhilippineDailyInquirer(thePhilippines),TheJakartaPost(Indonesia),TheNation(Thailand),VietNamNews(Vietnam),VientianeTimes(Laos),RasmeiKampucheaDaily(Cambodia),theElevenMediaGroup(Myanmar)andTheBruneiTimes(Brunei).