Voices of ASEAN: What Does ASEAN Mean to ASEAN Peoples?

Posted by AsiaViews | Sep 8, 2017 | 0 |

JAKARTA, INDONESIA:

The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), in collaboration with the Philippine Government, has embarked on the ASEAN@50 Project as part of the commemorative events to celebrate ASEAN’s 50th anniversary in 2017. In honor of ASEAN Day 2017, ERIA is releasing this second volume of the five-volume commemorative publication produced under the ASEAN@50 Project, entitled Voices of ASEAN: What Does ASEAN Mean to ASEAN Peoples? which presents the results of an ASEAN-wide survey of 2,322 respondents’ aspirations, expectations, concerns, and hopes for ASEAN.

Some of the key findings of the survey include:

Familiarity with ASEAN: Virtually all respondents were at least ‘slightly familiar’ with ASEAN. Three-fifths of them were ‘moderately’ to ‘very’ familiar with ASEAN. Awareness increased significantly since 2014. Respondents were mostly aware of ASEAN’s economic pillar.
Benefit from ASEAN: Two-thirds of respondents perceived their countries’ membership in ASEAN as ‘moderately’ to ‘very’ beneficial. Thus, the respondents overwhelmingly considered membership of ASEAN to be a good thing. Not surprisingly, two-thirds said they would be moderately to extremely concerned if their countries were to leave ASEAN.
Feeling of ASEAN Citizenship: More than three-fourths of all respondents felt ‘moderately’ to ‘very much’ like ASEAN citizens. Combined with those who indicated feeling ‘somewhat’ like ASEAN citizens, a sense of ASEAN belonging was shared by virtually all the respondents. Much of this sense of ASEAN belonging is shaped by geography. A full sense of ASEAN citizenship may call for ASEAN to be more deeply engaged and more aligned with the concerns and interests of the non-elites.
Priorities and concerns for ASEAN: There was remarkable unanimity in the priorities and concerns for ASEAN until 2025 across the respondent groups. The most pressing concerns were non-economic ones. Thus, ASEAN belonging and identity can be strengthened by moving beyond the economic pillar.
Aspirations for ASEAN: ASEAN peoples aspire for and largely expect an ASEAN in 2025 that is integrated, connected, resilient, and a significant voice and player in global and regional affairs. There are, however, large gaps between aspirations and expectations in the areas of good governance, equity, the environment, and human rights.
Overlaps between national and regional priorities: When asked to rank the most pressing problems facing their country, ASEAN people were most concerned about (1) corruption, (2) income disparity and social inequality, and (3) agriculture and food security – all three of which were also included in the top five regional problems. This concordance of national and regional concerns and aspirations calls for concerted regional initiatives to be undertaken by all ASEAN Member States. Such initiatives would likely result in greater synergy among all the countries and at the same time deepen the sense of ASEAN belongingness and community.
Aspirations for a bigger role for ASEAN: In addition to the desire for ASEAN to act collectively to address region-wide issues, such as climate change, corruption, and agriculture and food security, there was also a strong hope for ASEAN to play a bigger role as a global player.
Media and textbooks: The role of the media and textbooks needs to be better understood and utilised to increase public awareness of ASEAN’s programmes and activities.
The ASEAN Secretariat: Overall, respondents agreed that the ASEAN Secretariat should be improved. However, among the member states, this question generated the widest divergence in responses of any of the questions.

The five volumes of the commemorative publication:

Volume 1: The ASEAN Journey: Reflections of ASEAN Leaders and Officials
Volume 2: Voices of ASEAN: What Does ASEAN Mean to ASEAN Peoples?
Volume 3: ASEAN and Member States: Transformation and Integration
Volume 4: Building ASEAN Community: Political-Security and Socio-cultural Reflections

Volume 5:The ASEAN Economic Community 2025 and Beyond

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Voices of ASEAN: What Does ASEAN Mean to ASEAN Peoples?