Just a short update about my academic affiliation. I am no longer attached with the Law School of UKM. I am now a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Malaysia and International Studies UKM.
Monday 19 January 2015
Happy New Year; Happy New ASEAN
Happy New Year everyone. It has been a while since I write my blog. Since August 2014, many events has taken place and the most important of all is the ASEAN 2015, the year when we are supposed to be celebrating the ASEAN Community 2015.
Many ASEAN Citizens look forward to the ASEAN Community. Nevertheless many ASEAN Citizens are still in the dark over what ASEAN Community 2015 entails. It is not the end of the progress towards achieving ASEAN as an integrated region, which consists of ASEAN Social Political Community or ASEAN Economic Community or ASEAN Security Community.
2015 is only the beginning to complete the building block. Rome was built in one day. Even, the European Union which stated with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 was not built in one day. The Treaty of Rome spelt the beginning of the European Economic Community which then turned into European Community and later the European Union as we know it today. Thus, since 1957, about 57 years ago, the European countries has been building the EU on an economic footing.
One cannot and should not compare the EU with ASEAN. ASEAN has been built on a political footing since the Bangkok Treaty in 1967. The economic issue came at a very much later stage, with the agreement to set-up AFTA in 1991. Thus, we have to give ASEAN a chance to succeed. We have to support the forward looking high-level statement of the Nay Pyi Taw Declaration 2015-2020 as a high level commitment by the ASEAN Leaders to further enhance ASEAN integration.
ASEAN integration will take sometime to bring in a highly prosperous result. ASEAN is a region of 10 countries with various level of development. One must remember even the German integration or unification of two countries with same language and same culture took many years to reach its desired level.
Let us be positive about ASEAN. Let us all support ASEAN and let us be proud to be ASEAN citizen.
Happy New Year. Let us pray that 2015 bring more good news.
Many ASEAN Citizens look forward to the ASEAN Community. Nevertheless many ASEAN Citizens are still in the dark over what ASEAN Community 2015 entails. It is not the end of the progress towards achieving ASEAN as an integrated region, which consists of ASEAN Social Political Community or ASEAN Economic Community or ASEAN Security Community.
2015 is only the beginning to complete the building block. Rome was built in one day. Even, the European Union which stated with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 was not built in one day. The Treaty of Rome spelt the beginning of the European Economic Community which then turned into European Community and later the European Union as we know it today. Thus, since 1957, about 57 years ago, the European countries has been building the EU on an economic footing.
One cannot and should not compare the EU with ASEAN. ASEAN has been built on a political footing since the Bangkok Treaty in 1967. The economic issue came at a very much later stage, with the agreement to set-up AFTA in 1991. Thus, we have to give ASEAN a chance to succeed. We have to support the forward looking high-level statement of the Nay Pyi Taw Declaration 2015-2020 as a high level commitment by the ASEAN Leaders to further enhance ASEAN integration.
ASEAN integration will take sometime to bring in a highly prosperous result. ASEAN is a region of 10 countries with various level of development. One must remember even the German integration or unification of two countries with same language and same culture took many years to reach its desired level.
Let us be positive about ASEAN. Let us all support ASEAN and let us be proud to be ASEAN citizen.
Happy New Year. Let us pray that 2015 bring more good news.
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