Asean Leaders Urged To Boost Awareness Of Asean Community

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- ASEAN leaders should be more proactive by implementing public awareness campaigns about the ASEAN community to prevent a Brexit-like event, says a local academic. Prof. Emeritus Dr Abdul Rahman Embong of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Institute of Malaysian & International Studies (IKMAS) said the people in ASEAN countries do not have sufficient knowledge about the regional bloc, making the implementation of its objectives problematic. "They do no know enough about this community be it from the economic, sociocultural or other aspects, and their own stake in its objectives. "Brexit came about because the people of Britain did not internalise the spirit of the EU. In the ASEAN community, we want the people to reflect the ASEAN spirit," he told reporters at the ASEAN Economic Integration Forum 2016 here Wednesday. There exists a wide gap between the aspirations of ASEAN leaders and what the people understand, he said. Earlier in his keynote speech, he called upon the existing top-down state-centred elitist approach to draw strength from the vision, wisdom and imagination from below. "A People's ASEAN will ensure the sustainability of the community, for it nurtures a sense of ownership and of sharing a common future. For this to happen, a change of mindset is necessary both among the elite and the people," he said. He also called for further strengthening and broadening of the social architecture, saying it is crucial for the ASEAN community besides official state and business networks. "Relevant social institutions in society need to be identified and mobilised. The universities in ASEAN as well as the ASEAN media are key players in building and extending the social architecture. "The family and schools are also essential parts of this social architecture to nurture young minds in building our tomorrow today," he said. --BERNAMA