Opportunities for stronger ASEAN secretariat

Bagas Hapsoro, Jakarta | Fri, 08/12/2011 8:00 AM
A | A | A | - Klipping the Jakarta Post
ASEAN celebrated its 44th anniversary in a ceremony with a lecture from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Aug. 8.

Also present were ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, ministers from the government of Indonesia, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, envoys from the 10 ASEAN members and several other countries.

In his ASEAN lecture, President Yudhoyono congratulated ASEAN on the progress it had achieved over the years. He also paid tribute to the secretary-general and his staff at the ASEAN Secretariat for their contributions in helping to build the ASEAN Community.

“I know sometimes it feels like a thankless job, but believe me, your hard work is noticed and well appreciated,” he said, as many of ASEAN colleagues nodded knowingly. I understand that colleagues following the speech from another corner broke out in applause.

“Over the years, the ASEAN Secretariat has been a major factor in the evolution of ASEAN. It has contributed to what ASEAN has become today: one of the world’s most successful regional organizations.”

“I join you today in tribute to the ASEAN Secretariat and the host of nameless and dedicated individuals who are contributing to its development,” he added.

I am sure I speak for many of my colleagues when I say we were touched by the presidential pat on the back. I can vouch that many a time, when we looked back at the projects we completed, we were indeed amazed at what we had produced despite the constraints of time, resources and multiple demands.

This is the second time the President delivered the ASEAN lecture. The first was in 2005. But “the values, the objective, and the vision remain relevant,” he noted.

He shared that, since its conception in 2003, the ASEAN Community had undergone some adjustments — especially the new challenges thrown up by global developments that were beyond anyone’s control.

But in the final analysis, he expressed the hope that ASEAN would be able to give shape and add content to the progress that has been achieved at the last ASEAN Summit in May and last month’s meetings in Bali.

As ASEAN progresses toward a regional community, the group must evolve. The deeper the regional integration, the stronger the secretariat should be. Currently, only 70 professionals work at the ASEAN Secretariat, serving a combined ASEAN population of more than 600 million people. The manpower crunch and a limited budget are two of the most critical issues confronting the secretariat.

ASEC — as the secretariat is fondly known by its staff — must expand according to the tasks and duties assigned to it, and ASEC should also be given the authority to operate efficiently. A professional and efficient secretariat will play an important role in ASEAN’s operations — leading to greater regional participation and better regional awareness.

A professional secretariat would also mean competing in the open regional market for staff, and that can only be done with a stronger financial commitment from the member states.

The ASEAN headquarters needs to create a regional and international working atmosphere and make “working at ASEAN” a prestigious assignment for people working at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank or the European Union.

Empowering the secretariat will essentially make its staff members value their hard work in a participatory contribution to regional security, economic development, enhancing connectivity and improving human rights promotion and protection for people all over Southeast Asia.

In this way, Jakarta can attract motivated, high-quality job candidates from all ASEAN member nations to work, live and invest in the city. At the same time, the Indonesian government needs to contribute to the improvement of infrastructure and transportation systems and promote the city’s multicultural lifestyle.

But the most important issue that remains elusive is whether ASEAN members are ready for this development, ready to help Jakarta become “the diplomatic city of ASEAN” and the capital of ASEAN in the eyes of the ASEAN people.

Indonesia, as chair of ASEAN, has given huge leverage for Jakarta to foster its image as the center of diplomacy and business in Southeast Asia. It may be well assured that Jakarta will do anything within its power to prove itself as extraordinary host.

Jakarta has excellent experience at welcoming foreign diplomats and political leaders from all over the world. Having good relationships with 21 sister cities all over the world, Jakarta is a similarly active member of the most renowned and influential city associations and organizations.

They may focus on Asian-wide networking such as the ANMC 21 (Asian Network of Major Cities) or act on a global level such as the C40 in terms of exchange of experiences, ideas and methods. What they always have had in common is lobbying for a bigger role of cities in an increasingly urbanized world.

As Jakarta is keen to be the diplomatic capital of ASEAN, representing each and every ASEAN member state, we are also aware that as chair, Indonesia is committed to putting ASEAN “on the map” in world politics. For that, we are also committed to making this chairmanship a successful one.

The writer is Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN.