It was 40 years ago today that group of men of esteem, in skinny neckties (and one in a bow tie), sat in a row on a fine Bangkok day to pledge an end to suspicion, division and hatemongering.
These five men -- Indonesian foreign minister Adam Malik, Singapore foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, Malaysian deputy prime minister Tun Abdul Razak, Thai foreign minister Thanat Khoman and Philippine secretary of foreign affairs Narcisco Ramos -- represented nations that just a year earlier were more prone to waging war than posing for a photo together.
Little did we know, as the five lined up in their shinny suits for a joint photo-op, that the ceremony would become an annual ritual for their successors to define a grouping of now half a billion people.
Minutes earlier they had signed a paper which would change the course of history in Southeast Asia.
History recalls it as the Bangkok Declaration. But in affect the document was a declaration of love.
Nations which had never known order in their interactions, that were burdened by historical angst and born in rivalry, were now coalescing to form a family to be known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
A new kinship which, as the declaration read, `represents the collective will of the nations of Southeast Asia to bind themselves together in friendship and cooperation and, through joint efforts and sacrifices, secure for their peoples and for posterity the blessings of peace, freedom and prosperity`.
`Joint efforts and sacrifice` are a prerequisite to any successful family.
Prior to 1967 this key phrase was alien. Eventually it became a feature which underlines the strength of ASEAN to this very day.
That year proved to be point of no return for all five states.
For Indonesia, the birth of ASEAN heralded a new Indonesia, one which was more cooperative and amiable. It provided us with the foundation to become an internationally responsible power.
Whatever distinction Indonesian diplomacy has garnered over the last four decades, much of it can be traced to its role in ASEAN.
The climate of harmony also afforded the New Order regime an environment for nation building.
Former President Soeharto has many detractors, but his foresight to place Indonesia at the forefront of the fraternity of nations was a credit to his young (and still untainted) leadership.
During its growth ASEAN has made many errors. Its shortcomings are numerous.
But peace and friendship -- the most eminent quality of any existence -- have reigned. And ASEAN has further installed fundamental changes, albeit at a tediously frustrating pace, which provide the backbone for regional development.
Perhaps we should also reflect on ourselves and question our own inabilities to take advantage of the opportunities set forth by the grouping before blaming everything on ASEAN.
Dilettantes would summarily dismiss the value of ASEAN. But layman usually find it difficult to look beyond the rice bowl towards the alphabet soup of ASEAN acronyms which represent a flurry of cooperative successes.
In spite of the ridicule ASEAN is still here. More expansive, stronger and slowly getting better.
But life begins at 40, they say.
Old habits are hard to break but if it isn`t it will be an even harder sell for the grouping. Failure to transform will mean ASEAN isn`t maturing, it is just getting older and eventually obsolete.
One can no longer think about ASEAN as those men in suits who meet in ceremonial fanfare once a year. Instead it must be an organization with many suitors comprised of stakeholders from all levels of citizenship.
In essence, it must move from being a fraternity of states to a community of caring societies.
The core of this vision lies in the belief in a set of common values toward the respect for the rights of each ASEAN citizen.
No true gathering of peoples can become a community without shared visions and beliefs.
The mechanisms are already in place. And we salute ASEAN officials and the minds from the Track Two process who have successfully fleshed out the ASEAN Charter to be adopted by leaders later this year.
The charter marks a new way for ASEAN member states to conduct themselves in a responsible way that fully respects the rights and aspirations of their peoples.
Gatherings such as the ASEAN People`s Assembly are a prime example of how it can, if it wishes to, evolve to become more sensitive to the voices of the often unheard.
We may not be able to make everyone in Southeast Asia prosperous just yet, but a new ASEAN that ensures an end to persecution and injustice is just as worthy as one that ends hunger.
That is the ASEAN of hope we are looking for in the next four decades. Let us say goodbye and thank you to the ASEAN of the previous four.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com (9 Agustus 2007)