In Singapore
MY FIRST contact with Asean was in secondary school when I heard about Asean scholars who were reputed for churning out As like a factory. It was only in University that I came to see Asean as more than just a bunch of highly-intellectually evolved beings. I came to understand Asean as a political and economic entity, but never a social one.
With the pervasiveness of Japanese popular culture and Korean soap opera here, one might even argue that in Singapore, people identify more with the "plus 3" members of Asean, which are China, Japan and South Korea, than they do with Asean.
At the Asean Ministeral Meetings here in July, the "Asean identity and community" was a recurring theme. Two weeks back, Dr. Surin, the current Asean Secretary-General, at the Asean+3 Youth Forum, again emphasised the need for the youth of today to identify with Asean. Last week, Singapore celebrated Asean Day and our foreign minister George Yeo highlighted Asean's continued relevance to people in the region.
Developing an Asean identity is far more difficult than creating a regional bloc or securing economic stability in 10 countries because it is not something governments can create policies for. An identity is a collective shared experience which is far more intangible and fluid than annual GDP figures or a political party people vote for.
To create Asean as an identity attractive to people, particularly the youth, is no mean feat in a globalised age where identities not only compete with each other, but constantly have to reinvent themselves to stay relevant.