The ASEAN Media

by Frencie L. Carreon
(Published in Zamboanga Today, 30 August 2008.)

JAKARTA—When a Filipino journalist joins a small circle of colleagues in the profession coming from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, and Singapore, one finds in bonding moments, notwithstanding differences, commonalities which I believe should not be taken for granted.

There had been earlier reports on the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) but not too many among us still appreciate the role of ASEAN and how we in Zamboanga can actually play a significant part in the upcoming trade and investments program(s), with our city being a commercial hub in the southern Philippine frontier.

The ASEAN media has thus a pivotal role in heightening awareness on issues and information concerning South East Asian nations, how they can be interrelated, and how ASEAN member-nations can work together as one regional community in providing solutions.

ASEAN Special Assistant to the Secretary-General Termsak Charlermpalanupap yesterday acknowledged that ASEAN "needs the help of media to attract support and awareness on ASEAN, its benefits…and (increase awareness so that) later on (we can all) work together towards regional cooperation and development."

This he said before journalists all over Southeast Asia who attended the two-week training on Reporting on Regional Integration in Southeast Asia, a journalism capacity building program organized by Inwent's International Institute for Journalism (IIJ).

Earlier, Assistant Professor Danilo Arao, a practicing broadcast journalist and currently the Director of the Office of Research and Publication in the College of Mass Communication of the University of the Philippines, addressed the journalists and presented an assessment of media in the ASEAN region.

"The media situation of the 10 ASEAN member-countries shows the uneven levels of development which, at first glance, makes it hard to make comparisons among them. The Philippines and Singapore, for example, are diametrically opposed when it comes to the media's role in national development and the concepts of freedom of expression. There are governments that look at media as simply tools of the state and that they should only report on the "positive" and the "favorable," an attitude that is not entirely different from the occasional of demand of media consumers for the "good" news," Arao said.

Charlermpalanupap, who presented a position paper at the 6th ASEAN People's Assembly in Manila on October 24 last year, cited forty good reasons why citizens in ASEAN member-countries should be happy about ASEAN. His presentation capsulizes the essence of ASEAN.

Taking a quick review at his "list" one immediately finds striking interest on Reason Twenty, which states, "ASEAN business people actually stand to gain from economic integration in ASEAN. For example, most of them can now enter ASEAN countries (except Myanmar) without having to secure visa prior to arrival. Professionals in liberalized service sectors will soon be able to move freely and find jobs where they can under the AEC. Movement of skilled labour is also being facilitated. Some member states, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia, want to go all the way of having free movement of labour in ASEAN. This is certainly a worthy goal to be achieved in the AEAN Community beyond 2015."

I was hardly surprised when Charlermpalanupap made that appeal to the media in South East Asia. After all, the general feedback from citizens of ASEAN member-countries taken collectively would be, "Who cares about ASEAN, when we have individual lives to work on and struggle for?" And heightening awareness on the programs if not the value of ASEAN is indeed a great challenge for those behind it, and those who are in the organization itself, especially since, as Charlermpalanupap highlighted, it is a "people-oriented organization".

International media—not only those who are here in Jakarta right now—must perhaps start considering now an increased coverage of ASEAN reporting, not just for the sake of promoting the organization, but most importantly, for the citizens in ASEAN to appreciate it better and get involved themselves. After all, all the programs (economic, security, and socio-cultural) are directed for all of us in the region as a community of diverse cultures with a common vision. (Frencie L. Carreon)