#12. The Independence of Mind

In my previous post, I discussed about the mismanagement of resources in Southeast Asia and stressed the importance of nurturing our own school of thoughts in development. The coming together of Southeast Asian nations since 1967 under the umbrella of ASEAN is indeed a very far-sighted policy. This movement marks the beginning of official collaboration between the Southeast Asian countries in fields such as governance, education, security and technological transfer. This has allowed Southeast Asia to develop rapidly while nurturing and ensuring regional security amid neighbouring behemoths. Being geographically sandwiched between China and India as well as the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, where major episodes of traumatic events have taken place in the last 2 centuries, the collaboration between the ASEAN member states is timely and apt.

From the global perspective, Southeast Asia has always been seen as the backwaters of Asia. Mention Southeast Asia to any Europeans or Americans, perhaps what captures their imaginations is the rapid economic development of the region since 1970s. Typically, Southeast Asia also conjures images of natural beauty and exotic cultures in the Far East. It is not difficult to judge how globetrotters see Southeast Asia. Many of them would be surprised by the near-utopian landscape of Singapore as they do not expect such level of high development to occur in this region. This phenomenon is something to be lamented of. Why couldn’t the majority of Southeast Asia be as advanced and developed as Singapore?

Firstly, we need to be aware that the present concept of development is rooted in the European Industrial Revolution. Growth is seen as benevolent, more is always believed to be better. Defining development through the lens of Western bureaucrats is as problematic as saying that the correct way to consume food is by using knife and fork! We should be wary of the current way of defining development. We need to have a national debate on the kind of development we want to see. The recent National Transformation 2050 dialogue in Malaysia is a discussion platform other ASEAN countries should emulate. 

Image above - Development is not an easy process. It shouldn't be seen as simple as copy-and-paste from the experience of other countries. Ultimately, development is tied to true freedom.

Japanese has long recognised that the concepts of development have to be moulded to suit the local context. Japanese has a long tradition of translating foreign ideas to innovate the indigenous methods of operation and governance. Same goes to the Koreans, Germans and Jewish, all of whom have inherited a rich literary tradition and beautiful philosophies. These are not their voluntary choices. Rather, these people have always been at the periphery of major political powers or at the centre of countless battles. To survive, they have to be creative, they have to think thrice before acting, they have to spend more time in ensuring their actions generate maximum benefits. They all hope that their heavy investment of time, energy and resources in their actions justifies the intended results - to survive and thrive as a people. Southeast Asia, too, is at the periphery of global superpowers and this region used to be one the centre stages for the Second World War and Cold War. We are vulnerable to global risks. We need to strategise!

Traditionally, Southeast Asia has been a recipient of foreign cultures, namely Indian, Chinese, Western and Arabic. The diversity and complexity of Southeast Asia is a well known fact. However, the complexity of ideas within Southeast Asia can be detrimental to the collective well-being of its inhabitants if they are not carefully translated to suit the local context. For example, instead of doing an at-grade pedestrian crossing at a traffic junction, the local authority might choose to build an overhead pedestrian bridge. This not only escalates the construction and maintenance costs but also discourages walking and the development of public transport, ultimately contributing to more carbon footprint in the local vicinity. Another prime example would be the widespread belief that the commodification of food crops is good for the growth of national economy. While this is true to a certain extent, the domination of several crops can devastate the national food security if other crops aren't being taken into consideration. Simply copying the development model from foreign experiences and implementing them in this region is not ideal as most of them are bound to fail. Bear in mind that most of the foreign countries we learn from have different geo-climatic, geo-political, socio-cultural and economic situations. 

Some policy-makers in Southeast Asia tend to dream too big. Perhaps, instead of spending too much time implementing actions without much thought, these policy-makers should dedicate more resources in cultivating and developing its own academia as well as defending the rights of the civil society. In order to ensure the ideals of its people are being implemented accordingly, its rule of law must keep up with the current socio-economic changes.

The independence of mind is ultimately what Southeast Asia must strive for. The Malay word for independence is Merdeka, which has its origin in Sanskrit – Mahadhika. Maha being ‘big’ and dhika being ‘self’.  Mahadhika conjures the literal meaning that true freedom can be attained only when one’s consciousness is released from the cage of bodily and mental limitations. The Indian concept of true freedom teaches us one thing or two that independence begins at one's mind, where all the decisions are made. If only Southeast Asian policy-makers spend more time on seeking what independence really means, and developing the indigenous corpus development, only then this region could be better and more liveable. In conclusion, development is not an easy process. It shouldn't be seen as simple as copy-and-paste from the experiences of other countries. Ultimately, development is tied to true freedom. Hence, the independence of mind and development are intricately linked. 

Southeast Asia has always been in a constant flux. It will remain so in the future. Who knows how Southeast Asia would look like in the next decade? Fingers crossed.