An ASEAn Community for All: Edited by: Terence Chong Stefanie Elies An ASEAn Community for All: Edited by: Terence Chong Stefanie Elies 1) Introduction Stefanie Elies and Natalia Figge 7 2) Executive Summary Terence Chong 9 TS 3) Civil Society organisations: Definitions and Concepts Terence Chong 21 N 4) Methodology Terence Chong 24 5) Civil Society and the ASEAn Community May-Ann Lim 25 TE 6) Country Chapters a) Brunei Hajah Sainah Haji Saim 35 b) Cambodia Jane Banez-Ockelford 41 c) Indonesia Rustam Ibrahim 52 d) Laos Boike Rehbein 63 Editors: e) Malaysia terence Chong Lee Hock Guan Stefanie Elies 73 Assistant Editor: f) Myanmar natalia figge Romain Caillaud and Carine Jaquet 86 Proof-Reading: ira martina Drupady g) Philippines Photo: Patrick Wilson O. Lim 97 friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung OF CON h) Singapore ©Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Office for Regional Cooperation in Asia, 2011 Gillian Koh and Debbie Soon 111 ISBN 978-981-07-0429-2 E i) Thailand First published in November 2011 by friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Naruemon Thabchumpon 127 office for regional Cooperation in Asia 7500 A Beach road j) Vietnam #12-320/321/322 the Plaza Singapore 199591 Bach Tan Sinh 138 All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reprinted pr reproduced without the prior permission of the publishers. The views expressed k) Regional Overview in this publication are strictly those of the authors, and do not necessarily Consuelo Katrina ‘Corinna’ Lopa 148 reflect those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Design: 7) About the Authors 155 Hotfusion, Singapore Print: 8) Glossary 161 international Press Softcom limited, Singapore TABL introduction With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community coming into effect in 2015, the goal of strengthening its ASEAN Socio-cultural Community pillar by increasing the participation of stakeholders and the peoples of ASEAN in building this envisioned community, is clear. One crucial way to enable wider participation is the development of civil society and its relationship with ASEAN through constructive engagement processes. Three annual ASEAN People’s Assemblies and five ASEAN Civil Society Conferences or ASEAN People’s Forums mark the first structural steps towards a healthyA SEAN-civil society engagement process. There is, nevertheless, room for improving civil society participation, as well as access to the ASEAN policy making and community building exercises. In order for such improvements to take place, it is important to understand that ASEAN member states are in different stages of civil society involvement, and that greater effort must be made towards information gathering. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Office for Regional Cooperation inA sia, undertook a mapping exercise of civil society in the 10 ASEAN member states and a study on the role of regional civil society organisations (CSOs). It is through these efforts that FES supports the process of greater civil society participation in ASEAN and also tries to fill a persisting knowledge gap by providing an overview of the civil society landscape in ASEAN. The mapping exercise identifies the strengths, challenges, gaps and development needs of the CSO sector in ASEAN member countries. It is designed to address questions on the diversity of CSOs in each country, their level of organisation and structure as well as the structural processes of consultation. It also seeks to provide a framework to present the different CSO sectors for comparison and contrast, looking primarily at two dimensions: Externally, at the legal, political and advocacy environment as well as the thematic areas in which CSOs operate; and internally, at the organisational capacity of CSOs to perform their roles. The outcomes of the country mappings show that member countries have had different experiences in terms of civil society evolution and have therefore followed different trajectories leading to distinctive developments in each country. This makes mapping a challenge but a novelty at the same time. They also show that there is great knowledge and expertise among local CSOs, which could beneficially support the ASEAN Community building process, if taken into consideration. The outcome of this study is process-oriented with practical aspects to encourage increased engagement between ASEAN and CSOs. It is not meant to be static nor final, rather aiming to provide a snapshot of the state of CSOs in ASEAN member countries in the lead up toward 2015. By making the findings of this mapping exercise available to ASEAN decision makers, CSOs as well as donors and other stakeholders, FES hopes that with a better understanding of the specific conditions for CSOs in respective member states, current strategies for the implementation of a more structured and constructive stakeholder engagement on a regional level may be optimised. It has been an immense pleasure to have been part of the organisation of the “Civil Society Mapping in ASEAN Countries” project. First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere thanks to the editor of the publication, Dr. Terence Chong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, for his significant contributions in realising this project. introDuCtion 7 Secondly, we would like to convey our great appreciation to the members of the editorial board, Mr. Lun Borithy and Dr. Jörg Wischermann, for their input and feedback on the manuscript and Executive Summary their support to Dr. Chong. Our special thanks also go to Ms. May-Ann Lim who contributed the analytical chapter with recommendations on how to proceed in promoting a creative and fruitful dialogue between introduction ASEAN and civil society. This section highlights the key findings from the 10 chapters on civil society in the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It offers a broad picture of the We would like to thank all the country researchers, Hj. Saim Hj. Sainah, Ms. Jane Banez-Ockelford, diverse landscapes in Southeast Asia in which the relationship between civil society and state Mr. Rustam Ibrahim, Prof. Dr. Boike Rehbein, Dr. Lee Hock Guan, Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon, varies according to the political system, historical circumstances and societal complexion of Mr. Patrick Lim, Mr. Romain Caillaud, Ms. Carine Jaquet, Dr. Gillian Koh, Ms. Debbie Soon, Dr. different countries. It seeks to identify common trends and idiosyncrasies in order to provide a Bach Tan Sinh and Ms. Katrina Corinna A. Lopa, for the committed work they have put into regional overview of civil society in Southeast Asia. writing their chapters under a tight deadline. The challenging task lies in synthesising the outcomes and in generating a meaningful com- Last but not least, we would like to thank all participants who took part in the peer reviews parison across the region. While several studies and mappings elsewhere have been conducted as well as the analysis workshop and who provided the researchers and organisers with their on the role of civil society on a national level, this mapping is unique in terms of its regional invaluable comments and constructive criticism. aspect. As such, this section is not meant to be a comprehensive examination of civil society in the region, but seeks to offer selective but substantive issues with regards to the operation of Special thanks go to our FES offices in the region that helped support this endeavour by civil society in different ASEAN member countries. providing assistance for the researchers on the ground. the role of the State in ASEAn member Countries One of the key leitmotifs of the 10 country chapters is the importance of the state. Throughout Dr. Stefanie Elies the 10 ASEAN member states, the state continues to be the most crucial player in setting the Director conditions for civil society. The state has the power, through the institutional capacities at its Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung disposal, to determine the character and agenda of civil society organisations (CSOs). Office for Regional Cooperation in Asia However, while the state is a primary player in contemporary societies, the everyday reality on ms. natalia figge the ground may not necessarily reflect this.A s the country chapters indicate, in some countries, Programme manager civil society has emerged as the key facilitator of public services and education. Here, civil society Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has either taken over or strongly supplements the state’s traditional role in providing public Office for Regional Cooperation in Asia services. The Vietnam chapter observes that “On one hand, civil society participates in providing services in areas that the state and market do not. On the other hand, with its self-management capacity, civil society participates in solving problems that lie beyond the reach of the state and market.” In such cases, while the state may rely on CSOs for the delivery of public services, it continues to control the instruments of power such as the police and military. In other cases, the state may indirectly determine the agenda of CSOs through government policies, which may further entrench economic, political, ethnic, religious or cultural divisions in society. Whether in the areas of the economy, housing, or politics, minority groups may be marginalised, resulting in the emergence of CSOs to offer representation. In such instances, civil society-state relations may be strained. The Malaysia chapter notes that “CSOs that are critical of the official discourse and state legitimacy and interests are viewed suspiciously, if not as subversive