By MP for Aljunied GRC, Sylvia Lim
[Delivered in Committee of Supply on 5 March 2015]
2015 is a landmark year for ASEAN and, in particular, progress toward creating an ASEAN Community under the ASEAN Social-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint. In the Blueprint, ASEAN nations and peoples are supposed to develop a common identity and build a caring and sharing society.
I first raised the topic of the ASCC 4 years ago, during the 2011 Committee of Supply debate. During that debate four years ago, then Foreign Minister George Yeo indicated that this year, 2015, was to be an administrative red line drawn across all the plans for ASEAN integration – political, economic and socio-cultural. Specifically on the ASCC, Mr Yeo had indicated a hope that, and I quote, “the importance of ASEAN will be more deeply felt by our citizens, especially the young, and we need a multi-pronged approach including lessons about ASEAN in schools, sports and cultural activities, and greater use of ASEAN symbols.” In addition, Mr. Yeo highlighted the flying of the ASEAN flag alongside the national flag at the overseas diplomatic missions of ASEAN members and campaigning for ASEAN to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.
I would like to ask what progress Singapore has made on these fronts since 2011. Could the Ministry indicate what other moves are in place to for Singapore and ASEAN countries to more fully realise the vision laid out in the ASCC Blueprint and to address the recommendations made in the 2014 Mid-Term Review of the ASCC Blueprint?