Yesterday my National University of Singapore law school class had the privilege to visit the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta (this is the second such visit by my class). Our visit happened to coincide with unveiling of the new ASEAN website, supported by the USAID.
The class was lucky enough to see ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan.
The class benefited from a briefing by the ASEAN Secretariat sections who work on the AEC and legal issues. Many thanks to the ASEAN Secretariat for hosting us and helping the class better understand ASEAN!
They also saw US Ambassador to ASEAN David Carden (working on US Labor Day!).
Here you have DSG Nyan Lin, the event MC, DSG Bagas Hapsoro, SG Surin, Ambassador Carden, DSG Lim Hong Hin and DSG Misran Karmain.
Here you have DSG Nyan Lin, the event MC, DSG Bagas Hapsoro, SG Surin, Ambassador Carden, DSG Lim Hong Hin and DSG Misran Karmain.
The new ASEAN website is really much better, allowing for metatextual search of ASEAN documents. This required data entry for over 18,000 documents. What is needed is broader coverage of ASEAN documentation. There are many documents which still exist only on paper in the ASEAN Secretariat. Without better recordkeeping, even on a confidential basis, ASEAN risks losing control over its history.
