Page 22 - ASEAN-EU Dialogue 2018: Regional and Inter-Regional Economic Cooperation: Identifying Priorities for ASEAN and the EU

Chapter Four
Sustainable Development and Income Equity in ASEAN
Dzulkifli Abdul Razak

In October 1987, the Brundtland Report when released, introduced “new” terms like
“sustainable development” (SD) and “sustainability” that became catch-phrases in the last few
decades. SD has been discussed at various levels and from several perspectives and viewpoints.
It is generally understood as “the development that meets the needs of the present generations
without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.” SD
resonates well with the concerns that linked it to the issues of inequity realising that “there was
a heavy deterioration of the human environment and natural resources.”

Hence it has become a rallying point on a common platform to seek out global solutions to
problems affecting the international community, including that of ASEAN. Among the
solutions suggested are (a) to re-examine the critical issues affecting equity and to formulate
innovative and realistic action proposals to deal with them; (b) to strengthen international
cooperation and propose new forms of cooperation that can break out of existing patterns (c)
influence policies and events in the direction of needed change; and (d) raise the level of
understanding and commitment to action on SD at all levels. ASEAN being diverse, unstable
and uncertain faces income inequity trend as depicted from 1992-2012; with little change in
recent times.

On average, income inequality is said to be on the rise in ASEAN over the past two decades.
As a relatively young economy, it is fast emerging, and this is where the challenges begin given
a population of more than 600 million, the third largest in the world. About half of this
represents youth, in comparison to about 35 per cent in Europe. The median age ranges from
22 years in Laos to 40 in Singapore, with about 30 in Malaysia and Vietnam. Thus, any form
of inequity makes it more vulnerable causing a long-term consequence, as well as devastating
effect to a larger section of the population (Chambers and Conway, 1992; Keeble, 1988).

In this regard, the aspects of SD are important in anticipating and preparing the future of
ASEAN. In fact, SD is one of the many elements incorporated in the Vision 2025 Framework
for the regional community. In the context of inequity, SD has great relevance in offering
sustainable solutions because as stated above, the concept resonates well with issues related to
inequity. It focuses its attention on the areas of population, food security, the loss of species
and genetic resources, energy, industry, and human settlements that more often than not are
linked to the broad question of inequity. After all, most of them are interconnected and cannot
be isolated from one another making equity a vital issue to be better understood and dealt with.
It is imperative therefore to bridge this gap so that SD can be bring about greater awareness to
be implemented on a more comprehensive basis through education for sustainable development
(ESD).

More importantly, each ASEAN community must be familiar with the broader concepts and
wisdom so that the members can act collaboratively in search for lasting solutions ASEAN-
wide, if not across the Asian region. This can provide them with several advantages that can
be further explored using the SD perspective and worldview. In other words, can SD offer a
new approach of keeping an equitable “balance” rather than “growth” per se? The former
subsumes a “balance” between economics, environment and society, where the latter tend to
overemphasise on economics, at the expense of the other two. In many respects, the “balance”
perspective is reflective of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community – each corresponding

16