Asean May Request Development Funds for Burma

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is considering approaching the international community for development funds to assist in the democratization of Burma rather than applying pressure on the Burmese junta, according to the Malaysian foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman told Malaysian reporters during the Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, Thailand, last week that the international community in general should pour funds into Burma to develop infrastructure and lift Burmese people out of poverty.

“Since the [Burmese] people are so poor right now, the generals would be kicked out if they called for an election,” he said, adding that Malaysia might raise the idea of development funding during 15th Asean Summit.

“So why don’t we put in some development funds, and bring the people out of poverty?” he said. “Then the voters can see that under the military’s rule, things did improve and they [might] even vote for the junta.”

The Malaysian foreign minister said that his development fund idea could ease the junta’s fears of losing power once the country becomes fully democratic.

Based on the Malaysian model of “Barisan Nasional,” Anifah added that it would help the people and give the junta an incentive “if they are confident of winning.”

Kuala Lumpur-based daily The New Straits Times reported on Friday that Malaysia would raise the idea at the 15th Asean Summit in Phuket in October.

In his report, Sheridan Mahavera said the idea is a 180-degree turnaround from Asean and the international community’s current approach that calls for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, as well as an inclusive free-and-fair election.

The Malaysian minister reportedly said the current approach of condemning Burma is not working, though it has been used for more than a decade.

He did not comment on whether Asean’s constructive engagement policy is working to bring about positive changes in Burma, according to the report. However, other Asean members said last week that the bloc will use its policy of engagement rather than pressure while they are dealing with the Burmese junta.

The Malaysian foreign minister’s comments would appear to counter remarks made by Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the end of a four-day visit to Burma in June when he said that Singaporean investors would likely wait until after Burma’s elections next year before pouring any more money into the country.

“I don't believe any Singapore investors would come in in a big way before the picture is clear, before this move to democracy is seen to produce results,” Goh said.

Meanwhile, Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University, recently said the economic policies of Burma’s ruling junta have done far more damage to the country’s prospects for development than international sanctions.

“Burma is not poor because of sanctions. The biggest sanction on Burma is the Burmese regime itself,” said Turnell, adding that the junta’s “willful mismanagement” of the economy, including its refusal to respect property rights, is the main obstacle to the country’s economic development.

According to Burma experts, the country had great potential before the 1962 military coup.

But that all changed after the coup and leader Ne Win’s isolationist policy.

Though Burma had strong insurgent movements in the 1950s, the international airport in Rangoon was still a major air hub in Southeast Asia and airlines such as Pan American, Northwest, Air France and KLM all flew to Burma directly from Europe and North America.

Turnell said that during the parliamentary period (1948-62), the newly independent nation made a remarkable recovery from the devastation wrought by the Second World War.

“Burma doesn’t need a foreign model of development,” he said. “It just needs to look at its own history.”

Looking at successful economic reforms in China and Vietnam, some observers expect the Burmese regime could follow Beijing and Hanoi’s model to develop the country.

However, based on recent reports of closer relations between North Korea and Burma, could it be that Naypyidaw is rather looking at Pyongyang’s model of isolation than any other policy?