All the best to the Malaysian national team. You guys did good the last time. Make it better this time.
I would have gone to Singapore today but the Cameron Highlands trip was a little bit too exhausting for me. Worry not though for my heart and mind are there with you.
Go get ’em Tigers.
The ASEAN Championship match between Malaysia and Singapore was a match that I eagerly anticipated. Despite that, I only managed to catch the second half. Yesterday had been a busy day; one Board of Directors meeting and then my CEO’s birthday on the same day. Busy but fun. Well, not quite busy but whatever. I caught the first half review nevertheless. The second half was entertaining but the result — one all — is tremendously disappointing.
Pardon me for being a pessimist or an unpatriotic bastard but I did not place too much hope on the national team; the team’s past performance is not convincing. Upon watching the half time review though, I was surprised to find out that Malaysia was dominating the game. I am unsure if it was the case of Malaysia performing well or Singapore waking up with a fever but Malaysia was dominating nonetheless.
The scoreline at halftime was zero all.
The second half time proved explosive.
Malaysia continued to dominated and the deadlock was finally broken when a Malaysian player by the name of Hardi scored. It was a fantastic, beautiful, surprising, superb goal. The curve of the ball path and the distance the ball travelled make the goal all the more astounding. It is not everyday I could witness a goal like that – not from the Malaysian team. With that goal, Malaysia took the lead. A glorious lead befitting a glorious goal.
I was watching the game quietly right up until the goal. The goal animated me. I was clapping, shouting and my blood was circulating greatly that I thought I was having a heart attack!
It was a fantastic feeling that I do not think I remember having since the Michigan-Michigan State match at the Big House. It was ecstasy. What was better, Malaysia continued to harass the Singaporean that it seems that it was Malaysia up against Brunei or some other lesser regional team.
The way the game was going, a Malay would say, “harapan menggunung tinggi melangit.” Well, I am unsure what a Malay would say really but the phrase seems catchy.
With surging expectation going beyond rationality, Singaporean equalizer struck a mighty blow. I do not think the goal should have gone in. After all the spectacle, the goal went in too easy. But I am speaking as a couch potato. And I think Shebby spoke too much.
Malaysia continued attacking nevertheless. It was amazing how the players kept on fight. They realized that the game had not ended yet and certainly were not ready to throw in the towel yet. Why should they?
They were highly spirited. I had not seen that in the national team for a very long time. It was a contagious feeling and I was shouting at the top of my lungs.
As anger and frustration was mounting, I tried to pick fault with all the Singaporean players. Especially the Singaporean player Precious – an African giant – audaciously pushed a Malaysia player for the ball. He was given a yellow card but the referee should have given that guy a red. And, the red card for the Singaporean captain was freaking marvelous.
And then I thought, damn, how many imported players does the Singaporean team have? Two, Three? Five!
Whatever it might be, the game was great. I wish the Tigers all the best. Let us beat the Lions in their own den!
Years ago, Israel expressed its desire to join the European Union. I was skeptical of it back then because of one reason: geography. Now, I am expressing similar skepticism on Australian intention to join ASEAN. According to Bloomberg:
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Trade Minister Warren Truss will attend the second East Asia meeting on Jan. 15. along with leaders from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations plus Japan, China, India, South Korea and New Zealand. Australia will also push its application for permanent membership in Asean, analysts said.
Just like how Israel is not geographically Europe, Australia is not part of Southeast Asia.
This does not mean that I do not favor closer integration among nations of the world or within this context, between ASEAN and Australia. I am all for it. I would be delighted if free flow of labor and capital through the borders of ASEAN and Australia were guaranteed. Further, I do not deny that ASEAN and Australia share a number of similar concerns that demand close cooperation.
Yet, having Australia as a member state questions the basis of ASEAN: what is the basis of ASEAN?
I consider ASEAN as a regional grouping. As the name suggests, the region refers to Southeast Asia.
If ASEAN is to grant Australia membership, I do not see why it should stop with just Australia. China, South Korea and Japan should be part of ASEAN. Maybe, even India too. Hence, where would it end?
The admission of these states into ASEAN would possibly dilute the influence the original ten member states. I am sure these current extra-ASEAN states have their own unique interests and they could bring up those issues that at the expense of ours. Take what had happened at APEC for example: because of President Bush’s political goal, terrorism became the focus of APEC despite the fact that APEC was established as a trade forum. The trend was only reversed after several East Asian countries as well as those from Southeast Asia took a stand and said no to the US, saying that APEC is a trade forum, not security.
Furthermore, ASEAN is drafting its charter. The matter of accession will distract ASEAN from the exercise. If we as ASEAN are to admit Australia into the club, or even debate on it, let us do it after the ratification of the charter.
Therefore, I am currently in the position that Australia should remain in the next best thing: the East Asia Summit. I am saying no to Australia, for now.
Exactly a year ago, I caught a piece of news on a proposed ASEAN-India free trade agreement. ASEAN however rejected the Indian initial offer because India wanted too many items that fuel ASEAN economy excluded from the FTA. By July 2006, the talk was suspended by ASEAN because the Indian list — down to 850 as of July 2006 from 1400 items as of December 2005 — was still too long:
KUALA LUMPUR, JULY 25: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has suspended free-trade talks with India because of New Delhi’s reluctance to open its markets, Malaysia’s trade and industry minister said on Tuesday.
By August 2006, the Indian list was reduced to 560 items. The lists were supposed to be finalized in June 2005 while the FTA itself was expected to come into force by January 2007.
The latest development on the FTA this month reveals that negotiation doesn’t look too good:
NEW DELHI, NOV 30: Asean has given a jolt to India by deciding to almost double its negative list for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with India.
“The negative list which they gave us in August was 2,700 which, after subtracting the overlapping items in the country-specific list, came to a consolidated figure of 600. But on November 17, they came up with a revised list of 6,900 which amounts to a consolidated list of 1,000 plus,” commerce secretary GK Pillai told media on the sidelines of the International Chamber of Commerce of the World Council Meeting here on Thursday.
I’m unsure what ASEAN is trying to do by increasing the size of its list but the increase is unfair to India, especially when the India has been trying hard to reduce the list length, though admittedly, I myself prefer to see a much shorter Indian list; I prefer a more liberal market for both sides with almost no exclusion list at all. But when the Indian proposes something like:
Ramesh [Indian Minister of State for Commerce] added that India will not compromise the interests of its farmers by pruning the list. India’s negative list of 560 does not include palm oil, pepper and black tea on which the country has proposed to gradually bring down duties to 50 percent.
I think we shouldn’t call this agreement as an FTA. A 50%-tariff is still way too high, no matter what the initial level is. Perhaps, the reason why ASEAN increases the length of its list is due to frustration. I’d be frustrated too if I were in the negotiation, looking at a “liberalized” market with a 50%-tariff staring back at me.
This latest development looks very different from the optimism we all saw back in early 2005:
KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 28 2005 India and Malaysia are on the verge of signing a comprehensive economic co-operation agreement by year-end. It will include free trade between the two nations.
The signing may be done during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Malaysia in December.
Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia R.L. Narayan said both sides had worked hard on the matter following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s visit to India last December.
In the past three months, they have charted a “road map” of the broad parameters of the agreement.
Let’s hope the negotiation won’t end here because prosperity comes from trade, not isolation.
Apart from India, Malaysia, as far as I know — on its own or as part of ASEAN — is in FTA negotiation with Australia, Chile, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, South Korea and the United States. There’s rumor of a Malaysia-Canada FTA but Canadian officials have ruled them out, at least from the next one or two years.
Yes, they did. And I have proof:
Indonesia promises this year will be less hazy
Sat May 27, 11:36 PM ET
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Indonesia has said the choking haze that annually blankets parts of Southeast Asia will be reduced this year as it cracks down on oil palm plantations that clear land by burning.
Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said authorities would enforce a 2004 law that imposes stiff penalties on plantations that burn land, a practice largely blamed for contributing to the haze.
How cheap words are. I was right to be skeptical.