Public awareness of AEC remains low
A lack of public awareness about the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) would hamper the successful implementation of national policies that the government has set in order to achieve the AEC goals, a survey has shown.
A survey conducted by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) ASEAN team has revealed that there is low awareness of the AEC among Indonesian people, although there are only 30 days left before the AEC takes effect on Jan. 1.
LIPI head Iskandar Zulkarnain said the establishment of the AEC marked the transformation of ASEAN from a state-policy oriented regional block to a people-oriented community, which aimed to improve the welfare of people in the region.
“The existence of the AEC can give both opportunities and challenges to Indonesia, especially in terms of the competitiveness and resilience of the country’s economic sector,” Zulkarnain said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He added that the Indonesian government had issued three Presidential Instructions (Inpres) as anticipatory measures to improve national competitiveness. However, he said, the implementation of the regulations and their introduction to the public had not been optimal.
"The results of the survey that LIPI conducted in May, which involved both consumers and producers, indicated a disparity of awareness of the AEC among our society. All this time, the introduction of AEC programs has been directed only at stakeholders, especially in the business sector," Zulkarnain said.
Raising public awareness was one measure that needed to be implemented if Indonesia wanted to improve its national and regional competitiveness in ASEAN, he added.
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