Hello my fellow ASEAN citizens

I am Denith, leader and co-founder of this blog. It is a pleasure for me to entertain and encourage you more about ASEAN. For me, I actually have little knowledge about ASEAN and its community, as I myself strive to learn more about this finest community.

The year 2008 saw this blog rise to fair popularity, due to your supports. I, on behalf of the whole them, thank you all for this. The AC Blog has achieved many milestones last year, and we will not forget your kindness and cooperations.

This year, 2009, will witness more of our achievement. Let me bring you back to the year 2008 again when all members of ASEAN approve the charters, when the ASEAN day and anthem finally established. 2008 is the year of ASEAN, and we are so proud of be one of its flesh and blood.

To date, we have posted numerous articles, to inform, to explain and to remind every ASEAN citizens how great is this associations. We wish to continue this tradition as it will provides us valuable knowledge and bring us closer to the "One community, one identity" concept.

Now, I will turn the attentions to the crew of this blog.

To date, some of the members has had encountered such milestones in their life:

Dee Dee got married and Sovann now works in a farm. John, Hafiz and Bhaskara sticks to their works which is crucial to their life and other members is improving their life quality at the time ASEAN is rising. I wish everyone, good luck. There is a saying:
" To build you country, you build your family. Prior to that, you need to build yourself." Everyone is doing their best and I am proud to know them.

So, for this year 2009... let our spirits guide us to the place where our dreams tell us to go... a land of happiness, of cultural and communal peace and of regional advanced environment. We wish ASEAN the best wishes.

Again, this blog would not live this long because of all of you guys. Please, continue your support and feedbacks. We are readily welcome comments and recommendations.

To ASEAN, to AC Blog, and to ASEAN Citizens

With friendship, true love and brotherhood

Denith

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The Plain of Jars: Mystery at the North East Laos


For the like of temples in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and other South East Asia countries’, have had received numerous visits from both tourists and experts in the fields of History or Archaeology. But this Plain of Jars, which locates in the remote North East area of Laos PDR, still has many things hidden and yet, no one is able to reveal their reason of existence.
This site should be new to the audiences, and in extension, shall become their new and next destination in South East Asia region. The plain has many stories to tell, it has to be you to speak them out by yourselves. To reach this place, it is recommended to arrive in Phonsovan, a new capital of Xiang Khouang province. There you can commence your journey into the world of ancient properties.
Please take note that the area where the Plain of Jars situated, used to received massive bombing, which tells the fact that Laos is the world most bombing country in the world. Despite this, tourists wander there no for this reason, but to see what must be seen by their own eyes. The beauty of undecorated, not well-arranged and no pattern lay of numerous of old Jars stricken to the earth’s soil. Westerners would name this place as Asian “Stonehenge.”
There are total of more than 400 sites across the whole Plain of Jars that centers on the area of Xieng Khouang. They range from Khorat Plateau in Thailand in the south, through Laos and to North Cachar Hills in northern India. Archaeologists have found more similar burials in India. The jars appear to be laid in a linear path that was probably a trade route.
The jars are made of sedimentary rock, usually sandstone, but also granite, conglomerate or calcified coral. They are angular or round and some have disks that could be lids. They can weigh up to 14 short tons (13 metric tons) and range from 3 to 10 feet (1-3 meters) in height,
In fact, there has been some researches and study to the history of this plain. One major discovery is of French archaeologist Madelaine Colani, who supposed that these jars are of funeral purposes, which ancient people use to stores the cremate remains. Even this theory is not opened to public yet, but recent discovery has shown plentiful support to her verdicts.
To imagine the Plain of Jar in your mine, I would like to quote a paragraph from the novel “The Plain of Jars”:
"The Plain of Jars presented a striking contrast to the rugged terrain Dorothy had traveled through to get there. An elevated plateau of friable, chalky limestone, washed out from the surrounding harder rocks by a million years of rain, it offered a welcome relief to the harsh land around it. The Laotians call the place Tung Hai Hin, while the Vietnamese still refer to it as the Tran Ninh Plateau. From above, it is an abruptly conspicuous feature, occupying an area of one thousand square kilometers, sitting more than three thousand feet above sea level. The Plain, contrary to its name, is not monotonously flat, but undulating - a rolling meadowlands with softly curved, breast-like hills, changing colors with the seasons, remaining a vivid green after the monsoon rains, until the sun sears it pale yellow during the hot, dry, tropical summer. Long broad valleys of rich, well-watered soil separate scattered masses of solitary mountains, which stand like lonely leviathans, stark and lost in the midst of their puny surroundings, inexplicably cut off from the herd of great ranges beyond."

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No better way to open the new year but by singing the first and Official ASEAN Anthem: The ASEAN Way!

Raise our flag high, sky high
Embrace the pride in our heart
ASEAN we are bonded as one
Look-in out-ward to the world.
For peace, our goal from the very start
And prosperity to last.

We dare to dream we care to share.
Together for ASEAN
we dare to dream
we care to share for it's the way of ASEAN.

Happy New Year 2009 to all!!

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2008 is the ASEAN Year, two (out of three) major events occured many of us were not aware. The taking into effect of the ASEAN Charter and our first ASEAN Anthem (not that there will be a second or a third).

ASEAN Charter in full effect

The first was the full ratification of the 1st ASEAN Charter which took effect on December 14, 2008, a month after Thailand submitted the last Instrument of Ratification.

With the Asean Charter now in effect it solidifies the need to go back to the grassroots, the very reason why it exists - We, the Peoples of Asean. For years, ASEAN has become just another news-item many people simply ignore. One reason, lack of information as well as the fact that it has become so far away - an elite, top-minds group.

But could they do it? I think this is where the grassroots comes in, we have ideas how to bring ASEAN to our level which the elite and top-minds can not even fathom. If you read a lot of books, from fiction to philosophy, there is always this concept wherein someone who's way up there, so intelligent, fails to understand or think of the simplest things. In my Point-of-View, this is exactly what is happening.

For example, August 8 is ASEAN Day, and the ASEAN Charter simply stated that we must observe it. No member country has yet declared it as an official Holiday, which is very important in my opinion. Simply observing it is not enough, we need to make the people aware that there is something special every 8th of August.

What's declaring it an Official Holiday got to do with ASEAN awareness? People will ask what is the new Holiday about - ASEAN Day. They may just go to the malls or sleep, but at the bottom of it the people were made aware of "ASEAN" (and "ASEAN Day"). We are all busy people. Most of us only take notice of something "new", something that we haven't heard before, and if our daily routine was disturbed - like a Holiday. And being busy people that we are, we remember by heart the Holidays and we expect these holidays every year.

Eventually, we can use this awareness and expectation to launch more projects or events to further the goals of ASEAN, especially the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Pillar. People will talk about it, ask things about it, and will get involved or express their opinions about it - especially today via Blogging and Micro-blogging.

These simple things can make a huge difference and impact to bringing ASEAN back to its grassroots. I've said this one year ago, December of 2007 to make August 8 an Official Non-Working Holiday and I am going to repeat this over and over until all 10 member Nations do so. And I am not alone, many ASEAN Citizens as well.

(More about this on my summary of the ASEAN Awareness Survey.)

We also have an identity crisis here, what is (being) an ASEAN Identity? We, the Peoples of ASEAN, must get involved, and with the ASEAN Charter now in force, we can finally help shape the region and establish the true ASEAN Spirit.

The ASEAN Anthem

The second was the announcement and first singing of the new ASEAN Anthem entitled "The ASEAN Way" (very fitting for our diverse region). For the first time in our region's history, we now have an Anthem to sing to help us identify ourselves as "ASEAN Citizens", and show the world that we are one despite our diverse culture and differences.

If you were not aware of how the ASEAN Anthem was chosen, there was a regional competition where the chosen entry will win U$20,000 and will become the official Anthem. Do not worry, the dissemination wasn't that effective for some countries.

For example, ASEAN-Philippines disseminated the information to various schools of music and Philippine composers. They also coordinated with the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). A job well done. However, it is sad that somewhere along the effort and the enthusiasm ended.

I don't remember seeing news about it or reading it from major newspapers (I could have missed it, but how many times was it reported). The PIA could also have sent the information to all the Philippine companies, that is one major way of getting the information out.

I think it is time that we have a serious "ASEAN Information Campaign". True, there are budget concerns, the other agencies were busy and have other more important issues to address. Then why not send the information to Bloggers and Micro-Bloggers? Why not tap the local online gaming companies? I highly doubt no one will talk about a U$20,000 award for creating ASEAN's first-ever Anthem!!

The information was passed on which is great, a job well done. However, there are other channels that could have been used and exploited. ASEAN is better marketed (if that's the right word to use) to the youths, the new generation. Where are most of them? Playing online games. How about the new social media? Then we have the Bloggers and Micro-Bloggers which disseminated faster than any traditional media the De la Paz vs Pangandaman brawl.

I am not sure how it is in other ASEAN countries, but if our respective ASEAN offices will say that they did everything they can and still the information wasn't disseminated enough, then we really have a very serious problem here - no one simply care about ASEAN anymore.

The ASEAN Way

Is the Official ASEAN Anthem. Composed by Thai musicians Kittikhun Sodprasert and Sampaw Triudom, the winner out of 99 entries from all the 10 member Nations.

The lyrics (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore):

Raise our flag high, sky high
Embrace the pride in our heart
ASEAN we are bonded as one
Look-in out-ward to the world.
For peace, our goal from the very start
And prosperity to last.


We dare to dream we care to share.
Together for ASEAN
we dare to dream
we care to share for it's the way of ASEAN.

Download MP3 (1.1mb)
Download Score (77kb)

The Philippine Entry: ASEAN Reigns!

Happy New Year to all and 2009 will be the ASEAN People's Year!!

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Related news/links not included above:
Thailand joined in a ceremony to welcome the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter
New ASEAN Anthem Sung

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Happy New Year everyone.

This year has been our year of hard-working and mass dedications to the sake of ASEAN.

I wish everyone in this community as well as other people from other regions, a best wishes that may flourish their lives to a better stage.

Let's enjoy the new year and the happiness it may brings.

We promise a more reliable blog next year.

Denith

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