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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is looking forward to a fruitful ASEAN Summit in Singapore.
Leaders are set to sign the group's Charter as well as a blueprint paving the way for a single ASEAN community by 2015.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, Mr Syed Hamid also expressed hope that the summit will not be inundated by the Myanmar issue.
After ten years as Malaysia's foreign minister, he is well aware of the scepticism the world used to have over ASEAN's effectiveness, with its members' diverse economic, social and political backgrounds.
But the group, he said, has come a long way, especially with the formal adoption of a Charter later this month in Singapore.
Mr Syed Hamid said: "No one thought that we could come up with a Charter; we did. Nobody thought that we could agree on the establishment of a human rights body; even though (that is) not immediate, there is a commitment some time in the future that we will establish a human rights body."
The Charter could come into effect late next year.
But some critics already have doubts over how it can help bring rogue members into line.
The Malaysian foreign minister argued that the Charter serves a much bigger purpose.
He said: "This is the biggest mistake, if you think that we drafted the Charter because we want to discipline Myanmar. The Charter is not made for Myanmar, the Charter is made to show how confident we are in our regional organisation.
"The time has come for us to look at ourselves as one legal personality, able to deal with new situations, new dictates. I think that speaks well for itself rather than saying, 'Oh we don't have a suspension clause; we are still at the old level'. I think that is not quite right."
While he hopes that the Myanmar issue will not overshadow the entire summit, Mr Syed Hamid insisted that the way forward with the military government is through constructive engagement.
He hopes more countries in Asia, such as China and India, will contribute further towards national reconciliation in Myanmar during the East Asian Summit later this month.
- CNA/so
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