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THE young in Asean are familiar with the grouping but apparently not with each other, a Straits Times poll has shown.
An overwhelming majority of students who participated in the poll - conducted in several schools in five of the original Asean founding member countries - had heard about the grouping and knew what the acronym stood for.
More than half of the respondents to The Straits Times AsiaPoll were aware that Asean had 10 members, though a substantial minority - a quarter - put the membership at 14.
Surprisingly, only 45 per cent of students in Singapore knew the correct number of Asean members. A majority knew that the regional grouping did not have a president - the position of Asean Chair rotates in the alphabetical order of member nations every year.
Yet, less than half were certain about when the organisation was born and most said they had not visited another Asean country.
Significantly, despite the desire to forge a closer sense of community, nearly half - or 47 per cent - said they did not know students from another Asean country while an almost equally high number - 44 per cent - said they knew only a few students from another member nation.
Malaysia's Muhammad Khairul bin Abd Hakim, 18, a student of the Sri KDU Smart school in Kuala Lumpur, said he hoped Asean would offer more scholarships and student exchange programmes. 'Asean can be the connecting bridge between people of different countries,' he wrote.
Likewise, Thailand's Kavita, a student of the Yothinburana school in Bangkok, wanted Asean to set up an Asean Fund to promote scholars - and hoped that some would be selected for study in places like Singapore.
The survey, conducted in local schools in five Asean capitals - Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila - sought to gauge knowledge and awareness about the grouping among students, as Asean celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Straits Times correspondents reached out to schools in their cities to survey about 100 students, between the ages of 15 and 18, from the middle of October till Nov 14.
The schools taking part in the poll included the Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore, the Sri KDU Smart school and the Sri Bestari school in Kuala Lumpur.
In Jakarta, students of the SLTP Sumbangsih and the SLTPN 38 and SLTPN 219 schools were surveyed, while in Bangkok students of the Yothinburana school took part in the poll. In Manila it was the Victorino Mapa High School. Some of the institutions which took part requested anonymity.
In all, a total of 521 responses were obtained to the eight-point questionnaire.
Student perceptions about Asean were also revealed in a one-sentence response to two other questions. Respondents were asked to describe Asean and share what they hoped it could be in the future.
Many described the grouping as a family of nations, a melting pot of diverse cultures or an organisation promoting peace, harmony, development or education. A few called it an inefficient organisation but did not elaborate.
In terms of aspirations, some hoped that Asean would become more influential on the world stage - with a few saying somewhat grandly that it could rival emerging economic giants like China and India.
Thailand's Thatree Diaopanich of the Yothinburana school said Asean must work to improve 'its bargaining power such that it can compete with Western and South American countries'.
And Malaysia's Awg Mohd Faizal bin Awg Mohamad Hamssin said Asean should strive to integrate people from different nations for a better tomorrow.
The Straits Times AsiaPoll was the second such survey on Asean-related issues. The first, conducted in the last quarter of 2005, on Asean identity found that Asean residents believe they share a common identity and wanted the pace of integration speeded up.
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