KUALA LUMPUR, July 4\u00a0(NNN-BERNAMA) —\u00a0Good governance and stronger solidarity among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will be vital to responding to challenges brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic, say several leading public figures in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suos Yara, a member of the National Assembly of Cambodia, said his country was promoting multilateralism and aimed to forge alliances with other nations to pursue the common goal of combating the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would be of utmost importance\u00a0to build on\u00a0solidarity and work together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and make the vaccination accessible to all, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suos was among the panellists from Asean who spoke during the recent inaugural Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Southeast Asia Peace Talks Webinar\u00a0on COVID-19, and shared\u00a0their insights on the challenges their respective governments were facing in dealing with the global pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The webinar was themed \u201cChallenges in Governance in Our Time of a Global Pandemic: Southeast Asian Perspective\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we present ourselves together in solidarity, ASEAN can be united together in this time of crisis…to uphold the principle of centrality and solidarity, \u201d Suos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Thailand’s Deputy Permanent Secretary of the\u00a0Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment\u00a0Dr Monthip Sriratana shared her insights on how the global pandemic\u00a0had helped to identify \u201cwhere we can strengthen our governance for the benefit of all Thais\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to get serious about building strong social safety nets of the most vulnerable in our society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStrong social protection programme is a must if we are to successfully resist future outbreaks of COVID-19 and other natural disasters, including the immediate and long-term effects of climate change,\u201d she said at the webinar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With seven speakers from Southeast Asian nations \u2013 Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Myanmar \u2013 the webinar drew 584 registered participants from 25 nations across the Asia Pacific and other parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commenting further, Dr Monthip stressed on the need to stop illegal wildlife trade and strengthen the education system to ensure the populace could be resilient to perturbations such as COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost importantly we should aim at the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),\u201d said the former Thai Member of Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Mayor of Lingayen under the province of Pangasinan in the Philippines, Leopoldo Bataoil, shared success stories on how the Philippine government and its local government units are dealing with the virus so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said with the enactment of Republic Act No.11469 or The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the Executive Branch of the government was able to have the power to implement temporary measures to respond to the crisis brought about by COVID 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis includes adopting and implementing measures based on WHO guidelines and best practices to prevent or suppress further transmission and spread of the virus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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