B.A. HAMZAH
■ The importance of comprehensive security - suddenly the countries realise that their entire fabric fell apart not because of a military threat - but because of economic situation. A large position of this economic insecurity/security stems from external forces. The contagion was external. But internal weakness helped exacerbate the problems.
■ Internal economic weaknesses：
- internal problems - not only in terms of meeting peoples expectation but has political ramifications e.g. the riots in Indonesia, the demonstrations in Malaysia;
- Thailand, Indonesia and Korea had a change in political leadership because of economic problems. In Japan - the same thing, we do not really know how long Obuchi can last.
- Economic problems could also create external problems e.g. Malaysia-Singapore. Both countries start blaming each other over petty matters and small issues are suddenly exploited. The economic contagion has exposed some weaknesses in Asean security - in particular bilateral relations;
- Exodus of people. We really do not know how many people have left their countries to look for jobs and other security in the region. This exodus of people has led to serious political, cultural and social problems in the host countries, a fact that a few countries have come to recognise.
- The instability in some parts of the region has put more pressure on countries to spend more money on defense at the time when they could not afford to raise defense spending.
