The Asia Foundation

Kuala Lumpur

As Malaysian voters face general elections in the coming months, its youngest constituents feel that elections are important but that there is little people can do to hold government accountable between elections, as reported in a nationwide poll released today. The opinion poll, National Youth Survey 2007, was conducted by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research – the nation’s foremost independent polling institution – in cooperation with The Asia Foundation to gauge youth perceptions of politics, current issues, democracy, and their own levels of civic and social involvement.

The poll’s findings will inform policymakers, politicians, and grassroots advocacy groups as they address young voters’ needs as well as guide civic education efforts ahead of the upcoming election. This is the second time in two years that the Foundation and Merdeka have partnered on a poll to measure the attitudes of youth voters, providing a side-by-side comparison of 2007 with results from 2006 on important concerns like crime, employment, elections, and the economy.

“As this is the second time we have conducted this poll, the data helps Malaysian voters and policymakers understand the needs of young voters and address their concerns based on factual findings. These young voters will shape Malaysia’s future so it is critical that we look at their attitudes towards their role in the community and in politics,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center.

While the majority of young voters, 94%, feel that voting in elections is important, 52% think there is little they can do to hold government accountable between elections.

Results reveal that ethnicity contributes to significant differences in Malaysian youth perspectives. For instance, the majority of the ethnic Malay, Indian, and non-Muslim Bumiputera feel they are free to speak what they think, while Chinese respondents disagree at 50%. When asked if Malaysians are treated equally by the government, the majority of Malay and non-Muslim Bumiputera agree, but 59% of Chinese and 58% of Indians disagree. 53% of young people do not wish to be involved with politics, with findings being significantly higher among ethnic Chinese and Indian respondents at 75% and 68%, respectively.

As in the 2006 poll, the respondents – structured along the national population profile and specifically proportional to gender, ethnicity, and state of residence – answered questions detailing their news consumption, membership in groups, political awareness, and interpretations of democracy.

“Conducted within the framework of the Foundation’s commitment to increased citizen participation and responsive governance, both the 2006 and 2007 polls offer important baseline information and allow individuals to gauge their views against those of their fellow citizens,” said Anthea Mulakala, The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Malaysia.

The nationwide telephone survey of 1,508 randomly selected Malaysians between 20 and 35 years old was conducted between August 8 and September 1, 2007 and was funded by The Asia Foundation with support from the Netherlands Embassy. In addition to the questions asked in the main survey, expanded polling was done in both Sabah and Sarawak to a broader segment of voters. Detailed findings from Sabah and Sarawak will be released at upcoming events in December.

The full results of the survey are available to download from both the Merdeka Center’s website and The Asia Foundation’s website.

About the Merdeka Center

Merdeka Center was formally established in 2001 as an independent organization focused on public opinion research and socio-economic analysis. Its members are comprised of social scientists and professionals with qualifications in economics, communications, marketing, and law. Merdeka’s mission is to act as a bridge between Malaysians and the leading members of their society – by collecting public opinion and expressing them through survey results, analysis and position papers. For more information, please visit www.merdeka.org.

Kathmandu

The Asia Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to Asia’s development since 1954, and The McConnell Foundation are entering a new phase of a program to provide community mediation services across 12 districts in Nepal, a country coming out of a decade of insurgent rebellion. The absence of effective courts and the breakdown of traditional methods of dispute resolution in Nepal’s communities have led to a distinct need for new mechanisms of village-based conflict management. The new two-year project will build upon previous Asia Foundation mediation efforts in Nepal funded by McConnell and other donors.

Since 2002, The Asia Foundation has been working in Nepal to train and certify long-term mediation service providers who are skilled at finding solutions acceptable to all parties involved in a dispute. Because of these efforts, communities across Nepal are beginning to experience quick, inexpensive, and effective resolution of disputes, an improvement in social and family relations, and improvements in social justice. This has been achieved in the face of significant shifts in village society and the effects of ten years of guerilla insurgency.

“Mediation is a far more viable option for most Nepalis than taking a dispute to court, which is expensive and contentious,” says Nick Langton, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Nepal. “While litigation results in losers, the win-win possibilities of mediation are more suited to village communities. Establishing mediation services throughout Nepal will take many years, and The McConnell Foundation’s willingness to make a long-term commitment to the program is an important contribution to this process.”

With renewed funding from The McConnell Foundation, The Asia Foundation will expand its efforts. These efforts include increasing community and government support for mediation services, strengthening mediator competency, mobilizing community members as catalysts for peaceful interaction and ongoing community dialogue, and conducting research to deepen understanding of Nepali approaches to community mediation and social harmony.

The Asia Foundation will partner with five local NGOs in Nepal to implement project activities: the Center for Legal Research and Resource Development; the Forum for Protection of Public Interest; the Institute for Governance and Democracy; Service to Underprivileged Sectors of Society; and the Rural Women’s Unity and Development Center.

The Asia Foundation has for the first time been included in the Philanthropy 400, an authoritative listing of U.S.-based charities. Compiled annually by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Philanthropy 400 examines and ranks organizations based on criteria such as how effectively they raise private support. In 2006, the list reports, The Asia Foundation spent just 0.2% of total income on fundraising – among the lowest on the list – while still increasing private donations. This strategy had enabled The Asia Foundation to focus its spending on supporting actual programs in the field, a practice for which it was recently recognized with a 4-star Charity Navigator rating for the fifth consecutive year.

Last year, the Foundation provided more than $53 million in program support and distributed 920,000 books and educational materials valued at $30 million throughout Asia.

Colombo

According to a new study of economic governance conducted by The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka good governance in Horana makes it the easiest place to do business in Sri Lanka, followed by Nawalapitiya, Embilipitiya, Haputale, and Hatton-Dickoy. The study covers all 15 municipal and 33 urban council localities in seven of the nine provinces and 5000 firms in total. The Northern and Eastern Provinces were left out in the study due to the difficulties in carrying out the survey in those areas.

Despite several previous studies, little is known about the business environment affecting private enterprise at the local level. The Economic Governance Index 2007 (EGI) is an initiative of The Asia Foundation’s local governance strengthening program with funding support from the Australian Government and the Department for International Development (UK). The goal of the Foundation’s program is to support improvement in the enabling environment for private enterprise throughout the country, not just in the Western Province where most of the growth has been concentrated.

The EGI was released to leaders in government and the private sector in a symposium on November 13, 2007 in Colombo. Speakers included the Australian High Commissioner Dr. Greg French and Mr. Nivard Cabraal Governor of the Central Bank.

Panel discussants included senior officials from the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils, Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion., Provincial Council Chief Ministers, Commissioners/Assistant Commissioners of Local Government, Mayors and Chairmen of urban councils and representatives of district and national chambers of commerce attended this event.

The EGI is a measure of the enabling environment for private enterprise in the localities and considers economic governance indicators as the key factors in its ranking. This document identifies and facilitates understanding of government-influenced constraints to economic growth and the impact of local governance on business behavior. Nilan Fernando, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation noted that “similar studies have been carried out by The Foundation in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and it was this proven methodology and experience that was applied to the Sri Lankan context to produce this important Index for the first time.” Survey data that represent the perception of business leaders regarding the local regulatory environment, as well as published data, are used to construct the indicators.

In terms of the sub-indicators, Kuliyapitiya comes out on top in the area of registration, permits and licenses while Chilaw does well in the area of land access and property rights. Matale is the most transparent and encourages participation while Hatton-Dickoya has the best regulatory environment and Nuwara Eliya provides the best infrastructure and basic services. Businesses get the best value for money in terms of the tax levied and the services rendered in Horana. The legal environment at Minuwangoda was adjudged the best while the government’s attitude toward business was most encouraging in Haputale. Nawalapitiya generally serviced all businesses equally and was the least influenced by informal charges while Gampola was considered the most secure for operating a business. The report notes that the Index will be a useful guide in facilitating the sharing of best practices and learning from localities that scored higher in specific sub-indices.

The report also assesses business friendliness by province using the same indicators. Suresh Bartlett, Program Director of The Asia Foundation stated “The findings have highlighted critical areas that require the attention of local officials and national policy makers and would serve as an excellent opportunity for strategic private-public partnerships to be forged in addressing issues and improving the enabling environment for private enterprise.” The EGI will help enhance private sector growth and job creation by providing information and incentives for local authorities to improve the local economic environment and thereby increase employment and alleviate poverty in different regions of the country.

Hanoi

National Survey Measures Role of Economic Governance in Vietnam

Since its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2006, Vietnam has continued to improve the regulatory environment for business. To measure economic governance for private sector development, The Asia Foundation and its partners today released the 2007 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) report. The 2007 PCI survey – the third annual edition – is the largest and most comprehensive assessment and ranking of the performance of provincial governments based on the views expressed by over 6,700 entrepreneurs and managers of small and medium (SME) enterprises across Vietnam’s 64 provinces.

Developed and implemented by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and The Asia Foundation, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI), the 2007 PCI results can be compared to previous reports in 2005 and 2006 to gauge improvements as well as identify areas in need of reform. Based on the perceptions and the experience of Vietnamese businesses, the PCI examines provincial efforts to improve access to land and information, lower transaction costs related to inspections and registration waiting periods, increase transparency, and improve labor training and legal institutions.

The 2007 PCI findings show that, as provincial governments strive to create a better business environment, the private sector has flourished and economic welfare has improved. Findings reveal that the overall standard of provincial economic governance in Vietnam has improved over the past year. The aggregate PCI 2007 score for the median province has increased by 3.2 points from 2006 and significant achievements have been made in the area of entry costs, registration, administrative requirements, and inspections. For example, the number of registration days for businesses has decreased from 20 to 15.

Top performers this year include the provinces of Binh Duong, Da Nang, Vinh Long, Binh Dinh, Lao Cai, An Giang, Vinh Phuc, Dong Thap, and Ho Chi Minh City. Provinces demonstrating the greatest single year improvements – a 7-13 point increase – were Thua-Thien Hue, Ca Mau, Tien Giang, Soc Trang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, Ben Tre, Quang Ngai, and Thanh Hoa.

Despite some important improvements, economic governance needs to progress in a number of key areas such as legal institutions, transparency, labor, and private sector development policies so that Vietnam’s domestic enterprises can effectively compete in the global economy. The PCI report focuses on four national policy challenges: 1) addressing growing inequality across lower and higher ranking provinces; 2) strengthening the formalization process of enterprises; 3) improving the post-equitization performance of enterprises so there are more medium and larger enterprises; and 4) analyzing how domestic enterprises can benefit more from reforms related to WTO and Bilateral Trade Agreements.

In the past three years, the PCI surveys have become an important tool used by government leaders, academics, financial analysts, entrepreneurs, and the media as a way of understanding how leadership can influence economic performance as well as guide provinces on how to increase economic competitiveness. Interestingly, the PCI has also entered into the wider world of social awareness; it even found its way into the final question for Vietnamese university students competing in the country’s well-known television game show, Ring the Golden Bell. Together, these landmark reports have consistently demonstrated direct links between good economic governance and positive investment and economic growth.

The Asia Foundation’s economic programs in Vietnam focus on improving the environment for private sector development and economic growth, particularly provincial economic competitiveness. The Foundation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry pioneered research carried out between 2002 and 2004 to identify factors that set high-performing provinces apart. This work informed the subsequent development of the Provincial Competitiveness Index.

Download and view the full report in PDF format.