A catastrophic end to a phenomenal year for Asia

The year 2004 has been a successful one for Asia. Despite a number of terrorist attacks in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and some economic loss resulting from high oil prices, the general scene has been promising. Unlike earlier expectations that they would witness in 2004 a massive wave of terrorist attacks, Asian countries were able, through greater security and intelligence cooperation and coordination, to minimise such attacks, arrest many wanted militants, and block their organisations' access to funds.

Economically, India and the nations of East Asia were able to maintain a desirable degree of economic growth ranging between 6 and 7.5 per cent, despite slowing export growth in the second half of the year and the consequences of steady increases in the price of imported oil. Private capital continued to flow to the five countries most affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis (Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and South Korea), recording a number higher than that of 2003 by $8 billion, a reflection of confidence in these countries' economies by foreign investors. Meanwhile, the region witnessed increasing efforts towards setting up free trade zones as a prelude to the launch of an East Asian community modelled on the European Union.

On the other hand, there has been a recognisable relaxation in some regional disputes, the most prominent of which was the case of the historical Indo-Pakistan struggle. Unlike previous years, New Delhi and Islamabad seemed in 2004 more concerned about abandoning military confrontation and accelerating efforts for the resolution of Kashmir and other disputes.

However, the most significant phenomenon of the year, as far as Asia was concerned, was the expansion and reinforcement of the democratic tide in the region that had begun in the mid-1980s with the collapse of dictatorships in the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand. In 2004, parliamentary or presidential elections were held in eight Asian countries (Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Mongolia, and Taiwan) in addition to Hong Kong with more transparency and less violence. More than a billion Asians freely cast their votes to elect new governments or leaders.

Sharp competition

The Philippine presidential election that was characterised by sharp competition and rambunctious campaigns, ended with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wining a new term in office and her major contender Fernando Poe Jr. accepting the result. No violence or massive popular protests by Poe's supporters took place, unlike earlier speculation that Poe's defeat would inevitably lead to serious turmoil.

In Indonesia, a country that many had thought six years ago might disintegrate without an authoritarian regime, the democratisation process was cemented with the holding of the first direct presidential elections, in which the incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri lost to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a new star on the political stage with a modest, newly formed party. Despite the state of insecurity in the country, many strong candidates, and fierce competition, no election-related violence was recorded.

In Afghanistan, people, whether male or female, were given the opportunity to democratically elect their president for the first time in the country's history. Despite all efforts by the Taliban and its extremist allies to intimidate electorate, nearly 75 per cent of Afghanistan's 10.5 million registered voters cast their ballots, 41 per cent of which were women. This unprecedented development was viewed as a major step towards the country's rehabilitation after decades of rigid regimes, civil wars, and shameful violations of human rights.

In South Korea, the legislative elections in April brought into parliament new, dynamic, impartial, and relatively young figures and ousted many old, traditional, and corrupt politicians. This, along with the country's Constitutional Court overruling the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, was regarded as further consolidation of South Korean democracy. Similarly, steps taken by new Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to crack down on corruption and cronyism or to investigate the security forces' violation of human rights were seen as a significant move towards political reforms, especially after his government's decision to release former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim from prison.

India, the world's largest democracy, proved once again in 2004 that its democratic process was solid and profound. The April/May general elections not only concluded without serious violent incidents but also resulted in a civilised and orderly transition of power and the selection of a member of the Sikh minority to lead the predominantly Hindu country.

The year 2004, therefore, could have been recorded as a very successful and happy year for Asians if it was not for last Sunday's tsunami, the most devastating natural disaster in the last 40 years, that has so far left more than 125,000 people dead and several hundreds of thousands more missing, wounded or homeless. The cost of the devastation could be many billions of dollars. Still more serious problems lie ahead, given the possibility of widespread illnesses resulting from polluted drinking water and the lack of sanitation and medical services.

This is an unprecedented challenge that cannot be dealt with through national relief and aid efforts. Even the United Nations humanitarian agencies cannot properly deal with the problem as they have never encountered a disaster hitting nine countries simultaneously. Thus, governments, groups, and individuals, particularly in the developed world and rich countries, must contribute generously to relief efforts.

Wealthy Arab and Muslim nations and their charitable organisations are invited to grab this opportunity and practically prove that their humanitarian efforts are not only directed to their brother Muslims and that Islam also calls for universal brotherhood and solidarity in times of disaster, contrary to the ugly rhetoric of Al Qaida and like-minded extremists. With this, they may succeed in improving their image among non-Muslim Asians.

Dr Abdullah Al Madani is a Bahrain-based Gulf researcher and writer on Asian affairs. He can be contacted at aelmadani@gulfnews.com