Image: Michael Seymour-Culme
Mr Pushpanathan Sundram receives the inaugural Outstanding Alumni Award from Professor Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost of NUS.
outstanding Alumni Award by Benjamin Tan
M
r Pushpanathan Sundram, Master in Public Policy (1994), received the inaugural Outstanding Alumni Award. The award honours and recognises alumni who have made a positive contribution to fulfilling the mission of the LKY School through substantive contributions to public policy, humanitarian activities and social entrepreneurship. Mr Pushpanathan is the Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) responsible for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Described by his referees as “resolute and steadfast in his commitment, notwithstanding the great challenges posed by his job” and as someone who “possesses great people skills and can build consensus and agreement amongst disparate groups and views”, Mr Pushpanathan is amply suited to coordinate and facilitate the strategic and substantive work of ASEAN towards the establishment of an integrated economic community, which includes establishing a competitive single market and production base with equitable development, and forging economic partnerships and free trade agreements with ASEAN’s dialogue partners. As the first professionally recruited, nonpolitical and youngest Deputy SecretaryGeneral in the history of ASEAN, Mr Pushpanathan is chiefly responsible for building up the institutional capacity of the ASEAN
Secretariat to think and act in terms of the collective interest of ASEAN as a whole. ASEAN has decided to proceed to the next stage of its integration with the conclusion of the ASEAN Charter, the blueprints for the three pillars of the ASEAN Community and the Master Plan on Connectivity. These key documents, which Mr Pushpanathan was involved in developing, put ASEAN in a strong position to shape the future integration of East Asia. The AEC will play a vital role in bringing the ASEAN Community together through trade, finance and economic integration, a monumental task no less, given the different stages of development, history, culture and political regimes of ASEAN member states. Under his stewardship, Mr Pushpanathan has helped to achieve consensus among the various stakeholders around a common agenda that will enable the AEC to be established by 2015. As an institution-builder, Mr Pushpanathan was instrumental in the transformation of the ASEAN Secretariat following the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter to establish the three sub-communities – political-security, economic and socio-cultural — under the broader ASEAN Community. In addition, he established the high-level ASEAN Integration Monitoring Office that monitors the trends, progress and impact of the AEC. Said Secretary-General of ASEAN, His
Excellency Dr. Surin Pitsuwan: “He has provided much needed leadership at the ASEAN Secretariat and in ASEAN to move the economic community building agenda of ASEAN. He is a strong believer of regionalism, having devoted 15 years of his career to ASEAN especially the Secretariat. Needless to say, he has an excellent understanding of ASEAN. He has used his analytical, negotiation, management and leadership abilities for the benefit of building ASEAN regionalism.” Receiving his award at the 7th anniversary celebrations of the LKY School, Mr Pushpanathan said he was “really humbled by this as I consider my contribution to be a “drop” in the ocean of work that ASEAN is undertaking as it builds its Community by the year 2015”. He was quick to attribute his career success to the training he had received at the LKY School, crediting the lessons and tools he learnt from the MPP programme for helping him to dissect issues and look at them from the different lenses of the ASEAN member states. “The most appropriate policy option may not be the ideal option always but one where all stakeholders could rally given their differences. The work is tedious but the reward of striking a balanced resolution supported by all to move forward ASEAN processes and integration is highly satisfying,” Mr Pushpanathan noted. Demonstrating his strong public service ethos, Mr Pushpanathan said he is continually guided by the motto of the LKY School – inspiring leaders, improving lives and transforming Asia – in helping to better the lives of the more than 600 million people in ASEAN through the realisation of the AEC. Benjamin Tan is Editor of Global-is-Asian. · Oct–Dec 2011 · 63