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AIPA NEWS BULLETIN
THIRD
QUARTERLY APRIL - JUNE 2007
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Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive
Committee of AIPA, 16th – 19thApril
2007, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee of AIPA
was held in Kuala Lumpur from 16th to 19th
April 2007. The meeting was attended by AIPA Member
Parliaments and Special Observers from Brunei Darussalam and
Myanmar. The main purpose of the meeting was to prepare for
the 28th AIPA General Assembly. Among the
important matters that were taken up was the transformation
of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization or AIPO into
the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly or AIPA.
During the course of the meeting the new Statutes of AIPA to
replace the previous Statutes of AIPO was signed on 17th
April 2007.
The signing of the new Statutes of AIPA
marked the transformation of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary
Organization or AIPO into the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly or AIPA. A new era of a closely integrated ASEAN
inter-parliamentary cooperation had set in.
With the transformation to AIPA, the meeting called for a
review of the Agreement of 1990 and the review of the Staff,
Financial and Security Rules of the Secretariat. The meeting
agreed to retain the official logo with only the change of
the wording "Organization" to "Assembly" and the change in
the abbreviation from "AIPO" to "AIPA".
The meeting also recommended that the annual contributions
from member countries and donation from Brunei Darussalam be
increased to meet future budget requirements.
The permanent Secretary General resident in Jakarta for a
term of office of 3 years effective from 1st May
2007 was officially appointed during the meeting.
The meeting agreed that all activities in conjunction with
the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of AIPO
be immediately organized, and recommended that the
anniversary celebration will be the first order of the day
at the 28th AIPA General Assembly to be followed
by the approval of the appointment of the permanent
Secretary General.
The meeting also agreed that the former Speaker of the
Parliament of Singapore, Hon. Tan Soo Khoon be conferred the
AIPA Distinguished Services Award during the 28th
AIPA General Assembly.
At the meeting the Secretariat submitted
the proposed new organizational chart of the Secretariat and
the related proposal for the creation of 3(three) new Home
Based Staff (HBS) posts, namely, First Assistant to the
Secretary General, Second Assistant to the Secretary General
and Senior Officer/Coordinator Clerk to replace the existing
Locally Recruited Staff (LRS) posts of Executive Secretary,
Executive Assistant and Coordinator Clerk respectively. The
Secretariat also submitted a proposal for the creation of 7
additional LRS posts, the re-designation of 5 existing LRS
post as well as the increase in the emoluments for the
Secretariat staff.
Appointment of the permanent Secretary
General
At the Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee of
AIPA held in Kuala Lumpur from 16 to 19 April 2007, the
President of AIPA and Speaker of the House of
Representatives of Malaysia, H.E. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri DiRaja
Ramli bin Ngah Talib officially appointed Ambassador Dato’
Md. Yusoff bin Md. Zain from Malaysia as the permanent
Secretary General of AIPA resident in Jakarta for a term of
3 (three) years effective from 1st May 2007.
The appointment was in accordance with Resolution No.
27GA/06/0-13 on Guidelines and Criteria for the appointment
of a permanent Secretary General of AIPA adopted at the 27th
AIPO General Assembly in Cebu, Philippines in September
2006.
Dato’ Md. Yusoff bin Md. Zain reported for duty at the
Parliament House of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on 4th
May 2007 (1st to 3rd May 2007 being
public holidays in Malaysia). The Transfer of the Office of
Secretary General of AIPA from Hon. Datuk Mahmood bin Adam
to Dato’ Md. Yusoff bin Md. Zain was done at the Parliament
House of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on 9th May 2007
in the presence of the President of AIPA and Speaker of the
House of Representatives of Malaysia, H.E. Tan Sri Dato’
Seri DiRaja Ramli bin Ngah Talib. On the following day, 10th
May 2007, Dato’ Md. Yusoff bin Md. Zain arrived in Jakarta
and immediately assumed duties as the Secretary General of
AIPA resident in Jakarta.
Dialogue Session between the ASEAN
Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and the High Level Task
Force on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter in Penang,
Malaysia on 17th May 2007.
AIPA was invited by the High Level Task
Force (HLTF) on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter to a
Dialogue Session in Penang, Malaysia on 17th May
2007. The ASEAN Charter is scheduled to be tabled for the
consideration of the ASEAN leaders in Singapore in November
this year. The purpose of the dialogue was to seek AIPA’s
views on the ASEAN Charter.
AIPA was represented by 3 (three)
parliamentarians from Malaysia and 2 (two) parliamentarians
from Singapore. The Secretary General of AIPA also attended.
The leader of the AIPA delegation was Hon. Datuk. Dr. Wan
Junaidi bin Tuanku Jaafar, a Member of Parliament from
Malaysia.
Among other matters, the AIPA delegation proposed that
there should be an Article in the Charter on the importance
of ensuring a more coherent collaboration and coordination
between the legislative (AIPA) and executive arm (ASEAN).
AIPA also felt that the ASEAN Charter in its preamble should
also mention democracy and the empowerment of the ASEAN
people. AIPA can foresee future vibrant and open ASEAN
societies consistent with their national identities, where
all the people within ASEAN enjoy equitable access to
opportunities for total human development regardless of
gender, race, religion, language or social and cultural
backgrounds.
On ASEAN’s efforts at creating a stable, prosperous, highly
competitive and integrated region with effective
facilitation for trade and investment in which there would
be progressive reduction of all barriers to economic
integration and the realization of a single market, AIPA
recommended the inclusion of an Article in the ASEAN Charter
on the harmonization of laws and legislation among ASEAN
member countries.
The AIPA delegation also proposed the setting up of ASEAN’s
own tribunal to adjudicate or arbitrate disputes between
ASEAN member countries in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and
friendship. The inclusion of an Article in the ASEAN Charter
for the expeditious ratification of agreements was also
raised by the AIPA delegation.
AIPA also expressed the view that many current issues of
global concern such as environmental issues, human rights
issue and terrorism should not be given just a passing
mention but be dealt with in more specific terms in the
ASEAN Charter together with the political commitment to
jointly resolve them.
The Chairperson of the dialogue session, Ambassador Rosario
Manano, emphasized that the ASEAN Charter is not a plan of
action but an enabling document. It would therefore be more
general in its statement. She added that the ASEAN Charter
is meant to be a flexible and an enduring document which can
adapt to changing circumstances and has enabling provisions
for issues to be dealt with in more specific terms by means
of attaching protocols to it. Nevertheless the HLTF shall
take note of the views and proposals raised by the AIPA
delegation
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