By Curtis S Chin and Meera Kumar
As recently elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from a high profile trip to the United States, he rides the crest of a new mood of optimism in his home country of India. Whether he can leverage that soaring popularity and his proven political skills to translate hope into concrete actions will carry important lessons for countries in nearby Southeast Asia.
The world is getting a firsthand sense of the new leader after meeting with US President Barack Obama and speaking at the UN General Assembly. This follows Modis meetings with Chinese, Japanese and other regional counterparts where he has deftly showcased his diplomatic and political skills.
For Indias citizens, companies and investors, the critical next step is for Modi to win sustained support, both at home and abroad, for the difficult decisions that will be necessary to push progress in three areas where India has traditionally fallen short. These same priority areas also have great import to much of developing Southeast Asia, where new national leaders in several countries are grappling with the same crucial issues. In all countries, prioritization will be key.
Job creation
With some 50% of Indias population under the age of 30 and an estimated one million new job aspirants entering the labor market every month, Modi must - as should Southeast Asias leaders - rely less on populist welfare programs and subsidies and begin to lay the groundwork for the more sustainable, private sector-led job creation that is essential to employ growing numbers of young people.
Doing so will require governments to move beyond long-held stereotypes, often negative, of the role of business, including foreign companies, in society and a nations economy. It will also be necessary to revamp bureaucratic and underfunded education systems, and make changes to ensure all of Indias and Southeast Asias young people - including in rural and agricultural areas - are better able to compete.
Anti-corruption
India ranks 94th out of 177 nations and territories covered in Transparency Internationals global corruption perceptions index, indicating significant challenges. According to TIs Global Corruption Barometer, a public opinion survey designed to measure the everyday experiences of people, 71% of respondents felt that over the past two years corruption had increased in India.
The numbers are as bad or worse when it comes to perceptions of public sector corruption in several Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Modi and his Southeast Asian counterparts must bring greater transparency and accountability to public sector bureaucracies that with private sector complicity have too often been part of the regions enduring corruption challenge.
As with recent anti-corruption efforts in China, both high-level officials and low-level bureaucrats and those with whom they are corruptly complicit must be held accountable for their crimes to build badly needed public confidence in public leaders and institutions.
Infrastructure:
Despite hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investments supported by numerous bilateral aid agencies and development banks, insufficient change has come to Indias core infrastructure, including water, power and roads. This is also true in several parts of Southeast Asia.
Modi spoke bluntly during his election campaign of the need for "more toilets" and "less temples". Yet he and other Southeast Asian leaders must focus not only on improved sanitation and water supplies but also on bringing reliable electricity to cities and villages. Such infrastructure investments will also improve health in countries increasingly plagued by both infectious and "lifestyle" diseases such as diabetes and heart ailments.
Another urgent task for Modi is the need to build cohesion out of Indias diversity. Muslims represent close to 15% of Indias majority Hindu population and this minority community is an important and vibrant part of the country. Yet, on numerous economic and social measures, this segment of the Indian population ranks low.
Modi must focus on this communitys grievances and demonstrate an approach that is inclusive and credible. Real progress in addressing this communitys specific needs, as part of an "all India" economic drive can help prove naysayers wrong. Here, too, there are important parallels for Southeast Asia, where sectarianism and stereotypes persist, including in Myanmar, the Philippines and southernmost Thailand.
To Modis supporters he is a hard-driving disciplined leader who will not brook the slovenliness and corruption that critics contend has plagued previous Indian governments. For many he is a savvy politician with an intellect and common sense that will allow him to prove that the disadvantages of not having a formal education can be overcome. To his detractors, however, he is "all talk" and with a penchant for dictatorial tendencies.
Modis government must now move forward to meet the incredible expectations that its election has engendered among both Indias citizens and foreign investors. This same challenge of rising expectations must be met by other new Southeast Asian leaders beyond their catchy national tourism slogans, be it "Incredible Indonesia" or "Amazing Thailand".
For "Incredible India!" - the nations longtime promotional tagline - to be credible economically and to better compete in a rapidly evolving region, it must focus on job creation, good governance and better infrastructure. Under new executive leadership, it can be done. The same challenge awaits - and can be met - in much of Southeast Asia, under new leaders and old, with a shift in priority and approach.
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. Articles submitted for this section allow our readers to express their opinions and do not necessarily meet the same editorial standards of Asia Times Onlines regular contributors.
Curtis S Chin, a former US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, is currently senior fellow for Asia at the Milken Institute and a managing director of advisory firm RiverPeak Group, LLC. Meera Kumar, a former staff member of the ADB, is a New York-based freelance writer and communications consultant. Follow Curtis on Twitter at @CurtisSChin and Meera at @MeeraKumar212.
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