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According to my initial observation, the provisions of

constitutions are inward looking, border-conscious and
protectionist in nature. If there are amendments, changes in
the provisions are deeply rooted in nationalist interests and

are overrun by the swift developments in technology and
transportation; especially, amendments in the 1990s, after

the disintegration and the end of the Cold War. Based on my
survey, in two countries out of ten countries in Southeast Asia,
the constitutions were created in the 1930s; the earliest was

in Thailand in 1932, and the Philippines in 1935. Then, five
other countries – Laos PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and

Indonesia, approved their constitutions in the 1940s; two other
countries – Brunei and Malaysia – in the 1950s, Singapore in
the 1960s and the last one, Timor-Leste, in the 1990s.

Another challenge that I would like to mention is the
bureaucratic challenge. It is a problems of inter-government

coordination and standardization. In my opinion, the AQRF
can help address these problems. The bureaucratic challenge
is also related to the absence of a comprehensive program

to implement the MRAs, the absence of comprehensive
databases, research studies on best practices and review of

foreign reciprocity, and the absence of a coordinating body
that would provide the necessary information on what
the MRAs are, their objectives and mechanics involved as

well as their implications. Moreover, it also concerns weak

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