KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 Kyodo - A common time zone proposal for Southeast Asian nations will likely fail at an upcoming meeting of their leaders in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday as Thailand and Cambodia object, sources at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations told Kyodo News on Saturday.
Malaysia, as host and chair of ASEAN meetings this year, revived the “ASEAN Common Time” proposal earlier this year for its members who currently span four different time zones, the sources said.
It would align ASEAN with major cities of the world’s second largest economy China, 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
The proposal which was seen by Kyodo News, says the ACT would help develop financial markets in the region through common trading and banking hours as well as facilitate airline services.
A common time zone would also provide ASEAN governments with more time to communicate with each other and help them move toward the commitment of creating an ASEAN community by the end of 2015, the proposal says.
Thailand and Cambodia, who are on GMT +7.00 hours, one hour ahead of the ACT, have argued that there is popular opposition in their countries to changing time zone, with concerns raised over the impact on their way of life.
They have also questioned why GMT +8 is preferred over GMT +7, which they say covers a majority of the population in the region.
Cambodia also said it is “not strange for ASEAN to keep time as it is,” noting that the European Union and the United States maintain different time zones.
Of the 10 ASEAN members, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei are on GMT +8, while Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are in the GMT +7 group. Myanmar is 6 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT.
Indonesia, an archipelago with thousands of islands, covers three time zones from GMT +7 to GMT+9.
The ACT proposal was first made by Singapore in 1995 and was raised again by Malaysia in 2004 before Kuala Lumpur’s suggestion this year. Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reportedly expressed support for a common time zone in February. Indonesia has the largest populations in this Southeast Asian bloc.
While striving to create an economic community by the end of this year, ASEAN is struggling with its ambitions for a common currency, common standards and common time.
The ACT proposal says that a common time would be a historic milestone in ASEAN regional cooperation, comparable to ASEAN’s decision to adopt English as its official working language.
==Kyodo