Page 59 - The Ethics of ASEAN

Practical Ethics in a Diverse ASEAN

critical thinking to combat issues like “group-think” and
unregulated social media.
Second, Prof Antonette advocates for the role of civil
society in engaging with powers such as governments or
social media platforms. Prof Antonette believes that beyond
navigating the crisis, clarifying and integrating values can make
for a more ethical society.

Dr Paul Lim: We should not be afraid to let youth
show the way forward
In ASEAN societies, ethical practices in society are often
directed by senior government leaders and policymakers. For Dr
Paul Lim, the way of the future may also depend on the younger
generation.
Dr Paul Lim is a Lecturer of Organisational Behaviour and
Human Resources (OBHR) at the Lee Kong Chian School of
Business, Singapore Management University (SMU). He worked
for 10 years in marketing and brand management for various
organisations and enterprises before switching to a career
in academia. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration
from Grenoble École de Management (France), an Executive
MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics (Finland), and
undergraduate degrees in Commerce and Economics at the
University of Toronto (Canada). He has also trained with Harvard Figure 5: Dr Paul Lim is a
Lecturer of Organisational
Law School’s Program on Negotiation. Behaviour and Human
Resources at Singapore
Dr Paul believes that ethics should guide decision-making, Management University
but asks who should lead in those decisions. He believes that (SMU)
the youth should play a part in that process. In his SMU-X
course, an experiential learning framework for students to
tackle real-world challenges, the teaching approach allows
students to take ownership of their own learning as opposed
to a teacher-centred approach and encourages internal and
external collaborations. In the three-month course students
from various disciplines come together to work on their
projects with gruelling hours and sleepless nights. This baptism
of fire often creates strong friendships among the participants.
Students from different cultures bridge their differences and
share good ideas, an effective pedagogy for creating practical
ethics in a diverse society.
When it comes to ethical leadership, Dr Paul feels that
ASEAN decision-makers are too resistant to youth leadership.
Despite the traditional value of maintaining stability, norms
are evolving every day. Dr Paul calls for leaders to shed their

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