Page 72 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

Dr Wit represents the perspective of a business leader who has purposely joined a
“business-social” company with the goal of operating ethically while maintaining business
success. He believes that ethics in business is about “doing rather than planning” and that
ethics comes from the heart. He explains how DTGO is working to ensure that the people
in need will be supported in the long term.
Mun Ching Yap describes how companies create foundations to focus on a specific
ethical purpose. The AirAsia Foundation that she leads is focused on supporting social
entrepreneurship and small businesses through grants, mentorship, networking, and sale
of social enterprise products. It is particularly exemplary in preserving cultural heritage
products in small businesses across ASEAN.
Sharmini Lohadhasan represents the perspective of large multinationals that are
taking ethical leadership to transition outside their core business to become more ethical.
The company in question is B which has adopted the new ethics of sustainability in
compliance with ESG. Sharmini shares her BP experience that such a shift in ethics must
be embraced and led by its leaders or it will not succeed.
Shree Mogan takes the perspective of an ASEAN HR professional and makes the
case that HR can no longer be on the execution side of ethics policies and regulations. HR
professionals need to be active leaders and advocates of ethics as they are responsible for
people as well as profits in their companies. She points out the specific ethical needs in
the ASEAN workplace where companies do not always protect employees and are not used
to reaching out to vulnerable or disenfranchised workers.
Mikkel Larsen of DBS bank notes that there has been more “talk” than “walk” when it
comes to the actual impact of ESG. Mikkel recommends that we should all consider how
our own investments can make a real ethical impact.
Arya Dwi Paramita notes the particular ethical responsibilities in one type of
company, state-owned or state-linked corporations. In Indonesia SOEs make up about
half the economy, so they have an important place in the ethical corporate landscape.
As Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Indonesia’s largest SOE,

62