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Indonesia is being left behind by neighboring nations in complying with electronic-equipment standards that must be fulfilled by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by next January, experts said.

Under the planned Asean Economic Community, members of the bloc must set a common quality standard for goods and services in 12 sectors, including electronic equipment, wood- and rubber-based products, automotive products and health care.

Electronic equipment will be the first sector to comply. Under the plan, 199 electronic items must conform to a common set of standards.

However, Muchtar, head of the Ministry of Trade’s research and development agency, says Indonesia has only managed compliance with 19 items, including electronic fans, insulated cables, the performance of dry-cell batteries.

Djimanto, the secretary general of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said: “By 2011, whether we like it or not, we have to deal with these standards for electronic goods. And if we fail to complete it by then, we will look bad not only among Asean countries, but also in front of other countries outside of Asean.”

Djimanto said the country may fail to improve its competitiveness in the international community if it cannot to meet the deadline for electronic-goods standards.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has been able to fulfill 156 standards, Thailand 56, and Singapore 34.

The head of research at the National Standardization Agency (BSN), Tengku Hanafiah, said Indonesia needs more laboratories to help it comply with Asean’s standards. “Currently, there are only four labs. If we had twice as many labs, it would be easier to fulfill the target,” Tengku said.

In 2009, the total trade volume of electronic goods among Asean countries was $3 billion, according to Trade Ministry data.