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15200 results in ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Page 107 of 760

  • 2 - E-commerce and ASEAN Economic Integration

  • from PART I
  • Edited by Cassey Lee, Eileen Lee
  • Book:
    E-Commerce, Competition and ASEAN Economic Integration
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    31 January 2020
    Print publication:
    10 October 2019, pp 7-30

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The ASEAN region is fast emerging as a growing market in the global e-commerce landscape. With a total population of 650 million, a rising middle class and a newly established economic community in 2015, the region is often considered as the next gold rush for e-commerce and internet-based operations. Despite the hype about the potential of the region, many challenges remain before e-commerce can truly flourish in each ASEAN member country. Cross-border e-commerce is challenging in the ASEAN region due to different national rules and regulations as well as quality of infrastructure. It is with these developments in mind that e-commerce has become an increasingly important area of focus in ASEAN economic cooperation.

    This chapter examines the role played by e-commerce in ASEAN economic integration by focusing on a number of issues. We begin by discussing some of the basic concepts and definitions related to e-commerce in Section 2. This will then lead to an examination of the state of e-commerce in the ASEAN region in Section 3. Section 4 discusses the framework for ASEAN cooperation in the development of e-commerce and some of the challenges that lies ahead. Section 5 concludes.

    Definition, Concepts and Framework

    Defining E-commerce

    OECD provides a comprehensive definition of e-commerce:

    An e-commerce transaction is the sale or purchase of goods or services, conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing of orders. The goods or services are ordered by those methods, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the goods or services do not have to be conducted online. An e-commerce transaction can be between enterprises, households, individuals, governments, and other public or private organisations. To be included are orders made over the web, extranet or electronic data interchange. The type is defined by the method of placing the order. To be excluded are orders made by telephone calls, facsimile or manually typed e-mail.

    The key emphasis in the above definition is on transactions carried out over computer networks which today mostly involve the internet. The definition also suggests that the delivery of goods and services does not have to be conducted online.

  • Chapter 6 - Industrialisation and Poverty in Penang

  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 149-198

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Industrialization has transformed Malaysia into an emerging economy that is on its way to becoming a high-income or a developed one. This is a straightforward argument, and the association between industrialization and wealth creation is almost a truism even. Viewed from this perspective, Penang is one of the most industrialized, and economically advanced states in the Malaysian federation. This chapter seeks to look at the journey that Penang undertook to industrialize as part of the larger Malaysian economy, and how this has improved incomes and virtually eliminated poverty in the last 40 years or so.

    This journey commenced under Lim Chong Eu's stewardship of the Gerakan state government after the 1969 elections. One of the objectives of this chapter is to look at how Lim Chong Eu made that transition possible. Another objective of this chapter is to simplify this very complex story by linking Penang's industrialization with the country's broader journey to economic development, and to offer an insight into the dynamics of the socio-economic and political choices that were “on the table”.

    Part I: The National Context

    a. Import-Substituting Industrialization and Growth

    Independent Malaya inherited a characteristically colonial export economy, where primary commodity exports, particularly rubber, tin, timber, and iron ore made up a very significant portion of the GDP. In 1960, exports contributed 55 percent of the GDP (Malaysia. 1965:24). Thus, the fall in price of rubber and the sluggish growth of other primary commodities for much of the 1960s posed a very serious challenge to the economy.

    Diversification of the economy was clearly the way forward. After outlining the challenges and opportunities facing the newly independent nation and the long-term objectives of the country's development, the First Malaysia Plan that followed the Second Malaya Plan reiterated that the most important resolution was “the need for economic diversification, which includes both agricultural diversification and industrialization” (Malaysia.1965: 15). However, agricultural diversification would have needed a prolonged gestation period.

  • Chapter 4 - Transition and Transformation: Local Government in Penang (1969-1976)

    • By Koay Su Lyn, Research Analyst of History and Heritage Programme, Penang Institute.
  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 93-110

  • Summary

    Ever since the formation of the Committee of Assessors in 1800, local authorities have played a crucial role in Penang's administration. This third tier of governance ripened as George Town evolved from a municipality to become the first state in the nation elevated to a city. Civic elections were similarly contested on a party basis after its revival in 1951, only to be suspended in 1965.

    A Commission of Enquiry was established in July 1966 to investigate the City Council's management affairs and the passing of the City Council of George Town (Transfer of Functions) Order 1966 effectively transferred all functions of the City Council to the Chief Minister of Penang.

    Another wave of change occurred in the May 1969 elections when the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan) defeated the Alliance, making Dr Lim Chong Eu the second Chief Minister of Penang. On assuming the position of Officer Administering the Council, Dr Lim was confronted with the challenge of revamping local government in the state.

    This chapter highlights the transformation of local authorities upon Dr Lim's takeover in the early years of 1969 until the implementation of the Local Government Act of 1976. While Dr Lim envisaged a system of improved efficiency and a smooth compliance with state decisions and policies upon the implementation of the 1976 Act, he did not expect the Act to alter the landscape of local government in Penang altogether.

    The George Town Enquiry and the Suspension of Local Elections

    The rattling of the George Town Council began in June 1963 when D.S. Ramanathan, once elected Socialist Front Mayor of George Town, rocked the council at a meeting with accusations of malpractices and improprieties.115 These allegations effectively tarnished the council's public integrity, and a month later, the State Secretary announced the setting up of a Commission of Enquiry, known as the George Town Enquiry to investigate Ramanathan's accusations. What was obvious was that the council's affairs were being sensationalised under a charged political climate.

    By March 1965, following the outbreak of the Indonesian Confrontation, local elections nationwide were suspended under the Proclamation of Emergency. In the case of the Seremban Council, suspension followed corruption charges. A year later, Johor became the first state to abolish local governments (Tennant 1973:79).

  • Chapter 8 - Growing Global Production Sharing: The Tale of Penang Export Hub, Malaysia

  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 221-274

  • Summary

    **Paper for the International Conference on Trade, Investment and Production Networks in Asia organised by Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy, University of Nottingham, 16-16 February 2012, Kuala Lumpur

    Introduction

    Global production sharing—the division of production processes into geographically separated stages—has been an increasingly important facet of economic globalization over the past few decades. With a modest start in the electronics and clothing industries, multinational production networks have evolved and spread into many industries such as sports footwear, automobiles, televisions and radio receivers, sewing machines, office equipment, power and machine tools, cameras and watches, and printing and publishing. At the formative stage, production sharing involved assembly of small fragments of the production process in a low-cost country and re-importing the assembled parts and components to be incorporated in the final product. Subsequently, production networks began to encompass many countries engaged in the assembly process at different stages, resulting in multiple border crossings by product fragments before they were incorporated in the final product. As international networks of parts and component supply have become firmly established, producers in advanced countries have begun to move the final assembly of an increasing range of consumer durables, including, computers, cameras, televisions, and automobiles, to overseas locations to be closer to their final users and/or take advantage of cheap labour. There has been a steady rise in trade in parts and components and assembled final products – network trade – within global production networks. In 2007, network trade accounted over half of total world manufacturing exports, with over two-fifths of these exports originating in developing countries (Athukorala 2011a).

    Global production sharing in consumer goods such as garments and footwear normally takes place through arm's length relationships, with international buyers playing a key role in linking producers and sellers in developed countries. However, the bulk of global production sharing in electronics and other high-tech industries still takes place under the aegis of MNEs. This is because the production of final goods requires highly customized and specialized parts and components whose quality cannot be verified or assured by a third party, and it is not possible to write a contract between the final producer and input supplier that would adequately specify product quality. This is particularly the case when establishing production units in countries that are newcomers to export-oriented industrialization.

  • Introduction

  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp viii-xiv

  • Summary

    While Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu (1919-2010) was undoubtedly a major actor in the early history of Malaya and Malaysia, the role that gave him lasting fame in history books about the country is most undoubtedly that as the Architect of Modern Penang.

    In his long political life, he did seem plagued by adversity whenever he managed to reach what seemed a critical point in his career. For example, soon after he became president of the Malayan Chinese Association, having passed on the chance to become the first Chief Minister of Penang, he threw a challenge to the president of the ruling Alliance coalition and founding Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman for an increased number of seats for his party in the upcoming 1959 elections. The Tunku refused to budge and Lim's failure saw support for him dissipate and Lim himself neutralized within his own party.

    After leaving the MCA in the early 1960s, he formed the United Democratic Party, and on being elected on that ticket in the 1964 elections, joined with the Singapore-based People's Action Party, the People's Progressive Party and the Sarawak United People's Party to form in early 1965 the Malaysia Solidarity Convention to challenge the Alliance. The separation of Singapore from Malaysia in September that year ended that attempt.

    Not one to give up, Lim was instrumental in forming the Parti Gerakan Rakyat in time for the 1969 general elections. The Gerakan did incredibly well in the elections, and managed to gain power in Lim's home state of Penang. He became that state's chief minister on May 12. A day after that auspicious event, racial rioting broke out in Kuala Lumpur and emergency rule was declared throughout the country.

    For Lim, his political career must have seemed cursed.

    The great dilemma for the Gerakan then was how it was to relate to the idea of the Barisan Nasional, the expanded coalition planned by Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein to minimize political disagreements and to centralize power under the Malay-first agenda that was being implemented nationwide.

  • Chapter 1 - Lim Chong Eu and Penang: Glimpses of a Personal and Political Relationship

    • By Khoo Boo Teik, Economic Development Program at The National Graduate Institute, Toh Kin Woon, accomplished economist trained at University of Malaya
  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 1-36

  • Summary

    Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu was born in George Town, Penang, on 28 May 1919 and died there on 24 November 2010. Of his ninety-one and a half years, Chong Eu1 spent a formative decade abroad: he was a university student in Britain (1938–1944) and a medical doctor in China (1944–1947). Barring later overseas trips mostly taken for official work, occasionally for vacation, and three times for medical convalescence or treatment, he resided in Penang. His family homes were in Macalister Road and Burmah Road, his father had his clinic in Magazine Road, and Chong Eu himself had a house each in Tanjung Bungah and Penang Hill. He attended Shih Chung School, Hutchings Primary School and Penang Free School. For a few years, Chong Eu joined his father's practice but also served as a medical officer with the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force (1951–1954).

    During Malaya's last years of colonial rule, he embarked on a career in politics, the field in which he would rise to national prominence. His earliest but indirect electoral venture came in the 1951 George Town Municipal Council elections, the first elections to be held in colonial Malaya. Chong Eu did not stand in the elections, but the Radical Party, which he founded with other aspiring politicians in Penang, won six of the nine seats contested by a total of 24 candidates. In 1954, he was appointed a ‘Nominal Unofficial Member of the Settlement Council of the Settlement of Penang’, and a year later, a Penang “Settlement Member of the Legislative Council in and for the Federation of Malaya’. After independence, he went on to be a three-term Member of Parliament for Tanjung constituency (1964–1978) and a six-term State Legislative Assembly representative (for Kota, 1964–1974 and Padang Kota, 1974–1990). From his base of Penang he led the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA, or Malaysian Chinese Association after 1963) as its President (1958–1959), the United Democratic Party (UDP) in different positions (1962–1968) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan, or Malaysian People's Movement Party) in various capacities (1968–1990). Of course, Chong Eu became best known, most widely respected and most appreciatively remembered as the Chief Minister of the State of Penang between May 1969 and October 1990.

  • Chapter 3 - Penang Development Corporation and Penang's Catalytic Transformation

    • By Chet Singh, first General Manager of the Penang Development Corporation (PDC)
  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 57-92

  • Summary

    If ever there was a need and a time to engineer governance, then it was in May of 1969. The State Government of Penang was then taken over by an opposition political party, Gerakan (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia). This dramatically changed the relations between the State Government and the Federal Government. For nearly 12 years, since independence on 31 August 1957), the State and Federal Governments were led by the same political party – the Alliance. Working relations were rather ingrained and the State Government more often acquiesced to Federal Government rulings and direction. This was further assured by the fact that the key government positions in the State Government and Departments were filled by officers from the Federal Government Service – the Malaysian Civil Service (MCS), and with professionals from technical departments.

    The situation was further complicated by the racial clashes of 13 May 1969. Though the State of Penang was not as badly affected as Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, it nevertheless had to impose curfew and come under emergency rule. The emergency rule resulted in the Federal Government coming under the National Operations Council (NOC) and the State under the State Operational Council (SOC). The top priority was to improve the security of the country and restore parliamentary democracy as quickly as possible. Politics were pushed to the background and interaction between Federal and State leaders were more professional. Relationships with the centre improved but some of the government servants were rather ambivalent. This meant that new approaches were required. The dynamics of administration had to be altered; an effective institutional framework needed to be put in place.

    New directions had to be set in order to tackle the conditions of the State's economy. The State's economy was in the doldrums, with the business community despondent, creation of new jobs was nonexistent and the unemployment rate was estimated at 16%. There were in fact about 50,000 school leavers looking for jobs. The old ways and policies were of no use and as such, new and fresh thinking was required. There was at the time an ongoing study by Robert Nathan Associates on the economy of Penang. However, the dilemma was, who will evaluate the findings of the study and then more importantly plan for and implement the appropriate projects and programmes.

  • Foreword

  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp v-vii

  • Summary

    On the day Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu passed away on 24 November 2010, I sat in front of Dato’ Seri Chet Singh at my then office at Penang Institute, listening to Chet reading out loud his draft eulogy for Chong Eu. I thought to myself, “We must get a book out on Chong Eu and his time.”

    I was elected to Parliament representing the Penang constituency of Bukit Bendera in 2008, giving me a rare opportunity to interact with Tun Dr Lim during his final years, witnessing first hand his grand world view and his delicate political touch.

    In the tide of public sentiment marking his passing, the central theme that stood out was Tun Dr Lim's role as the “Father of Modern Penang”. At the funeral, as I walked with many Penangites behind the hearse along Jalan Lim Chwee Leong, a road named after Chong Eu's father, thousands of ordinary people lined up the streets in sorrow. Comments repeatedly heard was that Chong Eu got them out of joblessness.

    Chong Eu's dauntlessness and farsightedness helped engineer Penang's rebirth after the crisis of losing its Free Port status; this he did by inviting Foreign Direct Investment to build the manufacturing sector with the ultimate aim of providing decent salaries for a people troubled by a high unemployment rate. In contrast to the prevailing leftist/nationalist climate of the day, his decision to attract investment from countries symbolically regarded as imperialistic/capitalist was an audacious “Blue Ocean Strategy”. While Singapore was the regional leader, Penang quickly became the first stop for foreign investment in Malaysia.

    Fifty years after that export-led industrialisation strategy which presupposed United States (and to a lesser extent Europe) as the final vi export destinations, the scenarios have probably completely changed, especially since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, which saw growth in the US not being accompanied by much transformative job growth.

    But what was central to Chong Eu's project was job creation – a theme that is still very relevant to Penang and Malaysia today.

    To move his economic agenda while being constrained by an uncooperative federal bureaucracy, Chong Eu created the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to bypass the bureaucratic hurdle of the State Secretariat, which was under federal government control.

  • Chapter 7 - From Swamps to Semiconductors

    • By Rajah Rasiah, Distinguished Professor of International Development at the Asia Europe Institute, University of Malaya.
  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 199-220

  • Summary

    The Province of Penang with a total area of 1,031 square km and a population of 1.6 million in 2010 has achieved remarkable economic development over the last four decades. The early phase of Penang's history as pointed out by the Penang Master Plan of 1964 was gripped by “depression, spiraling inflation, labour unrest and political instability (Munro, 1964: 132; Goh, 1988: 6). The situation worsened when the federal government revoked Penang Island's free port status in 1969. Penang was actually classified among the poor states when the New Economic Policy was launched in 1971 (Malaysia, 1971). It was under such difficult circumstances that Gerakan defeated the ruling Alliance government to take control of Penang in 1969.

    Gerakan's president then, Dr Lim Chong Eu, negotiated with Malaysia's Prime Minister then, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, and tacitly agreed to certain conditions for the party's entry into the newly created National Front coalition government. Dr Lim followed the advice of the Nathan Report prepared in 1970 to situate heavy industries in Province Wellesley and light export-oriented industries in Penang Island (PDC, 1988; Rasiah, R. 1991: 95). Consistent with the Second Malaysia Plan, foreign direct investment targeted at manufacturing growth became the prime pillar of economic promotion of the province. Semiconductors and textiles comprised the earliest of multinational corporations (MNCs) to be wooed by the Penang government to generate investment and employment.

    Penang faced stiff competition to attract MNCs not only from Klang Valley but also from Singapore and the Philippines. National Semiconductor from California was the first to relocate assembly operations to Penang in 1971. Other Californian IC firms to follow in the 1970s were Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Hewlett Packard. Although unemployment rates in the province began to decline as waves of MNCs relocated in Penang, several accounts considered such a relocation an extension of ‘super-exploitation’ with grievous underdevelopment consequences for Penang (see Kamal and Young, 1985; Khor, 1987).

    The doubts on the ability of Penang's leadership to steer successfully its economy towards industrialization and industrial upgrading arose not only because of the influence of radical theories of underdevelopment (see Baran, 1950; Frank, 1972; Heinrich Frobel and Kreye, 1980), but also because of the redistribution policies of the federal government which favoured the ethnic Malay-dominated provinces.

  • Chapter 2 - From Munro to Nathan: The Rise of a Modern Economy in Penang

    • By Koay Su Lyn, Research Analyst of History and Heritage Programme, Penang Institute., Wong Yee Tuan, Fellow & Head of History and Heritage Programme, Penang Institute.
  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 37-56

  • Summary

    Changing from a post-war commercial slum to a modern industrial state, Penang has undeniably come a long way. Once a thriving port and settlement under the colonial government, Penang suffered an economic downturn after the Second World War. The emergence of economic nationalism at the federal centre following Malaysian independence precipitated the erosion of her free port status, and gravely sapped her entrepot trade, until then the mainstay of the state.

    In order to salvage the economy, the Penang state government adopted a master plan in 1964, known as the Munro Report. But this quicky proved a failure. It was succeeded by the Robert Nathan Report 1970, which is given the credit for successfully turning Penang into an industrial economy.

    This paper outlines the economic woes Penang faced in the post-war years, and discusses how and why the Munro Report failed where the Nathan Report succeeded in charting a new economic trajectory for the state.

    Penang's Post-war Economic Condition (1948-1963)

    Penang's vibrant entrepot trade with the surrounding areas like Perak, Sumatra, Thailand and Burma never really recovered after the Second World War. The Malayan Union structure that the returning British imposed on the peninsula soon after their return ended for good the Straits Settlements that the Japanese had overwhelmed. Despite official recognition of Penang's free port status, the post-war regime imposed trade regulations that contravened the interests of Penang. An example was the Prohibition of Export Order 1946, which prevented Penang from exporting to the lucrative markets of Sumatra and Siam. Merdeka in 1957 saw Penang turn another difficult corner. The nationalistic wish for greater centralization of trade and commerce restricted further Penang's entrepot trade.

    In the early 1960s, economic nationalism hit Penang's entrepot partners in Sumatra, Thailand and Burma, and this led to further economic decline for Penang. Most of the newly independent countries were seeking economic dependence in one way or another, and building up import-substitution industries. Nothing seemed to be going Penang's way. Malaysia sought to industrialize it economy and began to develop Port Swettenham (now Port Klang), and this weakened further the trade volume in Penang. The first Five Year Plan (1956-1960) and the second Five Year Plan (1961-1965) highlighted the importance of manufacturing industries to the Federation's long-run development.

  • Chapter 5 - “Developmental” States and Economic Growth at the Sub-National Level: The Case of Penang (1970-2005)

  • Edited by Chet Singh, Rajah Rasiah, Yee Tuan Wong
  • Book:
    From Free Port to Modern Economy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 September 2019, pp 111-148

  • Summary

    Introduction

    When electronics manufacturers go to Malaysia, they do not stop in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur, but fly directly to production sites in a distant province, Penang. This small state, near Thailand, with a population of some 1.5 million, has established a reputation as a dynamic hub for technology-intensive goods such as semiconductors and hard disk drives.

    Penang has created an environment that seems different – and slightly separate – from the rest of the country. Investors here do not liaise with the federal government, but rather with state government agencies for incentives, permits, and licenses. They source for components, design work, or labour from a variety of dynamic firms nearby, and send their products via local airports or the internet.

    Penang is a ‘different’ state for a variety of reasons. It hosts a long tradition of political activity and is the home of personalities such as the [former] Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, and Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim. Penang is also the only state with a Chinese majority and Chief Minister, and has been governed by a small, regionally based multi-ethnic party since 1969.

    Traditionally a centre for shipping, finance, and trade, Penang overhauled its economic model in the 1970s, following a deep recession. Since then, the state has received several waves of strategic foreign investment and reaped the benefits. From having a per capita income 12 per cent below the national average in 1971, Penang now enjoys a per capita income almost 50 per cent above the national average.

    The ‘motor’ of the Penang's industrial sector is electronics, which accounts for approximately half of all employment in the manufacturing sector. In 2005, this comprised some 200 multinational electronics firms employing 110,000 workers, in addition to some 350 firms and 25,000 workers in downstream sectors as well as an unknown quantity of firms in the informal sector.

    Penang is not the only centre for electronics manufacturing in Malaysia. The Klang Valley and Johor Baru also house sizeable numbers of firms. However, what distinguishes Penang is not the size of its electronics industry, but the quality of its operations. Penang has specialised in the semiconductor and hard disk drive sectors.

  • China's Evolving Policy towards the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia (1949–2018)

  • Xiao An Wu
  • Book:
    China's Evolving Policy towards the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia (1949–2018)
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    31 January 2020
    Print publication:
    27 September 2019, pp vii-viii

  • Summary

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • The Chinese diaspora, consisting of both Chinese living overseas who are citizens of China (huaqiao), and people of Chinese descent who are citizens of foreign countries (huaren), have significantly shaped the making of modern China.

    • China's policy towards its diaspora is primarily governed by its national interests and foreign policy imperatives. However, the Chinese government has been careful to ensure that the huaqiao and the huaren fall into different policy domains: Chinese citizens living overseas are subject to China's domestic policies, while Chinese descendants who are citizens of other countries come under China's foreign affairs. Nevertheless, from the beginning, the latter continue to be regarded as kinsfolk distinct from other foreign nationals.

    • The huaqiao-huaren distinction is often blurred in ordinary discourse and this has been a source of much misunderstanding. However, it has not been the policy of the Chinese government to blur this distinction, and it is acutely aware of the complexity of the issue and is therefore very cautious about implying any change. As such, when terms such as huaqiao-huaren are introduced in the official lexicon, they are meant to acknowledge certain historical and contemporary realities, and not to deliberately obfuscate the two categories. The use of the combined term is in fact a recognition of the clear-cut distinction between the two groups, and is meant to convey a semantic balance in which neither category is emphasized at the expense of the other.

    • In general, since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government has treated the diaspora as an asset, rather than a liability. The sole exception was during the Cultural Revolution when returnees, or the guiqiao, were condemned as reactionary and bourgeois elements.

    • There is therefore a fundamental continuity in China's diaspora policy: namely, that China embraces both groups as part of a global Chinese community. Some policy shifts can be expected in future as China becomes more proactive in reaching out to its diaspora while balancing the needs and interests of Chinese abroad with the needs and interests of the Mainland.

  • China's Evolving Policy towards the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia (1949–2018)

  • Xiao An Wu
  • Book:
    China's Evolving Policy towards the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia (1949–2018)
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    31 January 2020
    Print publication:
    27 September 2019, pp 1-25

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    The issue of China and its diaspora, particularly the one in Southeast Asia, is the subject of much academic attention and popular controversy. China's diaspora affairs receives greater scrutiny than the diaspora issues of other countries such as India, Israel, and Ireland. This paper tries to tackle the issue holistically by covering both the historical and contemporary dimensions of Chinese diaspora policy, with an emphasis on its reach and impact in Southeast Asia.

    There is a need to clarify at the outset the various terms related to China's diaspora discourse. The two primary terms are “overseas Chinese” and “Chinese overseas”. According to Professor Wang Gungwu, these two terms posit a legal and political distinction between two different ethnic Chinese communities residing outside mainland China. The “overseas Chinese”, or huaqiao (华侨) in Mandarin, refer to citizens of China who are living abroad. The “Chinese overseas”, or huaren (华人), are foreign citizens who are Chinese by descent and ethnicity. This distinction between the huaqiao and huaren was introduced partly because the ethnic Chinese of Southeast Asia, having naturalized their citizenship in their country of residence, wanted to maintain and emphasize their difference and distance from the Chinese mainland. For them, this was a strategy of self-preservation, undertaken as a means of allaying domestic suspicions about their allegiance, especially in the light of anti-Chinese undercurrents running through many Southeast Asian countries.

    However, it must be noted that the scholarly demarcation of these terms does not necessarily comport with their regular use and meaning on the Mainland. For instance, the terms “overseas Chinese” and “Chinese overseas” are often used simultaneously in China as a combined term huaqiao-huaren (华侨华人), which is denoted in English as a parallel term separated by a hyphen.

    In the light of China's historical, ideological, and policy contexts, “overseas Chinese” is an evolving category which includes important contemporary dimensions such as the newer waves of Chinese migrants to the developed countries of the West as well as the overseas Chinese returnees of the 1950s and the post-1990s. It is important to note that China's diaspora policy, especially over the last few decades, has not only been directed at the Chinese residing abroad, but also to Chinese returnees who are either citizens or permanent residents of foreign countries, but who have chosen to return to settle in China.

  • Foreword

  • Xiao An Wu
  • Book:
    China's Evolving Policy towards the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia (1949–2018)
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    31 January 2020
    Print publication:
    27 September 2019, pp v-vi

  • Summary

    The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

    The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

    THE EDITORS

    Series Chairman:

    Choi Shing Kwok

    Series Editor:

    Ooi Kee Beng

    Editorial Committee:

    Su-Ann Oh

    Daljit Singh

    Francis E. Hutchinson

    Benjamin Loh

  • Quality, Equity, Autonomy: Malaysia's Education Reforms Examined

  • Hwok Aun Lee
  • Book:
    Quality, Equity, Autonomy
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    31 January 2020
    Print publication:
    26 September 2019, pp vii-viii

  • Summary

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government promised education reforms before getting elected in 2018, and presently grapples with the complexities of making good on those pledges while seeking to negotiate continuity and change with regard to the previous administration's Malaysian Education Blueprint launched in 2013.

    • This article situates the education reforms in the context of Malaysia's highly centralized administration, embedded practices and policy initiatives of recent years. Discussion focuses on three areas—quality, equity, autonomy—where PH has more distinctly differentiated itself from its predecessor.

  • – On the quality of national schools, efforts to alleviate teachers’ bureaucratic work load and enhance the schooling experience mark a positive start. However, transforming mindsets and practices will require more systemic changes, critical self-reflection, and sustained efforts on difficult matters, particularly in basic schooling and technical and vocational programmes.

  • – On equity, the government's consistent attention to Bottom 40 (B40) households progressively allocates opportunity, and continual need to address ethnic concerns poses steep challenges. However, policy responses tend to unfold in an ad hoc manner, and the balancing of ethnic interests lacks clarity and coherence.

  • – On autonomy, at the institutional level, legislative overhaul in higher education is in the works, while at the personal level, academic freedom clearly thrives more under PH administration. Meaningful and effective reform will hinge on devolution of power away from central government, institutionalization of autonomy, and depoliticization of the system.

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