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15200 results in ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Page 173 of 760

  • Foreword

  • Francis E. Hutchinson
  • Book:
    Rowing Against the Tide?
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    12 March 2019
    Print publication:
    14 August 2017, 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 policy makers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

  • Rowing Against the Tide? Batam's Economic Fortunes in Today's Indonesia

  • Francis E. Hutchinson
  • Book:
    Rowing Against the Tide?
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    12 March 2019
    Print publication:
    14 August 2017, pp vii-viii

  • Summary

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  • • Despite its good infrastructure and proximity to Singapore, Batam's economic performance has taken a turn for the worse, with declining levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports. Well-known firms in the electronics sector have closed shop, the shipping industry is in the doldrums, and unemployment rates have begun to climb.

  • • The environment for business is not as conducive as it used to be, with bureaucratic overlaps, persistent red tape, and shortages of land for investors. And, rather than seeking to attract large-scale investments in manufacturing or services, government campaigns have focussed on traditional economic activities such as fishing and farming.

  • • There are three reasons for this state of affairs. First, Indonesia's decentralization reforms have made doing business in Batam much more complicated than it used to be. Rather than dealing with one all-powerful central government agency, investors need to deal with three levels of government — each with veto power.

  • • Second, Batam's economic transformation over the past quarter-century has attracted large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country. This has engendered a cultural sub-nationalist movement, which has sought to protect local interests and identities — to the detriment of the economy.

  • • Third, structural changes in Indonesia's economy and changing corporate strategies have meant that investment into the country seeks to tap its domestic market — as opposed to producing for export. In this context, Batam is not a viable destination due to its distance from large population centres, bad connectivity, high labour costs, and unattractive tax framework.

  • • While recent measures have sought to reduce red tape, fight corruption, and improve the island's infrastructure, it is possible that Batam needs to re-orient its business model away from producing for export and towards enabling firms on the island to also cater to Indonesia's burgeoning domestic consumer base.

  • Rowing Against the Tide? Batam's Economic Fortunes in Today's Indonesia

  • Francis E. Hutchinson
  • Book:
    Rowing Against the Tide?
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    12 March 2019
    Print publication:
    14 August 2017, pp 1-37

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    Batam has an unbeatable business proposition. Situated a mere 20 kilometres from Singapore, linked by logistics networks, and possessing vastly cheaper land and labour, the Indonesian island is ideally placed to absorb investment from its wealthier neighbour. In theory, it should be teeming with investors and populated by factories and workers.

    Indeed, this is just what happened during the 1990s and early 2000s. The liberalization of investment regulations, coupled with Batam's well-developed infrastructure and proximity to Singapore, made the island an attractive site for manufacturing operations seeking to escape the city-state's rising costs. During the 1990s, Batam's industrial base grew in size and sophistication, rapidly becoming one of the country's centres of electrical and electronics production. In the mid-2000s, the shipbuilding industry also began to develop on the island. Coupled with the older, more established tourism sector, Batam became a crucial source of foreign exchange for Indonesia. Through these three “motors”, hundreds of thousands of formal sector jobs were created, and the island became one of the country's richest — with its economy often growing at more than 10 per cent p.a.

    The Batam Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) was at the helm of this transformation. Established by presidential decree, this agency had high-quality staff, central government funding, and direct access to decision-makers in Jakarta. It also had the unquestioned backing of B.J. Habibie — Indonesia's long-serving Minister for Research and Technology — who saw Batam as the gateway to securing capital and technology. BIDA's commitment to providing investors with advice and expedited approvals, as well as its custodianship of the island's infrastructure, have been a key part of Batam's success — even after Indonesia's far-reaching political and administrative reforms.

    The island's economy continues to grow steadily, as do the number of tourists coming to visit its resorts and leisure facilities. However, over the last few years, the success of Batam's export-focussed industrialization model has come under question. Indeed, exports have been decreasing since 2013, and unemployment has spiked over the last two years and is now considerably above the national average. The once-burgeoning ranks of semiconductor, hard disk drive, and component manufacturers have atrophied over the past half-decade, with anchor firms such as Panasonic, Sanyo and NIDEC closing their facilities.

    Subsequently, in 2013, the shipping sector, once heralded as Batam's sunrise industry, also began to contract.

Competition Law, Regulation and SMEs in the Asia-Pacific
  • Understanding the Small Business Perspective
  • Edited by Michael T. Schaper, Cassey Lee
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    05 August 2017
    Print publication:
    27 July 2016
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 90 per cent of all businesses in the Asia-Pacific region - an area which is rapidly updating its competition laws and regulations to encourage greater entrepreneurship and open, dynamic economies. Yet SMEs are almost invisible when those competition policies and laws are developed and enforced. SMEs are often quite different businesses than large, multinational corporations, but their nature, significance and characteristics are often overlooked. This book seeks to rectify the relative neglect in research and policy discussions on the role of the SME sector in competition policy and law. Drawing on contributions from a wide range of competition regulators, lawyers, academics, consultants and advisers to the SME sector, it addresses such important issues as:

    perceptions and views of small businesses about competition law;
    regulator engagement and education of the SME sector;
    the link between competition law and economic growth;
    franchising, SMEs and competition law;
    issues in enforcing competition law against SMEs;
    the role of Chinese family firms;
    trade, professional and industry associations;
    country case studies from Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and the Pacific Islands.

ISEAS Perspective
  • Watching the Indonesian Elections 2014
  • Edited by Ulla Fionna
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    29 July 2017
    Print publication:
    01 July 2015
  • 'As the euphoria fades from the Jokowi presidency, this timely book reviews the processes that brought him to the top, and the processes that have undermined his initial standing. The nineteen articles by ten writers provide views from along the way, starting with a chapter on the Jakarta governor elections from November 2012 and preceding through the key events up to a contemporary assessment in February 2015. Several major clues to the current disillusion are provided in accounts of the legislative elections and the presidential campaigns. Key topics are vote buying, the Islamic factor, economic platforms, pluralism, economic challenges. Max Lane points to deep alienation from politics and the emergence of new unions and a new political arena. The ISEAS team provides a range of events and analyses that will be most useful to all students of current Indonesian politics; clear, concise, insightful.' – David Reeve, Conjoint Associate Professor UNSW, ILTI Academic Coordinator ACICIS.

    'This book effectively captures the dynamics of Indonesian politics by focusing on the various phenomena surrounding the 2014 elections. It begins this political journey with an analysis of the implementation of local autonomy, and the birth of a leader brave enough to challenge extant political elites. It further explores the application of political culture in campaigns, the shortcomings of elected leaders, and the inadequacy of a state obliged to accommodate various interest groups. Beyond all these, this book proves that the political culture approach remains crucial in investigating Indonesia's political realities.' – Sukardi Rinakit, Political Analyst, Special Staff to President Joko Widodo.

Land and Development in Indonesia
  • Searching for the People's Sovereignty
  • Edited by John F. McCarthy, Kathryn Robinson
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    29 July 2017
    Print publication:
    18 May 2016
  • Indonesia was founded on the ideal of the 'Sovereignty of the People', which suggests the pre-eminence of people's rights to access, use and control land to support their livelihoods. Yet, many questions remain unresolved. How can the state ensure access_to land for agriculture and housing while also supporting land acquisition for investment in industry and infrastructure? What is to be done about indigenous rights? Do registration and titling provide solutions? Is the land reform agenda - legislated but never implemented - still relevant? How should the land questions affecting Indonesia's disappearing forests be resolved?The contributors to this volume assess progress on these issues through case studies from across the archipelago: from large-scale land acquisitions in Papua, to asset ownership in the villages of Sulawesi and Java, to tenure conflicts associated with the oil palm and mining booms in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra. What are the prospects for the 'people's sovereignty' in regard to land?

Global Economic Uncertainties and Southeast Asian Economies
  • Edited by Suthiphand Chirathivat, Chayodom Sabhasri, Aekapol Chongvilaivan
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    04 May 2015
  • The aftermath of the global economic breakdown in 2008–9 underscores the risks facing Southeast Asia's growth prospects. Although the region has demonstrated exceptional resilience to external shocks emanating from economic powerhouses around the globe, Southeast Asia is in dire need of an optimal policy mix of macroeconomic and trade policy measures that differ by country, underpin domestic demand, and revive domestic economies. This book offers in-depth, region-specific economic policy discourse that illuminates how a policy push is at work in the region, and sheds light on room for strengthening regional cooperation.

    This book aims to: (1) discuss the developments of macroeconomic and trade-policy mix against the backdrop of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and economic prospects for major countries in Southeast Asia (i.e., Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam); (2) assess the effectiveness of policy responses to the global economic unrest; (3) identify opportunities and challenges facing Southeast Asia in the midst of the global economic slump when developing Southeast Asia leverages on an ever-expanding role in the global business environment; (4) rethink the East Asian model of growth where enormous gains were driven principally by export demands from advanced economies; and (5) pioneer the key areas of regional cooperation and macroeconomic and trade policy reforms that may potentially strengthen regional economies.

Esoteric Buddhism in Mediaeval Maritime Asia
  • Networks of Masters, Texts, Icons
  • Edited by Andrea Acri
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    05 September 2016
  • This volume advocates a trans-regional, and maritime-focused, approach to studying the genesis, development and circulation of Esoteric (or Tantric) Buddhism across Maritime Asia from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries CE. The book lays emphasis on the mobile networks of human agents ('Masters'), textual sources ('Texts') and images ('Icons') through which Esoteric Buddhist traditions spread. Capitalising on recent research and making use of both disciplinary and area-focused perspectives, this book highlights the role played by Esoteric Buddhist maritime networks in shaping intra-Asian connectivity. In doing so, it reveals the limits of a historiography that is premised on land-based transmission of Buddhism from a South Asian 'homeland', and advances an alternative historical narrative that overturns the popular perception regarding Southeast Asia as a 'periphery' that passively received overseas influences. Thus, a strong point is made for the appreciation of the region as both a crossroads and rightful terminus of Buddhist cults, and for the re-evaluation of the creative and transformative force of Southeast Asian agents in the transmission of Esoteric Buddhism across mediaeval Asia.

The SIJORI Cross-Border Region
  • Transnational Politics, Economics, and Culture
  • Edited by Francis E. Hutchinson, Terence Chong
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    14 June 2016
  • Twenty-five years ago, the governments of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia agreed to jointly promote the city-state, the state of Johor in Malaysia, and the Riau Islands in Indonesia. Facilitated by common cultural references, a more distant shared history, and complementary attributes, interactions between the three territories developed quickly. Logistics networks have proliferated and production chains link firms based in one location with affiliates or transport facilities in the other territories. These cross-border links have enabled all three locations to develop their economies and enjoy rising standards of living.Initially economic in nature, the interactions between Singapore, Johor, and the Riau Islands have multiplied and grown deeper. Today, people cross the borders to work, go to school, or avail of an increasing range of goods and services. New political, social, and cultural phenomena have developed. Policymakers in the various territories now need to reconcile economic imperatives and issues of identity and sovereignty. Enabled by their proximity and increasing opportunities, families have also begun to straddle borders, with resulting questions about citizenship and belonging. Using the Cross-Border Region framework - which seeks to analyse these three territories as one entity simultaneously divided and bound together by its borders - this book brings together scholars from a range of disciplines. Its 18 chapters and more than 20 maps examine the interaction between Singapore, Johor, and the Riau Islands over the past quarter-century, and seek to shed light on how these territories could develop in the future.

Prominent Indonesian Chinese
  • Biographical Sketches
  • 4th edition
  • Leo Suryadinata
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    12 August 2015
  • Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia where there is a significant number of ethnic Chinese, many of whom have played an important role. This book presents biographical sketches of about 530 prominent Indonesian Chinese, including businessmen, community leaders, politicians, religious leaders, artists, sportsmen/sportswomen, writers, journalists, academics, physicians, educators, and scientists. First published in 1972, it was revised and developed into the present format in 1978, and has since been revised several times. This is the fourth and most up-to-date version.

Conflict in Myanmar
  • War, Politics, Religion
  • Edited by Nick Cheesman, Nicholas Farrelly
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    01 August 2016
  • As Myanmar's military adjusts to life with its former opponents holding elected office, Conflict in Myanmar showcases innovative research by a rising generation of scholars, analysts and practitioners about the past five years of political transformation. Each of its seventeen chapters, from participants in the 2015 Myanmar Update conference held at the Australian National University, builds on theoretically informed, evidence-based research to grapple with significant questions about ongoing violence and political contention. The authors offer a variety of fresh views on the most intractable and controversial aspects of Myanmar's long-running civil wars, fractious politics and religious tensions. This latest volume in the Myanmar Update Series from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific continues and deepens a tradition of intense, critical engagement with political, economic and social questions that matter to both the inhabitants and neighbours of one of Southeast Asia's most complicated and fascinating countries.

Managing Globalization in the Asian Century
  • Essays in Honour of Prema-Chandra Athukorala
  • Edited by Hal Hill, Jayant Menon
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    16 November 2016
  • The global centre of gravity continues to shift to the Asia-Pacific, the most dynamic region in the world. These economies have generally grown faster for longer periods of time than any other major region in world history. Their embrace of globalization has been a central feature, and driver, of their dynamism. The management of Asia-Pacific economic integration and globalization is crucial not only for the countries themselves but also for the state of the global economy, including importantly latecomer developing economies who look to the region for analytical and development policy lessons. Twenty-eight leading international authorities in the field, drawn from nine countries, provide a comprehensive examination of the causes, consequences and challenges of globalization, in a volume that celebrates the distinguished career of Professor Prema-Chandra Athukorala.

    Among the major issues examined are the region's distinctive approach to trade liberalization, the effects of economic growth on poverty reduction and the labour market, the special challenges of by-passed regions, the role of ideas in influencing policy making, the modalities of connecting to global production networks, and the importance of remittances in economic development. Several country case studies provide in-depth analyses of development processes and outcomes. These include episodes in economic development, the challenges faced by transition economies, the macroeconomics of adjusting to slower growth and rising debt in advanced economies, and the so-called middle-income trap phenomenon.

Bureaucracy and Development
  • Reflections from the Indonesian Water Sector
  • Diana Suhardiman
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    22 July 2017
    Print publication:
    26 December 2014
  • The fall of the New Order government in 1998 and the political reform that followed posed substantial challenges for Indonesia's bureaucracy to continue fulfilling its mandate. This book analyses the process of bureaucratic reform in the irrigation sector. Using Irrigation Management Transfer policy as the entry point for analysis, it documents and analyses the irrigation bureaucracy's ability to sustain its power and prominence in the sector's development, amidst and against national and international pressures for reform.
    The book argues that bureaucratic reform in the irrigation sector, rather than attempting to change the bureaucracy's functioning in the image of national and global (good) governance perspectives and priorities, should instead focus on linking the irrigation bureaucracy's everyday practice more effectively with farmers' needs and aspirations. Reform efforts of the past decades show that Indonesia's irrigation sector development cannot be redirected without the irrigation bureaucracy's knowledge, experience and cooperation, and without strengthening its downward accountability to farmer-irrigators.

  • Foreword

  • Norshahril Saat
  • Book:
    The Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi-Salafism in Batam
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    12 March 2019
    Print publication:
    18 July 2017, 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 policy makers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

  • The Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi-Salafism in Batam

  • Norshahril Saat
  • Book:
    The Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi-Salafism in Batam
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    12 March 2019
    Print publication:
    18 July 2017, pp vii-viii

  • Summary

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  • •The rise of Wahhabi-Salafi ideology in neighbouring Batamis causing concern in Singapore. There are worries that some Singapore Muslims are being radicalized by Batam's Islamic radio station Hang FM, which openly promotes Wahhabi-Salafi teachings.

  • •The uncovering by Batam police of a plan by five Indonesians to launch a missile from the island, targeting Singapore's Marina Bay, and the arrest of some individuals linked to ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) in Batam in August 2016 strengthen these fears.

  • •This article argues that Batam Muslims are non-violent traditionalists in their orientation, and key religious leaders from the state have come out against Wahhabi-Salafi's anti-pluralist ideas. Contrary to expectations, key traditionalist practices like mass prayers (zikr), and praises to the Prophet Muhammad (selawat),which Wahhabi-Salafis frown upon, continue to attract a huge following in Batam.

  • •In contradistinction to perceptions that Batam influences Singapore, the city-state does in its own right exert influence on its neighbour, and monetary flow from Singapore Muslims help keep traditionalist rituals alive.

  • The Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi-Salafism in Batam

  • Norshahril Saat
  • Book:
    The Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi-Salafism in Batam
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    12 March 2019
    Print publication:
    18 July 2017, pp 1-20

  • Summary

    INTRODUCTION

    Existing research on Batam–Singapore relations has focused more on economic and trade ties as opposed to social issues. The ties between the two cities, which are 20 kilometres apart, are always discussed within the framework of SIJORI, a joint development and business venture between Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. To be sure, links between the three states transcend economic, trade and security matters to also include religion and cultural exchanges. It only takes a 45-minute ferry ride from Singapore to Batam and the number of Singaporeans crossing over to Indonesia via Batam is high — comparable to the number that travels to Jakarta.

    Batam is a highly industrialized city, attracting immigration from other parts of Indonesia, especially Java. According to the 2012 census, Batam has a population of 1.2 million people. 77 per cent of them are Muslims, 17 per cent are Christians, and 6 per cent Buddhists. In terms of ethnicity, 27 per cent are Javanese, and the other major ethnic communities include: Malays (17.6 per cent); Bataks (15.0 per cent); Minangkabau (14.9 per cent); and Chinese (6.3 per cent). Even though the proportion of Malays is smaller than the Javanese, yet as part of Riau, Batam strongly upholds its Malay character. It also has a sizeable minority Bugis community, which has strong trade networks. Historically, Riau was part of the Johor-Riau Kingdom, and the name Riau appeared at least three times in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sources.

    Lately, there have been security concerns between the two cities. In August 2016, Batam authorities foiled a plot by a terrorist group called Cell Gonggong Rebus (GR) which planned to launch a rocket from the island towards Marina Bay in Singapore. The police arrested five Indonesians for the failed attempt. The militants were believed to have links with ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), and separatist groups in Xinjiang, China.The leader of GR, Gigih Rahmat Dewa, travelled to Singapore several times before he was detained. He was married to a Batam resident and has a house in the city. Gigih also made several contacts with Bahrun Naim, another Indonesian radical linked to ISIS and the person who allegedly masterminded the Jakarta attacks in 2016.

Page 173 of 760