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This work focuses on how less developed economies in Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), can establish links with neighbouring countries and participate in production networks. It also takes a look at links between Singapore and the Batam-Bintan-Karimun (BBK) Special Economic Zone in Indonesia. Leading Southeast Asian economies have achieved rapid economic growth by participating in production networks organized by multinational enterprises. It is thus crucial for less developed economies in Southeast Asia to improve their investment climate, attract foreign direct investment, and form competitive industrial clusters. Service link costs must also be reduced substantially to make production fragmentation economically feasible. The authors in this book discuss these issues and provide policy recommendations.
In 1989, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) published the milestone volume Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore, edited by Kernial Singh Sandhu and Paul Wheatley, which delved into a wide variety of issues that were integral to the growth of modern Singapore. The world that Singapore faced in 1989 has changed irrevocably. Meanwhile, within Singapore, the city-state has seen two prime ministerial transitions and the installation of third generation leaders who have articulated their vision for the twenty-first century. This new volume serves to update and review public policies from the early 1990s onwards. It gathers prominent thinkers and scholars on Singapore to examine issues of leadership and policy; economic restructuring; societal transformation; foreign relations and national identity. It seeks to outline the impending challenges of the twenty-first century, and to demonstrate a clear trajectory of intellectual analysis of contemporary Singapore for students and scholars alike.
Competitiveness of a country requires continuous upgrading and, sometimes, major transformation. Thailand is at the crossroad. It can no longer pursue a strategy based on low-cost advantages, but its capability achievements are still too low to become an advanced economy. This book points out weaknesses of Thailand's national innovation system or education and suggests how the country should develop new capabilities to survive and prosper in the globalized and fiercely competitive world. It will be useful to researchers and students who want to learn more about Thailand and emerging countries, and also to policy-makers and executives involved in economic and industrial development.
For a whole generation of Malaysians, no proper closure to the traumas of the racial riots of May 13, 1969 has been possible.But then came March 8, 2008The surprising results of the General Election on that special day have started eclipsing the fears linked for so long to that spectral night forty years ago.All the three researchers from ISEAS who each authored separate chapters for this book were in different parts of Malaysia monitoring its 12th General Election during the thirteen days of campaigning. Their analyses provide new insights into the phenomenon that Malaysians now simply refer to as "March 8".Ooi Kee Beng scrutinizes in detail the electoral campaign in the state of Penang, Johan Saravanamuttu studies the case of Kelantan state and the elections in general, while Lee Hock Guan examines changes in the voting pattern in the Klang Valley.
Stable monetary systems form one of the pillars on which rapid economics development in Southeast Asia in recent decades has been based. The same was true in the past. Monetary stabilization became as important issue after 1870, when silver depreciated rapidly against gold and Western countries switched to the gold standard. Colonial Indonesia followed the Netherlands in this respect. On the ardent advice of N.P van den Berg, then president of the central bank, the Java Bank, it was the first Asian country to stabilize its currency against gold, in this case against the gold-based Dutch guilder. Van den Berg was a prominent proponent of monetary stabilization and was well known for his contributions to he dicussion about currency systems and monetary policy in the government of British India, which was at the time exploring ways to achieve stabilization of the rupee. Both the arguments and the wealth of data in the reprint of this very rare book will be of interest to historians of Southeast Asia.
This rich collection of essays explores the dramatic political, economic, and social transformations in Southeast Asia since 1945. Academics and practitioners trace three themes – transformations within Southeast Asian countries, the actors and processes that contributed to these changes, and new dynamics in foreign relations. These diachronic essays examine how engagement among Southeast Asians and between regional and outside actors have affected patterns of democracy, development, and international relations. By looking back to understand the contemporary political and economic landscape of Southeast Asia, these essays shed light on how modern Southeast Asia has evolved. Special focus centres on U.S. engagement with the region, by both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Through its macrohistorical synthesis of changes in the region over time, this book offers an accessible lens to understand contemporary Southeast Asia.
Tan Ta Sen has modestly suggested that, as a book to illustrate the peaceful impact of culture contact, he is concerned to show how such cultural influences not only led to transmissions, conversions and transferences involving Inner Asian Muslims from China and Yunnan Muslims, Chams, Javanese, Malays, Arabs and Indians, but also enabled many Chinese in the Malay world to retain their non-Muslim cultural traits. In placing Cheng Ho's voyages in this context, the author offers a fresh perspective on a momentous set of events in Chinese maritime history. Professor Wang Gungwu, National University of Singapore. Tan Ta Sen's book on Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia is not the first one on the subject, but it is the first book that puts Cheng Ho's voyages in the larger context of "culture contact" in China and beyond. He has garnered numerous sources, from published documents to architectural sites and buildings, to support his arguments. He has done much more than previous scholars writing on this subject. - Professor Leo Suryadinata, Chinese Heritage Centre (Singapore). This long-awaited book is welcomed by the academic community - Tan Ta Sen has used historical facts to strengthen the argument on the existence of the "Third Wave", i.e. "the Chinese Wave", in the spread of Islam in the Southeast Asian region. Until now, we only know two major waves, i.e. the India-Gujarat Wave and the Middle East Wave through the development of trade relations. - Professor A. Dahana, University of Indonesia (Jakarta).
Against the backdrop of significant developments in regional economic cooperation and integration over the past decade, this book presents some of the key challenges facing ASEAN as it embarks on a bold and ambitious project to establish an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. Organized under the auspices of the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program's Regional Economic Policy Support Facility, the book brings together authoritative studies written by prominent experts and academics on issues pertaining to ASEAN economic integration.
Based on a decade of research in Indonesia, this book provides an in-depth account of the military's struggle to adapt to the new democratic system after the downfall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in 1998. Unlike other studies of the Indonesian armed forces, which focus exclusively on internal military developments, Mietzner's study emphasizes the importance of conflicts among civilians in determining the extent of military involvement in political affairs. Analysing disputes between Indonesia's main Muslim groups, Mietzner argues that their intense rivalry between 1998 and 2004 allowed the military to extend its engagement in politics and protect its institutional interests. The stabilization of the civilian polity after 2004, in contrast, has led to an increasing marginalization of the armed forces from the power centre. Drawing broader conclusions from these events for Indonesia's ongoing process of democratic consolidation, the book shows that the future role of the armed forces in politics will largely depend on the ability of civilian leaders to maintain functioning democratic institutions and procedures.
This book presents a genealogy of the social networks and power struggles of the major influential group of Indonesian-educated Muslims called "intelligentsia". In this effort, the longue durée approach is combined with an interactive, inter-disciplinary and inter-textual method to better understand the various underlying impulses and interactions contributing to continuity and change in the long-term development of the Muslim intelligentsia and its relation to power. In doing so, this book provides a major and important contribution to the study of the social history of contemporary Indonesia a plausible claim to being the first of its kind.
"This is an excellent book which will have a major impact on the current debate about the relationship between Islam and politics in Indonesia. Its greatest strength is its innovative characterization of three Indonesian Muslim models of polity, as opposed to the normal two, Islamic state and secular state. Assyaukanie brilliantly delineates a third model, which he calls the Religious Democratic State, in the process greatly clarifying our understanding of the previous models, which he now proposes to label the Islamic Democratic State and the Liberal Democratic State. Another strength of the book is methodological. Each of its arguments is solidly grounded in the thoughts and actions of particular players, Indonesian Muslim thinkers and activists." - Professor R. William Liddle, Ohio State University, United States of America
In the first edition, the themes of hope, optimism, and progress of neoliberalism were examined in Asia and America. The second edition, Globalization: Power, Authority, and Legitimacy in Late Modernity, analyses the new pessimism that has descended on the globalized world. The America that was once the bastion of hope, optimism and progress is now showing clear signs of a superpower in decline. The first sign of the American decline since 1941 in Pearl Harbor was the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001. The other signs are the Vietnamization of Iraq, a nuclear stand-off with North Korea, increasing trade imbalances with China and India, a stalemate with terrorists in Afghanistan, the challenge of European protectionism, a belligerent politics in the Middle East, overt American dependence on fossil fuels, and the mushrooming of various subprime crises into an escalating global recession. This second edition incorporates the latest developments in terms of culture, wealth and terrorism around the world and provides possible solutions to salvage the American Dream.
Singapore had been one of the nations severely affected by the 2008-09 global financial and economic crisis. The city state came under pressure through the financial, trade, and confidence channels. To counter these shocks, Singapore policymakers undertook unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy measures. They subsequently charted a revival strategy that would help the country emerge stronger after the crisis. These all-encompassing policies together with the global economic recovery in 2009 helped the city state bounce back faster and stronger than many other regional economies. This book provides an insight into the events that occurred during the crisis and Singapore's successful navigation to economic recovery."Although much has been written about the global financial crisis of 2008-09, not enough has been said about how it affected Singapore and the policy response. In this highly readable book, Sanchita Basu Das fills this gap, explaining how the crisis rippled through the Singapore economy via trade channels, the financial sector, and asset markets. But the greatest strength of this volume is its comprehensive account of the extraordinary measures Singapore put in place to deal pre-emptively with what could have been huge declines in output and employment in the face of the collapse of trade and credit flows. Singapore's multi-pronged approach, and especially the fiscal support and loan guarantees contained in the 2009 budget, must go down as one of the boldest and most creative policy responses to a crisis. It is a valuable lesson to economics students and practitioners alike. This book gives you the full story."- Vikram Khanna, Associate Editor, The Business Times"Sanchita Basu Das is to be congratulated for providing a fascinating, accessible, and forward-looking analysis of Singapore's response to the global economic crisis of 2008-09. As a highly trade-dependent economy, Singapore was hit hard by these events. But the government was nimble and quick to react. The author describes and evaluates this response, and draws out general lessons for crisis management and mitigation in small open economies. Highly recommended."- Hal Hill, H.W. Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies, Australian National University."This is a comprehensive account of the impact of the global financial crisis on Singapore -- one of the most open economies in the world -- and policy responses by the government and central bank. The book identifies the need to move to a more knowledge-intensive economy as the key policy challenge for post-crisis Singapore."- Masahiro Kawai, Dean and CEO, Asian Development Bank Institute"Singapore was affected disproportionately by the global economic crisis of 2008-09. While it is currently rebounding impressively, government officials and the private sector would do well to learn from the crisis experience in devising future policies. Moreover, the Singapore experience is instructive as to how external economic shocks can be transmitted to open economies and, hence, has great relevance beyond its borders. This book by Sanchita Basu Das gives a comprehensive survey of Singapore in crisis and provides a wealth of information and insightful analysis, using clear, non-technical language. It is extremely useful contribution to scholars, policymakers, and other students of Asian economics."- Michael G. Plummer, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
From 2001 to 2006, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra transformed Thailand's international role from one of obscurity into a kind of regional hegemon. Thaksin's diplomatic ambitions were reflected in his myriad of grandiose foreign policy initiatives, designed to locate Thailand at the forefront of regional politics and reinstall the Thai sphere of influence over weaker neighbouring states. He abolished the traditional bending-with-the-wind foreign policy, revamped the Thai Foreign Ministry, and empowered Thai envoys through the CEO Ambassadors programme. But in this process, Thaksin was accused of exploiting foreign policy to enrich his business empire. Thaksin's reinvention of Thailand as an up-and-coming regional power was therefore tainted by conflicts of interest and the absence of ethical principles in the country's foreign policy.
Born in Malacca in 1918, Dr Goh Keng Swee reached maturity at a time when European colonialism was breathing its last. By the time this keen-eyed Malayan became self-governing Singapore's first Minister of Finance in 1959, he had made a name for himself as the colony's foremost social scientist, having carried out groundbreaking surveys on urban poverty and housing. He immediately initiated pioneering projects that laid the ground for the island's economic success. When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, Dr Goh took charge of building an army from scratch.His contributions to the infrastructure of Singapore in the fields of Finance, Defence and Education are well recorded. What is less understood was the man's legendary practical sense. This work avoids reliance on secondary accounts and concentrates strongly on Dr Goh's own words to comprehend his potent and proactive powers of reasoning, and in the process captures the history of Singapore as well.
A burgeoning Japanese role in the Asia-Pacific region has been one of the most contentious issues to the Southeast Asian countries in recent years with its positive and negative implications. It is thus timely and significant to come to terms with Japan's "design" in the region from a historical perspective. Attributing Japan's active involvement in Southeast Asian affairs to the proclamation of the so-called Fukuda Doctrine of August 1977, this study traces the origins of Japan's political role in the region and analyses the development and effects of the very first Japanese foreign policy doctrine. As perhaps the most exclusive scrutiny on the Fukuda Doctrine as well as on Japan-ASEAN relations, this study renders a comprehensive history of Japan-Southeast Asia relations in the post-war period.
This handbook provides basic information on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), its organization and the various co-operation activities associated with it. The emphasis here is on economic co-operation. Although such information is available in many forms, it is mostly scattered in official documents and various literature on ASEAN. There is, thus, a need to provide the basic information in a handy volume, and this handbook fills that need.
This volume is based on "Indonesia Update 1994", the latest in the series of anual conferences on Indonesia held at the Australian National University. It presents overviews of economic and political developments, together with a collection of papers on the role of the finance sector. Indonesia Assesment 1994 contains the Keynote Address to the conference by Professor Dr Ali Wardhana, Special Adviser to the President, former Minister of Finance, and former Coordinating Minister for Economics, Finance and Industry. Three present or former directors of the central bank joint Professor Wardhana to contribute wide-ranging discussions of the process of financial policy reform as seen from the inside. They are joined by a range of other contributors drawn mainly from academic circle in Indonesia, Australia and elsewhere, and some from the private sector. Indonesia Assesment 1994 provides the most complete available coverage of the current state of the financial sector in Indonesia and the policies which affect it. This volume will be an invaluable reference for policy-makers, academics, and all those interested in the finance sector and in economic and political developments in Indonesia. The editor is a Fellow at the ANU's Indonesia Project, with many years of research and consulting experience in the Indonesian financial system.
This book provides a framework for considering the ramifications of Japan's expanding role and influence in the Asia-Pacific region. It documents Japan's emergence as the regional "core economy"; reviews the factor that may influence Tokyo's future political and military rule; poses alternative scenarios for the evolving Asia-Pacific economic, political and security order; analyses the factors and conditions that may determine which, if any, of those alternative scenarios might prevail; and considers the implications for future politico-economic relationships and the Asia-Pacific power balance.
An early crossroad in life is choosing a field of study at the university. That will lay the foundation for the rest of our lives. This book recorded the career choices of the first batch of 557 engineering graduates from the Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI) as NTU was known in 1985. Engineering was then the only discipline offered. The passage of 25 years yielded deep insights as these pioneers reflected on the impact of their engineering education on their careers.Demonstrating the reach and significance of engineering will arouse the curiousity and imagination of the young, especially those good at maths and science. Our lIfe stories showcase the options open to an engineering graduate. If this book inspires some to take up an engineering education in general and at NTU in particular, it will have achieved its purpose.
