Indonesia is experiencing a phenomenon that is called the moral turn. Increasingly, people are aiming to regulate the moralities of others and their private lives. This trend is happening at the...Show moreIndonesia is experiencing a phenomenon that is called the moral turn. Increasingly, people are aiming to regulate the moralities of others and their private lives. This trend is happening at the same time as others, like polarization. By analysing three pieces of recent (proposed) legislation that are examples of the moral turn (the Family Resilience Bill, the Sexual Violence Bill and the Criminal Code), I look at whether and to what extent the moral turn is polarizing Indonesian society. In the end, I argue that the moral turn in Indonesia has highlighted the divisions between pluralists, nationalists and liberalist on the one hand and moralists and Islamists on the other, but that it has most importantly brought these groups together as they came to several agreements around the legislative debates.Show less
The lingering dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over the ancient Temple of Preah Vihear has still not been resolved. This may seem strange from the point of view of international law. In 1962,...Show moreThe lingering dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over the ancient Temple of Preah Vihear has still not been resolved. This may seem strange from the point of view of international law. In 1962, the International Court of Justice made a ruling on this issue, which should have resolved the dispute between the two countries. The ongoing dispute is, in fact, an indicator of the more comprehensive problem of demarcation of the past. The origins of the Preah Vihear Temple border conflict date back to colonial times and the subsequent decolonization period. During those times, both Cambodia and Thailand made efforts to augment their territorial sovereignty and to promote nationalism. The conflict thus created unfortunately continues to this day. The temple dispute has always been ready to erupt under the right circumstances if it suited Thai and Cambodian politicians. Moreover, the negative images and memories between Thailand and Cambodia have never ceased to exist, but are instead carefully maintained for political purposes. Such perspectives make it highly unlikely that the Preah Vihear issue will be resolved any time soon. Thai and Cambodian leaders have become stuck in a cycle of distrust about border issues that has been going on for many decades. The Preah Vihear dispute shows just how fragile Thai-Cambodian relations really are. The painful historical background, along with nationalist sentiments in the unfinished development of nation-building in both countries, is thwarting the formation of good relations. Preah Vihear, the temple on the border, has remained at the center of bilateral anxiety. This place of consecration has thus become a bone of contention.Show less
This MA thesis focuses on state, civil society and childcare in Indonesia. The emphasis lays on religious and social childcare institutions and includes 'pesantren' and 'panti asuhan'.
The university initiation for freshmen students has been a highlight activity for a particular academic year in Thailand for many decades. This initiation ritual itself, normally taking place for...Show moreThe university initiation for freshmen students has been a highlight activity for a particular academic year in Thailand for many decades. This initiation ritual itself, normally taking place for the entire first month of the study, is based on the so-called SOTUS system—standing for Seniority, Order, Tradition, Unity, and Spirit—which is a kind of hazing based system to help new students adapting to the university’s environment socially and academically as well as binding newcomers together tightly as fast as possible. However, every year there are a number of negative reports from the initiation rituals shown in media coverage and social media—including physical violence, sexual harassment, mental abuse, suicide, fatality, and alcohol—resulting in the raise of concern among ordinary Thais and scholars towards this issue from time to time. Sadly, even until recently there is still a limited number of researches related to Thai university initiation ritual. This research tried to find out: how does the Rub Nong tradition affect freshmen students during and after the Rub Nong period? How is Thai university initiation rite different from or similar to another country in the Southeast Asian region (Indonesia) and some other Thai organizations? This study will employ both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative methods includes: questionnaires for a group of Thai freshman students. The qualitative method includes an interview from a group of Thai freshman students, policeman, office workers, and Indonesian students.Show less
My fieldwork concentrates on the district Rajapolah in Tasikmalaya, West Java. The economic development of this area is largely due to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This is not unusual;...Show moreMy fieldwork concentrates on the district Rajapolah in Tasikmalaya, West Java. The economic development of this area is largely due to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This is not unusual; many rural Indonesian regions have been partly abandoned by governmental services. In most cases, secular or international NGOs will fill the gap through developmental aids and welfare programs. Yet, the main NGO in Rajapolah, Persatuan Islam (Persis), can be distinguished from its peers. Not only does it have a strong Islamic foundation, it also based most of its organization on local knowledge, customs and religions. But at the same time they were adapted to current circumstances. The Islamic community of Rajapolah had already modernized their alms distribution before the religious NGO took over finances in 2007. This thesis will consider how this modernization took place and how Persis eventually started administrating it. By adapting local customs, Persis could easily enter the local economy. Moreover, as a religious institution it stood closer to the local Islamic communities than the government or the World Bank ever would.Just as Islamic charity systems merged together with local cultures. As a consequence, religious aids are frequently used for social welfare and development in rural and urban areas.In this thesis, I demonstrate how they managed to do so in Rajapolah. With this purpose in mind, focus is put one three particular forms of institutionalized Islamic charity; namely Zakat, Sadaqah and Infaq. These three types of alms formed the basis of modernized institutions providing affordable credit for small businesses.The efficiency with which the Rajapolah NGO circulated money through the district proved to boost economic prosperity significantlyShow less
