This thesis assesses the role and interaction of different actors in the redevelopment process for Kampong Bharu. The paper probes which factors have contributed to Kampong Bharu’s ability to...Show moreThis thesis assesses the role and interaction of different actors in the redevelopment process for Kampong Bharu. The paper probes which factors have contributed to Kampong Bharu’s ability to withstand redevelopment efforts. This paper argues that in spite of resident’s rhetoric, the process of redevelopment is not adequately explained as the local community challenging the power of the Malay state to preserve heritage over embracing modernity. Rather, it is better understood as a market exchange between group of individual residents who have not sold their land as they continue to seek a price which adequately compensates them for the inconvenience of moving, and for the likelihood that they will not be able to return.Show less
The World Health Organisation has estimated that smoking kills approximately 7 million people per year worldwide (WHO, 2017: 70). The relationship between smoking tobacco and death has been proven,...Show moreThe World Health Organisation has estimated that smoking kills approximately 7 million people per year worldwide (WHO, 2017: 70). The relationship between smoking tobacco and death has been proven, and widely accepted for decades. Notwithstanding the detrimental effects on public health, this unhealthy habit may also have some positive effects: oiling social contacts, easing the nerves, and heighten concentration (Knol in Colombijn et al., 2001: 49). However, whereas concentration and relaxation may be obtained through other means, a cure for death is yet to be found. As such, it is clear that we shall approach the act of smoking in this thesis as unwanted behaviour. Thankfully, owning to big scale awareness campaigns, and an ongoing global increase in taxation rates, daily smoking rates in most OECD countries have significantly decreased over the past few decades, with currently an average rate of 18% of daily smokers, compared to 26% daily smokers in 2000 (OECD, 2017). In some parts of Asia however, smoking remains a growth market and big transnational tobacco corporations (TTCs) still seems to have their claws firmly set in a number of nations (Parkinson, 2015). In terms of male smoking prevalence, Indonesia is by far the world’s worst performer with a national male smoking prevalence of 76.2%, leaving other bad examples, like Russia (59.0%), and China (47.6%) far behind (WHO, 2015). When accounting for the significantly lower female smoking rates (3.6%) Indonesia’s average smoking prevalence is still one of the highest in the world, preceded only by Russia, and a mere handful of countries in the Balkan region and the Pacific Ocean (Ibid.). This apparent vulnerability to the unhealthy habbit has not gone unnoticed by big tobacco, illustrated by the recent takeovers of Indonesian tobacco companies by global market leaders like Philip Morris International (PMI) and the British American Tobacco Company (BAT). Another factor contributing to the alarming severity of Indonesia’s smoking addiction are its demographic projections. Indonesia is currently sitting on a large demographic dividend, and the population is projected to grow with another 70 million by 2050 (Kohler, Behrman & Arianto, 2015: 4). Seeing that most beginner smokers are children or young adolescents, it is paramount that this surplus of human capital is protected in a country were smoking regulations are still below par (Parkinson, 2015). An alarming study found that between 2001 and 2010, the number of children (10-14) who smoked, rose by 80 percent and the number of children (5-9), who started smoking, quadrupled (Rosser, 2015: 69). A more recent study, by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, showed that between 2013 and 2018, smoking prevalence among children (10-18) increased from 7.2% to 9.1% (Ministry of Health, 2018: 72), and the 2015 Global School-based Student Health Survey calculated an even more alarming number for the age group 13-17 at 13.60% smoking prevalence (WHO, 2015: 5). A slightly less pronounced, though, still alarming increase in young smokers. In order to explain the uphill battle which Indonesia seems to be fighting in the face of such a major public health crisis, I will compare Indonesia’s performance with one of its Southeast Asian neighbours boasting far lower numbers in terms of smoking prevalence, namely Thailand. In 2018, Thailand solidified its position as the leader in tobacco restrictions, when it became the first Asian country to require a standardized packaging for all cigarettes. The new legislation requires all cigarette products to be sold in drab brown coloured packs, free of any logos or brand images, with 85 percent pictorial health warnings on both sides of the pack (Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, 2018). It has been suggested by Thai specialists, like Duncan McCargo, that Thailand’s successes in tobacco control could serve as a case study for other developing nations (Chantornvong & McCargo, 2001: 48; Parkinson, 2015: 3). And indeed, in contrast to Indonesia, were men still puff away freely in almost any given location whether it be in a restaurant, air-conditioned coffeehouse, or school, Thailand seems well able to keep smoking outside of most public places, with heavy fines (a penalty fee for smoking in prohibited areas amounts to THB 5.000, although at the time of writing, the previous fee of THB 2000 is still in use), a number of awareness campaigns, and a national ban on advertisement. Don’t walk and smoke It is already past 2:00 a.m. when we exit the big 24/7 supermarket with a new drab coloured pack of cigarettes. Bangkok, the city that never sleeps, seems to have fallen into a bit of a slumber around the usually bustling street of Ekkamai. Located close to Sukkumvit road, most of the activity in this part of one of the richer districts in Bangkok seems to shut its eye’s around 1:00 a.m. The party continues further north up the street, where Soi Ekkamai meets Thong Lor on a small strip that forms a bridge between Bangkok’s wealthy sons and daughters of media tycoons, business moguls, and the handful of foreign tourists who dared venture outside the backpackers capital that is Khaosan road. Sand, who I regard as an example of emancipated female Bangkokians, looks at the fresh merchandise in my hand. We both light one up. As I am about to head into the direction of my apartment she stops me. “Ee, mai dai! (cannot)” She says. I ask her what seems to be the problem. “It’s just not polite”. She looks at the few people still hanging around the supermarket. Seconds after we light the cigarettes two people exiting the supermarket cross our path, making Sand throw an apologetic look into their direction.Show less
In the run up to the 2018 general elections in Cambodia, prime minister Hun Sen increasingly controlled the media in the country. Additionally, Hun Sen becomes increasingly dependent on China for...Show moreIn the run up to the 2018 general elections in Cambodia, prime minister Hun Sen increasingly controlled the media in the country. Additionally, Hun Sen becomes increasingly dependent on China for financial aid. On the one hand, Chinese influence is associated with economic development in the country. On the other hand, this influence is associated with violations of human rights and sustainable negligence. Therefore, this paper answers the question, ‘’why do English-language Cambodian newspapers differ in expressing their views towards the Sino-Cambodian relationship?’’. As such, this paper demonstrates the interplay between the Cambodian political economy, media ownership and the portrayal of the Sino-Cambodian relationship in English-language Cambodian newspapers. This paper examines articles from three different newspapers and deploys a discourse analysis as a tool for understanding. Linking the findings to the context, this study demonstrates how a critical tone and a lack of emphasis on Cambodian reciprocity in the Sino-Cambodian relationship can affect ownership of a newspaper and how this has consequences for the portrayal of the Sino-Cambodian relationship in the articles published.Show less
This thesis examined a largely unknown era (1680-1860) in the history of North Sulawesi. A revised model of the social history of the region has been proposed on the basis of the VOC ...Show moreThis thesis examined a largely unknown era (1680-1860) in the history of North Sulawesi. A revised model of the social history of the region has been proposed on the basis of the VOC 'visitatierapporten'. By focusing on how Christianity altered the social and political structures of the region (gender, social class, educational institutions, chiefly patronage networks), this thesis has demonstrated that it is possible to reconstruct the 'internal' history of North Sulawesi, in spite of a scarcity of local historical sources. Significant findings include 1) the social fluidity of 'class' in North Sulawesi societies, 2) the fact that Christianity was not limited to elite classes, as had hitherto been thought and 3) that (some) women transformed their former role as 'animist' religious specialists to roles of prominence within the Christian community.Show less
Ongoing conflict in Kachin State between the military and ethnic separatists - the KIA/O - has been argued in the literature to be fuelled by an array of factors. While some authors have argued...Show moreOngoing conflict in Kachin State between the military and ethnic separatists - the KIA/O - has been argued in the literature to be fuelled by an array of factors. While some authors have argued that issues of language are central to the continuation of ethnic violence, this thesis disputes this and employs an alternative framework for understanding why ethnic conflict persists in the era of Myanmar democratisation. This thesis argues that in the current renewed Kachin conflict, other issues are more crucial in fuelling the conflict. Martin Smith proposes in his 2007 paper State of Strife: The Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict in Burma, that the dynamics of ethnic conflict are cyclical in nature, with continuing violence being fuelled by continued military rule, ongoing military offensives, widespread military atrocities and a lack of guaranteed ethnic rights in Myanmar’s constitution. This thesis proposes that Myanmar, particularly in Kachin State, has entered a sixth cycle of ethnic conflict, and that the current ethnic conflict in Kachin state is fundamentally fuelled by these four criteria.Show less
Since the beginning of the 20th century, when Indonesia was not yet independent, Indonesian students' associations have played a major role in the nation building. The founding fathers Mohammad...Show moreSince the beginning of the 20th century, when Indonesia was not yet independent, Indonesian students' associations have played a major role in the nation building. The founding fathers Mohammad Hatta (the later vice-president), Dr. Soetomo, Sutan Sjahrir, and Achmad Soebardjo who studied in the Netherlands actively discussed Indonesian identity and the independence in an organisation called Perhimpoenan Indonesia (PI, Indonesian Association), which was reintroduced in 1925 after being originally established in 1908 under the name Indische Vereeniging. Firstly formed as a social club, the PI was later active politically. It frequently criticized the Dutch government for what they did in the Netherlands Indies through its newspapers Hinda Poetra and Indonesia Merdeka. The PI demanded freedom for Indonesia and had the spirit of anti-colonialism and non-cooperation with the Dutch. Later it became anti-fascist, which made the PI a tool for the independence struggle. However, once the purpose of the political movement –the Japanese replacement of the Dutch, and independence– became known, the PI was slowly dissolved, though the exact dissolution date is unknown. In 1952, an association that bonded and united Indonesian students with the spirit of nationalism reappeared with the new name of Persatuan Peladjar Indonesia (PPI). This is the benchmark year of this study as it was the first year of term PPI. From there on, the dynamic of the PPI has never stopped. Although it altered its name to Persatuan/Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia, the spirit still remains for Indonesian students overseas. The aftermath of the PI can be seen afterwards. Indonesian students overseas took a similar form of action. There are other student diaspora stories from the late 1960s, this time in the United States. When the Indonesian Orde Baru just started its administration, a handful of economic students from the University of California, Berkeley, were chosen to bring back the Indonesian economy from deprivation. In the United States, they formed a group that people called the ‘Berkeley Mafia’ that consisted of several prominent figures such as Widjojo Nitisastro, Mohammad Sadli, Emil Salim, Subroto, and Ali Wardhana . These students, who were linked together in Berkeley, returned as a group lead by Nitisastro to work under the administration of Soeharto. One of the professors in the Department of Political Science, T.C. Blaisdell commented: “These (would be) prominent Indonesian leaders are gathering,” as the group were having study meeting in Barrows Hall, Berkeley (Anwar et al, 2007). The group supported the Orde Baru until its collapse in 1998. In the 1960s I believe the number of Indonesian students was not as many as there are now. And in 1961, following the establishment in the Netherlands, the Persatoean Mahasiswa Indonesia di Amerika Serikat (Indonesian Students' Union in the United States) was born. Today, the number of Indonesian students overseas have increased, as there are 51 PPI in the world. Indonesian students tend to be organized as they belong to the PPI. This is not only in the Netherlands and the United States, but in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco, among others. These students association are familiar among Indonesian under the name of Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia (PPI). Although the associations are geographically separated, they seem to have similar form of organization, source of funding, and activities. I did not observe this pattern of association in other international students' association, thus it is worth comparing with other students' associations. In this study I address how the PPI Belanda developed during the different regimes in Indonesia from Orde Lama to Post-reformasi and how the PPI Belanda reacted to each regime. Next I question how the previous and current PPI organize itself in terms of constitution, purpose, membership policy, and medium of information, activities and source of funding. I also became interested in the PPI Belanda’s political connection with Indonesian domestic politics, as it is acknowledged that the PPI often deliver the Pernyataan Sikap (Position Statement) on current issues in Indonesia. Thereafter I discuss the longstanding relationships between the PPI and the government’s representatives, particularly the Atase Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia (Atdikbud) that is in the KBRI in The Hague. By examining these topics I hope the dynamic of the PPI Belanda will be more acknowledged in the future.Show less
Abstract: In Asia skin tone and whitening techniques were desirable and well described throughout the history. Indonesia is not an exception. The traces of whitening methods, portraits of ideal...Show moreAbstract: In Asia skin tone and whitening techniques were desirable and well described throughout the history. Indonesia is not an exception. The traces of whitening methods, portraits of ideal woman could be found in Indonesian literary works, legends as early as in ninth century as well as in modern literature and women’s magazines. Given the obsession of being white priority, the number of TV advertisements for skin-lightening products flooded the market and the need for them is intensely growing. The Indonesian beauty market is one of the fastest-growing beauty markets in Asia. Indonesian women follow the trend of being white shown in TV ads, but what can the content of these ads teach us about the reasons why people want to be whiter, or about the advertisers’ assumptions about those reasons, is still not well researched. This current study will try to contribute to the scientific knowledge in this field. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible ways of explaining the desire for whiteness by looking at the various positive associations which whiteness has for Indonesians. These positive associations include genetic excellence, hygiene and health, wealth and status, race, cosmopolitanism, the power of looks - “lookism” (discrimination or prejudice on the grounds of a person’s appearance), culture, social conformism, tradition (old cultural ideas in written and oral literature), modernity and try to trace them in four selected (two local brands and two international ones) contemporary TV whitening advertisements in Indonesia. The majority of these positive associations have their roots in antiquity and are not products of colonialism or modernity. Nevertheless, most of the TV skin whitening commercials in Indonesia (here, based on four examined ones) are constructed around modern ways of reasoning.Show less
In this thesis I will research how young Indonesians express their identities or how they create new identities in the period from the 1990s until today and I will examine this through forms of...Show moreIn this thesis I will research how young Indonesians express their identities or how they create new identities in the period from the 1990s until today and I will examine this through forms of Indonesian popular music. Popular music is an important site of cultural struggle and can reveal much about class, gender and other social divisions. That is why I want to zoom in on these social divisions by dividing them in class, religion and gender, to see how each of them relates to popular music and identity formation. I choose to focus on class, religion and gender because these have undergone drastic and interesting transformations during the period I want to examine, allowing people to reconsider their place or someone else’s in the social ladder, as a religious person or as a woman or man in society. Popular music and the way people consume it can reveal a lot about people’s thoughts and conceptions on class, religion and gender in contemporary Indonesia. The period from the 1990s until the present knew for example a remarkable growth of the Indonesian middle class who adopted a consumerist lifestyle and wanted to set themselves apart from the lower class, using popular music among other things. Concerning religion, I will focus on the developments of Islam in Indonesia, the religion of roughly 90% of the country's population. The fall of Suharto has been a significant turning-point for religious expression, because for much of the New Order, Islam was marginalized especially in the political sphere and Islamic organizations were restricted. After 1998, Indonesian Muslims could express themselves more freely, leading to an amplified process of Islamization which includes the creation of new Islamic political parties, the rise of radical Islam and the expression of religious identities in public that could not be expressed before, particularly extremist ones. Moreover, in the 21st century Muslim pop culture has flourished immensely and popular music has helped in the process of articulating religious identity. Finally, issues of gender, including for example femininity, masculinity and the role of women in the family have become a more prominent subject of discussions and debates in the past two decades. Women's rights groups and opinions about feminism have more political support than before, but so has (conservative) Islam. This leads to diverse opinions about popular female artists who are regarded as a role model to some and an actor of immorality to others. Popular music is a strong medium to spur debates about gender and to introduce new images of how young men and women can, or should, dress and behave. Consequently, this makes young Indonesians rethink and possibly reshape their gender identities.Show less
In this thesis I will analyze the representation of modernity in the commercials of Garuda Indonesia and Malaysia Airlines between 2013 and the first half of 2015. Their commercials give an exalted...Show moreIn this thesis I will analyze the representation of modernity in the commercials of Garuda Indonesia and Malaysia Airlines between 2013 and the first half of 2015. Their commercials give an exalted perspective on the nations they represent. I will focus on what Malaysian- and Indonesian modernity looks like, how these two national ‘modernities’ overlap or differ, and hopefully this can tell us something about Southeast Asian modernity in general.Show less
It is well known that Thailand’s official historiography paints Burma as their cruel enemy. Even in this era of ASEAN regional integration, where the Socio-Cultural Community’s goal is to create a...Show moreIt is well known that Thailand’s official historiography paints Burma as their cruel enemy. Even in this era of ASEAN regional integration, where the Socio-Cultural Community’s goal is to create a mutually understanding society conscious of its ties of history, investigation into current history textbooks and recent popular representations reveal little to no change. It is argued in this thesis that the Thai-Burmese war episodes have been embedded with a specific set of desirable Thai values, keeping them politically persistent despite the ASEAN talk. However, a look into online communities and the results from the electronic survey conducted for this research show that the ASEAN discourse, nonetheless, is making a positive impact on the society, prompting, among Thai people, more questioning and increased interests in traveling and learning about Burma. This seems to bring about improved, positive attitudes towards Burma, and an increasing contestation towards the Thai official narration.Show less
Upon becoming prime-minister of Malaysia in 1981,Mahathir initiated the “Look East” policy. This policy looked at Korea and Japan and sought to use these countries as examples. The policy was not...Show moreUpon becoming prime-minister of Malaysia in 1981,Mahathir initiated the “Look East” policy. This policy looked at Korea and Japan and sought to use these countries as examples. The policy was not only meant as an economic measure, but also as a cultural policy to aid the poor Malays. This thesis tries to answer the question to what extent the policy was aimed for the latter and how this was to be implemented. Firstly, it will look at Malaysia's cultural background and Mahathir's view on the matter before becoming prime-minister. It focuses on his book, the Malay Dilemma, where he stressed the need for Malays to change their values. Secondly it will look into the initiation of the “Look East” policy and what it aimed to do. Thirdly, it will go into Japan's image and how Mahathir sought to transfer values from Japan to Malaysia. Then, it will look at the implementation of the policy and how it was executed. Lastly, the conclusion talks about the cultural influence of the “Look East” policy. Saying that the policy was not effective in changing the values of the Malays, but did bring out a change in direction from looking to the West towards looking to the East.Show less
