Southeast Asian Affairs 

About: Southeast Asian Affairs is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Politics & Southeast asian. It has an ISSN identifier of 1793-9135. Over the lifetime, 870 publications have been published receiving 4219 citations.

Islamic Radicalism in Indonesia: The Faltering Revival?

Abstract: marching through city streets brandishing scimitars and exhorting jihad against Islam's foes; Arab-Indonesian Islamic \"clerics\" threatening to \"sweep\" foreigners from Indonesia; and noisy rallies to the gates of Parliament demanding the immediate implementation of shaù 'a law. Most dramatic of all are the images of charred and mangled nightclubs and hotels bombed by terrorists and the sight of the perpetrators smiling carelessly or shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Most Great) as they are sentenced to death. Such images have helped to redefine perceptions of Indonesian Islam. In the past, journalists and scholars were wont to describe Indonesian Muslims as among the most peaceable and tolerant of the Islamic world. In so far as Indonesia had radicals, they were kept in close check by the authoritarian regimes of Soekarno (1959-66) and Soeharto (1966-98). Seldom were there stories, much less images, to suggest that Islamic extremists were engaged in violent or intimidating activity. Since 1998 the reverse has been the case. The lifting of restrictions on the freedom of the media and right to organize led to a proliferation of radical groups and a dramatic expansion of Islamist media, including newspapers, magazines, books and websites.2 In the post-Soeharto era reformasi, emboldened radical movements could publish long-banned texts, form militia units, and take to the streets espousing causes that would, a few years previously, have landed their leaders in jail. Though many non-Muslims and foreign observers may have looked on with disquiet, the emergence of such groups was proof that meaningful political and social reforms were taking place and that repressed groups were at last able to organize freely. Furthermore, those interested in the complex jigsaw puzzle that is Indonesian Islam could behold the missing \"radical pieces\"; a fuller picture of Islamic diversity was now in view. The revival of Islamic radicalism has been under way for almost six years and some broader analysis of the phenomenon is now possible. Scholarly

Affirmative Action in Malaysia

Abstract: The prevailing practice of affirmative action typically involves introducing measures to raise the participation of members of an economically disadvantaged group in the areas of education, employment and business, where they had been historically excluded or underrepresented. Measures taken are generally in the form of preferential policies toward members of a designated group, based on criteria such as a particular ethnicity, gender, or religion. Precisely because affirmative action measures entail bestowing preferential treatment on members of a designated group, they invariably will generate controversy; in particular preferential treatment on the basis of ethnicity and gender has generated intense, passionate debate. While affirmative action policies vary substantially across countries in terms of the beneficiary groups, nevertheless, in nearly all countries the beneficiaries are groups which are economically and socially disadvantaged and politically subordinate.1 Malaysia's affirmative action policy differs from those of other countries in one crucial respect ? it is "the politically dominant majority group which introduces preferential policies to raise its economic status as against that of an economically more advanced minorities".2 The majority ethnic group that has the power to legislate the affirmative action policies and receive the benefits from those policies in Malaysia are the Malays.3 Conversely, it is the Chinese and Indian ethnic minorities, the most advanced economic groups, who have felt most victimized by the affirmative action policies. Another unique feature of Malaysian affirmative action is that preferential treatment for the Malays and other indigenous groups was written into the Malaysian Constitution, under Article 153. In other words, affirmative action in Malaysia is a consitutionally sanctioned and exclusively ethnic-based policy where only the Malays and other native groups are entitled to receive preferential treatment. Besides being written into the Constitution, the wording of Article 153 links the ethnic preferential

The impact of domestic and asian regional changes on indonesian foreign policy

Abstract: The past decade has seen fundamental and dramatic changes in Indonesian national politics which have affected all aspects of public life. The forced resignation of President Suharto amid the Asian financial crisis in May 1998 ended the stranglehold of the authoritarian New Order regime which had ruled Indonesia for thirty-two years, and ushered in a new reformasi era characterized by rejection of many key features of the New Order. In a zeal to outlaw authoritarianism and build a more pluralistic democracy, Indonesia carried out four successive amendments to the 1945 constitution which, among others, abolished the social-political role of the armed forces, ensure a clear separation of power between the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary, enshrine the principles of human rights in the constitution, and allow the development of a truly multiparty system. To prevent the rise of another long-term leader like Suharto who was able to manipulate the Consultative Assembly to elect him for seven consecutive five-year terms, the presidential term has been limited to two non-renewable five-year terms while the president and vicepresident are to be directly elected by the people. As a reaction to the overt centralization under the New Order which gave little room for regional initiatives, the post-Suharto governments have also introduced sweeping regional

China's Two Silk Roads Initiative: What It Means for Southeast Asia

Abstract: Introduction In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a pair of initiatives that aims to restructure the economy and geopolitics of Eurasia. The Silk Road Economic Belt announced by Xi Jinping in September 2013 during a tour of Central Asian neighbours is a programme to build land transportation corridors that connect China to Europe and all other major Eurasian subregions, including Indochina, South Asia, and Southwest Asia. Then in October 2013, Xi visited Indonesia and announced the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which is a port development initiative to broaden Chinese trade channels targetting the maritime regions of Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, and the Mediterranean. Xi Jinping's two Silk Road programmes are a package called the “One Belt — One Road” [ yidai-yilu ] initiative. Both Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang spent great effort in the year 2014 launching concrete measures to advance the silk roads agenda of Eurasian connectivity and regional cooperation. They hope to build a comprehensive trans- Eurasian network of economic corridors that could sustain China's economic growth and strengthen China's political leverage for decades to come. The consequence would be to draw the countries of Eurasia into China's economic orbit to form what Xi Jinping calls a “community of shared destiny”. Members’ fortunes would rise as China's own rise continued. A culturally and politically diverse but economically integrated division of labour harmoniously organized by China's trade and financial interests is what China promises. If this vision is fully realized, China's silk roads vision will help realize “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and the “China Dream” of a wealthy society grounded on Chinese values. It should be noted that this yidai — yilu agenda is a work in progress rather than a fully drawn up master plan. That is, as previous Chinese leaders have done, Xi Jinping is providing a grand strategic vision or agenda for China. The Chinese Communist Party and government must work to realize this agenda to the best of their ability. So, for the rest of Xi Jinping's years in power — expected to last until 2022 — we will hear about the two Silk Roads at every meeting that Xi Jinping or Li Keqiang attends in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.