Showing papers in "Southeast Asian Studies in 1996"

Social Transformation, the State and the Middle Classes in Post-Independence Malaysia

Abstract: Malaysia has embarked along the path of rapid industrialization in order to become a fully developed industrial society by the year 2020 [Mahathir 1991a]. Industrialization was the cornerstone in the New Economic Policy (1971-90) (NEP). Under the NEP's successor, the National Development Policy (1991-2000) (NDP), industrialization especially heavy industrialization using high technology is given additional importance. As was the case under the NEP, the NDP's emphasis is on large-scale production for export by Malaysian industries, but unlike the NEP, there has been a change since the mid-eighties in the state's role in promoting growth and restructuring society, which now is increasingly taken over by the private sector under the strategy of private sector-led growth [Malaysia 1991: 4; 1996: vi]. A number of scholars in their study on the transformation in Malaysia during the colonial as well as the post-Independence periods suggested that the current industrial development policy thrust in Malaysia actually follows the policy options which were already implemented under the British colonial regime [Overton 1994; Brookfield 1994]. Overton, for example, dismissed the thesis that the colonial economy was \"a vulnerable, distorted and exploitative\" one [Overton 1994: 35], or that colonial capitalism caused underdevelopment in former colonies, including Malaysia (then Malaya). He argued that post-Independence industrialization in Malaysia did not emerge \"from the weight of colonial restriction and distortion,\" but instead it has built on \"essential economic preconditions which were laid down during the colonial years\" [ibid.: 36]. As such, according to him, the post-Independence industrialization which has colonial origins in the sense that it moves away from state intervention towards export orientation and privatization is \"a return to a long-established path, not a radical change of direction\" [ibid.: 48]. However, Overton's contention is suspect on at least two counts. First, as will be shown below (see ensuing section entitled \"Rapid structural changes and social transformation\"), colonial capitalism had a strong distorting effect upon the national economy, creating a serious imbalance between sectors as well as between ethnic groups. Second, his claim that the present industrialization drive is a \"return to a long established path\" set down by colonialism essentially misses the nature and extent of the current transformation in Malaysia.

Recent Expansion of Nonglutinous Rice Cultivation in Northeast Thailand: Intraregional Variation

Abstract: In Northeast Thailand, the planting of nonglutinous rice for sale is now spreading to some villages where only glutinous rice was traditionally grown. In these villages, rice productivity has increased, due mainly to the introduction of chemical fertilizer which normally accompanied the change in the type of rice planted, rather than the higher productivity of the nonglutinous varieties. Though fertilizer application, glutinous rice production has also become sufficient for domestic consumption and a surplus has appeared. The commercialization of rice-growing was made possible by higher productivity of more than 400 kg per capita annually, and lower annual fluctuation of yields. Productivi ty was effectively raised by fertilizer application to all paddy fields in a village located in a area of high rainfall far from a floodplain, which escaped the effects both of severe drought due to an unreliable dry spell and of flooding. Here, the higher price of nonglutinous rice, expanding demand for cash in village life and the paucity of agricultural products other than rice promoted the villagers to plant nonglutinous rice.

Development of Commercial Cultivation of Field Crops in Thailand : A Case Study in Saraburi and Lopburi Provinces ( Transformation of Agriculture in Northeast Thailand)

Abstract: Rice and rubber were major farm products for export from Thailand before the 1950s. Maize and other field crops were added to them in the 1960s. They were cultivated in newly opened lands. This paper describes the process of reclamation and the changes thereafter in a typical area of commercial cultivation of maize, and analyzes the land, technological and economic factors related to them. The fieldwork was carried out in an area extending between Saraburi and Lopburi provinces, which was reclaimed in the 1950s. Within the area, significant variations in cropping pattern, technology and productivity were observed. These spatial variations were largely governed by such physical conditions as rainfall and soil until around 1980. Thereafter, various modern technologies were adopted within a short period, which resulted in greater diversification in crops and the farming system.

Nutrient Balance in the Paddy Field of Northeast Thailand

Abstract: To examine whether the prevailing rice farming in Northeast Thailand is sustainable in terms of agro-ecology, the gain and loss of plant nutrients between a paddy plot and its surroundings were studied in the village of Urn Mao, Roi Et Province from 1993. The loss of major nutrients, including N, P and K, from the paddies in the form of harvested grains was well balanced by the gain from chemical fertilizers. It was judged that the present farming is fairly compatible with the environment at the current yield level of around 2 ton of unhusked grain per ha. Higher than the present dose of fertilizer would probably result in lower efficiency of application and little increase in the yield. Farmers appear to be well aware of this. For further improvement of the productivity, other means should be sought.

The Sarawak Chinese Voters and their support for the Democratic Action Party (DAP)

Abstract: The Democratic Action Party (DAP) is arguably Malaysia's best known opposition party The party has been in opposition since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 Although it has consistently won a significant percentage of votes at general elections, it has never been able to win enough seats to form a government, either at the federal or state levels The voting pattern for the DAP in Peninsular Malaysia is marked by two features First, most of its votes come from the non-Malay population, ie from the Malaysian Chinese and Indian voters Secondly, it regularly outperforms, in terms of number of votes, the Chinese-based parties in the ruling Bansan Nasional (BN) or National Front coalition - Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People's Movement) and the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Whatever successes the DAP enjoys in Peninsular Malaysia is not repeated in the East Malaysian States of Sabah and Sarawak, situated on the island of Borneo and divided from the Peninsular by the South China Sea Although both states have elected several DAP candidates to the federal parliament, they are defeated at successive state elections held in the two Bornean states This article looks at the reasons behind this phenomenon by examining DAP's performance in Sarawak since its foundation I)