ISEAS Perspective provides analysis of specific current events and their significance for the Southeast Asian region. This will be published occasionally, and is aimed at keeping decision-makers in both the public and private sectors informed; as well as scholars, laymen and the interested public. This series undergoes a peer-review process.
2021/30 “Back to the Future? Possible Scenarios for Myanmar” by Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung
2021 No. 30
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY While the generals who overthrew Myanmar’s elected government on 1 February envisioned a swift, smooth and bloodless action, they have increasingly resorted to repressive and brutal measures to try to bring overwhelming public resistance under control. Neither the military nor the protest movement can be certain of the current crisis’ ultimate outcome. Nine […]
2021/29 “Thailand’s Elected Junta: The Pluralistic Poverty of Phalang Pracharat” by Paul Chambers
2021 NO. 29
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Thailand’s Phalang Pracharat Party is a “junta party” established as a proxy for the 2014-2019 junta and the military, and specifically designed to sustain the power of the generals Prawit Wongsuwan, Prayut Chan-ocha and Anupong Paochinda. Phalang Pracharat was created by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), and although it is extremely factionalized, […]
2021/28 “Vietnam’s Solar Power Boom: Policy Implications for Other ASEAN Member States” by Thang Nam Do and Paul J. Burke
2021 No. 28
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Vietnam now boasts the highest installed capacity of solar power in Southeast Asia, generating 16,500MW at the end of 2020. Generous feed-in tariffs are a key proximate driver towards this achievement. Supporting policies include income-tax and land-lease payment exemptions for utility-scale investors. The government’s commitment to boosting energy supply and strong public demand […]
2021/27 “The Military Coup in Myanmar: Time to Prioritise ASEAN Centrality and Communal Values” by Yongwook Ryu, Bernard Minn, and Myat Myat Mon
2021 No. 27
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 1 February military coup in Myanmar is the direct outcome of domestic political tensions. It is a situation of deep-seated mutual distrust between the popular NLD party that sought to complete democratic transition under a civilian government, and the military (Tatmadaw) with declining public support but significant constitutional and coercive power that […]
2021/26 “COVID-19 Economic Recovery: ASEAN’s Mixed Pattern” by Jayant Menon and Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy
2021 No. 26
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sustained revival of economic activities in ASEAN requires successful containment of COVID-19 within and outside the region. Half of the ASEAN members have contained the pandemic, but not Indonesia and The Philippines, while Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand are dealing with new waves of infection. Economic growth in ASEAN countries appears to have bottomed […]
2021/25 “The Riau Islands and its Battle with COVID: Down but not Out” by Francis E. Hutchinson and Siwage Dharma Negara
2021 No. 25
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Long a bright spot in the Indonesian economy, the Riau Islands have been through rough times of late. Used to stellar growth rates, the province’s GDP growth slowed after 2015, dropping to an unprecedented low of 2 percent in 2017. The decline was caused by a growth slowdown in Batam, the Riau Islands’ […]
2021/24 “Thailand’s First Provincial Elections since the 2014 Military Coup: What Has Changed and Not Changed” by Punchada Sirivunnabood
2021 no. 24
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On 20 December 2020, voters across Thailand, except in Bangkok, elected representatives to provincial administrative organisations (PAO), in the first twinkle of hope for decentralisation in the past six years. In previous sub-national elections, political parties chose to separate themselves from PAO candidates in order to balance their power among party allies who […]
2021/23 “Longer-term External Conditions Behind Legal Conservatism in Malaysian Islam” by Mohd Faizal Musa and Siti Syazwani Zainal Abidin
2021 No. 23
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Malaysia, the Iranian Revolution of 1979 is conventionally seen as one of the main external factors that contributed to rising conservatism in the country today. This association appears in the writings of numerous academic scholars and observers on Malaysian Islam. However, the fact that Malaysian Muslims generally exclude and demonise Shiites suggests […]
2021/22 “How The Vietnamese State Uses Cyber Troops to Shape Online Discourse” by Dien Nguyen An Luong
2021 No. 22
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The operations of Vietnam’s public opinion shapers and cyber-troops reveal that the online discourse is manipulated to enforce the Communist Party’s line. Vietnamese authorities constantly grapple with the vexing question: How to strike a delicate balance between placating critical public sentiment online while ensuring that it does not spill over into protests against […]
2021/21 “Indonesian Islam beyond Habib Rizieq Shihab: Deconstructing Islamism and Populism” by A’an Suryana and Nur Syafiqah Binte Mohd Taufek
2021 No. 21
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The radical Salafi ideology of Muhammad Rizieq Shihab or Habib Rizieq, and the Islamic Defender’s Front (FPI) have been at the centre of media attention and scholastic study for quite a while. Islam in Indonesia, however, is not monolithic and has numerous strands – some of which are moderate and serve as a […]