Seminar: Shifting Plantations in the Mekong Borderlands: A Challenge of Chinese Economic Influence in Southeast Asia

 

THAILAND STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR

 

About the Seminar

This presentation examines the impact of China’s economic regionalism on sites of intensified resource extraction in the Mekong borderlands. In particular, a Chinese-driven banana boom and the penetration of overland Chinese entrepreneurs have turned farmland along the Mekong River on the Thai-Laos borders into banana production factories and export processing zones over the past decade. It is argued that the Chinese banana industry’s practice of ‘shifting plantations’ has transformed the Mekong borderlands into agricultural frontiers that allow for specific and intensive regimes of resource extraction.

The Mekong Region, especially Laos, has been identified as an ideal place for land acquisitions by Chinese banana-producing investors. In all banana plantations, vast quantities of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are required to maintain monoculture production. This process poses serious health risks to workers and the surrounding environment. After 6 to 10 years of producing fruit on cleared farmland, the company usually abandons it for another plot once factors such as soil depletion and pest infestation begin to lower yields. Since 2016, the government of Laos has issued a ban on new banana plantations. The shifting plantation practices, however, have spread to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, wreaking health and environment havoc along its path.

The case of Chinese banana plantations in Laos is a striking example of some of the challenges posed by Beijing’s economic influence in Southeast Asia.

About the Speaker

Yos Santasombat is Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, and Senior Research Scholar, Thailand Research Fund. He is currently a Visiting Fellow in the Thailand Studies Programme of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. He is the author of numerous books, including Lak Chang: A Reconstruction of Tai Identity in Daikong (Canberra: Pandanus Books, ANU, 2001), Biodiversity, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Development (Chiang Mai: RSCD, 2003, 2014), Flexible Peasants: Reconceptualising the Third World’s Rural Types (Chiang Mai: RCSD, 2008), The River of Life: Changing Ecosystems of the Mekong Region (Chiang Mai: Mekong Press, 2011), as well as the edited volumes Impact of China’s Rise on the Mekong Region (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Chinese Capitalism in Southeast Asia: Cultures and Practices (Springer, 2017).

Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 12 October 2017.

 

 

Seminar: Cambodia’s Political Outlook

 

REGIONAL STRATEGIC AND POLITICAL STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR


About the Seminar

The political developments in Cambodia are fast evolving, with high structural uncertainties and risks. The close down of some local media and the arrest of the head of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Kem Sokha, have rattled domestic politics and raised concerns in other countries. Local and international observers share the view that the political outlook seems bleak. Some observers contend that Cambodia is descending into an “authoritarian regime” or even “dictatorship”; while a few others still believe that democracy will prevail and thrive and that the ongoing political tension is just temporary. International pressure, especially from the US and European Union, on the Phnom Penh government is mounting. China on the other hand supports the actions taken by the Cambodian government. The seminar aims to give an overview of the ongoing political dynamics, gauge multiple future scenarios especially with regard to the general election in 2018, explain the connections between domestic politics and foreign policy, and explore the possibility of a political breakthrough.

About the Speaker

Dr Vannarith Chheang is a Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He is also a consultant at The Nippon Foundation in Tokyo, Chairman of Advisory Board at the Cambodia Institute for Strategic Studies, and adjunct Senior Fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace where he previously served as the Executive Director from 2009 to 2013. He was a Lecturer of Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Leeds from 2013 to 2016 and was also Visiting Fellow at China’s Institute for International Studies (Beijing, China), Nippon Foundation’s Asian Public Intellectuals (Tokyo, Japan), the Institute for Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO) (Chiba, Japan), and East-West Center (Washington DC, USA). Chheang also served as a technical adviser to the Cambodian National Assembly in 2011 and assistant to Cambodia’s Defense Minister from 2011 to 2012. He was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and a World Cities Summit Young Leader and has also been a recipient of numerous leadership fellowships from different parts of the world, including T-wai’s Global Emerging Voices (Italy), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, and CSIS Pacific Young Leaders Program (USA).

Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 4 October 2017.

 

Seminar: Navigating a Highly Protected Market: China’s Chery Automobile in Malaysia

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR

About the Seminar

While the economies of Malaysia and China are becoming increasingly integrated through trading and investment linkages, this study targeted at one aspect of this relationship. By analyzing Chinese car maker Chery’s internationalisation strategy and localisation efforts in Malaysia, it is found that Chery has adapted its business strategy by forging a business alliance with domestic partners and government-backed companies to overcome national protectionist and institutional constraints in Malaysia. However, the little interaction between Chery with local suppliers and national research and development facilities has limited collective learning processes and production collaboration. Chery’s experience in Malaysia suggests that, while Chinese multinational companies have to be careful in making strategic decisions to relocate operations abroad, the Malaysian government will have to consider easing protectionist restrictions to encourage stronger foreign participation in the automotive sector. Such a policy change may be required for the Malaysian automobile industry, facing with rising international competition, to survive and grow beyond its own borders.

About the Speaker

Dr Zhang Miao is Research Fellow at Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya. She obtained her PhD. in Economics from University of Malaya in 2014. She has been studying China-Malaysia trade and investment, urban studies and institutional economics. Her research spectrum also extends to the fields of industrial policy and technology innovation. Her research has been published in such as Journal of Contemporary Asia, Habitat International, Cities, Journal of Asia Pacific Economy, International Journal of China Studies, Institutions and Economies and Asia Pacific Business Review. She has undertaken consultancies for international agencies, including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Japan-ASEAN Center and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Dr Zhang has frequently contributed commentaries to Financial Times, Sin Chew Daily and Oriental Daily.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 9 October 2017.

 

Seminar: The Indonesia National Survey Project: Economy, Society and Politics

 

INDONESIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

About the Seminar

A number of important changes that have been transforming Indonesia’s economy, society, and politics are shaping this country’s future trajectory of development and democratic consolidation. Against the backdrop of these key developments, the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute commissioned a nation-wide survey to enhance our understanding of public perceptions of economic, social, and political issues in Indonesia. The survey collects public opinion data in a wide range of areas, fielding questions on macroeconomic performance, economic policy, the state, political participation, political parties, infrastructure, Islam, ethnicity, and international relations. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 1,600 respondents in all 34 provinces in Indonesia to ensure countrywide representation of opinions and attitudes. Conducted in the wake of the Jakarta gubernatorial election, where certain religious and ethnic fault-lines were accentuated, the findings of this survey provide important and useful data for understanding the recent cleavages in Indonesian politics and society.

About the Speakers

Diego Fossati is a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and an Associate Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He studies voting behavior, democratization and development in low and middle-income countries, with an empirical concentration on Indonesia and Southeast Asia. He was trained as a political scientist at Cornell University, where he earned a PhD in January 2016 with a dissertation on the politics of health insurance for the poor in decentralized Indonesia. His research has been published or is forthcoming in leading peer-reviewed international journals such as World Development, European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Journal of East Asian Studies and Contemporary Southeast Asia.

Hui Yew-Foong is Senior Fellow with the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Associate Professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. His research interests include the Chinese overseas in Southeast Asia, religion and politics in Southeast Asia, decentralization in post-Suharto Indonesia, and heritage politics. Besides Singapore, he has conducted multi-sited field research in Indonesia, East Malaysia, China and Hong Kong. He is the author of Strangers at Home: History and Subjectivity among the Chinese Communities of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, co-author of Different Under God: A Survey of Church-Going Protestants in Singapore and co-editor of Citizens, Civil Society and Heritage-Making in Asia.

Siwage Dharma Negara is Fellow with the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He is currently an editorial member of Journal of Southeast Asian Economies. Before joining ISEAS, he was a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). His current research interests include development policy, regional connectivity, industrial and trade competitiveness with special focus on Indonesia. He received his PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 6 September 2017.

 

Seminar: Malaysia in a Constitutional Democracy

 

MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

About the Seminar

Malaysia’s economy is doing relatively well despite external challenges, and there are encouraging signs that the recovery momentum is getting stronger. However on issues such as human and political rights, progress has been quite limited. There must be well-balanced growth on all fronts – economic, social and political – to achieve the government’s objective of making Malaysia a developed country.

As a constitutional democracy, Malaysia is no different from other countries in terms of the basic rights of its citizens and the system of checks and balances against abuse of power by any one branch of government.  There is another aspect of the Malaysian constitution, however, which makes it unique among countries in this region – the special position of Islam as the official religion of the Federation. The administration of Islam has raised concerns about the impact on the rights and freedoms of Muslims, and the implications on the rule of law are also making non-Muslims worry about the future direction of Malaysia as a secular, multiracial country. On top of this, the country is also beset with issues such as the breakdown of governance as well as the decreasing independence of regulatory agencies and institutions of justice in enforcing regulations and implementing laws. The issues of law, governance and religious tolerance can have a major impact on the peace and stability of the country, and if they are not addressed at the political level in a timely manner, investor confidence on Malaysia will be adversely affected.

In the light of these concerns over the future of the country a group of Malays called G25 – comprising retired civil servants and diplomats – has emerged as a voice for change and reform. The talk will highlight the reform agenda that G25 has been involved with.

About the Speaker

Tan Sri Sheriff Kassim is a Malaysian former senior civil servant, whose career spanned 1963-1994. His position upon retirement was the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance. He subsequently was Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, from 1994-2003. Tan Sri Sheriff is currently Director and non-executive Chairman of PLUS, a public sector-owned toll highway company. He is also non-executive Chairman of Scientex Berhad, a listed private sector company active in the manufacturing and property sectors. Tan Sri Sheriff is an active member of G-25. He has degrees from the Universities of Malaya, Oxford, and Vanderbilt, and was a long-serving President of the Malaysian Economic Association.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 4 September 2017.

 

Seminar: Challenges for Railway Systems in South-East Asia: Lessons from 30 Years’ Experience of Japanese National Railways Privatization

 

REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME

About the Seminar

In 1987, Japanese National Railways (JNR), the government-owned body responsible for operating the railway network across Japan was privatised and divided into seven railway companies that together form the JR Group. In 1985, JNR made a loss of 1.8 trillion yen, but as of 2015, the JR Group makes a combined profit of 1 trillion yen per annum. Of the seven companies, JR Kyushu remains one of the few that consistently turns profits. The success of JR Kyushu is largely down to an innovative approach in which diversification has been embraced, whilst customer service has been placed at the core of the business model.

Nevertheless, JR Kyushu continues to face key challenges, and Mr Ishii will address what he considers to be particularly pertinent amongst these issues, and how we can overcome them. A railway system is a key infrastructure for passenger and cargo transportation and affects the relationship between the urban and regional economies in a fundamental way. Based on 30 years’ experience of JNR privatization, he identifies challenges for expanding railway systems in Southeast Asia, and proposes how the region could cooperate better for mutual benefits.

About the Speaker

Yoshitaka Ishii served as the first president and chairman of JR Kyushu Railway Company between 1987 and 2002. JR Kyushu was formed after the Japan National Railway Corporation was privatised and divided into seven railway companies. During his tenure as president, Ishii diversified the business of JR Kyushu into new ventures ranging from property development to the management of shopping malls, restaurants and hotels, as well as the establishing a hydrofoil ferry service between Fukuoka and Busan. He also improved the quality of the railway service and the cutting-edge trains designed by a leading designer Mitooka received the Brunel Award, one of the most prestigious awards for railway industry design worldwide. Under his leadership, the company increased its total sales significantly from 150,000 million yen in 1987, with sales as high as 378,000 million yen in 2015. He has been advising the Japanese government and the Japan Freight Railway Company on its strategy. He began working in the National Railways in 1955 as a graduate engineer, and he played a pivotal role in the development of diesel railcars and locomotives in the early stages of his professional career. Drawing on his experiences in the railway industry, he has been a prolific writer over a period of more than 4 decades. His books on the KiHa series of diesel railcars has been well received, especially “KiHa 58”.

Mr Ishii served on the selection committee for the Japan Foundation Prizes for Global Citizenship, and has also been involved in the local community, and since retiring, he has served as the Chairman of the Fukuoka Prefecture Football Association and as President of the Kourokan-Fukuoka Castle History & Tourism Citizen’s Association. In the latter role, he has been heavily involved in the restoration of historic buildings in Fukuoka.

Mr Ishii holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 15 August 2017.

 

Seminar: Martial Law in Mindanao

 

REGIONAL STRATEGIC AND POLITICAL STUDIES PROGRAMME

About the Seminar

From the beginning of his term in June 2016, President Duterte frequently discussed the possibility of declaring martial law in the Philippines. On 23 May this year, at the beginning of the Marawi City siege pitting government forces against an alliance of terrorist groups, President Duterte declared martial law and lifted the writ of habeas corpus for all of Mindanao. On 22 July, Congress renewed both until the end of 2017. In both cases, the Marawi City siege and the larger threat of Islamic State-affiliated terrorist groups in Muslim Mindanao were used as the main justification for the declaration of martial law.

This seminar will analyse the impact of the declaration of martial law on the struggle against Islamic State-affiliated groups in Muslim Mindanao; the likelihood for the further extension of martial law in Mindanao and beyond; and the domestic political implications of President Duterte’s martial law declarations given the history of martial law in the Philippines.

About the Speakers

Joseph Franco specialises in countering violent extremism, counterinsurgency, and counterterrorism.  As Research Fellow with the Centre of Excellence for National Security at RSIS, Joseph examines terrorist networks in maritime Southeast Asia and best practices in countering violent extremism (CVE). He obtained his MSc in International Relations at RSIS through an ASEAN Graduate Scholarship. Joseph previously worked for the Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the J3, AFP; researching extensively on internal conflict, peacekeeping operations, defence procurement, Asia-Pacific security, and special operations forces.

Sol Iglesias is a PhD candidate with the Southeast Asian Studies Department at the National University of Singapore. She is researching patterns of state repression in the Philippines in the post-Marcos democratic period.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 16 August 2017.

 

POSTPONED: Seminar: Meeting the Challenge and Realizing the Promise of Multicultural Malaysia

 

POSTPONEMENT OF SEMINAR

Meeting the Challenge and Realizing the

Promise of Multicultural Malaysia

By

Dr Ananthi Al Ramiah

ISEAS regrets that due to unforeseen circumstances, the above seminar (scheduled for Friday, 11 August 2017 at 3.00 pm) has been postponed until further notice.

We look forward to your continuing participation at ISEAS events.


MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

About the Seminar

In this talk, Dr Al Ramiah will present a range of findings on the state of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations in Malaysia. The findings are based on a representative survey conducted in Peninsular Malaysia (N = 1503) and from interviews conducted with employees at a large multicultural corporation in Malaysia, both in 2016. The survey findings span a range of topics such as inter-ethnic contact experiences and attitudes, ethnic, religious and national identity, differential responses to integration efforts based on majority/minority status, the impact of neighbourhood diversity, and views of the government’s economic and social policies. The interview findings uncover various challenges of working in a multicultural environment, and the culture and policies that can serve to undermine or promote integration. The talk concludes with a discussion of possible interventions on the basis of the findings and recommendations to policy makers and corporations. Major insights from this research were recently published in Malaysia’s leading English daily The Star. This article series is accessible online (www.thestar.com.my), entitled “Re-stitching Malaysia’s social fabric”, “On being and becoming Malaysian”, and “Freedom to flourish and stay engaged”.

About the Speaker

Dr Ananthi Al Ramiah is a social psychologist working on questions of identity, multiculturalism and ethnoreligious diversity. She has a DPhil is Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She currently works as an independent scholar and academic consultant based in Kuala Lumpur, and was formerly an Assistant Professor of the Social Sciences at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. Her work has appeared in publications such as the American Psychologist, The Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, British Journal of Social Psychology and The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology.

Registration

For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 10 August 2017.