Pub Date : 2020-12-14DOI: 10.1177/1868103420972406
Hideki Kitamura
Social scientists have long sought to understand what Islamic banking is. This study seeks to answer this question by exploring the neoliberalisation process of Islamic banking policies in Malaysia and identifying policymakers’ logic behind this process. For this purpose, this study conducted interviews with actors associated with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank of Malaysia. The findings demonstrate that, in the neoliberal era, BNM quietly and continuously pursued the goal of preferably giving economic opportunities to Malay Muslims by establishing institutional mechanisms rather than by offering preferential treatment in a straightforward manner. The Shariah nature of Islamic banking served to conceal this goal from the public. I define Islamic banking as an ethno-political tool rather than simply as a religious economy and contend that the philosophy of Islamic banking as a moral economy conceals an agenda of protecting Malay interests.
{"title":"Policymakers’ Logic on Islamic Banking: Islamic Banking as an Ethno-Political Tool in Malaysia","authors":"Hideki Kitamura","doi":"10.1177/1868103420972406","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420972406","url":null,"abstract":"Social scientists have long sought to understand what Islamic banking is. This study seeks to answer this question by exploring the neoliberalisation process of Islamic banking policies in Malaysia and identifying policymakers’ logic behind this process. For this purpose, this study conducted interviews with actors associated with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank of Malaysia. The findings demonstrate that, in the neoliberal era, BNM quietly and continuously pursued the goal of preferably giving economic opportunities to Malay Muslims by establishing institutional mechanisms rather than by offering preferential treatment in a straightforward manner. The Shariah nature of Islamic banking served to conceal this goal from the public. I define Islamic banking as an ethno-political tool rather than simply as a religious economy and contend that the philosophy of Islamic banking as a moral economy conceals an agenda of protecting Malay interests.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"40 1","pages":"245 - 265"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420972406","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41461643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-11DOI: 10.1177/1868103420980463
Rodion Ebbighausen
Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https:// creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by/ 4. 0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https:// us. sagepub. com/ enus/ nam/ openaccessatsage). Book Review: Making Sense of Aung San Suu Kyi’s Policy
{"title":"Book Review: Making Sense of Aung San Suu Kyi’s Policy","authors":"Rodion Ebbighausen","doi":"10.1177/1868103420980463","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420980463","url":null,"abstract":"Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https:// creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by/ 4. 0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https:// us. sagepub. com/ enus/ nam/ openaccessatsage). Book Review: Making Sense of Aung San Suu Kyi’s Policy","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"40 1","pages":"372 - 375"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420980463","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46967976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1177/1868103420972412
Dedi Dinarto, J. Ng
This article examines the phenomenon of independent candidates (calon perseorangan) in Indonesia’s regional executive elections (Pilkada) to better understand why candidates run as independents and whether independent candidacy has reduced political inequality in the electoral system. In this study, we compiled candidate information using Indonesia’s General Election Commission’s (Komisi Pemilihan Umum, KPU) database as well as structured open-source searches to develop a data set and profiles of independents over three election cycles. Using this data set, we distinguished three categories of independents – partisan, non-partisan, and underdog independents – by analysing differences in power resources and motivations among the candidates. We found that contrary to public perceptions in Indonesia, independent candidacy has not helped to alleviate unequal access to political office. Successful independents are predominantly political insiders and local notables. This finding has important implications for democracy in Indonesia – we show how the inability for political outsiders to win political office harms democratic representation.
{"title":"Characterising Independent Candidates in Indonesian Local Politics","authors":"Dedi Dinarto, J. Ng","doi":"10.1177/1868103420972412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420972412","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the phenomenon of independent candidates (calon perseorangan) in Indonesia’s regional executive elections (Pilkada) to better understand why candidates run as independents and whether independent candidacy has reduced political inequality in the electoral system. In this study, we compiled candidate information using Indonesia’s General Election Commission’s (Komisi Pemilihan Umum, KPU) database as well as structured open-source searches to develop a data set and profiles of independents over three election cycles. Using this data set, we distinguished three categories of independents – partisan, non-partisan, and underdog independents – by analysing differences in power resources and motivations among the candidates. We found that contrary to public perceptions in Indonesia, independent candidacy has not helped to alleviate unequal access to political office. Successful independents are predominantly political insiders and local notables. This finding has important implications for democracy in Indonesia – we show how the inability for political outsiders to win political office harms democratic representation.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"40 1","pages":"266 - 292"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420972412","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43567664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-26DOI: 10.1177/1868103420972415
A. Weinrich
This article analyses the citizenship regime of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Current literature on ASEAN regionalism has refrained from examining the link between community-building and citizenship building, and the prevailing assumption remains that ASEAN lacks a citizenship regime. This assumption derives from the premises that a regional citizenship regime is the result of the reconfiguration of national citizenship rights and that it is a legally defined status. By deploying the concept of citizenship regime based on the dimensions of rights, access, belonging, and responsibility mix, the article argues that there is an emerging citizenship regime in ASEAN built on citizenship-related policies. This citizenship regime is informal, developing, and atypical – and the unintentional outcome of ASEAN trying to fulfil its agenda on community-building. The analysis contributes to citizenship studies and ASEAN regionalism by offering a nuanced understanding of how citizenship regimes are built through citizenship-related policies and practices.
{"title":"The Emerging Regional Citizenship Regime of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations","authors":"A. Weinrich","doi":"10.1177/1868103420972415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420972415","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses the citizenship regime of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Current literature on ASEAN regionalism has refrained from examining the link between community-building and citizenship building, and the prevailing assumption remains that ASEAN lacks a citizenship regime. This assumption derives from the premises that a regional citizenship regime is the result of the reconfiguration of national citizenship rights and that it is a legally defined status. By deploying the concept of citizenship regime based on the dimensions of rights, access, belonging, and responsibility mix, the article argues that there is an emerging citizenship regime in ASEAN built on citizenship-related policies. This citizenship regime is informal, developing, and atypical – and the unintentional outcome of ASEAN trying to fulfil its agenda on community-building. The analysis contributes to citizenship studies and ASEAN regionalism by offering a nuanced understanding of how citizenship regimes are built through citizenship-related policies and practices.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"40 1","pages":"201 - 223"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420972415","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44540057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-26DOI: 10.1177/1868103420963140
D. Shoesmith, N. Franklin, Rachmat Taufiq Hidayat
This article investigates the challenges facing decentralised governance in poor and underdeveloped areas in Eastern Indonesia. The Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) regency in West Timor in Nusa Tenggara Timur province is taken as a case study. Indonesia’s radical decentralisation programme applied a national model of decentralised governance, not taking into account the different conditions applying to disadvantaged regions (daerah tertinggal, DRs). In the TTS regency, decentralised governance is underperforming in two core areas – administration and fiscal viability – while making some progress in political decentralisation. Governance is restricted by limited social capacity, a poor resource base, and a lack of investment capital and infrastructure. The question then arises: if the uniform model of decentralisation is not performing adequately in TTS, is there a more appropriate model of local governance and central subnational relations that can better perform in DRs? While not detailing the features of a new model, this article identifies the areas requiring policy development.
{"title":"Decentralised Governance in Indonesia’s Disadvantaged Regions: A Critique of the Underperforming Model of Local Governance in Eastern Indonesia","authors":"D. Shoesmith, N. Franklin, Rachmat Taufiq Hidayat","doi":"10.1177/1868103420963140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420963140","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the challenges facing decentralised governance in poor and underdeveloped areas in Eastern Indonesia. The Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) regency in West Timor in Nusa Tenggara Timur province is taken as a case study. Indonesia’s radical decentralisation programme applied a national model of decentralised governance, not taking into account the different conditions applying to disadvantaged regions (daerah tertinggal, DRs). In the TTS regency, decentralised governance is underperforming in two core areas – administration and fiscal viability – while making some progress in political decentralisation. Governance is restricted by limited social capacity, a poor resource base, and a lack of investment capital and infrastructure. The question then arises: if the uniform model of decentralisation is not performing adequately in TTS, is there a more appropriate model of local governance and central subnational relations that can better perform in DRs? While not detailing the features of a new model, this article identifies the areas requiring policy development.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"39 1","pages":"359 - 380"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420963140","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46728498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-26DOI: 10.1177/1868103420942781
Aung Maung
The ongoing administrative reform in the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) has included adoption of community-based policing as the main philosophy of the police department since 2012; however, the democratic values inherent in the community-oriented concept have stagnated under the military influences in Myanmar caused by political instability and armed conflicts among the ethnicities of the country. Many research reports reveal that the success of reform with community-based policing is highly dependent on reducing military influences and establishing the police department as an independent organisation. Subsequently, the problem of adopting community-oriented policing has become chronic under the existing democratisation process. By utilising Herbert A. Simon’s decision-making study, the current study examined the decision-making process in community-based policing, and found that the problem of stagnation of democratic reform in the police department was caused by the nature of the MPF, cognitive limitations in the decision-making process, and value conflicts, rather than military influence.
{"title":"Administrative Reform in the Myanmar Police Force: Decision-Making and Community-Based Policing","authors":"Aung Maung","doi":"10.1177/1868103420942781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420942781","url":null,"abstract":"The ongoing administrative reform in the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) has included adoption of community-based policing as the main philosophy of the police department since 2012; however, the democratic values inherent in the community-oriented concept have stagnated under the military influences in Myanmar caused by political instability and armed conflicts among the ethnicities of the country. Many research reports reveal that the success of reform with community-based policing is highly dependent on reducing military influences and establishing the police department as an independent organisation. Subsequently, the problem of adopting community-oriented policing has become chronic under the existing democratisation process. By utilising Herbert A. Simon’s decision-making study, the current study examined the decision-making process in community-based policing, and found that the problem of stagnation of democratic reform in the police department was caused by the nature of the MPF, cognitive limitations in the decision-making process, and value conflicts, rather than military influence.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"39 1","pages":"428 - 443"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420942781","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44944267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-28DOI: 10.1177/1868103420962116
SiuSue Mark, Indra Overland, Roman Vakulchuk
This article studies the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on economic actors in Myanmar. It hypothesizes that the BRI has strong transformative potential, because Chinese projects are likely to transform Myanmar’s economy on different scales and influence the allocation of economic benefits and losses for different actors. The study identifies economic actors in Myanmar who are likely to be most affected by BRI projects. It also discusses how BRI-related investments could affect the country’s complex conflict dynamics. The article concludes with policy recommendations for decision makers in Myanmar, China, and the international community for mitigating the BRI’s possible negative impacts. The analysis draws on secondary sources and primary data collection in the form of interviews with key actors in Hsipaw, Lashio, and Yangon, involved with and informed about the BRI in Myanmar at the local, regional, and national levels.
{"title":"Sharing the Spoils: Winners and Losers in the Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar","authors":"SiuSue Mark, Indra Overland, Roman Vakulchuk","doi":"10.1177/1868103420962116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420962116","url":null,"abstract":"This article studies the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on economic actors in Myanmar. It hypothesizes that the BRI has strong transformative potential, because Chinese projects are likely to transform Myanmar’s economy on different scales and influence the allocation of economic benefits and losses for different actors. The study identifies economic actors in Myanmar who are likely to be most affected by BRI projects. It also discusses how BRI-related investments could affect the country’s complex conflict dynamics. The article concludes with policy recommendations for decision makers in Myanmar, China, and the international community for mitigating the BRI’s possible negative impacts. The analysis draws on secondary sources and primary data collection in the form of interviews with key actors in Hsipaw, Lashio, and Yangon, involved with and informed about the BRI in Myanmar at the local, regional, and national levels.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"39 1","pages":"381 - 404"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420962116","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47940626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-08-01DOI: 10.1177/1868103420935561
M. Mietzner
There is widespread agreement that compared to most other states in Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s central government has offered a poor response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The government of President Joko Widodo initially ignored the threat, and when it did react, the crisis policies were piecemeal and confusing. But what explains this outcome? It would be easy to attribute Indonesia’s response to its lower middle-income status or its democratic governance structures that lack strong repressive capacity. With countries poorer and more democratic than Indonesia performing better, however, this explanation is unsatisfactory. Going beyond simple development and regime categories, this article proposes that Indonesia’s COVID-19 response was the result of its specific process of democratic decline in the last decade. This backsliding produced intensifying populist anti-scientism, religious conservatism, religio-political polarisation, corruption and clientelism, as well as assertiveness among anti-democratic actors. Ultimately, these segmental factors combined into a toxic mix that severely constrained Indonesia’s ability to effectively respond to a massive external shock such as COVID-19.
{"title":"Populist Anti-Scientism, Religious Polarisation, and Institutionalised Corruption: How Indonesia’s Democratic Decline Shaped Its COVID-19 Response","authors":"M. Mietzner","doi":"10.1177/1868103420935561","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420935561","url":null,"abstract":"There is widespread agreement that compared to most other states in Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s central government has offered a poor response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The government of President Joko Widodo initially ignored the threat, and when it did react, the crisis policies were piecemeal and confusing. But what explains this outcome? It would be easy to attribute Indonesia’s response to its lower middle-income status or its democratic governance structures that lack strong repressive capacity. With countries poorer and more democratic than Indonesia performing better, however, this explanation is unsatisfactory. Going beyond simple development and regime categories, this article proposes that Indonesia’s COVID-19 response was the result of its specific process of democratic decline in the last decade. This backsliding produced intensifying populist anti-scientism, religious conservatism, religio-political polarisation, corruption and clientelism, as well as assertiveness among anti-democratic actors. Ultimately, these segmental factors combined into a toxic mix that severely constrained Indonesia’s ability to effectively respond to a massive external shock such as COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":15424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs","volume":"39 1","pages":"227 - 249"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1868103420935561","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44092343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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