In The News

Democracy Gains in Southeast Asia's Islamic Nations

Goenawan Mohamad April 16, 2004
The rise of Al Qaeda has led many in the West to conflate Islam with anti-democratic political views. This is a mistake, argues Jakarta-based writer Goenawan Mohamad, given that the world's two largest Muslim countries - Indonesia and Malaysia - are solidly democratic. In Malaysia, the March elections yielded victory for pluralist parties and defeat for those advocating state adoption of...

SKBRI Not Required by Chinese: Megawati

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja April 15, 2004
Historically, Indonesian laws have reflected a pervasive worry about Chinese influence. It was not until 2000 that then-president Abdurrahman Wahid revoked laws prohibiting the display of Chinese culture and restricting the movement of Chinese-Indonesians. In spite of these changes, Indonesians of Chinese descent often complain that they are asked to produce special identification when applying...

Singapore Workers Tempering Job Expectations: Survey

Chiang Yin Pheng April 13, 2004
A recent survey of Singapore workers shows that they have resigned themselves to the volatile conditions of their globalized economy. Most of the workers polled recognized that pay cuts were inevitable if their company faired poorly, and layoffs were likely if business competition stiffened. The survey found that the better educated and highly skilled were more likely to accept job cuts than were...

Nonresidents Buy Stocks at Record Level

April 13, 2004
It seems foreigners are more interested in Japan’s economic recovery than even the Japanese who are seeking higher return abroad. Nonresidents bought just over 14 trillion yen worth of Japanese stocks in 2003, almost a half more than in 1999. Nonresidents were also net sellers of bonds by 1 trillion yen. For March of this year, nonresidents were net buyers of Japanese stocks for the 12 month in...

China's ‘Big Mamas' in a Quandary

Paul Mooney April 12, 2004
For quite some time now, the Chinese government and its net-surfing citizens have been involved in a series of serious net games. While the government seems bent on restricting the free flow of certain types of information into China that it fears will prove destabilizing – such as Taiwan, the Falun Gong – China's 80 million netizens (net citizens) appear equally determined to keep access to...

How Indonesia Should Respond to U.S. Economic Saber Rattling

Patrick Guntensperger April 9, 2004
Recently, the US has begun pursuing a number of threatening trade initiatives meant to end what it calls the "unfair trading practices" of other nations. Indonesia, one of the 55 nations named, is accused of hurting the US economy with excessive trade barriers. According to Jakarta-based business consultant Patrick Guntensperger, the accusations are groundless. To counteract any...

Malaysia Harbouring Militants?

Reme Ahmad April 7, 2004
Bilateral relations between Thailand and Malaysia have been unfailingly polite, states this news report in Singapore's Straits Times. The "diplomatic niceties" appear to have been put aside now, however, as Thailand and Malaysia discuss the contentious issue of terrorist bombings in Thailand. Thailand has accused Malaysia of harboring Muslim separatist terrorists believed to be...