Impunity waters down accountability in Southeast Asia
The provision of impunity to human rights violators is the biggest challenge for ensuring accountability. This was the general conclusion of the panelists at the event Confronting Elusiveness: Demanding Accountability in Southeast Asia. The speakers from Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar highlighted how in each of their respective countries human rights violators went on to occupy positions in different human rights mechanisms which watered the whole idea of holding such violators accountable. Speakers featured at the event included, Galuh Wandita, Co-founder and Director at Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), Aung Khaing Min, Advocacy and Research Officer Burma Partnership and Edgardo Legaspi, Executive Director, Southeast Asian Press Alliance. Some 30 people attended the activity which was held as an inaugural panel of SEA Junction hosted by Asia Centre. Its founding executive-director Rosalia Sciortino, moderated the panel discussion. The event also featured the presentation of the book “Enduring Impunity” a compilation of stories of women survivors in Indonesia, Timor Leste and Myanmar. SEA Junction was launched later in the day at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Center. Asia Centre wishes them success.
Asia Centre: Regional Representative for Malaysian Publisher Gerakbudaya
Asia Centre has signed a partnership with Malaysian Publisher Gerakbudaya to be its regional representative in Thailand. Moving forward, Asia Centre will commission, edit, launch a publication series, distribute and sell books on Southeast Asian studies. The publication series will explore critical issues impacting Southeast Asia as well as the region’s linkages to the rest of the world. The aim is to contribute to research and discussions on regional matters which are alternative and can highlight new and important issues to a wider audience. The Centre will also act as a bookshop and has started featuring a selection of Gerakbudaya books. These will be on sale during office hours at the Centre’s premises and during its activities. There are also plans to develop a web portal for e-books. Gerakbudaya publishers and distributes books that spark social awareness and critical discourse on Southeast Asia. Its very name Gerakbudaya represents the movement (gerak) of culture and ideas (budaya) through books. It is Gerakbudaya’s first foray outside of Malaysia. The man behind Gerakbudaya, Mr. Chong Ton Sin or “Pak Chong” as he is more commonly known, has been in the business for over 20 years with over 300 publications under his belt. You can read more about Gerakbudaya Enterprises at our Partners page.
Cause Lawyering: Advocating For Justice
Cause lawyers set themselves apart in their profession by using the law as tool for social justice. They protect the rights of marginalised communities and bridge the gap between law as it is written in the books and the law as it is lived and experienced. This was how our panelists described the linchpin role that cause lawyers play in advocating for justice. Cause Lawyering: In Conversation With Regional Advocates was held on 14 May 2016 and attracted about 20 participants. Mr. Henning Glaser, Director of the German-Southeast Asia Centre of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance at Thammasat University provided an overview of how lawyers work to achieve justice for marginalised communities. The panel also explored on the role that lawyers and advocates play on the issue of the death penalty, with human rights lawyer and anti-death penalty advocate M.Ravi sharing his personal experiences fighting against Singapore’s draconian death penalty laws. Akanit Horatanakun from Amnesty International Thailand providing an update on the use of the death penalty in Thailand. The event also saw the Bangkok launch of M Ravi’s critically acclaimed autobiography Kampong Boy. His book, Kampong Boy,was shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize. It is on sale at Asia Centre.
Entering Femininity: Reporting Rituals and Violations
Entering Femininity: Reporting Rituals and Violations seminar at Asia Centre attempted to open the topic of female genital mutilation (FGM) for a Bangkok audience. Organised by Alexander Demetrianova, an Asia Centre Associate, the seminar discussed FGM as a violation of child’s and women’s rights by international law and health standards. Worldwide more than 300 million girls and women are “cut” under different interpretations and in different severity. But in most cases, FGM is a very important ritual, ancestral knowledge and practice. It allows girls to gain a status in their community and further enables them to elevate to other positions in life of a woman – to marry and have children. So FGM more than anything else, defines femininity and women. However, informed consent is in the absolute majority of cases not given by the very young, often infant, girls to be circumcised. Across Africa, parts of Middle East and even Southeast Asia, even much older women, who had been cut years ago, know only as much as their culture and tradition have taught them about female circumcision. It is an integral part of life, marriage, sexuality and community, but most advocates for female circumcision are not aware of the great health issues and harm it brings to women and girls. The session also featured a live Skype interview with multi-media journalist Gabrielle Paluch who shared her experience researching and reporting on FGM in Southern Thailand. The Bangkok audience at the seminar concluded that in order to eradicate the cut and mutilation, communities and cultures need to re-examine and transform the way they understand femininity and role of women. To preserve women’s right to take informed decisions about their own bodies, there is a need to break the taboo and open FGM for further discussion. A critical discussion about this practice is a taboo in most countries where it is prevalent, hence Asia Centre was pleased to host this talk to discuss the topic.
Authoritarian Instituitions Help Najib Weather 1MDB Storm
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib has survived the fallout from the 1MDB scandal and is likely to continue in power despite the widespread feeling that it would lead to his ouster. This was Professor William Case assessment of the financial scandal that has dominated Malaysian politics since mid 2015. The Asia Centre roundtable on 10th May 2016, entitled Stress Testing Single-Party Dominance in Malaysia, saw over a dozen people gather after lunch to discuss the changes precipitated by the 1MDB scandal and how Nabjib has managed to weather the storm. Professor Case,a well-known Malaysian studies scholar, provided the latest updates on the situation and shared his analysis. At the center of the scandal is missing funds that were traced directly into Najib’s personal accounts. The reports led to mass protests, demands for Najibs resignation and the formation of new coalitions against Najib. Chief among the anti-Najib camp, is former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad mobilizing a ‘Save Malaysia Movement’ for a political challenge. In spite of the momentum against Najib, the observations at the roundtable was that the dominance of UMNO as a patronage machine prevails in ensuring Najib’s survival and continued dominance. According to Prof. Case, the stable authoritarianism practised by the state and the resilience of institutions like UMNO have effectively countered the destabilising pressures created by the scandal.
Singapore: A Political Dystopia for Democracy
Singapore is not the political utopia that it projects itself to be. Beneath the veneer, lies a dystopia of political repression, self-censorship and culture of fear. This was the nub of Jeannette Aruldoss’ presentation at Asia Centre on 19 March 2016. Aruldoss, a lawyer and an opposition candidate of two election campaigns, shared some of her personal experiences from campaigning in 2011 and 2015 and provided a succinct overview of the political system and raised questions about its efficacy. The lingering question after the latest elections of 2015 was if politics in Singapore was going to change, or would be status quo with the current ruling party being in power indefinitely? And if the Singapore citizen wants the current ruling party, should there be opposition efforts aimed at bringing about change? Some 30 odd attendees came with a healthy dose of scepticism as well as support for the city-state. Jeannette Aruldoss’ cutting critique of the PAP’s landslide victory in the 2015 elections both engaged and provoked questions from the mixed audience during the lively Q&A session. In the April edition of the Asia Centre Seminar Series, we explore the practice of female genital mutilation(FGM) and how it is documented and portrayed in the media. Entering Femininity: Reporting Rituals & Violations happens on 30th April (Saturday) from 9.30am to 12noon at Asia Centre. For more details click here.
The Politics Of Conflict
The “Kachin conflict” at its heart is a political one. Even though the term “Kachin conflict” invariably leads to it being framed and discussed as an ethnic conflict, obscuring the politics at play. This was the main point made by Dr Karin Dean, our guest speaker, at the second installment of the Asia Centre Seminar series. The seminar navigating the participants through the intricacies of the “Kachin conflict” in Myanmar, because to be Kachin can mean more than one thing- as the term does not represent a particular homogenous ethnic group united towards a particular purpose. The seminar attracted an audience of over 50 individual from diverse backgrounds, each with different entry points into the discussion; from members of the Kachin community to students and academics researching on Myanmar and members of the general public who were interested in learning more about Southeast Asia’s new hot topic country. Her presentation was followed by in interactive dialogue session which saw members of the Kachin community sharing their personal perspectives, questions from the audience as well as discussion on some of the contentious issues raised. If the politics of Southeast Asia interests you, do join us for our next session, this weekend – A Political Utopia Called Singapore – Saturday 19th March 2016, 9.30am to 12noon. For more information click here. Images courtesy of Lance Woodruff.
Futures Planning: Charting Asia Centre’s Course
On 17 Feb 2016, the Asia Centre team sat down with Marianne Dutkiewicz, an Asia Pacific Leadership Program Fellow with the the East-West Center in Hawaii, for a peek into the future. Marianne shared with us a planning tool developed by the East- West Center to help individuals and organisations think strategically about their futures. The management team along with Centre Associate Dr. Jay Koh mapped out how different variables could impact Asia Centre’s growth and development over the course of 3 to 5 years. The Futures Planning Workshop was an excellent way for the team to better understand and evaluate the concept behind the Centre, its mixed financing model and trajectory for its development. Marianne facilitated the discussion into the best and worst case scenarios for Asia Centre. We each shared our goals for the Centre as well as the obstacles that we might face along the way. Discussions centred on the sustainability of the Asia Centre idea and one thing that we settled on, was that because Asia Centre owns the space, we have the capacity to innovate and use the space as a resource. This cements the Centre’s independence, survivability and gives us a strong foundation from which we can develop.
A Political Utopia Called Singapore
A Political Utopia called Singapore: Will the PAP stay in power another 50 years? Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has been continuously governed by the People’s Action Party (PAP) as it won every General Election. In the 2011 General Election, the PAP won 60.1% of the valid votes the lowest in its entire election history fueling discussion of political change in the city-state. But in the 2015 General Election, the PAP dramatically improved their mandate to govern by winning 69.9% of the valid votes surprising even some of its own party candidates. Is the PAP’s landslide victory at the recent polls irrefutable proof that Singaporeans still want the PAP to stay in power indefinitely? Has the PAP won elections fair and square? Jeannette, an opposition politician who contested against the PAP candidate in both the 2011 and 2015 General Election, offers her perspective of politics in Singapore. Speaker Jeannette Aruldoss is a lawyer and opposition politician from Singapore. She entered politics in 2009 when she joined an opposition political party. She subsequently ran at the 2011 General Election as a candidate of the National Solidarity Party (NSP) against the incumbent PAP Member of Parliament at the Single Member Constituency seat of Mountbatten (Mountbatten SMC). Jeannette served as NSP’s Vice-President from July 2011 to October 2013 and as NSP’s Secretary General from October 2013 to January 2015. At the 2015 General Election, Jeannette returned to contest the seat at Mountbatten SMC, this time as a candidate of the Singapore People’s Party. Jeannette, 52 is a full-time practising lawyer of 27 years’ standing. She is happily married to a non-lawyer and has four children aged 18 to 26. She shares her socio-political views at her blog at http://jeannettechongaruldoss.blogspot.sg/
1st Benedict Anderson Memorial Roundtable: Debating Imagined Communities
Debating Imagined Communities: A Tribute To Benedict Anderson celebrated the life and work of the late Professor Anderson. Held on 30 January 2016 at Asia Centre in Bangkok, Thailand; the event attracted a diverse audience of about 40 people including friends and colleagues of Anderson, as well as students and members of public who were keen to learn more about the scholar and his work. Professor James Gomez, Associate Dean (International Affairs) at the School of Communication Arts, Bangkok University and co-founder of the Asia Centre, opened the event by discussing how Anderson’s work sits in relation to his contemporaries. Professor Emeritus Charnvit Kasetsiri; a prominent historian and Thai studies scholar, shared the eulogy he gave at Anderson’s funeral in Surabaya. He spoke of his friendship and camaraderie with Anderson and provided insight into the man behind the work. Anderson’s Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism revolutionised our understanding of nationalism. We revisited the discourse on the subject by debating the motion “This House Believes That Nationalism Can Be A Force For Good”. Proposing the motion was Professor Lipi Ghosh, Director for the Centre for South & Southeast Asian Studies, University of Calcutta and Professor Sean Matthews, Head of School of Modern Languages & Culture, University of Nottingham (Malaysia). On the opposition there was Professor Coeli Barry, Chair of the Masters Programme in Human Rights, Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University and Professor Zaharom Naim, School of Modern Languages & Culture, University of Nottingham (Malaysia). It was a rousing and engaging debate which raised some important questions about our understanding of nationalism, its’ continued relevance in contemporary society as well as alternatives ideologies that could be used to foster the development of ‘imagined communities’. The debate then opened to the floor for members of the audience to share their own thoughts, analysis and to pose questions to the debate panel. Both teams put up a good fight and ultimately, the outcome of the debate was determined by the audience who voted in favour of the Opposition. We were also pleased to be able to host the Bangkok launch of Prof. Lipi Ghosh’s new book India- Myanmar Relations: Historical Links to Contemporary Convergences. Prof Ghosh’s work centres on India’s pivot towards Southeast Asia and examines how India’s relationship with countries in the region has developed and evolved over time. The final segment of the programme was the Open Mic session where we were presented with two very interesting takes on the topic of nationalism. Poet, teacher and public speaker, Ms Puja Singh talked about her experiences as an ethnic minority in Nepal and how this shaped her identity and perspective. Mr Otgonbaatar, a Mahidol University student who is originally from Mongolia, played a Mongolian pop-song that drew on the celebrity of the country’s leading singers along with imagery of its glorious past and evocative song lyrics to raise national sentiment. Dr Kenneth Houston, then closed the event by sharing some of his own personal experiences with nationalism in the context of Ireland’s tumultuous history. The debate and open mic session were a wonderful platform to engage with Anderson’s work. Today some 32 years after its initial publication, the issues raised in Imagined Communities remain relevant in a globalised world that is struggling to grapple with increasingly cross-border and transnational problems. About Benedict Anderson Benedict Anderson (26 August 1936 – 13 December 2015) was best known for his 1983 book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Anderson was Professor Emeritus of International Studies, Government and Asian Studies at Cornell University and a renowned historian and political scientist. As scholar of Southeast Asia, his unflinching account of the Indonesian anti-Communist purges of 1965-66; which saw over 500,000, massacred, helped undermine the official whitewashed narrative and consequently saw Anderson banned from Indonesia until 1998. Anderson was also a polyglot who contributed extensively to scholarship on the relationship between language and power in the region, and was fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Thai and Tagalog. Anderson passed away in Malang, Indonesia on 13 December 2015 at the age of 79.