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From Pulau To Pulo: Archipelagic Perspectives On Southeast Asian Chinese Ethnicity From The Philippines And Indonesia, Josh Stenberg, Chien-Wen Kung, Charlotte Setijadi
From Pulau To Pulo: Archipelagic Perspectives On Southeast Asian Chinese Ethnicity From The Philippines And Indonesia, Josh Stenberg, Chien-Wen Kung, Charlotte Setijadi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Southeast Asia is an important region for working through ques-tions of Chineseness. It is, however, a notoriously heterogeneous region, and conclusions derived from some parts of it can be of limited applicability elsewhere. This special issue offering empiri-cally-grounded, multi-disciplinary research engages with and expands on existing scholarship on Southeast Asia’s Chinese. By focusing on Indonesia and the Philippines, the articles in this special issue investigate diverse models of being Chinese in Southeast Asia and depart from the familiar paradigms offered by Singapore and Malaysia, where ethnic Chinese populations are in the highest proportions and hold significant political power, and where …
Why Have Candidates In Indonesian Elections Increasingly Been Rallying Ethnic And Religious Support?, Colm A. Fox
Why Have Candidates In Indonesian Elections Increasingly Been Rallying Ethnic And Religious Support?, Colm A. Fox
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Ethnicity and religion often become politicised in elections. Research has found that this is particularly true during a transition to democracy. During these times, fragile democratic rules and practices, coupled with strong ethnic bonds, often motivate aspiring politicians to bolster their support by appealing to voters’ emotional allegiances to their tribe, ethnicity, or religion. But, Indonesia’s case is puzzling.
New Forms Of Political Activism In Indonesia: Redefining The Nexus Between Electoral And Movement Politics, Dirk Tomsa, Charlotte Setijadi
New Forms Of Political Activism In Indonesia: Redefining The Nexus Between Electoral And Movement Politics, Dirk Tomsa, Charlotte Setijadi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This article argues that new personality-centric movements have redefined the nexus between activism and electoral politics in Indonesia. It illustrates how these movements have challenged the role of political parties and consultants in electoral campaigning, and how their growing prominence may affect the future trajectory of Indonesian politics.
’A Beautiful Bridge’: Chinese Indonesian Associations, Social Capital And Strategic Identification In A New Era Of China Indonesia Relations, Charlotte Setijadi
’A Beautiful Bridge’: Chinese Indonesian Associations, Social Capital And Strategic Identification In A New Era Of China Indonesia Relations, Charlotte Setijadi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In Indonesia, Chinese voluntary associations took on a new level of importance after the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime in 1998 that ushered in a revival of Chinese identity politics. At the same time, Sino-Indonesian relations are blossoming, and the rise of China as a global power means that Indonesia can only benefit from stronger ties with China in the future. In this new atmosphere of cooperation, I argue that Chinese Indonesian individuals and voluntary organizations play a crucial function as trade and cultural intermediaries. Drawing on both empirical and qualitative fieldwork data, in this paper, I examine how …
Climate Change And Vulnerability To Poverty: An Empirical Investigation In Rural Indonesia, Tomoki Fujii
Climate Change And Vulnerability To Poverty: An Empirical Investigation In Rural Indonesia, Tomoki Fujii
Research Collection School Of Economics
Scientists estimate that anthropogenic climate change leads to increased surface temperature, sea-level rise, more frequent and significant extreme weather and climate events, among others. In this study, we investigate how climate change can potentially change the vulnerability to poverty using a panel data set in Indonesia. We focus on the effect of drought and flood, two of the commonly observed disasters there. Our simulation results indicate that vulnerability to poverty may increase substantially as a result of climate change in Indonesia.
Religious Aspirations Among Urban Christians In Contemporary Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Religious Aspirations Among Urban Christians In Contemporary Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Recognizing that the Christians in Indonesia are not a homogeneous group, this article examines the various contested spiritual, social, and political aspirations of urban Christians in the contexts of the historical trajectory of Indonesian modernity, forces of globalization and urbanization, the role of capital, and the development of Islam - the indispensable religious 'Other' to this minority religion in contemporary Indonesia. It sheds light on the ways in which this minority exercises agency in using political participation and social activism as a counterbalance to the growing Islamization of Indonesia, and how they strategically utilize their extensive economic, social, and political …
Mapping Chineseness On The Landscape Of Christian Churches In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Mapping Chineseness On The Landscape Of Christian Churches In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Scholarship on the Chinese Indonesian community has largely been concerned with the tensions between the community and the majority non-Chinese (or pribumi). The fault lines were usually examined against the background of Suharto’s assimilation policy, the 1998 anti-Chinese riots, the stark imbalance of the nation’s wealth within this minority group, and Chinese loyalty – or chauvinism – in the time of nation-building, and in the face of the rise of modern China. Little attention has been given to Christianity as offering a shelter for the inconspicuous propagation of Chineseness; particularly in terms of the conduct of services in Chinese, the …
Arifin Siregar [Indonesia, Minister Of Trade], Arifin Siregar
Arifin Siregar [Indonesia, Minister Of Trade], Arifin Siregar
Digital Narratives of Asia
Former Indonesian Trade Minister Arifin Siregar talks to DNA about his higher education in Holland and Germany, and his services as the Governor of Central Bank in Indonesia, during which handling the Pertamina crisis led to radical economic development. He presents his take on past Presidents Soekarno, Suharto, Habibie, Gus Dur, Megawati and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, including how corruption had occurred.
Young People's Attitudes Towards Inter-Ethnic And Inter-Religious Socializing, Courtship And Marriage In Indonesia, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon, Raihani Raihani
Young People's Attitudes Towards Inter-Ethnic And Inter-Religious Socializing, Courtship And Marriage In Indonesia, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon, Raihani Raihani
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This paper presents the attitudes of high school students in Indonesia towards inter-ethnic and inter-religious socializing, courtship and marriage. It also explores how different personal characteristics and social conditions such as gender, ethnicity, type of school and community affect these attitudes. The basic findings come from a survey of more than 3,000 students in senior high schools in five provinces of Indonesia: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, West Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and Bali. Survey data were supplemented with data from interviews and focus group discussions with students and from participant observation in and around the same schools. The authors found that most students …
God And Discipline: Religious Education And Character Building In A Christian School In Jakarta, Chang Yau Hoon
God And Discipline: Religious Education And Character Building In A Christian School In Jakarta, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
A school is an institution in which student subjectivity is constituted and reinscribed through various 'disciplinary technologies'. The interplay between discipline and discipleship in the practice of Christian education is mutually constitutive. Through the study of a Protestant Christian school in Jakarta, this article explains the disciplinary technologies deployed by the school in its inculcation of discipline and character building. By examining the school's religious education practices the study provides insight into the perceptions of the school management, teachers and students with regard to various ethical, moral and religious issues. The author considers how Christian schools can develop critical reflective …
Learning To Belong, Lyn Parker, Raihani Raihani, Chang Yau Hoon
Learning To Belong, Lyn Parker, Raihani Raihani, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Educational efforts are being made around the country to enable minorities to feel they belong and to teach majorities that they should value the diversity of Indonesia. The cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of Indonesia is famed around the world and accepted within Indonesia. The national motto of ‘Unity in Diversity’ places diversity at the centre of the nation-state. But despite significant progress in democratisation, decentralisation and regional autonomy in post-Suharto Indonesia, old fears of federalism, separatism and disunity remain. Multiculturalism and pluralism are still often viewed with suspicion and paranoia is spread by extremists for their own ends.
Affirming Difference, Chang Yau Hoon
Affirming Difference, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Elite Christian schools in Indonesia can become places where religious, ethnic and class identities are heightened, particularly in relation to the nation’s ethnic Chinese. Exceptional academic performance, faith education, strict discipline and a safe environment are some of the factors that attract ethnic Chinese to enrol their children into elite Christian schools in Indonesia. In fact, these schools have become a thriving business across major cities, generating handsome profits from the provision of high quality education. They are generally attended by Chinese Indonesian students from a middle and upper class background. The schools are equipped with much better facilities than …
Chinese New Year In West Kalimantan: Ritual Theatre And Political Circus, Margaret Chan
Chinese New Year In West Kalimantan: Ritual Theatre And Political Circus, Margaret Chan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Since 2002, when Chinese New Year became a national holiday in Indonesia, spirit medium parades on the fifteen day of the New Year (called Cap Go Meh) have been growing in size in certain West Kalimantan towns, especially Singkawang. This parade in particular has become a major tourist draw-card. Referring to local history, Chinese popular religion and Hakka culture, this article applies a performance analysis methodology to dissect this contemporary phenomenon from religious, historical and inter-ethnic perspectives. It shows how the parades have become enmeshed in current inter-ethnic politics in West Kalimantan, as well as revealing the way that adaptations …
More Than A Cultural Celebration: The Politics Of Chinese New Year In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
More Than A Cultural Celebration: The Politics Of Chinese New Year In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In the aftermath of the May 1998 riots that forced President Suharto to step down, ethnic Chinese received unprecedented freedom to assert their long suppressed cultural and religious identity. Following the transition from assimilation to multiculturalism, for the first time in over three decades Chinese culture became more visible and ethnic Chinese could finally enjoy the freedom to celebrate Chinese New Year (Imlek) publicly. This article focuses on the politics of the re-emergent Chinese New Year celebration in the Indonesian public sphere. It demonstrates the significance of Imlek as an ethnic symbol to Chinese-Indonesians. Borrowing Hobsbawm’s concept of “invented tradition”, …
The Politics Of Imlek, Chang Yau Hoon
The Politics Of Imlek, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Imlek is a time for colourful parades featuring dances of the lion and other puppets, and performances of Chinese folk rituals on the streets and in Chinese temples. Imlek is also celebrated at Sunday mass in a Catholic church with performances of Chinese songs and dances. The church is decorated in lucky colour red from its carpet to its candles, including the priests’ robes. Decorations and ornaments in the lucky colour red, representing Chineseness, together with Chinese cultural performances like the dragon and lion dances have become products of mass consumption in post-Suharto Indonesia. Major shopping malls decorate their interior …
Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Hybridity: The Dilemmas Of Ethnic Chinese In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Hybridity: The Dilemmas Of Ethnic Chinese In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The dominant discourse in accommodating the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia during Suharto's regime was one of assimilation, which forcefully aimed to absorb this minority into the national body. However, continuous official discrimination towards the Chinese placed them in a paradoxical position that made them an easy target of racial and class hostility. The May 1998 anti-Chinese riots proved the failure of the assmilationist policy. The process of democratization has given rise to a proliferation of identity politics in post-Suharto Indonesia. The policy of multiculturalism has been endorsed by Indonesia's current power holders as a preferred approach to rebuilding the nation, …
How To Be Chinese: Ethnic Chinese Experience A 'Reawakening' Of Their Chinese Identity, Chang Yau Hoon
How To Be Chinese: Ethnic Chinese Experience A 'Reawakening' Of Their Chinese Identity, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The post-Suharto era is an exciting period for Chinese Indonesians and other minority ethnic groups in Indonesia. After over three decades of cultural and political repression, Chinese Indonesians are now being given the opportunity to express their identity. The re-emergence of Chinese religion, language, and press in Indonesia since the end of the New Order, has had a significant impact on the development of ethnic Chinese identity. The strongly anti-Chinese sentiment expressed in the May 1998 riots in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia, including the looting of Chinese-owned shops and businesses and the racially-motivated rapes, drastically altered the position of …