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Author: Lai Xuan Chien
ABSTRACT
Malaysia is among the third world countries that have
experienced extraordinary economic and social changes
during the last thirty years. Its firm foundation was
tested during the Asian crisis that erupted in 1997 and
shook the whole region. Now Malaysia is confidently going
forward, while some of its neighbouring countries such
as Indonesia and the Philippines remain bogged down in
political, economic and social turmoil. It seems that
the factors such as the role of the central government
of Malaysia in exercising control over and handling relationships
with its federal member states has contributed enormously
to the sustained development of present day Malaysia.
Among the states of the Federation of Malaysia, Sabah
is a special member within the context of a federalist
system and was chosen as the focus of this article read
more...
CIVIL SOCIETY AND FOREST GOVERNANCE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
Towards an Alternative Model in Addressing Trans-boundary
Forest-Related Conflicts
Author: Antonio P. Contreras
ABSTRACT
The relations between states and civil societies have
long been established as a critical and complex one.
States emerge and gain legitimacy from civil society
institutions and processes, even as the state limits
civil societies through legal-bureaucratic mechanisms
manifested in law and public policy. With the increasing
role of civil society institutions in recent years, state
policy, including foreign policy, could very easily be
influenced by it. In Southeast Asia, particularly in
the realm of the ASEAN, states are both the actors and
the objects of diplomacy. With its policy of non-interference,
it is indeed difficult for ASEAN to deal with trans-boundary
environmental concerns, such as the haze from forest
fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra, or the trans-boundary
timber poaching and other forms of illegal trade in forest
products that traverse the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
This is because all these problems are deeply rooted
in problematic governance arrangements, of which the
individual states concerned are largely responsible.
There are indications that the annual forest fires that
ravage most of Sumatra and Kalimantan are outcomes of
the state policy on land use. The illegal timber trade
that criss-crosses the Mekong River basin is also an
indirect result of both social, economic and forest policies
or the lack of it. In a context that is averse to diplomatic
intrusion, and wherein consensus politics is valued,
the achievement of a desirable outcome would only be
confined to reactionary mechanisms, and not to long-term
solutions that strike at the root cause of the problem. read
more...
WOMEN'S ROLE IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN CAMBODIA
Author: Paulina Cendranita
ABSTRACT
The long and protracted conflict in Cambodia over more
than 30 years has raised awareness and the desire in
some Cambodian women to be involved in conflict resolution.read
more...
KAREN AND SHAN ETHNIC IMMIGRANTS AND THE SOCIAL IMPACT
ON THAILAND
Author: Nguyen Hong Quang
ABSTRACT
Burma (Myanmar), a country rich in natural resources
and mineral ores, was one of the most prosperous countries
in Southeast Asia. Its population is approximately 50
million people, with 75% living in rural and remote areas
and made up of more than a dozen major ethnic groups
- Burmese 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakinme 4%, Chinese
3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5%(1). Burma was a British
Principality, but civil war broke out shortly after independence
between ethnic nationalities and the ruling authorities. read
more... |
