Southeast Asia: History and Culture
Online ISSN : 1883-7557
Print ISSN : 0386-9040
ISSN-L : 0386-9040
Volume 2004, Issue 33
Displaying 1-12 of 12 articles from this issue
  • The Case of Local Chiefs (Penghulus) in Selangor
    Yuji TSUBOI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 3-25
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This paper aims to examine the interaction between the British government and local society in the process of selecting of native headmen in Selangor, British Malaya from 1874 till World War II.
    The British incorporated native headmen as a part of the administrative system with the title of Penghulu. Previous works about Penghulus in historical analysis were mainly focused on their administrative functions. However, their social backgrounds should be more taken into account, as their backgrounds could reflect characteristics of the local society. State administration documents such as Selangor Secretariat Files prove that various parties took part in the process of selection of Penghulus.
    The case of Selangor shows the important role played by immigrants. Although Penghulus are supposed to be attached to the local society, it was not the case in Selangor because a large number of immigrants were within Malay population in that state. Immigrants formed communities by bangsa, their origin. The communities often made applications towards the government for authorising their own headmen. The British regarded Penghulus as headmen among ‘natives’ including immigrants. Thus, Penghulus in the late 19th century were in some cases representatives of immigrant communities from Sumatra, Java and neighboring states such as Pahang and Negri Sembilan.
    In addition, the case of Penghulus in Selangor vaises questions about the concept of ‘bangsa Melayu.’ In the 20th century, Penghulus had changed their character from native headmen to local Malay officers. Along the process, the official framework of the ‘Malays’ superseded each bangsa and Penghulus were to be locally born Malays. The attitude of the government towards authorizing immigrant headmen had changed to be negative and this perception had been shared by the local society. Meanwhile, village headmen, authorized under Penghulu since 1910's, took the role as representatives of their own bangsa, immigrant communities continued to be bangsa-conscious even after they settled down. The government put the framework of bangsa under the framework of ‘Malay’ by putting village headmen under Penghulus.
    Penghulu ships offered opportunities for Malay immigrant communities to make their claim to the colonial administration. The framework of bangsa had also been utilized by non-Malay immigrant communities such as Javanese and Banjarese to participate in selecting ‘Malay’ officers. The framework of ‘Malay’ had taken its shape along with the settlement of immigrants as the result of interactions. Penghulus in Selangor reflect the process of adaptation of the local society to adapt to the colonial framework. These interaction would set a new perspective on the historical process of the formation of the framework of ‘Malay’ in British Malaya.
    Download PDF (2139K)
  • The Enhancement of Neighborhood Associations, RT/RK in Jakarta in 1954-1955
    Kazuo KOBAYASHI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 26-58
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Gotong Royong, a representative mutual aid organization, was recognized as an tradition in Indonesia, but today we have discovered that Gotong Royong is merely “a fabricated tradition.” Gotong Royong was quoted frequently by former President Soekarno during the 1950's and 60's as a justification for “guided democracy.” Moreover, Gotong Royong was not only touted as a political slogan, but was also institutionalized to enhance neighborhood associations.
    During the early 1950's, Jakarta encountered such problems as rapid population influx and ballooning municipal administration services. Under such circumstances, the city needed a device for managing and controlling its residents, an intermediary between the city government and residents, and also needed to complement city services. The device adopted constituted a realignment of existing neighborhood associations which had ceased to function, namely Rukun Tetangga and Rukun Kampung (RT/RK).
    During 1954-55 Jakarta Mayor Sudiro, who had close ties with Soekarno, played a leading role in enhancing RT/RK in an effort to revive the spirit of Gotong Royong. The enhancement of neighborhood associations with Gotong Royong as the standard bearer closely resembles the background of the neighborhood associations, Tonarigumi and Azajookai, that were implemented under the Japanese Occupation.
    Mayor Sudiro delivered a radio speech on 19 May 1954 to announce the enhance of RT/RK for Jakarta citizens. After the speech, the enhancement process of existing and new RT/RK, made rapid progress; and as a result, 4, 323 RT and 476 RK were implemented in April of 1955.
    On the other hand, there were some problems, one being misunderstanding on the part of citizens about the enhancement measures, another the overlapping of the night guard posted by RT/RK residents and some firms. To solve these problems, The First Conference of RT/RK was held in Jakarta on 28 June 1955, where the orientation and function of RT/RK was discussed and decisions made about the social, economic and public safety functions of RT/RK.
    Consequently, neighborhood associations that upheld the Gotong Royong tradition displayed a dualist composition of “reciprocity among residents” and national “power tactics.” The manipulation of this dualism was conducted by advocating a tradition that presented an obvious truth and was thus difficult to oppose.
    Download PDF (2993K)
  • Takako KITAGAWA
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 59-80
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Public education was introduced into the Kingdom of Cambodia starting in 1903. In this year, Éecole Norodom was opened in Phnom-Penh. The first écoles francocambodgiennes were opened in Kompong-Cham and Pursat, and expanded to every circonscription résidentielle. The top of the écoles franco-cambodgiennes system was the college Sisowath in Phnom-Penh, whose purpose was to educate functionaries.
    With regard to the public education system, it has been said that the school attendance rate among Cambodian was very low compared to Chinese or Vietnamese. The reasons were thought to be derived from (1) the lack of a tradition of schools in Cambodia, (2) the reluctance of parents who would be deprived of their children's labor, and (3) Buddhism, which was considered incompatible with modern education. However, these analysis dealt with Cambodia as a whole. The data that they depended on were mainly taken from schools located in the administration centers of circonscription résidentielle, and they never reflected the rural situation. Futhermore, according to a list of the number of schools in each circonscription résidentielle in 1930, we may assume that the situation or systems of public education were very different in each circonscription résidentielle. Therefore, we should initially examine the situations of each circonscription résidentielle before dealing with Cambodia as a whole.
    This paper investigates closely the introduction of public education in the circonscription résidentielle de Kompong-Cham, located along the middle course of the Mekong River. The main source is “Rapports périodiques, économiques et politiques de la résidence de Kompong-Cham” from 1898 to 1929.
    In the résidentielle de Kompong-Cham, there was a disparity between the école résidentielle/école de plein exercise established in Kompong-Cham city and the écoles provinciales/écoles élémentaires established in rural villages. The number of students continued to increase in the former, but in the latter, the number was inactive at all times. The reasons for the inactivity of the écoles provinciales/écoles élémentaires were reported as based on (1) the insufficiency of good teachers and (2) the indifference of parents to education. In contrast, the école résidentielle/école de plein exercise held a splendid ceremony at the end of every school year, and sent excellent students to the college Sisowath to be candidates of functionaries. From 1925 onward, school football matches were held every year, and the team from Kompong-Cham became a powerful team second only to the college Sisowath. The honored and hope-filled prospects must have given students an incentive to attend school. At least in Kompong-Cham, for those Cambodians who lived during the first quarter of the twentieth century, proficiency in the French language and the metric system was beneficial only in cases of people becoming functionaries. For the majority of Cambodians, French colonialism failed to show how colonial education profits a primarily agricultural population.
    Download PDF (2105K)
  • Masami KAWAMURA
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 81-99
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Previous development studies of Thailand have focused on the authoritarian system and ideological aspects of “development, ” while ignoring the actual recipients of this ideology. This essay illustrates the media interpretation of the ideology of “development” during the Sarit Regime (1958-63), which was, incidentally, the first Thai government to implement a development promotion policy.
    Besides launching an economic policy through his National Economic Development Plan, Sarit tried to spread his ideas of development among the people through slogans and speeches, in order to inspire active people instilled with the “spirit of development” through such concepts as self-help, independence, and an understanding of the value of work, money, savings, and so on. Sarit provided an ideal “life roadmap” for the people and encouraged them to work for their happiness.
    A study of three Thai newspapers and one weekly magazine, however, reveals a gap existing between Sarit's images of development and those portrayed in the media. The media images may be characterized as follows. First, they portrayed development as a passive concept, regarding it as something given by the Government, and often used the phrases “receive development” and “demand development” from the Government, although Sarit had encouraged the people to embrace their own spirit of development. Secondly, the media perceived development as a government-organized “event, ” describing local development activities as venues with entertainment and dinner. Finally, the media did not understand the spirit of development in the way Sarit intended. Sarit tried to communicate his ideas about development to the people, but it seemingly in vain, for his audience thought he was simply issuing practical orders or regulations.
    The reasons for this gap between Sarit's images of development and those appearing in the media would seem to be as follows. First, Sarit's images did not correspond to his political style, which showed the kind of paternalism in which a ruler cares for his people like a father. Sarit's paternalism could well have been incompatible with the images of development, such as independence, that he tried to promote. Secondly, factors other than Sarit's efforts, such as new technologies or consumer goods entering Thailand during that period, influenced people's images of development which may have made it more difficult to communicate his intended meaning of the “spirit of development”.
    In conclusion, further discussion of development in Thailand would require additional further study and research into various aspects of development and images of development.
    Download PDF (2152K)
  • Sumio FUKAMI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 100-118
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This paper first reviews the recent condition of historical source materials regarding the Malacca straits during the Yuan period (1276-1368), materials such as 1) the Tamil inscription of Quanzhou, 1281, which was discussed by Karashima Noboru (1988) as evidence of revitalization of the Tamil diaspora community, 2) Da-de-nan-hai-zhi (1304), a local gazetteer of Guangzhou which began to be used by historians in 1986, 3) the Yajima Hikoichi's Japanese translation of the Travels of Ibn Battuta with rich annotations (8 volumes, 1996-2002), and 4) Nomura Toru's Japanese translation of Hikayat Raja Pasai (2001). Concerning the authenticity for Jacob d'Ancona's the City of Light as a historical source, the author ends up supporting the group that assumes the book to be a forgery, mainly because Jacob claims that he crossed the Bay of Bengal from East to West during May and June, which would have been during high tide of the Southwest monsoon.
    In striking contrast to the Song period (960-1276), when San-fo-qi was frequently referred to as one of China's most important tributary countries and a country that occupied the crossroads of the South Seas, San-fo-qi is mentioned only three times during the Yuan period, in Da-de-nan-hai-zhi, Dao-yi-zhi-lue and Yuan-shi. Yuan-shi mentions it only once (volume 11), while its “Accounts of Foreign Countries” (volumes 208-210) makes no mention of any country in the Malacca straits area. It is as if Yuan-shi does not recognize any country in the South Seas between Campa in Southeast Asia and Ma' bar in South India. The Yuan central government did not recognize San-fo-qi, which, nevertheless, was recognized or at least remembered by local societies with close relations to the South Sea countries.
    Soon after the fall of the Song dynasty, followed by the absorption of maritime power in South China by the Yuan dynasty in 1276, friction began to occur between the central government and local sea merchants in Fujian, among whom the descendants of Da-shi (Arab or Persian), such as Pu-shou-geng, were influential. After a compromise was reached, San-fo-qi was mentioned by the latter in 1280, who wanted to manipulate the tributary mission from San-fo-qi, like they frequently did under the Song Dynasty. However, their proposal was rejected by the central government, which now wanted to participate directly in the South Sea trade to capture the lion's share of the profits.
    The Yuan central government had no reason to recognize San-fo-qi as a tributary country, since it was not a single polity, but rather a general name for the tributary countries of the Malacca straits area (Fukami 1987 and 2001). This is why many “San-fo-qi countries, ” such as Samudera and Malayu were recognized and recorded by the Yuan dynasty.
    It is well-known South India was the most important emporium in the South Seas (South China Sea-Indian Ocean region) during the Yuan period. We have enough sources to show conclusively that more people and ships from China and Southeast Asia frequented South Indian ports at that time than during the Song period. This development seems to be the result of (or the reason for) the technical progress that was achieved in the art of navigation. At the time of Ling-wai-dai-da (1178) and Zhu fan-zhi (1225), two winter monsoons were required to sail from South China to South India, because ships that departed China in the winter monsoon had to wait for the next winter monsoon at North Sumatra.
    Download PDF (1805K)
  • Indonesia, Malaysia, Regionalism
    Yoichi SUZUKI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 119-136
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This article reviews recent research on the history of maritime Southeast Asia during the 1960s. It was a period when War in Indochina was being escalated and the decolonization of the archipelago had reached its final phase. Indonesia took over West Irian, and Malaya incorporated the Borneo territories into its federation. In addition, a new regional league of nations emerged in the form of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The research was based on recently declassified documents coming mainly out of the English-speaking countries and attempted to clarify Anglo-American Cold War strategy as the background for decolonization and regional cooperation.
    In order to encounter the communist threat in the region, the Americans and the British promoted both the decolonization of Southeast Asia and regional cooperation. Originally, decolonization was embedded in their imperial discourse. As the communist threat escalated, the Americans and the British went on to guide Southeast Asia towards developing democratic institutions.
    During 1960s, the US forced the Dutch to disengage from West Irian, and Britain asked Tunku Abdul Rahman to form a federation, which later became Malaysia. Both the US and Britain also supported the formation of Southeast Asian regional cooperation against the communist contagion.
    The Southeast Asians, while manipulating US-British power politics skillfully, constructed their nations and formed regional cooperation for themselves. The Indonesians took the opportunity to occupy West Irian, and Malaya easily incorporated Sarawak and Sabah. Later, the Indonesian Army led five nations of the region in establishing a new form of regional cooperation under the banners of anti-communism and anti-China.
    While this body of research clarifies Anglo-American Cold War strategy and its impacts on the decolonization of Southeast Asia, it is also a fact that neither the US nor Britain took their imperialist duties seriously and were ambivalent towards human rights issues. The US ignored the Dutch promise to the Papua New Guineans for self-government, while the British discarded the Sabahans' claim for separation from the Malay federation. The ideal of imperialism, however, survived decolonization and could be the origin of new imperialism. To redress human rights violations involving backward peoples, a new imperialism began to infiltrate the region.
    Download PDF (1600K)
  • S. YOSHIZAWA
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 137-145
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (778K)
  • Y. ASAMI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 146-156
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (1056K)
  • J. KOIZUMI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 157-159
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (280K)
  • K. FUJITA
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 160-163
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (415K)
  • K. KOCHI
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 164-166
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (246K)
  • [in Japanese]
    2004Volume 2004Issue 33 Pages 167-193
    Published: May 30, 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: February 25, 2010
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (2606K)
feedback
Top