Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
Online ISSN : 2424-1377
Print ISSN : 0563-8682
ISSN-L : 0563-8682
Volume 15, Issue 2
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Article
  • Kenji Tsuchiya
    Article type: Article
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 131-152
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     In July 1913, the "Comite Boemi Poetra" ("Committee of Indigenous Sons") published a pamphlet consisting of an article written in Dutch, entitled "Als ik eens Nederlander was" ("If I were a Dutchman"), and its Malay translation. The author of this article was Soewardi Soerjaningrat, a nationalist writer from an aristocratic family in central Java. He and his friend Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo, a nationalist medical doctor, had organized the Comite in order propagandize aganist the Dutch centennial celebration of Holland's independence from Napoleon's dominion. Activities of the comite , particularly Soewardi's article, were a challenge to Dutch legitimacy to rule ovre Dutch East Indies, or the present-day Indonesia. The colonial government reacted promptly and captured not only the Comite 's members, including Tjipto and Soewardi, but also Douwes Dekker, a Dutch journalist, who was suspected of being the most dangerous character behind the scene. These three were banished from the colony in September 1913.
      In the historical literature of the nationalist movement in Indonesia, this event has never been illustrated as more than a mere "episode" showing a sign of radicalism, a kind of forerunner of Indonesian independence. This is because the Comite 's activities, viewed at that time, hardly had any significant influence upon the mainstream of the mass movement in Java viz. the Sarekat Islam. However, if we consider the event with respect to the Dutch attitude towards it on the one hand, and to Soewardi's idea advocated in the article on the other, we can then understand the significant characteristics of the style of Dutch rule over the colony as well as the Javanese style of resistance to authority.
      This article attempts to characterize the style of the rulers as zakelijkheid and the style of the ruled as Semar-ness . "Zakelijkheid is a virtually untranslatable Dutch word roughly covering the ideas of efficiency, businesslike practicality and unsentimental precision". The colonial government employed the concept of zakelijkheid in dealing with the event. This shows how essential the idea was for the Dutch in governing the colony. To resist the zakelijkheid , Soewardi utilized one of the most popular figures in a wayang story, Semar. Semar is a clown who sometimes criticizes the satria (aristocracy) class; he is at the same time a manifestation of a god and is sent down so that god's will would be realized in this world. Thus, according to the wayang story, Semar is a symbol of sarcasm and disguise. The title "If I were a Dutchman, , indicates that Soewardi disguised himself as if he were a Dutchman and the contents of the article are full of sarcasm against the Dutch concept of zakelijkheid ., This in some way shows that Soewardi is probably the first Indonesian nationalist who employed his own culture and symbolized it in the resistance to colonialism.
    Download PDF (2326K)
Notes
  • Hideichiro Nakano
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 153-177
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     This article attempts to study the continuity and discontinuity in the character of Malaysia's political leadership from 1967 to 1977 by analyzing the political elites, mainly cabinet members. This period was selected because it was during this time that the so-called 'May Thirteenth Incident' occurred in 1969, and the character of Malaysia's political leadership changed significantly, from the leadership of Tunku Abdul Rahman to that of Tun Abdul Razak.
      The analysis consists of three parts : 1) hisotrical examination of the political background of this newly born country, especially in terms of The Alliance, Communalism and Socialist Movement, 2) analysis of political elites before 'May Thirteenth' to characterize the political leadership of Tunku Rahman, and 3) analysis of political elites after 'May Thirteenth' to clarify the characteristics of Tun Razak's political leadership, which, the writer believes, remains unchanged and vivid in Malaysia's present regime of Datuk Hussein Onn.
      As it is widely known, Malaysia's political stability is largely dependent upon the successful coexistence of different racial groups composing this multiracial society, particularly Malays and Chinese. The Alliance, it is said, was a compromise of upper class elites from each racial community, and was successful under Tunku's leadership until 'May Thirteenth Incident' in 1969. After three years of Emergency during which Tun Razak took power, his political leadership appeared different from that of Tunku in the following two points : firstly, he tried to consolidate the government's power to oppress the nation's two enemies, communalism and communism respectively, and secondly, he tried very hard to support 'Bumiputras' to eliminate their disadvantages in everyday life. The latter point was set into a concrete form with the New Economic Policy (eradication of poverty regardless of race and restructuring society by abolishing the old social structure in which economic function and racial position are identical), which was energetically carried out during the Second Malaysia Plan, from 1971 to 1975.
     Analyzing cabinet members of Tun Razak's regime in 1975, the writer proposes that there are five categories of political elites, 1) the modern bureaucratic elite, 2) the traditional Islamic elite, 3) the modern=traditional elite, 4) the adaptive technical elite, and 5) the elites from East Malaysia. He also suggests that the uprising of the third category of elites mainly characterizes contemporary Malaysian political leadership, as evidenced by the selection of Dr. Mahathir, a typical figure of the third category, as deputy prime minister by Datuk Hussein Onn in early 1976.
      In conclusion, the writer observes that Malaysia's present political leadership is a complex of plural political elite groups with the modern=traditional elite group as its core. This group is the most politically-oriented, with the special character of modernity, as well as having easy accessibility to the local Malays, and being surrounded by modern bureaucratic elites and traditional Islamic elites, which in turn are surrounded by other elite groups.
    Download PDF (2452K)
  • Yoshihiro Tsubouchi
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 178-192
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     This is an interim report on the japanese observations of the working attitudes and habits of Indonesian employees. This research was conducted as part of a project on the "Interpersonal relationship among urban people of Indonesia". Information was collected in 1975/76 from Japanese or Japanese-Indonesian joint ventures in Jakarta and its surroundings by interviewing Japanese supervisers working there. The number of Japanese interviewed is 57 males with an age-distribution from late twenties to early fifties, and a variety of status from president director to field superviser.
      Results of the interviews are arranged under such headings as job performance, attitude toward working, loyalty to the organization, human relations, and life-style. Japanese interviewed did not have similar opinions about their Indonesian fellow-workers, and their evaluations vary widely. Contradictory observations are presented here as is. The Japanese evaluations should be carefully interpreted, taking into account the particularity of Japanese culture, the particular tendency of response of Japanese working overseas, and the particular attitude of the selected elite staff sent from Japan.
    Download PDF (1515K)
  • A Preliminary Comparison
    Yasuyuki Mitani
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 193-212
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (918K)
  • The Transaction Analysis of Trade Flows, 1950, 1960, 1970
    Susumu Yamakage
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 213-225
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     Attempting to discuss the transactional interdependence of the ASEAN region consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in comparison with that between the region and its adjacent countries, this paper analyzes trade flows in Southeast Asia in 1950, 1960 and 1970. The level of interdependence is measured herein by the percentage of exports and the Relative Acceptance index which is applied to international relations in Southeast Asia for the first time. Major findings are that the ASEAN countries have been relatively interdependent with one another, and that the ASEAN region has been relatively distinct from its adjacent region. The interdependence of the ASEAN region may be characterized by the heterogeneity of the level of interdependence among the member countries, rather than the lack of interdependence which has been believed.
    Download PDF (1056K)
  • IV. Floristic Composition along the Altitude
    Isamu Yamada
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 226-254
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (1991K)
  • Masao Konoshima, Mamoru Tabata, Noboru Hiraoka, Daroon Pecharaply
    1977 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 255-262
    Published: 1977
    Released on J-STAGE: June 02, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     Of 954 species of plants which are known to be used medicinally in Thailand, 273 species are also used for medicinal purposes in India. A comparison between Thai and Indian records showed that most of these common plants are used for different purposes in the two countries. This large discrepancy seems to indicate that Thai people developed their own knowledge of medicinal plants independent of any direct influence by Indian medicine, at least in the realm of folk medicine.
      Some of the common plants listed in Table 4 which are used for the same specific purposes in both countries may offer interesting materials for pharmacological tests in search of new active principles.
    Download PDF (703K)
feedback
Top