CSEAS Seminar Programme Abstracts, 2002
Fiscal Decentralisation in the Transition towards Greater Regional Autonomy in Indonesia: An Institutional Approach
Wihana
Kirana Jaya PhD candidate, Faculty of Business
and Economics, Monash University and
Lecturer in Economics,
Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Indonesia is undergoing multiple crises in economic, political, social and cultural spheres. The centralisation of administration with the New Order Government under Suharto triggered a crisis of centre-regional relations. Some regions sought full autonomy or the creation of a federal system, while others demanded independence from Indonesia. Researchers have paid little attention to local elite behaviour in studies of the development of regional autonomy, notably in fiscal decentralisation. Since the implementation of the regional autonomy law (22 and 25 of 1999) there has also been a lack of research on the economic and political impact of this fiscal decentralisation. This study will give special consideration to the impact the new regional autonomy laws on local government fiscal structure, local elite fiscal behaviour and regional economy outcomes. This study is informed by a theoretical framework based on a number of paradigms including approaches derived from the new institutional economics, decentralisation theory and theories about corruption, rent seeking and lobbying. The methodological approach will include in-depth case studies of selected regional communities, governments and legislatures using a combination of surveys and interviews of key decision-makers, political figures and administrators. The study will improve our understanding of the dynamics of regional autonomy in Indonesia, a critical factor in conceptualising the long-term stability of this highly varied and strategically important country.
Key words: Path dependence, Tax Power, Fiscal Imbalance, and Abuse of Power.
The State, Chinese Enterprise, and Industrialization in Malaysia
by Assoc Prof Edmund Terence Gomez, Faculty of Economics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This seminar traces the impact of the relationship between the state and Chinese capital on the industrialization of the Malaysian economy. A specific focus is the development of Chinese enterprise, due to the prominence of these firms in manufacturing, before the advent of active state participation in the industrialization process. The role of the state in the economy to enhance Malaysia's industrial base, partly also as a means to promote Bumiputera capital, had a bearing on the pattern of development of Chinese companies in this sector.
Two key questions will be dealt with here. What has been the impact of government policies, including efforts to redistribute wealth along ethnic lines and to industrialize the economy, on the Malaysian corporate sector? How have transformations within the state and among Chinese companies affected industrialization and corporate development in Malaysia?
To address these questions, the paper will analyze, first, the nature of Malaysian politics, specifically to assess the impact of UMNO hegemony on economic development. Second, the paper will trace the form of development of Chinese capital. This study will examine the evolving structure of the state and of Chinese enterprise, since the combination of a strong state and a dynamic form of Chinese capital has had a phenomenal impact on industrialization in Malaysia. An overview of the role of Chinese enterprise and the state on industrialization will be presented through an analysis of the top 50 publicly-listed companies in 2000. The paper will conclude with an assessment of the strategies adopted by the government to deal with the problems that have emerged within the economy and the corporate sector, as well as its attempt to enhance Malaysia's industrial and technological base.
The Narrative Potential of the Mikraj: Two Contexts for its Interpretation
by Julian Millie, Doctoral candidate, Research School CNWS (School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies), Leiden University, The Netherlands.
The paper examines differing constructions of the Prophet's heavenly journey and ascension (Isra' and Mi'raj). This feast has historically been one of the most prominently celebrated Muslim feasts in the Malay/Indonesian world. This paper, presented in the preparatory stages of the presenter's doctoral candidacy, highlights contrasting ways of responding to its narrative potential, focussing especially on the context of celebratory gatherings.
About the presenter: Julian Millie is a graduate of Monash, and is currently preparing his doctoral dissertation at Leiden University, the Netherlands. A monograph based on his MA thesis about the Syair Bidasari is being published by the KITLV.
The Architecture of 'Balinization': An Investigation of Cultural Tourism Development in Bali
by Amanda Achmadi , member of Young Architects Indonesia (AMI, Arsitek Muda Indonesia) and PhD candidate, Faculty of Architecture, University of Melbourne
Since the 1900s, the international tourism industry has grown to play a significant role in formatting "cultural authenticity" in Bali. Ever since that time, a formal discourse of culture and cultural tourism - consisting of conferences, academic publications, and public writings - has actively debated the issue of "Balinesness", alongside those of the various localities of the island. This thesis argues that current debates of "cultural sustainability" in Bali are dominated by a static conception of "cultural authenticity" and thus of architecture. Furthermore, it suggests that this discourse fails to acknowledge the presence and significance of change within the current formation(s) of rural settlement architecture.
As part of the ongoing thesis investigation, this paper focuses on the question of what constitutes a "Balinese architecture". This question is approached by scrutinizing two domains of data. The first one consists of academic and public writings on "Balinese architecture" while the second one deals with recent field observations on three cases of rural settlements: Kuta, Ubud, and Penglipuran. These selected cases have been recognised as tourist villages with different characteristics: a "polluted" Bali, a "real" Bali, and a pilot project of "village tourism". The question leads to an entanglement between an imagined conception of "Balinese architecture" and a materialised negotiation(s) happening on the ground of these rural settlement architecture, in their struggle to accommodate their life development and their "Balinesness".
Note: AMI (Arsitek Muda Indonesia) is a discussion group established in Jakarta in 1989 for the architecture community in Indonesia. It mainly provides a ground for communication, experimentation, exhibition, publication and excursion among professional architects, academics, and students in Indonesia. Focussing on building design, urban space, and public art, the organization has in recent years broaden its communication to include cultural observers, sociologists, artists, and NGO activists, with similar concerns towards the condition of the built environment in Indonesia. Its attempt to return to the public a role in urban design and planning has been underlined by its involvement during the post-riot situation in Jakarta and Solo, 1998-2000.
Social Identity, Fear and Communion: Deciphering Manila's Urban Landscape
Dr Michael Pinches, Department of Anthropology, University of Western Australia
One way in which Manila has become known outside the Philippines is through images of its vibrant street politics, in particular of the massive street protests that were instrumental in the overthrow of presidents Marcos and Estrada. Popularly referred to as 'people power one and two', these protests appeared to bring together in communion and shared national outrage people from all walks of life, rich and poor, domestic servant and tycoon, socialite and slum dweller. Indeed, Manila's streets, plazas and other public spaces are important locales in which the theatre of Philippine democracy is enacted. But Manila's landscape also testifies to enormous polarities in wealth and, increasingly, to an architecture of segregation and fear.
In this paper I explore the social production, use and imagery of urban space in Manila with reference to class division and the quest for development. Focused on instances of residential and retail architecture, the paper explores the social, cultural and institutional processes at work in the generation of particular urban forms and the disputed meanings associated with them. It is concerned with the ways in which different classes or status groups constitute themselves and their relations with each other in space. Particular attention is given to the expressions of mutual fear and fascination that seem to be played out in Manila's developing landscape of gated communities, squatter settlements and giant shopping malls, and the ways these have been affected by the growth in the city's middle classes. Finally, an attempt is made to link these expressions with the apparent democracy and communion of Manila's street politics.
About the speaker: Michael Pinches is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Western Australia. He has carried out extensive research on the Philippines and is a past president of the Philippine Studies Association of Australia. His published work deals with urbanisation, class culture, migrant workers, the new rich and politics in the Philippines. His most recent edited book is Culture and Privilege in Capitalist Asia (1999).