Ethno-nationalism in process: ethnicity,atavism and indigenism in Riau,Indonesia

Fifty-five years ago the Republic of Indonesia was founded on the motto Bhinneka tunggal ika (unity in diversity). Today unity has all but disintegrated as separatism and ethnic conflict tear at the nation's political and social fabric. This paper explores the historical foundations of ethno-nationalism with reference to the perspectives of Riau Malays. It argues that current conflict is not the result of recent phenomena, as is so often reported in the media, but is the surfacing of fault-lines that have long lain beneath the seemingly unified nation-state. Since 1945 and the declaration of Indonesian independence, unity has been achieved by Jakarta's imposition of order on the periphery. By analysing the relationship between the centre and periphery through the eyes of Riau Malays, a much clearer account of power emerges. This paper briefly highlights Riau accounts of the struggle for independence (1945–65), shows how atavism and indigenism have been symbolically and ritually realized on the ground (1965–97) and examines some key developments in Riau after the fall of Suharto (1997–2001). Despite recent changes, the politics of diverse peripheries have become localized, indigenized and fragmented, and alternatives to a Jakarta-centred vision for Indonesia's future are as marginalized as ever.     

Africa and the Poverty of International Relations

The modern condition of poverty in Africa is a global phenomenon, the outcome of world-historical processes of social change, and reproduced by globally structured social relations. This is obscured in academic analysis. The 20th century division of labour produced an absence of theorising the international from the discipline of Development Studies, and an absence of poverty from the concerns of International Relations. Neither Development Studies nor ir have adequately emphasised or theorised the global production and reproduction of local poverty in Africa. Perhaps this can be remedied, thanks to the increasing attention to studying international relations ‘from below’ in recent critical scholarship. However, methodologically, the current critical approaches in ir and ds are disabled by their abandonment of objectivity and a commitment to explanation. The article concludes by arguing for elaboration of the global political economy of poverty in Africa, as a form of social scientific inquiry with necessarily emancipatory implications.     

区域化整合的文化型经济：中国与东南亚变动关系中的种族和资本因素

本文探究东南亚各国华人在变化的更大区域中所起的作用。本文从文化和经济的理论视角来审慎地评价文化主义的观点,认为不应通过幼稚的文化主义公式化,而是可以通过探究在当代资本主义形成过程中各种经济、政治、文化和社会因素的相互影响和相互渗透,来获得比较正确的认识。     

UNDOCUMENTED INDONESIAN WORKERS IN MACAU

Presenting new research findings on undocumented Indonesian migrant workers in Macau, this article explicates the dovetailing arrangements between public and private sector interests that are systemically creating undocumented labor migration flows. It then shows how these arrangements are structurally inherent in the mutual competitiveness of globalizing nodes of wealth creation. Undocumented migration cheapens production costs and results in a flexible black market of vulnerable, right-less, and exploited workers. Contrary to illusions of an urbanizing Asia with expanding spaces for civil liberties, the development of globally competitive megacities, built and supported by low-skilled migrant workers, rests on a global underclass of transient workers who bear the human costs of transience and labor flexibility, enabling megacities to externalize such costs and enhance their global competitiveness. The article analyzes the vulnerabilities of undocumented Indonesian workers in the context of Macau's rapid economic development as an aspiring megacity The Macau government's laissez-faire tolerance of such workers is grounded in its need for human labor that is abundant, cheap, marginal, and disposable. The flow of Indonesian migrant workers into Macau is linked to Hong Kong's exclusionary immigration policies, which aim at extricating surplus migrant labor. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government refuses responsibility for its migrant workers in Macau because Macau is not recognized as an official destination. The article shows how public and private interests motivate increasing numbers of migrants to become undocumented overstayers in Macau, as they try to avoid oppressive practices in labor migration from Indonesia and the exclusionary policies of Hong Kong.     

New geographies and temporalities of power: exploring the new fault-lines of Southeast Asia

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the international arena has witnessed two concurrent worldwide trends. One is the gradual prevalence of universalism under the banner of human civilization; the other is the gradual revival of nationalism globally under exactly the same heading. Both trends are evident in China, a country which in the twenty-first century is perceived universally as a rising nation. However, does Chinese nationalism necessarily pose a threat to the world? By examining two debates on the Chinese intellectual response towards Sino-American and Sino-Japanese relations in the early twenty-first century, this paper investigates the status of Chinese nationalism. It questions whether it is a fixed set of ideas embraced by a solid entity, or whether it possesses multiple layers with dual elements contributing to both security and insecurity internationally. The paper argues that three separate nationalist processes are occurring concurrently but independently of each other: the construction of civic nationalist values; the development of an international relations strategy assigning responsible power to China; and the detection of alleged anti-Chinese conspiracies. The effect of the first two would be to encourage regional peace, and they could offset fervent nationalist expression. A somewhat counter-intuitive result of Chinese nationalism might be that it also becomes a stabilizing force within and outside China's borders.     

Customizing English Language Program for EFL Learners

This paper discusses the importance of having a customized instructional approach specifically for students who are learning English as a Foreign Language （EFL） in the foreign language setting. Most of the innovations introduced by the Education Ministry of Malaysia such as the Communicative Language Teaching （CLT） and phonics are suitable for ESL （English as a second language） learners, while the EFL learners are still left behind. A suitable teaching approach which customizes the needs of the students in EFL setting, especially in the state of Terengganu should be introduced. The main focus of the program exploits reading and writing skills in providing language input since these two skills are more dominant in terms of utility and functions among the EFL students as compared with the ESL students who are enable to exploit speaking and listening skills because of the natural setting. The research investigates the prospect of developing a suitable language teaching program based on 10 basic sentence patterns （10SP） which are exploited through the principles of transformational generative grammar and customized learning experiences focusing on reading as a bridge in acquiring other language skills such as writing, listening, and speaking.     

Ethnicity and capital: Changing relations between China and Southeast Asia

This article seeks to debunk the persistent myth of an ethnically-based Chinese capitalism and the culturalist view of an “economic miracle” created by Asians of Chinese descent. This myth claims that Chinese entrepreneurs constitute a closed category with homogenous ethnic attributes and cultural values that have enabled them to achieve economic success. This article disputes such primordialist views and proposes an alternative analysis of the cultural economy of regionalisation and constructions of Chineseness. It deconstructs the politics of culture and identity, and argues for the need to analyse Southeast Asian Chinese entrepreneurship within specific historical, geographical, economic, political and socio-cultural contexts.     

Statistical Evaluation of Alternative Light Sources for Bloodstain Photography

Bloodstain photography is important in forensic applications, especially for bloodstain pattern analysis. This study compares the enhancement effect of bloodstain photography using three different types of light source: fluorescent white light, near‐ultraviolet (UV) light‐emitting diode (LED) light, and 410 nm LED light. Randomized complete block designs were implemented to identify the lighting that would statistically produce the best enhancement results for bloodstains on different types of surfaces. Bloodstain samples were prepared on white cotton, brown carpet, tar road, and wood. These samples were photographed in darkroom conditions using a Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera, with Canon EFS 60 mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Two‐way analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were used to analyze the contrast of the images. The statistical analysis showed that 410 nm light is the best among the tested lights for enhancing bloodstains on the tested surfaces, where the contrast of bloodstain to background was the highest.