southeastasianists

[southeastasianists]

More than a millennium before Ferdinand Magellan landed in the archipelago that he called Filipinas, the islands were filled with thriving communities, ruled by their respective datu (rulers). They have sophisticated pottery and artifacts developed from trading with the surrounding civilizations in this part of the world. There was no extensive documentation on these cultures because of the lack of a permanent source of writing material, but one thing is certain—they are exceptional goldsmiths. 

One day in April 1981, a local named Edilberto Morales working with heavy machinery for an irrigation project in the province of Surigao del Sur found what turned out to be 22 pounds of gold artifacts. Morales quietly took home his stash on a rice sack and covered them with bananas. He wasn't sure what to do with the artifacts, so he entrusted them to the local priest. As words of the discovery got out, buyers and looters flocked to the village. Before long, the treasure was gone.

Fortunately, most of them made their way to the few buyers who could afford to buy them—the Central Bank and prominent people in the capital.

The items dated back to the 10th through the 13th centuries. The most prominent artifact is a sash made of  3,860 grams of gold. This piece was likely worn by an important datu during key rituals. The sash is made of tightly braided gold wires and beads woven to assemble a four-cornered halter with a slit on one end, perhaps to hold a ceremonial weapon.

It was likely made for ceremonial purposes, but no one can be sure. Similar golden regalia have been used by the Brahmin caste in India.

#Southeast Asia #Philippines

[southeastasianists]

“I am ready for my next assignment,” a beaming Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had declared at a People’s Action Party (PAP) convention last November.

“I am all in, heart and soul,” he said, adding that he has been working hard to get ready for what would be the “biggest responsibility” of his career – to take over the baton from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as Singapore’s next leader.

Now, the assignment has come as Mr Lee announced his retirement on Monday (Apr 15).

Mr Wong will officially take over the leadership reins on May 15, when he becomes Singapore's fourth Prime Minister.

RISE THROUGH THE RANKS

The 51-year-old entered politics in 2011 after being elected as a Member of Parliament in West Coast GRC. He was given his first political office two weeks after the election – as Minister of State for education and defence.

In the 2015 General Election, Mr Wong moved to contest in the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, where he has been anchor minister ever since.

By then, he had risen steadily through the ranks with positions in various ministries, including the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth where he was appointed acting minister in 2012 and made full minister two years later.

After the elections in 2015, he moved to head the Ministry of National Development where he stayed on until July 2020.

In 2020, Mr Wong was tasked to co-chair Singapore’s multi-ministry COVID-19 task force with then-Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.   Together with Mr Gan, and later, new Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, he helmed the country’s pandemic response and fronted key announcements at frequently held press conferences.

Political observers later said that it was Mr Wong’s steady leadership style during COVID-19, clear explanation of policies and grasp of details that put him in pole position to take over as the country’s next leader when Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat took himself out of the running for the top job in April 2021.

Mr Heng, then 60, had cited his age as the reason and that he would have “too short a runway” should he become Prime Minister after the pandemic.

Mr Wong, who was then Education Minister, took over the Finance Ministry from Mr Heng in the ensuing Cabinet reshuffle, providing the first hint of his frontrunner position given how the high-profile finance portfolio has traditionally been helmed by PAP heavyweights.

Questions about political succession were finally laid to rest in April 2022 when Mr Wong was named as the leader of the PAP’s fourth-generation, or 4G, team.   Two months later, he was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister in another Cabinet reshuffle, while holding on to his finance portfolio.

Since cementing his standing as Singapore’s next Prime Minister, Mr Wong has fronted major speeches, such as delivering the keynote speech at the May Day Rally last year in place of Mr Lee.

He has also launched the Forward Singapore exercise, which provided a glimpse of how he and the 4G team intends to take the country forward.

A CIVIL SERVANT AND GUITAR LOVER

Prior to entering politics, Mr Wong was a civil servant for 14 years.

He began his career at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1997 before moving on to other roles in the finance and health ministries.

Mr Wong became principal private secretary to the Prime Minister in 2005.

In 2008, he joined the Energy Market Authority as deputy chief executive and was promoted to chief executive in 2009.

Two years later, he stepped down from the post to enter politics as the youngest of five candidates tipped to form the core of the PAP’s 4G leadership.

The Straits Times reported previously that Mr Wong had resigned from the public sector to enter politics, a year short before reaching 15 years of service. Administrative Service officers were eligible for pension after 15 years of service.

“It was a loss, but it was not something that factored into my consideration at the time,” he had said.

On the personal front, Mr Wong grew up in what he described as an “ordinary family” in the Marine Parade HDB estate.

His late father was born in China’s Hainan Island, went to Malaysia as a young boy before moving to Singapore to work in a sales job.

His mother was a teacher. Describing her as a disciplinarian both in school and at home, Mr Wong has spoken highly of his mother in several interviews and public speeches for managing to teach while caring for him and his brother.

Mr Wong is an alumnus of Haig Boys’ Primary where his mother taught. In his teens, he attended Tanjong Katong Secondary School, which he chose because it was near his home, and later on, Victoria Junior College.

He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He also holds a master’s in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Outside of work, Mr Wong, who is married to Ms Loo Tze Lui, is known to be an avid music lover and skilled guitar player.

His love for the guitar goes back to when his father gave him his first guitar at the age of eight. He spent his weekends borrowing guitar books from the old Marine Parade library and when he got a government scholarship to study in the United States, he made sure to bring his guitar along.

Mr Wong has said that playing the guitar helps him to destress and unwind.

The incoming Prime Minister has posted several videos of him strumming his six string, including an acoustic rendition of American pop star Taylor Swift’s hit song Love Story as a tribute to educators on Teachers’ Day last year.

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #Lawrence Wong #Politics

[southeastasianists]

Located in the heart of Chinatown, the Majestic blends Western and Chinese architectural styles, and remembers the love story that founded it. 

Built in 1927 by Eu Tong Sen, the Majestic Theatre was formerly known as the Tien Yien Moh Toi Theatre. In addition to being a wealthy tin mining and rubber businessman, Sen was a dedicated husband. He used his wealth to open the theater after his wife was denied entrance to a Cantonese opera. Not only that, but he bought the whole street the Majestic sits on, and an entire opera troupe, just for his wife. 

By 1938, the theater had evolved into a cinema screening Cantonese blockbusters. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War II, the theatre was commandeered and renamed Tai Hwa Opera House and screened Japanese propaganda films. When the war ended, the Majestic Film Company acquired and aptly renamed the building. The theater was not only popular among Singaporean locals, but attracted Hong Kong film stars like Grace Chang, Lin Dai, and Ge Lan. 

Since then, the ownership of the Majestic has changed multiple times. In 1983, Cathay Organisation became the sole owner, screening Chinese films until the late 90s. In the early 2000s, the theatre was renovated into a three-story shopping mall that opened its doors on January 17, 2003. After going up for sale again in 2007, the building was turned into a betting center in 2009, to the dismay of many heritage conservationists and Chinese cultural arts enthusiasts.

The façade of the building is still adorned with tiles, depicting scenes of Cantonese opera and flying dragons. Its architecture reflects its connections to Singapore’s Cantonese community and the labor of love that founded it. 

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #Architecture

[southeastasianists]

A set of tunnels puzzling Singapore, sparking numerous conspiracy theories about its origins since the late 20th century, has its mystery finally cracked. Located on Admiralty Road West and Marsiling Crescent, the World War II-era tunnels have remained hidden from sight since the British left Singapore. 

Since the tunnels' discovery in the 2000s, multiple theories have been proposed about their origins. Some thought the tunnels led to Johor, or housed an underground facility for a nearby mental hospital. The most compelling theory was that the tunnel had been an underground oil storage facility built by the Asiatic Petroleum Company (APC) for a British Royal Navy base. A 1945 map showed the location of Woodlands North Depot, once operated by APC, on the exact location of the tunnels. 

At an impressive 54 square kilometers, Her Majesty’s Naval Base occupied almost 10 percent of Singapore’s land size in the 1940s and was formerly the largest British military base in Asia. The former base is now home to Sembawang Park and Woodlands Waterfront Park. 

While the evidence was compelling, the theory was slightly off. By obtaining information from disclosed documents, British Wartime Intelligence Reports, and the U.K.’s National Archives, Singapore’s National Heritage Board solved the mystery of the Marsiling Tunnels' true origin and purpose. They have been verified as a pre-WWII fuel reserve depot utilized by the Royal Air Force, not the British Royal Navy. 

During their occupation of Singapore, the Imperial Japanese Army utilized the tunnels as an oil storage facility. According to a 1944 British intelligence report, the tunnels were renovated to have five large tanks, increasing their capacity by over 5,250 tons. 

In 2014, on the 72nd anniversary of the Battle of Singapore, the tunnels opened to the public for the first time. The National Heritage Board offered guided tours to show how the British surrendered to Singapore to the Japanese. These tours also included important historical locations like Opium Hill and Tiong Bahru Air Raid Shelter. Today, most entrances have been sealed and are closed to the public, but a small entrance found by local explorers remains open. 

#Southeast Asia #Singapore

[southeastasianists]

In Boat Quay, bronze statues fashioned by Aw Tee Hong in 2003 encapsulate an antiquated routine for merchants and laborers of early Singapore. These statues depict a Chinese trader, a Malay chief, a famous merchant Alexander Laurie Johnston, and men loading sacks onto a cart. The sculptures are located along the river and the former site of Johnston’s warehouse. Johnston, a prominent Scottish businessman and merchant, is seen mediating with the Chinese trader and Malay chief. Hong captures and highlights the multiculturalism integral to Singapore’s identity, showing how diverse the trading community is. Adjacent to these men, a homage is paid to the low-wage laborers of the time. These men, often of Chinese or Indian origin, were vital in traversing the trade routes along the river. As Johnston was one of the earliest British settlers in Singapore, he was among the first magistrates appointed by Sir Stamford Raffles. Serving as one of the Trustees of the Singapore Institution, Johnston established A. L. Johnston & Co. in 1820, making his mark as an active member of the mercantile community. The Scotsman became a founding member of Singapore’s Chamber of Commerce in 1837, helping the nation become one of the most important trading hubs in the world. The artist behind these statues, Aw Tee Hong, was a prominent Singaporean artist known for his paintings and sculptures. He immortalizes Singapore’s heritage, focusing on the country’s humble beginnings as a fishing village and its evolution into a modern metropolis.

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #Art #Artists #Sculpture #Aw Tee Hong

[southeastasianists]

In Dili, Indonesia’s future means trying to forget about Timor-Leste’s past

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto, a former military officer, has been linked to alleged atrocities in Timor-Leste.

At Timor-Leste’s museum of memory, Hugo Fernandes supervises exhibits chronicling resistance and oppression during the Indonesian occupation – an era when Prabowo Subianto, now Indonesia’s president-elect, is alleged to have overseen atrocities.

Fernandes runs the Centro Nacional Chega! museum, a former prison in the capital Dili that dates to when Timor-Leste was a Portuguese colony. Faded photographs of Timorese resistance fighters and messages scrawled on the walls by prisoners who languished here during Indonesia’s brutal 24-year rule line its galleries. 

Despite the shadows cast by history, the impending ascent to power of Prabowo, a former army special forces commander who was declared the winner of the Feb. 14 Indonesian general election, has been greeted with diplomatic decorum in this tiny young nation of 1.3 million people also known as East Timor.

“Prabowo’s specific actions remain unclear due to limited information,” Fernandes, the museum’s director, told BenarNews. “Accusations of human rights violations have persisted, but concrete evidence and verification are difficult to obtain.”

“Chega!,” which means “enough! in Portuguese, stands as a testament to Timor-Leste’s efforts to navigate the delicate path between preserving the memories of its dark past and promoting reconciliation with its giant neighbor next-door.

“There are differing voices within the nation,” Fernandes says. “Some activists advocate for answers regarding past atrocities, while others emphasize the importance of moving forward with Indonesia.”

In 1999, East Timor voted overwhelmingly to break away from Indonesian rule, through a United Nations-sponsored referendum. Before and after the vote, pro-Jakarta militias engaged in widespread violence and destruction. East Timor gained formal independence in 2002 after a period of U.N. administration.

The occupation, which followed after Indonesia invaded East Timor in December 1975, was marked by famine and conflict. The number of deaths attributed to that era ranges from from 90,000 to 200,000, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor reported.

This figure includes nearly 20,000 cases of violent deaths or disappearances. The commission’s findings indicate that Indonesian forces were responsible for about 70% of these violent incidents, set against the backdrop of East Timor’s population of around 900,000 in 1999.

And according to the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University, “up to a fifth of the East Timorese population perished during the Indonesia’s 24-year occupation … a similar proportion to the Cambodians who died under the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot (1975-1979).”

Since 1999, the relationship between Timor-Leste and Indonesia has evolved, with Jakarta acknowledging its former province as a “close brother” and supporting Dili’s bid to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta welcomed Prabowo’s election win and expressed readiness to collaborate with Indonesia’s upcoming new leader.

“Very pleased, very pleased,” Ramos-Horta told BenarNews when asked about Prabowo’s victory. 

As a young man, Ramos-Horta, now 74, was a founder and leader of Fretilin, the armed resistance movement that fought to liberate East Timor from the Portuguese first and then the Indonesians.

He said he had personally called Prabowo, now Indonesia’s defense minister, to congratulate him, and that the ex-general planned to visit Timor-Leste before his inauguration on Oct. 20.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, a former guerilla leader who spent years in an Indonesian prison, was also happy with the news, Ramos-Horta said.

“President-elect Prabowo will contribute a lot, first to Indonesia, continuing stability and prosperity in Indonesia, and then in the region, as well as strengthen relations with Timor-Leste,” he said, adding Prabowo had “many friends” in his country, including his own brother, Arsenio.

When asked about Prabowo’s human rights record in Timor-Leste, Ramos-Horta said, “That is past. It’s already almost three decades, and we do not think of the past.”

Prabowo was a key figure in the military operations that crushed the East Timorese resistance.

The Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTI), a coalition of civil society organizations, survivors, and families of victims, said reports had implicated Prabowo in a 1983 massacre in Kraras.

Some estimates said that  200 people were killed there, earning the area the nickname the “town of widows.”

In a statement released in November, the alliance said that as the head of the Indonesian army’s special forces command, Prabowo had directed actions resulting in severe human rights abuses and crimes, including the establishment of pro-Indonesian militias blamed for post-referendum violence in 1999.

In addition, Prabowo is linked to a 1991 massacre at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, where some 250 peaceful demonstrators were killed, the alliance said.

In 1998, Prabowo was discharged from the military after a council of honor officers found him guilty of several violations, including involvement in the abduction and disappearance of pro-democracy activists during the 1998 student protests that led to the downfall of Indonesian dictator Suharto.

Prabowo, 72, has denied any wrongdoing and said he was only following orders from his superiors. He has never been tried in a civilian court for the alleged crimes.

Prabowo’s presidential campaign team said that witnesses, including religious figures in Timor-Leste, had denied his connection to the Krakas killings.

For many Timorese, the memories of Indonesian occupation are hard to erase. 

Naldo Rei, 50, a former child guerrilla-fighter who was repeatedly imprisoned during that period, said he could not overlook Prabowo’s human rights record.

“While I don’t want to meddle in Indonesia’s internal matters, when it comes to human rights issues, Prabowo has a very distressing track record,” Rei told BenarNews, his soft-spoken and gentle demeanor belying his resistance years.

Rei spent his youth evading capture in the Los Palos jungle after the loss of six family members, including his father, to Indonesian military action.

In the early 1990s, he sought refuge first in Jakarta, then in Australia, before settling in an independent East Timor.

Rei, who is the author of “Resistance,” a memoir detailing his experiences, voices apprehension about the trajectory of Indonesian democracy.

“Prabowo’s victory, from my perspective, squanders the democracy that the people have fought for,” he said. “How many lives have been lost? He and other generals have blood on their hands.”

Januario Soares, a second-year medical student at the National University of Timor Lorosae, represents a growing sentiment focused on the future.

“Indonesia has chosen its leader. We need to focus on the future,” Soares said as he sat in the shade of a mahogany tree outside his campus in Dili.

He believes strengthening relations between the two countries is vital.

“The civil war left us divided, and in that division, we inadvertently opened our doors to Indonesia,” Soares said. “What followed was a period of violence against our people, a scar in our history.”

Yet, when it comes to Prabowo’s role in that history, Soares admitted he did not know much.

“The Indonesian people have made their choice. Perhaps Prabowo is the best among the contestants; that’s why they chose him,” he said.

Soares said he opted for a pragmatic approach toward the past, focusing on improving the quality of life and seeking benefits for the present and future.

“People change over time, and I believe Prabowo has changed too.” 

Damien Kingsbury, a political expert specializing in Timor-Leste, said Timorese leaders were obligated to maintain a delicate diplomatic stance due to the small nation’s reliance on Indonesia for imports and its aspirations to join ASEAN, the Southeast Asian bloc. Indonesia is one of ASEAN’s founding members.

“Of course, Ramos-Horta must be diplomatic,” said Kingsbury, a professor at Deakin University in Australia, who has written extensively on Timor-Leste and Indonesia.

“He is president of a small country that has an unhappy history with Indonesia and does not want to create any possible problems,” he told BenarNews.

Kingsbury pointed out that while Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate and prominent diplomat, is well-versed in the language of diplomacy, there is a generational gap in awareness of the nation’s tumultuous past.

“Younger people may not be aware of events of 20, 30 and 40 years ago, but that does not mean they did not happen,” he said.

“It must leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many that Timor-Leste’s leaders need to be polite to Prabowo.”

#Southeast Asia #East Timor #Timor Leste #Indonesia #Prabowo Subianto #Indonesian occupation #History

[southeastasianists]

Off the southern shores of Singapore where waves whisper ancient tales, you can find Kusu Island. In the Hokkien dialect, kusu means "tortoise" or "turtle." True to its name, this island is adorned with many tortoise statues and home to a legendary tortoise tale.

The most prominent mythology revolves around a giant turtle and his generosity. During the ninth lunar month, two sailors found themselves shipwrecked and in distress on the rough seas. Thankfully, a benevolent turtle spotted the men and turned itself into an island where they could take refuge. Honored and grateful for the creature’s help, the sailors returned the following year to make offerings. Since then, Kusu Island has transformed into a place of worship.

The ancient pilgrimage continues today as thousands of devotees pilgrimage to Kusu Island to worship at the Da Bo Gong (Tua Pek King) Temple on the ninth lunar month. The island hosts a Chinese temple, three Malay shrines (Keramats), and a tortoise sanctuary. One of Singapore’s famous cultural heritages, the hawker center, is also on the island and only open during festivities and pilgrimages.

Originally 1.2 hectares, the island grew to 8.5 hectares through landfill and reclamation in 1975. During British colonization, the island once served as a burial site for newly arrived immigrants who died in quarantine on St John’s and Lazarus islands.

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #Kusu Island

[southeastasianists]

Nearly seven years after the Myanmar military killed thousands of Muslim Rohingyas, in what the UN called "textbook ethnic cleansing", it wants their help.

From interviews with Rohingyas living in Rakhine State the BBC has learned of at least 100 of them being conscripted in recent weeks to fight for the embattled junta. All their names have been changed to protect them.

"I was frightened, but I had to go," says Mohammed, a 31-year-old Rohingya man with three young children. He lives near the capital of Rakhine, Sittwe, in the Baw Du Pha camp. At least 150,000 internally displaced Rohingyas have been forced to live in IDP camps for the past decade.

In the middle of February the camp leader came to him late at night, Mohammed said, and told him he would have to do military training. "These are army orders," he remembers him saying. "If you refuse they have threatened to harm your family."

The BBC has spoken to several Rohingyas who have confirmed that army officers have been going around the camps and ordering the younger men to report for military training.

The terrible irony for men like Mohammed is that Rohingyas in Myanmar are still denied citizenship, and subjected to a range of discriminatory restrictions - like a ban on travel outside their communities.

In 2012 tens of thousands of Rohingyas were driven out of mixed communities in Rakhine State, and forced to live in squalid camps. Five years later, in August 2017, 700,000 fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, after the army launched a brutal clearance operation against them, killing and raping thousands and burning their villages. Some 600,000 of them still remain there.

Myanmar is now facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over its treatment of the Rohingyas.

That the same army is now forcibly recruiting them is a telling sign of its desperation, after losing huge swathes of territory in Rakhine recently to an ethnic insurgent group called the Arakan Army. Dozens of Rohingyas in Rakhine have been killed by military artillery and aerial bombardments.

The military has also suffered significant losses to opposition forces in other parts of the country - on Saturday it lost control of Myawaddy, a town on the eastern border with Thailand. Most of the country's overland trade passes through this vital route.

The junta has lost large numbers of soldiers as well. They have been killed, wounded, surrendered or defected to the opposition, and finding replacements is difficult. Few want to risk their lives propping up an unpopular regime.

And the Rohingyas fear that is the reason they are being targeted again - to be cannon fodder in a war the junta seems to be losing.

Mohammed said he was driven to the base of the 270th Light Infantry Battalion in Sittwe. Rohingyas have been prohibited from living in the town since they were driven out during the 2012 communal violence.

"We were taught how to load bullets and shoot," he said. "They also showed us how to disassemble and reassemble a gun."

In a video seen by the BBC another group of Rohingya conscripts can be seen being taught how to use BA 63 rifles, an older standard weapon used by the Myanmar armed forces.

Mohammed was trained for two weeks, then sent home. But after just two days he was called back, and put on a boat with 250 other soldiers and transported five hours up-river to Rathedaung, where a fierce battle with the Arakan Army was under way for control of three hilltop military bases.

"I had no idea why I was fighting. When they told me to shoot at a Rakhine village, I would shoot."

He fought there for 11 days. They were desperately short of food, after a shell fell on their supply hut. He saw several Rohingya conscripts killed by artillery and he was injured by shrapnel in both legs, and taken back to Sittwe for treatment.

On 20 March the Arakan Army released photos from the battle, after it had taken control of the three bases, showing several corpses, at least three of them identified as Rohingyas.

"While I was in the middle of the battle I was terrified the whole time. I kept thinking about my family," Mohammed said. "I never thought I would have to go to war like that. I just wanted to go home. When I got home from the hospital I hugged my mother and cried. It felt like being born again from my mother's womb."

Another conscript was Hussain, from Ohn Taw Gyi camp, which is also near Sittwe. His brother Mahmoud says he was taken away in February and completed his military training, but he went into hiding before they could send him to the front line.

The military denies using Rohingyas to fight its battles with the Arakan Army. General Zaw Min Tun, the junta spokesman, told the BBC that there was no plan to send them to the front line. "We want to ensure their safety, so we have asked them to help with their own defence," he said.

But in interviews with the BBC, seven Rohingyas in five different IDP camps near Sittwe all said the same thing: that they know of at least 100 Rohingyas who have been recruited this year and sent off to fight.

They said teams of soldiers and local government officials came to the camps in February to announce that the younger men would be conscripted, at first telling people they would get food, wages and citizenship if they joined up. These were powerful lures.

Food in the IDP camps has become scarce and expensive as the escalating conflict with the Arakan Army has cut off the international aid supplies. And the denial of citizenship is at the heart of the Rohingyas' long struggle for acceptance in Myanmar, and one reason they suffer systematic discrimination, described by human rights groups as similar to apartheid.

However, when the soldiers returned to take the conscripted men away, they retracted the offer of citizenship. When asked by the camp residents why they, as non-citizens, should be subjected to conscription, they were told that they had a duty to defend the place where they lived. They would be militiamen, not soldiers, they were told. When they asked about the offer of citizenship, the answer was "you misunderstood".

Now, according to one camp committee member, the army is demanding new lists of potential recruits. After seeing and hearing from the first group to come back from the front line, he said, no-one else was willing to risk being conscripted.

So the camp leaders are now trying to persuade the poorest men, and those with no jobs, to go, by offering to support their families while they are away, with donations raised from other camp residents.

"This conscription campaign is unlawful and more akin to forced labour," said Matthew Smith, from the human rights group Fortify Rights.

"There's a brutal and perverse utility to what's happening. The military is conscripting the victims of the Rohingya genocide in an attempt to fend off a nationwide democratic revolution. This regime has no regard for human life. It's now layering these abuses on top of its long history of atrocities and impunity."

By using Rohingyas in its battles against the advancing Arakan Army, the Myanmar military threatens to reignite communal conflict with the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population, much of which supports the insurgents.

It was friction between the two communities which in 2012 caused the expulsion of tens of thousands of Rohingyas from towns like Sittwe. In 2017, ethnic Rakhine men joined in the army's attacks on the Rohingyas.

Tension between the two communities has eased since then.

The Arakan Army is fighting for an autonomous state, part of a wider campaign with other ethnic armies and opposition groups to overthrow the military junta and create a new, federal system in Myanmar.

Now on the brink of victory in Rakhine State, the Arakan Army has talked about giving citizenship to all who have lived there recently, implying that it might accept the return of the Rohingya population from Bangladesh.

The mood has now changed. A spokesman for the Arakan Army, Khaing Thukha, told the BBC that they viewed Rohingyas being conscripted to fight for the junta as "the worst betrayal of those who had recently been victims of genocide, and of those fighting for liberation from dictatorship".

Pro-military media have also been giving publicity to what appear to have been Rohingya protests in Buthidaung against the Arakan Army, although local people told the BBC they suspected these were organised by the army in an attempt to divide the two groups.

The Rohingyas are now forced to fight for an army that does not recognise their right to live in Myanmar, thereby alienating the ethnic insurgents who may soon control most of Rakhine. Once targeted by both, they are now caught between the two sides.

Mohammed has been given a certificate by the army, stating that he has fought in battle on their side. He has no idea what value it has, nor whether it exempts him from further military service. It could well get him into trouble with the Arakan Army if it continues its advance towards Sittwe and his camp.

He is still recovering from his injuries, and says he is unable to sleep at night after his experience.

"I'm afraid they will call me again. This time I came back because I was lucky, but next time I am not sure what will happen."

#Southeast Asia #Burma #Myanmar #Military Junta #Rohingya People

[southeastasianists]

In February 2023, a few months after I departed from my field site in Singapore, the Deputy Prime Minister announced significant changes to Singapore’s housing policies. In his eagerly anticipated budget speech for 2023, Lawrence Wong reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to nurturing familial aspirations among Singaporeans and proceeded to outline measures aimed at reducing the uncertainties faced by (heterosexual) couples in their housing journeys. Chief among these measures was the granting of extra balloting chances to families with children and young married couples aged 40 and below (Ong, 2023). 1 Previously, both engaged and married couples received two ballot chances each, whereas now legally married couples and married couples with children would receive three balloting chances.

This announcement and its implications must be understood within context. Approximately 80% of Singaporeans reside in public housing flats (Lin, 2022), 2 representing some of the highest flat ownership rates in Asia and underscoring the success of Singapore’s public housing model—a model that Singaporeans and its leaders rightly take pride in. However, this success comes with a caveat. In Singapore, flat ownership is contingent upon adhering to and staying on a particular life path.

In brief, there are several pathways to acquiring a public flat. Among them, the Build-to-Order (BTO) housing program, known locally as “BTO,” is the most affordable and accessible route for Singaporean citizens to own a public flat. Eligibility to apply for a BTO before the age of 35 hinges on the formation of—or in the case of engaged couples, the intention to form—a conventional family nucleus. 3 (Singles may participate after 35.) 4 Eligible couples or families submit an online application, which is then entered into a computer-generated ballot. This ballot, occurring four times a year, can induce significant anxiety, as couples may succeed on their first attempt or as late as their 13th try. 5

It is this anxiety and uncertainty that the Deputy Prime Minister sought to alleviate by offering married couples more balloting chances. Returning to the formalities of the BTO process, couples must then wait 3 to 6 years for the flat to be built, and they risk losing their down payment (an amount that can be as high as 20,000 Singapore dollars) 6 if they separate or divorce during this period. Subsequently, after moving into the flat, they must fulfil what is termed a Minimum Occupation Period. For those who balloted as a married or engaged couples this typically entails remaining married and residing in the flat for a period of five to ten years, depending on the location of the flat. In other words, access to a subsidized flat in Singapore before the age of 35 is heavily contingent upon coupling and maintaining that union.

During my PhD fieldwork, I began to realize that what I was studying was not merely housing policy, but rather people’s endeavours to live together, and the various modes of romantic labour they engage in to synchronize their relational lives with grant, balloting, and flat building cycles. Particularly, I observed my interlocutors, many of whom were still in university, attempting to pre-empt uncertainties in balloting and long wait times by committing to serious relationships early. The idea was that finding a partner early would enable them to wait out multiple balloting attempts and access optimal grant opportunities. Often, they disclosed to me that their BTO partner was also their first romantic partner.

To facilitate this accelerated romantic trajectory, my interlocutors often adopted a decidedly pragmatic attitude toward romance. They sought not necessarily passion or love, but rather what Adely (2016) 7 termed compatibility when writing about marriage in Jordan. Compatibility, for Adely and for my interlocutors as well, referred to “more practical issues of financial security, the ability of a couple’s families to get along, as well as shared expectations of married life” (103). When one girl realized that her then-partner was not aligned with her romantic schedule, she reached out to her friends to ask if she should “leave now and cut my losses”. In a departure from conventional romantic timelines, I observed my interlocutors transitioning courtship to the period after they had already made a down payment for a flat but before the flat was ready. In essence, they committed to purchasing a flat together (and indirectly, to marriage), and then sought to determine or mold each other into the right marital or cohabiting partner. The implication seemed to be that, as one interlocutor expressed, a “person can be made right”. Another stated that the interim wait for the flat was a “rehearsal” for marriage. Yet, despite their best efforts, I also witnessed relationships fail. Ironically, they failed not despite, but often because of, attempting to fit their romantic lives onto a narrow path.

When one of my primary interlocutors, a 23-year-old Chinese-Singaporean woman named Grace, broke up with her boyfriend of a few years in the middle of my fieldwork, it came as a shock to both of us. They had already selected a unit and made their first down payment for the flat. She had diligently assessed their compatibility and conducted due diligence with extreme care. In fact, when they first got together, she asked him a list of questions about how he would handle familial conflict, his approach to finances, and his views on children. Satisfied that he was a stable partner who could be trusted for the long term, they agreed to ballot together. The irony was that when they broke up, the reasons she pointed to had nothing to do with their life goals or finances. Instead, she said she felt that he was almost too stable for her – “attraction mounts for him the more stable our relationship is, but I realize that it doesn’t work for me this way.” She had simply fallen out of love, and consequently lost her down payment. She was not alone. While some of my interlocutors managed to devise ingenious kinship solutions to circumvent flat restrictions, many realized that the romantic arrangements they sought in their schooling years or early twenties were not what worked best for them. In other words, paradoxically, the pursuit of the stability incentivized by the BTO generated more modes of romantic and financial uncertainties.

This is why I was uncertain about how to interpret the announcement regarding married couples receiving more balloting chances. A starting point could be to bemoan the continued lack of attention paid to the needs of those whose life trajectories differ from statist reproductive visions—such as single mothers, queer couples, and others. However, even among the group explicitly prioritized by the BTO, there appears to be a romantic hierarchy in effect. The recent change evidently favors married couples over engaged couples. In a Today article (Ong, 2023), 8 an interviewee is quoted as saying that the change would offer “some safety net so that if the timeline does not fit and we get married, after we get married, we’ll at least have some advantage.” In theory, I understand how this change could potentially alleviate some of the pressure to enter into relationships early. Couples could initially ballot multiple times as an engaged couple, and when they are ready to commit, they could then marry and ballot for a flat together. With increased balloting chances, they are now more likely to secure a flat. This, theoretically, should reduce the uncertainty that couples feel about obtaining a flat, a factor that supposedly drives young couples to rush into the ballot. However, I remain cautious. If housing supplies do not increase significantly, 9 this would imply that it would become more difficult for engaged couples to secure flats, while marginally easier for married couples. In other words, it would extend an already exclusionary criterion – between singles and normatively coupled individuals – to the differentiation between engaged and legally married couples.

While couples enter the BTO with the expectation and hope of eventual marriage, they also understand the inherent risks involved. For my interlocutors, expediting marriage closer to key collection was a strategy to limit potential entanglements in the event of a relationship breakdown. This remains a relevant concern considering the need to meet grant deadlines and the wait for a flat, which means the need to start finding a partner young might not change significantly. I worry that what has changed now is that some couples might feel that instead of using the waiting time as a “rehearsal,” a prelude to marriage, they might now feel incentivized to simply get married. This timeline, at least in the iteration that I found in the field, leaves little room for young people to evolve, to experiment, and to figure out who they are and what they want in a romantic relationship and marriage. We talk a lot about aspirations in Singapore – aspirations for a flat, for children, for marriage – that we seem to forget that desire, and the different but often messy paths through which people discover themselves and their needs, are also part of the calculus of life. Forgetting this ironically produces more, not less, romantic and, if one were to count the potential loss of a down payment, financial instability.

Joy Xin Yuan Wang Joy is a PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge, Department of Social Anthropology.

Notes:

Ong, Justin . 2023. “Additional BTO Ballot Chance for ‘Prioritised First-Timers’ a Fairer Move than Reserving More Flats for Them: Analysts.” TODAY. February 16, 2023. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/prioritised-first-timers-hdb-bto-flats-2109006#:~:text=the%20previous%20day ↩

Lin, Chen. 2022. “Singapore Sees the Rise of Million-Dollar Public Housing.” Reuters, August 31, 2022, sec. Asian Markets. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/singapore-sees-rise-million-dollar-public-housing-2022-08-31/ ↩

In brief, an official family nucleus in Singapore is generally defined as

a) If you are married, you, your spouse, and your children (if any). b) If you are single: you and your parents. c) If you are widowed/divorced/separated: you and your children under your custody. d) Fiancé and fiancée e) Orphaned siblings

Marriage is central to the eligibility criteria because four out of the five officially endorsed pathways to forming a family nucleus flow from marriage. Note, for example, that option C does not account for mothers and fathers who have children out of wedlock. ↩

n August 2023, after this essay was written, the government announced greater changes to housing in Singapore. Two major changes included the recategorization of mature and non-mature estates into three categories- Standard, Plus, Prime. Prior to this change singles looking to purchase to BTO flats could only purchase 2-room flats in non-mature estates. While Singles continue to be limited in the size of BTO flat they can purchase (only 2-bedroom flats), they are now allowed to purchase flats from any location. (See this article for the details of the new changes https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/national-day-rally-2023-hdb-flats-singles-prime-bto-resale-3711471) ↩

In the field I met couples who only succeeded on the 11th time. This rice media article suggests that it is possible to fail 13 times at the ballot: https://www.ricemedia.co/bto-hdb-singapore/ ↩

Fong, Kenneth . 2021. “Planning to Break-up after You BTO-Ed? You Might Lose about $40,000!” Blog.seedly.sg. September 25, 2021. https://blog.seedly.sg/break-up-bto-hdb-application/ ↩

Adely, Fida. “A different kind of love: compatibility (Insijam) and marriage in Jordan” The Arab Studies Journal, Vol. 24, no. 2, 2016, pp. 102–27. ↩

Ong, Justin . 2023. “Additional BTO Ballot Chance for ‘Prioritised First-Timers’ a Fairer Move than Reserving More Flats for Them: Analysts.�� TODAY. February 16, 2023. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/prioritised-first-timers-hdb-bto-flats-2109006#:~:text=the%20previous%20day ↩

The government has made promises and proposed measures to increase the supply of BTO flats. The most recent signs in February 2024 appear promising, with some flats promised to be delivered in a timeframe of within three years (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/19600-bto-flats-to-go-on-sale-in-2024-over-three-exercises-instead-of-four-desmond-lee). However, how this will play out and how the acceleration of flat delivery will affect romantic timelines and decisions is yet to be seen. ↩

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #BTO #Public Housing #Marriage

[southeastasianists]

Tan Ming Li is a certified death doula. Just as there are those who facilitate bringing new life into the world, there should be people facilitating more and better ways to talk about death and dying, she reasons.

In 2023, she started The Life Review, a social venture with the mission to normalise conversations about death, dying and bereavement. Events open to the public include Life Stories, a series of chat sessions with topics such as “Motherless daughters”, “Real men don’t cry” and “Pet loss and our enduring bonds”; as well as Death Over Dinner, in which people come together to have conversations guided by Tan about their personal experiences with loss while sharing a meal.

The last Death Over Dinner took place at South Indian restaurant Podi & Poriyal, where participants were served dishes containing ingredients with special life and death significance in South Indian culture such as black sesame seeds, which signify purification; and jackfruit, the wood of which is often used as funeral pyre logs during cremation.

“What better way for Asians to connect than through food?” said Tan, explaining that Death Over Dinner is actually a global movement that originated in the US, “but we tweaked it so that food was a much bigger component, building the conversations around the ingredients and dishes. In other countries, the concept is just for people to talk about death over the dinner table.”

Tan, who is in her 40s, believes that getting comfortable with talking openly and honestly about such topics is vitally important.

“A nationwide survey conducted last year (by the Singapore Management University) revealed that ‘only 53 per cent of Singaporeans are comfortable discussing their own death while barely a third (33.4 per cent) would do so with someone who is dying’,” she shared.

She feels there is also a tendency to over-medicalise conversations about death, focusing on treatments and doctors.

“As a society, death is not something that is commonly discussed and we tend to be ‘death-denying’. Healthcare and wellness are all about ‘preventing’ death. In fighting against death, we are unaccepting of this natural part of life. This makes it hard to be vulnerable about our emotions around it,” she said.

Even if you haven’t lost a loved one yourself, “When someone else experiences a loss, many of us don’t know how to address the topic and end up using platitudes like ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ or worse, ‘Everything happens for a reason’,” she pointed out.

Ironically, avoiding the subject of death inadvertently gives it more power. “This power can then suppress our thoughts, beliefs and behaviour,” she opined.

NO STRANGER TO DEATH AND DENIAL

Tan speaks from personal experience. When she was 17, her mum died of cancer. “Dad said, ‘Don’t worry, she will recover.’ Her sudden passing left us in shock. I remember my dad brought me to the hospital canteen, broke the news to me and simply said, ‘We just have to accept it and move on’. I don’t think he ever recovered. As far as I recall, there were no conversations about it within the family.

“In the years that followed, I lost my dad, grandma, uncles and aunts… I was frozen in my grief response and it took a mental health crisis for me to start addressing these issues.”

Concurrently, Tan had always been interested in social work, from her university years when she volunteered to support children with special needs, to volunteering to teach yoga and breathing at various institutions including the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). She also lived in Thailand for several years, where she gave her time to a social enterprise helping indigenous craftsmen sell their goods.

Her career was in Advertising Research until she took a sabbatical and travelled to India in 2013. Following that period of time in which to think and reflect, she embarked on a new path, offering services such as mindfulness and movement.

“In the course of my work, I encountered clients who are terminally ill or grieving the loss of a loved one. Curious about how to better support them, I started researching the topic,” she recalled. “One day, I received an email from students working on a grief literacy event, inviting me to facilitate a somatic movement session for parents who had lost their child. Somatic movement involves exploring the body's sensations and movements to promote healing. During this session, many participants were able to release long held emotions within their bodies, even years after their loved one had passed.”

Motivated by the experience, she enrolled in the death doula course offered by the International End of Life Doula Association, an organisation in the US. Participants acquire skills revolving around how to support and comfort the dying and their loved ones.

“As I delved deeper into the subject, I realised that this was something that needed to go beyond supporting my clients one-to-one. The societal reluctance to discuss death openly leads to a lot of discomfort and unresolved emotions surrounding the topic, and I realised the need to scale and bring this out to the public,” she said.

So, “I decided to pursue a Masters of Science degree in Thanotology – even doctors go, ‘What’s that?’ – and start The Life Review as a platform for people to get comfortable discussing end-of-life matters through education and engagement.”

As far as she knows, she’s the only one in Singapore taking a Masters in Thanatology (“When the course started, the Programme Director said, ‘Now we are an international programme, thanks to Ming Li!’”) and one of just four people in Singapore who have completed death doula training.

“While trying to help people going through bereavement and grief, it struck me that I also had to look at my own experiences and work through all the emotions and experiences that I hadn’t known how to deal with – or even realised was necessary to,” she divulged.

“The way society operates, if we experience a loss, we are given three days of compassionate leave – and only for immediate family – and then we are expected to get back to ‘normal’ as productive members of society. But what about losing a friend? A partner? A pet? Do you get over it in three days? Since the norm was to get on with life, that’s what I did. It was only later in life that I realised that it was affecting me in ways that I did not immediately connect back to my earlier experiences, such as in the way I interacted with people in relationships and friendships. I would not get too close in case they would disappear,” she shared.

And so, “The main reason I’m doing this now is because of what I have gone through in my own life. The programmes I’m planning are skewed towards caregivers for now, as I don’t want anyone to be in a situation that I was in.” She added, “It was a turning point for me to adopt cats, knowing that they will die before me, yet to accept this and love them.”

Her work has also turned into “my legacy project for my parents”.

“I have a purpose to fulfil now, to bring The Life Review into fruition, in the remaining years left of my life. And in a way, I’m already planning for my end, making sure that I don’t regret things that I could or should have done,” she said.

DINNER WITH A PURPOSE

At Death Over Dinner events, “The framing of conversations is intentionally designed to be inclusive and non-confrontational. Participants are encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences without feeling pressured to delve into deeply personal reflections or imagine their own funerals,” Tan said.

The dinner serves as a casual starting point for discussions about a normally taboo topic to unfold naturally, fostering a sense of comfort and familiarity around the topic of death, she continued. “The intention is not to impose rigid guidelines or restrictions but rather to offer gentle guidance and prompts to steer the dialogue in a constructive direction” while embracing cultural elements within our specific society.

It is also about equipping people with the knowhow and language to either walk alongside a person who is dying, or to support a caregiver.

There are sessions taking place every quarter, which are open for individual sign-ups. The next Death Over Dinner event is planned for Apr 25 at Podi & Poriyal, with a group size of 12 to 16 people. Tan is also open to private group bookings, and hopes to possibly work with other restaurants as well.

The topic of death is rarely broached when everyone is healthy, she mused. But, in the face of loss, which comes sooner or later to all of us, “People may struggle to find the right words to express their feelings or fears, fearing that broaching the topic could cause further distress or discomfort to the person who is ill. As a result, conversations about end-of-life wishes, funeral arrangements, or even acknowledging the possibility of death may be avoided altogether, creating a palpable tension and unease.

"Dealing with it openly and saying what needs to be said can help the ones left behind adjust to the loss after the person passes away.”

And, “In the case of someone who knows they are dying, people around them not wanting to talk about it can leave them feeling unheard. They may not be able to express their desires; there may be things left unsaid; there may be people tiptoeing around them and telling them, ‘You’re going to be fine’ when they know full well they won’t be.”

The question of how we can begin to approach the topic of death in a meaningful way begs another: How talking about death openly and frankly can help us to live our lives more fully and intentionally.

“Accepting the finite nature of life and finding peace with it can change our outlook on life. When we acknowledge that life inevitably starts and ends, we are able to define what happens in between that holds significance,” Tan said.

“How do we make what happens in the middle matter? How do we leave a legacy for ourselves and future generations? Do we want to spend our time sweating the small stuff and harbouring grudges, or instead, use it to create memories and foster deep relationships? Living intentionally prompts us to confront these questions and align our actions with our values.

“Ultimately, embracing the impermanence of life compels us to live authentically, love fiercely and leave a legacy of compassion and connection.”

To sign up for Death Over Dinner, visit https://thelifereview.org/death-over-dinner.

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #Tan Ming Li #Death

[southeastasianists]

Often described as the world’s largest Buddhist monument, Borobudur rises from the jungles of central Java: a nine-leveled step pyramid decorated with hundreds of Buddha statues and more than 2,000 carved stone relief panels. Completed in 835 AD by Buddhist monarchs who were repurposing an earlier Hindu structure, Borobudur was erected as “a testament to the greatness of Buddhism and the king who built it,” says religion scholar and Borobudur expert Uday Dokras.

Though Buddhists make up less than one percent of Indonesia’s population today, Borobudur still functions as a holy site of pilgrimage, as well as a popular tourist destination. But for the Indonesian Gastronomy Community (IGC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating Indonesian food culture, Borobudur is “not just a temple that people can visit,” says IGC chair Ria Musiawan. The structure’s meticulous relief carvings, which depict scenes of daily life for all levels of ninth-century Javanese society, provide a vital source of information about the people who created it. Borobudur can tell us how the inhabitants of Java’s ancient Mataram kingdom lived, worked, worshiped, and—as the IGC demonstrated in an event series that ended in 2023—ate.

The IGC sees food as a way to unite Indonesians, but the organization also considers international gastrodiplomacy as a part of their mission. Globally, Indonesian food is less well-known than other Southeast Asian cuisines, but the country’s government has recently made efforts to boost its reputation, declaring not one, but five official national dishes in 2018. To promote Indonesian cuisine, the IGC organizes online and in-person events based around both modern and historical Indonesian food. In 2022, they launched an educational series entitled Gastronosia: From Borobudur to the World. The first event in the series was a virtual talk, but subsequent dates included in-person dinners, with a menu inspired by the reliefs of Borobudur and written inscriptions from contemporary Javanese sites.

In collaboration with Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other partner organizations, the first meal in the Gastronosia series was, fittingly, held at Borobudur, with a small group of guests. The largest event, which hosted 100 guests at the National Museum in Jakarta, aimed to recreate a type of ancient royal feast known as a Mahamangsa in Old Javanese, meaning “the food of kings.” The IGC’s Mahamangsa appeared alongside a multimedia museum exhibition, with video screens depicting the art of ancient Mataram that inspired the menu and displays of historical cooking tools, such as woven baskets for winnowing and steaming rice. Another event, held at Kembang Goela Restaurant, featured more than 50 international ambassadors and diplomats invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But how does one translate 1,000-year-old stone carvings into a modern menu that’s not only historically accurate, but appetizing? “We have to have this very wide imagination,” says Musiawan. “You only see the relief [depicting] the food…but you cannot find out how it tastes.” The IGC designed and tested a Gastronosia menu with the help of Chef Sumartoyo of Bale Raos Restaurant in Yogyakarta, and Riris Purbasari, an archaeologist from the Central Java Province Cultural Heritage Preservation Center, who had been researching the food of Borobudur’s reliefs since 2017.

The range of human activities depicted in the reliefs of Borobudur is so wide that it has inspired research in areas of study stretching from music to weaponry. There have even been seaworthy reconstructions based on the “Borobudur Ships” displayed on the site’s lower levels, exquisitely rendered vessels like the ones that facilitated trade in ancient Southeast Asia. So it’s no surprise that Borobudur has no shortage of depictions of food-related scenes, from village agricultural labor, to the splendor of a royal Mahamangsa, to a bustling urban marketplace. Baskets of tropical fruit, nets full of fish, and even some modern Indonesian dishes are recognizable in the reliefs, such as tumpeng, a tall cone of rice surrounded by side dishes, which is still prepared for special occasions. Some images are allegories for Buddhist concepts, providing what Borobudur archaeologist John Mikic called “a visual aid for teaching a gentle philosophy of life." Uday Dokras suggests that these diverse scenes might have been chosen to help ancient visitors “identify with their own life,” making the monument’s unique religious messaging relatable. The reliefs illustrate ascending levels of enlightenment, so that visitors walk the path of life outlined by the Buddha’s teachings: from a turbulent world ruled by earthly desires at the lowest level, to tranquil nirvana at the summit.

Musiawan says that the IGC research team combined information from Borobudur with inscriptions from other Javanese sites of the same era that referenced royal banquets. While Borobudur’s reliefs show activities like farming, hunting, fishing, and dining, fine details of the food on plates or in baskets can be difficult to make out, especially since the painted plaster that originally covered the stone has long-since faded. Ninth-century court records etched into copper sheets or stone for posterity—some accidentally uncovered by modern construction projects—helped fill in the blanks when it came to what exactly people were eating. These inscriptions describe the royal banquets of ancient Mataram as huge events: One that served as a key inspiration for the IGC featured 57 sacks of rice, six water buffalo, and 100 chickens. There are no known written recipes from the era, but some writings provide enough detail for dishes to be approximated, such as freshwater eel “grilled with sweet spices” or ground buffalo meatballs seasoned with “a touch of sweetness,” in the words of the inscriptions, both of which were served at Gastronosia events.

Sugar appears to have been an important component in ancient Mataram’s royal feasts: A survey of food mentions across Old Javanese royal inscriptions revealed 34 kinds of sweets out of 107 named dishes. Gastronosia’s Mahamangsa ended with dwadal, a sticky palm-sugar toffee known as dodol in modern Indonesian, and an array of tropical fruits native to Java such as jackfruit and durian. Other dishes recreated by the IGC included catfish stewed in coconut milk, stir-fried banana-tree core, and kinca, an ancient alcohol made from fermented tamarind, which was offered alongside juice from the lychee-like toddy palm fruit as an alcohol-free option.

Musiawan describes the hunting of animals such as deer, boar, and water buffalo as an important source of meat in ninth-century Java. Domestic cattle were not eaten, she explains, because the people of ancient Mataram “believed that cows have religious value.” While Gastronosia’s events served wild game and foraged wild greens, rice also featured prominently, a key staple in Mataram that forms the subject of several of Borobudur’s reliefs. It was the mastery of rice cultivation that allowed Mataram to support a large population and become a regional power in ninth-century Southeast Asia. Rice’s importance as a staple crop also led to its inclusion in religious rituals; Dokras explains that in many regions of Asia, rice is still an essential component of the Buddhist temple offerings known as prasad.

The indigenous Southeast Asian ingredients used in Gastronosia’s Mahamangsa included some still widely-popular today, such as coconut, alongside others that have fallen into obscurity, like the water plant genjer or “yellow velvetleaf.” Musiawan acknowledges that modern diners might find some reconstructed ancient dishes “very, very simple” compared to what they’re used to “because of many ingredients we have [now] that weren’t there before.” But in other cases, ninth-century chefs were able to achieve similar flavors to modern Indonesian food by using their own native ingredients. Spiciness is a notable example. Today, chillies are near-ubiquitous in Indonesian cuisine, and Java is especially known for its sambal, a spicy relish-like condiment that combines pounded chillies with shallots, garlic, and other ingredients. But in ancient Mataram, sambal was made with native hot spices, such as several kinds of ginger; andaliman, a dried tree-berry with a mouth-numbing effect like the related Sichuan pepper; and cabya or Javanese long pepper. “It tastes different than the chili now,” Musiawan says of cabya, “but it gives the same hot sensation.” Chillies, introduced in the early modern era by European traders, are still called cabai in Indonesian, a name derived from the native cabya they supplanted.

Gastronosia is just the beginning of IGC’s plans to explore Indonesian food history through interactive events. Next, they intend to do a series on the food of ancient Bali. By delving into the historic roots of dishes Indonesians know and love, the IGC hopes to get both Indonesians and foreigners curious about the country’s history, and dispel preconceptions about what life was like long ago. Musiawan says some guests didn’t expect to enjoy the diet of a ninth-century Javanese noble as much as they did. Before experiencing Gastronosia, she says, “They thought that the food couldn't be eaten.” But afterward, “They’re glad that, actually, it's very delicious.”

#Southeast Asia #Indonesia #Ancient History #Mataram #Food History #Gastronomy #Borobudur

[southeastasianists]

Wat Intharawihan is not among the most famous Bangkok temples. However, inside the Wat Intharawihan temple, visitors can see a giant and shining golden Buddha with more than 100 years of history. 

The 104-foot Buddha that took 60 years to build. The construction started in 1867 during the reign of King Rama IV and was completed in 1927 under the reign of King Rama VII. The standing Buddha is using a Ushnisha (relic crown/hat), which was given as a gift by the Government of Sri Lanka. 

#Southeast Asia #Thailand #Buddhism #Religion

[southeastasianists]

In 2023, a significant demographic milestone emerged with broad social and economic impacts: the global population of adults aged 50 surpassed the number of children under 15 for the first time. Brunei Darussalam, a small, oil-rich Islamic country on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, faces challenges associated with this shift. Ranked as one of the world’s wealthiest nations due to its vast oil and gas reserves, Brunei’s population of 455,858 sees a contrast with a poverty rate of 5%, positioning it 11th out of 78 countries.

Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), highlighted the profound economic impact of the aging global population, noting the substantial expenditures on health care, research and support services. Furthermore, Hajah pointed out the rapid growth of the aging population and its broad implications. During Brunei’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2021, Johari emphasized Brunei’s leadership in endorsing the ASEAN Comprehensive Framework on Care Economy.

Additionally, in 2017, an action plan spanning five years was adopted to enhance elderly development, welfare and protection, aiming to create a senior-friendly support system and reduce elderly poverty in Brunei. Unfortunately, an aging demographic compounded by an ominous surge in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes challenges Brunei’s socio-economic development.

Addressing Poverty and Social Protection in Brunei

Bruneians who live in poverty prefer to use the phrasings “living in need” and “difficult life” over “poverty” and “poor.” This exchange of phrasings intends to protect an individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem. Yet this preference challenges officials’ attempts to accurately assess the severity of poverty and implement targeted interventions.

However, Brunei’s social protection schemes encounter challenges. These challenges include limited coverage, differential treatment between public and private sectors, exclusion of unemployed individuals and inadequate support for vulnerable groups such as divorcees, widows/widowers, single parents, orphans, the abused and disabled people.

The Dual Impact of an Ageing Society

Across developing countries, evidence showcases the productivity, creativity, vitality and participation of older adults in workplaces, communities, households and families. According to ageInternational, some of the pros of an aging society include:

Consumer Market: Older adults can create new opportunities in the consumer market with higher disposable incomes and specific needs that can drive economic growth.

Accumulated Knowledge: An aging population can possess a wealth of knowledge and experience, beneficial for education and mentorship.

Stable Workforce: Older individuals provide greater stability in employment as they switch jobs less frequently.

In addition, the aging population significantly impacts the labor market. The dependency ratio, which compares the number of economically inactive individuals to those who are economically active, is set to increase. According to the International Labour Organization, some of the cons of an aging society include:

Labor Shortages: Addressing the need to create jobs for young individuals and encourage lifelong learning for older individuals to acquire new skills.

Pension and Retirement Challenges: Ensuring adequate pensions and financial support for retirees.

Limited Social Support Systems: Establishing social support systems, including affordable housing and accessible transportation, to enhance the quality of life.

Health care Costs: Investing in health care infrastructure to meet the growing needs of an aging population and prioritizing preventive health care measures.

Brunei at a Demographic Crossroads

As Brunei Darussalam navigates through its complex demographic and health landscape, proactive and holistic measures become imperative for securing the future prosperity of its people. Moreover, by addressing the multifaceted challenges head-on, Brunei is poised to set a precedent for demographic resilience and health sustainability.

Above all, the nation’s commitment to comprehensive solutions promises not only to enhance the well-being of its aging population and reduce elderly poverty in Brunei but also to pave the way for long-term national growth. At this pivotal juncture, Brunei’s journey offers valuable insights into the power of foresight and action in shaping a thriving society.

– Pamela Fenton

#Southeast Asia #Brunei Darussalam #Brunei #Poverty #Demographics

[southeastasianists]

Imelda Marcos envisioned Manila as the cultural center of Asia. Fresh from a successful staging of the 1974 Miss Universe Pageant, where a specially built theater was completed in just 77 days, she wanted a film center that would rival the famed Cannes Film Festival of France.

Employing a celebrated architect of that time Froilan Hong, a building inspired by the Parthenon in Athens was to be constructed in the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex in Pasay City. UNESCO was even consulted for the structural designs of the auditoria and the archives. With three months to spare before the scheduled film festival, the deadline was tight. To make it work, some 4,000 workers were employed to work in three shifts across 24 hours. The lobby was finished in 72 hours by 1,000 workers—a job that was supposed to entail six weeks.

The frenetic pace of construction didn't allow for proper precautions. On November 17, 1981, at around 3 a.m., scaffolding collapsed and workers were trapped in the quick-drying cement. Immediately, a blanket security and a media blackout were imposed for fear of creating a scandal. No rescuers and ambulances were allowed until an official statement was prepared. Rescuers were only allowed after nine hours. Of course, by then it was too late. At that point, 168 workers had died or were buried in the cement. 

Two months later, the first Manila International Film Festival took place from January 18 to 29, 1982.

After an earthquake in 1990, the building was abandoned because of structural damage. It was rehabilitated and leased out to the private sector, but after it caught fire in 2013 it was abandoned once again.

#Southeast Asia #Philippines

[southeastasianists]

Also known as the Blue Soil Hills, Kaman-utek is a riveting expanse of bluish-green mounds in Balili, Bontoc. This area has also been called the Blue Soil of Sagada, but the area has been communally accepted to be politically located within the municipality of Bontoc.

In the Bontoc dialect, kaman-utek means "like a brain." This area got this name because its systems of folds and ridges were likened to brain gyri.

The unique bluish color of Kaman-utek comes from an abundance of copper sulfate in the soil. Specifically, the copper develops a patina when it is exposed to oxygen and weathering. (The same process is responsible for the Statue of Liberty's distinctive color.) The copper also reacts to rain and humidity, which changes the soil’s bluish shade almost every day. The soil is more of a bluish-green color in the dry seasons and an intense blue during the rainy season. White soil can also be seen in some areas, especially on the lower slopes of ridges. Results from multiple researchers and tests have confirmed that the soil is safe for visitors.

Kaman-utek is surrounded by footrails, towering trees, and a local variety of flora making it like a small peculiar blue desert in the middle of a lush pine forest.

#Southeast Asia #Philippines

[southeastasianists]

Located in Pindongan, Ifugao, a six-and-a-half-hour drive north of Manila, the Kiangan National Shrine marks the end of World War II in the Philippines. The shrine is also called the Bantayog ng Kiangan in Tagalog or the Yamashita Shrine.

The memorial specifically commemorates top Japanese army commander Tomoyuki Yamashita's (known as the “Tiger of Malaya”) surrender to Allied Filipino-American forces on September 3, 1945, at a local school. Yamashita's surrender came just one day after the formal surrender of Japan aboard the USS Missouri, an Iowa-class battleship, in Tokyo Bay, marking the official end of World War II in Asia. Yamashita's submission also ended Japanese occupation in the Philippines. 

The shrine was erected on July 9, 1975, and is made of concrete and steel. It was modeled after an Indigenous Ifugao house featuring a ceremonial stage and a viewing deck. A highlight of the memorial is the wooden wall sculpture made from narra, the country’s national tree, secured with plaster within the shrine's main chamber.

The wooden sculpture dominates the larger wall, depicting three scenes from top to bottom. At the top of the carving, a sun rises behind a woman standing with her arms outstretched and broken handcuffs dangling from her wrists symbolizing the dawning of peace. The middle of the carving shows American General Douglas MacArthur and Allied forces watching as General Yamashita signs Japan's official surrender. The bottom of the sculpture depicts the atrocities the Japanese Imperial Army committed against the Filipino people throughout the war.

Today, the shrine serves as a war memorial and a testament to the historic event that ended almost 4 years of Japanese occupation in the Philippines and the end of World War II.

#Southeast Asia #Philippines #WWII

[southeastasianists]

Around 360,000 people in Timor-Leste, a country with a population of 1.3 million, face critical levels of food insecurity, according to a report assessing the food situation in the country, released by the World Food Programme (WFP).

It is estimated that 360,000 people, about one in four of the population, face critical levels of food insecurity, of which 18,500 people face emergency conditions, states the report, released on Thursday, which is based on an assessment of the situation between November 2023 and April 2024.

The document also predicts that between May and September, during the post-harvest season -traditionally seen as a period of improved access to food – the situation will worsen.

The predicted climate shocks will reduce crop yields, the report says, with 19,000 people in six municipalities expected to face a further decline in their food security and increase the total number of people in emergency food conditions to more than 22,000.

The WFP’s second round of analysis of Timor-Leste’s Integrated Phase Classification of Acute Food Insecurity reveals fragile and deteriorating levels of food insecurity in 12 of Timor-Leste’s 14 municipalities, amid successive climate shocks and rising food prices, the report adds.

According to the WFP representative in Timor-Leste, Alba Cecilia Garzon Olivares, climate shocks and the inflation rate show that action is urgently needed to prevent a further deterioration of food insecurity in the country.

The document was drawn up jointly by the government, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations.

#Southeast Asia #East Timor #Timor Leste #Food Security