ISEAS Perspective provides analysis of specific current events and their significance for the Southeast Asian region. This will be published occasionally, and is aimed at keeping decision-makers in both the public and private sectors informed; as well as scholars, laymen and the interested public. This series undergoes a peer-review process.
2021/158 “The Kunming-Vientiane Railway: A Post-pandemic ‘Deus ex machina’ for the Lao Economy?” by Nick J. Freeman
2021 No. 158
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Laos’s first major railway, due to open in December 2021, will create a new link with the Chinese market. As such, it has the potential to be a game changer for the Lao economy. The timing is fortuitous, with Laos preparing for post-pandemic recovery in 2022. The World Bank and others are calling […]
2021/157 “The ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: What’s in a Name?” by Hoang Thi Ha
2021 NO. 157
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY China’s proposal to ‘upgrade’ its relations with ASEAN to ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ (CSP) is part of Beijing’s active neighbourhood diplomacy, which is given added emphasis and urgency by Sino-US tensions and China’s estrangement from the West. The CSP proposal signals a calibrated and invested Chinese strategy to actively reshape its relations with ASEAN […]
2021/156 “Growing Shariatisation in Indonesia: The Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI) Moment?” by Norshahril Saat
2021 No. 156
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Under the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono government (2004-2014), the MUI (Ulama Council of Indonesia) became more assertive in the public sphere than under Suharto’s New Order. It issued numerous exclusivist fatwas (religious opinions) targeting religious minorities and wanted the state to oversee Islamic banking and finance. In 2016 and 2017, MUI leaders, especially its […]
2021/155 “Asymmetrical Federalism in Myanmar: A Modern Mandala System?” by Mael Raynaud
2021 No. 155
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The military coup that took place in Myanmar on 1 February 2021 amounted to a de facto suspension of the country’s 2008 Constitution. Following the coup, Myanmar’s democratic opposition, which had long opposed the constitution, announced its abolition. It is now working towards developing, and adopting, a federal system of government for the […]
2021/154 “The 2022 Gubernatorial Election in Bangkok: Party Support Will Matter” by Punchada Sirivunnabood
2021 No. 154
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Under the Local Elections Act of 2019, passed during the administration of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta, the military government was given the power to determine the appropriate time for holding sub-national elections, including Bangkok’s gubernatorial election. If the military government lapses, the power to approve such elections would […]
2021/153 “Japan’s Foreign Policy Direction under Kishida” by John D. Ciorciari
2021 No. 153
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, was elected amid rising Sino-Japanese tensions and hardening Japanese threat perceptions vis-à-vis China. Kishida has a reputation for having a moderate and relatively dovish approach to foreign policy, but he won the election in part by campaigning on a more assertive foreign policy platform, especially with regard […]
2021/152 “Mapping Errors and Missed Opportunities in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan” by Lee Hwok Aun
2021 No. 152
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) clearly and vigorously advocates the “Bumiputera agenda”, while outlining policies designated for minority groups and women, saliently in higher education, entrepreneurship and decision-making positions. The demarcation of the Bumiputera agenda, which is based on programmes under Bumiputera-mandated agencies instead of more systematic criteria, only partially accounts for the […]
2021/151 “Restoring Public Trust in Vietnam’s Pandemic Response: A Bumpy Road Ahead” by Dien Nguyen An Luong
2021 No. 151
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The worst wave of Covid-19 infections to hit Vietnam since late April has threatened to chip away at the hard-earned public trust the government was able to engender last year. That is a major concern for a regime that relies on public support and patriotic nationalism to boost its legitimacy. As Vietnam’s pandemic […]
2021/150 “The Melaka State Election: Unwanted, Unwieldy, and Unpredictable” by Francis E. Hutchinson and Kevin Zhang
2021 No. 150
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The upcoming Melaka state election due on November 20 will be a useful barometer of the electoral fortunes of Malaysia’s shifting alliances and overlapping coalitions, particularly on the Peninsula. Melaka state’s socio-economic characteristics broadly mirror the nation’s, and it has been governed by coalitions comprised of all the large parties in the past. […]
2021/149 “Jokowi’s Moderasi Beragama: Challenge and Opportunity” by Syafiq Hasyim
2020 No. 149
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2019, the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) introduced Moderasi Beragama (Moderation of Religiosity) as a new national policy for addressing the threat of religious extremism and intolerance in Indonesia which has become more active over the past two decades. This might also have been a move to curb the political exploitation of […]