Finally, an analysis of Jokowi which avoids the cliche ‘weak’. This seems like a balanced view of the President. No mention though of Luhut’s influence in helping Jokowi to man-up?
Storing rice in silos is great…unless it’s jasmine rice, for which time and tropical heat are the enemy of aromatic intensity (which is what makes jasmine rice special). See The Science of Jasmine Rice: http://www.awardbest.com/pages/the-science-of-jasmine-rice
Inevitably, the proposal is different from what’s been tried before. That is, rather, the whole point. One can’t expect to succeed in the future by continuing to do what failed in the past. “Once you eliminate the impossible [strategies], whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” (Arthur Conan Doyle, in Sherlock Holmes).
I know of no nation that once its leader (democratically elected or otherwise) draws outrage and widespread condemnation for runaway-blatant corruption, does not get grievously scarred (the country not the leader) as a consequence, at times long after such deeply corrupt leader had long passed (but not faded) maway. Marcos of the Philippines, Sukarno and Suharto of Indonesia, and Thaksin (yes he is not dead yet unfortunately for Thailand) all scarred their nations at varying degrees of social and economic tolls, to satisfy their self-serving interests.
The Thaksin corruption scarred Thailand and also just in recent years nearly provoked a civil war on the kingdom. If the attachment of the Red Shirts to the Thaksin persona could not be severed, then their aspirations to be recognized as Thailand’s hope to achieving democracy will never gain any credence to Thailand’s intelligentsia, despite all the hullabaloo of any Red Shirt gatherings in Germany or elsewhere.
Did know about low rice prices, did not know about crisis conditions in Cambodia. In 5 minutes thoroughly informed about what is happening, with external links that elaborate & despite monitoring news in my media job in Thailand, lacked this information, thanks.
Targeting organic food & jasmine rice market segments, local farmer-based grain storage in silos (so that rice doesn’t have to be sold exactly at max-supply buyers market harvest-time), transport costs, food safety e.g. chemical residues) & the agricultural viability of the sort of genetics work done at IRRI in the Philippines are all interesting topics that I am sure readers want to know more about and that newspapers in the region would do well to have more of. The result would be more intellectually engaged and informed people, particularly students in universities. 🙂
Why does political analysis so often prioritise the internal workings of government? Is it because facts are easier to come by? Where is West Papua in this assessment? Or are they too far away from the central government bubble?
“Red-Yellow conflict as primarily an identity crises, a transformation conflict and a conflict over participation that is part of the development towards democracy in Thailand.”
Thanks to Nick Nostitz for this encouraging initiative and report ; Red Shirts are the best hope for a future democratic Thailand; at the end freedom and justice will prevail over elitism, tyranny and repression
Yet another fascinating Nick Nostitz report, of a fascinating event, supported by great photos. My only query is with use of the term “Thai”. Eg. They should remember they are all Thai, to avoid civil war. A better way to avoid such catastrophe is to recognise that they are all Chulalongkorn’s SIAMESE. In Chulongkorn’s time the State was far less excessively centralised than it is today. This a major cause of the current problems.
Who you knew, and the linguistic usage that indicated it, counted for more than what you did, in olde England, just as it does now in Malaysia and Thailand. What we denounce as corruption in Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia was once the way of life in Europe, a way which conservatives fought to preserve. One should always consider such matters as S. E. Asian corruption with a sense of history. Cambridge has a long tradition of struggle against the corrupt old régime of England, which was especially alive during Lee Kwan Yew’s time there. That influence on one great man helped shape Singapore as a largely corruption-free state.
People, in a way, are always in a crisis due to the transitional quality of our identity/identities, or perhaps, it is right to perpetually criticize who we are, what we are, until it is final, if there is a end to our means. External factors like the economy are like catalysts, galvanizing or dissuading. But, eventually we could only be ourselves. So, the question is are we free? Or are we servants. Are we human, or are we dancers?
thanks for the report.
and also thanks Nick that he recalled the Red no Bloody Revolution wants but peaceful looking for a way for democracy in Thailand. a civil war would trigger thousandfold suffering and death.
explicitly i speak against the views of Prof. Dr. Schaffer who set Thailand in a relationship of the loss of democracy within other parts of the world.
Thailand’s democracy suffers from the start. And since the accession to the throne of Rama IX especially. The countless military coups, now the 20. Constitution, more like half of the past 84 years ruled the military in Thailand – so it has never been “democratic”. the only elected PM who had ruled a full term and was even then re-elected by an absolute majority was Thaksin. – the average reign of a PM in Thailand is 2.5 years. – a constitution has an average expiration time of 4 years
Malaysia is not England, and Malaya certainly wasn’t, despite all the stamps and books that say otherwise, but Sir Richard Windstedt rightly said Malaya never would be.
A highly stratified culture usually has a language riddled with meanings that indicate a person’s status. In England, especially before the mid-twentieth century, the words one used, and especially the way one pronounced them, could signify one’s status to a jury. If “conservative” values prevailed among the jurors and court officials, then they would be more likely return a verdict that served the interest of the most articulate party with the poshest accent. Lawyers cultivate posh accents and ornate usages for the same reason. These days, people are more down-to-earth, and the accused is more likely to be encouraged to put his money where his mouth is, especially when it comes to hiring a lawyer skilled in the use of rhetoric to swing a jury and bamboozle a judge. The situation in places like Thailand and Malaysia is probably still worse, with a vast spectrum of word usages that range from royal to the gutter, and court officials whose pay is inadequate for the status required of them.
Brexit had nothing to do with Islamophobia and racism. It was anti-establishment and anti-austerity. If the poor had been given a chance to vote against NATO, or the UN, or indeed against any existing structure the result would have been the same. The post-industrial wastelands of England and Wales are out of sight and mind to Britain’s metropolitan elite so you won’t read about them in their newspapers and media. Instead you will find the usual explanation ; ‘the peasants are misinformed/bigoted/unworthy etc.’
Every chance for ‘legislation’ with the NLD dominated Hluttaw, is an opportunity to strengthen the ROL from existing constitution, Statues and Laws.
As example of Kala in Yakhine, statues passed to know Burmese as lingua franca as opposed to Hindhustanis or Pakistanis, will be one of a reasonable statues. Every country has certain criteriae to citizenship, This is not very far fetch. As for residency the statues can be more liberal.
This is a none partisan/Humanistic suggestion. The supposition that the Kala in Yakhine was here since b/f 1824 is pretty lame thus making the designation of “R” as designate is unreasonable.
The most widespread disease among white people today seems to be Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and hypocrisy. Many clever westerners always blame Thailand for Rohinya migrants but they are very OK to Brexit against Muslim and Sharia law.
Backlash? “Backlash” means act against something with sense. However, The Brexit is totally nonsense. This incident was caused by ignorance white supremacy ideology, cheap racism and Islamophobia. It is a good example of white ignorance and nervous.
As a boy from Puberty Blues country (i.e. Cronulla) working on Southeast Asia… but a ‘born again’ European, I must admit that one can read in to the English own goal on Brexit what one wants.
I am excluding those sturdy Scots and reliable Irish who, historically, have always seen themselves as European from this catastrophic result and my comments.
As a political scientist but ‘victim’ of my training in European history at Sydney University, I find myself coming back to the words of Massimo d’Azeglio at the time of Italian reunification in the late 19th century. “We have created Italy, we now need to create Italians”.
Creating a sense of being European is a ‘work in progress’, despite , or perhaps, because of two milleniums of history. More, or less, the same could be said of Southeast Asia. In both cases elite-driven projects of integration do not seem to have excited (or been incorporated) by the grass roots. They do not seem to have elicited ‘ownership’ by the populace to use the contemporary cliche.
The Brexit referendum result was not surprising in that in this European offshore island (i.e. England) more than 80% of media coverage – particularly in the perfidious Murdoch popular press, one not terribly concerned about the facts, was anti-European.
Must agree (for the first time) with the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker in relying to David Cameron: “you (the Tories)n’can’t piss on the EU for decades with untruthful caricatures and be surprised that people take you seriously”. (NB this a very liberal translation)
Yet, as Winston Churchill assertion about democracy – i.e. “the worst possible system except for all the alternatives” – could be an appropriate description of the EU and ASEAN today, given all the historical path dependency, social, political, ideological, etc. – parameters that surround us.
You raised the critical points in the rice sector. From my point of view this sector is not healthy since long time ago especially at the production site (drought flood pest poor seed..,). And then comes with price fluctuation, so producers (small and medium scale farmers) are not expecting to get much benefit from this crop production but it is still practiced for the purpose of food supply to the family. Even Cambodia produce lots of rice traders imported large volumes of milled rice to the country. Poor connection among actors in value chain create culture of taking advantage from each other. All these things are constraints in development of Cambodian rice sector.
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What’s next for Jokowi’s Indonesia?
Finally, an analysis of Jokowi which avoids the cliche ‘weak’. This seems like a balanced view of the President. No mention though of Luhut’s influence in helping Jokowi to man-up?
Why Cambodia’s rice industry needs a new strategy
I appreciate your feedback! 🙂
Storing rice in silos is great…unless it’s jasmine rice, for which time and tropical heat are the enemy of aromatic intensity (which is what makes jasmine rice special). See The Science of Jasmine Rice: http://www.awardbest.com/pages/the-science-of-jasmine-rice
Here’s my proposed strategy for a building sustainably profitable Cambodian rice industry: http://www.awardbest.com/blogs/blog/cambodian-rice-race-to-the-top
Inevitably, the proposal is different from what’s been tried before. That is, rather, the whole point. One can’t expect to succeed in the future by continuing to do what failed in the past. “Once you eliminate the impossible [strategies], whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” (Arthur Conan Doyle, in Sherlock Holmes).
Red and Yellow in Germany
I know of no nation that once its leader (democratically elected or otherwise) draws outrage and widespread condemnation for runaway-blatant corruption, does not get grievously scarred (the country not the leader) as a consequence, at times long after such deeply corrupt leader had long passed (but not faded) maway. Marcos of the Philippines, Sukarno and Suharto of Indonesia, and Thaksin (yes he is not dead yet unfortunately for Thailand) all scarred their nations at varying degrees of social and economic tolls, to satisfy their self-serving interests.
The Thaksin corruption scarred Thailand and also just in recent years nearly provoked a civil war on the kingdom. If the attachment of the Red Shirts to the Thaksin persona could not be severed, then their aspirations to be recognized as Thailand’s hope to achieving democracy will never gain any credence to Thailand’s intelligentsia, despite all the hullabaloo of any Red Shirt gatherings in Germany or elsewhere.
Why Cambodia’s rice industry needs a new strategy
Excellent piece, contributing towards Asean-wide economic news coverage, something sorely needed.
Did know about low rice prices, did not know about crisis conditions in Cambodia. In 5 minutes thoroughly informed about what is happening, with external links that elaborate & despite monitoring news in my media job in Thailand, lacked this information, thanks.
Targeting organic food & jasmine rice market segments, local farmer-based grain storage in silos (so that rice doesn’t have to be sold exactly at max-supply buyers market harvest-time), transport costs, food safety e.g. chemical residues) & the agricultural viability of the sort of genetics work done at IRRI in the Philippines are all interesting topics that I am sure readers want to know more about and that newspapers in the region would do well to have more of. The result would be more intellectually engaged and informed people, particularly students in universities. 🙂
What’s next for Jokowi’s Indonesia?
Why does political analysis so often prioritise the internal workings of government? Is it because facts are easier to come by? Where is West Papua in this assessment? Or are they too far away from the central government bubble?
Red and Yellow in Germany
“Red-Yellow conflict as primarily an identity crises, a transformation conflict and a conflict over participation that is part of the development towards democracy in Thailand.”
Indeed.
Red and Yellow in Germany
Thanks to Nick Nostitz for this encouraging initiative and report ; Red Shirts are the best hope for a future democratic Thailand; at the end freedom and justice will prevail over elitism, tyranny and repression
Red and Yellow in Germany
Yet another fascinating Nick Nostitz report, of a fascinating event, supported by great photos. My only query is with use of the term “Thai”. Eg. They should remember they are all Thai, to avoid civil war. A better way to avoid such catastrophe is to recognise that they are all Chulalongkorn’s SIAMESE. In Chulongkorn’s time the State was far less excessively centralised than it is today. This a major cause of the current problems.
Graft games
Who you knew, and the linguistic usage that indicated it, counted for more than what you did, in olde England, just as it does now in Malaysia and Thailand. What we denounce as corruption in Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia was once the way of life in Europe, a way which conservatives fought to preserve. One should always consider such matters as S. E. Asian corruption with a sense of history. Cambridge has a long tradition of struggle against the corrupt old régime of England, which was especially alive during Lee Kwan Yew’s time there. That influence on one great man helped shape Singapore as a largely corruption-free state.
Red and Yellow in Germany
People, in a way, are always in a crisis due to the transitional quality of our identity/identities, or perhaps, it is right to perpetually criticize who we are, what we are, until it is final, if there is a end to our means. External factors like the economy are like catalysts, galvanizing or dissuading. But, eventually we could only be ourselves. So, the question is are we free? Or are we servants. Are we human, or are we dancers?
Red and Yellow in Germany
thanks for the report.
and also thanks Nick that he recalled the Red no Bloody Revolution wants but peaceful looking for a way for democracy in Thailand. a civil war would trigger thousandfold suffering and death.
explicitly i speak against the views of Prof. Dr. Schaffer who set Thailand in a relationship of the loss of democracy within other parts of the world.
Thailand’s democracy suffers from the start. And since the accession to the throne of Rama IX especially. The countless military coups, now the 20. Constitution, more like half of the past 84 years ruled the military in Thailand – so it has never been “democratic”. the only elected PM who had ruled a full term and was even then re-elected by an absolute majority was Thaksin. – the average reign of a PM in Thailand is 2.5 years. – a constitution has an average expiration time of 4 years
Red and Yellow in Germany
For me it is sad that we are free to talk oversea but not at home.
I love this..
Graft games
Malaysia is not England, and Malaya certainly wasn’t, despite all the stamps and books that say otherwise, but Sir Richard Windstedt rightly said Malaya never would be.
Graft games
A highly stratified culture usually has a language riddled with meanings that indicate a person’s status. In England, especially before the mid-twentieth century, the words one used, and especially the way one pronounced them, could signify one’s status to a jury. If “conservative” values prevailed among the jurors and court officials, then they would be more likely return a verdict that served the interest of the most articulate party with the poshest accent. Lawyers cultivate posh accents and ornate usages for the same reason. These days, people are more down-to-earth, and the accused is more likely to be encouraged to put his money where his mouth is, especially when it comes to hiring a lawyer skilled in the use of rhetoric to swing a jury and bamboozle a judge. The situation in places like Thailand and Malaysia is probably still worse, with a vast spectrum of word usages that range from royal to the gutter, and court officials whose pay is inadequate for the status required of them.
Secession in a democratic system?
Brexit had nothing to do with Islamophobia and racism. It was anti-establishment and anti-austerity. If the poor had been given a chance to vote against NATO, or the UN, or indeed against any existing structure the result would have been the same. The post-industrial wastelands of England and Wales are out of sight and mind to Britain’s metropolitan elite so you won’t read about them in their newspapers and media. Instead you will find the usual explanation ; ‘the peasants are misinformed/bigoted/unworthy etc.’
Secession in a democratic system?
Every chance for ‘legislation’ with the NLD dominated Hluttaw, is an opportunity to strengthen the ROL from existing constitution, Statues and Laws.
As example of Kala in Yakhine, statues passed to know Burmese as lingua franca as opposed to Hindhustanis or Pakistanis, will be one of a reasonable statues. Every country has certain criteriae to citizenship, This is not very far fetch. As for residency the statues can be more liberal.
This is a none partisan/Humanistic suggestion. The supposition that the Kala in Yakhine was here since b/f 1824 is pretty lame thus making the designation of “R” as designate is unreasonable.
Secession in a democratic system?
The most widespread disease among white people today seems to be Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and hypocrisy. Many clever westerners always blame Thailand for Rohinya migrants but they are very OK to Brexit against Muslim and Sharia law.
Secession in a democratic system?
Backlash? “Backlash” means act against something with sense. However, The Brexit is totally nonsense. This incident was caused by ignorance white supremacy ideology, cheap racism and Islamophobia. It is a good example of white ignorance and nervous.
What Brexit means for ASEAN
(Am adding a comment attached to a previous blog)
As a boy from Puberty Blues country (i.e. Cronulla) working on Southeast Asia… but a ‘born again’ European, I must admit that one can read in to the English own goal on Brexit what one wants.
I am excluding those sturdy Scots and reliable Irish who, historically, have always seen themselves as European from this catastrophic result and my comments.
As a political scientist but ‘victim’ of my training in European history at Sydney University, I find myself coming back to the words of Massimo d’Azeglio at the time of Italian reunification in the late 19th century. “We have created Italy, we now need to create Italians”.
Creating a sense of being European is a ‘work in progress’, despite , or perhaps, because of two milleniums of history. More, or less, the same could be said of Southeast Asia. In both cases elite-driven projects of integration do not seem to have excited (or been incorporated) by the grass roots. They do not seem to have elicited ‘ownership’ by the populace to use the contemporary cliche.
The Brexit referendum result was not surprising in that in this European offshore island (i.e. England) more than 80% of media coverage – particularly in the perfidious Murdoch popular press, one not terribly concerned about the facts, was anti-European.
Must agree (for the first time) with the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker in relying to David Cameron: “you (the Tories)n’can’t piss on the EU for decades with untruthful caricatures and be surprised that people take you seriously”. (NB this a very liberal translation)
Yet, as Winston Churchill assertion about democracy – i.e. “the worst possible system except for all the alternatives” – could be an appropriate description of the EU and ASEAN today, given all the historical path dependency, social, political, ideological, etc. – parameters that surround us.
Why Cambodia’s rice industry needs a new strategy
You raised the critical points in the rice sector. From my point of view this sector is not healthy since long time ago especially at the production site (drought flood pest poor seed..,). And then comes with price fluctuation, so producers (small and medium scale farmers) are not expecting to get much benefit from this crop production but it is still practiced for the purpose of food supply to the family. Even Cambodia produce lots of rice traders imported large volumes of milled rice to the country. Poor connection among actors in value chain create culture of taking advantage from each other. All these things are constraints in development of Cambodian rice sector.