Comments

  1. Donald Persons says:

    What sources are there for the vision of society being discussed among the Kachin? In an article like this, it would be very helpful to know what self-determination (which is the right of the townships in question) might look like.

  2. DHL says:

    Thanks for drawing attention to this conflict, away from the preponderance of the Rakhine area. I visited some IDP camps back in 2013, and nothing much seems, sadly, to have changed. Even by the new government, the Kachin seem to be considered as ‘lesser mortals’ and of no consequence. The more important is it to draw attention to these issues. The only heartening thing is the support of the Kachin people for a solution that secures their rights in a meaningful manner.

  3. Peter Cohen says:

    It does not matter who wins Aceh, because all the women will lose. As long as Aceh is a repressive mini Islamic State, the quality of life will be low and the quality of life for women even lower. Some of the Shariah rules in Aceh are quite absurd and silly and none of them valid. The way Aceh is headed, it might just as well become a true province of West Malaysia.

  4. BurmeseDaze says:

    Tocharian-reincarnated-as-Marayu ? . . .* look at white (sic) the friendly but greedy Chinese are doing in Burma in this century.

    Where were you last century when a Sino-Burman military strongman — Gen Ne Win — turned Burma into the *cold killing fields*, forcing millions of Burmese from all walks of life to seek life outside the homeland. They fled to all corners of the world by air, sea and land – many braving the minefields to reach Thailand.

    The economy during the Marxian Burmese Way to Ruination, er, Socialism was so rotten that even beggars fled the country.

    Among Ne Win’s lieutenants in the 17-man Revolutionary Council — that overthrew the elected government of U Nu in March 1962 — were Brigadier Aung Gyi, a Sino-Burman, and Brigadier Tin Pe, who was Indo-Burman.

    During the 26-year Socialist Revolution, the wanna-be-Burman-chauvinist officers waged war on their own people, particularly Burmese citizens of Indian and Chinese origins.
    Their properties forcefully confiscated, they were discriminated, and even harassed, at every turn, whether in citizenship, in government employment. The list is endless.

    Sadly, the discriminatory policies remain intact even today.

    Note to Daw Suu: there is no magic wand. Trust me.

  5. BurmeseDaze says:

    *No nation has friends, only interests*. — Charles de Gaulle

    *America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests*. – Henry Kissinger

    ’nuff said.

  6. Donald Persons says:

    The article is a fine contribution. Thanks James.

    My research is taking me into eugenics policies and intellectual disabilities in Asia. I can verify that elements in the ministry and cabinet level are promoting a law that would create programs of forced abortion and sterilization and remove the rights of women surrogates in invitro insemination. I have gathered a team to document the women who are victims of it’s current form: coercion through genetic counseling. We are tracing this back to policies towards population priorities and “New Nation” (Chart Mai, 1940) of the fascist dictator P. Pibunsongkram, who has returned to us in the form of the extremely brilliant and benevolent gentleman in khaki claiming to rule over the people. Eugenics has it’s earlier forms in the discriminatory policies adopted in Chakri (Three Seals Law,, formulated between 1782 and 1805) and its institutional form created by #5. We must fight fascism with the pen as well.

    BTW: The folks who put the junta in power just became a target of the anti-corruption, surprisingly. In shock and protest, the entire university administration save the president resigned. It may look like a victory for the Junta, but they are losing key support. http://www.prachachat.net/news_detail.php?newsid=1491226202

  7. Chris Beale says:

    Indonesia’s de-centralisation has not always worked out well. See Nancy Viviani – and others – on this. But it is better than the alternative, such as Prayut’s heavy-handed re-centralisation in Thailand, destined only to end in tears – if not break-up of the country. Through de-centralisation, Indonesia avoided bloody break-up.

  8. Chris Beale says:

    What an excellent article explaining that constantly changing kaleidoscope which is Indonesia’s politics. That Golkar could in any way work with Megawati’s PDIP was almost inconceivable under Suharto – but there it is : according to this article. PDIP seems to have grown from strength to strength. So much for alarmist propaganda about the rise of radical Islam in Indonesia. This is clearly a very, very credible article : nobody gets to study in exclusively high-prestige Kyoto, unless they are very good indeed.

  9. neptunian says:

    Marayu, is a clear cut neo-colonist and sounds desparate to get the “good old times” back. let it slide, let it slide…

  10. habiburrahman says:

    i love you

  11. Saw Yan says:

    Don’t believe in the repel propaganda news.Okay?Every news from them always say we always died in combat.No one of them died in combat.Stupid news.KIA,MNDAA,AA,TNLA They are all the same.

  12. Saw Yan says:

    OMG!3000 in 10 months?If you really want to know I will Tell You.From 1948 to 2012 (34563)soldiers died in combat.

  13. Mish Khan, Associate Editor says:

    Hi everyone. Associate editor Mish here. The comments section is getting ridiculously inflammatory and I am not going to approve any further comments that are simply keyboard warrior attacks against other commenters. Come on. Please be examples for the many young scholars like myself who read this website to educate ourselves about the Southeast Asian region. This is simply getting out of hand; I don’t ask for all discussion to be 100% pleasant 100% of the time because given the serious themes of many articles on New Mandala friction and tension is bound to arise, but how you choose to manifest that IS up to the adult readers who actively comment and participate on this forum. If you have any complaints or concerns please contact me at [email protected] and justify why you think getting the last round of personal abuse in against another user is so important. Otherwise, keep it directly relevant to the article.

  14. Peter Cohen says:

    No, what Indonesian women need are local non-Islamic solutions. Shariah and Hudud will not save them. It isn’t helping the Governor of Jakarta very much is it ?

  15. Falang says:

    Not a comment on the article per se , rather a heads up on a gift from the author Pavin Chachavalpongpun .

    A New Publication — The Blooming Years

    This collection of articles from the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia (KRSEA) is published with the financial support of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University. We have compiled all the English articles from Issue 13 (March 2013), to Issue 20 (September 2016). This period marked a turning point for KRSEA with the re-launch of the website in March 2013 and the new online archive of earlier issues. That was when I was assigned as the chief editor of the KRSEA.

    https://kyotoreview.org/the-blooming-years/

  16. Chris Beale says:

    This is an ignorant, silly – almost stupid – stereotyping of Thaksin’s latest statement. It could equally be read as encouragement of Thailand’s new King’s behind-the-scenes reconciliation efforts, which everyone knows are on- going. Thaksin here is probably staking out his bargaining position. For someone of your self-congratulatory high IQ Morgan – it is surprising you have n’t figured this out. Or are you simply a “dustman” ?

  17. alan says:

    ‘Nearly HALF of Papua!s population now are Transmigrasi immigrants’

    Untrue. Some time ago there was an erroneous piece in NM falsely interpreting the 2010 census. The population of the newer Province Papua Barat showed the non Papuan cohort nearing parity, while the older Province of Papua where the larger part of the population lives showed Non Papuans remained less than 40%.

    Both parties had tactical reasons for deliberately encouraging a misinterpretation of the true the population composition. The independence movement needed to convince the Melanesian Spearhead and other Pacific nations that they’d be threatened with minority status if support was not forthcoming, while Jakarta was happy to let others interpret a non Papuan majority as a Fait Accompli.

    There is no massive influx of transmigrants and free settlers.

  18. Very true. Performance Indicators are merely for reporting purposes. Not yet stimulate a contructive dialoque. This reality getting worse as Audit conducted focus on money-matters. To most of commentators it is easier to discuss political issues rather than what have been achieved. E.g. Ahok administration has been simultanuosly attacked by cleric-etnicity issues but not comprehensive review on his Jakarta development programs. This condition potrays the narrow focus or concern of majority citizens are far below the govt performance indicators. We need more NGOs to educate people on what matters for better governance in Indonesia. Or adapt the KPI to make it easier for general public involvement. Other wise KPIs will remain technocratic exercises without proper scrutiny.

  19. Morgan says:

    IQ and EQ are related, which you doubtless know.

    I think checking the mensa registry would be a very good idea. My IQ (like many) has been variously measured over my lifetime. I have no intention of saying what it has been measured at because that’s just a weeing contest and I don’t feel the need to engage in any of those. It’s higher than the admission threshold for Mensa Int, but I’m not going to say what that is either, you can look it up.

    Individually, IQ doesn’t necessarily mean very much, some years ago, the person with the highest IQ in Britain was a dustman, who was quite a lot brighter than most University professors and academics, and me, I’m not in his class.

    IQ is a broad measure of intellectual ability but there are many tests because intellectual ability takes different forms. Statistically, it’s a useful indication of the intellectual capacity of a population, otherwise there’d be no point in measuring it, but it usually fits with informal perceptions of a population if they’re impartial, and does have ramifications across all societies.

    I do not publish my name or any other personal details on the internet. Nor should you.

    I regret that my opinions (which it is my habit to express honestly and forthrightly) have ruffled one or two feathers on NM.

    Actually, that’s not true, I don’t actually give a toss, though I grant that opinions are often more readily accepted if they are presented in a manner which strokes the ego of the recipient. There are many branches of academia and management (if there is a difference between those two things) which absolutely depend on ego-stroking, as well as a few which do not. That reflects society as a whole though, so it can hardly be controversial. Not what I do though. A spade is a spade and there’s no merit in calling it a long-handled digging implement unless you have some kind of hang-up with the word ‘spade’, which I don’t.

    Enjoy your day, I won’t be responding to any more comments if I think they’re drifting or are off-topic – as this is. Even though I acknowledge the satisfactions that sometimes come from slagging off the messenger rather than the message, it doesn’t speak highly of the intelligence of the slagger-off.

  20. Morgan says:

    I shall not try to abuse or insult you because you don’t share my view, viva la difference. One of the most obvious lunacies of the politically correct brigade is that it’s actually racist to observe that black people have dark skin. Crazy huh?

    It’s a useful reflection that many (perhaps most) people who are lamentably politically correct are that way (as is the case with many psychological affectations) because they’ve learned that it delivers a feel-good reward of feeling superior to other, less enlightened folk. It’s bogus of course, but I suppose that hardly matters.

    Still, if it floats your boat then it’s good – right? We all do what makes us feel good.