Indonesia
Few nations claim the breadth and depth of ethnic groups, cultural practices, languages, and lifestyles as Indonesia. With over 250 million people scattered across over 7,000 islands, and 700 languages and dialects in use, Indonesia seems to defy the idea of nation or state.
Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims of any nation in the world, but not all Indonesians are Muslim. Most people living on Bali practice a special form of Hinduism. In the eastern part of the archipelago, some areas are home to concentrations of Catholics and Protestant Christians. Some groups, such as the
Toraja (Sulawesi) and the
Toba Batak (Sumatra) continue to practice more animistic religions, sometimes alongside other world religions.
Islam takes a different form in Indonesia than it does in other parts of the world. It arrived in the islands after Hindu and Buddhist influences in the fourteenth century. In some parts of Indonesia, Islam was assimilated into local practices that combine several belief systems. In other parts, such as the Aceh Special District, Islamic practices relate more to those of Malaysia and the Middle East.
Indonesia’s international business and trade trajectory has waxed and waned since Suharto left power in 1998. The current trends are toward internationalization and diversity, moving away from resource extraction and domestic and offshore manufacturing toward the communications, services, and energy sectors. The country has a huge role to play in the international energy sector, having significant reserves of oil and natural gas. Indonesia is also blessed with about every type of renewable or alternative energy (wind, riverine, tidal, wave, geothermal, and biodiesel, to name the most feasible).
MALAYSIA
Geography and Population
Area: 127,355 square miles; slightly larger than New Mexico
Population: 30 million (50.1 percent Malay, 22.6 percent Chinese, 11.8 percent indigenous, 6.7 percent Indian)
Government
Freedom House rating from “Freedom in the World 2015” (ranking of political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries): Partly Free
Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Chief of State: King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (since April 11, 2012)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Mohamed Najib bin Abdul Najib Razak (since April 3, 2009)
Elections: Kings elected by hereditary rulers, chosen from among their ranks (serving five-year terms); prime minister chosen by the leader in the House of Representatives that has the majority support of the members of the House
Legislative Branch: Bicameral parliament, consisting of the Senate (Dewan Negara, seventy seats; forty-four appointed by king, twenty-six elected by state legislatures, serving three-year terms, two-term limit) and House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat, 222 seats, elected in the 222 constituencies, serving up to five-year terms)
Judicial Highest Courts: Federal Court (chief justice and four judges)
Judges: Appointed by monarch with advice from prime minister, serve until sixty-five
Economy
During the last three decades, Malaysia has successfully shifted its economy from exporting raw materials to one that includes manufacturing, services, and tourism.
GDP: $746.8 billion
Per Capita Income: $24,500
Unemployment Rate: 2.9 percent
Population Below Poverty Line: 3.8 percent
Inflation Rate: 3.1 percent
Agricultural Products: Palm oil, rubber, cocoa, rice, timber, pepper
Industries: Rubber processing/manufacturing, oil palm processing/ manufacturing, petroleum and natural gas, electronics, logging
Society
Religion: 61.3 percent Muslim, 19.8 percent Buddhist, 9.2 percent Christian, 6.3 percent Hindu
Life Expectancy: 74.52 years
Literacy Rate: 93.1 percent
Major Contemporary Issues
Political and Economic Reforms: The Heritage Foundation’s 2015 Index of Economic Freedom lists Malaysia as “mostly free” noting improvements in freedom from corruption, business freedom, and trade freedom. Freedom House’s “Freedom in the World 2014” (complete 2015 data is not yet available as of press) tells a different story in terms of freedom in daily life. Malaysia is listed as “Partly Free.” Malaysian Muslims are subject to shari’a law (many aspects of life are controlled by these laws), and some government oppression exists.
Trafficking: Malaysia is a destination country for labor and sex trafficking. They are listed as Tier 2 by the US Department of State, meaning that the country does not fully comply with the standards of the department’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act but is making efforts to do so.
SOURCES
CIA. “The World Factbook: Malaysia.” Last modified June 20, 2014. http://tinyurl. com/7rqppq.
Freedom House. “Freedom in the World 2015.” Accessed February 11, 2015. http:// tinyurl.com/knwvzk6.
—. “Malaysia, Freedom in the World 2014.” Accessed January 26, 2015. http:// tinyurl.com/p3aqtmj.
The Heritage Foundation. “2015 Index of Economic Freedom: Malaysia.” Accessed April 27, 2015. http://tinyurl.com/84rxrow.
Malaysia
While Malaysia has many different ethnic groups, they are not as disparate as those of Indonesia. Malaysia is an unusual mix of three major groups: Malay (50.1 percent), Chinese (22.6 percent, sometimes called “Straits Chinese”), and Indians (6.7 percent). Today, another 10 percent of the population is referred to as “Orang Ulu” or “Orang Asli”—roughly translating to “original (indigenous) people.” The remaining percentage of the population are a mix of ethnic groups from around the world.
Beginning in the sixteenth century, Chinese came either voluntarily or as conscripted workers to the Malay peninsula. When the British colonized Malaysia, people from the southern part of India were brought in to work in rubber and tea plantations. People from other parts of the world eventually settled along the peninsula (but rarely on Kalimantan, the Indonesian name for the island of Borneo, which is shared with Malaysia and Brunei), and this mix of people make up a small percentage of the country’s population today.
Malaysia’s people suffered especially harsh treatment under the World War II Japanese occupation. After the war, strife continued between guerilla Communist forces and those who just wanted to go back to the old ways of life. Malaysians refer to this time as “The Emergency.”
Even though virtually all citizens self-identify as Malaysian, balancing ethnic demands is a challenge. In recent years, there has been political pressure to extend shari’a law. The question of whether this is agreeable to the population at large, or even applicable to non-Muslims, has created a degree of ethnic and religious tension in Malaysia.
Like Singapore, Malaysia worked diligently to educate its people after nationhood. For this and other reasons, many international companies opened offshore plants in Malaysia, and it became part of the silicon boom during the 1970s–1990s. However, education and employment gaps that exist between ethic groups that have raised tensions, especially between Malays and Chinese. Malaysian law provides for a kind of affirmative action—certain quotas are required for ethnically Malay employees.
THAILAND
Geography and Population
Area: 198,116 square miles; slightly more than double the size of Wyoming
Population: 67 million
Government
Freedom House rating from “Freedom in the World 2015” (ranking of political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries): Not Free
Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Chief of State: King Phumiphon Adunyadet (since June 6, 1946)
Head of Government: Acting Prime Minister Niwattamrong Boonsongpaisan
Elections: Prime minister is elected from members of the House of Representatives and limited to two four-year terms
Legislative Branch: Bicameral National Assembly (Rathasapha) consisting of the Senate (Wuthisapha, 150 seats, serving six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon, 500 seats, serving four-year terms)
Judicial Highest Courts: Supreme Court of Justice (court president and six vice judges), Constitutional Court (court president and eight judges), and Supreme Administrative Court (varies, number is set by the Judicial Commission of the Administrative Courts)
Judges: Supreme Court judges chosen by the Judicial Commission of the Courts of Justice, approved by monarch, no term limit; Constitutional Court judges, three from Supreme Court, two from the Administrative Court, four chosen by Selective Committee for Judges of the Constitutional Court, confirmed by Senate, single nine-year terms; Supreme Administrative Court judges chosen by Judicial Commission of the Administrative Courts, appointed by monarch, no term limit
Economy
Due to a market economy, proinvestment policies, and large industrial and agricultural exports, Thailand’s economy has seen steady growth over the past decade.
GDP: $990.1 billion
Per Capita Income: $14,400
Unemployment Rate: 1.0 percent
Population Below Poverty Line: 13.2 percent
Inflation Rate: 2.1 percent
Agricultural Products: Rice, cassava, rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans
Industries: Tourism, textiles, agricultural processing, tobacco, computers and parts, tin, tungsten
Society
Religion: 93.6 percent Buddhist, 4.9 percent Muslim, 1.2 percent Christian
Life Expectancy: Approximately 74 years
Literacy Rate: 93.5 percent
Major Contemporary Issues
Instability of Government: In May 2014, then-Prime Minister Yinglak Chinnawat was removed from office, and a military coup d’état occurred shortly after by the Royal Thai Army. The constitution was suspended, and the Senate election results were declared invalid. As of January 20, 2015, a constitutional drafting committee (handpicked by the Thai military) is meeting and developing a new constitution.
Human Trafficking: Thailand is a source of both sex and labor trafficking and also a transit country for trafficking. Currently, Thailand is listed as Tier 2, which means the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for eradicating trafficking.
SOURCES
CIA. “The World Factbook: Thailand.” Last modified June 20, 2014. http://tinyurl. com/2zeej6.
Freedom House. “Freedom in the World 2015.” Accessed February 11, 2015. http:// tinyurl.com/knwvzk6.
Kurlantzick, Josh. “Asia Unbound: Thailand’s Next Constitution Becomes Clearer.” Council on Foreign Relations. Accessed January 13, 2015. http://tinyurl.com/ nuoy33z.
Thailand
More people have been aware of activities in Thailand as of late due to the ongoing political/constitutional crisis and the protests in Bangkok. The crux of the issue is one that may be difficult for many to grasp. The key issue is who has the right, or is right, to rule? Some Thai people believe that only certain people are qualified to vote and that the monarchy should be upheld. Others favor a more democratic form of government. Currently, the country remains under martial law.
According to University of Washington Professor Emeritus Charles Keyes, Thailand has experienced thirty-two military coups since 1932, one of the highest rates in the world. The current coup seems to be a continuation of one begun in 2005, when royalists, the military, and some middle-class people started a movement to oust the prime minister and replace him with a military president backing the king. Generally, the Yellow Shirts in the news are the royalists, elites and military; the Red Shirts are the people of northern Thailand, academics, artists, and many members of the middle class who want to reestablish the constitution and democratic government. The country still has lèse-majesté laws— laws that protect the monarch against any real or imagined slander or libel. Recently, journalists have been deported or imprisoned through enforcement of lèse-majesté.
Siam became Thailand in 1939; during the Pacific War, the government reverted to the name Siam. Thailand managed to avoid direct colonialism before and during the war through careful diplomatic decisions and programs. Most Thai citizens profess Theravada Buddhism; however, there are significant minority groups in the north, northeast, and south that practice Islam and Christianity. Surrounded by Malaysia, Burma, China, Laos, and Cambodia, Thailand’s government must deal delicately with issues such as immigration and refugees.
Many of the US Department of Education-funded National Resource Centers for Southeast Asian Studies have developed or acquired excellent resource materials for K-14 educators. These resources include books, lesson plans, curricula, PowerPoint presentations, films, digital photo and art collections, and music. Items can be searched online, downloaded, or (if in hard copy form) mailed out for a loan period. See http://tinyurl.com/o7a4d6e for a list of centers.
