Corruption Threatens to Corrode the Benefits of a Fledgling Democracy 28-Apr-10 08:37 ...more ›

	Questioning Assumptions on Protests, Participation and Indonesian Democracy 14-Apr-10 08:32 Ask fervent democracy wallahs about the need for participation in society and a gleam will inevitably appear in their eye. Ivan Pavlov himself would be proud. Ask them specifically about optimum levels of participation, however, and a glazed expression counters the gleam. This is not so clear. Probe further and ask about homegrown methodologies for participation and a gray funk takes over their demeanor, shoulders droop and then hunch as they ponder: How do Indonesians participate in their democracy in a way that is purely homegrown? ...more ›

	If it’s Long-Term Economic Health We’re After, Next Step is the Asian Trade Union 05-Apr-10 08:06 The China-Asean Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, which was signed between China and Asean in Phnom Penh in 2002, launched the process of increased economic integration in the Asian region. This agreement was a precursor to the Asean-China Free Trade Area, which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2010. The establishment of the ACFTA has had an even greater impact on the economic integration of Asia, both economically and politically. While both the Framework Agreement and ACFTA were far reaching, I believe it is now time to take the next step and move to the establishment of an Asian version of the European Union around the issue of trade — an “Asian Trade Union” — which would greatly enhance the economic integration of Asia and ensure the region’s long-term sustainability. ...more ›

	Strategic Asia: With Asia’s Technology Star Rising, Is It Finally Poised to Overtake the West? 05-Apr-10 08:03 The last two centuries have seen the dominance of the West in the field of technical invention and technological innovation. Starting from the 19th century Industrial Revolution and running through the 20th century Space Age and now the 21st century Computer and Telephony Age, industrialized Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have led the way in practically all walks of technological competitiveness. For many observers the surprise here has been why economically advancing countries such as India, China and Brazil continued to trail behind. ...more ›

	When Planning Mega-Cities, What We Don’t Know is as Crucial as What We Do 17-Mar-10 09:30 It was none other than Donald Rumsfeld who, in a moment of uncharacteristic clarity while serving as the US secretary of defense in 2002, broke down intelligence gaps into“known knowns” (things we know), “known unknowns” (things we don’t), and “unknown unknowns” (things we don’t know that we don’t know). While he directed his words at the ongoing war in Afghanistan, recognizing what you know and what you don’t is critical in any context. Urban planning in Asia’s mega-cities is one area where such knowns and unknowns intersect. Things we can know include government policy, regulations, key performance indicators and the modern urban planning goals of sustainability, reduced carbon emissions and urban social equality. Known problems include bureaucracy, corruption and lack of enforcement. ...more ›

	The Muslim World and Climate Change 18-Feb-10 16:26 Speaking at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic States in Istanbul in November, Bangladeshi President Zillur Rahman called on the Organization of the Islamic Conference to take a lead in combating climate change and to support countries like Bangladesh that are fighting global warming even though they contribute little to its cause. Up to now, the OIC’s record in responding to this call has been poor. A 2007 study concluded that “efforts by wealthier Muslim states are imbalanced, with many of them doing very little and not acknowledging the urgency of the issue. Saudi Arabia, who holds most of the purse strings of the OIC, has long been a skeptic of climate change.”...more ›

	Nothing to Lose, So Much to Gain From Continuing Judicial Reform 05-Feb-10 10:59 This past October, Indonesia’s National Strategy on Access to Justice was launched — its main focus being the creation of a framework of laws that affords ordinary people access to justice and enables them to overcome poverty. Created under the auspices of the National D evelopment Planning Board in collaboration with the United Nations Develop m ent Program, the strategy came after several years of growing interest among national and international policy makers on the role of law in the development process. This is obviously not a new idea, but one that has been proposed by thinkers ranging from Aristotle in the West to Narada and Kautilya in the East. Sociologist Max Weber captured the idea when he observed: “Industrial capital must be able to count on the continuity, trustworthiness and objectivity of the legal order, and on the rational predictable function of legal and administrative agencies.” ...more ›

	Food Versus Fuel? Biofuel Boom Requires the Government to Get Policies Right 20-Jan-10 09:10 A certain degree of euphoria seems to have spread through the government about producing biofuel from palm oil. Government schemes are under way to double palm oil production by 2020, mostly through an expansion of plantation areas. Palm oil, a labor-intensive product, is promoted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a path to leading millions out of poverty. Over 40 percent of oil palms are cultivated by 3.5 million smallholders. The National Palm Oil Association (Gapki) says expanding plantation land from the current 10 million hectares to “only” 12 million hectares can provide livelihoods for an additional five million people, almost one-sixth of the country’s poor. ...more ›

	What Country Is This? The Risks of Indonesia Falling Asleep in an Age of Spin 04-Jan-10 08:53 Not very long ago Indonesia underwent a major makeover. Forgive the journalistic license, but it was as if citizens went to bed living in the world’s third largest democracy and woke up in the world’s largest Islamic state. This came as a shock to many citizens because, since the demise of the New Order, many had understood that they had been happily living in both....more ›

	Region Must Follow Europe’s Lead Down the Rocky Road to Union 21-Dec-09 09:27 Few people would have predicted that the establishment of the European Common Market would signal the arrival of a new dawn for Europe. Half a century after signing the European Economic Community Treaty, a fully ratified Treaty of Lisbon came into force on Dec. 1. If Asia were to follow a similar path, it would mean it will be 2060 before Asia appoints a single president, selects a high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, brings in a legally binding charter of fundamental rights, introduces qualified majority voting, or decides to replace literary references to the term “community” with the more politically ascendant “union.”...more ›

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