INDONESIA MYANMAR SINGAPORE

The Archipelagic State Island City-State

G Indonesia is an archipelagic nation that spans over 5000 kilometers Singapore is an island city-state situated at the Southern tip of the
with about 17,000 islands located in Southeast Asia, bordered by Malay Peninsula, surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia.
E Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor, and situated at Singapore is a Southeast Asian country with one 30-mile-long
the meeting point of the world’s two population groups: island (Pulau Ujong, or mainland Singapore) surrounded by 62
O
Asians in the west and Melanesians in the east. Indonesia also smaller islands. Singapore has a total land area of 724.2 square
lies in the worst part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and is the most kilometers (279.6 sq mi). The Singapore area comprises
G
active volcanic country in the world, experiencing 4 earthquakes a mainland and other islands. The mainland of Singapore measures
R day - its proximity to the three major converging plates (Eurasian, 50 kilometers (31 mi) from east to west and 27 kilometers (17 mi)
Pacific, and Australian) causes this natural phenomenon in the from north to south with 193 kilometers (120 mi) of coastline.
A country.

P
It is made up of the diamond-shaped Singapore Island and about
H 60 small islets; the main island takes up all but about 18 square
miles of the total area. The main island is separated from
Y Peninsular Malaysia to the north by Johor Strait, a narrow channel
crossed by a more than half-mile long road and rail causeway.
Singapore is Southeast Asia's largest port and one of the
busiest in the world. Its growth and prosperity can be attributed
to its strategic location at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula,
where it controls the Malacca Strait, which connects the Indian
Ocean to the South China Sea.
E WESTERN ISLANDS Myanmar is a nation with various The population of Singapore is diverse due to the fact of the result
ethnic groups. It has eight major of considerable past immigration. Singapore has three main
T [1] inland wet-rice societies; [2] the coastal trading, farming, and
national ethnic races namely Kachin, communal groups, which are Malays, Chinese, and Indians
fishing people; and [3] the inland societies of shifting cultivators.
H Kayin, Kayah, Chin, Mon, Bamar, just like the communal groups in Malaysia. Chinese people
Rakhine and Shan. There are 135 predominate and Malays are the next largest ethnic group,
N ethnic groups in total. The Bamar followed by Indians.
[1] The wet-rice growers of inland Java, Madura, and Bali make up being the country's biggest ethnic
I
nearly three-fifths of the population. The Javanese is Indonesia’s race consists of 70% of the nation's

C largest ethnic group, accounting for roughly one-third of the total population. Given the numerous
population or about 95.2 million people. They are mostly identified ethnic groups in Burma, they struggle
as Muslim, with a small figure of Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu. unifying its nation.
The cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta are the strongholds of
P
Javanese culture and traditional rulers. In the Western region of
O Java, there exists the second largest ethnic group which is the
Ethnicity has a big impact since it
Sundanese. They are Muslims and closely related to the Javanese
P dominates Myanmar’s political,
but still distinct in terms of language and tradition. Northeast Java
economic, and social sphere. Since
U on the island of Madura, is the homeland of the Madurese,
the state failed to establish equal
Indonesia’s third-largest ethnic group.
L rights and protection on Myanmar
ethnic groups. This resulted in the
A creation of a hierarchy of power
[2] The more strongly Islamized coastal communities, or the between different ethnic groups. The
T
second group, are ethnically heterogeneous and include the majority were given privileges

I Malays from Sumatra and the Makassarese and Bugis from such as greater rights and
Celebes. The Sumatran Malays inhabit Aceh, a strongly Muslim participation in politics and in
O region at the northern tip of Sumatra and are known for their state. This made the minorities
 resistance to European influence. The Makassarese and Bugis live question the relationship that they
N
primarily in the coastal regions of southern Celebes. They are a have with the state. The failure of
combination of rice cultivators and maritime communities. the state for equality among ethnic
groups in Myanmar led to
[3] The third group or the inland shifting cultivators are communities
bloodshed and dispute between
that live in areas where the climate cannot support wet-rice
minorities since they struggled for
farming. These communities tend to be small and relatively
their position in the state. Ethnicity
isolated, and they represent a wide array of cultures. The most
in Myanmar is inextricably linked to
prominent of these ethnic groups are the Toraja of southern
armed conflict since the minority fight
Celebes, the Batak of the highlands of northern Sumatra, and the
for their communal rights and to
various communities of the interior of Kalimantan, such as Kenyah,
protect their own economic rents.
Kayan, Ngaju, and Embaloh, who are collectively called Dayak.
Ethnic minority grievances toward
the state have perpetuated some of
the world’s longest-running armed
Eastern Indonesia is characterized by the traditional Melanesian conflicts. As an example, the Kayins
cultural division between coastal, or “beach” people and interior have maintained their own army to
“bush” people. Due to their proximity to the west, they have fight for their sovereignty in the
developed their own complex ethnographic and linguistic area. The central government.
distinction between coastal and interior peoples is especially
salient in western New Guinea, where maritime trading
communities live along the coast, while agrarian, noncommercial
Conflicts between state and non-
societies with strongly developed and highly localized customs
state armed groups in the early post-
inhabit the interior. Typical of the coastal communities are the
independence period centered
Ambonese, who live along the coasts of Ambon and engage in
primarily around minority grievances
maritime activities. Unlike the Ambonese, ethnic groups from
and competition among various
 Asmat and Dani, on the other hand, reside in the hinterlands and communist and socialist groups
are isolated from urban environments. ideological aspirations for the nation.
However, since the Communist Party
of Burma's insurgency ended in
1989, nearly all armed groups have
identified with a specific ethnic group.
The nation has experienced a
number of the bloodiest battles in the
last ten years.

H Dutch Colonization (1605 - 1962) Singapore was one of the many trading outposts serving as an
entrepôt and supply point for Malay, Thai, Javanese, Chinese,
I The two driving forces of Indonesia are trade and history.
Indian, and Arab traders. Singapura was controlled by a
Indonesia, much like other SEA countries, also experienced the
S succession of regional empires and Malayan sultanates.
ramifications of colonization - this time, by the Dutch. With the rise

T of the interest in spices during the 1600s, the Dutch went on a

voyage to look for spices in Southeast Asia after the 1579 Union of
O European Arrival
Utrecht which was the beginning of the Republic of the United
Netherlands and discovered the Moluccas Islands. The fatal error The year 1819 marked the arrival of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles,
R
of the Indonesians during the era of the Dutch occupation was that the lieutenant governor of the British enclave of Bencoolen and
Y they saw little to no significant threat and did not deem it necessary an agent of the British East India Company, who obtained
to band with neighboring countries to expel them which allowed the permission from the local Malay official to establish a trading post.
Dutch colonization to proliferate. Hence, during the first 10 years of He called it Singapore, after its ancient name, and opened the
occupation of the Dutch in Indonesia, they created the VOC port to free trade and free immigration on the south coast of the
(Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) or the United East India island at the mouth of the Singapore River. At the time, Singapore
Company, a joint-stock company with six regional chambers of had about 1,000 inhabitants. By 1827 Chinese had become the
commerce patented after the English East India Company and was most numerous of Singapore’s various ethnic groups. They came
responsible for the conception of the “stock market” - the company from Malacca, Penang, Riau, and other parts of the Malay
was conceived for the purpose of trading commodities in the Intra- Archipelago. More recent Chinese migrants came from the South
Asian Trade Network and Inter-Continental Trade, that allowed for China provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. In 1826, Singapore,
the VOC to adopt a circular trading system wherein commodities Malacca, Penang, and Dinding became the “Strait Settlements,”
from other countries were imported to another country in exchange which were under direct British control as a Crown colony from
for another commodity. The Dutch only initially planned to become 1867 until 1947. Singapore’s position as the hub of the regional
a trading power, however, due to the demand for commodities sea trade, its efficient colonial administration, well-developed
offered by the VOC, they erected multiple trading outposts all over infrastructure, and British legal system contributed to the
Indonesia which later, they became, a colonial power aimed to continuous growth of the city’s population from little more
extract wealth and the creation of commerce - they managed to than 10,000 people in 1824 to almost 940,000 in 1947. During its
cement control in the regions through their strong military force and colonial period, Singapore’s economy was dominated by
political manipulation that were deemed beneficial by the majority entrepot trade. Already in 1913, Singapore had the highest GDP
of the Sultanates. Wherein, their strong military force also allowed per capita in all of Southeast Asia.
them to make negotiations with Sultans in Indonesia in exchange
for commodities and land - the benefits of siding with the Dutch
enticed the Sultans, which made the Dutch a powerful political British Colonial Period
machinery of empires during the Javanese Wars of Succession.
However, due to the declining demand for the commodity of spices, In 1824 the Dutch formally recognized British control of

for which the VOC was known for, the Dutch began to delve into a Singapore, and London acquired full sovereignty over the island.

free market system - an unfair feat for the Indonesian farmers. The From 1826 to 1867, Singapore, along with two other trading ports

Dutch began to form private plantations and developed a system on the Malay Peninsula— Penang and Malacca—and several

called the Cultuurstelsel or the “Cultivation System” that promoted smaller dependencies, were ruled together as the Straits

forced labor and land rent. Although there was the development of Settlements from the British East India Company headquarters in

this system, the Dutch back in the Netherlands had a period of India. In 1867 the British needed a better location than fever-

liberalism due to the book Max Havelaar which caused the rise of ridden Hong Kong to station their troops in Asia, so the Straits
the liberal movement in the Netherlands and paved the way for Settlements were made a crown colony and its capital
ethical practices in Indonesia because the Javanese (ethnic Penang, ruled directly from London. The British installed a
Indonesians) felt that they are treated unfairly, hence, the Dutch governor and executive and legislative councils. By that time,
introduced a new policy called the “Ethical Policy”. This promoted Singapore had surpassed the other Straits Settlements in
reforms in education and agriculture by allowing more autonomy importance, as it had grown to become a bustling seaport with
for Indonesian officials and the decentralization of the Indies 86,000 inhabitants. Singapore also dominated the Straits
administration which allowed Indonesia to adopt a Dutch education Settlements Legislative Council. After the Suez Canal opened in
system. 1869 and steamships became the major form of ocean transport,
British influence increased in the region, bringing still greater
The last war of the Javanese Wars of Succession allowed for the
maritime activity to Singapore. Later in the century and into the
Treaty of Giyanti to be conceived, signed by Pakunabawa II and
twentieth century, Singapore became a major point of
Cakraningkat IV; allowing for the separation of Yogyakarta and
disembarkation for hundreds of thousands of laborers
Solo as well as the cessation of the sovereignty of the northern
brought in from China, India, the Dutch East Indies, and the
Mataram and the island of Madura to the VOC. However, the
Malay Archipelago, bound for tin mines and rubber
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War that came later caused the VOC to go
plantations to the north.
bankrupt, as well as the corruption going on inside the company
which paved the way for the Dutch government to take control of From 1942 to 1945, Japanese troops occupied the city. Much like
the trading posts situated in all locations of Indonesia. However, in in other parts of Southeast Asia, Japanese rule and repression
1942, the Japanese displaced the Dutch during their short-term kindled nationalist sentiments and political mobilization in
occupation of Indonesia due to the need for raw materials, most the postwar years. The Chinese-dominated Malayan
especially oil in the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan during Communist Party, trade unions, and student associations
World War II, and the colonization of the Japanese gave rise to the were at the forefront of the anticolonial agitation, which
movement for Indonesian independence. accentuated the substantial ethnic tensions between
Chinese and Malays and ultimately forced the British to
introduce limited self-rule.
In 1955, the first elections for a predominantly elected legislative
assembly were held. This triggered the formation of political
parties like the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Labour Front,
the latter providing Singapore’s first chief minister after the
election. In 1959, Singapore adopted a new constitution and
attained self-government. The PAP under its leader Lee Kuan
Yew decisively won the elections in May of the same year, and
the party has remained in power until today.

During the First Half of the 20th century

Singapore prospered as financial institutions, transportation,

communications, and government infrastructure expanded
rapidly to support the booming trade and industry of the British
Empire. Although Singapore was largely unaffected by World War
I (1914–18), still it experienced the same postwar boom and
depression as the rest of the world. Along with the influx of
Chinese migrants over the previous decades came secret
societies and kinship and place-name associations that grew to
have great influence on society. Political activities surfaced in
Singapore among the large Chinese population, first in the early
1900s between advocates of reform and revolution in China.
Then, in the 1930s there was increased interest in developments
in China, and many supported either the Chinese Communist
Party or the Chinese Nationalist Party (Guomindang). The
Malayan Communist Party (MCP) was established in 1930 and
competed with local branches of the Guomindang. Both sides,
however, strongly supported China against the rising tide of
Japanese aggression. Some years earlier, in 1923, in reaction to
Japan’s increasing naval power, the British began building a large
naval base at Singapore. It was costly and unpopular, but when
completed in 1941, this “Gibraltar of the East” posed an attractive
target for Japan.

Japan attacked Malaya in December 1941, and by February 1942

the Japanese had taken control of both Malaya and Singapore.
They renamed Singapore Shōnan (“Light of the South”) and set
about dismantling the British establishment. Singapore suffered
greatly during the war, first from the Japanese attack and then
from Allied bombings of its harbor facilities. By the war’s end, the
colony was in poor shape, with a high death rate, rampant crime
and corruption, and severe infrastructure damage. During the
1942–45 occupation period, a favorable view of the colonial
relationship had lapsed among the local population, as it had in
other British colonies, and upon the return of the British, resulted
in demands for self-rule. In 1946 Singapore became a separate
crown colony with a civil administration. When the Federation of
Malaya was established in 1948 as a move toward self-rule,
Singapore continued as a separate crown colony. The same year,
the MCP launched an insurrection in Malaya and Singapore, and
the British declared a State of Emergency that was to continue
until 1960. The worldwide demand for tin and rubber had brought
economic recovery to Singapore by this time, and the Korean War
(1950–53) brought even further economic prosperity to the
colony. However, strikes and student demonstrations organized
by the MCP throughout the 1950s continued to arouse fears of a
communist takeover in Malaya.

In 1953 a British commission recommended partial internal self-

government for Singapore. In this milieu, other political parties
began to form in 1954. One was the Labour Front led by David
Marshall, who called for immediate independence and merger
with Malaya. The same year, the People’s Action Party (PAP)
was established under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew. The
PAP also campaigned for an end to colonialism and a merger with
Malaya. Following Legislative Assembly elections in 1955, a
coalition government was formed with Marshall as chief minister.
As a result of further talks with London, Singapore was granted
internal self-government while the British continued to control
defense and foreign affairs. In 1957 Malaya was granted
independence, and the next year the British Parliament elevated
the status of Singapore from colony to state and provided for new
local elections.

The PAP swept the elections held in May 1959, and Lee Kuan
Yew was installed as the first prime minister. The PAP’s strongest
 opponents were communists operating in both legal and illegal
organizations. The most prominent was the Barisan Sosialis
(Socialist Front), a left-wing party that retained favor in the
1960s and early 1970s. There also were fears that communists
within the PAP would seize control of the government, but
moderates led by Lee held sway. In 1962 Singaporean voters
approved the PAP’s merger plan with Malaya, and on September
16, 1963, Singapore joined Malaya and the former British
territories on the island of Borneo—Sabah and Sarawak—to form
the independent Federation of Malaysia. Only Brunei opted out of
the federation.

I The political ideology of the people boils down to the Islamists and Constitutional History
pluralists in the country - with only two significant party
● Singapore's constitution came into power in 1959. It granted
classifications systems in Indonesia: in the contemporary party
D Singapore full autonomy in internal affairs as part of the British
system, there exists the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Commonwealth of Nations.
or the “Partai Demokrasi Indonesia-Perjuangan” (PDI Perjuan)
E ● After expulsion from Malaysia, it became the new basic law of
which is the most pluralist party, while at the opposite end of the the Republic of Singapore on December 22, 1965.
ideological spectrum, there exists the Prosperous Justice Pary, the
O ● David Marshall, singapore's first Chief Minister once described
United Development Party (PPP), and the National Mandate Party the constitutional text as the "untidiest and most confusing
known for their conservative Islamic practices and they adhere to constitution that any country has started life with." (Due to two
L a more puritan, modernist version of Islam. Since their
main factors: 1) accession to and expulsion from Malaysia
required several amendments, which are still part of the
independence in 1945, “political movements mobilized on opposite constitutional charter. 2) since the 1960s, parliament has
O sides of this divide” wherein the proponents of political Islam constantly refined the constitution, amending the text some 38
times between 1965 and 2008)
advocated for a much more formal role for Islam, whereas pluralists
G advocated for a secular state that prioritized laws and institutions
 to protect the country’s religious minorities (Warburton, 2021). With
Y ● Singapore's constitution is inextricably shaped by British
the win of the pluralists back in 1945, Indonesia’s constitution, thus,
influences.
outlined a general “belief in one God” - allowing for the show of the
● As stated in Article 4, Singapore’s Constitution is the supreme
nation’s five founding principles. Moreover, shortly after, in 1957,
law of the land, meaning that the legal principles laid down in
President Sukarno also introduced the concept of “guided the Constitution cannot be overridden by another law.
democracy”, as a gateway for authority and control amongst the
● The Constitution provides the framework for Singapore’s
Indonesians.
political system, which has three branches of government, the
Legislative, the Executive, and the Judiciary. It also delineates
Pancasila the powers and responsibilities of those three branches. The
three branches of government create a separation of powers,
The state ideology of Indonesia, known as Pancasila, is bounded through which each branch of government can act as a check
by its five founding principles, namely: belief in one God; justice on the power of the other two branches of government.
and civility among people; unity of Indonesia; democracy
through deliberation and consensus among representatives;
and, social justice for all the people of Indonesia. This ideology,
then, has become the ultimate source of law in the sovereign
and independent Indonesian nation-state - it serves as the
repository for all legal authority, and the idea is that the
Indonesian law cannot contradict the Pancasila’s principles as
it is used for the basis of the formulation of policies and
practices of the country. The history of Pancasila dates back to
1945 when the country gained its independence from the
Netherlands, the first President of Indonesia, Sukarno in the Old
Order, proposed the idea of Pancasila to satisfy the two opposition
political and religious views that developed at the First Session of
the Investigative Body for Preparatory Efforts for Independence
(BPUPK) which discussed the basics of the country as a newly-
sovereign state. The two views refer to the nationalistic view
which advocated for nationality as the basic principle of the
state and the other being the Islamist view which advocated
for Islam, the religion, as a basis of the state. Each principle as
proposed by Sukarno has its respective justifications, as discussed
by Herlambang (2017).

(a) Belief in one God - This principle is left in a general state, given
that Indonesia is not secular in the Western sense. Hence, the
freedom of religion is exercised based on the three pillars:
freedom, rule of law, and tolerance.

(b) Justice and civility among people - The principle of universal

humanity, it recognizes and treats people according to their status
and dignity as God’s creatures which also recognizes equality,
equal rights, and obligations of human rights without distinction of
the tribe, ancestry, religion, race, color, social status, and more.

(c) Unity of Indonesia - Unity in diversity as a principle of nationality;

every citizen has the same position, rights, and obligations, and the
Indonesian people are free to self-determination and sovereignty,
so it does not allow any intervention of other nations in terms of
domestic affairs.

(d) Democracy through deliberation and consensus among

representatives - People have the sovereignty to express their
grievances should they be repressed and should go through the
process of proper authorities, and;

(e) Social justice for all the people of Indonesia - The principle
embodied, among others, in the provision of social security and
state institutions engaged in social organizing social problems in
the country.

Guided Democracy

Shortly after the conception of the foundations of government and

independence of the state, President Sukarno’s brainchild the
“Guided Democracy” was conceptualized - brought forth for the
purpose of bringing about political stability in the year 1959, as it
functioned as a de facto autocracy; guided democracy used
propaganda techniques which prevent the electorate from having
a significant impact on public policy. The concept of the Demokrasi
Terpimpin, Sukarno said, called for “strong leadership” - it was
modernist, centralist, and corporatist. Since 1957, the instability of
the Indonesian government encompassing provincial separatism,
political instability, and economic stagnation, resulted in an “extra-
parliamentary cabinet of experts” led by former President Sukarno.
Former Vice-President Hatta shared his sentiments amid provincial
rebellions in the country, citing that the Western concept of
parliamentary democracy was not in line with the cultural values
and experiences of the Indonesian people as it had resulted in
recurring crises due to the weakness of the authority of the
government and the “vehemence of political opposition” (Van der
Kroef, 1957). Former President Sukarno echoed similar thoughts
regarding parliamentary democracy, citing that Indonesian
democracy adheres to the principle of musyawarah, an exchange
of ideas among the political forces that represent the community
resulting in consensus, hence, he replaced the old system with a
presidential system under the guise of “Guided Democracy” - it
emphasized “how the role of a leader in every political process
takes place in society” (Agenti & Dias, 2018). However, this
backfired as President Sukarno issued a decree to support the
army which started the reign of authoritarianism as the executive
power became very strong - it became a Sukarno-centric power
dominated by his personality, ideas, and jargon imbued with the
former President’s utopian ideas and empty promises (Prasetyo &
Yoesoef, 2018).