Since Sze Ning, Jocie and I have decided to do our review on Indonesia, I thought a profile of the area might be helpful.

Indonesia has a very unique culture. It is somewhat similar to the Malays, but it is distinctive in its own way.

Indonesia has around 300 ethnic groups, each with cultural differences developed over centuries, and influenced by Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Malay, and European sources. Traditional Javanese and Balinese dances, for example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology, as do wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performances. Textiles such as batik, ikat and songket are created across Indonesia in styles that vary by region. The most dominant influences on Indonesian architecture have traditionally been Indian; however, Chinese, Arab, and European architectural influences have been significant. The most popular sports in Indonesia are badminton and football; Liga Indonesia is the country's premier football club league. Traditional sports include sepak takraw, and bull racing in Madura. In areas with a history of tribal warfare, mock fighting contests are held, such as, caci in Flores, and pasola in Sumba. Pencak Silat is an Indonesian martial art. Sports in Indonesia are generally male-orientated and spectator sports are often associated with illegal gambling.

Indonesian cuisine varies by region and is based on Chinese, European, Middle Eastern, and Indian precedents. Rice is the main staple food and is served with side dishes of meat and vegetables. Spices (notably chili), coconut milk, fish and chicken are fundamental ingredients. Indonesian traditional music includes gamelan and keroncong. Dangdut is a popular contemporary genre of pop music that draws influence from Arabic, Indian, and Malay folk music. The Indonesian film industry's popularity peaked in the 1980s and dominated cinemas in Indonesia, although it declined significantly in the early 1990s. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of Indonesian films released each year has steadily increased.

The oldest evidence of writing in Indonesia is a series of Sanskrit inscriptions dated to the 5th century CE. Important figures in modern Indonesian literature include: Dutch author Multatuli, who criticized treatment of the Indonesians under Dutch colonial rule; Sumatrans Muhammad Yamin and Hamka, who were influential pre-independence nationalist writers and politicians; and proletarian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia's most famous novelist. Many of Indonesia's peoples have strongly rooted oral traditions, which help to define and preserve their cultural identities. Media freedom in Indonesia increased considerably after the end of President Suharto's rule, during which the now-defunct Ministry of Information monitored and controlled domestic media, and restricted foreign media. The TV market includes ten national commercial networks, and provincial networks that compete with public TVRI. Private radio stations carry their own news bulletins and foreign broadcasters supply programs. At a reported 25 million users in 2008, Internet usage is limited to a minority of the population, approximately 10.5%.

Indonesia's estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2007 is US$408 billion (US$1,038 bn PPP). In 2007, estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,812, and per capita GDP PPP was US$4,616 (International Dollars). The services sector is the economy's largest and accounts for 45.3% of GDP (2005). This is followed by industry (40.7%) and agriculture (14.0%). However, agriculture employs more people than other sectors, accounting for 44.3% of the 95 million-strong workforce. This is followed by the services sector (36.9%) and industry (18.8%). Major industries include petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, and mining. Major agricultural products include palm oil, rice, tea, coffee, spices, and rubber.

Indonesia's main export markets (2005) are Japan (22.3%), the United States (13.9%), China (9.1%), and Singapore (8.9%). The major suppliers of imports to Indonesia are Japan (18.0%), China (16.1%), and Singapore (12.8%). In 2005, Indonesia ran a trade surplus with export revenues of US$83.64 billion and import expenditure of US$62.02 billion. The country has extensive natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, and gold. Indonesia's major imports include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, and foodstuffs.

In the 1960s, the economy deteriorated drastically as a result of political instability, a young and inexperienced government, and ill-disciplined economic nationalism, which resulted in severe poverty and hunger. Following President Sukarno's downfall in the mid-1960s, the New Order administration brought a degree of discipline to economic policy that quickly brought inflation down, stabilized the currency, rescheduled foreign debt, and attracted foreign aid and investment. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's only member of OPEC, and the 1970s oil price raises provided an export revenue windfall that contributed to sustained high economic growth rates. Following further reforms in the late 1980s, foreign investment flowed into Indonesia, particularly into the rapidly developing export-oriented manufacturing sector, and from 1989 to 1997, the Indonesian economy grew by an average of over 7%.

Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the East Asian financial crisis of 1997–98. Against the US dollar, the currency dropped from about Rp. 2,000 to Rp. 18,000, and the economy shrank by 13.7%. The rupiah has since stabilized at around Rp. 10,000, and there has been a slow but significant economic recovery. Political instability since 1998, slow economic reform, and corruption at all levels of government and business, have contributed to the patchy nature of the recovery. Transparency International ranked Indonesia 143rd out of 180 countries in its 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. GDP growth, however, exceeded 5% in both 2004 and 2005, and is forecasted to increase further. This growth rate, however, is not enough to make a significant impact on unemployment, and stagnant wages growth and increases in fuel and rice prices have worsened poverty levels. As of 2006, an estimated 17.8% of the population live below the poverty line, 49.0% of the population live on less than US$2 per day, and unemployment rate at 9.75%.

Yep that's kind of it. I'm going to observe all the Southeast Asian countries to see if there's any kind of link between the economic activities of a country and the cultural development of it. :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia

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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity.

Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions: the Asian mainland, and island arcs and archipelagoes to the east and southeast. The mainland section consists of Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia (or to be more precise, Peninsular Malaysia). The maritime section consists of Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Some definitions include Taiwan at the north. Austronesian peoples predominate in this region. The major religions are Buddhism and Islam, followed by Christianity. However a wide variety of religions are found throughout the region, including many Hindu and animist-influenced practices.

Hmm I found this off Wikipedia. But I still feel that something is lacking. The geography do not make the region, but culture is sorely lacking in this introduction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia

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Prices of rice and other basic food items are increasing in the world. The global food price crisis is affecting millions, possibly billions of people. Food policies are challenged. Governments are imposing emergency measures to calm down their restless constituents. The Southeast Asian region, home to several emerging and developing economies, is also struggling to cope with the situation.

For want of a better title more or less sums up the problem in the region:

“The biggest problem with our rising rice prices is that it’s more a distribution error than a problem with the rice yields. It’s more about politics than it is about agriculture…What’s probably going to happen though is an even higher rise in rice prices. The thing about a necessary product is that when price goes up, people buy more. And since they’re spending more on rice, they’ll spend less on the things that accompany that rice.”

Even Singapore, one of Asia's richest countries, is now scrambling to offer cheap food prices as reported by Singapore News Alternative.

Rice exporting nations are also gripped with panic. Thanh Nien cites that “Rice fever runs hot in several Vietnam provinces.” Details are Sketchy is worried because nearly half a million kids in Cambodia are expected to start missing meals in the coming weeks as a result of the rising cost of rice.

Vuthasurf describes the mood in Phnom Penh:

“The rice price is remarkably increasing in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh residents have been buying and stocking rice. All type of rice price is increasing too fast and making Cambodian people worried. The price of rice is going up across the nation by more than 20 percent, comparing to the previous year. Rising the rice price is helping the farmers but it is hitting badly the poor such as garment workers, teachers, civil servants who have low-income.”

But Cambodia’s government is optimistic that rice production will improve. Im Sokthy explains:

“Cambodia has about two million hectare of land for rice production. Its existing irrigation system can cover 30 percent of the land. It can expand to three million hectares for rice production. Adding to this, Cambodia could cultivate about two to three times per year on the same land areas. Based on this, it is seen that Cambodia has huge potential to become the world's largest rice exporting country.”

Youthful Insight notes the anomaly in policymaking in Indonesia, which may be applicable as well to other countries:

“On one side the government must keep inflation and food price low enough so its does not hurt the poor. But on the other side the government must maintain a reasonable high price to give incentive to farmers to increase their production and increase rural welfare. Is there any policy to achieve both objectives above? Yes! Give high subsidy to the farmers like what the developed countries are doing. But the problem is our government does not have the money to do it.

“Cheap food price is good for poor urban, whose main sources of income are the service and manufacturing sectors. But bad for rural poor whose main source of income is agriculture sector. Lower food price means lower income and also lower welfare for rural area. The government sacrifices the rural for the sake of the urban. Why? Because urban poor is more attractive politically than rural poor.”

New Mandala mentions the ongoing debate in Thailand about the extent to which farmers will benefit from high rice prices. Thailand Crisis is surprised to hear the Thai Prime Minister exhorting the people to eat less so that Thailand can export more rice.

The Malaysian quotes a politician who is asking the Malaysian government to stop the space mission program so that the money can be used to develop Sabah as a food producing state.

Filipino journalist Ricky Carandang points to another reason for the rising food prices:

“Yes, there are real supply and demand factors driving up rice prices, but one must concede that a big chunk of the increases in the prices of oil, gold, and rice, are due to speculation on the international commodities markets.”

Lengua et Pluma blames the economic policies of the Philippine president:

“The government is quick to blame the traders, when it hides on the background its policies that pave the way for cartel operations and the declining rice production in the country. This crisis that has brought about the overdependence on the importation of food, and an agriculture that is geared mainly towards the production of raw materials for export, has put on the forefront the long-running problems that beset our agriculture and farmers –lack of irrigation, lack of subsidy on the production of our farmers, land use and crop conversion, and the monopoly of land by a few land owners and transnational corporations, to name a few.”

Local Freakonomics hopes the Brunei government will continue subsidizing the price of basic food items:

“While I don’t expect the government to subsidize all food but I do expect some food price subsidies/food security packages are being planned for Brunei’s staple food (in addition to rice and sugar) such as cooking oil, flour, milk, eggs, chicken.”

Ohwell. This is an essay written by Mong Palatino, taken from http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/04/28/southeast-asia-rice-and-food-price-crisis/ on the global rice and food price crisis.

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STOLEN FROM SZENING!

But yes, its the reliable information on the Asian Youth Games 2009, hosted by none other than

SINGAPORE

1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009
AYG Fact Sheet

Event Background

- The Asian Youth Games (AYG) was first mooted as part of Singapore's Youth Olympic Games (YOG) bid in 2007

- The Olympic Council of Asia's (OCA) Executive Board unanimously agreed to award the hosting of the 1st AYG to Singapore on 3rd April 2008

- The decision to let Singapore host the first ever AYG was approved by all 45 members of the OCA on 6th April 2008

Event Objectives

- To gather the youth from around Asia in a celebration of youth, sports and learning

- To provide a platform for youths in Asia to engage in friendly competition and imbibe the Olympic sporting values of excellence, friendship and respect

- To provide a forum for learning, cultural exchange and friendship among the youth

Official Slogan

"Asia's Youth, Our Future"

Official Logo

- The highly vibrant and energised star symbol is a unique combination of two overlapping and complementary starbursts. This visual closeness of two stars that merge into one reflects the strong ties that have bonded over the years amongst the Asian countries for this international sporting event.

- The star also symbolises the excellence each participating sportsman and sportswoman brings, and we salute their sportsmanship with a blue-green athlete embedded within the star symbol.

- A synergy of dynamic colour palette highlights the diverse participating Asian nations that come together in celebration of youth, sports and friendship.

- Official Logo Designer: Brainwave Brand Development & Communications

Event Details
- Dates of competition: 29 June - 7 July 2009

- No. of sports competed: 9 sports - Aquatics (Swimming and Diving), Athletics, Bowling, Basketball FIBA 33 (3-on-3), Beach Volleyball, Football, Sailing, Shooting and Table-Tennis

- No of Sports Events: 90

- Age of athletes: 14 to 17 years old

- About 1,400 athletes from 45 countries are anticipated to compete at the 1st AYG Singapore 2009

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ASEAN+3

It's a new phenomena comprising the 10 ASEAN nations plus Korea, China and Japan. Its formation was due to several reasons.

.ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS.

.COLD WAR IN ASIA.

It was a battle between the Independents (USA) and the Communists and Socialists (North Korea and Vietnam). There was little interaction between the Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. In order to stop the influence of communism, 5 countries formed ASEAN, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. These 5 countries also initiated programmes with other countries such as China.

.POST COLD WAR ENGAGEMENT.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the post Cold War era began. This resulted in more involvement in East Asia as a whole. However, there was no discussion on ASEAN+3, as it was all on an ad hoc basis.

.ANCIENT TRIBUTE SYSTEM AND COLONIAL RULE.

.GEOHISTORY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA AND EAST ASIA.

WHY ASEAN+3?

.GROWING TREND OF GLOBALISATION AND REGIONALISATION.

The liberal economic policies of the EU (European Union) and the North America FTA (Free Trade Agreement) involved Latin Americans, which in turn created response from Asian readers, ad caused Asian regionalism.

.ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS: REGIONAL RESPONSE.

During the 1997-1998 financial crisis, many in IMF (International Monetary Fund) helped. The stringent conditions at that time forced many countries to change their economic systems. The countries were reluctant and so, they decided to solve this locally. Hence, in 1998, the 1st ASEAN+3 Summit took pace. China initiated it, and it required great interstate cooperation and resulted in phenomenal trade growth.

.GROWING SALIENCE OF REGIONAL CHALLENGES.

WHAT DOES ASEAN+3 DO?

.ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES (MOSTLY ECONOMIC).

Discuss financial, trade, non-traditional security issues. Which means that there are no territorial disputes. Deals with drugs, terrorism, piracy, human trafficking and diseases etcetera. Other issues discussed include the Chiang Mai initiative, which states that if any country has financial difficulty, the other countries can help and the money can be repayed at a later date.

.PUSH FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING VIA BILATERAL FTAS.

Many FTAs such as the ASEAN-China FTA, ASEAN-South Korae FTA, and the ASEAN-Japan FTA all assure more goods of better quality and at a higher price. It basically means that the region is pretty much fraught with conflict at the moment and peaceful living without suspicion of each other and easy access to each other's resources is the goal of ASEAN+3.

CHALLENGES

.ECONOMIC, CULTURAL, AND POLITICAL DIVERSITY.

Economic: Developing countries are very poor as they are chiefly agricultural.
Political: Vietnam, China, North Korea etc. are all classified communist. Thailand has a civilian government, and Myanmar is run by the military junta. On the other hand, Japan has had democracy since WWII, Taiwan has recently achieved independence, and South Korea is a full-fledged democracy, making it impossible to intervene due to human rights, etc.

.DISTRUST WITHIN ASEAN+3.

Due to our history, it makes it impossible for complete trust. For example, the tension between China and Japan makes it practically impossible. The Japanese blame the Chinese for their war crimes during the Nanjing Massacre. The Japanese farmers are also against this FTA as they are afraid that Southeast Asian products will flood the Japanese market and this would reduce their profit margin. Both countries also saw each other as the greatest competition for regional leadership and wanted to provide more than the other for ASEAN+3, hence they ended up both providing the same amount for the federal reserves. Japan, on the other hand, wanted ASEAN+1. In addition, during the post Cold War era, ASEAN saw China as a threat, as China was communist and the smaller countries were worried that China's rapid development would result in its dominance. This resulted in ASEAN-China tension.

.DOMESTIC POLITICS.

Simply put, it is difficult to get all 13 countries together.

.SENSITIVE SECURITY ISSUES.

Mostly involving territorial disputes over the East China Sea and the South China Sea, which Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei all lay claim to. Singapore and Malaysia both claimed Pedra Branca in 2008.

.GROWING AMBIGUITY IN GEOPOLITICAL BOUNDARIES.

What is East Asia? The geographical boundary is yet to be defined. Australia counts themselves as part of East Asia because they have been involved in East Asia for decades, and so does India because of its importance in East Asia in light of their rapid development, and the USA considers themselves part of the Asia-Pacific community.

.PRESENCE OF OTHER COMMITTEES.

Other commmittees or forums exist and different countries give these different priorities. For example, others include APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation), East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum (which handles security issues), Asia-Pacific Community, G2 (Chimerica), US-Japan-China trilateralism, Japan-China-South Korea trilateralism. As such, China sees ASEAN+3 as more important while Japan prioritises the EAS in terms of regional integration. In the G2, China and the US are the main leaders, while ASEAN continues to weaken and also, the leaders of China, Japan, and Korea meet more than they meet ASEAN.

CONCLUSION

.ASEAN+3 becoming 3+ASEAN?
.ASEAN GRADUALLY LOSING DRIVER'S SEAT POSITION IN TERMS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION?
.ASEAN+3 IS AT A CROSSROADS?

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AYC!

We kind of underwent alot of cultural training for this! Like we got plenty of exposure and new knowledge about the other ASEAN countries, and also the ASEAN +3, which was basically ASEAN (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Brunei, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia - in no particular order) and also, Korea Japan and China, basically all the countries closer to the East of the world.

Okay now I shall give some information about the ASEAN +3 countries. In the order that I listed,

SINGAPORE
Head-of-state: President S.R. Nathan
Head-of-government: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Capital: Singapore :D
Land area: 697km2
Main languages: English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil
Currency: S$ (Singapore dollar)

MALAYSIA
Head-of-government: The Honorable Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Land area: 330 257 sq. km
Main languages: Melayu, English, Chinese, Tamil
Currency: Malaysian Ringgit

INDONESIA
Head-of-state: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Capital: Jakarta
Land area: 1 890 754 sq. km
Main language: Bahasa Indonesia
Currency: Rupiah

THAILAND
Head-of-state: His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Head-of-government: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
Capital: Bangkok
Land area: 513 254 sq. km
Language: Thai
Currency: Baht

LAOS
Head-of-state: President Choummaly Sayasone
Head-of-government: Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh
Capital: Vientiane
Land area: 236 800 sq. km
Language: Lao
Currency: Kip

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Head-of-state: His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Land area: 5 765 sq. km
Language: Malay, English
Currency: B$ (Bruneian Dollar)

MYANMAR
Head-of-state: Senior General Than Shwe
Head-of-government: Prime Minister General Thein Sein
Capital: Nay Pyi Taw
Land area: 676 577 sq. km
Language: Myanmar
Currency: Myanmar Kyat

PHILIPPINES
Head-of-state: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Capital: Manila
Land area: 300 000 sq. km
Language: Filipino, English, Spanish
Currency: Peso

VIET NAM
Head-of-state: President Nguyen Minh Triet
Head-of-government: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
Capital: Ha Noi
Land area: 330 363 sq. km
Language: Vietnamese
Currency: Dong

CAMBODIA
Head-of-state: His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni
Head-of-government: Prime Minister Hun Sen
Capital: Phnom Penh
Land area: 181 035 sq. km
Language: Khmer
Currency: Riel

http://www.aseansec.org/74.htm

But you know what, this site is really really outdated. Like Mrs Arroyo is already deceased. Oh well, it was last updated in 2004, so it's not their fault. :D I'm going to search all the new updates!

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