Development Success in Asia Pacific: An Exercise in Normative-Pragmatic Balance

227 Pages·1995·27.257 MB·English

by  A. H. Somjee, Geeta Somjee (auth.)

DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS IN ASIA PACIFIC
By the same authors
A. H. Somjee
VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN AN INDIAN VILLAGE
POLITICAL THEORY OF JOHN DEWEY
DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL CHANGE IN VILLAGE INDIA
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN A DEVELOPING SOCIETY
POLITICAL CAPACITY IN DEVELOPING SOCIETIES
POLITICAL SOCIETY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
PARALLELS AND ACTUALS OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
REACHING OUT TO THE POOR {with Geeta Somjee)
DEVELOPMENT THEORY: Critiques and Explorations
Geeta Somjee
NARROWING THE GENDER GAP
REACHING OUT TO THE POOR (with A. H. Somjee)
Development Success
in Asia Pacific
An Exercise in Normative-Pragmatic
Balance
A. H. Somjee
Professor Emeritus
Simon Fraser University
and
Geeta Somjee
Adjunct Professor of Political Science
Simon Fraser University
M
St. Martin's Press
© A. H. Somjee and Geeta Somjee 1995
Sotkover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1995978-0-333-62696-2
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First published in Great Britain 1995 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-39344-2 ISBN 978-0-230-37167-5 (eBook)
DOl 10.1057/9780230371675
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95
First published in the United States of America 1995 by
Scholarly and Reference Division,
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Somjee, A. H.
Development success in Asia Pacific: an exercise in normative
-pragmatic balance 1 A. H. Somjee and Gceta Somjee.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
I. Asia, Southeastern-Economic policy-Case studies. 2. Asia,
Southeastern-Politics and government-I 945- -Case studies.
3. Asia, Southeastern-Social conditions----Case studies. I. Somjee,
Geeta, 1930- . II. Title.
HC44I.S66 1995
338.959--dc20 95-17963
CIP
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction 1
1 Singapore: A Super Pragmatic Society 17
I Social Organisation 17
II Dynamic Political Economy 29
III The Vision of the Founding Fathers and Political
Institutions 34
IV Normative-Pragmatic Balance in A Meritocratic
Society 44
V Some General Observations 49
Malaysia: Ethnic Disparities and the Search for a
Normative-Pragmatic Balance 53
I Background and Legacies 53
II The Ethnic Mosaic and the Matrix of Development
Process 57
III The Tangled Incorporation Process 74
IV Economic and Political Disparities 78
V A Troubled Political Society 85
Indonesia: Cultural Eclecticism and Pragmatic
Applications 89
I Historical Background 89
II The Nature of Social Organisation 95
III Political Process 108
IV Changing Attitudes 115
V Indigenous Perceptions 121
Thailand: Normative Heritage and Pragmatic
Adjustments 123
I Historical and Social Background 123
II Social Organisation 131
III Some Public Policies 142
IV Political Process 144
V Some General Observations 154
v
VI Contents
5 The Philippines: Uncrystallised Normative Base;
Unhinged Political Cynicism 159
I Background Factors 159
II Social Organisation and Implications for Political
Effectiveness 164
III Public Policy 170
IV Political Process 175
V Some General Observations 189
6 Brunei: Affluent Welfare State, Traditional Norms,
Undeveloped Political Process 195
I Historical Legacies 195
II Social Organisation 197
III Political Economy 200
IV Undeveloped Political Process 202
Notes and References 205
Index 219
Preface
Many new 'capitalisms' or social and economic organisations are
emerging in different parts of Asia Pacific which have skilfully adapted
the earlier Western capitalism to suit their own specific requirements.
Not only that, they have also put their own social and cultural values
to effective use in order to get the best results. Japan has brought to
its work-place its own heritage of associated living to overcome prover
bial adversarial labour and management relations; Singapore has made
use of Confucian emphasis on social discipline and respect for merit to
build a meritocratic society; Indonesia has made use of its genius for
eclecticism to build its own brand of social pragmatism and then use it
for economic growth; Thailand has made use of the concept of merit in
Theravada Buddhism to accelerate economic growth; and, above all,
the Chinese minorities, from the Philippines to Malaysia, have devel
oped their own pragmatic approaches not only to survive in socially
and politically adverse conditions but also to become the pillars of
economic prosperity in the region by an adroit use of their own tradi
tional values. And when China and India become the major players in
Asian economic growth, scholars will have to probe into the relation
ship between the cultural background of their different regional and
social groups and the kind of economic initiatives and organizations
they gave rise to.
Within such an overall concern, whereby background factors were
made to contribute effectively to development processes, this book con
centrates on the search for and exercise of normative-pragmatic bal
ance on the part of the societies in ASEAN countries which triggered
off their many-sided development. These societies, in other words,
exercised a keen sense of judgment between what was normatively
desirable and what was pragmatically possible, given their resources,
nature of constraints and political problems. But more than that, invari
ably each of these societies also had to find a homegrown, and effec
tive, solution to its problem of economic growth, social development
and political change. As a senior Indonesian economist put it: it was not
enough to be right, we also had to be effective.
This book, then, is an attempt at understanding the problem of their
development in the wider contexts of their historical legacies, cultural
vn
Vlll Preface
background, vision and commitment of leaders, and the highly pragmatic
manner of approaching their problems. In each of the six societies
examined in this volume an attempt has been made to concentrate on
the nature of the specific core development issue which influenced the
rest of its development process. The core issue for Singapore is its
micro dimension; for Malaysia it is its tangled ethnic problem; for
Indonesia it is its archipelagic character and eclectic social systems;
for Thailand it is how to balance its deep religiosity with the need for
material achievement; for the Philippines it is the inability to check
political cynicism; and for Brunei it is affluence and paternalistic rule.
Such core development issues are examined against the background of
their own attempts at normative-pragmatic balance. We have also tried
to view the importance of those core issues through the perspectives of
indigenous scholars and their writings.
We began doing field research for this volume in 1988. And since
then every year we have spent a period ranging from two to six months
interviewing people in various walks of life in the urban and rural
communities of ASEAN countries. During the past six years what also
helped us the most was academic affiliations in those countries. We are
particularly grateful to the National University of Singapore for a Visiting
Professorship, in 1988-9, for A. H. Somjee; and a Visiting Fellowship,
in 1988-9, for Geeta Somjee at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
(ISEAS), Singapore. The ISEAS has also done us a great honour by
extending Visiting Fellowships to both of us since 1989. Our thanks are
also due to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Sabah Campus, for their
Fellowships. Finally, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, also did us
a great honour by inviting us as Visiting Professors in 1990-1. During
the course of our visits, which are still continuing, we have benefited
immensely from the exchange of scholarly ideas with more scholars
than we can possibly remember or thank.
We are grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada and Simon Fraser University for their travel grants
for making our field reseach trips to the countries of Asia Pacific possible.
We also wish to thank the librarians and staff of Simon Fraser Univer
sity; the National University of Singapore; the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies, Singapore; the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur;
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi as well as Kota Kinabalu; the
University Sans Malaysia, Penang; Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok;
the University of the Philippines, Diliman; Social Sciences Research
Preface IX
Council, Quezon City; Cambridge University; the University of Brunei;
and Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
In this ambitious work, which encompasses six very diverse societies,
we are fully aware of the fact that we have barely scratched the surface
as to how background factors contribute to the determining and shaping
of the development which those societies will finally achieve. Scholars
are now beginning to reach an understanding of such factors and to cut
across rigid social science boundaries. Towards such an understanding
of development processes in societies of Asia Pacific, this is one small
contribution.
University of Cambridge A. H. SOMJEE
1994 GEETA SOMJEE