The Making of Southeast Asian Nations

The following sections are included:

• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction

Southeast Asia comprises eleven independent states: one (Thailand) has always been an independent kingdom, nine (Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Myanmar) are states which achieved independence after World War II, and one (Timor-Leste) attained independence only at the beginning of the 21st century. These countries have some things in common: they are all multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies and have records of ethnic conflict; some are more serious than others…

The eleven states in Southeast Asia have often been considered as relatively “new nations” or “nations in the making.” Some maintain that they are not nations but states, others argue that they are “State-Nations” rather than “ Nation-States,” yet others maintain that they are multi-ethnic states or multi-ethnic nations or indigenous states. In order to understand the actual situation, the four basic concepts/terms need to be investigated. This chapter addresses the origins and meanings of these basic concepts/terms and their relationships and only after comprehending these concepts/terms, will one begin to appreciate the nature of the nations and states and the complexity of the issue of nation-building in the Southeast Asian region…

If the concept of nation is complicated, so is the concept of citizenship. The relationship between nationality and citizenship is quite complex. Originally, nationality refers to “the status of belonging to a particular nation” (Oxford Dictionary definition). But many use nationality and citizenship interchangeably. Citizenship law is often called nationality law. When a person is asked about his/her citizenship, the term used is “nationality.” An American citizen is also known as an American national. In Hong Kong, a Chinese who holds a British passport is either called British Overseas Citizen (BOC) or British National Overseas (BNO)…

Although there are still arguments about the concept of citizenship as to whether it is endowed by a community or by a state, this chapter has adopted a stand that citizenship is linked to the state. Therefore it is offered by the state to the people who live under its authorities. The citizenship law is therefore a law, which stipulates the status of the population, the rights that the citizens enjoyed, and obligations that the citizens have to the state…

The ethnic Chinese in the indigenous social nations generally do not have the same rights as the indigenous minorities (also known as “homeland minorities”). While indigenous minorities are often subject to similar pressure but not so extreme, the ethnic Chinese were required to be acculturated, if not assimilated, into the indigenous-based national culture…

At the turn of the 20th century, there were new waves of Chinese migrants to Southeast Asia and many continued to live in the region and eventually become Southeast Asians but others went on to identify themselves as Chinese. For many years, China considered the overseas Chinese as its citizens, which posed a dilemma to the Southeast Asian Chinese who were already citizens of the Southeast Asian society. When addressing nation-building in Southeast Asia, especially when discussing the Chinese component of the nation, the shadow of China looms large and China's attitude toward the Chinese overseas, especially its citizenship law, is directly relevant to the nation-building issue…

The following sections are included:

• The Origins of Singapore's Identity
• The PAP and Singapore Identity
• Strong Ethnic Feelings
• Commodification of Citizenship?
• Foreign Talent in Singapore
• Dual Citizenship in Singapore
• Concluding Remarks
• Endnotes

There is a dilemma between nation-building on the one hand and indigenism and religion on the other. A nation is supposed to be an integrated entity in which all members are supposed to be equal and no one group of members should have privileges. However, by definition, indigenism offers special rights to the indigenous population. In Malaysia, there have been countless debates between these two concepts, without the problem being resolved. Apart from the constitution, which guaranteed the status of bumiputra, mainly Malays, the most explicit manifestation of this concept was none other than the New Economic Policy (NEP) which was introduced between 1970 and 1990. Apart from indigenism, the position of Islam in Malaysia has also complicated the matter, as Islam is used as the “guiding principle” even for national unity, let alone nation-building. Both indigenism and Islam not only push Malaysia into “ethno-nation” rather than “multi-ethnic nation,” but also make “Malay dominance” be the cornerstone of the “nation.”

Indonesian leaders, represented by Sukarno and Hatta, declared the country's independence on 17 August 1945 but the actual transfer of power from the Dutch to the Indonesians took place only in December 1949. Nevertheless, the nation-building process started during the nationalist movement when Indonesians of various ethnic groups led by Western-educated indigenous intellectuals attempted to get rid of the Dutch and establish a new “nation-state” along the Dutch East Indies boundaries. All the Indonesian nationalist symbols were created during the nationalist movement: national language, national anthem and national flag. Nevertheless, one needs to note that there were at least two types of nationalist movements: secular and Islamic, but the secular movement appeared to be on the upper hand, and therefore the concept of the Indonesian nation was more secular than Islamic even though Indonesia is approximately 88% Muslim…

Both the Philippines and Thailand are multi-ethnic and multi-religious states. They have faced similar problems in their nation-building process. One of the problems is their attempts in unifying their Muslim counterparts in the south into the respective “nation.” Both governments used a similar integrationist strategy, i.e. to integrate them into their respective mainstream society. In the Philippines, it is a Christian-dominated society while in Thailand, it is a Buddhist-dominated constitutional monarchy. The forced integration eventually resulted in violent responses from the respective Muslim communities…

Governments in the world are concerned with managing their multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies. Many boil down to using citizenship and nation-building to unite the country. However, Western colonialists did not introduce the nation-building concept as they were afraid that the emergence of a nation in the colony would end their colonial rule. Even the concept of citizenship during colonial time was not used universally. This “fragmented citizenship” can be seen in some countries in Southeast Asia even today…

The following sections are included:

• Appendixes
  • Appendix A: Ethnic and Religious Compositions of Southeast Asian Countries
  • Appendix B: Citizenship Law of Brunei Darussalam
  • Appendix C: Citizenship Law of Cambodia
  • Appendix D: Citizenship Law of Indonesia
  • Appendix E: Citizenship Law of Laos
  • Appendix F: Citizenship Law of Malaysia (The Citizenship Section of Constitution)
  • Appendix G: Citizenship Law of Myanmar
  • Appendix H: Citizenship Law of the Philippines (The Citizenship Information in the Constitution)
  • Appendix I: Citizenship Law of Singapore
  • Appendix J: Citizenship Law of Thailand
  • Appendix K: Citizenship Law of Vietnam
• Bibliography
• Index