'· . ' v . ·, " ANNUAL REPORT 1988-89 INSTITUTE OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES SINGAPORE •" - . L5ER5 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was established as an autonomous organization in May 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia, particularly the many-faceted problems of stability and security, economic devel­ opment, and political and social change. The Institute is governed by a twenty-two-member Board of Trustees comprising nominees from the Singapore Government, the National University of Singapore, the various Chambers of Commerce, and professional and civic organizations. A ten-man Executive Committee over­ sees day-to-day operations; it is chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer. The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore 0511. I5'EII5 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies CONTENTS Introduction 1 Board of Trustees 2 Regional Advisory Council 3 Staff 5 Research Fellowships 8 Visiting Fellowships and Associateships 15 Research 15 Regional Programmes 54 Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, and Lectures 73 The Singapore Lecture 84 Publications Unit 88 Library 93 Finance 98 Accommodation 99 Conclusion 99 Appendices I. Board of Trustees 101 II. Committees 102 Ill. ISEAS Staff 103 IV. !SEAS Research Fellows 108 V. Occasional and In-House Seminars 118 VI. !SEAS Titles in Print 121 VII. Donations and Grants Received 135 Auditors' Report 136 Index 149 ASEAN ECONOMIC BULLETIN _ ... =-$t~,.,....- _,_,.,.~~JIU..~- ""' _ _. ....::.~---u-· ............ ~~::r~·~_.-- -w::;~:!'=-:..:=-... JI$Sp;oaAJ;II:I \ 988 p<ll_...-_... .. j$}11_~......--- H•I\~III'l~-~ ___,aJJIOI_~- .,_0!11_. ..., .. Publications of t•h •,-•.1.1.--~ -;-;;..,.-:. __ ~ e nstltute. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Annual Report 1 April 1988 - 31 March 1989 INTRODUCTION The origins of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (I SEAS) go back to the time of Singapore's independence in 1965. There was concern among the Singapore authorities that, though it occupied a key strategic location in the region, their country possessed only limited knowledge of its Southeast Asian neighbours and that this situation should not be allowed to continue, especially as Singapore was now an independent country. Government officials therefore visited a number of centres for Southeast Asian research in the United States, Britain, and elsewhere, to learn how they carried out their work. Subsequently the government decided to set up an institute for regional studies in Singapore, with the recommendation that it be allowed consider­ able autonomy. ISEAS was duly created by an Act of Parliament in May 1968. This Act incorporated provisions designed to ensure that the Institute operated as an inde­ pendent and effective centre of Southe.ast Asian scholarship. Its Board of Trustees was to be constituted without restrictions as to the nationality of its members. Similarly, no national qualifica­ tion was stipulated for the post of Director. Over the twenty-one years of its existence, the Institute has established itself as a leading centre for scholarship and high-quality research on and in Southeast Asia. It is recognized world-wide as such and as a congenial and efficient base for research on the region. Its total complement now numbers over one hundred full-time employees and fellows, including about thirty researchers in-house in any given year. Although the research mandate of ISEAS is vast , its focus is on problems that impinge directly on the region . Such research, together with its conferences and publications, forms the essential core of the Institute's work and is its principal instrument for encouraging research by upcoming or established scholars, for disseminating the results of the research, and for facilitating debate among a wide and influential audience on crucial issues of regional concern . In stressing the regional imperatives of the Institute's aims and objectives, the Institute is fully conscious that Southeast Asia is a pa~t of the wider Asia-Pacific and world community, and that it is extremely important that relations and contacts between Southeast Asia and its neighbours and beyond are both cordial and positive. With this in mind , in addition to strengthening its links within the region and with countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the United States, the Institute is actively exploring possibilities for better contacts with Japan, the East Asian NIEs, and the rest of the Asia-Pacific. These developments, together with some of the forthcoming plans of the Institute, are dis­ cussed more fully in this report. BOARD OF The Institute's Board of Trustees comprises twenty-two members, including appointees from the TRUSTEES National University of Singapore and the Singapore Government, as well as representatives from a broad range of professional and civic organizations and groups. Mr Justice P. Coomaraswamy is the Chairman of the Board , and Mr Lee Hee Seng, the Deputy Chairman. Several committees assist the Board in the formulation and implementation of its various decision. The Executive Committee, for example, oversees the day-to-day operations. The Invest­ ment Committee manages the investment of the Institute's Endowment Fund deposits. The Fund Raising Committee raises money for the Institute's Endowment Fund. The Audit Committee recommends the appointment of auditors, and reviews the scope and result of the audit, together with an examination of the adequacy of the Institute's accounting, financial, and operating controls. Further details of the Board of Trustees and its various Committees are provided in Appen­ dices I and II . REGIONAL The Regional Advisory Council was inaugurated in 1982. Its current members are Dr Jose V. ADVISORY COUNCIL Abueva, President, University of the Philippines, Manila (Professor of Political Science); Royal Professor Emeritus Ungku Aziz, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Professor of Economics); Professor Harsja Bachtiar, Head, Office of Educational and Cultural Research and Development, Department of Education and Culture, and former Dean , Faculty of Letters, University of Indonesia, Jakarta (Professor of Sociology and Social History); Professor Lim Pin, Vice-Chancellor, National University of Singapore (Professor of Medicine); Professor Somsakdi Xuto, Rector, National Institute of Development Administration , Thailand (Professor of Political Science); and Professor Wang Gungwu, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hong Kong , and former Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra (Emeritus Professor of Far Eastern History). Professor Somsakdi Xuto replaced Professor Kasem Suwanagul on the Council in January 1989 upon Professor Kasem's completion of his tenure as Rector of Chulalongkorn University and his assumption of a new appointment as Secretary­ General of the Thai Red Cross Society. In welcoming Professor Xuto to the Council and wishing Professor Kasem farewell , it is always the Institute's hope that former members of the Council will continue to maintain warm and active contacts with the Institute irrespective of where they may be. The Council has neither administrative responsibilities nor an executive role. This is deliber­ ately so as it is not the intention to burden the Council or its individual members with details or policy, but rather through informal discussions and an annual meeting, to seek the benefit of their wisdom and experience with regard to, for instance, (1) how best the Institute can co­ operate with universities and other institutions interested in research on the region ; and (2) how we can better promote a fuller understanding of the region in particular and the development of scholarship in general. The Council has met regularly since its formation. At these meetings it has both reviewed the work of the Institute as a whole and that of its specific programmes as well as devoted considerable attention to the working relations of the Institute with the region's universities, especially with regard to how best these can be further strengthened and expanded. At the same time individual members have continued to assist and facilitate exchanges between the Institute and their. respective universities. Members of the Regional Advisory Council in close discussion with staff of the Institute. The Council is a unique and indispensable hub in the Institute's network of regional links and activities. Its contributions are thus all the more welcome and appreciated, and the Institute looks forward to the further strengthening of its close and co-operative ties with the Council. STAFF The staff of the Institute consists of the regular professional members of its Research Division, Library, the Central Administration , and the Publications Unit. Here, as befits a research in­ stitution desirous of continuously introducing fresh thinking and new ideas into its research programmes, it is to be expected that there would be the usual turnover of staff, particularly among the researchers, in any one year. And this year was no exception. Thus two researchers, Dr Mohammed Ayoob and Dr Kenneth James, left the Institute and two others, Dr Chandran Jeshurun and Dr Sueo Sudo, joined during the year. Dr Mohammed Ayoob left the Institute in December to go to Princeton University on the completion of his two-year contract at the Institute. Dr Kenneth