Date: October 10th, 2015 (Saturday) 14:00 – 18:30
Venue: Middle-sized Meeting Room (No. 332), 3rd Floor, Inamori Foundation Building, Kyoto University (http://www-archive.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/www/2016/en/access-2/)

Program：
Moderator: Kyoko Sakuma (Kyoto University)
14:00 – 14:45 Dr. Ooi Keat Gin (University Sains Malaysia)
Ushering a New Dawn West Kalimantan in the Aftermath of War 1945-1950
14:45 – 15:20 Qs nad As
5 minutes break

15:25 – 16:10 Dr. Toshio Matsumura (The University of Tokyo)
Chinese in the Dynamics of Ethnic Relations in West Kalimantan in the Post-Suharto Era
16:10 – 16:45 Qs and As
5 minutes break

16:50 – 17:35 Dr. Oliver Pye (Universität Bonn)
A Political Ecology of the Kapuas River
17:35 – 18:10 Qs and As
5 minutes break

18:15 – 18:30 General discussion

 
Title and Abstract：
[1] Ushering a New Dawn Kalimantan in the Aftermath of War 1945-1950
by Ooi Keat Gin
Asia Pacific Research Unit (APRU-USM), Universiti Sains Malaysia
Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University

The outbreak of the Pacific War (1941-1945) was indeed a rude interruption to the pervasive tranquillity of Borneo where the pace of life had been pedestrian, routine, uninspiring and predictable as the river tide. The sudden appearance of the Imperial Japanese Navy in Kalimantan (West, South and East Borneo) literally woken the inhabitants both indigenes and Chinese from their slumber, and left their Dutch masters clueless and embarrassingly unprepared for ‘guests’. Thus from the Miri landings mid-December 1941 and the seizure of Bandjarmasin in early February 1942, Imperial Japanese forces without undue effort overran and occupied the entire island of Borneo. Imperial Japan ended at least one and half century of Western colonial domination in Borneo. The Japanese remained for three years eight months. As suddenly as they appeared it, their departure was equally sudden: a declaration of unconditional surrender on 14 August 1945 abruptly ended Imperial Japanese military rule over the island. What followed and developed thereafter in the context of Kalimantan is the content of this presentation. A brief outline of post-war events and developments will be presented viz., Van Mook’s federal plans, winning hearts and minds, the guerrilla war, and republican sentiments and ultimate triumph. Drawing from these developments the train of inquiry will make stopovers at the following junctures signposted as: “political consciousness”; “ethnic pride and identity”; and, “new elite”. The main thesis suggest strongly that the war and military occupation marked a watershed as demonstrated by events and developments that were played out during the immediate post-war years (1945-1950) that ushered in the beginnings of a new era, a new dawn with its own baggage of challenges in tow..
 

[2] Chinese in the Dynamics of Ethnic Relations in West Kalimantan in the Post-Suharto Era
by Matsumura Toshio
Waseda University Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies (GSAPS)

This presentation explains the dynamics of ethnic relations, especially viewed by Chinese in West Kalimantan after the fall of Suharto in 1998.
The regime change brought an end to the longstanding ban on explicit expression of Chinese culture and to the restriction of political participation by ethnic Chinese during the New Order Period. However, in the 2000s, the increasing presence of Chinese exacerbated the political tensions between Dayak, Malay and Chinese, and complicated inter-ethnic West Kalimantan politics.
In this situation, the election of a Chinese man as mayor in Singkawang city in 2008 caused more overt friction between Chinese and other ethnicities than had been present under the Suharto regime. In reaction to these circumstances, a new type of cultural representation was introduced by the new mayor. It emphasized the triangular relationship among the three major ethnic groups (Dayak, Malay and Chinese), and presented Singkawang as a model of harmonious coexistence. Moreover, the mayor made an effort to promote Dayak and Malay culture as much as Chinese culture, although Singkawang city had often been associated with China Town. This cultural policy had some good effects in easing inter-ethnic relations, but it is clear that cultural and political competition among ethnicities in West Kalimantan in the Post-Suharto Era surely has become more complicated.
 

[3] A Political Ecology of the Kapuas River
by Oliver Pye (Bonn University)

This paper sketches the political ecology of the Kapuas river in West-Kalimantan by identifying key transformation loops connecting actors and places along different networks and scales. The expansion of palm oil plantations in the lower lying mid-river area of the Kapuas not only impact the ecology of the river by changing the forests from which they flow and by polluting it, as Palm Oil Mill Effluent is released into the river. At the same time, livelihoods are being changed as communities join or resist the expansion of palm oil. Similarly, mining has become a major industry on the island but bauxite and gold show very different dynamics. In the upper reaches of the river in Kapuas Hulu, “Heart of Borneo” and REDD activities are territorialising adat land anew, whilst logging concessions are still licensed, leading to an increased politicisation of conservation. As the transformations of the river flow back towards Pontianak, the poorer city dwellers have to deal with consequences of river pollution.

 
Seminar Information (Japanese)
https://sites.google.com/site/kansaireikaitounanajia/li-huinoo-zhirase