Sep 6, 2012
Amazon Unveils New Kindle
Amazon Unveils New Kindle: Amazon unveiled a new e-reader called the Kindle Paperwhite with a self-lighting screen, following Barnes & Noble, which last year introduced a Nook device with similar technology. The new Kindle will cost $119.
Judge Approves E-Book Settlement
Judge Approves E-Book Settlement: In a move that could reshape the publishing industry, a federal judge has approved a settlement with three of the nation's largest book publishers over alleged collusion in the pricing of e-books.
Chinese Cash Brings Jobs, Conflict to Zambia Mines
Chinese Cash Brings Jobs, Conflict to Zambia Mines: Investment from China has thrown a lifeline to Zambia's ailing mines, but miners complain about safety, low pay and workplace conflicts that have spiraled into a spate of shootings.
Clinton Makes Case for Obama
Clinton Makes Case for Obama: Democrats led by former President Bill Clinton gave a rousing defense of Democratic economic philosophies, promising that re-electing President Barack Obama would produce changes to an economic system they said was often stacked against the middle class.
John - Includes link to video of speech.
John - Includes link to video of speech.
Singapore Bets on Casino Revenues
Singapore Bets on Casino Revenues: Singapore's new casinos are financial winners, but the experiment has yielded mixed results, pressing authorities to do more to contain gambling ills even as the global slowdown and competition threaten growth in the industry.
Sep 5, 2012
Twenty-four hours in Kota Kinabalu
Twenty-four hours in Kota Kinabalu:
By Michael A. Turton
Perched on a beautiful bay and caressed by the sun, Sabah’s capital Kota Kinabalu, KK town to the locals, is a great place for shopping, eating, and exploring. Today my friend Jeff and I, cycling around Sabah, have come into town to get a new chain for his bike.
First thing in the morning we head down to the water to take pictures of the city’s gorgeous bay, where the islands of Pulau Gaya and Pulau Sepangar make a lovely frame for romantic photographs. The wharf comes alive with a morning market, vendors selling everything from children’s clothing to live fish and bags of bright green lemons. Piles of neatly stacked yellow mangos and boxes of bright red rambutans and earth’s best fruit, dark purple mangosteens, fragrant, juicy, and cheap, greet you as you wind your way north along the pier.
Breakfast is everywhere. Buffets host Malaysian-style fried noodles, stacks of fried eggs, miniature hot dogs, and chicken nuggets. Roadside vendors sell sandwiches and sticky rice treats. Chinese restaurants serve up traditional Chinese foods like rice porridge and you tiao (油條). With so many Chinese in Borneo there’s even a Chinese newspaper to read as you sip your soybean milk. Eating my favorite breakfast, roti stuffed with egg served with a dip of curry sauce and hot lemon tea, I think about retiring here.
This morning I’m on a mission: finding gifts for the wife and kids. My wife likes spices, so we stop by the Pasar Besar, the enormous market building by the bay. As you enter you pass vendors selling schoolbooks and newspapers. Stop and savor the aroma of cumin, cloves, garlic, lemons, pickled shrimp, pork, shallots, and cilantro. Machines whir as they carve raw coconut meat from coconut husks. The riot of colors — green bananas and limes, dark purple eggplants and avocados, yellow melons, oranges, and ruby-hued dragonfruits – are guaranteed to make you a star photographer. Upstairs in the food court people smile and children run over demanding you take their picture. I buy a bag of coriander seeds from a spice vendor and fantasize about retiring to KK town.
Next stop: the Ruang Tiong Hua Street area, the textile market. Here the shops offer cloth from all over Asia, from Indonesian batiks to Indian saris. You can haggle in English, Bahasa, Mandarin, or Hakka – Borneo was the site of Asia’s first Republic, the Hakka-run Lanfang Republic of 1777. I share a joke with one girl and she sells me a bolt of cloth in a striking flowery print. A nearby eatery fills the air with the smell of fresh roti, and I wonder about retiring to Kota Kinabalu.
Like any day of relaxation, mine includes errands. My 8 GB card is filled with pictures from our cycling trip through Brunei and Sarawak, so we stop for a new card and then at McDonald’s for coffee – there’s a Starbucks and KFC here also. Back at our budget hotel, NT$250 (RM 26) a person for clean beds and an attached bath, we grab Jeff’s bicycle and head for a nearby bike shop. The owner is Chinese and we chat in Mandarin and English as he works. Friendly and helpful like everyone in Sabah, he charges nothing for labor. We have lunch at a buffet place offering fried chicken, meat curries, curried potatoes, steamed shrimp, an array of greens and of course, roti. I dream of a retirement filled with roti.
Buffet in Kota Kinabalu. Pic: Michael Turton.After lunch, we wander off to the Gaya Market on Jalan Gaya, crowded with tourists, backpackers, and locals looking for a deal. It’s a great place to buy souvenirs.
Jeff in Gaya Market. Pic: Michael Turton.After a strenuous day of shopping and eating, a rest is called for. Jeff and I find a cozy bar to relax in with books and beer – the bartender gives us an extra one free. Between bites of barbecued chicken, retiring to KK town seems a great idea.
Fishing boats at sunset. Pic: Michael Turton.Evening! Jeff and I head back to the water to enjoy the sunset. Approaching the bay, we face a tough choice: the Filipino night market for barbecued seafood and fruit, or the Portview Seafood village, a long wooden deck lined with restaurants and bars selling local and western dishes? We opt for the former and feast on squid, fish, and grilled tiger prawns as long as a man’s arm. Later we sip beers and look out over the bay. Couples walk past arm in arm and tourists raise their cameras at the sunset, as if in worship. I look to where the sun flares orange in a purple sky, and think, yep, I’m retiring here.
Prawns and grilled fish in the Filipino night market. Pic: Michael Turton.If you enjoyed this article and would like to find out more about travelling to Malaysia, please visit the Tourism Malaysia website
__________________________
By Michael A. Turton
Perched on a beautiful bay and caressed by the sun, Sabah’s capital Kota Kinabalu, KK town to the locals, is a great place for shopping, eating, and exploring. Today my friend Jeff and I, cycling around Sabah, have come into town to get a new chain for his bike.
First thing in the morning we head down to the water to take pictures of the city’s gorgeous bay, where the islands of Pulau Gaya and Pulau Sepangar make a lovely frame for romantic photographs. The wharf comes alive with a morning market, vendors selling everything from children’s clothing to live fish and bags of bright green lemons. Piles of neatly stacked yellow mangos and boxes of bright red rambutans and earth’s best fruit, dark purple mangosteens, fragrant, juicy, and cheap, greet you as you wind your way north along the pier.
Breakfast is everywhere. Buffets host Malaysian-style fried noodles, stacks of fried eggs, miniature hot dogs, and chicken nuggets. Roadside vendors sell sandwiches and sticky rice treats. Chinese restaurants serve up traditional Chinese foods like rice porridge and you tiao (油條). With so many Chinese in Borneo there’s even a Chinese newspaper to read as you sip your soybean milk. Eating my favorite breakfast, roti stuffed with egg served with a dip of curry sauce and hot lemon tea, I think about retiring here.
This morning I’m on a mission: finding gifts for the wife and kids. My wife likes spices, so we stop by the Pasar Besar, the enormous market building by the bay. As you enter you pass vendors selling schoolbooks and newspapers. Stop and savor the aroma of cumin, cloves, garlic, lemons, pickled shrimp, pork, shallots, and cilantro. Machines whir as they carve raw coconut meat from coconut husks. The riot of colors — green bananas and limes, dark purple eggplants and avocados, yellow melons, oranges, and ruby-hued dragonfruits – are guaranteed to make you a star photographer. Upstairs in the food court people smile and children run over demanding you take their picture. I buy a bag of coriander seeds from a spice vendor and fantasize about retiring to KK town.
Next stop: the Ruang Tiong Hua Street area, the textile market. Here the shops offer cloth from all over Asia, from Indonesian batiks to Indian saris. You can haggle in English, Bahasa, Mandarin, or Hakka – Borneo was the site of Asia’s first Republic, the Hakka-run Lanfang Republic of 1777. I share a joke with one girl and she sells me a bolt of cloth in a striking flowery print. A nearby eatery fills the air with the smell of fresh roti, and I wonder about retiring to Kota Kinabalu.
Like any day of relaxation, mine includes errands. My 8 GB card is filled with pictures from our cycling trip through Brunei and Sarawak, so we stop for a new card and then at McDonald’s for coffee – there’s a Starbucks and KFC here also. Back at our budget hotel, NT$250 (RM 26) a person for clean beds and an attached bath, we grab Jeff’s bicycle and head for a nearby bike shop. The owner is Chinese and we chat in Mandarin and English as he works. Friendly and helpful like everyone in Sabah, he charges nothing for labor. We have lunch at a buffet place offering fried chicken, meat curries, curried potatoes, steamed shrimp, an array of greens and of course, roti. I dream of a retirement filled with roti.
Buffet in Kota Kinabalu. Pic: Michael Turton.
Jeff in Gaya Market. Pic: Michael Turton.
Fishing boats at sunset. Pic: Michael Turton.
Prawns and grilled fish in the Filipino night market. Pic: Michael Turton.
__________________________
Author Bio
Michael Turton (Taiwan)
Michael Turton is a well known blogger and expat teacher in Taiwan. A passionate cyclist, he comments on events in Taiwan on his blog The View from Taiwan.
Michael Turton (Taiwan)
Michael Turton is a well known blogger and expat teacher in Taiwan. A passionate cyclist, he comments on events in Taiwan on his blog The View from Taiwan.
International community take note – regime change looms in Malaysia
International community take note – regime change looms in Malaysia:
A very young demographic profile, a high urbanisation rate, ever increasing access to the Internet and extreme longevity in power, among other factors, will be working against the ruling coalition in Malaysia’s coming election. There are many reasons for the international community to be deeply cognisant of this fact, and to prepare for a regime change in that country for the first time since it gained independence in 1957.
Soon after the government suffered severe setbacks in elections held on 8th March 2008, the country went into a permanent campaign mode, and has remained that way ever since. General elections have to be called soon, since the Malaysian Constitution requires that Parliament be dissolved by 28th April 2013 upon the completion of its five-year mandate.
It may be true that the government won 140 of 222 seats in the Lower House while the opposition managed to secure the remaining 82. But a closer look shows that the actual gap between the two coalitions to be much smaller. The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) actually won only 51.4% of the votes while the greater opposition gained 48.6%. Of the 7.9 million effective votes, BN and the three national opposition parties were separated by a mere 313,509 votes.
As of the end of June 2012, there are 12.9 million Malaysians on the electoral roll. As many as 2.5 million of these – about 20% – are first-time voters; and it is these who will decide the outcome of the election.
The 13-party ruling coalition – the BN – will be highlighting past achievements in its campaign and playing on the appeal of the status quo while the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Pact), vows to improve governance in the country through radical policy changes.
The status quo message is however unlikely to have an impact on an almost Arab-spring demography: 48% of Malaysia’s population are below 25 years old and 70% are below 40 years old (though not all are voters). The BN, especially its kingpin United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has always relied heavily on a rural vote bank. It has therefore good grounds to worry since as many as 70% of Malaysians now live in cities, compared to 11% in 1957 and 35% in 1980.
The young and urban are highly wired online as well. With 17.5 million internet users, Malaysia’s internet penetration rate is 61.7% of the population and 81% of the populated areas. On top of that, Malaysia is also one of the most active country on Facebook, with 12 million users, ranking 19th in the world.
The easy access to alternative information has undermined the efficacy of the control over the mainstream media exercised by the government, be it through licensing procedures, censorship or partisan ownership.
The BN has been ruling Malaysia ever since its earliest guise, The Alliance, won a self-government election under British auspices in 1955. It is now the longest serving elected ruling party in the world. The only longer serving ones, are the non-elected communist regimes in North Korea, China and Vietnam.
The many negative signs of this political longevity are all too visible to the increasingly sophisticated voters. Essentially, not only has the government over the years alienated non-Malay ethnic groups through its race-based politics, rampant corruption and intra-ethnic economic inequality, but have also driven Malay voters away.
BN had for quite a while styled itself as the moderating force in the ethnically charged population. However, after UMNO began turning right in 2005 both in rhetoric and in action, it began losing ethnic Chinese and Indian support. In 2008, significant numbers of ethnic Malays frustrated with corruption and cronyism joined this movement to vote against the government.
This sense of alienation has not diminished in the intervening years. On the contrary, more groups are showing open dissent against the central government. The Kadazan Dusun Murut group in the state of Sabah is strongly aroused and highly critical of the government’s handling of the long-standing citizenship-for-votes scandals that allegedly allow UMNO to build up its support base in the state.
UMNO strategists, using the party-controlled newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, and the affiliated right-wing group Perkasa, are working overtime to stop the dwindling of their Malay support base, and are doing all they can to portray the party as a fiercer ethnic champion than opposition Malay parties and leaders. So far, this seems to be alienating more middle-ground voters.
Across the board at the moment, what Malaysians seem to be seeking is greater economic equality as well as an open and clean government. And yet, Prime Minister Mr. Najib Razak continues with micro-level vote-buying measures such as giving cash handouts to strategic groups at a time when the country is in great need of macro-level reforms.
The long years in power has also seen the BN generate its own worst enemies. Many leaders in the opposition were formerly from the ruling coalition, including former Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Anwar Ibrahim. Their experience in government has been serving as a much-needed reassurance to voters that the opposition is ready to exercise power efficiently, while their personal networks within the system has brought valuable information and understanding of the system that had previously eluded the opposition.
Previous opposition coalitions (in 1990 and 1999) were hastily formed during election time and they easily collapsed soon after. An alternative coalition that has been tested for more than four years, with that has gained substantial administrative experience in governing four out of 13 states is in itself a novel – and critical – factor.
While all the built-in advantages that favour BN in an election have not disappeared and those that remain will be put to full use in the electoral contest that is to come, the factors that work against the government have been gaining strength as well. For the first time ever, it does look very possible that the old government will be voted out.
LIEW Chin-Tong, an Australian National University alumni, is a Malaysian Federal Member of Parliament and International Secretary of the Democratic Action Party, one of the three parties in the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Pact).
A very young demographic profile, a high urbanisation rate, ever increasing access to the Internet and extreme longevity in power, among other factors, will be working against the ruling coalition in Malaysia’s coming election. There are many reasons for the international community to be deeply cognisant of this fact, and to prepare for a regime change in that country for the first time since it gained independence in 1957.
Soon after the government suffered severe setbacks in elections held on 8th March 2008, the country went into a permanent campaign mode, and has remained that way ever since. General elections have to be called soon, since the Malaysian Constitution requires that Parliament be dissolved by 28th April 2013 upon the completion of its five-year mandate.
It may be true that the government won 140 of 222 seats in the Lower House while the opposition managed to secure the remaining 82. But a closer look shows that the actual gap between the two coalitions to be much smaller. The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) actually won only 51.4% of the votes while the greater opposition gained 48.6%. Of the 7.9 million effective votes, BN and the three national opposition parties were separated by a mere 313,509 votes.
As of the end of June 2012, there are 12.9 million Malaysians on the electoral roll. As many as 2.5 million of these – about 20% – are first-time voters; and it is these who will decide the outcome of the election.
The 13-party ruling coalition – the BN – will be highlighting past achievements in its campaign and playing on the appeal of the status quo while the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Pact), vows to improve governance in the country through radical policy changes.
The status quo message is however unlikely to have an impact on an almost Arab-spring demography: 48% of Malaysia’s population are below 25 years old and 70% are below 40 years old (though not all are voters). The BN, especially its kingpin United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has always relied heavily on a rural vote bank. It has therefore good grounds to worry since as many as 70% of Malaysians now live in cities, compared to 11% in 1957 and 35% in 1980.
The young and urban are highly wired online as well. With 17.5 million internet users, Malaysia’s internet penetration rate is 61.7% of the population and 81% of the populated areas. On top of that, Malaysia is also one of the most active country on Facebook, with 12 million users, ranking 19th in the world.
The easy access to alternative information has undermined the efficacy of the control over the mainstream media exercised by the government, be it through licensing procedures, censorship or partisan ownership.
The BN has been ruling Malaysia ever since its earliest guise, The Alliance, won a self-government election under British auspices in 1955. It is now the longest serving elected ruling party in the world. The only longer serving ones, are the non-elected communist regimes in North Korea, China and Vietnam.
The many negative signs of this political longevity are all too visible to the increasingly sophisticated voters. Essentially, not only has the government over the years alienated non-Malay ethnic groups through its race-based politics, rampant corruption and intra-ethnic economic inequality, but have also driven Malay voters away.
BN had for quite a while styled itself as the moderating force in the ethnically charged population. However, after UMNO began turning right in 2005 both in rhetoric and in action, it began losing ethnic Chinese and Indian support. In 2008, significant numbers of ethnic Malays frustrated with corruption and cronyism joined this movement to vote against the government.
This sense of alienation has not diminished in the intervening years. On the contrary, more groups are showing open dissent against the central government. The Kadazan Dusun Murut group in the state of Sabah is strongly aroused and highly critical of the government’s handling of the long-standing citizenship-for-votes scandals that allegedly allow UMNO to build up its support base in the state.
UMNO strategists, using the party-controlled newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, and the affiliated right-wing group Perkasa, are working overtime to stop the dwindling of their Malay support base, and are doing all they can to portray the party as a fiercer ethnic champion than opposition Malay parties and leaders. So far, this seems to be alienating more middle-ground voters.
Across the board at the moment, what Malaysians seem to be seeking is greater economic equality as well as an open and clean government. And yet, Prime Minister Mr. Najib Razak continues with micro-level vote-buying measures such as giving cash handouts to strategic groups at a time when the country is in great need of macro-level reforms.
The long years in power has also seen the BN generate its own worst enemies. Many leaders in the opposition were formerly from the ruling coalition, including former Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Anwar Ibrahim. Their experience in government has been serving as a much-needed reassurance to voters that the opposition is ready to exercise power efficiently, while their personal networks within the system has brought valuable information and understanding of the system that had previously eluded the opposition.
Previous opposition coalitions (in 1990 and 1999) were hastily formed during election time and they easily collapsed soon after. An alternative coalition that has been tested for more than four years, with that has gained substantial administrative experience in governing four out of 13 states is in itself a novel – and critical – factor.
While all the built-in advantages that favour BN in an election have not disappeared and those that remain will be put to full use in the electoral contest that is to come, the factors that work against the government have been gaining strength as well. For the first time ever, it does look very possible that the old government will be voted out.
LIEW Chin-Tong, an Australian National University alumni, is a Malaysian Federal Member of Parliament and International Secretary of the Democratic Action Party, one of the three parties in the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Pact).
Pakatan Rakyat – a new kind of opposition in Malaysia
Pakatan Rakyat – a new kind of opposition in Malaysia:
Malaysia’s next General Election—when it occurs—will be the most intensely-fought in the Federation’s history. There has been much speculation if and how the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition—comprising of Anwar Ibrahim’s National Justice Party (PKR), the long-standing Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Islamist Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PAS)—also arguably the most successful and long-lasting in Malaysia’s history, will be able to hold on to and indeed improve on the historic gains it won in the 2008 elections.
In my recently-published book, The Future of Pakatan Rakyat: Lessons from Selangor, I argue that changes in Malaysia’s political landscape and the opposition parties themselves mean that a united and coherent opposition is possible in Malaysia and that—whatever happens in the next General Elections—Pakatan Rakyat has provided a template for a style of politics outside of the parameters set by the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Opposition pacts in Malaysia—including the Gagasan Rakyat and Barisan Alternatif oppositional alliances cobbled together to fight the 1992 and 1999 General Elections often collapsed soon after despite making some gains. As James V. Jesudason argued very persuasively in his chapter “The Syncretic State and the Structuring of Oppositional Politics in Malaysia” in Garry Rodan’s seminal Political Oppositions in Industrialising Asia (1996), this was due to the “syncretic” nature of the Malaysian state.
He defined Malaysia’s “syncretic state” as “A product of a particular historical-structural configuration that has allowed the power holders to combine a broad array of economic, ideological, and coercive elements in managing the society, including limiting the effectiveness of the opposition as a democratizing force.” To my mind, this means that successive BN administrations continued the colonial British practice of “divide-and-rule”, whereby the various ethnic groups in Malaysia were kept apart politically, economically and socially. Whereas this was used by the imperial power to justify its presence, as a “honest broker” between the various races, it has been adapted by the BN to argue that its continuance in office as essential to maintain harmony between Malaysia’s ethnic groups, whose interests at times seem irreconcilable.
BN’s success can be attributed to their forging a syncretism in their style of government that was able to straddle these competing interests. They were able to squelch dissent by simultaneously using coercion such as the application of the now-dead and unlamented Internal Security Act (ISA) but also selectively co-opting oppositional groups like absorbing the opposition Malaysian People’s Movement Party (Gerakan) in 1969.
BN’s hold on power was also helped by the inability of Malaysia’s opposition parties to come up with coherent alternatives to BN’s syncretic state. First, because parties like the DAP, PAS and S46 were themselves largely composed along Malaysia’s ethno-religious lines, they could be portrayed as “extreme” in these matters compared to BN. PAS’ heartland was and is Malaysia’s rural Malay-Muslim communities, while S46 appealed to their urban counterparts. The DAP, whilst theoretically multiracial, was and is largely Chinese or Indian in composition. This meant that they could never command as large a vote bank as BN, whose emphasis on economic development and political stability had cross-ethnic appeal. With the power of state patronage behind it, BN could effectively outbid all three parties in addressing ethnic aspirations, depicting itself as looking after the interests of all races.
Furthermore, the opposition’s very different ideologies meant that it was very difficult to form permanent alliances between them. As we know, two previous attempts to form an alliance, the Gagasan Rakyat and Barisan Alternatif, eventually collapsed after PAS and the DAP were unable to agree with the former’s quest to create an “Islamic State” in Malaysia. Jesudason argued that Malaysia’s opposition parties tend to withdraw to their own ethnic constituencies to shore up support after brief attempts at cooperation.
The very fact that Malaysia’s oppositional parties are primarily ethnic parties reinforces the notion of the syncretic state. Jesudason accused Malaysia’s opposition parties of doing nothing to close the ethnic cleavages that perpetuate BN’s rule by championing ethnic-based platforms. This in turn renders them vulnerable to BN’s practice of coercion and co-option. For instance, opposition leaders who question Malaysia’s constitutional settlements can be silenced via the various security laws. Conversely, the ruling regime can then win over Malaysians who may feel threatened by the perceived “extremism” of the opposition, for instance, non-Malays wary of PAS’ political Islam or Malays worried about DAP’s vision of a “Malaysian Malaysia”.
These factors, along with what Jesudason called the “enfeeblement” of class politics in Malaysia (i.e., the perceived pliancy of its middle-class) has conspired to prevent broad-based and permanent oppositional alliances against Barisan and perpetuated its power.
Subsequent events however have suggested however that Barisan’s “syncretic state” is breaking down. As Jesudason himself hypothesised but thought unlikely, Barisan’s hold on power would continue as long as its UMNO lynchpin was able to remain united, it’s governments able to manage Malaysia’s complex ethno-religious identities, as well as provide continued economic growth.
The record will show, however, that all of these contingencies have come to pass: UMNO’s unity was shattered (the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim and the spat between Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), it lost its ability to deal effectively with Malaysia’s communal relations (the Hindu temple demolitions in Selangor, as well as the race-baiting against the Chinese Malaysian community by certain UMNO leaders) as well as the loss of performance legitimacy regarding the economy (the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998 and the subsequent, numerous corruption scandals). The rise of the social media also meant that BN could not present selective messages, at least to Malaysia’s urban middle-class, as effectively as it had in the past.
Reformist elements in the opposition, on the other hand, spent the years after their drubbing in the 2004 General Elections regrouping and rebuilding. The release of Anwar Ibrahim in 2004 and his recommitting of the PKR to a multiracial, “Ketuanan Rakyat” brand of politics gave the opposition a bridge that could unite both its secular and Islamist elements. Anwar’s adoption of ketuanan rakyat was also a turning point as it presented Malaysians with a Malay leader who had a vision for the country’s future that all communities could equally accept.
The DAP too, has and continues to make an effort to recruit not only technocrats (such as businessmen like Tony Pua and, more recently, academics like Ong Kian Ming), but also to try and shed perceptions that it is a “Chinese chauvinist” party and reach out to the Malay community. It has launched Roketkini, a Malay-language online news portal, as a companion to its already multilingual Rocket organ and has promised to field more Malay candidates in the next election. It is too early to tell if the Malay community will embrace these initiatives, but the unease by which they have been greeted by Umno suggests that it may not be completely futile.
PAS, too, has undergone remarkable changes. Whilst it’s harping on the Islamic State and imposition of the hudud laws did much to turn off non-Muslim voters in the past, its setting forth of its “Caring Nation” agenda which emphasises its interpretations of Islamic notions of democracy, good governance and development suggests that it is attempting to present an more universalistic, or at least nuanced version of its struggle. Furthermore, the fact that it’s technocratic (i.e., lay, non-ulama) “Erdogan” fact triumphed in its 2011 party polls and are now clearly driving the party also indicates that it is more responsive to the social changes in Malay society, which is rapidly urbanising and becoming more complex.
These internal changes have helped make cooperation more possible between the opposition parties where it once seemed remote. Furthermore, in response to Barisan’s use to race- and religious-baiting against them, all three parties need themselves now more than ever before: PAS “protects” PKR and DAP from accusations that they are seeking to overthrow Malaysia’s constitutional establishment, while the two nominally secular parties act as a guarantee that the former will not pursue theocracy unchecked. It can be argued therefore that Pakatan Rakyat is now forging a syncretism of its own to match BN’s model, which its predecessors lacked.
This is not to say that Pakatan is without problems. It must in the time left show Malaysians that it has a coherent and viable plan not only to continue the country’s economic growth but also move its communal relations forward from its current atrophy. It is simply not enough for it to say: “Vote for us because we’re not Barisan.”
Moreover, the continued tensions, both within and between PKR, DAP and PAS over legacy issues like the hudud laws suggest that elements of its leadership and cadre are still vulnerable to the traps of the syncretic state. Pakatan must therefore show that it can also make difficult decisions from within—which its rivals in Barisan have hitherto avoided.
Pakatan must not only seek to win power, but also bring about substantive change to Malaysia’s political system. It has the historic opportunity to do so, but we also have to realize that this will be a long-term process and one which will require hard work rather than occur overnight.
Win or lose (and one has a feeling that, thanks to gerrymandering and the abuse of state machinery, we will see the status quo being repeated) in the next General Elections, Pakatan needs to stay together and make its alternative model to Barisan work. It has a historic opportunity, not only to bring down a long-ruling incumbent, but to also change the fact of Malaysian politics and society permanently.
Keith Leong is a Fellow at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Malaysia. His is the author of The Future of Pakatan Rakyat: Lessons from Selangor.
Malaysia’s next General Election—when it occurs—will be the most intensely-fought in the Federation’s history. There has been much speculation if and how the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition—comprising of Anwar Ibrahim’s National Justice Party (PKR), the long-standing Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Islamist Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PAS)—also arguably the most successful and long-lasting in Malaysia’s history, will be able to hold on to and indeed improve on the historic gains it won in the 2008 elections.In my recently-published book, The Future of Pakatan Rakyat: Lessons from Selangor, I argue that changes in Malaysia’s political landscape and the opposition parties themselves mean that a united and coherent opposition is possible in Malaysia and that—whatever happens in the next General Elections—Pakatan Rakyat has provided a template for a style of politics outside of the parameters set by the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Opposition pacts in Malaysia—including the Gagasan Rakyat and Barisan Alternatif oppositional alliances cobbled together to fight the 1992 and 1999 General Elections often collapsed soon after despite making some gains. As James V. Jesudason argued very persuasively in his chapter “The Syncretic State and the Structuring of Oppositional Politics in Malaysia” in Garry Rodan’s seminal Political Oppositions in Industrialising Asia (1996), this was due to the “syncretic” nature of the Malaysian state.
He defined Malaysia’s “syncretic state” as “A product of a particular historical-structural configuration that has allowed the power holders to combine a broad array of economic, ideological, and coercive elements in managing the society, including limiting the effectiveness of the opposition as a democratizing force.” To my mind, this means that successive BN administrations continued the colonial British practice of “divide-and-rule”, whereby the various ethnic groups in Malaysia were kept apart politically, economically and socially. Whereas this was used by the imperial power to justify its presence, as a “honest broker” between the various races, it has been adapted by the BN to argue that its continuance in office as essential to maintain harmony between Malaysia’s ethnic groups, whose interests at times seem irreconcilable.
BN’s success can be attributed to their forging a syncretism in their style of government that was able to straddle these competing interests. They were able to squelch dissent by simultaneously using coercion such as the application of the now-dead and unlamented Internal Security Act (ISA) but also selectively co-opting oppositional groups like absorbing the opposition Malaysian People’s Movement Party (Gerakan) in 1969.
BN’s hold on power was also helped by the inability of Malaysia’s opposition parties to come up with coherent alternatives to BN’s syncretic state. First, because parties like the DAP, PAS and S46 were themselves largely composed along Malaysia’s ethno-religious lines, they could be portrayed as “extreme” in these matters compared to BN. PAS’ heartland was and is Malaysia’s rural Malay-Muslim communities, while S46 appealed to their urban counterparts. The DAP, whilst theoretically multiracial, was and is largely Chinese or Indian in composition. This meant that they could never command as large a vote bank as BN, whose emphasis on economic development and political stability had cross-ethnic appeal. With the power of state patronage behind it, BN could effectively outbid all three parties in addressing ethnic aspirations, depicting itself as looking after the interests of all races.
Furthermore, the opposition’s very different ideologies meant that it was very difficult to form permanent alliances between them. As we know, two previous attempts to form an alliance, the Gagasan Rakyat and Barisan Alternatif, eventually collapsed after PAS and the DAP were unable to agree with the former’s quest to create an “Islamic State” in Malaysia. Jesudason argued that Malaysia’s opposition parties tend to withdraw to their own ethnic constituencies to shore up support after brief attempts at cooperation.
The very fact that Malaysia’s oppositional parties are primarily ethnic parties reinforces the notion of the syncretic state. Jesudason accused Malaysia’s opposition parties of doing nothing to close the ethnic cleavages that perpetuate BN’s rule by championing ethnic-based platforms. This in turn renders them vulnerable to BN’s practice of coercion and co-option. For instance, opposition leaders who question Malaysia’s constitutional settlements can be silenced via the various security laws. Conversely, the ruling regime can then win over Malaysians who may feel threatened by the perceived “extremism” of the opposition, for instance, non-Malays wary of PAS’ political Islam or Malays worried about DAP’s vision of a “Malaysian Malaysia”.
These factors, along with what Jesudason called the “enfeeblement” of class politics in Malaysia (i.e., the perceived pliancy of its middle-class) has conspired to prevent broad-based and permanent oppositional alliances against Barisan and perpetuated its power.
Subsequent events however have suggested however that Barisan’s “syncretic state” is breaking down. As Jesudason himself hypothesised but thought unlikely, Barisan’s hold on power would continue as long as its UMNO lynchpin was able to remain united, it’s governments able to manage Malaysia’s complex ethno-religious identities, as well as provide continued economic growth.
The record will show, however, that all of these contingencies have come to pass: UMNO’s unity was shattered (the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim and the spat between Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), it lost its ability to deal effectively with Malaysia’s communal relations (the Hindu temple demolitions in Selangor, as well as the race-baiting against the Chinese Malaysian community by certain UMNO leaders) as well as the loss of performance legitimacy regarding the economy (the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998 and the subsequent, numerous corruption scandals). The rise of the social media also meant that BN could not present selective messages, at least to Malaysia’s urban middle-class, as effectively as it had in the past.
Reformist elements in the opposition, on the other hand, spent the years after their drubbing in the 2004 General Elections regrouping and rebuilding. The release of Anwar Ibrahim in 2004 and his recommitting of the PKR to a multiracial, “Ketuanan Rakyat” brand of politics gave the opposition a bridge that could unite both its secular and Islamist elements. Anwar’s adoption of ketuanan rakyat was also a turning point as it presented Malaysians with a Malay leader who had a vision for the country’s future that all communities could equally accept.
The DAP too, has and continues to make an effort to recruit not only technocrats (such as businessmen like Tony Pua and, more recently, academics like Ong Kian Ming), but also to try and shed perceptions that it is a “Chinese chauvinist” party and reach out to the Malay community. It has launched Roketkini, a Malay-language online news portal, as a companion to its already multilingual Rocket organ and has promised to field more Malay candidates in the next election. It is too early to tell if the Malay community will embrace these initiatives, but the unease by which they have been greeted by Umno suggests that it may not be completely futile.
PAS, too, has undergone remarkable changes. Whilst it’s harping on the Islamic State and imposition of the hudud laws did much to turn off non-Muslim voters in the past, its setting forth of its “Caring Nation” agenda which emphasises its interpretations of Islamic notions of democracy, good governance and development suggests that it is attempting to present an more universalistic, or at least nuanced version of its struggle. Furthermore, the fact that it’s technocratic (i.e., lay, non-ulama) “Erdogan” fact triumphed in its 2011 party polls and are now clearly driving the party also indicates that it is more responsive to the social changes in Malay society, which is rapidly urbanising and becoming more complex.
These internal changes have helped make cooperation more possible between the opposition parties where it once seemed remote. Furthermore, in response to Barisan’s use to race- and religious-baiting against them, all three parties need themselves now more than ever before: PAS “protects” PKR and DAP from accusations that they are seeking to overthrow Malaysia’s constitutional establishment, while the two nominally secular parties act as a guarantee that the former will not pursue theocracy unchecked. It can be argued therefore that Pakatan Rakyat is now forging a syncretism of its own to match BN’s model, which its predecessors lacked.
This is not to say that Pakatan is without problems. It must in the time left show Malaysians that it has a coherent and viable plan not only to continue the country’s economic growth but also move its communal relations forward from its current atrophy. It is simply not enough for it to say: “Vote for us because we’re not Barisan.”
Moreover, the continued tensions, both within and between PKR, DAP and PAS over legacy issues like the hudud laws suggest that elements of its leadership and cadre are still vulnerable to the traps of the syncretic state. Pakatan must therefore show that it can also make difficult decisions from within—which its rivals in Barisan have hitherto avoided.
Pakatan must not only seek to win power, but also bring about substantive change to Malaysia’s political system. It has the historic opportunity to do so, but we also have to realize that this will be a long-term process and one which will require hard work rather than occur overnight.
Win or lose (and one has a feeling that, thanks to gerrymandering and the abuse of state machinery, we will see the status quo being repeated) in the next General Elections, Pakatan needs to stay together and make its alternative model to Barisan work. It has a historic opportunity, not only to bring down a long-ruling incumbent, but to also change the fact of Malaysian politics and society permanently.
Keith Leong is a Fellow at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Malaysia. His is the author of The Future of Pakatan Rakyat: Lessons from Selangor.
Malaysia – Singapore Update 2012
Malaysia – Singapore Update 2012:
Two of ASEAN’s most durable authoritarian democracies (or is it democratic authoritarianism) come under scrutiny at the Australian National University this month.
The inaugural Malaysia – Singapore Update brings together a distinguished group of analysts to discuss the dynamic political and economic landscape in Malaysia and Singapore. Two separate sessions are organised for a comprehensive look at each country.
The upcoming elections in Malaysia and the transformed “new normal” environment in Singapore, following a series of watershed elections, are among the pressing issues that will be addressed in this timely gathering.
Venue: Hedley Bull 2, Hedley Bull Building, Australian National University
Wednesday, 12 September 2012 – 12:30 PM – 5:00PM
This event is free and open to the public.
Please register for catering purposes by emailing Nivarith Nair at nivarith.nair@anu.edu.au
The Update is supported by the College of Asia and the Pacific, the ANU Southeast Asia Institute, Department of Political and Social Change, and Crawford School of Public Policy.
Malaysia
The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), in coalition with partners in the Barisan Nasional (BN, or National Front) has held office since independence in 1957. Its record of unbroken rule exceeds any other elected government in power today. Yet the BN federal government is now facing tough elections with an increasingly disenchanted electorate. Can the opposition alliance fronted by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim spark the fire for change and fresh new leadership?
Singapore
The People’s Action Party (PAP) has enjoyed unbroken rule since full self-government in 1959. Last year’s general elections marked a watershed in Singapore politics. The much maligned opposition had a historic showing, breaking the stranglehold on the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) by presenting a credible and competent alternative. The traditional economic compact has been severely strained with rising income inequality and immigration sparking discontent amidst clear divisions in society. There has also been an increased swing away from the PAP in by-elections, as well as an opposition swing in the Presidential elections, usually non-partisan contests traditionally backed by the establishment. Will this “new normal” lead to greater genuine steps towards democracy, civil freedoms and a two-party or multiparty system?
These issues, and more, will be discussed at the Update. Scheduled speakers for this event include:
Two of ASEAN’s most durable authoritarian democracies (or is it democratic authoritarianism) come under scrutiny at the Australian National University this month.
The inaugural Malaysia – Singapore Update brings together a distinguished group of analysts to discuss the dynamic political and economic landscape in Malaysia and Singapore. Two separate sessions are organised for a comprehensive look at each country.
The upcoming elections in Malaysia and the transformed “new normal” environment in Singapore, following a series of watershed elections, are among the pressing issues that will be addressed in this timely gathering.
Venue: Hedley Bull 2, Hedley Bull Building, Australian National University
Wednesday, 12 September 2012 – 12:30 PM – 5:00PM
This event is free and open to the public.
Please register for catering purposes by emailing Nivarith Nair at nivarith.nair@anu.edu.au
The Update is supported by the College of Asia and the Pacific, the ANU Southeast Asia Institute, Department of Political and Social Change, and Crawford School of Public Policy.
Malaysia
The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), in coalition with partners in the Barisan Nasional (BN, or National Front) has held office since independence in 1957. Its record of unbroken rule exceeds any other elected government in power today. Yet the BN federal government is now facing tough elections with an increasingly disenchanted electorate. Can the opposition alliance fronted by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim spark the fire for change and fresh new leadership?
Singapore
The People’s Action Party (PAP) has enjoyed unbroken rule since full self-government in 1959. Last year’s general elections marked a watershed in Singapore politics. The much maligned opposition had a historic showing, breaking the stranglehold on the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) by presenting a credible and competent alternative. The traditional economic compact has been severely strained with rising income inequality and immigration sparking discontent amidst clear divisions in society. There has also been an increased swing away from the PAP in by-elections, as well as an opposition swing in the Presidential elections, usually non-partisan contests traditionally backed by the establishment. Will this “new normal” lead to greater genuine steps towards democracy, civil freedoms and a two-party or multiparty system?
These issues, and more, will be discussed at the Update. Scheduled speakers for this event include:
- Anthony Milner, Australian National University – Anthony Milner is Basham Professor of Asian History at the Australian National University, and a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of the widely-cited Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule and The Malays.
- Clive Kessler, University of New South Wales – An Emeritus Professor in Sociology, Clive Kessler is a widely sought after authority on Malaysian political and societal issues. He is more recently one of the authors of Sharing the Nation: Faith, Difference, Power and the State 50 Years After Merdeka.
- Amanda Whiting, University of Melbourne – Amanda Whiting is an Associate Director (Malaysia) at the Asian Law Centre. She was a co-editor for the book Mixed Blessings: Law, Religions and Women’s Rights in the Asia Pacific Region, and has written several journal articles and book chapters on legal issues in Malaysia. She is currently undertaking research funded by the Australian Research Council on the history of the Malaysian legal profession, focusing on its role as an agent of civil society.
- Hal Hill, Australian National University – Hal Hill is the author or editor of 15 books and has written some 140 academic papers and book chapters on the economies of ASEAN. His research has in recent times had him look at the challenge of “graduation” for Malaysia. He is the H.W. Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies at the Crawford School of Economics and Government.
- Marzuki Mohamad, International Islamic University – Marzuki Mohamad is an Assistant Professor at the Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences. He has published many academic papers in his research areas of electoral issues, ethnic politics and political Islam. He is also currently serving as a special officer to the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.
- Michael Barr, Flinders University – Michael Barr’s PhD thesis, Lee Kuan Yew: The beliefs behind the man, won him the 1999 Asian Studies Association of Australia President’s Prize for the best PhD thesis. Numerous works since have solidified his position as an expert on Singapore politics and history. He is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Flinders University.
- Lily Zubaidah Rahim, University of Sydney – Lily Zubaidah Rahim’s 2001 book, The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community, establish her as a leading expert on Singaporean politics and society. She is an Associate Professor in Government and International Relations.
- Ross Tapsell, Australian National University – Ross Tapsell researches press freedom in Southeast Asia. He is a former recipient of the Australian Government Endeavour Postdoctorate Award. His current research involves press freedom in Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Shandre Thangavelu, National University of Singapore – Shandre Thangavelu is an Associate Professor in Economics. Aside from publishing and presenting numerous papers on ASEAN economies, he is also head researcher on manpower related issues and the Singaporean economy at the Singaporean Ministry of Manpower.
- Bridget Welsh, Singapore Management University – Bridget Welsh is an Associate Professor in Political Science. Having authored books such as The Mahathir Years, Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore and Transition or Transformation: Abdullah Badawi’s Tenure, she is widely sought after for her expertise on the region. One of her current research interests are women in politics in Southeast Asia.
- Bilveer Singh, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies – Bilveer Singh is an Associate Professor and Acting Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS). Prior to joining CENS, he was teaching at the Dept of Political Science, National University of Singapore. Bilveer is a regular speaker and media commentator on regional security issues. His current research interests include the foreign and defence policies of Singapore as well as regional security issues.
Not so Happy Birthdays
Not so Happy Birthdays:
Thailand is changing. The two royal anniversaries of mid-2012 were proof that the transition from Rama IX to the next reign is no longer a distant thought but a process in full swing. An analysis of the celebrations for HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 5th cycle anniversary and HM Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday reveals that the monarchy is no longer what it used to be – and that it probably never will be again.
First, to describe public attendance for the official celebrations in honour of the Crown Prince on 28 July 2012 at the royal field, Sanam Luang, as below expectations would be euphemistic. Frankly, the whole event was an embarrassment. And the fact that, on 12 August 2012, Her Majesty spent her birthday at Siriraj Hospital where she continued to be treated for a “shortage of blood in her brain” it is ever more unlikely that the Queen will function as a regent after the death of her husband to facilitate the transition process – a theory that never seemed particularly plausible anyway. If anything, the birthdays were a reminder that the end of the current Chakri reign draws closer by the day.
One of the most striking features of the royal anniversaries was the lack of effort by the monarchy’s propaganda machinery to effectively promote HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn ahead of the royal succession. What better opportunity to start getting things rolling than the man’s 60th birthday, or 5th cycle anniversary (one cycle comprises twelve years)? There’s a whole lot of work to do on Thai people’s perception of their next King. Yet looking back into history this is not an impossible task. HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej became King when the image of the monarchy was a far cry from what it is today. And what is the never convincingly resolved suspicion of (accidental) fratricide compared to the Crown Prince’s frivolous love adventures, diplomatic mishaps and petty crimes? True, the internet and a changed national and international political environment don’t make the work any easier but is it not about time, from the perspective of royalists, to manage the transition by using their proven ideological tools?
The decision makers seem to disagree. The absence of royal banners on newspaper websites ahead of the Prince’s birthday was just one indicator of the seeming lack of enthusiasm among the promoters of the monarchy. Where in the past readers of online news usually had to click on full-screen reminders of an upcoming royal celebration to access a homepage, the editorial boards had decided not to put those up for the Crown Prince. As for the media coverage itself, there was a marked imbalance between the numbers of lines dedicated to both birthday celebrations. A random comparison between the Thai language newspapers Daily News and Thai Rath reveals that Thai Rath gave the Crown Prince 83 lines the day after the celebrations at Sanam Luang compared to 143 lines for the Queen’s anniversary festivities. Daily News reported the Prince’s birthday over 103 lines versus 287 lines for his mother (the coverage for the Queen stretched across three pages).
Asked for his explanation for the lack of media support for the Crown Prince a journalist answered frankly that, first, the Crown Prince lacks his father’s standing. Second, an excessive promotion of Vajiralongkorn at a time when King Bhumibol is still alive would be indecent: “the heir apparent can never outshine the incumbent”. However, the journalist remarked on the increase of royal TV programs presenting scenes from Vajiralongkorn’s childhood, a time when he was still fairly innocent in the eye of loyal subjects. Whether these attempts to reconnect him with his roots as a male Chakri heir will increase his popularity is a question only time can answer.
For now, it is possible to put an exact number on the difference in significance between the Prince and the Queen, thanks to the release of commemorative banknotes ahead of both the birthday of the Crown Prince and his mother. The Queen is five times more unique than her son. Whereas ten million 100 Baht banknotes were issued for the heir apparent, the special 80 Baht notes printed in honour of the Queen numbered only two million. Also, whereas the 100 Baht notes were circulated in the regular financial system, the 80 Baht banknotes had to be bought for 120 Baht, the surplus reportedly going to royal charities. When I asked at a bank whether I could exchange a regular 100 Baht banknote for one with the Prince on the back I was met with a confused look. It seemed I was the first person to make such a request. Clearly, the Crown Prince is not considered on par with his parents in the media, nor among Thailand’s bankers.
And certainly not among the general public. It was fascinating to watch how little interest the great majority of people showed in the books that had been placed at various spots throughout Bangkok for well-wishers to sign. While waiting at the Siam Paragon shopping mall for a friend to show up I kept an eye on the setup that had just been erected to honour the Crown Prince – consisting of a book with blank pages on a table in front of a life-size picture of Vajiralongkorn and ceremonial objects. Over one hour not a single person stopped to sign the book. Only when the embarrassment became unbearable did one of the mall’s security officers move towards the book to set a good example by signing it. A few, but not many, passersby followed his lead. The commemorative books for the Queen, on the other hand, were much more popular and filled up relatively quickly with good wishes.
The role of shopping malls was a remarkable one. Whereas in previous years tents with exhibitions for the Queen’s birthday were usually set up around Sanam Luang or along Ratchadamnoen Avenue in the old city, this year the main exhibition sponsored by the Prime Minister’s Office was – to my knowledge for the first time – set up at the Central World shopping mall (no such grand exhibition was held for the Crown Prince). In four different locations on the ground floor of the mall – parts of which were burned to ashes in the wake of the crackdown on the red shirt protests on 19 May 2010 – people were invited to reminisce about the “good old days” when the Queen was touring the countryside and promoting Thai arts and crafts. A fashion show presented clothes made of Thai silk. A grand installation at the center of the mall – stretching across five levels with a huge portrait of the young Queen in the middle, topped by white peacocks – invited customers to stop and hang well-wishes on the base of the structure. Two exhibitions reminded visitors of the Queen’s contribution to the country’s development.
The Queen at CentralWorld: On 19 September 2010, red shirt demonstrators had drawn anti-royal graffiti on the enclosure around the burned down parts of CentralWorld. One of the messages read “whale-free area” (khet plot pla-wan; “whale” referred to the Queen). Sirikit was back in full force in 2012.
Why this shift of the exhibitions from Sanam Luang to Central World? Was this another chapter in the ongoing fight over the meaning of this specific urban space? Or was it an attempt to remind Bangkokians of the monarchy’s contribution to Thailand’s prosperity as represented by the shopping mall? Whatever it was, the shift can certainly be read as an adaption on the part of the promoters of royalism to changing social conditions – which does not speak for the current strength of the monarchy whose champions now act less than they react. Maybe the promoters were no longer certain that Thais are still loyal enough to spend their long weekend in the heat of Bangkok’s old royal city which – as a result of the relocation of government buildings to the north of Bangkok and attempts to turn the area into an outdoor museum – is increasingly empty of people and removed from the everyday lives of most Bangkokians. Did the organizers recognise that Thailand has changed, that window shopping and a family dinner at a Korean restaurant in an air-conditioned shopping mall seems more attractive to many than the dull free food handed out to visitors at the royal anniversary celebrations at Sanam Luang? How much symbolism can one read into the fact that the monarchy now goes where the people are and that fewer people go where the monarchy used to be?
On the day of the Crown Prince’s birthday, 28 July 2012, none but the poorest members of Thai society showed up at Sanam Luang. Apart from government officers and employees who had been ordered to parade on the royal grounds which make up the southern part of the field, mostly men and women in unwashed clothes came for the free food and beverages offered to them. Members of the middle class, dressed up for a royal occasion – a familiar sight for anyone who has ever attended such events in the past –, were completely absent. As if realising the embarrassment, the security guards suddenly declared the tents that were set up for ordinary visitors a VIP area, asked the three dozen representatives of the lower strata of the people (prachachon) to leave their seats and eventually placed them in a corner opposite the tent where Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would later take her seat before going on stage for a candle-lighting ceremony. The “VIP tents” remained largely vacant for the rest of the evening (for the Queen’s birthday celebrations the same tents were open to the general public because there was a middle-class public to fill them).
Pushed into a corner: A few dozen mostly poor and homeless people were waiting behind a yellow fence at Sanam Luang ahead of the arrival of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra who led a ceremony in honour of the Crown Prince.
The tents that were set up for the Crown Prince’s birthday celebrations remained empty and were declared a VIP area.
The Dark Knight and the Prince: A car exhibition at Sanam Luang in honour of Vajiralongkorn also featured a Batmobile.
When Prime Minister Yingluck finally arrived the prachachon were disappointed yet another time when her black van parked in front of them and Yingluck got off the car on the other side, effectively shutting her off from the sight of the poor. She took her seat across the square, went on stage to lead the ceremony – which was overshadowed by the worst performance of the royal anthem this author has ever heard – and left.
Prime Minister Yingluck led the candle lighting ceremony for both, the Crown Prince and, two weeks later, for the Queen.
The section of Sanam Luang that was set aside for the ceremony was filled with students and employees of government instiutions whose attendance was obligatory.
The celebrations for the Queen were much more popular despite heavy rainfalls. It is, however, an exaggeration to state that Sanam Luang was “packed” on 12 August as the Bangkok Post would have it. Most of the photos disseminated in the media depicted government employees and marching bands that had been ordered to appear anyway. Despite the relatively strong attendance for the Queen’s anniversary festivities the number of people dwarfed when compared to the celebrations for King Bhumibol’s 80th birthday in 2007 which stretched from Sanam Luang along the entire Ratchadamnoen Avenue and even spilled over to the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River. Whether the difference in size had anything to do with the respective governments that organised the celebrations – a military junta that excessively promoted the monarchy in 2007 vs. a democratically elected administration whose legitimacy is less dependent on its royalist credentials – is debatable. Maybe it’s just that the king had more fans in 2007 than the Queen has in 2012.
On the Queen’s Birthday the tents that were set up for the public at Sanam Luang were well-attended.
At Siriraj Hospital: On the Queen’s birthday the area dedicated to the worship of the royal patients at Siriraj Hospital was almost empty.
One remarkable feature of the Queen’s birthday was the attempt to reconnect her with the poor. The main device was the revelation that she had donated a total of 20 million Baht to help residents in Bangkok’s Bon Kai area who were affected by the May 2010 events. The information (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/306008/her-majesty-donates-b22m-to-bon-kai-traders-victims-after-street-riots) was spread by an aide to the Queen. A follow-up story (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/307123/riot-hit-community-honours-queen) in the Bangkok Post reported that the Bon Kai residents organized celebrations for the Queen’s birthday in their community to thank her for her support, to prove their allegiance to the monarchy and to fend off accusations that they were supporters of anti-royal red shirts. Given that the Queen became a source of red shirt anger after she had taken actions which implied that she was siding with the yellow shirt movement it seems to make sense – at least from the point of view of royalists– to try to paint her as a non-partisan supporter of the poor whose good deeds would have remained unknown were it not for a close aide who “leaked” the information to the press right in time for her birthday celebrations.
It seems that an alms-giving ceremony on the morning of 12 August at Sanam Luang was part of that strategy to win back the hearts and minds of disgruntled members of Thai society. A friend who observed the scene reported that, for the first time, not just monks but poor people too received donations at the ceremony which is customarily held to mark royal birthdays.
It is difficult to make sense of these seemingly disconnected observations and one cannot be certain that there really is a grand strategy which is being followed. Compared with the mass mobilisations for royal birthdays in the past – complete with busloads of people being carried to Sanam Luang and hyperbolic media coverage – this year’s celebrations were definitely tamer even though they were significant birthdays of the two most important members of the royal family after the King. Regarding the Crown Prince this approach might owe to the fact that the next King does not (yet) possess the sacred charisma which has painstakingly been constructed around his father. This is not to say that, if he plays his ceremonial role during the mourning period for his father well, he cannot exceed expectations. Many people might want to cling onto something after the death of King Bhumibol and, after all, Vajiralongkorn is from his father’s flesh and blood (like all successors, Prince Vajiralongkorn possesses a little of what Max Weber termed “hereditary charisma”). And given how much many sections of Thai society – and not just the immediate network – stand to lose from a decrease in royal charisma it is hard to imagine that they will give up on promoting the next king as an ideological tool. For that reason, lèse majesté might be here to stay.
The most elaborate installation for the Crown Prince was erected at Suvarnabhumi Airport, certainly due to Vajiralongkorn’s connections to the Air Force and his reputation as a pilot.
Old aesthetics, new symbols on the back of the installation at Suvarnabhumi: Pictures of Vajiralongkorn in ceremonial uniform, in military attire, benevolently leaning towards the people and next to a military aircraft under the slogan “Long Live the Crown Prince”.
Yet, in light of the remarkable show of disinterest for the Crown Prince’s birthday celebrations and the tame propaganda surrounding them such a change of mind in favour of promoting him seems difficult to imagine at this point. All the same, some may read the birthday celebrations not as tame but as the slow but steady start to the Crown Prince’s public promotion. Is it really just respect for the ailing king that discourages a more outright promotion of his successor? Has the general caution in the wake of an elite settlement which seems to be underway in Thailand anything to do with this? Or could it be that some decision-makers have grasped that the country is in the process of moving beyond the monarchy as the central pillar of the socio-political order? After all, Prince Vajiralongkorn’s 60th birthday was also a reminder of the fact the he too is no longer a young man. Given his own health conditions it is doubtful that the Crown Prince will be able to keep the monarchy stable the same way his long-lived father has done for more than 60 decades. Therefore, the smartest solution would be for the Crown Prince to renounce the throne in one way or another (definitely in a way that does not put the legitimacy of the next king into doubt, which would preclude for example an all-too comfortably timed death as a solution) to allow royalists to press the reset button and call Vajiralonkorn’s four sons home from American exile and place one of them on the throne. As with American-born and Swiss-raised Bhumibol, a young King Juthavachara Mahidol would be a nobody at first and therefore would offer an opportunity to refashion the monarchy in a new mould.
But this is fantasy. Given that the chances of Rama X becoming King Vajiralongkorn are very high one must hope that the promoters of the monarchy have come to realise that royalism is past its prime and, considering the occurrence of overt attacks on the monarchy’s sacred charisma, that it must assume a lower profile to secure its survival. Seen from this angle, the succession would present a solution to, rather than a deepening of, the crisis of royal legitimacy. As the comparison between the birthday celebrations has shown, fewer people are interested in the next king than they are in the current monarchy and, consequently, they do not expect much from the heir to the throne. Lowering the monarchy’s profile would align the institution with these lowered public expectations – whereas a coercive show of force could prove ineffective or, worse than that, lead to disastrous results. Moreover such an institutional realignment would be more in line with modern ideas of how a 21st century monarchy should function.
The dividend of this change of strategy could swiftly pay out. As one Thai informant put it in an interview: “I feel closer to the monarchy now that it is taking a less prominent role.”
Serhat Ünaldi is a PhD candidate at at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Institute of Asian and African Studies, Cross-Section Society and Transformation in Asian and African Societies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He is the author of two upcoming papers:
2012 (forthcoming). “Modern Monarchs and Democracy: Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej and Juan Carlos of Spain”, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 31(2).
2012 (forthcoming). “Ratchaprasong Before CentralWorld: The Forgotten Palace Wang Phetchabun”, วารสารหน้าจั่ว (Warasan Na Chua) vol. 9.
Thailand is changing. The two royal anniversaries of mid-2012 were proof that the transition from Rama IX to the next reign is no longer a distant thought but a process in full swing. An analysis of the celebrations for HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 5th cycle anniversary and HM Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday reveals that the monarchy is no longer what it used to be – and that it probably never will be again.
First, to describe public attendance for the official celebrations in honour of the Crown Prince on 28 July 2012 at the royal field, Sanam Luang, as below expectations would be euphemistic. Frankly, the whole event was an embarrassment. And the fact that, on 12 August 2012, Her Majesty spent her birthday at Siriraj Hospital where she continued to be treated for a “shortage of blood in her brain” it is ever more unlikely that the Queen will function as a regent after the death of her husband to facilitate the transition process – a theory that never seemed particularly plausible anyway. If anything, the birthdays were a reminder that the end of the current Chakri reign draws closer by the day.
One of the most striking features of the royal anniversaries was the lack of effort by the monarchy’s propaganda machinery to effectively promote HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn ahead of the royal succession. What better opportunity to start getting things rolling than the man’s 60th birthday, or 5th cycle anniversary (one cycle comprises twelve years)? There’s a whole lot of work to do on Thai people’s perception of their next King. Yet looking back into history this is not an impossible task. HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej became King when the image of the monarchy was a far cry from what it is today. And what is the never convincingly resolved suspicion of (accidental) fratricide compared to the Crown Prince’s frivolous love adventures, diplomatic mishaps and petty crimes? True, the internet and a changed national and international political environment don’t make the work any easier but is it not about time, from the perspective of royalists, to manage the transition by using their proven ideological tools?
The decision makers seem to disagree. The absence of royal banners on newspaper websites ahead of the Prince’s birthday was just one indicator of the seeming lack of enthusiasm among the promoters of the monarchy. Where in the past readers of online news usually had to click on full-screen reminders of an upcoming royal celebration to access a homepage, the editorial boards had decided not to put those up for the Crown Prince. As for the media coverage itself, there was a marked imbalance between the numbers of lines dedicated to both birthday celebrations. A random comparison between the Thai language newspapers Daily News and Thai Rath reveals that Thai Rath gave the Crown Prince 83 lines the day after the celebrations at Sanam Luang compared to 143 lines for the Queen’s anniversary festivities. Daily News reported the Prince’s birthday over 103 lines versus 287 lines for his mother (the coverage for the Queen stretched across three pages).
Asked for his explanation for the lack of media support for the Crown Prince a journalist answered frankly that, first, the Crown Prince lacks his father’s standing. Second, an excessive promotion of Vajiralongkorn at a time when King Bhumibol is still alive would be indecent: “the heir apparent can never outshine the incumbent”. However, the journalist remarked on the increase of royal TV programs presenting scenes from Vajiralongkorn’s childhood, a time when he was still fairly innocent in the eye of loyal subjects. Whether these attempts to reconnect him with his roots as a male Chakri heir will increase his popularity is a question only time can answer.
For now, it is possible to put an exact number on the difference in significance between the Prince and the Queen, thanks to the release of commemorative banknotes ahead of both the birthday of the Crown Prince and his mother. The Queen is five times more unique than her son. Whereas ten million 100 Baht banknotes were issued for the heir apparent, the special 80 Baht notes printed in honour of the Queen numbered only two million. Also, whereas the 100 Baht notes were circulated in the regular financial system, the 80 Baht banknotes had to be bought for 120 Baht, the surplus reportedly going to royal charities. When I asked at a bank whether I could exchange a regular 100 Baht banknote for one with the Prince on the back I was met with a confused look. It seemed I was the first person to make such a request. Clearly, the Crown Prince is not considered on par with his parents in the media, nor among Thailand’s bankers.
And certainly not among the general public. It was fascinating to watch how little interest the great majority of people showed in the books that had been placed at various spots throughout Bangkok for well-wishers to sign. While waiting at the Siam Paragon shopping mall for a friend to show up I kept an eye on the setup that had just been erected to honour the Crown Prince – consisting of a book with blank pages on a table in front of a life-size picture of Vajiralongkorn and ceremonial objects. Over one hour not a single person stopped to sign the book. Only when the embarrassment became unbearable did one of the mall’s security officers move towards the book to set a good example by signing it. A few, but not many, passersby followed his lead. The commemorative books for the Queen, on the other hand, were much more popular and filled up relatively quickly with good wishes.
The role of shopping malls was a remarkable one. Whereas in previous years tents with exhibitions for the Queen’s birthday were usually set up around Sanam Luang or along Ratchadamnoen Avenue in the old city, this year the main exhibition sponsored by the Prime Minister’s Office was – to my knowledge for the first time – set up at the Central World shopping mall (no such grand exhibition was held for the Crown Prince). In four different locations on the ground floor of the mall – parts of which were burned to ashes in the wake of the crackdown on the red shirt protests on 19 May 2010 – people were invited to reminisce about the “good old days” when the Queen was touring the countryside and promoting Thai arts and crafts. A fashion show presented clothes made of Thai silk. A grand installation at the center of the mall – stretching across five levels with a huge portrait of the young Queen in the middle, topped by white peacocks – invited customers to stop and hang well-wishes on the base of the structure. Two exhibitions reminded visitors of the Queen’s contribution to the country’s development.
The Queen at CentralWorld: On 19 September 2010, red shirt demonstrators had drawn anti-royal graffiti on the enclosure around the burned down parts of CentralWorld. One of the messages read “whale-free area” (khet plot pla-wan; “whale” referred to the Queen). Sirikit was back in full force in 2012.
Why this shift of the exhibitions from Sanam Luang to Central World? Was this another chapter in the ongoing fight over the meaning of this specific urban space? Or was it an attempt to remind Bangkokians of the monarchy’s contribution to Thailand’s prosperity as represented by the shopping mall? Whatever it was, the shift can certainly be read as an adaption on the part of the promoters of royalism to changing social conditions – which does not speak for the current strength of the monarchy whose champions now act less than they react. Maybe the promoters were no longer certain that Thais are still loyal enough to spend their long weekend in the heat of Bangkok’s old royal city which – as a result of the relocation of government buildings to the north of Bangkok and attempts to turn the area into an outdoor museum – is increasingly empty of people and removed from the everyday lives of most Bangkokians. Did the organizers recognise that Thailand has changed, that window shopping and a family dinner at a Korean restaurant in an air-conditioned shopping mall seems more attractive to many than the dull free food handed out to visitors at the royal anniversary celebrations at Sanam Luang? How much symbolism can one read into the fact that the monarchy now goes where the people are and that fewer people go where the monarchy used to be?
On the day of the Crown Prince’s birthday, 28 July 2012, none but the poorest members of Thai society showed up at Sanam Luang. Apart from government officers and employees who had been ordered to parade on the royal grounds which make up the southern part of the field, mostly men and women in unwashed clothes came for the free food and beverages offered to them. Members of the middle class, dressed up for a royal occasion – a familiar sight for anyone who has ever attended such events in the past –, were completely absent. As if realising the embarrassment, the security guards suddenly declared the tents that were set up for ordinary visitors a VIP area, asked the three dozen representatives of the lower strata of the people (prachachon) to leave their seats and eventually placed them in a corner opposite the tent where Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would later take her seat before going on stage for a candle-lighting ceremony. The “VIP tents” remained largely vacant for the rest of the evening (for the Queen’s birthday celebrations the same tents were open to the general public because there was a middle-class public to fill them).
Pushed into a corner: A few dozen mostly poor and homeless people were waiting behind a yellow fence at Sanam Luang ahead of the arrival of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra who led a ceremony in honour of the Crown Prince.
The tents that were set up for the Crown Prince’s birthday celebrations remained empty and were declared a VIP area.
The Dark Knight and the Prince: A car exhibition at Sanam Luang in honour of Vajiralongkorn also featured a Batmobile.
When Prime Minister Yingluck finally arrived the prachachon were disappointed yet another time when her black van parked in front of them and Yingluck got off the car on the other side, effectively shutting her off from the sight of the poor. She took her seat across the square, went on stage to lead the ceremony – which was overshadowed by the worst performance of the royal anthem this author has ever heard – and left.
Prime Minister Yingluck led the candle lighting ceremony for both, the Crown Prince and, two weeks later, for the Queen.
The section of Sanam Luang that was set aside for the ceremony was filled with students and employees of government instiutions whose attendance was obligatory.
The celebrations for the Queen were much more popular despite heavy rainfalls. It is, however, an exaggeration to state that Sanam Luang was “packed” on 12 August as the Bangkok Post would have it. Most of the photos disseminated in the media depicted government employees and marching bands that had been ordered to appear anyway. Despite the relatively strong attendance for the Queen’s anniversary festivities the number of people dwarfed when compared to the celebrations for King Bhumibol’s 80th birthday in 2007 which stretched from Sanam Luang along the entire Ratchadamnoen Avenue and even spilled over to the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River. Whether the difference in size had anything to do with the respective governments that organised the celebrations – a military junta that excessively promoted the monarchy in 2007 vs. a democratically elected administration whose legitimacy is less dependent on its royalist credentials – is debatable. Maybe it’s just that the king had more fans in 2007 than the Queen has in 2012.
On the Queen’s Birthday the tents that were set up for the public at Sanam Luang were well-attended.
At Siriraj Hospital: On the Queen’s birthday the area dedicated to the worship of the royal patients at Siriraj Hospital was almost empty.
One remarkable feature of the Queen’s birthday was the attempt to reconnect her with the poor. The main device was the revelation that she had donated a total of 20 million Baht to help residents in Bangkok’s Bon Kai area who were affected by the May 2010 events. The information (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/306008/her-majesty-donates-b22m-to-bon-kai-traders-victims-after-street-riots) was spread by an aide to the Queen. A follow-up story (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/307123/riot-hit-community-honours-queen) in the Bangkok Post reported that the Bon Kai residents organized celebrations for the Queen’s birthday in their community to thank her for her support, to prove their allegiance to the monarchy and to fend off accusations that they were supporters of anti-royal red shirts. Given that the Queen became a source of red shirt anger after she had taken actions which implied that she was siding with the yellow shirt movement it seems to make sense – at least from the point of view of royalists– to try to paint her as a non-partisan supporter of the poor whose good deeds would have remained unknown were it not for a close aide who “leaked” the information to the press right in time for her birthday celebrations.
It seems that an alms-giving ceremony on the morning of 12 August at Sanam Luang was part of that strategy to win back the hearts and minds of disgruntled members of Thai society. A friend who observed the scene reported that, for the first time, not just monks but poor people too received donations at the ceremony which is customarily held to mark royal birthdays.
It is difficult to make sense of these seemingly disconnected observations and one cannot be certain that there really is a grand strategy which is being followed. Compared with the mass mobilisations for royal birthdays in the past – complete with busloads of people being carried to Sanam Luang and hyperbolic media coverage – this year’s celebrations were definitely tamer even though they were significant birthdays of the two most important members of the royal family after the King. Regarding the Crown Prince this approach might owe to the fact that the next King does not (yet) possess the sacred charisma which has painstakingly been constructed around his father. This is not to say that, if he plays his ceremonial role during the mourning period for his father well, he cannot exceed expectations. Many people might want to cling onto something after the death of King Bhumibol and, after all, Vajiralongkorn is from his father’s flesh and blood (like all successors, Prince Vajiralongkorn possesses a little of what Max Weber termed “hereditary charisma”). And given how much many sections of Thai society – and not just the immediate network – stand to lose from a decrease in royal charisma it is hard to imagine that they will give up on promoting the next king as an ideological tool. For that reason, lèse majesté might be here to stay.
The most elaborate installation for the Crown Prince was erected at Suvarnabhumi Airport, certainly due to Vajiralongkorn’s connections to the Air Force and his reputation as a pilot.
Old aesthetics, new symbols on the back of the installation at Suvarnabhumi: Pictures of Vajiralongkorn in ceremonial uniform, in military attire, benevolently leaning towards the people and next to a military aircraft under the slogan “Long Live the Crown Prince”.
Yet, in light of the remarkable show of disinterest for the Crown Prince’s birthday celebrations and the tame propaganda surrounding them such a change of mind in favour of promoting him seems difficult to imagine at this point. All the same, some may read the birthday celebrations not as tame but as the slow but steady start to the Crown Prince’s public promotion. Is it really just respect for the ailing king that discourages a more outright promotion of his successor? Has the general caution in the wake of an elite settlement which seems to be underway in Thailand anything to do with this? Or could it be that some decision-makers have grasped that the country is in the process of moving beyond the monarchy as the central pillar of the socio-political order? After all, Prince Vajiralongkorn’s 60th birthday was also a reminder of the fact the he too is no longer a young man. Given his own health conditions it is doubtful that the Crown Prince will be able to keep the monarchy stable the same way his long-lived father has done for more than 60 decades. Therefore, the smartest solution would be for the Crown Prince to renounce the throne in one way or another (definitely in a way that does not put the legitimacy of the next king into doubt, which would preclude for example an all-too comfortably timed death as a solution) to allow royalists to press the reset button and call Vajiralonkorn’s four sons home from American exile and place one of them on the throne. As with American-born and Swiss-raised Bhumibol, a young King Juthavachara Mahidol would be a nobody at first and therefore would offer an opportunity to refashion the monarchy in a new mould.
But this is fantasy. Given that the chances of Rama X becoming King Vajiralongkorn are very high one must hope that the promoters of the monarchy have come to realise that royalism is past its prime and, considering the occurrence of overt attacks on the monarchy’s sacred charisma, that it must assume a lower profile to secure its survival. Seen from this angle, the succession would present a solution to, rather than a deepening of, the crisis of royal legitimacy. As the comparison between the birthday celebrations has shown, fewer people are interested in the next king than they are in the current monarchy and, consequently, they do not expect much from the heir to the throne. Lowering the monarchy’s profile would align the institution with these lowered public expectations – whereas a coercive show of force could prove ineffective or, worse than that, lead to disastrous results. Moreover such an institutional realignment would be more in line with modern ideas of how a 21st century monarchy should function.
The dividend of this change of strategy could swiftly pay out. As one Thai informant put it in an interview: “I feel closer to the monarchy now that it is taking a less prominent role.”
Serhat Ünaldi is a PhD candidate at at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Institute of Asian and African Studies, Cross-Section Society and Transformation in Asian and African Societies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He is the author of two upcoming papers:
2012 (forthcoming). “Modern Monarchs and Democracy: Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej and Juan Carlos of Spain”, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 31(2).
2012 (forthcoming). “Ratchaprasong Before CentralWorld: The Forgotten Palace Wang Phetchabun”, วารสารหน้าจั่ว (Warasan Na Chua) vol. 9.
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Later today, we’ll also release new Street View imagery for more than 150 university campuses globally. With classes just getting started, freshman students, transfers and even empty-nesting parents can now familiarize themselves with college campuses around the world, including UCLA in the U.S., Pembroke College in the U.K., McGill University in Canada and Sophia University in Japan. These new panoramic views join our growing list of universities whose campuses are already available in Google Maps.
View Larger MapRoyce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles
Finally, to celebrate all the places you can reach with Google Maps—all seven continents, the sky, the moon and even the depths of the ocean—we made a video that we hope will inspire you to keep exploring.
Keep exploring at maps.google.com/helloworld. Here’s to many new adventures.
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)
First, we’re expanding Google Maps Navigation (Beta) with voice guided, turn-by-turn directions in thousands of towns across India. Navigation is one of the most frequently requested features in this region and can be especially helpful when driving in densely populated cities like Delhi or Bangalore. We’re also adding live traffic conditions for major roads with estimated travel times to help you save time and to reduce stress on the road.
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View Larger Map
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(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)
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Read full article >>
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Read full article >>
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