Today I was mildly offended by Dawn Ng’s Walter after visiting the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), the former St Joseph Institution.
I was fond of the rabbit installation when it was installed at 8Q SAM. But I was a bit offended when I saw the familiar inflatable rabbit lying in the centre spot on a platform which was the former site of an altar.
Does the artistic licence extend beyond sacrilegious realms? Where is the line drawn on such matters?
This month, Fr Edward Wood from the Blessed Sacrament Community, Melbourne wrote a succulent piece about having a quiet moment with God in the Eucharist entitled “Stillness and the Eucharist: Heart speaks to heart in the Eucharistic Presence“.
He described a straight forward approach on how to enter into the proper state of mind to engage God and mediate on his divine presence. We might need to feel the urge to speak and “to be thinking grand thoughts” but actually we do not. For God’s presence is for you and in you … for in the stillness you will recognise him.
God in His infinite goodness sometimes sees fit to test our courage and love by depriving us of the things which it seems to us would be advantageous to our souls; and if He finds us earnest in their pursuit, yet humble, tranquil and resigned to do without them if He wishes us to, He will give us more blessings than we should have had in the possession of what we craved.
– St. Philip Neri
Originally uploaded by isafrancesca
This essay argues that despite the rising Islamic manifestations among Indonesian society and the majority Muslim population, these conditions not do threaten the monotheistic nature of the Indonesia state espoused by the national philosophy – Pancasila. The secular-national parties’ victory led by the Democratic Party during the 2009 April General Election clearly affirms the view that the Muslim majority do not “see voting as ‘confessional behaviour’, explicitly linked to their faith” (Fealy 2009, Kadir 2004, Hefner 2000). Further examination of the election results also revealed uneven levels of support among the heterogeneous Islamic political parties. Until these disparate parties are able to consolidate their support bases, establish common political agendas and design viable socio-economic policies to attract the Muslim voters, their presence would not threaten the Pancasila state.
This essay begins with an introduction to Pancasila with a focus on its monotheistic nature, followed by the development of political Islam under Soeharto’s rule. Third, I will provide an introduction to the various Islamic political parties that have emerged following the demise of Soeharto’s regime. After which I will provide an analysis of the Islamic parties’ performance during the recent 2009 April General Election. Based on the latest voting trends, I will finally conclude if political Islam poses a present threat to Indonesia’s national philosophy.
The Indonesia’s national philosophy, Pancasila, consists of five principles. The first principle “Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa” states that “the State shall be based on the belief in the one and only God”. Similarly in Article 29 of the Indonesia Constitution which set out the status of religion in the state, no single religion was officially acknowledged. In addition, “the government is [also] required to follow a policy of neutrality towards all religions” and “afford equal right to all citizen regardless of their religious persuasions” (Salim 2007). These two examples highlight the basis for monotheism and religious plurality to exist in the Indonesian state where non-Muslim form the other 13% of the population (Kadir 2004).
As the nation’s dominant religion, Islamic groups has always been featured extensively in Indonesia’s historical and political landscape. Islamic mass organisations such the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Muhammadiyah had a history of political activism in the country ever since the independence and anti-communist movements. After seizing power from Soekarno in 1965, Soeharto saw these Islamic organisations as political challenges to his newly acquired state authority. Therefore he sought to “sideline all Islamic parties … and subjected all political activities to stringent state control” (Means 2009). Soeharto required all organisations to assert their acceptance to the national philosophy of Pancasila. During that period, he also sanctioned new an Islamic political party and state agency such as Partai Muslimin Indonesia (Parmusi) and Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), in efforts to further diffuse the Islamic vote and community leadership. For much of his rule, Soeharto was generally able to curb the influence of political Islam and but not totally emasculate its existence.
In 1999, following Soeharto’s resignation, Indonesia embarked on the electoral democracy path. The democratisation process led to a flurry of Islamic and Muslim-based political parties particularly after years of political marginalisation under Soeharto’s rule (Kadir 2004, Ufen 2009). More than twenty political parties contested in the 1999 General Election. By and large, these Islamic political parties fall under two broad categories: Islamic and Muslim-oriented parties (Kadir 2004, Ufen 2009). The Islamic parties officially proclaim their Islamic identity with the clear agenda to apply Shariah laws across the societal and political realms. Only Muslims are admitted into these parties. This list includes the United Development Party (PPP), Moon and Crescent Party (PBB) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
On the other hand, parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB) and National Mandate Party (PAN) belonged to the Muslim-oriented category. These parties draw their support mainly from the Muslim communities, but they also espouse a “religion neutral state ideology” (Pancasila) and are inclusive towards non-Muslims along their membership (Kadir 2004). The large number of Islamic political parties’ existence illustrate the divisions and diversity of opinions among the Indonesian Muslims.
With an overwhelming Muslim population (87%), there is the hypothetical risk for the “tyranny of the majority” situation to occur in Indonesia (Salim 2007). What if the Muslim constituents decide to vote in overwhelming numbers for Islamic political parties? It could be seen as a mandate for these parties to apply Shariah laws across all spectrums of the state and society. The non-Muslim minorities would be numerically helpless to oppose it. However, thelow-level of support for Islamic political parties from previous elections persisted into the 2009 April General Election seem to offer some respite.
Despite evidence of growing conservatism and Islamic influence such as the 2008 Anti-Pornography Bill and the increasing numbers of Shariah provincial bylaws, the overall support for Islamic political parties actually fell to their lowest level in the 2009 April General Election since the post-Soeharto years (Fealy 2009). When this trend is viewed together with the Democratic Party’s runaway success in the same election, it became clear that Muslim constituents are not voting solely on their religious belief. There are two possible reasons for this occurrence: the constituent’s personal socio-economic concerns and the existence of serious internal divisions among the various Islamic political parties.
Over the last two years, Lembaga Survei Indonesia (Indonesian Survey Institute) surveys revealed the constituents’ “shrinking confidence in Islamic parties’ ability to address pressing socio-economic issues” (Fealy 2009). Compared to previous administrations, Indonesia achieved a period of stable economic growth under Yudhoyono’s first presidential term. Yudhoyono was politically acute to include members of Islamic political parties into his cabinet. The combination of his ability to deliver steady economic growth and inclusion of ministers from Islamic political parties in his cabinet enables him to capture the confidence of the majority moderate Muslims.
Second, over the recent years, serious internal cracks have emerged among the three of the four largest Islamic political parties. Since 2004, PKB was headed by four different chairmen and has been involved in legal exchanges with other rival groups. The PPP suffered from faction divisions and inapt leadership due to personality and sectional differences. The PAN was deeply divided among over its nomination for the 2009 July Presidential election. These splits do not aid the parties’ causes but has resulted in further alienation from their support bases.
This essay has demonstrated that there not strong correlation between rising religion fervour and its challenge to the Pancasila philosophy. It also highlighted that at the polling booth, the majority of the Indonesia Muslim constituents would both consider both the secular-nationalist and a wide range of Islamic political parties partially the parties’ abilities to address socio-economic issues. For the reasons, it is currently safe to assume that current state of political Islam in Indonesia does not threat the Pancasila state.
References
Fealy, Greg. “Indonesia’s Islamic parties in decline” Inside Story. May 11 2009. http://inside.org.au/indonesia%E2%80%99s-islamic-parties-in-decline/ (accessed October 27, 2009)
Hefner, R.W. “Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia” Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000
Kadir, Suzaina. “Mapping Muslim politics in Southeast Asia after September 11” The Pacific Review, vol. 17, no. 2 (2004): 199-222.
Means, Gordon P. “Political Islam in Southeast Asia” 93-118. Malaysia: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2009.
Salim, Arksal. “Muslim Politics in Indonesia’s Democratization: The Religious Majority and the Rights of Minorities in the Post-Suharto Era” in Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance, McLeod, Ross and MacIntyre, eds., Singapore: ISEAS, 2007
Ufen, Andreas. “Mobilising Political Islam: Indonesia and Malaysia Compared” Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, vol. 47, no. 3 (2009): 308-333.
Last month in a period of three weeks, I visited five China cities. This trip could be sum up in three phrases: physical exhilarating, cultural enriching and geo-political awareness enlightening.The visit included UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Huangshan (often referred by Chinese as “The number one mountain under the Heavens”), the ancient Chinese Village of Hongcun, the classical gardens of Suzhou, the burial ground of the founder and first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty – Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and Hangzhou’s West Lake (featured on the RMB 1 dollar note).
Despite making this trip by myself, I never felt alone. I had the good fortune of travelling and interacting with many kind, helpful and interesting people (backpacking tourists and local residents) in every city along my journey. There is always a friend company in a hostel or along the streets. Such are the joys of backpacking 
My travel began from Anhui Province (Tunxi, Huangshan, Yixian, Shexian) to Zhejiang Province (Hangzhou) to Jiangsu Province (Suzhou and Nanjing) and finally China’s largest city – Shanghai. These authentic sights and the opportunities to interact with the local residents are captured in the following highlights.
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A. Shanghai – Huangshan Overnight Sleeper Train
My journey began when I caught an soft-sleeper overnight train from Shanghai to Huangshan (K8418, cabin interior). During the 15 hours journey, I chatted and shared my travel plans with many other travellers from different countries including Japan, USA, Sri Lanka and of course China. Soon I got acquainted with a young Chinese couple and we decided to hike Huangshan together. |
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B. Tunxi Old Street After a long train ride, I decided to stay overnight in Tunxi town (where the Huangshan railway station) was located. I stayed in Old Street Youth Hostel, where the area’s old architectures were preserved and now transformed into tourism-oriented enclave.
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C. Huangshan
Huangshan in Anhui’s province is one of China’s most scenic spots. The mountain range is characterised by numerous gravity defying odd-shaped pine trees, steep trails, deep gorges with lush greenery and grotesque rock formations representing the arch-typical Chinese landscape (shanshui) paintings. With my new founded Chinese friends, we began our 2 days hike from the Western Steps (also known as the back entrance) and exit from the Eastern Steps as recommended by the hostel. The Western Steps landscape is filled with numerous strange and interesting rock formations such as Monkey Gazing at the Sea, Fairy Lady Flower and the Mobile Phone rock. The Eastern Steps is more steep and gives you the opportunity to appreciate the majestic mountainous range. Many other celebrated sights include Yingke Song (Welcome Guest Pine) and the Tiandu Feng (Apex of the Celestial Capital Peak).
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D. Hongchun and Tangyue Memorial Archway
Apart from the Huangshan, there are another two popular tourist attractions which can be easily managed by oneself without booking those overpriced guided tours. They are Hongcun village and the Tangyue Memorial Archways. Just travel like the locals and use the long distance public buses from Huangshan long distance bus terminal to get to Yixan and Shexian counties respectively.
D1. Hongcun Village Hongcun with its water features and distinct Anhui architecture has becomes a popular subject amongst many Chinese art students. In 2004, this cherished village was commemorated as part of a China Post “Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui” stamp series.
D2. Tangyue Memorial Archway
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E. Hangzhou – West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Longjing Village
Around the prosperous city of Hangzhou lies one of China’s most popular attraction, the famed West Lake or Xihu. The beauty and the wealth of this city led to a claim that Hangzhou“beyond dispute (is) the finest and the noblest in the world” attributed to Marco Polo. When I was finally able to pull myself from West Lake sights, I visited Lingyin Temple (Temple of the Soul’s Retreat), one of China’s largest monastery and Longjing Village. Longjing Village is the famed green tea growing area that grows the popular Longjing tea (龙井茶). During my visit, I was invited to a farmer’s actual house and had the opportunity to sample the different grades of Longjing tea.
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F. Suzhou
This famous saying praises the beauties of Suzhou and Hangzhou. Suzhou often referred as the “Venice of the East” for its gardens, stone bridges and canals across the city. The beauty of Suzhou’s classical gardens was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage under the “Classical Gardens of Suzhou”. These gardens include Master of the Net Garden. The Master of the Net garden is the smallest of the classical gardens but because of its size, it was easy to appreciate the beauty of the garden.
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G. Tongli
About 27km from Suzhou, lies the small water village of Tongli. Within Tongli are picturesque waterways and bridges, famed garden (Tuisi Garden -Retreat and Reflection) and also China Sex Museum.
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H. Nanjing
Nanjing is capital of Jiangsu Province which include Suzhou. Nanjing (the Southen Capital), together with Beijing (the Northen Capital), Luoyang and Chang’an (now Xi’an) formed the “Four Historical capitals of China” (中国四大古都). Nanjing is also home to one of the largest concentration of tertiary institutions in China. This city is also the final resting places of major statesmen in Chinese history including Sun Yat-sen (founder of the post-imperial China) and Emperor Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang, founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty). Travelling to Nanjing from Shanghai is easy and comfortable via a 3 hours train ride on China Railway Highspeed (CRH) trains
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I. Shanghai
Shanghai, China’s largest city and the symbol of China’s growing economic stature on the world’s stage. Ever since the days of the Western nations trade concessions settlements, Shanghai has been one of Asia’s financial and trading hub. The modern Shanghai is now a buzzing, vibrant and energetic metropolis. The energy of this city is simply tremendous.There is something for everyone in this city. For arts fans, the Shanghai Museum is a treat. This museum housed an mind boggling first class collection of Chinese arts including pottery, ancient currency and sculptures. To appreciate the origins and the development of this city, the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre is a must, even just to see the mini model of the city sprawl. Fans of la mien and xiao long baos, you can finally have one’s fill in Shanghai. While you’re there, get introduced to shenjian too, a dish similar to xiao long. The Shanghainese cuisine is more noodles and bread based. Let’s just say, I had my fill of xiao long and dumplings for a very long time. For the defenders of the world’s economy (aka shopaholic), after your saving rounds in Ginza or Fifth Avenue, you will have your hands full in Huaihai Lu and Nanjing Lu.
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You can view my additional China holiday pictures trip from my 2009-Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangsu-Shanghai-Trip collection.
Resurrection – Piero della Francesca
To all Christian readers out there, may the joy and blessings of the triumphant Risen Lord come and remain vividly in your life. Happy blessed and holy Easter, everyone!
Like to discover sacred music to accompany the Easter season experience? I recommend ABC Classic FM’s For the God who Sings program. This week’s selection recreated the anticipation and the joys associated with the Easter vigil mass. For the Church no longer moans for the death of her spouse - the Christ. Christ has conquered death and he now lives among the Church. May the lighted Paschal (Easter) Candle rekindle your faith and the sense of hope. Amen.
Wishing everyone especially friends and visitors a blessed and meaningful Christmas and safe, healthy, peaceful and happy 2009.
To all Christians, hope you experienced the joy, peace and hope associated with the birth of Christ this Christmas.
O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoyces
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine!
O night when Christ was born
O night divine!
O night, O night divine!
Sometimes when I’m feel stressed or negative, I like to look at pictures of Buddha. Buddha always looks so serene and yet focused.
Here are some of my favourite pictures of the Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Kamakura). You can click on the thumbnail to view the picture in different resolutions.
My current favourite picture of the Daibutsu
Vietnam is a beautiful country with diverse richness in every sense – people, history, natural produce and amazing sights. Recently, I had the opportunity to experience all these first hand in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon and Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam).
The friendly, good natured nature and genuine warm Vietnamese people struck me when I stepped out of the airport, hotel and onto the streets. There are plenty of motorbikes taxis (xe om) and street hawkers but they are not rude nor overly pushy. Almost all the time, a “No, thank you” and a simple smile from me is returned with a bigger smile.
Vietnam’s history is chequered with many foreign powers influences. Chinese, French and American powers had left cultural, institutional, economics and psychological impressions on this rich and fertile land. The Chinese brought in the Chinese language, important institutions like University, monetary policy and Confucianism. The period of the French colonisation, interference and exploitation left a bitter aftertaste in the older Vietnamese’ psyche. The French contributed in the development of the Vietnamese romanised alphabet (Quoc Ngu), the introduction of Christianity (Catholicism) and many colonial cultural artifacts like the Opera Houses of Hanoi and Saigon. The America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, developed the Vietnamese sense of triumph over externals threats and a deep appreciation for their autonomy that came at such great human cost.
Vietnam’s rich and fertile land fed by the great Mekong and Red River Deltas and its coastline bordered by the South China Sea meant that the country has some amazing quality of fresh produces and cuisine. Every day while I was there, I had either bowls of Pho (rice noodles with rich clear beef broth), Bun Cha (grilled pork, herbs with rice vermicelli served in vinegar-ed fish sauce) or Com (rice). The food was GREAT! If you love tropical fruits, you would reckon Vietnam is the gateway to Eden. Dragon fruit, logan, lychee, mangosteen, bananas, jambu and even strawberries 
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There are so many breath taking sights in Vietnam. Places like Ha Long Bay, the Cu Chi Tunnels, Cao Dai Temple, Ben Thanh Market and War Remnants Museum are my must-see places around Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Below are a summary of pictures taken during my journey. Each picture is linked to even more pictures from the location. You can find my entire selection Vietnam trip pictures (even places not mentioned in the above) from my flickr Vietnam collection.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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Tay Ninh Temple – Cao Dai Holy See
Cao Dai is a Vietnam indigenous religion, officially established |
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Cu Chi Tunnels
The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of connecting The Vietnamese guerrillas used these tunnels as hiding spots |
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Ben Thanh Market
During the day, it is an exciting places to have an authentic In the evening, the market closes and cooked to order seafood |
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Ho Chi Minh City Sights
The sights and colour of Vietnam’s economic engine which includes pictures of the Notre Dame Cathedral – Saigon. |
Hanoi
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War Remanats Museum
See the pictures taken by military journalists and photographers. Read about the various accounts of the Vietnam War from the war correspondents and the Vietnamese side of the story. The chemical warfare section was very graphical as it narrated the unbelievable pain and suffering unleashed on the civilian and Vietcong during the Vietnam War. Pictures from this section had been omitted in my photo collections. There is no JUST WAR in this world. |
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Hanoi Water Puppets
Vietnamese water puppetry, literally means “puppets that dance on water.” The tradition dates back as far as the tenth century when it originated in the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. When the rice fields would flood the villages, villagers would entertain each other using this puppet form. The puppets are built out of wood and the shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. The appearance is of the puppets moving over the water. When the rice fields would flood the villagers, would entertain each other using this puppet form.(wiki) Video of the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater display (12 secs) |
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Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. (wiki) |
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Harvesting Rice in Vietnam
Vietnam is the world’s second largest producers of rice. |
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Hanoi City Sights
A selection of pictures taken in Hanoi which reflects the sights and colour of Vietnam’s capital – Hanoi |
“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain…”
Exodus 20:7
In recent months, the Singapore property market has slowdowned with Q1 sales numbers plummeted to their lowest level since the 2003 SARS epidemic.
However to celebrate a fully sold commercial development with invocation of God (see the enlarged version linked to the above image) certainly leaves a questionable impression.
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