Although overt didacticism of the pre-war years was no longer as evident, writers of the 1950s continued to be guided by the motivation to inform their readers. Indeed, this was especially evident in their single-minded desire to expose the ills of society and the subsequent efforts geared towards producing, maintaining and perpetuating a literature tailored to the maxim of “art for society”. To this end, there was thus the same concern with making their message clear. The literature of the 1950s thus showed structural similarities with pre-war works in so far as they showed a heavy reliance on literary conventions which facilitated easy identification of and with the moral of the story.

As an expression of the consciousness which pervaded literary production during this period, the writers' own social position and the overall condition of Malay society at the time, the literature of the 1950s took on a distinct character. This interplay of forces generated forms of perceptions which held the Malay masses as victims of colonialism and feudalism. In the literature of the 1950s as a whole, there thus took shape a distinct perception of social inequality in terms of “them” and “us”. In the one camp were grouped the British and the Malay élite, the privileged of society who constituted “them”. In the other, were the masses be they in the city or the rural areas, all of whom were characterized by their common socio-economic relation to society as a whole. They were perceived essentially as the socially-deprived and disadvantaged, and writers expressed their sense of common identity and solidarity with them.

With this division clearly mapped out, the literature of the period began to make clear its thematic concerns. Moral and ethical issues which largely dominated pre-war writings still appeared in post-wars works, but their importance was diminished. They were superseded by other issues which were largely social in nature.

Participants distinguish three types of stories in boria sketches: kisah rumahtangga (domestic stories), kisah masyarakat (social stories), and kisah propaganda politik (political stories). Of the forty-two shows observed, the stories of six were domestic, twenty- five were social, and eleven were political. This categorization appears to relate essentially to the occasion on which boria shows are performed (see Chapter 2). It only gives a rough guide to content as constructing a classification based on the subject of the sketches would be more complicated. Although all boria stories have a similar content, and are acted out with slapstick and witty dialogue, within the stories certain themes recur often, regardless of the type. The basic theme is the traditional one of Malay drama, order versus disorder; and it is especially concerned with the roles of morals and authority in the need to maintain an orderly progress within a changing society. This underlies the more concrete themes that provide the plots for particular sketches, namely, youth versus age, the old versus the new, male versus female, and marital, family, community and national unity versus disunity. These are expressed within a limited series of relationships, namely, husband and wife; parent and child; in- dividual and government official; Malay and non-Malay (which is virtually synonymous with Muslim and non-Muslim); family and neighbours. Though each story tends to centre on a single relationship, it usually succeeds in covering a range of other relationships as well. This chapter will eleborate more on the themes, relationships and audience's comments. The boria sketches (A-J) outlined in the preceding chapter will be referred to. Their titles are:

1. A. Kisah Kenduri Kahwin [Wedding story]

2. B. Rumah Siap Pahat Berbunyi [Though the house is finished, the chisel still sounds]

3. C. Kisah Gitar Rancak [Pop music]

4. D. Kisah Anasir Barat [Western influence]

5. E. Kisah Nombor Ekor [Gambling on numbers]

6. F. Kisah Rumah Sewa [Rented houses]

7. G. Kisah Bomoh dengan Doktor [The traditional curer and the modern doctor]

8. H[…]

It is customary in Singapore to prepare and publish population projections after the results of the latest decennial census of population are made available. Following the completion of the 1980 Census of Population, three different projections were eventually published in 1983. The first set by sex, age group, and ethnic group for intervals of five years from 1980 to 2030 was prepared and published by the Department of Statistics in Singapore Census of Population 1980: Administrative Report. The second set by sex and age group for every five years up to 2030 was prepared and published by the then Singapore Family Planning and Population Board as Population Projections for Singapore, 1980–2030. The third set by sex and age group for every five years up to 2070 was prepared by Saw Swee-Hock and published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies as Population Projections for Singapore, 1980–2070.

The above population projections are somewhat dated now because they are all based on population figures obtained from the census conducted in June 1980 and fertility indices derived from births occurring in 1980. The availability of mid-1985 population estimates by sex and age as well as fertility indices for 1985 enables us to compute a more up-to-date set of population projections. Furthermore, the availability of the relevant data collected in the annual labour-force survey conducted in 1985 makes it possible to proceed a stage further to compute a new set of labour force projections.

There are good reasons for preparing the new population and labour force projections now rather than years later when the figures from the next decennial census to be held in 1990 become available. The results of the projections have been used in conjunction with the current review of population trends and policies to ensure that the demographic goal of stabilizing the population in the future can be attained. The new projections will also provide more up-to-date figures to users who may wish to utilize them for a variety of reasons, such as the forecasting of future demand for housing, water, electricity, and other goods and services that are dependent on the size of the population.

In the 1940s a consultant recommended that the Philippines should maintain a ratio of 40 per cent forest and 60 per cent non-forest land uses (Hyman 1983). Using a slope criterion, 18 per cent was the cut-off slope that would provide for this ratio. Since then the 18 per cent slope criterion has been enshrined as law – P.D.705 specifies that public lands exceeding that slope may only be alienated for forestry purposes. This in effect means that discussion on or about the forests of the Philippines would centre on the upland areas and the upland resource base.

These upland areas are being subjected today to ever-increasing pressure arising from the activities of different interested parties concerned with exploiting the resource base – the forests, the land, the minerals, and the hydro-power potential. The situation is a complicated one but it is possible to identify the main protagonists, each interested in the forests and the uplands in one way or another:

1. the Bureau of Forestry Development, which has taken over the functions formerly exercised by the Bureau of Forestry, is the governmental agency responsible for all matters concerning the forests in the public domain In the Philippines;

2. the National Power Corporation, concerned with the development of hydro-power resources in upland watershed areas;

3. the illegal loggers concerned with hardwood timber extraction;

4. the traditional occupiers of the more remote forested uplands – the Negritoes, who number only a few thousand and whose hunting and gathering way of life poses no threat to the forests they wander in;

5. the mountain tribes (Igorots) in the Cordillera region of North Luzon who practise sedentary agriculture based on rice cultivated on hill terraces, with some vegetable growing and some dryland crops cultivated on hill slopes;

6. the traditional upland groups, some of Musiim faith, known collectively as non-Muslim cultural minorities, who practise kaingin or shifting cultivation and whose activities in recent years have resulted in widespread deforestation of the uplands;[…]

The idea of regional automotive complementation was first proposed by the United Nations Team Report on ASEAN in 1969. Subsequently, a meeting of the private automotive sector was convened in Bangkok on 29–30 October 1971 to programme the development of the ASEAN automotive industry. Representatives of the private automotive sector agreed at that meeting that the developing countries of Southeast Asia needed to industrialize more rapidly and therefore it would be useful to change the small home markets in each of the countries into larger ones to allow reasonable economies of scale, but for capital-intensive industries this need not foreclose the possibility of each participating country establishing its own national integrated automotive industry. To prevent uneconomic fragmentation of manufacturing activities once a larger market was established, manufacturers and assembly plants using imported, completely knocked down (CKD) packs would be limited to a smaller number as participants in the programme. The delegates also agreed that ASEAN governments should provide the necessary institutional framework, such as local content concept and tariff and non-tariff preferences, to support the project.

Inspired by the prospects of co-operation, GAAKINDO (Association of Assemblers and Sole Agents in Indonesia), convened the private automotive business at Jakarta on 23–25 June 1976 to formally organize the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF). The goals of the AAF are (1) to arrive at an orderly regional system for parts manfacturing and distribution, and (2) to develop and promote component manufacturing capability in ASEAN countries.

The AAF proposed to ASEAN COIME (Committee on Industry, Minerals and Energy) that an ASEAN Automotive Industry Development Plan be set up by an independent body of technical consultants with the following terms of reference:

1. Development Objectives

a. To develop the automotive industries in the ASEAN region on a viable basis to meet the requirements of the region and to tap potential export markets for automotive parts and components.

b. To induce the development of auxiliary industries which will accelerate the overall industrial development of ASEAN countries.

This chapter looks in detail at the determination of official freight rates.' The first part reviews the evolution of the official tariff since Independence. The next two parts examine the commodity structure of the tariff and the relationship between the official tariff and actual freight rates. The final part considers the policy implications.

EVOLUTION OF THE OFFICIAL INTERISLAND FREIGHT TARIFF

Interisland freight rates were regulated originally by the Netherlands Indies Government as a check upon the monopoly of the KPM. Proposals for rate increases had to be submitted to the Department of Economic Affairs for approval and, since increases meant greater government expenditure for shipment of the large tonnage of official cargoes, this was no mere formality. Submissions were carefully scrutinized and negotiations were tough.

After Independence the concern to regulate the now “foreign” KPM was very much greater. Yet in some ways the KPM found negotiations easier with the Indonesian Government. The new officials lacked their predecessors' economic and commercial expertise. Less capable of attacking submissions on the basis of their cost and revenue estimates, they relied instead on social and political arguments: the KPM had made excellent profits before Independence, it had accumulated good reserves and its ships were in fine condition, therefore the company ought to carry essential consumption items at low rates without regard to profits. In effect, the KPM won the battles, because the government accepted its cost and revenue estimates, but not the war, because the government refused to admit that these were the decisive considerations. Unable to fight on moral terrain, the company had to stand firm on the position that as a private firm it could not carry on business in Indonesia without an acceptable return on shareholders' funds. As long as the Indonesian Government remained unwilling to accept the dislocation which would be caused by the departure of the KPM, this was a powerful argument.

Foreign Trade and Economic Development

Japan's economy is often referred to as an “export-led economy”. The merchandise exports as a percentage of Japan's GDP, however, paint a different picture. According to the World Development Report 1986, the ratio for Japan was 15 per cent as of 1984, much lower than that for the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany, that is, 29 per cent, 25 per cent, and 31 per cent respectively. As for ASEAN member countries, the 1984 figure for Indonesia was 23 per cent, the Philippines 21 per cent, Thailand 24 per cent, Malaysia 56 per cent, and Singapore over 100 per cent. The fact that Japan's ratio has been relatively low may derive partly from its geographical and historical isolation. Moreover, since Japan's domestic market is so large with a sizeable population and a high per capita income, its dependence on the foreign markets to generate GDP is correspondingly lower. Perhaps for the same reason, the ratio for the United States has been low, registering only 8 per cent in 1983.

In the rapid growth period after World War II, the annual growth rate of Japan's export in real terms averaged 14.7 per cent during the 1965–73 period — slightly higher than the annual average growth rate of manufacturing production at 14.4 per cent, and much higher than that of GDP at 9.8 per cent. However, the contribution of the domestic demand to economic growth has consistently been larger than that of the export, as confirmed by several empirical studies.

Analysis on the Competitiveness of Manufactured Exports

Japan's Changing Trade Structure

The structure of Japan's foreign trade is dominated by the import of primary commodities and by the export of manufactured products. (See Table 2.1.) Manufactured exports as a percentage of the total merchandise exports have constituted more than 90 per cent during the last two decades. On the other hand, manufactured imports as a percentage of the total merchandise imports have been between 23 and 29 per cent.

A puzzle revealed by the previous two chapters is that, apart from PELNI, shipping firms have remained so small. At the end of 1982 no other firm owned more than 9 ships or, if ships leased from P.T, PANN are included, 12 ships. In the 1950s or 1960s this result would hardly have been surprising. At that time firms were still in their infancy and capital and foreign exchange were scarce indeed. Since the late 1960s, however, these constraints have become less pressing. Large amounts of capital have been invested in deepsea shipping — both liners and tramps — as well as in many other sectors of the Indonesian economy. Yet even interisland shipping firms associated with powerful economic groups have remained modest in size. Some explanation other than lack of capital is therefore required.

This chapter argues that interisland shipping firms are subject to diseconomies of scale beyond about 10 vessels. It is further argued that these diseconomies are associated with a life cycle of growth and decline. Such behaviour has important implications for new entry and the effectiveness of competition. The special case of PELNI will be considered in the next chapter.

THE TYPES OF INTERISLAND SHIPPING FIRMS

Under the requirements of Regulation No. 2/1969, interisland shipping firms must be legally registered perusabaan terbatas or P.T. (limited liability companies), perusabaan negara or P.N. (state enterprises), or perusahaan daerab or P.D. (regional government enterprises). Since PELNI was converted to the status of a state-owned limited liability company in November 1975, no state enterprises now remain. Apart from three surviving regional government enterprises — a form of organization introduced under the Old Order — all firms are now P.T, companies. According to the old Dutch company law and terminology which remain in force, the basic form of die P.T. company is a dewan komisaris (board) which, under a presiden komisaris (chairman), exercises supervision over the direksi (management), which is under the command of the presiden direkturot direktur utoma (general manager).'