Publications

In 2021, Southeast Asia faced significant natural disasters, including Hurricane Odette and Typhoon Rai in the Philippines, resulting in over 200 deaths, and major floods in eight Malaysian states. Indonesia is grappling with extreme heat waves forecasted until 2052, leading to increased forest fires and the risk of drought, impacting agricultural production. Additionally, Indonesia faces…

This handbook provides a detailed analysis of the financial intricacies within the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) for Indonesia. This study analyzed funding sources, highlighting the prevalence of loans over grants and the impact of non-concessional loans on Indonesia’s financial resources. It also discusses the risks and challenges of overreliance on private funding and suggests…

Image by Unsplash/Alexandre Lallemand Josua Mata is the Secretary General of SENTRO, a progressive multi-sector trade union alliance in the Philippines. The text presented here is an excerpt from a conversation that Liliane Danso-Dahmen, regional director of the RLS office in Manila, had with Josua in October 2023. This conversation breaks down the role of…

Image by Rappler The results of the recent important political exercise show that the Philippines is yet to realize the ideals necessary for a functioning democracy. Civic education can play a pivotal role in the realization of democracy given its aim to develop informed, effective, and responsible citizenry who can better engage in governance. Civic…

Image by Rappler The unfortunate reality is that what the teaching of Philippine History suffers is symptomatic of a greater, more sinister ill that has long affected Philippine education in general. This crisis predates even the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic that has overtaken conventional educational approaches in the country. Republic Act No. 10533,…

Image by Unsplash/Yusuf Sabqi The Indonesian decolonization war years were a complex process in an endless conflict involving political and military leaders, diplomacy versus armed struggle, the Republican government in Yogyakarta, communist and radical Islamic groups, and social bandits, as well as the conflict between the republican government and political elites in the Indonesian periphery….

Image by Pexels/Phearak Chamrien Malaysia’s decolonization and independence narrative is relatively unique in the region of Southeast Asia. Aside from Singapore and Brunei, it is one of the countries that has not experienced armed independence struggle, civil war, the overthrow of a dictator and, broadly, any kind of social revolution. The brutal suppression of the…

The dominance of Malay-Muslim discourse in the public and political sphere is set to continue into the future, if not, deepening further. The ‘Islamisation arms race’ that has preoccupied past administrations seems set to continue as BERSATU and PAS challenge PKR and UMNO on their Islamic credentials to govern. At the moment, there is no…

In Pakil, Laguna, billionaire tycoon tycoon Enrique Razon’s Prime Metro Power Holdings Corp. and JBD Water Power are implementing a 1400 MW Ahunan Pumped-Storage Hydropower Project, also known as Ahunan Dam, on the east bank of Laguna de Bay. Over 300 hectares of land are expected to be impacted by the project. This will cause…

Image by Greenpeace In February 1986, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in major regions of the Philippines to call for the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos. Widely known as a non-violent revolt, the so-called EDSA People Power Revolution struck the final blow to two decades of authoritarian rule and eventually paved the…