After one century of celebrating the IWD, the United Nation IWD theme this year – Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress For All – invites us to pause, take an audit of our state of gender equality and return to the original spirit of the IWD.

As we celebrate the achievements of women around the world, not least women in Asia who have even broken the traditional glass ceilings to become heads of States in their respective countries, we are also aware of the fact that the majority of women, especially here in Asia, are still entrapped in a patriarchal framework of the society. Jobs are still categorized in traditional roles which are based on gender. Gender biases are still prevalent not least helped by the masculine regime of the Government.

Even as we ponder the accomplishments and deficiencies of the struggle for gender equality, we are reminded that we have a hundred years, and even more, of efforts behind us – we are standing on a firm foundation. Therefore, building on the legacies of those who had gone before us, we must realized that there is only one way forward, that is, moving ahead to complete the task to make equality a reality in the world.

There is no social equality without gender equality.

“Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress For All.”

Solidarity With All!

Steven Sim
Executive Secretary
Network of Social Democracy In Asia

Steven Sim, Executive Secretary, scheekeong@gmail.com, +6012 5907 507

Thursday, 25 February, 2010 | Penang, Malaysia

The Network of Social Democracy in Asia, in collaboration with the Jakarta-based Institute for Welfare Democracy organized a roundtable discussion on the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) in Jakarta last Monday, 22 February 2010.

The discussion was titled: “Is A Win-Win Solution Possible?: The Pros and Cons of ACFTA”. The panelists were key Indonesia leaders in the discourse on ACFTA:

1. Ibu Rieke Diah Pitaloka, an Indonesia Member of Parliament (MP) from Partai Demokrasi Indonesia-Perjuangan (PDI-P),
2. Bapak Yanuar Rizky, an economist and the shadow Finance Minister of the Kabinet Indonesia Muda (Young Indonesia Cabinet)
3. Bapak Anton Supit, President of APINDO, the Association of Indonesian Entrepreneurs,
4. Bapak Timboel Siregar, Secretary-General of OPSI, the All-Indonesia Workers Organization,
5. Bapak Silmy Karim, Chairman II of HIPMI, the Association of Indonesia Young Entrepreneurs,
6. Mr. Charles Santiago, a Member of Parliament from Malaysia and director of Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization was invited to

1. the panel to provide a regional perspective on the issue.

The discussion was moderated by Bapak Martin Manurung, a member of the Network’s Steering Committee.

About 40 participants filled the hall to take part in the roundtable discussion, including leading academicians, labour activists, students, industrialists and representatives from the Indonesian Government such as the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Agriculture.

Bapak Budiman Sudjatmiko, an Indonesian MP from PDI-P and a member of the Network’s Steering Committee opened the discussion by setting the context of Indonesia’s position within ACFTA and the country’s preparedness to face the consequences of free trade agreements.

While the roundtable discussion did not arrive at a single resolution, all the panelists broadly agree on three key points; 1) free trade agreements must be made between equal partners in order to achieve mutual benefits, 2) Indonesia did not have the necessary social protections and economic empowerment for workers and local industry to face the consequences of ACFTA, and 3) the Government must play a more proactive role to mitigate the weaknesses of the social security system and to empower local industries before embarking on ACFTA.

The 4-hour discussion also saw a rare consensus between OPSI and APINDO to face the challenges of ACFTA. The Malaysian panelist, Mr. Charles Santiago observed that the trend is similar in other ASEAN countries as well, where local businesses are beginning to protest the negative impact of FTA on the local industries which are usually not empowered to compete with bigger corporations from China or other major economies of the world. He called on ASEAN governments to enforce the ASEAN Social Charter, a minimum benchmark for social protections, especially of the rights of workers.

The Network of Social Democracy in Asia is a group of political parties, pre-party formations, progressive politicians, scholars and activists in the region who share social democratic values and perspectives. Members aim to establish a permanent dialogue to exchange experiences and learning in advocating for reforms along social democratic lines and to encourage democratic and participatory party-building.

More information about the Network can be found in our website at www.socdem.asia

Steven Sim Chee Keong

Executive Secretary
Network of Social Democracy in Asia
www.socdem.asia

Thursday, 4 February, 2010 | Penang, Malaysia

THE NETWORK OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IN ASIA ESTABLISHES REGIONAL SECRETARIAT IN PENANG, MALAYSIA

The Network of Social Democracy in Asia is pleased to announce the establishment of our regional secretariat in Penang, Malaysia. The decision was made following the Network’s 2nd Regional Conference held in Penang November last year.

The Network’s Steering Committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur this week finalized the decision to select Penang as the location of our secretariat due to the state’s vibrant civil society and democratic culture. The State Government of Penang which was elected into office in the Country’s March 2008 General Election has also been commended both nationally and internationally for its progressive reform agenda.

The Network of Social Democracy in Asia is a group of political parties, pre-party formations, progressive politicians, scholars and activists in the region who share social democratic values and perspectives. Members aim to establish a permanent dialogue to exchange experiences and learning in advocating for reforms along social democratic lines and to encourage democratic and participatory party-building. Member-party from Malaysia is the Democratic Action Party, a partner in the People’s Pact which formed the main Opposition in the Malaysian Parliament.

The Steering Committee is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Steven Sim Chee Keong as the Executive Secretary overseeing the operation of the secretariat. Mr. Sim has many years of experience in local politics and has served as aide to Members of Parliament and more recently to the Penang State Government.

More information about the Network can be found in our website at www.socdem.asia

Steven Sim Chee Keong
Executive Secretary
Network of Asian Social Democrats
www.socdem.asia

Conference Programme

Conference Summary by Norbert von Hofmann

Conference Paper: Public Transportation – The Way to Go by Lim Mah Hui

Conference Paper: Social Protection by Maris dela Cruz

Venue: Parkroyal, Penang, Malaysia

Draft Program

The conference continues the process of strengthening political groups in the region committed to the basic values of social democracy that started with the first meeting of the network in Manila in May 2009. At the conference, an exchange and  identification of  local governance practices that both shape the approach to participatory politics and the delivery of services and public goods will describe the sessions.  Sharing on how these local governance practices  contribute to the building of progressive political parties along social-democratic lines will also be facilitated.

Denden Alicias, July 2009

Participatory governance processes have mushroomed around the world but a number of studies have already pointed out to the failures of sustaining the participatory projects and in empowering ordinary citizens.  In this article, I draw attention to a complicated set of enabling  factors  for  success  in participatory governance.   The  insights and  lessons  here are  culled  from  the  studies  of  Rebecca  Abers  on  the  internationally  acclaimed participatory budget policy in Porto Alegre, Brazil.  With the rise of progressive political parties  in  Southeast  Asia,  coupled  with  the  introduction  of  participatory  governance spaces  in  conjunction  with  decentralization,  the  insights  from  Porto  Alegre  may  be helpful in thinking about local governance transformations in the region.

• A  dual  process  of  commitment  building  is  necessary  for  the  success  of participatory institutions.

State  actors  (politicians  and  bureaucrats)  and  ordinary  citizens  should  be motivated  to support,  take  part  in,  and  respect  participatory  processes.   Without  the motivation  and commitment, polices are unlikely to be empowered and participatory.

Taking a  realistic  view of  the motivations of  state actors, Abers  (n.d., 2000) argues  that political will is not enough.  Reform efforts of progressive state actors create political and practical  burdens  that,  more  often  than  not,  they  cannot  withstand.    Politically,  the attempt to transfer power to a forum, where ordinary citizens can make decisions, means taking power away from those that have it and who also possess the resources and ability to  resist  such  change.   Practical  problems  also  arise  in  participatory  process  especially when  the  state administration pushing  it  is  inefficient and  lack  funding.    “Participatory decision-making  requires money  to organize  the process and  financial, operational, and legal capacity to implement its results”.

To read more, click here.

Roots and Spread of Financial Crisis

After the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US first burst into the headlines of mainstream newspapers in June 2007[1], there have been two general categories of the many discussions that have taken place regarding the roots of the global financial – and now, economic – crisis, both of which views are important but do not usually get discussed together. It is crucial to see the importance of their interaction – the dynamics of one on the other – rather than either in isolation.

One view can be labeled the ‘temporary excess’ point of view which, to put it plainly, argues that greed leading to excessive risk-taking, lax regulations, excessive overzealous brokerage and rating agencies caused the crisis we have on our hands today. To resolve the crisis, therefore, efforts should be made to fix, ‘tweak’, and improve upon the technical aberrations of what is – to those who subscribe to this view – an otherwise perfect financial system. This view is not completely incorrect, though it is incomplete.

The other view, the ‘aggregate demand generation’ point of view believes there is as a root cause – a  systemic, structural flaw in the whole system of capitalist-driven finance that led to the global financial crisis. We believe that flaw lies in the problem of income inequality. As we shall see below, tackling the root, structural cause is of utmost importance if we are to prevent – or at least mitigate – future financial crises of the nature we are going through today. As Thomas I. Palley, the then-assistant director of public policy of AFL-CIO, put it when talking about yet another financial crisis that occurred in the US eight years ago:

To read more, click here.

In her visit to Indonesia, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Indonesia was not only the most populous Muslim country in the world, but also had been able to prove that democracy, Islam and modernity could exist in parallel. At a news conference after a bilateral meeting, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayudha strengthened Clinton’s statement when he said that, because of the country’s active role in pushing intercivilization, religious and cultural dialogue, Indonesia would be a good partner for the United States in reaching out to the Muslim world.

Despite terrorists bombings, the basic landscape in the country is viewed as moderate and democratic. Truthfully, the view that civilian sovereignty is incompatible with Islam and that democracy is somehow un-Islamic is neither popular nor accepted in Indonesia.

Indeed, the idea that democracy is un-Islamic is unpopular in the Muslim world in general. European expansion to the Middle East, as “the center of the Islamic world,” in the early 19th century was welcomed enthusiastically, mainly because it also carried hope of release from the “grasp” of Osmanian rule. Many laid hope in the principles of freedom, equality and kinship in deciding the formation of the nation state. But hopes quickly faded, because the basic principles of the French Revolution were not carried over to the colonies.

To legitimize discrimination and conquest, Western colonial governments needed ideological justification. Edward Said brilliantly expressed this matter in his book, “Orientalism,” saying the West uses assumptions about the Oriental economy and culture as a tool for discrimination and political control.

To read more, click here.

For details on the exhibition, click here.

Globalization has ended in massive failure.

One response to this crisis has been to dump export-oriented industrialization and reemphasize the primacy of the national market in sustaining economic growth.

Another response, complementary to this, has been to build regional associations or regional blocs.

Regional economic blocs are not new.  However, some of the more prominent ones have either not moved beyond a primitive stage, as in the case of SAARC in South Asia, or have been based on neoliberal principles, like ASEAN in Southeast Asia.  ASEAN’s idea of integration is to see it as a step towards full-scale globalization, a process that is termed “open regionalism.”

The most interesting efforts at integration, in the view of many, are those taking place in Latin America, among them Trade Treaty of the Peoples and ALBA or the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas to which eight countries now belong.  These experiences are at an early stage and yet they already contain lessons for other parts of the world.  It is for this reason that the organizers of this conference decided to hold it in Asuncion, bringing in activists and government officials from Asia and Africa to interact with people in this region to discuss the lessons that developments here have for the rest of the world.

For many of us from outside Latin America, the dynamics of ALBA hold particular interest.  One item that fascinates us is the use of barter as a key method of trade, for instance, the exchange of Venezuelan oil for Bolivian soybeans or of Venezuelan oil for medical services rendered by Cuban volunteers.  Another is the subsidization of the oil needs of 14 Caribbean countries by Venezuela , which sells fuel to them at 40 per cent off the world price.  We are intrigued by the comment of President Hugo Chavez during the World Social Forum in Caracas in 2006 that these practices “go beyond the logic of capitalism.”

To read more, click here.