Ali Hapsah's Corner

Tulisan ini memuat sekilas pengalaman saya dalam menghadiri konferensi yang diadakan oleh Canadian South East Asian Studies pada tanggal 14 -16 Oktober 2011. Bagi saya kehadiran saya di konferensi ini menjadi sesuatu yang istimewa karena konferensi ini akan menjadi konferensi internasional pertama yang akan saya hadiri untuk mempresentasikan beberapa temuan dalam peneliatan S3 saya. Satu kebahagian tersendiri karena baru kali ini saya punya kesempatan untuk melakukan perjalanan keluar negeri. Beberapa kesempatan sebelumnya tidak bisa saya gunakan karena adanya kendala visa yang belum juga disetujui sampai pada hari pelaksanaan konferensi. Dalam buku program konferensi yang dikirimkan melalui kepada saya, terlihat dengan jelas pada halaman sponsor bahwa KJRI Toronto menjadi salah satu sponsor kegiatan ini. Dalam benak saya mengatakan bahwa konferensi ini pasti mempunyai nilai strategis dimata KJRI sehingga KJRI berkenan menjadi salah satu sponsor untuk kegiatan ini. Bagi saya pribadi me

Dalam satu dasawarsa terakhir, jumlah pelajar Indonesia yang melanjutkan pendidikan di Victoria University mengalami pertumbuhan yang cukup signifikan. Pada tahun 2010 diperkirakan mencapai sekitar 60 orang. Angka ini dianggap cukup besar dibanding pada tahun 2002 yang hanya berkisar sekitar 8 orang. Mayoritas diantara para pelajar tersebut mengambil program pasca sarjana (Postgraduate) terutama untuk tingkat doctoral. Beberapa diantara mereka adalah alumni program Master dari berbagai jurusan di Victoria University, yang kemudian kembali ke VU untuk melanjutkan pendidikan mereka pada jenjang doctoral. Keberadaan Dr. Richard Chauvel sebagai Dosen senior di VU yang juga salah satu pakar tentang Indonesia dari Australia, menjadi daya tarik tersendiri bagi para pelajar Indonesia untuk melanjutkan studi di Victoria University. Sampai saat ini tercatat sekitar 15 orang mahasiswa PhD berada dibawah bimbingan Dr. Richard Chauvel. Topik penelitian mereka bervariasi, mulai dari isu desentralis

INTRUDUCTION In the last two decades, countries throughout the world including developed and developing countries were faced the dramatic impacts of global reformation. This new restructuring suggest that we are moving rapidly from the era of the nation states toward a global community dominated by regional market economies and growing interdependence. It has become routine for international observers to point out the surprising changes have taken place in all aspect of global life politically, economically, socially and even culturally. However, a real "new world order" remains mysterious. While experts may claim the global spread of democracy, political and economic instability has reached an unparalleled level. Among developing countries remain experience economic crisis. The gap between rich and poor has doubled in the past three decades, so that we now live in a world in which 20% of its people consume more than 80% of its wealth. During the 1980s, per capita incom

INTRODUCTION Modernization promoted by western countries, followed by economic rationalism, has shown remarkable achievement. The presumption to its unquestionable success was based on the attaining of high performance of economic growth due to the high rate of investments in industrial sector. The development strategies following this approach is the achieving a maximum production by maximally managing resources with the purpose for people benefit. The principle of this strategy is that the increase of production would automatically increase the benefit for community. However, a range problem, including poverty, environmental deterioration, and the isolation of people from the development process, came up together with this sophistication.  It clearly indicates that this success unable to fulfil the most essential need for human being socially, economically and politically, which are the need for community to live with their environment harmonically, and the need for them to live in h

INTRODUCTION Since President Suharto resigned in May 1998 caused by the people power led by students, there have been remarkable changes toward democracy in Indonesia. The strong indication can be seen from the success of Indonesia in carrying out general election, where according to some observers both domestic and foreign observers, it was the most democratic general election which had ever been carried out in Indonesia; freedom of press which was formerly tightly regulated and monopolized by the central government; a dramatic increase up to 181 in the number of political party within ten months, from May 1998 to February 1999, (Fatah 2000) ; amendment of 1945 Constitution which was taboo to be done during New Order Era, then to be conducted thorough plenary session of People Assembly in 1999. In short, nearly all sectors of national life experienced dramatic democratization process. This process is nation widely called for reformasi.      One of the most important and fascinating as