. Singapore has four official languages: Mandarin, English, Malay, and Tamil. English, being one of the languages supported by the Singapore government, is a language of pop culture, international business and politics. The government is attempting to preserve “proper English” and discourage Singlish, a mix between English and southern Chinese, because the government has adopted Mandarin rather than southern Chinese dialects. Moreover, English is important in the international business setting and since Singapore is an international hub for business the government wishes to maintain “proper English” for this purpose.
2. European colonization of the region began around the 16th century. Although European colonization largely shaped the regions defined boundaries, the mainland consisted of kingdoms that already embodied modern countries geopolitical boundaries. In the 14th century the mainland region was divided amongst the kingdoms of Cambodia, Burma, Siam (Thailand), Laos, and Vietnam. Whereas the mainland already was divided into somewhat familiar nation states/ kingdoms, the insular part of the region differed from island to island, where kingdoms were local and territorially unstable. The insular region, therefore, was shaped much more by colonialism than the mainland. The Portuguese were the first European colonizers in the region, beginning around 1500 by establishing settlements in eastern Indonesia, however, these were soon lost to the Dutch empire which established a vast network of power throughout Indonesia, ranging Sumatra to western New Guinea. The British were less influential in this region than in other parts of Asia, however, the British secured shipping lanes to connect China (Hong Kong) with its major colonial territory in India. The British established trading posts in present day Singapore, which was established in 1819, and Malaysia, including northern Borneo. Malaysia consisted of majority Malay people, thus when it gained independence Singapore and Brunei became independent states due to their differing ethnic compositions. The British also invaded this region from the northwest, gaining power over Burma in 1885. Vietnam was colonized by French forces, who began in the Mekong delta, but expanded their rule to Laos and Cambodia, which were both separate kingdoms. Thailand was not colonized as it was a buffer between the French and British colonies. The United States was the last colonial power to gain territory in the region by colonizing the Philippines from both Spain and Filipino nationalists, gaining control over it at the turn of the 20th century. The colonial powers unified the insular part of the region, creating distinct nation states, whereas, the mainland was left largely unchanged from their post-colonial kingdoms after gaining independence.
3. Burma has suffered many conflicts in its recent history owing to the harsh Burmese government. The ethnically majority government has been very harsh on ethnic minorities, causing rebellions and attempted insurgences for independence. The ethnic minorities in Burma, including the Kachin, Karen, Tai, Shan, Wa, and Chin, have all accused the government of trying to impose Burman cultural norms on them, thus it is almost forced assimilation to the language and cultural practices of the Burmese majority. Furthermore, political repression and economic stagnation have magnified the conflicts, where ethnic minorities do not have the same access to resources that the Burmese have. These ethnic minority groups seek to maintain their cultural traditions, religions, languages and resources; therefore, they rebel creating conflict and suppression by the central government. The problem lies in the harsh rule of the government in order to maintain their ethnic superiority in the state, while ethnic groups seek greater cultural autonomy.
4. While the region is highly uneven in economic and social development, conflict, communism, isolationism and political strife have been the primary factors creating stagnation in Burma, Laos and East Timor. In the Philippines economic stagnation occurred because of corruption in politics leading to crony capitalism under the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Although the Philippines was economically stagnant in the late 20th century, new infrastructure and more political stability has created economic growth. The most economically developed state in the region is that of Singapore, owing much of its growth to free market capitalism and the promotion of multinational investment and growth by the government. Singapore has emerged as one of the world’s wealthiest states because of its authoritarian form of capitalism and its promotion of housing, education and social services in order to increase the skilled working force. Malaysia also has one of the most developed economies of the region, being that it has become a predominant manufacture of high-tech goods. This industry and economic growth stems from manufactures and companies moving from costly countries such as Singapore and Japan to Malaysia where the manufacturing costs are drastically cheaper. Moreover, Malaysia was not influenced by communism, thus their early introduction to the global market by exporting raw materials and agricultural products allowed them easier transition into the technology export oriented economic growth. Thailand has also experienced prolonged economic growth due to exporting agricultural goods and machinery. Although this economic expansion is fairly recent Thailand supports a large tourism industry and has attained growth from the relocation of Japanese factories for cost purposes. Since Thailand is relatively politically stable and free of ethnic strife and communist influences, its economy has been able to grow at an increasing rate. Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia has been relatively successful at economic expansion in the recent decades, however, their economy is still dependent on the exploitation of natural resources and agriculture. Indonesia has multinational investment; however, its economy is burdened by a large population and lower levels of education. Vietnam, unlike most other countries in the region, has emerged as a modestly expanding economy from a command economy in the recent years. Although there is more economic stagnation than most other southeast Asian countries, Vietnam’s history with the socialist economic system and its ties with the soviet union have severely impacted its economic growth. Laos and Cambodia have both experienced economic stagnation as a result of political corruption, ethnic strife, and the lack of infrastructure. This political instability has led to much of these countries work force to remain subsistence agrarian farmers, while logging and exploitative ecological industries have remained prevalent. In Laos its physical landscape and its isolation from main transportation lines, has led to a stagnant economy. Cambodia, on the other hand, has experienced increasing foreign investment in its textile industry and has become a major destination for tourism. Burma and East Timor both suffer from warfare due to ethnic strife and various separationist movements that have undermined political stability and economic growth. Burma’s isolationist policies have also had a major impact on its economy, where its experimental Buddhist socialism and attempted self-sufficiency failed creating economic woe and eventual economic sanctions imposed by foreign governments because of its human rights abuses resulting from the black-market.
5. The position of women in Southeast Asia is very good in a historical sense, however, with globalization and the influence of other religious practices and ideologies, the position of women has begun to decline. Although this region has high levels of gender equality compared to other developing regions because of the historical roles of women, the sex-trafficking industry has become one of the most predominant in the world. Sex tourism and sexual exploitation has become widespread, showing that the status of women has declined from a matriarchal society, to one where women are seen as sexual objects. The sex industry itself is largely correlated with economic conditions, thus with greater levels of education and economic opportunity the status of women could be restored.