Introduction

What comes into your mind when you heard the word “pirates?” is it Captain Hook from the Disney movie “Peter Pan” with an eye patch? Is it a hungry and angry guy from Somalia trying to hijack the Maersk Alabama in “Captain Phillips?” However, other than focusing on how the popular media trying to portray how pirates actually looked like, we shall be aware that actual piracy activity is something that is closer to home. In fact, Southeast Asia hosted the most piracy activities due to their fragile geographical location and other relevant socio economic factors. The number elevated in between 1995 – 2013 into being the place for 41% total piracy activities. These numbers are quite high when being compared to Somalia (18%) and West African Coast (13%) . read more

On Tuesday (9/10/18), Eva Rapoport from the College of Religious Studies of Mahidol University attended the PSSAT UGM Library to provide material about What Can Be Learned from Jathilan? An Outsider’s Perspective on A Popular Folk Dance in SEA Talk # 24.

Rodrigo Duterte came into office as Philippines’s 15th President on June 30, 2016. His approach to South China Sea dispute and his overall foreign policy once shocked many in the region, and more around the world. As his approach to South China Sea dispute differs from his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III (in office 2010-2016), the world is watching what will come out of this diversion.

Under Benigno Aquino III’s presidency, Philippines was very assertive in emphasizing its claim upon the competing claims by several other countries in the South China Sea. During Aquino’s administration, the Philippines brought the case against China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2013. The decision came on July 12, 2016, about two weeks after Duterte assumed office. read more

On Friday (9/21/18), Dr. Alfi Rahman from the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC) of Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh attended the UGM PSSAT Library to provide material about Communicating Disaster Risk in Enhancing Community Resilience: Lesson Learned from Simeulue Island, Aceh in SEA Talk # 23.

In his presentation, Dr. Alfi argues that on Simeulue Island, Aceh, residents have their own preventive measures to prevent tsunamis being based on their local wisdom. The local wisdom is in the form of songs which in the lyrics contain prevention of tsunamis. Evidently, in the past December 26, 2004 Aceh Tsunami, only a small number of residents on the island of Simeulue, Aceh were victims, even though their area was included in the affected area. read more

On Wednesday (8/8/18), Professor Hak-Soo Kim from the Faculty of the School of Communication of Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea attended the UGM PSSAT Library to provide material about Community & Communication: A New Perspective in SEA Talk # 22.

The crisis in Rakhine State has been there since a long time. Since 1962, during the military regime, the violence on behalf of ethnic and religious has been occurred and caused a miserable tragedy in the Rakhine State, Myanmar. Around 2.000 people have been killed and more than 140.000, approximately, became homeless. Therefore, Myanmar government has violated Human Rights toward the Rohingya. (Human Rights Watch)

Recently, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 650,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since the end of August year 2017 to escape violance and persecution in Myanmar. Previously, The Fact Finding Mission of the United Nations showed that approximately 1,3 million people have moved to the Bangladesh border. The rest of Rohingya refugees are trying to move out to another country such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. (United Nations, 2018) read more

On Friday (7/19/18), Zachary Frial, Annemarie DiCamillo (Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States students & USINDO) and Pemetik Buah Khuldi were present at AOA Resto & Creative Space to provide material on Trans-Forming Body and Space: Motion, Movement, Momentum in SEA Chat # 9.

Before starting the presentation, Frial, DiCamillo, and the Pemetik Buah Khuldi played their own film which told about the unique gender expression of each individual. In the discussion session, the three presenters and attendees discussed how in different places (in this case are city and state), people’s tolerance for non-normative gender expression was different. read more

On Friday (22/06/18), Faculty of Liberal Arts students from Thammasat University arrived at the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) of Universitas Gadjah Mada for SEA Gate 2018 program for the next three months. The opening of SEA Gate 2018 program was held at PSSAT UGM Library, opened by Dr.phil. Hermin Indah Wahyuni as the director of PSSAT UGM and Dr. Hamam Supriyadi as lecturer of ASEAN Studies, Thammasat University.

In her speech, Dr.phil. Hermin Indah Wahyuni together with Aditya Indra Nugraha, S.Ant. as SEA Gate 2018 Program Manager, said that the program is expected to further strengthen the relationship between PSSAT UGM and Thammasat University which has been collaborating in two programs: SEA-GATE and Visiting Program. read more

Whilst the terms ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ are now frequently heard in a number of contexts, whether that be in a professional environment, the classroom, or in your Facebook newsfeed, it can sometimes be difficult to understand why such notions are so alarming – the opportunist may just see these changes as an excuse to flaunt their favourite t-shirt for a few more days a year. However, the ramifications of climate change go far beyond a jacket collecting more dust in your wardrobe. Changes in climate induced by a warming planet are anticipated to spark challenges in social, economic, and political conditions across the globe, particularly within the ASEAN region. In light of this, as a simple game theory model suggests, collaboration of partners within ASEAN, although not always perceived as the easiest and most lucrative path in the short-term, will ultimately be the most rewarding approach, and will play an essential role in harnessing future regional stability and prosperity. read more

On Friday (25/5/18), Miranda Traeger, a student of Faculty of Law at The University of Adelaide Australia, presented her views on the education system in Australia and Indonesia at a monthly discussion, SEA Chat # 8.

In a friendly ambience at CESSAS Library UGM, Miranda started her presentation by inviting each participant to share their research and personal interests on Southeast Asia. She then drew their attention on education issues while comparing fundamental and practical elements of Indonesian and Australian education framework. The discussion was fruitful, some participants who used to live or study in Australia for several years remarked on the distinctive teaching method of Australian teachers. read more