How Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia Have Been Transformed in Post WWII - Essay Example

How Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia have been transformed in post world war II Name Institution Tutor Date Introduction World War II significantly reshaped modern economies. Its occurrence greatly transformed various nations on matters relating to their politics, economy and social-cultural. Countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have vastly been transformed in post World War II period. The ways these countries have been transformed happen to have some similarities and differences (Gillis, 1980). This paper therefore compares and contrast ways in which Indonesia and Malaysia have been transformed in post World War II period. How Malaysia and Indonesia have been transformed in post world war II When evaluating the political aspects arising in the two countries after the World War II, one of similar aspect is based on the ideology adopted by the countries. After World War II, countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia found themselves transforming from communism to socialism (Priyambudi, 2010). They opted for state ownership of businesses and distribution of wealth through democratic means. The policy of socialism entailed nationalization of demands for major industries, banking, natural resources and utilities. Social services were also nationalized under socialism (Gillis, 1980). Socialism was fully adopted in Malaysia in 1990 after the final signing of the peace agreement between the communist insurgents and the government of Malaysia. The support of socialism ideology by the government of Malaysia was seriously opposed by communists, who were entirely Chinese, and a small group of guerillas until the signing of the peace accord in the year 1989 and 1990. Conflicts of ideologies were sharply experienced in Indonesia after World War II (Percy, 1997). General Soeharto, a great supporter of socialism, banned the Indonesia party for communism in 1966, thus creating an end to communism. The adoption of communism by Malaysia and Indonesia has made them the most peaceful nations in the region (Robinson, 1971). Democracy is another significant political aspect that can be analyzed. Indonesia transformed to Pancasila democracy in the post of World War II. Pancasila democracy is a system of life for a society and the state on the basis of sovereignty of the people. This kind of democracy was motivated by dignified values of Indonesia. Pancasila democracy is always integrated with the principles of Pancasila (Thee, 1999). Since 1983, the political organizations in Indonesia were expected to adopt the ideological principle of Pancasila when executing their duties. Malaysia on the other hand transformed its democracy into federal constitutional elective monarchy with government’s system modeled closely to Westminster parliamentary system, a British colonial rule legacy. Every head of state is expected to serve a five year term as the democratic system stipulate. The system also stipulates that the head of state should come from the nine hereditary rulers of Malay states. The four states that have titular governors are not usually allowed to engage in selection process. Under Westminster parliamentary system that was adopted by Malaysia after second world war II, the paramount ruler, a person heading Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy, should be elected for a period of five years by hereditary rulers in the nine states with monarchies. The head of constitutional monarchy in Malaysia has the mandate to choose the chairman of the leading party or coalition within parliament lower house as prime minister. With the recommendation from the prime minister, the paramount ruler is also expected to choose other legal experts as members of the cabinet. Appointments of the senate and 44 members of the parliament’s upper house are usually executed by head of constitutional monarchy. Senators, as the system stipulates, need to serve for a period of not more than three year terms. Elections in Malaysia are by universal suffrage. The economic aspect that can be easily identified among Indonesia and Malaysia after World War II is the concept of industrialization. Malaysia experienced a growth in industrialization after World War II. The broad range of export oriented manufacturing industries such as electrical, electronic products, textiles and rubber products has been a leading developing sector since 1970’s. The policy of Malaysian government for along time has accorded foreign capital a major role as it operates towards involvement of domestic and foreign capital and enterprise. Malaysia attained status of newly industrialized nation by the year 1990. This therefore implies that majority of Malaysia’s exports are manufactured goods. Malaysia is trying to work hard so as to become a fully developed industrialized nation by the year 2020. Industrialization growth in Malaysia has made to be among the most industrialized nation in Asia. Different from Malaysia, industrialization in Indonesia deteriorated drastically after World War II. A marked decline in domestic production and investment sector has been happening since 1950s, thus depicting a negative growth in industrialization. The deterioration of industrialization and economy as a whole was due to political instability, economic nationalism and weak government policies. The Indonesia economy after the Second World War has been in problems. The nation in the mid 1960s experienced a serious inflation of 1,000%. In the same period, its export revenues reduced, infrastructure crumbled and industries operated at minimal capacity. Between 1997 and 1998, Indonesia was serious hit by Asian financial crisis that caused its economy to reduce by 13.7% (Hal &Chris, 1999). After the Second World War, agricultural sector for both Malaysia and Indonesia has greatly developed. Agriculture has grown rapidly since World War II and is now the main economic activity in Indonesia. In Indonesia, agriculture accounts for forty three percent of the total employment. It also contributes directly to the nation’s gross domestic product. Indonesians are of late trying to further improve their investment, infrastructure and agribusiness practices so as to be the most competitive sector in the country and around the world (Ping, 2005). Similar to Indonesia, agriculture in Malaysia has rapidly developed since World War II. Agriculture in Malaysia is among the major economic activity and contributes heavily on the country’s export income thus making it a vital sector in Malaysia’s economy. Malaysia mainly produces rubber for export. High demand for rubber has attracted more investment in rubber plantations thus promoting agricultural sector in Malaysia. The contribution of agricultural sector has been very essential since the end of the Second World War. Development of agriculture has been providing employment and stimulating foreign direct investments in form of foreign plantation ownership. Good roads and rail tracks connecting major towns that were developed colonial governments facilitated agriculture development in Malaysia. Sophisticated banking systems were also introduced by colonial governments so as to facilitate financial and capital transactions resulting from agriculture. The development of agriculture has therefore made Malaysia to be the most developing nation in South East Asia. When evaluating social cultural similarities that arose among the three countries after the Second World War, one of the issues that arise is the concept of gender. As highlighted by variety of facts, the participation of the Indonesia and Malaysia in the second world war spearhead the empowerment of women, which greatly changed their gender roles. It is believed that change in sex roles took place due to employment opportunities that development out of the war (Yamamoto, 1998). Due to shortage of items that were not war related such as clothing and food products, women also had to actively participate in the war as codependents. As a result, gender roles were transformed in the sense that women also become part of the capitalist economy. This is because they had to equally work harder to feed their families, especially in scenarios where the husband had left for the war. Women empowerment in Malaysia and Indonesia has made these two countries to have a higher percentage of women representation in the region. Gender gap in Malaysia has been narrowed since the end of the Second World War. The role of women in developing major socioeconomic aspects in Malaysia has greatly developed since the end of the Second World War. The enhancement of manufacturing sector enhanced employment during the sixth Malaysia plan period and dramatically transformed the employment structure. The participation of women in the work force has enhanced very much since 1970, and even if Malaysia as a newly industrialized nation, its female work force involvement rate is similar to that of industrialized nation such as Indonesia. Women in Malaysia and Indonesia comprise of about 44 percent of the total labor force (Anthony & Mary, 1996). Conclusion From the discussion, it is quite clear that there are several contradicting and similar ways by which Malaysia and Indonesia have been transformed in the post world war II period. The transformation can be categorized into political, economic and social cultural. The political aspects can be based on the ideology and democracy adopted by the three countries. After World War II, countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia found themselves transforming from communism to socialism. The economic aspects that can be easily identified among Indonesia and Malaysia after World War II are industrialization and agriculture. Malaysia experienced a growth in industrialization after World War II. Different from Malaysia, industrialization in Indonesia deteriorated drastically after World War II. When evaluating social cultural similarities, the issue that mainly arises is the concept of gender. participation of the Indonesia and Malaysia in the second world war spearhead the empowerment of women, which greatly changed their gender roles. References Gillis, M., (1980). “The Role of State Enterprises in Economic Development”, Social Research, summer, hal.248-89. Robinson, S., (1971). "Sources of Growth in Less Developed Countries: A Cross Section Study", Quarterly Journal of Economic, 85. Thee, K., (1999). “Industrial Policy in the East Asian Economies”, Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan, VII (2). Percy J., (1997). Socialism, the way forward. New York: Resistance Books, 1997. Ping J., (2005), Middle power statecraft: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Asia Pacific. London: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Yamamoto T., (1998). Philosophical designs for a socio-cultural transformation: beyond violence and the modern era. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Hal H., &Chris M., (1999). 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