Imperial Alchemy: Nationalism and Political Identity in Southeast Asia

264 Pages·2011·2.85 MB·English

by  Anthony Reid

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Imperial Alchemy
The mid twentieth century marked one of the greatest watersheds of
Asianhistory,whenarangeofimperialconstructsweredeclaredtobe
nation-states,eitherbyrevolutionorbydecolonisation.Nationalismwas
the great alchemist, turning the base metal of empire into the gold of
nations.Toachievesuchatransformationfromtheimmensediversity
oftheseAsianempiresrequiredadifferentsetofforcesfromthosethat
Europeanshadneededintheirtransitionsfrommulti-ethnicempiresto
culturallyhomogeneousnations.InthisbookAnthonyReid,oneofthe
premier scholars of Southeast Asia, explores the mysterious alchemy
by which new political identities have been formed. Taking Southeast
Asiaashisexample,Reidtestscontemporarytheoryabouttherelation
between modernity, nationalism and ethnic identity. Grappling with
concepts emanating from a very different European experience of
nationalism,Reiddevelopshisowntypologytobetterfittheformation
ofpoliticalidentitiessuchastheIndonesian,Malay,Chinese,Acehnese,
BatakandKadazan.
anthony reid is a Southeast Asian Historian now again based
at the Australian National University, Canberra, but previously at the
National University of Singapore (2002–9), where he established the
Asia Research Institute, and University of California, Los Angeles
(1999–2002).HisotherrecentbooksincludeSoutheastAsiaintheAge

of Commerce (2 vols, 1988–93), Charting the Shape of Early Modern
Southeast Asia (1999), An Indonesian Frontier: Acehnese and Other
Histories of Sumatra (2004), and, as [co]editor, Islamic Legitimacy in a
PluralAsia(2007),ChineseDiasporainthePacific(2008)andNegotiating
Asymmetry:China’sPlaceinAsia(2009).

Imperial Alchemy
Nationalism and Political Identity
in Southeast Asia
Anthony Reid
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore,
São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521872379
© Anthony Reid 2010
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-69056-3 eBook (Dawsonera)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-87237-9 Hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-69412-4 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
List of maps pagevi
List of figures vii
List of tables viii
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
1 Nationalism and Asia 1
2 Understanding SoutheastAsiannationalisms 25
3 Chinese asa SoutheastAsian ‘other’ 49
4 Malay(Melayu)and its descendants: multiple
meanings of aporouscategory 81
5 Aceh:memories of monarchy 115
6 Sumatran Bataks: from statelessness to
Indonesian diaspora 145
7 Lateforming ethnie in Malaysia:Kadazan or Dusun 187
8 Imperialalchemy–revolutionarydreams 210

Glossary 219
References 221
Index 238
v
Maps
1 SoutheastAsia, colonial and contemporary page24
2 Northern Sumatra 150
3 Sabah, showingKadazan and Dusun concentrations 189

vi
Figures
3.1& 3.2 Aftermathof Mayriots in KualaLumpur,
1969(3.1, top) and Jakarta, 1998
(3.2, bottom) page73
5.1 Aceh government banner celebratescessation
of hostilities between the IndonesianRepublic
and GAM, 2002 140
5.2 Debris of the tsunamisurrounds the
miraculously intact mainmosque of the
Aceh capital, December2004 142
6.1 Statue of Singamangaraja XIIerected in Medan
to celebrate his national hero status, 1961 148
6.2 Modern Toba Batakmonument (tugu), erected
by the Manihuruk lineage,near Pangururang
(Samosir), toreburythe ancestors 179
6.3 Modern Church of GBKP with signature Karo
roof,Medan2008 182
6.4 The North Sumatra provincialmuseumdeals
with ethnic claimswith aToba–Batak designed

roof style,Malayentrance andhorizontal
bands of decoration torepresent sevendifferent
ethnicities 184
7.1 DonaldStephens proclaims Sabah’sentry
to Malaysia,1963, with Tun Mustapha
seated centre 195
vii
Tables
6.1 Batakmigrants in Medan page169
6.2 Growthof Batak church membership in Jakarta 170
6.3 HKBP membership figures in major cities 170
6.4 Destination of children of Gunung,Tiga Binanga,
Tanah Karo,1995 172
7.1 Ethnic percentages in Sabah censuses 188
7.2 Sabahpopulationbyethnicity and religion 206
7.3 Mean income of ethnic groups in Malaysian
Ringgit, 2004 208

viii