Project Southeast Asia

It is great sadness that we announce the passing of one of our founders, Prof. Jeffery Burley. More information may be obtained at the link below. He was not just a passionate scholar of forestry but one of the nicest, kindest men that any of us ever had the privilege of knowing. We will miss him very much. May he rest in peace and rise in power. A private funeral will be held on 20 Jan at 12 noon followed by a reception afterwards at around 1345 at The White Hart, Fyfield, Oxfordshire. All are very welcome to attend the reception.

Professor Jeffery Burley (1936-2021) - Green Templeton College It is with sadness that the college learned of the death of Emeritus Fellow Professor Jeffery (Jeff) Burley shortly after Christmas. Jeff was a much-loved member of the college community, a former Vice Warden of then-Green College and a member of the Sustainability Working Group until he died. Jeff....

Project Southeast Asia is saddened to hear of the passing of our founding Patron, Prof Sir David Weatherall. Sir David had an outstanding career in medical research, with particular interest in haematology and genetics, and the application of such research – particularly in the developing world. Through well over 700 publications and his work as Senior Editor of the Oxford Textbook of Medicine, his influence extended far beyond the UK and his research has been applied to the development of disease prevention, control, and alleviation programmes across the world.
After completing his medical and house staff training, Prof Weatherall joined the army for a 2-year assignment. Shipped to Singapore and put in charge of a children’s ward at the British Military Hospital, one of Prof Weatherall’s patients was a Ghurka child whom he eventually diagnosed as having homozygous β thalassemia with his biochemist colleague Frank Vella. They published their findings in the British Medical Journal, thus launching his distinguished research career. In the 50 years since, Prof Weatherall developed tests and clinics worldwide for children affected by the blood disease thalassemia. He also founded the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford in 1989. The Institute was later renamed the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in his honour upon his retirement in 2000. He won the prestigious Lasker Award for medical research in 2010. He was knighted in 1987, and was made a Knight of the Grand Cross (the highest title in the Queen’s Birthday Honours) in 2017, in recognition of his services to medicine. Our sincere condolences to his family.

Professor Sir David Weatherall: 1933-2018 | University of Oxford It is with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Sir David Weatherall this weekend.

This may be of interest to our colleagues: "Millennium is pleased to announce that its annual theory symposium will be held at the National University of Singapore and co-organised with Dr Itty Abraham (Millennium International Advisory Board Member, NUS) and Dr Ja Ian Chong (NUS).
The Annual Millennium Theory Symposium fulfills the mandate of Millennium: Journal of International Studies to promote new openings and debates in International Studies, and to facilitate interchange between accomplished scholars and promising early career scholars and postgraduate students.
Please apply by 4 May using this form (also embedded below for convenience)."

Annual Theory Symposium The Cold War in Asia: New Historical and Theoretical Approaches 23-24 July 2018 Millennium is pleased to announce that its annual theory symposium will be held at the National University of Singapo…

We invite members of the global academic community concerned with the study of History and/or Singapore, or with academic freedom more generally, to support Dr. Pingtjin Thum by signing this open letter in defence of Dr Thum and academic freedom in Singapore.

docs.google.com

A statement from Project Southeast Asia in defence of Dr PJ Thum and academic freedom in Singapore:

"We, the undersigned Trustees of Oxford Project Southeast Asia, wish to express in the strongest possible terms our concern regarding the treatment of Dr PJ Thum in recent hearings of the Singapore government’s Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods. Co-ordinator of Project Southeast Asia, and a member of its Board of Trustees, Dr Thum is a historian of Singapore’s independence struggle of the 1950s and 1960s, and since completing his doctorate at Oxford on this subject in 2011 has continued his research, notably reviewing documentation released recently by the British government on that era, and making his findings available to a wider audience. The documentation provided by his original and carefully sourced research has revealed events and relationships between Singapore’s leaders of the period that run counter to the view of the country’s history as now promoted by the Singapore government.

Earlier this year, Dr Thum responded to the public call, by the Select Committee, for submissions on the current state of media information and its reliability in Singapore. However, when called to interview by the Committee, he found that the contents of his submission were not the object of their inquiry, and were never directly discussed. Instead, Dr Thum was subjected to six hours of questioning by the Minister for Law and Home Affairs which focussed on the findings of his academic research. In the course of this interrogation, which may be viewed in full online at the Government of Singapore’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH2CR4s1lqygTiZqGHpuLxXfeVq_hPR-d), the Minister repeatedly expressed disdain for Dr Thum’s research, rephrasing its findings in general terms that misrepresented it, and attempting to get Dr Thum to agree to those rephrasings by attempting to force him to provide only yes/no answers. Dr Thum has since been subject to unflattering and one-sided reporting by the media.

Dr Thum’s research has already met the rigorous standards of examination at Oxford, and in peer review by fellow historical experts on the region. There is an evident irony in a Select Committee addressed to deliberate information falsehoods which proceeds by impugning and restating empirical findings. The implications for academic freedom, and for freedom of expression in Singapore, are very troubling. Instead of a hearing with the stated objective of securing truth in information, the actual conduct of its questioning appears designed to intimidate those who seek to publish the truth.

We call on the Select Committee to issue an immediate and public apology for this unacceptable treatment of Dr Thum.

Dr Philip Kreager (Chair)
Dr Gerry Bodeker
Professor Jeff Burley
Dr Peter Carey
Dr Constance McDermott
Dr Mari Mulyani
Dr Gillian Petrokofsky"

In Defence of Dr PJ Thum and Academic Freedom in Singapore We, the undersigned Trustees of Oxford Project Southeast Asia, wish to express in the strongest possible terms our concern regarding the treatment of Dr PJ Thum in recent hearings of the Singapore …

The full video of the Closing Plenary of the 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium, featuring addresses from Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan, Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno, and Project SEA Chairman Dr Philip Kreager.

CLOSING CEREMONY The 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium 2018 CLOSING CEREMONY The 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium 2018 “What is Southeast Asia? Exploring Uniqueness and Diversity” Saturday, 24 March 2018 08.30-12...

The full video of the Opening Plenary of the 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium, including the opening address by HE Vice President Jusuf Kalla, is now available. Also in this video is the welcome address by Project SEA coordinator Pingtjin Thum, and the keynote address by Prof Emil Salim.

Opening Plenary, The 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium 2018. The 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium 2018 “What is Southeast Asia? Exploring Uniqueness and Diversity” 22-24 March 2018 IMERI Building, UI Campus – Sale...

Chairman of Project Southeast Asia, Prof Philip Kreager, delivering a closing address at the Closing Plenary of the 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium.

Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan and Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno addressing the Closing Plenary of the 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium.

We are pleased to announce the the Governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, will be attending the closing ceremony of the 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium. He will participate in the Q&A with Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno and give Symposium participants a chance to have a honest and frank discussion about the past, present, and future of Jakarta. See you tomorrow morning!

Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and Keynote Speaker Prof Emil Salim speaking this morning at the Opening Plenary of the 7th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium at Universitas Indonesia.