PRESENTED at the 21st Malaysia-Indonesia Private Universities Conference 2009 & The 2nd World Conference of International Entrepreneur &Family Business Association 2009
29th & 30th October 2009
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POST WORLD WAR II & ITS IMPACT TOWARDS SOUTHEAST ASIA AS A REGION 1946-1970
HAMDAN DATO’ MOHD. SALLEH
This paper concentrates on the specific era of Southeast Asian political development in the context of regional issues from 1946-1970. The post World War II era is vital to Southeast Asian countries as it marked the beginning of Decolonization. The paper will explain the aspect of regional organization, the issues during post World War II well as effects towards Southeast Asian nations in particular from regional point of view.
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"To understand the present and anticipate the future, one must know enough of the past, enough to have a sense of the history of a people." -- Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore
The term Southeast Asia was used since the World War II. Its normally refer to the region south of China and east of India. The countries includes Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. With the exception of Thailand, these countries were gradually colonized by the Europeans as early as 16th century. Following World War II, these colonial areas gradually achieved independence. Strategically significant, the region was the centre of heavy fighting during World War II. Conflicts were also repeated in the post-World War II which consists of wars of independence, communist insurgencies as well as the dreaded Vietnam War.