S E Asia Revisited - A Personal Perspective by John Fernie

John Fernie gave a talk on historical colonialism and corporate imperialism in south-east Asia to fellow Kilrymont Rotarians.
John has recently returned from a month-long cruise holiday from Bali in Indonesia to Tokyo in Japan.
His illustrated talk concentrated on Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia which at one time were colonised by various European countries.
In Bali he visited the famous Jatiluwih rice terraces and several Hindi temples. Indonesian independence from the Dutch was celebrated in Surabaya.
The importance of the spice trade using the Straits of Malacca saw Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam colonised by the Portuguese, the British, Dutch and French.
Cambodia gained independence in 1953, Malaysia in 1963 and Singapore in 1965.
Highlights of his trip included the Marina Sands Bay Area in Singapore and the tropical gardens while in Vietnam visits to the war museum and the old US embassy in Saigon and the Viet Cong tunnels were a must see.
John said there was a growing Chinese influence in the south-east Asia countries especially in Vietnam and Cambodia which many observers found concerning.
He recommended reading Tim Marshall’s book “Prisoners of Geography” which looks at the geo-politics of the region.
From his trip he found the friendliness of the south-east Asian people amazing especially considering the brutality of the various conflicts of the 20th century. He said that in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge ruled from 1975-79 genocide and famine accounted for an estimated 1.8 million deaths, 23% of the population.
John was introduced by club president Irene Walker and Forbes Lockhart proposed thanks.