Update: A public forum was held on my book, “The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Patronage” as part of the Faculty of Economics and Administration’s Reading Malaysia Series on 4th February 2016. The forum was chaired by Prof. Terence Gomez from UM, and two esteemed academics, Prof. Helen Nesadurai of Monash Malaysia and Dr Patrick O’Reilly of Crops for the Future gave their views on my books.
Prof. Helen brought attention to how my book opens up the “black box of the state”, where it is necessary to peer inside this ‘box’ to resolve problems of governance. Dr Patrick elaborated on how concepts of development in Southeast Asia, especially in relation to palm oil as a golden crop, plays into the problem of patronage. I am very grateful for their kind words and insights on my work. It was an inspiring event with a good mix of audience from academia, civil society and also the general public.
Earlier post: Please find the invitation (published in The Star) for a public forum on my book, “The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Patronage”, here and the flyer below. All are welcome and entrance is free.
The Forests for the Palms 