The Geopolitical Influence of Indonesia, Malaysia, And Singapore on Cultural Diversity in Riau Province: A Case Study of Pekanbaru

Abstract

This article discusses cooperation in Southeast Asia, namely the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle, which could become a stumbling block towards the ASEAN Economic Community. The Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle (IMS-GT) is a triangular growth cooperation between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. This cooperation has been ongoing for more than 20 years and is now in parallel with the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The AEC is a form of ASEAN cooperation that aims to realize economic integration in Southeast Asia. The AEC also aims to create a region with high investment flows through the programs it will implement. However, the IMS-GT may hinder the achievement of the AEC. Therefore, this study will analyze how sub-regional IMS-GT cooperation can impact the AEC process. The method used is qualitative. The results indicate that the IMS-GT has the potential to become a stumbling block to the AEC. This article will focus only on forms of IMS-GT collaboration; other forms of cooperation will not be discussed. Place identities can be transformed and reconstructed. This is seen as capable of supporting dynamic change in real life through the transformation of practices and the articulation of social relations. In this sense, identity is influenced by culture and cultural production, and is a fluid, unfinished, and variable process that impacts place and society. Using a qualitative approach, this study investigates the influence of Malay culture on identity in the city of Pekanbaru. Field data is categorized, analyzed, and interpreted in an iterative process to broaden understanding of the process of identity reconstruction and how identities in the periphery become a set of exclusive collective identities. Thus, this paper demonstrates the relationship between culture and place identity as identified through architecture and socio-cultural change in urban society.