Presidential hopeful Anies Baswedan eyed the Jakarta governor's seat as a stepping stone to the palace, but he will likely be politically "neutralized" before the next presidential election.
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From unknown gadgets to the vice president's table, what do some of our team members believe is the most important object/equipment when recording our podcast episodes?
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What’s driving the decline of civil liberties trend in Indonesia and what does this say about Jokowi as he embarks on his second term?
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Cigarettes are the second largest contributor to Indonesia's poverty line, according to new data from the state Central Bureau of Statistics or BPS. Food (rice) remains the largest contributor.
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Jokowi has become a two term president but that doesn't mean both he and Megawati/PDIP are always aligned.
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Ever wonder what it takes to produce our episodes? There is an entire process that goes into each and every one and often times they are not as simple as record and publish!
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The PDIP, Golkar and Gerindra factions in parliament support ending direct elections and return to a similar system used under President Soeharto where the presidency is decided by the MPR rather than by a popular vote.
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Indonesia’s universal healthcare system cares for millions but is now beginning to flounder while at the same time, a non-profit organization called DoctorSHARE is risking their lives to serve patients in remote parts of the country.
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From political compromises, a possible return of New Order style elections, Widodo family dynasties and Prabowo’s real role in the cabinet, we break them all down in this episode with Dr. Djayadi Hanan
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Despite media statements that describe President Widodo’s move to include Prabowo's Gerindra Party in the cabinet as “shocking” or “a big gamble”, it makes complete sense politically.
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This is a special live event edition of Indonesia In-depth. Indonesia began its transition to democracy in 1998 amid a simultaneous political, social and economic crisis. While the country has made tremendous progress with important economic and political reforms, Indonesia continues to remain in that democratic transition today. At this Indonesinist event held by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs October 14-16, 2019, (Ret.) Army Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, Dr. Michael Vatikiotis, Dr. Siswo Pramono and Shawn Corrigan discuss Indonesia’s path to democracy and the challenges that remain.
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The Indonesian parliament has delayed passing the controversial new amendments to the criminal code, which dates back to the Dutch Colonial Era. Widodo back tracked his support at the last minute after public protests against the bill which is viewed as over criminalizing and draconian. One article in the bill that garnered attention is on the reintroduction of the defamation clause against the President and Vice President. We dive deep into that defamation article to explore why the government thinks its needed and how it could be misused. Join us as we attempt to navigate through this vague rule with Prof. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, one of the main drafters of the Criminal Code bill.
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Juggling multiple political interests looks much like a zero-sum game for President Widodo as he considers backtracking on a controversial law that he supported which weakened the country's anti-graft agency.
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Indonesia's controversial new Criminal Code is not dead and is set to be deliberated again by the House in the near future.
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A draft bill would cripple the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as well as remove its all-important independent status.
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Technology has changed the way we consume our food and beverages, and consequently, the way business players run their businesses. The rapidly penetrating online food delivery services and the rise of virtual kitchens along with traffic jams and a busy lifestyle, have paved ways for less brick-and-mortars establishments. However, not all F&B businesses have followed suit. One of them is Kopi Kenangan, a grab-and-go coffee chain that has experienced explosive growth in Jakarta’s metro area and more. With co-founder Edward Tirtanata, we explore many of these issues such as bucking certain trends and where are we actually heading in terms of how we eat our food and drink our coffee. Also the environmental impact of to-go packaging and what Indonesian consumers like and dislike when it comes to F&B purchases.
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The 2019 election has ended but the discourse of “election fraud” in Indonesia remains foggy and tends to shun away from the statistical elements that makes up the election itself. The Constitutional Court rejected Prabowo’s challenge to the 2019 presidential election results when he complained of “structural, systematic and massive electoral fraud”, but what does that standard even mean? Why does It matter in a large-scale election like Indonesia’s? How do you actually manipulate the voter list? Ultimately, we ask: what does one need to do in order to rig an election? In this episode, we dive deep into this issue with Seth Sorderborg, an expert on Indonesian elections and a Ph.D candidate in political science at Harvard University.
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A wave of optimism flowed over Myanmar in 2010 when the military leadership began the slow process of opening up the country and implementing both economic and democratic reforms. At the same time, the government began new efforts to establish peace with more than a dozen armed ethnic minority groups. This was followed by historic general elections in 2015 and a new government. International leaders lifted sanctions on the country and competed with each other to meet the defacto leader and face of the democratic movement, Aung San Suu Kyi. Now, peace negotiations have stalled, reports of genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya have gone unanswered. What are the major obstacles for the peace negotiations? What might the upcoming election results in 2020 look like? What’s the latest situation with the Rohingya crisis? We discuss these issues and much more with the former Myanmar deputy minister of information and presidential spokesperson, Colonel (ret.) U Ye Htut.
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Presidential contender, Prabowo Subianto and his political coalition, rejected the official presidential election results announced by the General Election Commission (KPU) and filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court citing that “structural, systematic and massive electoral fraud” occurred. His challenge received quite a bit of attention in both the local/international media and by political observers who believed that such a move could escalate political tensions and could divide the country. Despite the hype, media attention and fears of polarization, Prabowo’s decision to appeal the presidential election results in the Court is actually the norm not the exception. Shawn and Tanita shed light on how many of the same political players in power today made the same claims in past elections when outcomes were less than favorable.
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We start with this question: Are there alternatives for borrowers to take loans safely without resorting to predatory loan sharks? But our quest to seek answers reveal how complicated Indonesians’ relationship with loans are. The obstacles with financial inclusivity in the conventional system and the growing online loan services clearly complicate the deeply-rooted loan culture among Indonesians. Join us in this episode with Dr. Chaikal Nuryakin from the Institute for Economic and Social Research at the University of Indonesia (LPEM UI) and Gede Putra Arsana from World Bank, Indonesia.
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