Western media usually tags Indonesia as having more Muslims than any other country. That’s statistically true – but lesser known is that 11% of the 284 million don’t follow Islam. The constitutionally secular republic has more Christians than Australia. (more…)
Duncan Graham
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Free meals threatened – and threatening
Before the 18th century Enlightenment, church and state in Europe were one. In Indonesia, fears that Islam will infiltrate civic affairs go back to the founding of the Republic. Instead, the threats are not from the mosques, but the military. (more…)
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Sound the alarm: ABC at risk
The Federal Parliament has yet to pass a law ensuring five-year funding for the ABC. If it doesn’t get passed, it leaves the national broadcaster open to cuts and threats should the government change. (more…)
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Yesterday’s man is stuffing up
Trump Two is the world’s big story – will he fly high and take the dollar aloft – or crash and fry? Whatever, he’s shading the sun from the right-wing blusterer next door who isn’t doing well after three months. Duncan Graham reports. (more…)
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Jakarta pips Dutton in nuclear race
Peter Dutton’s hopes for Australia to be the first nation in the Southern Hemisphere to pioneer the use of small-to-medium nuclear reactors seem dashed.
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Debunking deforestation
Indonesia’s new president, former disgraced general Prabowo Subianto, is making an awkward discovery: gaining respect in the international community as head of a nation of 280 million civilians is not the same as ordering a special squad to intimidate. (more…)
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Farewell fair go, hello despair
It’s true.
The night fears have come to pass.
The evidence is too great to ignore any longer. My country, our nation, is racist. (more…)
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One word fouls straits settlement – “Overlapping”
It was supposed to be the Tour Triumphant, showing that Indonesia – the globe’s fourth-most populous nation – has a cosmopolitan new boss who can stride the world stage with panache. But cashiered former general Prabowo Subianto has tripped badly. (more…)
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Moderates begone: ‘TIS THE AGE OF THE DESPOT
Prabowo Subianto has got his diary right: First overseas handshake from the new President of Indonesia is for his bankers in Beijing, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Trump can wait. (more…)
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Come in now Indonesian democracy, your time is up
It took less than a week for the reality to be exposed. Even Deputy PM Richard Marles must now acknowledge that the nation next door he praises for its moderation and democracy is now a military dictatorship and a serious threat. (more…)
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Looming now in Indonesia: The age of uncertainty
There’ll soon be a new leader next door – ageing hardliner Prabowo Subianto. He’s Indonesia’s dark lord with a worrying past of alleged human rights abuses, yet overwhelmingly elected in the February national poll. He’ll take over on 20 October. (more…)
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The cursed stone resists return
In an age of logic and evidence-based reasoning, modern research has revealed a thousand-year curse. It could be stopping the superstitious and spiritually-conscious Javanese from vigorously striving to return a thieved “emblem of Indonesian cultural heritage”. (more…)
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Never mind the quality, feel the words
The paperwork signing late last month by Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Magelang (Central Java) is being paraded as an extraordinary advance in relationships. It’s not. (more…)
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Father knows best? Not this time
How comfy the throne, how rapid the change; a humble Republican from a riverbank shack is plotting to be King of Indonesia surrounded by his regal family of political courtiers. (more…)
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Neither treaty nor pact, just troubling facts
ABC foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic’s ’exclusive’ claim that “Australia and Indonesia are on the brink of sealing an upgraded defence pact” hasn’t been refuted by Defence so is probably right. (more…)
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How to get good publicity? Ban journos
A tip for politicians worried about bothersome journos upsetting talking points with probing questions: Don’t invite peskies to your pressies. (more…)
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Street charity – Thank Allah it’s friday
Following the 7 October Hamas outrage Australia has been suffering an outburst of race and religious hate. Lawyer Jillian Segal has been made a “special envoy” to counter antisemitism. A similar appointment is expected to confront Islamophobia and challenge the alleged linkage of Muslims with extremism and terror. (more…)
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When will we treat Indonesia seriously?
Guarantee: This report is free of US political toxins. The contents are purely local. (more…)
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Facts sacred, pacts not
It’s a hoary oldie publicity hook: Imagine something improbable, then feed off the controversy. (more…)
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Control the past – then the future. Thus spoke Orwell
It’s been argued that Indonesia’s next President may be good for Australian interests; for domestic progressives that’s doubtful. (more…)
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What ye sow ye reap
There’s nothing profound about the Biblical quote; variations are embedded in many religions and cultures. (more…)
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Indonesia’s carbon crisis: will Islam get dirty hands?
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)(revival of the scholars) is Indonesia and the world’s largest Islamic organisation claiming almost 100 million members. If it digs coal it could become mega-rich. How dirty work marries with sending souls to paradise only Allah knows. (more…)
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Tyranny of proximity
The pundits are already in a tizz: What’ll happen to defence, AUKUS, trade and other relationships should Trump win in November? More pressing and certain is how we’ll cope when Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto takes office in October. (more…)
