Analysis 3 - Indonesia at Melbourne

Prabowo’s foreign stooge myth: Are Indonesians buying it?

Analysis, Highlights, Policies, Politics, Prabowo Subianto, Society

Although more people disagree with the president’s statement, the fact that 39.5% of the public agrees with Prabowo’s statement cannot be taken lightly, especially given that the president’s supporters and aides continue to amplify allegations of foreign interference through Indonesian proxies on traditional and social media.

Indonesia’s social media ban for under-16s deprives many children of their only public space

Analysis, Cyberspace, Education, Highlights, Policies

While the intention behind this policy is commendable, the design has two critical flaws. It fails to learn from the merits and shortcomings of Australia’s social media ban policy. More importantly, it misunderstands the role the internet plays in children’s social lives.

The new KUHAP: easier to investigate, easier to convict (Part 2 of 2)

Analysis, Law

Indonesia now has a procedural code that makes it considerably easier to designate, arrest, detain and convict critics. The new Code now stands as a looming deterrent to anyone with the tenacity to push back.

The new KUHAP: more kinds of evidence, fewer limits (Part 1 of 2)

Analysis, Highlights, Law

On 2 January 2026, Indonesia’s new Code of Criminal Procedure (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Acara Pidana, or KUHAP) came into force. The government has presented it as a historic break with a colonial and authoritarian past.

Indonesia’s Malacca Strait ‘toll’ proposal violates UNCLOS. Is there an alternative?

Analysis, Foreign Policy, Security

The idea is deeply controversial. If seriously proposed, it would face fierce opposition through legal, diplomatic, and even economic means. At the very least, it could hurt Indonesia’s credibility.

The Domestic Workers Protection Law is in place. Now it’s time to fight for working-class housewives

Analysis, Labour, Society

The passing of the Domestic Workers Protection Bill (PPRT Law) on 21 April 2026 is a major victory that should be celebrated. After more than two decades, the struggle of domestic workers has at last paid off – they are finally recognised as workers.

Redistributing wealth or costs? Why formalising community mining rarely works

Analysis, Environment, Policies

The central question is not whether communities should have access to mining, but whether the state retains the capacity to govern extraction once operations fragment across thousands of sites with uneven technical and environmental standards.

From ‘foreign agents’ to ‘deep state’: how security rhetoric is redefining who counts as Indonesian

Analysis, Politics, Society

The broader implication is a shift in how political contestation is understood. When criticism is framed through the language of security and foreignness, political debate moves away from questions of policy and towards questions of belonging, which, ironically, are then used to isolate and exclude many loyal Indonesians who love their country.

Loyalty over expertise: The patronage problem at the heart of Prabowo's foreign policy

Analysis, Foreign Policy, Highlights

Two factors have placed Indonesian foreign policy in this uncomfortable position: the president's deep-seated distrust of the foreign policy establishment, and his inability — or unwillingness — to separate loyalty from expertise in assembling his foreign policy team.

Posted in: Analysis