Analysis 4 - Indonesia at Melbourne

Testing the water: flood victims take Anies to court

2019 Indonesian Elections, Analysis, Law, Politics, Society, Urban planning

A group of residents have filed a class action against Governor Anies Baswedan over widespread flooding in early January. Will they have any luck? Laras Susanti examines the case.

Coronavirus, fear and misinformation

Analysis, Media, Public health

Hoaxes, misinformation, conspiracy theories, racism, widespread panic and jokes and memes. Wisnu Prasetya Utomo takes a look at how Indonesian netizens have responded to the coronavirus epidemic.

Up in smoke? Tobacco and Indonesia’s efforts to reduce stunting

Analysis, Public health, Society

Rizanna Rosemary and Ratri Ciptaningtyas examine an important factor rarely acknowledged as contributing to high rates of stunting in Indonesia – smoking.

Best of 2019: articles

2019 Indonesian Elections, Analysis, Corruption, Gender, Human Rights, Law, Political parties, Politics, Religion, Society, Urban planning

Indonesia at Melbourne will again be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period. Here we list the most popular articles, plus a few of our favourites, from 2019. We look forward to seeing you again when we return in mid-January.

The politics of the label 'radical'

Analysis, Politics, Religion, Security, Society

The Indonesian government has recently issued a decree on addressing "radicalism" among civil servants. Kate Grealy warns that vague definitions of radicalism mean there is a risk the policy could be used to silence the government's opponents.

Sign of the times? Indonesia takes the (halal) cake

Analysis, Religion, Society

It was only a matter of time before Indonesia its own controversy around cakes and religious freedom. Dr Stewart Fenwick examines the incident and looks at why it prompted such a strong backlash.

Forced atonement? Dutch apologies and compensation for colonial era rights violations

Analysis, History, Human Rights, Politics

Olivia Tasevski examines the Dutch government's limited efforts to acknowledge and provide compensation for abuses committed by its forces during the colonial period.

As haze returns, government will pay to protect forests

Analysis, Environment, Natural Resources, Policies

Plans are underway to reward provincial and district governments for protecting the environment – bringing potential for better conservation across Indonesia, write Erman A. Rahman and R. Alam Surya Putra

The danger of rejecting democracy for the sake of economic growth

Analysis, Politics

As observers warn of Indonesia’s democratic retreat, Dr Robertus Robet questions the growing belief that authoritarianism is a shortcut to development

Posted in: Analysis