Society - Indonesia at Melbourne

Selected, not shared: what Indonesia's limited dual citizenship proposal reveals about who counts as diaspora

The proposal for limited dual citizenship also appears ironic. It seeks to persuade highly skilled Indonesians overseas to return, yet President Prabowo has repeatedly urged those who are dissatisfied with the government to ‘look for another country’. Such mixed signals help explain why many members of the diaspora remain reluctant to formalise their ties to a state that seems ambivalent about their belonging.

All eyes on politicians: luxury brands and public scrutiny

Corruption, Politics, Society

This is about more than just luxury handbags, designer shoes, or expensive watches. It is about visibility and power in the digital age. Social media has fundamentally transformed the relationship between citizens and political elites by enabling ordinary people to scrutinise, archive, and interpret the everyday lives of those in authority.

Is Jakarta turning into Gotham? How viral crime panics become pretext for expanding military visibility

Analysis, Security, Society

Moments of crime anxiety in Indonesia routinely trigger authoritarian nostalgia for Petrus‑style ‘shock therapy’. This is a reference to the early‑1980s ‘mysterious shootings’ campaign in which security forces carried out extrajudicial killings of thousands of alleged criminals as a projection of state authority.

Academic freedom in peril as Indonesian campuses face deepening state incursions

Analysis, Human Rights, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Indonesia does not need universities that merely repeat government policies and adopt its priorities. It needs universities that can examine and criticise them - and warn society when public power begins to exceed its proper limits.

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.

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.

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.

Danantara and the return of the 'jago' economy

Analysis, Economy, Society

The 'jago' economy is the mode of economic governance that the Prabowo Subianto administration seems to be institutionalising through Danantara, the huge sovereign wealth fund it established in 2025.

The president who cried wolf? Why Prabowo’s anti-foreign rhetoric is dangerous

Analysis, Politics, Security, Society

By crying ‘foreign interference’ at every challenge to his authority, Prabowo risks eroding the credibility his government needs to face real external threats.

Posted in: Society