TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


Talking Indonesia: sea nomads and the future of our ocean

In this episode, Dr Clara Siagian speaks with Dr Wengki Ariando, a scholar-activist from the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). He is also part of the Sea Nomads Contact Group, a collective of researchers and community representatives with a mission to translate research into advocacy and activism to secure political recognition for sea nomads in Southeast Asia.

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

, , , ,
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)

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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)

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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?

, ,
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

, ,
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

, ,
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

, ,
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.

Talking Indonesia: education in Papua

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In this episode, Dr Murni Sianturi challenges some of the most deeply held assumptions about schooling, knowledge, and what it means to learn. Her research in West Papua pushes back on three pervasive myths: that indigenous parents don't care about their children's education, that learning only happens in formal schools, and that indigenous communities are problems to be solved rather than partners to be heard.

Talking Indonesia: sea nomads and the future of our ocean

In this episode, Dr Clara Siagian speaks with Dr Wengki Ariando, a scholar-activist from the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). He is also part of the Sea Nomads Contact Group, a collective of researchers and community representatives with a mission to translate research into advocacy and activism to secure political recognition for sea nomads in Southeast Asia.

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

, , , ,
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)

,
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)

, ,
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?

, ,
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

, ,
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

, ,
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

, ,
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.

Talking Indonesia: education in Papua

,
In this episode, Dr Murni Sianturi challenges some of the most deeply held assumptions about schooling, knowledge, and what it means to learn. Her research in West Papua pushes back on three pervasive myths: that indigenous parents don't care about their children's education, that learning only happens in formal schools, and that indigenous communities are problems to be solved rather than partners to be heard.
NEWS & EVENTS

TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


EDITOR’S PICKSSee all

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

26 May 2026/by Djayadi Hanan, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/djayadi/, Yoes C Kenawas, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/yoes/

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

19 May 2026/by Pradipa P. Rasidi, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/adip/

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

12 May 2026/by Simon Butt, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/simon-butt/

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

21 April 2026/by Ahmad Syarif Syechbubakr, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/syarif/

Indonesia at Melbourne is supported by:

Melbourne Law School Asia Institute Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society Indonesia Forum Faculty of Arts Indonesia Democracy Hallmark Research Initiative

Indonesia at Melbourne

Room 726, Level 7, 185 Pelham St,
The University of Melbourne
Parkville 3010 VIC Australia

Phone: +61 3 83448581

Email:  indo-at-melb@unimelb.edu.au

Date created: 1 July 2015

Editor: Ary Hermawan

Editorial board: 
Professor Tim Lindsey
Dr Tim Mann
Aron Corbett

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated.

Phone:13 MELB (13 6352) | International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
The University of Melbourne ABN:84 002 705 224
CRICOS Provider Code:00116K (visa information)

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