TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


Will Indonesia ever fully embrace its ‘cultural citizens’ worldwide?

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Many in the diaspora, particularly those without Indonesian passports, feel that government initiatives to engage the diaspora, including the Global Citizenship of Indonesia (GCI), do not address core concerns such as property rights, political participation, and full recognition of their enduring ties to Indonesia.

A specific gig worker protection law for Indonesia?

, ,
At present, gig workers are excluded from coverage under the general labour law. The principle that they are ‘mitra’ (partners, or ‘independent contractors’), and not employees, is rooted in the basic definitions of employment under Indonesian law. In the meantime, there have been some ad hoc attempts to regulate app-based motorcycle taxi drivers by the Ministry of Transportation, including by setting minimum tariffs.

Talking Indonesia: resilient patriarchies

,
Timor-Leste became independent from Indonesia in 2002, after 24 painful years of Indonesian occupation built on centuries of Portuguese colonisation. Both regimes were deeply violent and extractive and drew Timorese society into different forms of a valorised armed masculinity that would have repercussions well after Timor’s independence.

Illegal and unfair: Indonesia should not ratify Donald Trump’s tariff deals

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Even without the bombshell Supreme Court decision, there are major problems with the Indonesia-US tariffs agreement.

Laughing at power: the political significance of Pandji Pragiwaksono's ‘Mens Rea’

, ,
Mens Rea is filled with jokes that, in the context of Indonesian stand-up comedy, are often called materi pinggir jurang (cliff-edge material). They are dangeorous jokes, given the increasing risk of criminalisation that accompanies any critical expression in Indonesia.

One logic, two arenas: making sense of Prabowo’s Board of Peace decision

, ,
While joining the Board of Peace offers short-term access to the US for Indonesia, the longer-term risks are more substantial.

Talking Indonesia: the new Criminal Code

On 2 January 2026, Indonesia entered what officials are calling a 'new era' of criminal justice. The country implemented a new Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana, KUHP) and a new Criminal Procedure Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Acara Pidana, KUHAP), which changed what constitutes a crime and how crimes are identified, investigated, and punished.

Aurelie’s ‘broken strings’: Indonesia needs to criminalise child grooming and coercive control

, ,
Aurelie’s story should serve as a catalyst for improving child protection law in Indonesia. There are emerging forms of violence, such as grooming and coercive control, that still lack clear definitions and legal protection.

Credibility of Indonesia’s central bank and Constitutional Court at stake

, ,
On 27 January 2026, Indonesia saw two political appointments that will test the independence of two of its most important state institutions. One was the appointment of  Gerindra Party politician Thomas Djiwandono, a nephew of President Prabowo Subianto, as deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI, the central bank of Indonesia). The other was the selection of senior Golkar Party politician Adies Kadir as a Constitutional Court justice.  

Will Indonesia ever fully embrace its ‘cultural citizens’ worldwide?

, ,
Many in the diaspora, particularly those without Indonesian passports, feel that government initiatives to engage the diaspora, including the Global Citizenship of Indonesia (GCI), do not address core concerns such as property rights, political participation, and full recognition of their enduring ties to Indonesia.

A specific gig worker protection law for Indonesia?

, ,
At present, gig workers are excluded from coverage under the general labour law. The principle that they are ‘mitra’ (partners, or ‘independent contractors’), and not employees, is rooted in the basic definitions of employment under Indonesian law. In the meantime, there have been some ad hoc attempts to regulate app-based motorcycle taxi drivers by the Ministry of Transportation, including by setting minimum tariffs.

Talking Indonesia: resilient patriarchies

,
Timor-Leste became independent from Indonesia in 2002, after 24 painful years of Indonesian occupation built on centuries of Portuguese colonisation. Both regimes were deeply violent and extractive and drew Timorese society into different forms of a valorised armed masculinity that would have repercussions well after Timor’s independence.

Illegal and unfair: Indonesia should not ratify Donald Trump’s tariff deals

, ,
Even without the bombshell Supreme Court decision, there are major problems with the Indonesia-US tariffs agreement.

Laughing at power: the political significance of Pandji Pragiwaksono's ‘Mens Rea’

, ,
Mens Rea is filled with jokes that, in the context of Indonesian stand-up comedy, are often called materi pinggir jurang (cliff-edge material). They are dangeorous jokes, given the increasing risk of criminalisation that accompanies any critical expression in Indonesia.

One logic, two arenas: making sense of Prabowo’s Board of Peace decision

, ,
While joining the Board of Peace offers short-term access to the US for Indonesia, the longer-term risks are more substantial.

Talking Indonesia: the new Criminal Code

On 2 January 2026, Indonesia entered what officials are calling a 'new era' of criminal justice. The country implemented a new Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana, KUHP) and a new Criminal Procedure Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Acara Pidana, KUHAP), which changed what constitutes a crime and how crimes are identified, investigated, and punished.

Aurelie’s ‘broken strings’: Indonesia needs to criminalise child grooming and coercive control

, ,
Aurelie’s story should serve as a catalyst for improving child protection law in Indonesia. There are emerging forms of violence, such as grooming and coercive control, that still lack clear definitions and legal protection.

Credibility of Indonesia’s central bank and Constitutional Court at stake

, ,
On 27 January 2026, Indonesia saw two political appointments that will test the independence of two of its most important state institutions. One was the appointment of  Gerindra Party politician Thomas Djiwandono, a nephew of President Prabowo Subianto, as deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI, the central bank of Indonesia). The other was the selection of senior Golkar Party politician Adies Kadir as a Constitutional Court justice.  
NEWS & EVENTS

TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


EDITOR’S PICKSSee all

Military-cleric alliance may fuel new anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Indonesia

21 July 2026/by Rafiqa Qurrata Ayun, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/rafiqa/

Indonesia’s economic centralisation under Prabowo

7 July 2026/by Norman Joshua, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/normanjoshua/

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

23 June 2026/by Ian Wilson, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/ian/

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 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.

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