In November 2023, a unique event occured. Eight gamelan groups - Gamelan DanAnda, Kacapi Suling Melbourne, Mahindra Bali Gamelan, Melbourne Community Gamelan, Mugi Rahayu, Putra Panji Asmara, Talo Balak, Selonding Sapta Nugraha - came together to perform at a small church in Northcote, a suburb in North Melbourne.The gathering was dedicated to the …

The talk on the street is all about electric cars and scooters as Indonesia strives to become a regional centre for manufacturing electric vehicles. At the heart of that goal is constructing a national supply chain of locally built battery hubs to drive the transition to electric.But as my current guest reminds us, harnessing electricity has always…

There are many things that drive migration to other countries, and one of them is romantic relationships and marriages. But Asian women who are developing relationships with men from Western countries, like Australia, be it through snail mails, online sites or other means, often have to face the stereotype of the ‘subservient woman’. This stereotyp…

Indonesia has one of the highest smoking rates in the world - approximately two thirds of Indonesian men are classified as smokers. This is in spite of anti-smoking discourses and tobacco control policies becoming more and more prominent across the globe, at least in many middle and high-income countries.In this episode of Talking Indonesia Elisabe…

Indonesians have a saying that you’re not properly satisfied until you’ve eaten rice (belum kenyang kalau belum makan nasi). But in recent weeks the price of rice has hit record highs, meaning that this daily serving of rice is becoming out of reach for some. In 2023 an EL Niño weather pattern across Indonesia made it the hottest year on record, le…

How do religious minorities fare under the constitution and blasphemy laws in Indonesia? The Indonesia Constitution seems to guarantee religious freedom so long as you believe in an almighty god. However, there are many real-life cases where it seems this is not enough. Add to this blasphemy laws, which have existed since the 1960s, and we can see …

In the early 20th century in Sumatra, a movement of young women writers were finding new ways to express their identities, build communities and achieve their dreams. Soenting Melajoe was the first newspaper for women published in West Sumatra during the colonial era in the Dutch East Indies. The newspaper was a part of a larger constellation of pe…

Energy transitionIn the recent national elections, the candidates paid surprisingly little attention to one of the greatest challenges Indonesia and the world at large is currently facing – that of climate change. At the same time, for more and more Indonesians, climate change induced natural disasters like droughts, storms and floods are increasin…

Prabowo has exceeded expectations to claim victory in 2024 Indonesian presidential election.What do our Talking Indonesia's co-hosts think about the result? Who are the winners and losers? What were the most interesting aspects of the campaign behind Prabowo’s success? And how did a pack of cigarettes save our co-host, Tito Ambyo, from possible jai…

Faris Al Fadhat - Big BusinessConglomerates are the main players in the Indonesian economy, controlling core industries like agribusiness, banking and property and telecommunications. They are often built over multiple generations of a single, often ethnic Chinese, family.Indonesia’s biggest conglomerates - Sinar Mas Group, Royal Golden Eagle, Lipp…

With the election just weeks away the campaign for the presidency is in full flight. The three candidates – Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan – are proven campaigners and already familiar faces, but as has been the case in Indonesian politics for a while now, it is the coalitions they form around their tickets that will prove deci…

Since the most recent conflict erupted between Israel and Gaza following the October 7 Hamas’ attacks and Israel’s subsequent mass bombings of the Gaza strip, the Indonesian public and government have overwhelmingly condemned Israel's actions. Like most Muslim nations around the world, Indonesia’s solidarity with Palestine is long-standing and deep…

The Indonesian word ‘pemuda’, or young person, has a complex meaning and history. Like in other languages and cultures, the term conjures up images of change and vitality. But in Indonesia, it also carries militaristic and masculine connotations which are coloured by the way it was used during the New Order era.In his PhD thesis at the University o…

The choice by Indonesians to become a foreign overseas worker, known as Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (TKI), is viewed primarily as an economic one. Working in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong or further afield in the Middle East, is perceived to offer possibilities beyond what they might hope for back home. The Indonesian governme…

Kate McGregor - Activism, Memory and Sexual ViolenceDuring its Occupation of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries in World War II, including the Netherlands Indies, the Japanese military installed a system of enforced prostitution, known euphemistically as the ‘comfort women’ system.Today these crimes are relatively well-known and condemned. In…

As of July 2023, Indonesia had 139 million YouTube viewers giving it one of the biggest YouTube audiences in the world. But beyond the numbers, YouTube has also become an influential cultural force in Indonesia. YouTubers are shaping what we listen to and watch. YouTube food vloggers are changing the food we eat and the way we eat it. YouTube has e…

Indonesia has sadly been the site of many crimes and mass atrocities, but uncovering all the details is fraught with challenges. How many people were killed or injured? Who was at fault? Who was in charge?And yet, as long as these events are shrouded in mystery, wrongdoing can go unpunished, victims stay unheard and we are unable to learn from our …

Indonesia is the largest Muslim majority country in the world, but it is not an Islamic state. The place of Islam within the state has been contested over the years, with proponents for and against a larger role for Islam in government and in the lives of citizens. The groups who advocate for a more prominent role for Islam occupy a wide spectrum o…

Joko Widodo’s recent trip to four African countries marked the first ever by an Indonesian head of state. The President’s five-day visit took him to Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, before finishing in South Africa where he attended the meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group of nations in Johannesburg. In his address…

Indonesians around the world will celebrate Independence Day in a range of ways on 17 August. Some will hold festivals in big cosmopolitan cities, serving Indonesian food to hungry diasporas, while Indonesian villagers will hold traditional celebrations with simple games and competitions, like tug of war and kerupuk eating. Many of these traditions…

Twenty-five years since embarking on its reform era following the fall of the New Order, observers, scholars and global democracy indexes agree that Indonesian democracy is in a state of regression. Recent challenges levelled at key institutions including the Constitutional Court, the Corruption Eradication Commission, and threats to freedom of spe…

The project of bureaucratic reform has now been ongoing for over 20 years. But what issues remain and what is the government doing to try and curb corruption and boost efficiency?In this episode, Dr Elisabeth Kramer speaks to Dr Kanti Pertiwi about how effective efforts to improve the bureaucracy have been. They discuss the design and implementatio…

In January 2021, a case that became known as ‘digital-nomad-gate’ gripped both Indonesia’s social and conventional media channels and was also reported around the world. An American woman living in Bali was deported following a series of tweets in which she described her enviable and ‘elevated’ lifestyle there, encouraging others to follow. Amid a …

Many of the big challenges humanity faces today – especially when we talk about environmental problems – can only be understood from a global perspective. This is definitely the case with sand. According to a report from the UN, sand is the second most exploited natural resource in the world after water. About 40-50 billion metric tons of it are us…

Jarrah Sastrawan - Natural Disasters and Ancient BeliefsIndonesia is no stranger to natural disasters and it is not surprising that societies throughout the ages have attached political and social significance to these displays of natural power.In this episode, Dr Elisabeth Kramer speaks with Dr Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan to understand how societies in…

In 2015 and 2019 massive forest fires in Indonesia shrouded its neighbours in smoke. The haze caused respiratory and other heath problems for residents of Singapore and Malaysia, and the carbon and heat emitted from these fires pushed the achievement of Indonesia’s international greenhouse gas emissions targets further out of reach. 80% of Indonesi…

Indonesia's general election in 2024 will be a big one. Young voters have helped decide the last two general elections. It was millennials behind online movements, like Kawal Pemilu, which helped young Indonesians closely monitor the election results in 2014 and 2019. However, this time, a new generation comes of age: Generation Z. And with them, a…

Indonesia is an important global hub for minerals and resource extraction. The value of its metallic minerals and coal industry in 2020 was the ninth-largest in the world. Indonesia’s extractive sector accounts for 25 percent of exports and it is also an important source of economic growth, government revenue, employment and technology transfer. Bu…

Talking Indonesia’s guest this week, Kevin O’Rourke, has been watching Indonesia closely for many years. He dodged tanks in his Toyota Kijang during the May 1998 riots, started the Reformasi Weekly newsletter in 2003, and launched the podcast Reformasi Dispatch with journalist Jeff Hutton in 2021.Podcasting is becoming an important medium in Indone…

Indonesian literature in translationIn recent years the international profile of Indonesian literature has been given a substantial boost. Indonesian authors and their work was highlighted at major book fairs in Europe and given a special place within the cultural and commercial programs at these events, and also backed by funding from the Ministry…

Associate Professor Eka Permanasari - Building the New Capital In late February, Joko Widodo’s official social media feed showed him conducting the affairs of state from a small hut set amongst a forest of trees. This was his second overnight stay on the site of the future Presidential Palace in the yet to be built new capital city (Ibu Kota Negara…

ronmental Program has identified Indonesia as one of 17 "megadiverse" countries, making it highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Yet the country also ranks among the top-10 emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, largely because of its forestry, land use and energy sectors.The Indonesian Constitution provides for environmental prot…

The cryptocurrency market in Indonesia is booming. In 2022, the country recorded 14 million cryptocurrency investors, much higher than the number of Indonesians who invest in the stock market.Last month, President Joko Widodo signed off on a new law that aims to provide greater clarity on how cryptocurrency is regulated. The new law transfers crypt…

On 11 January, President Joko Widodo gave a national address in which he acknowledged gross violations of human rights had occurred in Indonesia and expressed his regret and sympathy for the victims.He referred to 12 incidents involving historical rights violations, including the 1965-66 killings, the extrajudicial killings of criminals in the 1980…

Indonesia has expressed persistent reservations about AUKUS, the security pact reached in secret between Australia, the US and the UK and announced in September 2021. Under the pact, the three allies will share defence capabilities, with the initial headline item being Australia’s acquisition of a fleet of nuclear-powered but conventionally-armed s…

On 6 December, Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) passed a long-awaited new Criminal Code (KUHP), in an act the government described as one of decolonisation and modernisation of the Indonesian nation-state. Revised and re-drafted over several years, the new code replaces the 1918 version inherited from the Dutch and incorporated into the l…

This year, the Indonesian government has replaced more than 110 local elected leaders for appointed caretaker leaders. By 2024, almost all district and provincial leaders will be appointments from Jakarta. The government says that this is a technocratic fix. The plan is to hold all district, provincial and national elections on the same day, and to…

There are many Indonesian researchers conducting important and path-breaking research, both within Indonesia and around the world. But many of these Indonesian scholars often find it difficult to distribute and share the results of their research projects with the global public. The reasons for Indonesian researchers' underrepresentation on the glo…

Preliminary investigations into the events at Kanjuruhan Stadium on 1 October, which claimed the lives of 135 people, have found that the use of tear gas by police was the primary cause of the tragedy. This and other recent high-profile scandals involving the Indonesian National Police (Polri) have led to a renewed focus on the failures of police r…

It is often said that it is easy to start a podcast. But not many make it to 200 episodes. Many factors have played a part in making Talking Indonesia special and helping us reach this important milestone, from the podcast's various co-hosts, its listeners (thank you!), its many supporters, and, most of all, its amazing guests, who have shared thei…

Indonesian football experienced its darkest day on 1 October, when more than 130 spectators were killed – including 35 children – after police fired tear gas into the crowd at the conclusion of a match between local rivals Arema Malang and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang. Fans fleeing the tear gas, which police fired after some f…

In April 2017, Indonesian Muslim women did something quite revolutionary: they successfully held the first Congress of Indonesian Women Muslim Scholars (Kongres Ulama Perempuan Indonesia, KUPI). The inaugural congress of Muslim women scholars (or ulama), held in Cirebon, West Java, resulted in three fatwas on what attendees considered the biggest c…

The #MeToo movement has led to a global reckoning on sexual violence, including in Indonesia. After a series of high profile sexual assault scandals, activists won a landmark legal battle against sexual violence earlier this year, with the passage of Law No. 12 of 2022 on the Crime of Sexual Violence, or UU TPKS.But milestones aren’t achieved overn…

Environment and climate ministers from G20 nations gathered in Bali last week. Indonesian Minister for Forestry and the Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar told the gathering the world was already in the midst of a climate crisis and called on G20 members to work together to bring down global temperatures. Despite these strong statements, Indonesian env…

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in early August inflamed tensions with China and put Taiwan, and its implications for regional stability, in the spotlight. In response to Pelosi's visit, China conducted extensive military drills around Taiwan, which included firing ballistic missiles over the country. A potential …

Dr Wulan Dirgantoro and Dr Elly Kent - art and offenceIndonesian art collective Taring Padi made headlines around the world last month. The collective's 8x10 metre banner, "People's Justice" (2002), on display as part of the prestigious art exhibition documenta 15 in Kassel, Germany, was dramatically covered and subsequently taken down. The decisio…

Indonesia's longest-standing and most prominent "cause lawyering" organisation, the Legal Aid Institute or LBH, was founded in the early days of Soeharto's authoritarian regime in 1970. Cause lawyering broadly refers to using the law to achieve social change. Throughout much of its history, LBH has faced the challenge of pursuing this mission in a …

Rapid growth in internet penetration in Indonesia over the past decade has altered the local media landscape and the ways in which news is produced and consumed. Over the past few years, several new broadcasting and digital media outlets have emerged, such as Tirto.id, Asumsi, Narasi TV, and Kumparan. One of these new digital players is the America…

Indonesian Islam has long been lauded as tolerant and "moderate". It is this moderate character that has enabled Indonesia – the world's largest Muslim-majority country – to become a flourishing democracy, unlike many Muslim-majority countries in the Persian Gulf region. But recent years have seen rising Islamic conservatism in Indonesia, a trend t…

Dr Elisabeth Kramer - Political candidates and anti-corruptionism Indonesia has announced it will conduct its next general elections on 14 February 2024, to select a new president and vice president, and members of the national, provincial and district legislatures. This will be the largest electoral event in Indonesia’s history, with more candidat…