Could this blog post land me in jail?
As Indonesia’s government continues to propose new restrictions on freedom of expression, blog posts like this one could soon lead to jail.
Articles by Elizabeth Pisani
Ageing Indonesia: wiser or just grumpier?
Indonesia turns 71 today. Like many septuagenarians, the country appears to be growing more grumpy and intolerant as it ages. This week, the Economist picks up on an apparently rising tide of homophobia in Indonesia. Importantly, the paper also picked up on the fact that the grumpiness is partly motivated by politics: “Politics, as much as religious conviction, plays its part,” The Economist reports. “Many politicians sense they may win more votes by presenting themselves as pious Muslims than by…
Castration: another knee-jerk ‘solution’ from Jokowi
Indonesia’s president had rushed out a knee-jerk response to the gang rape of a 14 year-old girl: chemical castration and even death for perpetrators. But what’s needed is more thoughtful structural reforms that might reduce violence while protecting and helping victims.
Why are Indonesian politicians such slow learners?
Gay-bashing is the latest fashion among Indonesian politicians. It proves they are very slow learners: Indonesians do not tend to re-elect intolerant politicians.
High drama in the Indonesian Theatre State
As Indonesian citizens take over the Theatre State of old, the parliamentary stage readies for the biggest corruption scandal to date.
How well is Indonesia managing its differences?
Anies Baswedan made me proud when told Europeans how well Indonesia manages cultural differences. Then I heard news of the church burnings in Aceh.
Less touring, more studying would serve Indonesian politicians well
Trying to cut words from a headline? Replace “study tour” with “junket”. Most Indonesians think of study tours, or “studi banding” as a politician’s way of going on an overseas holiday at the taxpayers’ expense. There are exceptions, of course. Over a decade ago, I took the then vice-governor of Papua province, Konstan Karma, to Uganda to see what a generalised HIV epidemic looked like. One morning, we visited a clinic at a university hospital in Kampala. It was overflowing…
Indonesia is 70: Many happy Etc.s
Seventy years ago today, Sukarno and Mohmmad Hatta were frog-marched to a radio station by students hungry for independence. There, they declared the formation of the republic of Indonesia. Both the text and its original presentation in Sukarno’s handwriting (pictured above, rescued from the waste-paper basket) tell us much about the country.
My dynasty’s bigger than your dynasty: Indonesia beats the US at patronage politics
Earlier this year, Indonesia’s national parliament passed a law that tried to curb dynastic succession in politics. This was frankly a little surprising. The chairwoman of the largest party in parliament, Megawati Sukarnoputri, is the daughter of Indonesia’s first president. Though she never did manage to get elected herself, Megawati did spend some time in the top job after her boss President ‘Gus Dur’ was impeached. After a bit of political arm-twisting, her own daughter now sits in the cabinet….
Too much testosterone: can women save Indonesia?
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has appointed an all-female panel to select the next anti-corruption commissioners. While some think this is a sign that women are gaining political power in Indonesia. I argue that the panel will probably do a good job precisely because women are generally marginalised, and therefore less likely to be woven into networks of patronage and corruption.