POLITICAL polling in Indonesia, say seasoned observers, has little to do with determining voter preferences. Rather, the surveys conducted by the country’s numerous political consultancies focus on promoting the political fortunes of the parties or rich individuals who hire them.
CAN Jakarta’s new Governor Joko Widodo bring real change to Indonesia’s capital city? Suffering from floods, pollution and rising crime, as well as some of the world’s most notorious traffic jams, Jakarta could certainly do with some improvement.
WITH reports of ethnic and religious intolerance in Indonesia on the rise, it is all too easy for foreigners to get the impression that discrimination and bigotry have always been a way of life in the country.
“TWO steps forward, one step back”. This rather depressing catchphrase seems to fit Indonesia rather well these days.
INDONESIAN television stations run by politically well-connected media tycoons currently control an estimated 70 per cent of audience share. Facts such as these worry observers concerned about the future of Indonesian democracy.
The inability of the government led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to bridge the deep divisions between her populist government and its royalist opponents in the military and bureaucracy remains a major concern.
Prime Minister Yingluck has selected a competent economic team, but it is difficult for these technocrats to deliver on the new government's campaign promises without triggering inflation or hurting business.
The government has also been unable to resolve the ongoing insurgency involving ethnic Malay Muslim rebels in the south.
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My name is Dr Bruce Gale and I am a senior writer with the Singapore Straits Times. I studied at LaTrobe University (BA Hons) in Melbourne and later at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Monash University (MA). My PhD thesis, which focussed on Malaysian political economy, was completed at the Malaysian National University (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) in 1987.
From 1988 to 2003 I was Singapore Regional Manager for the Hong Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).
I have written several books and articles on Southeast Asian affairs, including Political Risk and International Business: Case Studies in Southeast Asia (Pelanduk Publications, 2007). Books on language include Mastering Indonesian: a guide to reading Indonesian language newspapers (Pelanduk Publications, 2008)