JUST what is going on in Indonesia’s half of New Guinea? In response to persistent reports of human rights violations by security forces, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono went on record in January as saying that there were “no gross human rights violations” in the area.
A NEW government regulation scheduled for implementation in May is being heralded as an important milestone in reforming Indonesia’s complex and highly restrictive land ownership laws.
“THE tourist industry is sleeping”. This comment by Mr Asnawi Bahar, chairman of the Association of the Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (Asita), says it all.
“THERE’S only one reason for it; the Aceh gubernatorial election.” This is what Mr Suadi Sulaiman, a former member of the rebel Free Aceh Movement, told the Jakarta Post last month when asked to comment on a recent wave of violence in Indonesia’s western-most province.
THE gubernatorial election for Jakarta’s Special Capital Region (DKI) may still be more than seven months away, but the nation’s major political parties are already gearing up for what promises to be a major contest.
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)