: Super User; Economic; 28 February 2013; Hits: 2782

Reform-minded Jakarta Governor Struggles with Health Scheme

LAST week, when news broke that a premature baby had died after Jakarta’s public hospitals – including three state-run institutions – allegedly refused treatment, there were denials all round.

: Super User; Economic; 18 January 2013; Hits: 1158

Time to Take Some Zeros Off the Rupiah

ARE you a millionaire yet? If not, you might like to take a trip to Indonesia. At an exchange rate of one Singapore dollar to around 7,860 Indonesia rupiah earlier this month, for example, it was possible to become an instant millionaire by visiting a money changer and exchanging less than S$130 (US$106).

: Super User; Economic; 06 December 2012; Hits: 1274

One Man's Dream to Raise Standards

THE Indonesian education system is not normally associated with academic prowess. Instead, the country is probably better known for its ramshackle schools, unqualified teachers, and deeply flawed national examination system. And yet, secondary school students plucked from educational institutions across the country regularly win gold medals at international physics, mathematics and science competitions.

: Super User; Economic; 23 August 2012; Hits: 1307

Fired Up About Geothermal Energy

“INDONESIA has the world’s greatest geothermal energy potential,” World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conservation director Nazir Foead told me when I met him in Jakarta earlier this month. “Yet it uses only about 4 per cent of it”.

: Super User; Economic; 22 August 2012; Hits: 1225

Mystery of the Weakening Rupiah

INDONESIA, currently one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, has seen its currency weaken significantly this year. And most analysts expect the rupiah to fall even further in the coming months. Why should this be so?

Key Political Risks

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.

WATCH OUT FOR:

Attempts by the government to amend the constitution. The proposed rewrite is aimed removing legal measures initiated by the royalist generals who overthrew former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the current prime minister's elder brother, in 2006.
Ballooning government debt as officials seek to finance government programmes aimed at subsidising rice prices in order to retain the support of farmers.
The relationship between Prime Minister Yingluck and senior generals. Coups have been a common means of regime change in Thai history, and any attempt by the government to purge royalist elements in the top brass could trigger yet another. Thailand