: Super User; Social Issues; 21 April 2011; Hits: 973

Flawed Education System Does Few Favours

"I WILL pinch you tomorrow night". The SMS certainly sounded strange. But after years of teaching a brass band at a Salvation Army Boys Home in Medan in my spare time, I did not find it particularly unusual.

: Super User; Social Issues; 17 December 2010; Hits: 1057

Central Maluku inches towards progress

“WE DON’T want any more wars or politics. What we really need now is enough food, good education and quality health services for our kids”. This remark by 30-year-old Ambonese resident Hendrik Pohwain reflects the views of many in eastern Indonesia’s former conflict zones.

: Super User; Social Issues; 03 December 2010; Hits: 1083

Land reform stirs emotions in Jakarta

SEVERAL weeks ago, as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was about to make a speech, observers saw tears in the President’s eyes. Dr Yudhoyono stopped for almost a minute, biting his lip twice as he fought back the tears.

: Super User; Social Issues; 10 September 2010; Hits: 901

Football Woes Reflect Society's Fouls

FOOTBALL is very popular in Indonesia. Yet, despite its population of almost 240 million, Indonesia hardly figures on the international or regional football scene. There was no Indonesian team at the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, and the country has never won South-east Asia’s biannual Tiger Cup.

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