Indonesia Indonesia Aims to Relocate Capital Out of Jakarta Over 5-10 Years (30 Apr) The cabinet of President Joko Widodo “Jokowi” announced that it intends to begin moving the government out of Jakarta on 30 April, Tuesday. The shift, motivated by increasing traffic congestion in Jakarta and...
Indonesia Absenteeism Fears Unfounded Amid Record Election Turnout (17 Apr) Over 154 million registered voters were estimated to have voted in the election on 17 April, putting turnout at roughly 80%. This is much higher than the turnout of 70.6% in 2014. There had been fears in...
Myanmar Chinese President Xi envisions deeper ties, assures Myanmar of Beijing’s support (10 Apr 2019) Xi expressed during a meeting with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Beijing, that China would like to enhance strategic communication and deepen cooperation with Myanmar no matter how the international situation...
Indonesia Fourth Presidential Debate Excites as Election Nears (30 Mar) The fourth presidential debate between incumbent Joko Widodo “Jokowi” and Prabowo Subianto occurred on 30 March, Saturday, and covered ideology, governance, security and foreign affairs. The two candidates sparred over issues such as Indonesia’s defence budget, which...
Indonesia Jokowi Mulls Creating New Ministries for Investments, Exports (12 Mar) President Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) said on 12 March that he was considering forming new ministries to tackle declining investment and export growth figures. The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) had reported an 30% decline in foreign investment...
By Simon Tay For Nikkei Asian Review A humanitarian crisis that has been brewing at the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since 2016 is reaching a critical point. At Cox's Bazar, just inside Bangladesh, an estimated 740,000 displaced Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine State are encamped in...
Indonesia Fake News Still a Concern in Lead-Up to Election (27 Feb, 12 Mar) Indonesia’s National Police is closely monitoring online activity in the lead-up to the April election, with the aim of preventing provocative fake news from triggering violence in public. Much of the fake news...
Indonesia The Second Presidential Debate – Lively Arguments, Loose Facts (17 Feb) Incumbent President Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) and challenger Prabowo Subianto locked horns over energy, food, infrastructure, natural resources and the environment on Sunday, 17 February, during the second presidential debate. While Jokowi sought to burnish his...
Indonesia Jokowi Lashes Out at Prabowo over “Russian Propaganda”, Then Clarifies Statement (2 Feb) Incumbent President Joko Widodo “Jokowi” accused the campaign team of Prabowo Subianto of disseminating propaganda via a foreign consultant, calling the efforts “Russian propaganda”. Prabowo’s team denied the accusation. When subsequently asked to...
Indonesia Jokowi Moves to Release Abu Bakar Bashir, then Backpedals (18 Jan, 23 Jan) President Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) caused a stir on 18 January when he announced plans to release radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. Bashir was sentenced to jail for 15 years under anti-terrorism laws back...