Indonesia’s self-identity as a tolerant, pluralist society has been shaken by Jakarta’s gubernatorial election, writes Tim Lindsey The decisive defeat of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (known as ‘Ahok’) in Jakarta’s litmus-test gubernatorial election is a triumph for hardline Islamist mob agitators. It comes after years of pressure from the Muslim right and may flag a shift […]
Scholars divide over whether the Jokowi ‘phenomenon’ represents a victory for Indonesia’s media oligarchs, or a serious challenge to them, writes ROSS TAPSELL. This year, Indonesia elected a new president, Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi). He catapulted from mayor of Solo in 2005, to Jakarta governor in 2012, to president in 2014. Not part […]
The smartphone election Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi’s) inauguration as Indonesia’s seventh president this month, after trouncing the swaggering former Kopassus (Special Forces) commander Prabowo Subianto by a margin of 6 per cent in July, is an event of seismic significance, not just for the Republic but for all of us. It proves what’s possible and gives […]
