Reformasi Dispatch

Kevin and Erin talk to former  US diplomat  Brandon Possin on Trump's invasion of Venezuela and what to expect of the administration. Also: Stand up comic and government critic Pandji Pragiwaksono could face a blasphemy charge for his Netflix special Mens Rea after he was reported by a youth group. And Thomas Djiwandono, the President's nephew is named as a candidate for Deputy Governor...

Joining the pod is Isanksarsyah Bakri, senior advisor to the Aceh governor, for a discussion of the livelihoods crisis facing the province after the 23 November Senyar Cyclone devastated half of Aceh's districts.  Also: Erin and Kevin look at the Information Ministry's ban of the Grok AI nudify function on Elon Musk's X; Prabowo's travel plans; and Megawati's emphatic denu...

Burhanuddin Muhtadi of the polling firm Indikator politik, together with Monica Wihardja of ISEAS, join the pod to discuss their empirical analysis of disinformation mesaging in the 2024 Presidential contest. Spoiler: Beware of TikTok. Pak Burhan also comments on Presidential support ratings. Also; Kevin and Erin discuss disaster relief, a regional head election bill and KPK scrutiny of Ridwan Kam...

Dr Chris Chaplin joins the pod to discuss the latest in politics, and the background to his new analytical endeavor, www.cearta.co.  Also: police appointments, electoral law revisions and international cyclone aid. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of...

Kevin and Erin talk with researcher Garda Ramadhito on Prabowo's Palestine peace-keeping plans and political Islam in his term. Also, the political and environmental reckoning in Sumatra's devastating flooding and the KPK takes a look at its own handling of a case involving Bobby Nasution. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording s...

A week of superlatives for Indonesia - the tragic Senyar cyclone is the largest on record to hit Indonesia; a tax bribery case is affecting a key owner of the most profitable bank, BCA; a leadership struggle has incapacitated the largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), at a time when Indonesia prepares for its largest-ever deployment of peacekeepers to Gaza; and Danantara seeks a role...

Kevin talks to Matt Busch on his new book "The Contested State: The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency during the Asian Financial Crisis." It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us. You can donate to us on...

Joining the pod is Dr Seth Soderborg to discuss polling trends in Indonesia.  Also discussed: Soeharto's annointment as hero, the outlook for the new Police Reform Commission, improved BI foreign reserves, an Australian Defence Treaty and a bombing by a youth at a school in Kelapa Gading. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording service...

In this episode: plans for bestowing hero status on Soeharto, exonerating parliamentarians for August excesses, the president's message to police, and Myanmar's junta poses for polls. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch p...

In this episode: the Golkar chair seeks criminal defamation charges for social-media users who distribute disagreeable memes; Prabowo proffers Gaza engagement, but with political pitfalls - as seen at Asean's summit attended by Trump; and Sjafrie seriously considers a purchase of yet more fighter jets, from China. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hostin...

Our pod guest Krista Shennum from Climate Rights International discussed CRI's extensive field research on nickel sector impacts on communities across a swathe of Eastern Indonesia -- from pollution such as acid rain, health adversities such as skin afflictions, disasters such as dam breaks and disputes over land rights and compensation.  An interviewee asked, 'Does anyone care?', w...

This week: Prabowo and Widodo together again; signs of sensitivity on free lunches; the new finance minister makes a rocky start; and the Al-Khoziny disaster in Sidoarjo. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us. You...

This week: Prabowo's address to the UN General Assembly and the signing of trade agreements (CEPAs) with both Canada and the EU.  Prabowo's signature program, free school lunches, faces criticism with almost 6,000 children having suffered food poisoning.  Almost 1,000 people remain in custody for the August demonstrations and riots. And radioactive Cesium-137 turned up in tons of exporte...

In this episode: A new finance minister, a cabinet reshuffle, the Nation's Conscience Movement, Thaksin detained, Anti-elite movements from Kathmandu to Manila, deadly floods in Bali and Freeport workers trapped For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info     Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke Mulut here: https://darimulut.substack.com/ It takes a lot of money to run...

Joining us to consider recent developments -- namely, unrest, economic frustrations and democratic hopes -- is Prof Ian Wilson, principal fellow of the Indo-Pacific Research Centre at Murdoch University. Read Ian Wilson's article here: https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/who-speaks-for-the-riot-youth-agency-and-the-contest-over-protest-narratives/  It takes a lot of money to run a pod...

'Let them eat kue!' Kevin and Erin update the escalation of protests over the weekend throughout Indonesia, surrounding the death of 21-year-old delivery-bike driver Affan Kurniawan, crushed by an armored police vehicle.   The ensuing frenzy witnessed the looting of houses of several parliamentarians as well as that of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (she was away).  Who is the or...

This week, protests Monday set the scene for a chaotic week. Elsewhere, Immanuel Ebenezer's arrest marks the first cabinet alleged corruption case and a new addition to the Constitutional Court shores up government support on the bench. Please note this podcast was recorded Thursday afternoon Jakarta time and there will be more to come. For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformas...

Prabowo celebrated Indonesia"s 80th anniversary of Independence at the Palace. Residents of Pati protested against their district chief, backed by a nationwide online campaign.  And Setya Novanto, disgraced former Speaker of the House who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, won release. For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke M...

Better than expected GDP data shows resilience in the economy, but is not without controversy.  Also: startling personnel changes in Gerindra and a state bank, and a plan for aiding Gazans. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podca...

This week -  the patronage politics of pardon power plays; a test to freedom of expression from cartoon pirates; funding cooperatives from the accumulated deficit-financing surplus (Sal); and a listener's question on good sources for analysis of the ASEAN-wide political economy. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor&...

Tensions erupted along the Thai-Cambodia border as five days of skirmishing caused 32 deaths. Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia sat down with the Thai and Cambodian PMs; ASEAN centrality shone as he brokered a ceasefire. The next day he visited Prabowo and addressed the ASEAN Secretariat. Prabowo gives an hour-long speech at PSI, talking about elephants; the new PSI logo, his commitment to elephant conser...

Prabowo went to Brussels to meet with Ursula Von der Leyen to finalize the long awaited Indonesia-EU CEPA. Trump announced 19% tariff announcement on Truth Social. Tom Lembong was sentenced to 4 and a half years, a loud political statement on what dissent will cost and a warning for other Ministers not to cross Prabowo.

This week: we discuss a Java-Bali ferry disaster, Gibran's new assignment, Prabowo's Brics Summit, Trump's revised tariff threat and, not least - aura farming. For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke Mulut here: https://darimulut.substack.com/ It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hos...

Paetongtarn is out, an Indonesian influencer is arrested and sentenced to 7 years in Myanmar's Insein prison, a new Constitutional Court decision on election scheduling is causing a stir. For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke Mulut here: https://darimulut.substack.com/ It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscri...

In this interview with Dr. Rien Dam, an expert on water and land management, Kevin talks about the long-discussed plan of North Jakarta sea wall program. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us. You can donate to us...