American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce
Disruption Commentary by Wayne Forrest A popular Indonesian cartoon that has emerged since the onset of the coronavirus (COV-19) shows a series of boxes filled with various symptoms (severe cough, joint pain, runny nose, stomach ache, fever, headache, etc.) with lines all connecting to one containing the cause: masuk angin. Literally meaning the wind
Salvage Job by Wayne Forrest Building Indonesia’s new capital in East Kalimantan may turn out to be easier than preserving its current capital. However, the “capital” I mean is what has been invested in Indonesia’s state-owned insurance and pension system, not Jakarta, a city sinking due to ground water loss and climate change. Once
2019: A Year of Treading Water by Wayne Forrest Politics dominated 2019 as it was an election year characterized by a stormy Presidential campaign, violent demonstrations by supporters of the losing candidate (Prabowo), and a serene October inauguration. Economically, Indonesia tread water, reinforced its value-added and resource nationalism priorities, maintained its macro stability and
Better Late Than Never Commentary by Wayne Forrest In September President Jokowi had an eventful meeting with Rodrigo Chaves, the World Bank’s Country Director in Indonesia, who told him that out of 33 multinationals relocating production out of China due to its trade/tariff war with the US, 23 went to Vietnam, the rest to
Onward/Backward Commentary by Wayne Forrest I recently met an Indonesian friend who had switched from an Iphone, which he had proudly used for years, to a Huawei phone. I was taken aback, but Huawei meets Indonesia’s local content rules and Apple doesn’t (although you can buy them as they were given a waiver because
Preserve Reformasi Commentary by Wayne Forrest Things can come suddenly in Indonesia. If you haven’t been observing Indonesia closely since President Jokowi was reelected with a solid mandate in April, you might think that things would be going well for him leading up to his October 20 inauguration. But you would be wrong, the
Indonesia's Moon Shot Commentary by Wayne Forrest In 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced US plans to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. By the time the astronauts of Apollo 11 achieved this in 1969 technologies that were either in their infancy, or had not yet been born,
Time To Clean Up Efforts to cleanup Indonesia’s waterways of harmful plastic waste have been accelerating recently. This month 8,000 volunteers will assemble at 34 spots along the 110 kilometer Ciliwung River to haul out the garbage. Thousand of tons of plastic bottles and other materials wash up on Indonesia’s
Election Idul Fitri Commentary by Wayne Forrest Indonesians have begun the mass movement (mudik) that occurs annually at the conclusion of Ramadhan, the holy fasting month. Idul Fitri/Lebaran is a back-to-one’s-roots moment relocating millions out cities to be with their families. Jakarta suddenly becomes a quiet, small town. The holiday’s message of peace, inclusiveness,
April Post Election Visit Commentary by Wayne Forrest I spent 9 days in Indonesia recently, April 20-30, and had very productive meetings in Jakarta and Banda Aceh. The run up to the recent Presidential Election was much hyped by the international media as a serious threat to Indonesia’s pluralist state. To me, it was
