Two Years In
Two years into his 5 year term President Jokowi is exhibiting some of the qualities of former President Suharto. I say this not to compare them in any fundamental way – Jokowi is not an authoritarian- but to illustrate the process by which each consolidated power in the early years after they became President. Jokowi […]
The Big Number
Commentary by Wayne Forrest AMCHAM Indonesia and the US Chamber of Commerce recently released the fourth in their terrific annual series of reports that collectively put the US as perhaps Indonesia’s largest overall economic partner. The first 3 reports (2013-2015) established the case for the US designation as the largest foreign investor. With this year’s […]
Educated Abroad
Commentary by Wayne Forrest Indonesia has always had an ambivalent attitude towards foreigners, foreign investment, and Indonesians educated abroad. I began thinking about this during the latest Cabinet reshuffle when several highly successful Indonesians returned from long stints abroad. 71 years after independence it still isn’t an easy transition for an Indonesian to return or […]
Cabinet Rebalance 2.0- The Avoidance of Conflict
Commentary by Wayne Forrest The avoidance of conflict and embarrassment can be a strong dynamic in Javanese culture. In the world of the shadow puppets (wayang), a balanced, steady state is the ideal. The arc of most wayang stories is from stability to a disturbance that yields a conflict to the restoration of order. Politeness, […]
Changing Ambassadors
President Obama has nominated Joseph R. Donovan Jr. to be America’s next Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia. Hon. Robert Blake served his last full day as ambassador on Monday, July 18, and is heading back to United States and retiring from the foreign service. Donovan Bionotes: [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” […]
A Strong Appointment
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The prospect for deep reforms in Indonesia has always depended on how independent the outsider President Jokowi could be from the country’s sclerotic political party system. His supporters –who detect a […]
Golkar Returns
For those familiar with Indonesian politics Golkar is the party synonymous with Indonesia’s economic development. More than a just a political party, Golkar was an amalgamation of various “functional groups” (military, government bureaucrats, farmer’s organizations, etc.) that implemented the New Order government’s economic agenda. Golkar was engineered to be a partner of the government and […]
Nurhadi and the Rule of Law
Just as the Masela Block decision (main topic of last month’s commentary that described a sudden reversal of a decision to build an LNG facility on rather than offshore) spoke volumes to investors about stark divisions within the government over energy policy, the recent revelation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of graft within the […]
The Meaning of Masela
The forward progress of the Jokowi government may have hit a speed bump with its decision to go against the proposal of both the field operators Shell and Inpex, the opinion of Mines and Energy Minister Sudirman Said, as well as the oil/gas regulator SK Migas to locate an LNG facility for the Masela block […]
Duane Gingerich’s Pivot: In Memoriam (1942-2016)
As President Obama prepares to receive most of Southeast Asia’s heads of state at the US-ASEAN Summit February 15-16 in Rancho Mirage I am thinking of a recently fallen friend of AICC, Duane Gingerich, who passed away last Friday. President Obama had it right several years ago when he coined the “pivot to Asia” policy, […]