Follow The Bouncing Ball
May 2025 Commentary by Wayne Forrest Remember those cartoons with song lyrics and a bouncing ball. The ball helped you match the words with the music. I wish I had a bouncing ball to follow the tariff issue and the visa issue, and I suspect many of you do too. So, here is my attempt, […]
February Visit To Indonesia
February 2025 Commentary by Wayne Forrest The ties that bind the US and Indonesia remain strong, but they are fraying. I arrived February 3 in Indonesia for 2 weeks amidst cutbacks to the USG, including our foreign aid and the quasi-US government institutions such as Asia Foundation(our friends there that helped us put together out […]
Outlook for 2025: Rowing Between Two Reefs
January 2025 Commentary by Wayne Forrest Remarkably, Indonesia’s 2025 economic outlook is very similar to 2024’s: 5% growth and low inflation. As in 2025, the nation’s resilience will again be tested, mostly by external factors. However, as can already be demonstrated by the first 100 days of President Prabowo’s administration, international and domestic policy is […]
Prabowo’s First Weeks
November 2024 Commentary by Wayne Forrest President Prabowo began his Presidency mostly traveling outside of Indonesia, signaling the importance of repositioning the world’s fourth largest nation in front of its major sources of trade and investment. On November 8, only 2 weeks after his inauguration the President headed first to China to meet Xi Jinping […]
August Surprise
September 2024 Commentary by Wayne Forrest The last week of August in the US is slow and sleepy; most people are on vacation. Its very possible some Outlook/ Indonesia readers missed the fireworks in Indonesia. On August 22 the country erupted in major protests after the nation’s Parliament attempted to pass legislation to overturn an […]
Indonesia is Better Than This
Indonesia Is Better Than This Commentary by Wayne Forrest 45 years ago, when I first lived in Indonesia, I naively thought by 2024 it would be further along on its development pathway, that most houses would have running water, electricity, and its children educated to the 12th grade. I felt certain that its size, democracy, […]
Idealism and Realism Meet in Indonesia’s New Capital
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What is Indonesia’s Development Model
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Third Time A Charm
Third Time A Charm Commentary by Wayne Forrest Based on the quick counts Prabowo Subianto is predicted to be Indonesia’s next President, winning close to 60% of the vote; there will not be a July runoff. (Indonesia’s quick counts are reliable but official results will be released March 20.) The perennial candidate, 72, Prabowo takes […]
Indonesia’s Response to Hamas Attacks
Indonesia’s Response to Hamas Attacks Commentary by Wayne Forrest A few days ago Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said that the Israel-Gaza conflict should be resolved according to United Nations-agreed parameters regarding “Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.” In his first public comments since Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel from the Gaza Strip Jokowi urged both sides […]