In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

Indonesian Muslims looked forward with great anticipation to the long-awaited “speech to the Muslim world” by a president they consider at least partially their own. With the possible exception of Obama’s inauguration, the Indonesian public has not, in recent history, ever so eagerly anticipated a speech by a U.S. president. More than one national television [...]

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On April 9, Indonesian voters went to the polls for the third general elections since the country transitioned to democracy 10 years ago. The official results of the elections will not be known for possibly up to one month, but multiple quick counts indicate the big winner was the party of the current President – [...]

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The significance of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Asia tour has been a topic of great discussion in the media over the past week. Including Indonesia as a stop on her first trip as America’s top diplomat, signals the growing importance of Southeast Asia to the United States, and, for Indonesians, it seemed to [...]

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The mood on the street in Indonesia is probably more jubilant in many ways than in some parts of the U.S., with the news of the victory of Barack Obama as President-elect of the United States. Indonesians have long been overwhelming supporters of Obama.They say they feel a personal connection because Obama’s stepfather was Indonesian [...]

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“Human Development” as a concept stands at the center of a vast array of development funding and policy initiatives — and in its broadest sense encompasses indicators of life expectancy, education, gross national product etc.., as well as environmental quality, effective governance, and freedom. For a full elaboration I refer you to the excellent discussion [...]

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Dr. Robin Bush, The Asia Foundation’s Deputy Country Representative in Indonesia, provides more in depth analysis of Sharia regulations in Indonesia in her recent essay “Regional Sharia Regulations in Indonesia: Anomaly or Symptom?” published in August 2008 by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) as a chapter of Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics [...]

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Ten years ago, in May 1998, rioters thronged the streets of Jakarta, activists occupied the parliament building, students were shot and killed, stores were looted and burned, and attacks and rapes of ethnic Chinese took place. Eventually, then-President Soeharto stepped down from the post he had held for over 32 years, and Indonesia began the [...]

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Southeast Asia is home to beautiful beaches, rich cultural traditions, and one of the most reprehensible practices in the modern day ” trafficking in persons. Indonesia has between 3-8 million workers abroad and most of them are undocumented, although no statistics are available on numbers of domestic migrant workers. Recognizing the seriousness of this issue, [...]

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