In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

The residents of Jakarta, Indonesia’s chaotic, smog-choked capital, head to the polls on Thursday, September 20 to elect a new governor, rounding off what has been a surprisingly engaging, and at times messy, new chapter in the country’s maturing democracy. This is not the first time that Jakartans have voted in free elections, but it is the first time that social media has played a prominent role in the campaign. Indonesia has more than 43 million Facebook users, and Jakarta was recently named the most active Twitter city in the world.

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In a remote corner of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago, a community is tearing itself apart. On the night of February 11, residents from Pelauw village on Haruku Island in the eastern province of Maluku, turned on their neighbors, hurling homemade bombs and setting hundreds of houses on fire…

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Sitting at the back of the classroom, with one eye on her mobile phone, Shanti looks like a typical Indonesian high school student. But Shanti is not here to learn; instead, she’s a tutor herself. In a makeshift classroom constructed from two old shipping containers stacked on top of each other, Shanti tutors first grade students at the Master Community Learning Center in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta. “It’s a great experience,” the 17-year-old says. “I can contribute to the education of Indonesian children as well as help relieve some of the pressure on the learning center.”

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