FIONNA ANGELICA WIJAYA WRITES – The ongoing epidemic that is currently spreading across the globe becomes more threatening every single day. The government policy that requires us to be inside the house or apartment has become more challenging for me personally. This is my first time being quarantined during a…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: ‘THE SITUATION IN INDONESIA HAS NOT IMPROVED’
FIONNA WIJAYA WRITES – The worst floods since 2013 swept through Jakarta this January. Jakarta, the political and economic capital of Indonesia, houses the most significant industrial sectors in the country, compelling most of the population to migrate there for economic opportunities. These early 2020 floods claimed over sixty lives…
Full Article SINKING FEELING IN JAKARTA: WILL THE CAPITOL DISAPPEAR BY 2050?
NATASHA VASS WRITES – What happens to your trash once you throw it in the bin? It’s no longer in front of you, so why think about it? For Indonesians, this set of circumstances could not be further from the truth. 85% of the trash produced by Indonesians is…
Full Article INDONESIA: CAN A COUNTRY WASTE ITSELF AWAY? WITH THE HYPOCRITICAL WEST (TRASHER-IN-CHIEF) PILING ON?
NATASHA VASS WRITES – Time and time again, we witness the same occurrence: the world’s most pristine environments go up in flames. Indonesian forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan have spread toxic haze to countries across Southeast Asia. Malaysia’s air pollution index (API) reached a gruesome 101-200, forcing the…
Full Article INDONESIA: PALMING OFF TRUE GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
YINING WONG WRITES – The election cycle in Indonesia, sexism, differences in cultural upbringing — graphic designer Sanchia Hamidjaja has covered them all. Recently, I got to speak to her about her experiences as a creative professional in her home country, Indonesia, and her interest in shedding light on the…
Full Article INDONESIA: SANCHIA HAMIDJAJA ON ART AND POLITICS
TUNGGA BASUKI WRITES– The 2019 Indonesian Presidential elections came to a close on April 17 with a split in opinion within the nation as to who should be the next president, but with incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) winning by a 6% margin. The two candidates running to become president,…
Full Article INDONESIA: BREAKING DOWN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2019
PATRICK POLESHUK WRITES– It’s hard to believe: Yet in times of government-oriented mass murders, targeting of political opponents, and the overall suppression of free speech, lies a miraculously happy country, according to so-called scientific opinion polls. So, amid much human-rights criticism from western allies and the global community alike, why…
Full Article Philippines: Anti-Drug Dragon Duterte as Happiness-Maker
OLIVIA AMEZCUA WRITES– Fisheries, or rather the poor management of fisheries, has generated a multitude of problems, ranging from environmental to economic to health. For Indonesia, a coastal country heavily reliant on the fishing industry, this issue must be addressed with urgency. Among the adverse effects of poorly managed fisheries:…
Full Article Indonesia: Fisheries Regulation and Sustainability Urgently Needed
TALAL BUKHAMSEEN WRITES– The gaming industry is quickly becoming a lucrative part of the Southeast Asian economy. As the region continues to benefit from a growing digital user-base, traditional tech companies that previously made video games have branched into online gaming, incorporating players from all over the world and improving…
Full Article ECONOMICS: MOVEOVER ENTERTAINMENT, GAMING IS THE NEW IT-THING
EMILY CAPOUYA WRITES– This year, the Bali Spirit Festival was to take place March 29- April 5 (2020) in Ubud, the uplands of Bali, Indonesia in stunning lush green rice fields with a river flowing down below. Every year at this time, crowds of people come all around the world…
Full Article BALI, INDONESIA: A GLOBAL CELEBRATION FOR WELLBEING
Indonesia, which has long prided itself on being a secular nation, is now seeing a rise in the voices and power of Islamists. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (BTP), the Chinese-Indonesian politician and former governor of Jakarta, was convicted of blasphemy for insulting the Quran when he suggested that practicing Muslims…
Full Article INDONESIA: LOBBYING FOR A MUSLIM NATION?
OLIVIA AMEZCUA WRITES– When one thinks of Indonesia, palm oil might not be the first thought that comes to mind. Many folks remain vastly unaware of both the country’s near-existential ties with the product— and the self-destructive dangers the palm oil industry imposes on this sprawling nation’s environment. Palm oil…
Full Article Indonesia: THE SLIPPERY BUSINESS OF ‘DIRTY’ PALM OIL
TOM PLATE WRITES – Next week, it now seems, the American President will be in Singapore, along with the North Korean leader. Both are famously quirky. Is Lee worried? We pay a call on the city-state’s prime minister, host of a monster summit that – on the off-chance all goes…
Full Article SINGAPORE: PM LEE ON THE SUMMIT, SINO-U.S. RELATIONS, TRUMP AND TARIFFS, INDONESIA – AND CATHOLIC EDUCATION
TIARA SALVABILLA WRITES – Dian Erra Kumalasari is a fashion designer from Indonesia. Her line, Oerip Batik, features traditional Indonesian woven fabric and is targeted towards backpackers worldwide. The designs are ready-to-wear, conventional pieces which are different from the luxury, high fashion lines that Indonesian designers have been trying to…
Full Article ASIAN FASHION: INDONESIAN DESIGNER’S ‘BACKPACK’ FASHION GAINS ATTENTION WORLD-WIDE
ELIZABETH SOELISTIO WRITES FROM INDONESIA – This sprawling country, the world’s fourth most populous, is no stranger to internet censorship. However, the consequences of Indonesia’s recent censorship tactics are not only felt by the individual users but also by the community around them. First, there is the censorship of homosexuality…
Full Article INDONESIA: GOVERNMENT BLOCKAGE TO END ALL LGBT AND PORNOGRAPHY ON INTERNET TUMBLES INTO IRRATIONALITY AND OVERKILL