JESSICA LEGASPI WRITES — Indonesian President Joko (‘Jokowi’) Widodo and Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister established a new approach to effectively elicit environmental change. Palm oil companies found responsible for clearing land through illegal burning will now be prosecuted. After Korindo, a South Korean palm oil company,…
Asia Media International Founder Tom Plate writes in his syndicated column: History never comes to a halt but snakes its way into the future as it wishes – often in unexpected and sometimes tragic ways. Whether via revolution or counter-revolution, any abrupt change in citizen participation and political structure will…
ASIA MEDIA STAFF WRITES – Congratulations are in order for Joko Widodo, the governor of the massive metropolis of Jakarta. After an arduous nationwide campaign against a tough, determined and extremely well-financed opponent, this personally modest but overly reformist former furniture salesman won by a margin of four-to-five percentage points. In…
Editor’s Note: On 27 June, we published the following analysis of the very important nationwide elections in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation – and a secular democracy with more Muslim citizens (by far) than any other country. Our analysis concluded with an endorsement for president in that contest.…
