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Indonesia at Melbourne @IndoAtMelb

The Indonesia at Melbourne blog is a forum for analysis, research and commentary on contemporary Indonesia.

Joined March 2014
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951 Photos and videos
Because of the issues raised in 'Pig Feast', including the names and institutions mentioned in the film, the documentary has been met with intense backlash. -- Hellena Souisa indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

'Pig Feast': a test case for alternative media, Papua, and Indonesian democracy

This may be the most controversial film in Indonesia right now.

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Under the Prabowo Subianto administration, the Indonesian military is becoming increasingly embedded in civilian policy implementation under direct presidential control. -- Jefferson Ng indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

How Prabowo is expanding the military’s civilian role as an instrument of presidential rule

Under the Prabowo administration, the Indonesian military is becoming increasingly embedded in civilian policy implementation under direct presidential control.

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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Melbourne Law School (MLS) is pleased to announce the inaugural Ibrahim Sjarief Assegaf Fellowships, supported by the generosity of Assegaf Hamzah & Partners (AHP). Click the link for more details. indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

[CALL FOR APPLICATIONS] Ibrahim Sjarief Assegaf Fellowships

Melbourne Law School (MLS) is pleased to announce the inaugural Ibrahim Sjarief Assegaf Fellowships, supported by the generosity of Assegaf Hamzah & Partners (AHP), one of Indonesia’s leading law...

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In this week’s episode, Jemma chats with Airlangga Julio, associate lawyer at AMAR Law Firm and Public Interest Law Office and a member of the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD), about the mass rape during the May 1998 riots. #TalkingIndonesia indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Talking Indonesia: the people versus Fadli Zon

In June 2025, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon went on the record questioning if the sexual assaults and rapes had taken place during the May 1998 riots.

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The trial of Andrie Yunus’ acid attackers has demonstrated that the military remains a strong political force, similar to what it was before reforms began in 1998, but with a different level of visibility. -- Rafiqa Qurrata A'yun indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Courtroom or comedy? Acid attack trial suggests renewed military impunity    

The trial of Andrie Yunus’ acid attackers has demonstrated that the military remains a strong political force, similar to what it was before reforms began in 1998, but with a different level of...

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Indonesia does not need universities that merely repeat government policies and adopt its priorities. -- Muhammad Yoppy Adhi Hernawan indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Academic freedom in peril as Indonesian campuses face deepening state incursions

Indonesia does not need universities that merely repeat government policies and adopt its priorities. It needs universities that can examine and criticise them - and warn society when public power...

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Although more people disagree with the president’s statement, the fact that 39.5% of the public agrees with Prabowo’s statement cannot be taken lightly, -- Djayadi Hanan and Yoes C. Kenawas indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Prabowo’s foreign stooge myth: Are Indonesians buying it?

President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly expressed his concern that foreign interests are using proxies—colloquially known as ‘antek asing’ (foreign stooges)—to destabilise Indonesia, including by...

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In this episode, Dr Clara Siagian speaks with Dr Wengki Ariando, a scholar-activist from the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). #TalkingIndonesia indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Talking Indonesia: Sea nomads and the future of our ocean

In this episode, Dr Clara Siagian speaks with Dr Wengki Ariando, a scholar-activist from the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). He is also part of the Sea...

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It fails to learn from the merits and shortcomings of Australia’s social media ban policy. More importantly, it misunderstands the role the internet plays in children’s social lives. -- Pradipa P Rasidi indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Indonesia’s social media ban for under-16s deprives many children of their only public space

While the intention behind this policy is commendable, the design has two critical flaws. It fails to learn from the merits and shortcomings of Australia’s social media ban policy. More importantly,...

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Indonesia now has a procedural code that makes it considerably easier to designate, arrest, detain and convict critics. The new Code now stands as a looming deterrent to anyone with the tenacity to push back. -- Simon Butt indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

The new KUHAP: easier to investigate, easier to convict (Part 2 of 2)

Indonesia now has a procedural code that makes it considerably easier to designate, arrest, detain and convict critics.

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We have officially launched our Instagram account! Follow us at @indomelb on Instagram to get our latest articles.
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For more than four decades, Indonesia operated a closed system of evidence: material that did not fit one of the five statutory categories was not evidence. With Article 235(1)(h), Indonesia has shifted to an open system. -- Simon Butt indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

The new KUHAP: more kinds of evidence, fewer limits (Part 1 of 2)

On 2 January 2026, Indonesia’s new Code of Criminal Procedure (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Acara Pidana, or KUHAP) came into force. The government has presented it as a historic break with a colonial...

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The idea is deeply controversial. If seriously proposed, it would face fierce opposition through legal, diplomatic, and even economic means. At the very least, it could hurt Indonesia’s credibility. -- Muhammad Rafi Darajati indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Indonesia’s Malacca Strait ‘toll’ proposal violates UNCLOS. Is there an alternative? - Indonesia at...

The idea is deeply controversial. If seriously proposed, it would face fierce opposition through legal, diplomatic, and even economic means. At the very least, it could hurt Indonesia’s credibility.

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After more than two decades, the struggle of domestic workers has at last paid off – they are finally recognised as workers. -- Fathimah Fildzah Izzati indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

The Domestic Workers Protection Law is in place. Now it’s time to fight for working-class housewives

The passing of the Domestic Workers Protection Bill (PPRT Law) on 21 April 2026 is a major victory that should be celebrated. After more than two decades, the struggle of domestic workers has at last...

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Without strong institutions, transparent oversight, and viable economic alternatives, formalising artisanal mining can redistribute extraction without redistributing benefits. -- Sahaya Aulia Azzahra indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Redistributing wealth or costs? Why formalising community mining rarely works

The central question is not whether communities should have access to mining, but whether the state retains the capacity to govern extraction once operations fragment across thousands of sites with...

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A familiar divisive rhetoric has emerged in Indonesian political conversations. -- Radityo Dharmaputra and Ananda Caesar indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

From ‘foreign agents’ to ‘deep state’: how security rhetoric is redefining who counts as Indonesian

A familiar divisive rhetoric has emerged in Indonesian political conversations.

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In this episode, Indigenous scholar Dr Murni Sianturi challenges some of the most deeply held assumptions about schooling, knowledge, and what it means to learn. #TalkingIndonesia indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Talking Indonesia: education in Papua

In this episode, Dr Murni Sianturi challenges some of the most deeply held assumptions about schooling, knowledge, and what it means to learn.

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Sugiono is, by most accounts, intelligent and adaptable. The problem lies elsewhere. He holds no independent political capital — his entire career, and, in many ways, his entire adult life, has been built in Prabowo’s shadow. -- Ahmad Syarif Syechbubakr indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Loyalty over expertise: The patronage problem at the heart of Prabowo’s foreign policy

Two factors have placed Indonesian foreign policy in this uncomfortable position: the president's deep-seated distrust of the foreign policy establishment, and his inability — or unwillingness — to...

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The failure of the 14th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC14) to reach consensus on an e-commerce moratorium has once again exposed deep divisions in global digital trade governance. -- Hasran and Donna Gultom indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

When silence speaks: Indonesia and the future of the e-commerce moratorium

Ultimately, the issue is not simply whether Indonesia supports or opposes the proposed e-commerce tariffs moratorium.

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The Indonesian government has repeatedly tested the boundaries of its authority by introducing measures that appear to expand its influence over the information ecosystem, often under the banner of combating disinformation. -- Sita Dewi and Ary Hermawan indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb…

Meta restricted Indonesian news outlet for acid attack coverage. A disguised repression against...

The Indonesian government has repeatedly tested the boundaries of its authority by introducing measures that appear to expand its influence over the information ecosystem, often under the banner of...

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