Indonesia’s Institute Technology Bandung (ITB) ranks 80th at the THE – QS World University Rankings 2009 – for Engineering/Technology, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (still) tops the list. It’s a 10-level jump for ITB from 90th last year. ITB still lags behind National University of Singapore (NUS) which ranks 14th, Nanyang Techological University (NTU) Singapore, ranks [...]

When Suharto, Indonesia’s long-serving dictator, fell in 1998 the very integrity of the country seemed in doubt. It faced economic collapse, political chaos and fissile separatist insurgencies in Aceh, Papua and East Timor. In contrast, present-day Indonesia seems almost a miracle. As our special report in this issue describes, it is a stable, largely peaceful [...]

(Above: Indonesian President listens to a question from a Harvard University student in the audience following a speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 29, 2009.) Prior to this scene, he delivered an-hour-long speech on “THE AFTERSHOCK ECONOMY: IMPERATIVE AND OPPORTUNITY” with regards to Indonesia’s resilience during [...]

There are some verses in the holy book of Quran which mentioned that good people, will always get tested with hunger, fears, disasters. You can’t call yourself a true believer until you pass all the tests. In other verses, God says that He will never ever overburden us, no test will be given beyond our capacity [...]

I got an email from one GNFI reader, and she is….9 years old and lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She said something like this: Sir, I visited your blog at least once a week, and my sister said that she visits your blog every other day. My father work for Indonesian company here in [...]

By PATRICK WALUJO My first reaction on hearing about the bombings was panic. I was still at home having breakfast when my driver rushed, choked in tears, telling me that there were explosions at the Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott, only a 10-minute drive away. I run a Indonesian private equity firm, which is partnered with [...]

The bombings that have killed eight people in Jakarta and wounded dozens more on Friday morning have understandably captured plenty of international attention. But they shouldn’t obscure an important emerging reality: Indonesia is fast becoming one of the world’s most important political and economic success stories. The recent landslide re-election of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono [...]

How could this be Our country tis’ of thee Have faced such a tragedy That our nation was never meant to see An act of coward To of which we have seen before Prayer, hope, and wishes galore But ever will our Indonesian Flag soar At half staff To represent our obvious wrath That of course we will surpass Then our flag will wave at full [...]

Indonesia is re-emerging as one of the world’s hottest developing economies, a remarkable turnaround for a country that was once widely viewed as a basket case. Despite the global financial crisis, Indonesia’s economy is on track to grow nearly 4% this year, making it one of only a handful of major economies — including China and [...]

Which of the Presidential Candidates Gives Indonesia a ‘Soft Power’ Edge? Has Indonesia finally found its place as one of the world’s leading nations? No doubt, the answer is yes. And yet in the face of a global economic and financial crisis, the worst in decades, Indonesia is not at all seen as part of the problem. [...]