I am sure you’ve heard some Indonesian origin became ministers in Malaysia and Singapore. But, have you heard that some Indonesians also hold important positions in Suriname? It is reported that there are at least four ministers in Surinamese cabinets are Javanese: Minister of Education, Minister of Defense, Minister of Social Affairs, and Minister of [...]
Susilo rides the momentum By Karim Raslan ASEAN can expect a far more assertive Indonesia given the Democrats’ success in last month’s Legislative polls. LAST Friday in Bandung, capital of West Java, incumbent President and Democrat party leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) amazed the assembled crowd with a rare display of bravado during a ceremony marking the declaration [...]
One of Indonesia’s Closest Allies Indonesian former foreign minister, the late Ali Alatas, the pioneer of peace in Cambodia Indonesia has long been Cambodia’s closest friend in the region since many years back, not to mention the Cambodian influence in Java many hundreds years back. Indonesia was one of the most active nations (besides France) in [...]
In Southeast Asia last week, we saw this same duality we find in all cultures played out regionally in good events (Indonesia) and bad ones (Thailand). In Indonesia, the first professional president the country has ever enjoyed, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, found his new party, the Democrats, triumphing in parliamentary elections. In Thailand, the opposite seemed to be happening. There, a leader has to show "the hand", more than just the "strong fist" of Western dictatorships. It conveys the sense of strength from which even legitimacy, in the Thai mind, proceeds.