Talking Indonesia

• Ara Simanjuntak : Betting the Farm

  Palm oil contributes to up 4.5% to Indonesia’s GDP and unlike other commodities, the Indonesian government promotes palm oil as motor of rural development. This is because up to half of Indonesia’s palm oil production is generated by smallholders, farmers with 2-3 hectares of land, cultivating oil palm crops and selling the product for reliable market prices to corporate and state refineries. But this model of national development is in crisis. Small holder palm oil plants are aging, yields are decreasing and company profits are becoming leaner. At the same time, major markets are putting pressure on Indonesia’s palm oil industry for its environmental impact, including rampant deforestation and biodiversity loss. To address this crisis, the former Jokowi government embarked on an ambitious plan to help small holders replant their declining palm oil, this time in accordance with new standards of sustainability. But as my guest, Ara Simanjuntak, today reveals, the new government grants given to smallholders to help is creating new sources of precarity, anxiety and indebtedness that is fundamentally transforming the nature of rural development in Indonesia. To bet the farm, the title of this episode, is an expression in English. It means to risk everything on an uncertain outcome. And this, argues Ara is akin to what Indonesia’s palm oil smallholders are being asked to do. To talk about these issues, I’m here with Atmaezer Hariara Simanjuntak, or Ara, PhD candidate in Anthropology from Northwestern University.

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• Nurwanto - School Violence and Bullying

  Nurwanto Nurwanto - School Violence and Bullying In recent months Indonesians have grown increasingly concerned and indeed outraged following several reports of deadly violence involving children as young as elementary school age. In a case in Riau in May an eight-year-old boy died after complications due to a ruptured appendix, which his parents believe was the result of beatings he suffered at the hands of fellow students aged 11-13 years. Around the same time, a video when viral of a brawl involving 20 primary school aged children in Depok. In response, the Governor of West Java, Dedi Mulyadi, called for the students involved to be sent to military camps. These recent cases have focused the country’s attention on what has been a critical issue for some time. In 2024 the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) reported that cases of violence among school students had increased 32%, and a 2018 PISA survey showed that 41% of Indonesian students aged 15 years reported being bullied, nearly double the OECD average of 23%. Across various levels of government and among stakeholders a range of regulations and taskforces have been established to tackle the issue, but they are falling short. What is school violence and bullying and why is it becoming more prevalent among young people? What are schools, parents and policymakers currently doing to tackle it, and what more needs to be done? In this week's episode Jemma chats with Nurwanto, a lecturer education at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. His Phd thesis is titled 'Nurturing peace through education: advocating a pedagogy of love in urban schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia', University of Western Sydney, 2023. In 2025, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT. Image: Flickr CC/lau rey

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• Justinus Lhaksana - Indonesian Football and the Road to the 2026 World Cup

  Justinus Lhaksana - Indonesian Football and the Road to the 2026 World Cup In October 2022, the image of Indonesian football filling news bulletins around the world was one of tragedy and horror at the huge loss of life sparked by clashes between fans and security agents at a football match in Kanjuruhan, East Java. Less than three years later, this image is being replaced some by something quite different. In June this year, Indonesia did what no other Southeast Asian football team has done since the 1930s and proceeded to the fourth round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup to be held in Canada, Mexico and the USA in 2026. To get this far Indonesia beat both China and Bahrain at home after going down to Australia and Japan away in the third round of qualifying. Now, only two matches stand between this team becoming the first to represent the Republic of Indonesia at a FIFA World Cup. In 1938, it was the first Asian nation to go to a FIFA World Cup but was of course competing under the Dutch East Indies flag. The success of the Indonesian national team or Timnas Garuda, so far is due to a well-orchestrated plan to bolster the team from without and make significant investment within. Reeling from the Kanjuruhan tragedy and the international and domestic response to it, in February 2023, Joko Widodo appointed Erick Thohir, the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises in his government, as the new chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) with a mandate for the total reform of football, to tackle its myriad problems. For Thohir, a millionaire former owner of football teams in Europe, North America and Indonesia and with deep links in FIFA itself, this was also an opportunity to reshape Indonesian football from the top down. The project to reform the national team had in fact started some years earlier under the then South Korean coach, Shin Tae-yong. At its core was the recruitment of players of Dutch descent who after naturalisation would qualify to play for Indonesia. Since 2020, at least 15 players in the men's team have been naturalised and very recently four Dutch women footballers of Indonesian descent were also naturalised and will play in the Indonesian squad. The next major milestone in this larger plan came in January this year, with the appointment of former Dutch superstar Patrick Kluivert as coach of Timnas. It is now his task to finish the job and get the Garudas to the World Cup. Why undertake such a project of naturalization for the national teams? How have the fans responded to this influx of imported players? What is the state of Indonesia's domestic football league and down to the grassroots that has made it necessary in the first place? And what will it take for Indonesian football to overcome its challenges and finally take its place on the world stage? In this week's episode Jemma chats with Justinus Lhaksana, a football commentator (https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJustinl28/videos) and former coach of the Indonesian national futsal team. In 2025, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT. Image: Image: Eliano Reijnders and Mees Hilgers receive their naturalisation certificates at the Indonesian Embassy in Brussels, 1 October 2024.

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• Nadia Egalita - Ethnography of Online Food Delivery

  When you order food through Gojek or Grab in Indonesia, you're not just getting dinner delivered, but you're also participating in what has become a sophisticated digital platform economy. These food apps have fundamentally transformed how millions of Indonesians eat, shop, and navigate daily life, while generating billions in revenue for tech unicorns that now rival traditional media conglomerates in their cultural influence. But how exactly are these online food platforms reshaping Indonesian society? And what happens when we compare their impact across different cultural and economic contexts? A fascinating new study by Nadia Egalita, a PhD researcher at RMIT, offers insights into these questions through comparative ethnographic research conducted in Surabaya and Melbourne. Egalita's research reveals striking disparities in how online food delivery operates across class lines in Indonesia. While upper-middle-class families with domestic workers and dual kitchen systems allow children to order multiple meals daily, lower-middle-class households use these platforms primarily as treats for kids. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, rising costs have made food delivery a luxury that forces people back into their kitchens, challenging assumptions about technology inevitably replacing traditional cooking practices. Using innovative “digital walkthrough” methods that examine participants' actual ordering histories alongside their stated preferences, Egalita uncovers the gap between what people say they eat and what they actually consume. Her findings challenge common narratives about digital platforms isolating users, instead revealing how families bond over scrolling through menus and negotiating meal choices together. The research also offers fresh perspectives on platform capitalism, digital labor conditions, and the changing nature of domestic life in Indonesia and Australia. We'll explore how these seemingly simple convenience apps are actually reshaping everything from kitchen design to intergenerational relationships, while examining the regulatory challenges posed by Indonesia's growing platform oligarchy. In 2025, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales, Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Tito Ambyo from RMIT, and Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University.

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• Sarah Shair-Rosenfield - Women and Healthcare

  Despite significant strides in recent decades, Indonesia continues to face one of Southeast Asia's higher maternal mortality rates. A recent study published by Syaraji and colleagues (2024) found that for every 100,000 live births, approximately 249 women die from pregnancy-related causes. In Jakarta and other major cities, expectant mothers often access modern facilities staffed by trained professionals. But travel just hours outside these urban hubs, particularly to eastern provinces or remote islands, and the picture changes dramatically. There, a shortage of qualified healthcare workers, limited emergency obstetric services, and challenging geography create significant barriers to care. The Indonesian government has implemented several initiatives to address these issues, including the deployment of community midwives to rural areas and the expansion of universal health coverage through the Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional program. But implementation gaps remain, with many women still facing obstacles, particularly in terms of medical staff shortages and lack of resources, that discourage them from seeking standard medical care during, and following, their pregnancies. Joining us is Dr. Sarah Shair-Rosenfield, Professor at the University of York, whose research has looked at healthcare policy implementation and regional disparities in Southeast Asia. Today, Dr. Shair-Rosenfield will help us explore these complexities in Indonesia, drawing on her research across the Indonesian archipelago and across different levels of government to examine what's working, what isn't, and what policy solutions might bridge the gap between urban privilege and rural vulnerability in maternal care. Dr Shair-Rosenfield's work has been published in a number of prominent journals and by Michigan and Oxford University Presses. She is the editor in chief of the Journal Political Studies and also a founding member of the Women in Southeast Asia Social Sciences network, affectionately known as Wiseass.

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