Author Archives: Duncan Graham

Most days the ABC website publishes graphs showing the trajectory of Covid-19 cases. The charts feature nine countries including Taiwan, Japan and Australia. Though not Indonesia.

Indonesia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic makes a train wreck seem structured. The fourth most populous nation has next to no testing, no info, no direction – and most important of all – no trust. Such is the legacy of … Continue reading →

Curious about life as a sheep? Visit Incredible Indonesia, as the tourist promos once hollered.

Indonesia’s 8.9 per cent death rate for COVID-19 infections is the second highest in the world, just behind Italy nudging ten per cent. The apparent inaction of the Government is particularly concerning with Indonesian meat market practices being quite similar … Continue reading →

The Australian Associated Press closure in June will shut Australians out of much domestic journalism. Courts, councils and commissions whose workings underpin democracy will often go unreported.

There are some cheering on-line videos worth checking from 2015 when Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull visited Jakarta.

It’s not too difficult for outsiders to get the gist of Indonesian economics.  That’s because terms, like ‘administrasi, deficit, bangkrut, fiskal’ and others have been pinched from English and tweaked.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s Cabinet selection has been met with widespread dismay by liberal progressives. There have been some weird choices noted here https://johnmenadue.com/duncan-graham-dont-cry-for-me-indonesia/ The most disturbing was making Widodo’s bitter and brutal rival Prabowo Subianto, 68, Defence Minister, even … Continue reading →

Expat blogs praise the joys of living in Bali. A low-cost paradise, they say. Sundowners with fellow retirees while a maid (‘a real treasure’) prepares dinner and ‘our’ gardener trims the lawn. Good time to bitch about deemed interest rates … Continue reading →

Though it started well earlier this year, the signals now flashing from across the Arafura Sea are no longer cheering. The world’s third largest democracy celebrated a successful poll in April when the voters made their wishes clear. Since then … Continue reading →

Maintaining harmony (rukun) is a quality embedded in Javanese culture. This is one explanation for Joko Widodo publicly calling bitter rival Prabowo Subianto his ‘best friend’ at the Presidential inauguration. A few days later Widodo offered Subianto the Defence portfolio. … Continue reading →

Every decade or so a Western Australian politician on the cast-iron balconies of the State’s Parliament glances outwards. Looking away from the Darling Range rippling in the heat rising from the Swan Coastal Plain, the watcher wonders: What opportunities lie … Continue reading →