Duncan Graham

Duncan Graham has been a journalist for more than 40 years in print, radio and TV. He is the author of People Next Door (UWA Press). He is now writing for the English language media in Indonesia from within Indonesia. Duncan Graham has an MPhil degree, a Walkley Award, two Human Rights Commission awards and other prizes for his radio, TV and print journalism in Australia. He lives in East Java.

Duncan's recent articles

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Mobocracy rules in Indonesia.

The videos are ghastly. Young men stripped to the waist, roped together in a line, shuffling forward on their knees. Their bodies are bruised and bloodied, their smashed faces creased with fear. Theyre not just the victims of kampong rough justice theyre also casualties of the Indonesian governments mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis.

DUNCAN GRAHAM But the dead are many

Indonesias 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 authoritarianism.

DUNCAN GRAHAM.- Not a model land

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

DUNCAN GRAHAM Its looking real bad next door

Doomsayers are societys detestables yet needed as truth-tellers. So here goes: The omens are awful. Thousands of Indonesians are threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic through denial and indecision. Responses have been too few, too late and too uncoordinated.

DUNCAN GRAHAM For sale: Bat viruses in Indonesia

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 to in Wuhan where it all started.

DUNCAN GRAHAM The land of no social distance

While the Western world thinks staying apart is wise to avoid Covid-19 infections, Indonesians still remain together.

DUNCAN GRAHAM.-The wealthiest one per cent (all men) own half Indonesias total wealth.

Maruf Amin is a name few Australians would recognize. Before his election last year as Indonesias vice-president, the hard-right Islamic cleric showed minimal interest in his southern neighbour. Suddenly he wants Australian aid.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Reporting from afar using mining models

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.

DUNCAN GRAHAM The Washington watcher on UWAs cast-iron balcony

Why is the Perth-based USAsia Centre backed by Australian taxpayers? If this foreign influencer was run by the Chinese or Russians it would be forensically examined. As a US show it slips past scrutineers.

DUNCAN GRAHAM.The pachyderm on the patio

Kupang is at the bottom of West Timor. Its the largest city in far eastern Indonesia. Imagine how Canberra would react if Jakarta allowed the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force to station their armed jets just 830 km northeast of Darwin.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. From blusukan to bland in five years

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

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Bali Nine 'Black Sheep' pleads for mercy

The media curtain-raisers for Indonesian President Joko Widodos visit to Australia focused on trade and visas. Human rights activists were hoping the agenda might include the fate of the five surviving Bali Nine. One is Martin Stephens.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. This bus isn't moving fast.

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

DUNCAN GRAHAM.-Indonesian Free Trade not there yet

For much of 2019s last quarter Australian rural journals and politicians were forecasting a bonanza.But some reality is overdue

DUNCAN GRAHAM . Can young voices get into elders ears?

Indonesian President Joko Widodos Cabinet selection has been met with widespread dismay by liberal progressives. There have been some weird choices noted here https://publish.pearlsandirritations.com/duncan-graham-dont-cry-for-me-indonesia/ The most disturbing was making Widodos bitter and brutal rival Prabowo Subianto, 68, Defence Minister, even though the former general with a suspect human rights record had been decisively rejected by the electorate.

Sunup in Sawojajar

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 on pensions. Below the green paddy, the cheerful reapers. This is Indonesia. So is East Java, though unalike Bali on every measure. A peek next door.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Dont cry for me, Indonesia

Though it started well earlier this year, the signals now flashing from across the Arafura Sea are no longer cheering. The worlds third largest democracy celebrated a successful poll in April when the voters made their wishes clear. Since then Indonesias politicians have ignored the electors and set about imposing agendas never revealed during the campaign.The key word in Indonesian President Joko Widodos Kabinet Indonesia Maju is Advance. It would be better labeled Mundur Retreat.

DUNCAN GRAHAM - Threatening unity by seeking harmony

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. Some interpreted this as a reconciliation gesture to heal post-poll divisions. Others, particularly human rights activists and supporters of democracy, see Widodos decision as foolhardy and a threat to national cohesion.

DUNCAN GRAHAM How not to engage with Asia

Every decade or so a Western Australian politician on the cast-iron balconies of the States 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 North West? Maybe adolescent markets hungry for the abundance of minerals and foods coming from the States hinterland? Just seeing neighbours as consumers is a bit crass, so policies need to be packaged with ribbons labelled relationships and friendship. The latest is engagement. Unwrapping reveals a mostly empty box.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Bali alert! Busybodies at large

It was excruciatingly embarrassing. The hotel receptionist was adamant: We either proved our marriage or we left.Voices were raised which drew more staff and onlookers to the foyer. Security guards appeared.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. PM in gaffe-strewn Indonesian TV interview

Scott Morrison has given a rambling error-littered interview to Indonesian TV where he fudged the figures of casualties in the 2002 Bali bomb blast. The Prime Minister told English-speaking journalist Andini Effendi that more Indonesians were killed than Australians when the reverse is true. The official final death toll of 202 men and women in the 12 October terrorist attack was 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons and 53 from other nations.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Indonesias Dr Strangelove takes final flight

Indonesias fourth president, the late Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid, was never short of a quip. First president (Soekarno, who had nine wives) was crazy about women. The second (Soeharto, who allegedly stole US$35 billion) was crazy about money.The third (Habibie) is just crazy.Assessing himself, Wahid added:I just drive people crazy.

Raising the racist flag

The ironies were stark and troubling. On 17 August most Indonesians joyfully commemorated their nations proclamation of independence from the Netherlands 74 years ago. A few werent having fun. Next afternoon young Papuans studying in East Java and who are suspected of wanting self rule, were brutally bashed and teargassed on the pretext theyd slandered the Republics flag. The bloody clash came three days after the national release of a much trumpeted film recounting the struggles of Javanese against colonial oppression.

All hail, Queen Mega

This week Indonesian streets are bursting with red and white bunting, celebrating the late leader Soekarnos proclamation of independence from the Netherlands on 17 August 1945. Then followed a four- year protracted guerilla war against the stubborn Dutch who couldnt sniff the stench of post-war rotting colonialism. After an estimated 150,000 deaths, the majority civilians, the United States of Indonesia was internationally recognized. Australian unions were active supporters of the revolutionaries.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Joko Widodo is no Lee Kuan Yew

Even read in English its a stirring speech with hints of John F Kennedys inaugural address: Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. By the standards of Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo, a normally awkward public performer, it was well delivered, calling on voters to move on from the hates of the 17 April election campaign and embrace Pancasila.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Focusing on Washington, glancing at Jakarta

The 17 April Indonesian elections and fallout could have been big news inAustralia.According to some experts they should have been. Instead media consumers Down Under got more of US President Donald Trumps distant domestic political shenanigans than they did of the blood and fire crises facing their neighbor nation and its re-elected President Joko Widodo. The result from the worlds third largest democracy staging the worlds biggest one-day election will impact many countries, but most particularly the adjacent southern continent.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Roaming for relevance

Politicians hunting the grey vote stalk retirement villages and pensioner clubs.Handy because electors mustered in dining rooms and community halls lean to groupthink. Dissidents dont do well in confined spaces where theyre condemned to stay mum or risk exclusion.Wrong spots. Hucksters should stake out the hills and river banks where independent thinkers and determined doers thrive and allegiances can be shifted the backblock campgrounds.

DUNCAN GRAHAM - Past their use-by date but still current

They ignore the local statistics, but hang on to the exceptional example, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Next month the Malaysian Prime Minister will turn 94 and although he promised to hand over to Anwar Ibrahim, 71, that has yet to occur.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Hungry for a result in the Indonesian election?

The differences are stark. When Labor lost Bill Shorten quit and said: Now that the contest is over, all of us have a responsibility to respect the result, respect the wishes of the Australian people and to bring our nation together. In Indonesia police are preparing for mass protests when the official results of the Presidential contest are announced on Wednesday. Foreign embassies have warned their nationals to stay indoors. Bomb plans have allegedly been uncovered.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Why didnt Widodo do better?

Slowly, carefully, nervously, Indonesia is retreating from the threat of a bloody revolution following the 17 April election.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Kingsford Smith forecast: Expect churls Inbox x

In his 9 April post on this website ANU Professor Ramesh Thakur put the question: Who Will Bell theSydneyAirportSecurity Madness?The expert on disarmament then asked: Is it possible that pranksters with a perverse sense of humour are in charge of security procedures at SydneyInternationalAirport? Perhaps they are trying to test the limits of traveller tolerance.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Last post for the old guard?

Have Indonesias oligarchs performed their final farewell tour? More than two decades after the fall of second president Soehartos authoritarian New Order government a commoner has retained the presidency.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Indonesia - after the count - chaos?

The alphabet of election campaign hyperbole runs from Absurd through Fatuous and Stupid to Zero (as in logic).Most statements are ephemeral for the nonsense spruikers know little is taken seriously once the losers are trampled by the triumphant. But inIndonesiapledges by the former champion of the 1998 Peoples Power Revolution are causing deep disquiet.

DUNCAN GRAHAM: Vote patriotism who wouldnt?

Impossible to imagine: Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten start a pre-election national TV debate with handshakes and a hug. Two and a half hours later after gently tapping a few verbal shuttlecocks to-and-fro they pledge to remain friends forever. That was the scene in Jakarta last weekend when President Joko Widodo and challenger Prabowo Subianto faced off 18 days ahead of the election.

DUNCAN GRAHAM The Fear of Trading Dangerously

In early March The West Australian published an opinion piece by Professor Stephen Smith on selling to Indonesia;

DUNCAN GRAHAM Doing democracy differently

Outsiders who propped their eyelids apart to watch Indonesias third TV debate ahead of next months national elections would have concluded the campaign is bloodless. For 150 minutes minus about a third for commercials and promos vice president hopeful and hidebound Islamic cleric Maruf Amin, shared a platform with challenger and business tycoon Sandiaga Uno. Amin is coupled to incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo; Uno supports former general Prabowo Subianto in his bid for the top job. In this show only the VP candidates performed.

DUNCAN GRAHAM Could Kiwi values fly north?

New Zealands image has always been less coarse than Australias. Both nations claim to be egalitarian, peopled by can-do improvisers. The Jolly Swagmans cousin is A Good Keen Man. They salute the fair go, sharpen scythes to slash tall poppies and assert Jack and Jill are as good as their masters and mistresses. (The NZ Governor General and PM jobs are held by women).

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Old soldiers dont die they just imagine

Historians and older Westerners know well what followed the 1933 events in Germany known as the burning of the books. Few Indonesians are aware that the forceful Student Union campaign against literature which didnt promote the German spirit, fomented fascism.They should because its happening in their young democracy and threatening its future.

DUNCAN GRAHAM When sinking looms, jump.

Imagine if almost six per cent of the Coalition reckoned theyd lose their seats at the next election so switch to Labor. Chances are they wouldnt be piped aboard, as ship jumpers are not favoured in Australian politics, distrusted by the party they betrayed and the one where they seek to stowaway.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Ignoring the Doings Next Door

On a recent edition of ABC TVs free-for-all Summer Drum, participants sounded off about possible Democrat nominees for the 2020 US Presidential election. Social commentator Jane Caro sprayed the screen with alternatives. The Australian columnist Greg Sheridan, who comes across as reasonable on the telly, and community advocate Aisha Novakovich tossed in their suggestions. Host Adam Spencer assumed viewers knew all names and understood the American selection process, so didnt intervene with descriptors. Nor did the talent interject: Hey, this is asinine. Weve got swags of homegrown issues to air.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. ASEAN: Wethers, not rams.

Half a century ago five neighbouring nations got together with a set of fine ideals. These included boosting economic growth, promoting peace and lifting living standards. That was the excuse. The real purpose was to block the spread of Communism, now a spent force outside China and satellites like North Korea. So why keep the Association of Southeast Asian Nations alive?

DUNCAN GRAHAM.Jerusalem and a Free Trade Agreement with Indonesia

Now heres the weirdest thing about the way we handle policy with the neighbours: Canberra politicians are proven fumblers and bumblers when dealing with big Muslim-majority Indonesia. Yet at the Australian National University just a ten-minute bike ride across the lake are some of the worlds foremost experts, able to inform, advise and caution. Instead we have policy on the run when Scott Morrison edged the idea that our embassy in Israel might shift 70 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean. Unsurpisingly he was caught in the slips. The PMs office has instant access not only...

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Troubled by truth telling in Indonesia

Does the present government really understand Indonesia? Or want to? Ministers get detailed briefings from diplomats in Jakarta squirreling away in our biggest embassy, plus wisdoms from academics close to home.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Putting the zing into statecraft

Foreign affairs (the political version, not dalliances abroad) is seldom a synonym for fun. The standard photo has a line of suits trying - and failing - to look human.Their media statements, labelled communique to maintain the mystique, are triumphs of euphemism, so bland they make laundry lists sound like Hamlet. Few would bother to read unless they got paid well for the pain.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. When giving aid, be humble.

In 2015 then PM Tony Abbott sought to save the lives of two convicted heroin traffickers. He reminded Indonesians that Australians had given $1 billion in emergency aid and rehabilitation following the 2004 Aceh tsunami, so please show mercy. He should have been better advised: Indonesians reacted angrily and made gestures of raising funds to repay. Instead of softening attitudes, Abbotts clumsy comments hardened President Joko Jokowi Widodos stand against what he called foreign interference.

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Robbing Roads To Keep Rice Cheap.

Unlike their southern neighbours, Indonesians know when theyll go to the polls - 17 April 2019. That Wednesday will be a public holiday to encourage a big turn out. Voting is not compulsory. In the 2014 election 135 million electors punched a hole in a ballot paper to make their choice - around 70 per cent of those on the roll - in the worlds third largest democracy. Next year voters aged over 17 will get the chance to directly elect the president, 580 members of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (known as the DPR) and 128 to...

DUNCAN GRAHAM. A done deal - or a deal not yet done?

Trying to do business in Java on a Friday is seldom a good idea. The chantings that Prime Minister Scott Morrison heard mid-morning last Friday were not part of the standard welcome to overseas VIPs, but calling the faithful to prayer. That included Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo, much of his Cabinet and most senior bureaucrats. That Widodo took time to talk to his visitor on the Islamic holy day, when the Asian Games are concluding and campaigning about to start for next Aprils presidential election, suggests he sees its important to maintain relationships with Australia, even if...

DUNCAN GRAHAM. The Bush Drivers Lament.

Thousands of escapees from chilly southern cities are currently cruising northern Australia in search of warmth, wildflowers, new friends and a little adventure. The grey nomads prefer caravans, some so lavishly equipped theyre really villas on wheels with solar panels, family pets and air conditioning. The young and foreign go for small vans with a mattress and a gas stove. All bring money into backblock towns to buy fuel, food, souvenirs and spare parts. Local government reaction is mixed; some see opportunities so encourage visitors, others begrudge using ratepayers funds to supply services for outsiders, particularly budget...

DUNCAN GRAHAM New name, old menu, but hope looms

Fresh news for stay-at-homes: The ABC has abandoned spin to reveal its overseas TV service is not aired to showcase the nation, but amuse expats.

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