Reformasi Dispatch

HSBC’s regional economist for Asean joins the pod to look at how Indonesia can preserve confidence and restore fiscal prudence despite having extended its extraordinary debt financing through 2022.  Apropos the matter, Jeff and Kevin review developments in parliament’s 2007 General Tax Law revision, which business interests are resisting.  Also discussed: what the acquittal of the coal tycoon Samin Tan reveals about the state of anti-corruption efforts and the unprecedented machete attack on an Army outpost in the Bird’s Head Peninsula, just weeks prior to national games in Jayapura.Get a free trial of the Reformasi Weekly Service at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

.Also: Prof Noor Ismail on domestic terror networks.  Also discussed: PAN joins Widodo's alliance and the first of a two-part segment on extraordinary debt financing or 'burden sharing'.Get a free trial of the Reformasi Weekly Service at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

A renewed push to open Pandora’s box of amendments – potentially scuppering direct presidential elections – narrowly failed, for now.  Jeff and Kevin discuss the actors, aims, party stances, and ‘Trojan Horse’ stratagem.  Also:  an interview with  Aim Sinpeng of the University of Sydney regarding methods that online hate speech perpetrators use to evade platform controls.  Finally, a look at PDI-P’s latest posturing regarding the presidential election and a glimpse of prospects for rooftop solar arrays.Get a free trial of the Reformasi Weekly Service at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

 Jeff and Kevin discuss the new Charta Politika poll showing the Central Java head ahead of both other major potential contenders for president in 2024.  Ganjar Pranowo is the figure with momentum at present – as well as the most upside potential.  Given his gubernatorial record and his earnest approach to reform, the trend bodes well at an early stage of the momentous election process.  Also: the most notorious integrationist militia leader from East Timor receives a meritorious service medal from President Joko Widodo, outraging human rights NGOs.  And domestic perceptions of coal as a mainstay of Indonesia’s energy resilience could shift – if producers continue prioritizing lucrative exports ahead of fixed-price sales to the State Power Company (PLN).  Finally: how events in Afghanistan may affect views of the US in Asia.Get a free trial of the Reformasi Weekly Service at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

Margaret Barry, The Bali Children Foundation founder explains the struggles of schooling in disadvantaged communities amid the prolonged pandemic. Also: Jeff and Kevin discuss political machinations that persist despite the crisis conditions gripping the country.Get a free trial of the Reformasi Weekly Service at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

Breakthrough deaths underscore a need for Coronavac efficacy data.  As cases tumble in Jakarta and western Java, most off Java provinces are spiking – Jeff and Kevin examine the trends.  Also: how governors have fared politically and the latest maneuvers of Maharani and Moeldoko.  And, a setback for geothermal energy?  Finally, a look at encouraging FDI growth.  Joining the pod from New Delhi is the India and Indonesia analyst from Apac Assistance, Anshika Singh, who helps assess how India’s experience with the Delta variant can be instructive for Indonesia.Get a free trial of the Reformasi Weekly Service at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

Jeff and Kevin conduct a 30-minute interview in English with the leader of West Java’s 50 million residents on 23 July.  Gov Kamil provides a thorough overview of crisis conditions and describes measures to manage an acute shortage of healthcare personnel.  Also, the provincial government’s initiatives to extend telemedicine, free vitamins and drugs and basic social assistance for the poor.  The governor also touches on investment inflows and factory workforce management in West Java’s vast industrial sector.Get a free trial of Reformasi Weekly Newsletter at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

Case detections are declining on a moving-average basis in Jakarta and, more recently, nationwide.  Jeff and Kevin discuss the trends and the restrictions outlook in light of a newly released study of antibody prevalence in Jakarta.  Also: findings from the Survey Institute (LSI) regarding President Widodo’s approval rating and public perceptions about vaccination.  Finally, CGM CIMB Securities Head of Indonesia Research Erwan Teguh joins the pod to assess economic conditions, shed light on the state of the banks and consider the impact of mobility curbs on the informal sector.Get a free trial of Reformasi Weekly Newsletter at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

Bob Herrera Lim, Southeast Asia risk analyst for the consultancy Teneo, places Indonesia’s precipitous, unabated case spike in a regional context.  With the most vaccinated people per capita in the region (save Singapore), Indonesia poses a test for how well Sinovac’s Coronavac vaccine fares against the now predominant Delta variant.  And while a public health crisis in Malaysia precipitated the downfall of a government, the same is hardly likely in Indonesia.  Plus: Jeff and Kevin discuss the hot topic of credit-card usage among Pertamina directors and the tenuous role of Basuki Purnama ('Ahok') as the state oil company’s president commissioner.Get a free trial of Reformasi Weekly Newsletter at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

With Java in the grip of a long-dreaded case spike fuelled by the Delta variant, the government is attempting to impose the strictest curbs applied to date.  Jeff and Kevin review the latest conditions and examine the implications.  Also: a round-up of political and justice issues including a test of free speech, charges for a former minister, the Omnibus’s first court test and the Chamber of Commerce undergoes change.Get a free trial of Reformasi Weekly Newsletter at:https://bit.ly/reformasifreeSupport us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasiIt takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!