Megawati Presidency

For the Forest Tobelo people, regional autonomy is a mixed blessing

Jesus tattoos, karaoke and the bearded cleric — welcome aboard!

Bugis IDPs have travelled as warriors, farmers, fishers and traders

Local theatre in Makassar reveals a backlash against Java-centrism

Women are now on both sides of the camera

Subversive ‘underground’ voices in Indonesian rap Michael Bodden It’s Jakarta, June 2004 and the boom box is playing a hip-hop beat. It’s a far cry from the meditative gamelan music, saccharine love songs or even the sensual dangdut one expects to hear in Java. The rapper is Xaqhala and he spins a gritty, rhythmic poem of everyday youth experience.

Indonesia’s comic scene is in a golden age but the industry remains marginal and plagued by self-doubt

Women and marginalised groups seize new opportunities in the arts

Who should call the shots – international donors or local NGOs?

Much aid comes with strings attached – crippling loan repayments, exploitation of resources and vulnerability to unfriendly international markets

Foreign policy not poverty reduction drives the Australian aid program

Economists propose an alternative strategy to the prevailing neo-liberal ideology for reducing poverty

Aid works best when it seeks to confront social injustice

Links between corruption and violence in Poso

A farmer’s daughter takes control and makes a difference

Greater freedom to organise also means more opportunity for division

Why is organised labour missing from the democracy movement?

Indonesia’s labour movement needs to consolidate the gains of 1998

Entrepreneurs are transforming political parties.