AIYA Links: 13 September

Selamat datang, Pak Tony.

You might have heard that Australia has a new federal government. Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott has said he’d like to make a trip to Jakarta as soon as possible, perhaps even before his scheduled visit to the APEC Summit in Bali next month.
There’s good analysis of what Mr Abbott’s ‘Jakarta, not Geneva’ foreign policy might mean at The Economist’s Banyan column, from Michael Bachelard (@mbachelard) in Fairfax papers, as well as from the ANU’s Michael Wesley at East Asia Forum.
The Jakarta Post editors welcomed the incoming Abbott government with a friendly leader.

Indonesian State Owned Enterprises Minister, Dahlan Iskan (@Iskan_Dahlan) announced that ‘cabinet has approved the purchase of a million hectares of land in Australia so Indonesia can breed its own cattle on the land’, reports the ABC’s Jakarta corro George Roberts (@George_Roberts).
Discouraging economic news continues to roll in, but Indonesia’s Finance Minister Chatib Basri (@ChatibBasri) has told the Financial Times’ Ben Bland (@benjaminbland) that now is the perfect time for Indonesia to pursue long overdue structural reforms. The FT wagged its finger at Indonesian policymakers in this editorial.
The Wall Street Journal economics blog explains the awful dilemma which Indonesia’s central bank is currently facing.
The Jakarta Globe reports on the latest from President Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party (PD) convention, as possible PD presidential candidates compete for the party’s nomination.
Tempo magazine has the latest gossip on the all-but-declared presidential candidacy of Jakarta’s governor, Joko Widodo.
Relocating Indonesia’s seat of government from Jakarta has been talked about since the Soekarno era—now President Yudhoyono has formed a ‘secret team’ to again look into options for a new capital.
The WSJ reports on how some young Indonesian men, unlucky in love, are turning to professional dating coaches to help them attract girlfriends.
The Guardian shares its list of essential books on Indonesia.

Sydney, 19 September: AIYA NSW will host an information session about the Indonesian-Australian Work and Holiday Visa at 18:15 at the Indonesian Consulate-General. More information and RSVP details at the Facebook Event.
We’ve previously promoted the upcoming Asialink Leaders Program, and if you’re interested then do participate in the webinar which Asialink will hold to explain more about the Program. 13:00 to 14:00 on 20 September, more details here.

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