AIYA Links, 21 March: The Elections Begin
Today is your last chance to be a part of AIYA’s Annual Members’ Survey! We really appreciate your participation, so if you have a spare few minutes click here to see the questionnaire.
In the news
- The official campaign period for Indonesia’s 2014 parliamentary elections kicked off on Sunday. To get up to speed on how the whole process works, check out this great explainer from the Carnegie Endowment.
- Organisers of voting for Indonesians in Australia say that they’re being left underfunded, reports the Jakarta Post.
- SBS also reported on efforts to get out the vote amongst Indonesians living in Australia.
- What’s attracted the most attention is the entry of Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo into the race. AIYA’s Tim Graham put together a rundown of the response to his announcement.
- Why did financial markets react so positively to Jokowi’s announcement? The FT’s @BenjaminBland cites 5 reasons.
- The World Bank released its latest Indonesia Economic Quarterly—presentation here, full report here.
- ABC’s Helen Brown (@HBrown10) reports on Indonesia’s efforts to ‘taper-proof’ the national economy.
- The Wall Street Journal highlights that Indonesian consumers are looking for smartphone bargains.
On the blog
- Soon-to-be Mayor of Bogor (and alumnus of Monash and ANU) Bima Arya chatted with AIYA in Canberra about how young reformers are changing local politics in Indonesia.
- In the first of our posts shared with Our Indonesia Today, Ross Taylor looks at how democracy, in Indonesia and elsewhere, can be a fragile thing.
Events and opportunities
- At the AIYA Job Board: cosmetics company L’Oreal is looking for young Indonesians to join its Young Entrepreneurs Program.
- Indonesians: in Australia: get in touch with your local PPLN (Panitia Pemilihan Luar Negeri) to make sure you are able to vote in April. Here are links to PPLN in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Photo above from AFP.