Poster source IMP Awards
The annual Indonesia Film Festival (IFF) welcomed for another year, celebrating Indonesian films with Australian audience once more. The 14th IFF with its theme ‘An Enchantment of Authenticity’ has showcased the originality of Indonesian culture and cinematography. And here is our review of the year, “Turah: An Untold Truth” written by AIYA VIC Education Facilitators, Sondoos.
As one of the Bajau people, sea hunters, living off the coast of Sulawesi, Mando’s lungs are anything but weak. Also known as sea gypsies, many Bajau are able to swim before they can walk, and can stay underwater for up to eight minutes.
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Welcome back to Career Champion Series! This series is dedicated to the contributions of those who provide inspiration and enhance understanding between Australians and Indonesians. Celebrating the work and dedication they have put in, we featured their profile at AIYA Blog.
This week we are joined by Melissa Crouch. Associate Professor Melissa Crouch is based at the Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales, Australia. Working closely to the socio-legal field research in Southeast Asia, Melissa pays particular attention to constitutional and legal developments in Indonesia and Southeast Asia more broadly. Her research has been published in leading academic journals including the International Journal of Constitutional Law, the Sydney Law Review, and Asian Studies Review.
The Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) links youth in Australia and Indonesia through social, professional and cultural exchange and runs from October through to February every year.
This week, we talk to Tim Flicker about his AIYEP experience!
Careers and Alumni Coordinator, Trinity College, the University of Melbourne
2015/2016- Canberra/West Kalimantan
Initially, through learning Indonesian at school. I then had the chance to travel to Jakarta when I was in year 11 and was hooked.
I had heard from other alumni such as Luke Dawes and Joey Eagleton about how rewarding and amazing the AIYEP experience is.
So many highlights…. definitely one was being greeted by the entire village when we arrived in the village of Lumbang in Sambas.
Think about the skills you bring to the group, whether it be community development experience, leadership, love of sports etc everyone has a skill/passion. It’s an absolutely amazing experience and definitely recommend anyone to apply!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us Tim. Stay tuned for more AIYEP alumni profiles in the coming weeks!
Applications for AIYEP38 are open now until the 16th of June 2019, so make sure to get your application in! More information about applications can be found on the AFS Australia website.
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The Australia Indonesia free trade agreement presents an opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries, but is Australia ready? Melissa Crouch argues it is time to put Indonesian back on the priority list of languages to be studied in Australia.
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As Australians prepare for their upcoming election in May, Indonesians will head to the ballot box Wednesday, 17 April 2019.
Over 190 million people are registered to vote in Southeast Asia’s largest democracy. While citizens of both countries will choose their representatives in their respective elections, they have different ways of carrying out elections.
Firstly, unlike in Australia where voting is compulsory for citizens, Indonesians can choose to exercise their right to vote or to decide not to vote. Analysts predict that the number of non-voters, called the “golongan putih” or the white group, in Indonesia will increase this year. While some voters might not turn up to the ballot box due to political apathy, some non-voters argue that it’s a valid political stance in the face of a lack of good choices. These people may turn up at the ballot box but punch all the ballot papers, to ensure their non-vote is counted.
Meanwhile current Australian parliament is in de facto described as two-party system, Australian voters cannot directly select their prime minister. Instead, they select their members of parliament from two major parties, some minor parties, or independent members. In most cases, members belong to and support a political party. The major political party that can win more than 75 members will be able to form the government, and thus its leader will be designated as the prime minister.
Meanwhile, Indonesia exercises direct presidential election under a multiparty system. Even though Indonesian voters can elect their president, the nomination of presidential candidates is determined by political parties obtaining 20% seats in the DPR.
In Wednesday’s election, Indonesian voters will choose candidates for president and legislators. This year, there are two presidential candidates and 14 political parties in the race.
Incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will once again face off against former military general Prabowo Subianto. Jokowi, the candidate from the Indonesia Democratic of Struggle (PDI-P), is supported by a coalition of nine more parties. Prabowo from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) has three more parties in his coalition.
Indonesia introduced the direct presidential election in 2004. It has carried out general elections since 1955, but went through a series of authoritarian leaders, first under Sukarno and then Suharto. Following the latter’s fall in 1998, Indonesia underwent democratisation.
The presidential candidates have to secure over 50% of the popular vote to win the election. If no candidates were able to gain 50% in the election, a second round of voting would be held to seek the majority votes.
The elected president is both the head of state and head of government. As the executive government is not derived from legislative chambers, the Indonesian president is not a member of parliament. The president exercises its power to form a cabinet. Ministers focus on running an executive portfolio and are not part of legislative functions.
Australia’s House of Representative preferential system allows nearly 17 million voters to rank their ballot based on their preference. The Indonesian presidential general election exercises simple majority system, through which the citizen votes only for one option. Indonesians use a nail to punch the ballot papers.
Australia exercises single-winner voting, meaning one district is only represented by one member from one political party or an independent. In Indonesia, one constituency can be represented by more than one member from more than one political party.
While the upcoming Australian House of Representatives will consist of 151 members and each will represent single-member districts, the DPR will consist of 575 seats from 80 constituencies. In other words, each Indonesian constituency is represented by more than one member, depending on the size of the population.
As in every country, there are particular issues that voters feel emotional about, and this is where politicians use their tactics to garner votes.
In Australia, voting behaviour is shaped by a number of issues such as management of the economy, unemployment, industrial relations, taxation, education, health, environment, global warming, refugees and asylum seekers. Issues over management of the economy and health were the most important issues in the 2016 election.
Another issue is also about Australia’s political instability. Before 2010, Australians tended to believe they essentially select their prime minister. However, after six leadership spills since 2010, Australian voting behaviour shifted to perceive the removal of prime minister before election as more acceptable.
In Indonesia, voting behaviour in Indonesia is somewhat influenced by three factors: religion, ethnicity and regionalism, and social class.
Being the most populous Muslim majority in the world, Indonesia is seeing both camps building alliances with Islamic groups and promoting Islamic symbols and rituals as part of their tactic.
Last week, a group of well-known Islamic preachers declared their support to Prabowo Subianto. Ustad Abdul Somad, for example, one of the most famous Indonesian Islamic preachers with 8.8 million followers on Instagram and 1.2 million subscribers on Youtube, expressed his support through a 13 minute interview with Prabowo, relayed on national television.
On Jokowi’s side, other Islamic preachers such as Maimun Zubair and Luthfi bin Yahya presented a turban and prayer beads to Jokowi as a gesture of support. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the biggest Islamic organisation, has openly declared its support of Jokowi, as his vice president candidate, Ma’ruf Amin, is also one of the prominent Islamic preachers from NU.
Identity politics as the final trump card in Indonesia is inevitable. Currently, polls show Jokowi is in the lead. We’ll see how it goes soon.
Artikel ini juga tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia.
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Indonesia is one of Australia’s largest trading partners, and there are many different organizations and programs that are based on improving relations between these two countries in all fields, from tourism to trade. There are many benefits of those efforts, and if you’re interested in learning more about the connection between these countries, here are some things you should know about.
Indonesia has a much bigger population than Australia, but its economy is not nearly as developed, which is one of the reasons why Indonesians value their relations with Australia. Of course, there are some differences in cultures and laws, but there’s a lot of effort put into mutual understanding, as well. Also, when it comes to innovation, strengthening the countries’ cooperation in the fields of business and education is essential. It can create amazing outcomes if done right, and both countries are aiming for such outcomes. Moreover, the more these countries do in terms of trade and investment, the better they’ll understand each other, which can only lead to more engagement and better cooperation. In short, the connection between the countries allows both of them to develop and provide their citizens with more opportunities.
Australia’s main export to Indonesia is livestock, but it also exports wheat, aluminum, and cotton. Indonesia, on the other hand, mostly exports, gold, steel, iron, and crude and refined petroleum. A great factor when it comes to trade is the proximity between the two countries, which reduces the shipping costs. Also, Indonesia has a law that states it can only import cattle from countries that are free from mouth and feet disease, which is one more reason why Australia is its main source. Moreover, the countries have recently signed a free trade deal, which benefits both countries. For example, it allows Australian-owned universities to operate in Indonesia, and it allows Indonesians to take part in work-training courses in Australia.
In terms of education, there are curricula in Australia that focus on learning languages other than English, including Indonesian. The same curricula also deal with intercultural understanding and Australia’s engagement with Asia. So, it’s safe to say that Australia is putting an effort into reshaping the school programs and creating more culturally aware generations.
Moreover, there is also the federal government’s New Colombo Plan (NCP), which provides support for university students who wish to visit Asia through short-term programs, like business internships or language studies. Additionally, there are girls scholarships in Australia that help girls from underprivileged families get the equipment and tutoring they need in order to advance in their education. Furthermore, there are many scholarships available to students in Indonesia if they choose to study in Australia. For example, there is Australia APEC Women in Research Fellowship and Australia Awards. All in all, both Australia and Indonesia are doing their best to provide their students with both the education they need and more choices in terms of career paths.
Indonesia has been the largest recipient of Australian aid for a while, and there are many aid programs in the country. For example, after the tsunami in 2004, the countries created the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development. Its main purpose was to help people rebuild their homes and help promote the economic growth in the country, in general. Similarly, in 2008, Australia helped the Indonesian economy during the global financial crisis. Australia has also helped Indonesia with infrastructure and sustainable development.
Tourism is quite developed in both countries, and they are each other’s popular tourist destinations. Besides people going on vacations, there are also many people traveling from one country to another to visit their friends and relatives. Moreover, there is a transport safety partnership between the two countries, and it covers all transport options. Finally, both countries have invested and continue to invest in the training of pilots, air traffic managers, and the ability to investigate transport accidents when they do happen.
Australia and Indonesia are very connected in many different ways and fields. Of course, while there are still things that both countries can do to improve and strengthen the relations between them, there are already many benefits that people living in both countries can experience.
Photo: Lowy Institute
‘The pressures on Indonesian democracy are not likely to abate under a second-term Jokowi or a Prabowo presidency’. Read Lowy Institute, Ben Bland’s analysis on the state of Indonesian politics and the upcoming election.
Keen for more news updates on all things Australia-Indonesia? Subscribe to the Australia-Indonesia Centres’ Media Updates for a twice-weekly digest!
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