Tito Ambyo, who is wrapping up a PhD on Indonesian horror, a lecturer on journalism at Melbourne's RMIT and co-host of the podcast Talking Indonesia joins Jeff and Kevin to discuss whether Jokowi is setting the table to break with Ibu Mega.

We also get into the very real horror story of childhood stunting, and finally wheeling and dealing on the power grid that might make room for consumers who want to source electricity from renewable sources - scary stuff for coal fired power plants.

Later Tito talks to the guys about the enduring love of horror in Indonesian popular culture and how discussing the supernatural and the ghosts of women and ethnic minorities who are wronged in this life is a way of backing into the taboo and fraught topics like the rights of women, and the communist purges of the 1960s.

You can listen to Talking Indonesia here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6gwgrqZuYIw5gVaSjisQ1R?si=5juHLsamQmSgOD3iPvklbw

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Erin Cook, author of substack Dari Mulut ke Mulut, joins Jeff and Kevin to discuss the presidential horse race. With almost exactly a year to go to elections, the stage is set for the big coalitions to announce their standard bearers after Agus Yudhoyono of Partai Demokrat drops demands for VP nominee and endorsed Anies Baswedan.

Erin walks the guys through elections in Thailand and the impact of a corruption purge in Vietnam that has claimed some of the country's leadership including the president. After the break Jeff talks with Laode Syarif, executive director at the partnership for governance reform in Indonesia to discuss whether the KPU's independence is under threat by the palace to allow small, anti-Baswedan parties to run in local legislative elections next year.

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Ruby Kholifa of the Muslim Action Network (Aman) joins the pod to discuss campaigns against female genitalia mutilation (FGM) and other aspects of a recent landmark conference that she helped lead. 

Also: Imam of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) discusses his trip to Morowali and Jiangsu Delong's Gunbuster Nickel (GNI), site of recent deadly worker clash.  And finally: Jeff and Kevin discuss prospects for a 'superticket' following recent political party developments.

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A landmark 2-hour address by the PDI‑Perjuangan chair -- to a red-clad audience of 3,000, including the president and half the cabinet -- made no mention whatsoever of Ganjar Pranowo, the PDI-P Central Java governor who leads presidential polls. Preparations may now be underway for his split from the party in order to join the United Alliance (KIB) -- a process that will likely be messy. 

Also: unsettling claims from credible figures about administration pressure on the General Election Commission (KPU); and a remote Indonesian offshore gas project that at once affects interests from the UK, Russia, Vietnam and China.

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New poll data provides depicts the state of the presidential race and a World Bank report assesses economic reform.  Jeff and Kevin discuss listener questions about a recent controversy surrounding foreign property interests in the Widi Islands and the state of the planned capital move.  Also, hear from sound engineer Steven Handoko, whom we unmute (on purpose).

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After 60 years of trying, Indonesia finally has a new criminal code that standardizes sentencing, boosts legal certainty and updates penalties that were more in line with the Indonesia of the Dutch colonial era than that of the 21st century. But, as Anugrah Rizki Akbari, lecturer of Criminal Law at Universitas Indonesia told Kevin and Jeff, the passing of the criminal code is not the finish line, but rather the beginning of a three-year process of combing through decades of statutes from to bring them in line with the new code. While an improvement on the patchwork of laws that date back to the 1800s, the code is proving controversial.

Conservatives in parliament are on board because the new criminal code includes jail time for extra marital sex. The president and vice president can levy criminal charges for defamation. These provisions will need safeguards and must be followed up with robust training of Indonesia's vast police force and public prosecutors. On balance the new criminal code is a welcome development -- but in the wrong hands it could undermine Indonesian democracy, personal liberties and the country's standing in the world.

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Gerindra Chair Prabowo Subianto is showing ‘buyer’s remorse’.  By all accounts the three time presidential hopeful is casting about for a running mate who can add vigor to his so far lackluster campaign.  Polls show Prabowo – with near 100 percent name recognition – backsliding while Central Java Gov Ganjar Pranowo clearly leads in multiple credible surveys. National Awakening Party (PKB) Chair Muhaimin Iskandar is expecting the VP nomination but Prabowo is dragging his feet on setting up the inter-party secretariat that will help the coalition plan the 2024 presidential campaign.  PKB is the unofficial political vehicle for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – the world’s biggest Islamic organization. 

Alienating Iskandar puts at risk his sway with a vast constituency of moderate Muslim voters.  Also on the pod: the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is finally in the news, largely due a government‑sanctioned Congress of Women Islamic Leaders.  And Michael Smith, Northeast Asia correspondent for the Australian Financial Review joins to discuss the escalating protests against China’s Covid restrictions, the outlook for President Xi Jinping and a deteriorating investment case for an economy many considered the factory for the world.

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When it comes to transitioning to renewables and electrifying transport, Arsjad Rasjid, KADIN’s chairman, says the time of “talk, talk, talk” is over. Government and business need to work together to make power generation cleaner, to attract tens of billions in higher tech industries like electric vehicles as well as in information and communication technology. The wind is certainly at Indonesia’s back. FDI in machinery and metals is double what it was a year ago. At the G20 Indonesia secured US$20b in funding from G7 nations to retire coal fired plants (Indika Energy, Pak Arsjad’s own company will be among the first to benefit). But big economies including the US and the EU are introducing subsidies and quotas requiring big chunks of EV battery production to be based in those markets. Will retiring coal powered electricity just free up dirty coal for export. Indonesia wants to participate in the supply chains that churn out the next generation of EVs and batteries not just consume them. But will red tape hamstring it’s bid to escape the so called middle income trap? It’s a considerable list of agenda items for any organization, for Indonesia Inc there’s little time to waste.

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Indonesia has pulled off a well-run G20 summit with no boycotts during a -- to put it mildly -- difficult year. Peter Mumford of the Eurasia Group joins Kevin and Jeff to discuss all the summitry and what it means for Indonesia's standing in the world. And: Peter runs through the Malaysian election and considers why the electorate appears to be tuning out.

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A moment of jocular rapport between the president and Prabowo Subianto sent pundits spinning this week.  It appeared, when quoted in print, to constitute an endorsement of the Gerindra chair -- but not so.  The president remains unaligned ahead of the 2024 race, but his cryptic jest at least made clear that his endorsement will be a prize. 

Also: Multiple credible polls now show Ganjar in sole possession of first place, by a statistically significant margin, and the United Alliance (KIB) is still his likely nominating vehicle.  Finally: with Putin confirming his G20 absence, Ref Dispatch discusses what the summit means for Indonesia.

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