Art, activism and a cancelled show - Wulan Dirgantoro

Late last year news media splashed the image of an elderly artist standing before a locked door at the National Gallery of Indonesia. The sign behind him displayed his name - Yos Suprapto – and the title of his solo exhibition 'Kebangkitan: Tanah Untuk Kedaulatan Pangan' (Revival: Land for Food Sovereignty), due to have opened on 19 December. The headlines explained that the gallery had cancelled the show with little notice. What followed was a battle of words and claims around the cancellation, or as the gallery described it, it's closure at the behest of the artist. The newly minted Minister for Culture, Fadli Zon, also weighed in.

What was it about this exhibition that made it so contentious? Who is the artist and why did this show become a lightning rod for controversy? More broadly, what might it mean for freedom of expression, art and activism in Indonesia?

In this week's episode Jemma chats with Dr Wulan Dirgantoro, a lecturer in art history and curatorship at the School of Culture and Communication, the University of Melbourne. 

In 2025, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT.

Image: Yos Suprapto with one of the controversial paintings in his now cancelled exhibition, December 2024

Source: IG @politicaljokesid

Late last month, for the first time its history, Indonesia held simultaneous regional elections across 545 provinces, regencies and municipalities across the country.

Across 6000 ballot stations, and 1553 contesting candidates, there were upsets in key regions, like Central Java where the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) lost its provincial stronghold, and Jakarta, where PDIP’s underdog candidate, Pramono Anung, took the governorship from the governing coalition’s favourite, Ridwan Kamil.

But elsewhere, candidates backed by Prabowo and his ruling KIM coalition handily won the election. This include Dedi Mulyani for governor of West Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa in East Java, Bobby Nasution in North Sumatra and former “rose team” Kopassus officer, Yulius Selvanas in North Sulawesi. In South Kalimantan, the candidate backed by mining magnate and political powerbroker Haji Isem, also took office.

Our avid listeners will remember my colleague Dr Ian Wilson, Senior lecturer in Politics, Terrorism and Counterterrorism at Murdoch University. Ian came on Talking Indonesia in December last year to discuss how the Jokowi government was reshaping the field of political contestation for the 2024 regional elections. Today we have him back to assess what the regional elections round up tells us about how power is being reorganised in Indonesia today.

Vannessa Hearman - East Timor’s Great Famine, 1977-1979

Following Indonesia’s annexation of East Timor in December 1975, the forced displacement and mass starvation of its people resulted in what is known as the Great East Timor Famine, 1977-1979. As Indonesian forces moved into the province thousands of people were forced to flee their villages and farms into the mountains and bush, where food sources were scarce. It is estimated that over fifty percent of East Timor’s population of 600,000 was displaced. A report complied by the East Timor Truth, Reception and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR) concluded that at least 84,000 people, but possibly up to 180,000, died in the famine. As such this tragedy touched one in two East Timorese. Indonesia’s restrictions on the media and its own propaganda, meant that there was little open reporting on the tragedy as it unfolded.

More than two decades since East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia the truth and associated trauma of this conflict-induced famine remains little known.

What was the context in which this famine took place? How did it unfold and what was the scale of the suffering of the East Timorese? What media reporting, if any, was there at the time, and what was the international community’s response? And how is the famine remembered in East Timor today and what is being done to bring justice for its victims?

In this week's episode Jemma chats with Dr Vannessa Hearman, a senior lecturer in history at Curtin University in Western Australia. Her award-winning monograph, Unmarked Graves: Death and Survival in the Anti-Communist Violence in East Java, Indonesia, is a study of the 1965-66 mass violence in Indonesia. Her research deals with the history and politics of Indonesia and Timor-Leste and Australia's engagements with both countries. She is researching the history of East Timorese migration to Australia and how Australian cultural institutions reflect this history in their collections. Her recent publications on East Timor’s famine include, ‘Australian News Photography and Contested Images of Indonesian-Occupied East Timor’, Australian Historical Studies, (2003) 54:3; and ‘Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977-1979), Third World Quarterly (2024), 45:2. Also see Pat Walsh’s writings on the famine and the fate of the CAVR report Chega!.

In 2024, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT.

Image: A Peter Rodgers photograph denoting forced displacement, surrender and famine on display at the CNC as part of an exhibition on the history of Timor-Leste’s independence struggle.

Source: Raimundo Fraga, CNC.

About 1000km north of Jakarta is a little pocket of paradise, a sprinkle of islands called the Natuna Islands, home to less than 100,000 people.

These sparsely populated islands are the gateway to the North Natuna Sea, an area of unparalleled natural wealth. These waters are rich in fish, tuna, mackerel and marine life which sustains fisher livelihoods. This is also an area endowed untapped gas and oil reserves worth many billions of dollars. Indonesia claims the area as within its Exclusive Economic Zone, a right backed up by international maritime law.

But China’s controversial nine-dash line, a map that shows China’s claims to the South China Sea, overlaps Indonesia economic zone. And while China withdrew its claim to the actual Natuna Islands way back in 1995, it continues to insist that the maritime gas reserves are well within its rights. The past decade has seen this area militarise at a pace, as skirmishes with Chinese military and an army of illegal fishing trawlers challenge the Indonesian navy.

Last week, the dynamics of this conflict took a dramatic turn when it transpired that Indonesia had signed a cooperative statement with China that committed to developing the area together in recognition of, and this is the kicker, overlapping claims on the area.

This statement came off the back of President Prabowo Subianto’s maiden diplomatic jaunt, an ambitious itineray to Beijing, Washington and a host of other countries in service of Indonesia's economic interests. But the joint statement left analysts and observers wondering, did Prabowo, the muscular nationalist, get played?

To talk about these issues, I’ve invited Aristyo Darmawan who is a Lecturer in International Law at Universitas Indonesia and PhD candidate at the Australian National University where he is currently writing his dissertation on how maritime law influences Indonesian foreign policy. You can find Aristyo on his Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aristyodarmawan/

We often talk hear about the lives and living conditions of Indonesian migrant workers, many of them going to countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and states in the Middle East to find employment. In its 2024 Empowering Migrant Workers report, the United Nations Development Project estimated that 9 million Indonesians are working abroad. With such a large cohort overseas, the rights and welfare of this labour force is a focus of the Indonesia government. And for good reason too, as we’ve all heard concerning stories of poor treatment, and particularly gendered violence, that can occur.

However, what, or who, we hear much less about are the approximately 400,000 foreigners working in Indonesia. Has the Indonesian government’s concern for Indonesian citizens in foreign lands translated at all to an awareness of the need to protect foreign workers within its own borders? Who comprises this diverse group and what are their experiences of labour rights and labour protections while working in Indonesia?

To helps answer some of these questions, and more, I’m joined by Dr Wayne Palmer who Is a senior research and teaching fellow at the University of Bielefeld. Wayne is a Southeast Asianist and a migration scholar with extensive experience providing paralegal assistance to migrant workers claiming labour and employment rights. He uses social-legal approaches to examine legal and policy frameworks that govern labour and migration.

The Papal Visit

In early September, Pope Francis visited Indonesia as part of a tour of the region. It was the third papal visit to the country after tours by Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989. This trip included Indonesia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and Singapore.

The theme of this visit to the world’s largest Muslim nation was ‘Faith, Fraternity and Compassion’ and appeared to build on an earlier visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2019. On that trip the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar co-signed a statement known as the Abu Dhabi document, in which they declared a shared commitment to promote reconciliation, fraternity and with the aim of universal peace. The three-day visit to Jakarta was declared a success by the Vatican and Indonesian observers alike, with the Pope highlighting and praising Indonesia’s commitment to interfaith harmony.

So, what was the aim of this papal tour for the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Indonesia? What were the Pope’s key messages and how was he received? And what lingering influences might this visit have for this minority religion of 9 million people, but also for society more broadly?

In this week's episode Jemma chats with Bagus Laksana, the Rector of Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta. He is author of 'Muslim and Catholic Pilgrimage Practices: Explorations Through Java' (Routledge, 2016).

In 2024, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT.

Image: IG @archbishopcomensoli

Corruption in Indonesia is widely acknowledged as a complex issue, with some even suggesting it as something that is deeply entrenched in Indonesian culture. However, this perspective overlooks the generally accepted notion among historians of colonialism that corruption in Indonesia and other post-colonial nations is, at least partially, rooted in colonialism and the abuses of power and wealth during the colonial era.

In this episode of Talking Indonesia, we examine the sugar scandal of 1926—a case involving wealthy industrialists and a powerful political party in the Dutch East Indies. We explore how a political donation, which was almost certainly considered a case of political corruption even by the standards of that era, somehow became accepted. Among various contributing factors, the fear of communism played a significant role in this acceptance.

Our guest, Uji Nugroho Winardi, is a historian involved in the Colonial Normativity research project. This initiative aims to systematically investigate and narrate the role of corruption in Dutch and Indonesian histories of state formation, as well as its enduring impact on contemporary Indonesia.

Through our discussion, we will address what insights we can glean from the 1926 sugar scandal corruption case in the Dutch East Indies, and how these historical lessons can inform our approach to tackling present-day corruption.

In 2024, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Tito Ambyo from RMIT, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales, Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University and Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University.

Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via Apple Podcasts or listen via your favourite podcasting app.

Photo: Sugar plantation worker in Java. Nationaal Archieve, Den Haag.

Some of the most challenging issues post-colonial societies face involve managing the physical remnants of their colonial histories. In Indonesia, centuries of colonialism left many buildings and spaces with strong colonial identities. While some of these spaces are now abandoned and forgotten, others are being remembered and revitalised.

In this episode, Tito Ambyo speaks with Remco Vermeulen, a PhD candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam and coordinator of international cooperation in collection management at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. Remco's professional experience informed his presentation at the EuroSEAS conference in Amsterdam this year on the revitalisation of Dutch colonial urban spaces in Indonesia. His ongoing PhD research examines how young Indonesians interact with and perceive these revitalised spaces.

Remco shares fascinating insights from his research survey and visits to Dutch colonial buildings in various Indonesian cities. His findings reveal an intriguing disconnect: while many young Indonesians view Dutch colonialism negatively, they often appreciate the aesthetic and functional aspects of colonial architecture.

In 2024, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales, Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, and Tito Ambyo from RMIT.

Starting a Start Up

Starting a small business is a challenge in any context, but what about if you're a foreigner looking to establish a restaurant in Indonesia? What's it like to move to Indonesia, knowing little to nothing about the country, and then go on to start a successful online food business? What is it about the business context in Indonesia that facilitates or blocks small businesses, especially those wishing to leverage Jakartans' large-scale online connectivity?

In this podcast, Elisabeth Kramer talks to entrepreneur Sujeet Ramgir, who came to Indonesia from India and went on to start a highly successful Indian food 'cloud kitchen' catering to the Jakarta market. At the end of 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic entered the chat, Sujeet launched his co-owned business, Accha. Little did he know how the pandemic and the mushrooming of online food apps would shape the trajectory of the business.

In this podcast, Sujeet shares his motivations for starting the business, his experiences, and his reflections on what it's like to do business in Indonesia through his role as co-founder of a food and beverage business. We also talk about how online apps have taken off in Indonesia and what this might mean for business owners, sharing the positives and the challenges of starting a start up.

Digital Populism

Just as we were recording this podcast, the hashtag #daruratdemokrasi (democratic emergency) went viral across Indonesian social media. The alert was prompted by the latest example of Indonesia’s parliament (DPR) attempting to override or block a ruling by the Constitutional Court related to the eligibility of candidates to run in regional elections. The online campaign quickly turned into calls for real action to take place on Thursday 22 August, in the form of protests at the national parliament in Jakarta and other cities across the country. This would be parliament’s final sitting day before it headed into recess ahead of the November elections, and therefore the last chance for any amendments to be passed. The response on the streets by some thousands of protesters, including celebrities, filmmakers, actors and academics, was significant enough to force the DPR to pause its intervention. This effectively put an end to what was seen by the protesters as an attempt to both prevent a key rival of the Jokowi-Prabowo coalition, Anies Baswedan, from contesting the Jakarta gubernatorial election, and allow Jokowi’s second son, Kaesang, to stand as a candidate.

This will be seen as a victory for a grassroots movement that began with digital activism and spilled out on to the street. The question now is, will this movement be sustained, or was it just a one-off?

Over the past decade, digital activism has become deeply embedded and highly professionalised within Indonesia’s political and social ecosystem. In the recent presidential election, the size of a candidate’s team of ‘buzzers’ and their stable of social media influencers was a decisive factor in delivering voters for the major parties, especially from the increasingly important Gen Z demographic. Prabowo’s landslide win was made possible, in large part, due to a re-branding of his image and targeted use of TikTok throughout his campaign.

Who and what is behind these campaigns driving what is known as digital populism in Indonesian politics? In a time when Indonesian democracy is under threat and protestors against the government are become more and more frustrated, does the internet in Indonesia still have the potential to be a force for good?

In this week's episode Jemma chats with Ary Hermawan. Ary is the current editor of Indonesia at Melbourne and a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute. He earned his bachelor degree in Islamic history from the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University and his master’s degree in international journalism from the University of Arizona's School of Journalism. He previously worked as a managing editor and editor at large of Indonesia’s leading English daily, The Jakarta Post. He also briefly served as deputy director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

In 2024, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT.

Image: Prabowo-Gibran Campaign 2024