Talking Indonesia

Ken Setiawan and Lailly Prihatiningtyas - Soeharto as National Hero

On 10 November 2025, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto made a controversial decision that reignited divisions in Indonesian society: he posthumously designated former President Suharto as a pahlawan nasional or a ‘national hero.’ Suharto seized power in 1965 during a period of violent upheaval and ruled Indonesia for over three decades until 1998, presiding over what he called the "New Order" regime. His rule brought rapid economic development, lifting millions out of poverty and transforming Indonesia into a regional power. But it was also marked by systematic human rights violations, including the mass killings of alleged communists in 1965-66, as well as brutal crackdowns in East Timor, Aceh, and West Papua. His regime was characterized by media censorship, restrictions on freedom, and widespread corruption. The decision to honour Suharto came despite protests from over 500 civil society members, academics, and activists who argue the designation whitewashes history and betrays the victims of his regime. But defenders point to his role in Indonesia's economic transformation and his contributions during the independence era. In this episode Elisabeth Kramer is joined by historian Dr. Ken Setiawan and Lailly Prihatiningtyas, a PhD student representing Sydney group Aliansi Gusar, to explore what this designation means for Indonesia's democracy, its memory politics, and its ongoing struggle with accountability for past atrocities. We also ask, how have young people reacted to this, and what does it mean to them? Dr Setiawan has written a highly relevant article on historical revisionism under the Prabowo presidency, which you can find at https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/of-heroes-and-villains-prabowos-playbook-for-power-and-historical-revisionism/. Dr Ken Setiawan is a Senior Lecturer in Indonesian Studies and a Deputy Director (Diversity and Inclusion) at the Asia Institute, Faculty of Arts. She is also an Associate at the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society (CILIS) at the Melbourne Law School. Ken's research interests include globalisation and human rights, historical violence and transitional justice, as well as gender and civil society. She has widely published on the politics of human rights in Indonesia, and teaches in the areas of Indonesian Studies, including language, and Asian Studies, with a particular focus on politics and human rights. Lailly Prihatiningtyas is a PhD candidate and research consultant at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. Her work focuses on the governance of just energy transitions, green jobs, and labour market institutions, especially in Southeast Asia. She has more than a decade of diverse professional experience in Indonesia, working with government, development organisations, the private sector, and NGOs. She is part of Aliansi GUSAR (Gerakan untuk Sydney Bersuara), a grassroots collective of Indonesian diasporas in Sydney concerned with justice and equality in Indonesia, and joins Talking Indonesia to share a civic engagement perspective on social justice, state accountability, and the impacts of political decisions on ordinary Indonesian citizens.

Dirty Vote II o3 - Zainal Arifin Mochtar

Cast your minds back to February 2024, in the campaign lull before Indonesians hit the ballot box, a documentary unceremoniously dropped on youtube. Now, documentaries on electoral campaigning are legion, and generally they attract a pretty narrow audience. By contrast, Dirty Vote, directed by acclaimed Indonesian investigative journalist, Dhandy Dwi Laksono, garnered 6.4 million eyeballs in the first 48 hours, over the week Dirty vote attracted half a million tweet on twitter, trending worldwide. Overall Dirty Vote had over 30 million viewers. So to say Dirty Vote went viral would be putting it mildly. And yet Dirty Vote was anything but ephemeral. In a large warehouse, against what was a essentially a giant power-point deck, three nationally renowned Constitutional lawyers, Bivitri Susanti, Feri Amsari and Zainal Arifin Mochtar systematically laid out the case for a critical double take on how key figures, principally then- President Jokowi, were using all the instruments of the state to ensure the 2024 national election would be won by his anointed successor, Prabowo Subianto. This included Bansos, or social welfare payments, the use of police to pressure and criminalise village heads and opposition figures, and of course, the Supreme Court decision’s overturning the election law to allow Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as VP. Now that team is back, with their sequel Dirty Vote two, and they are here once again to methodically unpack the consolidation of the Prabowo regime. My guest today is Dirty Vote presenter, Dr Zainal Arifin Mochtar, Professor at the faculty of Law at the Gadjah Mada University. Pak Zainal has been involved in the establishment and running of number of research centres, including Pukat Korupsi UGM, the Centre for Anti-Corruption Studies, Caksana Institute and the Administrative Law Society. He also serves on the board of the Partnership for Governance Reform and has won numerous awards over his career, including the Muhammad Yamin Constitution Award in 2016 and the Best Constitutional Law writer from the Constitutional Court in 2018. You can find Dirty Vote 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895Cqij7i00

Irma Hidayana - Free Nutritious Meals Program

Irma Hidayana - Free Nutritious Meals Program by Talking Indonesia

Egi Primayogha - Corruption in Prabowo-Gibran's first year

Corruption is always a hot topic in Indonesia, but where does the situation stand right now? In this episode, we talk to Egi Primayogha who is the advocacy coordinator for the NGO Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) about their assessment of the current government and their recent report entitled Catatan Kritis (or critical notes) on the first year of the Prabawo-Gibran government. ICW was formed in 1998 and, unfortunately, their role in keeping the government accountable is as important as ever. The report highlights a number of areas of concern, many of course are not new in Indonesian politics. The impact of dynastic politics, patronage driving cabinet appointments and the lack of oversight that the parliament is having over government policies and activities are all mentioned as ongoing issues. The report also looks more closely at corruption and lack of accountability in the Free Healthy Meal Program, known as Makanan Bergizi Gratis or MBG, which has been in the news recently for large numbers of students being struck with food poisoning. All in all, the report is a reminder that democracy is tough road with many obstacles and civil society groups like ICW are crucial for keeping corruption and transparency in the spotlight. Our guest today, Egi Primayogha is a member of Indonesia Corruption Watch with more than 10 years of experience leading investigations, research, and advocacy to promote transparency and accountability. His work focuses on state capture, politico-business corruption, and the intersection of governance and climate issues. Image used with permission, Indonesia Corruption Watch.

Dian Tri Irawaty - Kampung and Urban Advocacy

Dian Tri Irawaty - Kampung and Urban Advocacy by Talking Indonesia