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Courting Disaster —The Constitutional Court appears poised to hand down a ruling that would give political party leaders including Megawati Sukarnoputri, chair of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) power to hand pick representatives to sit in parliament following  legislative elections. Such a ruling would erode voter choice while enhancing the the sway of elites. With the head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Firli Bahuri, seemingly bent on pressing  corruption charges against former Jakarta governor and presidential candidate Anies Basewdan, President Joko Widodo was compelled to say he would do nothing to “tarnish democracy” — something that should go without saying. Also Jeff and Kevin talk with Amilia Rosa, a veteran Bali reporter to talk about Bali Governor Wayan Koster’s latest populist gambit: a ban on climbing any of the island’s 22 mountains.

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In the wake of Megawati Sukarnoputri’s decision to back Ganjar Pranowo for president we thought we would replay our June 2021 interview with the Central Java governor. Kevin and Jeff talked with the governor about improving the pool of skilled labour, protecting the environment, the effectiveness of the KPK and Covid 19. The Delta wave of the virus would hit his province within weeks of our interview.

What we didn’t know at the time was that our interview would be among the last he would grant to any media on worries he would appear to be swerving out of his political lane. No longer. Now he must build a national political profile with fewer than 10 months to go before the election. But with the help of Megawati’s ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the likely endorsement of the popular incumbent, Joko Widodo, Ganjar Pranowo has the wind at his back. We hope you enjoy the interview. The full original recording in Bahasa Indonesia is also available on this feed. We’ll be back on May 5th with another all new episode.

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10 months to the day before next year's momentous election, Indonesia's electoral process is plodding through a veritable gauntlet of meddling.  This includes spurious procedural disputes, unscrupulous legal attacks and a late-stage attempt to revise rules.  And the once-independent Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) is at issue: an editorial in Tempo, once a staunch KPK defender, asserts that the commission is now an instrument of abuse.  Machinations seemingly aim to indict Anies Baswedan regarding funding for a Formula-E grand prix -- but a weak charge against a presidential contender would likely call the election's legitimacy into question.

Jeff and Kevin discuss the rapidly evolving state of play -- and assess the assertion of Jakarta's rumor mill that Megawati has finally decided to imminently endorse Central Java Gov Ganjar Pranowo as the presidential nominee of PDI‑Perjuangan.  Did the decision come about at considerable cost to Ganjar's support among football fans?  Indonesia lost its right to host the Under-20 football World Cup amid calls from Ganjar and others to ban the Israel team.  And finally, a look at the timeline for when the bulk of Indonesia's parties might finalize their presidential nominations.  Did we mention there are only 10 months to the elections? Enjoy the show.

Get our special episode on the 4th Presidential Debate on:
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Today's episode features three adults who share their reflections on growing up as a PK (preacher's kid). Sarah Allred (sociology), Hannah McDonald (student), and Abbie Vegter (political science) discuss the unique challenges -- but also the great joys -- that children can experience when their parent is also the leader of their church family. Enjoy!

The views expressed on Church Potluck are solely those of the participants and do not represent any organization.

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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