Image: Fluorescent tracer dyes used to measure drainage system characteristics in valley glaciers, Greenland
Hey everyone,
How was your week?
I’ve been running 5km (with Max) at least 3 times a week for over a month now and it’s been so nice to improve my fitness and get back into running. I used to run a lot until I had a stroke. Sustained high-impact cardio scared me, but after years getting my strength and endurance back in other ways, I finally felt ready to hit the pavement again. It’s quite nice running with a partner, too. We egg each other out the door and keep each other accountable (although Max’s endurance is much better than mine at the moment).
Also this week I found out that I got a High Distinction for my first uni assessment (a presentation and accompanying paper). It’s a nice assurance that I can process complex information and say something intelligent about it.
Thanks for the nice feedback on last week’s new format. I am excited to keep this newsletter in a similar vein. So, read on…
Image: Aftermath of protests in Jakarta, IFP
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
This week, protesters and police continue to clash across the Indonesian archipelago. workers unions, activists and Islamist organisations have held rallies and strikes in opposition to a new “omnibus” jobs creation bill which became law last Monday. President Joko Widodo, who came to prominence for being a “working man” and representative of the people, put forth the bill in order to open up the Indonesian market for easier foreign investment. It will cut the red tape that has plagued Indonesian business bureaucracy and give companies more freedom in wage creation and demand from workers. Essentially, a neoliberal strategy to make the country more competitive in the region while eroding workers’ rights to severance and sick pay, as well as weekends and overtime.
The protests continue in spite of Indonesia’s unfortunate record with COVID-19, with over 320, 000 infected, but spurred on by the instability of six million people out of work during the pandemic. Read more here and here.
The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organisation that opposes the bill, is a part of the Indonesia Ulema Council, whose ex-head, Ma’ruf Amin, is Joko’s vice-president. (Ulama/Ulema is an Arabic word for the body of Muslim scholars who are recognised as having specialist knowledge of sacred law and other religious knowledge. Each region of the world has an ulema and over time they have supported and impeded cultural mores, depending on their interpretation of text and political aims.) The last widespread protests in Indonesia were in September 2019 when another bill was posed to outlaw sex outside of marriage (and obliquely criminalise homosexuality). The Ulema Council was in full support of the bill, which would also strip Indonesians of other reproductive rights, but Joko withdrew it at the last moment. This was perhaps a pragmatic decision in line with the president’s recent economic-driven reforms, considering the impact such a sex law would have on the country’s tourism sector.
Over the past decade, the tension between the encroaching conservative Islamist influence in Indonesia and its national identity has been the main political story of the country. What was once a secular and pluralist Islamic country, politicians must now navigate pleasing a religious majority while not alienating other voters if it is to continue being a democracy. Joko Widodo seems to be able to play this populist game, but the latest protests may have put a dampener on his popularity. Indeed, his straddling of both liberal economics and conservative religious concerns reminds me of Australia’s current government. This year, he expressed an optimistic partnership with Australia, when an antagonistic relationship between the two countries has been stoked in the past.
One of the major concerns for Human Rights groups and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) alike is Indonesia’s failing education system. While access to education has increased in the 21st century, quality has not. This is due to a lack of funding and policy around teacher qualifications, a general corruption in the job market and keeping syllabuses serving political ends. The country is trailing behind its neighbours in terms of secondary and tertiary outcomes, and the only positive results are seen in middle to upper income Indonesians getting their education overseas — although this risks a considerable brain drain on the country if there are no jobs for these graduates to return to.
A combination of conservative religious dogma and a below-average education system can threaten the ongoing celebration of the country’s complex cultures. An example of this can be seen in regards to Indonesia’s entry into the 2020 Academy Awards, Kucumbu, a film which won 8 local awards, but was banned in several cities around the archipelago. Its controversial subject was that of lengger lanang — a traditional type of performance that has a relationship with drag and transgenderism in ‘Western’ parlance — the name roughly translating from Javanese as “thought to be a woman, turned out to be a man”. The following video is a short documentary on the tradition:
Africa
Nigeria
In the year of a coronavirus outbreak, Nigerians are protesting against a different type of SARS.
Image: Protesters in Lagos, Nigeria, CNN
SARS is the “Special Anti-Robbery Squad” of the Nigerian police force accused of extrajudicial killings, torture, corruption, abuse and theft. Like the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the US incited by footage of George Floyd’s murder, the protests in Nigeria started with a viral video, too. And similarly, as police have brutally attacked protesters, the movement has snowballed. More information here and here:
While there has been a presidential directive to dissolve SARS “immediately”, protesters don’t trust that an adequate overhaul of the entire corrupt police system will be enacted.
The problem with SARS has plagued the country for years, and you can see them depicted in the following 2018 take on Childish Gambino’s cutting anti-anthem ‘This Is America’ by Nigerian artist Falz. He raps: “This is Nigeria / Look how we living now / Look what we eating now / Everybody be criminal”.
On social media, a photo of popular activist, Aisha Yesufu has become the iconic “Lady of Liberty” or Wonder Woman of the #endsars movement. Two art interns at Nigeria’s Anthill Animation Studios used her likeness in their viral artwork.
Now a few more things of interest from the week:
A rare half-male half-female bird was found in Pennsylvania (thanks Caitie)
This bird just broke the world record for longest non-stop bird flight
The Aussie Backyard Bird Count starts next Monday, so don’t forget to sign up! (I’m so excited!)
South Korea Experiments with Universal Income!
This Vietnam War orphan survived a plane crash when he was a baby. Really touching story:
Popular Nigerian artist, Tiwa Savage’s latest single:
That’s all this week. Hope you still like this format.
Until next week!