CNA Correspondent Podcast: Selfies, TikToks and memes: The social media battle in Indonesia's elections - CNA

A quarter of a million candidates are running for posts in this year’s general elections in Indonesia. Legislators, councillors and a new president are all being chosen by some 205 million voters.

And more than half of those voters are young people. Teresa Tang speaks to our correspondents to find out why the battleground has moved online for the presidential hopefuls. 

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2024-02-06 23:30:50Z
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Indonesia Elections 2024: A Jokowi-backed or a Jokowi-like candidate - that's the dilemma for Sumatran voters - CNA

Home to 60 million people, Sumatra is Indonesia’s second-most populous island after Java and is seen as one of the key battlegrounds in Indonesian politics. The 10 provinces in Sumatra have a total of 127 out of 580 seats in Indonesia’s national parliament.

Some ethnically and politically diverse provinces like Lampung and North Sumatra have been considered as bellwether areas, often mirroring exactly with how national voters behave during previous elections.   

A THREE-HORSE RACE COMPLICATES MATTERS

During the previous two elections, Mr Jokowi had to fight hard to win the hearts and minds of voters in Sumatra, a massive 470,000 square km spear-shaped island which separates the Indian Ocean and the Malacca Strait. 

In 2014, Mr Jokowi lost in four out of 10 provinces in Sumatra to his then-rival, retired Army general, Prabowo Subianto.

Five years later, when Mr Jokowi squared off with Mr Prabowo for the second time, the president fared even worse, losing six Sumatran provinces, including Aceh and West Sumatra where the retired general enjoyed a landslide win of more than 85 per cent.

Even in North Sumatra, a province known for being a stronghold for Mr Jokowi’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the incumbent was only able to secure a narrow victory of 52 per cent in the 2019 election.

But once Mr Jokowi’s infrastructure drive kicked into high gear during his second term in office, the president’s popularity in Sumatra began to soar.

“If Jokowi can run for a third term, he might win again,” said Dr Alfian of Aceh’s Malikussaleh University.

Indonesia today has three presidential candidates for this year’s election: former Jakarta governor, Mr Anies Baswedan; Mr Prabowo and former Central Java governor, Mr Ganjar Pranowo.

Since the 2019 election, Mr Prabowo has joined the president’s cabinet as defence minister and chosen Mr Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate.

Mr Jokowi’s party, PDI-P and three other parties in the president’s ruling coalition are throwing their weight against Mr Ganjar, who many say has a similar leadership style as Mr Jokowi.

Meanwhile, Mr Anies, who is being supported by among others: conservative Islamic groups and members of the opposition, is riding on a campaign platform which promises change to the way the current government is running the country.

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2024-02-05 22:00:00Z
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China court gives Australian writer Yang Hengjun suspended death sentence - CNA

SYDNEY: A Beijing court on Monday (Feb 5) handed Australian writer Yang Hengjun a suspended death sentence on espionage charges, threatening a recent rebound in bilateral ties that followed several years of strained relations between Beijing and Canberra.

The sentence, handed down five years after Yang was detained in China and three years after his closed-door trial on espionage charges, shocked his family and supporters.

It also threatens a recent warming of relations between Australia and China, analysts say, which until late last year had been marred by tensions over trade, COVID-19 and regional security posture.

Yang, a pro-democracy blogger, is an Australian citizen born in China who was working in New York before his arrest at Guangzhou airport in 2019. An employee of China's Ministry of State Security from 1989-1999, he had been accused of spying for a country China has not publicly identified, and the details of the case against him have not been made public.

Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters in Beijing Yang had been found guilty of espionage and "sentenced to death with two years' probation, and it was ordered that all his personal properties be confiscated".

Wang added that "the Australian side" was allowed to sit in on the sentencing and that all procedures were followed.

Sydney-based scholar Feng Chongyi, who a longtime friend of Wang's who has followed the trial closely, called it a "serious case of injustice", adding that Yang had denied the charges.

"He is punished by the Chinese government for his criticism of human rights abuses in China and his advocacy for universal values such as human rights, democracy and rule of law," Feng said.

He urged the Australian government to seek medical parole for Yang, saying five years of detention had taken a heavy toll on his health.

Australia is "appalled" at the court's decision and has called in China's ambassador, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

Wong said the Australian government understood the sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years if the individual does not commit any serious crimes in that period.

"This is harrowing news for Dr Yang, his family and all who have supported him," she said.

Yang's family was "shocked and devastated by this news, which comes at the extreme end of worst expectations", said a family spokesman in Sydney.

His two sons, who live in Australia, wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October on the eve of his visit to Beijing, urging him to seek Yang's release on medical grounds.

His supporters have argued Yang should be released on medical parole after he was told last year he had a 10cm cyst on his kidney that may require surgery.

Australia had said it was troubled by repeated delays in Yang's case, and had advocated for his well-being, including access to medical treatment, "at the highest levels".

A Beijing court heard Yang's trial in secret in May 2021 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed. He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States and has denied any wrongdoing in letters to family from jail.

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2024-02-05 08:51:00Z
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Bali to collect tourism tax from Feb 14; tourists encouraged to pay online before arrival - The Straits Times

The new tourism tax applies to those who are visiting mainland Bali as well as its surrounding islands. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

All foreigners including Singaporean tourists will have to pay 150,000 rupiah (S$12.80) in tourism tax when they visit Indonesia’s Bali from Feb 14 onwards.

The new tourism tax applies to those visiting mainland Bali as well as its surrounding islands such as Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan.

Tourists arriving from other parts of Indonesia via land or domestic flights also have to pay the tax. Children are not exempted.

As the levy is collected per entry, island-hoppers who are going to nearby Lombok and Gili Islands, which lie outside of Bali province, will have to pay another 150,000 rupiah when they return to Bali.

Bali tourism chief Tjok Bagus Pemayun first announced the start date of the tourism tax in September 2023.

He had assured that payment can be processed at airport counters in no more than 23 seconds, reported The Bali Sun.

But according to a recent official notice, tourists are encouraged to pay the tax via the Love Bali website or app before leaving for Bali.

After payment is made, tourists should receive a tourism levy voucher in their e-mails, and they should save the voucher on their phones for scanning when they arrive in Bali airport or seaports.

The Bali provincial authorities said the tax collected will be used to improve tourist services, preserve Balinese culture and protect the environment.

Bali is one of multiple destinations increasingly experiencing overtourism and the accompanying problem of environmental pollution, with some residents describing a plastic-covered coastline.

Tensions between locals and foreigners have also grown in recent years, after a number of troublemaking tourists made the news for working illegally, disrespecting religious sites, driving while intoxicated with alcohol, paying for services illegally in cryptocurrencies, among others.

Still, Bali’s tourism authority is expecting seven million tourists to visit the resort island in 2024, around 1.8 million more than the 5.2 million arrivals in 2023.

The federal authorities are hoping to attract 14 million visitors to Indonesia in 2024, with a target revenue of 200 trillion rupiah.

@straitstimes

PSA for all of us Bali trippin’: Remember to pay the tourism tax 🏝️ The tax collected will be used to improve tourist services, preserve Balinese culture and protect the environment, said the authorities. #SGNews #Bali #balitips #traveltok #baliholidays #balitax #balilife #balitravel

♬ Vlog ・ Chill out in the lounge at night(1279860) - Ninja Muzik Tokyo

Singaporeans and other Asean nationals can visit Indonesia for up to 30 days without a visa, but other tourists have to pay 500,000 rupiah for a 30-day visa on arrival, on top of the soon-to-kick in tourism tax.

In January, a steep entertainment tax of up to 75 per cent on services in karaoke lounges, nightclubs and spas was proposed.

But by early February, the plan was scrapped after the authorities faced pushback from business owners and hospitality players, who feared the tax would deter tourists from visiting the country.

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• Indonesia
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2024-02-04 23:00:00Z
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Indonesia Elections 2024: Anies, Prabowo or Ganjar? Why East Java could decide the presidency - CNA

WHAT POTENTIAL VOTERS THINK 

For now, some voters in East Java appear split on whom they would vote for.

In Tebuireng, one of its 3,500 students is Nasywa Maulida, who had just finished class when CNA met her during a visit in November.

The 17-year-old will be a first-time voter in the upcoming election.

When asked whether she knew who are running, she named the presidential candidates. 

“I’ve heard there are Mr Ganjar Pranowo, Mr Prabowo and Mr Anies Baswedan. But who their running mates are, I don’t know yet,” she said. 

Even though presidential candidates had visited her school, she claimed there was not enough information on the candidates available at the school. 

“Because we only get information from television. And we only watch TV once a week on our day off. And even then, sometimes we don’t watch the news.

“We watch something else, so we don’t really know the latest development outside (of the boarding school),” she explained. 

Twelve-grader Mohammad Hilmi, also a Tebuireng student, claims he does not know much about the elections.

“I don’t have time (to follow the news),” he said. But he claims he will cast his vote. 

“Maybe I will find out their track record because they all have leadership experience like Ganjar Pranowo, who led Central Java, Anies Baswedan, who led Jakarta, and Prabowo, who was with the military,” the 18-year-old said. 

Have his teachers not given him information about the election? 

“No,” he told CNA. “Well, maybe just a bit. They said there will be a few pairs.”

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2024-02-04 22:00:00Z
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US intends further strikes on Iran-backed groups says US National Security Adviser - CNA

Saturday's strikes in Yemen hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said, adding it targeted 13 locations.

The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the strikes "will not pass without a response and consequences".

Another Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, indicated the group would not be deterred, saying Yemen's decision to support Gaza would not be affected by any attack.

Residents described being shaken by powerful blasts. "The building I live in shook," said Fatimah, a resident of Houthi-controlled Sanaa, adding that it had been years since she had felt such blasts in a country that has suffered years of war.

The Houthis did not announce any casualties.

The Yemen strikes are running parallel to the unfolding US campaign of retaliation over the killing of three American soldiers in a drone strike by Iran-backed militants on an outpost in Jordan.

IRAN SEEN AVOIDING DIRECT CONFRONTATION

On Friday, the US carried out the first wave of that retaliation, striking in Iraq and Syria more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40.

Mahjoob Zweiri, Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, did not expect a change in Iran's approach even after the latest US strikes.

"They keep the enemy behind the borders, far away. They are not interested in any direct military confrontation which might lead to attacks on their cities or their homeland. They will maintain that status quo," he told Reuters.

Iran's foreign ministry said the latest attacks on Yemen were "a flagrant violation of international law by the United States and Britain", warning the continuation of such attacks was a "worrying threat to international peace and security".

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2024-02-04 17:54:00Z
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Houthis vow response after US, UK strike dozens of Yemen targets - CNA

"UNACCEPTABLE"

Anger over Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza, which began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Oct 7, has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

On Jan 28, a drone slammed into a base in Jordan, killing three US soldiers and wounding more than 40 – an attack Washington blamed on Tehran-aligned forces.

US and allied troops in the region have been attacked more than 165 times since mid-October, mostly in Iraq and Syria, but the Jordan deaths were the first from hostile fire during that period.

The United States responded on Friday with strikes against dozens of targets at seven Tehran-linked facilities in Iraq and Syria, but did not hit Iranian territory.

Diplomatic sources have said the UN Security Council would convene on Monday, after Russia called for a meeting "over the threat to peace and safety created by US strikes on Syria and Iraq".

Iran denounced the Saturday strikes on Yemen, saying they "contradict" declared intentions by Washington and London to avoid a "wider conflict" in the Middle East.

Hamas called the US and British attacks "an escalation that will drag the region into further turmoil".

But British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Tehran is ultimately responsible for the violence, telling the Sunday Times that "we need to send the clearest possible signal to Iran that what they're doing through their proxies is unacceptable".

"You created them, you backed them, you financed them, you provided them with weapons, and you will ultimately be held accountable for what they do," Cameron said.

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2024-02-04 11:49:00Z
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