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Indonesia's Reformasi

Indonesia's Reformasi

Indonesian dictator Suharto was toppled in 1998 in a revolution that paved the way to a democracy. Indonesia’s Reformasi may have been a success, but the work is not finished

Military-style boot camps for Indonesia’s minimarket workers

Video | Military-style boot camps for Indonesia’s minimarket workers

The new military boot camps are organised through a programme to prepare managers to run minimarkets in Indonesia’s rural areas.

7 Aug 2026 - 9:16PM

Video | Indonesia names Suharto national hero despite protests

10 Nov 2025 - 7:35PM

Opinion | 2 steps Indonesia must take to end destructive culture of corruption

2 Sep 2025 - 5:30PMvideocam

Nostalgia for Suharto era triggers warnings about Indonesia’s dark history

Some older Indonesians warn against the trend, highlighting the dangers they went through during Suharto’s rule.

23 Feb 2024 - 3:22PMvideocam

Ex-Indonesian President Suharto arrives at his polling station before casting his vote in the second round of presidential elections on September 20, 2004. Photo: AP

‘Not fair, not free’: students slam Jokowi’s lack of neutrality in election

President Joko Widodo has been accused of meddling in the February 14 election, in which Prabowo Subianto named Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate.

10 Feb 2024 - 3:00PMvideocam

Asian Angle | Indonesia and Malaysia’s Reformasi spirit an indelible part of Asia’s journey to democracy

Reformasi is testimony to the mutual influences stemming from Malaysia and Indonesia’s heritage of a common language and cultural affinities.

27 May 2023 - 10:07AM

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25 years since Indonesia’s Reformasi, is democracy unravelling under Jokowi?

The quality of democracy has ‘deteriorated markedly’ over the course of Widodo’s presidency, capped by new laws stifling dissent and freedom of expression.

13 May 2023 - 11:30AMvideocam

A student holds a poster with portraits of President Joko Widodo during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2022, demanding the government stop attempts to postpone the 2024 presidential election. Photo: AP

Rebels holding New Zealand pilot hostage may drop key demand

Susi Air pilot Phillip Mehrtens was abducted by the West Papua Liberation Army in the highlands of Nduga two months ago after a routine flight to the area.

6 Apr 2023 - 7:08PM

Indonesia’s military moves to redress 1965 anti-communist purge with new rule

Descendants and relatives of alleged communists can now join the military. But amid efforts at ‘national reconciliation’ for Indonesian victims of rights violations, fears of communism and anti-Chinese sentiment continue to be exploited for political gain.

8 Apr 2022 - 6:48PMvideocam

11 arrested after deadly West Papua nightclub fight

Two of the 11 are believed to have been involved in the stabbing, the other nine allegedly committed arson; police are hunting seven others.

29 Jan 2022 - 8:54PM

The torched Double O nightclub in Sorong, West Papua province, Indonesia. Photo: AP

Suspected Indonesia militant accused of beheadings is killed

Ahmad Gazali, a key member of the East Indonesia Mujahideen network, conducted several executions, including the beheadings of four Christian farmers.

4 Jan 2022 - 8:46PM

Photo of suspected militant Ahmad Gazali, bottom left, who was killed on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Why is a Singapore firm suing a dictator’s children over a theme park?

Mitora Pte Ltd is demanding US$40 million and trying to reclaim land and buildings that are part of the Tamam Mini Indonesia Indah park.

13 Apr 2021 - 12:59PM

Military men helped Indonesia’s democracy. Why not in Myanmar?

Indonesia’s TNI military gave up a role in politics and never tried to get it back. Myanmar’s Tatmadaw take note: TNI is now Indonesia’s most trusted institution.

26 Feb 2021 - 3:27PMvideocam

Why Southeast Asia is fascinated with political sibling rivalries

The Sukarnoputri sisters in Indonesia, Singapore’s Lee siblings and the royal family of Thailand electrify the public with their personal and electoral spats.

8 Jul 2020 - 9:39AMvideocam

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn hugs his sister Princess Ubolratana – whose candidacy as prime minister he previously blocked – during his coronation in May 2019. Photo: AFP

Why Chinese Indonesians are choosing to study Mandarin in Taiwan

Under Suharto’s rule, Chinese Indonesians were discouraged from speaking Mandarin, but many are now embracing their heritage and using their language skills to their advantage as China invests in the country.

22 Dec 2019 - 1:25PM

Chinese Indonesian Felicia Oenica, 26, said her ability to speak Mandarin meant she got a higher starting salary than some of her peers. Photo: Randy Mulyanto

Ceritalah | From politics to pop, Javanese thrives in Indonesia despite complexities

Pop stars Via Vallen and Didi Kempot sing in Javanese and all seven Indonesian presidents, including the late Sulawesi-born BJ Habibie, have Javanese heritage.

3 Dec 2019 - 1:37PM

Widodo stands by direct presidential elections but opposition is growing

Proposed constitutional changes would empower upper house of parliament to elect the country’s leader, echoing the system of the Suharto era.

6 Dec 2019 - 1:46PM

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Asian Angle | Four steps for Jokowi to save Indonesian democracy

President Joko Widodo has much to reflect on as he is sworn in for his second term today. After weeks of unrest in Papua, student protests, forest fires and a knife attack on a minister, here is how he could turn the tide.

12 Dec 2019 - 1:23PM

A forest fire at Rambutan village in Ogan Ilir, Indonesia’s South Sumatra province. Photo: AFP

Opinion | Jokowi is not a real reformer – just ask Indonesian students

President Widodo is focused on serving his people largely through increased welfare and economic growth. But recent student protests have shown the complexity of the Indonesian electorate’s aspirations.

12 Dec 2019 - 1:22PMvideocam

Can Indonesia’s Chinese-language media be revived?

Suharto, the late Indonesian dictator, banned all Chinese-language education and media in the country. In the years since his resignation, Mandarin news has only had a small audience – but could that be about to change?

15 Jun 2020 - 11:56AMvideocam

Is Indonesian democracy doomed to repeat a cycle of violence?

Writer Andreas Harsono spent 15 years and carried out 2,000 interviews for his book looking into the themes of race, Islam and power.

19 Jun 2019 - 12:47PM

Prabowo Subianto supporters clash with riot police in Jakarta. Photo: AP

Indonesian Chinese still face prejudice. Can one Muslim make a difference?

Azmi Abubakar hopes the Indonesian Solidarity Party can lower the level of prejudice among young people. He faces an uphill struggle to get elected on April 17, but there is hope that his message of tolerance will take root.

1 Apr 2019 - 3:09PM

Pro-democracy activist Azmi Abubakar. Photo: Valerian Timothy

Reformasi sweep: Indonesia’s elections prove ‘people power’ has legs

Reformers with proven track records upend the incumbent status quo in three major provinces, all good signs that the country’s president could ride his reformist credentials into another term in office.

1 Jul 2018 - 8:49AM

Game over for glory days of Indonesian badminton?

Indonesian badminton has fallen on hard times. But a retired star sees reason for cheer – and remembers the good old days weren’t always so good for the country’s ethnic Chinese.

3 Jun 2018 - 1:02PMvideocam

Burned, beaten, electrocuted – and they fear for Indonesia’s future

Twenty years after Indonesia’s Reformasi movement started, the activists who were persecuted under the dictator Suharto warn that the country could be backsliding into authoritarianism.

20 May 2018 - 2:33PM

Twenty years after Indonesia’s Reformasi movement started, the activists who were persecuted under the dictator Suharto warn that the country could be backsliding into authoritarianism

Indonesia’s economic promised land: to many, still just a promise

Just two decades on from the Asian financial crisis and the fall of Suharto, the Indonesian economy has passed the trillion-dollar milestone and entered the G20. Yet ways to redistribute its wealth remain stubbornly elusive.

20 May 2018 - 10:32AM

With only dangerous oil maps for illumination at night, children who live in Weepatando village in Southwest Sumba are finding it hard to excel due to poor lighting at their houses. Photo: Resty Woro Yuniar

20 years on, has Indonesia banished Suharto’s ghost?

Indonesia has come far on its road to democracy. Yet the dictator’s generals retain influence, pockets of extremism fester, freedoms are being whittled away and a corrupt judiciary holds court.

19 May 2018 - 2:14PM

Being Chinese Indonesian: the angry mobs have gone, but …

The fall of Suharto was marked by anti-Chinese riots that killed 1,000. Twenty years on, violent repression is in the past, yet resentment of a largely Christian community in a largely Muslim country remains.

19 May 2018 - 1:02PM

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