Welcome to Foreign Policy‘s Southeast Asia Brief.
Highlights this week: Indonesia he suffers through power outage, of Bangkok famous old man wins re-election, and residents in Hanoi oppose the ambitious plans of to rebuild the capital.
Blackouts Hit Rocky Indonesia
Why can’t one of the world’s largest coal producers keep the lights on?
Through June, Indonesia has faced a dire situation power outage in the islands. Government he says the problem is now solved. But an industry insider was opposed that this is a “blatant lie” and warned that the worst could come.
To blame is not, as you might suspect, global energy shock. Instead, the government has admitted after earlier denying that the problem is a scarcity of coal. And this can be traced back to the mismanagement of the government itself.
In recent weeks, the electricity has been information in Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Indonesian Borneo. Java, which has more than half of Indonesia’s population and is the center of the country’s economy, appears to be the most affected. The areas of Bekasi, Bogor, and Depok—towns on the outskirts of Jakarta—were without electricity for several days.
The economic impact is severe. Originally estimates of losses already caused by blackouts varies from $173 million to $562 million.
These blackouts will add to the growing perception that Indonesia’s government and economy are increasingly dysfunctional. Business leaders have explained anxiety that the fear of power outages will be another reason that prevents businesses from investing in the country.
It is also another blow to President Prabowo Subianto, who entered office promising rapid growth and self-sufficiency. Its national economic ban have caused turmoil in the Indonesian economy.
Power cuts that affect people’s daily lives can be a serious political issue. August of last year saw the worst situation in Indonesia riot since 1998 and was held against the backdrop of rising food prices.
Towards summer, the situation seems to be volatile again. On the reduction of power, the prices of food and fat they rise again. And students are already taking to the streets protest economic mismanagement.
For many years, Indonesia had more electricity production ability than was needed in key areas like Java due to more construction in the 2010s.
Most of its power comes from coal-fired power plants, which shouldn’t be a problem for the world the third largest producer of coal. And the “domestic market obligation” forces miners to sell a piece of their product in the country at a reduced price.
Earlier in the year, though, the government cut coal production preference for companies. His goal was to increase international prices and thus increase income. Prices rose, but domestic production was also disrupted.
Faced with a gap between low domestic prices and high international prices, miners seem to have it to be sold as possible abroad, even if this meant not fulfilling domestic sales obligations. Others sold the good coal abroad and dumped low-quality, low-energy coal on the domestic market.
This latest wave of power outage June comes after a three-day power outage in May that plunged much of Sumatra into darkness. Anyway, that was it caused not because of the shortage of coal but because of the breakdown of the power lines due to bad weather.
The “Hulk” of Bangkok beats opponents. Chadchart Sittipunt, independent governor of Bangkok who has been nickname “Hulk” in his big form, safe general election again on Sunday.
The governor showed his political prowess by winning 67.8 percent of the votes, with 95 percent of the votes counted at the time of writing.
A former member of Pheu Thai, a powerful populist party controlled by the Shinawatra family, Chadchart left to run for governor independently in 2022. In that election, he broke through a divided field, winning 52.7 percent of the vote while no other candidate got 10 percent.
Since then, Pheu Thai’s star has faded while Chadchart’s has waxed. The former is now a minor coalition partner in government, while Chadchart has only strengthened its hold on the capital.
His great victory leads others guess that he could aim to become prime minister. (Chadchart has denied that he is interested in the top job.)
The governor’s brand combines a technocratic approach with a broad liberal streak. Under his watch, the new program was was launched allowing residents to report traffic problems, in the name of happiness Traffy Fondue. (Traffic from traffic; fondue from fongdu“to report” in Thai.) And on the social side, he has pushed friendly policies for women and gender minorities.
The main entrepreneur is sentenced. The founder of an Indonesian technology company and former Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim was sentenced to prison on June 30. Nadiem was accused of corruption related to the purchase of Chromebook laptops while in government. But critics say the evidence is scant and argue the case is politically motivated.
Nadiem was the poster child for the growth of the technology sector in Indonesia. In 2010, he founded Gojek, Indonesia’s answer to Uber, which became the country’s first startup valued at more than $10 billion and later merged with Indonesia’s version of Amazon, Tokopedia.
As the minister of education from 2019-2024, he missed that magical touch and is now being accused of corruption during that period.
While critics say that evidence is narrow, Indonesia’s definition of corruption is loose—allowing for greater scope for politically motivated prosecutions.
Some argue that this case and others will negatively affect the Indonesian economy.
The mystery surrounding this case is who put pressure on prosecutors to pursue it. Along with past political corruption casethere was a clear trend towards critics of the government. But Nadiem has not spoken.
Hanoi development furor. Residents of Hanoi participate in rare protest against house demolition. Private grumblings over time have escalated into more public displays of anger, with prayer vigils as well as posters and t-shirts bearing critical slogans.
The Vietnamese government has big ambitions plans to rebuild its capital. His multi-billion dollar plan would completely transform the city. The government has he announced that by 2065, the city’s residents will have an average income of $95,000 and live in one of the happiest capitals in the world.
Residents along the banks of the Red River, about 250,000 who are scheduled to be evacuated, are doubtful. They are skeptical of the government’s promises that they will finally be given better housing and ask where they will live while new housing is being built on the land they currently live on.
Land disputes are politically powerful in Vietnam. In 2020, three police officers and one villager died protest on the land grab for an airport near Hanoi. Two protesters were later sentenced to death.
A jockey balances a wooden plow modified for racing, sometimes grabbing and biting the tails of two bulls to guide them into a flooded rice field, during the Pacu Jawi, a traditional bull race event, in Simabur village, West Sumatra, Indonesia, June 27.Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
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In Focus: Film Sparks Language Debate in Singapore
Dear You-a story of family, love, loss and migration, set in China and the tangled world of the Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia-is deeply emotional. In Singapore, there has been a great shock and raised a discussion about the language that touches the sensitive aspects of the city-state’s identity.
The language of the film is mainly Teochew, a Chinese dialect that is common in the southern region of China which was the source of many immigrants to Southeast Asia. In Singapore, southern varieties of Chinese—Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese—are prevalent.
But for decades, Singapore’s government—controlled by the People’s Action Party since independence—has been to be raised Mandarin Chinese to facilitate communication between groups. The law even restricts media coverage in non-Mandarin Chinese versions.
This has always attracted calm arguments. In the 1991 election, the opposition entered the areas of the Chinese workers using the fear of losing the family languages, and this. leftovers part of his brand. It’s sad reflect about grandchildren brought up or taught mainly in Mandarin struggling to speak with their grandparents is also a common thing in Singapore.
Success of Dear You has pushed these concerns about language and identity to the fore.
Although Teochew is becoming increasingly rare as a first language in Singapore, many viewers he wanted to see the film in its original and not the Mandarin dub—perhaps due to the resonant themes of connection with ancestral roots. A few Teochew shows were sold out, and some people even crossed the border to Malaysia to see the film in its original form.
The government made little argument, to allow another 50 Teochew surveys in addition to the 22 that had already been approved. Some now call for government taking a more relaxed approach to Chinese language forms more generally.
The Singapore government will likely continue to take a proactive approach on this issue. It is caution of narratives that promote loyalty to Chinese identity and origins, fearing that it is China’s way of trying to exert influence over the vast majority of ethnic Chinese. The latest series of video from China fueling racist fears about Indian Singapore made the issue a priority.
Some now anxiety that this film can enter such lobbying campaigns.
