Yudhoyono Presidency

An outsider to all establishments, even artistic ones, Semsar Siahaan is yet to be accorded his rightful place among the ranks of great Indonesian artists

Always controversial, Mochtar Lubis was one of Indonesia’s most respected journalists and best-known authors for over four decades.

The Islamic headscarf is now compulsory in many high schools

This man’s message is simple — four wives are better for business than one

Golkar still dominates Indonesian politics

Local theatre in Makassar reveals a backlash against Java-centrism

Women are now on both sides of the camera

Subversive ‘underground’ voices in Indonesian rap Michael Bodden It’s Jakarta, June 2004 and the boom box is playing a hip-hop beat. It’s a far cry from the meditative gamelan music, saccharine love songs or even the sensual dangdut one expects to hear in Java. The rapper is Xaqhala and he spins a gritty, rhythmic poem of everyday youth experience.

Indonesia’s comic scene is in a golden age but the industry remains marginal and plagued by self-doubt

Confidence crisis for Bali’s women mask dancers

In Bali, a new all-female dance-drama troupe is flouting traditional gender roles

Women and marginalised groups seize new opportunities in the arts

Aid must embrace social change

Intravenous drug use is exacerbating the spread of the HIV virus

Helping to boost English teaching seemed a splendid idea, but then Indonesian realities intervened

Portraits of Islamic women from different centuries and different organisations

Is democracy stalled? An in-depth survey suggests hope for the future

With Suharto gone, the anniversary of the 1965 coup attempt is more controversial than ever

Half a century after Herb Feith first lived in Kamal, Nikolas Feith Tan retraces his grandfather’s steps