A look at some of the dirty tricks used in Indonesia's recent presidential election

New Mandala:

Once heralded as a new hope for democratic Indonesia, over the course of his second term [the current president] had become increasingly authoritarian and concerned with securing  post-presidential influence and legacy. Around the Covid-19 crisis, he first tried to extend his time in office beyond the constitutionally permitted two terms, and then to delay the elections.

A documentary from 2019 discussing the incredible level of hooligan violence at Indonesian soccer games

From a new AP Article about the deaths of 125 people at a single match:

The soccer association, known locally as PSSI, has long struggled to manage the game domestically.

In 2007, Nurdin Halid was imprisoned on corruption charges but was able to continue as the organization's president until 2011. After Halid was banned from running for another term, a rival league, federation and national team emerged.

But chaotic administration continued until FIFA suspended Indonesia in 2015, a sanction that was lifted the following year.

In 2019, when FIFA awarded Indonesia hosting rights for the Under-20 World Cup, it was seen as a vote of confidence.

In June, a FIFA panel inspected the country's soccer facilities and planning for the May 20-June 11 tournament and proclaimed its satisfaction.

This 2019 video focuses on the uncontrolled violence and mentions rampant match fixing (it does not explain why the authorities are unable to control violence between team supporters, or why FIFA would assert the belief that solutions were imminent):

"Indonesia is moving its capital city away from Jakarta"

BBC:

Jakarta, home to over 10 million people, is sinking at one of the fastest rates in the world.

...

The idea of moving the capital has been floated several times since the country gained independence from the Dutch in 1945.

In 2016, a survey found that the mega-city had the world's worst traffic congestion. Government ministers have to be escorted by police convoys to get to meetings on time.

The planning minister says snarl-ups in Jakarta costs the economy 100 trillion rupiah ($6.8bn, £5.4bn) a year.

*Previously: "Jakarta's violent identity crisis: behind the vilification of Chinese-Indonesians"

"A colossal statue of a Chinese god has been unceremoniously covered up by a giant white sheet in Indonesia after upsetting the local Muslim population"

Sha:

The 30.4-meter-tall statue reportedly cost 2.5 billion Indonesian rupiahs ($187,000) to build and was funded by private donations to the Kwan Sing Bio Temple in Tuban, East Java.

It was publicly unveiled last month at a ceremony held inside the temple that was attended by prominent local politicians. Billed as the largest statue of Guan Yu in Southeast Asia, it was hoped that the colossus might help to attract more tourists to the city.

"In less than 18 months, being gay in Indonesia has gone from widely tolerated to just plain dangerous"

CNN:

The world's largest Muslim democracy, Indonesia is often considered something of a bulwark of tolerance amid growing conservatism elsewhere in the Islamic world.

But that perception is now shifting, amid increasing verbal attacks on minority groups and the growing implementation of Islamic bylaws by regional governments.

"Jakarta's violent identity crisis: behind the vilification of Chinese-Indonesians"

Guardian:

Chinese-Indonesians – estimated to make up 1% to 4% of the country’s 250 million people – have had an impact on Jakarta which is vastly disproportionate to their physical numbers. The economic success of the group’s small elite has led to repeated bouts of resentment, discrimination and even violent assaults.

...

Protesters, many of them hardline Islamists . . . have promised another rally for next Friday – and hope to beat their attendance of more than 100,000 people on 4 November.

...

In 1740, bitterness from native Indonesians and the Dutch to the growing wealth of a small portion of Chinese people led to open bigotry against the minority population, most of whom were extremely poor themselves.

In October that year, Chinese sugar mill workers finally revolted; the response was a pogrom in which nearly the entire population were killed.

...

Indonesia’s second president and dictator who ruled for three decades, Suharto, attempted to deal with the “Chinese problem” by forced assimilation under his New Order government, banning Chinese schools, books and languages.