Indonesia and democracy – is it growing stronger?

A friend has recently returned from Jakarta, the setting for Ramadan Sky. He reports that new grand shopping malls have eclipsed the ones from just a few years ago and that, surprisingly, he didn’t see any beggars on the streets. (He did not go to Kuningan, though, and was only there for a few days. The skyline is still smoggy and it takes hours to go anywhere. The traffic still crawls along like a drunken millipede and it is hot and muggy as ever.

One very noticeable and encouraging thing is the growing rise of union strikes which are happening with regularity. October 31^st this year saw a two-day nationwide strike in Indonesia, with unions expressing their dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living. This year minimum wages have risen, but inflation is .offsetting the benefits of this. Nevertheless, the workers are getting a voice. The papers are reporting the strikes. The people are growing stronger.

Check out this report from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/