It’s your last chance! Our survey on the attitudes and opinions of young people on the Australia-Indonesia relationship is closing tomorrow. If you haven’t already, take it now.

• We’ve published a new career champions profile, this time on Aubrey Belford, a Jakarta-based journalist with the Global Mail and Reuters.
• ‘Legislating against the supernatural’: Inside Indonesia on proposed laws to ban sorcery.
• Just 216 HSC students took Indonesian as a second language in New South Wales last year, according to the Australian.
• Our blog post from Courtney Saville, Australia’s candidate in the 2013 Malay Language Speaking competition, has been published in Indonesian on the Radio Australia website.
• Indonesia’s tropical forests are set to benefit from a further clearing ban.
• Australian cattle farmers are hoping for an increase in live cattle exports.
• PT Kereta Api is cancelling its women-only train services in Jakarta.
• Indonesian tycoons are cashing in on a rising stock market to sell stakes in their companies.

Events and opportunities…

• AIYA NSW’s official chapter launch is happening tonight at the University of Sydney!
• Sumardi, an Indonesian puppet master, will be touring Australia starting in June.

We’re conducting a survey into the attitudes and opinions of young people towards the future of the Australia-Indonesia relationship. If you haven’t already, tell us what you think!

• Following on from last week’s general election in Malaysia, Edward Aspinall writes a fascinating comparison between Indonesian and Malaysian elections for New Mandala.
• On the same topic, SBS’ Indonesian program interviewed a Malaysian PhD candidate about the poll.
• Inside the Indonesian Newsroom: ‘the good, the bad, the hopeful‘.
• Jokowi isn’t a fan of bir pletok.
• Recent films and publications are opening up new truths about Indonesia’s past.
• Indonesian businesses are planning to invest in Australian cattle stations.
• ‘Provoking peace’: how Christians and Muslims in Ambon have learned to live together following a 1999-2002 civil war.
• A letter to the Financial Review discusses sovereign risk in Indonesia.
• Next year’s Presidential election will be a ‘social media campaign‘.
• Make major changes and take risks: Gita Wirjawan’s twin-pillared strategy to further boost trade

Events and opportunities..

• AIIA WA is holding a ‘Careers Without Borders’ event this Monday in Perth
• Also on Monday, AIYA Victoria are holding a social night at Bali Bagus in North Melbourne

• ANU academic Ramesh Thakur looks at our bilateral relationship with Indonesia. In the Jakarta Post, Ratih Hardjono takes an equally thorough look.
• In the New York Times, more coverage of the Lion Air crash, and an interesting story on Indonesia’s growing tourism industry.
• Chris Barnes, the Vice President of the AIBC: Australian and Indonesian companies are overlooking shared opportunities.
• The Indonesia Institute’s Ross Taylor says we’re missing the boat on agricultural trade with Indonesia.
• In just a few weeks, SBY has already picked up 1.7 million followers on Twitter.
• The ABC has been running extensive coverage of the Malaysian general election through its Australia Network News site.
• A Pew survey suggests that 70% of Indonesia’s Muslims favour sharia law.
• 910,000 Australians visited Indonesia in 2012.
• Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports on a program giving slum dwellers the opportunity to move into apartments.

In AIYA news..

• We’ve published a new career champions profile of Joel Backwell, an assistant trade commissioner.

• AIYA appeared in the Australian this week, talking about challenges in the Indonesian work and holiday visa program.
• The Jakarta Globe ran an op-ed on the same topic on Tuesday.
• The Australian Network’s Newsline program looks at how graffiti is being used to help street children in Jakarta.
• On the AIYA blog, our Tasmanian chapter president Danny Carney made three suggestions for getting the most out of an exchange program.
• Kompas visits Indonesian classes in Melbourne and Tasmania.
• The Indonesian government is making a second attempt to cut fuel subsidies.
• A survey of second-language English speakers suggests that Indonesians are amongst the 20 best countries.
• Multinationals are rushing to invest in Indonesia’s consumer market, according to the New York Times.
• ‘As Indonesia gears up for election, fears of corruption soar‘.
• Indonesian observers will be monitoring next week’s elections in Malaysia.

Events and opportunities:

• The Indonesian Film Festival is running in Melbourne until the 2nd of May.
• The Lowy Institute is looking for op-eds from undergraduate students to potentially appear on their Interpreter blog.
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• SBY looks set to become one of southeast Asia’s most popular accounts, catching up to Najib Razak and Benigno Aquino after only a week.
• Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, the Indonesian ambassador to Australia, has suggested that Indonesian students studying in Australia could be retrained as teachers to help meet demand.
• John Waddingham, one of Inside Indonesia’s founders, writes about the magazine’s conception and first issue.
• An interesting tool on the SBS website shows Indonesian speakers as a ‘heatmap’, suburb-by-suburb.
• The BBC reports on the challenges faced by Ahmadiyah in West Java.
• According to the WSJ, a new action thriller film set in Java ‘gets Indonesia right‘.
• What happens to a wrecked jet?

Events and opportunities:

• We’re looking for contributors to the AIYA website.
• AIYA Victoria will be holding a social evening in Melbourne on Monday evening.
• Monash University will be running a free screening the documentary Denok and Gareng at the Clayton campus this evening.
• AIYA WA are also holding a catch-up event, next Sunday, the 28th of April.

• Bloomberg reports on growth in Indonesia’s regions: smaller cities are expected to outpace Jakarta by 2030.
• The Australian reports on the government’s exclusion of consortiums from the  AsiaBound grants scheme: Monash and RMIT have both expressed their support for ACICIS.
• ‘Heavy metal, Islamist politics, and democracy’: Dan Murphy on Indonesia’s evolving political culture.
• Could black magic be the key to fighting corruption in Indonesia?
• Andrea Hirata, the author of Laskar Pelangi, interviewed on the ABC’s Big Ideas program.
• Alan Dupont argues that the Australia-Indonesia relationship has experienced a ‘remarkable turnaround‘ since 1999.
• An interesting blog post on RALLY, an exhibition which recently finished at NGV International.
• Asian language teachers are in strong demand.
• ABC News on a small group of organic farmers in West Java, who have pioneered a new method of rice production.
• The International Herald Tribune looks at Indonesia’s military court system.

Upcoming events:

• The Herb Feith Foundation will be screening John Darling’s 2003 film The Healing of Bali at Monash University this Wednesday.

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• The New York Times covers the ongoing corruption scandal within SBY’s Democratic Party.
• Anti-corruption activists in Indonesia are running a public donation campaign in support of the KPK.
• Writing for the ASPI’s Strategist blog, Gary Hogan argues that the TNI’s reform efforts deserve more credit.
• The Christian Science Monitor‘s Dan Murphy reflects on the growing optimism of investment bankers towards southeast Asian economies.
• Despite the best efforts of conservative groups, Indonesia’s punk scene is alive and well.
• The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is looking for submissions into its country strategies following the Australia in the Asian Century white paper. We’ll have more on this soon – but you can see the guidelines for submissions on their website.
• Australia announces the Soesastro Prize.
  
• Radio National’s 360 documentaries series looks at crime and punishment in Jakarta.

Events and opportunities:

• Adelaide’s Indofest is coming up next week! AIYA’s South Australian chapter will have a presence; be sure to check out the full program on their website.
• Inside Indonesia are running a photography competition: to enter, see their website.

Dalam bahasa Indonesia..

• Menteri luar negeri Bob Carr mengumumkan dukungan baru untuk mengatasi kemiskinan di Indonesia.
• Baik Australia maupun Indonesia khawatir peningkatan persenjataan global.