Max Lane Indonesia Southeast Asia and International Affairs

May Day in Central Jakarta (see more photos below)

Street protests - AKSI as they are called in Indonesia - have increased in frequency and militancy over the last week and so, propelled by the success of May Day around the country mobilisations two weeks ago, and provoked by the government decision to increase fuel prices again, threatening a flow through in price increases for the basic commodities consumed by millions of ordinary people. Already there have been statements from government figures, including the security apparatus, repeating the Suharto era refrain that the demonstrations were being manipulated by "third parties" which "you all know", but who remianed unnamed.

(For the history of AKSI in Indonesia see Unfinished Nation: Indonesia before and after Suharto

Protest actions are multiplying in the lead up to the 10th anniversary of the fall of Suharto and increases in the rice of fuel prices scheduled to occur soon.

This action occured in North Maluku comprising the Urban Poor peoples Union - Poor Peoples Politics (SRMK-PRM), the National Students League for Democracy, LMND-PRM, as well as the Indonesian Islamic Students Association (PMII) and the Peoples Youth Front (the latter is a union of Ternate indigenous people)

Over the last few days good news has come in on the formation of a new Left united front formation, called the National Liberation Front (FPN). The FPN will be organizing its first street action on the 10th Anniversary of the downfall of Suharto, May 21 around the issue of the current government’s increases to fuel prices. This will be followed by another action on June 1. Small actions and leafleting have already begun.

The formation of the FPN flowed from an initiative of the Aliansi Buruh Mengugat (Workers Demands Alliance - ABM) an alliance of left and progressive trade unions that have come together over the last 5 or so years. Some of the unions were formed by left activist groups, but most have sprung up from the workplace and/or broken away from old structures that had been controlled by the state before the fall of the dictator Suharto. It is therefore a rather diverse mixture of initially enterprise based unions, which have then formed various more-or-less ad hoc federations which have then stabilized. They include manufacturing and service sector workers, in both state and privately owned firms.

Below are the 34 reviews by amazon.com readers for THIS EARTH OF MANKIND

great story, many points to discuss, April 10, 2007
By Naomi Brewster "prince rupert's drop" (Melbourne, Australia)

I enjoyed Minke's story. Pram is an excellent writer. His prose invokes visual representation as you read through the pages and the pages seem to turn themselves. The book is set in a time and place of which I know little yet I felt, while reading this book, that I could see it and imagine it. I haven't yet gone on to read the rest of the books in the series, so don't know how the characters develop later. Annelies' character gives me much grist for the mill with her passive inability to cope with life or meet events as an equal with her mother and husband and her obsession with what she is not - 'native'. The constant reference in the book to pure, native, half blood is worthy of further analysis. Being from a former English colony (New Zealand) I don't get the impression that this narrative was nearly as prominent there as it seems to have been in Indonesia. I wonder, is this a reflection on the Dutch colonialists or on Indonesia? In all, a good read with much to occupy the reader's attention upon completion. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

**NEW SINGAPORE SOUTHEAST ASIA RELEASE INFORMATION**
Verso's UNFINISHED NATION by Max Lane will be released in Singapore for Southeast Asia through Talisman Books

UNFINISHED NATION: Indonesia before and after Suharto will be released in May by Verso Books - click here

Australian release date through Palgrave-McMillan distributors is June 30 click here

You can also order with pre-release discount at Amazon.com

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May 2,2 2008

Calendar – recent and coming events
Contact Max Lane at maxrlane@gmail.com

May 22, Tirto Adhisuryo and the ideological heritage of the Indonesian national revolution, Public Conference on the occasion f 100 years of Natioal Awakening, Association of Medical History, Jakarta

April 30, Nationalism or national liberation: comparative lessons from Venezuela and Indonesia, Public Lecture, University of Padjadaran, Bandung

April 29, anniversary of death of Pramoedya Ananta Toer's death - Public Forum, Unfinished Revolution: Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Political Essays and Speeches, Bandung

April 28: Seminar discussion: Bangsa Yang Belum Selesai: questions and answers with the author, Nalar Jatinangor, Bandung

April 24, "Menuju Keadilan Seutuhnya bagi rakyat Indonesia: Membaca kembali cita-cita bangsa Indonesia", Jakarta, organised by Perhimpunan Rakyat Pekerja at LBH: speakers: Mugiyanto, IKOHI; Irwansyah, PRP; Faisal Basri, University of Indonesia (TBC); Max Lane

April 23, Film screening, NOT FOR SALE, produced by Public Services International dan Media Nusa Communication, 2008, director, Wilson bin Nurtias; speakers: A. Daryoko (Chairperson, State Electricty Company Union - SP PLN); Max Lane; Khamid Istakhori (Secretary General Congress of Indonesian Trade Union Alliances - KASBI); Qorihani (Society for Defence of Public Services)

April 6: Indonesia's Economic Crisis: socialism as a solution, regular discussion series, Working Peoples Association, Jakarta

For recent events click "more" below

The corporatisation of universities in Australia and elsewhere over the last two decades has been part of the general implementation of what was called in the 1980s ‘economic rationalism’, now more frequently referred to as neo-liberalism. This comprises a steady dismantling of the welfare state in order to reduce taxes and other imposts on both individuals and corporations generating high incomes or profits.

A part of the dismantling of the welfare state has involved the slashing of budget for staffing and research at universities. It has also seen the introduction of student fees and government enforcement of a policy to make universities also generate somC of their own income through commercially profitable activities.

Ideologically, even in the early 1980s, the pressure was on for all sections of the universities to prove their usefulness to the political, economic, social and cultural agenda set within the framework of economic rationalism and the dismantling of the welfare state. In the field of Asian Studies, there was much talk of presenting Asian Studies as something useful to the private sector. Universities almost competed to set up research centres that depicted themselves as being useful to understanding the region in the context of the needs of the private sector. A result of this more-or-less systematic accommodation of a philosophical or strategic orientation set by the government’s new agenda has been the decline in government resources being made available to Asian Studies in universities.