The Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail Train (KCJB) is now expected to begin operations in June 2023. At present, the project is put at 88.8% complete. This is an extraordinary project -- it is one of the most remarkable development projects ever constructed in Indonesia.

The situation in Myanmar remains a huge problem for ASEAN. Here, CSIS (Indonesia) provides a useful set of policy papers discussing the challenges in addressing the Myanmar crisis. CSIS has an excellent 50-year record of supporting discussion about regional policy in SE Asia.

Asia's success will also depend on whether it can get MORE energy to people. Energy poverty is a major aspect of poverty across developing countries in Asia. Billions of people lack access to decent supplies of modest amounts of energy.

Ten! This is pathetic ! I've commented on this before and Luke Arnold has previously defended this tiny number. ASEAN has a population of around 800 million. You'd think Australia could do better than this.

Trains in Java ! It's great fun travelling around Java by train. And the train services are quickly getting much better too -- not just in Java either. The link from Makassar to Parepare is nearing completion as well.

There's some chilli (cabe) visible here ... but not enough ! And a lot of Java would have more rice. Plus, there's not much physical capital. More investment in physical capital is needed in a lot of Indonesian agriculture.

No ... to like Magelang is to like the heart of Central Java. This is how one begins to absorb the wonderful culture of Java which Clifford Geertz wrote about in his timeless book about "The Religion of Java" set in "Modjokuto" in the 1950s in East Java.

Yes ! Setuju ! Candi (temple) Prambanan is wonderful. Candi Borobudur (Buddhist) is to the west of Yogyakarta, and Prambanan (Hindu) is to the east of Yogya. These magnificent candi are cultural jewels of Central Java and are "must see" places in the glorious island of Java.

Probability of Recession in Indonesia Is Small: Basri bloomberg.com/news/videos/20…

Berita baik! Seperti saya sampaikan tahun 2022 ekonomi Indonesia masih akan kuat, perlambatan baru akan terasa tahun 2023

Yes! Clean water and sanitation ("watsan")! It is an outrage that at the end of 2022 around 2 billion people in Asia and the Pacific lack decent access to watsan.

Wonderful opportunity for a researcher who wishes to work on international relations in Indonesia. CSIS Indonesia is Indonesia's outstanding think tank in this area.

Indonesia aims to vaccine 1.2 million children in Aceh province as four polio cases found abc.net.au/news/2022-11-2… via ABC Australia

The best is yet to come. Happy New Year to all of CSIS' friends and partners!

Sad news todday that former Australian aid minister John Kerin has died. abc.net.au/news/2023-03-2… Kerin was one of the best ministers in the Hawke Government

Peter Timmer answer: Does food protection equal food security? Lessons from Asean’s experience with rice eb.news/uBauX6CxQ6SA via Eco-Business

IRSA-SMI Paper Awards on Infrastructure and Regional Development To compete for this award: Submit your abstract on this topic to the 18th IRSA International Conference via conftool.com/irsa2023/ by 14 April 2023.

⁦sean turnell⁩ delivers a masterclass on economic development and democratic governance: fix crony banks, tackle criminality & don’t under reach on ambitions for democracy. Never forget democracy advocates in prison.

Very interesting… Anwar and Xi revive the idea of an Asian Monetary Fund bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Yes, the game is on. And its a very important game. The President of Indonesia is always one of the most important leaders in Southeast Asia so the game has global consequences. Let's watch this game closely in the coming months.