Indonesia is significant as it represents over 40% of Asean’s population. As the world’s third-largest democracy, it heads into a presidential election next year — a closely-watched event that is already mired in some controversy after Jokowi’s 36-year-old son Gibran Rakabuming Raka became the running mate of the front-runner, defence minister Prabowo Subianto, who ran for the top job but lost to Jokowi twice.
On Oct 2, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the 142km-long high-speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung. First mooted back in 2008, Widodo had pushed for the US$7.3 billion ($9.8 billion) key infrastructure project before his term ends next year.
With the train dubbed “Whoosh”, travelling time between Indonesia’s largest and third-largest cities has been cut from three hours to just 40 minutes. As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, this train, built and equipped by China’s state-owned enterprises, is also bringing the world’s fourth-most and second-most populous countries closer.
