Bøger udgivet af ISEAS YUSOF ISHAK INST

This article reports the findings of an online survey conducted in November-December 2021 on Indonesians' experience and perception of fintech tools, focusing on fintech adoption in the Greater Jakarta region, which besides Jakarta, includes Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. One key finding is that, in the Greater Jakarta region, socio-economic status as measured by income is not a key determinant of fintech adoption. This is likely due to the more developed and mature ICT infrastructure in the Greater Jakarta region, which makes fintech tools readily accessible. However, the kinds of fintech tools that are more likely to be used--M-banking, E-wallet, Online Lending, Investment, Donations, and so on--are influenced by factors such as income, education, gender, age and occupation, suggesting that different fintech tools appeal to different groups in society according to their needs and resources. Psychological factors that are important in the adoption of fintech include having many choices in the needed financial services and feeling in control. While fintech users are concerned about data leaks and fraud, this does not deter them from using fintech. It may be anticipated that with the deepening of ICT infrastructure and public education on the safe use of fintech, fintech usage in Indonesia will continue to spread throughout the country.

Organized propaganda and public opinion manipulation are increasing in Indonesia's cybersphere. Specifically, since 2019, there has been a marked rise of cyber troop campaigns that serve to mobilize public consensus for controversial government policies. Cyber troop operations played a crucial role in three controversial events in which public opinion had been initially critical of the government policy at issue. These were, first, the revision of the Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission in September 2019; second, the launch of the New Normal policy during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020; and third, the passing of the Omnibus Law for Job Creation in October 2020. In all three cases, there is clear evidence of cyber troops manipulating public opinion in support of government policy. In all three cases, the cyber troops manufactured consent by flooding social media with narratives that promoted the governing elite's agenda, often using deceptive messages and disinformation that were amplified by numerous "buzzer" and "bot" accounts. Thereby they effectively drowned out oppositional discourses on social media and neutralized dissent, especially as mainstream media simultaneously echoed the cyber troops' narratives. The ever more systematic use of cyber troops--and the considerable resources spent on such operations--indicates increasing co-optation of Indonesia's cybersphere for elite interests. This threatens to undermine the quality of public debate and democracy in Indonesia because cyber troop operations not only feed public opinion with disinformation but also prevent citizens from scrutinizing and evaluating the governing elite's behaviour and policy-making processes, which further exacerbates Indonesia's ongoing democratic regression.

Religious extremism among students in major campuses in Indonesia remains a problem for the Indonesian government, campus authorities and moderate Muslims. A substantial number of studies on Islam and religious extremism in Indonesia have focused on security and cultural paradigms. In contrast, this article discusses the factors that cause the rise of religious extremism among university students through an organizational and institutional lens. The dissemination and internalization of religious extremist narratives contribute to the rise of religious extremism among university students in Indonesia. Counter-extremism policies by the government and campus authorities have not been effective due to the absence of an integrative approach. All stakeholders--the government, campus authorities, parents of university students, communities and student organizations--need to establish a concerted and integrative effort to uproot religious extremism from among university students.