Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Romit Dasgupta, Denise Woods, Nick Herriman, Sylvia Torezani, and Kate Croker for comments on early drafts and to participants at the ‘Arts, Culture and Political and Social Change since Suharto’ workshop in Launceston, December 2005, for their comments on a presentation from which this paper originates. I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers.

Notes

1. They write: ‘The general task of Indonesian class analysis is set aside in favour of a concentration on a particular segment felt to be of greater importance now than in the earlier history of independent Indonesia—the middle class’ (Tanter 2000, 9).

2. New rich is another way of referring to what others, such as Dick (1985), have termed the middle class while avoiding confusion over the more specific meaning given to the term ‘middle class’ by others (such as Robison 1996, 84–95) to differentiate them from the bourgeoisie.

3. For instance, Ariel Heryanto conducted his important work on the politics of consumption within the limits of the ‘new rich’ (1999).

4. This was confirmed by interviews with drivers. A search of the national newspapers indicated that the protest was not widely publicized.

5. All of the monetary values are in Australian dollars.

6. The costs are $38 for one 300 watt bass speaker and $75 for two 100 watt vocal speakers. Most drivers also use tweeters (small speakers for treble) costing $7.50 per speaker.

7. The exchange rate in December 2001 was approximately A$1 to Rp 5,500 and US$1 to Rp 10,500.

8. The appeal of Dangdut has made it a favourite with Indonesian political parties who at times employ the most popular bands to draw thousands of people to their political rallies.

9. Saluang consists of bamboo flutes and singers who take turns singing both rehearsed and improvised lyrics.