Ever true to its cultivated image of uniqueness, Bali has remained safe for travel and riot-free in spite of the headline upheavals that have been occurring not far to the island’s west. Visitors to the island could even be forgiven for assuming that Balinese have decided that the events rocking Jakarta are irrelevant to them. But have they? In seeking some wisdom on this question, Andre Sjahreza turns to Bali’s young generation. They spoke to him about their lives, concerns and aspirations 53 years since independence. This is not suggest that Bali’s youth speak with a single voice. Their views on such matters as social conditions, the influence of foreign culture, women’s liberation are diverse and various. The choice of subjects here is an attempt to reflect that diversity.

As have their brothers and sisters in other parts of the archipelago, the youth of Bali have emerged as one of the island’s most important forces in the context of reformasi (a term which literally translates as reform but which generally implies changes in the political sphere since the resignation of former President Suharto in May and the establishment of a reform cabinet headed by current President Habibie, ed.) In fact, it was Balinese youth who first applied the term to Bali when they began a wave of demonstrations calling for local-level political, social and economic reforms from the beginning of 1998. And it is they who continue to dominate the reform movement which is slowly beginning to creak its way forward.

"Capitalism is the best economic system for Bali," says Widiana Kepakisan, Bali’s foremost student leader. Two or three months ago, this would have been the sort of statement made to rub those in power up the wrong way. For under the former regime, capitalism was officially a dirty word. But the momentous events of last May have given many the courage to speak out much more loudly than they would otherwise have done. "Capitalism is the only way to meet the challenge of these times. If we reject capitalism, what are we to become? We will only die a ludicrous death in the middle of the free market," continues Widiana - or Wid Kis as he is nicknamed, before remarking: "If we don’t start our glasnost now, will we ever?"