Local issues and changes: the Post-New Order situation in rural Lombok

The last few years in Indonesia have seen many changes occurring as a result of unprecedented events--a financial crisis in 1997, the downfall of Soeharto's New Order in 1998, the instability of several governments 1998-2001, all amidst religious, economic, and ethnic disturbances and violence in many areas in Indonesia. At the same time laws of decentralization and regional autonomy provide new processes incorporating a democratic response and reaction to Soeharto's New Order. This paper explores local issues concerning the consequences of recent changes in Indonesia for village people in eastern Indonesia. Issues include access to health procurement for village people who have recently experienced the financial crisis, the downfall of the New Order government, structural changes in the administration of internal affairs, regional autonomy, and the reassertion of cultural and regional associations.