Tito Ambyo
Tell us about yourself!
I’m a journalism lecturer at RMIT and I’m finishing a PhD thesis on Indonesian horror on YouTube. I’m also one of the co-hosts for the Talking Indonesia podcast and currently sits on the board of Inside Indonesia as well as the Melbourne Press Club and do a bit of other kinds of writing on the side. I’m also working on an exciting new thing with the Jaringan Etnografi Terbuka with Annisa Beta and Benjamin Hegarty and other collaborators!
Where does your interest in Indonesia stem from?
When I was growing up in Indonesia in the 80s and 90s, I had an obsessive interest in stories and storytelling—either through theatre, computer games, comic books, songs, poetry or puppetry. Then when 1998 happened, I remember thinking that my world was breaking apart and I wanted to understand what the story was behind all the crazy things that happened around reformasi. That’s when I discovered journalism. And more generally writing about politics and cultures of Indonesia and of the world.
What is the nature of your engagement with Indonesia – are you an academic, a professional, an alumni?
I am an academic and a professional. And maybe I can also say I’m an alumni of Indonesia because I have now moved permanently to Australia. Although that’s probably because I failed to be a good Indonesian. So maybe I’m an Indonesian drop-out.
Have you ever been to an Indonesia Council Open Conference and if so, what is your fondest memory?
Yes, and presenting a panel on YouTube [at ICOC 2023] with good friends and scholars, Andina Dwifatma, Erika Suwarno and William Yanko, was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had so far in academia. I am trying to craft a career in academia on the concept of nongkrong and with the image of a kampung where hustling, relaxing and caring for others are in balance with each other; where writing and publishing are balanced with chatting and thinking with no clear direction except to hang out with good human beings with amazing ideas.
How do you think organisations like Indonesia Council can improve Australia-Indonesia relations?
Teachers and researchers work very hard in the forefront of relationship building, and are the connectors, facilitators and imagineers of what relationships are possible between Australian and Indonesian communities. An organisation like Indonesia Council works the best when it provides horizontal support to allow people to talk about ideas and support each other, and be cheerleaders for each other, while also helping with tackling the vertical hurdles—the bureaucracies, the censorship, etc.
What are some of the challenges and opportunities in the Indonesia-Australia relationship?
The opportunities are the facts that we are two countries that have really cool stories to tell about how cultures mix, meld and fuse to create new, creative ways of doing things. The challenges mostly lie in the fact that both countries are not very good at supporting creativity from the ground. The best collaborations I’ve seen happen between Australians and Indonesians are when people are just doing their thing with no intervention from above (although government financial support is definitely needed!).
Tell us about your favourite Indonesian food experience
Every time I get to cook Indonesian food for friends! There are so many different types of cuisines to experiment with, and I like to mix things up a bit, too—I think one of my favourite things to do is to combine Indonesian flavours or techniques with ingredients or techniques from other parts of the world, including Australia.
What’s your favourite Indonesian food and why?
I don’t have one dish that is my favourite, but if I really have to choose one, I will say: freshly- steamed jasmine rice and crispy fried eggs, with a generous serving of ABC kecap manis on top. And it needs to be ABC even when it’s not my favourite kecap manis brand. I don’t even know if I can call this an Indonesian dish. If I can be bothered I’d fry it with some chopped shallots and garlic and serve it with sambal and that’d make it more like an Indonesian dish.
What’s your favourite Indonesian music/song/writer?
I like many Indonesian songs and writers for different reasons. At the moment I am listening a lot to Bagus Dwi Danto, who used to go by Sisir Tanah, if I want chill vibes; and Seringai if I want some high-octane, big sounds when I’m working. These musicians also reflect Bandung and Yogya, two cities I have close personal connections with.
What’s your favourite Indonesian idiom?
‘Sudah makan belum?’ I just like that this is what many Indonesians say when we don’t really have anything else to say to another person.
Pay it forward: What’s your favourite way to get news from Indonesia?
I’ve been loving reading articles from publications that are clear in what they want to do with journalism instead of pretending to be ‘neutral’. So that’s why I love publications like https://www.konde.co/ that tells me about stories of women and marginalised communities and Project Multatuli that is unashamedly unwavering in doing public interest journalism that often means punching all the way up.
?PAY IT FORWARD: Finally, it’s YOUR turn to ask a question… Please suggest a question we can ask our next member!
Can I ask the same question as the last pay it forward? I am interested in how people get their news!