August 5, 2014 edition

HUSNI Kamil Manik stared at the chess board in front of him, his brows wrinkling as he contemplated what to do with the black king, trapped by the white king and two of his pawns. "Look at this black king, he will definitely lose," he said. He picked up the black king and threw him out of the game.
Husni, the current commissioner of the General Elections Commission (KPU) is no stranger to pawns, rooks, ministers and kings, since his elementary school days. If there was no one to play with at home, he would play alone, learning by reading strategic tips published in newspapers. Playing chess has taught him to be cautious but also to be decisive at the same time, when contemplating important steps.

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More Interview articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

AINUN Najib's eyes were glued to the iPhone he held, occasionally moving his thumb on the screen, when Tempo met him at the lobby of a well-known hospital in Singapore, on Saturday last week. Ainun had been reluctant to give an interview, given the notoriety kawalpemilu.org, the site he created, had gotten in his home country, these past few weeks.
He had lain low the past two days, on information that a certain person claiming to work for the campaign of one of the presidential candidates was hunting for him. "I must lie low before July 22," Ainun told Tempo. That was the date the General Elections Commission (KPU) was scheduled to announce the official final tally of the presidential election. He was willing to be interviewed after he checked out the background of the Tempo reporter Mahardika Satria Hadi, whom he met in Singapore. "My apologies for having to cross-check you first," said Ainun. But when he did agree to speak about it, he spoke intensely and passionately about the election vote-count website he created overseas, together with two of his colleagues.

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January 1, 1970 edition

ROSARITA Niken Widiastuti did not immediately start speaking. She kept squeezing the tissue paper in her hand, as if plucking up the courage to open the conversation. "Look, let's not discuss threats," said Niken, the executive director of state-owned Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) broadcasting station. She was on her way to Aceh, to close the Qur'an Reading Contest, along with Minister of Administrative Reform Azwar Abubakar and Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah. "This is an annual affair of RRI," explained Niken.
She is very aware that her agency is under the public spotlight. RRI's quick count of the recent presidential polls seems to have triggered sharp debate. She now faces the prospect of being summoned by the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission on Information, whose chairman, Mahfudz Siddiq, maintains that RRI's quick count was not part of its mandate.

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July 15, 2014 edition

BEHIND the massive stage of the 'Two-Finger Salute Concert at Bung Karno Stadium' in Jakarta on July 5 last week, Abdee Negara appeared very busy, giving instructions to the performers-both singers and orators-in the public event to support Joko Widodo's bid for the presidency. Abdee was, after all, the leader of the artists and musicians who had gathered at the giant arena.
Although the free concert was put together in only five days, Abdee succeeded in attracting more than 100,000 spectators who patiently lined up in long queues hours before the start of the event. They came because they were fans-not of political parties-but because they were avid supporters of Jokowi.

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January 1, 1970 edition

Allan Nairn knows Jakarta well, having visited the capital city for the first time in 1991. Subsequently, he traveled regularly to East Timor and to Aceh, to cover the conflicts in the two areas. He's back again, this time shocking the public with the contents of his blog www.allanairn.org, an off-the-record interview with Prabowo Subianto, the former commander of the TNI's Kopassus (Special Forces) who is now running for the presidency. In a conversation which took place on July 2, 2001, in Jakarta, Prabowo was reported to have scorned the late President Abdurrahman Wahid as a blind president and that Indonesia was not ready to be a democratic state.
For years, Nairn, 58, was a target of TNI's operations. On November 12, 1991, he and his colleague Amy Goodman were in Santa Cruz, Dili, East Timor, and witnessed the massacre committed by Indonesian troops. Nairn and Goodman tried to prevent the shooting of civilians but failed. In the process, Nairn was hit with the butt of an M16 rifle, causing a damaged throat and vertigo for the next 10 days. For all his journalistic achievements, Nairn won the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award, the George Polk Award and the James Aronson Award.

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July 1, 2014 edition

NO changes could be seen at the office of Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin. The dominant color was ivory white, with a smattering of dark brown. Framed calligraphy paintings were displayed on the right and left walls. "I am so rarely in my office, how can I have time to change the decor?" asked Lukman rhetorically. Three weeks ago, he replaced Suryadharma Ali, who has been indicted over the haj funds corruption case.
Stacks of files and documents needing his signature are piled high on his desk. "Time flies, all of a sudden it's already evening," he ruminated. His job is not an easy one, even though he has just four months to go. He compares his current position to entering a forest full of problems and having to cut down tree after tree to find his way out.

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January 1, 1970 edition

MAINTAINING that it was a big sacrifice, Mayor of Surabaya Tri Rismaharini finally closed down the legendary red light districts of Gang Dolly (Dolly Lane) and Jarak, located in the city's Putat Jaya district. The closure was executed symbolically, through a declaration signed by hundreds of approving citizens. Those who opposed the closure, took to the streets to protest.
Risma now admits that when she was first pressured into closing Dolly she actually refused. Her reasoning at the time was that the administration lacked the resources to provide the sex workers and their pimps the compensation in exchange for giving up their livelihood. But she agreed that the chain of prostitution in the city must be broken, particularly as it increasingly involved the trafficking of children. Saving the children became her main concern for closing down the area.

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