There is a Malay word that has changed along with history: daulat.

NOT so long ago Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi was a student busy preparing his dissertation, something he has been doing over the past year. On weekends, he would work on his quantitative researchdisseminating questionnairesand analyzing them, mainly for his doctoral dissertation, titled 'The Impact of Direct Local Elections on Corruption among Local Chief Executives in Indonesia' which he has now completed. "I defended it last month," he said, with a tone of relief.

Jennifer Lindsay*

Indonesia has a new President- and Vice President- elect. One speaks Indonesian with a marked Javanese accent, Central Javanese to be precise. The other speaks with an Eastern Indonesian accentSulawesi, to be precise. The outgoing President and Vice President both speak Indonesian with slight Javanese accents.

The waters south of Java were ground zero for a tsunami preparedness drill in which more than 20 countries, including Indonesia, participated last week.

PERTAMINA's intention of becoming a world-class company by 2025 could flounder. A number of its overseas investments have not yielded the hoped-for results. In fact, investments in foreign oil fields were expected to boost Pertamina's production to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2025.

FOR a philologista person who studies literary textssuch as Suryadi, 49, the Library of the University of Leiden, Holland, is like the cave full of treasures in A Thousand and One Nights. How could it not be, with thousands of ancient manuscripts from Indonesia. This is where Suryadi found old Minangkabau manuscripts such as Syair Sunur, which he perused to write a thesis for his master's degree from the Leiden in 2002. He also discovered the Poetry of Mecca and Medina, said to be the first Malay-language book on haj pilgrimages rites.

Sidney Jones*

Ayman Al-Zawahiri's announcement last week that al-Qaeda had established a new franchise on the Indian subcontinent will have little effect on Southeast Asia. It is the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIL or ISIS, that is the problem for Indonesia, because unlike al-Qaeda, it is attracting young people by social media and because many of its supporters here support violence at home.

Hivos, a Dutch humanitarian agency, is planning a biogas project for Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara. From August 31 to September 6, Hivos sent two expedition teams to chart suitable areas for bio-digester installations on the 11,153-square-kilometer island.

TOWARDS the end of the House of Representatives' (DPR) five-year term, the legislators are creating one big controversy. People are protesting over the Local Elections (Pilkada) Bill, which seeks to return the local election system to the old one by which local chief executives would be selected by the regional councils (DPRD).

THE Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is combing through money flows related to allegations against Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik. Antigraft investigators recently questioned Presidential Special Staff of Communication Daniel Sparringa, Indopos Chief Editor Don Kardono, Jero's subordinates at the Energy Ministry and a teller at the Jakarta Thamrin branch of Mandiri bank. "They are being interrogated as witnesses," KPK deputy Bambang Widjojanto said.

What's the Use of the BJPS?

Seven men strolled through the fog along the main road in Kudu Ganting village, Padang Pariaman regency, West Sumatra. Dressed in sarongs, they were heading for the community security post (poskamling). That night was their turn to guard the hamlet. Muhammad Yani arranged the next watch after they arrived at the location. He assigned four people to go on foot patrol, while the others kept watch at the post.

BASUKI Tjahaja 'Ahok' Purnama resigned as a member of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party on Wednesday last week. Ahok, the acting governor of Jakarta, said he could not go along with Gerindra's push to eliminate direct elections for governors, regents and mayors across Indonesia. "Because I disagree, I submitted my resignation," he said.

A Sia's wide circle of acquaintances was evident when Tempo tried to approach the owner of Delta Asia Sekawan on Thursday two weeks ago, when the Pontianak Court was hearing his case. Before reaching A Sia, who was waiting for the session to begin, a senior journalist blocked Tempo from getting any closer. "No interviews, he'll get angry," the journalist said. A Sia, who was looking on, merely smiled and waved.

THE home of businessman Soetrisno Bachir in South Jakarta, was enlivened by the banter among the guests on the night before the end of Lebaran, last July. Their chat in a room adjacent to the swimming pool was about candidates for cabinet positions. Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla, who were supported by Soetrisno, a former chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), were officially declared the winners of the presidential election by the General Elections Commission (KPU). "Rizal would make a good foreign minister, why would he be considered for the labor minister," asked Soetrisno, which made his colleagues burst into laughter. He said he preferred to take care of people. The guests responded by saying, "Ok, Pak Soetrisno should become the coordinating minister for people's welfare."

This year, Indonesia and India mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. However, the ties between the two nations have existed much longer, predating the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of India. These connections span social, cultural, religious, economic, and trade aspects. But do those close ties of the past have any bearing on the present relationship? Why is there no direct flight between the capitals of the two countries?

Indian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Sandeep Chakravorty, shares his views on this matter at TEMPO TALKS.