November 11, 2014 edition
SUSI Pudjiastuti has become a topic of intense debate. Born on January 15, 1965, the Susi Air founder's fame began when President Joko Widodo appointed her maritime affairs and fisheries minister. Many people have praised her abilities. But others have questioned her intellectual capabilities and personality, especially because she never finished high school. Almost everything about Susi has become a topic of discussion, from her style of dress to her habit of peppering her sentences with English to the stories of her life.
On Twitter, @EDDYSANTRI wrote, "It is true, Bu Susi is not a university graduate. But she is capable of creating job opportunities that allow her workers to educate their children and become graduates." But @ang_chun insisted that every minister have a university degree. "To work in a ministry, education and intellectual ability is absolutely necessary and Ibu Susi P does not have these qualities."
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November 4, 2014 edition
President Joko Widodo reshuffled some ministries and formed new ones for his new cabinet. The ministries affected by the reorganization are Public Works, Public Housing, Tourism, Education, Forestry and Environment. Joko also formed a new coordinating ministry: Maritime Affairs.
Due to these changes, Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie reminded Joko that the 2015 State Budget does not account for the new organizations, especially the new ministry. According to Aburizal, the 2015 State Budget has already been officially approved and allocated to ministries established during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's term. "Thus there will be a problem in the usage of funds and in the implementation of his programs," Aburizal said.
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January 1, 1970 edition
ON October 13, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg visited Indonesia for some face time with President-elect Joko Widodo. In their 45-minute meeting at Jakarta's City Hall, Zuckerburg expressed his interest in working with the new government to expand Indonesians' access to cheap Internet. "To help make connections, increase businesses and open new job opportunities," Zuckerburg said.
Zuckerberg said he also wanted to increase Internet penetration, produce solutions to basic infrastructure problems and help make data costs more efficient through internet.org, a Facebook-led project that aspires to make Internet ubiquitous. "Our discussions were mainly focused on Jokowi's economic plan," Zuckerburg said, referring to Joko by his nickname.
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January 1, 1970 edition
At least 11 policemen were injured during a riot instigated by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), protesting Basuki Tjahaja 'Ahok' Purnama's appointment as governor. It was only the latest in a string of violent incidents the organization seems to aspire to.
Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Unggung Cahyono believes the demonstrators, which comprised the FPI, the Movement of Defenders of Followers of the Prophet (Gerakan Pembela Umat Rasulullah) and the Islamic Defenders Force (Laskar Pembela Islam), premeditated the riot with intent to violence. Officers seized stones, shards of glass, swords and even cow dung from the demonstrators. "They were all prepared," he said.
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January 1, 1970 edition
The spotlight fell on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after the regional elections law was passed by the House of Representatives (DPR). The law did away with direct elections for governor, regent and mayor, giving the right to choose these leaders to regional councils. Twitter was abuzz with messages urging Yudhoyono to fight the legislation.
Yudhoyono finally issued a government regulation in lieu of a law, or perpu, which attempts to return the voting mechanism to direct elections. But the perpu must be approved by the House before it can take effect.
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January 1, 1970 edition
PETRAL or Pertamina Energy Trading Limited is a subsidiary of state oil and gas company Pertamina, which buys and sells global oil. However, this trading company also sells oil to its mother company at a high price. Furthermore the government cannot control Petral's finances and performance because the company follows market trends.
"Petral has already put aside its profits before it joined with Pertamina. As a consequence, for consumers, the price of oil becomes higher than it should be," said a member of President-elect Joko Widodo's transition team working group in charge of budget, Dolfie O.F.P. Petral extends the oil and gas purchase chain, thus increasing the possibilities for the oil and gas mafia to operate.
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January 1, 1970 edition