Many have questioned the recent appointment of Amien Sunaryadi as the new chairman of the Special Task Force on Upstream Oil & Gas Activities (SKK Migas). After all, he has never been involved with the oil and gas industry. Before his appointment in November last year, Amien was better known for his stint at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and as an analyst and investigator in the private sector.

In an annual press statement last week, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that in the coming five years Indonesia's foreign policy would be based on maintaining sovereignty, improving services to protect its citizens and intensifying economic diplomacy.

TO painter Olga Hannover, the afternoon of Wednesday last week was a normal one in Paris. She worked at home while listening to loud music. When she needed to copy some files, she stepped out of the house. That was when she realized something was wrong. "I saw people bustling and the police were putting blockades down the boulevard," Olga told Tempo.

The wavy but well-placed lines were still clear on the Harimau Cave walls. The brick-colored paint strokes were bunched together. Other wavy lines resembled a river. However, it was difficult to make out the motifs and colors because most had faded over time. This cave in Padang Bindu village, South Sumatra, was like a gallery of art on stone.

At a roadside shop in Medan, capital of North Sumatra, Monang Siagian approached his employee, Anto, at work painting a miniature house. After watching him for a while, Monang, 52, snatched a pair of pliers nearby and tapped them against a nail protruding from the little house's roof. "Don't you see the nail still sticking out?" he said, admonishing Anto. "Look over the whole thing!"

Former Golkar party chief Akbar Tandjung made a 'surprising move', when he went to see President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace 24 hours before the Banyan tree party peace talks began. Clad in a dark brown batik shirt, he came an hour earlier than Agung Laksono, who also wanted to see Jokowi the same afternoon last Wednesday.

Rafli Kaitora, a customary chief from Enggano, about 100 kilometers southwest of Bengkulu, said the island will sink if nothing was done to stop the land mass from eroding. About one square kilometer of sand and rocks are mined every year to supply construction projects. "Abrasion follows growing deforestation of the island," Rafli said last week.

The Supreme Court Circular No. 7/2014 has further blurred our already complicated legal system. At present, the judge responsible for a particular case review and the prosecutor who executed the verdict, must now try to resolve two conflicting regulations.

FOR many Indonesians, 2015 began on a positive note: subsidized fuel prices had fallen with global oil prices. Premium gasoline dropped from Rp8,500 to Rp7,600 per liter, and automotive diesel oil went from Rp7,500 to Rp7,250 per liter.

To the Finance Minister and the Bank Indonesia Governor

A small wooden hut located at the center of Oegenetan village is filled with a large pile of organic fertilizer. Two large barrels of liquid fertilizer sat idly on one corner. Both are filled with 10 liters of organic liquid fluid for crops. A musty odor filled the air of this small fertilizer factory. While the air smelled of rotten mulch, the men who worked there did not seem to mind.

Three passengers emerged from a Daihatsu Grand Max van in a rush at a Lotte Mart in Kalideres, West Jakarta, on Monday last week. Silently, the trio moved into a Daihatsu Luxio van sitting in the shopping center's parking area. At the same time, four passengers stepped out of the Luxio. They were about to trade vans and drive off.

BUSINESS COMPETITION
Six Tire Companies Found Guilty of Price Fixing

In the website of the National Police Commission, the announcement on candidates for the position of the national police chief, posted on Monday last week, lasted just four days. By Monday, the announcement, made to look like a news item, had been downsized and placed between links to old reports.

Manggi Habir*

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.