February 24, 2015 edition
EVERYBODY knows that flooding in Jakarta cannot be solved by the provincial government alone. It can only be solved if the central and provincial government work together. President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has set deadlines for the completion of a number of flood-control programs, and has moved up the finishing date for the Rp492.8 billion-Ciliwung canal project, which will connect the Ciliwung river with the East Flood Canal. "It was planned to be completed in December, but I have requested it to be finished by October this year," Jokowi said on an unannounced visit to the canal in Kebon Nanas, East Jakarta.
A number of projects have been accelerated in a race against the rainy-season downpours, including river dredging, drainage-system repairs, and finishing the Rp1 trillion-plus dam construction projects in Bogor, West Java. Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, has cautioned against turning Jakarta into a 'sink'. "The water in this sink must be pumped out (into the ocean)," he said.
Read More
More Indicator articles in other editions
January 1, 1970 edition
THE political parties that backed Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's successful bid for the presidency last year now seem to be ganging up on him. Jokowi has already done much to accommodate the politicians: many of them received important positions in the new government. Puan Maharani, the daughter of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, was named Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture. H.M. Prasetyo was proposed by National Democrat (NasDem) Party Chairman Surya Paloh to serve as Attorney General. Many more received high placed positions.
Read More
January 1, 1970 edition
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo might have finally taken a stand on whether to appoint Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as chief of the National Police. Ahmad Syafii Maarif, head of the Team of Ninecreated to map out solutions to the conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Policesaid Jokowi told him that he will not inaugurate Budi. "For reasons of public morale," Syafii quoted Jokowi's as saying.
Even though the House of Representatives (DPR) signed off on Budi's appointment, Jokowi still postponed the candidate's inauguration after the KPK named him a suspect. In the meantime, Jokowi named Deputy Chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti acting chief.
Read More
January 1, 1970 edition
INDONESIAS execution of six drug trafficking convicts in January has caused a controversy. Brazil and the Netherlands immediately recalled their ambassadors after their citizens were put to death at Nusakambangan prison in Central Java. That backlash has not discouraged President Joko Jokowi Widodo. Last week he denied clemency for Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, proven guilty for their roles in the 2005 Bali Nine heroin trafficking attempt.
Read More
January 1, 1970 edition
THE Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan a graft suspect. Budi allegedly took bribes while head of the National Police's Career Development Bureau. When the KPK made the announcement, Budi was President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's only candidate to replace General Sutarman as National Police chief. His name had already been proposed to the House of Representatives (DPR).
Some said Jokowi should have gone ahead with Budi's inauguration even after the KPK's announcement, but instead he postponed the appointment pending the clarifying of the case. He also produced two decrees. One discharges Gen. Sutarman as police chief, and the other appoints Deputy Police Chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti as acting chief.
Read More
January 1, 1970 edition
The AirAsia flight QZ8501 disaster has brought on allegations of mismanagement, poor administration and even corruption in Indonesia's commercial aviation regime. The plane, which lost contact during the Surabaya-Singapore flight after taking off from Indonesia on December 28 last year, had no permit to fly on that Sunday. The Transportation Ministry has said AirAsia only had permission to ply the route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The accident seems to have been caused by bad weather, and it has come to light that the pilot did not adequately consider weather reports provided by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) before departing. Pilots are supposed to receive direct briefings on the weather from flight operation officers, but skirting the regulation is apparently a common practice. AirAsia said its pilots use the BMKG's website to check the weather.
Read More
January 13, 2015 edition