March 3, 2015 edition

Taufiq Des tells the passengers in the raft to ready themselves, because 20 meters ahead there are 1.5 meter high rapids. The people who live near the Ciliwung River in Beji, Depok, call the rapids the Kebo Garang, which means 'thin bull', a reference to their appearance.
Taufik, 58, founder of the Ciliwung Depok Community, asked us not to panic. "Lock your legs under the raft seats so that you don't fall out if the boat pitches forward," he said to Tempo, in mid-February. The rubber raft neared the stretch of rapids at a speed of 40 kilometers an hour. Our hearts began to race. And splash!

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More Special Report articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

President Jokowi's 2015 revised government budget is his first, and, as such, is interesting to get a more detailed view of his policy spending priorities, how he expects to implement them and, more importantly, how to fund them. But, understanding where the government is spending its money this time is critical because the recent cut in fuel subsidies allows the government some real spending power to make a difference. A quick glimpse into the 288-page document, shows three areas that particularly stand out. They are infrastructure with a maritime bent, food security and social services.

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January 1, 1970 edition

WHEN the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla government turned 100 days old on January 27, the State Palace was in turmoil. The cause was the matter of who would be the new police chief. Jokowi's nominee, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, was opposed by many, because of his suspiciously large personal bank account, given his modest salary of a police officer. Despite the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) indictment of Budi for graft, the president has not withdrawn his candidacy. There seems to be strong pressure from the political parties supporting him-the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the National Democrats (NasDem)-for him to install Budi Gunawan as the new police chief.

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January 1, 1970 edition

Surabaya has become beautiful and tidy. If the city still floods, the water takes only a night to recede. Traffic has improved. New parks and sidewalks have been developed.
For Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, 53, no matter how well a park is developed, if its footpaths are damaged and traffic congested, it will not be of any use. Therefore, architects like Risma, as she is known, need to think about a city's people, not merely its physical structures. "Surabaya is always in here," Risma said, pointing to her head during an interview last week.

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January 1, 1970 edition

FOR a moment there, David Hersya stared at the Malay kettledrum he had bought five years before. He bent down to finger the instrument's torn skin , damaged on the day the group disbanded. David had bought the instrument, around 35 centimeters in diameter and which resembled a washbasin with a hollowed bottom, from a craftsman in North Sumatra.
David crouched down and raised the kettledrum onto his lap. "I never expected to see this kettledrum ever again," said this lead musician of Semakbelukar when Tempo met him in Palembang last month.

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