April 7, 2015 edition
A LIMITED cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office on March 16 was disrupted by the intermittent protests of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said. His source of unhappiness was Presidential Deputy Chief of Staff Darmawan Prasodjo who commented on Sudirman's speech. And to add insult to injury, Darmawan gave his own presentation on the Mahakam Block at this ministerial meeting led by President Joko Widodo himself.
After the meeting, Sudirman came to Darmawan and shook his hand. "We need to talk. It's about etiquette," one witness quoted Sudirman as saying, giving an account of what happened. According to this government official, the cabinet meeting should have only been for the president, ministers and minister-level officials. "Not staff," they grumbled.
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More Cover Story articles in other editions
January 1, 1970 edition
January 1, 1970 edition
Since they were sworn-in on October 20 last year, President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have shown differences of view and positions with each other. Among them, the nomination of Police Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the new chief of police, the issue of criminalizing the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and giving remission to convicted corruptors.
Their differences of view became wide open over the establishment of the Presidential Staff Office. Kalla claimed he only knew that this unit was to be led by Luhut Binsar Panjaitan when Jokowi was about to take Luhut's oath of office on December 31 last year. Kalla has reportedly become ever more upset at the increasing authority given to Luhut, which he views as undermining the function of the vice president.
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January 1, 1970 edition
January 1, 1970 edition
A MEETING to deliberate the 2015 Jakarta Regional Budget at the Home Affairs Ministry last week led to some 'important admissions' by a member of the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD). In that two-hour closed meeting, according to Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, DPRD Deputy Speaker Ferrial Sofyan spoke about inserting additional items over the previously approved budget.
Ferrial, according to Basuki, said that there was never a problem with the budget because the government always passed those 'additional proposals'. These additions amounting to trillions of rupiah could be released after the budget was approved by the Home Affairs Ministry. "According to Pak Ferrial, this had been going on for 10 years," said Basuki at City Hall last week.
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March 3, 2015 edition
February 24, 2015 edition