A pimp, or someone looking like a pimp but dressed like Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken asks about God. "What does God look like? And what does He do?"

PRESIDENT Joko Widodo had good news to announce about Papua on May 9, when he pardoned five local political prisoners. The next day, the president made another announcement, that foreign journalists would be allowed to report from Papua. "This is the government's attempt to stop the stigma and the conflict in Papua," said Jokowi, "We want to make Papua a land of peace."

Sugeng ndalu (good night)," 37-year-old Mahmudi Fukumoto greeted in Javanese, by telephone from Kawasaki, Japan, two weeks ago. Even though he has lived in Japan for the past 14 years, he has not forgotten his mother tongue. He spoke for almost an hour about his company, his project and his vision: to help match Indonesians who interned in Japan with the right local franchise companies back home.

A black statue of the Buddha fastingsitting cross-legged with upturned hands, a gaunt face, haggard eyes and sallow cheeksgrabbed visitor attention at the latest National Museum exhibition. Veins protrude from the statue's rib cage; his stomach is a hollow pit; the Buddha looks to be all skin and bones.

Harbor police at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java have arrested a man attempting to smuggle 24 critically endangered parrots out of the country.

Dewi Anggraeni

A few days before hundreds of journalists from around the world gathered in Riga, capital of the Baltic nation of Latvia from May 2-6 to commemorate World Press Freedom Day, two of their colleagues in Africa were murdered. A few days later, the body of a year-long missing freelance reporter in Myanmar was found in a shallow-grave. In Indonesia, the 1996 murder of Yogyakarta-based journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, allegedly by local authorities, has never been resolved. He was killed while doing an investigative report on alleged corruption in the administration of the Bantul regency in Yogyakarta.

PRESIDENT Joko Widodo's dream to have the trans-Java toll road in operation by 2018 could come to nothing. At present, there is still 615 kilometers to be completed. Many of the nine concession holders to operate the toll road have already thrown in the towel.

RUMORS of reshuffling the Working Cabinet have grown louder. Even when the reshuffle is the president's prerogative right, Vice President Jusuf Kalla wants Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to reorganize the formation of his ministers and senior officials. As many as 72.1 percent of respondents in last week's Tempo.co poll also believe this is the right time to reshuffle the cabinet, after only eight months in office.

Indosat's Comment

According to a 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) report, life expectancy in Indonesia is ranked a low 117 out of 193 countries surveyed. This shows how far we still lag behind even among other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, except for Myanmar and Cambodia.

Top Energy Official Involved in TPPI Corruption

A chat in the office of Sihol P. Manulang, general chairman for President Jokowi's Volunteer Ranks (BaraJP), stopped and started multiple times. Jokowi had just finished an interview with a television reporter when administration officials arrived to bid him adieu before leaving for Jalan Bhineka Raya, Cawang Baru, East Jakarta. "They are going to Cibubur, to check on the location of the jamboree," Jokowi said on Wednesday last week.

Many common behaviors are now defined as deviant in North Aceh. For example, while it is relatively normal in other parts of Indonesia for men and women to ride tandem on motorcycles, in North Aceh such behavior is banned. While in other areas store owners regularly use mannequins to market their apparel, in North Aceh mannequins are prohibited for having the power to arouse male desire.

OIL BUSINESS
Petral To Be Shuttered

Angga Surya, 29, does whatever it takes to cut spending. His wife's request to replace her iPhone with the latest model had to be turned down. "We changed to a cheaper one to save millions," Angga told Tempo last Wednesday.

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.