June 2, 2015 edition
FINALLY, people got what they clamored for. The government disbanded Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd (Petral) on May 13. This subsidiary company of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina had been heavily criticized for abusing its mandate in supplying the nation with crude oil and other fuels.
Based in Singapore, Petral was tasked with buying and selling oil on behalf of Pertamina. Its recent dissolution will save Pertamina US$20 million in costs. The anti-oil and gas mafia task force had recommended that Petral's job be taken over by the Integrated Supply Chain (ISC), a unit of Pertamina.
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May 26, 2015 edition
AFTER very tense seconds, the search and rescue (SAR) team was finally able to extricate the body of Erry Yunanto from the depths of Mt. Merapi's crater last week. The Yogyakarta Atma Jaya University student had fallen into the crater while descending the mountain peak on May 15. The recovery process had to be done extra cautiously, given the sharp incline of the crater's sides which emitted poisonous fumes.
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May 19, 2015 edition
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."
The pardon is just the beginning. After that, he promises amnesty to all political prisoners in Papua. "The [pardon] is just the start of the release," Jokowi stressed.
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May 12, 2015 edition
HAVING observed media development in Indonesia, Jim Nolan feels that democracy in this country may be backtracking. He is of the view that freedom of expression has been restricted, following the government's closure of 22 websites, considered to be extremist. This, according to Nolan, a lawyer and legal expert with the Asia-Pacific branch of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), affects Indonesia's reputation as a beacon of free press in ASEAN.
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May 5, 2015 edition
LAWYER and human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis admitted that on April 27 and 28 last week, the day of the Bali Nine (minus one, in the end) execution, he had a difficult time holding back his tears. With a heavy heart, he escorted the two convicted drug smugglers, Australian Andrew Chan and his fellow countryman Myuran Sukumaran, to Nusakambangan Prison at Cilacap, Central Java. Todung found it difficult to think that Chan and Sukumaran would face the firing squad soon. Chan had, the day before he was put to death, married Febyanti Herewila in prison.
Todung said one of the prosecutors offered him access to the execution area, but he just could not do it. Instead, he chose to go back to his hotel and watch the execution on the television monitor. Even then he could not stop his tears. After 01:00 Wednesday early morning, Todung tweeted in his account, "I failed. I lost," followed by "I'm sorry."
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April 28, 2015 edition
April 21, 2015 edition