June 16, 2015 edition
A MEETING of the board of directors of state-run electricity company PLN held in the second half 2011 was marked by worries over the possible failure to construct 21 power relay stations for the Java-Bali and Nusa Tenggara electricity grids. One director reported to Dahlan Iskan as the project leader that if the relay station material procurement bidding process was not completed that year, the target would likely be delayed by four to five years. If this happened, it would be nearly assured that an electricity crisis would be unavoidable. Rolling blackouts on the country's most populated islands would be almost inevitable.
The problem was, according to Finance Minister Regulation No. 194/2011, the tender process could only start if the land for the project had been secured. At that time, most of the land had not yet been purchased. All of those attending the meeting understood that if they broke the rules they might face legal risks in the future. "If I have to be arrested, just arrest me," said one senior PLN official who attended that meeting, quoting Dahlan.
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More Cover Story articles in other editions
June 9, 2015 edition
June 2, 2015 edition
FOR the past three months, residents of Pari Island have often seen a massive ship sailing past. The Cristobal Colon, a hopper dredger ship flying the flag of Luxembourg, slowly passes west and south of the islandtowards Kamal on the Jakarta coast heading for Tunda Island, located in the Java Sea, which is a part of Serang regency in Banten.
In a day, that 30-meter-tall black and white ship makes four trips back and forth past Parithe largest of the 110 islands in the Thousand Islands Regency in Jakarta Bay. Due to its massive size, each time the ship passes creates 2-meter-high waves in its wake. "In early May, a tourist was rolled over by a wave while snorkelling," said Wahyudin, an island resident, last week.
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May 26, 2015 edition
May 19, 2015 edition
A STATUE depicting Tinhn Loai Han, a woman who committed suicide after being raped, greeted visitors entering the Indochinese refugee camp in Galang Island, in the Riau Archipelagonow a tourism site. Inside, dilapidated structures are spread around 80 hectares of land, surrounded by trees, shrubs and manicured lawn. Former refugees' accommodations are covered with tall grass, except for one run-down wooden barrack. "The military tore them down over the years to discourage people from coming," Abdul Syukur, field coordinator of Galang Island Tourism Area, told Tempo English last week.
As many as 250,000 refugees tried to escape the war in Vietnam and Cambodia from 1979 onwards. Some fled overland to areas bordering Thailand, others crammed fishing boats and sailed southwards, in search of safety and a better life. Adnan, 49, head of the Galang refugee museum, who greeted those coming to revisit the site, would find them crying but feeling grateful. "I just met Nguyen Than Quan, a 70-year-old man who owns a successful ceramics business in the US. He was very moved to find out that the camp still existed," said Adnan. He was one of the more fortunate refugees. Many perished at sea, trying to reach Galang or died from disease and depression at the camp.
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May 12, 2015 edition
PRESIDENT Joko Widodo had just ended his sundown prayer at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, on Thursday in mid-April. Vice President Jusuf Kalla approached him, then softly tapped his shoulder. He asked Jokowi his reason for rejecting the nomination of Muhammad Said Didu as the director-general of minerals and coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. An official who knew what happened said that the president replied tersely: "There were special considerations."
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May 5, 2015 edition