June 16, 2015 edition
OWNERS of warung makan (small eateries) are hopeful they can remain open during the month of Ramadhan, because Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin in his Twitter account recently tweeted that such establishments should not be forced to close shop just to honor those who fast. He stated that those who are not obliged to fast must also be respected.
Predictably, his statement caused a public uproar. Some tweeps saluted Lukman's view, but many others disagreed with his view. Equally predictable was the media, which refused to entirely support the stance of the United Development Party (PPP) politician. A mere tweet, Lukman wryly commented, twisted by some people, had led to a counter-productive debate.
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June 9, 2015 edition
THE recent uproar over the sale of plastic rice in markets last May is slowly dying down. Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel said the government was unable to find any plastic in the samples of rice inspected by five organizations, among them the Drug and Food Supervisory Board (BPOM) and the National Police forensic laboratory.
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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