August 25, 2015 edition
When Rizal Ramli's name appeared in the new cabinet lineup following the reshuffle by President Joko Widodo, there was surprise and perplexity, given that he once was one of the government's worst critics. The question among Jakarta political pundits was: who brought 60-year old economist Rizal, founder and former head of the Econit Advisory Group, into the fold? For he now holds an influential position among a select group of presidential advisors.
Barely had this public debate simmered down when Rizal Ramli came out with a series of controversial statements that irked his cabinet colleagues and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. How dare he openly criticize a policy of the government he is a member of.
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August 17, 2015 edition
Leiden University-formerly known as Rijksuniversiteit-is the oldest university in the Netherlands. Founded in 1575 by Prince William van Orange, the campus is a favorite of the Dutch royal family, with Queen Juliana among its alumni. She was followed by her daughter, Queen Beatrix, and the current Dutch monarch, Willem-Alexander. In this prestigious campus, Hamengku Buwono IX pursued his university education, starting the same year as Queen Juliana.
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August 11, 2015 edition
August 2015 marks a milestone in Singapore's history: the island state turns 50. Big and small events will be held throughout the country as part of the jubilee. But this will be the very first time that Singapore celebrates its anniversary without its revered and influential founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. "Mr. Lee retired as Prime Minister in 1990. He has prepared well and Singapore is set to take further steps forward." said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in answer to Tempo's questions.
Prime Minister Lee, who is popularly known as BG (Brigadier-General) Lee, follows in the footsteps of his father Lee Kuan Yew, the nation's first president and his predecessor, Goh Chok Tong. "I'm a third generation leader," said Lee. He leads a small nation of just 5.5 million people yet with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and the top third in the worldover US$56,000. Given its sizesmaller than Jakartaits lack of natural resources and its young age, Singapore's story is a remarkable one.
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August 4, 2015 edition
It took a whole minute for Ananta Purba to remember whether his institution ever received donations or assistance from the North Sumatra provincial government. This deputy secretary-general of the Batak Protestant Christian Church (GBKP) executive committee only recalled two specific instances. In 2010, the GBKP received Rp20 million in assistance. Then, in 2012, their church at Tebing Tinggi received Rp175 million. "After that, there was no more assistance," said Ananta last week.
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July 28, 2015 edition
Located 2,500 meters above sea level, the mountainous Tolikara regency is nearly isolated from the outside world. It is not easy to reach this area. Traveling there by land, through the Wamena regency, takes seven hours over mostly damaged roads. The easiest way to reach these mountains is by aircraft. Yet, despite the remote mountainous location, the Tolikara youths are not alienated.
Each year, they travel to neighboring nations, such as Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Palau, and sometimes to Israel. These trips are facilitated by the Indonesian Evangelical Church (GIDI), in cooperation with their missionary counterparts in various countries. An agreement with Israel is clearly posted on its website. "Jesus and Israel cannot be forsaken. They are the chosen people of Allah," said former GIDI Youth Chairman, Wekis Wonda, last week.
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July 14, 2015 edition
AFTER his preoccupation with the controversy over the Javanese-intonation reading of the Qur'an, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin now must focus his attention on the Nusantara Islam issue. This involves the debate of a genre of Islam that is unique to Indonesia, one that is being unofficially supported by the government.
The rejection by hard-line Islamists has not dampened the government's plan to keep pushing for a Nusantara (archipelagic) Islam. "They got it wrong. Nusantara Islam is not an ideology," said Lukman, in a special interview with Tempo reporters Sugiharto and Sunudyantoro, last week.
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July 10, 2015 edition