September 22, 2015 edition

A few days back, the hash-tag #melawanasap (battling the haze) was a hot topic on Twitter, posted by tens of thousands of Tweeps who vented their anger over the destructive haze caused by forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Residents in provinces there had become seriously alarmed, as the haze penetrated into everything, homes and even hospitals.
Once again, the haze was seriously affecting the air over most of Indonesia's western provinces and neighboring countries, to a dangerous level. The National Disaster Management Board (BNPB) officially declared the air quality over Riau and Sumtara to be below standard and becoming increasingly worse. The evidence was clear in the pollution levels over towns on the Andalas Island, which was classified as dangerous to human health.

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More Interview articles in other editions

September 15, 2015 edition

The last time former Bank Indonesia governor Darmin Nasution involved himself with the government was in 2013. Yet when he did rejoin, it was straight towards an economic morass. This time around, he was made coordinating minister for the economy, replacing Sofyan Djalil. Darmin is new in the cabinet, yet he faces a daunting task: to ensure that Indonesia gets away from the global economic storm.

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September 8, 2015 edition

President Joko Widodo had good reasons to send Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, 52, to meet protesting labor union members last September 1. He is, after all, well-known for his negotiating skills. "Yes, that's my job. Anyway the President was having dinner with (an association of) minibus drivers," explained Pramono.
He was sworn in to his present position as minister in charge of cabinet affairs on August 12, replacing Andi Wijayanto. In addition to his main job, based on clear-cut regulations, the President has asked him to bridge relations between the Palace and political forces. "This is not just with coalition parties but also with the others," said Pramono, in a special interview with Tempo reporters Jobpie Sugiharto, Isma Savitri, Retno Sulistyowati and Sunudyantoro, at his office, last week.

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September 1, 2015 edition

SUSILO Bambang Yudhoyono, 66, is an orderly and cautious person, more on the intellectual side. Those are traits he cultivated when he was in the military, a cabinet member in the presidencies of Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri and as president of Indonesia for the past 10 years. Today, although it has been 10 months since he relinquished his presidential authority, none of that trait is gone.

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August 17, 2015 edition

In the midst of an economic downturn, President Joko Widodo took the unusual step of restructuring his less than 10-month old cabinet. Five ministers were fired and one was sidelined to head a different department. That is former Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Sofyan Djalil, whose new job is to head the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).

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August 4, 2015 edition

The 33rd Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Convention in Jombang, East Java, in early August will be a nostalgic journey for Martin van Bruinessen, who spent considerable time in Indonesia during the 1980s and 1990s. As a resource person at the pre-convention discussions, Bruinessen, the Dutch professor from Utrecht University, author of a number of books on Islam in Indonesia, was sought after to speak on the future direction of the the NU, currently led by KH Said Aqil Siroj.
In the opinion of Dutch anthropologist Bruinessen, the NU has an important role to play in society. He knows his subject matter well, given his nine years in Indonesia. Although he now resides in the Netherlands, he still devotes much of his time to Islamic literature, in the form of discussions and studies on intellectual development in Indonesia. This has led Bruinessen to deepen his knowledge on Islamic thinking in Indonesia, and that of the NU.

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July 28, 2015 edition

Excuse me while I go and pray," said Bambang Suryo, in the middle of an interview with Tempo last week. It was the third meeting and took place in Surabaya, while the first happened in Jakarta four weeks ago and the second inside a car, enroute to the home of Bambang's friend in Central Jakarta.
Bambang claims to have been getting threats ever since he confessed to rigging game scores of the Indonesia League competition. He admits that these days, he has become more religious, saying a small prayer before eating and driving his car. "I need to feel safe," said Bambang. For a while, he hid his real identity, calling himself Mr. X or BS, to protect his family.

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