An old man, almost mute, his memory gone, and so too his son in a terrifying history: the senile man in Joshua Oppenheimer's film, The Look of Silence.

Jennifer Lindsay*

The heat did not seem to bother Johannes 'Jan' Pronk, 75, even though it has been 13 years since he last visited Indonesia. Perhaps it was a residue from the past, when he frequently travelled to Indonesia in his capacity as the Netherland's foreign minister and the UN's special envoy, and when he got acclimatized to the tropical, humid heat.

Adnan Buyung Nasution, or Bang Buyung, is a man for all seasons. He has never ceased to act, leading a life based on a single ideology: defending the poor, the illiterate and the oppressed. It was an obsession all his life until his last breath on Wednesday, September 23.

In a bid to strengthen relations between Indonesia and the US, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington DC on September 21. "An improved strategic partnership reflects the priorities of (President) Joko Widodo's 'Working Cabinet'," Retno said.

For the seventh time in the last 25 years, a holy site in Mina, Saudi Arabia, is the site of heartbreaking tragedy.

Benuaq Dayak traditional community has received the Equator Prize from the UN Development Program Agency. Awarded in a ceremony in New York last week. Benuaq Dayak is a community living in Muara Tae village, West Kutai of East Kalimantan. They received the award for successfully having maintained, protected, and restored traditional forests in concession areas. "This is the proof that our struggle is not wrong. The accusations that we are 'delaying development' are not true," Petrus Asuy, a Benuaq community elder, said last week.

MASALA BUMBU
Editor: Gurjit Singh
Executive Producer: Sachin Gopalan
Copy Editor: Sachin Gopalan
Project Manager: Ihsan Zuyadi
Publisher: Berita Satu Media Holdings

The considerable attention the government is paying to the development of digital business needs to be regarded with caution because it could end badly if it is accompanied by regulations aimed solely at increasing tax revenues. Conversely, government attention could reap benefits if it leads to concrete policies to help digital entrepreneurs expand and improve the market.

AS of next month, the bank accounts of 560 members of the House of Representatives (DPR) will have grown substantially. Their salaries, which were around Rp51-54 million per month, will increase to Rp58-60 million. This is due to increases in bonuses and allowances for electricity and phone bills, all approved by the government and on July 9 decreed by the finance ministry.

Disappointed by Metland

Crowd Funding for the common Good

Lawmakers have inserted an article on clove cigarettes into a draft law on culture. The plan to name them a cultural heritage has many scratching their heads.

THE hearing opened at Palembang District Court last Tuesday as the city outside sat blanketed in haze. "Visibility is less than 200 meters," commented Hadi Jatmiko, Indonesian Environmental Forum's Director for South Sumatra, who attended the trial.

FOOD
Rice Imports Likely

The Giant store on the ground floor of Plaza Semanggi, South Jakarta, was a total mess. Products were placed at random on unorganized shelves. In the fresh foods section, coolers stood empty. Low lighting lent the place an eerie, tavern-like feel.

Wahyudi is a planter, yet has no idea what plants he grows in his garden. Each week he receives new seeds which are only identified by code numbers. He gets paid to turn them into seedlings and return them back to the sender. "Those seedlings belong to Pak Steve from (the) Kebunbibit (website)," he said when Tempo visited his garden at the East Java hamlet of Tonggolari last week.

This year, Indonesia and India mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. However, the ties between the two nations have existed much longer, predating the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of India. These connections span social, cultural, religious, economic, and trade aspects. But do those close ties of the past have any bearing on the present relationship? Why is there no direct flight between the capitals of the two countries?

Indian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Sandeep Chakravorty, shares his views on this matter at TEMPO TALKS.