September 29, 2015 edition
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.
The bespectacled Pronk fits the description of a professor, rather than a politician and a diplomat of his yesteryears, given his current job as visiting professor at the United Nations University of Peace in Costa Rica and a lecturer at Amsterdam University College in the Netherlands.
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More Interview articles in other editions
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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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