December 15, 2015 edition
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Arts & Culture
The Young Who Refuse to Forget
Interview
No matter where he is posted, Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso always seems to be in the news, as he is doing in his current position as head of the National Narcotics Board (BNN). Barely four months on the job, his statement on drug offenders has led to contentious and prolonged public polemic. He floated the idea of a special prison for those convicted of drug dealing and drug use to be located on an island surrounded by crocodile-infested waters. "I'm serious. This is not a joke," he said.
The public is unlikely to forget other controversial decisions he took during his previous stint as chief of the crime investigation unit of the National Police. One example is when he charged Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto for document fraud and perjury, respectively. He also indicted KPK investigator Novel Baswedan for a case that had happened years ago.
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Arts & Culture
A new, cube-shaped structure appeared almost instantaneously outside the Jakarta Theater at the Taman Ismail Marzuki on December 7. The wall-less structure is built from scaffolding shrouded in a transparent layer of galvanized wire and black agricultural shade cloth. Its design creates a theatrical effect and stirs curiosity, as visitors outside can only catch obscured glimpses inside.
The temporary structure, with a life of around one week, is called the Memory Recollection Museum, and was pioneered by the National Human Rights Commission, the Jakarta Arts Council and Partisipasi Indonesia. Stephanie Larassati, 30, is the designing architect. The museum contains young artists' takes on memories of the 1965 humanitarian tragedy.
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Arts
Soundscapes Ensemble Modern
Conductor: Franck Ollu
Composers: Ris Banbos, M. Arham Aryadi, Joko Winarno, Taufik A. Adam, Gema Swaratyagita, I Dewa Ketut Alit, Stevie Jonathan Sutanto, and Gatot Danar Sulistyanto
Frankfurt's Ensemble Modern musicians, clad in pink, purple and neon green, may not be your typical concert hall scenery of classically trained musicians at work. And there 's nothing typical about Soundscapes, with an intro that made the audience look around in an initial bewilderment followed by evident glee. The ensemble musicians stomped rhythmically toward their seats before the saluang (a traditional woodwind instrument), played by the night's first composer Ris Banbos, made a subdued entrance from the opposite end of the stage. The pieces performed at Soundscapes, the grand finale of the three-month long German Fest, ranged from the avant-garde to the contemporary classical, merging Western, Indonesian and non-traditional musical instruments with visual and performative elements.
Conductor: Franck Ollu
Composers: Ris Banbos, M. Arham Aryadi, Joko Winarno, Taufik A. Adam, Gema Swaratyagita, I Dewa Ketut Alit, Stevie Jonathan Sutanto, and Gatot Danar Sulistyanto
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Science & Technology
Edi Tri Haryantoro fixed his gaze at a brick-walled ditch at a depth of three meters from the ground surface. Knee-deep water filled the ditch. "This is undoubtedly an ancient irrigation system," the senior archeologist from Mojokerto's cultural preservation center told Tempo on the spot at Urangagung village in Sidoarjo, East Java, late last November.
The structure walled off by red bricks in the middle of a paddy field was discovered on October 29, 2015. Sugiantono, a local farmer, found the structure while digging a well to water his mung bean plants. When he was digging at a depth of one meter, his hoe hit a mass of red bricks that were much bigger than regular bricks.
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International
When the perpetrators of the December 2 shooting that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, were found to be American Muslim couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, Donald Trump jumped into action, immediately using the incident to ratchet up campaign rhetoric. He called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
The incident was all Trump needed to spew out more of his right-wing pledges during all of his candidacy. Last month, he mentioned that he was open to keeping a database of American Muslims and have them carry a special ID card, which would impact one percent of the US population. Critics contend that it was an idea that came straight out of a fascist guide book.
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Law
The bill entitled Tindak Pidana Penyelenggara Peradilan (Criminal Offense in Court Affairs) circulated among limited circles of the House of Representatives (DPR) legislation board members. "Not everybody received (the document)," said United Development Party (PPP) politician Arsul Sani Tuesday last week. Arsul is one of the DPR members who got hold of the draft.
Arsul received the document from another faction member who lobbied him to support the inclusion of the draft bill in the 2016 National Legislation Program Priorities. Arsul said a number of judges also lobbied other members of the legislation board. "I rejected their request," said Arsul.
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Outreach
TWO words sprung came to mind when Tempo English visited Jovi at the Center for Conservation of Natural Resources in Minas-Siak, Riau, two weeks ago: 'scary' and 'handsome'.
Jovi is one of the 23 Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) trained at the Center for Elephant Training (PPG) in Siak. He is 33 years old, making him one of the oldest elephants at the center. He has experienced many a blaze in the fire-prone province, most recently in October of this year at the peak of the dry season.
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Weekly Business
TRADING
E-Commerce Transactions Grow Five-fold
The government aims for a significant growth in e-commerce transactions in Indonesia next year. Fetnayeti, business development director at the trade ministry, expects online trade turnovers to skyrocket by 554.4 percent, from Rp34.9 trillion to Rp224.9 trillion. "This is why the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology actively support the development of online businesses," she said at the National Online Shopping Day presentation last week.
E-Commerce Transactions Grow Five-fold
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Economy
He Yafei has been a lifelong diplomat with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as a deputy foreign minister before being transferred to Geneva in 2010 as ambassador to the United Nations. He is now the deputy director of the overseas Chinese affairs office and has been advocating for China's economic integration initiative: One Belt One Road (OBOR).
The initiative was first unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. OBOR itself consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It focuses primarily on connectivity and cooperation between Asia and Europe.
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Cover Story
Taufiequrachman Ruki, acting chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has been accused of weakening the KPK by placing Police officers in a number of strategic KPK positions, limiting e-mail correspondence between KPK employees and giving harsh penalties to KPK employees who were critical of his leadership. Throughout his time at the KPK helm, the gap between his promises and his actions has widened.
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Sidelines
Life is not a framed map. But it seems that people easily forget this, when history becomes a finished storyprior to conquest.
There is an anecdote from the 18th century when Europeans were sailing to all corners of the earth as explorers, and later (or simultaneously) as colonizers. One day in 1787, La Prouse, a French admiral of the fleet, arrived in China aftersailing around the Pacific Ocean for a hundred days. You could call it a scientific expedition: La Prouse took with him 10 scientists. They wanted to map the coast of Sakhalin Island.
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Opinion
The plan of American Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump to ban all Muslims from entering the United States as a way of preventing terrorist attacks is not just stupid: it's senseless and dangerous. A number of violent attacks on Muslim communities in the United States recently may be the result of Trump's hatred campaign.
In California, a man in the process of praying on an open field was insulted and coffee poured on him. In New York City, a clerk in a book shop was beaten up by a man who swore he would kill all Muslims and in Philadelphia, a mosque was thrown a pig's head. Such incidents will not stop until Trump stops his campaign of blaming Muslims for the terrorism in the United States and in Europe.
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Indicator
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has been implicated in the 'Papa wants shares' scandal. Two weeks ago, the former presidential chief of staff's name was heard at the House of Representative's (DPR) ethics council (MKD) 66 times when a recorded discussion between DPR Speaker Setya Novanto, oil tycoon Muhammad Reza Chalid and Freeport Indonesia CEO Maroef Sjamsoeddin was played.
On June 8, in a meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jakarta, Setya, Reza and Maroef discussed plans to extend Freeport's contract ending in 2021. Maroef confirmed the meeting had taken place but was silent about Luhut. The fact is, Luhut's name was mentioned several times in the discussion, for example in the following transcript excerpt:
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Letters
Trains Travel Longer
AS a passenger who has used the electric train service for a long time, I'm addressing this letter to the management of Kereta Api Indonesia Commuter Jabodetabek. Before there were additional routes and coach extensions, the trip from Bojong Gede to Kebon Sirih took less than one hour on average, or only around 50 minutes. Now it usually takes one and a half hours.
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Tempo Talks
Improving Connectivity, Boosting Cooperation
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.
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