February 23, 2016 edition

HIS name came up after the Jakarta government announced it would raze down the Kalijodo neighborhood because it stood in the middle of a green zone and because many of its occupants were unscrupulous figures. One particular figure stood out: Abdul Aziz, known as the 'King of Kalijodo', who decided to go to the authorities and express his disapproval on the attempts to regulate the biggest, low-level entertainment district in the capital city.
Forty-seven-year-old Daeng Aziz, as he is familiarly known, caught the public's attention when he went to the office of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) last week to speak on behalf of his fellow Kalijodo residents. He told Commissioner Hafid Abbas, whom he met, of his consternation over the planned eviction of his neighborhood. Then, along with other Kalijodo residents, Aziz went to the Jakarta Council of Representatives (DPRD) to protest the government's action that would deprive residents of their homes and their source of income, if Kalijodo were to be totally 'cleansed'.

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More Interview articles in other editions

February 16, 2016 edition

The film industry in Indonesia is going through a golden period. Production of national films have gone up sharply compared to two decades ago. In 2014, the highest-ever number of films were produced: 115 titles. This is much higher than the number of films produced from 1991 to 2001, which was a total of 94.
The expansion in the film industry is getting the support of Joko Widodo's government through his 10th economic policy packet launched last Thursday. One of the points in the policy is to extricate the film industry and its related distribution business from the negative investment list (DNI), under Presidential Decree No. 39/2014 on the list of open and closed businesses in the field of capital investment.

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February 9, 2016 edition

The conflict inside the Golkar Party appears to be reaching its final stages. The party, which for some time has been polarized by two factions, finally seems to be heading towards a reconciliation. The national leadership meeting (rapimnas) held at the end of January agreed that an extraordinary national convention should be held to elect new leaders. The convention is expected to end the dispute between Agung Laksono, elected chairman according to the Ancol national convention, and Aburizal Bakrie, elected by the Bali national convention.
An important development prior to the upcoming convention is the law and human rights ministry's extension up to June of the Golkar leadership as approved by the Riau national convention in 2009. This specific organizational structure lists Aburizal Bakrie as party chairman, Agung Laksono as the deputy and Idrus Marham as the secretary-general. "I'm happy with (results of) the national leadership meeting, because the government acknowledges the Golkar leadership, as approved by the Riau national convention, to be the legal one and extended its validity," said Aburizal.

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February 2, 2016 edition

With a 1.49 percent annual growth rate, Indonesia's current population of more than 250 million is expected to surpass that of the United States by 2043, possibly becoming the third most populous country after China and India. Despite a national family planning program in place since 1967, Indonesia continues to struggle with various sociocultural constraints that prevent it from becoming more effective and efficient. Such issues emerged during the recent International Conference on Family Planning in Nusa Dua, Bali.
On the sidelines of the biennial conference, Tempo English contributing editor Cory Rogers spoke to Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the current executive director of the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA). Dr. Osotimehin, a Nigerian national who is serving his second term as head of UNFPA, shared his views on how empowering women through sexual and reproductive health rights is a key to unlocking Indonesia's development potential. Excerpts of the interview:

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January 26, 2016 edition

Hilmar Farid rejects the notion that his new position as director-general of culture at the education and culture department was given to him for his contribution to President Joko Widodo's campaign in 2014. Hilmar insists he had to undergo the entire recruitment procedure, beating all his rivals through a very tight selection process. Hilmar, 47, a University of Indonesia graduate, was sworn in into his new job on December 31, 2015.
He can be said to be the first echelon-one government official outside the bureaucracy to have won the job. Hilmar, who will head a corps of about 3,600 employees, must now adapt to the rhythm of his new job. It is, after all, his first time as a bureaucrat. Until now, he had always been a historian, working in the world of academics, with people's organizations and pro-democracy groups.

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January 19, 2016 edition

Ade Komarudin wasted no time in stepping on the gas pedal soon after he was sworn in to replace House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Setya Novanto who recently resigned. Ade, a native of Purwakarta, went on a marathon of meetings with the heads of political parties. Ade first met with National Democrat (NasDem) Chairman Surya Paloh. The next day, Ade attended the swearing-in ceremony of ambassadors at the State Palace, where he met with Hanura Party Chairman Wiranto. He also plans to eventually pay his respects to Megawati Soekarnoputri, who leads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
In fact, Ade's political consolidation actually began before he took over the reins of the legislature. He even went to see Democrat Party Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, telling him, "I will have met with 10 political party chiefs and influential people," Ade recounted last week.

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January 12, 2016 edition

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has a new captain: Agus Rahardjo. Together with his co-chairpersons-Basaria Panjaitan, Saut Situmorang, Alexander Marwata and Laode Muhammad Syarif-Agus, 59, was sworn in by President Joko Widodo on December 21, 2015, following his selection by the Law Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR). He got 44 votes, while Basaria got 9 votes and Saut one vote.
The new KPK leaders inherited a pile of problems. Prominent among them are the charges against former KPK chairmen Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto and the criminalization of KPK investigator Novel Baswedan. Then there's the internal conflict between the staff and the acting chairman of the KPK, Taufiequrachman Ruki. Agus' burden will be further complicated by the DPR's campaign to revise the law on the KPK, a measure generally regarded as an attempt to weaken the antigraft organization.

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