May 17, 2016 edition
Reactions appearing on social media, as observed on an iPad, upset President Joko Widodo. One of the things that upset him most was the comment that the Jokowi administration-which is just over a year old-has suddenly become repressive, much like a reincarnation of Suharto's New Order rule.
On Thursday last week, the President summoned some of his closest aides, those working inside and outside the Presidential Palace. He asked for an assessment of the public's true reaction to the instruction he had given two days earlier. "Some of the authorities were seen as being excessive in interpreting the President's order," said presidential spokesman Johan Budi Sapto Pribowo.
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More Cover Story articles in other editions
May 10, 2016 edition
Suriyansah, 34, was welcomed home with a simple celebration. His family was elated after he was released by the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines. The neighbors were invited to his house in Kendari last week to give thanks to God. Sinonggi, a Kendari dish made from sago flour, was served. They also served sticky rice and clam soup. "These are all my favorite food," said Suriyansah.
When he arrived in the city of his birth after a layover in Jakarta, Suriyansah was welcomed by his sobbing 69-year-old mother Sumiya. In Jakarta, he took part in more welcoming events. After being released as a hostage in Sulu Province, Suriyansah was flown to Zamboanga by helicopter. From Zamboanga, Suriyansah was flown to Tarakan in Kalimantan, then on to Jakarta.
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May 3, 2016 edition
Nurhadi's behavior upset 15 investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) who were searching his home at Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta two weeks ago. After three men from the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) guarding the house failed to prevent investigators from entering the home, the Supreme Court secretary, along with his wife and daughter, were kept in a room while the search proceeded.
Two investigators took turns knocking on the door to a room on the second floor. However, Nurhadi did not respond. From inside the room, the sound of repeated toilet flushing could be heard. After refusing to open the door for an hour, investigators crashed open the door to find Nurhadi's wife, Tin Zuraida, exited, half-running and saying she needed some underwear. Her hands covered her chest as if hiding something. "Her behavior was unusual," said one source, who took part in the search.
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April 26, 2016 edition
Forty-five documents of great interest were found among the 11.5 million documents of the Panama Papers. If they were printed, they would not be more than half a ream of paper. They are all connected with the activities of an offshore company owned by businessman Edi Yosfi.
There are at least four companies in the Panama Papers that are connected to Edi: Saxenburg Enterprises, Palomino Energy Ketapang, Hollingsworth Group and Kingswood Capital. These four companies were registered by the law firm Mossack Fonseca at the same address: Akara Building, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
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April 19, 2016 edition
When she was interviewed two weeks ago, Kartika Jahja, 35, could not conceal her dejection. Wearing a leather jacket and a bright red skirt, this singer tried to understand her recent catastrophe in Yogyakarta. There, she had failed to carry out her project of staging the 2016 Lady Fast event, after one mass organization had raided it and forced it to close down. "The reason for it was not clear at all," she said.
Lady Fast was initially to present a series of events about women's issues. The agenda included discussions, a workshop, film screening and musical performances. A day into the event, a group from one mass organization, accompanied by the police, came and disbanded the event. After that, Tika and members of the Kolektif Betina (Female Collective) as the organizer of the event, had to deal with the local police.
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April 12, 2016 edition
The international stir caused by the Panama Papers enlivened the WhatsApp discussion group of the Retirement Fund Association. The clamor increased after the association members discovered that the owner of a company in which they placed investment funds had set up a shell company in the British Virgin Islands. This news was a boon to the team investigating non-performing investment funds.
It has been nearly seven years since Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line and Berlian Laju Tanker failed to pay their debt-based securities (bonds) purchased by tens of members of the Retirement Funds Association. The upheaval caused by the Panama Papers led the members of this association to search for the owners of Arpeni and Berlian cited in those documents. "The discussion became lively because we were discussing the Panama Papers as well," said Ferry Agustono, CEO of Dana Pensiun ASDP Indonesia, one of the association's officials, last week.
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April 5, 2016 edition