May 17, 2016 edition
Public service is something new to 52-year-old Amzulian Rifai, the new chairman of the Office of the Ombudsman. After all, he spent the past 25 years in the academic affairs of Sriwijaya University in Palembang, South Sumatra. But he is ready to dedicate himself to a new assignment, which is to be the people's 'ear', to listen to those disappointed by the quality of public services rendered. Amzulian believes the Ombudsman is the right place to dedicate his time and his resources. He decided to apply for the job, and in an open session, was elected chairman for the 2016-2021 period.
Amzulian is aware that leading the Office of the Ombudsman will not be an easy task. Right from the start, he has had to face the snide comments that the Ombudsman is nothing more than a toothless institution with no specific objective in mind. The building alone, he observed when he first went there, looked no better than a warehouse. "It was in really bad condition," he said in an interview last week.
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May 10, 2016 edition
The outbreak of violence at Banceuy Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java two weeks ago deeply affected Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly. The incident might have appeared ordinary in the rough-and-tumble world inside Indonesian prisons, given that the death of inmate Undang Kosim triggered the violence. Nevertheless, it was the third of such incidents in 2016 alone.
Yasonna found the root of the problem to be commonplace: the number of inmates exceeding the limited capacities of Indonesian prisons and the shortage of prison personnel. He admitted frankly that conditions in Indonesian prisons were unacceptable. "They're very inhumane," he said in a recent interview in his South Jakarta office last week.
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May 3, 2016 edition
Last year was Marina Walker Guevara's busiest time. She had to face piles of documents, layers of digital data, and, most importantly, she was commanding hundreds of journalists from 80 countries who collaborated on investigating and publishing the Panama Papers.
The report involves 2.6 terabytes of data on companies set up in tax-haven countries like Panama or regions like the British Virgin Islands. The companies' owners are a mix of politicians, public officials, thieves, drug lords, billionaires and celebrities, including world-class athletes and sports people.
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April 26, 2016 edition
April 19, 2016 edition
The attention given to the police, in particular Counterterrorism Detachment 88 (Densus 88), over for the questionable death of Siyono, cannot be disassociated from the role of the Muhammadiyah. This religious organization founded by K.H. Ahmad Dahlan has been the driving force advocating justice for Siyono's family. But this has led to charges that Muhammadiyah is pro-terrorism.
Haedar Nashir, 58, chairman of Muhammadiyah's executive board, stated that support for Siyono's family was purely in the interest of humanity. "In addition to looking after humanitarian values, we also have an interest in seeing that the law is enforced," said Haedar.
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April 12, 2016 edition
The Press Council has a new leader. He is Yosep Adi Prasetyo. Stanley, as he is better known, replaces Bagir Manan who held the position since 2013. Stanley was elected on March 23 by an internal council, defeating his rival candidate Sinyo Harry Sarundajang to win five out of the nine votes.
The nine members of the internal council who hold journalistic backgrounds are Hendry Chairudin Bangun, Nezar Patria and Ratna Komala. Representing the owners of media organizations are Ahmad Djauhar, Jimmy Silalahi and Reva Deddy Utama, while those speaking for the public are Imam Wahyudi, Sinyo Harry Sarundajang and Stanley.
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April 5, 2016 edition