August 9, 2016 edition
The change in policy is erratic. At the end of last year, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman banned the import of offal, arguing that it was animal feedunfit for human consumption. Now, in an about-face, he is allowing imports of offal because it is a public necessity.
In another odd move, the agriculture ministry said that offal was being imported to help reduce the price of beef. This, too, has not happened. The price of beef is still around Rp120,000 per kilogram. The problem is that offallungs, liver and heartis clearly different from other cuts of beef, so importing it has no effect on the domestic price of beef.
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August 2, 2016 edition
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July 5, 2016 edition
When the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) declared that at least 19 pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) showed evidence of teaching radical thought, we realized just how critical the situation had become. Those 'radical' schools can be found in Jakarta, Cirebon, Ciamis, Cilacap, Solo, Lamongan, Aceh, Makassar, Poso and North Lombok.
Statistically, the figure is almost meaningless, given that some 28,000 pesantren can be found throughout the nation's 33 provinces, attended by about four million Islamic students. However, radicalism-particularly of the kind that has hardened and manifested itself in terrorism-is not just a matter of statistics. Its scope is difficult to grasp, particularly when it is most likely infused with flammable factors such as social injustice.
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June 28, 2016 edition