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Edition 14 September 2020
Cover Story
Peatland Fires are Patterned and Massive
Chief of Peatland Restoration Agency Nazir Foead
Cover Story
Feeling the Heat
There is concern that a number of articles in the job creation bill may weaken environenmental law enforcement. The bill poses a new threat to forests and peatlands.
Cover Story
The Untouchables
Companies responsible for forest fires are not being served equal punishment. Civil suits are difficult to execute, while criminal suits do not seem to be moving forward.
Cover Story
Companies Behind Forest Fires
Land and forest fires ravaged Indonesia again in 2019. Tempo, Mongabay, Betahita, Malaysiakini, and the non-governmental organization Auriga Nusantara team up to investigate wildfires in dozens of forest and oil palm concessions. Satellite imagery and field checking on three concession sites of three firms strengthen the suspicion that companies were involved in the disaster that caused Rp75 trillion in losses to Indonesia. Poor law enforcement and lax regulations may trigger similar disasters in the future. This report was made possible through our collaboration with the Pulitzer Center through the Rainforest Journalism Fund program.
National
Counterclaims in the Capital
Claiming unavailability of hospital beds and an increasing number of positive coronavirus cases, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan reinstated Large-Scale Social Restrictions. He is accused of not supporting the economy.
National
Recovering in Silence
A number of public officials are reluctant to announce testing positive for Covid-19. It is seen as endangering the safety of others.
National
Two Men in the 10 Million Dollar Proposal
A plan to set Joko Tjandra free allegedly involved former Supreme Court chief, Hatta Ali. A pardon option was considered.
National
The Fugitive’s Tracks in Palm Oil Plantation
Joko Tjandra went through a long and winding road to return to Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur. He had help from a fugitive wanted by the Corruption Eradication Commission.
Law
Waste Runs Yonder
Industrial pollution at Bengawan Solo River has reached an alarming point. Of the 85 companies that dump waste into the longest river in Java, only 18 have disposal permits. Firms with permits also still dispose of waste above the allowed standard.
Law
Booze River
Each dry season, Solo Regional Drinking Water Company’s (PDAM) Chief of Public Relations Bayu Tunggul Pamilih agitates.
Interview
Interview
Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, Foreign Minister: Rivalry Is Getting Fiercer During the Pandemic
Law
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo: The Pollution Has Been Serious
Various large and small industries have been polluting Bengawan Solo River with liquid waste that goes beyond quality standard limits.
Law
Arief Buntoro Dibyoseputro, Corporate Secretary of Rayon Utama Makmur: There Are No Problems with Our Waste
Lab results show that waste level for a number of factories around the Bengawan Solo River have exceeded quality standards.
Market Pulse
Here Again, Inconsistency and Volatility
Yopie Hidayat (Contributor)
Cartoon
Overwhelmed
Photo
Reflections on the Pandemic
People wearing protective face masks are seen at the Magic Art 3D Museum Jakarta, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in Jakarta, September 6. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has reinstated the Large-Scale Social Restrictions on September 14 to curb the growing number of positive Covid-19 cases in the Capital City.
REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
Opinion
The Root Cause of Forest Burning
THE repeated burning of the forests in recent years is proof that the state is powerless in the face of the corporations thought to be behind the fires.
Opinion
The Complex Knot of Joko Tjandra’s Bribery
Following involvement of police officers, prosecutors and attorneys, the Joko Tjandra scandal has now spread to the Supreme Court. This shows the never-ending decay of our judicial system.
Opinion
Polluted Bengawan Solo
The pollution of the Bengawan Solo River continues without any satisfactory solution. Serious measures are needed against the companies that dispose waste.
Opinion
Chaotic Response to the Pandemic
Relying on a vaccine as the only solution, the government has lost its way in its handling of the pandemic. This is a reflection of Jokowi’s poor leadership.
Letters
On the KIP Kuliah Program
AFTER handling various formalities to follow the KIP Kuliah (Higher Education Indonesia Smart Card) program, finally my child, Thrisa N.L., got information from her campus. At the end of August, she got a notification signed by the head of this private educational institution telling that she become one of the 20 new D-4 (diploma-4) hotelier students in the institute designated as a KIP Kuliah recipient.