From My Point of View

I read newspapers since I was eight or nine years old. I remember how exiting it was to wait hours and hours for the daily papers and read the newspapers while it still smell of newly printed ink. Yes, I have to wait hours because I spent my childhood in Bali, where the national morning media arrive at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. They only print in Jakarta, at the time. Each time I receive the papers, I will lay down in the floor of my home veranda, spread the papers in front of me, and read item per item of the news section. My favorite section was the sports column. Kompas newspapers, the one that I read from early age-- had a unique style for sports reporting and writing. Sometime their writers just use the game as a metaphor to explain other things in life, the philosophy of the game, the strategy and those sort of things. I also love to read the art section. Back in those days, Kompas always publish a novel before it went to print. They will run the story in the bottom row o...

The boundaries between what is and what is not considered as public interest in many media offices, blurred last week. I mourned for the death of rational journalism and the end of what in my opinion should be media's most sacred treasure, respect for what is right and what is wrong, and an ability to hold themselves from directly interfering the course of events in society. *** It all start with the sacking of my friend and fellow activist, Bambang Wisudo, from his job as senior journalist at a leading media firm here in Jakarta. The unprecedented sacking prompted a lot of question marks, especially because he is a relentless advocate for workers' rights and currently still hold a position as secretary at his office's press workers union. According to Indonesian workers' union law that protect the rights of union activists like Wisudo, this sacking is a plain simple violation. Two articles in that law clearly stated that a union activist cannot be ...

Dear Messrs Jacob Oetama St Sularto Suryopratomo : 1. We are writing in support of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in its dispute with the KOMPAS Daily over the proposed transferred and then dismissal of Bambang Wisudo on 8 December 2006. 2. Having read the AJI’s statement and studied its case, we have concluded that the management had acted arbitrary and without regard to the due process of good labour-management relations and of Indonesian law. 3. Indeed, as a professional organization of editors, reporters and photo-journalists, we are disappointed with the seemingly unprofessional attitude and action of your management in dealing with Wisudo, a fellow journalist with 15 years’ service to KOMPAS Daily. 4. It appeared to us that a case of victimization could be made out against your management on the grounds of Wisudo’s role as Secretary of KOMPAS Trade Union, in particular in his efforts to “improve PKK’s reportage standards and constructively address policies institut...

Papa, Mama dan Genta , originally uploaded by wahyu dhyatmika . This is my beloved family. This picture was taken on my son's three months ceremony in my hometown, Bangli, Bali.

Sayang Indonesia tidak punya mekanisme pemilihan umum sela. Padahal, mekanisme itu amat membantu mempertahankan tingkat akuntabilitas wakil rakyat di mata pemilihnya. Lihat apa yang terjadi di Amerika Serikat. Pemilihan sela kongres yang berlangsung sebulan lalu, yang dimenangkan Partai Demokrat, berhasil menyampaikan pesan rakyat Amerika yang menolak Perang Irak. Di Indonesia, pemilu dilakukan lima tahun sekali. Itu pemilu parlemen dan presiden. Sedangkan di daerah-daerah, setiap kabupaten dan provinsi mengadakan pemilihan kepala daerah masing-masing dalam waktu yang berbeda-beda. Tidak heran jika stabilitas politik di negeri ini selalu jadi urusan pelik. Karena partai politik tak habis-habisnya berpikir memenangkan kekuasaan dari satu pemilihan di satu daerah ke pemilihan lain di daerah lain. Begitu terus menerus sepanjang masa. Rantai ini sudah saatnya dihentikan. Setahun lalu, dalam Rapat Pimpinan Nasionalnya di Hotel Arya Duta, Jakarta Pusat, Partai Golkar sebenarnya sudah pernah ...

I just recovered from a chicken pox that made me stayed in bed for more than a week. Today, I was alarmed after reading Tempo --the newspapers that I've worked for in the last five years--. Its headline today is the picture of Pope Benedict XVI with capital headings 'Stop Anger'. Interested, I read the story. My first reaction was that the Pope has nothing to blame of. I, instantly, relate the anger amongst many Moslems toward the Pope these days, to the Danish cartoon's incident last year and immediately made comparison. My initial thought was “Why moslems easily provoked by any remarks made by non-moslem about their religion? How can we start a productive dialogue if everything about Islam that comes from a non-Moslem thinking is always seen as provocative and denouncing Islam?” Then after I read the actual sentence (not the whole remarks and the context), I started to understand why several Moslems feel angry and demand an apology from the Pope. I dont think its app...

This is my first posting in this blog. I've been thinking for a while of having my own weblog, so I can write down all my thoughts, ideas, reflection, jokes, worries, anything, at the end of the day. I have so many things in my head, sometime I worried it may explode if I dont -somehow, try to put it down by either writing it, or do something about it --act on it, not just thinking of it over and over again. So this is it. My own blog. Actually, I already created one, about two years ago. But, at the time, I just did it for fun --not that this one will be too 'serious' or anything. I made the first one because then, almost everybody at my office had one. I know, its silly. But, I promise, this time its different. I created this blog, because I think I need a media. I want it to be my book, where I can trace down my thoughts, and how I change or not change, from this day forward. I felt like I experience too many things in one day --even in one event, there are so many point...