From My Point of View

NEWSPAPERS http://korantempo.com/korantempo/koran/2008/10/24/headline/krn.20081024.145879.id.html ASIA-EUROPE MEETING Yudhoyono Usulkan Dana Siaga Indeks bursa di Asia kemarin jeblok lagi. BEIJING --Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono kemarin meminta organisasi regional menyiapkan sistem pinjaman siaga. Dalam sistem ini, katanya, dana bisa digunakan negara-negara yang membutuhkan dalam situasi darurat. Menurut Yudhoyono, organisasi regional--seperti ASEAN, ASEAN+3, ataupun Asia-Europe Meeting--perlu bekerja sama menyiapkan mekanisme dana pinjaman siaga itu. "Semua organisasi menyiapkan pinjaman siaga ini di bawah pimpinan Bank Dunia," kata Yudhoyono saat berpidato pada Forum Bisnis Asia-Europe Meeting di Beijing kemarin. Presiden juga mengusulkan mekanisme pengumpulan sumber keuangan mandiri yang dikelola negara-negara anggota ASEAN+3. Tiga negara tambahan dalam ASEAN adalah Cina, Korea Selatan, dan Jepang. Untuk mengurangi dampak krisis di Asia, menurut Yudhoyono, setiap negar...

I was invited to speak in a discussion about Lapindo mudflow victims, a couple of weeks ago. It was held in Goethe Haus, Menteng, Central Jakarta. My colleague, Heru Margianto, the editor of Kompas.com was also invited to speak, along with Alif Nurlambang, former 68H Radio journalist and a victim of the mudflow, flew all the way from Sidoarjo, East Java. The main topic was how media portray Lapindo mudflow case, three years after. I was given a chance to speak after the guy from Sidoarjo. He lambasted media for being ignorance of their plight and misery. The first thing I said was that I felt like a defendant in that forum. Everybody was there to grill and question the media role, and I felt like I was put under a spotlight. However, I then said that this is a good thing. "Press freedom, media freedom, is your freedom, the public freedom," I said. Forum like this should be held more often, so that the public can say what they think about press reporting, and complaint about t...

This question haunted me since several weeks ago: how far do we, journalist, are responsible for things happening around us? It all begin last September. The Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI) Jakarta, where I sit as the chairman since last February, was asked to host a discussion to commemorate the fifth year anniversary of Munir's murder. As everybody probably well aware, this prominent human rights campaigner was poisoned to death on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam, September 7th five year ago. Many journalists attended the discussion. We watched a documentary made by a friend of mine, former RCTI producer, Dhandy Dwi Laksono, and felt closer to Cak Munir. The film was great, it explained why we need to keep asking the question: who was behind this murder and keep pushing the police and attorney general to prosecute the mastermind. However, the thing that disturbed me came during the discussion. Although it was not openly spoken during the Q and A session, I sense that many h...

Its two days after the presidential election. The official result is not declared yet, but all quick counts shows the same result: the incumbent won. What does this mean to Indonesia? First of all, I think its an indication that Indonesia is eager to part with its dark past. All candidates that has a relation with the authoritarian regime a decade ago are lost. The winner is generally perceived as clean and untainted with Soeharto's sins. Secondly, this result means Indonesians wants to continue this path: to become a secular democracy, consistently eradicating corruption, and build stronger economy through sound, smart and carefull pro market finance policies. Indonesia wants to be open to the global world, assert its influence and retain itself as a succesful mixture of Islam and democracy, an example of how clash of civilization should not and will not ever occured. Off course, there are many existing problems that need to be addressed. beaucracy reform that is still far from fi...

Its almost two months before the presidential election, next July 8, and it is almost certain, we will have a three-horse race between SBY, JK and Megawati. All the polls suggest that SBY will win the race easily, but many still sees there's a possibility that a surprise may occured somehow. One of the source of surprise is the emergence of Prabowo Subianto. A former three stars general, a former son in law of the late President Soeharto, and a convicted mastermind behind the student kidnappings in 1998. He is known to have great ambition to ascend to power and is willing to work hard and do everything needed to make sure he gets what he wants. Is he the hope Indonesian is waiting, or the threat that will squash everything this country has so far gained in the last 10 years? Time will tell.

Tuesday April 14, 2009 By KARIM RASLAN Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stands poised to lead Indonesia to the forefront of global players alongside Brazil, China and India. THE global financial crisis is spawning – and exacerbating – an equivalent set of political shocks. Over the next year or two there will be winners and there will be losers both globally and regionally, and the recent G20 meeting in London was as much about determining which nations would emerge on the right side of history. For us in South-East Asia, with our trade-dependant economies, the impact has been near disastrous. Moreover, nations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, with their rigid and inflexible political systems, are suffering an added whiplash as their respective peoples’ question the wisdom of age-old social contracts. At the same time, the economic slowdown has laid bare deep-rooted divisions of class, race and geography that haunt our societies. That this should be happening to ...

I wrote several months ago, that most people in Indonesia do not look forward enthusiastically toward the election, next July. I assumed that the reason for this widespread apathy is the old faces'candidates offered to the public. Most of the contestants competing in this election are from old times, with old promises. People --understandably-- are tired. But then, as the campaign geared up to its final days, I sense a different mood amongst the people. People are starting to pay attention. Gossips spread around the corner, about this candidate and that candidate. On my way to work, people on the train, in foodstalls just across the station, on buses, anywhere, started to compare their judgment about what our future will be, if this candidate or that candidate, win the election. More and more people start to register themselves as voters. In the last legislative election, many people were not eligible to vote because they failed to register themselves in advance at the village/sub-...

Riyadi Suparno , The Jakarta Post , Paris | Fri, 03/20/2009 1:10 PM | Headlines After sinking deep during the financial crisis, Indonesia has now entered the club of the world's fastest growing economies, but it needs further economic reforms and liberalization to gain more from international trade. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in its latest report "Globalization and Emerging Economies" released in Geneva on Thursday, includes Indonesia among the world's best performing large developing economies. Indonesia now sits alongside Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in a group the OECD calls BRIICS. "The inclusion of Indonesia into BRIICS is a recognition of the importance and size of the country, the situation relative to OECD member countries, and the desire of OECD countries to engage in it more closely," Douglas Lippoldt, acting head of the Development Division at the Trade and Agricultural Directorate of...

Well, we're advancing fast toward the election now. Almost everybody is ready by now. All parties have geared up their campaign machinery, and now seems like have exhausted everything possible on their effort to win. But, somehow, I dont think this election will really deliver a genuine chance for Indonesian to have a real, elected representatives to fight for their interests. First of all, there is the question of money. Indonesian politics are expensive. If you want a shoot and try to join the big league --i.e. the national parliament-- you have at least have several hundred millions rupiah at your disposal. A friend of mine said he spent almost 200 million IDR within six months of campaigning. And thats small numbers, compared with what the others has spent. Because of that, only rich people can compete in this election. To cover their lack of power-base, they hire local people to act as their liason officer in the field. They spread money, arrange public meeting, and mobiliz...

This year, Indonesia will face two election: the general election for legislative body's members --from local councillor in district level, to provincial and state parliaments-- and the presidential election. The first one will takes place next April 9th, whilst the second one on July 5th. Unlike the previous election in 2004, the general mood this time is a little different. In 2004, everyone anticipated the coming election with excitement. Five years ago, we experienced our first ever direct presidential election. Before, our head of state always picked by a handfull members of the People's Representative Assembly, a sort of Indonesian version of the US Congress. In 2004, we were also eager to end our political landscape's turmoil. We had a very fragmented coalition back then. At first, after the 1999 election, we had Central Axis Coalition, consists of Golkar and a few Islamic parties as the ruling coalition. That coalition collapse halfway, resulting an impeachment of t...

Lin Che Wei, Jakarta If everything goes well, in 2050 Indonesia will be the tenth largest economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The top 10 largest economies will consist of five of the old G7 economic powers -- the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany and France -- while the other five will consist of newly emerging economies, namely China, India, Brazil, Russia and Indonesia. The emerging five will be cumulatively bigger than the old five (61 percent compared to 39 percent). This means that the emerging market countries will be playing a much bigger role than the developed economic powers in 2050. This forecast is, however, based on certain crucial assumptions regarding macroeconomic, human resource and political conditions. If, and only if, these assumptions turn out to be valid will this forecast be realized. Thus, the road to prosperity will most assuredly not be just a walk in the park. It is bound to be bumpy and hazardous. Four out of the five e...