Jakarta Post articles from December 2011

Jakarta Post archives from December 2011

Cultural events, glitzy parties mark year's end.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Denpasar Bali will welcome the New Year by organizing various cultural and community events, adding to the joyous atmosphere of year-end festivities. The Denpasar administration will celebrate the end of the year...

Govt looking over Sampang.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said that the Religious Affairs Ministry should step forward in handling interreligious conflicts, including the latest incident in...

'Lavish' New Year celebrations banned in Aceh.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Hotli Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh Many people in Aceh intend to enjoy New Year's Eve in their own way despite the local authorities' usual ban on celebrations. The Aceh administration, which has implemented sharia...

Minister asks Bima regent to scrap permit.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said on Friday he had requested West Nusa Tenggara administration to scrap the mining permit of PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara (SMN) after two...

No Paper.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, In connection with the New Year celebration, The Jakarta Post will not be published on Sunday, Jan.1, 2012, and will resume publication on Monday. Readers can follow the latest news updates on www.thejakartapost.com...

Discourse : No rift in personalities or policy between President and me: FM.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Rumors of a rift between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa made media reports early this week in the wake of a number of events that seemed to highlight the...

AGO performed poorly in 2011.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Attorney General's Office (AGO) acknowledged on Friday that it had failed to take the lead in the country's bureaucratic reform and had not performed well in law enforcement. The office could understand...

Jakarta's main streets ready for New Year's celebrations.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharuddin Djafar said on Friday that the police would not close any of the city's main streets on New Year's Eve. "It will be conditional. But currently, there are no...

Govt complacency triggers Mesuji deadly land dispute.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, This is the second of two reports on a deadly conflict between farmers and plantation companies allegedly backed by the police in the Mesuji area located on the border of Lampung and South Sumatra...

Saurip Kadi: A Controversial and Die-Hard General
December 31, 2011... Byline: Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Saurip Kadi made headlines in the past couple of weeks after screening video footage of a mass killing in Mesuji area, Lampung, in front of the House of Representatives' legal...

Video shows only fragments of deadly Mesuji incident.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, The disturbing images of the aftermath of a deadly brawl in plantation company PT Sumber Wangi Alam's (SWA) campsite still linger in the mind of Habibur Efendi. He was among the first people to...

Amendments should be made in 2012.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta: Proposals for the amendment of the Constitution should be submitted to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in early 2012, otherwise the lawmakers won't have enough time to finish it. Jimly...

Ministry orders six Sukhoi jet fighters.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta: The Ministry of Defense has ordered six Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MK2 jet fighters for the Indonesian Air Force. Deputy Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said his office had handed over the contract to...

Police, court officials top list of judicial mafia reports.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Attorney General's Office pledged on Friday that it would launch a probe into 51 reports on alleged corrupt prosecutors as reported by the Presidential Judicial Mafia Task Force. "We...

KPK told to find the missing link.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Bribery convict Paskah Suzetta says the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) must be able to find the missing link between those who accepted bribes and the ones that offered them in the 2004...

Rp 26 trillion planned for poor students.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Education and Culture Ministry has apparently raised public expectations by saying that it plans to allocate Rp 3.9 trillion (US$425.1 million) to help more than six million poor students throughout the...

Lake Toba Festival ends with lack of enthusiasm.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan The Rp 2 billion (US$220,000), four-day Lake Toba Festival (PDT) ended on Friday on a downbeat note due to the lack of enthusiasm from visitors to the annual event. Held in the tourist city...

Mt. Slamet popular for celebrations.
December 31, 2011... Some 1,000 climbers are expected to celebrate New Year's Eve on the peak of Mount Slamet in Purbalingga, Central Java. According to the organizers, more than 700 people had registered as of Friday to climb the biggest volcano in the province....

Police top list of human rights violators.
December 31, 2011... Police officers in Central Sulawesi and North Sumatra have been recorded as the top violators of human rights in their respective provinces. Meanwhile, 16 police personnel in the Central Java Police have been dismissed during 2011 due to various...

Mayor probed over alleged graft case.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Bandung BANDUNG: Bandung Prosecutor's Office grilled Bandung Mayor Dada Rosada on Friday over the alleged misuse of 2009-2010 social aid package worth Rp 40 billion (US$4.4 million). The probe was carried out...

Forged banknotes rampant in Kupang.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Kupang KUPANG: The Bank of Indonesia's (BI) Kupang office has reported that it confiscated Rp 146.5 million (US$16,115) in forged bills, primarily in denominations of Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000, in East Nusa Tenggara...

Floods still grip residents in Jambi.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jambi JAMBI: Hundreds of residents in Bungo regency were still isolated by floods as the local government declared state of emergency. According to data at the Bungo Disaster Mitigation Center, those isolated from...

Editorial: Resolutions.(Editorial)
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, he nature of news too often focuses on bad, sad and disparaging events. The worst of human nature appears when brothers and sisters, out of greed, begin to deride and assault one another. This has been seen on the...

Internet penetration and the connected archipelago.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Aulia Masna, Jakarta Recently, there has been discussion about the behavior of Indonesians online as well as the potential growth , of the number of people using the Internet. We found out that the top five online activities by...

Arson of Shiite 'pesantren', illiteracy and local leaders.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Khairil Azhar, Jakarta The hope that this December will last in peace was shattered by the torching of a Shiite Islamic traditional school in Sampang, Madura, on Thursday. If we ask the opinion of a Jakartan Sunni preacher this...

Challenges to the internationalization of higher education.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Hafid Abbas, Jakarta During the last few weeks, there has been a controversial debate over the draft of the Higher Education Act. This draft was planned to be adopted by the parliamentary session by the end of 2011. However, due to...

Letter: Is belief in God rational?
December 31, 2011... The statement "the existence of God is very, very improbable" is complete nonsense. Since God -- if he does exist -- does not belong to the empirical world, empirical sciences (physics, biology, psychology, etc.) cannot make any statements about...

Letter: Is there a God?
December 31, 2011... Maybe, or maybe not. Who cares? Serritella calls it "God", Hawking names it "gravity". It is something to explain why there is anything, to give reason to existence. If there is such thing, must we humans honor it, worship it, praise it,...

Text Your Say: Political breakups.
December 31, 2011... The irony is that no one seems to care about these resigned deputies, the quality of public service in this country is very low anyway. Harja These are really worrying statistics. It looks like deputies put their self interest before their...

Issues: Mudflow no burden in my bid: Bakrie.
December 31, 2011... Dec. 27, Online Golkar Party chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie dismissed on Tuesday the possibility that the Lapindo mudflow could be a major hurdle in his electability in the 2014 presidential election. "[The Sidoarjo mudflow] is not a...

Police say Jakarta sees fewer crimes in 2011.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A spike in rape and murder cases made headlines in 2011, sending a grim signal that the city has become increasingly unsafe. But the police claim that the capital has seen fewer crimes this year. The...

Govt promises solution to GKI Yasmin church.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government has vowed to seek a peaceful solution to a protracted dispute over the existence of a church in Bogor, West Java. Speaking to journalists on Friday, Cabinet Secretary...

Governor Fauzi claims success in 2011.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Despite criticism over his failure to address the city's traffic woes and flood problems, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo claimed in his year-end speech that the city had achieved improvements in economy, health...

1,600 firefighters to secure New Year's Eve.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: The Jakarta Fire and Disaster Management Department said on Friday that it was on standby to protect the city from possible fires during the New Year's Eve festivities on Saturday. Department head...

Man robbed in taxi, dumped on road.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: The West Jakarta Police are hunting three men who robbed and beat a resident of Grogol, West Jakarta, before throwing him out of a taxi. "The incident happened at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday," Adj....

Fire at Pertamina building in C. Jakarta.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: A fire was reported on the third floor of the Pertamina building on Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta, on Thursday night. The blaze was reported at 9:05 p.m. and was brought under control by 10:30...

BORN approves acquisition plan, names new boss.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Shareholders of coal miner PT Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal (BORN) formally approved on Friday the company's plan to buy a 23.8 percent stake in London-listed Bumi Plc. from the widely diversified...

Blue-chip shares shine in sluggish market.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Although the average increase in share prices on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) was only 3 percent, a number of blue-chip shares closed the year with gains of more than 20 percent. Gudang Garam shares...

Power use to decline 15% in New Year.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta State power company PT PLN predicted that the country's electricity consumption between Christmas and New Year's would decline by between 10 and 15 percent from average work day...

Govt plans special agency for infrastructure.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: The government will establish a special financial agency to finance infrastructure projects in the country, the country's top economic minister has said. Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta...

Surviving the high-potential experience.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Preston Bottger and Jean-Louis Barsoux, Congratulations, you've just made it into your company's accelerated development program. Sounds great, right? After all, now that you're officially a high-potential employee, you can expect to...

Andreas Ananto Kagawa: On a rising cloud.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Burhanuddin Abe, Contributor, Jakarta By November 2011 Andreas Ananto Kagawa had held the position of Country Manager of VMWare Indonesia for exactly one year. In his hands, the company which is a pioneer in virtualization and cloud...

Is your company ready if the euro collapses?
December 31, 2011... Byline: Nuno Fernandes, On Dec. 5th Standard & Poor's warned of a possible mass ratings downgrade for 15 euro zone countries, including the six with a AAA rating (Germany, France, Austria, The Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg). This...

Turning Kendari into the next Jepara.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Feri Latief and Fergus Jensen, Contributor, Jakarta The chairman of the Prosperous Sustainable Forest Cooperative, Warma Syahmedi, 40, has an interesting tale. The migrant from West Java openly admits that before he was active in...

New record returns to roots, offers music from the heart.
December 31, 2011... Byline: Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta It has been a tremendously busy year for Gugun Blues Shelter (GBS). The local blues band completed its third United Kingdom tour, culminating in a performance at the Hard Rock Calling...

Manohara to pray, not party on NYE.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: Instead of partying, model and actress Manohara Odelia Pinot plans to hold a Koran recital at her home to mark the end of the year. The 19-year-old said she had invited some orphans living near...

Ayu Azhari releases cookbook.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: Having remained quiet for quite awhile, actress Ayu Azhari is making a comeback. But this time, she is returning not with a movie or a single but with a cookbook. The 42-year-old has released a...

Atiqah to act with Korean singer.
December 31, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta JAKARTA: Actress Atiqah Hasiholan will be sharing the screen with a Korean singer in her latest film, Hello Goodbye. The 29-year-old will act with famous Korean musician Jo Sung-hyun, or Eru as he is...

Shiite property burned down.
December 30, 2011... A property compound belonging to the Shiite community in Sampang, Madura, was allegedly burned down by Sunni followers, the majority Islamic group in the country. The incident serves as a caution for the nation's inter-religious relations. ...

Govt ponders incentives for Indonesian restaurants abroad.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Following the West Sumatran dish rendang being dubbed as one of the world's most delicious foods by CNN's travel guide, the government is considering providing Indonesian restaurants abroad with incentives....

Mesuji killings exaggerated, questions rife over motives.
December 30, 2011... The claims by a group that at least 32 people have been killed since 2008 as part of a brutal conflict between villagers and palm oil companies allegedly backed by the police, cannot be verified. A recent investigation by The Jakarta Post in...

Central government 'should issue permits'.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Business associations from both the palm oil and mining sectors have suggested that the central government should reclaim the authority to issue operating permits to private companies. The associations...

Embattled GKI Yasmin wants action from President.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Parishioners at GKI Yasmin Church said on Thursday that they appreciated the President's supportive statements toward the beleaguered church but hoped that the talk would be transformed into real action. ...

Ethnic group plays victim to justify illegal land trade.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Recently circulated video footage displaying brutal killings purportedly by security personnel in Lampung and South Sumatra have shocked the nation. Allegations of human rights abuses have been...

Three different areas, actors and causes.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Register 45 residents vs PT Silva Inhutani Lampung The Forestry Minister issued a decree in 1997 granting PT Silva Inhutani Lampung the right to manage 43,100 hectares of land in the Register 45...

Scene: First Lady suffering from typhus.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA: First Lady Ani Yudhoyono is being hospitalized because she has contracted typhus, a doctor has said. "She was diagnosed with typhus and still has a fever," Dr. Aris Wibudi, one of the presidential...

Scene: Land conflicts multiply in 2011.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA: The Indonesian Farmers Union has said that the number of land conflicts across the nation multiplied by more than five times this year to 120 cases, compared with 22 cases recorded last year. "This data...

Thousands on haj waiting list.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta More than 1.5 million Indonesians will have to wait for their turn to visit Mecca for haj pilgrimage, and with the current quota issued by the Saudi Arabian government, some could wait for up to 12 years. ...

BPK defends integrity of its audit.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has denied accusations that it succumbed to political pressure in the completion of its second-round audit of the Bank Century bailout. The BPK claimed it carried out its...

RI remains global bird flu 'hot spot'.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Elly Burhaini Faizal, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The number of bird flu infections has declined over the past few years, but Indonesia remains the virus' "hot spot", as backyard poultry farms remain the backbone in supplying meat for...

Until the bitter end, SBY mum on task force.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Even after the expiration of the two-year tenure of the Judicial Mafia Task Force, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has yet to give the final say-so on whether to extend its term. "I...

Your ultimate health resolutions for 2012.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Dita Ajani, Contributor, Jakarta Revive your lifestyle by introducing more healthy habits into your daily routine in the upcoming year. Whether you plan to shape up, slim down, declutter your mind or all of the above, here are some...

Editorial: Trendy 'political divorce'.(Editorial)
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, The trend of political breakups between heads of regional administrations and their deputies before completion of their term is a very regrettable and disappointing fact for voters, who elect pairs of leaders in the...

A man of God, a man of humanity.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Moh Yasir Alimi, Semarang Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, the fourth president of Indonesia, a great ulema and a man of humanity, is no longer with us, but he is not dead. Neither is he in the grave. He lives in us. His human touch...

Prioritizing climate change adaptation.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Haruhiko Kuroda, Manila Rising, warming and increasingly acidic seas threaten the very survival of Pacific island countries. The retreat of glaciers and snowfields in the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau jeopardize these "water towers" on...

Bloody Bima clash may lead to distrust of the 'sultan'.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Muhammad Adlin Sila, Bima, West Nusa Tenggara With 2012 just around the corner, Bima stepped into the limelight both nationally and internationally. The region has been the center of increased attention, as conflict between protesters...

2012: Yudhoyono's final chance to curb corruption.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Donny Syofyan, Padang The New Year is approaching. As it is less than one week away, this is a great time to review and reflect on the previous year while preparing for the year to come. It is motivating to reflect on the...

Letter: Wanted: Corruption-free leader.
December 30, 2011... I refer to an article titled "Anas' fate is said to rest with SBY," (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 27.) Despite intensive attacks against Anas Urbaningrum in connection with his alleged involvement in Muhammad Nazaruddin's corruption cases, the...

Letter: Stop religious discrimination.
December 30, 2011... All the religions in the world have been preaching for peace and harmony among others and have equally condemned adventurism that nurtured hatred and religious confrontation. Every Messenger of Allah ensured peace and harmony on Earth and for...

Text your say: Violence erupts in Bima.
December 30, 2011... Your comments on the incident that killed two people and wounded dozens as police used force to end a protest by local residents rallying against a mining company in Bima regency, West Nusa Tenggara: I see similarities in what happened at...

Issue: Is it rational to believe in God?
December 30, 2011... Dec. 22, p. 7 The world's most famous physicist Prof. Stephen Hawking has declared that God does not exist. Hawking joins the opinion of several other world-class scientists like Richard Dawkins, Peter Atkins, James Watson, Victor Stenger...

Island in focus: Hundreds of rice fields at risk of crop failure.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, KEBUMEN: Floods have engulfed hundreds of hectares of rice fields in several villages in Puring district, Kebumen regency, Central Java, causing crop failures for thousands of farmers in Sidobunder, Sidodadi and...

Island in focus: Ex graft defendant to join gubernatorial race.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, SUBANG: Former graft defendant, Subang Regent Eep Hidayat, who was earlier accused of misusing Rp 14.29 billion from the regency budget, registered himself on Thursday as a West Java gubernatorial hopeful at the...

Boy dies of malnutrition in Flores.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang A young boy died of malnutrition in a village known for its fertile land in Lewolema district in the regency of East Flores. Four-and-a-half-year-old Fransiskus Timu died after days of medical...

Mataram hosts physics contest.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram The final round of the international educational contest World Physics Olympiad (WoPhO) was opened on Wednesday night in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. The six-day event was participated in by...

Bosscha researchers to monitor initial solar storms.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung Researchers at the Bandung Institute of Technology's (ITB) Bosscha Observatory have been intensively monitoring initial solar storms that are expected to peak between September 2012 and...

Police bust drug dealers plotting New Year's Eve distribution.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Only days after breaking a major bootleg ring in the city, the Jakarta Police narcotics unit struck another jackpot this week by unraveling an international narcotics network planning to distribute illegal...

Elevated road work 'faster than planned'.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Andreas D. Arditya, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Public Works Agency claims that the construction of two elevated roads in Central and South Jakarta is going faster than planned. "We have completed around half of the work as of...

Greater Jakarta: City to reprimand contractor over sloppy relay.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA: The Jakarta Public Works Agency may reprimand the company contracted to build a pair of culverts along Jl. Jend. Sudirman in South Jakarta for failing to relay the road properly. Novizal, the agency...

Greater Jakarta: Council to decide on Prijanto next week.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA: The City Council will hold a plenary meeting to reach its conclusions in relation to the resignation of Jakarta Deputy Governor Prijanto, who submitted his resignation letter earlier this week. Council...

Greater Jakarta: Workers block Tangerang-Merak turnpike.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA: Thousands of workers from 20 labor unions blocked the Tangerang-Merak turnpike at kilometer 28-800, near Bitung toll gate, after they failed to conduct a long march from Tangerang municipality to the Banten...

Greater Jakarta: Antique cannons seized from Thai collectors.
December 30, 2011... Byline: The Jakarta Post, TANGERANG: Customs and excise officers have foiled an attempt to smuggle two antique cannons from Indonesia to Thailand through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Oza Olivia, head of the customs office at the...

Purple sweet potato will be Bali's next hot product.
December 30, 2011... Balinese purple sweet potato will soon become a hot product following local researchers' findings that it has healing properties and the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs to process it into syrup and wine. Starting next year, food products made...

Traditional fishermen get better facilities.
December 30, 2011... Byline: Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar The Fishery and Maritime Affairs Ministry presented on Thursday assistance packages to traditional fishermen in a couple of areas in Bali as part of a national program to provide fishermen...