Global Voices » Indonesia

Indonesia: Lady Gaga's Concert Permit Denied

Carolina Rumuat — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:33:01 +0000

After being pressured by conservative politicians and hardline groups, which branded Lady Gaga as a devil worshiper, the Indonesian police announced that it won't issue a permit to the highly anticipated Lady Gaga concert in Jakarta, leaving over 50,000 fans disappointed.

@HeyPotterhead: Lady Gaga's concert better not be cancelled. I did NOT fell in line for 8 hours for nothing! Stupid FPI #IndonesiaSavesGaga #BTWBallGBK

FPI or the Islamic Defenders Front is an influential religious group which often campaigns against ‘anti-Islamic' activities and ideas. In this particular case, Lady Gaga was accused of corrupting the morality of young Indonesians.

One of the promotional merchandise items of the Lady Gaga concert. From the twitpic page of @youngdancers

Lady Gaga fans, who were called ‘little monsters', have criticized the government's decision:

@ginaignasia: Apa hak nya. Gue yang nabung&cari calo susah2, nyekal2 seenaknya. #IndonesiaSavesGaga #GagaIsAmazing #monsterpower #BurnFPIdown

@ginaignasia: What right do they have. I'm the one who have been saving up; looking hard for scalpers, then you suddenly ban the concert.

@akibaryou: Save Mother Monster! Save the freedom of expression! The cancellation is proof of how our country has lost its priority.#IndonesiaSavesGaga!

@Ray_owl: FPI is embarrassing Indonesia internationally! #IndonesiaSavesGaga RT @lanaaisya: FPI is being a hypocrite. #saveladygaga

@NickyYuventius: Yang bikin gue bingung adalah polisi yg beralasan gaga itu porno. APA KABAR KONSER DANGDUT? PREEEET!

@NickyYuventius: What I found odd was the police giving an excuse saying that Gaga (act) is pornographic. What about dangdut concerts?

Dangdut, an Indian influenced folk music, is very popular in Indonesia. The dance moves of Dangdut performers are oftentimes sexy and erotic.

Meanwhile, the Christian Indonesian Church Council (PGI) supported the concert arguing that it's a part of the country's freedom of expression.

Not all politicians found Lady Gaga's performance racy. Lawmaker Ahmad Basarah, who is a Muslim, told newspaper The Jakarta Globe that the national police should be fair when it comes to protecting the nation's values, whether it's against liberal-capitalistic ideas or Middle Eastern ideologies.

Here are more reactions on Twitter:

@danielvk: Religious mafia manipulates democracy & freedom to rob the freedom of others. Don't tolerate intolerance! #saynotohate #indonesiasavesgaga

@DanielZiv: It's not a matter of #IndonesiaSavesGaga, it's more like whether Gaga can save Indonesia.And really, Indonesia needs to save itself from this extremist nonsense, Gaga or no Gaga.

Indonesia: Soldier Loses His Temper in the Street

Agung Harsya — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:42:29 +0000

Early this month, a two-minute video clip of an armed-man confronting a civilian in Indonesia circulated on YouTube and became a trending topic on Twitter.

The video, “Koboy Palmerah”, literally means “Palmerah Cowboy”. Palmerah is a busy street in west Jakarta. It showed a man with white t-shirt confronting a motorcyclist after they were both involved in a crash. The man brandishing a pistol and a stick opened fire into the air more than once. The license plate of the “cowboy” car reportedly belongs to an Indonesian military officer.

Here are some reactions of netizens. Raihan wrote in his blog:

Setelah bolak-balik memutar Video Koboy Palmerah ini, saya menyangka aparat lieur ini habis nonton film The Raid, berambisi mungkin untuk menjadi pemeran utamanya…

…Kalau aparat sudah berlagak koboy begini masihkan bisa disebut Pelindung, Pelayan, dan Pengayom Masyarakat?

After watching the video over and over again, I think the soldier got confused after watching The Raid (a box office action Indonesian movie), maybe he wants to be included in the movie…

…If an officer acts like a cowboy, can we still call him ‘to protect and serve the people'?

Some Twitter reactions:

@dtgbulan: yg namanya menembak sipil itu tetap melanggar hukum

@dtgbulan: Shooting a civilian is still breaking the law

@budiman_hakim: “Kadispen TNI AD: “Tindakan Koboy Palmerah hanya untuk membela diri.” Do you expect people to accept that?

@budiman_hakim: (citing head of communication division Indonesian national Army): ‘Koboy Palmerah reacted to defend himself'. Do you expect people to accept that?

@littlemoodycat: is this what policemen do these days???

@arisetyo: parah, malu-maluin banget kelakuan aparat negara ini..

@arisetyo: Sick! What a shame.

@asepbs: Wrong man behind the gun in the wrong place

@FadjarArianto: jika bertemu dgn Kapten Arluthfi (Koboy Palmerah), mari kita sama2 pukul kepalanya dgn pentungan! #ArogansiTNI

@FadjarArianto: If we meet Kapten Arluthfi (Koboy Palmerah) le'ts hit him in the head with a stick! #ArrogantArmy

One day after the incident, police admitted that there's a car grazed in the location shown in the video. According to Tempo, the car driver is a captain in the army and the motorcyclist is a civilian. Because of the incident, the military police came and brought the captain to their station. Military police will follow up the investigation.

Meanwhile, the soldier came up with his version. In a statement given by the head of communication of the Indonesian national army, he said the gun he used was only an airsoft gun. He lost his temper because the motorcyclist yelled at him and banged at his window.

May Day Videos: Marches, Demonstrations and Protests Around The World

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:08:19 +0000

Through cities around the globe, people took to the streets to march and commemorate the International Workers' Day. Videos by The Real News take us on a tour of how the day was observed throughout the world.

May Day March in Venezuela

While some places saw peaceful marches, others had violent encounters between armed forces and the protesters. On the first part of the video, an overview of workers in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. For example, Malaysian activists protested against the growing inequality. In the Philippines were for job security and higher wages. Indonesians protested low wages and rough conditions. Cambodians asked for higher wages. People in Bahrein asked for workers to be reinstated to their positions of which they were removed by the government crackdowns. In Egypt protests were on behalf of including workers rights in the constitution that is being drafted. In Europe, workers protested austerity measures that seem to target them. In Russia, both the ruling party and the opposition had their own rallies. The French left marched against the past of fiscal austerity. And in the London, where May Day is not a holiday, workers went on strike.

On the second part, protests in North and South America. Demonstrations throughout Canada protesting budget cuts and rises in college tuition. In the USA, banks were targeted in many major cities including clashes with riot police, calls to strikes, and blockades. In Mexico workers marched to ask the government to do a better job in the face of violence. Honduras saw protests against the privatization of public services as well as corruption. In Cuba, massive parades commemorated the Cuban Revolution and in Venezuela both the government supporters and opposition marched, either for or against the recent reforms. In Colombia there were arrests during the protests and the Chilean student movement also marched.

Indonesia: Geography Lesson For Justin Bieber

Agung Harsya — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:29:07 +0000

In a recent interview during an event in London, Justin Bieber cited Indonesia as “random country” and no wonder it made a trending topic on Twitter during the last week of April.

While explaining the creative process for one of his new tracks, Bieber said that it was recorded in some “random country”. His manager, Scott Braun, interjected by saying it was produced in Indonesia. “I recorded it in a studio. Some little place. They didn't know what they were doing,” Bieber continued.

Bieber has a big following in Indonesia. He had a one day concert in Jakarta attended by ten thousand people last year. His poor sense of geography broke the hearts of his fans and made him an easy target for a banter in the internet.

Justin Bieber in Indonesia. From Twitpic page of @AnisOphelia

And netizen raise their voices to criticize the superstar:

@BarryLikumahuwa Random country? Thanks Bieber, but we got the biggest Jazz festival, even bigger than Canada's own Montreal Jazz Fest.. *boo-yah*

@anonbeliebers A Belieber Confessed: Justin Bieber said that Indonesia is some random country…. I'm sad about it. :((

@kartika_mariana don't judge my lovely country with word random. You not something without your fans here. Understand kid!@justinbieber

@kartika_mariana here, in the random country you have fans! Your statement can make them sad.@justinbieber

@mariastephani you know @justinbieber .. you`re saying my country as RANDOM COUNTRY.. I know you`ve apologise. But, ITS TOO LATE

@thaliaviotama #IHATEJUSTINBIEBER on TT because of he said “random country” to Indonesia? Honestly, I just dislike his words.

@AcilEnor You said indonesia as a random country!!! You're a random singer!! You are a boy with no manner!! Lallalallalallla

@INDOADOREBIEBER HE thought Bali was a name of a country and he forgot to say ‘Bali' so he said “some random country”

Last but not the least, there's also netizens who defended the young star:

@pwgdochi Random country kan artinya bukan negara ga jelas, tapi dia (menurut berita) rekaman di negara acak yg ga direncanakan, y u so stupid

@pwgdochi He didn't mean ‘nowhere land' by saying random country, but it's a country selected randomly that he didn't plan to record his song

Indonesia: Documenting HIV/AIDS in Papua

Mong Palatino — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:27:16 +0000

Against All Odds is a Tumblr blog of Andri Tambunan who has been documenting the HIV/AIDS epidemic among indigenous Papuans in Indonesia.

Indonesia: Should Mosques Lower Prayer Volume?

Agung Harsya — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:58:24 +0000

In a speech delivered during the national congress of the Indonesian Board of Mosques (DMI) last week, Vice President Boediono sparked a debate when he suggested that mosques should lower the volume of loudspeakers during the daily prayer call.

Mosques in Indonesia use loudspeakers to broadcast the “adzan” five times a day reminding people to pray. Boediono warned that the loud volume might disturb other people, including fellow Muslims. He added that a less noisy call to prayer is more likely to enter a person's heart rather than loud sounds.

But many Indonesians advised Boediono to address other more important issues. Blogger happydsf [id], voices his concern:

Grand Mosque Al-Mashun. Photo from Flickr page of hophoptuing (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Sungguh disayangkan, bahkan sepertinya negara ini ingin mengintimidasi kebebasan warga muslim, di negaranya sendiri, yang notabene juga di sebut negara dengan jumlah penduduk muslim yang mayoritas. masih banyak hal yang harus diselesaikan para wakil rakyat daripada harus mengurusi pengeras suara untuk panggilan sholat.

Too bad that this country even tries to intimidate freedom of religion in the most populated Muslim nation. There are still a lot of problems that should be solved by the lawmakers rather than taking care of the prayer's call volume.

Another blogger, Tototapalnise [id], tries to understand the Vice President's message:

Namun, kalau kita coba cermati dengan hati dan kepala dingin, perkataan wapres tersebut merupakan teguran halus buat kita kaum musliman dalam menjaga kualitas para muadzin sekaligus kualitas sound system di masjid-masjid….

…Lalu kenapa kita umat muslim harus memasang muka marah dengan ucapan tersebut dan langsung naik pitam? Apakah sedemikian reaktifkah umat muslim Indonesia yang merupakan mayoritas di negeri ini dengan sebuah kritikan atau masukan?

If we try to think about it carefully, the statement is a soft warning for Muslim people to maintain the adzan's quality and also the mosques' sound system quality…

…So why we have to be angry with that and losing our temper? As the majority religion in the country, why are we so angry when we receive criticism?

Haris El Salman [id] said that the loudspeaker's volume has never been an issue in the real world:

Bukankan selama ini tenggang rasa antar pemeluk agama masih dalam tahapan yang baik? Bahkan di daerah saya masih ada masjid dan gereja yang hanya dipisahkan oleh sebuah dinding, namun belum pernah saya melihat atau mendengar terjadi pertentangan antara jemaat masjid dan gereja ditempat tersebut, mereka akur-akur saja menjalankan ibadah masing-masing…

…Bukankah ini hanya akan menimbulkan perdebatan-perdebatan yang tidak esensial? Mungkin maksud beliau baik, tapi tidak pada tepatnya. Great idea in the wrong place?

We still have great tolerance among different religions. In where I live, there's a mosque and a church only separated by a thin wall, but I never see a conflict between people. They get along together when practising their religions…

…It will only provoke non-essential arguments. His intention might be right, but not in the right place. Great idea in the wrong place?

There were also mixed reactions on Twitter [id]:

@fgaban: Dalam soal TOA, pernyataan Pak Boed itu otokritik bagus bagi Muslim Indonesia.

@fgaban: In case of the speaker's volume, Boediono's statement is a good self-criticism for Indonesian Muslims.

@anatriyana: Knp jd msalah? Selama ini kan adzan gak ganggu? RT @Yahoo_ID: Wakil Presiden Boediono meminta suara azan diatur supaya tdk trlalu kncang

@anatriyana: Why it should be a problem? All this time adzan has never been disturbing.

@gitaputrid: Sayah senang Wapres Boediono ngomong soal TOA masjid u/azan; minimal ada nyali berani buka front versus suara mayoritas.

@gitaputrid: I'm happy VP Boediono talked about speaker's volume for adzan. At least someone bravely started a discussion against the majority opinion.

Indonesia: The Curious Case of the Governor's Middle Finger

Agung Harsya — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:48:51 +0000

In the heat of his run for second term as Jakarta's Governor, Fauzi Bowo sparked controversy when netizens exposed his picture giving a middle-finger salute.

The incident took place two weeks ago when the governor attended a youth event at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. As he stood between a girl and a boy, he was seen raising his middle finger imitating the girl's gesture. Instead of earning admiration for supporting an event organized by young people, Fauzi, or more popularly known as Foke, was seen giving a bad example instead.

Jakarta Governor Foke Giving the Middle Finger Gesture. Photo from @SHANDYKIIDNAHS

As netizens expressed their shock and rage over the “indecent” behavior, Foke's spokesman said that the governor was only joking among young people who gathered for a band competition event. The governor claimed that he doesn't “understand those kinds of things”.

Many netizen can't hide their surprise:

@vankaay: baru nyadar, bapak fauzi bowo.. acungin jari tengah pas lagi rame rame sama komunitas motor. mau gaul atau gatau artinya pak?hualahh

@vankaay: Just realized, Mr. Fauzi Bowo's showing his middle finger when being around with bike community members. Do you want to mingle or don't you know what it really means?

@Ganyut: Fauzi bowo mulai berkampanye dgn mempromosikan jari tengah,..hidup jari tengah paak!,..lanjuuuutttt!!

@Ganyut: Fauzi Bowo started his campaign by promoting middle finger's salute. Viva the middle finger! Go on with it!

@ariefadjar: jargon kampanye yang akan diserukan oleh Fauzi Bowo adalah “FOKE YOU!!!” sembari mengacungkan jari tengah. :)))”

@ariefadjar: The campaign slogan for Fauzi Bowo is ‘Foke You!' with showing up middle finger.

Pangeran Siahaan wrote a column on the issue and tried to understand:

With his middle finger raised and the fatherly smile glued on his face, the same smile that can be seen on billboards around the capital, the governor looked cool and firm. It’s some sort of a non-verbal communication that reflects his thoughts on the people….

…What was a little bit baffling is that wasn't what the governor was thinking when he gave the gesture. His staff clarified that Fauzi wasn't aware of the figurative meaning behind the middle-finger salute and he was just imitating the band members standing next to him.

Jakarta's election will take place on July 11, but Foke has not been attending public debates with other candidates. After not showing up for a television debate, he also turned down a chance to face an open debate in University of Indonesia last week.

Indonesia: New General Election Law

Mong Palatino — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:55:39 +0000

Colson discusses the possible political impact of Indonesia's new General Election law.

Indonesia: Popular Minister Starts His Twitter Account

Agung Harsya — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:25:09 +0000

Dahlan Iskan, State Enterprises Minister, has caused another hype in the virtual world, especially among Indonesian Twitter users.

Last March 19, Dahlan caused a commotion at a tollgate in Jakarta after becoming upset by the long queue blocking his way. Dahlan had earlier instructed that there should be only five cars queuing at each ticket counter. That morning, he became upset finding many cars queuing and only two out of the four booths were open. Dahlan got out from his car and then lifted the barrier blocking the way to allow the vehicles, at least 100 cars, to pass without paying.

His action might be considered as excessive, but Jakarta's heavy traffic in the weekdays still remains a main issue in the capital so good traffic management is needed. His action generated a lot of buzz especially on social media.

Last week, he repeated the same trick but he targeted the wrong toll booth because the operator is a private corporation. He has apologized for that, but he still has public sympathy. Before the toll incident, Dahlan grabbed attention when he attended a minister meeting in Bogor (approximately 60km from Jakarta) by riding a train and ojek (a hired-motorbike) last December. He even spent a night in a farmer's house in Central Java last month, after helping out the farmer to gather eggs.

A few days ago, Dahlan launched his own twitter account, @iskan_dahlan. Six hours after posting two tweets, Dahlan is already being followed by almost 18,000 netizens.

And here are some reactions on Twitter

@TE8270: @iskan_dahlan selamat pa atas resminya akun twitternya, berarti sdh ada tempat kami rakyat utk langsung mengadu tentang pelayanan BUMN.

@TE8270: @iskan_dahlan Congratulations on your Twitter official account, so it means we as common people can inform you about state enterprises services directly.

@aforasri: Selamat datang di Twitter,pak @iskan_dahlan! :) Sudah banyak warga Twitterland yg menunggu kehadiran Bapak. *bahagia*

@aforasri Welcome to Twitter, there's already many Twitterland citizens awaiting your presence, sir. Happy.

@NajwaShihab: Pak @iskan_dahlan lagi buka akun twitter di @MataNajwa :D lockerz.com/s/200631892

@NajwaShihab (Metro TV presenter): “@iskan_dahlan is starting his twitter account.”

@jetsilvers: ayo pak Dahlan kuatkan stamina, lawan terus , gunakan media > people untuk lawan @iskan_dahlan #janganmenyerah aturan ga bagus ganti sj

@jetsilvers: Please sir, hold strong, keep fighting, use media people to fight against unfair rules.

@mamanyamilo: Pak @iskan_dahlan sekali2 naek commuter saat jam sibuk dong pak,biar ngerasain gmn padat n panasnya krn ac sering mati plus gangguan sinyal

@mamanyamilo: Sir, please find time just to try commuter train during busy hour so you can experience the inconvenience because the air conditioner is not working plus cellular network trouble

After a week on Twitter, Dahlan is still quite coy in using his new account. He has posted only 25 tweets but he already has more than 50,000 followers. It is understandable due to his full-day activities as a minister, but he found time to reply to a news item about the House of Representative (DPR) intention to use their interpellation rights to ask his policy.

@iskan_dahlan [replying to his follower's mention]: @rizalcalvary: Nih Dia ‘Dosa-Dosa' Dahlan Iskan Versi DPR: http://suarapengusaha.com/2012/04/13/nih-dia-dosa-dosa-dahlan-iskan-versi-dpr/” Tambah satu lagi: interpelasi!

@iskan_dahlan: @rizalcalvary [article's title] This is Dahlan Iskan's Sins in DPR Version” Add another one: interpellation!

Some netizens gave their support to Dahlan regarding the interpellation issue:

@DyanMeti: @iskan_dahlan saya salut sama Bapak yg membuat gelisah para oportunis d DPR yg kayak taman kanak-kanak ..hehehe

@DyanMeti: Salute to Mr. Dahlan Iskan who made opportunist people in DPR act like children.

@Sugito_btm: @DahlanIskanNote @iskan_dahlan interpelasi ini justru akan semakin menaikan pamor pak dahlan…lanjutkan dah interpelasinyahahahha

@Sugito_btm: This interpellation issue will only raise Dahlan reputation. Just continue your effort to interpellate [referring to the DPR].

Fuel Price Protests in Several Indonesian Cities

Carolina Rumuat — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:28:45 +0000

Several Indonesian cities were rocked by protests against petrol price hikes in the past few weeks. According to local media reports [id], violence marred some of the protests which resulted in injuries.

Initially, the Indonesian government was planning to raise the petrol price on April 1. There was no official statement about the adjusted petrol price. Currently the subsidized petrol known locally as Premium is sold at IDR 4,500 (USD 0.50) per liter. Without the state subsidy, Premium could cost around IDR 8,400 (USD 0.92) per liter.

Protesters near Parliament Building. Photo from Flickr page of Djembar Lembasono used under CC License

Gianrigo Marletta, a Jakarta-based video journalist posted the following video on YouTube.

The protests last month and the active military presence [id] in the cities to secure the protests somehow refreshed memories of the nation's past experience with fuel riots. Back in 1998, the country descended into chaos following the government's plan to increase the fuel price. Chinese-Indonesian shop houses were torched by furious mobs, somewomen were raped, student protesters were kidnapped and gunned down, and in the end, Indonesia's longest running president Suharto was forced to resign.

On his timeline, Twitter user @cuapolitik said that it's about time to increase the fuel price. He reasons:

3. Jk BBM tak naik, subsidi untuk solar premium th 2012 ini bs melonjak dari Rp123,6 T menjadi Rp191,1 T. #BBM
4. Pdhl, subsidi itu akan lbh brmanfaat kl dipake utk infrastruktur atau tuk peningkatan pendidikan n ksehatan. Lbh terasa utk rakyat. #BBM
5. Msyrakat yg krang mampu akan menikmati manfaat jk BBM subsidi naik. Sebab, msyrkat kurang mampu bukan konsumen BBM yang terbesar. #BBM
6. Harga jual bbm subsidi yg terlalu rendah dibanding di LN mendorong penyelundupan penyelewengan. Yg untung ya para penyelundup. #BBM
7. Krn subsidi, harga jual bbm subsidi di dlm negeri jauh lebih murah daripada harga barang yang serupa di negara2 tetangga. #BBM
8. Itu sebabnya, para penyelundup justru menikmati perbedaan harga ini, hingga merugikan keuangan negara dan kita semua #BBM
11. Slama ini org2 bilang pmrntah hanya ambil kbjakan menaikkan #BBM subsidi. Salah. Ada kbjakan lain utk atasi defisit. #BBM
17. Kbjakan subsidi ini adlh kbjakan dr masa lampau. Dl bs subsidi, krn kt eksportir. Tp skrg kt importir, n sdh keluar dr OPEC #BBM
18. Slain itu, dl knsumsi BBM kt rendah, jauh brbeda dgn skrg. Karenanya kbjakan subsidi hrs diubah perlahan. #BBM

If we don't raise fuel (prices), the subsidy for the diesel fuel and premium in 2012 will jump from IDR 123.6T to IDR 191.1T.
In fact, it would be better to allocate the subsidy (budget) for infrastructure, education, and health (improvements). The people would benefit more from them.
The least fortunate people will benefit more from the fuel price hike, because they're not the biggest fuel consumers.
The price of subsidized fuel is way too low compared to prices abroad, this triggers smuggling and misuse. Smugglers are the ones who benefit more from this.
Since they're being subsidized, the fuel prices in this country are far cheaper compared to the similar items in neighboring countries.
Therefore, smugglers are enjoying the price differences, they hurt our economy and all of us.
All these times people said that the government created a policy to raise fuel prices. That's wrong, it's a policy to control deficit.
The fuel subsidy is a policy from a by-gone era. At that time, we can have subsidy because we're an (oil) exporting country. Now we're an (oil) importing country, and we're no longer an OPEC member.
Furtheremore, back then our fuel consumptions were low, way different to what we are experiencing today. Hence, the subsidy policy has to change gradually.

Blogger Sony Haryo Prabowo wrote a post on his blog, saying that demonstrators in Makassar, Sulawesi, have wrongly targeted fuel resellers:

sekian banyak SPBU di Indonesia, Pertamina hanya memiliki 74 di antaranya (sumber: Pertamina Retail). Ribuan lainnya dimiliki oleh dealer (swasta). Dengan demikian, perbuatan para pendemo yang merusak SPBU telah membuat hilangnya lahan mencari nafkah bagi seorang wiraswasta, bahkan mereka juga menghilangkan lapangan kerja andai SPBU tersebut benar-benar berhenti beroperasi.

From numerous petrol stations in Indonesia (baring its name), Pertamina owns only 74 among them (source: Pertamina Retail). Thousands others are owned and managed by private owners. Therefore what the protesters have done by destroying petrol stations are forcing business owners to lose their daily bread, and terminate jobs for the employees if the stations stop to operate altogether.

Sony concluded:

Demo yang mereka lakukan juga menutup jalan, merusak kendaraan pribadi, bahkan kendaraan pengangkut minuman ringan ternama yang mungkin seringkali mereka minum. Saya ingin mengajak para pembaca berdiskusi dan merenung. Dalam demokrasi, demonstrasi memang boleh dilakukan, bahkan harus. Namun, harus selalu diingat bahwa demonstrasi harus dilakukan dengan dasar yang benar dan dengan akal sehat. Demonstrasi yang terjadi di Makasar ini membuktikan ada sebagian mahasiswa di Indonesia ini tidak menggunakan akal sehat dalam berpikir. Mereka hanya ingin melampiaskan apa yang mereka inginkantanpa berpikir apa kerugian yang mereka sebabkan. Bahkan lucunya lagi mereka melakukan demo seakan-akan tahu masalah yang mereka hadapi.

The protesters also blocked the streets, trashed private cars, even hijacked a known softdrink truck. I invite my readers to discuss and reflect. In democracy, demonstration may take place. However, we should start the protest with good base and reasoning. The protest in Makassar proves that some of the students in Indonesia don't use common sense. They only do what they want to do without reflecting on the loss they could cause. More ridiculously, they seemed to protest without understanding the real issue.

Twitter users have maximized the microblogging site to report clashes between the police and students in Jakarta. They also debated if the price increase is appropriate.

@ikovoz: Issue korban meninggal di bentrok salemba itu hoax. skg di RSCM 3 org mahasiswa dan 1 satpam yg msh dirawat

@ikovoz: The rumor about one died during the Salemba clash was a hoax. Now 3 students and 1 security guard are being treated in RSCM (Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital).

@LBH_Jakarta: Polisi melakukan sweaping ke LBH,47 ditangkap paksa.6 ditangkap di samping LBH.Total 52 org dibawa paksa ke Polda.

@LBH_Jakarta: Police was doing a security sweeping at the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), 47 students arrested by force. 6 arrested near LBH. Total of 52 students taken to the district police.

@komar_hidayat: Terlepas harga BBM naik atau tdk, apakah ada tanda2 nasib rakyat akan membaik?Terbuka lapangan kerja baru?

@komar_hidayat: Aside from the rising petrol price, is there any sign that says the people's life is improving? New jobs are available?

@BankDunia: 40% penerima manfaat langsung subsidi #BBM bagi rumahtangga adalah 10% rumahtangga terkaya

@BankDunia: 40% of those who benefit from the subsidy scheme are households, 10% of them are the well off households

Indonesia: Jakarta Governor Race Heats Up

Agung Harsya — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:01:31 +0000

A survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle showed that incumbent Fauzi “Foke” Bowo is leading in the Jakarta governor election. Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. Paired with Nachrowi Romli, Foke (as popularly called) has 49.1 percent chance of winning in the election. The popular candidates, Joko Widodo and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, meanwhile, are in the second position with 14.4 percent.

The survey is actually opposite with what many Jakartans feel. Some people think Foke can't manage Jakarta's main problems, such as traffic and the drainage.

@PokijanAcil: Kl sy bisa jalan 1km naik mobil, 1,5 jam. Thanks to macet jakarta. RT @tempodotco: Foke: Sy Bs Lari 10 Km Krg dr 1jam http://bit.ly/HujO4W

@PokijanAcil: ”By car I drove 1 km within 1.5 hours. Thanks to the traffic.” Regarding the medical test for the candidates, Foke said he can run 10 km with less than 1 hour

@adicumi_ratis: Mari bersama-sama kita dukung “FOKE MENJADI MANTAN GUBERNUR DKI JAKARTA”

@adicumi_ratis: ”Let's support Foke to be FORMER governor of Jakarta.”

Jakarta Governor Fauzi “Foke” Bowo. Photo from Flickr page of East-West Center

A harsh judgment came from @TrioMacan2000 who tweeted about the deterioration of Jakarta as capital of Indonesia:

jakarta adalah kota besar satu2nya di dunia yg gubernurnya menghilangkan lapangan sepakbola dan gantikannya dengan hotel

Jakarta is the only big city in the world where governor displaced a football field with a hotel

Jakarta adalah satu2 kota besar didunia yg minim transportasi massal. Hanya busway yg jadwalnya tak teratur, sumpek dan tak manusiawi

Jakarta is the only big city in the world with minimum mass transportation system. Only busway available with uncertain schedule, always packed with people, and inhuman conditions

Jakarta adalah satu2nya kota besar di dunia yg punya hutan kota kuramg dari 10% luas kotanya. Standar intenasional 40%

Jakarta is the only big city in the world with less than 10 percent of green area. International standard is 40 percent

Jakarta juga adaalah kota besar di dunia yg ada Mal di pusat kota yg berjarak hanya 2 meter dari jalan utama ( mal semanggi)

Jakarta is also a big city in the world with mall located downtown and only 2 meters away from main road (Semanggi mall)

Jakarta adalah satu2nya kota besar didunia yg tidak sediakan trotoar yg manusiawi utk warganya, taman/hutan kota pun minim, parkir apalagi [continued] Sarana gedung2 itu seperti : parkir, tempat ibadah, taman dst…sgt minim bahkan sering tidak ada. Dizinkan semua karena suap ke pemprov DKI

Jakarta is the only big city in the world without an adequate pedestrian lane for its people, minimum public park, and vehicle park, also [continued] building facilities such as car parks, prayer rooms, public parks, etc… almost unavailable. Everything permitted because the government is corrupt

Seand Munir, as written in Kompasiana, Indonesia's big blogging community, doesn't understand why Foke is confidently running for another term:

Tak ada sedikit pun prestasi Foke selama memimpin Jakarta. Tak ada rintisan perbaikan dan pembangunan apalagi pengatasan masalah-masalah rutin di Jakarta.

Apakah ini semata-mata benar dugaan orang orang bahwa pencalonan itu berkaitan dengan duit setoran balon ke partai?

There's none of Foke's achievement during his period. There is no improvement and development, not to mention Jakarta's regular problems.Or is it true with what people are thinking that election candidacies are based on the candidates' contributions to the party?

Another blogger, Sipiliang, was even harsher:

…Namun Foke tidak memanfaatkan kesempatan itu. Jakarta tambah semrawut. Bahkan untuk meneruskan pembangunan saja tidak. Gubernur berkumis ini malah membuka proyek-proyek baru yang penuh dengan uang setoran. Foke tidak berfokus pada pembangunan manusia Jakarta, yang tentu bukan masyarakat asli saja….

…Lupakan Fauzi Bowo, sekarang kita punya alternatif pilihan yang lebih baik.

… But Foke doesn't have the chance. Jakarta has become more chaotic. Foke can't even continue the city's development. Instead, the stashed figure developing new projects full with “tribute” money. Foke doesn't have any focus to improve Jakarta people, which is not only native Jakartans.”"…Forget Fauzi Bowo, we now have better candidates.

There are six pairs of candidates for the Jakarta governor election. The other candidates are Alex Noerdin-Nono Sampono, Hidayat Nur Wahid-Didik Rachbini; including two independent candidates, Hendardji Soepandi-Ariza Patria and Faisal Basri-Biem Benyamin.

Hashtags to Monitor Indonesia quake

Mong Palatino — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:13:31 +0000

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.5 hit Indonesia on April 11. The tremors were also felt in Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar. A tsunami alert was issued in several countries but it has been lifted already. Netizens use the hashtag #thaiquake, #prayforsumatera, and #prayformalaysia to monitor the quake impact.

Video: Alleged Tsunami Footage after the 11 April Indonesian Quake

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:35:41 +0000

On twitter, a video of a large wave crashing on a beach is making its rounds: some people share it as a video from the 11 April, 2012 Indonesian Quake, and others insist it is 2004 footage rehashed.

Indonesia: Promoting Sexual Rights

Mong Palatino — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:39:07 +0000

Irin tackles the difficulty of promoting gender and women rights in Indonesia. In particular, sexual violence victims are unable to seek redress because of ‘archaic' laws and traditions in the country

Southeast Asia Digital Library

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:24:20 +0000

The Southeast Asia Digital Library provides educators and students with materials published in Southeast Asia. The online library contains digital facsimiles of books and manuscripts, as well as multimedia materials and searchable indexes of additional Southeast Asian resources.