Readwrotes Blog

A visitor looks at a Indonesian traditional buffalo-shaped coffin on display during a coffin exhibition at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday. Coffins from various races in Malaysia and ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are on display at the exhibition. AP/Lai Seng Sin

Joseph Ernest Mambu ,  Salatiga   |  Tue, 04/06/2010 8:17 AM  |  Opinion The case of recently detained tax official Gayus Tambunan, allegedly involved in embezzling billions of rupiah, has further highlighted the urgent necessity of character education, which was revived again some time ago after a spate of plagiarism at university level. Being of a similar age to the 30-year-old new tycoon, I share almost the same experience of primary, secondary and tertiary education. That is, we are both products of the predominantly top-down culture, thanks to Soeharto’s New Order regime. I suspect he was a brand-new college student in 1998 (I was in my third year) when Soeharto’s de jure reign was over, leading to the advent of the so-called “Reformation Era”. The problem is that many of us, fellow young Indonesians, are still deeply rooted in Soeharto’s de facto character to varying degrees. Though as an ethnic Batak, Gayus may not have t...

Rizka Agustina ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 04/04/2010 10:42 AM  |  Sci-Tech As the BlackBerry smartphone strengthens its grip in Indonesia, domikado.com has entered the fray to offer a downloadable and potentially helpful application for all BlackBerry users. This free, locally-developed application offers a bunch of helpful information, ranging from eateries to current foreign exchange. Its website lists domikado as an old Indonesian children’s game, where a group of children gather in a circle, their hands on top of each other’s, and clap as they sing the lyrics to a song. The use of the name Domikado serves as a reminder of childhood times when life was easier and perhaps more fun. “With Domikado, life is definitely made easier, so you can enjoy the more fun things in life,” the site says. Domicado.com is accessible by all people, BlackBerry users or not, and provides categorized headlines compiled from vari...

Kurniawan Hari ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Hongkong   |  Sun, 04/04/2010 9:54 AM  |  Travel JP/Kurniawan Hari The baggage claim process is very efficient. I just needed to know the flight number and go to a designated area as shown on an LCD monitor. The conveyor belt is accessible from different sides, so passengers don’t crowd at one point to get their belongings. After clearing through immigration and getting my bags, I went to a counter to sign up for a public transport vehicle. While waiting for the bus, I marveled at the modernity of the airport — until I heard a woman’s raised voice in the familiar East Javanese dialect. “Who would make a phone call in voice that loud?” I thought to myself. As I turned around to pinpoint the source of the cacophony, I saw an Indonesian woman speaking into her cell phone. That’s right, the loud voice came from an Indonesian. And soon I realized that Hong Kong, just like Malaysia and S...

Fri, 04/09/2010 12:12 PM  |  People Kawanku/Yudha JAKARTA: Actress Sheila Marcia, 20, who recently gave birth to her first child said that she was now allowing the biological father of her daughter to meet them. Sheila, released from prison for drug charges this February said that the father of her daughter had visited them three times in the past two weeks. She declined to reveal the identity of the father. "He has visited, he has a good will, and my mother and I have no problems with that," Sheila said Wednesday as quoted by detik.com. Sheila added that while she recognized the man had fathered her daughter, Leticia, she would not necessarily reconcile with him. "I'm not thinking about any man. I'm not thinking about a husband. What I think about now is Leticia," Sheila said. - JP

Bagus BT Saragih and Rendi A. Witular ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 04/09/2010 9:49 AM  |  Headlines Getting his teeth into it: Former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji arrives at the House of Representatives to testify Thursday in a case of tax fraud that has implicated several top police officers. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama Lawmakers have alleged a  businessman has been running a case brokering network within the National Police, leaving almost no high-ranking police generals free from this web of alleged deals, fixes and illegality. The businessman, dubbed by lawmakers as Syahrial Djohan, is among seven people pinpointed by former detective chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji as big-shot case brokers during a closed-door hearing Thursday with the House of Representatives’ Commission III on law and human rights. Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo said after the hearing the brokers had clos...

Hans David Tampobolon ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 04/09/2010 10:17 AM  |  Headlines Never ran, never will: Megawati Soekarnoputri shakes hands with supporters of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) prior to her inauguration as chairwoman, at the Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur, Bali, on Thursday. JP/Zul Trio Anggono Megawati Soekarnoputri officially won the re-election as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief Thursday, but fell short of party promises to promote young figures to the second highest post. Instead, Megawati, who will lead the party for the third successive five-year term, handpicked seasoned politician Tjahjo Kumolo as the party’s secretary-general, replacing Pramono Anung who now holds no structural position. Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi told The Jakarta Post that Megawati’s decision to appoint a senior figure ...

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 04/09/2010 10:08 AM  |  Headlines The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) is a gold mine for Indonesia’s long-term growth, says the World Bank’s recently released Indonesian Economics Quarterly report. “Qualitatively, Indonesia is expected to benefit from increased access to the third-largest consumer market in the world; increased productivity, and efficiency in the domestic [market] resulting from greater competition,” it says. The sheer size of the ACFTA, which covers a population of almost 2 billion, offers potentially large trade creation benefits for Indonesia, it says, adding that the agreement should also result in reduced prices and greater choices for Indonesian consumers and producers. Indonesian businesses have strongly opposed the full implementation of the free trade agreement, saying it could result in the closure of many small companies unable to compete with an influx of...