Raft-Way, why not...

Man: Raft-Way, why not...

In what is becoming an increasingly nightmarish routine, Jakarta was once again crippled as a torrential rainstorm pounded the city rendering entire roads impassable due to flooding and leaving commuters trapped in vehicles for hours or forced to slosh through waist-deep water next to gridlocked traffic and paralyzed TransJakarta Bus-Way routes.

Kompas - September 29, 2010

Social justice for all

Man: Social justice for all Indonesians?

Widespread corruption, which pervades almost every aspect of Indonesian life, is estimated to cost the country's economy around Rp50 trillion (US$5.6 billion) a year or around 1.4% of GDP annually, just over half the US$9 billion allocated to government poverty alleviation programs in 2010.

Kompas - September 22, 2010

Purely a criminal act!

Police officer: Purely a criminal act!

Man: You forgot your magnifying glass Mr!

Pool of blood reads 'violence'

Ignoring eyewitness accounts and a history of repeated attacks by hard-line Islamic thugs, police have arrested a struggling poet and street singer over a September 12 assault on two church elders in Bekasi, insisting there is no evidence that the attack was religiously motivated.

Kompas - September 18, 2010

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika: The national motto, Unity in Diversity

1st Man: Doesn't it say there's freedom of worship?

2nd Man: It only say's it...

Experts are warning that Sunday's brutal attack on churchgoers in Bekasi by Islamic thugs is symptomatic of a growing religious intolerance in the country. Islamic leaders meanwhile defended a regulation requiring local consent to establish a house of worship, which advocates say discriminates against minority religious groups.

Kompas - September 15, 2010

New building design

Refugee: Wow the new building design... it's to house us right Mr?

Seemingly oblivious to the mounting chorus of public protest, lawmakers are pushing ahead with the planned construction of a lavish new building complex, which will cost taxpayers a whooping $200 million. The 65,000 people displaced by the Mt. Merapi eruption in Central Java meanwhile remain languishing in tents or makeshift refugee shelters due to a lack of disaster relief funds.

Kompas - September 1, 2010

Eradicating corruption

From an opinion piece in the Jakarta daily Kompas titled 'The House of Representatives and Eradicating Corruption'.

Kompas - September 1, 2010