Which one will win?

Kid: A wager Dad... the bicycle vs the horse... which one will win?

With recent surveys showing presidential candidate former New Order general Prabowo Subianto (who appears at campaign rallies on horse-back wearing military riding boots and traditional keris dagger) now trailing rival Joko Widodo (who's slogan is 'Simple, Honest and Close to the People') by just 3-4%, analysts predict that the July 9 election will be a tight race and neither will win with a landslide.

Kompas - May 31, 2014

Political contract

Hatta Rajasa, the running mate of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, has denied that the pair had ever promised a top cabinet position to Golkar Party chairperson Aburizal Bakrie following an earlier statement by Prabowo that he had offered Bakrie the position of 'chief minister' in return for Golkar's controversial support for his 'Red and White' electoral coalition.

Kompas - May 28, 2014

Think carefully

Writing on clown reads: Track record, transactional politics, political acrobatics, black campaigns. Ballot paper reads: Conscience.

Critics say people should think carefully before voting for former Suharto era general Prabowo Subianto in the July 9 presidential election (pipres) given his dark past and allegations of corruption hanging over leading members of the coalition of parties backing him, which itself was cobbled together based on promises of ministerial and cabinet posts.

Kompas - May 24, 2014

Thinking about our misfortunes

Man: Thinking about our misfortunes right Mr?

Now that the legislative elections are over, the political parties (parpol) have abandoned any pretence of representing the interests of their constituencies and turned their attention to manoeuvering to secure promises of future ministerial and cabinet posts in exchange for backing one of the two presidential tickets in the July 9 presidential election.

Kompas - May 21, 2014

Overseas junkets

Lawmakers, whose terms will end in October, are making sure that the whopping US$26 million budgeted by the House in 2013 for overseas junkets doesn't go to waste, with three groups of lawmakers visiting New Zealand in April and May to conduct so-called 'comparative studies' to gather information related to legislation (one group will visit the NZ parliament while it is in recess), which critics say can easily be obtained from the internet

Kompas - May 19, 2014

What kind of leader?

Kid: What kind of leader will we get? (newspaper reads 'Money Politics')

Although many like to portray presidential hopeful Joko Widodo as a refreshing departure from an aloof and elitist political establishment, while Prabowo Subianto is seen as an ex-military figure with a dark past who aspires to return the country to Suharto's 'good old days', rhetoric aside there is little to differentiate the two in terms of policy platform.

Kompas - May 17, 2014

Child sexual assault

Child sexual assault (kekerasan sexual) – which appears until now to have been rampant but widely ignored in Indonesia – has again made front-page news following reports of the rape of a 6-year-old at the Jakarta International School, sparking much soul-searching in the media and calls to impose harsher punishments on perpetrators. According to the national commission for child protection, there were around 3,000 reports of sexual abuse of minors in 2013, double the figure from five years ago.

Kompas - May 14, 2014

Moral crisis

Door reads: Intensive Care Unit. Sign on bed: Moral Crisis. Bed cover: Corruption, bribery, judicial mafia, money politics, violence, terrorism, racial, religious and ethnic conflicts, sexual harassment, lives lost, pedophilia... Drip reads: Pancasila.

Instead of addressing the root causes of the country's social problems, Indonesia's morally bankrupt political elite is again trotting out the state ideology of Pancasila – which was utterly discredited by Suharto's New Order dictatorship – as a cure-all for Indonesia's 'moral crisis'.

Kompas - May 10, 2014

We're ready to diet

Politicians: We're ready to pair up

Woman: We're used to 'dieting' (bag reads Basic Goods, Instant Noodles)

With the political parties absorbed in finalising their presidential (capres) and vice presidential (cawapres) candidates, little attention was given to a report showing the number of people living in poverty (using an absurdly low PCI of 75c a day) rose to 28.55 million (World Bank figures put this at around 130 million) while income inequality rose to a GINI coefficient of 0.41, making Indonesia a dangerously 'unequal' society according to the UN.

Kompas - May 7, 2014

We need a real leader

Kid: We need a real leader!

Man: Naturally all our leaders are... hardened (criminal) leaders!

While many still hope that a some kind of crusader will emerge to solve the myriad of problems plaguing the country, most of the political elite figures being touted as presidential candidates (capres) are from the very same bunch of crooks that have been robbing the country blind for years.

Kompas - May 3, 2014