Consensus?

Man: Consensus?

The truce between the Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) and Great Indonesia Coalition at the House of Representatives came to naught Wednesday as the legislative body put the brakes on amending the Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law – a condition required for the resolution of the lengthy dispute between the two camps – after KMP lawmakers insisted the amendment be formally included in the national legislation program list, which the House had yet to formulate.

Kompas - November 29, 2014

Hung from Monas

A statement by the Association for Provincial Governments that they are ready to be sentenced to death if convicted of graft (evoking memories of the widely ridiculed statement by high-profile graft convict Anas Urbaningrum who said he would hang himself from the National Monument if found guilty) has been dismissed as a publicity stunt after the group went on to condemn the media for exposing corruption cases involving regional heads and proposing that they be investigated internally before criminal proceedings are initiated.

Kompas - November 26, 2014

Comedy drama round one

Man: Success! Comedy drama round one

Kid: You mean they'll be a second round Dad?

Despite the 'peace deal' reached in the House between Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition (KMP) and President Joko Widodo's Awesome Indonesia Coalition, the ongoing power struggle between the two camps has now spilled over into the Jakarta city council with KMP councilors threatening to boycott every single plenary session to express their opposition to newly inaugurated Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama.

Kompas - November 22, 2014

Infrastructure

While the government claims that the US$9 billion or so saved from the recent fuel (BBM) subsidy cuts will be allocated to much needed infrastructure, thereby compensating the poor who will bear the brunt high inflation, critics say most of the planned projects – new ports, dams, airports, industrial parks and roads – will primarily benefit big business and it will take years even decades before any benefits will be felt, if at all, by the poor.

Kompas - November 19, 2014

Giant sea wall

Environmental and community activists say that the 32-kilometre long giant sea wall being built off Jakarta's north coast to protect the capital from flooding by high tides, which will also include a massive land reclamation project and the building of 17 artificial islands, will spell almost certain ecological disaster for Jakarta which is currently sinking by up to 10 centimeters annually under the weight of new office buildings and shopping malls.

Kompas - November 11, 2014

Paid for doing nothing

Lawmaker: Who says we're getting paid for doing nothing! I'm working don't you know!

More than a month after lawmakers' official inauguration, the House is yet to start work following a protracted standoff between former Suharto general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition and President Joko Widodo's Great Indonesia Coalition over the leadership of the legislature and its influential commissions.

Kompas - November 8, 2014

Illegal fishing

Man: My forefathers were a people of the sea...

According to the government, losses due to rampant fish theft by foreign boats in Indonesian waters are estimated to be as high as US$900 million annually. Fishery activists say that this is largely due to corrupt, ineffective and weak licensing procedures and the fact that there are only 27 patrol boats to monitor the country's 5.8 million square kilometers of maritime waters.

Kompas - November 5, 2014