JAKARTA, Indonesia – Chinese art, dance, movies and music are expected to charm Indonesians in an event called “Experience China”, which kicked off on Tuesday in the capital of the Southeast Asian nation. Organized by China’s State Council Information Office, the event will be held throughout July in the cities […]
Research has shown an estimated 1.4 million child deaths could be prevented each year around the world if babies were properly breast-fed. In Indonesia, where malnutrition rates are high and fewer than a third of babies are exclusively breastfed until they are 6 months old, the government is taking legal […]
The Indonesian government is working on an ambitious plan to create 2.5 million jobs to counter the unemployment that a ban on maids’ employment in Saudi Arabia is likely to cause. It has pledged to spend up to 1.4 trillion rupiah (S$202 million) to equip women with new skills in […]
Indonesia: A success story in Asia and the Pacific If we take a look at the historical perspective, the ties between Indonesia and China date back to ancient times. Some pundits even mentioned that the two countries had actually started their relations since the fifth century. But one thing is […]
In ‘Indonesia’s Religious Freedom Must Be For All,’ Bernhard Platzdasch of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, writes that a clampdown on the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect brings into focus the larger context of religious freedom and tolerance in today’s Indonesia. Indonesia has since independence proclaimed itself a religiously […]
Three-in-one. Truck bans. Electronic road pricing. With the capital’s traffic woes continuing unabated, the police are now considering a radical new scheme to restrict car use: color. Sr. Comr. Royke Lumowa, the Jakarta Police’s traffic chief, said they were studying a plan to only allow cars of particular colors on […]
A team monitoring the trials of an attack against religious minority group Ahmadiyah said Monday the prosecutor performed below standard. It said many witnesses’ statements were not well-explored during the trials. Wahyu Wagiman, a team member from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), told reporters the prosecutor ignored […]
There’s a downside to jailing Jihadis: They corrupt your prisons. It’s a problem that’s keenly felt in Indonesia, where a decade-long crackdown on extremist groups has dramatically increased the number of radicals in jail. Terror experts have long worried about putting so many convicted terrorists in one place. Now, an […]
Researchers, after analysing new excavations in Indonesia, have claimed that modern humans never co-existed with Homo erectus. The research offers new insights into the nature of human evolution, suggesting a different role for Homo erectus than had been previously thought. The work was conducted by the Solo River Terrace (SoRT) Project, […]
By Ahmad Suaedy The Daily Star, Beirut In Yogyakarta, the cultural center of the island of Java in Indonesia, the governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, has set an interesting precedent by refusing to ban the Ahmadiyah religious group. The group was founded by a 19th century Indian religious leader, Mirza Ghulam […]
Indonesia’s image as a poster child for pluralism has been tarnished – the actions of Islamic radicals are increasingly controlling the agenda. In the opinion of some observers, the moderate majority must display a greater sense of unity and overcome the authoritarian heritage of the country. By Anett Keller A […]
Jakarta is winning the war on terror, but not the war against radicalism. Indonesia notched another victory in its war on Islamic terror this month when a court sentenced Abu Bakar Bashir for 15 years. Mr. Bashir, the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the al Qaeda affiliate behind the […]
Diplomatic immunity was originally meant to protect embassy personnel from arbitrary harrassment. But a new case in Berlin, involving the alleged abuse of a Indonesian servant, makes it clear that human rights sometimes get lost in the shuffle. The case could go to Germany’s highest court. Where else could […]
I recently spent a bit of time in the Maluku Islands, one of Indonesia’s northeastern provinces and also an archipelago in its own right. Given it is less accessible to tourists and definitely well off the beaten track, I thought Asian Correspondent readers might like to be treated to a […]
When US Defense Secretary Robert Gates devoted his final policy speech this month to berating NATO and America’s European allies, he was engaging in a time-honored tradition: Americans have worried about Europeans shirking their share of global burdens since the start of the 60-year-old alliance. Gates sounded a pessimistic note, […]
The world is witnessing a chaotic transition to uncertainty. While there is a profound transformation in the balance of global economic power, the lack of leadership has created a serious vacuum. Not much more than a decade ago, the emerging economies — China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, […]
Former Playboy Indonesia chief editor Erwin Arnada finally walked out of prison a free man on Friday following a Supreme Court acquittal. Many greeted his release as a triumph for freedom of the press in this predominantly Muslim country. Human rights activist and head of Erwin’s legal team, Todung Mulya […]
Indonesia, which has come under fire from abroad for its use of the death sentence, has decided is to bar its citizens from Saudi Arabia to work after an Indonesian maid was beheaded for murdering her Saudi employer. There are about 1.2 million Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, most […]
Australian police are considering using fingerprints to identify people wearing face-covering veils, after a judge said he could not be sure a burqa-clad woman was who she told police she was. The judge said this week that a case against Carnita Matthews, who a magistrate earlier found had made a […]
The Jakarta Post | Sat, 06/18/2011 11:27 PM| MAKASSAR: South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo has approved a proposal to ban Ahmadiyah activities in his province. A gubernatorial bylaw will be deliberated together with representatives of Muslim community organizations in the province, the governor said Thursday. The approval apparently responded […]