http://www.thejakartaglobe.com Jakarta Globe editorials, op-ed columns and letters to the editor. en-us Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:03:20 +0700 Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:03:20 +0700 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/images/jakarta-globe.gif http://www.thejakartaglobe.com http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/clearing-indonesias-slums-through-education/364802 It is impossible for any middle-class resident of Jakarta or any other big city in Indonesia not to notice the sprawling slums that exists in their midst. Even in up-market areas such as Ancol, million dollar homes sit side-by-side with hovels, the two sides of a coin that defines most developing countries. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:25:14 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/clearing-indonesias-slums-through-education/364802 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/desi-anwar-promoting-indonesia/364803 I had lunch the other day with Joop Ave, the minister for tourism, post and communications in the New Order era and a man difficult to ignore as much for his flamboyant character as for his generous physical proportions. And, of course, as someone who, if I may say so, was good at his job of promoting the country, especially when compared with his lukewarm successors. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:48:06 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/desi-anwar-promoting-indonesia/364803 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/global-appetite-leaves-bluefin-tuna-with-nowhere-to-hide/364740 Mix tasty fish from the wild with growing global demand and industrial fishing, and you have a recipe for disaster. That is what is facing the Atlantic bluefin tuna, a single one of which was auctioned in Tokyo’s Tsukiji market earlier this year for more than $181,000. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:22:22 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/global-appetite-leaves-bluefin-tuna-with-nowhere-to-hide/364740 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/the-muslim-worlds-impossible-dream/364745 Much ado has been made about the flowering of democracy in Indonesia and how it serves as an example for other countries in the Islamic world. If Indonesia, which has around two-thirds as many Muslims as the entire Middle East and North Africa combined, can transform itself into a democracy, doesn’t that prove the rest of the Islamic world could possibly achieve the same? Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:15:41 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/the-muslim-worlds-impossible-dream/364745 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/malaysias-women-need-empowering-sometimes-by-women-themselves/364742 While around the world women’s achievements in fields such as medicine, the arts, politics and film are celebrated, in Malaysia women are apparently a problem for men. The secretary general of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service, Ahmad Shah Mohd Zin, complained recently that too many women were in decision-making roles in the administrative and diplomatic service. Is Ahmad Shah afraid his own job might be taken over by the fairer sex? Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:11:04 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/malaysias-women-need-empowering-sometimes-by-women-themselves/364742 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/your-view-corruption-and-reforms-in-indonesia/364695 Globe readers weigh in on whether corruption is getting worse, and where economic reforms should be targeted first. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:50:53 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/your-view-corruption-and-reforms-in-indonesia/364695 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/editorial-indonesia-must-keep-the-wind-in-its-economys-sails/364577 Indonesia’s stock market is on a bull run. The rupiah is at its highest level since August 2008 and investors and local businesspeople are increasingly optimistic about the country’s economic outlook. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:12:55 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/editorial-indonesia-must-keep-the-wind-in-its-economys-sails/364577 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/the-thinker-a-bridge-to-russia/364520 After a long and restless day recently, I enjoyed a cup of coffee on the campus of Paramadina University near the Senayan sports complex. From the window of a high-rise building, Jakarta looked picturesque, with a view of the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium, one of the largest football stadiums in the world. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:32:55 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/the-thinker-a-bridge-to-russia/364520 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/the-garuda-and-the-eagle-forging-a-balanced-us-indonesian-partnership-for-the-future/364529 Much has been said about the special, personal and emotional links between US President Barack Obama and Indonesia. It is fitting, therefore, that his visit will be ushering in a new era of US-Indonesia relations, one marked by comprehensive partnership, the broadening and deepening of our relations and cooperation. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:57:18 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/the-garuda-and-the-eagle-forging-a-balanced-us-indonesian-partnership-for-the-future/364529 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/britains-chance-to-uphold-olympic-ideal/364523 According to the Olympic Charter, the goal of Olympism is “to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:40:52 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/britains-chance-to-uphold-olympic-ideal/364523 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/a-thoughtful-voice-in-chinas-climate-change-wilderness/364512 China has been criticized in some quarters as the spoiler of last year’s Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. Its steadfast refusal to allow international monitoring of its greenhouse gas emissions thwarted efforts to reach a meaningful international agreement, causing many commentators to accuse China of pursuing a strategy of economic development at all costs. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:08:29 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/a-thoughtful-voice-in-chinas-climate-change-wilderness/364512 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/your-view-economic-health-foreign-investors/364494 We asked: How much credit should the government take for the health of the economy? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:05:22 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/your-view-economic-health-foreign-investors/364494 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/my-jakarta-veronica-tjong-pancious-pancake-house-owner/364492 ‘A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.’ Veronica Tjong, one of the owners of the popular Pancious pancake house, posted this William Hazlitt quotation on Facebook as one of her favorites. And when you see the passion and hard work that this energetic 26-year-old entrepreneur puts into her business, it’s no wonder that in the space of two years Indonesia’s first pancake house has grown from one outlet in Permata Hijau to five restaurants. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:00:25 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/my-jakarta-veronica-tjong-pancious-pancake-house-owner/364492 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/editorial-avoiding-a-breakdown-in-communication/364417 First the good news. Foreign investors are still keen to participate in Indonesia’s economic growth and are more than willing to take the long view on the country. Having recently returned from a visit to Australia, the chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM), Gita Wirjawan, says that four Australian companies have agreed to invest more than $1 billion (Rp 9 trillion) in Indonesia over the next few years. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:47:58 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/editorial-avoiding-a-breakdown-in-communication/364417 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/journalism-of-verification-not-assertion-is-key-to-the-truth/364335 About 2,500 years ago, Thucydides set out to record what had happened in the Peloponnesian War, in the process laying down principles that could just as well guide a correspondent today in Iraq, or anywhere else, for that matter. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:51:46 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/journalism-of-verification-not-assertion-is-key-to-the-truth/364335 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/your-view-smoking-obamas-welcome-and-more/364313 Online comments: Editorial: Government’s Blind Eye To Smoking Hurts Youth Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:51:33 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/your-view-smoking-obamas-welcome-and-more/364313 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/how-indonesia-drives-away-its-best-and-brightest-with-archaic-citizenship-laws/364310 Am an in Kuala Lumpur was recently arrested for forging Indonesian passports. My first thought was why bother? Much better to forge Malaysian passports or passports from EU countries, which would grant you access to the rest of the world and the comfort of the Malaysian or European welfare state. But as I considered his possible reasons, I wondered if his clients were people who only used the Indonesian passport to get nearer to Australia, where they would eventually seek asylum. It’s a perfectly reasonable plan. The question is, what about the rest of us? Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:47:31 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/how-indonesia-drives-away-its-best-and-brightest-with-archaic-citizenship-laws/364310 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/why-the-us-must-talk-to-the-taliban/364294 While the Obama administration is watching the battlefield in Afghanistan, hoping for a quick weakening of the Taliban, regional powers are ratcheting up tensions in and outside that country. Pakistan and Iran in particular want to ensure that by the time the United States is ready to talk to the Taliban, the region’s future will already be shaped by local powers, limiting Washington’s options. Afghanistan’s ethnic and sectarian divisions are being exacerbated in the process. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:54:31 GMT http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/why-the-us-must-talk-to-the-taliban/364294