Some rectors of state and private universities have publicly
Some rectors of state and private universities have publicly
declared that Indonesia is entering a dangerous stage.
Similar statements have also been made by observers and
politicians. They jokingly ask daily if Indonesia will exist next
year. In reality, the joke contains the message that the current
situation is really chaotic.
The chaotic situation is reflected by, among other things, the
issuance of the regulation on terrorism in law of law (Perpu).
Soon after the Bali blast, all fingers pointed at our
intelligence system, which was found to be very weak.
Intelligence agencies responded by saying that there was no legal
coordinating board to make their performance more effective. As
the Criminal Code (KUHP) lacks the "teeth" to curb terror-related
cases, and as there is no antiterrorism law, the Perpu was
proposed. Ironically, many oppose and criticize the Perpu, while
those in favor of the Perpu just keep silent.
Criticism to the police's performance in connection to solving
Bali bombing is also a good example. Almost all people say that
the police are unprofessional. However, when the police worked
hard and announced the results (of the investigation), most
people cynically expressed their lack of confidence in the
police's findings. They even accused the police of orchestrating
things.
From the two examples we could conclude that the rectors'
statements are not wrong. The statements are underlined by the
fact that our leaders have their own political agenda, instead of
the spirit of togetherness to work for the nation.
-- Suara Karya, Jakarta
Aceh solution
Efforts to solve the Aceh problem in a peaceful manner is like
the impossible dream. Every time it seems likely that a peace
deal will be reached, some new obstacle emerges.
The biggest turning point was the abandonment of the military
operation zone policy (in 1998), but no significant steps have
been taken since. What happened later was an increased demand for
freedom in line with then president Abdurrahman Wahid's support.
Another turning point was when Megawati Soekarnoputri replaced
Abdurrahman. Megawati visited Aceh and shed tears when speaking
to the people of Aceh. But the tears were obviously not enough to
evoke a spirit of peace in Aceh.
Efforts to prevent Aceh from seceding (from the unitary state
of Indonesia) have been made, but, operationally, there has been
no clear format to support all the efforts.
The only way to respond to the aggressiveness of the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) is to fight them. Unfortunately, the military
needs a political decision (from the government) to crush GAM.
Now there are two more turning points: The holy month of
Ramadhan and the siege of GAM's stronghold in Cot Trieng village,
North Aceh, both of which are golden opportunities to solve the
problem. It is clear that the solution is in the hands of the
government of Indonesia, while the Henry Dunant Center is just
moderating between the government and GAM.
-- Media Indonesia, -- Jakarta
Telephone rate hike
In January, telephone rates will dramatically increase. The
rate for local calls will increase by 30 percent. The increase is
part of the state minister of communications and
telecommunication's decree on the progressive increases in
telephone rates by 45 percent within three years. In reality,
phone call prices have increased by 30 percent in just the last
year. Obviously something is wrong here.
One classic reason to increase phone rates is the drop in PT
Telkom's revenue this year, the first ever in the history of the
state company.
The customer base of PT Telkom has expanded to remote areas
and villages. Telkom is also the only company with a
telecommunications system in the country, plus technology has
developed to the stage that telephone services cost less. Still
we must question why Telkom has failed to improve its financial
performance.
It is time for the government to reshuffle PT Telkom
management to make it more efficient for the sake of the
company's customers.
-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta