Personal attack or misuse of information?
IO - I am not one of those people who considers Jokowi’s statement about Prabowo’s “property” in Aceh and Kalimantan as a form of “personal attack”. However, Jokowi’s statement remains an issue for me...
Was Indonesia’s economic growth in 2018 really 5.17%?
IO - “Strange but true”. That is how I would describe Indonesia’s economic growth in 2018. Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik – “BPS”) announced that our economy grew 5.17% in 2018. Strangely enough, the...
The second debate: What are the right questions?
IO - Presidential debates are tricky exercises. If the format allows sufficient time for a candidate to air his views, if the questions posed give viewers a good sense of whether or not the...
Leaky economy: A problem and solution passed on from Soemitro to Prabowo
IO - From the island of Sulawesi, I am writing about “Leaky Economy”, a matter as elaborated by Presidential Candidate Number 02. This is because it has been a hot topic in the news;...
Jokowi’s “Freedom of the Press” medal: Symbol of the death of Indonesian press’ conscience
IO - Today, for the first time in my life I broke down a personal taboo: today I wrote using the first-person pronoun, “I”. This article is my personal response to the current developments...
Puppets and their puppet masters
IO - Over the course of the campaign period for this year’s presidential election, the president and his men have lodged endless accusations against the Prabowo campaign team for producing hoaxes and fake news. ...
Russian Propaganda, Thief Shouting Thief?
IO - It only took a lapse of one day: the hot potato that President Jokowi had raised about Russian Propaganda and foreign consultants turned to attack him. This issue, if not quickly and...
The ability of tears to change democracy
IO - Dul shivered as he tapped away on his keyboard, his eyes red with unshed tears. Within mere seconds, Dul could not hold back – his cheeks became wet. The great photo of...
Jokowi, the fall of a “copy-and-paste” and indiscriminate construction of infrastructure
IO - One of the many causes why infrastructure construction halts and the reformed State structure is because both of them are based on “latah”. The “latah” syndrome has been spread to the leaders...
A “Post-Jokowi Indonesia” Jokowi,
IO - Joko Widodo’s electability has slipped below the 50% psychological threshold. This shows a great change among our people’s minds: we are suddenly made aware of the fact that more than half of...
Indonesia’s catch-up growth needs strong leadership
IO - For the economic growth rate of developing nations to be more robust than that of developed ones is quite understandable in this era of globalization. Stunted children can have a period of...