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LATEST NEWS October 24, 2004 Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono campaigned on a platform of improving his nation's business climate. Good idea. The World Bank says Indonesia's current business climate is one of the worst in the world. An unflinching column in the nation's largest newspaper lays out the bad news. The Jakarta Post says the World Bank ranks Indonesia along with Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in the bottom quartile of 145 nations surveyed. "Entrepreneurs in those countries found it more difficult to start, operate, or close a business than in most other East Asian nations," the newspaper said. "Seven economies in the East Asia-Pacific region ranked in the top quartile... New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia." In East Asia, on average, it takes an entrepreneur nine prosecures, 60 percent of income per capita and 61 days to found a business. In Indonesia it takes an average 151 days...

Ada seorang pertapa tua, yang mengepalai sebuah padepokan. Pertapa ini punya kebiasaan membaca kitab sucinya setelah matahari terbenam, dan bersemedi sampai agak larut malam di pinggir padepokan. Murid-muridnya, dan orang disekitar padepokan itu sangat menghormati pertapa dan selalu berusaha mencontoh semua tingkah laku beliau. Beliau memang seorang yang pengetahuannya dianggap sudah sangat mumpuni, baik tentang hal yang lahir dan maupun yang batin, sehingga wajar beliau menjadi panutan. Kebiasaan bersemedi ini pun diikuti oleh murid-muridnya. Setelah mereka belajar secara langsung dengan pertapa di siang hari, malamnya mereka ikut bersemedi. Suatu hari kebiasaan beliau ini terganggu dengan adanya seekor anjing hutan, yang sering ribut menggonggong saat beliau sedang khusuk membaca kitab dan melakukan semedi. Hari pertama pak Tua membiarkan anjing itu, tapi esoknya anjing itu selalu muncul dan mengganggu. Setelah beberapa hari terganggu, beliau dengan berat hati memutuskan untuk...

source Wednesday, October 20, 2004 Posted: 8:58 PM EDT (0058 GMT) JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's new president has named a cabinet line up that includes several surprise choices, appointing professionals and several women to key posts. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has named economist Jusuf Anwar, who currently works at the Asian Development Bank, as finance minister. In another unexpected move, business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie -- one of only two ministers from the country's largest party, Golkar -- has been appointed chief economy minister. Yudhoyono holds a doctorate in economics and it will be financial challenges that could prove his first major test after taking office. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy, but it has struggled in recent years with chronic unemployment and underemployment, as high as 40 percent. The line up also includes four generals which could raise some concerns that Yudhoyono -- a former general himself -- re...

Agama Harus Menjadi Maslahat bagi Manusia Ulil Abshar-Abdalla Kompas, 6 Oktober 2004 SEBULAN yang lalu, tepatnya Selasa 7 September 2004, Indonesia kehilangan sosok pejuang hak-hak asasi manusia yang integritas dan pengabdiannya sulit ditandingi. Munir menghadap Sang Pencipta dalam perjalanan udara menuju Amsterdam untuk keperluan studi lanjut di Universitas Utrecht. Dalam situs internetnya, Jaringan Islam Liberal menghubungkan nama Munir dengan makna kata itu dalam bahasa Arab: penerang. Paling tidak, 15 tahun terakhir dalam hidupnya yang relatif pendek, ia jadi penerang bagi orang-orang lemah dan dilemahkan, mereka yang diculik rezim Orde Baru dan kemudian dinyatakan hilang, serta mereka yang hak-hak asasinya dirampas. Seperti telah kehilangan saraf takut, Munir tak pernah menyerah. Ia tetap menyuarakan dan membela kepentingan mereka yang lemah sekalipun harus berhadapan dengan pelbagai ancaman. DIREKTUR Proyek Asia Tenggara Grup Krisis Internasional, Jakarta, Sydney Jones...

dari milis sebelah... [--quote--] Kalo kelompok agama udah pake aksi "serbu, gebuk, bunuh, habisi" terhadap kelompok lain, bukan kelompok agama lain saja tapi juga se-agama yang punya tafsir dan keyakinan beda, mana bisa ada damai di bumi? Terus para pembuat onar yang membenarkan keyakinan diri sendiri dengan "serbu, gebuk, bunuh, habisi" itu melakukannya untuk hidup damai di sorga? Bisa kali ya, khususnya sorga khusus para perusuh dengan "tuhan" para pelaku kekerasan dan pembunuh yang menghalalkan segala cara untuk mencapai "Tuhan". Di "sorga" ini berkuasalah "sang tuhan" yang konsepnya mahakuasa namun haus akan pembelaan dari orang2 yang masuk sorga dengan alasan "God, I killed for You, I destroyed everything for You, let me in to Your Heaven". It's heavenly hell... Sulis'tp [--endquote--]

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix

From the arabnews.com by Amir Taheri Excerpt: The key question now is: What is it precisely that the Indonesians have chosen by electing SBY? The honest answer is: Nobody knows. ----------------------------------------------------- New Indonesian Leaders Have Fared Very Well Amir Taheri, Arab News Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono! Hard name to learn. So, let us call him SBY, as do his compatriots, especially the tens of millions who voted last week to make him the first directly elected president of Indonesia. Under normal circumstances I should have had a personal grudge against SBY. The reason is that when I covered the fall of Gen. Suharto’s dictatorship in the late 1990s, I was one of the pessimists who feared that Indonesia was heading for “Yugoslav-style” disintegration and civil war. Now SBY and his people have proved me, and other pessimists, wrong. Nevertheless, let me put in a good word for myself. At the time of Suharto’s fall the Indonesian economy was on...