Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia

By Evan A. Laksmana

Amidst all the gung-ho following the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott bombings and the aftermath of the general elections, one could easily forget that the controversial state secrecy bill is being discussed and could soon be passed into law.

Despite heavy criticism claiming the bill would turn back the clock on democratic freedom and accountability, defense officials claim there is nothing to worry about as the bill is meant to protect strategic state information — which was true of the very first draft initially set to protect specific defense information, but not of the current draft that covers the protection of information from other government agencies and ministries.

Oddly, although skeptics argue the bill will ultimately kill our democracy, very few, if any, have pointed out the long term implications of the bill to the military itself. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennie S. Bev

The Youth Pledge was declared on Oct. 28, 1928, where three ideals of Indonesia –one motherland, one nation and one language– were immortalized and became the unifying promise among young Indonesians.

Today, such commemoration may sound like a routine without much practical meaning. While it is true that it was an important milestone in Indonesian history and we appreciate those heroic youth role models, many of us aren’t even aware of today’s young Indonesians who are inspiring and successful internationally and have been carrying the country’s name on their shoulders. We should give proper accolades to past and present heroes and ambassadors, and breed future ones.

To be known as Indonesian-born individuals in the international arena requires both the courage and the willingness to be perceived as “different.” They also fought long and hard along with top-notch international players. And this alone deserves our sincere applause. Read the rest of this entry »

Buku berjudul Lahir dari Rahim ini memotret kehidupan perempuan yang terpasung sepanjang zaman khususnya di Asia. Mulai dari perjuangan teolog perempuan Boyung Lee di Korea Selatan, Suciwati Munir, Sumarsih di Indonesia, hingga korban perkosaan tragedi Mei 1998.

Judul : Lahir dari Rahim
Penulis : P. Mutiara Andalas, SJ
Penerbit : Kanisius, Yogyakarta
Edisi : I, Juni 2009
Harga : Rp 55.000,00

Buku berjudul Lahir dari Rahim ini memotret kehidupan perempuan yang terpasung sepanjang zaman khususnya di Asia. Mulai dari perjuangan teolog perempuan Boyung Lee di Korea Selatan, Suciwati Munir, Sumarsih di Indonesia, hingga korban perkosaan tragedi Mei 1998.

Lahir dengan kodrat perempuan dengan sendirinya membawa pembatasan dalam dirinya termasuk dari budaya dan agama. Dilahirkan sebagai perempuan membawa stigmatisasi tersendiri. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennie S. Bev

San Joaquin County is one of the hardest-hit counties in California in this mortgage crisis. And Mountain House was named by New York Times in November 2008 as “the most underwater community in the United States,” as 90 percent of home values there have gone underwater, and the depth of depreciation is as steep as 70 percent.

Those who have been paying skyrocketing monthly mortgage payments and have been receiving reduced earnings are probably feeling the pinch of the economic crisis. Many of them have stopped payments and are facing foreclosure.

With 18.7 million vacant homes this year and 7 million more properties expected to foreclose in 2010 and 2011, this mortgage crisis is more than our neighbors’ issue — it is our own personal issue as well.

Many of us have grown to be skeptical as no one seems to be able to lend a hand. Not attorneys, not government officials, and especially not lenders.

When we started to distrust the system, this man came along. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennie S. Bev

Whenever we hear the word “peace,” oftentimes we think about Mohandas Gandhi and Dalai Lama, two epitomes of peace. Dealing with peace, however, also means recognizing seeds of conflicts, preventing them from growing into full-blown ones, and eventually past and existing conflicts must be healed. In Indonesia, there have been many conflicts, past and present ones. And due to its diversity and predominantly patriarch social structure, Indonesia is a land of conflicts of various scales, yet the study of peace and preventing and healing conflicts through artistic endeavors haven’t been considered seriously. Read the rest of this entry »

Image Source: Telegraph.

by Jennie S. Bev

The recent earthquake in West Sumatra has opened another window into the quest for home after disasters. Annually, throughout the world, there are 40 million displaced people who move from one place to another in the quest for a safe home free from natural or humanitarian disasters.

Some people travel to a nearby village or city, while others travel far away to the other side of the globe. Whatever the reasons for the migration are and wherever they finally decide to reside are as important as how the world should treat them and why a quest for home is the ultimate search in one’s lifetime. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennie S. Bev

What do Benedict Anderson, John Roosa, and Robert Lemelson have in common? They have all talked about the G30S/PKI incident and its aftermath. Anderson with his Cornell paper A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965 Coup in Indonesia, Roosa with his book Pretext for Mass Murder, and Lemelson with his psychiatric anthropology documentary film 40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy. These three works complement each other very well as Anderson’s is a view from high politics, Roosa’s perspective is linear in historical fashion, and Lemelson’s is from a grassroots vantage point in which it portrays innocent people suffering long-term adverse effects from the incident. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennie S. Bev

The holy month of Ramadhan has come. It is Kairos time for Muslims worldwide, a special time of the year when the truth will appear, blessings are abundant, and peace fills the air. In this special month, we should remember those who are unfortunates and embrace those who are different from us. It is also good timing to reflect upon how we can spread kindness and compassion to others. After all, The Qur’an is a text of compassion, pluralism, and free will. And above all, God is the most compassionate of all.

The first verse of The Qur’an reminds us loud and clear that compassion is the source of all goodness and embracing Islam means first and foremost adhering to this principle, “In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.” And by “compassion,” it applies to all without any discrimination. The Chapter of Al-Imran 3:84 stated, “Say Muhammad, ‘Muslims believe in God and in what has been sent down to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes. We believe in what has been given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets of their Lord. We do not make a distinction between any of the prophets. It is to God that we devote ourselves.’” Read the rest of this entry »

Sumber gambar: 4starerectors.com

Oleh Dr. Beni Bevly

Banyak bisnis besar yang dikenal ternyata berasal dari Silicon Valley, wilayah dekat di mana saya menetap, dan dari Tanah Seberang lainnya. Di samping itu, saya yakin masih banyak bisnis besar dan kecil, yang sebenarnya erat hubungannya dengan Tanah Air, belum begitu akrab di telinga kita. Kali ini mari kita intip bisnis apa saja yang ada, bagaimana mereka memulainya, dan apakah bisa ditransformasikan ke Tanah Air?

Google, HP, Cisco, Apple dan banyak perusahaan IT besar lainnya yang berjaya di Silicon Valley pastilah sudah sangat bersahabat dengan telinga anda. Dan saya yakin di benak anda akan terbayang bahwa pemain tingkat atas yang bertanding di perusahaan-perusahaan ini adalah para pebisnis bule. Jika itu bayangan Anda, maka Anda betul. Bagaimana kalau saya sebut Marvell (Marvell Technology Group) yang merupakan pemimpin dalam produk storage, communication dan consumer silicon solutions. Apakah nama perusahaan ini men-trigger pikiran Anda? Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennie S. Bev

“Patenting” Indonesia’s cultural heritage is tempting, but it just a widespread misconception. The so-called “public domain” of Internet is a myth too, as creative common rights based on creative common licenses also have limitations. Myths and misconceptions surrounding intellectual property (IP) rights must be clarified if Indonesia is to be considered equally advanced in terms of legal literacy in this highly borderless world.

Now, first things first. What are intellectual property rights? They are exclusive rights belonging to the creators or owners of products of the minds, which immediately materialize at the moment of creation. Thus, registering them is not required, but oftentimes necessary for the purpose of producing legal evidence of time of creation. Read the rest of this entry »