Re-engagement with Kopassus
By Evan A. Laksmana
The recent announcement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that the US will begin “a gradual, limited program of security cooperation activities” with the Indonesian Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) sparked an immediate controversy.
While the ban restricting the Kopassus from training on US soil or receive funding for lethal combat training is still likely to be in place for a while, the symbolic statement of opening formal lines of communications — beginning with “staff level discussions”— speaks louder than the actual deed. Read the rest of this entry »
Interpreting Koran as the source of living fatwas
[Note: This article is an example of my attempt in peace-building and creating better understanding in a pluralistic and multicultural society.]
by Jennie S. Bev
In Indonesia, clerics and their “political” organization Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) have been making headlines with their so-called “fatwas.” Even though some fatwas make sense, like forbidding smoking, which is bad for one’s health, other fatwas sound trivial. Read the rest of this entry »
View point: The perils of irrationality and diplomacy
Image source: qualityartprints.co.uk
By Jennie S. Bev, San Francisco
The world is both rational and irrational. Specifically, the world of politics is full of irrationality throughout the history of mankind. Thus, it might attest that men are intrinsically irrational, or at least those with power are.
In Laws, Plato said, “Peace is only a name; in reality, every city is in a natural state of war with every other.” Peace is the rational choice, yet those in politics have been deliberately choosing violence in the name of security and maintaining power status quo. Read the rest of this entry »
Peringatan Hari Kemerdekaan: Ritualisme Yang Tak Berujung
Image source: suaramerdeka.com
Oleh Tanza Erlambang
Perayaan untuk menyambut hari kemerdekaan Indonesia ke 65 tahun ini, sudah dimulai, baik di berbagai daerah tanah air, maupun oleh masyarakat indonesia yang tersebar di berbagai belahan dunia. Seperti ritual, perayaan itu terasa menoton. Dari tahun ke tahun hanya seputar lomba yang itu-itu saja : mulai dari menangkap kodok sampai main gaple, lomba lari karung sampai makan kerupuk.
Pertandingan olahragapun hanya sebatas hura-hura, tidak mengarah ke prestasi, apalagi prestasi olimpiade atau piala dunia. Kejuaraan dunia sepak bola misalnya, tak pernah sekalipun diikuti. Kita, seperti sudah mentakdirkan diri sendiri sebagai bangsa penonton sepanjang masa. Read the rest of this entry »
In search of a voice and chivalry in fighting corruption
by Jennie S. Bev
News on corrupt officials, intellectuals who work for oppressive conglomerates and businesses causing extreme pollution and catastrophe have been selling newspapers and magazines.
Indonesia is in crisis and we aren’t talking about finances or its poor international image. We are talking about of the lack, or even a non-existence, of knights (the closest Western analogy to ksatria) in modern Indonesia. Read the rest of this entry »
To vote or not to vote, that is not the question
Image source: pemiluindonesia.com
By Evan A. Laksmana
Among the basic rights of any citizen, soldiers included, is the right to vote. But this has not been the case for members of the Indonesian military (TNI), who last exercised this right in the country’s first general elections in 1955.
In fact, since 1971, soldiers had been barred from voting. In return, the TNI was given fixed seats in the national and local parliaments, although the practice was discontinued after 2004. Read the rest of this entry »
Mystery of life, awe, and ecstasy
by Jennie S. Bev
I live with a strong sense of awe and wonder. I love and adore mysteries. They are all around and inside me. Things unknown, things in the future, things far away, and things I keep close dearly to heart.
Mysteries keep me alive and craving for more.
In the end, they give me ecstasy.
We might have been looking for answers throughout our lifetime, yet answers are actually not what we are looking for. Read the rest of this entry »
Menciptakan Kesetiaan Pelanggan
Image source: getentrepreneurial.com
Oleh Dr. Beni Bevly
Beragam pilihan atas produk dan jasa yang ditawarkan bukan hanya menguntungkan pelanggan, tetapi juga akan meningkatkan kesetiaan mereka kepada pebisnis. Keberagaman ini memang menjadi faktor utama untuk menciptakan kesetiaan pelanggan, akan tetapi menurut penelitian NPD Group, Inc. di Port Washington, New York tersirat bahwa kesetiaan ini akan lebih meningkat bila didukung faktor lain, seperti karyawan yang ramah, harga produk yang bersaing, penampilan keseluruhan toko atau tempat penjualan yang menarik, kebersihan dan keterangan/cahaya toko yang menciptakan kenyamanan, dan waktu operasi yang fleksibel dan panjang. Read the rest of this entry »
Is China failing SE Asia’s test?
Image source: travel.nationalgeographic.com
by Evan A. Laksmana
With all the bombast surrounding the 60th anniversary of China-Indonesia relations in the last few months, many seem unaware of recent developments in the South China Sea. In the last fortnight, details have emerged regarding the Chinese Navy’s growing assertiveness and naval projection capability in the region.
According to a recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a flotilla of six ships from the North Sea Fleet sailed on March 18 on a “long-distance training exercise” in the vicinity of the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands — and reportedly near the Malacca Strait as well. Read the rest of this entry »
The constrained and unconstrained views
By Jennie S. Bev
Raphael’s painting The School of Athens depicted Plato pointing to the sky and Aristotle pointing to the ground. It encapsulates the two approaches in how we perceive the world: perfection and grounded reality.
These perspectives divide the world into unconstrained and constrained views, using terms used by Harvard professor of behavioral studies Tal Ben-Shahar.
In psychology, they become perfectionism and optimalism; in politics, they become communism and capitalism; in everyday arguments, they become can-do and cannot-do. Read the rest of this entry »
Pendidikan Berantai
Sumber gambar: smknegeri2telukkuantan.blogspot.com
oleh Yunani Adam
Pada artikel terdahulu saya menyinggung betapa pentingnya peran pendidikan untuk mengubah kualitas leadership kepemimpinan Indonesia, di antaranya adalah dengan menerapkan system pendidikan berantai.
Yang saya maksud dengan pendidikan berantai adalah menurunkan atau merantaikan ilmu yang telah dipelajari dari seseorang kepada orang lain, baik secara langsung, yaitu dengan mengajar secara rutin (contoh yang mudah adalah pelajaran bahasa Inggris), maupun secara tidak langsung, yaitu dengan memberikan dana atau alat bantuan lain kepada anak-anak yang tidak mampu untuk melanjutkan pendidikan mereka. Read the rest of this entry »
Air Mata Xie Xie
Sumber gambar: loveisperfectharmony.files.wordpress.com
Oleh Mutiara Andalas, SJ
Thank You. Xie Xie. Terima Kasih. Matur Nuwun.
Kapan pulang? Pertanyaan ini menggelayuti benak saya beberapa waktu terakhir. Saat seseorang menanyakannya, saya awalnya menjawab sambil lalu,“Masih lama.” Saat kepulangan sudah di depan pintu, lidah semakin tercekat untuk menjawabnya. Perubahan rona penanya saat saya menyebut perkiraan tanggal kepulangan menyadarkan beratnya kandungan pertanyaan. Read the rest of this entry »
Land Banking
Sumber gambar: avacres.com
By Dr. Beni Bevly
Suatu ketika Mark Twain, novelis besar di Tanah Seberang, pernah berkata bahwa lokasi tanah yang baik tidak pernah out of style. Agaknya ungkapan ini tetap menjadi landasan para pebisbis properti untuk melakukan transaksi, sebagaimana dijelaskan oleh David Gold dalam diskusinya dengan saya dalam kaitannya dengan dengan bisnis land banking di San Jose daerah Silicon Valley. Apakah land banking? Apa yang bisa kita pelajari dari para pebisnis ini untuk diterapkan di Tanah Air? Read the rest of this entry »
The rise of Indonesia’s “accidental guerrillas”?
Image source: pacamat.com
By Evan A. Laksmana
The arrest of two university students in Central Java on terrorism charges two weeks ago – following a wave of arrests in recent months – highlights several trends regarding Indonesia’s evolving terrorist threat.
First, as a recent International Crisis Group report argued, there are now at least three jihadi streams in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Reinterpreting the Total Defense System
Image source: anisavitri.wordpress.com
By Evan A. Laksmana
Few people pay attention to our state defense doctrine the Total Defense System (Sistem Pertahanan Semesta or Sishanta), although this doctrine (published by the Defense Ministry in 2007 and publicly available) shapes the legal, political, intellectual, and even operational foundation of our entire national security system.
After 12 years of reform following the fall of Soeharto in 1998, it is important to reinterpret this doctrine and its implications for our national security. Read the rest of this entry »
