Why abolishing direct local elections undermines Indonesia’s democracy
A bill that will transfer the election of local leaders in Indonesia from the people to the Regional Legislative Councils is currently being contested. The Indonesian parliament passed the bill to end direct local elections on 26 September. But outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced on 30 September that he is preparing an emergency presidential decree to overturn the decision and restore elections. Direct elections at the local level — or Pilkada — have been in place since June 2005.
Insight: Mental Revolution vs Oil Mafia
In the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion about the oil mafia. Maybe this was triggered by concerns about the fuel supply, but when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named former energy and mineral resources minister Jero Wacik as a corruption suspect, the public realized there was a mafia in the oil industry. To fight this oil mafia, the government must lead a concerted effort. The industry needs a mental revolution.
Why States Fail and How States Recover – ANALYSIS
Somalia and its twin Somaliland are prototypes of states that fail and states that recover. The difference between Somalia and Somaliland is the difference between a peace owned and a rent-seeking peace. Local ownership is but one aspect of the conditions for state recovery.
Tackling the Islamic State Group May Require a Softer Approach on Social Media in Malaysia and Indonesia
In response to the rise in Indonesian and Malaysian fighters joining the extremist Islamic State group (IS), Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur have taken action to criminalise membership. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the nation’s top Muslim clerical body, also released a statement that it was haram, or forbidden, for Muslims to participate in Islamic State group activities. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has also issued a strongly worded statement condemning IS for its actions, which ‘run counter to Islamic faith, culture and to common humanity’.
A Generational Challenge
President Obama’s plan for dealing with ISIS is a step in the right direction, albeit one that doesn’t go far enough. That’s because ISIS is the symptom and immediate threat, not the primary problem: The Middle East is a fundamentally ill region, one that has repeatedly exported its problems to the United States and the rest of the world and will continue to do so for decades. Iran’s Islamic revolution, Saddam’s rapacious Iraq, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hezbollah, and Hamas, the slaughter in Syria, Darfur. The litany goes on.
Secrets Of The Fed Dallas Fed President Interviews Former Federal Reserve Chief Paul Volcker
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker thinks a lack of discipline in financial markets and speculative banking investments led to the financial crisis of 2007-08. That’s what he told a roomful of fellow economists and business leaders last night at a global economic conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher led a question-and-answer session with Volcker, who is best known for taming inflation in the 1970s and 1980s and, more recently, helping to pass a federal regulation restricting U.S. banks from making risky investments that could lead to their failure.