HOT PICK
Video Message
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From: Harry/Jakarta
"Is it common for a movie star/actor to run for politics?"
A: In Indonesia, it's a growing trend as candidates capitalize on their
name recognition.
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From: Ygar/Yogyakarta
"Do you know how to say 'Dalton Tanonaka' in Bahasa Indonesia? It's 'Ralph
Tampubolon."
A: That's funny. And Ralph doesn't mind too much.
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From: Jefry/Jakarta
"Your program is very good."
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Photo Gallery |
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Alvin Lie, Parliament Member |
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Olympic gold medalists Hendra Setiawan and Markis Kido |
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Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X |
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Ciputra, Property Tycoon |
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Din Syamsuddin, President, Muhammadiyah |
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MAYA SOETORO-NG, U.S. PRESIDENT'S SISTER
Sunday, 30 November 2008
You can now call her First Sister. Maya Soetoro-Ng, born and raised in
Jakarta, will be the first person of Indonesian heritage to be part of a
U.S. presidential family when her half-brother Barack Obama is sworn in as
44th president on January 20.
In her first interview since Obama's election victory, Soetoro-Ng talked
exclusively from her home in Hawaii with Dalton Tanonaka about her emotions
when grandmother Madelyn Dunham passed away shortly before election day, her
desire to visit Indonesia soon, and her Inauguration Day plans.
IN: Maya, you're planning on attending the Washington inaugural, correct?
MS: Yes, I am.
IN: Who is going and how big an event would this be for you and your
family?
MS: Well, I think that the event is growing ever larger. I think that this
is something in which so many people want to participate, and
I'm proud of that fact. I mean, it's just like the election itself, people
want to be present and feel like they have a stake in it. So I think it's
going to be a very lively affair. My immediate family is going, of course,
my husband, and my husband's family, they live in Canada. And I think that
some of my Indonesian family is also going to be there, my uncle Trisulo,
and my cousins.
IN: I want to ask about your Indonesian relatives in a bit, but I want to
ask you a little bit about election day itself. Now I know that it was an
emotional time for you and your brother as your grandmother passed away just
days before. What went through your mind, and your heart, when Barack's
victory was announced?
MS: Well, I think that it's very hard to sort out all of those feelings
both for Barack and for myself. I mean, I think that we understood the
enormity of that moment and it felt like there was a complex matrix of
emotions running through us. Ultimately we, I think sort of felt like she
(grandmother) had perhaps passed on in order to fly over there and offer her
support in ways that she could not when she was trapped by her body. I knew
that she knew that he was going to be president and she watched CNN and
other news channels, just in advance of her passing on the very day that she
died in fact. And she knew that she'd made a tremendous impact on his
(Obama's) life, and had contributed a great deal to make this moment
possible.
IN: You know your mother Ann (Dunham-Soetoro) is well known here in
Indonesia. Do you think she would have anticipated this day?
MS: Well, she knew what an amazing son she had sired, and I think that, I
think that all of us are surprised by all the pop culture emanating from
this event. But I think that she also recognized that she raised a son who
would make a real difference, someone who was dignified, and who would seek
out opportunities for activisms and engagement within the global community
as well as national.
IN: Maya, as you know, we've been talking with your Indonesian relatives,
and they are planning to attend the inauguration as you
mentioned. Will your brother take notice that his Indonesian family will be represented there?
MS: Yes, he knows that they're coming. Of course, this event is going to be an overwhelming time for him emotionally, and I think that there are
going to be so many people there. He has expressed the desire to visit with
them and to honor Lolo Soetoro's family and memory at another time as well.
He has expressed disappointment that he'll be too busy to spend a lot of
time with his family. But he is grateful for their support. He has been
grateful for the support of Indonesians and other people all over the world.
I certainly will see my Indonesian family, and I think 16 people are coming,
and we are going to have a nice little family reunion at some point and (I
will) carve out the time for that.
IN: And maybe they'll bring some Indonesian goodies for you.
MS: Ya, mudah-mudahan.
IN: There is speculation when the new president is going to visit his
former childhood home. When do you want to visit your birthplace?
MS: Oh, well, I would love to visit as soon as possible. I want to make
sure that when I do visit that conditions are optimal for my doing so, and that means that in terms of my job, and my daughter and my family and all of
my affairs in the United States. That I don't have a lot of things kind of
dangling, and right now, things are a bit hectic still, and we've got to get
through this inauguration. But I assure you, it will be sooner rather than later... I miss it quite a bit. I would like my husband (Konrad) and my
daughter (Suhaila) to get to know the place.
IN: Alright Maya, we look forward to your return, and of course your
brother's return. Thank you very much, Maya Soetoro-Ng in Hawaii, terima
kasih for your time and talk to you again soon.
MS: Terima kasih banyak. Selamat malam.
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DAVID PARSONS, INDONESIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Saturday, 22 November 2008
The selling continues in the stock market. The rupiah continues to slide.
And corporate Indonesia is feeling the pain.
For insights into how companies here are surviving the global financial
crisis, we're joined now by David Parsons. He's executive director of the
Investment and Trade committee at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Kadin).
IN: david, how bleak is the talk in the boardroom?
DP: Well, I don't think it's very bleak, I think it's very measured. At the
moment we've been seeing a slowdown in the world economy for some time. I
think really the approach in the Chamber of Commerce and among the business
community is very measured, very carefully looking at how things are going
with the financial system and the real economy. And we're working really
closely with the government on those issues.
IN: We're reporting on growing layoffs in different sectors, the latest wave
involving 20,000 workers. Is this a direct result of the present crisis, or
were conditions tough before that?
DP: Well I think we'll be seeing a great deal of pressure, especially from
those companies that are in the export market, because that is what's really
out of our control. But, domestically I think the strong determination now
within Kadin to keep the domestic economy vital, keep it growing, and keep
the whole business growing, because in the domestic economy we've seen quite
a strong outcome in recent years and we believe that will help us through
the hard times.
IN: Falling stock prices hurt a company's value, but a weak rupiah makes
Indonesian products cheaper overseas. Isn't that boosting demand?
DP: That's right. I think we shouldn't just (look at the) negative effects
of the falling rupiah, I mean, I think we've seen currencies around the
world going down. And that really does help us in those export markets, and
I think without that we'll be feeling a great deal of pressure. And I think
we've seen many of the business community saying it's still quite workable
at these levels, you know, the rupiah against the dollar.
IN: What strategies are you hearing in surviving this tough period?
DP: Well, I think we really got to keep our eye to the real economy, so you
know we make sure that the goods are flowing, we're asking the government to
keep the cost down, bring interest rates down, to make sure even amidst a
global recession, that within Indonesia, we really making it good for
business, and within Indonesia businesses are trading as much as they can,
and growing as they can.
IN: So briefly, Indonesia is fairly insulated from what's going on
elsewhere.
DP: In a sense, we, our strategy for exports is to keep diversifying, be
vigorous and get out there to those markets. to really deal with the
domestic consumer growth, and domestic growth, which has been driving out
our economy for the last few years.
IN: Is our domestic market big enough?
DP: It's big and a lot of other countries don't have that luxury, I mean we
see a number of other countries like Malaysia and Singapore that really do
have a strong percentage of trade in their GDP, they are gonna be finding it
going quite tough.
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This Week On Indonesia Now
We head to Sumatra for a Taste of Indonesia that mixes lamb with the Vindex
twist. A gourmet touch is applied to a native specialty, plus we pick the
winner of our special quiz!
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INTERVIEW
Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama sister |
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TANONAKA IN JAKARTA POST WEEKENDER
The thoughts and impressions of Indonesia Now anchor Dalton Tanonaka can be
found on the pages of the Jakarta Post's Weekender Magazine, published on
the last Friday of each month. His regular column touches on life and
lessons learned in Indonesia. The fees from his writings are funding a
scholarship for a deserving college student seeking a career in
international journalism. His column can be found by clicking the Weekender
link at
www.thejakartapost.com. |
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INDONESIA NOW
STAFF |
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Executive Producer
Rullah Malik
Senior Producer
Devi Trianna
Producer
Devianti Faridz
Associate Producers
Zelda Savitri
Aichi Khalik
Reporter
Yos Kusuma
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INDOFACTS
MOTTO:
Unity in Diversity
ANTHEM:
Indonesia Raya
CAPITAL:
Jakarta
LANGUAGE:
Bahasa Indonesia
GOVERNMENT:
Republic
LAND AREA:
1,919,440 sq. km.
POPULATION:
234,693,997
CURRENCY:
Rupiah
TIME ZONE:
GMT+7-9
COUNTRY CODE:
+62
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GOURMET GIVEAWAY
To reward our loyal viewers, we're giving away dinner for two at the Four Seasons Jakarta. Just answer this simple question -
"Where does Executive Chef Vindex Tengker work?"
Send your answer to
indonesianow
@metrotvnews.com
We'll pick the winner from all the correct
answers on our December 6 program.
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