Titus Jonathan's Stories

My brain suddenly becomes so blunt to understand how some members of Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) use their "looked smart" brain to think smartly. In the hearing between the lawmakers and Pertamina management on February 10, 2009, one of the lawmakers, Effendi Simbolon, humiliated Karen Agustiawan, the CEO of Pertamina by saying she was un-competent to lead the big organization as Pertamina – the prestigious State Owned Company in oil & gas and geothermal energy sector. They even harshly bullied her by putting label on her as Satpam (private security guard) if Karen could not stay away from serving the interest of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and VP Jusuf Kalla. It’s clear to people that some of the “supposed to be respected” lawmakers do not deserve to receive any respects. That is why they cannot respect others, too. They have been acting as judge, even God, when they summon government officials or businessmen to their nest. They grill eve...

Sri Mulyani Indrawati always attracts my attention since she publicly appeared in TV talk show in the middle of monetary crisis that hit Indonesia in 1997-1998. In the talk show aired by SCTV on February 1998 that I watched curiously, she revealed her view about Currency Board System (CBS) idea that brought in by Steve Hanke 1) . Speaking among Emil Salim, Frans Seda, Peter Gontha and Ekky Syahruddin, she was not seen nervous, but delivered her sharp thought and frankly defied the idea, confronted Peter Gontha as the CBS supporter. She was still 36 years old at that time. So young, smart and never felt inferior in front of the elders economist whom we knew have been acting as economic drivers during Suharto era. She spoke with clear articulation and logical that eases everybody to understand the economy matters. People said the woman who graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana – USA with doctoral degree, was a rising star at that time. She then involved in National Economy Cou...