Titus Jonathan's Stories

(published in The Jakarta Post on 25 July 2009. Click here ) The bombers of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotel at Jakarta last week made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of their faith. Talking about faith will always bring us to two different perspectives. We could say what the bombers did was wrong, evil, brutal, ferocious and against humanity. We could condemn the attack as well as curse the bombers infuriatingly. But, should the bombers still be alive and we could ask them why they did it, they would firmly say that they did it as exalted act. They dedicated their whole life to religion or even to God Almighty. They let themselves be killed as martyr because it was a stairway to heaven. Why? Because they believed their faith demanded it as a holy duty. Who could have told them they followed a deviated path and why they should have turned to the right path, such as ours? Who could have convinced them that what they believed was wrong, and conversely our beliefs were right? We co...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 16 July 2009. Click here ) Deng Xiaoping , the prominent reform leader of China once said: " It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice. " These days, our people seem to be applying Deng's principle. It doesn't matter if Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)-Boediono pair carry a neo-liberal economic policies, so long as the people's welfare is improved, poverty is alleviated, unemployment is mitigated, political and security stability is guaranteed, business runs well and the economy remains to grow amid the global economic downturn. The neo-liberalism accusation itself, made by their rivals to reduce their electability still creates pros and cons and debate about whether it really exists in Indonesia. Particularly, whether SBY-Boediono is supporters of this principle remains debatable. I (and may be most other people) are wondering if the neo-liberalism is like rapacious devil that we have to curse. Bu...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 10 July 2009. Click here ) I should be proud of my country, Indonesia, as a Southeast Asian country that is advancing its democracy progressively, despite its economy trailing behind other more developed countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Yes, while it is true the elite and ordinary people sometimes display craziness that exasperates us, and rampant corruption is still an obstacle embarrassing us as a nation, in terms of democracy, Indonesia is more mature. This we should defend at any cost. I remember when I visited Kuala Lumpur two years ago, my guide (who was a native Malaysian) told me he was amazed by Indonesia's democracy and press freedom, and in particular by how Indonesians were brave enough to open the gates of democracy while many people living in the country were still struggling against poverty. In other words, other countries are surprised to see how Indonesians were determined to hurry in a wind of change after Soeha...