Titus Jonathan's Stories

(published by The Jakarta Post on 1 Nov 2010. Click here ) Ahead of National Heroes Day on Nov. 10, our people are discussing and debating the proposal of the presidential council in charge of designating nominees for honorary titles of heroes. Among the 10 short-listed candidates it has proposed, one much-debated name is that of former president Soeharto. Does he deserve to be an Indonesian national hero? Some people believe he was indeed a hero, while others say he was a despot. Some people praise him for the development of Indonesia during his 32 years in power, while others point to him as the culprit of our country’s current troubles because of his corruptive mentality and its influence on the nation. “We were in a better state during Soeharto’s rule than today,” some say. “So we must be grateful to him by honoring him with a national hero’s title”. But others disagree, saying instead that he should have been dragged into the international tribunal and charged for human rights vio...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 18 Oct 2010. Click here ) Someone has to fight evil, though evil will never die. These words may be kept in mind by the National Police’s Detachment 88 antiterrorism squad when combating terrorist networks in Indonesia these days. Some people said the acts of Detachment 88 will only trigger retaliation from Muslims, and the killing of the suspected terrorists will raise other mujahedeens to launch new attacks. The theory, though from some perspectives it is understandable, should not stop our state’s security apparatus from fighting evil. In other words, no matter how large a price to be paid, retaliation by evil should not discourage efforts to uphold the truth and to guard the state. Now the police are collecting evidence to charge Abu Bakar Ba’asyir for his involvement with the CIMB Niaga bank heist in Medan and the attack on the Hamparan Perak Police station in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, recently. Dragging Ba’asyir to court — as long as it suppo...