Fires burning for weeks have worsened air pollution in Malaysia and Singapore. While Malaysia has called for greater regional coordination, ASEAN agreements remain contingent on the willingness of individual states to cooperate.
PRAKSIS was launched on Human Rights Day. Its goal is to promote the “common good” in a society where socio-economic inequalities have grown in the past 10 years, with political life increasingly in the hands of a small elite. The daughter of former President Abdurrahman Wahid also attended the event, speaking out against the harm done in society by the weakening of Indonesian democracy.
The death penalty is again a topical issue in Southeast Asia after a Philippine woman sentenced to death for drug possession is set to go home where the death penalty is not in force. Capital punishment is widely enforced in Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. A call is getting louder for “the protection of vulnerable communities”, with many voices warning that “no justice system is immune to error”.
In Indonesia's local elections, the candidates running for the party that backed Jokowi and Prabowo won everywhere except in Jakarta. Mindful of what happened six years ago with the campaign against Christian governor Ahok, local voters ostensibly rejected the Kamil-Suswono ticket, which courted radical Islamist groups.
Indonesia goes to the polls today to elect all its governors in first ever simultaneous vote. In Jakarta and Central Java the two most eagerly awaited challenges are the PDIP candidates and those of the unprecedented alliance between former general Prabowo elected president in February and his long-time opponent.
A priest has denounced the decay around the historic St Ignatius College, residence for professors and seminarians. The Indonesian Minister of the Environment demanded immediate action and threatened legal action against the local administration, which admitted to having difficulties.
In 2010, Mary Jane Veloso was stopped at Yogyakarta airport because a suitcase she was given to carry contained heroin. Then Philippine President Benigno Aquino III obtained a reprieve 11 hours before the execution was set to take place. Since then, the two countries have been working to bring the 39-year-old woman home.
Indonesia's president, who took office last month, signed a series of agreements with China. Despite advocating a policy of non-alignment between rival big powers, his signature appears to have implicitly acknowledged Beijing's claims. Prabowo discussed the issue with Joe Biden. For, analysts, this is a serious mistake by an inexperienced administration.
In Boyolali last week, dozens of farmers used it to ‘take a bath’. Behind the discontent is the unresolved issue of quotas. Today at least 80% of the raw material comes from abroad. For years there has been a demand for a law to regulate the sector.
From the island of Flores, where 10 people lost their lives in the November 3 eruption and thousands more are displaced by the continuing phenomena, the message of Msgr Kopong Kung: ‘It is a marvellous mountain formed by a pair of two peaks that the local people call “the husband” and “the wife”. The devastation is serious, we are deeply saddened'. Catholic communities throughout Indonesia are mobilising and raising funds.
Around midnight, large boulders ejected from Lewotobi Laki-laki, hitting buildings up to 6 kilometres away. The victims - among them Sr Nikolin Padjo, Missionary Servant of the Holy Spirit - were caught in their sleep by the fiery lapilli. In the Minor Seminary in Hokeng, roofs were destroyed and structures burned, injuring 14 people. Caritas Indonesia is coordinating aid with the dioceses of Larantuka and Maumere.
After more than a year of sede vacante, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Agustinus Tri Budi Utomo to lead the diocese in East Java. The local community celebrated the announcement with a solemn mass. Fr. Didik, as he is nicknamed by the faithful, returns to his Church of origin after having been a missionary in a more remote area of the country
During a recent meeting in the Indonesian capital, Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Alistair Dutton highlights the devastating effects of climate change on vulnerable communities. Caritas Indonesia, which was set up in response to a natural disaster, as Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo said, continues its commitment against malnutrition and human trafficking.
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