I love KOMPAS ePaper

Just experiencing reading Kompas Newspaper in ePaper edition. I guess this is one of the best breakthrough by Kompas. Hopefully it will continue to be free (a.k.a Gratis!) - by pre-registered user. Good job, Kompas!

Don't wanna be stupefy

I feel really dumb when I read SBY's advertising at Kompas printing version page 13 (see picture). And after I tried to read and understand each part of the promotion materials, I decided that I don't wanna be stupefy by SBY's claimed.

If he claimed that he contributed to several things that being decrease (price of staples, gasoline, debt, unemployment, etc) and things that being increase (national income, health and education expenditure, etc), we should be critical in understanding that most of those achievement actually not because of his policy. Instead, most of them because external factors. For instance, three times gasoline price decline was not because of his idea but due to declining world price. It's obvious, dude! You should reduce gasoline price because world price is lower now!

Therefore, I don't wanna be stupefy now and ever by SBY.

Another pop-econ book...

Wishing to be able to have this book soon... Check the blog The Economic Gangster: Corruption, Violence and The Poverty of Nations.

Was a good news...

I got an sms today...

Telkomsel bekerjasama dengan Apple menghadirkan iPhone 3G di Indonesia dalam waktu dekat. pesan sekarang di www.telkomsel.com atau hub. 111/116 From: Telkomsel
(Telkomsel today announced it has signed an aggrement with Apple to bring iPhone 3G to in the coming months)

...and I check their website. It's true.

Well, it was a good news for me if I am not in current position... I am not going to share what is that position here now.

Anyway, congratulation for Apple and Telkomsel... and another Indonesian celluler provider soon.

It's not about methodology. It's obvious, officer!

From The Jakarta Post,

"The police force is seen by the business community as the most bribe-riddled institution, while corruption at judicial institutions is the most costly, according to a survey revealed Wednesday."

The police department had made record twice in first place according to the survey as they also become the most bribe-riddled institution during 2007 survey. The most interesting part after this finding being announced is the respond from police department. As mention by the National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira, they questioned the methodology used in the survey. How can they used the same argument twice? They used the same argument after 2007 survey result being announced.

I believe that methodology is not the critical issue here. Instead, the police department should be careful as well as paying attention on what being suggested by the survey's finding. When the first survey in 2007 found that police department is seen as the most corrupt institution, the methodology issue argument perhaps still relevant as it might be due to sample selection and possible bias. However, if we assumed that similar methodology being used and expectantly the sample will different (since they will be randomly selected) then it is hard not to accept that the respondents perspective is valid. In this case, even with different - randomly selected - respondents still the results show similar findings, it is obvious that the survey results is valid. That means the police department indeed is seen as the most corrupt institution.

You may assume that the respondent will be the same as the previous survey. We call this kind of survey data - supposed to be - as longitudinal data. Even if it is so, if the police department could be introspective against themselves, then same respondents with similar answers could lead into conclusion that the police department haven't done anything to improve their image. It means, according to respondents opinion, police department still seen as the most corrupt institution.

All I want to say is, survey results may not telling you the whole story or perpective. But, if we carefully analyze and understand the nature of the survey then we will understand that there are a lot of information could be derived from them. Those information - no matter bias it is - still significantly representing public opinion, given the sample being selected. For police department, you can learn a lot for sure from the survey if you wish to improve your performance, particularly in the area of public services.

The next issues is whether police department could learned from survey that - almost always - mentioned them as the most corrupt institution? It is useless for them only denying the results and blaming on the survey techniques. Even without survey at all, it is already become a public secret that police officer is the most bribe-riddled officer in the face of people. Denial only makes them even more worse rather than instrospects and recover from the dust.

*picture: courtesy of The Jakarta Post

Quote of the day: the true value of a nation...

Lesson learned from Obama's inaugural speech:

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

Hari ini...

Hari ini aku mencuri nafas kecil sang surya. Ketika ia belum lengkap terjaga, aku mencuri nafasnya agar tidak terlambat menjemput harapan. Harapan untuk mengais cita-cita di negeri seberang samudera. Juga harapan untuk mengecup cintaku yang telah menunggu di tepi pantai di pulau nun di kaki bumi.

Hari ini aku mencuri nafas sang surya dengan diiringi doa, agar segala apa yang baik berkenan datang dan memelukku erat hari ini dan seterusnya...

24/7

Waktu merupakan salah satu kekuatan Tuhan yang bagiku paling sulit dipahami. Meskipun bilangan dan aturannya disusun oleh manusia sedemikian rupa, namun proses berjalannya waktu tak pernah mampu dilewati oleh alam pikir manusia. Segala hal terjadi dalam sekejap hingga ukuran se-per sekian satuan waktu yang ada. Singkat kata, perjalanan hidup manusia begitu dinamisnya hingga selalu begitu mempesona sekaligus mendatangkan berbagai nelangsa.

Didasari filosofis demikian, aku dan istrinda mencoba menggabungkan dinamika hidup kami bersama. Diawali oleh semacam de ja vu yang terjadi dalam siklus hidup kami, dimana kami kembali harus dipisahkan oleh jarak dan waktu yang cukup panjang, maka kami susun ruang untuk kami berbagi dan berkisah tentang dinamisnya perjalanan hidup kami. Silahkan sekali waktu kunjungi 24/7, blog website kami berdua. Segala hal yang Anda 'titip'-kan dalam blog tersebut sama pentingnya bagi perjalanan hidup kami dimana pun dan kapan pun kita pernah atau masih saling mengenal sebagai sahabat, teman, kolega, dan sebagainya.

Terima kasih.