The Analysis of Direct and Indirect Speech

First Article:

Jokowi Pins reform hopes on economic team

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has appointed professionals to strategic posts on his economic team, providing a breath of fresh air for investors seeking the implementation of economic reforms in Indonesia amid challenges faced by the global economy.

The economic team that will steer Southeast Asia’s largest economy in the next five years comprises Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel and National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) head Adrinof Chaniago.

Appointees who have raised eyebrows due to their political affiliations are Industry Minister Saleh Husin, a businessman-cum-politician from the Hanura Party, as well as State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno, a close aide to Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which backed Jokowi’s presidency.

Jokowi’s economic lineup, nonetheless, is still seen by analysts as superior to the choices of his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who picked politicians for his strategic economic posts such as coordinating economic minister, as well as energy and mineral resources minister.

Jokowi has inherited an economy in which growth, at 5.1 percent in the second quarter, has slowed to its lowest level in four years, with limited fiscal space to boost growth amid the prevailing global uncertainties.

“There are a few names that may be deemed less than ideal, but overall this is a solid set of ministers,” said John D. Rachmat, an analyst with Mandiri Sekuritas. “A good beginning. Much remains to be done, but we believe the stock market will react positively to this solid start.”

Jokowi has said that economic growth of 7 percent is attainable, with top-priority programs including reducing the budget-straining fuel subsidy and being self-sufficient in staple foods such as sugar, corn, rice and wheat flour within three to four years.

Bambang, who will lead the Finance Ministry, was known as an outspoken and no-nonsense official during his time as deputy finance minister in the previous administration. Acting as his deputy is Mardiasmo, formerly the chief of the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).

Jokowi fulfilled his promise to appoint a professional to lead the graft-ridden Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which will be led by Sudirman Said, the president director of state-owned weapons maker PT Pindad and a former expert staffer at state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.

Sudirman was a person with integrity, excellent leadership skills and a clean track record, said Brawijaya University economist Ahmad Erani Yustika, who pointed to the new minister’s active role in the Indonesian Transparency Society (MTI) in the past.

Meanwhile, the appointment of Rachmat as the trade minister won praise from economists, though the same could not be said for Rini and Saleh who were chosen as state-owned enterprises minister and industry minister, respectively.

Rachmat is a successful businessman known for his tough management style in leading PT Panasonic Gobel Indonesia. 

“Rachmat Gobel meets the criteria [of a good minister] and he has a great deal of experience in trade, such as in the creation of new markets,” argued Latif Adam, an economist with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). “One of our major trade challenges will be to diversify export products and destinations, and I believe he can attain higher goals for trade.

However, Latif gave a low score for the industry minister post, which was filled by politician Saleh, a businessman with a relatively unknown track record, besides his rags-to-riches story of coming from Rote Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to build a successful business empire in Jakarta.

“We have so many weaknesses in our industry and such a strategic post should have been filled by a more capable figure,” Latif said. Without the support of the industrial sector, the downstream sector might not accelerate as fast as expected, he added. 

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/27/jokowi-pins-reform-hopes-economic-team.html

Second article:

Russian Soldiers Reveal the Truth Behind Putin's Secret War

Nobody asked the servicemen to sign any additional papers, though current contracts did not stipulate deployment to a foreign state. “I never volunteered for this; but any attempts to quit would be useless – they are sending us back to the meat grinder tomorrow; if somebody told me earlier about the truth, none of us would have signed up for $1,000 a month to get fried alive in Ukraine,” says the officer in his thirties, who requested his identity be concealed.

Who was Russia’s main enemy? She said: “America.” In a few days on the front lines under constant fire, the Kostroma paratrooper “dried up down to the bones”, not from the lack of food but from the constant fear of death, he said, that he had never experienced before.

Earlier that day, his regiment was brought back to the base in Rostov region, to wash in the banya, or Russian steam bath, and have one night of solid sleep. The soldiers had their first chance for a break from battle, for a quick chat with families since they crossed the Ukrainian border on August 18th. So as not to be identified as Russian regular forces, commanders ordered the paratroopers to change into the Western military surplus desert camouflage their wives had to buy for them, with their own money.

The use of misleading uniforms to sneak into foreign territory for a secret operation does not surprise Russian military experts. One Moscow-based army analyst recalled the earlier “masquerades” or false flag operations under Soviet military doctrine, sending Soviet and Russian commandos dressed as locals in Afghanistan and in Chechnya: “Our forces conducted secret operations in the Middle East and in Africa this way. Putin’s strategy is not unique,” the analyst said who declined to be named.

While the Russian leaders stuck to their denials, mobile phone chats and social media forums fill up with images of ­the country's artillery and “Grad rocket” launchers rolling across Ukrainian border. Russian internet users across the country watched videos of army mothers and wives covering their wet-with-tears faces with both hands, begging Putin to free their loved ones “in God’s name”, as well as video interviews with soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces.

Early each morning, paratroopers’ wives crowded on Nikitskaya Street outside the Airborne Division, waiting to hear more official explanations about their husbands “participating in military drills in Rostov”.

The women spoke to their husbands on the phone and knew the truth. “My boy asked me to go to church and light candles for his survival, as they were herded back to Ukraine,” one of the terrified wives, Veronika Tsiruyeva, says.

The invasion of Ukraine has been happening in slow motion since spring. On the afternoon of April 16th, professional-looking militia in green uniforms surrounded the perimeter of the administration building on the Square of October Revolution in Slaviansk, a city in eastern Ukraine. http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/russian-soldiers-reveal-truth-behind-putins-secret-war-269227.html

I. STATEMENT

a)    Direct speech:

In the first article; in the Last Paragraph:

“We have so many weaknesses in our industry and such a strategic post should have been filled by a more capable figure,” Latif said.

Indirect speech:

Latif said that they had so many weaknesses in our industry and such a strategic post should had been filled by a more capable figure

Analysis: 

Because the reporting verb is in the past tense, we have to change the tense which is used in the direct speech. The two statements in the direct speech above use simple present perfect tense. Hence, in the indirect speech, we have to change the simple present tense into the simple past tense. In this case, we have to change we had so many into they had so many and also should have been filled into should had been filled.

b)    Direct speech:

In the second article: “My boy asked me to go to church and light candles for his survival, as they were herded back to Ukraine,” one of the terrified wives, Veronika Tsiruyeva, says.

Indirect speech:

Veronika Tsiruyeva one of the terrified wives says that her boy asked her to go to church and light candles for his survival, as they were herded back to Ukraine.

Analysis:

The reporting verb in the direct speech above uses simple present tense. It means that we do not need to change the tense which is used in the indirect speech. The reported statement in the direct speech above uses present perfect tense, so we still use the present perfect tense in the indirect speech.

II. QUESTION

 Direct speech:

In the second article:

Who was Russia’s main enemy? She says

       Indirect speech:

She wants to know who Russia’s main enemy was

       Analysis:

There is no change of tense when the reporting verb uses simple present tense (i.e. says). The direct question in the direct speech uses simple past tense, so we still use the simple past tense in the indirect speech. I use want to know to introduce the reported statement in the indirect speech, so they become He wants to know (in the present tense). Then, when we convert a direct question to an indirect one, the subject and verb have to be inverted. In this case, ‘who was Russia’s main enemy?’ become ‘who Russia’s main enemy was’.

III. STATEMENT

In the second article:

Direct speech:

“Our forces conducted secret operations in the Middle East and in Africa this way. Putin’s strategy is not unique,” the analyst said who declined to be named.

Indirect speech:

The analyst asked our forces to conduct secret operations in the Middle East and in Africa this way. Putin’s strategy is not unique.