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:
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.
