Jennie M. Xue

The politics of 'holier than thou'

by Jennie S. Bev

The recent harassment of visiting Canadian author Irshad Manji, police refusal to grant a permit for a Lady Gaga concert in Jakarta and ongoing attacks against worshippers at GKI Yasmin church in Bogor and HKBP Filadelfia church in Bekasi are the latest proofs that Indonesia’s central and local governments are unable and unwilling to protect religious minorities and are blind toward the growing influences of Islamofascism and extremist ulemas. Such ignorance will only give Indonesia a black eye abroad, and at home it will prolong and cultivate the “politics of holier than thou,” which we already can observe from the behavior, reactions and inactions of the country’s politicians.

As the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia isn’t very Islamic, according to Scheherazade S Rehman and Hossein Askari in their paper, An Economic Islamicity Index, which was published in the Global Economy Journal. The paper ranked 208 countries on the basis of their adherence to Islamic principles. Indonesia is ranked 104, following Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Georgia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Overall, countries with Muslim majorities didn’t do well in the study: the highest ranked was Malaysia at 33rd, followed by Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Brunei, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

The Power of American "Soft Power"

Read "The Power of American 'Soft Power'" on Forbes.com.

by Jennie S. Bev

Almost four years since the beginning of the Great Recession, signified by the implosion of the financial industry and the fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the United States is recovering. In fact, some sectors have grown to new heights. Thus, a “declining USA” is no more than a myth.

This myth is likely to continue for a while despite the recession officially ending in June 2009 as the high unemployment and on-going foreclosure crisis have cloaked significant economic improvements.  In the last four years, declinism and declinists have been spreading paralyzing dystopian analyses. Combine this with Nouriel “Dr. Doom” Roubini’s “the perfect storm” forecast in 2013 and you probably would become even more paralyzed.

Daniel Gross’ best-selling book Better, Stronger, Faster released in May 2012 is an exception. It is probably one of the first books that presents encouraging facts in this recovery period rather than discouraging views of America’s future.

Prediksi Roubini 'The Perfect Storm' dan Indonesia

oleh Jennie S. Bev

Bagaimana kondisi ekonomi Indonesia di tahun 2013 masih merupakan tanda tanya.

CALIFORNIA, Jaringnews.com - Ekonom Nouriel Roubini memprediksi akan terjadi resesi global yang sempurna alias 'The Perfect Storm' di tahun 2013. China sedang dalam proses pelemahan cukup signifikan dan Eropa sedang dalam krisis besar. Cina sebagai lokomotif pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, saling terkait dengan developed countries di Eropa dan Amerika Utara dalam saling menggiring ekonomi ke bawah.

Dalam semester kedua 2012, diprediksikan akan terjadi peningkatan growth sampai 4 persen di AS. Terhitung Juni 2009, AS sedang tertatih-tatih dalam economic recovery yang ditandai dengan kemunduran berupa double dip housing crisis dan angka pengangguran yang meningkat kembali. Saat ini, sekitar 6,8 juta orang tidak mempunyai pekerjaan tetap penuh waktu. Housing crisis saat ini telah mencapai dasarnya yang akan berlangsung hingga 2013 dan diharapkan akan terjadi peningkatan harga-harga properti di 2014.

Sementara AS dalam fase recovery, belahan dunia lain diprediksikan akan mengalami krisis kolosal. Bagaimana dengan Indonesia dan apakah prediksi 'perfect storm' di tahun 2013 akan turut dialami?

Kebangkitan pasar satu miliar

Download KONTAN Kebangkitan Pasar Satu Miliar

oleh Jennie S. Bev

(Versi yang tidak diedit.)

Kalbe Farma termasuk salah satu perusahaan Indonesia yang telah melakukan penetrasi di pasar Afrika, terutama Nigeria dan Afrika Selatan. Nigeria mempunyai populasi 155 juta jiwa dan Afrika Selatan 49 juta jiwa. Keseluruhan benua Afrika mempunyai populasi 1,022 milyar jiwa berdasarkan data 2010. Keseluruhan GDP benua ini mencapai USD 1,184 trilyun dan GDP per kapita USD 1.200.

Pasar Afrika seringkali kurang diperhitungkan, terutama karena embargo negara-negara barat dan tingkat inflasi yang setinggi gunung Himalaya. Padahal, dibandingkan dengan negara-negara di dunia, benua Afrika menempati peringkat ke-10 kekuatan ekonomi. Afrika Selatan sendiri mempunyai kelas menengah yang meningkat 30 persen setiap tahun, yang merupakan pasar tersendiri yang siap dituai.

Las Vegas: Kota semilyar bintang dan sejuta kenangan

Download PDF File of the Las Vegas article published in Female May 2012

oleh Jennie S. Bev

(Versi artikel yang tidak diedit.)

Setiap tahun penulis mengunjungi Las Vegas baik sebagai turis, penikmat konser, writing scholar, maupun sebagai a business traveler. Kota penuh paradoks nan metropolitan kerlap-kerlip dengan sisi-sisi bersahaja, alami, intelek, dan puitis ini kerap menjadi tujuan para pasangan yang ingin segera menikah, para penari dan entertainer, para gambler, para penonton konser akbar, para penggemar kabaret, para pengunjung international trade show, para pecinta alam, dan para penulis yang menimba ilmu creative writing dari salah satu program doktor terbaik di bidangnya dan yang sekedar mencari inspirasi.

Siapapun Anda, pasti menemukan tempat khusus di Las Vegas.

Kota semilyar bintang dan sejuta kenangan ini tempat favorit kelas dunia yang padat dengan kegiatan-kegiatan indoor maupun outdoor. Indoor, para high roller dengan Lamborghini dikelilingi oleh para cabaret dancers berkaki jenjang tampak di satu jalan dengan para pengemis yang menengadahkan tangan di tepian. Outdoor, fasilitas hiking di bebatuan gurun luar biasa indah, terutama bagi yang senang fotografi.

Conditioning behavior through law and policy

by Jennie S. Bev

Laws and policies are tools required in creating a living organism called a “modern society.” Every living being can be trained with conditioning techniques, including groups of people.

If plants can adjust the direction of their leaves based on the direction of sun rays, then we can definitely condition dogs, cats and primates. Of course, human beings are both the easiest and the most complex to condition.

That’s why we need to use both a carrot and a stick, using the so-called “operant conditioning” approaches.

The Asian Century, Indonesia and competitive advantage

by Jennie S. Bev

The 21st century has been nicknamed the Asian Century, while the 19th century was the European Century and the 20th century was the American Century. Both Europe and the U.S. were economically, politically and culturally dominant in their respective centuries, yet we have just started the second decade of the 21st century. While some Asian countries such as China and India have climbed up the economic totem pole, their ability in maintaining economic leadership hasn’t been tested. Meanwhile, other emerging Asian countries have some homework to boost their competitiveness. Indonesia is no exception.

Indonesia’s economy has been self-sustaining and relatively unshaken by the global crisis, due to the large population that serves as a rich labor resource and domestic market and the availability of raw materials in islands surrounding Java. Such uniqueness explains why Indonesia has a strong comparative advantage over other countries in terms of labor-intensive production and raw materials sourcing. However, increasing competitive advantage in high-priced goods is still challenging. While some Indonesia-made goods have better quality nowadays, certain fine products require better skilled labor and technology.

The "Asia Century" and what it means for Indonesia

by Jennie S. Bev

The 21st century is already being referred to as the “Asian century,” which triggers various discourses on its terminological appropriateness, what it entails, how it would affect Indonesia and whether Indonesia's contribution to the pie as a whole would make any difference to the region and the century. Consequently, questions on what would matter to Indonesia in ensuring its own position are likely to arise and, hopefully, can be answered satisfactorily. 

First off, we need to reflect back on the two previous centuries: the 19th century, which was referred to as the European century, and the 20th century, which was called the American century. What are the similarities and differences between the current century and its two predecessors? Does it even worth noting? 

Tyranny and liberty: what's a good dose?

by Jennie S. Bev

John Basil Barnhill once said about socialism, “Where the people fear the government, you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people, you have liberty.” Barnhill’s definition evolved from Aristotle’s, which was “a kind of monarchy which has in view the interest of the monarch only”. The Greek term “tyrannos” itself means “absolute ruler; illegitimate, cruel and oppressive ruler”.

What a simple definition of “tyranny”. Whenever you “fear” a government or the ruling elite, then you live in an authoritarian regime. Interestingly, “tyranny” also occurs where you enjoy freedom, where most likely you don’t find authoritarianism in action. In the United States, for instance, freedom can be found in the form of individualism based upon self-sufficiency. Unfortunately, over time and with a high dose, freedom can be another form of tyranny.