Year 2007 has witnessed the sweetest and most happening ever so far as blogger Indonesia goes. The rapid growth of blogging culture, more ministers and former minister started blogging which means more attention to this writing-and-reading culture. And finally the most amazing event of all, the Pesta Blogger 2007 which led to the induction of October 27 as the National Blogger Day formally annnounced by Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo), Mr. Mohamad Nuh who presided over the first blogger Indonesia fiesta.

Floods everywhere,
… landslides and floods have killed at least 65 people in heavily populated Central and East Java after torrential rains lashed the region. … While activists blame such disasters on the disappearance of trees that stabilise soil and help absorb rain, local officials have insisted the unusually heavy downfalls have destabilised already vulnerable hilly areas.

Politics can be very cruel sometimes. Especially in a place like Pakistan, a country where lethal weapons can be as much as cars and motor-bike combined in Jakarta. One of the “toy-gun” in Pakistan has killed Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister who now is running a campaign for the next election. Assassination attempt has become a common news in the country. The current military ruler President Parvez Musharraf has luckily escaped three such attempts.

Indonesians are  known for their laid-back attitude, a sort of  a “very-busy” mindset, so to speak. Of course, with some few exception here and there, that’s those who have successfully reformed their personalities.. That’s why it’s amazing to find some (very) few Indonesian ministers who are engaged in blogging activities.  Though not many of the so-called blogger ministers it’s worth noting as they are a rare breed  we should encourage and appreciate the new phenomenon to blossom. Here is the list of the Blogger Ministers of Indonesia:

Eid al-Adha or Idul Adha (Arabic: id al-’Adha) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, under the order of Allah. It is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran. … It is also called the “bigger” Eid because it is considered more important than Eid el-Fitr or Idul Fitri

2007 Indonesia’s Billionaires

Rank
Name
Net worth (US Dollars)
Age

1
Aburizal Bakrie & family
$5.4 billion
61

2
Sukanto Tanoto
$4.7 billion
67

3
R. Budi Hartono
$3.14 billion
85

4
Michael Hartono
$3.08 billion
93

5
Eka Tjipta Widjaja & family
2.8 Billion
60

6
Putera Sampoerna & family
2.2 Billion
61

7
Martua Sitorus
$2.1 billion
58

8
Rachman Halim & family
$1.6 billion
57

9
Peter Sondakh
1.45 billion
57

10
Eddy William Katuari & family
1.39 billion
67

11
Anthoni Salim & family
1.3 billion
43

12
Mochtar Riady & family
950 million
48

13
Murdaya Poo
900 million
63/53

14
Arifin Panigoro & family
880 million
54

15
Hary Tanoesoedibjo
815 million
56

Source: forbes.com

Some Indonesians still cannot accept the reality of a few Indonesian who stay abroad after they had done their study in order to get a better job or for some other reasons such as marriage . The former think the reluctant to go back to their home country on the part of the latter as a sign of unpatriotic and opportunistic attitude. In several of my postings, I defended the latter wholeheartedly, saying not only did they at times are more patriotic than the former, their stay abroad are sometimes needed even for the so-called “patriotic” reasons. The brain drain it may cause, as some Indonesian expert worry about does not in any way make sense to say the least.