The Race Is On! THREE candidates vying for the capital city’s top-job, started off with the first of three debates organized by the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU), prior to the actual polling date on February 18. The preparations behind the scenes reveal much about the candidates’ characters as they get intense training, coaching and guidance. Agus hired 12 experts from various fields for sound advice while Ahok, practices to speak less and listen more, and Anies relies on hard data to back his mission and vision. And the race is on. National: Courage Amid Intolerance THUMBS?UP for Bantul Regent Suharsono who steadfastly rejected the demands and pressure from a group of hardliners to dismiss a newly-appointed non-Muslim sub district chief. Citing the Constitution and the national symbol of Unity in Diversity, as his points of reference, Suharsono sent a loud and clear message that he rejects intolerance in his policies. Outreach: Waste-Sourced Energy ALTHOUGH only 5 percent of energy consumption in Indonesia comes from renewable energy, there is a growing trend to use biodiesel and biogas as alternative sources. According to Rumah Energi, a non-government organization in Jakarta focusing on the development of renewable energy for homes, 18,000 units of biogas reactors have been built on mainly small farms and households, as a substitute to expensive natural gas. In Makassar, youths set up a company to produce energy from used cooking oil while in Lombok, an Islamic boarding school built a biogas reactor, enabling them to extract cooking gas from human waste.

Keywords :
Jakarta General Elections , Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono , Sylviana Murni , Basuki Tjahaja Purnama , Djarot Saiful Hidayat , Ahok , Anies Baswedan , Sandiaga Uno , ,