TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Dahlan Iskan says Indonesia is not as bad as it is portrayed in the news. “There are many commendable sides of Indonesia. If you’re still talking about politics, then it won’t improve until the next 10 years,” Dahlan told the winners of the essay competition titled “Becoming Indonesia” held by the Tempo Institute, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta yesterday. Dahlan said that Indonesia’s development was only enjoyed by businessmen. “I haven’t read the essays. But, are you still criticizing Indonesia or are you preparing to fill Indonesia?” he asked. The award was attended by General Electric Indonesia’s CEO, Handry Satriago, PT Tempo Inti Media’s director Toriq Hadad, the finalists, mentors and film director Mira Lesmana. This is the third time the essay competition has been held. This year, 20 nominees were chosen from 937 essays. The jury consisted of researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Jaleswari Pramodhawardhani; sociology expert from the University of Indonesia, Thamrin Amal Tamagola, Budi Krisnawan as well as two Tempo journalists, L.R. Baskoro and Purwanto Setiadi. The winner of the competition was Dhiora Bintang Riezki Natald, 21, from Widyatama University in Bandung. The title of her essay was “Spelling Indonesia at Schools.” DIANING SARI