Agnes Monica

Artis multitalenta ini mengawali karirnya sejak usia enam tahun sebagai penyanyi cilik.  Di usia yang masih belia Agnes meluncurkan album kanak-kanak yang melambungkan namanya sebagai penyanyi cilik.  Album yang melejitkan namanya yaitu ‘Meong', ‘Yess' dan ‘Bala-bala' membawa penyanyi yang lahir di Jakarta, 1 Juli 1986 berada di jajaran penyanyi anak terpopuler di akhir tahun 1990-an.

Selain bernyanyi, Agnes dikenal sebagai seorang presenter cilik yang sukses. Setelah membawakan acara di VAN Anteve, Agnes makin dikenal setelah membawakan program acara anak di stasiun RCTI, ‘Tralala-Trilili'. Berkat penampilannya di Tralala-Trilili, Agnes memperoleh penghargaan Panasonic Award sebagai presenter cilik terfavorit pada 1999.  Agnes juga sempat membawakan acara Diva Romeo di Trans TV.

Memasuki usia remaja, Agnes mulai menapaki dunia seni peran. Setelah debutnya di ‘Lupus Millenia' (1999) dan ‘Mr Hologram', Agnes membuktikan aktingnya saat membintangi sinetron  ‘Pernikahan Dini' (2001) bersama Syahrul Gunawan. Agnes juga menyanyikan lagu tema sinetron ‘Pernikahan Dini'. Kesuksesan sinetron yang meraih empat penghargaan di Panasonic Award 2001 dan 2002 ini semakin melambungkan namanya.

Agnes juga membintangi beberapa judul sinetron seperti ‘Amanda', ‘Cewekku Jutek', ‘Cantik', ‘Ciuman Pertama', ‘Bunga Perawan' dan ‘Kawin Muda'.

Sinetron Cewekku Jutek di tahun 2003 membuat Agnes mendapat predikat sebagai aktris terfavorit di ajang Panasonic Award serta ‘Bunga Perawan' dan ‘Cantik' di tahun 2004 membuatnya mendapat predikat sebagai Aktris Ngetop di pagelaran SCTV Awards 2004.

Setelah sukses dengan menyanyikan lagu tema Pernikahan Dini, yaitu ‘Pernikahan Dini' dan ‘Seputih Hati', Agnes kemudian berkolaborasi dengan penyanyi Yana Julio menyanyikan single ‘Awan' dan ‘Ombak'. Album pertama yang Agnes setelah dewasa dirilis pada 8 Oktober 2003 bertitel And The Story Goes. Tak tanggung-tanggung, para pentolan musisi tenar seperti Ahmad Dhani dan Melly Goeslaw ia gaet untuk memluskan langkahnya bersaing di dunia internasional.

Album perdananya setelah dewasa mendapat sambutan luar biasa. Di ajang AMI 2004, Agnes meraih predikat Artis Pop Solo Wanita terbaik, Produksi Dance/Techno Terbaik untuk lagu bilang saja serta Duo/Grup terbaik dengan Ahmad Dhani di lagu ‘Cinta Mati'. Di tahun yang sama Agnes menyabet predikat Pendatang baru terbaik di Anugerah Planet Muzik 2005 serta Most Favorite Female pada MTV Indonesia Award 2004. Album perdananya meraih Double Platinum dengan penjualan lebih dari 300.000 ribu kopi.   

Album kedua berlabel Whaddup A'? Agnes terus menunjukkan tajinya. Selain menggandeng musisi nasional seperti Dewiq, Melly Goeslaw, Andi Rianto dan lainnya, Agnes juga berduet dengan penyanyi asal Amerika Keith Martin. Martin menciptakan dua lagu dan berduet di lagu ‘I'll Light A Candle'.

Album kedua Agnes kembali melejit dengan bebrapa lagu favorit diantaranya ‘Bukan Milikmu Lagi', ‘Tanpa Kekasihku', ‘Tak Ada Logika', dan ‘Cinta di Ujung Jalan'.  

Kesibukannya membuat Agnes memutuskan cuti kuliah dari Fakultas Hukum dan fokus bermusik. Hasilnya, Agnes sukses menyabet penghargaan bergengsi seperti Most Favorite Female pada ajang MTV 2006 dan Artis Solo Wanita Terbaik serta  Penyanyi Rythm dan Blues Terbaik di ajang AMI Award 2006. Lima penghargaan yang ia kantongi sepanjang tahun 2006 membuatnya terpilih sebagai Aktris Terpopuler 2006.

Tak puas dengan penghargaan yang didapatnya, bintang penuh sensasi ini, berambisi untuk Go Internasional. Agnes mencoba menjajal akting dalam film The Hospital bersama bintang Taiwan yang tengah naik daun Jerry Yan yang juga salah satu personil F4. Dia juga membintangi drama Taiwan lainnya  Romance In The White House dan The Romance.

Agnes menjadi penyanyi pembuka konser Boyz II Men di Istora Senayan,pada 15 Mei 2007. Sebelumnya Agnes direncanakan duet bareng Vanya, Maurice dan  Shawn, namun batal karena belum ada persiapan matang.

SINETRON

Setelah beberapa tahun tak muncul dalam sinetron, Agnes kembali membintangi dua judul sinetron pada 2008, Jelita dan Kawin Massal. Di tahun yang sama, Agnes juga menelurkan sebuah single berjudul Matahariku sebagai lagu tema Jelita.  Meski sinetonnya tak begitu sukses, single terbaru Agnes mendapat Platinum dengan angka downloada mencapai 1,5 juta. Agnes kembali ditasbihkan sebagai Most Favorite Female pada MTV Award Indonesia 2008.

September 2008, Agnes melepas single Godai Aku Lagi ke pasar yang juga masuk dalam album ketiganya, Sacredly Agnezious yang rilis 16 Maret 2009. Sebelumnya single Matahariku dan Godai Aku Lagi dikemas dalam CD Single berjudul NEZ. Berbeda dengan album sebelumnya, di album yang menjagokan single Teruskanlah ini ia meluncurkan dalam dua versi, berisi 10 track dan 13 track. Agnes juga terlibat langsung sebagai produser.

Agnes membuktikan ia mampu terus berprestasi. Pada bulan Maret 2009, namanya menjadi salah satu penerima penghargaan Class Music Heroes. Dan ia menjadi termuda yang menerima penghargaan ini. Di tahun yang sama, Agnes menarih predikat penyanyi solo terdahsyat versi ajang Dahsyat Award  pada 19 April 2009. Meski jarang terdengar  seperti tahun sebelumnya, Akhir November 2009 Agnes kembali merebut tropi sebagai Artist of The Year dan Favorite Artist pada ajang MTV Indonesia Awards 2009.

SBY criticizes abuse of maid in Saudi Arabia

The Associated Press, Jakarta | Wed, 11/17/2010 1:54 PM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants justice for a domestic worker who was allegedly tortured by her employers in Saudi Arabia.

The 23-year-old maid, Sumiati bini Salan Mustapa, has been hospitalized in Medina since Nov. 8, with burns all over her body, a fractured middle finger and cuts around her lips, reportedly made by scissors.

Yudhoyono said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday in Jakarta that the "extraordinary torture" needs to be investigated.

"I want the law to be upheld and to see an all-out diplomatic effort."

More than 80,000 Indonesian domestic workers flock to Saudi Arabia every year. Rights groups say they, and other migrant workers, at times face slavery-like conditions and sexual abuse.

Govt steps up heat on S. Arabia over worker abuse

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/20/2010 11:22 AM | Headlines

In reality, it will be worse: Activists from the Indonesian Workers Association and Migrant Care stage a theatrical performance with a theme of torturing Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia in front of the Royal Saudi Arabia Embassy in Jakarta Friday. Sumiati bini Salan Mustapa, an Indonesian maid, was inhumanly tortured by her Saudi employer recently. JP/Nurhayati

 Indonesia’s fury over the abuse and murder of migrant workers has found no relief. A regional government has imposed a complete moratorium while the President considered reviewing the practice of sending workers to Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia would review sending migrant workers to “uncooperative, non-transparent” countries, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters at the State Palace after a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

The President said “all out diplomacy” would be deployed against non-transparent countries to protect the interests of Indonesian workers.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that “uncooperative, non-transparent” countries were generally in the Middle East, and included Saudi Arabia.  

Marty summoned Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdurrahman Mohammad Amen Al-Khayyat on Friday for the third time this week on yet another incident involving a migrant worker. He previously summoned the ambassador twice and sent a letter to the Kingdom’s foreign minister following the case of 23-year-old Sumiati, a West Nusa Tenggara resident who was allegedly abused by her Saudi Arabian employer.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Zainul Majdi imposed a moratorium Friday on sending female domestic workers from the province to Saudi Arabia following the news on Sumiati. Sumiati was reportedly tortured and sustained cuts around her mouth that suggested she was attacked with scissors. She also reportedly has burns that may have been caused by a hot iron.

“Today [Friday], we’ll also call the Saudi Arabian ambassador, again. It is not because of the case of Ibu Sumiati, but another case that was just revealed last night [Thursday],” Marty said, referring to Kikim Komalasari, another Indonesian migrant worker who was found dead in garbage bin.

Kikim’s neck was reportedly slashed, and she also had cuts to the rest of her body.

Marty said it had taken longer than usual for the Kingdom’s police to inform the Indonesian Embassy about Kikim’s death because she was previously misidentified as a Bangladeshi.

“Saudi Arabia and Middle Eastern countries in general don’t recognize [bilateral] MoUs in the informal sector. They only want to sign ones on the formal sector,” Marty said.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar cited Saudi Arabia and Jordan as two countries Indonesia had not yet managed to sign good agreements on migrant workers with.

The result of the review might lead to a decision to halt the sending of workers to these countries, he added.

President Yudhoyono also said the government was mulling the prospect of equipping Indonesian migrant workers with cell phones to help them reach officers more easily when they face problems.

“Based on our experiences, we often receive reports on what has happened with our migrant workers [after it] is too late,” the President said.

Muhaimin explained afterward only migrant workers sent to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan had been equipped with cell phones.

“Cell phones should be a means of an open communication system included in the MoUs. Agents abroad must provide the phones, and the employers should not be allowed to take them [away],” the minister said.

Yudhoyono said currently about 4,300 Indonesian workers overseas are facing various hardships, ranging from being denied their salaries, overwork, and physical and even sexual abuse. Approximately 3.27 million Indonesians are now registered as migrant workers.

RI claims its second gold in the dragon boat

Matheos Viktor Messakh, The Jakarta Post, Guangzhou, China | Sat, 11/20/2010 8:18 AM | Headlines

Glorious moment: Members of Indonesian men’s dragon boat team celebrate with their gold medals after the medal ceremony for the men’s 500m straight race at the dragon boat event for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, on Friday. Antara/Andika Wahyu

 Perhaps Indonesia should start realizing what its strength is as one of the largest archipelagic countries in the world.

Until day seven of the 16th Asian Games (not 26th Games as reported on Friday on this page) the only two gold medals collected by the country were in the aquatic sport of the dragon boat — which resembles many traditional rowing sports in Indonesia.

The first gold was won on Thursday in the men’s 1,000-meter Straight Race, while the second gold was in the men’s 500-meter Straight Race on Friday.

Starting in lane four, the Indonesian team of 20 was left behind by Myanmar, who got off to an early start. But after 200 meters Indonesia took the lead, clocking in at 51.952 for the first 250 meters and hitting the finish line at 01:44.506.

Team Myanmar, the favorite, crossed the finish line second at 01:45.622, while host team China secured the bronze in 01:46.480.

“It felt good. I wasn’t exhausted during today’s competition. We will keep our energy up for tomorrow. We are equally good at both of the shorter races,” Indonesian team captain Asnawir said. “We hope we can get the gold in the 250-meter race.”

Team manager Djamal Uddin Young Mardinal said he and his squad were happy, despite not being the favorite to win in the class.

“In our last two meetings, at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games and the 2008 Asian Beach Games, we were always second [to Myanmar]. We actually just grabbed the gold from their hands,” Djamal told The Jakarta Post after the race.

After learning from defeat in their last two meetings, the team evaluated their strengths and weaknesses and focused on what they could do to defeat Myanmar, Djamal said.

Didin Rusdiana, one of the team members, said the victory was a result of seven months of training at Jatiluhur Dam in West Java, where the team focused on improving their power and endurance in order to defeat Myanmar.

“We trained five days a week, three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening. We rowed 15 to 20 kilometers each session with different weights and at different speeds,” the 31-year-old Bogor civil servant said.

The women’s team also shone in the 500-meter straight race after crossing the finish line at 02:02.875 to grab the silver medal, second only to the Chinese team. Thailand finished third.

Indonesia’s head coach Mohammad Suryadi, however, was not content with the women’s finish, blaming a lack of preparation for their failure to win gold.

“The men’s team has been preparing for this competition since late February, but the women’s team began in June,” Suryadi said.

The dragon boat competition is divided into six divisions, made up of men’s and women’s races in the 1,000-, 500- and 250-meter. Each team has 20 rowers, one steersman and one drummer.

The teams, with almost the same members, will compete in the men’s and women’s 250-meter races on Saturday.