Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Rights activist Fauzi Abdullah died at age 60 on Friday, just before he was to be awarded for his work defending the rights of laborers in Indonesia.

Fauzi died of lung and liver diseases, which hit him hardest during the past month, and is survived by his wife and nine-year-old son.

The former head of the labor division at the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation was buried Saturday near his house in Empang, Bogor in West Java.

Todung Mulya Lubis, noted lawyer and fellow rights activist, said Fauzi was supposed to receive the prestigious Yap Thiam Hien Award for human rights workers, in the lifetime achievement category.

"It is a special category granted to figures with extraordinary dedication," said Todung, who chairs the committee for the award, to be presented early December.

"Fauzi defended the rights of laborers without expecting any rewards. He was the most sincere and humble rights activist; we've lost a figure that never tired during his struggles."

Todung said Fauzi used to avoid open conflict and chose to do his job silently by encouraging workers to fight.

"He was a type of worker that avoided publicity and crowds. His modest life signified his support for the poor and oppressed. It's so unfortunate that we've been too late to appreciate his work," he added. (nia)

Minister's sermon sparks storm in cyberspace

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Anita Rachman – Parts of a sermon delivered on Friday by Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring linking the recent string of natural disasters to moral decay in the country has sparked a virulent reaction in cyberspace.

Speaking to some 1,000 people during a sermon celebrating Idul Adha in an open field in front of the governor's office in Padang, West Sumatra, Tifatul said that vice was on the rise – some of it prompted by immoral television programs – and that moral decay was the result.

"Television broadcasts that destroy morals are plentiful in this country and therefore disasters will keep on happening," he said, according to Antara news agency.

Tifatul, the former head of the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), was talking about the string of disasters in West Java and, more recently, the devastating earthquake that levelled parts of Padang.

But his comments caused intense reactions on the Internet, especially on social networking site Twitter, where the minister is active.

One tweeter, Ari Margiono, asked that if moral decadence caused these disasters, "did it mean that [the people] in Padang and Aceh had the worst morals?"

"Sir," Ari concluded, "there's no connection between earthquakes and tsunamis and [declining morals]."

Another poster wanted to know why focus on the public and pornography when there was plenty immoral activity in the government. "The government is much more immoral given they're responsible for illegal logging and corruption," Nana Soedarmadji said.

Tifatul turned up in Twitter to parry the attacks. "To all my colleagues, this was a sermon, not a [government] ruling. Just react in a relaxed manner, without panicking," he said in one of his responses.

He told the Jakarta Globe that he was merely citing a verse from the Koran, which says that "if the people of the towns had but believed and feared Allah, We should indeed have opened out to them [All kinds of] blessings from heaven and earth; but they rejected [the truth], and We brought them to book for their misdeeds"

He said that the advent of disasters was a good time to remind people of the dangers of decadence. "Disasters provide a momentum for repentance. If people are not faced with tests, they will become unrestrained," he said.

Actions, demos, protests...

Six rallies in Jakarta ahead of SBY's response to recommendations

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to announce his response on Monday to the recommendations made by the fact- finding team tasked with investigating the scandal at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). In anticipation, a number of anticorruption activists are holding rallies in the capital.

According to Jakarta Police Traffic Management Center, the first rally will be held by the Coallition of Anticorruption Societies in front of the State Palace at 9 a.m.

At 10 a.m., a group named the Indonesian Crisis Center will join their fellow activists at the same location.

The People's Movement is holding a demonstration in front of Hotel Indonesia at Jalan MH Thamrin at 10 a.m.

At 11 a.m., another anticorruption demonstration is taking place in front of the State Palace.

At 1 p.m., a student union will rally in front of the KPK building. The last scheduled rally is at 2 p.m. in front of the Hotel Indonesia by a group named Red and White Troops Social Forum.

Aceh

Foreigners again targets of terror in Aceh

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Foreign citizens have yet again become the target of terror attacks in Aceh, this time against two American citizens staying in a house at the Syiah Kuala University lecturer's housing complex in Banda Aceh.

The shooting attack caused damage to several windows, but no casualties were reported.

The US citizens, both English lecturers at the university, were asleep when their home was riddled with bullets by unidentified gunmen.

According to Syiah Kuala Police chief Second Insp. Abdul Mutholib, both of the women were inside the house when the shooting took place at around 6:30 a.m.

"They dived for cover when they heard the sound of gunfire outside their home. They heard between five and six gunshots," said Mutholib.

The women did not immediately report the incident to police, leaving the house to shop for groceries after which they went to work, not far from where they live. Police only received reports of the shooting at around 10 a.m..

"They told their work colleagues about the shooting incident and later reported it to police," said Mutholib.

Police are currently investigating the scene of the crime at the women's house and searching for bullets from the gun used by the assailants.

Members of Aceh's civil society institutions said attacks against foreign citizens in Aceh could have serious impacts on the peace process.

According to the groups, the violence is part of a pattern of terror attacks against the peace, which target institutions that have been persistent in promoting the peace process.

"We are aware that the threats were politically motivated and not a random attack," said Shadiah Marhaban, head of the Inong Aceh League, a group that works with Acehnese women affected by the conflict.

The attack was the third of its kind this month. On Nov. 5, head of the German Red Cross for Aceh, Bernhard Bauer, was shot as he was driving along one of Banda Aceh's main roads. Although he sustained serious gunshot wounds, Bauer survived the ordeal after receiving treatment in Singapore.

Several days later, European Union representative John Penny was targeted when his home in Darul Imarah district, Aceh Besar regency was fired upon by unidentified assailants on Nov. 16. Penny and his wife avoided injury in the attack, which shattered the house's windows.

To stone or not to stone: It's a matter of interpretation

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Aceh's controversial Qanun Jinayat code, which allows stoning to death for adulterers, would be difficult to implement because it was open to interpretation, Indonesian law enforcers concluded after a two-day workshop here over the weekend.

The workshop, facilitated by the Care for Shariah Civil Society Network (JMSPS), which comprises 16 human rights and women's rights nongovernmental organizations in the province, was attended by about 50 district prosecutors, district court judges, lawyers, police officers and Shariah police officers.

Aceh's Shariah Court judges were not allowed to participate in the event because they cannot give opinions on state law.

Khairani Arifin, a women's rights activist who headed the workshop, said during a news conference on Sunday afternoon that the Qanun Jinayat would be hard to implement in Aceh because there were such wildly differing interpretations of it between law enforcement agencies. "That's why these regulations have no legal certainty," she said.

Aceh's law enforcers, Khairani said, wante d the local government to re-examine the substance of the code, which was ratified by the former Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) on Sept. 14.

She said the law enforcement agencies also did not consider the Qanun Jinayat to be completely valid from a legal perspective.

The code, a set of local bylaws that were passed to replace parts of the Criminal Code with aspects of Islamic law for the province's Muslims, imposes harsh punishments, including stoning to death and lashings, for offenses like adultery and premarital and homosexual sex.

The bylaws also mandate corporal punishment for rapists, child molesters, those who drink alcohol and gamblers, and strictly regulates people's interactions with members of the opposite sex who are not family members.

After the code was ratified by the legislative council, national and international human rights groups spoke out against the regulations, calling them draconian and a violation of basic rights.

Aceh's governor, Irwandi Yusuf, has also refused to sign off on the Qanun Jinayat. The new legislative council has said it is generally against the regulations and is eager to revise them.

The recommendations from the workshop said the code should be reassessed because it was not in line with the social, economic or cultural aspects of the people of Aceh. They also said there was too much room for interpretation in the bylaws.

"Aceh's people are not ready for stoning. Besides it is inhuman, humiliating and could possibly create a backlash in society," Khairani said.

She said, however, that Aceh's law enforcement agencies were yet to take a strict line for or against the regulations. "But the JMSPS strictly rejects the two laws [stoning and whipping]," she added.

According to the law enforcement agencies, harsh punishments such as stoning could be considered unconstitutional, and other punishments were not in line with the principles of justice or equality before the law.

"For instance, it would be impossible for offenders to pay [compensation] in thousands of grams of gold, which is stipulated in the Qanun," Khairani said. The code stipulates a maximum of 60 lashes and a fine of 60 grams of pure gold, or 60 months in jail, for sexual harassment.

The law enforcers recommended that the Aceh government prioritize Shariah in the areas of improving education and understanding of Islamic law and jurisprudence. They also said the Qanun Jinayat should be used to promote development and social welfare, to give people a sense of justice and peace.

West Papua

Indonesian police on watch for separatists in Papua

Jakarta Globe - November 30, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Christian Motte – Police in Jayapura and five districts across Papua and West Papua were put on alert as authorities tightened security ahead of the Free Papua Movement separatist group's anniversary today.

Papua Police spokesman Agus Rianto said officers in Jayapura, Wamena, Timika, Nabire and Puncak Jaya in Papua and Manokwari in West Papua had been instructed to conduct searches for weapons following three flag-raising incidents in the provincial capital Jayapura by suspected supporters of the low-level separatists, also known as the OPM.

Mimika Police Chief Adj. Comr. Muhammad Sagih on Monday said he had also deployed 400 personnel around the district after receiving reports that several groups believed to be OPM supporters would raise the banned Morning Star flag in district capital Timika and in some other neighboring areas.

The OPM, a poorly organized group that has been pushing for the province's independence since the 1960s, regularly celebrates its anniversary on Dec. 1 by raising the Morning Star flag.

In Jakarta, military spokesman Air Vice Marshal Sagom Tamboen said that no additional troops would be deployed to the region. "The security situation will be handled by local police, while soldiers will only assist if they are needed," he said.

However, Tamboen did acknowledge that there would likely be some special patrols by local security officers to ensure that the province remained safe.

"We've anticipated the situation to prevent any possibility of violence taking place there," he said, adding that the military hoped local residents would not raise any other flag aside from the national colors.

Joe Collins, an activist from the Sydney-based Australia West Papua Association, a nongovernmental advocacy group for the people of both Papua and West Papua, said on Monday that it was concerned that the security forces would use any raising of the Morning Star as an excuse to crack down on the Papuan people.

"The first of December is such an important date in West Papuan history that there is bound to be a number of flag raisings in the territory," he said in a statement released to the media. "We call on the Australian government to urge the Indonesian president to control his security forces in West Papua."

Collins argued that banning the raising of the flag was in direct contravention of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which had also been ratified by the Indonesian government.

"Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media," he said.

Tamboen said no other country in the world would allow the raising of a flag that had secessionist connotations. "We will prevent such flag raisings," he insisted.

Police put 400 security personnel on alert in Mimika

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2009

Jakarta – Mimika police in Papua have put joint forces of 400 policemen and soldiers on alert ahead of the anniversary of the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM) which falls on Dec. 1.

Mimika police chief Adj. Comr. Muhammad Sagih said Monday that the police had anticipated possible security disturbances or the raising of separatist Morning Star flag.

"However, until this moment, there is no indication of OPM flag hoisting. Yes, we've got many rumors about possible flag hoisting," Sagih told Tempointeraktif.com in the regency capital of Timika.

Sagih said the joint police-military operation had already begun and security forces had been deployed to areas prone to security problems.

Thomas Wanmang, a member of Mimika Cultural Council, said that he also had not heard of anyone planning to hoist the Morning Star flag.

Separatist flag hoisting is illegal, and the police have in the past arrested people raising the Morning Star flag.

Mimika, which hosts gold mining giant Freeport Indonesia, is notorious for ambushes. Earlier this year, a 29-year-old Australian, an Indonesian security guard working for Freeport and a policeman were killed in separate attacks.

In 2002, two American teachers and their Indonesian colleague were killed on the same stretch of road.

Amnesty highlights police abuses in Indonesia's Papua

Agence France Presse - November 30, 2009

Jakarta – Amnesty International called Monday for an investigation into a "pattern of unchecked human rights violations" by Indonesian police in restive Papua province.

In an open letter to Papua police chief Bekto Suprapto, the London-based rights watchdog said there was evidence of unnecessary and excessive use of force, beatings and unlawful killings by police in Nabire district.

"We would like to raise to your attention a pattern of unchecked human rights violations by police in the Nabire district, Papua province, over the last year," the letter said.

"We would like to request that you take the lead in ensuring that independent, impartial and effective investigations into these reports be conducted immediately."

It cited local witness testimony of two unlawful killings and the beatings of peaceful demonstrators and rights activists in the resource-rich province, where the Indonesian police and military stand accused of widespread abuses.

Alleged beating sparks riot at Papua jail

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Allegations that correctional officials tortured a political prisoner in a jail in Papua has prompted protests from about 30 highland tribesmen in front of the facility, reports indicated on Friday.

The tribesmen protested at the state penitentiary in Abepura near the provincial capital of Jayapura, where fellow inmates who supported the political prisoner had rioted since the previous evening, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar told news portal detik.com.

The tribe members were protesting the alleged mistreatment of Buchtar Tabuni, who was said to have been beaten and tortured by Indonesian security forces while under military detention. He was moved from Wamena in the highlands to Abepura, the Australia- based Institute of Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights (IPAHR) said in a press release.

The group said the incident took place on Thursday at 6:15 p.m. local time and that Tabuni suffered head injuries serious enough to render him unable to open his mouth.

The IPAHR said the beating took place after two soldiers and one policeman who were being detained at the facility asked the other prisoners to return to their cell rooms. The other inmates complained that they had gone without water for two days. Tabuni was among the complainants and was said to have been beaten by the three detained security officials as well as a jail warden identified as Theo Awii.

IPAHR identified four detained security forces members as Robi Korwa, Samsul Bakri, Yance Korwa, and David Ongge.

Patrialis, who could not be immediately reached for comment, was quoted by detik.com as saying that the violence had been due to a "misunderstanding."

"With this misunderstanding, unrest broke out. The jail was damaged, its glass windows shattered because there were so many supporters of Buchtar. So the jail was attacked both from outside and from within," Patrialis said.

He added that an agreement had been reached with the rioters, including that Buchtar be given medical attention. The two soldiers and policeman have been moved to a local Armed Forces detention station.

Beating claims prompt calls for ICRC to return to Papua

Radio New Zealand International - November 27, 2009

A human rights activist claims the beating of a West Papuan political prisoner in Jayapura underlines the need for Indonesia to re-allow access to the region for the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC.

Papuan rights groups report that Buchtar Tabuni was assaulted by five Indonesian security force officers also detained at the Papua provincial capital's notorious Abepura prison.

Tabuni, who is serving a three year subversion sentence, has bad head injuries and activists fear he is being denied medical treatment.

Paula Makabori of the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights says that the ICRC, which was forced by Jakarta to shut its office in April, has a role to play.

"With all the maltreatments of West Papuan political prisoners, especially those activists and student activists in Abepura and police prison, I think Indonesia's government has to go give free access to International Red Cross to come back to West Papua to advocate these situations and also give the right treatment to all those political prisoners."

Concerns over repatriation of West Papuans

Post Courier - November 26, 2009

Harlyne Joku – "They're being sent to a concentration camp." This is how a West Papuan spokesman for the Merauke group living in Port Moresby, Nicholas Balagaize, described the repatriation exercise being carried out by the Indonesian government on the West Papuans who opted to return to their homes in West Papua.

Last Sunday saw the final part of the repatriation program which sent about 300 West Papuans back to the Papua province of West Papua.

Ambassador Bom Soerjanto confirmed the repatriation at a press conference last Friday, saying it was a joint program between the government of PNG and Indonesia and adding that the program was voluntary. "None of them have been forced to return," he said.

An Indonesian military aircraft flew the first lot of men, women and children out of Wewak's Boram Airport last Thursday. They consisted of those living in the Momase provinces where the second and third generation of West Papuans settled. Last Sunday, some 170 West Papuans from the Southern region, Lae and Port Moresby were flown by the military plane from Port Moresby to West Papua.

Initially about 700 West Papuans had registered to return but most had second thoughts and changed their minds. One told The Post-Courier that he did not know whether he would be returning to his home province and family.

Mr Balagaize yesterday warned those that had taken part and others considering for future repatriation to be wary. "They will send you back home to a concentration camp to be observed closely by the Indonesian military. It will be dangerous," he said.

Mr Balagaize, whose late brother Lawrence was one of the first to join the repatriation exercise in 2005 to Merauke on the southern part of the island, was found dead in a suspicious nature in a drain a few months after his return. He said the current repatriation was being conducted on a low note and not done correctly.

Mr Balagaize said the United Nations should have been involved in the program as they were the cause of the West Papuan issue when allowing the so-called "Act of Free Choice" to take place.

He said that the special autonomy was thought of in Jakarta and "pushed down the throats" of the West Papuans. Mr Abdul Hakim from the Indonesian Embassy said yesterday the program had been successful and the people will not be sent to a "concentration camp."

Mimika residents hope for peace in Freeport

Antara News - November 23, 2009

Timika – Residents of Mimika, Papua, hoped the security situation in the area of PT Freeport Indonesia would soon be restored to normal, so that there will be no more employee buses being shot at by gunmen.

"All Mimika residents are hoping for peace in the area. We want to live in peace and don't want a recurrence of the shooting incidents," Anti Violence Human Right Foundation (YAHAMAK) vice president, Arnold Ronsumbre, said in Timika, Sunday.

He asked Mimika citizens to refrain from committing crime. Seven people became suspects of setting fire to a car, others were in illegal possession of arms in the Freeport area.

"I hope these incidents can become a lesson for all of us to be more careful in our actions. We must not be too easily provoked to commit a crime," Arnold said.

Meanwhile commission A chairman of the provincial legislative council (DPRD), Wilhelmus Pigai thanked the Amole Timika II Task Force for their three months of maintaining security at PT Freeport and its surroundings in Mimika.

"The Amole task force in Timika contributed a great deal to the Mimika security recovery effort," Pigai said. He also said that the extension of the Amole Timika II task force assignment which expired on November 30 will depend on the local police.

"It depends on the Papua police and local military authorities, as well as the management of Freeport. If their presence is considered important to maintaining peace in the area, then their assignment can be extended," Pigai said.

On Saturday (Nov 21) at around 14:30 local time, on Mile 41 on the Timika-Tembagapura road, members of the Zebra infantry battalion in pursuit of three people suspected of firing at the company vehicles, lost their target.

Human rights/law

AGO has no excuse to delay judicial review in Munir murder case

Kompas - November 25, 2009

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) no longer has any grounds to postpone submitting a judicial review on the release of former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono in the murder case of human rights activists Munir. Delays in the judicial review are seen as a plot to limit those accused of the Munir's murder to former Garuda Airlines pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto.

This was conveyed by Choirul Anam from the Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (Kasum) on Tuesday November 24 in Jakarta. According to Choirul, the AGO has postponed submitting the judicial review against Purwopranjono's aquital because it has not yet received a copy of the ruling from the court.

"But, Kasum itself has already received the Muchdi the appeal decision from the South Jakarta District Court. So, it's impossible that the AGO has not yet received the ruling," said Anam.

Munir's widow Suciwati added that the Supreme Court's arguments at the time in rejecting the June 15 appeal were extremely weak. The judicial review is very urgent to show that the Indonesian legal system is still functioning. "To this day the case is still being discussed internationally," she said.

The AGO submitted the Supreme Court appeal after the South Jakarta District Court released Purwopranjono on all charges on December 31, 2008. The appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court. Anam doubts that the arguments presented were legally defective.

Kasum legal team member Uli Parulian said that weak argumentation and unprofessional law enforcement officials are one of the symptoms of the court mafia. "We are demanding that the Muchdi judicial review be submitted along with new evidence (novum) and the replacement of the prosecutor", said Anam.

Rusdi Marpaung from Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) highlighted the actions of law enforcement officials who have tended to put the Munir murder case on ice.

Usman Hamid, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence also urged the AGO to immediately submit a judicial review over the Purwopranjono case. He said he suspected that delays in submitting the review are because of the influence of the court mafia. (edn/jos)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Central Java family face 7 years jail for taking tree fibers

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2009

Candra Malik, Batang (Central Java) – After the uproar over the case of Minah, a grandmother who received a suspended sentence for stealing three cocoa pods, the sense of justice of millions of people living in poverty may be equally offended by a similar case.

Batang resident Manisih, 39, said she and three of her family had been arrested on Nov. 2 for collecting the remnants of a kapok harvest in a field owned by PT Segayung. She was speaking on Wednesday from the detention center in Rowobelang where they were being held.

Although the company had not banned gleaning after the harvest, Comr. Susongko, deputy chief of the Batang Police, said the four had been charged with aggravated theft, which carries a maximum sentence of seven year in prison.

"Although they said they only picked up the remnants of the kapok harvest off the ground, we confiscated two poles over three meters in length, plastic rope and a sickle. The four were caught red-handed by police," he said.

The suspects are Manisih's children, Rusnanto, 12, and Juwono, 16, and her nephew, Sri Suratmi, 25.

Manisih denied they had stolen kapok. "We only collected the leftover kapok off the ground, which we will sell to live," she told reporters at the detention center.

Leli Meilinda, a prosecutor for the Batang Prosecutor's Office, said the suspects' case dossiers were complete and that Manisih and her family would be brought to court within a week.

Kapok is a tree with large seed pods, the fibers of which are used for upholstery and insulation.

Controversial state secrecy bill comes back to life

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The controversial state secrecy bill is back, with the Defense Ministry planning to meet with a number of prominent public figures who had earlier expressed opposition to it.

The bill still carries heavy jail terms for journalists and gives the government the right to close media organizations.

Agus Brotosusilo, a ministerial adviser working on the bill, said on Sunday that it was hoped discussions could begin as early as next month.

In September, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally bowed to public pressure and demanded that the House of Representatives – which at the time was rushing to enact a draft of the legislation at the end of its term – delay passage of the controversial bill.

Critics had derided the bill as a return to the authoritarian era under former dictator Suharto, saying it would hamper the democratic process that began in 1998 under a reform agenda that laid the groundwork for freedom, transparency and accountability.

Agus mentioned prominent activists opposed to the previous bill – Agus Sudibyo from the Science, Aesthetic and Technology Foundation, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, anti-corruption activist Teten Masduki, human rights activist Usman Hamid and prominent sociologist Daniel Dhakidae – and said the ministry had attempted to address their concerns in the new draft.

The people Agus mentioned were among those who signed a petition rejecting the adoption of the state secrecy bill in September. They insisted the bill's content would harm the principles of good governance, democracy and freedom of information.

"We have entered many new things, including how the draft would include the spirit of anti-corruption, freedom of the press and respect for human rights values," Agus said.

Agus Sudibyo, however, criticized the new approach on Sunday. He said the government should invite the activists to participate in drafting the bill and not simply allow them to comment on a finished draft.

Agus Sudibyo said the Defense Ministry had promised that civil society would be involved in drafting the bill, pointing out that there was a clear difference between just being called to comment and being involved in the actual drafting.

"If the ministry has good intentions on including what citizens want with the bill, they should make us sit with them while drafting the bill," he said.

The state secrecy bill would give the government authority to limit public access to specific documents, information, activities and objects that have been officially declared state secrets by the president.

A member of the Press Council had earlier said that the previous version of the bill provided the government with tools to control press freedom through revocation of a company's operating license, fining a company until it became bankrupt, as well as jailing journalists.

The ministry's Agus Brotosusilo said the ministry would retain such provisions in the new draft of the bill, but explained this did not mean to criminalize press institutions.

He said past experiences justify why these articles should be kept. He cited the example of three Indonesians who sold photographic state documents of natural resources in Papua to mining company Freeport McMoran. He did not elaborate on details of the case.

Labour/migrant workers

Govt must heed informal employment: Outgoing ILO representative

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2009

Alan Boulton, the International Labor Organization (ILO) representative in Jakarta, will conclude his eight-year assignment in Indonesia on Nov. 30, 2009.

Under his leadership, the ILO plays the role as partner to the country in labor development. Below is an excerpt from an interview with The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on Saturday.

What is your assessment of Indonesia's labor development over the past eight years?

Indonesia has come a long way in improving labor and employment conditions. Some examples include finalizing the package of labor law reforms that have provided new dispute resolution systems, the progress in addressing the issue of child labor, providing more attention to the rights of migrant workers and putting more emphasis on improving labor policy.

However there are still many challenges facing Indonesia in these areas. There needs to be more jobs created to absorb people who leave school before they graduate, and even more jobs to address the chronic underemployment issue. This is a massive waste of the nation's human resources and a serious challenge while Indonesia seeks to make progress in poverty reduction measures. There also needs to be much more attention given to the rights of the nation's approximate 70 million workers, including female domestic workers who are entering the informal sector.

Do you see the economic livelihood of workers deteriorating and why?

Although Indonesia may have avoided the full impact of the current global financial crisis, it has still made an impact on export sectors with factory closures and layoffs. The crisis has also created flow-down effects in other parts of the economy, making it difficult for many companies to maintain the same level of activity and employment, which results in job losses in other sectors. Additionally, there seems to be a trend towards less secure employment in many developing economies. In Indonesia's case, the proportion of the workforce in the informal economy has increased over recent years.

The crisis has been responsible to some extent, but employment practices are changing and workers are now being offered less secure and temporary employment. Whatever the reason, this has become an emerging pattern in Indonesia.

What are the labor and social trends for the coming years?

The ILO recently released a report called "Labor and Social Trends in Indonesia 2009: Recovery and beyond through decent work". The report shows that the global financial crisis has impacted Indonesia most severely concerning falling exports, which have resulted in widespread job losses with subcontracted, casual and temporary workers in export industries being hardest hit. It also shows that restricted credit availability for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is hampering economic rebound and labor absorption in these and other sectors of the economy. If the 1998-1999 Asian financial crisis is a guide, it may take several years for indicators such as unemployment, productivity, poverty and numbers of workers in vulnerable employment sectors to return to the pre-crisis state. Strategies to improve the situation need to address the quality of education and training to better equip Indonesian workers for the future and improve their skills so enterprises are competitive in a globalized economy.

Despite the law, a majority of workers either in the formal and informal sectors have been left unprotected. Your comment?

Like many developing countries, there is a problem in Indonesia with law enforcement. This means there are often protracted disputes just to ensure workers receive their entitlements under the law or collective agreements. This should be addressed through more effective labor inspection services and less costly and more transparent avenues to legal enforcement. The problem is different for those in informal employment. Informal workers often have no rights provided under the law or agreements. This may cause many problems in Indonesia as the population becomes better informed about fair treatment and less willing to tolerate abuse.

What should the government do to protect workers entering the informal sector?

The basic rights and protections for workers in the informal sector need to be assured. There is evidence of exploitation in some sectors that warrants action by governments and lawmakers. Domestic workers, for example, have no rights to wages, reasonable work hours and conditions or leave entitlements. The government can also provide greater security to workers in informal employment by working with local governments and worker representatives to address concerns such as vendors' rights, license fees and regulations.

Do you think the low wage system is a key labor problem in Indonesia?

For a variety of reasons Indonesia will need to find job opportunities for many low-skilled people. This means encouraging and supporting labor intensive industries, even though the wages and conditions in these industries may be relatively poor. Over time, the skills base of the Indonesian workforce needs to be improved with better education and training so that workers can find better paying and more fulfilling jobs.

How should the minimum wage system be revised?

The minimum wage system has undergone changes in recent years and has generally delivered wage increases in line with inflation. In some ways there are too many expectations about the system. Most minimum wage systems around the world are designed to protect the lowest paid in the workforce. However, in Indonesia the system does not apply to workers in the informal sector (about 70 percent of the workforce). It also tends to set a "going rate" for many workers in the formal sector. This is how wage-setting systems have developed in this country and it will be difficult to quickly move away from them.

Do you see a need for all confederations and labor unions to merge and, like Australia, form a political party or make a political engagement with existing parties to channel workers' aspirations?

The unions can have more influence on governments and bargaining power with employers if they find ways to work together effectively. Whether this involves a merger is an issue the unions and workers should decide. However, the trend in many countries is to have one national organization. As the unions in Indonesia develop (remember freedom of association is just 11- years-old in this country) they will begin to find ways to strengthen the representation of workers in policy-making forums. Currently, it may be difficult for the unions form their own political party. It will likely involve alliances with existing parties. But this is Indonesia and, hey, you can never be sure what will happen!

Stop extortion, harassment at airport: Migrants

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2009

Jakarta – Troubled migrant workers have cried out against rampant extortion and sexual harassment at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on their return to Indonesia.

Marwa Yati, a migrant worker who was employed in Syria, was stranded at the airport for weeks since she had no money left to buy a plane ticket to her home village in Central Sulawesi.

After her two-year working contract ended, Marwa arrived in Jakarta penniless. She said she had been a victim of fraud at the hands of her agent and received no pay for all her work.

Marwa had spent more than two weeks in Terminal 4 after her remaining Indonesian money was given to officers at the special terminal. The National Agency for Labor Placement and Protection (BNP2TKI) has given her three food coupons a day, each worth Rp 8,000 (less than US$1).

Marwa failed to convince BNP2TKI of her case and has nobody to help her get home. "My child offered to send me money to buy a ticket, but I told to him it was too expensive at Rp 2 million for one-way ticket to Sulawesi, (unless you buy it outside)" she said.

Marwa had previously filed her complaint many times at a center in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, concerning abuse she endured during her placement, however, the center had apparently refused to believe her.

"I went to the center and they told me they could not deal with me. (So) I said I was going to the Manpower Ministry and I asked for a letter. They told me to wait and not to go the ministry and to take a nap instead. I told them they could not sit on my complaint. I was abused for four months there," she told Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar and his entourage when they made a snap inspection of the migrant worker terminal.

"They said it was my fault for staying there two years. But, for me, it is not my mistake but the fault of the labor export company that sponsored my departure," she said.

Marwa was one dozens of troubled migrant workers who filed complaints that day. The center receives at least 30 complaints every day, but most are unable to get quick responses either from employers or related authorities.

The center only responds once migrant worker activists learn of migrants' stories and troubles. Unlike Marwa, some migrant workers return with loads of money. Such people are sitting ducks in Terminal 4 and are often forced to exchange their real or dollars with rupiah at low exchange rates, said Elly Anita, a former migrant worker who is now an activist in Migrant Care, an NGO providing advocacy for troubled migrant workers.

"I saw a migrant worker from Bandung who tried to hide her money in her underwear. Several people had found out and forced her to exchange it with rupiah. She came to us and we went straight to the police to make a report, but she decided not to go through with the process because they were not sure if police would process the case," she said.

Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah, who was among the minister's entourage, said officers at the terminal were liars because the extortion was committed in a systemic manner.

"(The workers) do not voluntarily exchange their money, but are forced and intimidated to do so. With these workers having rupiah to spend on souvenirs and other stuff, businesses in the terminal is thriving. So they are a kind of business syndicate that systematically extorts (migrant workers)," she said.

Anis questioned why a money changer offering a low rate was positioned precisely behind the terminal's waiting room, when a state-onwed bank was a long way from the terminal.

More than 1,000 migrant workers return to Indonesia via the terminal every day. The complaints center receives around 100 complaints on a daily basis, ranging from sexual harassments and rape to unpaid salaries, abuse and other violence. However, the cases are often shelved once migrant workers get insurance claims and can afford flights home.

Muhaimin declined to allow workers to leave the airport via Terminal 2 (which is for general passengers) because the terminal was deemed prone to extortion. "It would be better to isolate the workers' problem," he said.

Muhaimin said he was considering posting supervisors at the terminal to ensure better service for returning workers and troubled ones.

Rieke Diyah Pitaloka, a member of House's Commission IX on labor and health affairs, said the terminal should be closed down to allow the public to scrutinize the safety of returning workers.

Environment/natural disasters

Seven Greenpeace activists deported from Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2009

Budi Otmansyah, Pekanbaru – Seven foreign Greenpeace activists who chained themselves to a crane at port facilities of PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper in Riau were deported on Friday, while five others were told to leave the province, authorities said.

"[We] have decided to deport seven of the twelve foreign activists via the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The other five are banned from Riau until further notice," Pekanbaru Immigration Office head Jumanter Lubis said on Friday.

He said the twelve activists had been proven guilty of visa violations and misuse of immigration documents and the punishment given them was based on the Law on Immigration 1992.

"The banishment and deportation was based on a police investigation. It is also proposed that the seven deported activists be blacklisted from visiting Indonesia," Lubis said.

He said the seven activists had been proven guilty of chaining themselves and dangling from the cranes at PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper port in Perawang, Siak district, while the other five were expelled for being at the site and watching the action.

"The other five were only watching, they didn't have a chance to take part in the action," Lubis said.

Greenpeace Indonesia campaign manager for Southeast Asia Bustar Maitar said that the banishment and deportation sanction was clearly given in response to pressure from the paper company.

"We did not break the law with our action because what we did was expressing our opinion about the environment in public. This kind of response might mean that in the future any foreigner could be arrested and deported simply for watching a demonstration," Maitar said.

Greenpeace lawyer Johnson Panjaitan accused the police of siding with the company and said there was coercion in the arrest of the activists.

"An obvious indication is that the company report was received by police only after the action was over. The report should have been filed when the action was under way," he said.

"As of now there are no more Greenpeace activists in Kampar Peninsula. We'll continue to counsel in the legal process involving 21 of the [Indonesian] activists," Panjaitan said.

Government may allow mining of protected forests

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The government has revealed plans to amend the law on natural resource conservation, which could pave the way for mining companies to exploit the country's rich mineral resources in protected forests.

Director general for forest protection and natural conservation at the Forestry Ministry, Daruri, said that many mineral resources, including coal or geothermal sources were located in conservation forests.

"We are now reviewing articles prohibiting mining activities in conservation forests," Daruri told a workshop Wednesday.

The 1990 Natural Resources Conservation Law prohibits the mining sector from exploiting mineral resources in conservation areas. Meanwhile, the 1999 Forest Law stipulates that non-forest activities can only be conducted in both protected and production forests.

Daruri, however, immediately warned environmental activists not to politicize the plans. "We will only change the law if there is guarantee that mining activities will not damage conservation forests," he said. "But we need a law as an umbrella for conserving the forest."

He said that about 70 percent of geothermal sources were located below conservation forests. "One thing for sure is that we will continue prohibiting the transformation of conservation forests into plantations," he said.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan in his opening speech at the workshop also acknowledged the abundance of mining resources in conservation areas that could not be exploited due to restrictions in the 1999 Forestry Law. He said that on the other hand, the country needed to meet its economic growth target of 7 percent in 2014, which could be reached by creating a conducive investment climate, including in the forestry sector.

"The development of the forestry sector must also adapt to national development by ensuring sustainable forest management," he said.

Zulkifli has put the protection of forests as one of his priorities over the next five years to help fight global warming.

The executive director of the Indonesian Mining Association, Priyo Pribadi, said the 1999 Forestry Law and other regulations had hampered mining companies from exploiting mineral resources in forests.

He said that many mining companies had secured permits for exploration activities and feasibility studies from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. "But such permits are useless when there are no permits from the forestry ministry to allow such activities," he told the workshop.

The association also called on the government to revise the 1999 law and a 2004 presidential decree, which only allows 13 companies to operate in protected areas. He said the mining sector contributed to 33 percent of the state budget, with 29 percent from oil and gas and the remaining from coal and mineral mining.

The government has long been under pressure from environmental activists over mining activities in forests that have damaged the environment and left people around the mining operations in poverty.

Indonesia is home to 120 million hectares of rainforest, making it the third-largest rainforest country after Brazil and Congo.

Deforestation in Indonesia – claimed to be the world's worst with an area the size of Switzerland lost every year – has already lead to the damage of some 59 million hectares of the country's 120.35 million hectares of forest.

Environmental activists shut down cranes at Indonesian paper mill

Reuters - November 26, 2009

Environmental activists shut down four cranes at a port run by one of Asia's biggest pulp and paper groups on Indonesia's Sumatra island, but overall operations were not hit, the company said on Thursday.

Greenpeace activists have targeted logging and paper firms in Indonesia in recent months to draw attention to the role that deforestation plays in global warming in the lead up to global climate talks in Copenhagen in early December.

Twelve Greenpeace protesters on Wednesday climbed four cranes at a port in Riau province, Sumatra, that is used to export paper produced by PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper, a unit of industry giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

The activists unfurled a banner that read "Forest Destruction: You can stop this." The last activist was taken down by police at around 9am on Thursday morning.

"Deforestation is one of the roots of the climate crisis. We are shutting down the exports of one of the world's largest pulp mills at the frontline of forest destruction to tell our elected leaders that they can – and must – pull us back from the brink of catastrophic climate change," Greenpeace campaigner Shailandra Yashwan said in a statement.

At least 18 activists, including 12 foreigners, were detained by Riau police, said a Greenpeace spokesman, Martin Baker. Aida Greenbury, Asia Pulp & Paper's director of sustainability, said that exports were not disrupted.

"People had to stop work on the cranes that were affected because of potential danger to our staff, so yes, they were disrupting those cranes but we have so many working there it wasn't really affecting operations at all," she told Reuters.

Greenbury said about 1 million tonnes of paper made from trees drawn from Riau and Jambi provinces are exported every year from the port. She said that APP was setting aside parts of its logging concessions in Sumatra for conservation and potential future carbon offset programs.

Greenpeace said purchasers of APP's paper products include Vogue, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Marc Jacobs. Greenbury declined to confirm this. APP is part of the Sinar Mas group, a conglomerate owned by Indonesia's Widjaja family.

Greenpeace's protest follows a demonstration in Riau's Kampar Peninsula, where activists chained themselves to heavy machinery operated by another industry giant, Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd.

More Greenpeace activists detained for protest in Riau

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2009

Fidelis E Satriastanti – Undeterred by their encounter with local police earlier this month, Greenpeace activists once again carried out protests in Riau on Wednesday – and were promptly detained.

At 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 activists – nine of whom were foreigners – snuck into Perawang Port in Siak district, which is owned by PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, a subsidiary of the Sinar Mas Group. They tied themselves to four cranes at the facility as part of the protest.

The activists were demanding that world leaders, particularly US President Barack Obama and the heads of European Union countries, provide the necessary financing to protect forests from destruction ahead of a UN climate change summit in Copenhagen that begins on Dec. 7.

Greenpeace has called Sinar Mas a major contributor to climate change due to its role in the widespread logging of Indonesia's forests.

Police and company personnel managed to evict most of the activists by about 9 a.m., detaining five Indonesian activists and the nine foreigners involved in the protest.

Hikmat Soeritanuwijaya, a spokesman for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, identified the nine foreign activists detained as Richard Carlson of New Zealand, Benoit Calvi (Belgium), Nina Matthess (Germany), Roderick Moro Andrada (Philippines), Stephanie Hillman (United States), Stephanie Goodwin (Canada), Valerie Phillips (Australia), Ashish Fernandes (India) and Asti Gabriella Roesle (Switzerland).

According to a media release issued by Greenpeace, one of the detained activists, Phillips, a forests campaigner from Australia, called on world leaders to address climate change by looking at deforestation in countries such as Indonesia. "Prime Minister Rudd, President Obama, all the leaders of the developed countries must agree to nothing short of a fair, ambitious and legally-binding deal to avert climate disaster," she said, referring to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

"Significant funds are urgently needed to end tropical deforestation in Indonesia and globally, which is driven by commodities such as paper and palm oil."

In an official statement, Asia Pulp and Paper, Indah Kiat's holding company, said that despite Greenpeace's "dangerous and illegal activities" on Wednesday, it understood the group's concerns regarding the need to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"APP engaged UK-based Environmental Resource Management [ERM] to conduct an independent Carbon Footprint assessment. And, we are currently using the results to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in each of our production facilities, to monitor APP's current footprint, and to calculate the full life cycle of our products," the statement read.

Indonesia troubled by oil on water

Radio Australia - November 24, 2009

Eleanor Hall: More reports have emerged of decimated fish stocks off the coast of Indonesia near the recent oil spill in the Timor Sea. At least half a million litres of oil from the Montara oil field spilled into the Timor Sea over 10 weeks from August this year.

Hundreds of fishermen and seaweed farmers say this has cost them their only source of income and they say they are preparing a compensation claim against both the Australian Government and the Thai operators of the oil rig.

While the Australian Government maintains there is no evidence of damage to Indonesia's marine areas, Jakarta has now set up a team to investigate, as Stephanie March reports.

Stephanie March: Reports of dead fish floating in waters off Kupang in Indonesia's east started to emerge in September. Environmental researcher David Jones spent the past six weeks taking water samples and speaking to fishermen in the area.

David Jones: They found dead fish in the area and as they started fishing they discovered that their fish catch was off by like 70 per cent or more so every time they went fishing, they were unable to produce any economic benefit and in fact they lost money every trip so they eventually they had to stop fishing.

Stephanie March: Bob La Macchia manages one of the largest trawling operations in the area. He is one dozens of operators seeking compensation for lost income he says has been caused by the spill. He says the claim from his company alone reaches into the millions.

Bob La Macchia: More than a million. I'm looking at two to three million. I mean it's got to be at least seven years, at least seven before we start seeing any product off these grounds.

Stephanie March: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says it has been conducting daily fly-over assessments of the area since the leak started in August. It maintains the type and amount of oil observed in Indonesian waters poses no significant threat to the marine environment. But David Jones says the dispersant used by Australian authorities pushed the oil from the surface down onto the reef.

David Jones: Some of these guys, they fish and sometimes they dive down at night and they use a small spear gun and they shoot a few fish. So they have actually, you know, it's only 15 metres deep so they could see it on the reef even if it wasn't on the surface.

Stephanie March: The Indonesia Government has now set up a team to calculate the losses incurred from the oil spill. Chairman of the West Timor Care Foundation Ferdi Tanoni is coordinating the compensation claim on behalf of the Kupang fishermen. He says the Australian Government has a moral obligation to help the fishermen of West Timor.

Ferdi Tanoni: I can recall back in the Second World War thousands and thousands of West Timorese and East Timorese got killed just to help with the Australian Army.

Stephanie March: Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement it will act consistently with international law but that it is not aware of any basis for a compensation claim.

An Australian Government inquiry into the disaster will hand down its findings in April. But Kupang-based environment researcher David Jones says that may be too late for the Indonesian fishermen.

David Jones: They fish until like Christmas time and the first part of January and then they have to make enough money to survive through the wet season and this year they are not going to have any way to survive because their boats are only designed for fishing in that area.

Eleanor Hall: That's environment researcher David Jones in that report by Stephanie March.

Indonesia rejects 'world's third-largest emitter' tag

Reuters - November 23, 2009

A World Bank study that cited Indonesia as the world's third- largest emitter of greenhouse gases was wrong, an Indonesian report sent to the United Nations on Monday said, although it did not provide its own ranking.

Indonesia is seen as a key player in forthcoming international climate talks in Copenhagen because its greenhouse gas emissions from peatbogs and deforestation are a major contributor to global warming.

But the 2007 World Bank report which described Indonesia as the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the United States and China was not accurate, according to the Indonesian government's Second National Communication – a formal report on the state of Indonesia's emissions.

"When I hear people say we are number three, I feel put out. It's not right," Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta told reporters at the launch of the report in Jakarta. "Other countries have not reported their data so how can they say we are number three? Maybe Indonesia is just too honest."

The Second National Communication found that in 2000, Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions were around 1,415,988 gigagrams, far lower than the 3,014,000 gigagrams of emissions that the 2007 World Bank study found.

Hakan Bjorkman, country director for the United Nations Development Program, also said that the 2007 study was not accurate. "That ranking that was done a few years ago didn't use comparable years and data," he told reporters.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised cuts of up to 26 percent by 2020, or 41 percent by 2050, with funding and technological support from developed countries.

The Second National Communication listed several possible ways that Indonesia could reduce its emissions but did not set a target date for implementation.

Among the strategies were proposals to develop more geothermal and waste energy sources, increase power plant efficiency, reduce illegal logging by 43 per cent and restore production forests by 35 per cent.

Women & gender

In fight against abuse, women to go by the book

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2009

Nurfika Osman – In an effort to boost the country's campaign against abuse of women, a women's rights watchdog is set to release a compilation of reports on violence against women over the weekend.

The book will contain articles on victims who have dealt with the physical and psychological effects of abuse, extensive analyses of the causes and effects of different issues related to violence, and recommendations that would prevent abuse.

The book was compiled from reports of violence against women over the past 40 years.

The book launch, which will be held during a two-day seminar on violence against women that starts on Sunday, is one of the activities being supported by the government to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, officially celebrated on Wednesday.

Kamala Chandrakirana, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said the commission was hoping the book would pave the way for a more comprehensive program to protect women's rights.

"With this compilation of reports, we hope to unearth the very core of the problem and come up with more concrete solutions to make sure acts of violence are prevented," she said.

Although the book will not be for sale, copies will be distributed to government agencies that specialize in the field, nongovernmental organizations and academic experts.

Kamala said the number of reported cases of domestic violence against women rose steeply from 25,522 in 2007 to 54,425 in 2008, an increase of 113 percent.

She added that victims of domestic violence often decided against taking their cases to court because they resented the bureaucracy they were forced to confront in the judicial process.

Expected to attend the seminar over the weekend were President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former President BJ Habibie and State Minister for Women's Empowerment Linda Amalia Sari, as well as women's rights activists from 11 countries in Asia and Africa.

Meanwhile, women's groups kicked off a broader campaign promoting awareness of domestic violence on Wednesday.

The "We Can, Indonesia" campaign is a 16-day, nationwide initiative covering 22 provinces, including Aceh, Central Java, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sumatra and Papua.

At least 50 NGOs are supporting the campaign, including the Indonesian Women's Coalition and the APIK Legal Foundation. The national awareness drive ends on Dec. 10, widely celebrated as Human Rights Day.

Heath & education

Shutting down red light districts hampers HIV/AIDS prevention

Jakarta Globe - December 1, 2009

The head of the health department in Solo on Monday said curbing the rate of HIV/AIDS had become more difficult after the closure of the city's main red-light district in 2002 because keeping tabs on prostitution had become more difficult.

The government closed the Silir red light complex in 2002, making it difficult for the health office to monitor or control the commercial sex workers' activities, said Sri Wahyuningsih, the head of the office.

"However, to open a discussion on a possible new location is a very sensitive issue," she said. To commemorate World AIDS Day, an event which will be observed around the globe today, Sri reminded residents that the spread of HIV in Solo warranted more attention.

She said Solo has the third-highest number of known HIV/AIDS infections in Central Java. Health office data indicates that the number of known HIV/AIDS cases from October 2005 to the same month this year was 306, with 137 cases being HIV and 169 cases contracting full-blown AIDS. Eighty-two of those infected during that time are now deceased.

Sri said only 86 of those infected in living in Solo hold identity cards proving legal residency. The remainder are from other cities, with 43 of the known cases originating from the neighboring district of Sukoharjo.

She said at least 70,000 of the city's 500,000 residents are considered to be in a high-risk group for the disease.

Sri said in the past, the red-light district had been concentrated in one area. But, she said, new prostitution centers had recently sprouted up across a broad area, such as a burgeoning red light district in the northern part of the city, known as Jalak Alley in Gilingan.

Sri said prostitution was rife across the city, with many places using legitimate businesses as a front. She said many massage parlors, billiard halls and brothels operating in private homes had cropped up. Sri said the decentralized sex trade was far more difficult for authorities to monitor and was a barrier for the city's efforts, such as ensuring condoms are readily available, to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Indriyati Suparno, program manager for Women Solidarity for Humanity and Human Rights, an NGO for women and the protection of commercial sex workers, said the closure of red-light districts often makes it more difficult for prostitutes. "Health workers, from NGOs and the city, have trouble tracking them, let alone controlling them," Indriyati said. "It is worse than when Silir was still open."

She added that the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Solo had increased 25 percent in the past three months, though she could not provide hard data to support that claim.

Indonesia's HIV/AIDS cases hit 298,000: minister

Xinhua - November 30, 2009

Jakarta – The latest number of HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases in Indonesia has reached 298,000, Indonesian Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said here on Monday.

"People living with AIDS are now found in every province in Indonesia with HIV/AIDS cases have occurred in half of municipal and regencies across the country," the minister who heads the national AIDS mitigation agency (the KPA), referring to the 33 provinces and 440 city and regencies across the country.

According to Agung, hetero sexual intercourse with HIV/AIDS-risk people accounted for 49.7 percent of AIDS infection in Indonesia with the second largest factor responsible for the spread of AIDS was the using of a single syringe among drug abusers, which accounted for 40.7 percent.

Agung added that 49.57 percent AIDS cases in Indonesia occur among people in very productive ages ranging from 20 to 29 years old, followed by 29.84 percent in people with ages range of 30-39 years old.

According to the minister, Indonesia's cumulative average AIDS case number was set at 8.15 people each 100,000 people in the population as of September 2008.

Papua province apparently has the largest number AIDS cases in Indonesia as it has a rate of 17.98, or far from the national cumulative average AIDS case. It was followed by Bali (5.3), Jakarta (3.8), Riau province (3.4) and West Kalimantan (2.2), Agung said.

"People in Indonesia must take real acts to prevent the widespread of AIDS, not just showing their concerns over the high number of AIDS cases in the country," Agung said.

He said that the using of condoms was part of effective ways to prevent the AIDS from spreading since the largest AIDS infection was transferred through hetero sexual intercourse with HIV/AIDS- risk people.

The KPA chairman expected that with the extensive use of condoms, that reaches 80 percent among people with hetero sexual behavior with HIV/AIDS-risk, Indonesia would be able to comply with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 for HIV/AIDS sector.

The use of condoms among people in that category that reached 8.2 million people, now stands between 10 to 12 percent, according to the data issued by the KPA.

HIV/AIDS patients demand fair health treatment and insurance

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2009

Luh De Suriyani, Bali – A number of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS have called for fair health treatment saying they have no access to the government-tailored national public health insurance scheme (Jamkesnas).

Based on government regulations, the Jamkesnas scheme does not cover health care for people with HIV/AIDS.

At a gathering between the management of Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar and HIV/AIDS patients, health adviser Rony shared his experience of accompanying a patient with HIV/AIDS, who failed to claim his health insurance because he was affected by the disease.

"The insurance company withdrew its health fund covering his treatment at a hospital knowing that he suffered from HIV/AIDS. The patient was very shocked," said Rony, an advisor at Kuta Community Health Center.

Putra, not his real name, said that if a person admitted he had HIV/AIDS, no insurance company, especially government-insurance schemes including Askes and Jamkesnas, would cover their health care costs. "What should I say to get my health care covered by insurance? Putra asked.

Ida Ayu Miswahirati, head of the hospital's health care section, admitted that the majority of insurance companies did not cover health costs for people living with HIV/AIDS. She advised patients to mention health complications caused by HIV/AIDS such as Tuberculosis and other infections.

"This is one of the challenging problems in the Indonesian health care system, which does not include health schemes for people with HIV/AIDS," she explained.

She said many patients with HIV/AIDS came from low-income families and suggested they try and register with insurance schemes to help them access proper medication.

The doctor continued by explaining that Jamkesnas was part of an insurance scheme that covers health care costs for poor people. The insurance is a Health Ministry initiative.

"They (low-income) people may also obtain letters stating they are impoverished families from their provincial or regional authority to access medical facilities at public hospitals and community health centers," she said.

Jamkesnas covers health care for 74.6 million of Indonesia's low-income families.

Government defies court ruling, calls to cancel national tests

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Anita Rachman – Lawmakers on Friday backed a Supreme Court decision urging the Ministry of National Education to improve school facilities and teachers' skills before conducting the national examinations next year.

The ministry insisted on Thursday that the Supreme Court's verdict did not say there was a need to cancel the exams and that it was considering filing a judicial review.

Heri Akhmadi, deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission X, which is tasked to oversee education, said the ministry needed to carry out the court's ruling.

"[The ministry] should not hold the national examinations next year. The quality of schools and teaching is still in a mess," Heri told the Jakarta Globe. "

Around 37 percent of elementary schools and less than half of junior high schools across Indonesia have libraries, and only one out of five teachers were certified, Heri said.

But Education Minister Mohammad Nuh appeared unperturbed, saying the ministry would still administer the exams in 2010. "Nothing in the verdict says the government should altogether cancel the exams," Nuh said on Thursday night.

He added that the call to reform the national education system was something "the ministry has been doing for the last three years."

"We haven't received a copy of the verdict yet. As soon as we receive one, we will study it," Nuh said. "There is still a chance for us to file a judicial review.

Rully Chairul Azwar, another deputy chairman of Commission X, said there was nothing wrong with the national test but protested that as long as schools throughout the country did not receive the same quality of education, it would not be fair to require students to take the standardized exams.

"The government cannot insist on conducting the exams if they continue to defy the law," Rully said.

The commission is expected to summon ministry officials, and possibly Nuh, next week, Rully said.

The Supreme Court ruling, which was made on Sept. 14 but announced only on Tuesday, was the latest step in a legal process that began in 2007, when a group of students and parents filed a lawsuit against the government at the Central Jakarta District Court, seeking to eliminate the national exams.

Heri said a judicial review of the case could be set at another time, but it was important that the ministry immediately implement the Supreme Court's decision.

"Why should [the ministry] force these exams on the students? Conducting another round of these national tests would be counterproductive," Heri said.

"Besides, the credibility of the exams is flawed. We also know that rampant cheating continues to happen during the exams," he said.

Abuse against students rises: Commission

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

Jakarta – The National Commission on Child Protection said here Monday that instances of violence against children committed by teachers had this year increased dramatically compared to past years.

The commission's data shows that the number of cases of violence increased to 326 in the period between January and June this year, from 75 cases in the same period last year. Last years total number of cases reached only 148.

The commission's secretary general, Arist Merdeka Sirait, said most reported cases were sexual abuse, followed by physical and psychological abuse. Arist said such violence mostly took place against students from elementary and junior high schools.

The violence occurred, he added, because teachers were under increased pressure to achieve targets set by their schools as part of efforts to maintain schools' quality, while receiving salaries below standards set by the government.

Data from the Association of Indonesian Honorary Teachers at State Schools showed that there were 250,000 honorary teachers who had not yet been promoted to civil servants as of July 2009.

Arist said the violence was also conducted by permanent teachers at schools. He said the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) had suspended licenses of teachers who had committed such assaults.

However, he said, not many of them had faced criminal charges even though the 2002 Child Protection Law stipulated that anybody found guilty of committing violence against children should recieve a minimum jail term of five years.

Chairman of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), Sulistiyo, acknowledged the increasing rate of violence against children. "It has massively increased over the past three years," he said during a press conference on Monday to promote National Teachers' Day, which falls on Wednesday.

He added that his association had received many complaints from parents whose children were physically abused by their teachers at school.

Unlike the National Commission on Child Protection, his association needed to gather more comprehensive data on complaints of violence. "I expect the association to publish the data by the end of this year," he said.

He added the violence ranged from sexual abuse to only tweaking students' ears because they had not listened to their teachers. Sulistiyo said teachers, who had committed severe violence against children, should be ready for license suspension.

"I won't punish teachers for tweaking their students' ears. But I will reprimand them, because we don't condone practices of physical punishment," he said.

He added that he had briefed headmasters and teachers during seminars this year in an attempt to cut down cases of physical assault against children in the classroom. (nia)

Bank Century inquiry

Party distrust may derail Century case

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2009

Jakarta – The move by the House of Representatives to establish an inquiry committee to probe the Bank Century scandal could hit a dead end earlier than expected, with parties pursuing different interests.

The stark differences are evident between the opposition block and the government's coalition of parties, with even the latter experiencing conflicting interests.

The opposition, led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), want a thorough investigation into the possible flow of funds from Century to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's inner circle. The PDI-P's Maruarar Sirait said his party would assign the most informed legislators to the inquiry committee to ensure the investigation would go all the way, and not just target Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Vice President Boediono.

The coalition parties, however, have different objectives: mostly to increase their bargaining power and bring down Sri Mulyani or Boediono, who they see as stumbling blocks to their goals, analysts say.

Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi said it would work in the coalition parties' favor if either Mulyani or Boediono, or both, were dismissed in the Century fallout, as neither was well-liked by the parties.

"They'll be happy if the investigation stops at Mulyani and Boediono, considering their strained relationship in the past," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The coalition partners include the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP).

The Golkar Party, meanwhile, will seize on the Century case to increase the bargaining power of its chairman Aburizal Bakrie, analysts say, as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is currently investigating a graft case that took place during his tenure as coordinating minister for the economy.

Aburizal is also seen a strong contender to contest the 2014 presidential election. Analysts also believe Aburizal will use the Century case to attack Mulyani, who once refused to intervene when his coal mining giant Bumi Resources took a pummeling in the stock market.

Aburizal, however, has denied all speculation that he is out for revenge against Mulyani.

"We need to watch out for possible sabotage from inside the inquiry team," said Golkar legislator Bambang Soesatyo, referring to the Democratic Party.

Ruhut Sitompul, from Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, said his party would not block the investigation by creating backroom deals with other parties, accusing the PDI-P and Golkar of having ulterior motives. "I guarantee the Democratic Party doesn't have any political deals in the case," he said, ignoring the fact that the party had initially opposed the inquiry.

The PKS is considered the most undecided coalition member, but PKS lawmaker Mahfud Siddiq said the party fully supported the inquiry. "We want to make the Century case as clear as possible. We don't want the public to think that coalition parties also received funding from Century," he said.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit said all parties were after something through the guise of the inquiry, particularly the Democratic Party, which he said wanted to protect Yudhoyono.

"The party only agreed on the inquiry as long as it didn't touch their boss, and the coalition parties are playing along because they need to protect their interests in the government," he said.

Anticorruption activists face confrontation

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2009

Jakarta – Anticorruption activists from the Coalition of Anticorruption Civil Society (Kompak) faced intimidation while demonstrating at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Sunday.

Dozens of activists who wore various traditional clothes and voiced their support for the Bank Century case investigation were shouted at by a group of 30 men.

The unknown group demanded Kompak end their demonstration. "You must let the police handle the Bank Century case! Long live the police!" the men allegedly told the demonstrators.

Ari, one of the demonstrators, said the group confronted Kompak because the coalition were critical of the police. "We are people who care about justice. We came from all over Indonesia," he said.

Dozens of police officers stood between Kompak activists and the unknown group. The Post saw some police officers trying to calm down members from the unknown group who looked to threaten Kompak activists.

Usman Hamid, a Kompak member, said it was not the first time the group faced such intimidation. "Many people try to intimidate and divide anticorruption activists," he said.

Some celebrities and legislators such as singer Edo Kondologit, film director Garin Nugroho, legislator Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, and legislator Maruar Sirait also took part in Kompak's demonstration.

Democratic Party 'must not chair inquiry'

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – A coalition of civil society groups says the House of Representatives' committee of inquiry into the Bank Century bailout must not be led by legislators from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

"Similarly, a footballer joining a club cannot be given the captain's armband immediately," Effendi Gazali, a spokesman for the Coalition of Anti Corruption Civil Societies (Kompak), said.

"Since the Democratic Party legislators only signed the petition at the last minute, none of them should chair it," he said during a meeting with the sponsors of the inquiry committee at the House in Jakarta on Thursday.

The committee was originally sponsored by legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), the Golkar Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), and the United Development Party (PPP).

The Democratic Party was the only party whose members refused to sign the petition to form the committee, which is scheduled to be endorsed in a plenary session on Dec. 1.

Widespread media and public speculation hinted that the Democratic Party's reluctance to support the committee initially was because of allegations that some of the funds from the scandal had gone to the party's presidential campaign team.

However, the Democratic Party argued it wanted to wait for the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to finish its financial audit on the scandal, which is said to have cost the country some Rp 6.7 trillion (US$710.2 million) in taxpayer money.

All of the Democratic Party legislators then signed the petition Tuesday after the BPK's report hinted at irregularities behind the bailout.

Despite the Democratic Party's late endorsement, a number of its legislators, such as House Speaker Marzuki Alie, have advised that the Democratic Party chair the committee due to its being the largest party in the House with 144 legislators.

Anti graft activists and the legislators who initiated the petition have voiced suspicions that, by looking to chair the committee, the Democratic Party have a hidden agenda to weaken it.

"The move to weaken the committee is real. Following their bid to stop the committee from being endorsed, they are now trying to weaken it by getting inside and by trying to hijack its leadership post," Bambang Soesatyo from Golkar said.

Maruarar Sirait from the PDI-P urged civil society groups to closely watch the committee's performance to maintain its integrity and transparency.

"This committee must be closely monitored. If needs be, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), can even wiretap us," he said.

The committee, once established, will be able to investigate and summon anyone suspected of involvement in the scandal.

The committee sponsors said Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani would be summoned due to their crucial role in the policy behind the bailout. Boediono was the Bank Indonesia governor when the decision to bail out Bank Century was taken.

Bambang said he believed there was a "massive force" pushing both Boediono and Mulyani to adopt the bailout policy. "This massive force is what the committee must identify. He or she is the person benefitting the most from the bailout," he said.

Effendi said the committee would have to learn from the Watergate scandal to clear this fiasco. "In Watergate, the informant known as Deep Throat said 'follow the money, it will lead you to the most powerful man in the White House'," he said. "I'll let the public interpret that statement," he added.

PPATK spots 17 recipients of Century bailout funds

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2009

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The Financial Transactions Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) has identified 17 recipients of potentially suspicious transfers from Bank Century, which received Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716.56 million) in bailout funds.

As of Nov. 23, the PPATK recorded 50 suspicious transactions between accounts in Century to accounts in 10 other financial institutions, it said in a statement issued on Thursday.

"Existing analysis results show at least 17 recipients in the form of institutions and the other individuals," PPATK head Yunus Husein said. He said the results had been sent to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) for further examination.

Yunus said BPK had requested the PPATK to examine the transfer of funds from Century to accounts in 16 financial institutions, which involved 124 transactions and "more or less" 50 depositors. The BPK alleged there were some misappropriations of bailout funds.

Century, which has rebranded itself as Bank Mutiara, received a total of Rp 6.76 trillion in bailout funds between Nov. 24, 2008 and July 24, 2009 after it was decided that its collapse could cause a systemic threat to Indonesia's banking system. The total cost of the bailout reached more than ten times the initial estimate of Rp 632 billion, a figure which the government first used as the basis to decide to rescue the bank back on Nov. 21.

There is public speculation that Bank Century was saved because it held potential campaign funds in support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono although the President has assured observers this was not the case.

Pressures are said to be mounting from politicians and protesters for Vice President Boediono (then central bank governor) and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to resign as they are deemed responsible for the decision.

The PPATK refused to name recipients of suspicious transfers to the public as this would violate the 2003 money laundering law.

Yunus also said there were some financial institutions that had yet to provide information and documents requested by the PPATK to track the transfer of funds due to "technical aspects of banking operations".

He added that the PPATK had so far tracked to two or three layers of the transfer of funds out of the seven layers of transactions initially demanded by the BPK.

"PPATK doesn't have online access to the database of financial institutions, so to track funds it should request information on transfers to financial institutions, which takes time," said Yunus.

Bank Mutiara president director Maryono said Thursday that between November and December 2008 depositors withdrew a combined value of Rp 4 trillion from their accounts in Century.

Maryono elaborated that Rp 2.2 trillion had been transferred to 8,250 small depositors, each valued under Rp 2 billion, with the remaining Rp 1.8 trillion being disbursed to 328 big depositors with an average value of Rp 5.6 billion per depositor.

"The depositor that withdrew the most was a state enterprise," Maryono said, refusing to say which state firm was involved.

He refused to mention in what sectors the companies were. "But I can assure you that none of the funds was transferred directly to any politician or to the campaign team of any political parties," Maryono said. (bbs)

Bank Century data dispute gets murky

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Ardian Wibisono – A confusing dispute between two government agencies over financial information related to the probe of the PT Bank Century bailout has deepened, while the agency directly involved in the bailout has denied that any of the funds were diverted for political uses.

The government anti-money laundering agency, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), said it never barred the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) from accessing its data during a recently completed audit of the controversial bailout.

"We want to clarify that the PPATK never refused any information demands from the BPK. The misinformation, we believe, is due to a misunderstanding [by the BPK] about the procedure for requesting information," PPATK head Yunus Husein said in a statement obtained on Friday.

BPK chairman Hadi Purnomo said earlier that his institution was unable to trace the bailout money because it could not obtain the relevant data from the PPATK. He also claimed that the law only allowed the PPATK to provide data on troubled companies to the police or prosecutors.

The BPK's failure to trace the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) that was injected into Century last year has led to lawmakers pushing for their own inquiry and fevered speculation in the media over the uses of the money.

Yunus said the BPK sent his agency several request letters seeking access to the data, but used the "wrong format" in the requests. He did not elaborate. Yunus said the PPATK asked the BPK to revise the requests but did not receive a response.

He also said there was no current law barring his agency from cooperating with the BPK. "We state that the PPATK can give the information needed by the BPK," Yunus said.

Meanwhile, the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS), the government body that rescued Century, insisted there was no "direct flow of funds" from the ailing bank to political parties in the run-up to the general elections this year.

LPS Executive Director Firdaus Djaelani, told reporters on Thursday that Rp 4.3 trillion in deposits were retrieved from the bank between November 2008, when the bailout money was injected into Century, and December that year. The money was taken by depositors and not political parties, Firdaus said.

Rumors have circulated widely that some of the bailout money was used to finance President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party or to illegally bail out important depositors, like businessman Boedi Sampoerna.

Government officials involved in the bailout, including Vice President Boediono, who was central bank governor at the time, have said the rescue was necessary to save the banking system from risk during the global financial crisis and have denied having any political agenda for the action.

"The bailout money was not used to pay the campaign team of a certain political party, not even one cent," Firdaus said during a news conference with the management of PT Bank Mutiara, the new name of Bank Century.

"Soon after the bailout, many depositors asked for their money to be transferred to other banks. We do not know where the money went after it left the bank and it is beyond our control. These depositors were real and had accounts in the bank."

Firdaus said that Rp 1.8 trillion of the Rp 4.3 trillion that left the bank after it was bailed out was mostly held by 328 big depositors, with each having more than Rp 5 billion in deposits. The LPS only guaranteed deposits of up to Rp 2 billion. He said the biggest depositor to pull out its money at the time was a state-owned company, but he did not give a name.

"There is also nothing wrong with that. The bank was operating normally [after the bailout] and accounts were not frozen," Firdaus said. "Depositors could take out their money."

He added that while a lot of money had left the bank, its new management had been able to convince more than half of the banks' existing depositors to keep their money in the restructured bank.

Political battle brewing over Bank Century bailout investigation

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – A battle is already brewing within the House of Representatives to lead a special committee that will investigate the central government's controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($717 million) bailout of PT Bank Century beginning next month.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party, which was initially against a House investigation, is trying to out-muscle the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the main opposition party, to choose who will chair the special committee.

The party holding the chair can influence the scope of the investigation, including which witnesses are summoned to testify, and ultimately its outcome and recommendations. The Democrats agreed to form the committee following the release of a damning report on the Century bailout by the Supreme Audit Agency this week. They made it clear on Wednesday that they, as the largest party in the House, should select the chairperson.

"We should follow the rules of the establishment of the special committee, that it should be proportional," said Marzuki Alie, the House speaker and Democratic Party secretary general.

The composition of a House special committee is based on the number of seats each party holds, and the chairperson is selected by consensus among committee members. A special committee usually has 30 members.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul said he also believed his party should lead the special committee. "We are greater in number, so the chairman is supposed to be from our [party]," he said.

However, PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung said his party should lead the committee because it initiated the petition among lawmakers requesting a House inquiry into the Century case. "We want the position given to the faction that initiated the move, including the PDI-P," he said.

The state audit report, released on Monday, concluded that part of the bailout disbursement was effectively illegal, and that senior central bank and Finance Ministry officials had used quick, subjective judgments to conclude that Century's collapse would be a systemic threat to the country's financial system.

There are rumors that the government ordered the bailout to protect deposits of high-profile bank customers, and that some of the bailout funds were diverted to Yudhoyono's re-election campaign. The government has emphatically denied the rumors.

Vice President Boediono, speaking before the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club on Wednesday, reiterated that he welcomed the inquiry. "The facts of the case will come out. Everything that we did was needed."

Boediono, Bank Indonesia governor at the time of the rescue, acknowledged there was suspicion, unrelated to the bailout, of criminal and political misuse of funds. "These are things that will be cleared up and should be cleared up," he said.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Mukhamad Misbakhun, among the first to sign the petition for a probe, said the special committee leader must be supported by all factions.

"It's not only about the quantity [of seats]. Otherwise, the spirit of the motion will fade away. The chairman must be someone from the faction that initiated it," he said.

Pramono said he was confident the committee could reveal the money trail of the bailout, despite speculation that the Democratic Party did an about-face on a House investigation so it could use its majority to lead the committee and thus influence its work.

"I believe that this matter is under a strong public spotlight, and I hope that no one dares to use this motion [for an investigation] as political leverage," Pramono said.

Bank Century rescue audit puts Boediono against the wall

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

Rendi A. Witular and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The much-awaited Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) investigative audit on the controversial bailout of Bank Century has cornered Vice President Boediono more than any other official involved.

Echoing the widely circulating analysis on the crucial role of Boediono, who was Bank Indonesia (BI) governor during the bailout, the BPK audit indicated a deliberate cover-up of Bank Century misappropriations and frauds by BI in order for the bank to justify the financially needed lifeline.

"There's an intentional attempt [by BI] to create the circumstances in which the government is forced to agree on the bailout," said BPK chairman Hadi Poernomo when submitting the audit to lawmakers on Monday.

"This attempt is based on providing insufficient and misleading inputs for the government during a meeting to salvage the bank," said Hadi, who is a former tax chief under Boediono's tenure as finance minister between 2002 and 2004.

The audit apparently focuses most of the blame on Boediono and BI for pursuing the reckless bailout, which may potentially cause losses to the state following the indications of fraud and irregularities kept hidden from the public by BI.

According to the BPK, around 91 percent of the Rp 6.67 trillion (US$710 million) injected into ailing Bank Century, which has now changed its name to Bank Mutiara, was aimed at covering losses stemming from fraud and irregularities committed by shareholders.

The BPK questions the judgement of BI in dubbing Bank Century a failed bank presenting a potential systemic risk to the financial system.

According to the audit, BI has failed to provide a measurable definition or benchmark to substantiate the use of the term 'systemic threat', and used its own judgement and speculation to determine the future risk of letting Bank Century fold.

The BPK audit was made at the request of the House of Representatives over lingering doubts about irregularities in the bailout decision.

There is also suspicion among House members over the possible existence of large campaign fund deposited in the bank, belonging to the inner-circle of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which may helped to motivate the rescue.

A rescue attempt was necessary for big depositors because the government only guarantees deposits worth a maximum of Rp 2 billion. However, the audit has failed to clarify such suspicions as it has merely set up a blame game for BI.

The audit has not included the records of funds flowing out of Bank Century after the bailout, and the names of big depositors benefitting from the bailout decision. Critics have said such information is crucially needed to remove once and for all speculation as to any possible massive campaign fund in Bank Century.

Hadi argued the BPK was not authorized to track the flow of the money out of Bank Century and to cite the name of the depositors because this was the sole authority of the Financial Transaction Reporting Supervision Agency (PPATK).

The PPATK has actually submitted its preliminary findings on the flow of the bailout funds to the BPK. However, the findings are not for public release.

Lawmaker Mukhamad Misbakhun, who is a member of the House inquiry team on Bank Century bailout, expressed his dissatisfaction with the audit which failed to clarify the position on suspicious depositors and the flow of bailout funds.

"The audit is mostly blaming Boediono and BI. I hope they are not putting [him] on the sacrificial table at the end of the day just to save the big guys," said Misbakhun of the Justice and Prosperous Party.

During Monday's appearance to respond to the BPK audit, Yudhoyono repeated his denial that his inner-circle had ever taken advantage of the bailout. He said the audit should be seen and judged given the circumstances at that time were not "normal".

"The policy taken was aimed at preventing a crisis in the banking system and in the economy in general at a time when we were dealing with preventing impacts from the global financial crisis," he said.

He also said he was overseas when the bailout decision was taken, but he strongly believed BI and the Finance Ministry had taken the right decision.

Boediono has also denied earlier any wrongdoing, saying the bailout was based on sound and accountable judgement. (bbs)

Supreme Audit Agency points finger at BI in Century fiasco

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) revealed its audit result for Bank Century at the House of Representatives on Monday, stating that errors had been made by Indonesia's central bank in the handling of the failing financial institution.

The audit result was delivered by BPK chairman Hadi Poernomo. According to the report, Bank Indonesia's first mistake in regards to the case was conducting a weak audit in the acquisition and merger deal involving Bank Danpac, Bank Pikko and Bank CIC, which came together to create Bank Century in 2004. The audit report alleged that the central bank had inconsistantly applied rules during the merger process.

The audit also alleged that the central bank was inconsistent in policing violations committed by Bank Century during 2005 to 2008. The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirements in Bank Indonesia regulations were allegedly changed so that Century could access the short term funding facility (FPJB).

Following international standards, BI requires banks to have a minimum 8 percent capital adequacy ratio, which determines a bank's ability to endure risk. CAR is defined as the amount of money a bank has in the form of stockholders' capital, shown as a percentage of its assets.

BI issued the funding even though Century's CAR was negative 3.53 percent and Century could only promise 83 percent of collateral to the funding facility.

Hadi Purnomo said BI did not give complete and updated information when identifying Century as a failing bank. The incomplete information was related to Bank Century's statement of loss on foreign exchange, which decreased the bank's CAR and increased the maintenance cost from Rp 634 billion to Rp 6.7 trillion.

BI and the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) did not have measured criteria to establish the systemic results of Bank Century's problems and they only used judgement instead, he said.

Maruarar Sirait, a lawmaker from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said he was disappointed in the BPK's audit result. Maruarar said the audit was not perfect because it did not mention data from the Financial Transaction and Analysis Center (PPATK) as to where the bailout money went.

Investigate Bank Century or we will take to the streets

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

The University of Indonesia's Alumni Association said they would encourage people to take to the streets in protest if the House of Representatives failed to investigate the Bank Century bailout scandal.

One key figure of the association, which is popularly known as Iluni, Seto Mulyadi, said the alumni will be present at the House of Representatives plenary session on December 1.

Seto said Iluni will write a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ask why he seemed to be taking his time in resolving the Bank Century affair.

"He (Yudhoyono) used to give a swift response to rumors, like the one saying he was married before he joined the military. If he reacted that quickly to (rumors about) personal matters, why does he take so long to react to those on public matters?" Seto told the Jakarta Globe.

Seto said that Yudhoyono's silence would likely trigger many questions from the public, including the younger generation.

"The president said he wanted the Bank Century case to be transparent, let's support him," Seto added.

He said that even though the University of Indonesia's alumni numbered only 200,000 people, they were the symbol of the reformation spirit.

Corruption & graft

High hopes for task force to eradicate judicial mafia

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2009

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Can anyone end a national culture of merchants and brokers for justice? Combating judicial mafia is the mandate of the government's special task force expected to start work next week.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Saturday the task force would be authorized to "correct, evaluate and investigate" alleged judicial mafia practices.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control, has been tasked with coordinating the formation of the team, Julian said.

Despite criticism from certain quarters, Kuntoro gained international recognition following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra when he led the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency.

"The task force will process public reports and announce its actions. It is expected to quickly follow up reports (of alleged court mafia practices)," Julian told The Jakarta Post.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has pushed fighting the judicial mafia to the top of his to-do list, ordered the establishment of the task force.

The President had announced his intention of setting up the task force when commenting on the findings and recommendations from his fact-finding team, set up to investigate the ongoing scandal regarding the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Prioritizing the war against the court mafia "in all law enforcement institutions" was one of the fact-finding team's recommendations as the practices "had destroyed law enforcement" in the country, the team's report concluded.

Investigations into the KPK case hinted at "fabrication" and the low professionalism and conflicts of interest of law enforcers, the team said.

Its report said combating the brokers of justice should start with Anggodo Widjojo and Ari Muladi, the main brokers in the KPK case.

The task force must consist of people with unblemished credentials, which is why experts are involved in its establishment, Julian said.

To prevent possible conflict of interest, it would probably not represent all law enforcement institutions, he said without elaborating further.

The executive director of Indonesia Court Monitoring (ICM), Tri Wahyu, expressed doubt about the task force's effectiveness, despite its good intentions.

"What is more important is the legal process against Anggodo and his cronies," Wahyu said. Anggodo, a businessman, allegedly conspired with high-ranking police officers and prosecutors to bring down two KPK deputy chairmen.

He remains a free man, while the deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, still face charges of extorting the businessmen they were investigating, including Anggodo's brother.

Anggodo's role was made public through his conversations with law enforcement officials that were wiretapped by the KPK and played in the Constitutional Court on Nov. 3.

"As long as the Bibit-Chandra case remains unresolved and no legal action taken against all those recorded on the tape, we won't be convinced of the effectiveness of this task force," he added.

LPSK suspends two for alleged involvement in KPK affair

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has suspended two of its members over their alleged involvement in an apparent conspiracy to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission.

"Both Myra Diarsi and Ketut Sudiharsa have been suspended pending deliberations over their futures in an internal probe. The matter of whether they will be asked to resign will also be discussed," said Abdul Haris Semendawai, the chairman of the agency, also known as the LPSK.

He added that they were following the recommendation of the so- called Team of Eight, a fact-finding team established by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to investigate an extortion scandal involving Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.

The two deputies have been accused by police of abuse of power and extortion, though the chief of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday voiced his opinion that the case was fabricated.

At least four telephone conversations between Ketut and businessman Anggodo Widjojo were wiretapped by the KPK. The recordings suggest that Ketut had tried to arrange for the LPSK, although unsuccessfully, to protect Anggodo's brother, graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, from the KPK. Myra Diarsi was suspended for allegedly requesting Ketut to provide protection for Anggoro and his colleagues.

Semendawai said on Thursday that the LPSK had set up an ad hoc ethics committee tasked with conducting an investigation into Ketut's and Myra Diarsi's actions. It will rule in about two weeks whether the two were guilty of ethics violations in the case.

The LPSK had earlier stated that it would follow the Team of Eight's recommendations, which included institutional reforms and the transfer of personnel in the National Police, Attorney General's Office, KPK, and the LPSK.

Separately, Zainal Abidin, from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), said on Friday the LPSK should continue its normal work despite the suspensions, because he believed the agency could help reform the judiciary.

"Witnesses or victims of the judicial mafia should receive protection, and this comes from the LPSK," Zainal said.

"A person like [alleged case broker] Ary Muladi must be protected because he is a key state witness who can unravel the schemes conjured up by the judicial mafia in so many cases. If we want to eradicate the judicial mafia, we must urge the LPSK to continue to provide protection for state witnesses."

Zainal was referring to the fact that Anggodo had asked for the LPSK's help in protecting Ary Muladi, the middleman in the scandal involving the KPK deputies, and Putranevo, chief director of Anggoro's company, PT Masaro Radiokom.

Anggoro fled the country after the KPK raided Masaro's offices for its alleged involvement in an illegal procurement case at the Ministry of Forestry in 2006. While on the run, Anggoro made claims that he had bribed several KPK officials.

Semendawai said Anggodo had initially asked for police protection for the two men, and the police had suggested that Anggodo contact the LPSK. LPSK member Myra Diarsi then allegedly asked Ketut to provide the two with protection.

He said Ketut had admitted to being present when Anggodo came in to request protection from the LPSK and that the request had been officially accepted by Myra.

In the wiretapped conversations, Ketut repeatedly expressed his concern to Anggodo that their conversations could be bugged, because there were "communication interruptions," or strange clicking noises, during the conversations and Anggodo's voice sounded "small."

"We can't protect you if we are bugged. Protection involves privacy," Ketut said, noting that protection demanded that anyone outside the LPSK should not know anything about the agency's clients.

Regulation of wiretaps sparks controversy

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – A proposal for wiretapping to be regulated by the Information and Communications Ministry has been met with mixed reactions, with activists claiming it would dampen the effectiveness of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

One of the key aspects of the KPK – its authority to wiretap without prior court approval – was assigned to the commission during its formation, based on the understanding it needed such authority to retain independence from the graft-riddled court system.

The proposal to regulate the KPK's wiretapping was raised Monday by Information and Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring, at a hearing with House Commission I on defense, foreign and information issues. While the ministry currently audits the KPK's wiretaps, it does not have the right to wiretap itself.

To date the KPK has used wiretapping effectively and responsibly, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said. "We have used wiretapping effectively and (the authority to wiretap) has allowed us to convict multiple high-profile corruption offenders," Johan told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

These have included senior prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan and former General Election Commission member Mulyana W. Kusuma.

The KPK's wiretapping activities have been audited annually by a joint committee comprising officials from the KPK and the Information and Communication Ministry, he said. "The team has never found any violations in our wiretapping activities," he said.

Meanwhile, Tifatul said regulation was needed to prevent disputes between institutions with wiretapping authority. The minister was referring to a recent debacle surrounding evidence the KPK uncovered in its wiretapped telephone conversations between high-ranking officials of the National Police, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), and businessman Anggodo Widjojo.

The recordings were played at a Constitutional Court hearing, revealing an apparent conspiracy to criminalise two deputy chairmen of the KPK and convincing the public that police had fabricated evidence against them.

Wiretapping authority should be handled by one institution and should require court approval, Tifatul said, adding that some countries had such institutions under the auspices of their communication ministries.

Currently the Information and Communication Ministry is working with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry to discuss the proposal.

"We need to harmonize the (proposed regulation) with existing laws such as the 2002 Law on the KPK, the 1997 Law on Narcotics and the 2003 Law on Terrorism," Justice and Human Rights Ministry coordination director Wicipto told the Post.

Saldi Isra, an antigraft activist researcher from Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, criticized the proposed regulation, saying it would restrict the authority of the KPK and could easily foil investigations.

"What I'm afraid of is that if the KPK needs to gain permission from certain institutions to wiretap people, the secrecy of its investigations would be compromised," Saldi told the Post.

What the government must do now is simply to ensure that the KPK wields its authority to wiretap properly and accountably, he said.

Indecent proposal from the communications minister

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2009

Pandaya, Jakarta – Information and Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring's plan to re-regulate wiretapping should be seen as the government's renewed attempt to curtail the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) authority, which the public is jealously guarding.

Predictably, the plan has received enthusiastic support from the House of Representatives, which has seen many of its legislators jailed by the Corruption Court and which has won notoriety for its never-ending attempts to weaken the KPK.

Tifatul, from the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which is part of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's coalition, came up with the plan only a few days after his idea to ban live courtroom broadcasts was shot down.

In a hearing Monday with House Commission I, which oversees communications and security affairs, Tifatul said a draft government regulation due in six months would give the wiretapping authority to his ministry.

He cited countries such as Australia and South Korea for his legislation models, both of which have adopted laws that give the full authority to wiretap to their respective communications ministries.

"So the police, prosecutors, the KPK and the BIN (State intelligence Agency) would have to obtain (the ministry's) permission to conduct wiretaps, and a court would issue the ruling," Tifatul said.

As in the case when he tested the water with his plan to ban live courtroom broadcasts, he claimed he came up with the idea after receiving overwhelming public input about how bugging operations should be regulated.

"We should bid farewell to the days when everybody has the authority to wiretap everybody else, because to communicate is a human right, so this has to be regulated," he said.

Support came not only the obvious ruling Democratic Party legislators, but also from such "opposition" parties as Gerindra.

Legislator Ramadhan Pohan, from the Democratic Party, said even in the United States wiretapping was tightly regulated, following then president Richard Nixon's downfall, precluded by the Watergate wiretaps. "Here in Indonesia, wiretapping seems like an everyday routine," he said.

It's hard to deny that the plan was inspired by the KPK's highly effective use of wiretapped conversations between high-level conspirators to uncover high-profile graft cases. Public disclosure of the recordings has angered the many people mentioned or implicated in the cases.

In the most recent instance, the Constitutional Court permitted the KPK to play back recordings pointing to and alleged conspiracy hatched between businessman Anggodo Widjojo and high- ranking individuals from the National Police and Attorney General's Office to criminalize KPK leaders.

The playback was broadcast live by local TV stations, allowing the public to see just how these "mafiosi" control the police and prosecutors.

Last year, senior prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan was caught red- handed by KPK investigators taking a bribe from "case broker" Arthalita Suryani, a confidante of fugitive tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, who is embroiled in a multi-trillion-rupiah Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance scam.

Tifatul's plan has raised questions about the legal basis he will use to draft the regulation. No laws give the Information and Communications Ministry the authority to bug or coordinate wiretapping operations.

The 2002 Corruption Eradication Commission Law grants this authority to the KPK without the need for a court-issued warrant, as part of its privilege as an institution with extraordinary powers.

The law on electronic transactions also stipulates the authority to wiretap lies with law enforcement institutions.

Tifatul is making the maneuver at a time when public suspicion still points toward a grand conspiracy to weaken the KPK, which, despite all its shortcomings, has won international accolades for its courage to target thieves in high places.

The recent strife between the KPK and the police, allied with the AGO, has only augmented public support for the antigraft commission.

Tifatul's attempt to snatch the wiretapping power from law enforcers is only adding fuel to the fire that is consuming public trust in the Yudhoyono administration's commitment to fighting corruption and judicial corruption.

Indonesian corruption fighters' careers hanging in legal limbo

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2009

Camelia Pasandaran & Febriamy Hutapea – Despite a Constitutional Court declaration that the charges against suspended Corruption Eradication Commission deputies Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto were trumped up, the fate of the pair remains in limbo.

Speculation is rife that elements within the government are planning to delay any decision on their fate until after Dec. 15, three months after they were declared suspects for alleged abuse of power and extortion, and consequently suspended from their positions.

KPK Law Article 32 states that commissioners must be removed if they have not been able to perform their duties for "more than three months."

Desmond Mahesa, a legislator from the opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), hinted at the ulterior motives of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, which on Thursday failed to discuss a controversial perppu, or government regulation in lieu of law, issued by the president allowing him in the event of a vacancy to temporarily appoint replacements for suspended, dismissed or incapacitated KPK leaders.

"I don't know whether there's a hidden agenda to make the perppu unclear," Desmond said. "If Bibit and Chandra are non-active for three consecutive months, the president will have a reason to fire them."

During Thursday's meeting with Justice Minister Patrialis Akbar, instead of discussing the perppu, the commission debated a Constitutional Court ruling annulling an article in the KPK Law that would have dismissed the pair as soon as they were named defendants in court.

House Commission Chairman Benny K Harman, from the Democratic Party, concluded the meeting prematurely, closing the door for the full House to vote in Tuesday's plenary over whether to accept the perppu. The House goes into recess on Friday and does not reconvene until Jan. 4.

However, constitutional expert Irman Putra Sidin said the perppu had no relevance to Bibit's and Chandra's status. "Lawmakers who think that way fail to understand the law," he said.

Another expert, Refly Harun, also said KPK Law Article 32 only applied to commissioners who were incapacitated and unable to carry out their duties or who do not perform.

Irman said the fate of Chandra and Bibit depended on the AGO, which on Thursday announced it was ready to declare the cases unworthy of trial due to lack of evidence, but has not said when.

"If the AGO delays dropping the case until after three months, Bibit and Chandra might be fired permanently," he said.

Taufik Basari, the lawyer of Bibit and Chandra, said the article of the law was debatable. "In my point of view, the article could not be used against Bibit and Chandra, because it is irrelevant," he said.

On Friday, presidential spokesman Julian Adrian Pasha claimed he was misquoted as saying Yudhoyono was going to issue a decree to reinstate the commissioners.

"What I said was that the president was going to issue a decree to form a working team that will investigate the judicial mafia," he said. "We have not decided whether they are going to be reinstated or if they are going to have other positions."

Constitutional Court declares Chandra and Bibit case fabricated

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2009

Camelia Pasandaran – Confirming what most of the public already believed, the Constitutional Court declared on Wednesday that the extortion case against Corruption Eradication Commission deputies Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto had been fabricated.

The court said the phone conversations secretly taped by the commission, known as the KPK, that had indicated a plot hatched by people within the National Police and Attorney General's Office (AGO) to fabricate charges against the KPK deputies, were valid.

"Those law enforcers who fabricated the case are animals," said Constitutional Court head judge Mahfud MD.

Police had contrived the bogus charges against the KPK officials primarily because of a fierce political rivalry between their institutions – the KPK, the police and the prosecutor's office, he said.

"It might be the police, or the prosecutors, or the judge. God has said that those with heart who fail to use it to understand the truth; those with eyes who fail to see the truth; and those with ears who don't listen to the truth, are animals," Mahfud said.

He added that he would speak about "animals" during the religious day celebrations at the University of Indonesia on Friday.

The court made its declaration during a ruling which annuls an article in the KPK law governing the automatic dismissal of KPK commissioners tried with a criminal offense.

Court favors KPK leaders, confirms fabrication

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Bliss was short-lived for antigraft leaders embroiled in opposing an alleged conspiracy against them as the Constitutional Court ruled in their favor.

The Court annulled here Wednesday an article in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) law which rules that its leaders must be removed once they are declared defendants.

The snag is that the two deputies being charged with bribery may still lose their jobs, given the KPK law which says commissioners must be dismissed after being inactive for longer than three months, which falls on Dec. 21 – while the Attorney General's Office shows no sign of rushing to save them.

In line with the President's advice that the cases should not go to court, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji has said his office would issue an order to stop the indictment process.

But on Wednesday junior attorney general for special crimes Marwan Effendi said, "It's our business to slow down or speed up the order," meaning, no one else's.

However the KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah still welcomed the ruling. "This ruling will ensure the future KPK leaders' safety so that what Pak Bibit and I experience now is not repeated," Chandra said.

The Constitutional Court ruled the above article in the KPK law could be abused, and also indicated evidence of judicial corruption by "brokers" in wiretapped conversations presented in Court.

This triggered public protests and a government fact-finding team, which urged the case be dropped; and that the President start institutional reforms to overcome the "destroyed" law enforcement in the country, owing to "ubiquitous brokers" of justice.

The Court judges said in their ruling, "After hearing the recordings, we... have found facts indicating engineering or fabrication of evidence or at least conversations between law enforcers and Anggodo Widjojo [an alleged middleman in the case] leading to potential fabrication of evidence so the two plaintiffs [Bibit and Chandra] can be made suspects or defendants."

Bibit and Chandra were declared suspects after the police accused them of extorting KPK fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, Anggodo's brother, and of abusing their power.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono then temporarily suspended them under the same law.

The above article in the 2002 KPK law "must be changed to 'KPK leaders can be dismissed only if the Court has issued a final ruling that finds them guilty,'" Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD said, reading the ruling on Wednesday.

The court also ruled that the article has violated the principles of the presumption of innocence and of equality before the law stipulated in the Constitution.

Mahfud, however, said this ruling could not be implemented in the case of the discharged KPK chairman Antasari Azhar because he had been dismissed long before the court handed down this ruling. He said Bibit and Chandra could immediately go back to work – if their cases were dropped.

Bambang Widjojanto, the deputies' lawyer, said the court had confirmed the nature and implications of the tape recordings, urging the President to quickly reinstate Bibit and Chandra by issuing a decree.

Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, the acting KPK Chief, said Wednesday the acting KPK leaders would be more than willing to give their posts to Bibit and Chandra once the investigation into their cases was brought to a close.

Activist Danang Widoyoko expressed full support for both the KPK deputies and also efforts to fight what he said was part of an attempt to weaken the antigraft body.

Detective replaced in 'corrective' gesture

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2009

Dicky Christanto and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The National Police chief turned about face and sacked the detective chief implicated in an alleged conspiracy against the antigraft body, in spite of his earlier insistence that no one was losing his job.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji also told lawmakers Tuesday he would propose the dismissal of his deputy Abdul Hakim Ritonga to the President, Antara reported.

Both chief detective Comr Gen. Susno Duadji and Ritonga were identified in wiretapped conversations, broadcast nationwide, between a businessman, police officers and prosecutors.

National Police spokesman Gen. Nanan Sukarna confirmed late Tuesday that National Police headquarters had decided to replace top officials, most notably chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji.

The separate announcements regarding Ritonga, and of the replacement of 25 police officers, came one day after the President had instructed institutional reforms including "corrective" measures within the police and the Attorney General's Office.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday was stating his views on the recommendations of his "Team 8", tasked to investigate the case of two deputies of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). They were charged with extortion, bribery and abuse of power.

The team had concluded, among others, that there were "indications of fabrication" of the case and that the officials involved in such actions should be punished.

National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri had said all along that none of his staff were resigning.

Susno remains as a police officer, though in a "non job" position. "Let's wait and see," said Nanan, in response to whether Susno would still be questioned regarding his alleged involvement in the KPK case.

Nanan was also not clear on whether Susno would face questioning on his alleged role in the Bank Century scandal, where a controversial bailout had cost the state trillions of rupiah.

Susno is replaced by Insp. Gen. Ito Sumardi, now the National Police chief's expert staff coordinator.

The former Riau police chief, was once questioned for an alleged role in gambling. Ito however said he was the one who had declared major gamblers as suspects.

Leading anticorruption activist Teten Masduki said that despite skepticism, the police replacements were "better late than never." "The fact is that the police are willing to replace those allegedly involved in a scandal. This should restore public trust in the police."

The President's instruction to initiate institutional reforms within the law enforcement agencies was one of only two orders he gave in response to the report and the recommendations of the "Team 8", arguing that formally ordering a halt into investigations or the indictment process was not within his authority.

In response to the recommendation that the President act to eradicate the legal mafia, as indicated in the KPK case, Yudhoyono said he had ordered the establishment of a "task force" to tackle the "brokers."

The team had said that he should start with "thorough investigations into the legal mafia involving Anggodo Widjojo and Ari Muladi," in reference to two of the suspected main brokers in the case.

Yudhoyono confuses the public even further

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Indonesians are becoming even more confused over President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's speech, during which he was expected to provide a concrete resolution to the scandal involving the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the police and the Attorney General's Office.

A political analyst and activist from the Indonesian Civilized Circle (Lima), Ray Rangkuti, said on Monday that the speech did not resolve any problems regarding the fiasco.

"He talked for around 35 minutes. The first 29-minutes contained no clear points on how to resolve the case. The last five-minutes of the speech did not provide any resolution to the conflict either," he told The Jakarta Post.

"The President didn't make any decisions at all. He did not tell the police to drop the commission's case. He didn't state any possible punishments for police and AGO officials involved in the case," he said.

Rangkuti said the speech did nothing but arouse more public curiosity into whether the President seriously intended to combat corruption.

Yudhoyono won a landslide victory during the presidential election last July with more than 60 percent of the votes, which took him to the second term of administration. During his campaign, Yudhyono promised to combat corruption if he was re- elected.

The police accused two KPK deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, of bribery, power abuse and extortion.

The fact-finding team established by the President to provide recommendations on the case concluded that all charges lacked evidence and had many unresolved missing links.

The team had earlier recommended that Yudhoyono punish high- ranking officials in the National Police and the AGO for criminalizing the deputies.

The team also told the President to drop the charges against Bibit and Chandra, take action against those involved in the wiretapped conversation with businessman Anggodo Widjojo and reform the National Police and the AGO.

A wiretapped conversations involving police and AGO officials were recently played for the public at the Constitutional Court.

Anggodo allegedly gave bribes to middleman Ari Muladi, who later denied passing on the money to Bibit and Chandra.

Meanwhile, anti-corruption activists, such as Danang Widoyoko from the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), expressed their apparent disappointment in the President's cryptic statements by demanding he be replaced.

"His statements were definitely unclear. That is why we call to fight and replace him," a political communication expert, Effendi Gazali, said as quoted by detik.com news portal.

Vice chairman of the Institute for Democracy and Peace (Setara) Bonar Tigor Naipospos also said he was disappointed with the speech, as it did nothing to resolve the conflict between the KPK, the police and the AGO.

"The speech has risked the government's legitimacy in its intention to eradicate corruption from the country," he said.

"The President will not follow the recommendations of the fact- finding team. This will (have) also created confusion among officials from the KPK, the police and the AGO," he added. (nia)

'Gecko vs crocodile', 2009

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

May 2

Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Antasari Azhar, is arrested on charges of murdering businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen.

April 6

Former lawmaker Yusuf Emir gets 4.5 years in prison for receiving bribes from a businessman investigated by the KPK, Anggoro Widjojo, in an attempt to help him secure a telecommunications procurement project from the Forestry Ministry. The verdict also includes bribery for clearing part of a protected forest for the proposed Tanjung Api-Api port in South Sumatra.

May 16

Antasari testifies to police and prosecutors that four KPK deputies and officials received bribes from Anggoro.

June 19

Anggoro is declared a suspect by the KPK for bribing legislators to secure the telecommunications procurement project.

June 24

SBY's 'superbody' remarks: "KPK is now an extraordinary powerholder, it is only accountable to Allah."

June 30

Police chief detective Comr. Sr. Susno Duadji accuses the KPK of tapping his mobile phone, which reportedly reveals him demanding Rp 10 billion from Boedi Sampoerna to clear the businessman's savings stuck in the troubled Bank Century.

July 10

Susno meets with Anggoro in Singapore.

July 13

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono leads a coordination meeting on graft, attended by officials from the KPK, the police and the Attorney General's Office.

July 12

The KPK and the police intensify the hunt for Anggoro.

July 15

Ari Muladi, a key witness in the case involving KPK deputies Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, revokes his testimony to the police. He says the money from Anggoro was never given to the KPK officials.

Aug. 5

Antasari's testimony is leaked to the media, suggesting KPK leaders received bribes from Anggoro.

Sept. 9

The KPK announces it is investigating Susno's role in the Bank Century case.

Sept. 15

Police declare KPK deputies Chandra and Bibit suspects for abuse of power in imposing the travel ban on Anggoro.

Sept. 28

Chandra and Bibit file a report against Susno to the police for abuse of power.

Sept. 29

Police declare Antasari a suspect for violating the KPK ethics code in meeting with a suspect (Anggoro).

Oct. 5

The police internal affairs division probes Susno for abuse of power.

Oct. 6

Yudhoyono issues a presidential decree appointing Tumpak H. Panggabean acting KPK chairman to replace Antasari, and Mas Achmad Santosa and Waluyo acting deputy chairmen to replace Chandra and Bibit.

Oct. 7

The police clear Susno of all charges.

Oct. 26

Recordings of wiretapped conversations between Anggoro and his brother Anggodo with high-ranking prosecutors and police officers discussing in July a plot to frame KPK leaders is leaked to the media.

Oct. 27

Tumpak confirms the recordings exist.

Oct. 29

Police arrest Bibit and Chandra for abuse of power, later added with charges of extortion and bribery against businessmen they were investigating

Nov. 1

Support mounts for the arrested deputies including from former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Ashiddiqie.

Nov. 2

SBY sets up a fact-finding team to review the case implicating the two KPK deputies amid mounting public.

Nov. 3

The Constitutional Court airs the wiretapped conversations, presented as part of evidence to support the request for a judicial review by Bibit and Chandra on their suspensions The Police release Bibit and Chandra but do not drop charges.

Nov. 4

The fact-finding team, dubbed Team 8, begin to meet with various parties involved in the scandal. Police question and eventually release Anggodo Widjojo.

Nov. 5

National Police chief of detectives Susno Duadji temporarily resigns from his post "to enable verification by the Team 8", the National Police chief said; prosecutor Abdul Hakim Ritonga says he has submitted his resignation. The National Police attend a hearing with legislators, after which lawmakers are criticized for appearing to side with the police and prosecutors.

Nov. 6

Former forestry minister M.S. Kaban denies receiving Rp 17.6 billion (US$1.8 million) in bribes from communication company PT Masaro Radiokom, led by Anggoro Widjojo.

Nov. 10

Sr. Comr. Williardi Wizard, a key witness of Nasruddin's muder case, testifies that police officers pressured him to take part in a conspiracy to frame KPK chief Antasari Azhar for murder. The AGO returns the dossier of Chandra to the police.

Nov. 13

A group of lawyers file charges of attempted bribery against Anggodo to the KPK, saying that the wiretapped conversations indicated he had tried to halt a graft probe of his brother Anggoro.

Nov. 16

Prosecutors on Monday return the dossier of Bibit to the National Police.

Nov. 17

Team 8 hands over the report to the president, saying all charges against the KPK deputies should be dropped for lack of evidence; and that the President should punish "officials responsible for the forced legal process."

Nov. 20

The National Police question editors of two national dailies, Kompas and Seputar Indonesia (Sindo) for "clarification" on how they acquired the transcripts of the broadcast wiretapped conversation, which they published on Nov. 4.

Nov. 23

The President announces his views on the Team 8's report and recommendations.

Whatever you call them, Indonesia's case brokers under fire

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

Heru Andriyanto – Police and prosecutors have expressed determination to launch an all out-war against so-called case brokers, or middlemen, in legal proceedings but they are struggling to better-name their enemies.

"This time, our determination against case brokers is not lip service," National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri claimed during a recent hearing with the House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs.

"But I disagree with the use of the acronym 'Markus' for case brokers because it is a religious name, so instead I prefer the term 'Cakus,'?" he said, referring to 'calo kasus' or case broker.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji proposed his own acronym to identify case brokers. "I choose 'Cakil' to describe them. In the Javanese puppet show, Cakil always shows up after midnight and gets killed by Arjuna. We too must get rid of Cakils from law- enforcement agencies." Cakil is the name of a demon King.

Their remarks came after a series of scandals that put police and the Attorney General's Office under fire for being highly vulnerable to the presence of case brokers, who act as middlemen between defendants and attorneys, facilitating bribes to negotiate a lower sentence or release for defendants.

The latest evidence of intervention by case brokers was the recordings in which senior police officers and the AGO discussed an alleged plot to bring down two deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

This was the second time the AGO was rocked by humiliating tapes of phone conversations between top prosecutors and case brokers. Last year an AGO official took a $660,000 bribe from businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, who sought the termination of a major embezzlement case involving tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim.

Artalyta was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail – not because of actions by the AGO but because the KPK eventually prosecuted her.

Hendarman said it was a daunting task to keep case brokers away from his office. "We may ask prosecutors to stay away from brokers, but those people will not give up easily. They will approach the wives, sons, siblings, parents or any other relatives of our prosecutors," he told lawmakers.

The AGO has been sensitive about the issue recently. A member of the House was arrested by prosecutors earlier this month for a past graft case after he openly criticized the AGO for becoming a safe haven for case brokers.

Meanwhile, police have refrained from taking legal action against businessman Anggodo Widjojo, who was heard in the recordings apparently discussing with police and prosecutors how to fabricate testimony against two KPK officials, Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samat Rianto.

Three more people were alleged to have acted as case brokers in the case – Ary Muladi, Eddy Sumarsono and a shadowy figure identified as Yulianto.

Case brokers are often insiders. In the 2006 bribery scandal at the Supreme Court, Malem Pagi Sinuhadji and Sriyadi, two clerks, were sentenced to three years each for taking bribes from businessman Probosutedjo, the stepbrother of the late president Suharto, and attempting to influence the court's verdict in an embezzlement case involving the businessman.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Harifin Tumpa admitted last week that case brokers infested every stage of legal proceedings.

A prosecutor was fired earlier this year, for example, after he demanded a sentence of only one year in jail for a man accused of possessing 470 ecstasy pills, a crime punishable by death. The panel of judges at the West Jakarta District Court accepted the demand in a hearing that ran for only two days.

The prosecutor, Sultoni, and the judges were never charged with bribery despite allegations that they had accepted Rp 5 billion ($530,000) from the defendant.

At he latest hearing between top law enforcement officials and lawmakers, the House commission found itself unable to properly name case brokers.

"Broker is a profession recognized by the law, as in the equity markets or auto trade. Using it in a negative sense would run counter to the existing law," said one legislator. "The word 'mafia' to describe case brokers is inappropriate because it doesn't come from Bahasa Indonesia," said another.

The 'very important' subject turned into a heated debate as lawmakers, the police chief, the attorney general and the acting KPK chairman tried to provide case brokers with a more appropriate name or acronym. The meeting lasted until midnight.

War on terror

Toothless anti-terror body to be upgraded

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – With terrorism still very much a threat across the archipelago, the government is now preparing to upgrade the existing anti-terror desk to allow it to investigate and arrest suspects while boosting its intelligence capacity.

The current anti-terror desk, which is under the auspice of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry, only coordinates anti-terror operations and provides terrorism intelligence without the authority to conduct its own investigations or arrest suspected terrorists.

The government has unveiled its plan to upgrade the desk, which according to many, was described as an institution that lacked competence and authority.

Head of the anti-terror desk Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansyaad Mbai acknowledged his desk's incapability to work properly to anticipate terrorism because its intelligence aspect was not given the right to conduct investigations, apart from investigations that were controlled by the police.

"Therefore we need a new rule that would allow intelligence forces to conduct their own investigations, including summoning and arresting people. But of course there should be a legal guarantee that would prevent the intelligence officers from abusing this power," he said.

Ansyaad said the body would be permanent and would bring together the best officials from different institutions, including the police and the military.

Experts have agreed that the new anti-terror body should be able to tackle problems, ranging from preventing potential terror attacks to striking at alleged terror cells.

"But we need to receive some confirmation first whether the body would be designed as a coordinating body or a body that able to do its duties independently, just like the National Anti-Narcotic Agency," noted criminologist Adrianus Meliala told The Jakarta Post Sunday.

He then added that new status would bring different consequences to the upcoming anti-terror body both legally and financially. "Because at the end of the day, the people also have the right to ask of the body's competence in combating terrorism," he said.

Adrianus said another problem that would need to be solved was the matter of who should be in charge. "In my opinion, this institution is better led by a police official rather than military people. The police are more able at handling civilian problems," he said.

Komaruddin Hidayat, a noted Islamic scholar, said besides the authority to launch attacks on terror groups, the new anti-terror body should also be given the task of limiting the development of religious radicalism.

"Therefore the involvement of several ministries is a must. We also need to ask our hard-liner colleagues to join forces as they would know how the minds of religious-based terrorists works," he said.

Terrorism expert Dynno Chressbon suggested the government should immediately establish the new anti-terror body because even though right now the threat of terrorism was still low it did not mean the threat had disappeared.

"There are many potential bombers who are still free out there. Thus we must move to anticipate the threat with effective solutions," he said.

Indonesia fertile land for terrorists: Ex-BIN chief

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2009

Jakarta – Former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), A.M. Hendropriyono, has said in his latest book that Indonesia is one of the world's most strategic countries for the educating and training of new terrorist cells.

During his book launch here Monday, Hendropriyono said hard-line Islamic boarding schools across the country had become breeding grounds for new terrorists. Hendropriyono said there were hundreds of such schools across the country.

"The schools contain congregations consisting of hard-liners adhering to foreign fundamental ideologies that differ from moderate Islam, which was common to Indonesians," he said

He added that moderate Islam had been widely spread by the country's two largest Muslim organizations: Nahdhatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Nahdhatul Ulama has around 40 million members while Muhammadiyah has around 30 million.

Hendropriyono said there were now other Muslim groups that encouraged followers to die in the name of God by fighting holy wars against those who rejected their teachings. He added the groups followed two main ideologies: Ikhwanul Muslimun Jihad and Ikhawanul Muslimun Tarbiyah.

"Ikhwanul Muslimin Jihad in Indonesia contains radical practices inspired by the wars in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is Jihad's main leader," Hendropriyono said during the launch of his book titled: Terrorism: Christian, Jewish, Islamic Fundamentalists in Jakarta.

He said Ikhwanut Muslimin Jihad was founded in Indonesia in 1971 at the Islamic boarding school, Al-Mu'min, which was established by Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Baasyir, former head of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, in Ngruki, Solo, Central Java.

Sungkar allegedly has connections to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), while Baasyir is widely regarded to be the groups spiritual leader.

JI is suspected to have masterminded the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, as well as the attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta in July this year.

Another terrorism expert, Suryadarma Salim, also said Indonesia was highly vulnerable to terrorism. He warned that other terrorists may keep trying to spread their ideology even though the police had recently killed high-profile terrorist leader, Noordin M. Top.

"They apply different bomb assembly methods to the Indonesian military and the police," he said.

Different from Jihad, Hendropriyono said the Ikhwanul Muslimin Tarbiyah movement was not quite as radical or widely accepted in many countries, including Indonesia.

Tarbiyah's main aim is to establish an Islamic nation by non- violent means and has utilized democracy to achieve its goals.

Hendropriyono said Tarbiyah came to Indonesia in the 1980s through Islamic alumni from the Middle East. He said the Tarbiyah movement was widespread in many universities through campaigns conducted by senior students.

He added the Tarbiyah now had more than 20,000 members ready for missionary work across Indonesia. "I recommend that the government and the House of Representatives endorse an anti- violence bill to mitigate the impact of terrorism," he said. (nia)

Islam/religion

Meat, flukes and runaway cows all on the menu for Idul Adha

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2009

Ulma Haryanto – The distribution of qurban or 'sacrificial meat' at the Bhayangkari Field at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Friday was marred by a number of incidents, including fluke-infected cows, a riot and a sacrificial cow's desperate bid for freedom.

As the work of butchering goats and cows got underway on the Muslim feast of Idul Adha, parasitic common liver flukes were found infesting the liver of a cow donated by a high-ranking police officer.

"When they dissected the cow, one of the veterinary students found worms in its liver," Kurnia Yuniasih, a livestock agency officer told Web site portal detik.com.

The officer quickly took the liver away, and then resumed dispersing other parts of the cow. "The infected liver cannot be consumed because it will cause illness. However, the rest can still be consumed," she said.

Meanwhile, a growing number of people awaiting distribution of free meat outside the gates of the field became impatient and when police officers finally opened the gates, a crowd of hundreds of people pushed and shoved each other in an effort to get their share.

Dozens, all women and children, were trampled and a young girl, Elis, 7, was stamped on twice. Police officers tried to calm the situation, before assisting the injured to an ambulance, where a medical team was standing by.

The rumpus caused two cows awaiting slaughter to panic and one managed to free itself from the two men that were holding it. The cow then ran toward the crowd inducing more panic.

One media photographer who tried to capture the commotion, was threatened by an official. "Which media are you from?" he asked angrily. "If you don't report the story correctly, I'm going to revoke your license!" he snapped. Shortly after, the cow was captured and it too was sacrificed.

This year, the National Police donated 24 cows and five goats. Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono donated the largest cow in Jakarta, weighing 1,350 kilograms, to Istiqlal Mosque, Central Jakarta.

"With God's permission, I am giving this cow to the Istiqlal Mosque. Slaughter it and distribute the meat. May Allah approve of the deed," Yudhoyono said in front of thousands of people crowding the mosque after Idul Adha prayers. Reports put the number of people attending prayers at Istiqlal, the largest in Southeast Asia, as high as 150,000.

Vice President Boediono also donated a cow weighing 970 kilograms. In total, meat from 20 cows and 232 goats were distributed to 7,000 people after dawn prayers, or around 5 a.m.

"Everybody is welcome," Parlindungan Siregar, Istiqlal Mosque's public relations officer, told Kompas.com. "Just come to the mosque, line up and get the meat", he said.

Everybody receiving a one-kilogramme packet of meat was required to dip a finger in a special ink, just like election day, to ensure they did not get more than their share.

The Jakarta administration donated 142 cows and 318 goats this year, including 15 cows and 42 goats from City Hall. Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo donated one cow.

"This year we want to assure the poor that they will get what is rightfully theirs, so there is no need to rush. The city has prepared enough meat for the poor people in Jakarta," Fauzi said after mass prayers in the grounds of City Hall.

Muhammadiyah celebrates centennial with introspection

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2009

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Muhammadiyah, one of the country's largest Islamic organizations, celebrated its Islamic calendar centenary on Wednesday in Yogyakarta with a pledge to use the moment for internal evaluation, introspection and retrospection to perform better in the future.

Speaking in front of some 25,000 activists and supporters of the organization at a ceremony at Mandala Krida Stadium, Muhammadiyah's chairman Din Syamsuddin called on leaders within the organization to strengthen perseverance to improve the management and performance of the movement.

"We have to be thankful by continually praying for the sustainability and development of the organization," Din said.

Being 100 years old, older than the state, Din said, Muhammadiyah should not lose confidence and character in maintaining itself as an independent movement of civil society.

"We have to improve togetherness both within the organization, within Muslim society as well as within wider society," he said.

Din also called on the organization's business entities to improve their function as beacons of progress and superiority. "We must use this momentum as a stepping stone for the establishment of new business entities of superiority and make them centers of excellence," he said.

Muhammadiyah was established by Ahmad Dahlan on Dzulhijjah 8, 1330 according to the Islamic calendar, or Nov. 18, 1912. Nov. 25 this year coincided with Dzulhijjah 8, 1430, or 100 years according the Islamic calendar.

"Since its establishment, Muhammadiyah has never stopped performing its humanitarian and nation building functions in the social and global spheres," chairman of Muhammadiyah's Yogyakarta chapter Agung Danarto said at the ceremony.

The functions, among others, have manifested through the establishment of thousands of educational institutions from pre- school up to universities, hundreds of hospitals and health centers, orphanages and even banks.

Such contributions, according to Agung, were proof that the Islamic organization worked toward benefitting the wider community.

During the colonial era, Agung said, Muhammadiyah struggled for Indonesia's independence despite the political pressure it experienced. During the independence and the New Order era it kept performing social and religious activities despite a difficult political climate.

It also kept developing its business activities during the New Order era despite the authoritarian regime. "Now in the post- reformation era, Muhammadiyah makes use of political openness by conducting revitalization and improving the quality of its business entities and preaching activities," Agung said.

The Wednesday ceremony was also intended as a warm-up event for the upcoming centennial congress of the organization to be held in Yogyakarta on from July 3 to 8 next year.

Participants at the ceremony came from as far as Central Java's cities of Purworejo, Banjarnegara, Magelang, Purworejo, Klaten, Sukoharjo and Surakarta, and half of those who attended had to be seated outside the stadium due to the venue's limited capacity.

During the ceremony, Din also announced the making of a movie about the life of Muhammadiyah's founder, Ahmad Dahlan, by Indonesian box office movie director Hanung Bramantyo and producer MVP Pictures, a subsidiary of Multivision Plus.

Entitled Sang Pencerah (The Enlightener), according to Hanung, the movie would start production by February next year and would premiere in June 2010, prior to the centennial congress of Muhammadiyah.

"I have dreamt of making this movie since I was still a senior high school student. Only now, after directing 12 movies, I have the opportunity to realize my dream," said Hanung.

Muhammadiyah followers worse off, says chairman

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2009

Malang – Compared to their predecessors, followers of the Muhammadiyah Islamic group today are less wealthy, its chairman says.

"Previously many Muhammadiyah members were financially strong, so they could help turn the organization's wheels. This has changed gradually and now many members come from middle- and lower-income groups," Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said on the sidelines of a seminar in Malang on Saturday.

Din said the change, which began in the 1970s, had indirectly impacted Muhammadiyah's efforts to realize its founding fathers' socio-economic vision.

The group's inability to access financial resources had forced its national and regional leaders to seek alternative means to keep the organization afloat, he said.

"Muhammadiyah will not regain its glory if it continues to fall economically short," Din told Antara.

Muhammadiyah will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012. As the oldest Muslim organization in Indonesia, it boasts more than 35 million followers.

Policy & legislation

Communications minister to complete porn law in 6 months

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Padang – Minister of Communication and Information Technology Tifatul Sembiring said on Friday that his office had set the goal of completing the government's draft regulation against pornography within the next six months, after which all pornographic Web sites would be blocked.

The minister made the statement in Padang on Friday after leading the Eid prayer and delivering a sermon to mark Idul Adha in front of a congregation of more than a thousand Muslims in a field in front of the West Sumatra governor's office.

The former leader of the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) made the statement in response to queries about the monitoring of the distribution of locally produced pornographic movies.

Tifatul said another bill was being prepared in connection with the law on pornography, which was passed last year.

PKS was the main author of the controversial antipornography law, which has been criticized by some of its opponents for being a thinly veiled attempt at imposing aspects of Shariah law on the country.

Tifatul said that once the regulation had been approved, all the pornographic sites would be blocked, adding that software would block access for village and subdistrict Internet networks.

Software will also be used to block access to Web sites containing content judged blasphemous or offensive against ethnic groups, races and religions.

In his sermon, Tifatul claimed 500 pornographic movies had been produced in Indonesia. But the saddest thing, he said, was that 70 percent of the people portrayed in the films were students in middle and high school.

While invoking God's protection, he said that it was evidence of society's moral decadence that people were now making movies of adultery. (JG, Antara)

Media/press freedom

Palembang journos protest criminalization of media

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

Palembang – A group of journalists from various organizations rallied in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Monday morning to voice their opposition to what they termed the criminalization of journalists by police.

The protesters rallied at Palembang's Fountain Traffic Circle to condemn the National Police summons of editors of Kompas and Seputar Indonesia, saying this had endangered press freedom.

"We work based on data. Professional media reveals news by upholding a code of ethics," South Sumatra Independent Journalists Alliance chairman Imron Supriyadi said.

Kompas managing editor Budiman Tanuredjo and Seputar Indonesia managing editor Nevy Hetharia complied with the summons at met the National Police's detective unit on Friday.

They said the police had asked them where they got the transcripts of wiretapped telephone conversations between Anggodo Widjojo (the brother of wanted corruption suspect Anggoro Widjojo) and a number of law enforcers, that had contained evidence of an alleged plot to criminalise Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chiefs Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

SBY's meeting with chief editors only 'casual gathering'

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

Minister of Communication and Information Tifatul Sembiring denied that the summoning of a number of chief editors by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday was a form of government intervention into the media.

Tifatul said that the meeting at the State Palace on Sunday night was only a casual gathering. Tifatul said he invited the chief editors to meet Yudhoyono.

"Before the presidential election, there was a gathering (between editors-in-chief and Yudhoyono), now there's another. Don't call it 'summoning', it was only a casual gathering," Tifatul told Metro TV before attending a hearing with House of Representatives Commission I on Monday.

He added that the Sunday night's meeting was also to update the editors on the issues surrounding the cases of the deputy Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, as well as on Bank Century. "He (Yudhoyono) explained his opinion and the media gave their input," Tifatul said.

Tifatul labeled the summoning of chief editors of Kompas and Seputar Indonesia by the National Police last week 'a mistake.' "The summons was wrong, the investigators only wanted to get data but at the end of the day, they only had two cups of coffee," Tifatul said.

Transport & communication

Government must account for sinking ship: KPI

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2009

Jakarta – The Transportation Ministry should be held responsible for the Dumai ferry tragedy that claimed at least 14 lives last Sunday, because according to IMO regulations, fiberglass-hulled boats must not be used in high seas or to ferry public passengers, the Indonesian Sefarers' Association (KPI) says.

"The ill-fated passenger ship was not built for that purpose. The question is how did the government – the Directorate General for Sea Transportation – allow a fiberglass-hulled boat to carry public passengers?" KPI chairman Hanafi Rustandi said here Thursday.

Hanafi called on the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) to investigate not only the causes of the accident, but also the construction of the ship, to learn whether it had met international standards.

In general, fiberglass is only allowed for yachts, and fiberglass-hulled yachts are forbidden from operating in high seas where they are exposed to larger waves, he said.

"Fiberglass-hulled boats are not supposed to be used to ferry passengers in high seas because they are prone to fracturing."

Overcrowded Indonesian ferry sinks: hundreds rescued

Australian Associated Press - November 23, 2009

At least 29 people have died when an Indonesian passenger ferry sank in rough waters off Sumatra.

Rescuers desperately hunted for survivors in the waters off Indonesia's Sumatra island after a ferry sank in stormy seas, killing at least 29 people.

Nearly 250 people were pulled from the sea after the Dumai Express went down on Sunday morning in heavy rain and huge swells off Karimun island, near Singapore, in the north of the Indonesian archipelago.

"There were a total of 291 people on board the ferry," Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis centre, said. "The information we have is 29 people have died and 245 have been saved. This means 17 are still missing."

Overloading is common on vessels that ply the waters between the vast country's thousands of islands. The 147-tonne vessel had a capacity of 273 passengers and crew.

Fishermen were among the first on the scene and pulled many of the survivors from safety, officials said. "I saw children running here and there on the ferry as they tried to escape but there weren't enough life jackets," a survivor told TVOne.

Officials feared some of the missing may have been trapped below deck, such was the speed at which the vessel sank.

"Strong waves hit the ferry and caused the front part to crack. Water got in and within half an hour it sank," navy Lieutenant Colonel Edwin said.

"The ferry is underwater. We know its position but we have yet to check inside to see if there's anyone trapped." Search and rescue efforts were suspended overnight, he said, and were to continue at first light on Monday.

Indonesia's 234 million people are spread across 17,000 islands and are heavily dependent on a network of ships and boats, which have a poor safety record.

Ferry disasters are common despite repeated official promises to tighten and enforce safety regulations. Corruption is a major problem, with ships selling more tickets than they should and packing ferries with cargo in addition to passengers.

An investigation is under way to determine if overloading contributed to Sunday's accident, sea transport director-general Sunaryo said.

"If it was overloaded, that's against the rules and we won't tolerate that," he said. "We will investigate if the ferry was fit to sail and if its documents were complete. We'll also check whether the ship's captain and port master went ahead despite the bad weather or if the weather changed."

Navy spokesman Iskandar Sitompul said the vessel sank after being hit by waves as high as three metres, but other officials said the waves were towering up to six metres.

"We're not sure if anyone is trapped in the ferry. Those who have been rescued are traumatised," he said, adding that navy ships were helping with the search and rescue effort.

Earlier, transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan admitted that it was not uncommon for Indonesian ferries to be overloaded. "In normal conditions ferries can sail with a bit of over-capacity, but in heavier seas it's not good for stability. We're still investigating the cause of the sinking," he said.

Another ferry travelling from Dumai to Moro island, near where the Dumai Express sank, ran aground at around 2pm on Sunday, but all 270 people on board were safe, Ervan said.

Up to 335 people were killed when a heavily overloaded ferry sank off Sulawesi island in January. In December 2006 a ferry went down in a storm off the coast of Java, killing more than 500 people.

Armed forces/defense

Indonesian military seeks close ties with universities

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The military announced on Friday a plan to cooperate with some national universities as part of a drive to become more professional and innovative.

"The cooperation would be conducted between the TNI and the Ministry of Education. It is the ministry that will give us direction as to which universities fit our needs," said Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) spokesman Col. Guntur Wahyudi.

Under the plan, Guntur said that some university lecturers would teach at the Indonesian Military Staff and Command College (Sesko TNI). He added that the military was aiming to be more professional, as mandated by the military law.

One way of doing so, he said, is to raise the defense management skills of officers and to enhance awareness of technology, human rights, the environment and other issues.

He said some of the forces had already signed agreements with national universities. The Air Force signed a deal in July to forge a cooperation between the University of Indonesia and the Bandung Institute of Technology with the military's aviation college.

Guntur's remarks came two days after Military Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso stressed the need for military educational institutions to improve their quality and upgrade the officer corps.

In his remarks during the graduation ceremony of 100 mid-ranking officers at the Sesko TNI building in West Java on Wednesday, Djoko said young officers were facing a more challenging world due to extraordinary advances in information technology and science.

He also said the local and global surge in democratic values in recent years meant that today's officers must pay greater respect to human rights and other issues, including awareness of environmental issues.

"We must keep up to date by making many innovations to face these challenges," Djoko said. "We have to improve our knowledge by enhancing cooperation with other universities."

Among the 100 graduating officers were seven foreign officers – two from Malaysia, and one each from Australia, India, Singapore, Thailand and Burkina Faso.

Police/law enforcement

Constitutional Court chief targets 'animals' on Idul Adha

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Jakarta Globe – Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD continued his attack on the nation's embattled law enforcement institutions on Friday, stating that the war on the "judicial mafia" should be part of broader reforms.

"There is a major problem with law enforcement in this country," Mahfud said during a speech on justice in conjunction with Idul Adha celebrations at the University of Indonesia. "There should be legal reforms to fight the judicial mafia."

Mahfud, as quoted by news Web site Okezone.com, said the legal system was unfair, with major criminals who caused massive state losses evading prosecution while others were dragged through the courts over amounts that would not even add up to Rp 100,000 ($10), such as stealing a neighbor's chicken, electricity to charge a cellular phone or a cocoa pod.

The last case Mahfud referred to involved a poor, elderly woman who spent a month in detention awaiting trial for stealing three cocoa pods from a large plantation company in Banyumas, Central Java.

"Why is it that for small thieves it is so easy [for the law enforcers] to find proof? And why is it that when it comes to finding evidence for major corruptors, it becomes so hard?" he said.

He said the government should carry out its mandate to uphold law and justice, and that corruption within law enforcement institutions must be eradicated.

Mahfud's comments were clearly directed at the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and the court system overseen by the Supreme Court.

They follow hot on the heels of his blistering attack on the institutions on Wednesday, when he declared there had been a conspiracy by the crime-fighting institutions to discredit the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"God has said that those who have a heart but fail to use it to understand the truth, have eyes but fail to see the truth and have ears but don't hear the truth are animals," he said on Wednesday. The salvos are the latest and most devastating yet on the institutions.

Police have denied reports that its unusual decision to remove police guards assigned to the Constitutional Court was in any way related to Mahfud's increasingly tough line with the embattled police and AGO.

AGO staying 'solid' in face of public calls for internal reforms

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2009

Heru Andriyanto – The AGO remained defiant in the face of criticism on Wednesday, with its spokesman playing down calls for urgent internal reform within its ranks, including those from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We are still solid," AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto said when asked whether his office would follow the police's current reshuffle that saw 16 high ranking and nine middle-ranking officers move jobs. "We mind our own business. Never compare the jobs of police and prosecutors, we are different."

The institution has come under the public glare after the National Police's move to pursue extortion and power abuse charges against two deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah.

Calls for reform within the police and the AGO have increased since wiretapped telephone conversations were played in the Constitutional Court that implied some officials of the two institutions were involved in fabricating charges against the deputies.

Yudhoyono, in a statement broadcast nationwide on Tuesday, called on the National Police, the AGO and the KPK, to address the problems within their respective institutions.

The National Police has since replaced its chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who is widely seen as being at the center of efforts to bring criminal charges against the KPK deputies.

Abdul Hakim Ritonga, who along with Susno was also mentioned in the incriminating telephone conversations, has since resigned from his position as deputy attorney general, but Didiek said the move was by no means a part of any reform in the AGO.

"He resigned voluntarily. The attorney general [Hendarman Supandji] didn't propose his resignation," he said. "Don't push us to reshuffle."

Didiek also said there were no internal sanctions planned against Wisnu Subroto, the former AGO deputy for intelligence, who was also heard in the recordings giving instructions to several unidentified persons on how to testify against Bibit and Chandra.

"He doesn't have a job now, where else should he go?" Didiek said. Wisnu was replaced as an AGO deputy in May but remains an active prosecutor until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 62 in two years. "Has [Wisnu] been declared guilty already? I don't think so. Besides, he has already given us a clarification," Didiek said.

Zainal Arifin Muchtar, a legal expert from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said the president's approach to the controversy was allowing the AGO to avoid responsibility.

"The president has been very indecisive and that has given the AGO the courage to deny everything," Zainal said. "His latest speech was open to multiple interpretations, with no clear direction about who should be punished. The president should have cited names so the attorney general would have no excuses. The president needs to make a breakthrough," Zainal added.

Activists insist on wider powers for Indonesia's police watchdog

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2009

Nivell Rayda – Activists have called for the empowerment of the toothless and allegedly biased National Police Commission in a bid to clean up the National Police.

In little more than two weeks, the Team of Eight established by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Nov. 2, was able to conclude that the National Police had acted unprofessionally and had a hidden agenda in naming Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra Hamzah suspects for abuse of power and extortion.

It is widely believed that the investigation of the deputies was triggered by a KPK probe into the National Police's chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who allegedly illegally intervened in the PT Bank Century bailout scandal to help businessman Boedi Sampoerna recover frozen funds. Susno has not been charged with any offense.

The Team of Eight also recommended that the president restructure the National Police, which is perceived as being one of the country's most corrupt institutions.

Lawyers for Bibit and Chandra reported to the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), a government police watchdog, on Oct. 8 that there was a conflict of interest in the pursuit of their clients, namely from Susno Duadji, who was being investigated by the KPK. No action was ever taken by the watchdog.

"The government should reposition Kompolnas from simply making recommendations that fall on deaf ears to being an effective watchdog," said Ardi, an activist at prominent human rights group Imparsial. "There should be more authority and independence given to Kompolnas."

Since its establishment in 2005, Kompolnas has been criticized for being ineffective in police monitoring, including following up on public complaints. With limited authority, Kompolnas is only able to forward public complaints to the police's internal affairs unit.

"Kompolnas should be able to conduct its own investigations and impose sanctions against rogue police officers," said Indonesia Police Watch chairman Neta S Pane, adding that Kompolnas' independence was questionable.

"The chairman of Kompolnas is the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs and two other ministers act as its deputies. Kompolnas should be completely independent from the government to be an effective watchdog for the police," he added

Bambang Widodo Umar, a former police officer and a professor at the Institute of Police Science, said the need for an independent police watchdog had never been greater.

"The police have been given an enormous amount of authority, most being unaccounted for," he said. "Either police power [should] be stripped down or there must be an effective counterbalance, otherwise the police could easily become an instrument of the political and economic elite."

Neta said the repositioned watchdog should be able to impose tight controls on police activities, mainly the handling of particular cases.

"Right now everything from starting an investigation, declaring someone a suspect, arresting someone and dropping a case are all at the police's own discretion," he said. "This makes the police very prone to abuse of power and corruption."

Police 'must cease probing graft cases'

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The record of the police in handling graft cases, has been poor, say experts, prompting demands to government to hand over the authority to probe such cases to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Instead, a discussion here Sunday proposed that the police concentrate on investigating non-graft crimes, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, robbery and street crimes as well as focusing on crime prevention, as rising crime had made the public feel insecure.

"I strongly suggest to the police to give up its authority to investigate graft cases simply because of their inability to do so," Bambang Widodo Umar, a police expert from the University of Indonesia, said.

Bambang, who was also a former member of the police service himself, acknowledged that a police officer was not trained to be able to handle sophisticated cases like graft cases that would need more comprehensive legal skills rather than field experience.

"Police cadets are trained to be able to uphold security and maintain order. Thus they are not learning subjects similar to their counterparts at law school. And this is what made the police incapable of handling graft cases, especially those involving sophisticated engineering of legal and financial matters," he said.

Bambang said it would be better for the police to focus on how to handle other form of crimes, starting from petty crimes to pursuing drug gangsters and terrorists. He said that police skill and resources were more needed in tackling these kinds of crimes.

"In these particular fields, the police have been able to write down their success stories. Thus let us see more of that in the future," he said.

Emerson Yuntho from Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said that from 2002 to 2008 there were at least 17 corruption cases the police have handled, and in all these cases there was little or no progress.

"The police are so far failing to provide transparency about these cases. Thus, we never know whether or not these cases are completed," he said.

Among such cases were the allegations of misuse of account no. 502 said to have caused Rp 20.9 trillion in state losses. The case was opened in 2003 and several former officials such as former Central Bank governor Syahril Sabirin, former Indonesian Bank and Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chief Putu Gede Ary Suta and Cacuk Sudaryanto had been named as suspects.

However apparently no further legal steps regarding this case were taken from the police side.

Another case indicating police failure in handling corruption cases was when the police opened a case in 2005 on alleged graft in the procurement of police communication devices and radios, said to have caused Rp 240 billion in state losses. But there has been no news on any continued progress in this case until now.

There has been speculation that police officials may have received bribes to stop the progress of the investigations into these cases.

Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Ketut Untung Yoga Ana, said he appreciated these criticisms, but denied these possible allegations. He refused to comment on the suggestion that the police might give up their authority to make investigations into graft cases.

Mining & energy

Indonesia's efficiency efforts require $4 billion investment: ADB

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2009

Alfian, Jakarta – Indonesia will need US$4 billion in investment for energy efficiency projects to slash its energy consumption by a quarter, concludes a survey commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The survey was conducted between May and October this year, Madeleine Varkay, the ADB's senior private sector development specialist for Southeast Asia, said Thursday.

"We did the survey on energy consumption in buildings and factories," Varkay said. "Of the $4 billion, $1 billion is required for energy efficiency in commercial buildings and $3 billion for that in factories."

The types of project range from electrical system retrofits to improving the efficiency of air-conditioning systems, to lighting and waste heat recovery.

"The efficiency efforts will save energy consumption by about 25 percent," said Rehan Kausar, the ADB infrastructure specialist for Indonesia resident mission.

Anthony Jude, director of the energy and water division at the ADB's Southeast Asia Department, said the $4 billion investment required for the energy efficiency projects could be seen as a potential market for commercial banks and the manufacturing sector.

"Indonesia's energy sector is a vast field of investment opportunities awaiting the participation of domestic and international banking as well as the industrial sectors," he said on the sidelines of the seminar "Financing US$4 billion Energy Efficiency Solutions in Indonesia".

The seminar, jointly organized by the ADB, the Indonesian Electrical Power Society (MKI) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), was aimed at promoting the $4 billion investment opportunities among bankers and industrialists.

"From the ADB's side, of the $4 billion required investment, we can contribute loans of between $300 million and $400 million a year," Varkay said.

MKI executive director Andri Doni said the energy efficiency projects needed supporting regulations to make them bankable.

"There must be a regulation ordering (state electricity monopoly) PLN to buy the excess power produced from the energy efficiency efforts at market price," he said, adding the same policy had been applied in other countries.

Investors steering clear until cost-recovery rules ironed out

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2009

Reva Sasistiya – Investors have largely ignored the Energy Ministry's tenders for 17 oil and gas blocks offered in June because of the government's plans to amend cost-recovery regulations, a senior ministry official said on Wednesday.

Evita Legowo, the ministry's director general of oil and gas, said many investors have complained about uncertainties over the government's planned new implementing regulations on cost recovery, leading them to forego further investments in the energy sector until the issue was clarified.

"They feel uncertain about the oil and gas business in Indonesia because the cost-recovery regulations have not been finished," she said.

Cost recovery is the process whereby contractors are reimbursed for expenses incurred in the development and operation of energy assets. It is central to the government's system of production- sharing contracts.

Under political pressure from lawmakers, the government is revisiting the cost-recovery scheme and is planning to issue new regulations to make it more difficult for companies to claim back expenses.

Implementing regulations establishing new cost-recovery limits are expected to be issued by the Energy Ministry next year, although a date has not been set.

Only one of the 17 recently offered production blocks, the offshore Sula I block in Central Sulawesi, had attracted any interest, with local firm PT Brilliance Energy the sole bidder, Evita said.

In addition, investors expressed interest in only two of the seven exploration working areas offered through the so-called direct-appointment mechanism.

The onshore Blora block in Central Java was awarded to local explorer PT Sele Raya, and the offshore North Makassar Strait block was awarded to a consortium comprised of PT Baruna Nusantara Energy and Canada's Niko Resources.

The government also awarded a production-sharing contract for the already explored Langgak block in Riau province to the consortium of PT Sarana Pembangunan Riau and Kingswood Capital.

Growth stalled without power problem solution

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2009

Benget Besalicto Tnb., Manado – Regions, which are vital in economic development amid the current regional autonomy regime, will continue to struggle to take the lead role without a breakthrough to solve the chronic problem of electricity, which has stood in the way of flows of investment.

"Without the availability of electricity, it's impossible for us in the provinces to invite investments we badly need to drive our local economy," North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang told the press here over the weekend.

"I think electricity, beside the problem of land, is the main problem facing us. Many other provinces are also facing the same problem."

The governor was speaking to a group of journalists who visited three geothermal power plants which have a combined capacity of 65 megawatt (MW), including the US$30 million 20 MW Lahendong II plant which is financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

"The electricity problem has worsened of late by the fact that PLN has to carry out rotating blackouts as it could not meet demand during the peak load," he said, adding that The ADB has agreed to finance the development of Lahendong IV geothermal power plant next year and was scheduled to be finalized by the year 2012.

The bank is also considering financing the development of Lahendong V and VI that will be started after 2012.

Currently, North Sulawesi province has 140 MW peak demand to serve about 300,000 customers. Its total installed generating capacity is 186 MW including those generated from the three geothermal plants.

But as many of its operating diesel-fired power plants are old, their actual power generating capacity only total 141 MW. With such a condition, there is almost no reserve capacity to meet the increasing demand which is recorded at about 8 percent per year.

The situation is in fact similar to many provinces in the country where blackouts become common, including in North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South and West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, South Sumatra, Lampung, West Java, Banten, and Greater Jakarta.

Even in Riau Islands, PLN had to put out electricity for 12 hours a day, drawing a protests from the general public.

In North Sumatra a number of people had requested that PLN pay them compensation for its frequent outages had caused their electric equipment out of function.

Recently, a number of governors had met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss ways to settle the issue. But there has been no breakthrough taken to solve the chronic problem.

In Manado, Noldy Tuerah, CEO of Manado-Bitung Integrated Economic Development Zone in North Sulawesi province, told The Jakarta Post that due to the power outage businesses and industries in the province have seen their operational costs increased by more than 20 percent.

"Due to the frequent power outages, businesses and industries here have to use their own generators for several times a day. That is three times more expensive than the cost of having it from the PLN grid that cost Rp 1,380 per Kwh. As a result their operational costs have jumped by over 20 percent," he said.

"So how can the local government be able to attract the investments if there is no electricity for investors to operate their businesses? We also cannot expect the existing businesses to be able compete at the international market," he added.

Economy & investment

Indonesia may drop plans to take state firms public

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2009

Janeman Latul – In an apparent policy reversal, the new state enterprises minister announced on Thursday that he might drop plans to publicly list several important state companies if "other alternatives" could be found to improve performance. The about- face comes amid criticism of the share offerings from lawmakers.

"Privatization or going public is only an alternative and it's really conditional," said Minister Mustafa Abubakar after a meeting on Thursday with members of the House of Representatives' Commission XI overseeing finance.

For some SOEs, it would be enough to group them under holding companies or have them form strategic alliances, he said.

"We will look at several formulas and find a proper option that will suit these SOEs depending on their characteristics," he said, declining to elaborate on the options.

Any cancellation would put the government's long-touted SOE plan in doubt. Under previous Minister Sofyan Djalil, partial privatization of SOEs was a top priority to increase transparency and efficiency in the companies, many of which have faced accusations of being poorly managed and graft-ridden.

Sofyan also hoped that by listing the SOEs on the local bourse it would force them to institute proper accounting standards and increase their access to sources of capital.

Mustafa said some of the companies for which IPO plans may be dropped, included three state-owned plantation companies, PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III, IV and VII.

Analysts have said these companies are in dire need of funds to modernize their operations and are finding it difficult to compete with rivals in the private sector.

"If we can find other ways to increase the PTPNs' performance we will take them, and we won't have to go through with the 'go-public' plan," Mustafa said.

Other high-profile IPO plans that could also be halted, despite already being approved by the House, are national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia and PT Krakatau Steel.

Garuda plans to raise $400 million of fresh capital in the middle of next year by selling as much as 40 percent of the government's shares in an IPO, while Krakatau is aiming for a Rp 3.5 trillion ($371 million) windfall from selling 30 percent of its shares in the second half of 2008. Mustafa declined to comment on the fate of these two companies when asked by reporters.

He did promise, however, that the IPO plans for state owned mortgage lender PT Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and construction company PT Pembangunan Perumahan (PP) would not be interrupted as preparations "were in the final stages".

BTN hopes to amass around Rp 2.6 trillion from the country's biggest initial public offering of 2009, with plans to list on Dec. 17 by selling a 27 percent government stake. PP is aiming for around Rp 1.5 trillion by selling as much as 30 percent of government shares, with an IPO set for the first quarter of 2010.

Exporters watch and worry as Indonesian rupiah continues to rise

Bloomberg - November 25, 2009

Lilian Karunungan – - Coal and palm oil exporters' profit margins may narrow should the rupiah rise another 4 percent to 9,000 per dollar, and the costs of fuel and rice keep climbing, industry groups said.

Seven of 17 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey predict more gains in the currency, Asia's best performer this year, to 9,000 or stronger against the dollar by the end of 2010. The median estimate is 9,200, compared with 9,398 on Wednesday. Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil and the largest exporter of power-station coal.

The currency rising to 9,000 "is a critical level," Bob Kamandanu, chairman of the Indonesian Coal Producers Association (APBI), said in an interview in Jakarta on Friday. "It's too strong."

The country's exports, which account for 24 percent of gross domestic product, fell 19.9 percent in September from a year earlier after dropping 15.4 percent the previous month, government data showed on Nov. 2.

The rupiah has risen 15 percent this year, nearly double the pace of the South Korean won. On Oct. 15 it hit 9,280, its strongest level since September 2008, and last traded at 9,000 in July 2007.

Overseas investors poured funds into domestic stocks and bonds this year to benefit from the fastest growth in Southeast Asia, driven by domestic consumption. The Jakarta Composite Index has soared 82 percent as funds based abroad purchased $951 million more local shares than they sold, according to stock exchange data.

A rate of "9,000 would be dangerous for our exporters," Fadhil Hasan, executive director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki), said. "It's going to hurt them."

Coal producers' earnings are also being hit by increased fuel prices, which account for 30 percent of costs, Bob said.

Oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange has risen 70 percent this year and traded at $76.47 per barrel on Wednesday trading in Asia. An oil price above $80 "would kill our operations," Bob said.

Gapki's 378 growers and producers also have to grapple with rising prices of food to feed their workers, said Steaven Halim, second secretary at the association.

The wholesale price of rice was at Rp 5,550 per kilo on Wednesday, up from Rp 5,400 a year ago, according to PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya, the country's biggest market for the grain.

Rice production may be affected by dry weather caused by El Nino, which warms the Pacific Ocean, which can prolong the dry season in parts of Asia.

If the rupiah rises to 9,000, "that may be a problem at the farms," Steaven said. "In nominal terms, the farmers will have decreasing income, while they are paying more for the staple food."

Domestic investment doubles as confidence climbs

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2009

Jakarta – The value of mobilized domestic investment doubled this year as confidence in the country's economy increased, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) says.

New BKPM head Gita Wirjawan told a hearing of the House of Representatives' Commission VI overseeing trade, business and state enterprises on Monday that from January to October, the total value of domestic investment soared by just over 100 percent to Rp 32.47 trillion (US$3.44 billion) from Rp 15.88 trillion in the same period in 2008. The number of projects financed was 212, up from 194 last year.

Approved domestic investment commitments also increased in value. As of the end of October BKPM has issued approvals for 233 projects with a total investment value of Rp163.75 trillion, a 20 percent increase on 136.17 trillion in 2008.

Gita said the rise in domestic investment commitments and realization reflected that the economy had fared despite the global downturn.

The BKPM deputy for the investment development climate Yus'an said the increase was only natural given the sky-high investment performance in 2006 and 2007, the years when the earlier approvals for the realized investments were given.

Approved domestic investment planned in 2006 was valued at Rp 162.77 trillion. The value increased to Rp 188.87 trillion in 2007, the highest ever recorded in the country.

"2007 was also the year the investment law was deliberated, followed by the issuance of the government regulation on tax incentive for both domestic and foreign investors. That's why there was a huge interest in investing in the country," he said.

Gita said the realization of domestic investment projects was concentrated in Java and several regions that had natural resources. "The dominant realized investment sectors by value were in chemicals and pharmaceuticals, the food industry, electricity, gas, water and construction," he added.

According to Yus'an, BKPM is targeting to increase the value of realized domestic investment for 2010 to around Rp 120 trillion.

But Gita noted that while overseas-funded projects increased from 950 to 1,008 in 2009, total realized overseas investment value fell from $13.93 billion in 2008 to $9.92 billion this year, down 28.8 percent. In line with the global economic downturn, Indonesia therefore saw a slump in the total value of realized foreign investment projects.

"In total, we target to see Rp 220 trillion of realized domestic and foreign investment for 2010. Traditionally, foreign investment contributes 70 percent of the whole, but this current unexpected trend with our domestic investment has led us to target that realized domestic investment could match that of foreign investment," he said.

Seeing good prospects for domestic investment, Gita said he would push for positive discrimination for domestic investors.

He is working on a general plan for investment, which will focus on improving the business climate in the country by, among other things, the establishment of a one-stop integrated service to standardize and simplify the investment process. (adh)

Analysis & opinion

Muhammadiyah, 100 years on

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2009

When Ahmad Dahlan founded Muhammadiyah in 1912, he shocked his compatriots with the "Western" style of his organization. Focusing primarily on education, the early Yogyakarta-based Muhammadiyah schools adopted the Dutch boy-scout club and Western-attired teachers.

It was a grassroots movement that diligently filled a vacuum in the education sector vital for a country that was yet to be born. Its contribution to the nation's independence has since been invaluable.

As Muhammadiyah celebrates its 100th anniversary on Nov. 25, based on the Islamic calendar, the venerated Muslim scholar has every reason to be proud. Today, the organization has thousands of branches throughout the country and 18 branches overseas. It manages thousands of schools, 167 universities, hundreds of orphanages and thousands of charity activities.

The country's second-biggest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah has produced numerous luminaries including the revered freedom fighter Sudirman and the respected Muslim scholar Buya Hamka, down to more recent leaders such as A.R. Fachruddin, Amien Rais, Ahmad Syafii Ma'arif and today's chairman, Din Syamsuddin.

A gathering was held in Jakarta on Wednesday attended by top officials and politicians, including Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D. and Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar.

In a veiled reference to the legal controversy surrounding the National Police and the Attorney General's Office, Din called on the elite to fight graft and to take firm measures against corrupt officials.

"Don't be trapped by legal formalities that may offer a chance for a 'court mafia', case brokers and corruptors to exploit legal loopholes," he said.

We second his call on those in power to become more sensitive to the sense of justice of the people and to put the interests of the nation and the people above all others.

Muhammadiyah has made lots of contributions to the nation and is capable of making a lot more, particularly in helping the government fight corruption, which is the nation's most conspicuous social illness, in battling the rising tendency to reject pluralism and embrace religious intolerance, and in stemming the rise of Islam radicalism. It has the capacity to prevent the country becoming a radical movement hub and to lift the people out of poverty. For a century it has helped build the image of our country as a moderate and a tolerant one.

Recently, its leaders have repeatedly called on its more than 40 million members to uphold honesty. If followed through, it will have a significant improvement on the nation.

Ahmad Sjafii Ma'arif has tirelessly said that our biggest problem is the wide divide between words and deeds, that we have to rid the nation from becoming a pool of hypocrites. Muhammadiyah is well placed to remedy this situation. Failing that, our numerous problems will persist.

A century of Muhammadiyah and modern Indonesia

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2009

M. Hilaly Basya, Leiden – Based on the Hijriyah (Islamic) calendar, on 8 Dzulhijjah 1430 (Nov. 26, 2009), Muhammadiyah will mark the one hundredth anniversary of its existence. Muhammadiyah was established by Kyai Haji Ahmad Dahlan in 1330 Hijriyah, or Nov. 18, 1912.

As is well known, from the beginning of its movement Muhammadiyah paid great attention to the modernization of the nation. Modern Indonesia, more and less, has been influenced by Muhammadiyah figures.

Of course as a big organization in which many people are involved, Muhammadiyah has experienced dynamic development.

In general, the Muhammadiyah movement is based on modern principles. It is characterized by many modern institutions such as hospitals, schools, universities and banks developed and maintained by Muhammadiyah.

On the other hand, as explained by prominent Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra (1999), Muhammadiyah is less responsive on contemporary issues related to modern social and political problems. Routine activities in maintaining its modern institutions may be one of the factors behind the problems.

Muhammadiyah's concern in ritual issues is also another factor in waning Muhammadiyah interest in sociopolitical issues. It is indicated from the edicts issued by the Majelis Tarjih (law- making council) Muhammadiyah board that most of the edicts are related to bid'ah (heretic worship).

Many believe that conservatism on the part of Muhammadiyah regarding contemporary Islamic thought is caused by its emphasis on the purification agenda. In fact, as explained by Syamsul Anwar (the law-making council chairman), Muhammadiyah has two agendas: purification and dynamization, or reformation.

In the Ahmad Dahlan era, Muhammadiyah was more responsive to social problems such as in education and the economy.

In the early time of the movement, Muhammadiyah also highlighted reformation. However, in its later development, Muhammadiyah paid more attention to purification issues.

This later tendency cannot be separated from transnational Islamic movements, such as Wahhabism, that have penetrated into Indonesia. The Wahhabi movement has attracted Muhammadiyah activists.

In general, Wahhabism has similar concerns with other salafi movements, which Muhammadiyah is part of. The group has called on Muslims to return to Koran and the Sunnah (the Prophet's traditions).

In addition, Wahhabis are not tolerant to diversity. Wahhabism intends to purify Islam from local customs. That is why in certain periods, Muhammadiyah showed a more puritan face seeking to establish pure Islam rather than a progressive face.

Regardless of its dynamic fluctuations, Muhammadiyah still greatly contributes and supports the modern nation-state. Muhammadiyah has no intention of establishing an Islamic state. It is a modernist movement, since the first time Muhammadiyah eagerly provided education for Muslims.

It means that cultural movement is seen by Muhammadiyah as the basic requirement for modern Indonesia. In addition, the nature of Muhammadiyah is shown by its vision and mission mentioned in the Muhammadiyah constitution.

At its 33rd congress in 1956, three leaders of Muhammadiyah – K.H. Fakih Usman, Prof. K.H.M. Faried Ma'ruf and Dr. Hamka – presented the concept of Masyarakat Islam yang sebenar-benarnya (Truly Muslim society).

This concept was accepted as Muhammadiyah's vision. This concept emphasized social education, not political orientation.

In other words, the concept does not mean establishing an Islamic state. As far as Muhammadiyah is concerned, education is the basic necessity to improve Indonesian dignity.

Furthermore, Muhammadiyah has a strong commitment to supporting secular political government as shown by Ahmad Syafii Ma'arif, the organization's chairman from 1999 to 2005, who stated at a Muhammadiyah congress that democracy was the best political system to establish human rights and Islamic society.

This commitment has been proved since the early time of Indonesian independence.

Ki Bagus Hadikusumo, the representative of Muhammadiyah in the Pantia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (Preparation Committee of Indonesian Independence) agreed that the sentence mentioning the implementation of sharia law for Indonesian Muslims be eliminated from the Pancasila (national ideology) and the 1945 Constitution.

This decision was difficult, since most Indonesian Muslim leaders at that time demanded the state implement sharia law for Muslims.

Hadikusumo, with other committee members, discussed the relation between the state and religion. He realized that Indonesia was a diverse country, so it would be wise to make Indonesia a home for all people. He convinced Indonesian Muslim leaders that the Constitution, which separated state from religion, was compatible with Islam.

In addition, Muhammadiyah developed modern educational institutions attempting to support the modernization policy developed by the governments of Sukarno and Soeharto.

This fact is the cultural capital of Muhammadiyah scholars and activists. Although in the middle of its movement this organization tended to be puritan, in general Muhammadiyah is still committed to modern values.

In the late 1990s, Muhammadiyah showed its progressive face. Social and political conditions as the impact of democratic transition also triggered this progressive wing to be involved in guiding the transitional period.

Radical Islamic movements colorizing the democratic transition in the post-Soeharto regime have attracted Muhammadiyah scholars' attention, including that of Amien Rais, Syafii Ma'arif, Din Syamsuddin, Munir Mulkhan, Amin Abdullah, Dawam Rahardjo and Moeslim Abdurrahman.

They have played an important role in countering radical Islamic ideas. The position of these scholars on the Muhammadiyah board gave them the chance to articulate progressive ideas related to Islam and democracy. They criticized the conservative and radical Islamic thought brought by radical Islamic organizations.

Ahmad Syafii Ma'arif, for instance, said radical Islamic ideas had no future in Indonesia since they would disrupt the concept of a modern nation-state that accommodated diversity.

The idea of an Islamic caliphate, for example, would destroy Indonesia as a nation, and democracy as well. Their role in guiding democratic transition to become established or consolidated democracy is significant. It is important to note that the role of Muhammadiyah and similar organizations in Indonesia will influence the future of modern Indonesia.

Hence, Muhammadiyah activists need to always re-evaluate and reform their position in order to be able to support the nation.

[The writer is a lecturer at Muhammadiyah University Jakarta (UMJ) and a student at Leiden University, the Netherlands.]

Big time crime pays

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 23, 2009

If you are going to steal, make sure you steal big. You're more likely to get away with it, or get off lightly, compared to what a small time thief will get. The same goes with corruption, which is a white collar theft. Go for the big one rather than for small change.

That seems to be the message that our courts of law keep sending through many of their rulings pertaining to cases of theft and corruption.

The judiciary, supposedly the nation's bastion of justice, seems to be suffering from a deficiency in its sense of justice. It is completely detached from the public it is supposed to serve.

The case of Minah, the elderly woman tried for stealing three cacao pods worth 15 US cents, is a case in point. Minah stole the cocoa pods in desperation. Then returned them. The villager was then tried, convicted and given an option of serving 45 days in jail or three months probation.

Compare this with the celebrated case of Anggoro and his brother Anggodo, who clearly have treated the law with such contempt, yet are still roaming free.

What about Robert Tantular of Bank Century who only got four years although he nearly triggered systemic collapse in the banking system?

These big time crooks not only employ the most expensive lawyers they can hire in the country, but as Anggoro and Anggodo show, they try to influence the course of justice to secure favors from the legal system.

If that was not enough, bring in the religious leaders to speak for you. Former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung at the height of investigation for corruption in the state logistics agency Bulog, got prominent kiyais to say that in Islam, as long as the money is returned, it does not constitute theft.

There were no big shot lawyers and no kiyai to speak for Minah.

And the same goes for Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, the suspended deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in their battle against the powerful National Police and the Attorney General Office.

They are lucky though to have young lawyers working pro-bono to defend them.

Justice in Indonesia is for sale to the highest bidder. Indonesia has two sets of laws: one for the poor and weak, and one for the rich and powerful.

As long as this remains, there is all the more reason for many people to steal, and to steal really big to make it worthwhile.

No wonder that this country, although so blessed with so many natural resources, is always on the verge of bankruptcy.