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Indonesia News Digest 51 - December 12-19, 2004
Jakarta Post - December 13, 2004
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh -- "Are you Acehnese? Then you must be
GAM." This sort of intimidating remark is frequently uttered by
soldiers when conducting checking motorists and passers-by for
identity cards and weapons. Local resident Muhammad, 32, has had
enough of it.
"What's wrong with being Acehnese? If they want to discriminate
against us like this, why don't they just let Aceh become
independent," he said angrily.
Muhammad is a native Acehnese, and is immediately recognized as
such by the authorities on account of his dark complexion. He
lives in Reubeuk village, Mutiara district, Pidie regency, some
118 kilometers from Banda Aceh. The area is one of the "hot
spots" in the regency.
He has often been questioned longer than other people by soldiers
as he has a local identity card. "It's as if all Acehnese are
considered troublemakers and are responsible for the current
situation," he complained.
His remarks were confirmed by Pardamean Sitorus of North
Tapanuli, who works as a drugs' salesman in Banda Aceh. He has
often seen Acehnese people being stigmatized as GAM rebels,
especially during searches by the military and police.
"The soldiers treat me differently to the Acehnese. Moreover, I
don't have to carry the local red-and-white ID card," said
Sitorus, referring to the fact that the Acehnese are
discriminated against by being forced to carry a special ID card
flaunting the colors of the Indonesian flag.
He added that during searches, Acehnese people would normally be
questioned abusively by soldiers. The slightest misunderstanding
could result in big trouble for the locals, including being
beaten and kicked.
Frequently, the Acehnese are abused by being forced to lie in
water-filled ditches or being ordered to do countless push-ups.
"If they are believed to have committed a more serious offense,
they will be taken to a command post," added Sitorus.
People who are in any way connected with separatist rebels or who
even happen to have the same or similar names as GAM leaders,
like Muzakkir Manaf or Sofyan Dawood, come in for particularly
abusive treatment.
Soldiers or police often paint the word "GAM" or the letter "X"
in red paint on houses they believe are owned by families of GAM
members. These sorts of human rights abuses have sparked public
unrest and drawn protests from human rights groups.
However, Aceh civil emergency administration Sr. Comr. Sayed
Husainy denied any discriminatory treatment against the Acehnese
by the military and police. "It might have happened previously
because at that time it was still difficult for the security
forces to distinguish between GAM members and civilians. But this
isn't such a problem any more," he said.
Apart from widespread discrimination and intimidation, local
people are also often at the receiving end of even more serious
rights abuses, like torture, murder, abduction and unlawful
detention. While cases of discrimination are regarded as being
very harmful, they are frequently ignored.
A human rights activist in Aceh, Muhammad Isa, said the
discrimination was particularly serious as it could create
further tension and conflict in the province.
"Many of the family members of GAM fighters are not involved in
separatist activities. Nevertheless, they are frequently summoned
by the authorities for questioning. They are also obliged to
report even though they have done nothing. It's dangerous," Isa
told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He added that this sort of approach on the part of the military
and police was one of the main reasons behind the increase in the
popularity of the separatist cause.
"When Aceh was declared a military operation zone [DOM] [by the
Soeharto regime], there were only a few hundred GAM insurgents in
Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh. Now, after 10 years there are a
lot more throughout Aceh," Isa said.
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Nani Afrida, Central Aceh -- Musirah, 50, remembered the day her
village fought against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), when
hundreds of armed insurgents besieged the village on June 6,
2001.
The guerrillas had previously attacked and burned down other
villages in the districts of Batu, Timang Gajah, Bandar and Syiah
Utama.
Hundreds of Central Aceh residents died in the attacks, while
thousands more were forced to seek refuge at the regental
council's offices and those of the Takengon regent, 30 kilometers
from Bukit district. "We, all the villagers of Pondok Kresek,
resolved to defend our village until our very last drops of
blood," said Musirah.
They were triumphant. Armed with homemade rifles, machetes,
spears and swords, they repulsed the rebels. The struggle lasted
for 90 minutes. The incident only claimed five casualties, among
them a two-year-old child named Irma, who died in her mother's
arms.
Residents have built a monument at the entrance to Pondok Kresek
village, its name now changed to Setia Jadi village, in memory of
the fallen victims and to exhort residents to constantly protect
their village. The village, located in Batu district, is unique
in Central Aceh regency as 99 percent of its inhabitants are of
the Javanese origin.
The Indonesian Military (TNI), whose soldiers are mostly
Javanese, will quickly come to the aid of the village if it comes
under threat. The villagers earn their living as vegetable and
coffee growers.
"GAM rebels seldom show up here as we would repulse them if they
did," said Musirah.
The conflict has not greatly affected the welfare of the
villagers. If attacked, residents join together in arms to
protect their village. It is the first village in Batu district
to have recovered economically.
The fearsome reputation of the villagers in repulsing GAM threats
has made outsiders think twice before entering the village,
especially indigenous Acehnese.
It is widely rumored that should an Acehnese wander into Pondok
Kresek by mistake, he would be quickly put to death. "It's been
four years now since fishmongers from Bireun have had the courage
to come to our village," said Musirah. He claimed the villagers
had no problem with the Acehnese. "The problem is with GAM, and
not all Acehnese are rebels," he said.
The village is staunchly pro-Indonesia and has strong military
ties. In other words, it is a militia village, with most of the
villagers armed with homemade firearms. "We have guns, but we
made them ourselves. They were not provided by the Indonesian
Military (TNI). We have never been trained by them either,"
asserted Turmansyah, 44, a resident of the village.
According to Turmansyah, villagers have been producing ammunition
and homemade firearms out of bicycle parts.
West Papua
Labour issues
'War on terror'
Politics/political parties
Corruption/collusion/nepotism
Regional/communal conflicts
Local & community issues
Human rights/law
Focus on Jakarta
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Opinion & analysis
Aceh
Aceh civilians tire of military intimidation
Javanese 'milita' village marks pro-Indonesia front line
Soldiers, senior policeman fired for insubordination
Jakarta Post - December 18, 2004
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan -- The Indonesian Military (TNI) has dishonorably discharged eight soldiers for insubordination during their tour of duty in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
The eight soldiers discharged on Friday had been sentenced on Aug. 8 to six to 18 months in jail by a Banda Aceh military court for defying orders to join the military operation against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
The court also ordered that the soldiers be discharged dishonorably.
The soldiers all hail from the Bukit Barisan military command overseeing North Sumatra: First Sgt. Indra Marwan, First Sgt. Mamat Puja, First Corp. Azidin, Second Corp. Juraid Sikumbang, Second Corp. Mustopa, Second Pvt. Dirham Agussalim, Second Pvt. Adi Suryanto and Second Pvt. Irwan Syahputra.
Bukit Barisan military command chief Maj. Gen. Tri Tamtomo led an event held specially to discharge the soldiers at the local base in Medan, North Sumatra.
Tri said the soldiers had been found guilty of insubordination. "It's a serious offense, because their actions have tarnished the ethics of their profession and their oath as soldiers," he told journalists after the event.
He said at least 20 troops had been accused of insubordination initially, but the eight were the "brains" behind the offense. "We hope this punishment will set an example for other soldiers ... so they will not commit similar mistakes," Tri added.
He said about 60 soldiers had been dismissed from the military over the last year for varying offenses, including drug-related crimes, desertion and insubordination.
Also on Friday, the North Sumatra Police sacked Medan Police deputy chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Robin Manurung for insubordination and appointed Adj. Comr. Indra, formerly Patumbak Police chief, in his place.
North Sumatra Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Bambang Prihady said Robin had failed to heed Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Bagus Kurniawan's order to detain a suspect accused of disparaging a policeman. Robin had placed the suspect in his office instead of a police cell as ordered by Bagus, Bambang added.
The suspect, Diana, 35, is the wife of the general manager of Medan's Sun Plaza shopping center, which is partly owned by media baron Surya Paloh. She was arrested for allegedly slapping traffic policeman Second Brig. Pardomuan Sipahutar across the face on December 11, when he stopped her for an apparent traffic violation.
Bagus said Diana, currently in police custody, had been charged with offending, insulting and ignoring an order by a police officer, which carries a minimum sentence of three years.
| West Papua |
Jakarta Post - December 13, 2004
Kanis Dursin, Jakarta -- The 150 or so people in the room suddenly burst into laughter when one of the speakers conveyed what he said was an appeal from Papuan girls.
"I would like to convey a message from Papuan girls. They want all Papuan men to marry Papuan girls for the sake of posterity," middle-aged Protestant priest Karel Phil Erari said when delivering his speech in a three-day meeting of Papuans in Diaspora here.
The male-dominated audience, who had listened intently to his speech burst into laughter, with some clapping their hands, while others punched their fists into the air. Boys and girls seating side by side looked at one another, giggling.
Fears of losing their Melanesian identity and of their ethnic group disappearing permeated the first meeting of Papuans living outside their province in Jakarta over the weekend. Some 150 Papuans attended the meeting that ended on Sunday.
Most participants claimed that they had been marginalized and made insignificant by the central government politically, economically, socially and culturally.
Leonard Imbiri, secretary-general of Dewan Adat Papua or the Papuan Cultural Council, which facilitated the meeting, said their fears went beyond the possibility of losing their cultural identity.
"The fear is not limited to losing our cultural identity, but also whether or not Papuans can survive as an ethnic group and live in Papua," Leonard told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He said that spiraling bloody violence resulting in deaths of Papuans, the unchecked spread of HIV/AIDS, the poor education system and serious lack of health services had raised suspicions among Papuans at large that there was an organized attempt at ethnic cleansing or genocide.
The Post reported earlier that two tribes in Merauke, South Papua had vanished due to HIV/AIDS. They allegedly got the virus from prostitutes "offered" to Papuans in exchange for the fragrant eaglewood locally known as kayu gaharu.
According to Karel, the government's total disregard of the Papuan people's existence in any major decisions -- be they political and economic -- have only exacerbated the fears among Papuans.
Pointing to the government's decision to partition the province, Karel asserted that the special autonomy status was a dowry Jakarta had to pay in order to keep resource-rich Papua as part of the country.
The Autonomy Law, introduced on January 1, 2002, stipulates that any move to split the province should gain the approval from the yet to be established Papuan People's Council (MRP). Despite opposition from Papuans, Jakarta decided to split the province.
Karel said the move further eroded Papuan people's fragile trust in the central government. During a discussion attended by sociologist La Ode Ida on Saturday, participants also said they were also economically marginalized despite the fact that the province was rich in natural resources.
Papua, the country's easternmost province, is home to mining company PT Freeport Indonesia and gas firm British Petroleum in Tangguh.
La Ode Ida warned that the realization of being marginalized may lead to social conflict and urged the government to approach the Papuan elite -- religious and tribal leaders, professionals, bureaucrats and business people -- to discuss the issue openly.
Jakarta Post - December 14, 2004
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- Police personnel will not hesitate to arrest any parties who attempt to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the proclamation of the West Melanesian State, a top police officer in Papua warned on Monday. The anniversary celebration falls on December 14.
"The anniversary celebration is unlawful and parties who commemorate it will be severely punished," said chief of Papua provincial police Insp. Gen. Dodi Sumatyawan.
Dodi issued the statement after attending the inauguration of the speaker and deputy speakers of the Papuan provincial council.
Earlier, Papua police had taken stern measures against Papuans celebrating the anniversary of Papua Independence Day on December 1.
Police have arrested two Papuans believed to have led the flag raising ceremony in Trikora Field, Abepura, Jayapura on that day. The two -- Philep Karma and Yusak Pakage -- are being questioned by Papua police. They are charged with committing treason and disturbing public order.
Similarly, police also arrested two separatist leaders, Herman Wanggai and Edison Waromi, who led the commemoration of the West Melanesia State's 14th anniversary at the Cenderawasih University campus two years ago. They were both convicted for treason and sentenced to two years in jail.
December 14 was declared the anniversary of West Melanesia after West Melanesia leader Thom Wanggai proclaimed the independence of the West Melanesian people on December 14, 1988 in Mandala Field, Jayapura.
Herman Wanggai, the follower of Thom Wanggai, argued that the West Melanesian struggle for independence is justified. Based on the Rome agreement, Indonesia was given a mandate by the Netherlands to prepare Papua for independence after the latter were forced out of the province in 1963. But, from the time the agreement was signed on May 1, 1963, Indonesia has never had any intention of setting Papuans free, said Herman.
Knowing that the Rome agreement will never be implemented, Thom Wanggai proclaimed Papua independent on December 14, 1988, said Herman. Thom was found dead while serving a jail sentence in a Jakarta prison in 1996.
Thom apparently has a significant following in Papua. His death was not accepted quietly, with his funeral stirring chaos in Jayapura. Papuans in Jayapura were very angry after military and police personnel banned Papuans from parading the remains of Thom from Sentani Airport to a cemetery in Jayapura, where Thom's remains were set to be buried.
The angry masses burned down markets and houses along Jayapura's main thoroughfares, and set some cars ablaze.
Sydney Morning Herald - December 18, 2004
Marianne Kearney, Jakarta -- At least 23 people had starved to death in the remote Papuan highlands after fleeing a massive Indonesian military operation, church leaders claimed last night.
They pleaded for urgent action to end a crisis which began when the military stepped up its hunt for leaders of separatist rebel group, the Free Papua Movement or OPM.
Witnesses and human-rights activists said another 1000 villagers from the Puncak Jaya region had fled into the forests, bringing the total number of refugees with little food or water to almost 7000 people.
Some 500 Papuans protested outside parliament in Jayapura, the provincial capital, yesterday demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stop the military operation in Puncak Jaya, and allow humanitarian agencies to assist the starving villagers.
"They're still hiding in the forests because the soldiers are in their village and if they go back they are scared they will be suspected of being OPM, and the military will just shoot them," said Sofyan Yoman, the secretary General of Papua's Baptist Church.
Mr Yoman, who recently returned from a trip to the remote town of Mulia in Puncak Jaya, said that couriers sent from the forests gave local church leaders reports of the number of people who had starved to death.
However, he said the death toll could be even higher, as that initial report was now more than a fortnight old.
"They are sleeping in the rain, they're cold and it's hard to find food because the soldiers have killed their pigs and burnt their crops," Mr Yoman said.
Human rights group Els-Ham said an additional 900 troops had been sent to the region last Sunday.
Military officials were not available to comment on the allegations. Previously the military said it was hunting OPM rebels allegedly behind the ambush of six Indonesian workers, and the shooting of one soldier in separate incidences in September and October. They said local OPM leader Goliak Tabuni was responsible for the attacks.
The OPM has been fighting a sporadic guerilla war since 1969, when Papua, then known as Irian Jaya, was incorporated into Indonesia.
Mr Yoman said Goliak Tabuni was not an OPM member, but had been falsely accused of being one because he opposed the local military command's plan to build an airstrip on his family's land. "We don't have OPM here, only God's community. This is just a military fabrication," he said.
Els-ham alleged that Kopassus special forces troops shot Mecky Wenda, an Indonesian policeman stationed in Puncak Jaya on Monday, in order to claim that the region was under attack from the rebels.
He was the third person to be shot over the past week in almost the same location in Puncak Jaya, Els-Ham said.
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - December 16, 2004
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- Thousands of West Java factory workers, grouped under the National Workers Union (SPN), staged a five hour protest on Wednesday outside the West Java governor's office, demanding that the governor raise the minimum wage in the province.
The protesters damaged the gate of the governor's office but their attempts to occupy the office were thwarted by a police cordon of hundreds of police personnel.
After a scuffle with police personnel, several representatives of the workers were allowed to talk with government officials and councillors in the West Java Provincial Legislative Council building, which is next to the governor's office.
In the meeting, the workers demanded that West Java Governor Danny Setiawan set a single minimum wage that applies in all cities in West Java. They urged the government to set a minimum wage at least Rp 600,000 a month in every city in the province.
They also said that there was currently a discrepancy among cities in the province in term of the minimum wage.
For 2005, the minimum wage in Ciamis and Banjar regencies is set at Rp 408,500, the lowest minimum wage in the province. In stark contrast, the highest is in Bekasi, where a worker will get minimum wage of Rp 710,000 a month next year.
"We demand that there be no great discrepancy between one city and another, because the cost of living among cities in West Java is quite similar," said Titin, a factory worker in Bandung municipality.
In the meeting, councillor Imas Masitoh promised workers that the provincial council would press the provincial government to revoke a gubernatorial decree that set the minimum wage for 2005 and that the governor should grant a higher minimum wage for workers.
Meanwhile, the head of the manpower office at the provincial administration, Wahyumijaya, said in the meeting that the decree was final.
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Bandung -- West Java Governor Danny Setiawan rejected on Thursday workers' demand for a repeal of the governor's decree on the minimum wage.
Danny said the decree had been agreed by all parties concerned, including workers' representatives.
The decree sets the minimum wage in cities in West Java for the 2005 term, but the workers said that amount was below the cost of living in most cities.
| 'War on terror' |
Agence France Presse - December 16, 2004
Indonesian prosecutors' bid to link a radical Muslim cleric to bomb attacks suffered another setback when a key witness withdrew a confession tying the militant to a regional extremist group.
Convicted terrorist Imron Baehaqi denied earlier claims he had seen Abu Bakar Bashir at a Philippine terrorist training camp and said he could not confirm the religious teacher was head of the Jemaah Islamiyah organisation.
Prosecutors want to tie the 66-year-old to the group blamed for the October 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people died, as well as an August 2003 attack on the Jakarta Marriott hotel and the recent bombing of the Australian embassy.
He is on trial for inciting followers to carry out the Bali bombings and plotting the Marriott strike in which 12 people died. If convicted he faces a maximum death penalty.
But a series of convicted terrorists brought to court as star prosecution witnesses have all denied knowledge that Bashir was involved in Jemaah Islamiyah.
The latest, Baehaqi, said he had heard second-hand that the cleric had been named head of the organisation following the demise of its co-founder Abdullah Sungkar in 1999.
However he said he had abandoned efforts to verify the appointment when he learned that Bashir had been made chairman of a new organisation, the Indonesian Council of Mujahedin.
The witness also withdrew an earlier statement made to the police in which he said he had seen Bashir during a religious ceremony at an Islamic militant training camp on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.
"I revoke that statement because it was made when, at the time, I was unfit ... I never saw Ustadz [teacher] Abu Bakar Bashir at the ceremony in Moro," he said, referring to the Philippine rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Prosecutors say Bashir, as head of Jemaah Islamiyah, visited the training camp in April 2000 and relayed a "ruling from Osama bin Laden which permitted attacks and killings of Americans and their allies." Bashir was cleared last year by an Indonesian court of leading Jemaah Islamiyah, which seeks to create an Islamic fundamentalist state in Southeast Asia, but police say they have new evidence of his leadershop role.
The cleric was arrested a week after the Bali blasts and has remained in detention ever since. Prosecutors have said in their indictment that he orchestrated the Marriott bombing from his cell.
Bashir has described the indictment as "legal fiction" and said he had nothing to gain from acts of terrorism since they would only fuel interference in Indonesia by Washington. Foreign governments, who view Bashir as a major threat, are keen to see a conviction.
| Politics/political parties |
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is considering modifying the prerogatives granted to party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, in an attempt to become more modern.
PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung Wibowo said here on Tuesday that special powers could only be exercised after consultation with other party leaders.
"There will be a stipulation requiring the party leader to use their prerogatives transparently," he said on the sidelines of a party meeting on Tuesday.
Pramono added that under existing party regulations, the party leader could take action if the regulations or the state ideology were threatened.
Megawati used her prerogatives to intervene in the election of regional administrators, including the Jakarta governor in 2002.
PDI-P councillor Tarmidi Soehardjo was a gubernatorial candidate, but Megawati backed the reelection of Sutiyoso, a retired military officer.
Pramono said that the party's internal regulations would also be revised. He said the central executive board would be expanded from 17 members to somewhere between 36 and 45 members.
The board's expansion would apparently allow for the accommodation of younger politicians from the Democratic People's Party (PRD), he said.
According to Pramono, Megawati would likely maintain her position as PDI-P leader. Among strong candidates to assist Megawati as secretary-general are incumbent secretary-general Sutjipto, Tjahjo Kumolo and Pramono. "I don't know about that," Pramono said.
He said that the party had decided to delay its congress for several days from March 25 to March 28.
The five-day congress would be attended by four representatives of each of the PDI-P's 442 regental chapters and 32 provincial chapters -- around 1,750 people in total.
Meanwhile, PDI-P deputy chairman Kwik Kian Gie said that Tuesday's meeting was intended as a forum to evaluate the performance of the PDI-P in the general election. "This is an evaluation, but we have not discussed possible solutions to our problems," he said.
According to Kwik, apart from selecting the party leader, the congress would also discuss efforts to return the PDI-P to its ideological roots of democracy and nationalism.
Kwik had blamed Pramono, secretary general Sutjipto, and Gunawan Wirasaroyo -- known as the "Gang of Three" -- for the PDI-P's poor performance in the election.
The PDI-P, which garnered the most votes in the 1999 general election, lagged behind the Golkar Party in "second place" in 2004.
Jakarta Post - December 16, 2004
Kornelius Purba and M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua/Bali -- This week's Golkar Party congress will feature rich, deceptive and powerful people bidding to win the chairmanship of the party, which controls the most seats in the House of Representatives.
One participant, a legislator representing a region in eastern Indonesia, described the congress, which officially opens on Thursday, as a gathering of hungry "sharks".
"All of the participants at this congress are sharks. Because there are no fish there, the sharks will eat each other to survive," the legislator said on Wednesday.
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, former Golkar secretary-general and now a member of the Regional Representatives Council, is more blunt, saying money and power will determine the party's next leader.
"The next chairman will be the person who is able to offer the highest bid in terms of money and power," Sarwono said last week about the party that was established by Soeharto three years after he formally replaced Sukarno as president in 1968. Who are the candidates? Current Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, House Speaker Agung Laksono, former Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto and legislator Marwah Daud have all officially announced their candidacies.
Among them, who can offer the most money and power? Marwah is the least likely bidder, while all of the others have deep pockets.
In terms of power, Kalla and Akbar would seem to have the strongest bids for the moment.
As Vice President, Kalla has the upper hand. Moreover, he has the full backing of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has a strong interest in seeing Kalla emerge as Golkar's leader.
Susilo badly needs a Golkar led by Kalla to build a stronger coalition in the House. The People's Coalition, the President's main source of support in the legislature, is a minority in the House. Golkar is part of the opposition Nationhood Coalition in the House, together with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) led by Megawati Soekarnoputri and the National Awakening Party, which was co-founded by former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
According to sources, Kalla was initially reluctant to enter the race to lead Golkar. However, he was convinced by close aides that under current congress rules he was the only candidate with a chance to defeat Akbar.
Kalla said on Thursday he had the support of 28 of 33 provincial chapters, and was confident that he would win the election.
Is this true? Under current congress regulations, only provincial chapters have voting rights to elect the party's leader. District chapters are excluded. This rule was initially meant to benefit Akbar.
Akbar seems equally confident that he will retain his grip on Golkar. Those close to Akbar have said that he has received strong assurances from most of the provincial chapters that they will vote for him.
Members of the Nationhood Coalition, especially the newly-rich PDI-P, do not want to see Akbar lose his position as Golkar's leader, or at least do not want Golkar led by Kalla. Therefore, Akbar can expect all types of support from the PDI-P.
Akbar, who rose to the top of Golkar shortly after Soeharto's fall in May 1998, is seen by many inside Golkar as the party's savior, steering it away from public anger and saving it from being disbanded.
He was able to distance the party from Soeharto and rebrand it as an entirely different Golkar from the New Order era party. Akbar gave Golkar chapters at the provincial level the kind of autonomy they never enjoyed during the Soeharto era.
As a result of his leadership, the party received the second most number of votes in the 1999 general election after PDI-P.
After the election, Akbar was tried and convicted for corruption. Although, he was eventually acquitted by the Supreme Court, the damage had been done to his reputation.
Many observers thought Golkar would suffer as a result of Akbar's legal woes. But, again, he defied the odds and the party was the top vote-getter in the last legislative election, winning 21 percent of the vote.
Akbar also was lauded for introducing a national convention to select Golkar's presidential candidate. The convention produced a surprise, with Wiranto outmaneuvering Akbar to snag the nomination. Both provincial and district chapters were allowed to vote during the convention.
Learning from the experience, Akbar adjusted the rules for the party's congress so only provincial chapters would have the right to vote to elect the chairman.
Although Akbar might not have as deep pockets as some of the other possible Golkar leaders, he has proven to be an unsurpassed political animal.
And Wiranto? Akbar has succeeded in ensuring the congress' rules will benefit him, so unless Wiranto can change the rules to allow district chapters to vote, it is hard seeing Wiranto winning the election.
In terms of money, Wiranto has it. Many believe the Soeharto family still trusts Wiranto, who is a former Soeharto adjutant. This would mean unlimited financial support for Wiranto.
Another candidate is Marwah Daud, a fierce critic of Akbar who claims she has the support of several provincial chapters.
Her power base is South Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia, which is where Kalla also draws much of his support. Marwah could be an alternative candidate, but there are no indications she will pose a serious threat for the other candidates.
Considering the factors of money and power, the most likely next leader of Golkar is Akbar or Kalla. Whoever wins the election, one thing is almost certain: regional chapter leaders will be richer after the congress.
Radio Australia - December 16, 2004
There's high drama in Bali at the annual conference of the powerful political party Golkar. Indonesian police have confirmed they're investigating a possible attempt to poison the Vice President Yusuf Kalla, whose attending the conference and is standing for its leadership. An analysis is underway of chicken soup served to the Vice President which is suspected of containing a substance believed to be arsenic. The tests results wont be available for another week. The news comes as nothing less than a pitched battle gets underway for the Golkar leadership amid moves to topple Chairman Akbar Tanjung.
Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon
Speakers: Bara Hasibuan, Political Commentator with Puri Consultancy; Fahmi Idris, Manpower Minister and former Deputy Chair of Golkar.
Snowdown: This year's Golkar conference promised drama enough. It has a determined Akbar Tanjung fighting for his political life. The outcome could have a bearing on the legislative success or failure of the new government. His main challenger, the country's Vice President, millionaire Jusuf Kalla, is himself facing criticism for running for the Party leadership while holding high political office. And there's no love lost between the two men. Mr Tanjung tried to throw Jusuf Kalla out of Golkar during the recent presidential election campaign because of his decision to run as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's running mate against the Golkar candidate. Mr Tanjung failed to secure Golkar's endorsement to run as its candidate himself -- that honour went to former general Wiranto, who lost in the first round. Akbar Tanjung then threw the party's weight behind the unsucessful re-election campaign of President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- that's the main factor being held against him. He was also convicted but had overturned on appeal a charge of misusing of government funds meant for the poor. Political commentator Bara Hasibuan says his chances of retaining power in Golkar are slim.
Asibuan: I think there's a growing consensus within Golkar itself that there has to be a change at the top if the party wants to survive the next five years, there has to be a change at the top.
Snowdown: Along with the military, Golkar was the power behind the throne of former dictator Suharto, toppled under popular pressure in 1998. Unlike the Suharto family, Golkar survived, taking the majority of seats in April's parliamentary elections, where it sits as a form of opposition to the government of President Yudhoyono with the potential to derail much of his proposed reforms. Bara Hasibuan says that's the main driver, along with personal ambition, behind the Vice President's bid.
Asibuan: If he gets electewd he will turn Golkar into a ruling party of some sort, a party that supports the government.
Snowdown: And will it shore up usuf Kalla's own ambitions if he has them to run as Prsedient in ffuture himself?
Asibuan: You don't have to be a political genius to conclude that. If he wins it will pave the way for his own presidential candidacy in 2009.
Snowdown: Golkar split into factions during the presidential elections and wasn't able as in the past to direct mass votes to its candidates. Fahmi Idris is another of those Tanjung tried to purge. A former deputy Chair of Golkar, Fahmi Idris was among the so-called reform group which supported the Yudhoyono/Kalla presidential team. He's now a minister in the SBY Cabinet and is supporting Jusuf Kalla's bid for the Golkar Chairmanship. He says new leadership is needed to democratise and reform the Party.
Idris: Akbar lets say has done his job quite well. But if you have not a good image its quite difficult for you if you want to improve the image of the party.
Snowdown: If Golkar is to reform does that mean attacking things like money politics which it must be said is still rife within the party?
Idris: Yeah, that's another lets say serious problem that should be solved .
Asibuan: If the purpose of getting rid of Pak Akbar Tanjung is to lay down the foundation for reform then I think we should support it. But I don't see any strong reform movement within Golkar over the last few years.
Snowdown: A Kalla win is not a foregone conclusion. It could be said the most predictable aspect of Indonesian politics is unpredictability. Failed Presidential candidate Wiranto is thought to be forming an alliance with his former adversary, Akbar Tanjung to keep the party out of Jusuf Kalla's control. The conference runs over five days. As to the suspected attempted poisoning of the Vice President, arsenic appeared as the poison of choice in another mystery still being investigated. the recent suspected murder of democracy champion Munir, while he was travelling to the Netherlands.
Straits Times - December 17, 2004
Salim Osman, Nusa Dua (Bali) -- Disgruntled elements opposed to Vice-President Jusuf Kalla's anti-corruption stance or his decision to stand for Golkar's top post could be involved in the case of suspected arsenic poisoning, his aides said.
The discovery of traces of arsenic in a bowl of soup for the Vice-President was a talking point at Golkar's national congress, which began yesterday. Some delegates were shocked.
Bali police said the initial test on the bowl of soup on Wednesday showed traces of arsenic but more tests were needed to confirm the findings. Police declined to say whether they suspected it was an attempt to poison Mr Jusuf as the soup was not believed to contain a fatal dose of arsenic.
"It is suspected to be a very small amount [of arsenic], and we were asked to check it out," a police spokesman told The Associated Press.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil, bedrock and water that is fatal in high doses. It also is used in rat poison, pesticides and wood preservatives.
Mr Jusuf said he did not think the soup -- an Indonesian noodle dish called soto -- had been deliberately poisoned. "Maybe the food was out of date or contaminated," he told reporters.
Several employees of the hotel where the Vice-President had a meeting with some Golkar leaders were questioned by the police yesterday, but no arrests have been made.
Mr Jusuf's chief of staff, Mr Alwi Hamu, told The Straits Times that the authorities had no suspect yet. But he believed that the incident could be linked to the Vice-President's hardline stance on corruption and the contest for the top post in Golkar.
"An attempt on his life could have been made by some elements," he said. "Security is not as tight compared to what he gets in Jakarta," he said.
But Mr Hamu was baffled as to why someone should resent Mr Jusuf. "He has the right to offer himself as the next Golkar chairman as he is a party cadre himself. At any rate, the race is among friends. He knows all the contenders well," he said.
Many delegates were disturbed about the episode. But others were cynical. Mr Agus Hutapa, from Jakarta, said the alleged poisoning was a hot topic between breaks at the congress. "Some say it may have been an attempt by his supporters to prop up support for him by gaining sympathy from delegates at the congress," he said.
Others who believe this theory recalled that when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was given a dressing down by Mr Taufik Kiemas, the husband of then President Megawati Sukarnoputri when he was her security minister, the Indonesian leader's popularity rose as he gained much sympathy. "Are supporters of Mr Jusuf trying to do the same here to gain sympathy?" asked another Golkar member.
The arsenic-poisoning issue came hot on the heels of a leadership contest, where battle lines are clearly drawn between Mr Jusuf and incumbent chairman Akbar Tanjung. Other contenders are thought to have dropped out.
Golkar contenders Surya Paloh, who is a media tycoon, and Parliament Speaker Agung Laksono, who had earlier declared their candidatures, have now joined forces to support Mr Jusuf as the new Golkar chairman.
Mr Akbar, who has led the party since it was reconstituted in 1998, is said to have won over former military chief Wiranto to his side. Two other candidates -- Golkar executive Marwah Daud Ibrahim and Slamat Effendy Yusuf -- are also in his camp.
With two opposing teams lined up, the lobbying for votes has intensified. With the arsenic poisoning case looming, there is now an added excitement in the contest for the top Golkar post.
Agence France Presse - December 19, 2004
Indonesia's vice president has been chosen as the leader of the powerful Golkar party, an outcome that could boost support for the country's new government but divide its largest political group.
Yusuf Kalla, a wealthy businessman who stood as running mate to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in September elections, was chosen shortly before dawn at a chaotic party conference on the island of Bali.
He beat incumbent Akbar Tanjung who had threatened to bolster Golkar's position as an opposition party and hamper Yudhoyono's efforts to fix graft and Islamic militancy in the world's largest Muslim-populated nation.
Kalla is expected to steer the party, founded as a political vehicle for ex-dictator Suharto, behind Yudhoyono, strengthening his position in the government and positioning himself to succeed as president in 2009 polls.
There was loud chanting at the hotel in Bali's Nusa Dua resort as results giving Kalla 323 votes to Tanjung's 156 were announced after a long night of wrangling that at one point saw security guards rush in to restore order.
In his acceptance speech, the vice president called for unity, pledging to continue the work of his predecessor.
Tensions have run high over the leadership selection with police called in earlier this week to investigate a suspected poisoning attempt after small traces of arsenic were found in soup prepared for Kalla.
Until now, Golkar's command of a bloc that holds 275 parliamentary seats out of 550 has presented a stumbling block for Yudhoyono, who despite winning a landslide mandate in the presidential polls, has the support of only 233 seats.
The party demonstrated its ability to dig in its heels over the president's policies last month when it generated a showdown over the appointment of senior parliamentary jobs.
With Kalla at the helm, Golkar is expected to fall in line with Yudhoyono as he drives through promised reforms in the hope of attracting the foreign cash needed to shake off lingering effects of Asia's 1998 financial crisis.
"To consolidate the party in any part of Indonesia, we need Yusuf Kalla, because as vice president he can tour the country with government money as we prepare for regional elections," said one delegate from East Java.
But many see the vice president's leadership as a threat to a party he nearly tore apart in the run up to September elections as he defied Golkar rulings to support a rival candidate, dragging many executives with him.
When Golkar's own presidential choice, General Wiranto, was eliminated from an early round of voting, the party urged members to support Yudhoyono's predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri. Kalla's refusal led to his suspension.
Tanjung, a career politician, had enjoyed strong popularity after rescuing a party seen as a throwback to Suharto's authoritarian rule and rebranding it to avoid a backlash after the dictator's fall from grace in 1998.
Many fear the lack of credible opposition will hurt the democratic progress in Indonesia just as it celebrates a year of universally praised elections. It could also dent the party's popularity.
"We have to distance ourselves from the government, to be able to criticise if necessary," former Golkar chairman Harmoko told AFP. "We will not attract people's attention if we don't criticise. People will only appreciate us if we solve real problems."
In his victory speech, Kalla insisted the party would maintain a healthy distance from Yudhoyono's leadership, to provide "checks and balances". "If the government is wrong, it is important for the party to criticise," he said.
| Corruption/collusion/nepotism |
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Government officials are accustomed to gift giving and will not easily give it up, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was recently told.
Jakarta Chamber of Commerce's deputy chairman for organization and industry, Fatahillah Dachlan, said businesspeople were becoming "more creative" in giving gratuities.
Christmas, New Year and Idul Fitri, he said, were when gifts were mostly given and received, taking many forms from furniture or electronic gadgets to travel packages and even offers to pay the school fees of an official's child studying abroad.
"A common trick is through arisan (a regular social gathering whose participants take turns at winning an aggregate sum of money)," he told a seminar on gratification hosted by the KPK on Thursday.
Businesspeople are aware that they must not leave evidence, that they have given gratuities, which could lead to bribery or graft, Fatahillah said.
Under Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, state officials are obliged to report anything that is received unearned or without recompense to the commission, which will decide whether or not they can keep it.
Fatahillah said businesspeople also offered gratuities to government officials in exchange for their assistance in obtaining business permits, licenses or access to procurement tenders. "[Giving] gratuities ensures that businesses run well, but it could also lead to mark ups," he admitted.
Good relations with government officials may also mean that businesspeople are paid early for projects, Fatahillah said. "Businesspeople will continue to give gratuities as long as it does not violate government regulations," he asserted.
However, Fatahillah said that businesspeople were willing to help the KPK probe cases involving gratification if the commission could put them under a witnesses protection program.
Lambok H. Hutahuruk, the KPK's gratification director, said the commission would cooperate with businesspeople in developing methods to trace and control gratification among government officials.
Due to ongoing debate over the definition of gratification and the lack of punishments for those violating the regulation on gratification, only one government official has reported receiving a gratuity to the commission.
The official admitted to receiving Rp 20 million in cash from a businessman for his birthday. The KPK returned the money, declaring it was not classified as a gratuity.
But in an about-face, the KPK recently banned state officials from accepting gift baskets from their subordinates or businesspeople during the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays. The decision sparked protests from vendors who supply gift baskets, who complained of a decline in revenue due to the ban.
The KPK has asked the President to issue a regulation to determine which gifts state officials can accept, so as to avoid bribery.
| Regional/communal conflicts |
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Ruslan Sangadji, Palu -- Enraged by the latest attacks on churches in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Christian leaders demanded here on Tuesday that the government investigate the bloody incidents thoroughly.
The church leaders urged the police to focus their investigation on the discovery of nine bullet casings, made by state arms producer PT Pusat Industri Angkatan Darat (PT Pindad). "We demand that the management of PT Pindad be questioned and investigated as to why the weapons and ammunition fell into the hands of irresponsible people," Protestant minister J. Toding said in reading out a statement signed by 20 Palu church leaders, in front of a group of five visiting members of the House of Representatives.
The five legislators who visited the city on Tuesday -- two days after the incident -- included Teras Narang, Muttamimul Ula and Imam Anshori. Unknown assailants sprayed bullets at a Palu church and later detonated a bomb in another church in the city on Sunday night, injuring at least five people.
Toding said that the investigation into PT Pindad would be the key to unraveling the string of mysterious attacks, both in Palu and Poso regency, including those on Sunday.
PT Pindad has produced weaponry exclusively for the Indonesian military (TNI) for years.
As it does not supply parties other than the TNI, the discovery of Pindad weaponry in the aftermath of armed attacks in Palu and Poso -- including on Sunday night -- has led to suspicions that soldiers were involved.
The minister expressed disappointment in the police, who have failed to track down and arrest the perpetrators of the attacks.
The killers of female minister Susianti Tinulele, who was shot dead while she was delivering a sermon in Palu in July, are still at large.
Another Christian leader, Manampiring, urged the government to beef up security around Palu churches ahead of Christmas. "The government has to prioritize security here, otherwise the condition in Palu will become unstable," he was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.
Meanwhile, three victims of Sunday's incident remained hospitalized in Palu as of Tuesday, although hospital staff said their health had greatly improved.
| Local & community issues |
Jakarta Post - December 18, 2004
Samarinda -- Tensions remained high in Samarinda city on Friday -- ith police maintaining a strong public presence after major protests earlier against the appointment of an acting regent for Kutai Kertanegara.
Security was tightened at several places, including East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna AF's office and residence, as well as at the home of his secretary, Syaiful Teteng.
On Monday, thousands of protesters rallied against the swearing- in of Awang Darma Bhakti as acting regent to replace Syaukani who had ended his five-year term. They wanted Syaukani's tenure extended until his replacement was elected in June.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Attorney General Abdul Rachman Saleh says Indonesia will continue to impose the death penalty for certain crimes, as the country lacks competent law enforcement institutions. "I think the death penalty remains relevant," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on the death penalty sponsored by the European Union here on Tuesday.
The seminar was attended by Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia and EU President Ruud Treffers, European Commission Charge d'Affaires Ulrich Eckle, Hungary Ambassador Gyorgy Busztin, France Ambassador Renaud Vignal, United Kingdom Ambassador Charles Humfrey and Germany Ambassador Joachim Broudre-Groger.
Unlike developed countries, Abdul Rahman argued, Indonesia was a poor country that could not provide free-of-charge medication for the rehabilitation of drug users.
"They are forced onto the streets [and increase the crime rate] while our police, prosecutors, penitentiaries and other law enforcers remain weak. If we abolished it, I'm afraid we would send the wrong message to drug traffickers," he said.
Abdul Rahman said his office would continue to impose the death penalty for cases involving drugs, corruption, human rights abuse, terrorism and treason. "From 1945 to 2003, we only executed 15 convicts," he said.
An Indian national and two Thai citizens were recently executed by firing squad for smuggling drugs into the country.
Among some 60 convicts on death row -- mostly there for drug- related offenses -- a convicted murderer in South Sumatra is expected to be executed soon after the Supreme Court rejected his plea for a judicial review. Jurit, the convict, was condemned to death for two separate murders in 1997.
Two prominent lawyers, Todung Mulya Lubis and Frans Hendra Winarta, have raised their opposition to the use of the death penalty, saying the Constitution guarantees the rights to live.
"The Constitution is the highest law in the country. Isn't it contradictory if lower laws justify the death penalty?" Todung said. Frans added that the country's weak legal system raised the possibility that innocent people could be put to death.
"[A death sentence case] must be tried by a just, independent, impartial and competent court. At the moment, we just don't have this in our court system," said Frans.
Busztin said that the EU did not demand that Indonesia abolish the death penalty, but hoped that the issue would be further discussed. "Maybe [Indonesia] could put on hold the execution of those condemned to death," he said.
Brodre-Groger said that there was no justification for capital punishment, which would not settle conflicts and could incite new ones instead.
Spanish Ambassador Damaso De Lario -- whose country faces the separatism movement of Basque's ETA, and recently suffered a train bombing -- raised the possibility that the use of the death penalty could incite new terrorist attacks.
"A terrorist killed can always be claimed as a martyr so he will encourage others to keep on killing people," he argued. Following the Bali bombings in 2002, Indonesia issued an antiterror law acknowledging the maximum penalty of death.
Jakarta Post - December 16, 2004
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The Constitutional Court annulled on Wednesday Electricity Law No. 20/2002, ruling that it was against the nation's Constitution for opening the door to full competition in the electricity business. It was the first law to be annulled by the powerful court since its establishment last year.
Court chief Jimly Asshidiqie, when announcing the court's ruling, said that since electricity was an important commodity pivotal to the lives of many people, electricity should remain under the government's control.
This, Jimly said, was in accordance with Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution which says "economic sectors which are important to the state and crucial for the welfare of the people are controlled by the state and must be developed to give the maximum benefit to the people."
The Court reinstated the defunct Electricity Law No. 15/1985 in a bid to maintain legal certainty following the annulment of the 2002 law. However, it maintained that any contracts made by the government under Law No. 20/2002 prior to its annulment on Wednesday remained in effect.
Jimly said that the nation's Constitution did not prohibit the private sector from doing business in the power sector, but the government must keep control of the sector. "The government must be the majority shareholder in state or regional companies, which manage the sector... so it holds power in decision making in the companies," Jimly said.
The Court said private companies, national or foreign, may cooperate with the state-owned enterprise to supply and generate power for the public, by providing loans or setting up joint ventures. In the case of joint ventures, the state owned enterprise must have majority shares of more than 50 percent or relative majority shares of less than 50 percent.
Under the 2002 law, the government would gradually liberalize the power sector, starting in Java, Madura and Bali in 2007. By then, private companies may produce and sell power to the public in those areas by themselves.
The panel of nine justices said private companies were in a better position than state electricity firm PLN to compete in the sector given their better management, technology and finances. The court considered the law unfair toward PLN as it requires PLN to fulfill the power needs of less developed areas outside Java, Madura and Bali, while competing with private companies in the three developed islands.
The judicial review of the law was raised with the court by the Indonesian Legal Counsel and Human Rights Association (APHI), the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), the PLN workers union, and the Association of PLN pensioners.
Tempo Interactive - December 15, 2004
Jakarta - Suciwati, the wife of the late Munir, is to seek international support. She will be forced to do this if an Indonesian independent investigation team is not able to work effectively.
The investigation team which has been proposed by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has yet to be formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "Within Indonesia there isn't any hope", she said during a break in an event commemorating 100 days since Munir's death at the Antara Jakarta Building on Wednesday December 15.
According to Suciwati, the one remaining hope is the president. With regard to the mechanisms she said that they must be disused beforehand by a significant number of parties. "I can't speak [about it now] on my own here", said Suciwati.
With regard to whether or not there have been any new findings, Suciwati promised that she will inform journalists if there is. "We will publish them later", she said.
Munir is a human rights activist who died on a Garuda Airlines flight traveling to Amsterdam. In his body was found levels of arsenic past the normal limits. (Ewo Raswa - Tempo News Room)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Focus on Jakarta |
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- At least 2,500 families will lose their homes next year when the city administration launches a massive eviction operation to remove squatters who are living along riverbanks, under overpasses and on idle plots of land.
The administration, however, promised that the people would relocated to nearby low-cost apartments provided by the city.
The City Public Works Agency head Fodly Misbach said on Tuesday that around 2,000 families would be evicted from their houses in the vicinity of the Pluit dam, North Jakarta.
"We have to relocate them because they are occupying state land. Besides, we have installed a new pump at the dam to help control floods in the area," he said.
The provision of low-cost apartments will be conducted by the City Housing Agency and the city-run property developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), which has a two-hectare plot of land near Pluit dam.
"We will also evict squatters, who have returned to occupy space at the former Kalijodo brothel complex in North Jakarta," Fodly said.
He said his agency would take over the river widening project in Kalijodo from the former ministry of settlement and regional infrastructure, now called the Ministry of Public Works, as the previous ministry failed to carry out the project.
The project was supposed to start right after the administration acquired the land three years ago. The land acquisition was marred by a violent clash between city public order officers and squatters who refused to move.
Meanwhile, North Jakarta Mayor Effendi Anas said his municipality planned to evict at least 525 families from the riverbanks of Tirem, Lagoa and Pejagalan rivers.
He said those who failed to show their land or building ownership documents would be forced to leave without compensation.
"But, those who show their ownership documents will be relocated to apartments in Cengkareng," he said, referring to the 1,000- unit low-cost apartments built by the Taiwan-based Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation.
Governor Sutiyoso said his administration and State Housing Company Perumnas had been preparing several plots of land for the construction of low-cost apartments.
"We will use idle land belonging to Perumnas and the now-defunct Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) for the low-cost apartments," he said.
The administration has only allocated Rp 166 billion (US$18.24 million) for the development of low-cost apartments as the larger part of the development funds of the 2005 city budget will be used for transportation and flood mitigation projects.
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Evi Mariani and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- Sixteen years from now, driving in Jakarta will be at a running pace of 10 kilometers per hour (kph) as revealed in a recent study conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The study shows that the current average traveling speed of 14.75 kph will reduce further unless the Jakarta administration takes preventive measures.
There are 2.5 million private cars and 3.8 million motorcycles using the city's 7,500 kilometers of roads. The number keeps on increasing with Jakartans buying at least 300 new cars and 1,200 new motorcycles every day.
The study, however, was slightly relieving because Governor Sutiyoso had warned residents of a possible total gridlock in the capital by 2014.
Currently, there are at least 49 spots of chronic congestion citywide. The most congested spots are located at busy intersections such as in Cawang, East Jakarta, and Tomang, West Jakarta.
"The study also reveals that between 40 percent and 60 percent of the average travel time in Jakarta is wasted at intersections," Jakarta Police traffic division law enforcement unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Naufal Yahya said on Thursday.
The consequence of the traffic woes is economic losses that reach Rp 41.05 billion (US$4.41 million) per day.
To overcome such a problem, the City Council has urged the administration to adopt traffic policies to restrain the rapid growth of vehicles.
"Congestion is getting worse although the administration builds more roads," councillor Sahrianta Tarigan of the Golkar Party faction said. The council recommended the adoption of policies similar to those used in Singapore and Malaysia.
Both neighboring countries have imposed restrictions on car ownership through high import duty.
Singapore only allows its residents to own a vehicle under the Vehicle Quota System. To reduce congestion, it also applies an electronic road pricing system, with fees varying according to the time and location.
"Such policies are needed because the Jakarta Transportation Agency does not recognize the ideal number of vehicles that should be allowed in the capital and its surrounding cities," he said.
"Worse still, the agency keeps encouraging transportation companies to expand their fleets, ignoring the road capacity." Bylaw No. 12/2003 on city transportation stipulates that traffic restraining policies include the three-in-one traffic policy, sticker system, area licensing system, road pricing, higher parking fees in the central business district and progressive tax for vehicle ownership.
| News & issues |
Straits Times - December 14, 2004
Devi Asmarani, Jakarta -- Indonesia is planning mandatory military service for its citizens in a bid to beef up the country's defence forces.
Under a controversial Bill, submitted to Parliament last week, all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 45 will be required to join the military reservists for a period of at least five years or face a jail term of up to two years.
The Defence Ministry has been working on the Bill for the past two years. The new Parliament will start debating it when it resumes next year.
It is aimed at strengthening the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) to "maintain territorial integrity, the nation's sovereignty and protect the nation from security threats".
According to the Bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Straits Times, a recruitment committee will be set up at the central and regional levels to begin registering those eligible. They will be put through mental and health tests before they are given stints of 30-day basic military training every year.
The reservists will be ranked according to a military grading system and must serve a five-year term, which they can extend for another five years. They will be deployed in wars or military- emergency areas.
The director-general of Defence Potential in the Defence Ministry, First Admiral Dharmawan, said: "We are targeting about 800,000 people to join as reservists -- which still pales in comparison to the 200 million people in Indonesia."
A survey by the International Institute for Strategic Studies shows that Indonesia has a smaller military force in proportion to its population compared to neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. With 297,000 military personnel, the ratio is one soldier to 694 people, compared to one in 169 people in Vietnam.
Compounded with the country's vast territory and its challenging geography, this also means that one Indonesian soldier must guard about 6 sq km, while in Thailand, one soldier guards an average of 2 sq km.
Defence analyst Hari Prihatono told The Straits Times that misguided defence policies of former president Suharto -- which emphasised the strengthening of the army to deal with internal threats of separatism and political dissidents -- had contributed to its current state.
The army has also had to suffer in the past decade because of the United States military embargo that followed allegations of human rights abuses carried out by the Indonesian military in the former East Timor.
But some observers are worried that under the reservist system, millions of unemployed Indonesians could get training, raising the possibility of some of them using their skills to commit crimes.
Said Mr Hari: "Without an effective and sophisticated recruitment system, we could end up giving street thugs military training." That apart, observers are questioning the urgency of having the military reservists when there is no clear external threat at the moment.
"We are not in war nor do we have enemy, and I assume in the next five to 10 years we will not likely have such threats," said Mr Hari. "Instead of spending the money, which we don't have, on drafting civilians, we should instead upgrade the weaponry and equipment, and improve training to have more professional soldiers."
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The government has finalized a draft presidential regulation to transfer control of the directorate general of post and telecommunications from the Ministry of Transportation to the Office of the State Minister of Information and Communication.
Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said on Tuesday that the transfer might prompt the President to upgrade the state minister's office into a ministry akin to the information ministry under the Soeharto administration, which had the power to impose a media ban.
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid dissolved the information ministry in 1999 and his successor Megawati Soekarnoputri introduced the state minister of information and communication office, which did not wield such a power.
"The draft is finished, and will be presented to the President as soon as possible for approval. We plan to have a Cabinet meeting sometime next week to discuss the issue," Sudi said.
Upon taking office on October 20, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to bring changes within the first 100 days of his presidency.
If the information ministry is reinstated, it will have representative offices across the country.
Sudi would not go into details about the state minister's authorities as regards the directorate general of post and telecommunications, pending approval from the President.
Susilo's close aide, Sofyan Djalil, is the State Minister of Information and Communication. Earlier, Sofyan said a plan to transfer jurisdiction over the telecommunications directorate general had been discussed, but had not been settled.
Darul Siska, a member of House Commission V overseeing telecommunications, said the commission had not been invited to discuss the integration of the telecommunications directorate general under the state minister of information and communication. "We have not heard about that," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Darul said the commission would seek the government's clarification about the transfer and the possible plan to reinstate the information ministry.
According to the Constitution, the President has a prerogative to determine their Cabinet structure and to appoint ministers.
New authorities will also be given to the State Minister for Administrative Reform, a post which is filled by Taufik Effendi, another confidante of Susilo.
A source at the ministerial office told the Post said on Tuesday that Taufik would be given the power to appoint candidates to the board of directors of state-owned enterprises, a power that currently resides with the state minister of state enterprises.
"We are aware that it could create an impression that the President would benefit from state-owned companies, but the plan exists," said the official who requested anonymity.
Under former president Megawati, the state minister of state enterprises controlled state banks and firms with combined assets worth billions of dollar
Jakarta Post - December 16, 2004
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta -- The government must give authority to the General Elections Commission (KPU) in local elections to prevent the interference of regional legislatures, an observer says.
Under Law No. 32/2004 on regional administrations, local elections are organized by local election commissions (KPUDs), which are accountable to regional legislatures (DPRDs).
"The KPU must be given the authority to minimize politicking during regional elections," said Djohermansyah Djohan, a lecturer with the Institute of State Administration (IIP), at a discussion organized by The Habibie Center (THC) here on Wednesday.
According to him, the whole process of regional elections, from preparations until the inauguration of elected figures, was prone to intervention. Beside minimizing possible intervention, he said, the role of the KPU could also help reduce the cost of regional elections, given the fact that local administrations only have limited funds to finance the elections.
The granting of power to the KPU should be stated in the government regulation currently being prepared by the home affairs ministry, he said.
For the first time, the nation will see the direct elections of governors, mayors, and regents next year. The first local elections will be organized in June to elect 178 regents, 35 mayors and 11 governors.
The public, and non-governmental organizations, have criticized Law No. 32/2004 for giving too much authority to the government.
Mohammad Taufik, chairman of the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD), disclosed that local elections commissions had considered seeking a judicial review of the law at the Constitutional Court. They said that Law No. 32/2004 was not in line with the Constitution, which states that the KPU deals with general elections.
Meanwhile, Didik Supriyanto, who was a member of the now defunct Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) warned the government and the security apparatus of potential conflicts during the regional elections.
A possible source of conflict could be Law No. 32/2004, which does not allow independent local leaders to contest the leadership race. The law says that an independent figure may only contest the race if they are nominated by a political party, or group of parties, that secure at least 15 percent of the vote, or seats in the local legislature.
"In some regions, local leaders have started to campaign. They don't understand that they must be nominated by a political party," Didik said, adding that the home ministry should disseminate adequate information on regional elections.
| Environment |
Jakarta Post - December 16, 2004
Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- A government-sanctioned joint team announced its official report on alleged Buyat Bay pollution here on Wednesday, maintaining its stance that PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) is guilty of contaminating the bay in North Sulawesi.
The US-based mining company failed to effectively monitor the detoxification process of its tailings before they were disposed of into the bay, resulting in high levels of metal substances there, it said. The condition, the team added, was exacerbated after PT NMR in South Minahasa regency discarded the tailings at a level higher than the thermocline.
A thermocline is a region in the ocean that separates warmer oxygen-rich water from cold oxygen-poor deep water. It acts as a natural barrier that prevents tailings from resurfacing.
"Based on PT NMR's environmental planning and management documents for the 2000-2004 period, we found that the detoxification process was not thorough, nor complete. Such an incomplete process left behind metal substances, such as arsenic, mercury and cyanide, in the ocean," said Masnellyarti Hilman, who chairs the joint team.
She acknowledged that the team did not find a protective thermocline at 82 meters under sea level, as claimed by the company in its environmental impact analysis (AMDAL), which was issued before it commenced operations in 1996. The analysis was issued by a commission established by the Ministry of Energy, which was then led by former minister I.B. Sudjana.
Masnellyarti said that it was almost impossible to find a thermocline at such a depth, and that NMR had failed to determine where the region was located in different seasons.
"Oceanographic experts have said that in tropical countries like Indonesia, the thermocline is usually located between 200 meters and 300 meters under sea level. In addition to that, the NMR should have examined where the region is located during the wet and dry seasons. "Even in the United States, which has four seasons, miners must carry out such an examination at least three times," she explained.
The joint team's report shows that levels of arsenic and mercury in the bay's seabed were 666 mg/kg and over 1.51 mg/kg respectively, far exceeding the maximum standards set in the 2004 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marine water quality criteria of 300 mg/kg and 0.4 mg/kg of sediment. Similar substances were found in well water consumed by Buyat residents, Masnellyarti said. But further investigation was required to determine whether the contamination was linked to the discarded tailings from Newmont, she added.
State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar has said the government-formed team's findings would be used to back up police evidence in the Buyat Bay pollution case against Newmont.
The police had detained six NMR executives as suspects in the case but later placed them under city arrest. Their case files are being examined by prosecutors. The six suspects could be charged under the Environmental Management Law, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail and a fine of Rp 750 million (US$84,269).
The Buyat case surfaced after dozens of local people filed a complaint with the National Police in Jakarta against NMR in August, saying the alleged contamination had adversely affected their health. NMR has consistently refuted the charges, saying that levels of metal substances in water and fish in the bay were still below international standards.
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Palu -- Fish catches in the Palu Gulf had dropped dramatically during the past two years because of sand dredging in the area, fishermen said on Thursday.
Mangge Sabrin, a fisherman, said before the sand mining activities were allowed by the government, he brought home Rp 500,000 (US$55.5) to Rp 750,000 a month from fishing. However, after dredging started his earnings had dropped to Rp 250,000 a month.
Another fisherman, Ali, 69, said the dredging had polluted parts of the gulf and killed fish in the area.
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Hasrul, Kendari -- Daeng Embang stared in despair at his dying orchard when a team of government officials and environmental activists stopped by his house on their way to monitor activities at a quarrying site in the area.
The middle-aged man said that it had been almost a month since he had bothered to tend to his precious fruit trees. "I have tried fertilizing them, but to no avail," said Embang, a resident at Rahandouna village, Kendari city, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province.
He explained that the durian, rambutan and jackfruit trees on his 50-hectare orchard had dried up, lost their leaves and died after another villager started mining for sand and gravel on an adjacent plot of land.
The illegal quarrying has eaten away at the river banks, causing the width of the riverbed to expand by 10 meters and the river channel to be 10 meters deeper than it was previously. The changes in the river channel and damage to adjacent areas have impacted the water table in the village and caused crops to dry up.
"Yes, the quarry site belongs to S., my neighbor. Quarrying activities have been going on for a year," said Embang, trying to look calm when Rahandouna village chief, Syamsukwan, asked about the mining near his house.
But Embang soon became furious when as the discussion of his neighbor continued. "I have already submitted this matter to God and I hope I will not meet that person on the street," he said.
Embang knows S. well, and described him as a civil servant. "He owns a large piece of land in this area, but he has not cultivated it, but rather has turned it into a rock quarry," he said. The village administration has not approved his activities. "Frankly speaking, I just found out about the quarry here. I have never been informed of it by the landowner," said the village chief.
As required by regulations, quarrying must be authorized by the village administration.
During the field inspection at the site, the young village chief seemed startled when he saw that the road to the quarry had been damaged. He also observed that the trees and crops planted by villagers near the quarry were nearly lifeless and their roots were showing. "This has gone too far. The owner of the quarry has not thought about the impact it has on other residents. I promise I will summon S. to my office," he said.
S. is known to own three quarrying locations, one of them in Tuonohu, near Embang's house on a local riverbank.
The Kendari mining authorities were not available for comment when asked whether a permit was given.
The Coastal and Inland People's Empowerment Council (Lepmil), a local non-governmental organization has alleged that illegal quarrying is widespread in a number of locations in the Nanga- Nanga forest preserve area near Embang's property.
At least 40 such locations in various places have been found, mostly located along river banks. "The government should restrict all mining because it has caused serious damage to the environment," said Lepmil director, Agung Wiyono.
| Aid & development |
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Yogyakarta -- Twenty-one percent out of a total of 2.5 million people in Yogyakarta are effectively unemployed, the province's Manpower and Transmigration Office says.
Office head Diat Minatu said 100,000 out of the 600,000 people had no sources of income at all, while the remaining 500,000 survived by doing odd jobs for parents or relatives.
A job expo would be held in the near future in Yogyakarta to help the unemployed find jobs, Diat said.
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - December 16, 2004
Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta -- Although it is emerging as the world's largest Muslim democracy, the country still has a long way to go until it plays a greater role in the Muslim world and other international affairs due to lingering domestic problems, say analysts.
Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) rector Azyumardi Azra said on Wednesday that hopes for Indonesia to set an example for other Muslim countries in modernizing their political systems would be hard to fulfill.
"This is not only because Indonesia continues to adopt a policy of ambiguity, but also because Muslim Arab countries tend to underestimate the importance of Indonesian Islam and the country's huge population.
"Indonesian Islam is not considered 'real Islam' as opposed to Middle Eastern Islam, and Indonesian Muslims are regarded as 'not Islamic' enough," he told an international seminar on Islam and democracy held by the UIN's Center for Languages and Cultures (PBB).
Azyumardi said the country's success in consolidating democracy through the peaceful general elections this year should encourage it to be more active in being a model for the compatibility of Islam and democracy. "But again, it seems this hope will be very difficult to realize for the same reasons," he added.
He said Indonesia could return to a prominent role in international diplomacy, as it had in the past, if it managed to resolve its internal crises.
Similarly, Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Indonesia's success in putting an end to domestic problems would determine its significance in world affairs. "Islam is not the determining factor in this matter, but how we resolve our internal affairs will strengthen our international role," Kusnanto told the two-day seminar that ended on Wednesday.
Indonesia is widely perceived to be a secular, instead of an Islamic, nation, even though most of its 220 million-strong population are Muslims, he argued. "So domestic politics is very important in strengthening international relations," Kusnanto said.
Azyumardi said Indonesia had been "the sleeping giant" of Southeast Asia for the past six years. "This is not because Indonesia has adopted a low-profile diplomacy at the international level, but mostly because it has lost its elan," he said. "This, of course, is due mainly to the internal crises Indonesia has been facing since Soeharto's fall."
During the economic crisis, the government was forced to downsize its overseas diplomatic staff for the sake of efficiency. Ironically, this arguably affected the effectiveness of its embassies worldwide in their diplomatic duties, Azyumardi said. "More importantly, however, domestic uncertainties and national instability have been mainly responsible for our decreasing role in international diplomacy," he added.
Soeharto's 32-year authoritarian rule was followed by a transition into the reform era, during which the country's political stability was put at high risk under the three successive presidents: BJ Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.
These last three presidents focused on efforts to overcome serious domestic problems that had been blamed on bickering among the political elite. The political quarrel peaked in 2001, when Gus Dur was impeached by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for incompetence.
The present government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was directly elected to the post in September, also faces political risk in the opposition camp in the House of Representatives formed by the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the two largest parties in the country.
Azyumardi said Gus Dur once tried to revive Indonesia's role in international diplomacy by making official visits to various countries, but added that the frequent overseas trips seemed not to produce the desired results. As with Habibie and Megawati, Gus Dur apparently had no clear foreign policy, the UIN rector argued.
However, Kusnanto said he believed Susilo would be able to strengthen Indonesia's foreign role, as he is more "articulate" in communicating his policies than his predecessor Megawati, who promoted "silent diplomacy".
Jakarta Post - December 18, 2004
Yogyakarta -- About 2,000 people from a range of Islamic organizations in the province staged a protest here on Friday against gambling after the police chief let a suspected gambling operator go free.
They demanded Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Sudirman resign because he was not serious about cracking down on gambling in the province. Earlier this week, Sudirman released a suspected Togel operator arrested by his officers in the Sleman regency.
At the peaceful rally, the protesters carried banners and posters with some reading; "Depose the local police chief". Others read, "Fight Togel and its operators."
| Armed forces/defense |
Melbourne Age - December 13, 2004
Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- The oldest daughter of former Indonesian president Soeharto is being investigated for corruption after revelations that she received a 16.5 million pounds ($A42.2 million) payment from a British arms company.
Indonesia's powerful Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) is investigating Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana after the release in Britain of court documents revealing the huge payment in a deal to sell light tanks.
The investigation is the first by the KPK into the Soeharto family, whose members have avoided convictions for corruption, despite their reputations for taking a cut of every big government project or purchase in the latter stages of their father's rule.
Last week, the High Court in London granted The Guardian access to court documents that show the Alvis company paid Ms Rukmana the 16.5 million pounds as a "tax" as part of two deals worth 160 million pounds to sell the Indonesian army 100 light tanks.
The deputy head of the KPK, Erry Hardjapamekas, told The Guardian his staff had begun investigating the case, which he described as "a high-profile case that has to be a major concern" for his body. "It appears the state budget may have been used to buy these tanks and that the deal may have contained irregularities ... If that's the case and it caused losses to the state, it's corruption and cannot be tolerated," he said.
He said he would seek court documents from England as part of the inquiry and said he had no plans to question Ms Rukmana soon as the case was complex. Ms Rukmana has refused to answer the revelations and her lawyer, Amir Syamsuddin, told Detik news internet that she had not raised the matter with him.
Apart from Ms Rukmanam, a number of former senior army leaders have been implicated in the case -- although Mr Hardjapamekas has not said which of them might be investigated.
The documents name two former army chiefs, generals Hartono and Wismoyo Arisunandar, a former deputy army chief, and senior generals.
General Hartono has been extremely close to Ms Rukmana for years and is the chairman of the political party she set up last year in order to contest the presidential elections. General Hartono went to England with Ms Rukmana in 1994 although he said he was not involved in the purchase of the Scorpion tanks or in convincing the Government to buy them.
He said the person who knew about the deal was the then deputy chief of the army, General Sahala Rajagukguk, but that he was now dead.
In September 2000, a Jakarta court ruled that former president Soeharto was mentally and physically unfit to stand trial on charges of embezzling $US571 million ($A756.29 million) in state funds. However, he still lives at his home in Jakarta and appears in good condition.
Jakarta Post - December 14, 2004
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta -- The Ministry of Defense is looking into the procurement of 100 Scorpion light tanks from a leading British arms company in the mid-1990s, in hopes of helping the anticorruption unit in a potential bribery investigation.
"The ministry has all the documents considered as administrative evidence on the purchase of the tanks. But the ministry did not deal with other issues, including the payment," the ministry's director general of procurement Maj. Gen. (ret) Aqlani Maza said at his office on Monday.
The purchase itself was divided into two separate contracts signed in 1995 and 1996 by two four-star Army generals -- Gen. Wismoyo Arismunandar and Gen. R. Hartono -- respectively. "Based on the contract, none of this ministry's officials were involved," Aqlani said.
Also in the contracts, the name of Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana, the eldest daughter of former authoritarian ruler Soeharto, did not pop up, but her brokerage company, PT Surya Kepanjen was appointed as the contractor.
Aqlani was responding to a series of hard-hitting investigative reports by British newspaper, the Guardian, about all the irregularities that occurred between Indonesia and British tank manufacturer, Alvis Vehicle Ltd.
The Guardian stated that Alvis paid 16.5 million pounds (US$31.9 million) in bribes to Soeharto's eldest daughter to secure a 160-million pound sale of Scorpion tanks in the mid-1990s.
The 100 armored vehicles, including Scorpion light tanks, were sold with the condition that they would not be used for internal repression. However, they were subsequently discovered in action in the breakaway province of East Timor and in Aceh, the Guardian said.
The sales were backed by the British government's Export Credits Guarantee Department, which was left to pick up a bill of 93 million pounds when Indonesia succumbed to the 1998 financial crisis, it said.
Under a contract signed on January 13, 1995 by Wismoyo and Alvis president Geoffrey Charles Abel, the Indonesian Army agreed to purchase 51 military vehicles, including nine Scorpion 90 Dantons, nine Scorpion 90 Santons, 10 armored vehicle carriers (APCs), five Commando tanks, a bridge-laying vehicle, an ambulance and two repair and recover vehicles.
The 78.9-million pound contract included training programs for Indonesian officials, Aqlani said. Wismoyo was the Army chief at the time. The second contract was signed by Wismoyo's successor, Hartono, on August 19, 1996.
The Scorpion tanks were reported at the time by the Army to be priced at $2.5 million each. By comparison, Singapore bought exactly the same types of tanks at the same time for only $1 million each.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has said that it planned to investigate.
The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) recorded that most of the military's shopping spree, which began in the mid-1990s was littered with many highly irregular transactions, and it has continued even though leaders have changed, ICW researcher Danang Widoyoko said.
Weapons purchases:
Tempo Interactive - December 16, 2004
Jakarta -- Indonesian Military (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has said that the TNI is ready to be placed under the ministry of defense ministry only if this was aimed at reaching a better democratic life. The TNI is basically obliged to encourage the democratization process in Indonesia towards a better situation.
"We have never rejected the idea of placing the TNI under the ministry of defense if this is aimed at improving the democracy process in Indonesia. It's just a matter of time," said Sutarto following giving a speech to 119 Indonesian representative heads who will be appointed to 85 countries on Tuesday (14/12).
Since the reform era started five years ago, the TNI has carried out internal reforms.
According to Sutarto, these reforms indicate the changes of stance, attitude and paradigm in the TNI's political role, the separation of the National Police from the TNI, the TNI's commitment not to be involved in politics and the withdrawal of TNI members from parliament.
| Business & investment |
Jakarta Post - December 15, 2004
Evi Mariani, Jakarta -- Billions of rupiah in change from traffic fines remain idle at a state bank, as most people have been reluctant to go to court over traffic tickets and preferred to pay out-of-court settlements.
"I went to a trial once and it made me tired because of the long queue. So the next time ... I paid the Rp 40,000 (US$4.40) fine to Jakarta Police Headquarters and let them handle the rest," Ronald, not his real name, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
At headquarters, he said, the officers in charge showed him a table of violations and the estimated fines. "I knew the court would hand down a much lower fine, but I didn't want to go to court." The police take the payment and ticket for processing at court, which usually determines a lower fine.
What Ronald did not realize was that the change from the estimated out-of-court fines and the fine as determined by the court went into an account in Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI); nor did he have any idea that billions of rupiah had accumulated in the account since 1997, when the out-of-court traffic fine was implemented. "If that's the case, the money can go to the policemen, who deserve it. They work hard to direct traffic," he said.
However, not all people share Ronald's opinion. "The government should tell the public about this account -- how much money is in it and how much of it is owed [in change] to violators," said Arif Nur Alam, a coordinator of Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra).
He suggested that the government open a hotline or conduct a public survey so the people could decide what to do with the money. "Certainly, the money should be used for programs that support public interests. But let the public decide." Police Staff College (PTIK) Governor Insp. Gen. Farouk Muhammad had suggested earlier that the money be used to improve the traffic ticketing system.
"We estimate that the account holds billions of rupiah, millions of which belong to violators. Why don't we use it to make the system more efficient," Farouk said.
At a seminar last week, he unveiled an idea to set up a system under which violators could pay fines through automatic teller machines (ATM). "The police would not need to confiscate their driver's license or vehicle registration. If the violator does not pay by the deadline, the police will temporarily suspend the license and registration," he said.
Farouk added the violator would be required to select an option on the ticket as to how they wanted their change handled. "For example, the money could be used toward certain public facilities," he said. "They can also take the change, if they prefer."
Ethical Corporation Magazine - December 15, 2004
James Rose -- Indonesian and international groups have called for a halt to BP's Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in Indonesia in a letter to BP chief executive Lord Browne, citing sustainability concerns.
The letter highlights concerns over progress on key human rights commitments, transparency, and issues surrounding the West Papua secessionist rebellion movement.
Among the 40 signatories are UK-based Tapoc (the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign), the publishers of New Internationalist and The Ecologist, local non-governmental organisations including Walhi, academics, politicians and former BP senior vice-president John O'Reilly.
The letter says: "We believe that the company should not proceed to full project sanction until significant movement is forthcoming to address these issues."
The project holds about 14.4 trillion cubic feet of certified natural gas reserves. Probable and possible reserves stand at about 25Tcf. According to BP, the project has the potential to be one of the world's major liquefied natural gas producers.
Tangguh has been presented by BP in the past as a benchmark for projects based in developing economies.
The company has conducted an extensive consultation with local villagers and has established the Tangguh Independent Advisory Panel to help develop policy and action on social and environmental sustainability.
John Rumbiak, the international co-ordinator for the West Papua Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (known as Elsham) told Ethical Corporation the letter would be followed by further action that was already getting underway.
He said his group was working to identify major investors to pressure them on their role in Tangguh, as well as targeting members of parliament, especially in the UK, where BP is based. Some MPs, he says, have already expressed their sympathy with his group's position.
Rumbiak said: "A shareholder activist campaign is a possibility over the next twelve months."
According to Indonesian mining watchdog Jatam, BP Indonesia holds a 37% stake in the operating entity.
Other major investors in the project include Indonesia's state- owned oil company Pertamina, China's state-owned enterprise CNOOC, Japan's Mitsubishi, and Britain's BG Group.
Executives from US gold company Newmont have recently been arrested on charges emerging from a similar NGO campaign alleging human rights and environmental breaches.
Rumbiak agrees that the Newmont case represents a "positive precedent", adding: "If Newmont can be a successful case, why not BP?"
It has been noted, by Ethical Corporation and others, that some see Indonesian NGOs as becoming more powerful corporate campaigners as Indonesian democracy takes hold.
BP's Tangguh spokesperson in Indonesia, Jacob Kastanja, told Ethical Corporation he could not comment as the contents of the letter were still being studied.
He added: "We are working closely with NGOs in Indonesia and feel we have a good working relationship and general relationship with them."
A meeting between Amnesty International and BP is scheduled today in London to discuss issues related to the allegations made in the NGO letter.
| Opinion & analysis |
Jakarta Post Editorial - December 16, 2004
Born of a long, bloody revolution which taxed immeasurable sacrifice, it is no wonder that the words "war" and "struggle" are etched into the fables of Indonesian nationalism.
The sacrifices that our forefathers endured to create this nation should forever be remembered. It is the constitutional and inherent duty of citizens to defend this hard earned sovereignty. There is no question of that.
Unfortunately, since independence a kind of militaristic vogue has colored civilian life, despite a near-complete absence of external adversaries.
It's time to cease such ways of thinking. The wars some may think we're still fighting were all over a long time ago. The revolution is over! The glory of tomorrow does not lay in the arrogance of might or coercive power. Our struggle now is to liberate the nation from hunger, ignorance and suppression.
Indonesia should still be proud to have an effective armed force without military might itself having to become the centerpiece of the nation's pride.
That is why we view with anxiety the introduction of a bill that could, in a few years time, draft citizens aged between 18 and 45 into the military reserves.
We question the need for mandatory military service given the absence of any perceivable external threat. It is almost impossible to imagine that our neighbors in Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste or Australia, would seek to attack Indonesia in the foreseeable future. Regional diplomatic arrangements in place ensure that the advent of open conflict between nations in the region is highly unlikely.
Mandatory military service in a time of no apparent threat would only result in undedicated servicemen who would eat away at the military's core professionalism by continuously questioning their commanders.
If the Indonesian Military (TNI) strongly believes that it needs to beef-up its manpower, we suggest a Reserves Corps comprised of volunteers -- part-time soldiers -- who can be called-up for active duty for training or deployment.
For a military that is always complaining of budget constraints, the cost of a limited reserves force would be lower than that of a perpetually rotating draft. This also allows resources to be allocated into buying new equipment and improving training.
Mandatory service means new recruits would have to be trained every year to replace those who leave. Furthermore the draft system fails to provide the critical skills that only come with years of training and experience. The end result would be a less well-trained yet costly army.
Some may argue that military training is beneficial to instill discipline; the kind of discipline required for a modern industrial nation.
South Korea and Singapore -- countries which impose mandatory military service -- have been cited as examples in which the skill sets acquired through military training have become assets in their country's leap to industrialization.
We agree that discipline is a particular characteristic that many Indonesians sorely lack. But the if the price for discipline is the militarization of society, then the country best seek other alternatives.
For much of the past three decades, our military has been used against its own people. There have been far too many instances where innocent civilians have become the targets of military wrath.
Indonesia does not have clear prohibitions, such as those in the United States, that forbids the use of the military on its own soil. There are also questions on whether the military, the Army in particular, has truly accepted its exclusive role in the defense domain and forsaken its desire to intrude into internal political and security issues.
One can understand the dilemma faced by a conscript army if, for example, it were deployed to Aceh or Papua. The issue of mandatory military service is not only socially divisive; it could potentially threaten national unity.
Rejecting military service does not imply a lack of patriotism. If the Indonesian state was under external threat, millions would instinctively rush to the frontlines as they did during the war of independence.
On the contrary, it is the logic of compulsory military service with its forced patriotism and militarist indoctrination that violates the nation's yearning to create a vibrant, just and civilized society.
Jakarta Post Editorial - December 17, 2004
Indonesia after Soeharto is full of surprises. Almost daily we are greeted by more surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. We woke up on Thursday to yet another surprise, this one supplied by the Constitutional Court: it had annulled Electricity Law No. 20/2002.
What is so shocking and deeply troubling about this verdict is that it sets a completely wrong precedent for future decisions by the court. The electricity law is the first to be annulled by the court since its establishment last year. Unfortunately, it was the wrong law to annul.
Most of the arguments presented by the court in annulling the law were extremely weak and did not provide the intellectual justification expected from honored judges.
We agree with the court that electricity is an important commodity pivotal to the lives of the people and the success of businesses. We also can accept the court's argument that electricity -- as such an important commodity -- must be controlled by the state and developed to provide maximum benefit for the people.
However, the judges' next argument that controlling the commodity means the government, through state companies, must have a majority stake in every company doing business in the electricity sector is completely baseless and unacceptable. It is ridiculous for the court to interpret "controlling" to mean having a majority stake in companies in the electricity sector.
It has been well proven in Indonesia and elsewhere that state- owned enterprises are often riddled with corruption, inefficiencies and a lack of innovation. And the Constitutional Courts tells us to maintain the monopoly by the inefficient state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
Because of past corruption and inefficiencies, PLN is saddled with trillions of rupiah in debt and is virtually bankrupt. If it was a private entity, it would have disappeared long ago. We are the ones who are bailing out PLN and keeping it afloat.
In fact, the court recognized the weakness of PLN, saying that private companies were in a better position because of their superior management, technology and finances.
We can understand the court's next argument that PLN is given preferential treatment because it has to provide electricity to less developed areas outside Java, Madura and Bali, while having to compete with private companies on the three developed islands.
However, this problem can be solved with regulations, not by revoking the law. The government could provide incentives to PLN to provide electricity outside the three main islands, or if necessary the government could continue to provide subsidies, but with a clear and definite calculation of costs.
Why didn't the court see the other side of the coin, i.e. competition would make PLN stronger? By any measure, competition is good for both the companies and the people. Healthy companies will prosper, and the people will benefit from lower prices.
But introducing competition does not mean we would simply leave everything up to the market. In all free market economies, the government still plays a controlling role in sectors that have characteristics of a natural monopoly, like electricity. But such a controlling role can be better pursued through stronger regulations -- not government involvement in businesses.
As a whole, it can be said this court verdict will benefit PLN at the expense of the people. Does the court want us to continue paying high electricity rates because of PLN's continuing inefficiency? The weak arguments provided by the court in announcing its decision are not our only concern. What is truly troubling is considering the consequences of this decision. The immediate impact will be the reaction of prospective investors in the electricity sector. It is hard to imagine these investors even considering putting their money into the country. Sadly, this is happening at a time when Indonesia badly needs investment in the electricity sector to keep up with growing demand, both from the people and industries.
At the same time, PLN is not expected to invest significantly in new infrastructure and networks -- unless it receives loans or grants from the government. This means we can expect to continue to pay high prices for our electricity and to suffer frequent blackouts, and those without electricity can expect an even longer wait to get connected.
The bigger concern is that this verdict will set the wrong precedent for future decisions by the Constitutional Court on other important laws that encourage private participation in the economy.
The court is currently debating a judicial review of the water law, which has drawn criticism from anti-globalization groups. Judging from this verdict, we can expect the water law to meet the same fate as the electricity law. The next likely victim will be the oil and gas law that strips inefficient state oil company Pertamina of its monopoly in both the upstream and downstream oil sectors.
It is troubling just to think about the consequences of such verdicts. But we were the ones who put these chauvinistic, anti- privatization judges in the Constitutional Court, the only institution that has the authority to interpret the Constitution, as well as laws and regulations. Perhaps we should consider restocking the court with broad-minded judges.
Jakarta Post - December 17, 2004
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta -- Everyone is deeply concerned about the poor human development index (HDI), drug abuse and the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS among school-aged children in the country, yet there is no institution tasked to lead a nationwide campaign to defuse the problems.
If the National Family Planning Coordination Board (BKKBN) maintained its former powers, it could coordinate the relevant government agencies and the private sector, including non- governmental organizations, to closely control population growth and help cope with population-related problems.
BKKN Secretary-General Lalu Sudarmadi said in the wake of the decentralization policy, the agency could no longer supervise and monitor how the family planning programs worked while most regional government heads did not pay adequate attention to population issues.
Many BKKBN offices in regencies and municipalities have suspended their services to the public because of the small budget allocation from the administrations while many of their skilled staffers have been moved to other agencies.
"Regional autonomy has cut off the link between BKKBN and its regional offices while the social problems related to population growth, drug abuse, HIV, poverty, youth and fertility are getting worse," Lalu said in a workshop on the decentralization of family planning programs here on Thursday.
He said the BKKBN had no intention of asking the government to reinstate the agency's powers.
"We are just issuing a warning that the family planning programs have been in limbo because of the poor implementation of the regional autonomy," he said.
Rozy Munir, chairman of the Center for Demographic Research at the University of Indonesia, warned of a possible population explosion in 2050 if the government failed to meet its current target of curbing the fertility rate to 2.1 by 2015.
He predicted that the country's population would jump to around 350 million in 2050 from the current 220 million unless poverty alleviation programs succeeded, education improved and the family planning program campaign was intensified.
Currently, Indonesia's annual population growth has reached around four million, the equivalent of Singapore's total population.
Munir also expressed deep concern about the country's poor HDI, which placed Indonesia 111th out of 177 countries surveyed by WHO last year.
Indonesia's infant mortality rate is the highest in ASEAN while 71 percent of its workforce are elementary and high school graduates or are uneducated and the per capita income dropped to US$700 per year from $1,000 because of the prolonged crisis, according to the WHO report.
Lalu and Munir agreed that the high prevalence of drug abuse and HIV among youths was a result of the increasing number of poor people.
According to the latest Central Statistics Bureau data, disadvantaged people made up 38 million of the country's population, but Lalu estimated the number had surpassed 45 million due to increasing number of people unemployed.
Munir suggested that BKKBN focus on programs to curb drug abuse and HIV/AIDS among young people.
Jakarta Post Editorial - December 18, 2004
How many times a day do we gripe about traffic in the capital? Despite our protestations and grumblings, most Jakartans despair in silence without ever making their grievances heard.
"Its a fact of life," we tell ourselves. "There's nothing we can do about it," we convince ourselves.
Rather than putting our heads together, we each pursue our own little solutions that in the end only makes overall conditions worse.
Many equip their vehicles with luxuries such as mini-television sets or other electronic amenities, while others opt for regular "pit stops" to cafes or bars on their commute home. Chauffeurs are another option that allows the lucky employer to doze off on his/her way to their destination.
Meanwhile, remedies undertaken by the City administration seem haphazard and often only aggravate the traffic situation rather than relieve it.
Take the Trans Jakarta busway. It has grown in popularity and during rush hours the buses are packed full. But has it actually relieved congestion? We think not.
Side roads are clogged with cars avoiding the three-in-one rule. Furthermore, the allocation of one lane exclusively for the busway has only reduced the capacity of Jakarta's main throughway to absorb traffic.
A recent study has highlighted the depressing prospects for future traffic conditions in the city. Average traveling speed in 2020 will be a snail's pace of just 10 kilometers per hour. Travel time will increase by over 50 percent.
Over 2.5 million cars and 3.8 million motorcycles are already fighting for space on the city's 7,500 kilometers of road. No relief is in sight, with an estimated 300 new cars and 1,200 new motorcycles hitting the streets daily.
As if that wasn't enough, in less than a decade we could all be spending more time on the road than we do at work or at home.
Smog, depreciating the quality of our health, lost opportunities and time. All because we did not think ahead and find a comprehensive solution to this seemingly intractable problem of traffic.
One study estimates that material losses due to traffic congestion already amount to Rp 12.32 trillion per year. That is the equivalent to Rp 41.05 billion a day. Imagine the hundreds of thousands of hungry people we could feed with such money! Simply put, the situation has become ridiculous.
It does not make sense to spend over an hour to reach a destination that is less than 10 kilometers away.
Unfortunately, there are no simple quick-fixes to this problem. Summarily imposing restrictions on vehicle ownership or alternating allowable use of vehicles is a cruel policy if the city itself cannot provide adequate public transport facilities.
Though an increasing number of professionals are utilizing the busway, many more are apprehensive about the facilities that take them from their suburban complexes to the busway's main intersection points. Even where there are "feeder" routes available, people often have to fight just to get into the jam- packed vehicles.
For such people, it is still better to fight through the traffic in one's own comfortable car, than physically jostle with other people under the scorching sun or in heavy rain for an inch of dangling space, with pickpockets lurking everywhere waiting for an opportunity.
Well-off parents frequently purchase second or third cars rather than have their children exposed to the harsh tribulations of getting to school using public transport.
Piecemeal solutions like the busway, the three-in-one corridors, and the planned monorail are unlikely to alleviate, let alone solve, our daily traffic misery.
It's not just about the traffic or of building rapid mass- transport systems. It's also about Jakarta dispersing and possibly reallocating future developments to the outskirts of the city so that people will not flock into just one area; it is about the police being able to create a safer environment so public transport users will not fear being mugged; it is about real estate developers constructing satellite towns which are truly independent in terms of basic infrastructure.
More importantly, it is also about ourselves, gallantly relinquishing luxuries such as our car and opting for the bus, the train or even the bicycle.