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Indonesia News Digest 46 – December 8-14, 2015

West Papua

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West Papua

3,000 Papuans to get PNG citizenship

Radio New Zealand International - December 14, 2015

Papua New Guinea's deputy chief migration officer says processes are underway to grant citizenship to about 3,000 West Papuan refugees.

Esther Gaegamin says there are about 3,000 West Papuan refugees in camps in the Western Province, near the Indonesian border, that have been registered with the government.

She says most of them are qualified for PNG citizenship and her office has commenced a registration and naturalisation project with them.

Ms Gaegamin told the newspaper, The National, that some of the West Papuans have been in PNG for decades and it's appropriate that they are given a home and legal rights.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/292038/3,000-papuans-to-get-png-citizenship

Rampant Indonesian fires causing havoc in Papua

Radio New Zealand International - December 14, 2015

Greenpeace says the impact of rampant forest and peatland fires in Indonesia's Papua region is having a devastating effect on West Papuan society.

Fires from land clearance on drained peatland have caused rampant fires across the republic including in Papua, catapulting Indonesia to being one of the world's largest emitter's of greenhouse gasses.

Greenpeace's Indonesia forest campaigner Yuyun Indradi says the fires have belched carbon haze across the region which is a health hazard for many communities.

"This is also a problem that they are now facing, they're losing their livelihood source in terms of forest and peat where they can get their food, and it's also part of their culture."

Yuyun Indradi says those behind clearance of forests in Papua are forcing the West Papuans to try oil palm farming, something which they do not take to easily.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/292128/rampant-indonesian-fires-causing-havoc-in-papua

Members of security forces allegedly sell alcohol in Muara Tami

Tabloid JUBI - December 12, 2015

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Jubi – Based on research conducted by the Institute for Women and Children in Papua (LP3AP), excessive alcohol is one of the main drivers of the rise in domestic violence in Papua.

Many cases are reported and handled by LP3AP as an advocacy organization for women and children. The majority of domestic violence cases that occur is due to alcohol.

This fact was confirmed by Sofie Ayomi Sonata, one of the residents of Muara Tami District in the discussions held by the Women's Movement Anti Alcohol and Drugs last Thursday.

She continued from year to year, there are Muara Tami people who died from consuming liquor. "We asked the mayor to step down and curb the practice of selling alcohol in Muara Tami as we know that liquor is not sold haphazardly in the stalls, "she added.

It should be acknowledged that the Regional Regulation concerning the control and supervision of the alcohol made by the government of the city of Jayapura in 2014 has not been effectively implemented.

Separately, Sefnat B. Layan, head of Rehabilitation of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Papua said BNN has complained to the government of the city of Jayapura.

"The sale of alcohol is also limited but not in the stalls because there are special places that are reserved for the sale of alcoholic drinks. If the liquors are sold in kiosks, the Jayapura city government should ban it because it has violated the existing legislation, "he said.

A resident of Muara Tami who refused to be named said that the circulation of alcohol in Muara Tami is always done by security forces. "Here a lot of armed forces and the police who sell liquor freely to the public. I ask their leaders to to curb their members, "he said.

Earlier, chairman of the Legislative Body of Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) Jayapura, Kristian Kondobua said regulations on alcohol regulation is different from Papua Province. "If these cases are true then the circulation of alcohol must be stopped," he said. (Roy Ratumakin/Tina)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/members-of-security-forces-allegedly-sell-alcohol-in-muara-tami/

Papuan groups demand justice over Indonesia student killings

UCA News - December 9, 2015

Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Human rights groups have accused the Indonesian government of dragging its feet in an investigation into the year-old killings of four students in Papua province's Paniai district.

However, the government's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) said it is trying to conduct a thorough investigation but a lack of funds and cooperation from victims' families is preventing it from doing so.

The four students died and many others were injured when security forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd of peaceful protesters on Dec. 8, 2014 The crowd gathered to protest against a beating of a child, allegedly by soldiers, in Ipakije village the night before.

"The killings happened a year ago but the perpetrators have yet to be arrested and brought to justice. The victims and their families, as well as the Papuan people, demand justice," Peneas Lokbere, coordinator of the advocacy group, Solidarity for the Victims of Human Rights Violations in Papua, said in a statement Dec. 8. "The government isn't paying serious attention to the case," he said.

Father Paul Tumayang from the Franciscan-run Secretariat of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in Papua, accused Indonesian President Joko Widodo of going back on a promise to fully investigate the case.

During Christmas celebrations in Jayapura, the Papuan provincial capital, last year he promised to resolve the case, the priest said.

"We didn't ask the president to promise us anything. But he made the promise," he told ucanews.com. "So we call on president to keep his promise."

Komnas HAM hit back saying it launched a preliminary investigation into the case in January, which uncovered evidence of gross human rights violations, and had recommended a more detailed probe.

However, the commission says this probe has stalled because of an apparent lack of funds and opposition by victims' families to a request from investigators to exhume the bodies to conduct an autopsy.

Father Tumayang said the families are against the exhumations because they would be distressing and also go against traditional beliefs.

However, Natalius Pigai from Komnas HAM said autopsies are necessary. "In this case, an autopsy can prove where the bullets came from exactly so the perpetrators can be brought to justice," he told ucanews.com.

He also assured the commission would try and continue the investigation even without an autopsy.

London-based Amnesty International and the Jakarta-based Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence on Dec. 7 called on the government to ensure that Komnas HAM are provided with the necessary funds to complete the investigations.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/papuan-groups-demand-justice-over-indonesia-student-killings/74748

Jakarta urged to ensure Paniai deaths are probed

Radio New Zealand International - December 8, 2015

On the first anniversary of the violent deaths of four West Papuans in Paniai, Indonesia's government has been urged to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The bloodbath in Enarotali of Papua province's Paniai regency left four teenagers dead and 17 others injured after Indonesian police and military forces opened fire on a peaceful protest. The crowd had gathered to protest about soldiers assaulting a child the previous day.

Following the incident, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo publicly committed to solving the case.

The National Human Rights Commission established a team to investigate which after four months work found evidence of gross rights violations and recommended a more detailed investigation. However, the investigation has stalled, and internal probes by police and military are yet to be made public.

Amnesty International and Indonesia's Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence have urged the government to ensure that the perpetrators of the deaths are brought to justice.

They say the government must take steps to ensure that the rights Commission is provided with necessary funds to complete its investigations and ensure all findings are made public.

Open letter: Investigation of Paniai shootings, one year on – Amnesty International. December 7, 2015 https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/3010/2015/en/

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/291566/jakarta-urged-to-ensure-paniai-deaths-are-probed

Human rights & justice

Indonesia posts dismal human rights record

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2015

Nani Afrida and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has issued a report detailing the government's failure to protect basic human freedoms across the country in 2015.

The Kontras investigation has found that there have been at least 283 cases in which human freedoms have been violated in 2015.

"Basic human freedom has four components freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want. However, it has been hard for the people to express their aspirations, because they are afraid of being criminalized," Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar told reporters at a press conference during the Human Rights Day commemoration in Jakarta.

Kontras found that a majority of the violations related to the forced dispersal of street protests, the forced closure of places of worship and unwarranted arrests.

The rights watchdog group found that the police were the main culprits, as they had been named in 85 human rights violation cases, the Indonesian Military (TNI) were involved in 17, while other government agencies had been responsible for a further 49 cases.

Kontras said that the police had not given priority to the consideration of human rights as they had considered it to be a trend. "The institution admits to being democratic, but it does not put the ideology into practice", Haris said.

During its research, Kontras found that a wide variety of individuals had been subject to violations by the police.

"The criminalization does not simply target average ordinary people. We have discovered that students, journalists, activists and laborers have been targeted when they have attempted to express themselves, to exercise their freedom of speech," said Puri Kencana Putri, Kontras Deputy Coordinator for Strategy and Mobilization.

The rights group also found that there had been an increase in the severity of violations during 2015.

One of the most serious cases involved Salim Kancil, who was murdered in October, after he co-organized a protest against invasive sand mining practices occurring in his village in East Java. To date, none of his attackers have been prosecuted and the murder case remains in limbo.

As President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has continued to show disregard for the issue, future promotion of human rights throughout the country could fall by the wayside, added Haris.

"The President has the tendency to allow officials on the ground to respond to human rights issues according to their own best judgement," he said.

Separately, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) called on President Jokowi to immediately take concrete steps to resolve past human rights abuse cases as well as to incorporate human rights into relevant government policies.

"As the President, he has an essential role in determining the direction of human rights [promotion in Indonesia]," Wahyudi Djafar of Elsam said.

Wahyudi also urged the House of Representatives to apply human rights principles when drafting laws and regulations and called on Jokowi to be resolute in bringing closure to past human rights abuses.

"People are waiting for the President to take real action in ensuring that the state play its role in resolving past human rights abuse cases," Wahyudi said.

Although the government had expressed the commitment to resolve a number of past human rights violations, the Attorney General's Office has not yet followed up on the results of an investigation conducted by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on past rights abuses.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/12/indonesia-posts-dismal-human-rights-record.html

Get your act together on human rights issues, Jokowi tells police

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has ordered the National Police to make improvements after it was listed by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) as the institution with the most human rights violations.

Jokowi acknowledged that the public had made the most complaint reports against the police with regard to human rights violations.

"The National Police chief [Gen. Badrodin] is present today. It takes real effort to revamp the police, to create a perspective of human rights," he said during his speech at the 2015 International Human Rights Day event at the State Palace.

The public need police to provide security and an approach respectful of human rights must also be a priority, Jokowi emphasized.

The chief of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Nurcholis, said during his speech that the commission received 6,000 reports from the public each year.

"In the past 5 years, the police have been the most reported institution, followed by corporations, regional administration, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and judiciary institution," he said.

Reports of human rights violations made against the police are due to the police having held strong authority after the 1998 reform, Nurcholis said. Along with the shift came complaints from the public.

The public also made a considerable number of reports against corporations operating in the mining and plantation sectors, added Nurcholis. He urged the government to play an active role in settling human rights violations within the society.

Kontras publicized its report naming on Thursday, naming the National Police as having committed the highest number of human rights violations this year.

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said, based on the report, there had been at least 238 human rights related violations across the country. From that figure, 85 violations had been committed by the police.

Alleged violations include the forced dissolution of actions or events, apprehension, persecution and the prohibition of reportage, added Haris.

International Human Rights Day is celebrated on Dec. 10 worldwide. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/get-your-act-together-human-rights-issues-jokowi-tells-police.html

Jokowi calls for settlement of past human rights cases

Tempo - December 11, 2015

Ananda Teresia, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo has instructed all government officials in all levels to expedite the settlement of past human rights violation cases as many cases are still unresolved.

"I hope all government officials to solve the cases quickly," said Jokowi in his speech during Human Rights Day commemoration at State Palace on Friday, December 11.

Besides past human rights violations, there are also agrarian conflicts, indigenous people's rights, health and education and rights of the marginalized.

The president said to solve past human rights cases, the government must have the courage to make reconciliation through judicial or non-judicial means. Jokowi also stressed that there must be no more criminalization against freedom of expression. "However, democracy also has its rules and they must be enforced," he said.

In solving human rights cases, Jokowi said coordination between the National Commission on Human Rights and law enforcement agencies must be improved. "Regional governments also have responsibility for the accomplishment of human rights," he said.

Source: http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2015/12/11/055726967/Jokowi-Calls-for-Settlement-of-Past-Human-Rights-Cases

West Java scores lowest in human rights: Kontras

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Jakarta – West Java is the province with the highest number of human rights violations this year, according to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

Kontras' deputy coordinator for strategy and mobilization, Puri Kencana Putri, said 41 cases of human rights violations had been recorded in the province in connection with the freedom of religion, freedom of worship and freedom of belief.

"The concept of a human rights-friendly province is far off in practice," Puri said in Jakarta as quoted by tempo.co.

The second-worst scorer in Kontras' assessment of provinces is East Java, with 35 recorded violations, followed by North Sumatra with 28 cases, Papua with 24 cases and Jakarta with 23 cases.

Regarding Papua, Puri said the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had shown no significant efforts to prevent human rights violations in the province. "It is true that five [prisoners of conscience] have been freed; more were arrested," Puri claimed.

Although Jakarta ranked only fifth, reported cases there involved the largest number of people, namely 314, Puri said, adding that human rights violations in the capital included evictions and the government's policy to restrict demonstrations. (afr/bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/west-java-scores-lowest-human-rights-kontras.html

Indonesian president fails to promote human rights: survey

UCA News - December 10, 2015

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo's administration has failed to promote human rights since taking office more than a year ago, according to a survey by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace.

The survey – released Dec. 9 – a day ahead of Human Rights Day, said the achievement index for human rights promotion fell slightly this year from an already-low 2.49 to 2.45. The survey scores range from zero to a high of seven.

"This shows that there have been no changes during the administration of President Widodo" even though he promised to protect human rights, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Setara's deputy chairman, said during the survey's launch in Jakarta.

The survey graded Indonesia on a number of controversial issues such as human rights abuses and protection, abolition of the death penalty, safeguarding freedom of expression, association and religion and economic issues.

While most variables showed performance decreases across the board, the survey showed improvements in the economy, Naipospos said.

"Based on this data, Widodo's administration still prioritizes the economic and infrastructural developments and ignores the issues of human rights," he said. "It must be balanced though. It cannot focus on one sector only and forget others," he said.

According to Father Antonius Benny Susetyo, secretary of Setara's national council, "many political parties supporting the president are perpetrators of past human rights violations." This has contributed to Widodo's failure in human rights protection and enforcement, he said.

Father Susetyo also cited human rights violations in Papua as an example of where the current administration has failed. Widodo expressed a willingness to address persistent abuses in the province, "but officials surrounding him don't follow his lead," he said.

Silent protest

In Jayapura, the Papuan capital, about 300 priests, nuns, seminarians and university students held a silent protest in front of the local legislators' office to mark Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

"Stop the violence and killings in this land [of Papua]. Stop the killings of the Papuan people," Father Neles Tebay, coordinator of the Papua Peace Network, told ucanews.com.

Last year, on Dec. 8, four students died and many others were injured when security forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd of protesters. The crowd gathered to protest against the beating of a child – allegedly by soldiers – in Ipakije village the night before.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-president-fails-to-promote-human-rights-survey/74761

Police committed most human rights violations in 2015: Kontras

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Jakarta – The National Police (Polri) committed the highest number of human rights violations this year, according to a recent finding by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

During 2015, there were at least 238 human rights related violations throughout the country and 85 of them were committed by Polri. Violations included the forced dissolution of actions or events, apprehension and persecution and the prohibition of reportage, explained Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar.

"Polri considers human rights to be merely an obligatory trend. The institution admits to being democratic, but does not put this ideology into practice", Haris emphasized.

"The important thing is that it admits to being a democratic institution. If it hadn't admitted this, it could be thought of as New Order," said Haris on Thursday as quoted by tempo.co.

The political and economic interests of Polri officials are larger than the awareness of the need to uphold human rights. To Polri, human rights issues are not born from a consciousness to improve an institution, he said. (kes)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/police-committed-most-human-rights-violations-2015-kontras.html

1965 mass killings

'The Look of Silence' breaks censorship with free download

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – It will be hard to prevent people from watching Joshua Oppenheimer's second groundbreaking documentary on the 1965 Indonesian communist purge, The Look of Silence (Indonesian title: Senyap), because the film is available for online viewing and downloading as of Thursday.

Oppenheimer, the film's director and producer in cooperation with Final Cut for Real, VHX and Drafthouse, said the documentary was a present to the Indonesian audience. "As a present, the film should be given for free to the Indonesian audience," he said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

The documentary can be downloaded at thelookofsilence.vhx.tv or watched on Youtube at youtube.com/watch?v=RcvH2hvvGh4.

The film is the American filmmaker's further exploration into the 1965 massacre that is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people thought to be members or supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In 2012, he released The Act of Killing (Indonesian title: Jagal).

The new documentary follows a middle-aged optician Adi Rukun, who confronted the men that brutally murdered his brother during the communist purge. The film made it onto the Oscar Documentary shortlist for 2016.

Since being released in Indonesia in November last year, The Look of Silence, similar to its predecessor, The Act of Killing, has sparked controversy across the country.

In December 2014, the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) banned the public screening of Senyap, reasoning that it "leads the viewers to sympathize with the PKI and communism".

A month later, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) issued a letter in support of Senyap, calling it one of many films that unfolded the gross human rights abuse "from the victims' perspective".

In December last year, hardline groups intimidated the film screening held at Gajah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.

And this year, authorities clamped down on Senyap screenings held at campuses and other places, including the planned screening at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) in Bali.

The pressure has failed to dampen the spirit of student organizations and communities to spread the documentary.

Indonesia Menonton Senyap (Indonesia Watching Senyap), an initiative to facilitate public screenings, has distributed 1,700 DVD copies of Senyap for screening in 118 cities and regencies across the archipelago, estimated to reach 70,000 viewers in total.

Oppenheimer expressed his hope that Senyap could reach a greater audience than Jagal, which has been watched and downloaded for more than 1 million times since being made available online in September last year. Senyap is expected to open discussions and propel reconciliation in Indonesia.

Komnas HAM commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron said the film's availability online proved that the authorities could not shackle people's desire to know more about the tragedy.

"We have a problem where the decision makers, particularly the government, nurture fear. The more they spread fear and issue bans, the more youth will grow curious and use their creativity to learn about the tragedy," he told the Post on Thursday.

The film was also screened on Thursday and free digital copies were offered at an event at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Central Jakarta called the Temporary Museum of Memory Recollection.

"We invite those who are interested [to have the film] to bring their flash disks, so that we can give them the film files," event committee member Qory said. "We don't seek the approval from the authorities for the event as we believe we don't need permission to spread knowledge."

Initiated by Komnas HAM, Partisipasi Indonesia and the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), the event hosted discussions and film screenings related to the 1965 massacre to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy and also Human Rights Day, which falls on Thursday. The event ran from Nov. 30 until Thursday.

The Jakarta Police issued a letter pressuring DKJ to cancel a discussion on the 1965 tragedy amid protests from another group of artists. DKJ Irawan Karseno responded to the ban by holding a press conference on Tuesday, in which he criticized the police's decision to bow to the opposing group's pressure.

Download the Look of Silence here: http://thelookofsilence.vhx.tv/

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/the-look-silence-breaks-censorship-with-free-download.html

Arts council blasts police for 1965 event ban

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Indra Budiari, Jakarta – The Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) condemned on Tuesday the Jakarta Police's move of issuing it a letter pressuring the council to cancel a discussion on the 1965 tragedy amid protests from another group of artists.

The discussion of a theater script titled Family Album: #50years1965, part of the annual Jakarta Theater Festival (FTJ), was scheduled to take place at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) cultural center, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday evening.

DKJ head Irawan Karseno said as a form of protest the council replaced the event with the press conference, "which is also a form of discussion".

Scheduled to be held between Nov. 30 and Dec. 10, the 43th festival was set to include a reading and discussion on the script of a performance about the 1965 bloody massacre to mark the 50th anniversary of the communist purge.

There is no official record of the number of victims of the purge but according to conservative estimation there were 500,000 victims while other testimonies have said 1 to 2 million.

However, on Monday night dozens of artists calling themselves the "Jakarta Theater Big Family Concerned with the Jakarta Theater Festival" staged a protest at the venue, demanding that the reading and discussion be canceled, saying that political agendas should not be brought up at the festival.

About 50 police officers entered the press conference venue when the council condemned the police's move. "What is the meaning of arts? One word, fight!" Irawan said in a loud voice. Outside, there were about 160 police officers and 15 people protesting the event.

Irawan said the police's decision to bow to the opposing group's pressure was solid proof that the law enforcement institution would rather be dictated by a small group of people than ensure the safety of citizens.

"Taking such action out of fear of another protest that may lead to a clash shows that the police are unprofessional," Irawan said.

According to Irawan, police are obligated to check whether the discussion and protest are carried out legally but had no right to pick a side.

He added that the DKJ planned to submit a report against the Jakarta Police to the President, National Police, Home Ministry and Jakarta governor. "This is not the first time the police have banned an arts festival, but I hope it is the last time," he said.

The FTJ is a festival in which community theater groups at the district level compete and finalists get the opportunity to stage their works at venues in TIM.

A copy of the police letter obtained by The Jakarta Post states that the police refused to issue a permit on account of pressure from a group.

Jakarta Police head Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian denied that the police prohibited the discussion, saying that they only "do not recommend" the event be open to the public, adding that there was a possibility of a clash between the event committee and the opposing group.

"Considering a lot of people are against the issue, we think that the discussion should involve a limited circle, not the public," Tito said, adding that it was critical for their own safety.

He then said that the police would allow the committee to hold the discussion only if they followed the limited-circle requirement. He went on to suggest that the committee take into account "sociological and psychological factors among wider residents".

Separately, Zak Sorga, an artist who led the protest, said the group of protestors was not against the event being held but stressed that political agendas should not be included at such festivals.

"Communism, capitalism, radical Islam, just name it. I don't have a problem with them, but issues will occur when certain topics are presented at our prestigious Jakarta Theater Festival," he said.

Zak said opposing ideologies between artists would only cause disagreements or even clashes. "If they want to hold a discussion on 1965, they should hold them in their own communities, not at this event," he said. (agn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/arts-council-blasts-police-1965-event-ban.html

Historical Indonesian novel praised in Germany

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Novani Nugrahani, Jakarta – A novel by Indonesian author Laksmi Pamuntjak, Amba, which was translated into German under the title "Alle Farben Rot", has sold more than 10,000 copies since sales opened in Germany on Sept. 25.

"I am happy yet surprised to receive the good news from my publishers in Germany that sales of 'Alle Farben Rot' in the country have surpassed 10,000 copies in just nine weeks," said Laksmi in a recent press release.

In an addition to its success in sales, the book has been named one of the best novels by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Bild newspapers and has received high praise from Austria-based media organization ORF and literary organization Weltempfaenger.

"I feel very honored to see my book highly appreciated in countries where people are educated and critical readers," added Laksmi.

The book has been translated into Dutch under the title "Amba of de Kleur van Rood", and is set to be printed in the US in July 2016 with "The Question of Red" as its title.

The historical novel is a modern take on the story of Amba and Bhisma during the Mahabharata epic. The story is set against the backdrop of bloody historical events of 1965 and Buru penal island in the western part of Maluku.

"I wanted to present a story about unknown people whose lives were drastically changed because of a cruel and crushing event," said Laksmi. (kes)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/historical-indonesian-novel-praised-germany.html

State universities backed communist purge: Study

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – Professors, university staff and students helped detect, expel and torture suspected communist elements during the 1960s political upheaval, a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) study reveals.

History researcher Abdul Wahid from the Yogyakarta-based university said in a discussion that archives and testimonials he found during his ongoing research showed the involvement of state universities in the eradication of communism.

The discussion was held on Thursday by the University of Indonesia (UI) branch of Semar, a cross university student coalition, among events following the International People's Tribunal 1965 held on Nov. 10 to 13 in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Prior to uprisings in 1965, as an "arena of the Cold War" universities in the country became "tools of the revolution" by then president Sukarno, to indoctrinate his teachings of socialism and "guided democracy and economy", Abdul said.

During the heightened battle for political power, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was known as Sukarno's favorite; students who were among those fed up with the first president's dictatorship favored the emerging colonel Soeharto. The attempted coup and murder of generals on Sept. 30, 1965, blamed on PKI led to Sukarno's downfall.

"We all wanted Soeharto to become president," writes Jusuf Wanandi, among student activists who pushed for Sukarno's impeachment. The elite had believed that Sukarno "brought Indonesia almost to bankruptcy, and foreign policy too closely into alignment with China," Jusuf writes in Shades of Grey: A political memoir of modern Indonesia, 1965-1998.

Abdul said among the proof of maneuvers to eradicate communism was displayed in UGM's museum in the form of a certificate of gratitude for UGM's role in "crushing the PKI in Central Java", dated Dec. 12, 1965, and signed by Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, then commander of the Army Para Commando Regiment (RPKAD). For his role in leading the operations, Sarwo Edhie was proposed as a national hero under the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his son-in-law.

Following the November tribunal, the "UGM Alliance for the 1965 tragedy" circulated a petition on change.org, with almost 1,000 supporters, to urge UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati to acknowledge the university's role in the eradication of suspected leftists or Sukarno loyalists. The petition was made following testimony by a female survivor at the tribunal who said she had been tortured by investigators, including by a UGM student who became a noted sociologist.

At Thursday's talks, former political prisoner Tedjabayu Sudjojono described the interrogation methods of the military led teams, which included academia, in identifying and interrogating suspected students like himself.

A former UGM geography student, Tedjabayu was imprisoned on Buru Island in Maluku, where thousands were exiled. He said that in October 1972 or 1973, students of the UI team "gave us pages of questionnaires to determine our ideological degree".

In recent talk shows, former chief of staff of the army reserve command Kivlan Zen has said much of the persecution and murders after the 1965 attempted coup were driven by "mass hysteria", which included communist sympathizers killing perceived rivals. Among others, land takeovers by the communist side sparked wide resentment.

Anthropologist Iwan M. Pirous said that the first step to reconciliation, which was "revealing the truth about 1965", was urgent, as "myths" such as "socialism and communism are atheist devils [...] really disrupt our brains from learning in a critical manner."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/state-universities-backed-communist-purge-study.html

1965 still a taboo subject for Indonesians: Activists

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Even after the passing of 50 years, Indonesians are still reluctant to bring up the events of 1965 in a discussion as they always relate it with the communist idelogy that led up to the 1965 purge and remain close-minded about the topic without seeing the wider context, say art activists.

"'1965' is a taboo number, which is somehow still traumatic for Indonesians, as if they are frightened by a ghost from the past that didn't even exist," Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) chairman Irawan Karseno told thejakartapost.com recently.

The DKJ was scheduled to hold a reading and discussion of a drama script titled "Family Album: #50years1965" at the Jakarta Theater Festival (FTJ) on Tuesday, but which was banned by the Jakarta Police because of fears of trouble from opponents of the event.

Letter No. B/19811/XII/2015/Datro states that the police refused to issue a permit as a result of pressure from a group calling itself the Jakarta Theater Family Who Cares for the Jakarta Theater Festival, which had informed the police about its plans to hold a rally in protest at the event.

Previously, FTJ project officer Malhamang Zamzam claimed that the opposition group comprised long-standing members of the FTJ who felt a particular ownership of the FTJ and thus believed that the FTJ should not become embroiled in sensitive issues.

Responding to the matter, DKJ theater committee chairman Dewi Noviami said the event actually only consisted of reading and discussion of drama scripts created by participants who examined 1965-related photos and wrote the scripts according to their perception and imagination.

Irawan added that even though the DKJ had set 1965 as the basic theme for all of this year's programs, the selection of the theme was far from what the opposition group claimed it to be, an infiltration of ideology.

"We see 1965 as a human tragedy with vast dimensions. Theater is actually a channel for us to discuss about humanity; all classic theaters also deal with human tragedy and political intrigue," said Irawan.

According to artist Dolorosa Sinaga, by selecting 1965 as a theme, arts and education institutions had taken their position of criticism of the government, which could not repay its debts to the people.

Dolorosa added that artists should use their position to find a chance to urge or motivate the government through art and helping Indonesian victims who were now moving forward by daringly bringing this unresolved problem to the international level and demanding the government to take responsibility.

"As human rights and arts activists, we reject oppression from a repressive state that forces all of us to keep silent," added Dolorosa.

Director and scriptwriter Benny Yohanes who was supposed to lead the event said that people should stop politicizing 1965-themed discussions and relating them to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) as the 1965 tragedy was also a period of history where ideological conflicts among the elites spread into all levels of society.

However, said Benny, paranoia among the people about talking about the tragedy prevented 1965-themed discussions taking place in public as people still had psychological barriers about the issue. "Including at the government level, there is an ideological barrier to revealing the truth of this event publicly," said Benny.

However, as Indonesia was a democratic country, people should be willing to sit together and discuss the issue to articulate their own version of the truth, instead of imposing their will and thinking that they were right, he added.

"We cannot create ideological or social segregation. In the experience of humanity, all of us can re-position ourselves," said Benny, adding that the discussion was intended to share how people could re-read history. (kes)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/1965-still-a-taboo-subject-indonesians-activists.html

Indonesia's repression of the arts uncivilized: activists

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Indonesia has moved backward and is becoming an uncivilized nation in terms of its repression of freedom of expression, according to art and human rights activists following the Jakarta Police's recent banning of an art event scheduled to take place at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.

The police said they issued the prohibition of the reading and discussion of a drama script titled "Family Album: #50years1965" as part of the Jakarta Theater Festival (FTJ), due to fears of trouble from people that opposed the event.

In the letter revoking permission for the event, the police said that a group calling itself the "Jakarta Theater Family Who Cares for the Jakarta Theater Festival", had previously informed the police about its plans to hold a rally to protest the event.

According to the Jakarta Arts Council chairman Irawan Karseno, the letter was an arbitrary act by the state that could not be tolerated. The Jakarta Police's reason for prohibiting the discussion was not the event's content, but the technical aspect of security, said Irawan

"It's the police's responsibility to ensure that a rally can run without sacrificing other people's interests. The police should not and cannot take sides," Irawan told reporters at TIM on Tuesday.

Irawan added that the arts council would continue the series of events at the FTJ, saying that they would not comply with any form of repression from the state. He further requested that the National Police revoke the Jakarta Police's right to limit or prohibit any artistic activities.

"If we give in to the arbitrary [actions of the state], history and the future [generations] will not look kindly on the Jakarta Arts Council," said Irawan.

Separately, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) condemned the prohibition, saying it restricted art activists' rights to express their creativity.

According to Komnas HAM chairman Nur Kholis, by prohibiting the discussion, the police had shown no commitment to defend people's freedom of expression, which he said was a very basic aspect of human rights that was also protected under the Constitution.

"The Indonesian police's mindset is still similar to that of the New Order. Now it's a paradox: there are certain groups whose rights are defended while others lose their rights, particularly in terms of freedom of expression," said Nur.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Art Coalition chairman Abduh Azis said that with the recent cases of prohibitions and limits of freedom of expression, such as the forced cancelation of a 1965-themed film screening, Indonesia was now moving backward toward conservatism.

According to Azis, people need to scrutinize themselves and reflect on the essence of art, on how people celebrate life, which is full of complexity and diversity. "People should realize that they cannot impose their will on others," said Azis. (kes)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/indonesia-s-repression-arts-uncivilized-activists.html

Jakarta Art Council: '1965' drama will go on despite police ban

Jakarta Globe - December 8, 2015

Jakarta – The Jakarta Art Council (DKJ) released a statement on Tuesday saying that a drama dealing with the events of 1965 at the Jakarta Theater Festival (FTJ) will be staged despite objections by the authorities.

Cops in the capital issued a letter on Monday evening that banned a discussion on and reading of a drama script for "Family Album: #50years1965," which was supposed to take place at Taman Ismail Marzuki on Tuesday afternoon.

The prohibition letter was issued after a protest was lodged by a lobby group calling itself the Jakarta Theater Family Who Cares for the Jakarta Theater Festival, which considered the topic too sensitive.

The anti-communist purges that started in 1965 left hundreds of thousands of people dead, with many of the perpetrators being considered heroes to this day. Questioning the official account of what happened or calling attention to the plight of the victims remains taboo in Indonesia.

At a press conference at Taman Ismail Marzuki, in Cikini, on Tuesday, DKJ head Irawan Karseno said the police ban amounted to a violation of civil rights. Vigilante groups have on several occasions disrupted events linked to '1965'.

"The police should be able to protect us from disturbances that we may face when practicing our right to free speech. We are always open for discussion, but we will not back down in the face of such intimidating moves," he said.

Irawan added that the DKJ would be reporting the Jakarta Police to President Joko Widodo, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the home affairs minister, the education and culture minister, the chief of National Police and the governor of Jakarta.

M. Nurkhoiron, a commissioner with Komnas HAM, said the commission fully supported the DKJ in hosting the '1965' drama, which is about 14 young Indonesian writers and how they re-imagine the campaign of torture, rape and killing.

"We are expecting answers from the police regarding the ban and hope they will be able to make us feel safe when we express our free speech," the commissioner said. "If there are no answers, this would be a step back for the police."

Head of the theater committee for DKJ, Dewi Noviami, said there is not a lot of attention for the 1965 tragedy in Indonesian drama.

But Dewi said that five decades later, it is time for Indonesia to face the darkest chapter in its history. "Those who disagree with our program should come to our event and talk with us, not forbid us from doing so," she said.

Zak Sorga, director at Kanvas Theater and one of the opponents of the event, said the festival should not highlight such a sensitive issue because it is an art institution.

"This is a matter of ideologies and an art institution is not supposed to highlight a particular [ideology]. It is a very sensitive topic. This festival is supposed to be a place for young students to learn about art," he said.

Head of the Indonesia Art Coalition (KSI) M. Abduh Aziz said this is the first time an art event was not allowed to be held at Taman Ismail Marzuki. He also noted that there have been 34 cases across Indonesia where the screening of the movie "The Look of Silence," which deals with the same tragedy, was banned. "I'm having a deja vu because what is happening reminds me a lot of 1998," he said.

The Jakarta Theater Festival runs only until Thursday, but Irawan said he would make sure the '1965' drama would get a spot, with or without a police permit. "We are currently editing the script and trying to figure out some technical issues, but it is happening," he said.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/features/jakarta-art-council-1965-drama-will-go-despite-police-ban/

Jakarta Police ban discussion of 1965 drama

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have banned a reading and discussion of a drama script titled "Family Album: #50years1965" at the Jakarta Theater Festival (FTJ) that was scheduled to take place at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.

The police said they issued the prohibition because of fears of trouble from opponents of the event.

Letter No. B/19811/XII/2015/Datro states that the police refused to issue a permit as a result of pressure from a group calling itself the Jakarta Theater Family Who Cares for the Jakarta Theater Festival, which had previously informed the police about its plans to hold a rally in protest at the event.

FTJ project officer Malhamang Zamzam questioned the ban, saying such a move was difficult to understand. "It's weird because street rallies are common and we also have right to free speech. If the event fails because of the rally, that's OK. But if it's a result of a prohibition, I can't understand that," said Zamzam as quoted by Tempo.co on Tuesday.

According to Zamzam, there might have been some fear among the opponents who considered the drama script to relate to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), while in fact the activity would only be a historical drama script- writing workshop that referred to archives or studies, led by 10 scriptwriters.

"It's only a theme about humanity. This is 50 years since 1965, indeed the National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM] also raises the issue everywhere," said Zamzam.

Zamzam claimed that the opposition group comprised long standing members of the FTJ who felt a particular ownership of the FTJ and thus believed that the FTJ should not become embroiled in sensitive issues. "There is no relation with the PKI. Just read the script, we will distribute it later," Zamzam asserted.

This marks the first prohibition of an art or literature event in TIM. The Jakarta Arts Council was scheduled to hold a press conference regarding the prohibition on Tuesday afternoon. (afr/bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/jakarta-police-ban-discussion-1965-drama.html

Sexual & domestic violence

Women activists urge govt to pass bill on sexual assault

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Dewanti A. Wardhani, Jakarta – Activists who battle to end violence against women have drawn up a petition and are aiming for 10,000 signatories to demand the government pass a sexual violence bill.

The bill has been designed to impose stricter punishments on perpetrators of sexual violence. The bill also seeks to provide better protection for sexual assault victims. The bill identifies six types of sexual violence: rape, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, sexual control, sexual torture and sexually charged punishment.

"It's important to raise awareness about sexual violence because victims are getting younger and younger," the petition's coordinator, 25-year-old Latifa "Tyas" Widura Retyaningtyas, told The Jakarta Post during a gathering at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta over the weekend. As of Wednesday almost 4,000 people had signed the petition.

Many have criticized the existing Article 285 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on rape, which defines rape as only occurring when penetration takes place. "The approval of the sexual violence bill is urgent. There have been many new cases lately and it's very worrisome for the victims," Tyas said.

One visitor, a 16-year-old high school student named Hani, said that she did not want to feel unsafe as a young girl in Jakarta. "I always feel anxious when I leave home, especially after reading news about an assault that happened recently. I don't feel safe," she said.

Hani was referring to a case from late November when a 23-year-old woman was assaulted as she left her office in Pondok Indah, Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta at around 4:30 p.m. She had been crossing a nearby pedestrian bridge when a man approached her, threatened her and eventually sexually assaulted her. She also lost her phone and Rp 200,000 (US$14.44) in cash to the perpetrator, she said.

Hani, who signed the petition, demanded that the government pass the sexual violence bill. "At least I want to know that I am protected by the government," she said.

Furthermore, 22-year-old Prilly Charlotta, who also signed the petition, said that the current law on rape and sexual harassment was too weak and does not side with the victim. She said that most sexual abuse and harassment cases she knew of ended up blaming the victims instead.

"Many cases end up blaming the victim for wearing shorts or for being out late. This is inhumane and unjustifiable," Prilly said.

The sexual assault case of a bus passenger last year by four male Transjakarta officers resulted in a short 18-month prison term for the four convicted men. During the trial, the panel of judges questioned the female passenger about why she wore short pants the day she was assaulted, as if wearing short pants was the reason why she was assaulted.

Separately, 45-year-old signatory Tri Sarwono said that aside from the sexual violence bill itself, both men and women must be educated to increase their awareness of sexual violence.

"Not many people understand sexual violence. Many experience it without knowing that they are [victims], which is why there are many cases left unreported. I think residents should be educated, whether by the government or by organizations that understand this issue," Tri said.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded 293,220 cases of violence against women in 2014, up from 279,760 cases in the previous year.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/women-activists-urge-govt-pass-bill-sexual-assault.html

Labour & migrant workers

Dockworkers threaten lengthy strike over unpaid wages

Jakarta Globe - December 11, 2015

Jakarta – More than a thousand dockworkers staged a rally in North Jakarta on Friday to protest their employers' failure to pay their wages.

Some 1,300 workers employed by state-owned DKB, which provides stevedoring and shipping services at ports across Indonesia, took to the streets of Cilincing, near Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port, on Friday morning.

They accused DKB and its subsidiary, Airin, which runs shipyards, of failing to pay salaries, overtime and pensions premiums.

Tati Hartati, the chairwoman of the DKB workers' union, claimed the company had for the past five years failed to pay workers their full wages, and that it was Rp 168 billion ($11.9 million) in arrears in payments to the workers' pension funds.

She also claimed the company had failed to pay overtime payments since July. "If the company does not heed our demands, we will hold a strike for the next three months, until March, or until the state-owned enterprises minister [Rini Soemarmo] solves this problem," Tati said.

"We will not negotiate with the board of directors or the commissioners either. We just want to negotiate with the minister or the president [Joko Widodo]," she added.

Representatives from DKB were not immediately available for comment.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/dockworkers-threaten-lengthy-strike-unpaid-wages/

Freedom of speech & expression

Revision of ITE Law includes reduction in prison term

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Dylan Amirio, Jakarta – Communications and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara says a draft of the revision of the controversial clause 27 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law has been completed.

Rudiantara said the six-year prison sentence for those involved in online defamation was reduced to three years in the revised draft. There were also parts of the law that should be revised to make them clearly in line with the Criminal Code (KUHP) so there would be no confusion regarding interpretation, he added.

"Regarding defamation and hate speech, there must be an efficient method to prevent this from happening. Arresting the individuals before questioning them is not the best way to enforce it. I would say a sentence of four years would prevent the police from taking up cases so hastily," Rudiantara told reporters last week.

The minister was referring to the defamation clause of the law, which has been dubbed draconian by critics and activists for its potential to be abused to silence criticism and free speech, especially online.

Online defamation is specified in Article 27, paragraph 3 of the ITE Law, which criminalizes "anyone who deliberately distributes and/or transmits and/or makes accessible electronic information or documents that contain slanderous and defamatory language".

He said the revised version of the law should be approved by the House of Representatives before being implemented.

According to a joint report by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Digital Democracy Forum (DDF), Indonesian Center for Deradicalization and Wisdom (ICDW), Indonesian Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) and the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), 90 percent of all 118 defamation cases between 2008 and 2015 cited Clause 27 as their legal grounds.

The rise in cases, from 41 in 2014 to 44 cases in 2015, the groups said, was an indication that the law was prone and subjected to abuse, particularly toward those expressing views and opinions online.

A notable case in 2014 revolved around a university student in Yogyakarta who stood trial for defamation after making disparaging remarks about the city's citizens in a moment of social media rage. Members of the public reported her to the police, citing the law as the legal background.

Regional coordinator for the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network Damar Juniarto commented that the delayed revision of the ITE Law would only threaten free speech in Indonesia even further and would also undermine the Internet's role as a tool of expression.

He added that if the law was not reviewed and the defamation clause was not amended, measures such as the National Police's recent circular on hate speech could be taken out of context or appear to be a product of the draconian law. Despite that, he was pessimistic that the House of Representatives would discuss the law revision as the House's yearly session will come to an end on Dec. 18.

"The revision of the ITE Law is not even included in the National Legislation Program [Prolegnas] discussions for 2016, and delays on discussing the topic make matters worse. They have to realize that this law is not effective due to the abuse of interpretation. Reviews of this law have been talked about since two years ago, I believe, but nothing has come up since," Damar said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/revision-ite-law-includes-reduction-prison-term.html

Political parties & elections

Poor-quality candidates blamed for low voter turnout

Jakarta Globe - December 11, 2015

Jakarta – The General Elections Commission is set to miss its target with some survey groups estimating a lower voter turnout in Wednesday's simultaneous regional elections compared to the 2014 legislative and presidential elections.

The polling commission, also known as the KPU, earlier estimated that 77.5 percent of eligible voters would cast their votes, predicting that people would be excited about participating in the country's first simultaneous regional elections, held in 264 provinces, districts and cities across Indonesia.

But some survey groups estimated that only an average of 60.5 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot on Wednesday, with some areas reporting turnout of less than 50 percent.

The estimates come as no surprise to Masykurudin Hafidz, coordinator of the People's Voter Education Network (JPPR), saying that the lack of credible candidates put off many voters.

"The majority of regions staging their elections were only contested by two or three candidates who did not fulfill the voters' aspirations. Political parties are to blame because they only supported popular candidates with huge capital, which caused many voters to be disinterested," Masykurudin said on Friday.

He said there needed to be reforms in how parties selected their candidates, most of whom, he claimed, are not qualified to run and have questionable track records.

Djayadi Hanan, executive director of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting, a think tank, said there was some hope for improvement in the next batch of simultaneous regional elections, slated for 2017, after the Constitutional Court recently made it easier for independent candidates to run.

"There are a lot of potential candidates who have topped a number of surveys who were unable to run [this year] because they couldn't secure the support of political parties," Djayadi said.

"This year's elections greatly favored those with support from political parties. We need more independent and alternative candidates."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/lack-of-independent-candidates-to-blame-for-poor-voters-turn-out-in-simultaneous-regional-elections/

Incumbents entrench rule

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Haeril Halim and Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Local elites have displayed their true political muscle in the country's first concurrent regional elections on Wednesday as incumbent influence turned out to be the decisive factor in gathering votes.

Political parties found victory by supporting incumbent regional heads instead of trying to propel new candidates to victory.

Preliminary results from quick counts have shown that the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which won the legislative elections last year, won in the regions ruled by PDI-P incumbents, such as in Surabaya, Denpasar and Surakarta.

The PDI-P also found victory in regions in which it, along with other political parties, supported local incumbents like in North Kalimantan and Medan.

In North Sulawesi, in which there were no incumbents running, the PDI-P secured a win for its senior politician, Olly Dondokambey.

Banjarmasin Mayor Muhidin Farid, paired with Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member Gusti Farid Hassan Aman, led the vote in South Kalimantan running on an independent ticket.

The pair were ahead of the Sahbirin Noor-Rudy Resnawan ticket, a ticket supported by a coalition of major political parties including the PDI-P and the Gerindra Party.

PDI-P election campaign team officer Sudiyatmoko Aribowo said that the party could have garnered a bigger victory if Wednesday's election had attracted a high number of voters across the country.

"Our campaign machines should also have done a job gaining more power in the election, but that's something that will become a part of our evaluation in the future," Sudiyatmoko said.

Unlike in last year's general election, which saw participation levels at about 70 percent, low voter turnout was recorded in many regions on Wednesday, ranging between 30 to 50 percent.

Sudiyatmoko, however, claimed that the party still won in 152 out of a total of 256 elections participated in by the party.

Incumbent Airin Rahmy Diany, supported by the Golkar Party, won in South Tangerang. Airin beat two other tickets supported by the PDI-P and the Democratic Party.

The sister-in-law of former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, Airin, secured support from local residents despite being tarnished by a string of major corruption cases that unseated and jailed Atut and his brother, Tubagus Chaeri Wardana, a local businessman and Airin's husband.

In West Sumatra, Irwan Prayitno of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) also secured his second term after beating his only contender, Kasim-Fauzi Bahar, supported by the PDI-P, the NasDem Party, the Hanura Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) executive director Djayadi Hanan confirmed that most of the winners in Wednesday's elections were incumbent regional heads. "It will be difficult to connect the winners of the elections with the parties who supported them," he said.

NasDem Party chief Surya Paloh was happy with the results of the elections. He claimed that candidates supported by NasDem won in 129 regions. "Corruption cases have had hardly any impact on voters," he said.

Democratic Party secretary-general Hinca Pandjaitan expressed his optimism that the party would win at least 30 percent of the elections based on quick counts its members had conducted at polling stations.

"Based on our initial calculations, we are in the running for 67 regions. The Democratic Party's goal is to win 30 percent and right now [if we win those 67 regions] then we will have secured around 26 percent, and this is around 80 percent [of our goal]," he said, emphasizing that those numbers were based on internal calculations and were not figures that had been calculated by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Hinca could not answer when asked whether most of those who had won, based on the party's internal calculations, were incumbents because the vote counting had yet to be finished.

However, he noted that the party did back several incumbents who were known to be popular with locals, such as Karawang, West Java regent candidate Cellica Nurachadiana, who was paired with Ahmad Zamakhsari during this year's race. Hinca explained that the 35-year-old Cellica had been extremely popular when she was deputy regent and acting regent.

The KPU said that Wednesday's elections had run well and denied reports of low voter turnout in the regions.

KPU commissioner Arief Budiman said that 58 of the 264 regions that ran the elections reported average voter participation of 73 percent. "There was no extraordinary event that hampered the election process today," he said.

He acknowledged that there were reports of corrupt money in the elections, but claimed that vote-buying practices were "small in scale".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/incumbents-entrench-rule.html

Voters, election organizers satisfied with sole candidacy system

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Djemi Amnifu and Arya Dipa, Kupang/Bandung – Local elections (Pilkada) in three regions with a single-ticket candidate pair ran smoothly on Wednesday as voters flocked to nearby polling stations to cast their approval or rejection of the candidate's nomination.

In Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), the local General Elections Commission (KPUD) reported that Wednesday's election had attracted a participation rate of around 70 percent of eligible voters in the regency.

"Based on our observations at 110 out of the 450 polling stations in TTU, voter turnout has so far stood above 70 percent. We are hoping that this will be later reflected by the official reports submitted by the polling stations," KPUD spokesperson Fidelis Olin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Fidelis said the election in the regency had also taken place in an orderly and peaceful manner, with local residents visiting polling stations from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. to exercise their democratic rights.

TTU was one of three regions in the country putting forward just one candidate pair in this year's Pilkada, which was held concurrently on Wednesday in 264 regions across the archipelago. The two other regions were Tasikmalaya regency in West Java and Blitar regency in East Java.

Local election organizers initially prohibited regions with only one candidate pair from carrying on with their electioneering. The Constitutional Court, however, issued in late September a ruling approving the use of a kind of plebiscite or a referendum by which voters could choose to either elect or reject a candidate pair.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at a polling station in the regency capital of Kefamenanu, TTU candidate for regent Raymundus Sau Fernandes expressed optimism that he would secure the approval of voters in the Pilkada.

He also applauded the referendum system implemented for the first time by the central General Elections Commission (KPU) to accommodate local elections with only one candidate pair participating. "It's my first experience participating in the referendum system, in which we choose to agree or disagree," he said.

Raymundus is the incumbent regent of TTU and his running mate, Aloysius Kobes, is the deputy regent. The pair were nominated by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Separately, the Tasikmalaya KPUD confirmed that Wednesday's ballot had run well in the regency, home to more than 1.3 million eligible voters. "At least 60 percent of eligible voters participated in the election," KPUD chief Deden Nurul Hidayat told the Post over the phone.

The Tasikmalaya regional election fielded candidate pair Uu Ruzhanul Ulum and Ade Sugianto, who were uncontested in seeking a second leadership term.

Local resident Iji Setiaji, who chairs a polling station committee in Kalimanggis district, said based on the official vote count, most voters in his station had agreed to support the pair's reelection.

"Of the 382 eligible voters in our polling station, 273 came to the station to cast their vote. According to the vote count results, 194 chose 'agree', 57 chose 'disagree' and 23 abstained," Iji said.

Meanwhile in Blitar, the local KPUD asked the Subdistrict Polling Committees (PPS) to immediately complete the official vote count forms and submit them to the KPUD for recapitulation.

"We have asked the PPS to finish counting votes today [Wednesday]. As for form C6, we will later scan them and input the data," KPUD head Imron Nafifah said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The Blitar KPUD recorded 964,928 eligible voters for the local election.

Local residents, meanwhile, expressed their approval of the referendum system.

"I was not confused at all when casting my vote, as I just had to choose between agree and disagree," said Joko Purwoko of Bendosewu village, Talun district.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/voters-election-organizers-satisfied-with-sole-candidacy-system.html

Vote-buying mars regional elections

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Syamsul Huda M. Suhari, Arya Dipa and Ganug Nugroho Adi, Gorontalo/Bandung/Surakarta – The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has received 45 reports of legal violations, 25 of them categorized as vote-buying, in a number of cities and regencies across the country in the three-day quiet period leading up to voting day.

Bawaslu commissioner Daniel Zuchron said, however, that the reports were had yet to be verified. Daniel instructed his regional offices to find the evidence and keep an eye on the voting count process.

"The reports can give us a clue about which areas will potentially violate the rules. We can strengthen the monitoring process in those areas," Daniel said.

According to the reports, the "money politics" came in various forms, the most common of which was to distribute money ranging from Rp 20,000 (US$1.44) to Rp 200,000 by candidates in the early morning of election day.

In Sleman, Yogyakarta, Bawaslu received reports that a pair of candidates had distributed 1,621 lottery coupons for a car while electioneering in Boyolali, Central Java. The Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) reported that money had been inserted inside C6 forms [voting invitations].

Bawaslu also found that a number of candidates in seven cities and regencies, including Surabaya in East Java, had violated the law by holding campaigns during the quiet period. Some candidates distributing T-shirts and Christmas greeting cards containing campaign statements even though electioneering is forbidden for three days leading up to voting day.

In Bone Bolango regency, Gorontalo, the practices of vote buying and distributing Muslim dresses to entice voters were widespread, and even involved some village chiefs.

Vote-buying was recorded in North Bulango, Tapa, South Suwawa, Bone Pantai, None Raya and Kabila districts.

Bone Bolango Panwaslu head Yusuf said his committee had secured evidence in the form of cash amounting to millions of rupiah, a list of cash recipients and stickers from two candidate pairs. In Jambi, Raihan, a Jambi city resident, was unable cast his vote despite carrying his identity card. He was turned away by Polling Station Working Committee (KPPS) workers.

"I did not receive an invitation letter. I also showed them my ID card to vote, but I was turned away. They said I must have an A5 letter," said Raihan.

In Surakarta, Central Java, a number of polling stations in the city were short of ballot papers. Residents even threatened to file a lawsuit against the local KPUD because they believed that the KPUD had purposely taken away their constitutional rights as citizens.

Surakarta City KPUD commissioner on Elections Technical Implementation Pata Hindra Aryanto said that other polling stations were also likely short of ballot papers. He said the KPUD was unable to replace the shortages because the remaining papers at the KPUD office had been destroyed.

In West Java, Panwaslu head Harminus Koto said his office had found dozens of voters who had used their ID cards to cast their votes in Karawang regency. The KPUD allowed the use of ID cards for eligible voters as long as they cast their votes in their place of domicile. (foy)

[Jon Afrizal from Jambi also contributed to the story.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/vote-buying-mars-regional-elections.html

Low voter turnout despite numerous wooing efforts

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Apriadi Gunawan and Ina Parlina, Padang/Medan/Jakarta – Voter turnout in the country's first-ever simultaneous regional elections on Wednesday was likely lower than expected by election organizers as many residents were reluctant to visit voting booths despite all-out efforts from members of local polling station committees.

In Padang, West Sumatra, a number of polling stations (TPS) were attended by only a fraction of voters, such as TPS 8 in Limau Manis subdistrict, Pauh district, which had 384 registered voters. As of 12 p.m., an hour before voting closed, only 170 people, less than 50 percent of those eligible, had cast their votes.

The TPS, located 40 meters from Andalas University, had been decorated to resemble a Minangkabau traditional wedding. Male poll workers guarding the ballot boxes and indelible ink wore all-black clothing and Muslim caps. Traditional gendang (drum) musicians were on hand to break the silence.

"We purposely decorated the polling station with Minangkabau decorations and wore traditional clothing as a symbol, so the leader of West Sumatra in the next five years will adopt the [traditional] clothing of the people," said TPS 8 working committee head Hendri Yusuf.

Radio announcer Andahayani claimed she did not cast her vote because there were no viable options. "To me, none of them are appropriate. I've listened to their visions and programs, but none of them are suitable. I'd rather work than go to the polling station in Tabing, which is quite far away," she said in Padang.

In North Sumatra, Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) head Syafrida R. Rasahan confirmed that the level of voter participation in the mayoral election in Medan was very low. She cited TPS 7 in Helvetia subdistrict, where around 155 of 600 registered voters cast their ballots.

"Overall, voter participation in the Medan mayoral election was only between 30 and 40 percent. This is very low. Every party, including poll organizers, must contemplate this," Syafrida told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Similarly, voter turnout had reached 35 percent in Batam and Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands, with one hour left of voting on Wednesday.

"I have asked election officers to continuously call on people to exercise their rights through loudspeakers at mosques and meeting halls until the last minutes," Riau Islands Governor Agung Mulyana said during an inspection of a TPS in Batam.

Titi Anggraeni of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) said the public participation level in the elections was indeed lower than last year's legislative and presidential elections, because of a lack of familiarization of candidates, adding that "many people do not know who the candidates are".

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo previously said that the government had instructed governors, regents and mayors to use available channels at all levels to raise people's awareness of the importance of exercising their right to vote.

Not all efforts were fruitless, such as in Surakarta where a number of voters in Nusukan cast their votes inside a tourist bus that was temporarily turned into a polling station. The unique polling station was able to draw in people to participate in the elections.

Meanwhile, the elections impressed dozens of civil society activist, intellectuals and journalists from several countries who visited polling stations in Bali.

[Fadli from Batam, Ganug from Surakarta and Ni Komang Erviani from Denpasar also contributed to this story.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/low-voter-turnout-despite-numerous-wooing-efforts.html

Candidates play bigger role than political parties

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – Wednesday's simultaneous regional elections in 269 cities and regencies across the country are further evidence that individual candidates play a more important role in the success of the elections rather than the political parties that support them.

A professor at political research center Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Ikrar Nusa Bakti, said on Wednesday that political parties only played a role in the early stages of a candidacy as a result of the prevailing regulation, but whether a candidate succeeded depended very much on the candidate and his campaign team.

The success of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who started his political career as a mayor of small town in Central Java, indicated that the people really wanted leaders who talked to them through blusukan (impromptu visit) so that they would learn what they needed.

"People expect a candidate to directly come to them and interact with them, but many candidates don't make the effort," Ikrar told thejakartapost.com. "In the US, even though candidates campaign through the television or radio, they still have direct contact with the public in order to gain more votes," he said.

Ikrar said that the support of political parties could have the ability to negatively affect the success of a candidate, particularly if there were credibility problems concerning central figures of a political party. He gave as an example the case of alleged misconduct involving House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto, saying it would more or less affect the public's opinion of his political party.

Meanwhile, Philips Vermonte, a political researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said public skepticism toward political parties should act as a warning for their leaders on how they should chose candidates for regional leaders.

"The regional elections are about the figures, not the support of political parties. Therefore, the key to winning an election is how to recruit good people as candidates so that they can win the hearts of the people," he told thejakartapost.com.

In regard to public skepticism over regional elections, Philips said regional elections could not be compared to legislative and presidential elections.

"The elections may look sluggish because they are simultaneous elections. They are different from national elections in which public attention is focused on just one battle," he said, adding that public skepticism may also be caused by the political parties' failure to nominate candidates who people were interested in electing.

"Next time, they [political parties] have to do better in the recruitment of candidates," he said.(bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/candidates-play-bigger-role-political-parties.html

Journalism & media freedom

Journos stage rally against police brutality

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Padang – Dozens of journalists affiliated with the West Sumatra Anti- violence Journalists Coalition (KWAK) staged a rally on Monday at the temporary Padang headquarters of the West Sumatra Police.

The protesters urged the police to immediately investigate a recent assault allegedly committed by a group of police personnel against a journalist from the neighboring Riau province.

"We condemn the violence committed by police personnel against a journalist in Pekanbaru and demand that the police resolve the case thoroughly and prosecute and dismiss the perpetrators from the police force," KWAK coordinator Putra Tanhar said.

Earlier on Saturday, riauonline.co.id journalist Zuhri Febrianto was allegedly beaten by a number of personnel from the Pekanbaru Police with batons to the head and body while he was covering the Association of Islamic Students (HMI) congress in the provincial capital.

The police members were reportedly angry because Zuhri refused to hand over videotapes of police committing violent acts against a young man who tried to enter the tightly guarded congress venue.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/islands-focus-journos-stage-rally-against-police-brutality.html

Environment & natural disasters

Heavy rain over Sumatra, Java, triggers landslides, floods

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2015

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb and Rizal Harahap, Padang/Pekanbaru – Heavy rain over a number of regions has triggered landslides and flooding, cutting access and disrupting economic activities.

Landslides in a number of locations along a state road in Limapuluh Kota regency, West Sumatra, which connects to Riau province, paralyzed traffic on both sides of the road for six hours on Thursday evening.

The West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BPBD) logistics and emergency affairs head, R. Pagar Negara, said the landslide had damaged several homes and three cars.

"The drivers of the three damaged cars were slightly injured," Pagar told The Jakarta Post on Friday, adding that no serious casualties were reported.

Heavy downpours that began at 9 p.m. local time on Thursday and lasted for four hours triggered landslides in 11 locations along the trans-Sumatra highway in Manggilang village, Pangkalan Koto Baru district.

Consequently, traffic was backed up for two kilometers on both sides of the road. Workers toiled until 3 a.m. on Friday to remove earth, rocks and fallen trees before the route was reopened.

Landslides also took place in a number of locations in South Solok regency, with one of them burying a major highway from Padang to Muaralabuh, South Solok. "We are still gathering field data," said Pagar.

Meanwhile, torrential rain caused a river in South Pesisir regency to overflow on Friday evening. A resident identified as Damra, 60, was reportedly missing after the incident.

In Central Java, the Cilacap Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) announced that landslides had again hit a number of areas in the regency.

"The landslides hit Dukuhtengah and Suekuet Hilir hamlets in Majingklak village, Wanareja district," Cilacap BPBD acting head Tri Komara Sidhy said in Cilacap on Friday.

He added that the landslides took place on Thursday at around 5 p.m. following heavy downpours and strong winds.

In Riau, torrential rain from Thursday until early Friday caused the Batang Lubuh River to burst its banks. Hundreds of homes in the Rokan Hulu regency capital of Pasir Pangaraian were engulfed by floodwater.

The worst-hit area was Simpang Supra, on Jl. Tuanku Tambusai in Pasir Pangaraian, where the water level reached waist-high and cut the only access from Pasir Pangaraian to the Rokan Hulu administrative office.

"Motorists who wished to travel along the trans-Sumatra highway connecting Riau and North Sumatra had to make a detour through an alternative route, which was relatively safe from the overflowing river," said Pasir Pangaraian resident Syafrizal.

Swift river currents from the upstream area also swept away a grocery shop in Babussalam village, Rambah district.

"The floods arrived suddenly, so the shop owner did not have time to salvage his belongings. Residents tried to help but could not save the shop's contents due to the very swift current," said Syafrizal.

Besides Babussalam, homes in North Central Rambah and Pematang Berangan villages were also engulfed by up to 50 centimeters of water. The water level began rising from 6 a.m. and, as of 12 p.m., had yet to show signs of subsiding.

"This is the second flood this year. A couple of weeks ago, the Batang Lubuh River also burst its banks following several days of rain," said Syafrizal.

Rokan Hulu BPBD head Aceng Herdiana could not disclose the number of residents affected by the floods in the three villages.

"BPBD personnel, assisted by members of the Rokan Hulu Police, are still scouring in the field and helping residents to evacuate," he said, adding that aid would immediately be distributed to flood victims.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/12/heavy-rain-over-sumatra-java-triggers-landslides-floods.html

Government backtracks on unrealistic peatland restoration

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Provided with a limited allocation from the state budget, the government may only have the capacity to restore less than 5 percent of the total peatland area burned this year, allegedly by both small and large holders of plantation concessions.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry has estimated that this year's forest fires, the worst since 1998, has destroyed around 2.6 million hectares of land, with 53 percent of it located in peatland areas. If disturbed, peatland can become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

"We have to be realistic in proposing something. If we are provided with more funds, we could restore more than 5 percent of the destroyed peatlands," the ministry's environmental pollution and damage control director general, Karliansyah, told The Jakarta Post.

Last month, Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed a plan to restore at least 2 million hectares of peatlands destroyed by decades of unscrupulous practices by small and big concession holders. The restoration costs are estimated to top Rp 50 trillion (US$3.6 billion) over five years.

However, Karliansyah said that restoring a mere 5 percent of burned peatlands would cost taxpayers up to Rp 30 trillion and may take five years to complete, highlighting the astronomical cost and impact of forest fires to the environment.

"So we've calculated the cost to block canals and restore the vegetation. We've also calculated the cost to hire staff members to manage the water gates to the canals, as well as the cost to increase people's awareness of forest fires," he said.

Karliansyah added that the government has excluded concessions owned by big holders from the 5 percent restoration program. "The 5 percent is located in areas managed by smallholders, not companies," he said.

Firms whose areas have been burned by the recent fires will have to bear the responsibility to restore their lands using their own money, according to Karliansyah.

"Even though the regulation states that the burned lands could be taken over by the state, the responsibility [to restore the lands] is still with the companies," he said.

Between January and October, forest fires allegedly triggered by the clearing of lands for oil palm and pulp plantations had killed a dozen people in Sumatra and Kalimantan and hospitalized thousands. Smoky haze from the fires had also chocked people in Singapore, Malaysia and some part of Thailand and the Philippines.

The ministry's director general for law enforcement, Rasio Ridho Sani, said that so far the government had not forced companies whose areas were impacted by the forest fires to restore their lands.

"We have not yet ordered them to restore the land, but we are trying to do that through civil lawsuits. There's already one company, PT Kalista Alam, which should serve as a precedent," he said.

Rasio was referring to the recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court, concerning the case of a forest fire in Aceh, in which Kalista was directly liable for the burning of 1,000 hectares of the Tripa forest.

The forest lies within Sumatra's Leuser Ecosystem, the only place on earth where tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and orangutans can be found living together in the wild.

The court ordered the company to pay Rp 114.3 billion in compensation and Rp 251.7 billion to restore the affected areas of forest.

In the future, Rasio said that the government might not have to wait to file a civil lawsuit in order to force a company to restore its burned land as it can deploy administrative sanctions to do so.

Rasio said that firms might be forced to restore their lands using their own money as this was already stipulated in the environment law. The regulations would be strengthened further with a government regulation on peatland restoration currently being drafted by the government.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/govt-backtracks-unrealistic-peatland-restoration.html

Health & education

HIV kids repelled from their new home in Surakarta

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Ganug Nugroho Adi – A week after the world commemorated 'World AIDS day' on Dec 1, nine children living with HIV have been rejected from their new house in Surakarta, the home-town of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, in central Java.

The children were physically unable to enter, nor bring their packing truck to the newly-rented house as the road had been blockaded before they arrived on Monday.

Some residents displayed posters illustrating the rejection, proclaiming such statements as; "Protect the kids in neighborhood unit (RT) 4", "Kedunglumbu ain't a HIV kampong" and "Good men don't make their neighbors worry".

"We didn't expect that resident antipathy against HIV-sufferers would be this harsh. I can't see the reason behind it because HIV/AIDS awareness programs have been run on a massive scale," explained Yunus Prasetyo, Rumah Singgah Lentera founder, on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

The nine children, aged from one to 13 years, initially stayed at a house rented by Lentera in Bumi village, Laweyan district, Surakarta. However, they had to move out as the leasing period had ended and the lessor rejected to extend the lease term due to pressure from local residents.

Lentara had managed to lease a new house in Kedunglumbu village, Pasar Kliwon district, Surakarta. However, upon their arrival at the new location, the children and their moving truck were stopped at a barricade that had been made by local residents.

Head of neighborhood unit 4 Kedunglumbu, Awud Basbul, admitted that most of the residents rejected the HIV children and neighborhood officials ultimately defended this stance after a vote showed a unanimous result.

"Three, of 23 residents who joined the meeting agreed to let the children move into the neighborhood while 20 others had rejected their inclusion," he explained.

Surakarta acting mayor Budi Suharto acknowledged that the government has missed the opportunity to prevent the expulsion of the HIV children. According to him, the AIDS prevention commission (KPA) had failed in their attempts to illuminate the society with regard to correct HIV/AIDS understanding.

"If they had succeeded, there would not be such rejections. KPA has been narrowly dealing with medical checks and AIDS prevention, but has yet to handle matters concerning those living with HIV [in society]. We will summon KPA for further explanation. We will not let the children be abandoned," he said.

As a temporary solution, he continued, Surakarta municipality would accommodate the children in the Pondok Boro social home, owned and run by the municipality. He called on the public not to discriminate or reject HIV sufferers.

Lentera, a non-government organization, provides a social home for children suffering with HIV, to provide them with assistance, counseling, free medical checks and HIV/AIDS awareness programs explained Yunus, further.

Discriminate action against these unfortunate children sets a bad precedent for Surakarta, a city which had previously ran campaigns under the guise of being Kota Layak Anak (child friendly city), said Yunus. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/hiv-kids-repelled-their-new-home-surakarta.html

Gender & sexual orientation

Theater apologizes for 'controversial' poster

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2015

Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada Theater (TGM) has apologized for a poster advertising its performance entitled Masihkah ada Cinta D(ar)i Kampus Biru (Is there any love at the blue campus?), considered to be lesbian-nuanced.

Deputy dean of Gadjah Mada University's School of Social and Political Sciences, Muhammad Najib Azka, said the poster, which depicted two girls about to kiss, was not the performance's official poster as it had been replaced. He said the school did not approve of the old draft poster but it had appeared in public three days prior to the performance on Saturday night.

"They finally clarified the chronology and apologized because the draft created public controversy," Najib said as quoted by tempo.co on Sunday.

In its explanation, TGM said that the performance had nothing to do with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It said it had simply used an actress to play the main male character in the play.

"With this clarification and apology, we therefore call on parties who have distributed the poster to delete it from social media or related broadcast groups and to stop all attempts at spreading the poster," the apology read.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/14/islands-focus-theater-apologizes-controversial-poster.html

Graft & corruption

Just kidding, minister Luhut says over Freeport shakedown scandal

Jakarta Globe - December 14, 2015

Jakarta – Chief security minister Luhut Panjaitan played down House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged attempt to shake down mining giant Freeport Indonesia for a purported $4 billion, saying that Setya's remarks in the secret audio recording are "nothing more than a joke."

Appearing before the House Ethics Council, which probing Setya's conduct, Luhut claimed that since the government has no intention of renewing Freeport's contract beyond 2021, Setya's request for Freeport to divest its shares through him must have been a joke.

"Why would anyone ask for shares?" Luhut told the Ethics Council, suggesting that Freeport's contract might not be extended and the company's assets would then belong to the Indonesian government.

"So it is impossible that Setya is trying to control [the distribution of Freeport] shares. I see Setya's remarks as nothing more than a joke," Luhut explained.

Setya and oilman Muhammad Riza Chalid said Luhut would advocate on Freeport's behalf, saying that Luhut is a close friend of James R. Moffett, the founder and chairman of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan, Freeport Indonesia's parent company.

Luhut, a retired army general, admitted that he met Moffett in 2012 to discuss possibilities of him overseeing security in Freeport's Grassberg mine in Papua but denied that he had become close with Moffett ever since.

Luhut added that he has been advising President Joko Widodo against allowing the contract negotiations to take place before 2019.

"Novanto and Riza mentioned my name and made it appear that I could influence the president [to bring forward the contract discussions]" Luhut told the House Ethics Council.

"But instead I sent out a memo to the president advising him not to. If [Joko] makes a wrong decision and one that goes against rules and regulations, then politically it will lead to a backlash against the government," Luhut added.

Luhut also reiterated his displeasure at Sudirman for going public with the recording. "The case needs to be settled without creating this much controversy. I am merely reminding [Sudirman] to not overreact," Luhut said.

Unlike the president, Luhut said he is not mad at Setya and Riza for saying that he could influence Joko to side with Freeport: "I have no interest in the [contract renegotiation] issue. I'm not mad. Everything is under control," he said.

The plot thickens

Setya is accused of soliciting a 20 percent stake in the copper and gold miner in exchange for speeding up the miner's contract extension negotiations with the government before the scheduled 2019 start date.

It is alleged that the request was made during a meeting in June with Freeport Indonesia chief executive Maroef Sjamsoeddin, who secretly recorded the meeting.

Luhut's name comes up no fewer than 60 times in the recording, with Setya and businessman Riza telling Maroef that they could get Luhut to change the president's mind on the Freeport renegotiation bid.

The House Ethics Council was supposed to also hear Riza's testimony but the oilman has snubbed calls to appear before the tribunal on Monday.

"We have received no official notification [to explain Riza's absence]," House Ethics Council member Syarifuddin Sudding said, adding that the council will determine later whether it should involve the police.

This is the second time Riza failed to appear for a hearing, which means the council could enlist the help of the police to bring him in the third time. National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said last week that Riza had left the country and the businessman was likely "hiding in an Asian country."

However, Badrodin also said it would be difficult for Indonesia to seek extradition of Riza from any country as the ongoing inquiry is done by an ethics tribunal and not part of a criminal investigation. He could therefore not be formally charged with any crime at this point.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/just-kidding-minister-luhut-says-freeport-shakedown-scandal/

House pushes back against Freeport

Jakarta Post - December 13, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The plot has thickened in the ongoing controversy surrounding mining giant Freeport as Fadli Zon, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, has proposed the House set up a special committee to probe alleged irregularities within the gold and copper mining firm.

Fadli's statement followed a recent case involving House Speaker Setya Novanto who allegedly pushed his personal agenda in talks with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsuddin and business tycoon Reza Chalid.

Fadli, who is also deputy chairman of the Gerindra Party, said on Saturday that the controversy was merely the tip of the iceberg of problems surrounding Freeport's operations in Papua.

"Freeport's existence [in Indonesia] does not only concern mining activities, but there are many political implications. With this special committee, we will be able to see exactly who is involved in Freeport. We will also be able to see how much the state should receive [from Freeport's operations] because many have said that we have received too little all this time," he said.

Fadli said Freeport's operations, among the largest in the world, had not benefited local communities in the region, let alone the rest of the country.

Freeport was thrust into the spotlight recently following a report filed by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said with the House's ethics council (MKD), alleging that Setya had claimed to have approval from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to accept shares from Freeport in exchange for the government's assurance that it would grant a contract extension for Freeport's mining operations after the current contract expires in 2021. A copy of a recording of the conversation, which took place on June 8, was also submitted to the ethics council.

Fadli said he understood Freeport might have pursued such talks to maintain its existence in Papua even though Government Regulation (PP) No. 77/2014, which revises PP No. 23/2010 on mineral and coal mining businesses, dictates that an extension request can only be submitted to the government a maximum of two years and a minimum of six months before a contract is due to expire. "However, we are a lawful country and must abide by existing regulations," he said.

National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker Yandri Susanto backed Fadli's proposal for setting up a special committee to investigate the mining giant.

"The quicker we set up the committee, the better. It will help us discover whether or not there have been conspiracies, markups, pollution and other issues [related to Freeport]. We will uncover everything," he said.

The House earlier formed a similar committee to launch a probe on state- owned port operator Pelindo II, following allegations of graft involving its executive RJ Lino.

Paramadina University political expert Herdi Sahrasad, however, urged the House to focus on the current council hearings to decide whether Setya's actions should be deemed a breach of ethics. Herdi said the House's reputation hinged on whether the council members took the hearings seriously.

"All political parties must agree to continue with the MKD hearings because the public is currently paying close attention. The Freeport conspiracy issue is also a priority, but Setya's [ethics hearing] must reach its conclusion," he said, adding the ethics council must also commit to holding transparent hearings.

Herdi said a special committee on Freeport would be ineffective if the council hearings turned out to be only a ruse.

The council is also scheduled to hear testimony from Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan when the hearings resume on Monday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/13/house-pushes-back-against-freeport.html

Luhut criticized for inviting members of ethics council to press

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2015

Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has been criticized for inviting members of the House of Representatives' ethics council to a press conference on Friday to get across his message that he had nothing to do with alleged misconduct by House Speaker Setya Novanto.

Yandri Susanto, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said on Saturday that Luhut's invitation to the council's members was inappropriate, because the council was still busy with its inquiry into the alleged case of misconduct.

"As a House member, I feel that it is inappropriate. It is not right that such an affair is widely witnessed by the public," Yandri said as reported by tribunnews.com on Saturday. He also questioned the motives of the ministry to invite him to the press conference.

"Pak Luhut should have rejected their presence. Pak Luhut should not have invited them and they should not have come," Yandri insisted, alleging that those who attended the press conference were council members that tried to protect Setya.

During the press conference, Luhut admitted that Setya and businessmen Reza Chalid, who had a controversial meeting with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, were friends of his, but Luhut warned to file lawsuits against anyone who tried to relate him to the alleged misconduct.

"He should be angry with Reza, not others," said Yandri, adding that Luhut could also have reported Reza to police for misusing his name.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said recently reported Setya to the ethics council for allegedly claiming to have won the approval of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to secure shares and projects from Freeport in exchange for helping the company extend its contract and continue operating its gold mine, one the world's largest, in Papua.

Sudirman also handed over a tape recording of a meeting between Setya, Reza and Maroef. In the recording, Luhut's name was reportedly mentioned 66 times. According to Yandri, Reza could be accused of misusing Luhut's name during the meeting. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/12/luhut-criticized-inviting-members-ethics-council-press-conference.html

Luhut denies role in Freeport conspiracy

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has vehemently denied any involvement in the House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged attempt to advance his personal agenda during talks with the gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia.

In a press conference held at his office on Friday, Luhut said that he had been reluctant to comment on the controversy but was forced to make a statement because rumors surrounding the case had started to have an impact on his family's reputation.

"I have never had any involvement [in activities] with either Setya Novanto or Reza [Chalid]," Luhut said, referring to the business tycoon who allegedly attended the June meeting Setya had with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsuddin.

Much attention has been paid to Setya following a report submitted to the House ethics council (MKD) by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said who claimed that the House speaker insisted that he had already secured an approval from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to receive shares from Freeport in exchange for assurance that the government would grant a contract extension for its mining operations in Papua.

Sudirman also submitted a copy of a recording of the conversation. In the 90-minute recording, Luhut's name was alledgedly mentioned 66 times by the parties directly involved in the conversation.

In Friday's press conference, Luhut maintained that during his tenure as presidential chief of staff, he had never made a recommendation to President Jokowi to grant a contract extension to Freeport Indonesia prior to 2019, two years before the firm's contract is set to expire.

Instead, according to Luhut, he had reminded Jokowi several times that it would be ill-advised to hold extension talks earlier because government regulation (PP) No. 77/2010, which amended PP No. 23/2020 on mineral and coal mining businesses, stipulated that an extension request can only be proposed a maximum of two years and a minimum of six months before a contract was due to expire.

Luhut pointed out that he had continued to remind Jokowi after he had learnt that a number of individuals had been trying to hasten the extension process.

"I told [Jokowi] that Freeport's [contract] could only be extended in 2019. I advised him against [an early extension] because it would endanger him, he would be perceived as having violated the law," he said.

One of the memos sent to Jokowi had been on June 17, Luhut said, several days after Setya's alleged last meeting with Maroef and Reza. He added that despite the controversy, he continued to be on good terms with Setya and Reza and said that their friendship would remain unaffected.

Following the initial report, the MKD have held a series of hearings to determine whether Setya had indeed committed an ethical breach and Maroef, Sudirman, Setya and Reza have all been questioned.

MKD member Ridwan Bae, who joined Luhut in the press conference along with two other Golkar lawmakers, confirmed that Luhut would face questioning on Monday next week, following Reza.

However, Ridwan acknowledged that in a previous MKD meeting it had been decided that the hearings may have to be halted because the original recording was yet to be obtained.

Ridwan said that the original recording would play a crucial role when it is finally decided if Setya's actions could be considered an ethical breach.

"Don't forget that you can dub over, add or even cut things from recordings. We need the original recording in order to give an honest verdict. If we don't have the real copy, is it even possible for us to consider whether or not someone has committed an ethical breach based on what is equal to a photocopy?" he said.

The conversation was originally recorded on Maroef's cellular phone, which is on loan to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for forensics analysis in the latter's alleged conspiracy investigation surrounding the case.

Members of the MKD attempted to obtain the recording on Thursday but failed as Maroef had told the AGO that he would not allow anyone but prosecutors to take possession of his phone.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/12/luhut-denies-role-freeport-conspiracy.html

Police insist on proceeding with Novel's case

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Bandung – The National Police have reiterated their commitment to proceeding with an assault case implicating Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan amid public calls to drop the case.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said that proceeding with the case was part of an agreement that the institution made with the KPK and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) after a standoff between the police and the antigraft body earlier this year.

"There is an agreement that cases related to KPK [officials] that have entered the investigation stage [at the police] will be continued," he said on Thursday.

Novel stands accused of shooting a robbery suspect during his tenure as Bengkulu Police detective chief in 2004. The police first reopened an investigation into Novel in 2012 after the KPK named then National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo a graft suspect.

Then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested that the police drop the investigation into Novel's case to avoid worsening the standoff between the police and the KPK, but the police reopened the case right after the KPK named Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a former candidate for National Police chief, currently deputy police chief, a suspect in a bribery case.

Novel was arrested in May at his residence and forced to take part in a crime scene reconstruction in Bengkulu. The second attempt to bring Novel to Bengkulu was last week.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/national-scene-police-insist-proceeding-with-novel-s-case.html

Setya Novanto reports Sudirman Said over Freeport case

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Jakata – House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto reported Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said on Wednesday to the National Police's Criminal Investigation Corps (Bareskrim).

"I am here [at Bareskrim] to report Minister SS [Sudirman Said]," Firman Wijaya, Setya's lawyer, said as quoted by kompas.com.

Setya accused the minister of violating laws related to the audio recording of his conversation with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin and oil tycoon Reza Chalid.

"For alleged slander, defamation, insults and violation of the ITE [Electronic Transaction Information] Law," said Firman.

According to Firman, the decision to file a report on Sudirman to Bareskrim was to clear up all accusations that had been bombarding his client, since the accusations had seriously defamed Setya's name.

Previously, Sudirman had reported Setya to the House ethics council (MKD) for allegedly misusing the names of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla for a backroom deal with PT Freeport Indonesia.

Sudirman also handed over the audio recording of the conversation between Freeport president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin and oil tycoon Reza Chalid, which the council used as evidence during a series of hearings.

However, Setya denied everything said in the testimony given by Maroef and Sudirman during the hearings, saying that he would not make any comment as the audio recording had been taped illegally and was against the law.

Separately, the deputy chairman of the ethics council, Sufmi Dasco, said that Setya had the right to report Sudirman as both officials had equal rights under the law. "As we see, every citizen shares equal rights under law. This applies to Setya as well," said Dasco as quoted by kompas.com.

Meanwhile, council member Syarifudin Sudding said that he did not question the report that Setya filed with the police. (dan)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/setya-novanto-reports-sudirman-said-over-freeport-case.html

Tycoon Reza flees abroad as Freeport case erupts

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Haeril Halim, Fedina S. Sundaryani and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Authorities say fuel import businessman Muhammad Reza Chalid has left the country as he was being dragged further into two separate investigations, at the House of Representatives ethics council and the Attorney General's Office (AGO), over an alleged conspiracy with House Speaker Setya Novanto to broker shares and projects in a mining company contract negotiation.

He skipped summonses at the House and the AGO, on Thursday and Monday respectively, and the two bodies found it difficult to trace his whereabouts to send second summonses for the two probes.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said on Tuesday that the ministry had tried to trace Reza's whereabouts and found that he had left the country four days ago.

Although he was part of an ongoing graft investigation at the AGO, the ministry, which manages the immigration department, had yet to issue a travel ban for the politically wired businessman because the AGO had not filed such a request with the ministry.

With Reza reportedly holding dual citizenship, Yasonna emphasized that Reza was still an Indonesian and had not changed his nationality at the immigration office.

"First, he is an Indonesian citizen with an Indonesian passport; [but] he is not in Indonesia," Yasonna said after a plenary Cabinet meeting on Tuesday at Bogor Palace, West Java. "There has yet to be any letter [requesting a travel ban for Reza]," Yasonna added.

Reza and Setya have come under public scrutiny after Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported them to the House's ethics council for allegedly attempting to profiteer from contract negotiations between the government and PT Freeport Indonesia, a local unit of US mining firm Freeport-McMoRan.

Sudirman submitted a recording of a conversation between Setya, Reza and Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, in which Reza was heard proposing that the company give shares to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo – through Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan – and to Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Setya was heard claiming that Luhut was key to Jokowi's approval.

The AGO said it was expecting Reza's testimony as one of the parties who had conspired with Setya. "The person in question has been summoned but he has not come [to the AGO]. He was invited to come on Monday," AGO spokesman Amir Yanto said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, junior attorney general for special crimes Arminsyah responded to reports that the ethics council wished to take back the original recording handed over by Maroef to the AGO during his first questioning last week.

The recording is currently being verified by experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), commissioned by the AGO. "They are privy to the recording but we received it from Pak Maroef, so if they want to borrow it then we need to hand it over to Pak Maroef because it was not a confiscation," he said.

Separately, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said neither the ethics council nor the AGO had requested assistance to find Reza.

Badrodin also claimed the police were ready to verify the recording but that they were still waiting for an official request from either the ethics council or the AGO. "We're ready if they ask for it. As of now, there has been no such request," he said.

Due to his political influence at the House, the majority of council members decided to delay issuing a second summons for Reza, claiming he would be summoned after the verification process was completed.

Ethics council deputy chief Junimart Girsang of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said he and seven other council members wanted to grill Reza as soon as possible without having to wait for the verification but the council's remaining nine members opposed the plan.

"He must be questioned because he was the one who predominantly talked in the recording. We have no choice but to wait for the verification to be done," Junimart said.

Ethics council deputy chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad of the Gerindra Party backed Reza in the case, saying the council could not issue any summons before confirming that it was indeed Reza with Setya and Maroef in the conversation.

Junimart said it would be better to confirm the fact directly with Reza at an ethics council hearing instead of delaying the hearing by submitting the recording to the police for verification. The council grilled Maroef on Thursday without having his voice verified by the police.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/tycoon-reza-flees-abroad-freeport-case-erupts.html

KPK demands light sentence for ex-NasDem executive

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors have called on Jakarta Corruption Court judges to sentence former NasDem party secretary-general Patrice Rio Capella to two years for receiving bribes from a governor in May.

The sentence demand is lower than the maximum five years that prosecutors can call for in a graft case where officials are accused of receiving bribes, as regulated by article 11 of Law No.30/1999 on corruption.

The antigraft body has charged Rio, a former member of the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs, with corruption after collecting strong evidence that he received Rp 200 million from suspended North Sumatra governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho to halt a graft case implicating the governor at the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which is led by former Nasdem politician Muhammad Prasetyo.

In other trial hearings, the KPK has always demanded the maximum sentence to anticipate the possibility that judges only approve half of what they demand.

KPK prosecutor Yudi Kristiana said that Rio deserved leniency in the case because he had shown remorse during the trial and returned the bribe money to the KPK during the investigation period, adding that Rio had also cooperated with investigators to solve the case.

"The defendant has also requested to become a justice collaborator," Yudi said while reading the sentence demand in court on Monday.

KPK prosecutors, however, failed to provide details about the justice collaborator request, a legal tool that can be applied by defendants or suspects where they reveal the identity of other "big fish" in a corruption case.

The case earlier implicated Attorney General M. Prasetyo, the AGO's director of investigations Maruli Hutagalung and NasDem party chairman Surya Paloh, the owner of the Media group that runs MetroTV and Media Indonesia. All of them have denied any role in the case.

In addition to the lenient sentence, KPK prosecutor Budi Sarumpaet said that the antigraft body had also asked judges to order Rio to pay Rp 50 milion in fines. If the NasDem politician failed to pay the fine, he would have to serve another one month behind bars.

"The defendant intended to receive the money from Evi Susanti [Gatot's wife] through Francisca Insani Rahesti," Budi said. Francisca is a friend of Rio who helped him get the money from the governor.

Budi said that Gatot asked Rio to halt the case using his status as an active member of House Commission III overseeing law enforcement institutions including the AGO.

"The defendant committed the offense with full awareness and understood that receiving money in his capacity as a state official was a violation of the law," Budi added.

"To me the demand is still heavy," said Rio despite the leniency, adding that he would present his defense statement next week.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/KPK-demands-light-sentence-ex-nasdem-executive.html

Freedom of religion & worship

Government still failing to promote pluralism in basic education

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Jakarta – The government needs to push all educational institutions to actively promote values of tolerance and diversity because education plays an important role in encouraging the basic foundation of pluralism, experts say.

According to Rafendi Djamin, the Indonesian representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), one approach would be to include elements promoting diversity in the national curriculum, which the government has so far failed to do.

"Education, particularly in schools, plays a significant role in countering intolerance and radicalism because it is the place where students can learn tolerant attitudes," he said on Monday.

He said, however, that the country's education system, particularly the formal system, still promoted intolerance and could spread fundamentalism.

Federation for Indonesian Teachers Associations (FSGI) secretary-general Retno Listyarti acknowledged that pluralistic values at schools were fading, shown by the obligation to read the holy book every morning in state schools.

She added that religious radicalism and extremism had entered the education sector through extracurricular activities, such as Islamic spirituality organizations. "However, many teachers and stakeholders at schools often turn a blind eye, acting like everything's fine with their students," Retno said.

Ismail Hasani, research director at pluralism watchdog the Setara Institute, said that the government should be more serious in educating teachers, such as training them in how to promote tolerance in class.

"I think the Education and Culture Ministry has yet to have any breakthrough to promote tolerance in education so far," Ismail said. "On the contrary, according to our institution's recent survey, students are getting more radical."

A survey released by the Setara Institute in February revealed that 43.8 percent of 242 students from a number of state high schools in Jakarta and Bandung who knew about the minority Shia and Ahmadiyah branches of Islam agreed that the government should restrict the activities of both groups.

According to Ismail, the percentage was scary because it showed that radicalism prevailed even in the mind-sets of young generations. He added that young generations should receive pluralistic education starting from the lowest education levels, including kindergarten and Koran education groups.

The Education and Culture Ministry's director general for secondary education, Hamid Muhammad, said that pluralism had been included substantially in several school subjects, such as civic education, which covers respect and diversity.

"The substance for teaching pluralism is enough as long as teachers teach it well. So we don't need a specific curriculum on it," Hamid said, claiming that teaching was the responsibility of regional education agencies.

He said that if people found indications of radical teachings, they should report it to their local administration because the central government was responsible only for the regulation. (foy)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/government-still-failing-promote-pluralism-basic-education.html

Islamic law & morality

Five unmarried couples netted in South Jakarta

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2015

Jakarta – Five unmarried couples were netted on Friday in raids conducted by authorities at boardinghouses in South Jakarta's Kebayoran Baru district.

Kebayoran Baru district head Edy Suharman said on Friday that the raids were conducted at three different locations in the area and were meant to tackle drug abuse and identify illegal newcomers.

According to Jakarta Regulation No. 8/2007 on public order, newcomers should always report to the head of the community unit (RT) for their new home within 24 hours. "From the three locations, we netted five unmarried couples," Edy said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He said the five couples would be taken to the Kebayoran Baru district office to be registered before receiving counseling from officers at the Office for Religious Affairs (KUA).

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/14/greater-jakarta-five-unmarried-couples-netted-s-jakarta.html

Local leaders unite against alcohol restriction bill

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Ni Komang Erviani, Denpasar – Business and community leaders in Bali have expressed their opposition to an alcohol prohibition bill that is presently being deliberated at the House of Representatives.

The leaders have argued that the bill, should it be passed into law, would negatively effect the tourist industry on the island and debase local traditions in the country's popular resort paradise.

Speaking to visiting members of the House's alcohol prohibition bill inquiry committee on Monday, Frendy Karmana, chairman of Alcoholic Beverages Type-A Distributors Association Bali, said a prohibition on alcoholic beverages would drive tourists away from Bali and immediately shut down local businesses.

"Business players in Bali are extremely dependent on the growth of the tourist sector on the island. Thus, we firmly reject the bill," Frendy said.

Frendy said that members of the association had reported an average 30 percent decrease in revenues after the Trade Ministry issued in January a regulation stipulating that beverages with an alcohol content of between 1 and 5 percent could only be sold in supermarkets and hypermarkets.

"It is no longer easy for foreign tourists to get our products. Should the sales of alcoholic beverages be fully prohibited in Indonesia, then tourists will not return," Frendy said, adding that a restriction would also cause an increasing amount of alcohol to be distributed on the black market.

Anak Agung Ngurah Alit Wiraputra, the Bali chapter head of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), also proffered a similar view, adding that a legal standing was needed to control the distribution of alcoholic beverages, but not to fully ban them.

The government, he argued, should consider limiting the volume of imported liquor to help boost the domestic industry and support the local economy. "There are many locally produced alcoholic beverages whose quality is much higher compared to imported products," he said.

Earlier this year, all 10 party factions at the House agreed to continue the deliberation of the alcohol prohibition bill. Lawmakers who support the bill have argued that Indonesia needs a stronger legal standing to control the production and consumption of illicit alcohol.

Kuta customary village chief Wayan Swarsa, meanwhile, urged the government to focus on controlling the sales of oplosan (bootleg liquor). Oplosan is distributed in a number of bars throughout Kuta, one of Bali's most popular tourist districts. Swarsa added that the prohibition of alcoholic beverages would threaten local Balinese wisdom because some local traditions and rituals involved the consumption of alcohol.

As a world-famous tourist destination, Bali has seen an increasing number of foreign tourist arrivals over the past few decades.

This year, as of August, 2.6 million foreign tourists visited Bali. This figure is higher than the 2.4 million tourist arrivals recorded during the same period last year.

"[The sales of] alcoholic beverages have strongly supported the tourist sector which is the backbone of our economy. We should consider many things [before prohibiting alcohol]," Bali Deputy Governor I Ketut Sudikerta said.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker I Gusti Agung Rai Wirajaya, a member of the bill's inquiry committee, meanwhile, said that the committee would seek suggestions from all parties during deliberation.

Rai said the bill had been proposed to protect citizens from the negative effects of alcohol consumption. "We are open to any suggestions," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/local-leaders-unite-against-alcohol-restriction-bill.html

Poverty & social inequity

World Bank warns of Indonesia's rising inequality

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – Indonesia is at risk of leaving its poor and vulnerable behind as the nation's income inequality continues its rapid rise, a World Bank official has said.

World Bank Indonesia country director Rodrigo Chaves said Indonesia's poverty reduction had begun to stagnate as it had a near zero poverty decline in 2014. Indonesia's inequality level is high, climbing at a faster rate than most of its East Asian neighbors.

"Income inequality is rapidly rising, up to one third of this is explained by the inequality of opportunities," said Chaves at the launch of the World Bank "Indonesia's Rising Divide" report in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The analyst further said that healthy and well-educated children in Indonesia lived side by side with children who suffered from malnutrition, learned little when they were in school and dropped out too early.

"There are stark inequalities between regions as well. For example, 6 percent of children in Jakarta do not have access to proper sanitation, while at the same time, 98 percent of children in rural Papua have no access," said Chaves, adding that this kind of inequality dims the prospect of important segments of society for generations.

Chaves further explained that results of a national survey showed than when Indonesian people were asked to choose between lower economic growth or less inequality, more than 50 percent of Indonesians chose less inequality. It was clear to them that it was more important to share prosperity with people in countries worldwide, he went on.

According to the Word Bank "Indonesia's Rising Divide" report, Indonesia's economic growth over the past decade has primarily benefited the richest 20 percent and left the remaining 80 percent of the population, about 205 million people, behind.

With rising disparities in living conditions and an increased concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, Indonesia's level of inequality is becoming increasingly high and continues to climb faster than most of its East Asian neighbors, the report says.

A popular measure of inequality is the Gini coefficient, in which 0 represents complete equality and 100 represents a complete inequality. During 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, during which poverty increased sharply, the Gini coefficient also fell. Since then, the Gini coefficient had increased from 30 points in 2000 and reached its highest level at 41 points in 2014.

Meanwhile, the benefits of economic growth have been enjoyed largely by the growing consumer class. Between 2003 and 2010, consumption per person of the richest 10 percent of Indonesians grew at over 6 percent per year after adjusting for inflation, but it grew less than 2 percent per year for the poorest 40 percent.

This contributed to a slowdown in poverty reduction, with the number of poor falling by only 2 percent per year since 2002.

World Bank Indonesia senior economist Matthew Wai-Pai said that in the long run, it is improved access to quality health and education that would reduce unequal access to good jobs. In the short run, more could be done to improve the skill of today's workers and create more productive jobs.

"To improve education, Indonesia could learn from Vietnam. Why is education in Vietnam achieving better results? This is because it has a competitive curriculum and the teachers are well-paid," he said.

The Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) head of policy working group Elan Satriawan said that in order to eliminate poverty and improve education, the government had reformed several aid programs for poor students.

"In 2013 we changed the aid mechanisms, which were previously determined by the school, to be based on unified data via Indonesia Smart Card (KIP). The impact was quite large," he said.

Coordinating Economic Minister secretary Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo said the government would continue to reform its policy to improve skills of Indonesian workers.

"There will be an economic stimulus package that will address directly workers' improvement skills, including their competency standard, accreditation, training and certification," Lukita said.

The government has also planned to give incentive to companies who give training to its workers. "Currently only 5 percent of total companies have been providing training to their workers," he said. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/world-bank-warns-indonesia-s-rising-inequality.html

Land & agrarian conflicts

MK allows indigenous people to cultivate forests

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court (MK) has granted a petition to allow indigenous people to cultivate forests for their living in the 1999 Forestry Law, while it rejected requests to strengthen measures against deforestation.

Constitutional Court deputy chief justice Anwar Usman said the panel of judges maintained articles in the law that generally prohibit people from cutting down trees or herding in forests without special permits, but ordered the exclusion of indigenous people.

"The propositions on Article 50 Paragraph 3e and 3i of Law No. 41/1999 on forestry are partly reasonable," he said while reading the verdict at the court in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

Article 50 Paragraph 3e forbids the cutting down of trees or cultivating of forestry produces inside forest areas without permits from the authorities, while Paragraph 3f bans herding inside forest areas that are not designated specifically for that purpose by the authorities.

According to Judge Manahan MP Sitompul, the restrictions imposed by the law should not apply to people who have lived from generation to generation in forest areas and sustain their lives by cutting trees for non-commercial purposes.

Therefore, indigenous people who met the description could not be criminalized, as doing so would create a paradox in which the government acknowledged indigenous people's rights on the one hand, but at the same time threatened them with the Forestry Law, he added. The government should protect them instead, Manahan said.

"Therefore, the requests filed by the plaintiffs in regard to the exemption of indigenous people are reasonable, as long as they apply to people who have been living from generation to generation inside forest areas, not around them, because 'around forest areas' is very different from people who live inside the forest," he said.

Besides cultivating the forests, indigenous people were also allowed to herd inside forest areas without permits. "The reasoning behind Paragraph 3e also applies to Paragraph 3i, as long as the herding is part of daily necessities for people who have lived from generation to generation inside forest areas," said Manahan.

For those reasons, the panel of judges said, both items violated the Constitution and thus were not legally binding unless indigenous people were exempted from them.

The judicial review had been filed by a group of farmers and environmental NGOs last year.

According to Andi Muttaqin, an advocate with Public Interest Lawyer Network (PIL-Net), a group of lawyers who give free services to marginalized people, the verdict was marred with irregularities, because the panel of judges only approved a small part of the requests.

As for other requests, the judges believed they were not clear enough and did not have a sufficiently strong legal basis for the court to approve them.

"There were two laws [for which we filed requests], the Forestry Law and Law No. 18/2013 on forest destruction, prevention and eradication [P3H]," he said after the verdict. "We think it is strange that the court did not take into account the arguments from experts and witnesses during the court proceedings on the P3H Law."

Andi, however, appreciated the court's decision to approve the judicial review on Article 50 of the Forestry Law. "In the past, criminalization of indigenous people was common. These articles were often used to criminalize people. Even someone who just passed through a forest could be sent to prison," he said.

Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) legal defense and policy manager Muhnur Satyahaprabu, meanwhile, said he would file another judicial review, as the verdict was deemed insufficient to ensure that indigenous people would not be criminalized.

"The verdict does not provide the justice that we seek," he said on Thursday. "Even though the court approved the Article 50 [review], it cannot be implemented, because how will we identify people who live in forest areas? Most people who used to live in forest areas have been kicked out of the forests by plantation firms or the state. In Java, there are practically no more people living in the forests, because they have been kicked out by state-owned forestry firm Perhutani."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/mk-allows-indigenous-people-cultivate-forests.html

Governance & administration

Tax amnesty may fail to provide benefits

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2015

Tassia Sipahutar, Nusa Dua, Bali – The planned implementation of a tax amnesty may not yield the desired results as such schemes usually have many downsides, experts have warned.

According to Jay K. Rosengard, academic director at the Harvard Kennedy School, the idea of strengthening the tax base by pardoning tax evaders – an amnesty objective – is unconvincing and poses a moral hazard.

"Most of the time, if you have a tax amnesty, it's when you're trying to increase revenue and you say, 'Well, we'll forgive you this time if you become a good taxpayer in the future.' It isn't very convincing," he said on Thursday during the International Forum on Economic Development and Public Policy.

The forum, hosted by the Finance Ministry, was held on Dec. 10-11 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

"If your basic tax system is the same and you're really not changing the whole system, it [the amnesty] basically creates a terrible moral hazard, in the sense that you're encouraging people to do bad things because they won't suffer the consequences. They will be pardoned and it's terribly unfair to compliant taxpayers."

Rosengard said he was aware of the government's plan to implement the amnesty in 2016, but said it should instead enforce existing regulations. "What you really need is to fairly and equally enforce sanctions according to the law, so that there's more risks for not complying."

Michael Keen, deputy director of the fiscal affairs department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), shared Rosengard's view. "It's hard to think of good arguments for amnesties," he said at the forum.

As already reported, the government and lawmakers at the House of Representatives expect to start deliberating the bill soon.

The government has previously stated that when passed, the amnesty could reap millions of dollars in financial assets now kept offshore, especially by rich individuals. The money earned by the amnesty will be of crucial financial assistance in efforts to build infrastructure across the country, according to the government.

The bill offers incentives in the form of redemption rates that will be set at 2 percent and 5 percent only on tax arrears that must be paid by evaders within a certain period of time.

Separately, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro acknowledged that "in a normal situation, [the amnesty] would seem to offend against justice." However, he argued that it was a breakthrough that the country needed to improve its tax system and to repatriate funds to Indonesia.

"This is not a routine policy, but we have to do it. Not to mention right now we don't have access to banking industry data," he said in a press conference on Friday.

Bambang gave an assurance that a separate article on asset repatriation would be included in the upcoming law that would allow the pardoned evaders to bring back their money by purchasing government debt papers (SBN).

"If they decide to purchase the SBNs, the redemption rate will be set lower as an incentive. If not, the rate will stay the same." He added that the move would also help balance the ownership composition of government bonds by increasing the percentage of domestic investors.

No official figure is available on the amount of funds that could be accrued to the tax system, but Bambang again reiterated his conviction that it would exceed Rp 4,000 trillion (US$287 billion), including funds kept locally.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/12/tax-amnesty-may-fail-provide-benefits.html

Parliament & legislation

No regrets over meeting Donald Trump, says Fadli Zon

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Jakarta – House of Representatives deputy speaker Fadli Zon has joined the condemnation of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's recent statement to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

"I think Donald Trump's statement is foolish. It violates human rights," said Fadli, who sparked controversy after attending a Trump campaign event in New York on Sept. 3, as reported by kompas.com on Thursday.

"The United States upholds diversity, it is one of the world's democratic countries. The US also has a large number of Muslim inhabitants whom largely contribute to the state. If [Trump] made such a discriminative statement, it represents a huge contradiction," said Fadli.

Fadli admitted that he did not regret meeting Trump as his meeting had been to discuss investment and had nothing to do with Trump's discrimination toward Muslims.

"Of course, I don't regret [the meeting]. It had nothing to do with [Trump's recent statement]. If he chooses to invest in Indonesia, that's a good thing," added Fadli.

Donald Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" on Monday, a dramatic escalation of his rhetoric on Islam and an idea widely condemned by his rival Republican presidential candidates and others in the Republican Party.

According to a report by The Associated Press, the Republican front- runner's proposed ban would apply to both immigrants and visitors alike, a sweeping prohibition affecting all adherents of a religion practiced by more than a billion people worldwide. Such a ban should stand "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on", continued Trump, in a statement release.

"Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad and have no sense of reason or respect for human life," said Trump. (kes)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/no-regrets-over-meeting-donald-trump-says-fadli-zon.html

MK upholds House's right of approval

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Nicholas Jong, National – The Constitutional Court (MK) rejected on Monday a judicial review filed by a civil society organization that had sought to strip the House of Representatives of the authority to confirm candidates for the posts of National Police chief and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander.

The panel of judges said the requirement for the President to seek the House's approval when appointing the National Police chief and TNI commander was part of the process of checks and balances.

"The need for the President to ask for the House's approval as stipulated in Law No. 2/2002 on the National Police, No. 3/2002 on defense and No. 34/2004 on the TNI is not a contravention of the presidential system. This is actually part of the checks and balances mechanism as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution," judge Aswanto said while reading the verdict at the court in Central Jakarta.

Earlier this year, legal experts and activists filed a judicial review, challenging provisions that stipulate the House must approve the President's nominees for National Police chief and TNI commander, following a conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police.

The conflict stemmed from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's choice of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the sole candidate for National Police chief after the KPK named Budi a graft suspect. Despite Budi's status as a graft suspect, all 10 factions at the House endorsed Budi's nomination in a plenary session presided over by Deputy House Speaker Taufik Kurniawan.

Fearing that the requirement for the President to seek the House's approval could put undue political pressure on the President, the plaintiffs filed the judicial review, arguing that Article 11, paragraph 1 of the 2002 National Police Law, which states that a police chief is appointed and dismissed by the President with the approval of the House, violated the Constitution.

According to former deputy law and human rights minister Denny Indrayana, who filed the judicial review, the provision violated the presidential system. He argued that restoring the President's prerogative to select the police chief and TNI commander would help prevent political lobbying.

However, the panel of judges said that while the President had the prerogative to appoint his Cabinet, when it came to appointing government officials to strategic positions such as the National Police chief and TNI commander, it would be better for him to consult with the House.

"Another thing that needs to be considered in appointing government officials who hold strategic positions is the accountability aspect, which can be done by asking for recommendations and/or approval from the House of Representatives," Aswanto said.

The panel of judges said the House played an important role in achieving a transparent, accountable and participative recruitment process for the National Police chief and TNI commander.

"In this way it can choose a government official who really has integrity, capability and leadership, as well as being acceptable in helping the President run his or her government," said Aswanto.

Another judge, Patrialis Akbar, admitted that the Constitution did not explicitly stipulate the President's prerogatives in appointing government officials, discussions on the revision of the Constitution at the House had focused on the issue, among other matters.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/mk-upholds-house-s-right-approval.html

Jakarta & urban life

Jakarta lacks sufficient surveillance system: Police

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Jakarta – The capital city is not equipped with a sufficient surveillance system, according to Jakarta Police chief Ins. Gen. Tito Karnavian.

"There is no comprehensive CCTV [closed-circuit television] system in Jakarta," said Tito in Jakarta recently as quoted by tempo.co.

According to Tito, the only CCTV provider in the city was the National Traffic Management Center (NTMC) within the National Police and a small number of private citizens and businesses. He added that he hoped Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's plan to install 6,000 CCTV cameras could be realized next year.

"Hopefully the CCTV [system] will be able to monitor the whole city, including traffic congestion, public activities such as demonstrations and criminal offenses," said Tito.

Separately, criminologist from the University of Indonesia Kisnu Widagso said that CCTV would serve as an effective crime prevention tool as people would think twice before committing a crime if there was a high possibility of being caught on camera.

"CCTV can also help solve crimes that have already been committed. But [the cameras] should be of good quality as most CCTV cameras nowadays do not work," said Kisnu.

Ahok reportedly said on Tuesday that as many as 4,000 CCTVs, all equipped with face detection technology, had been prepared for installation in Jakarta's public areas by June 2016.

According to Ahok, to fully enhance the security in Jakarta using the CCTV system, integration with other digital identity data was important, such as the electronic identity card (e-KTP).

"So we can easily match and detect everything," said Ahok, adding that there were also plans to include other data, such as personal job and income information.

Currently, at least 12 CCTV units had been installed along rivers and floodgates, eight units at one-stop integrated service (PTSP) facilities, 26 units in the Johar Baru area in Central Jakarta and at least 128 units spread over five different locations, said Ahok.

According to Tito, in addition to the CCTV camera shortage, Jakarta also did not yet have an emergency call system. He said such a system would be useful in situations such as when a woman was being followed by someone when walking alone at night or when someone was having a heart attack.

Tito added that the emergency number 119, which would be integrated with the police, ambulance and firefighting services, had been prepared by the Jakarta governor.

"For instance, in [cases like] the recent accident involving a commuter train and a Metro Mini bus, ambulances, the police and firefighters will be able to arrive at the location faster. It will be better if the system is under one roof," said Tito. (kes)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/jakarta-lacks-sufficient-surveillance-system-police.html

Calls for immediate action to safeguard women pedestrians

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Indra Budiari, Jakarta – A string of recent assaults against women on footbridges has raised concerns about the safety of pedestrians on the capital's many footbridges, some of which are considered ill-maintained and dangerous.

Last month a 23-year-old woman identified as R was robbed and raped on a pedestrian bridge in Lebak Bulus at 4:30 p.m. as she was traveling home from her office in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.

Six days later, the alleged suspect was shot dead by a Jakarta Police officer after he tried to attack the officer with a machete, according to the police.

Passing over the Jakarta Outer Ring Road, the Lebak Bulus footbridge is long and high, making it unpopular with locals who prefer to use a zebra crossing located less than a kilometer away.

"The bridge is very quiet during the day and night. I'd rather take the zebra crossing as there are more people there," Diane, whose workplace is located near the bridge, told the The Jakarta Post.

When the Post visited the scene, no one walked across the bridge for over an hour. Stretching 250 meters from one side to the other, and set very high above the road below, the bridge is said to be crime-prone because any sounds or screams on the bridge would be drowned out by the noise of vehicles passing below.

The South Jakarta administration responded by saying it would replace lights on the footbridge.

The municipality's Industry and Energy Agency head Hasmi Chalid said his agency had replaced the lights on the bridge as the previous ones had been stolen. Several trees growing around the bridge's stairways have also been pruned to ensure clear vision of the walkway.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said the city administration would carry out measures to improve safety including installing CCTV cameras in various location across the capital.

However, Uli Pangaribuan from the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK) said such solutions would not solve the root cause of the problem, emphasizing that the administration would eventually forget the incident and resume a business-as-usual approach.

Uli, who was accompanying a victim of a sexual assault that occurred in a Transjakarta shelter, said it was not the first time the city administration had taken reactionary measures instead of thinking about crime prevention.

"For example, the city administration and local police tend to raid public minivans after rape incidents on public transportation happen. And then afterwards, it's back to business as usual. That is not the right solution," she said.

Marco Kusumawijaya, an urbanist and also a gubernatorial candidate, issued a press release after the footbridge incident, emphasizing the urgent need for the administration to take action.

"Issues of unsafe and ill-maintained footbridges in various places in the city have been known for a long time. The city administration has ignored the problem for a long time," Marco said in the release.

"This is a moment for radical change to really make Jakarta a pedestrian friendly city. Pedestrians are the majority of residents; all of us are pedestrians," he added.

Marco called for urban design that prioritized crossings like zebra or pelican crossings. "This is good for [...] all residents," he said. "Motorized vehicles should give way to pedestrians; they should be the ones to go on bridges or underground in tunnels."

Footbridges, Marco went on, had to be a last resort. And in such cases, the walkways must be designed to be pedestrian friendly.

"They have to pick correct and safe locations for bridges, by calculating the foot traffic. And also give bridges appropriate infrastructure like CCTV and lighting and make them viewable by passersby to allow collective surveillance," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/calls-immediate-action-safeguard-women-pedestrians.html

Indonesia pulls private buses off roads after deadly accident

ABC Radio Australia - December 9, 2015

Adam Harvey, Indonesia – Indonesia has pulled 1,600 private buses off its roads after a weekend bus crash in which 18 people died.

Witnesses say the driver of a Metro Mini bus ignored a warning siren at a level crossing in West Jakarta and drove around a safety barrier onto train tracks.

The bus was struck by a train and dragged for about 200 metres. Eighteen people were killed, including the driver and his assistant. There was just one survivor.

It is at least the 32nd accident at a level crossing in Jakarta this year, many of them involve buses that are often stopping to pick up passengers. Critics say driver training is poor and the buses are in terrible condition.

Removing private buses will make life even more difficult for frazzled commuters in a city where children and toddlers ride on their parents' motorbikes, without helmets, painted lane markings are there for decoration rather than guidance, and a red traffic light means the car behind yours has to stop.

Jakarta's transport office says it has pulled 1,600 Metro Minis off the road, although on the streets, there appear to be plenty of the buses remaining.

On a wet Jakarta weekday, the traffic slows to walking pace, which makes it a lot easier for commuters to jump aboard a faded orange Metro Mini. The mid-sized buses do not have designated stops, so passengers get on and off where they like.

There is a reasonable chance of getting bowled over by a scooter on the journey from the footpath to the bus, but at 40 cents a ride, most passengers think it is worth the risk.

"In regards to the safety, no matter how it is, when it's time to die, you'll die anyway," said passenger Andi.

One passenger, Sadzili, has been catching the orange bus for 10 years. "I think it's safe. I'm just a little bit worried when about to cross a rail track," he said.

A busker, Heri Sandi, climbs aboard in the stalled traffic. "In one day I'll get on about 70 to 80 buses from the morning to the afternoon," he said.

The accident has been on his mind. "I'm scared for sure," he said. "The bus tipped over like that and people died being crushed."

Another passenger, Hamim, is dubious about recalling the buses. "About plans like that, well before they take these buses off the streets they need to provide the replacements," Hamim said. "Without any replacement what would passengers do?"

Andi wishes Jakarta could emulate the transport of other cities. "Air conditioned, where they queue in order, like they have overseas," he said.

"They queue, there's discipline, unlike what we have here. In Singapore and Europe, they queue, they stop in proper stops. Here they stop wherever they want to stop."

It is hoped a new underground train line, due to be completed in about three years, will remove some of the risks of the road for the city of 10 million people.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-12-09/indonesia-pulls-private-buses-off-roads-after-deadly-accident/1524006

Halt construction on city's coast line: LIPI

Jakarta Post - December 8, 2015

Jakarta – A LIPI researcher has recommended that the Jakarta administration limit construction on coastal areas in North Jakarta as a measure to prevent worse land subsidence and flooding.

Henny Warsilah, Indonesian director for the Management of Social Transformation (Most)-Unesco and social transformation researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that environmental degradation on the northern coast of Jakarta was caused by heavy building, including large construction projects in the area.

"The environmental damage causes the area to experience regular flooding," she said from the sidelines of a discussion at LIPI recently.

Although she addressed all coastal cities in the archipelago, she specifically called on the Jakarta administration to stop new projects within coastal areas.

"The administration should apply the principles of urban resilience, where buildings, houses and malls on coastal areas are restricted in order to prevent flooding as a result of land subsidence," she said.

According to her, environmental damage had not only threatened human lives with the occurrence of natural disasters but also endangered fishermen's jobs because fish numbers had been decreasing around water where the environment had been damaged.

Traditional fishermen in Jakarta have long been complaining about dwindling income saying that they have had to sail further and further out in order to catch fish in the polluted Jakarta Bay.

Several fishermen have also protested the reclamation of 17 islets, projects which they said had further cut their income. After construction of new islets began, fisherman have said they often spot mud of various colors floating in Jakarta Bay. When such mud floated to the surface, fish were nowhere to be found for about a week or until the mud – sometimes white, sometimes pink or black – disappeared from the surface.

Henny said the government needed to educate those people living in coastal areas about the importance of protecting their specific environment. She said Indonesia had a variety of local wisdom about protecting the sea.

She cited awik-awik in Bali and West Nusa Tenggara as an example of such local wisdom. Awik-awik is traditional written consent containing prohibitions to catch fish using environmentally-unfriendly tools and with regard to cutting down mangroves.

Littoral areas in North Jakarta, such as Muara Angke, have seen regular tide flooding during rainy season at the end of every year. Experts said that the regular flooding had been caused by land subsidence due to ground water extraction in Jakarta.

In a LIPI press release on inclusive development of coastal community in Indonesia, the institution said that the current paradigm, which doesn't support maritime development, had caused inequality at the expense of coastal communities.

"Coastal areas now experience a lot of problems such as natural disasters and social exclusion because coastal people are not included in the development process," the release said.

The head of LIPI's Center for Community and Cultural Research, Sri Sunarti Purwaningsih, said the key to prosperity in coastal areas is inclusive development, which involves the people living there.

Head of LIPI, Iskandar, said the glory of maritime culture in Indonesia has been overshadowed by the rapid development of the mainland, resulting in the impoverishment of the people in the coastal areas. (saf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/08/halt-construction-city-s-coast-line-lipi.html

Criminal justice & prison system

Leading human rights activists argue end to death penalty

Jakarta Globe - December 11, 2015

Jakarta – Human rights activists have joined forces to condemn the use of the death penalty in Indonesia for major crimes, such as drug trafficking.

"We keep wondering what makes death penalty so popular here. What is wrong with our legal and politic system? The more democratic a country is, the more it should respect and protect the human rights of its people," Benny Sabdo, executive director of the independent political think tank Respublica Political Institute, said on Friday.

He criticized poor accountability and integrity among the country's law enforcement, pointing to the death penalty as not enough of a deterrent to end drug-related crimes.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Haris Azhar said most Indonesians were frustrated with the poor performance of law enforcement, given the high number of drug cases, and support the death penalty as it appears more efficient.

Patricia Rinwigati Waagstein, chairwoman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's (Asean) anti-death penalty campaign, myth-busted that stance, saying it is more expensive to fund the execution of one individual compared to the costs of housing and feeding inmates serving years, or even life, behind bars.

Ririn, as the chairwoman is known, said the death penalty does not guarantee others stop becoming involved in drug rings. "As we can see, despite many people having been executed recently for drugs, the number of drug-related crimes continues to increase," she said.

Franz Magnis Suseno, an interfaith activist and a professor at the Jakarta's Driyarkara School of Philosophy, also disagrees with the death penalty simply because "one's life is holy and sacred, and therefore no one can take it away."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/lack-of-independent-candidates-to-blame-for-poor-voters-turn-out-in-simultaneous-regional-elections/

Mining & energy

Clarity and consistency urged in new mining law

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – Amid the planned overhaul of mining rules, legal experts and business players are urging for clarity and consistency in new regulations that would replace the controversial 2009 Mining Law.

According to an academic assessment by the University of Indonesia legal experts in cooperation with the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA), several points in the current law need to be addressed. These include the status of mining contracts and licenses and the authority over issuing mining permits.

Tri Hayati, one of experts carrying out the academic assessment, argued that the current licensing regime under the 2009 Mining Law actually reduced the state's control over natural resources, which is mandated by the Constitution, because supervision was not regulated.

However, she continued, going back to a contract regime was not a good option either, because the country wouldn't want to find itself in the same position with mining firms as it did prior to the 2009 law.

"Therefore, we have to move to a hybrid concession regime, with a license from the government and a public contract to define the rights and obligations of concessions holders," she said.

The public contract, she explained, should be different from private contracts the country currently has with a number of mining firms. The public contract, she said, would involve the people's assessment and evaluation, which could be through the House of Representatives.

The Mining Law passed in 2009 has been criticized as nationalistic, as it aims to replace mining contracts, many of which are between the state and foreign corporations, with a licensing regime that gives the country a stronger position against mining firms.

Since Indonesia's independence, successive governments have signed dozens of so-called contracts of work with mineral and coal mining firms to lure much-needed investment into the country.

One of the weaknesses the government sees in the contracts is that companies can challenge the state in international arbitration if disputes emerge.

Since the passage of the 2009 Mining Law, only mining permits are issued. However, this caused new problems, particularly because not only the central government but also local administrations can issue the permits. Due to poor supervision and illicit practices to seek personal benefits, many mining permits were issued by neighboring administrations for concession areas overlapping each other.

The need for a revision of the 2009 Mining Law arose last year when the government passed a new law on provincial administrations that removed all authorities granted to regency and municipal administrations to issue permits for mineral and coal mining activities.

IMA chairman Martiono Hadianto argued that the 2009 Mining Law was also unclear and contained conflicting articles. For example, he said, the law said existing contracts with mining firms would be honored but in another article it requested adjustment of the contracts to comply with the 2009 law.

"All IMA members comply with the regulations as long as they can guarantee the business activities," Martiono said.

He also criticized the government's decision to ban mineral ore exports based on an interpretation of the 2009 Mining Law. Martiono argued that the law only mandated value-addition to minerals but did not mention anything about banning exports of mineral ores.

The issue was brought before the Constitutional Court (MK) for judicial review last year. The court ruled in favor of the government, arguing that the ban was necessary to ensure the country would have enough ore for domestic smelters.

Under the 2009 Mining Law, the government requests mining firms to either individually or jointly developed smelters, so that minerals can be processed domestically before export and the country get the benefit of added-value products.

"Smelter development is an investment, and therefore there should be articles about the feasibility of such projects. Moreover, refining isn't actually the scope of mining but industry," he said.

IMA Syahrir AB added that any revision of the 2009 Mining Law should feature a clearer categorization of minerals and should not generalize, because the characteristics of each mineral came with different economic aspects.

The academic assessment proposed a more comprehensive notion of mining in what it called a vertical view to replace the current horizontal paradigm. Under the vertical point of view, mining areas would no longer be seen as anything below the surface but also the space above. "That will help us avoid conflicts with the forestry authorities," Syahrir said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/clarity-and-consistency-urged-new-mining-law.html

Fishing & maritime affairs

Minister who revels in destruction of illegal boats creates job surge

ABC Radio Australia - December 14, 2015

Jemima Garrett – A penchant for dynamiting illegal fishing vessels has made flamboyant Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti Indonesia's most popular, and restored tens of thousands of jobs to small-scale fishing along the way.

When she was appointed to President Joko Widodo's cabinet 14 months ago, commentators thought Ms Pudjiastuti and her illegal fishing crackdown would not last.

In Bali last week, she told delegates from 40 nations attending Pacific fisheries negotiations that depletion of Indonesia's fisheries were so bad that businesses worth $4 billion had closed down.

Between 2003 and 2013, the number of households earning their primary income from fishing dropped by half to 800,000.

"Shrimps and fish in small villages decreased every single year until one day everything stopped," Ms Pudjiastati said. "There is nothing to export anymore, and even hard to find something to eat."

Indonesia, with its 17,000 islands, has the world's second longest coastline and 5.8 million square kilometres of ocean territory. Fish is a vital source of protein for its population of 250 million people.

A self-made business tycoon who started out 30 years ago with a small fish and lobster business, Ms Pudjiastuti now owns a major domestic airline.

It was from this position that Mr Widodo enlisted her in an ambitious plan to reset the world's view of his nation. "The vision of the President is to bring back the prosperity of Indonesia as a maritime country," she said.

"We want to build back our strength as the centre of gravity of marine activity around the region."

Tough approach draws immediate results

Ms Pudjiastuti studied the fisheries data and came up with a radical new approach – banning large foreign fishing vessels and transhipment of fish at sea, restricting commercial fishing to a narrow band between 12 and 20 nautical miles offshore, and halting illegal fishing.

For every licensed fishing vessel, Ms Pudjiastuti found there were five or six that did not have a licence. Incursions from neighbouring countries were frequent.

To show she meant business, the Fisheries Minister dynamited more than 40 illegal fishing boats and circulated the pictures on social media. She said the initially people feared her action would shut down the fishing industry, one of Asia's largest.

"In the end, we found it different. The tuna catch is more," Ms Pudjiastuti said.

In the 12 months since the new policies were introduced, economic growth in the fishing sector has been more than 40 per cent. Tens of thousands of households have gone back to fishing for a living, and large yellowfin tuna are again being seen near the coast and caught by small-scale fishers.

Ms Pudjiastuti is aiming to grow the number of small-scale fishing businesses back to 1.6 million. Existing supply chains for export by these businesses are being revitalised.

With Indonesia's oil, mining, logging and agricultural industries in decline or struggling to post more than average growth, all eyes are now on its fisheries.

"The only hope for this nation is the ocean," Ms Pudjiastuti told almost 600 delegates from small Pacific countries, as well as fishing powers such as China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Europe. Tuna migrate thousands of kilometres through the waters of many nations.

"We are taking a very tough and very strong measure," Ms Pudjiastuti said. "It is for the good of our nation and our region, not only for us."

Indonesia recently signed agreements with Australia and Papua New Guinea to work more closely to combat illegal fishing.

But the Pacific Tuna Commission, which sets the rules for the world's biggest fishery, makes decisions by consensus and its Bali meeting failed to take new measures to protect even critically overfished species.

Northern bluefin and bigeye tuna are down to 4 per cent and 16 per cent of their original stocks.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-12-14/indonesian-minister-who-revels-in-destruction-of-illegal-fishing-boats-creates-job-surge-for-smallsc/1525956

Government to protect the rights of fishermen

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong – The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has issued a ministerial regulation to protect and uphold human rights in the fisheries industry, making it a requirement for all firms to possess a human rights certificate.

During the announcement of the regulation on Thursday, which coincided with International Human Rights Day, Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said that the regulation, the first of its kind in the country, was badly needed as the fisheries industry, worth billions of dollars, had been built upon gross human rights abuses.

"During the 12th annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Bali, businesspeople from all over the world sat together and discussed the quantities of fish each country could catch per year. We talked about how fresh tuna worth thousands of dollars is being served in five star hotels while, at the same time, on fishing vessels, hundreds of thousands of crew members have to live with rationed water due to the lack of drinkable water made available at sea," she said at her office in Central Jakarta.

Susi said that the fate of Indonesian crew members overseas was not much better than their counterparts working in Indonesian waters.

"Five Indonesian crew members died off the coast of Angola, one-by-one [in seven days, due to starvation]. We read that news and we might feel sad for a second, but then it passes and no one remembers anymore," she said.

Susi said that there was still a lack of attention being paid to the suffering of Indonesian fishermen.

"As a modern nation, we shouldn't be allowing such slavery to continue. Every time we eat, we should remember that someone has had to work up to 20 hours per day, ration drinking water and suffer abuse in silence, without choice, because they are working in the middle of ocean. They can be thrown out of the vessel if they fight or defend their rights or their dignity as a human being," she said.

According to Mas Achmad Santosa, head of the task force for the prevention and eradication of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the regulation consists of two points: the human rights system for fisheries and human rights certification.

"The human rights system comprises of human rights policies, human rights due diligence and human rights restoration," he said on Thursday.

Therefore, anyone who has a fishery business is now required to issue a declaration of commitment to uphold human rights, such as refraining from the practice of slavery. They also have to conduct due diligence by identifying potential human rights violations in their operations.

"[Minister Susi] will establish a human rights task force that will be responsible for conducting the accreditation of those tasked to carry out due diligence," said Achmad.

If human rights violations have already occurred, we need to ensure that the impact of the violations are mitigated as soon as possible.

To ensure that the regulation is being implemented, all firms will have to appoint a coordinator in charge of due diligence, this person will act as a bridge between the firms and the government, according to Achmad.

Under the second point, all fishery firms will also be required to obtain a human rights certificate in order for them to operate.

Last year, the ministry began to conduct foreign fishing vessel license audits (Anev), in which the government subsequently discovered rampant human rights abuse in the form of human trafficking, people smuggling, child labor, forced labor, workers without any form of social protection, wage discrimination and physical abuse.

"The Anev result shows that at least 168 of the 1,132 vessels audited, 14.8 percent, were involved in human trafficking and using forced labor," Susi said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/govt-protect-rights-fishermen.html

Economy & investment

Government claims 82 percent of deregulation complete

Jakarta Post - December 14, 2015

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – The government says it has completed 82 percent of the deregulation as outlined in its first six economic policy packages issued between September and November.

Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki said as many as 135 regulations had been issued or were awaiting President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's approval, leaving only 30 regulations still being processed by the relevant ministries or institutions. "[Implementation of] the packages is going according to plan," Teten said in a statement on Sunday.

He added that the ministries were continuing to implement the deregulation while his office would keep an eye on the progress and effects.

According to Teten, the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister has set two deregulation deadlines that each ministry or institution should stick to.

The first deadline was set on Oct. 31 for the issuance of all ministerial regulations and decisions, regulations issued by institution heads and circulars announced in the first economic policy package.

Meanwhile, the second deadline is Dec. 31 for the issuance of all government regulations outlined in the six packages and all ministerial and institutional decisions, regulations and circulars announced in the second to sixth economic policy packages.

Teten said the issuance of the government regulations would take longer because such deregulation required further coordination among the relevant ministries or institutions.

Of the initially announced 175 items of deregulation, 39 are in the form of government regulations and presidential regulations and instructions while the remaining 136 are ministerial or institutional regulations. However, 10 of the total deregulation items were canceled at the suggestion of relevant ministries, leaving only 165 to be implemented.

The Trade Ministry has deregulated 32 of its policies, the most of all ministries and institutions, followed by the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry with 29, the Finance Ministry and the Industry Ministry with 16 and 15 respectively. The four ministries account for 53 percent of the total planned deregulation, data from the Presidential Office shows.

The government's policy packages are designed to boost the country's sluggish economy.

It released a seventh package on Dec. 5, the main points of which are income tax reduction for certain labor-intensive businesses, revision of Government Regulation No. 18/2015 on tax incentives for investment in specific business sectors, acceleration of the issuance of land titles, particularly for street vendors, and the addition of five more permits to the three-hour fast-track licensing program by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

Bank Danamon economist Dian Ayu Yustina said the government did not need to rush to complete the deregulation because the essential part was ensuring that the new regulation system was applicable and accommodated the targeted businesses.

"The deregulation will probably start showing is impact in next year's second half and fully affect the economy by 2017," she said, adding that progress took time as the policies addressed prolonged economic structural problems.

Teten said his office and the office of the Coordinating Economic Minister had monitored implementation of the packages since November, as instructed by the President, and would assess their effects early next year once all deregulation was complete.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/14/govt-claims-82-percent-deregulation-complete.html

Indonesia enterprises growing by up to 6 million a decade

Jakarta Post - December 10, 2015

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – Indonesia potentially added an additional 4 to 6 million business enterprises over the last decade, from 2006 to 2016, bringing the total number of enterprises running in the country to between 26 and 29 million according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

BPS deputy head for distribution and service statistics Sasmito Hadi Wibowo said the agency would run the Economic Census 2016 from May 1 to 31 next year to record the exact amount of companies running in Indonesia. The 2016 census will be the fourth one that the agency has run.

In the first census, in 1986, there were 9.3 million enterprises. In the 1996 census, that figure had risen to 16.4 million, and reached 22.7 million in 2006. "We expect to record 26 to 29 million enterprises in the 2016 census, mostly from the trade and services sectors," Sasmito said on Thursday.

In the last census, trade and manufacturing companies dominated Indonesian businesses, accounting for 44 percent of the total. Consultancy companies followed accounting for 17 percent, then equipment companies, 10 percent, power utilities companies, 9 percent, and shipping companies accounting for 6 percent.

BPS head Suryamin explained the goal of the census was to collect and present a database of all economic activity in Indonesia, as the basis of policy formulation and future development planning. "The census will map the strength of enterprises in all economic sectors except for the agriculture sector," he said.

A total of 17 sectors will be targeted in the 2016 census, including mining, manufacturing, supply, gas, electricity, water, waste-water management, recycling and construction.

Main obstacle

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) vice chairman Nita Yudi said Indonesia had a very few businesspeople due to its unsupportive policy environment and general climate for business, particularly in terms of access to financing.

She argued that the high interest incurred by working loans was a key obstacle for the expansion of the business workforce. The government's KUR (business loans) program, she said, with a 9 percent interest rate was still very high compared to other countries in the region.

"Thailand asks 2.2 percent interest for similar loans. How can we compete if the government is not pro-business enough?" she said.

She expects the results of the economic census to provide a comprehensive overview of the business sector and a basis for more pro-business measures.

"The economic census is expected to give us comprehensive picture of business sectors that the government can refer to in policymaking to support business in the future, and in turn increase the number of businesspeople as a driver of the growth," Nita said. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/indonesia-enterprises-growing-6-million-a-decade.html

Nothing new in street vendor land usage ruling

Jakarta Post - December 9, 2015

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – The government's recently issued economic stimulus package allowing street vendors to use state land will not be seen as an incentive since such regulation is already in place, an analyst has said.

According to Indonesia Global Justice analyst Rachmi Hertanti, a similar measure is covered in the 2012 Spatial Planning Law, which is supported by a ministerial decree to ensure its implementation.

"It just corroborates the implementation [of a prevailing law]," she said over the phone on Monday. She added that if the purpose of the policy was to help street vendors expand, then the government needed to also consider the designated locations.

She cited several cases in which vendors at traditional markets had been forced to relocate to new spaces where rent was simply too high.

Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Ferry Mursyidan Baldan said during the announcement of the seventh policy package on Friday that his office would issue a regulation soon that would allow street vendors to use state land in certain parts of the country to ply their trade.

The street vendors would then be given a building use permit (HGB), which they could use as collateral to obtain loans from banks, he said. Over 30 areas in various provinces will be included in the program, with the first site in Banten to be available soon.

The street vendors, along with other informal groups constitute the informal sector. The sector served as the backbone of the country's economy when the country withstood the 1998 financial crisis.

According to an estimate by the Indonesian Street Vendor Association (APKLI), the number of street vendors nationwide reached roughly 22 million in 2013. In 2012, 54 percent of 118.05 million workers were informal workers, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Rachmi said problems not only remained in land certification procedures but also in land distribution as the government needed to determine an exact target of vendors to receive such incentives. In addition, she said the government needed to equip the designated spaces for street vendors develop basic infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Asia Solidarity Economy Council (ASEC) chairman Bambang Ismawan shared a similar view, saying that the package would only be fruitful if the government developed supporting infrastructure.

"If the government just relocates them to a place far away without proper facilities, doing so will kill their businesses instead of developing them," he said, adding that the government had to establish dialogue with street vendors prior to relocating them.

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) executive director Enny Sri Hartati said many relocation programs sponsored by the government turned into failures because the new locations were not in line with demand. Enny added that the government should also assist street vendors in gaining access to financing given the nature of their businesses.

In addition to granting the use of state land to street vendors, the new economic policy also provides employee income tax incentives for labor intensive industries and the simplification of business permit attainment and licensing procedures, among other things.

Since early September, the government has issued seven policy packages to boost the country's economy, which has expanded at its slowest pace since 2009.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/09/nothing-new-street-vendor-land-usage-ruling.html

People

The Indonesia expert who was banned from entering Indonesia

Jakarta Post - December 13, 2015

Jakarta – Studying Indonesia was not always easy for the late Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson, or Ben Anderson, who was banned from entering the country by the New Order regime due to his criticism of Soeharto's dictatorship.

The US expert on Indonesian politics, or Indonesianist, was only allowed to visit the country of his academic interest again in 1999, following the fall of Soeharto's regime.

Anderson passed away at the age of 79 in Batu, Malang, East Java, at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, kompas.com reported. Information of his death appeared on Twitter and Facebook accounts of publisher Marjin Kiri, which will launch Anderson's book entitled "Di Bawah Tiga Bendera" (Under Three Flags). Anderson had come to Indonesia to attend the launch of his book.

Two days before his passing, Anderson gave a lecture entitled "Anarchism and Socialism" at the University of Indonesia. On its Facebook account, publisher Marjin Kiri said that Anderson died in a hotel in Batu when he was taking a break after walking around the city.

Born in Kunming, China, on Aug. 26, 1936, Anderson was known as an Indonesianist with a special interest on the country's modern history. Together with Ruth Macvey, Anderson published an academic paper called "A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965 Coup in Indonesia", also known as the "Cornell Paper", in which they presented a thorough analysis on the causes of an aborted coup d'etat attempt, known today as the September 30 Movement. The paper depicted the events quite differently from what had been conveyed by the New Order regime.

Anderson's adoptive son, Wahyu Yudistira, said the political expert did not suffer any illness. "He was old. He might have been really tired. He was probably exhausted," said Wahyu as quoted by kompas.com.

Wahyu said Anderson had been in East Java for a nostalgic visit to several places he had visited before, such as Mpu Tantular Museum in Sidoarjo and Belahan Temple in Mojokerto.

On Sunday morning, Anderson's body was taken to Surabaya from Malang to be laid in rest at his relative's house. His body will be cremated and the ashes scattered at the Java Sea, as he had requested.

"His family has been informed [over Anderson's death]. They will come to Indonesia as soon as possible. I and our family are preparing the cremation," said Wahyu.

During his life, Anderson was known as the most outstanding Southeast Asian expert in the world. His book "Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism" won acclaim as a classic work on social and political science. Anderson's other outstanding works include "Java in a Time of Revolution", "Debating World Literature", and "Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia". (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/13/the-indonesia-expert-who-was-banned-entering-indonesia.html

Indonesianist Benedict Anderson dies at 79

Jakarta Post - December 13, 2015

Dandy Koswaraputra, Jakarta – Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson, an Indonesianist with Cornell University, US, died at the age of 79 on Saturday night during a nostalgic visit to Indonesia, his adopted son said on Sunday.

"Ben Anderson passed away last night at 11:30 pm. He told me last week that he was planning to visit several nostalgic places in East Java," Wahyu Yudistira, an adopted son of Anderson told thejakartapost.com.

Wahyu said Anderson died at a hotel in Batu, Malang, East Java. His remains will be cremated on Tuesday in Surabaya and his ashes will be spread over the Java Sea.

Wahyu said that Anderson made annual visits to Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, during winter in the US, to lecture and travel.

"He delivered a lecture at the University of Indonesia on Thursday and launched his new book titled Nationalism and Anarchism," Wahyu said. In the lecture, Anderson said contrary to what many believed, anarchists often yearned for justice and freedom.

Anderson was born on Aug. 26, 1936, in Kumming, China, to James O'Gorman Anderson and Veronica Beatrice Bigham. The family moved to California in 1941. In 1957, Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Cambridge University, UK, and later earned a PhD from Cornell's department of government, where he studied modern Indonesia under the guidance of George Kahin. He is the brother of historian Perry Anderson.

During his life, Anderson's works became references for scholars and students in Indonesia, such as Java in a Time of Revolution, Debating World Literature, Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia, and Imagined Communities.

He was banned from entering Indonesia for his analysis and critical views of the government of president Soeharto. Only after Soeharto fell from power was Anderson able to return to Indonesia.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/13/indonesianist-benedict-anderson-dies-79.html

Analysis & opinion

As long as communism is taken as a threat, democracy is flawed

Jakarta Post - December 12, 2015

Ririn Sefsani and Timo Duile, Jakarta/Bonn – A specter is haunting Indonesia, the specter of communism. All the powers of the political establishment have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this specter: Muslim and Christian clerics, politicians and bureaucrats, the military and vigilante rackets.

Karl Marxs famous first sentences of the Manifesto of the Communist Party, written in 1848, precisely depict Indonesia's current situation. But, in sharp contrast to Europe in the mid-19th century, there is no leftist party worthy of mention in Indonesia. Communism in Indonesia is a mere specter indeed.

Fifty years after the bloody extermination of the Communist Party, the very term of communism is still an effective tool to exclude from public debates those that are perceived as a threat by the ruling elite. This tool can be applied to virtually all leftist movements opposing the established political and economic order.

The political elite can count on various groups whom, despite not knowing what communism actually is, remain willing to oppose this ideology as it has been depicted as a threat not solely to the elite, but to the nation in general. It is doubtful whether members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) or the Anticommunist Front are able to explain how Marxist economic thought explains economic exploitation, what surplus value is, what the concept of the working class is about.

Communism, to those people, is without any precise content and is merely something that should be feared. It is exactly this perception of communism which makes large parts of society mentally captivated by Cold War doctrines. Approximately 32 years of indoctrination by an anticommunist regime continues to show its effect and it could be that this consciousness is one of the biggest obstacles for both reconciliation and democratization.

Before the International People's Tribunal was held in The Hague recently, the School of Southeast Asian Studies at Bonn University, Germany, conducted a workshop on the 1965 incidents and on the question of how to deal with that bloody past. The event was attended a crowd of Indonesian citizens, by lawyers, journalists and survivors.

Participants were able to discuss sensitive topics with the Indonesian deputy ambassador in Germany. The deputy ambassador listened to what the victims had to say. In contrast, the reactions coming from the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla leave much to be desired since they are not willing to pay any attention to those victims proving testimony to the cruelty they experienced.

The decision of Balinese authorities at the Ubud Writer's Festival and even by universities to ban the screening of Joshua Oppenheimer's films on the 1965-issue is also a clear sign that the fostered fear of communism is still a reason to restrict the freedom of expression.

It is this mixture of ignoring those stigmatized people who suffered painful experiences on behalf of a harmonious, conflict-free society and the ignorance of what communism actually is that makes it so hard for Indonesia to deal adequately with its past.

However, while these attitudes linger on, Indonesia will not succeed its transition towards democracy because of two reasons; firstly, because this attitude clearly highlights a gesture of suppressing points of view considered cumbersome for the elite and for those many citizens with minds still rooted in New Order ideology.

Furthermore, the attitude of fear toward the confused thread named communism prevents Indonesia's political culture from becoming democratic as it hampers socialist or labor parties from the political stage. As long as that is the case, voters in Indonesia will not have real alternatives in elections because the established parties do not differ fundamentally in their ideologies.

All parties are more or less bound to fuzzy nationalist and Islamic notions and are pragmatic and usually pro-capital in their political operations.

The fostered fear of communism is still a reason to restrict the freedom of expression. However, democracy needs alternatives and the most urgently needed one continues to remain as a specter of fear in Indonesia; a leftist alternative to pro-capitalist realpolitik with blurry nationalist notion.

For as long as Indonesia is unready to face the truth about the actual idea of communism, violation of human rights such as freedom of speech and the stigmatization of the victims of 1965 will persist. In contrast to his opponent Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi highlighted his commitment to implement human rights during his campaign.

In alliance with parties supporting him, he also stressed in his Nawacita program that he would "create space for dialogue between citizens". It is obvious that he will fail to do so if the government keeps on demonizing communism and those victims of the anti-communist massacres. The International People's Tribunal was an excellent opportunity for the President to provide proof of the promises made during the election campaign.

But instead of "creating space for dialogue between citizens", Kalla reduced the incidents of 1965 to the issue of the six murdered generals and did not even mention the hundreds of thousands of victims.

Also, Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo called the tribunal "irrelevant" and said Indonesia doesn't need intervention from other countries, indirectly blaming the Dutch government which had nothing to do with the tribunal. The organizers, in contrast, stressed that they would have conducted the tribunal in Jakarta, but as many victims did not felt safe in Indonesia, they decided to perform it at The Hague, the city of international law.

Given that facts, the government effectively limited the space for dialogue between citizens because they are still not able to leave New Order narratives behind.

Until today, Marxist works are officially banned in Indonesia – works that represent the foundations of major political parties in many well- established democracies all over the world. Social democracy, socialism, labor parties and left-wing green parties are all based on Marxist political thoughts.

Through leftist parties, Marxist thoughts enrich democratic pluralism and provide political identities that are not solely based on religion and nationalism. Indonesia, with its immense workforce of laborers, peasants and urban poor, needs a political ideology that can represent and articulate these people's economic demands.

Institutional reforms alone do not make a democracy work; for as long as conflicting ideological alternatives have yet to be established and socialism is excluded from Indonesian politics, Indonesia's democracy is flawed.

[Ririn Sefsani is works for the Partnership for Government Reform (Kemitraan) Jakarta and cofounder of the Mombine Political School for Women in Palu, Sulawesi. Timo Duile is a post-doctorate and lecturer at the School of Southeast Asian Studies at Bonn University, Germany.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/12/as-long-communism-taken-a-threat-democracy-flawed.html

Richest 10 percent own about 77 percent of Indonesia's wealth

Jakarta Post - December 11, 2015

World Bank, Jakarta – A small number of Indonesians are benefitting from financial and physical assets – sometimes acquired through corrupt means – that, in turn, drive higher wealth concentration and inequality in the future, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank's report titled Indonesia's Rising Divide which analyzes inequality in Indonesia, says that an increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few means that income from financial and physical assets are driving inequality higher.

Below are excerpts from the World Bank report, which was prepared by its poverty global practice team in its Jakarta office and released here on Tuesday.

Households earn income not only through jobs but also financial and physical assets. The share of income generated by labor has been falling and the share generated by capital, such as financial and property assets, has been increasing in Indonesia as elsewhere in the world.

In Indonesia, this partly reflects the strong returns on these assets over the past decade. It is largely rich households, however, that have access to these resources.

The richest 10 percent of Indonesians own an estimated 77 percent of all the country's wealth. In fact, the richest 1 percent own half of all the country's wealth, which is the second-highest level (along with Thailand) after Russia from a set of 38 countries. This means that income from financial and physical assets benefits fewer households in Indonesia than in many other countries.

Financial and physical assets are generating higher incomes for only a few wealthy households in Indonesia, and these households are then saving this income as even more wealth.

The share of wealth owned by the richest 10 percent in Indonesia increased by 7 percentage points between 2007 and 2014, in the top 10 of countries over that period. These increased assets today will also generate even higher incomes tomorrow.

Increasing wealth concentration is due, in part, to differences in the way income tax is collected from labor and capital. For example, dividend withholding tax is only 10 percent (and earned interest withholding is only 20 percent), lower than all but one labor income tax rate and considerably lower than the 30 percent top marginal tax rate that most dividend earners would otherwise be paying.

At the same time, the significant capital gains that have been made from the housing and stock markets are theoretically subject to personal income tax, but are not subject to withholding taxes.

With weak monitoring and compliance on personal income taxes, low withholding tax rates often mean less taxes paid. Meanwhile, for many workers income tax on salaries are withheld by employers, ensuring a high degree of compliance for labor income.

As a consequence, around 95 percent of personal income taxes (around 20 percent of total income taxes) with corporate taxes making up the rest are collected by withholding, mostly on salaries, and only the remaining 5 percent from capital income.

For some, their financial and physical assets aspects are gained through personal connections and corrupt practices. In 2014 Indonesia's Corruption Perception Index, which measures perceptions of public sector corruption around the world, was a lowly 34 out of 100 (where 0 means very corrupt and 100 very clean), ranking it 107th out of 175 countries.

This suggests that some of the wealth accumulation has occurred through corruption or at least is perceived to have been accumulated this way.

However. In some areas, particularly the political economy of Indonesia's institutions and the nature of corruption, not enough is known about the nature of the problem and the best actions to take.

Not enough is known about the nature of corruption in Indonesia and how it drives inequality. Public perception suggests it is wide spread, and high- profile cases provide vivid examples of how the rules of the game are being based in favor of insiders or circumvented altogether without legal consequences.

Both forms of corruption seem highly likely to be linked to inequality through lower growth, high wealth concentration and policymaking that exacerbates inequality (for example, rigid labor markets that prevent productive job creation or switching, or import restrictions that drive food prices higher).

However, an analysis of the political economy is needed to identify the underlying causes. Which aspects of the political, economic and legal framework in Indonesia provide the incentives for such rent-seeking practices to take place?

That is, how are policies made, by whom and for whose benefit? When is corruption or rent-seeking due to a lack of appropriate checks and balances? And when it due to lack of enforcement of these checks (whether through discretion on investigation and prosecution of potential corruption or the outright subversion of the legal process through judicial capture)?

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/11/richest-10-percent-own-about-77-percent-indonesia-s-wealth.html

Wider tax base cuts inequality

Jakarta Post Editorial - December 10, 2015

The latest World Bank report on Indonesia warns of the rising risk of social tension and conflict as inequalities of income and asset ownership widen, recommending a more vigorous collection of personal income tax to broaden the taxpayer base.

The 2014 World Bank survey of the public perception of inequality in Indonesia shows that most respondents consider income distribution in the country to be very unequal or not equal at all. More than 60 percent also said they were willing to accept slower economic growth in exchange for reduced inequality.

The World Bank, which announced the results of the survey on Tuesday, said Indonesia had experienced sustained economic growth in the last 15 years but this had mainly benefited the richest 20 percent but had left behind the remaining 80 percent of the 250 million people.

No wonder, Indonesia's level of inequality is now considered to be relatively high and climbing faster than most of its East Asian neighbors, as shown by its Gini coefficient, which increased from 30 percent in 2000 to 41 percent in 2013, but down to around 40 percent this year.

The World Bank cited a narrow base of individual income taxpayers as one of the main drivers of inequality, pointing out that collecting more personal income tax, which at present accounts for only around 10 percent of total tax receipts, would bridge the wide income divide.

Besides weak tax collection, the structure of the individual income tax system is also lopsided in favor of the upper middle income and wealthiest taxpayers as the highest rate (30 percent) is applied to an annual income of Rp 500 million (US$35,500) and more, while many corporate executives, including those in state companies, may earn between Rp 2 billion and Rp 5 billion.

Those with large financial assets can even net personal incomes to the tune of tens of billions but those who earn Rp 250 million are already subject to the 25 percent tax rate. The House of Representatives and the banks association have steadfastly opposed the demands by the Taxation Directorate General (DGT) for access to bank accounts, arguing that this would breach the Banking Secrecy Law.

The government again enacted a regulation early this year that would allow tax officials to verify personal income tax due on financial assets (accounts at banks) but quietly canceled the rule for fear that rich depositors might move their financial assets to banks overseas.

We regard as weak the claims about breaching the Banking Secrecy Law and scaring rich depositors into moving their financial assets overseas because bank customers are already required by law to file their individual tax returns annually, which also stipulate in detail all their fixed and financial assets, including deposits and savings, securities, etc.

Furthermore, many countries around the world have eased their banking secrecy rules in a concerted effort to crack down on tax evasion and money laundering.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/10/editorial-wider-tax-base-cuts-inequality.html


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