News & issues

'This is not poverty, but a process of impoverishment'

Jakarta Post - July 7, 2005

In recent weeks, there has been much talk about efforts to eradicate poverty. The Jakarta Post's Hera Diani talked to H.S. Dillon, executive director of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, about poverty eradication and the effectiveness of running programs.

Question: There have been so many poverty eradication programs, but few seem to work.

Answer: We have the G-8 (Group of Eight) wealthy nations, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They are very good statements of intent, but without the real means required to achieve them.

We have to realize that this is not poverty, but impoverishment. Because, as you realize, hunger and serial malnutrition occur among people who are actually involved in the production of food. So something must be very wrong.

You have to begin by establishing governance at various levels. The most important thing in our case, however, is access to productive resources. What you see now, with MDGs, the World Bank (etcetera) is the conservative or the pro-status-quo discussion of what needs to be done. There's talk about empowerment and access to service... but there's no talk about political economy -- on who has the power -- nor are there plans to redistribute assets.

The essence is that you have to really arrest and then reverse the cause of impoverishment.

Aside from land, access to productivity and the quality of credit is important, not just the interest rate, but the quality. It's tragic that in Indonesia, the conglomerates are those who have no money but were given so much money by the state banks.

While the poor, every year, Bank Rakyat Indonesia mobilizes -- maybe more now -- around Rp 30 trillion for various saving schemes. But only Rp 10 trillion is reinvested into agriculture.

It means, directly, they have extracted half of the bank power, half of the value generated by agriculture. And then Rp 10 trillion does not go to the small farmers or the labors, it goes to the conglomerates again.

Technology is also a very important ingredient. Not just an instrument, or machinery, but an organizational (tool). How do people get to work, organize themselves -- how are their demands met? The current problem is, the President is committed, but not supported by the government. And he has no political capacity, he cannot push that through.

What breakthroughs are needed?

How you really arrest and reverse the process of impoverishment. Poverty is not just an event, or phenomena, but a process.

I don't see a very clear vision from the government itself. Based on my paradigm, (poverty eradication programs) should be people- driven: All the policies formulated, all the institutions established, all the technologies developed and transferred have to be driven by the needs and capacities of the people.

Poor people have the capacity, actually. You just develop a ladder, and with their own capacity and strength, they will climb that ladder.

And how do we do that?

First, conception -- not birth -- should be controlled. Because no matter how good your resources and government may be, if you have too many people vying for the same resources, you have less to distribute.

Second, adequate food and nutrition. In the process of generating enough food, the income of farmers and laborers will increase and they will be able to buy food.

Third, an education system that addresses local needs. At each junction of their education, students must be able to cari makan (make a living). We have to change the whole mentality of cari kerja (looking for a job). In the process of cari makan, you can create jobs.

For poor parents, children have economic value and school only removes that value. You have to compensate them. Like in Brazil, the government pays parents when their children perform well. And it works in keeping children in school.

In coastal villages, you have to come with an agreement with local schools so that children do not have to go six days a week. Compress the curriculum into just one-and-a-half months instead of six months. Distribute waterproof books so that children can still read while out at sea.

Education must also allow students to interact with mother nature, so they will grow up with an awareness of environmental conservation, which requires self interest.

In regards to Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on land (which allows the government to seize land for public development projects), should the government revoke it?

The regulation looks good on paper but it creates opportunities for abuse in its implementation. You have to really define what you are building in the public interest. If it is for a road, okay, but not a mall.

What the President has to do is to change his goals. He is a very good man, but he has to realize that people trust him, but not his government. He listens too much to political parties, which comes as a shock to me because none of those parties supported him in the first place.

He has gained the trust of the people, of the international community... He has to have goals of his own so that he can transpose the trust in him into trust for the government.

Pick officials from politicians who have shown their interest in the people, not the ones who were referred by political parties.

People think the poor and uneducated are foolish. What they fail to realize is that poor people can distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. That's why (former president) Megawati Soekarnoputri failed because she could not deliver. Therefore you have to win the trust.

Haj fee to rice despite more efficiency

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- Haj pilgrims will have to pay more in the upcoming haj season, even though the government has recorded Rp 525 billion (US$54.17 million) in unused haj funds from the last pilgrimage.

Each pilgrim will have to pay between $2,600 and $2,800, depending on their places of residence during the one-month trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Last season, Indonesian pilgrims paid $60 less.

Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni said on Thursday that the increase was unavoidable due to higher oil prices, although the government had managed to reduce domestic costs related to the pilgrimage.

"We are sorry we could not fulfill our hopes of not increasing the haj fee this year," he told the press after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The increase comes as the interdepartmental anticorruption team set up by the President continues its investigation into the alleged misuse of unused haj funds accumulated between 2001 and 2004 amounting to Rp 684 billion. Instead of depositing the funds in one account, as was required under law, the money was deposited in a number of different bank accounts, some of which were unrelated to the haj.

Former religious affairs minister Said Agil Hussein Al-Munawwar and the ministry's former director general for Islamic guidance and haj management, Taufiq Kamil, have been named suspects in the case and have been detained.

The team also found indications that the haj fee of up to Rp 25 million per pilgrim exceeded the real cost of the pilgrimage.

Maftuh claimed that the ministry had managed to cut domestic costs from around Rp 900,000 last year to Rp 700,000. Domestic costs involve the cost of accommodation, meals and transportation prior to departure for Mecca.

"There is nothing the government can do about the soaring oil prices and the weakening rupiah. Moreover, the cost of living in Saudi Arabia is also going up," said Maftuh, who was formerly the Indonesian envoy to Saudi Arabia.

He said air fares accounted for most of the increase in the haj fee.

The President asked Maftuh during their meeting to do his best to explain the fee increase to the public, the minister said.

The Saudi government has set the quota for Indonesia at 205,000 pilgrims for the upcoming season, which starts next January.

Maftuh said that several changes had been made to haj management and policies earlier this year in a bid to improve services to pilgrims.

Among the changes were a reduction in the number of officials guiding the pilgrims from 418 last year to 306. There would be no state officials given free trips to Mecca, except for a few persons heading the delegation.

Maftuh said the unused haj funds left over from the last pilgrimage would be spent on the construction of dormitories for students of state Islamic universities in Surabaya, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Medan and Makassar, and an office building at the ministry's headquarters on Jl. Thamrin, which would be put up for lease after construction was completed.

The construction of each dormitory would cost Rp 5 billion, while the high-rise office building would cost about Rp 300 billion.

Rice output expected to fall this year

Asia Pulse - July 4, 2005

Jakarta -- Indonesia's production of dry un-hulled rice is forecast to slide 2 per cent to 53.10 million tons this year from last year because of a decline in harvest area.

Floods and drought would contribute to the decline in addition to a change in the planting season, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said.

BPS chief Choiril Maksum said the tsunami in December 2004 had destroyed large rice fields in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra. Choiril said harvest areas in 2005 are estimated to shrink to 11.6 million hectares from 11.92 million hectares in 2004.

Many farmers have also chosen to change their crops considered more profitable such as soybean, he said, adding that the country's soybean production is expected to increase by 9.41 per cent to 792,000 tons this year.

Increase is also expected in the production of corn to 11.74 million tons in dry grains from 11.23 million tons in last year.

Aceh

Lawmakers change their minds in Aceh peace talks

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Hopes of peace in Aceh have received a boost after leaders of 10 major political parties expressed their cautious support for the government's plan to allow former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members to contest elections in the province later this year.

In a meeting with leaders of 10 political parties represented in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night, the government won support for its plan to allow ex-GAM leaders to contest the direct gubernatorial elections in October, part of a as-yet unsigned peace agreement that could see the group disband and give up its weapons.

Many lawmakers had earlier opposed the planned talks in Helsinki scheduled to start next Tuesday, which are billed as the final key forum before both parties ink a peace agreement.

They also said the inclusion of foreign parties in the talks, including an agreement to allow European Union and ASEAN observers into Aceh to observe the execution of the deal, was international interference into a domestic issue.

Golkar Party lawmaker Happy Bone Zulkarnaen deemed the offer one of the few ways available to accommodate GAM's political aspirations without allowing it to set up its own party, something the government negotiators still oppose.

"This (offer) is a proof of the government's good will. It's impossible to seek a settlement if both parties continue to flex their muscles. A war is not a solution to the issue," Happy said.

He said the rebels should also back down from their more extreme demands.

Among those present at Wednesday's meeting hosted by Vice President Jusuf Kalla were President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, House Speaker Agung Laksono (Golkar), deputy House speaker Muhaimin Iskandar and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab (National Awakening Party), State Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium-scale Enterprises Suryadharma Ali, Minister of Social Affairs Sutrisno Bachir (United Development Party), National Mandate Party leader Abdillah Toha, Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono and State Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Adhyaksa Dault (Prosperous Justice Party), Democrat Party president Hadi Utomo and Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban (Crescent Star Party).

The opposition Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said its lawmakers did not attend the meeting because they were not invited.

However, PDI-P faction chairman Tjahjo Kumolo said the party supported the concept as long as former rebels contesting local elections were rehabilitated before the law.

"Whether through the courts or an amnesty, it doesn't matter as long the process is accountable." However, lawmakers when giving their support said it was dependent on the government reporting the progress of the talks to the House. The government has yet to officially report the results of the fourth round of peace talks last month to the House.

Outspoken National Mandate Party lawmaker Djoko Susilo said the government should explain in detail every issue discussed in the meetings to ensure that negotiators had not violated the Constitution.

"Particularly, as the government is planning to bring these talks into a formal stage, which is crucial if they are to be legally binding," he said.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid joined the chorus of support, but said any former GAM member contesting the elections must accept the unitary state of Indonesia.

Parties support nomination of former GAM members

Detik.com - July 7, 2005

Wilhendra Akmam, Jakarta -- Ten political parties have agreed to support the nomination of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members in regional elections in Aceh in 2005-06. This is to be done taking note that GAM is prepared to conclude the negotiations with the Indonesian government in a peaceful manner.

This was the subject of a meeting of national figures, which was held at the home of Vice-president Jusuf Kalla on Jalan Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on the night of Wednesday July 7. The meeting was also attend by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a number of political party leaders and ministers of the Indonesian United Cabinet.

"In principle, all of the parties agree and support it, if GAM wants to conclude the negotiations with the government in a peaceful manner. We from the political parties won't have any problems, [we] will even promote and support their nomination as local government heads", said the general chairperson of the Star Crescent Party (PBB) and Forestry Minister MS Kaban.

The chairperson of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Abdillah Toha made similar comments. "For as long as it's within the framework of the 1945 Constitution and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia(1), we are open to the political participation of former GAM [members] if they want to nominate themselves", he explained.

When asked if the meeting also discussed the issue of the establishing local political parties and if the political parties had come to an agreement with regard to there being local political parties, MS Kaban explained that there had been no agreement on the matter.

Kaban explained that his presence at the meeting was in his capacity as the chairperson of PBB. He also explained that the meeting was an initiative Golkar Party chairperson Jusuf Kalla. "He raised his views, and we responded. We see this as positive and still in accordance with the MPR decrees(2)", he said.

The text of the written agreement which was signed by the 10 political parties reads: "We from the political parties, should a peace agreement be achieved with GAM, are prepared to provide opportunities for the nomination of former GAM [members] as prospective regents/deputy-regents, mayors/deputy-mayors, as well as the deputy-governor in the 2005-06 regional elections in Aceh."

It should be noted that the nomination of former GAM members for the position of governor was not mentioned in the agreement. The 10 political parties which signed the agreement were the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), PAN, the Star Reform Party (PBR), the Democratic Party (PD), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), PBB, the National Democratic Party (PDK) and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI). No Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) figures was involved in the meeting or agreement. (san)

Notes:

1. Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (NKRI), the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. A term which is often used in the context of nationalism and the desire to maintain the integrity of the Indonesian nation.

2. People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree Number No X/MPRRI/2001 and MPR Decree Number VI/MPR/2002 on resolving the Aceh question peacefully and with dignity.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Lemhannas: Organic troops in Aceh must be reinforced

Detik.com - July 7, 2005

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta -- The government may have to withdraw non-organic troops from Aceh as part of an agreement coming out of the negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki. If this happens, the government must reinforce organic troops in Aceh.

This was conveyed by Lemhannas (National Resilience Institute) Governor Ermaya Suradinata in response to the planned signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and GAM which will include the withdrawal of TNI (armed forces) troops and a permanent end to the conflict.

"[On the] question of the withdrawal of non-organic troops in Aceh, looking at the security situation in Aceh, of course organic troops there [will have to be] reinforced. It is impossible not to reinforce them", said Suradinata following the closing of a Lemhannas Class of 13 course at the Lemhannas Building on Jalan Kebun Sirih in Central Jakarta on Thursday July 7.

According to Suradinata, organic troops from the sub-district military commands (Koramil), the district military commands (Kodim), the infantry battalions and the military commands below the residency (Korem) must all be reinforced. "But is it enough or not for just organic troops [to maintain security], of course it must be viewed from the indicators. On this matter please ask the chiefs of the TNI and Indonesian police", he said.

Organic troops must be reinforced in order to create a feeling of security for the Acehnese public because the government has a serious commitment to ensuring that the Acehnese people have a sense of security, peace and are able to go about their work.

"So, in a situation in Aceh where there are still [security] disturbances, it means that the government's attention [on the issue] will still be a priority there. It doesn't mean that during the negotiations attention on [creating] a sense of security has been reduced. That is continuing", said Suradinata.

Suradinata also expressed the view that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-president Jusuf Kalla have given an extraordinary amount of attention to resolving the Aceh question. "Such as conducting a dialogue. But that dialogue must be [held] within the context of NKRI(1)", said Suradinata. (gtp)

Notes:

1. NKRI - Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. A term which is often used in the context of nationalism and the desire to maintain the integrity of the Indonesian nation.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

TNI supports efforts to resolve conflict peacefully

Detik.com - July 6, 2005

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta -- The TNI (armed forces) fully supports the government's policy of seeking a resolution to the Aceh question which is peaceful, dignified and comprehensive. With regard to the withdrawal of troops, the TNI will leave it in the government's hands.

"We also hope that all [sides] will support resolving the Aceh [conflict] peacefully", said the head of the TNI's information centre, Major General Kohirin Suganda, following a friendly discussion with journalists at the TNI's Media Centre on Jalan Teuku Umar in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday July 6.

Suganda's statement was in response to one of the draft points reached in the negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which states that the TNI will withdraw non-organic troops from Aceh together with the confiscation of GAM's weapons.

So far the TNI has not yet able to determine when GAM can be incapacitated. The TNI's basic task he explained is to carry out the operation to restore security in accordance with the integrated operation(1) to the point of reducing GAM to the lowest possible point. "Now, the way it is, is the time frame is a process, it can't be calculated exactly", said Suganda.

Army spokesperson Brigadier General Hotmangaraja Panjaitan meanwhile, explained that there are presently around 20,000 army personnel in Aceh. These troops are non-organic troops. The total number of GAM personnel remaining is estimated at 2,000 personnel.

"They still want to try to exist by conducting brutal operations in the hope [they] can counter-balance their limited numbers. This is what we are preventing", said Panjaitan.

According to Panjaitan, based on military experience both domestically and overseas, groups, which are already in a tight corner, are usually prepared to surrender their arms. So if up until now there are still many GAM members who refuse to surrender their arms then it is because of other factors.

"It may be there are other factors so that they don't want to surrender [their] arms. Perhaps they are afraid there will be [acts of] revenge. But we are open to receive their return [to society]", said Panjaitan.

Panjaitan is convinced that GAM members would be ready to come down from the mountains if they are given a free choice. The TNI has already made facilities available to rehabilitate their members. If they are ready to return to society, the TNI will provide them with protection. (iy)

Notes:

1. Integrated Operation - the operation to restore government administration, the humanitarian operation, the law enforcement operation, economic recovery and the operation to restore security.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Non-organic troops will soon be withdrawn from Aceh

Kompas - July 6, 2005

Jakarta -- The last of a series of informal negotiations between the Indonesian government and members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will be held on July 11-18 with a focus on drafting an agreement toward resolving the Aceh conflict peacefully and permanently. One of the planed agreements will be the withdraw non-organic troops who are deployed there together with the confiscation of all illegal arms which are in circulation in Aceh.

"In the next [round of] negotiations a MOU (memorandum of understanding) will be signed which will include no more illegal weapons being present in Aceh. If the conflict is ended permanently, what else are these illegal weapons for. The TNI [armed forces] will also no longer be present in Aceh, except those that are normally [deployed at the provincial level] or the organic [troops] there", said the Minister for Communication and Information Sofyan Djalil at the Presidential Offices in Jakarta on Tuesday July 5.

Djalil, who has participated in four rounds of informal negotiations with a number of GAM figures in Helsinki, revealed that 90 per cent of the basic issues can be accepted by the two parties. The remaining 10 per cent will be resolved in the final informal negotiations while preparing a draft agreement. "Hopefully before August 17 2005 we will be able to resolve the Aceh question so that it can be [like] an independence gift(1)," said Djalil. (INU)

Notes:

1. Indonesia officially celebrates its independence day on August 17.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Sweden pays damages to exiled Indonesian rebel chief

Agence France Presse - July 5, 2005

Stockholm -- Sweden will pay 10,000 kronor (1,050 euros, 1,250 dollars) in compensation to one of the exiled leaders of Indonesia's separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for remanding him in custody last year, his lawyer said Monday.

"The compensation is because of the suffering during the time he spent in custody between the 15th and the 18th of June, Zaini Abdullah's lawyer, Sargon De Basso, told AFP. He said the amount to be paid was "sufficient".

Sweden detained Abdullah, the GAM's self-styled foreign minister, in June last year for "violating international law".

The separatist movement's exiled "prime minister" Malik Mahmud, was also briefly detained while ailing GAM co-founder Hasan di Tiro was stopped for questioning but later released. A court said there was not enough evidence to keep them in custody.

A Swedish prosecutor in April dropped a preliminary investigation into Abdullah and Mahmud as there was no proof they were linked to terrorist activities in Indonesia, contrary to claims by the government in Jakarta.

Indonesia has accused the pair of masterminding killings, arson attacks and kidnappings from Stockholm where they live in exile and has asked the Swedish government to act.

The rebels have been fighting for three decades for the independence of Aceh, Indonesia's westernmost province. The conflict that has left more than 12,000 people -- mostly civilians -- dead.

A peace process which collapsed in 2003 ahead of a military offensive to crush the rebels was restarted in the wake of last year's tsunami disaster in which 128,000 people were killed in Aceh.

The military said last month it had killed more than 3,300 rebels since it launched the offensive two years ago. Over 200 soldiers had been killed and more than 500 wounded, it said.

Peace talks between Jakarta representatives and exiled GAM leaders have been held in Helsinki since January. The next meeting is to be held on July 12.

Demonstrators demand UN support Helsinki negotiations

Aceh Kita - July 4, 2005

AK-38, Jakarta -- Hundreds of Acehnese residing in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, who support of the Helsinki peace negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement, demonstrated at the United Nations in Central Jakarta demanding that the UN support a peaceful resolution to the Aceh conflict. As well as calling for support from the UN, the demonstrators also demanded self-government and local parties in Aceh.

During the 30 minute demonstration at the UN, three representatives were received by UN staff. One of the representatives, Faisal Saifuddin, said that they conveyed to the UN their support for resolving the Aceh question peacefully and through negotiations. Because said Saifuddin, the Acehnese people need tranquility and peace to rebuild their province which was devastated by the tsunami tidal wave.

The demonstrators also called on the UN and foreign countries to review developments taking place in Aceh. Saifuddin said that is necessary because if peace is not achieved in Aceh, foreign countries should stop assisting the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation. This is because development will not be able to be enjoyed by the Acehnese people if there are continued rights violations and violence.

The chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), Thamrin Ananda, said Aceh is a issue for all nations so there is absolutely no reason for the internationalisation of the Aceh question to frighten certain groups. "What has made the Aceh question become an international issue is [the presence] of [Indonesian] troops. Because it is the troops themselves who are committing human rights violations", said Ananda.

After protesting at the UN, the demonstrators then went to the US Embassy. During the 15 minute demonstration at the embassy, they gave speeches and sang Acehnese songs. Not one embassy staff member was prepared to met with the demonstrators. As of going to print they were protesting at the offices of the Minister for Politics, Security and Legal Affairs. [dzie]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Acehnese demonstrate at UN and US Embassy in Jakarta

Aceh Kita - July 4, 2005

AK-38, Jakarta -- On Monday July 4, hundreds of Acehnese from Greater Jakarta held a demonstration at the United Nations offices, the US Embassy, the offices of the Minister for Politics, Security and Legal Affairs and the State Palace.

The demonstrators, wearing head bands with the writing "self- government" and who had been gathering at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout since 12noon, then held a long-march to the UN offices on Jalan M.H. Thamrin. The rally caused a traffic jam as one lane was filled with demonstrators marching on foot, riding motorcycles and other pubic transport. Scores of police officers were visible directing traffic.

The action to support the Indonesian government's continued negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki was organised by the Aceh People's Association (Ikara), People for Peace (Mukad) and Trader's Solidarity for Peace (Sepakad). During the long-march to the UN, the demonstrators brought a number of banners and posters with messages calling on the government to continue the negotiations with GAM.

Ikara chairperson Faisal Saifuddin said they are calling on the government not to be too stubborn over the issue of special autonomy as the only option to resolve the Aceh question. "We want the government to continue the Helsinki [negotiations]. The government mustn't be too rigid on the offer of special autonomy, because GAM has already withdrawn its demand [for independence] in favor of self-government", Saifuddin told Aceh Kita during a break in the action.

The hundreds of Acehnese chose to demonstrate at the UN and the US Embassy because they believe the UN and US can pressure the government to continue the Helsinki negotiations. Essentially they are disappointed with the opposition to the negotiations which has be shown by the politicians in Senayan (the national parliament). They believe that such opposition is no longer relevant since GAM has withdrawn its demand for independence. [dzie]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Acehnese students protest exam

Jakarta Post July 3, 2005

Indonesia -- About 60 Acehnese students who failed the national final examination protested outside the Aceh Education Office on Saturday, the first student protest in the province since the government lifted the state of civil emergency there in May.

Carrying banners that read "Education office sadistic", "Where did all the education money go?" and "Don't make us depressed", the students arrived in trucks and on bicycles.

"Many students failed the exam even though the education budget in Aceh reaches Rp 2.1 trillion (US$233.3 million)," said one protester, Fitriadi. He said this money should have helped the Acehnese students and prevented some 49 percent of them from failing the exam.

The protesters demanded the government pass all Acehnese students who took the exam. "The students are under a great deal of psychological pressure since the tsunami," Fitriadi said.

Aceh Education Office head Alamsyah Banta said his office asked the central government for special treatment for Acehnese students, but the request was rejected. "Everyone has to meet the standard passing grade of 4.26," Alamsyah said.

He asked students who failed to be patient and wait for the repeat exam in August.

House OKs funds for Aceh military operation

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2005

Tony Hotland and Rendi Witular, Jakarta -- Despite criticizing the government for irregularities in its new budget proposal for military operations in Aceh, the House of Representatives approved new funds to support some 35,000 soldiers on duty in the province.

The money will come from the Ministry of Defense's emergency fund because this is the quickest way to disburse the funds, a member of the House budgetary committee, Happy Bone Zulkarnaen, said on Friday.

"It is not possible to get the funds from the revised 2005 state budget, which has already been declared final. Another option is to take the money from the 2006 state budget, but that is still a long way off," he said.

The defense ministry has Rp 2 trillion (US$206.18 million) stashed in its emergency fund, which had been designated to cover operations in the disputed offshore Ambalat oil block in the Sulawesi Sea. The government has deployed soldiers to maintain security in the offshore area, the ownership of which is being contested by Indonesia and Malaysia.

In a letter to the House, the Ministry of Defense requested an additional Rp 530.27 billion to cover the costs of military operation in Aceh from July to December.

In response to the letter, the House budgetary committee earlier said the ministry should have included the request in the revised 2005 state budget, which was approved last week.

During normal conditions, all funds must be disbursed from the state budget. The government changed the status of Aceh in May to state of civil administration from a state of civil emergency.

"It is up to the mechanisms between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance as to which option they want to take. I suppose the quickest option is to get the funds from the emergency fund since they can be disbursed at anytime," said Happy. He said the funds should be mainly spent on fulfilling the nutritional needs of soldiers in Aceh rather than on military equipment.

The defense ministry, however, said it wanted to disburse 60 percent of the total funds to support security operations rather than to procure supplies for soldiers.

Happy also reiterated a call for the ministry to present an accountability report for trillions of rupiah already disbursed to finance military operations in Aceh to quell the Free Aceh Movement since May 2003.

"We already asked the defense minister to do so because the use of the funds has never been reported to us," he said, adding that the House should set the parameters for judging whether the operations were a success.

The parameters, said Happy, could include how many rebel areas have been conquered, how many weapons seized, or how many rebels surrendered.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the military operation would be maintained despite the ongoing peace talks with the rebels to ensure reconstruction projects in the tsunami-hit province to run undisturbed.

Indonesian government officials and rebels group's negotiators are scheduled to resume talks in Helsinki starting from July 10, despite the House's objection.

Report: Massive graft alleged in tsunami aid projects

Associated Press - July 1, 2005

Large scale corruption has marred tsunami reconstruction in Aceh province, with more than US$100 million earmaarked for disaster relief unaccounted for, a legislator and an aid worker were quoted as saying Friday.

Firdaus Illyas, from aid group Aceh Emergency Commission, told a parliamentary hearing that graft had occurred in the construction of emergency housing, Koran Tempo daily reported.

He also said that local officials had dramatically overstated the number of refugees so as to be able to claim more relief funds, a common practice in disaster areas elsewhere in Indonesia, the paper reported.

Lawmaker A.S. Hikam said 1.2 trillion Indonesian rupiah (US$122.7 million of funds had disappeared, Tempo reporrted. He gave no more details.

Parliament was scheduled to summon seven ministers in charge of Aceh reconstruction projects on Friday to discuss the allegations, the paper said.

The graft allegations appeared to relate to Indonesian government funds allotted to Aceh soon after the Dec. 26 disaster, not the millions of dollars of international aid spent over the last few months in the region, which lost more than 130,000 people to the giant waves.

The reports will concern international donors and the Indonesian government, which has vowed to stop corrupt officials stealing money earmarked for survivors in Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

Corruption remains endemic at all levels of Indonesia society despite vows by successive governments to crack down on the practice.

Govt not serious about resolving Aceh question peacefully

Fpdra.org - July 1, 2005

Alisa P, Jakarta -- The operation to restore security in Aceh is continuing. In order to support the operation the Defense Department has submitted a budget request for 530.27 billion rupiah. In the letter, the Minister of Defense hopes that it will be release by the end of June at the latest.

The budged submission was contained a letter from the Minister of Defense which was classified as confidential and dated June 22. Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono signed the letter, which was submitted to the Finance Minister. The chairperson of the People's Representative Assembly's Commission I on June 24 also received a copy of the letter.

Thamrin Ananda, the chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), says that the budget submission indicates that the government is not serious about the peace negotiations in Helsinki between the government and the Free Aceh Movement. On the one hand the government is showing the public its good intentions to solve the conflict while on other hand the government through the Department of Defense continues to plan for to ongoing military operation in Aceh.

This is a dualistic position on the government's part in handling the Aceh question and we deeply regret it, bearing in mind that the armed conflict in Aceh has already resulted in huge number of casualties. This is especially so under the present situation where Aceh has to carry out a process of rehabilitation and reconstruction following the tsunami disaster said Ananda.

Ananda added that if this kind of position is maintained, it will be even more difficult to resolve the Aceh conflict, let alone find a common view on the realities of the conflict in Aceh. On this issue I see there are massive business interests on the part of the military in its operations in Aceh so that it is very difficult to end the military operation there.

Meanwhile a member of the Commission I Budgetary Panel, Djoko Susilo, is questioning the budgetary submission because the budget proposal is not intended to come from the state budget since Aceh has returned to a normal state. The state of civil emergency in Aceh ended on May 18 and since then Aceh has returned to state of civil authority. As of Tuesday evening June 28, the Budgetary Panel was still discussing the submission.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Military ties

Human rights balancing act to win US military help

Agence France Presse - July 3, 2005

Victor Tjahjadi, Jakarta -- A delicate balancing act of resisting international concern over past atrocities while appealing for foreign military help has begun to pay off for Indonesia with Washington on course to revive ties frozen due to human rights violations.

Last week the US House of Representatives agreed to lift military aid restrictions to Jakarta that were imposed in 1991 in response to Indonesian military violence in its 1999 breakaway province of East Timor.

Although the 20.3-billion-dollar foreign aid bill, under which Indonesia is eligible for help, has yet to win Senate approval and be signed by US President George W. Bush, the Congressional green light removes a major obstacle.

Yet, even as it rubs its hands in anticipation, Jakarta is facing renewed demands to account for its actions in East Timor, with UN experts calling for Indonesian alleged rights abusers to face an international tribunal.

If Indonesia succeeds in winning military aid from the United States, it will mark a major coup for new President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who visited Washington in May on a charm offensive aimed at lifting the restrictions.

It will also help smooth relations between America and the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, the scene of several major militant attacks, at a time when support for the US-led war on terror is floundering.

Yudhoyono's government successfully salved the concerns of Congress by cooperating with an FBI probe into the killings of two US citizens in Papua in 2002, after which the concerns over East Timor have apparently been sidelined.

Indonesia's Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono told AFP last week that he "positively welcomed" the move by the House of Representatives, however the move has angered rights campaigners.

"The passing of the bill shows that the US is inconsistent with the decision-making of their foreign policy," said Hendardi, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association.

"They claimed that the embargo was part of their pledge to uphold human rights, yet, the endorsement of the bill is clear evidence of their own political and economic interests," he told AFP.

Key to the concerns of rights campaigners is Jakarta's failure to jail any senior officials over the violence in which pro- Indonesian militia gangs -- allegedly directed by Indonesian army officers -- ran amok in East Timor.

They killed about 1,400 independence supporters in the former Portuguese colony, laid waste to much of the infrastructure and forcibly deported 250,000 people after the poll resulted in an overwhelming vote for separation.

Last week, a UN Commission of Experts panel report said an Indonesian rights court used to try senior officials was "manifestly inadequate" and "shows scant respect for -- or conformity to -- relevant international standards".

Human rights trials held in Indonesia to try those responsible, and deflect UN calls for a proper tribunal, ended last year after acquitting all but one of the 18 security officers and officials who appeared before them.

With both Dili and Jakarta keen to turn a corner on their troubled past, Indonesia insists it is justified in seeking a restoration of military help, particularly as it attempts to rebuild in the wake of last year's tsunami.

"What we need is the full revocation of the embargo for spare parts for our defence equipment manufactured in or outsourced from the United States," Defence Minister Sudarsono told AFP in an interview.

He criticised rights groups and the UN panel for their relentless pressure over East Timor, saying that they were wrongly attributing blame for the violence, after which Indonesia had done its best to deliver justice.

"They are too fixated on what they deem gross violations of human rights. We have explained to them that absence of power was the cause of the mayhem and destruction in East Timor," he said.

Sudarsono defended the outcome of the trials, blaming Indonesia's lack of funds to carry out judicial investigations and absence of a mechanism to bring East Timorese witnesses to Jakarta.

"The logistics of our justice, particularly the (mechanism) for full-accountable justice, are things that we do not have," he said.

"We cannot provide that because we don't have the judiciary logistical basis to undergo such an undertaking of full accounting. It's not for lack of trying, politically. It's just the logistics of it," Sudarsono argued.

He said the creation of a joint panel established by Indonesia with East Timor -- or the Commission of Truth and Friendship -- was a "better" solution for both countries to reconcile their past differences.

But, says the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, a human rights group, any attempt by Indonesia to deal with its past also fails to address concerns over current military action, particularly against separatist rebels in tsunami-hit Aceh.

"Indonesia's armed forces have not met existing congressional conditions," said Karen Orenstein of the Washington-based group. "The action, just six months after the tsunami devastated Aceh, represents a slap in the face for survivors who continue to be victimized by the Indonesian military."

Human rights/law

Arresting decay in Indonesia

Asia Times - July 7, 2005

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar -- Four presidents and seven years since the fall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in Indonesia, his New Order acolytes are still cast as the dalang, the unseen master controlling the characters in Javanese shadow puppet shows. A presidential fact-finding team's investigation into the murder of Indonesia's foremost human-rights activist provides fresh fodder for conspiracy theorists. Reaction to those findings highlights the staying power of New Order remnants and the impact of the cabal, regardless of whether it exists or not.

Munir Said Thalib, a leading critic of New Order abuses, died on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam aboard Indonesia's flag carrier, Garuda, last September. He was on his way to the Netherlands to begin scholarship studies for a law degree. At age 38, Munir had distinguished himself as the nation's most forceful crusader against New Order brutality, from activists' mysterious disappearances to shootings of students to massacres in East Timor.

Those activities made Munir the target of death threats and mob rampages against his office. His opponents apparently found their mark aboard flight GA 974. Munir became violently ill on the leg of the flight between Singapore and Amsterdam and died. The autopsy in the Netherlands revealed a massive, fatal dose of arsenic in his stomach, almost certainly fed to him during the flight.

Intelligence links

The fact-finding panel headed by a police general, featuring legal experts and human-rights activists, delivered its report to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 23. The team's six- month investigation found evidence that officials of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN by its Indonesian acronym) were "involved in a conspiracy to murder Munir." The 100-page report was not made public, but team members revealed key findings.

The team corroborated leading suspect Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto's claims of links to BIN. Pollycarpus, a Garuda pilot, rode on the Jakarta-Singapore leg of GA 974 under the pretence of a phony assignment and gave his business class seat to Munir. The presidential panel found more than 30 phone calls between Pollycarpus and BIN numbers before and after the September 7 murder. They also heard testimony about Pollycarpus' previous involvement with BIN operatives. Most damning, the team said it uncovered documents linked to intelligence officials outlining four scenarios for murdering Munir, including poisoning him aboard an aircraft.

Yudhoyono, a general under Suharto but a PhD rather than a dalang, accepted the team's report and reiterated his commitment to bring the murderers to justice. Yudhoyono's government has fried some big fish on corruption charges, including a provincial governor, but it has steered clear of military stalwarts. The team's findings, however, chart a collision course with Abdullah Makhmud Hendropriyono, a New Order army general who headed BIN at the time of Munir's murder.

Still more equal than others

Ironically, the limited fruits of reformasi give new ammunition to its enemies. Separation of power restrictions designed to prevent the return of Suharto's virtual dictatorship help his supporters remain above the law. For example, Hendropriyono refused to honor three summonses from the fact-finding commission, claiming he wasn't subject to the authority of a body created by "merely a presidential decree".

In a bit of doublespeak worthy of a George Orwell novel, Hendropriyono explained his defiance of the team's summonses: "This way, I'm showing everyone that the authorities can no longer summon anyone without good justification. The authorities should no longer scare people in this new atmosphere of democracy."

Despite Indonesia's progress along the road to reformasi, including the military renouncing its formal political role, the armed forces -- the backbone of Suharto's regime -- remain beyond civilian control and most loyal to their own membership, past and present. The military is linked to many unpunished crimes: the 1998 student shootings and mob violence that led to Suharto's resignation, massacres in East Timor, outbreaks of religious violence and radical Muslim militias in the Malukus and Central Sulawesi. Discussions of these events usually focus on possible New Order loyalist involvement, rather than on the devastating impact of the violence.

Jose Manuel Tesoro covered Indonesia for Asiaweek from 1997 to 2000 and wrote The Invisible Palace, examining the 1996 unsolved murder of a newspaper reporter in Yogyakarta whose articles had angered a powerful local official. Tesoro says looking for conspiracy theories may be a pointless distraction from what really matters.

"[T]he networks and habits formed during the New Order didn't go away just because Suharto stepped down. The lack of respect for human life, the arrogance that comes with feeling untouchable by the law, the knowledge that nearly anyone or anything can be bought -- all this still exists in many places in the elite," Tesoro, now a student at Harvard Law School, observes. "You'll see it in the minister's son who thinks nothing of shooting a waiter for a supposed slight. Or the corrupt judge or cop who thinks bribery and extortion come with the job. None of this has to be centrally directed by Suharto or some general or whatever, but the effects are still there and still corrosive."

Arresting decay

Munir was one of the people trying to stop the corrosion that resonates throughout Indonesian society and beyond its borders. As important as solving Munir's murder is for Indonesia's fledgling freedom, it's just as important for its economy, for its Association of Southeast Asian Nations neighbors and the world at large. As the world's fourth-most populous nation located on the strategic Malacca Strait and at the borders of Asia, Indonesia has geopolitical weight along with its symbolic significance as the largest predominantly Muslim democracy. Indonesia has the potential to flourish or to spiral downward toward economic and social chaos, orchestrated or otherwise.

Rule of law is what will tip the balance. Equality under the law is still far away when a tourist carrying 4.2 kilograms of marijuana gets 20 years in jail -- and prosecutors appeal the sentence as too lenient -- while Tommy Suharto gets 15 years for hiring thugs to kill a judge who ruled against him in a corruption case -- reduced to 10 years by the Supreme Court within days of the Munir report, and with release likely after serving less than four years. Of course, it's progress that the former president's son was convicted at all.

Particularly in civil cases, verdicts remain for sale to the highest bidder. Police, though vastly improved since their separation from the military, and prosecutors can still be induced to harass for the right price. That makes Indonesia a ridiculous place to invest for foreigners and Indonesians alike and explains a good deal about why Indonesia's economy has failed to recover from the regional crisis of 1997-98.

Persistent poverty and powerlessness are dangerous conditions for any nation. In Indonesia those circumstances are giving radical Islam growing support and disproportionate political influence. The threat is more terrorist violence in Indonesia and a terrorist breeding ground for attacks globally. To counteract that threat, Indonesia and its friends need police, military, and especially intelligence services that are trustworthy and pursuing the government's agenda. Regardless of whether BIN is proven to have been behind Munir's murder, the findings to date suggest how far it is from being a reliable partner for anyone outside its elite circle.

Rule of law was at the heart of Munir's work. It would be a fitting tribute, and perhaps his most lasting contribution, if bringing his killer(s) to justice marked a turning point for rule of law in Indonesia.

[Gary LaMoshi has worked as a broadcast producer and print writer and editor in the US and Asia. Longtime editor of investor rights advocate eRaider.com, he's also a contributor to Slate and Salon.com.]

Spies murdered human-rights activist

Green Left Weekly - July 6, 2005

James Balowski, Jakarta -- "Based on everything we have obtained, the [National Intelligence] Agency [BIN] is believed to have played a major role in a well-planned conspiracy to murder Munir", Asmara Nababan, the deputy chairperson of the Fact Finding Team (TPF) investigating the renowned human-rights activist told Agence France Presse on June 23.

The TPF submitted its final report to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 23. "We have the names of people who have played key roles, but we cannot determine how far is their involvement in the murder", Nababan said. Susilo told the team that he was committed to bring the perpetrators of the murder to justice.

The June 23 Jakarta Post reported that a "source" said the role of each BIN official in the murder is described in the nearly 100-page report, including who played which roles, such as the mastermind and the final executioner.

Speaking to the Jakarta daily Kompas, Nababan also said that the TPF has some ideas about the motives behind the murder, but they were as yet inconclusive. This, he said, was because the TPF's mandate ended before it had been allowed access to a number of BIN's documents.

Munir died aboard a Garuda Airlines flight hours before landing in Amsterdam on September 7. His death was originally blamed on a heart attack but the autopsy found he died of arsenic poisoning. Police have detained a Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Priyanto, and two cabin crew who served food to the activist, as suspects. Priyanto claims to have been recruited by BIN in 2002.

Another TPF member, Munarman, told AFP on June 22 that they had evidence that Priyanto was in frequent telephone contact with several members of BIN "before and after" Munir's death. But he said it was up to the police to determine if it had anything to do with the murder.

BIN's former director, retired General AM Hendropriyono, has refused to answer a summons from the team, accusing it of arrogance. Munarman said police should question Hendropriyono and several of his deputies -- particularly Muchdi Purwopranjono. Purwopranjono, a former elite special forces Kopassus commander, was sacked following Munir's investigation into the 1998 abductions of student activists.

In its report, however, the TPF criticised the police's poor performance in handling the case and will ask Yudhoyono to establish a supervisory team to ensure that police deal with the case seriously. "We have learned that the police failed to raise key questions during the questioning of witnesses, including Muchdi", Nababan told the June 23 Jakarta Post.

The report also puts an end to suspicions that the TNI (armed forces) was involved in the murder, with Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi telling reporters: "It's clear, there is no-one from the TNI who is involved". He refused, however, to say whether there was any involvement of retired or "rogue" TNI members.

TPF member Rachland Nashiddik explained that the perpetrator tried to implicate the TNI by sending threatening letters to Munir's wife, Suciwati, warning people not to connect the murder with the TNI.

Although Asmara and TPF secretary Usman Hamid say they are convinced the president will stick to his promise to see the case solved, they warn that it will depend on institutions under Yudhoyono's authority. "Will they want to fully support it or not?", asked Usman, adding that in discussions with the president they had warned Yudhoyono that pressure is already being applied on the police officers investigating the case. "There are external factors, resulting in their work not being optimal", he said without giving details about the source and form of this pressure.

According to the June 28 Tempo magazine, an officer from police headquarters admitted to the magazine that they will need "extra powers" if the case is to be solved. "This case carries a great deal of political baggage", said the officer who insisted anonymity, adding that it would be better for the police not to be left to conduct the investigation alone.

The source also told Tempo that pressure is increasing because based on the TPF's findings, police have found a number of new leads and believe they will soon crack the case. "It is already very clear. Just wait for the announcement", said the source.

Indonesia's democracy tested by activist's death

Agence France Presse - July 5, 2005

Dan Eaton -- An Indonesian murder mystery set in the skies and involving spies, arsenic poisoning and the national airline is becoming a dramatic test of democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

A few years ago, under the rule of iron-fisted former president Suharto, authorities would likely have clamped down on news of the killing of Munir Said Thalib, 38, a democracy activist who died aboard a flight to Amsterdam last September.

The motive for his death remains cloaked in mystery, but the events surrounding it are slowly becoming clearer following a probe ordered by Indonesia's new government.

An autopsy by Dutch police revealed arsenic poisoning, and the Indonesian probe implicated employees of national airline Garuda and officials of the state intelligence agency (BIN), although its former chief strongly denies involvement.

The saga serves as an illustration of how much has changed in Indonesia, but also how reforms still have some way to go.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general who became the country's first directly elected president last October, appointed a commission made up of leading human rights activists and former police officials to probe Munir's death.

In June, that team presented him with a report implicating top intelligence officials, say members of the team who wrote it. "They are high ranking officials," commission member Usman Hamid, a member of the Kontras human rights group formerly headed by Munir, told Reuters.

Earlier, three Garuda employees were arrested after a police investigation.

Although no action has yet been taken on any intelligence officials following the commission's report, and details are not yet known of who it names and how it links them to the case, one top official has gone public to deny any connection.

"Frankly and honestly, I had nothing to do with Munir's death. I never asked anyone to kill him," Hendropriyono, the former chief of the powerful national intelligence agency BIN, said in a half-page interview in the Jakarta Post last week.

Hendropriyono, a close ally of Yudhoyono's predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri, retired from BIN late last year after Yudhoyono defeated Megawati in a run-off election.

Unthinkable

The public comments from commission members and Hendropriyono would have been near unthinkable in the Suharto era, when for members of Indonesia's elite "face," or pride, was paramount and public accountability and open debate a rare commodity.

"Five years ago it never would have even been possible to insinuate that the head of BIN might be involved," said Sidney Jones, an Indonesia expert at the International Crisis Group.

"It says a lot about how far Indonesia has come that an independent team has been able to work, granted under severe restraints, but in a way that has allowed its findings to reach the public in a pretty unadorned fashion."

Although it is not legally binding, the commission's report recommends the police further investigate top BIN officials and others for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to kill Munir.

Whether times have changed enough for things to go much further remains to be seen. "I have to be frank that I am skeptical that a task force would eventually be able to touch many important people," said Kusnanto Anggoro, a University of Indonesia political analyst.

In the meantime, all eyes are on the police and prosecutors. "The question will be whether it will lead to any prosecutions from the people who are already detained... Of all the parts of the Indonesian political machinery, the one that has moved slowest to open up has been the legal system," said Jones.

"That remains one of the most serious problems and challenges facing the Yudhoyono government." (Additional reporting by Tomi Soetjipto)

Hendropriyono: I had nothing to do with Munir's death

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Retired four-star Army general Abdullah Makhmud Hendropriyono is likely to remain in the spotlight, as the government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF) has submitted its report to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on its investigation into the murder of human rights activist Munir. Though not directly naming Yogyakarta-born Hendropriyono, whose last position was as chief of the feared National Intelligence Agency (BIN), the team sent signals to the media that he might somehow be implicated in the crime.

Hendropriyono, born on May 7, 1945, is a 1980 graduate of US Army General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth. He gave an interview to Ridwan Max Sijabat from The Jakarta Post at his office early last week, at which he strenuously denied being involved in the murder of Munir.

Question (Q): Were you, either in your own capacity or as BIN chief, involved in the poisoning of human rights activist Munir?

Answer (A): Frankly and honestly, I had nothing to do with Munir's death. I never asked anyone to kill him, and BIN, under my leadership, did not hatch any plot to do so because he was not a problem as an individual, nor a problem for the state, the nation or the government.

Q: But why weren't you cooperative with the government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF Munir)?

A: I was not prepared to be summoned by the fact-finding team set up through a presidential decree. I did not agree with the way the team summoned citizens and collected information from their targeted sources.

The team was quite arrogant, since they felt they had full authority to summon and question any citizen at will. The team was not set up primarily to summon or interrogate people but to collect information necessary to reveal the circumstances of Munir's death, his assassins and their motives.

I was disappointed with the team when they told the press that they would summon me and other former BIN officials, but did not actually send a written summons.

I would have been cooperative if the team had been more persuasive and professional in carrying out its mission.

This way, I'm showing everyone that the authorities can no longer summon anyone without good justification. The authorities should no longer scare people in this new atmosphere of democracy.

Q: But you were rumored to have held a meeting with Garuda pilot Pollycarpus (who is under police arrest) to discus the killing of Munir, while your former deputy, Muchdi P.R., was rumored to have led the mission in the field. Is there any truth in these allegations?

A: None whatsoever. During my tenure at BIN, I never held a meeting or issued any order to kill Munir.

Q: The team has discovered intelligence-linked documents that set out four plans to kill Munir. What is your response?

A: BIN did not produce such plans because it never planned to kill Munir.

Q: Do you hate Munir, his activities, or his organization, Imparsial?

A: The state and I have no reason to hate any honest citizen, including Munir, his activities or his organization -- and he was too insignificant anyway. He was a critic of the military and fighting for human rights and democracy but few were worried about him and his activities.

Q: What will you do if the police, in their subsequent investigations, discover you were involved, or that BIN had a role, in the poisoning of Munir?

A: The case has to be put to me and I will be ready to be brought to justice. In such an event, the BIN chief would have to resign. But how could I do that, as I have already resigned?

Q: Have you or your family been affected by the wide media coverage of BIN's alleged involvement in the Munir case?

A: My family and I have been badly affected -- as though I were involved in the case. The way the TPF used the mass media to overexpose my rejection of its invitation was a form of character assassination. Besides, all three of my children have had to endure the shame since "Hendropriyono" is their last name.

Q: Why is Indonesia prone to terrorist attacks?

A: Because this large country is quite open to infiltrators from outside. Anyone can easily enter Indonesia because its borders- land, sea and air-are not fully guarded. Also, many hard-line groups have the potential to use violence and terrorism to advance their cause.

Q: Why can't terrorism be tackled; haven't their organizations been identified?

A: The law no longer allows the security authorities to arrest those who are strongly suspected of launching terrorist attacks.

During the New Order era, terror attacks were very rare and could easily be foiled because the authorities and intelligence apparatus were allowed to take and arrest hard-line groups.

Terrorist attacks can be minimized in Indonesia only if BIN is allowed to take and arrest all members of hard-line groups who are behind terror threats and attacks.

The most wanted, Nur Muhammad Top and Dr. Azahari, two Malaysian citizens believed to have been behind a string of terrorist attacks in the past, could be captured only if security authorities, including BIN, were allowed to "borrow" all those close to the two to obtain information on them.

Terrorist attacks in Bali, Jakarta and other areas in the country could have been minimized and detected if BIN had been given the power. The government regulation in lieu of law (Perpu) on terrorism has been found to be ineffective because the security authorities are allowed only to arrest those suspected of launching terrorist attacks.

Q: How do you assess the secessionist movement in Papua and Aceh?

A: The separatist movement in Papua is far more serious than the threat from GAM (the Free Aceh Movement) because its lobby has reached international forums and developed countries.

The government should no longer use violence or the military to quell separatist movements but, rather, intensify dialog to persuade rebels to return to the unitary Indonesian state.

If the rebels turn down peaceful dialog, Indonesia should invite the United Nations to hold a national-not regional-referendum to determine the future of Aceh and Papua. I do not believe that the population would vote for the two provinces' separation.

Q: How did you become interested in intelligence issues?

A: I spent half of my military career in the field of intelligence, with appointments in strategic positions in the Army elite force (Kopassus), the Indonesian Military intelligence unit (BAIS) and the Jakarta Military Command.

Q: When and why did you become interested in democracy?

A: I have read many books on the forms of government before and after the birth of Christ, which indicate that democratic regimes last longer than totalitarian or communist ones.

I fell in love with democracy initially when the seeds of democracy began to grow in Indonesia with the election of Megawati Soekarnoputri as chairperson of the then Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) at its congress in Jakarta in 1992. As Jakarta Military chief at that time, I was not ordered by then president Soeharto to intervene in the congress.

Q: Who are your role models?

A: Napoleon Bonaparte and Sukarno. Napoleon was a brilliant general and leader who brought France into a golden era in Europe in the 18th century. Sukarno was also a strong and famous statesman during his era; he had a brilliant outlook on political, social and economic issues.

I have read many books on the two famous figures and their thoughts.

Reconciliation & justice

Convictions of soldiers accused of 1984 massacre overturned

Agence France Presse - July 7, 2005

An Indonesian appeal court has overturned the convictions of 12 soldiers for massacring Muslim protestors in 1984, a lawyer for the soldiers said, a move likely to anger rights activists.

An ad hoc human rights court last year sentenced an army captain to three years in jail and 11 of his subordinates to two years each for the shooting spree that killed 24 people in Jakarta's Tanjung Priok district.

The generals charged with responsibility for the shootings were acquitted.

Yan Juanda Saputra, the soldiers' defense lawyer, welcomed the decision by the Jakarta High Court to overturn the verdicts Thursday. "From the outset we knew there was no evidence of human rights violations. It was an accident," he told AFP.

Officials at the High Court could not be reached immediately.

The original verdicts were condemned by rights groups who said Indonesia lacked the nerve to bring powerful military figures to book for atrocities committed during the 32-year rein of former dictator Suharto, who stepped down in 1998.

The trials were Indonesia's second attempt to bring soldiers to court for rights abuses after court proceedings against 18 security officers or officials charged with atrocities surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote.

The human rights court acquitted all but one of the 18 accused of the atrocities, prompting calls from rights activists for a UN- backed war crimes tribunal.

Reopening of Priok case sought

Jakarta Post - July 7, 2005

Jakarta -- Following a political move by lawmakers to push for the reopening of the investigations into shooting incidents in 1998 and 1999, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has urged a new probe into another gross human rights violation, that shootings in Tanjung Priok in 1984.

Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid suggested that new suspects be named and prosecuted in accordance with the recommendations issued by the National Commission on Human Rights.

"Hoping that those people who were acquitted of all charges will be put on trial again is impossible. In our opinion, the only alternative is to seek new suspects," Usman said. These suspects, he said, should be those who were ultimately responsible for the shootings, even though they might not be the ones who pulled the triggers.

"I think the military commander who was in charge at that time should be held responsible for the shooting incident in Tanjung Priok," Usman said. The Jakarta military commander when the incident occurred in June 1984 was Maj. Gen. Try Sutrisno, who was elected vice president in 1993 by the People's Consultative Assembly.

During the incident, troops opened fire on hundreds of protesters during a clash at Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta, which according to official figures killed 32 people.

The Attorney General's Office named 14 soldiers and officers suspects in the case, including Special Forces (Kopassus) chief Maj. Gen. Sriyanto Muntrasan, who was the North Jakarta military commander at the time. Try, who made peace with families of the victims, was not on the list.

All the suspects were acquitted by the ad hoc human rights court, which ruled that the shootings "were unavoidable and were not a planned or systematic action", and thus could not be categorized as gross human rights abuses.

Kontras, Usman said, had urged the Attorney General's Office to appeal the court's verdicts and asked both the President and the House of Representatives to rehabilitate the reputation of the victims and provide compensation for their families.

Usman said the charges laid against security officers responsible for the Priok abuses and other gross human rights violations had always been based on the Criminal Code on the commission, abetting or initiation of a crime, but they had never been charged with failing to prevent the incidents.

"The country has admitted that the gross human rights violations took place, but has never sought to call anyone to account for the crimes." Usman said.

He said the military top brass who were in command when the incident occurred should be charged under the principle of command responsibility as provided for in the Human Rights Tribunal Law (No. 26/1999).

AGO challenged to reopen Trisakti, Semanggi cases

Jakarta Post - July 6, 2005

The House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights agreed recently to reopen the investigation into the shootings of students who staged antigovernment protests in Jakarta in 1998 and 1999.

The investigation into the high-profile cases was halted after the House's 2001 political probe concluded that the incidents were not gross human rights abuses. Human rights activist Asmara Nababan spoke to The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat about the issue.

Question: What is your comment concerning latest development from the House?

Answer: Despite being too late, it is the right thing to do. The House must review and revoke the misleading decree to show their commitment to human rights and democracy.

What are its implications?

First, the long-awaited investigation into the Trisakti shootings of May 12, 1998, and two others at the Semanggi cloverleaf on Oct. 13, 1998 and on Sept. 24, 1999, will be reopened immediately.

The ball is now in the Attorney General's court to follow up the findings of the fact-finding team that was set up by the National Commission on Human Rights. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has to interrogate all those implicated in the rights abuses.

Secondly, the House will likely declare the incidents as gross human rights violations, prompting prosecutors to lay charges with heavier sanctions against those who were responsible for the incidents.

Thirdly, the government itself must carry out a thorough investigation into the three cases.

How should the AGO go about doing this?

The AGO should appoint experienced and dedicated attorneys with a broad perspective on human rights to carry out the investigation. The investigation should be based on the fact-finding team's report which was handed to the AGO in 2002.

What recommendations did the fact-finding team at the time give to the government?

According to the team, the three incidents constituted gross human rights violations and, therefore, there must be accountability from military and police officials who were in charge of security during the three incidents.

Is it not enough that several police and military personnel have already found been guilty of committing the shootings?

Absolutely not! Besides the fact that at least 30 students were shot dead in the incidents, the shootings were committed under orders from their superiors who have to be held accountable for their orders.

Who should take responsibility for the incidents?

The Attorney General should interrogate retired general Wiranto who was chief of the Indonesian Military at the time, two chiefs of the Jakarta Military Command and two chiefs of the Jakarta Police in 1998 and 1999.

How optimistic are you that the AGO will thoroughly pursue this case?

We have to (be optimistic). The current government has begun to show a commitment to eradicating corruption and upholding justice and human rights. Its credibility will be questioned if the AGO fails to bring human rights perpetrators in these incidents to justice.

Does the rights body and the House have any other role in supporting the investigation?

The rights body does not have a role as its fact-finding mission is completed. The House still has an important task: to propose an ad hoc tribunal as is required by the human rights law.

Indonesia, money speaks louder than justice

ABC Radio - July 2, 2005

Reporter: Tim Palmer

Hamish Robertson: When Tommy Suharto, the mega rich son of Indonesia's former dictator, was sent to jail for organising the assassination of the judge who'd been investigating him, many saw it as a hopeful sign. At last, it seemed, a new Indonesia was emerging where no one was above the law.

But prison for Tommy Suharto has been a far easier proposition than for the average Indonesian convict, and in the past few days he's received news that even his somewhat cushioned punishment could end much sooner than expected.

After a Supreme Court decision cut years off his sentence, it became clear last week that with the remissions he's been granted, Tommy Suharto could be out of jail within the next 12 months.

As Tim Palmer now reports from Jakarta, there's now concern that no one in the Indonesian justice system will feel able to pursue the rich and corrupt without fearing for their lives.

Tim Palmer: Four years ago, Indonesians began to believe that political reform had finally reached the stage where even the untouchables of the Suharto era could now be brought to justice when the former dictator's own son -- the playboy billionaire Tommy Suharto -- was sent to jail, guilty of sending two hitmen to kill the judge, Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who was investigating him for corruption. Tommy was given a 15-year sentence.

But this week there are signs that such legal reform is unravelling. Bitterly emotional, the judge's widow this week told the ABC how she'd heard on television that Tommy had had five years stripped from his sentence by the Supreme Court.

(sound of Syafiuddin Kartasasmita's widow speaking)

"We're so disappointed with the Supreme Court review," she said. "We thought the first sentence was light enough, but this is a really big disappointment."

Tommy has already been given the better part of two years worth of remissions from his sentence -- six months reduction in a single day during last year's independence celebrations. With further remissions expected, the convicted killer could now be free within a year. That her late husband's fellow judges contributed to that is not lost on the grieving widow.

(sound of Syafiuddin Kartasasmita's widow speaking)

"It's brought our pain to the surface again," she said. "How could they make a decision so painful to our family? Those who have the power to set this sentence, please consider our feelings."

And it's not as if Tommy Suharto's life in jail has been hard labour. Set up in a comfortable room in the jail on an island off Java, Tommy breeds tropical fish in the tank in his anteroom, unaccustomed to prison food, Tommy's meals are brought over on a speedboat from the mainland.

He has visitors regularly, it's believed including girlfriends, and he's frequently flown to high class private clinics in Jakarta for health checks.

He apparently conducts his business affairs unhindered behind bars. And the wilder rumours even say he's frequently seen at nightclubs outside jail altogether.

Pro-reform lawyer Franz Juanita (phonetic) says the reduction in sentence is a legal catastrophe for Indonesia. It means the whole justice system can be threatened with violence, and that the rich and powerful still won't be held to account. Amid rumours in Jakarta that the Supreme Court might have been affected by intimidation or graft in reducing Tommy's sentence, Franz Juanita (phonetic) expressed bitter disappointment with their decision.

Franz Juanita: I think they don't show any of this back to their colleagues, which has been shot dead.

Tim Palmer: What does it say about reform in Indonesia's courts, when many people thought the Supreme Court was going to be the court that led the way in reform?

Franz Juanita: Yeah, and I also believe that the legal reform has to be started with the legal institution, as the summit of the legal institution is the Supreme Court. But alas, the Supreme Court doesn't have the political will to reform themselves because everybody was thinking about their own face, their own money, their own income. It's sad for Indonesia, as a matter of fact.

Tim Palmer: What you're suggesting is that in Indonesia today justice in the Indonesia of Suharto, money speaks more loudly than justice.

Franz Juanita: Yes, I think... that's what I think, you see, because it continues, and it's even worse than during Suharto, because it is more widespread than during Suharto. It's built into the system. So it's weak.

Tim Palmer: The fact that so little has really changed in official attitudes towards the rich and corrupt is unsurprising, Franz Juanita (phonetic) says, you only have to look at current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's fawning visit to the ageing dictator Suharto in the past few weeks to understand how things still really work in Indonesia.

Hamish Robertson: That report by Tim Palmer in Jakarta.

Legislators change stance on 1998-1999 shootings

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- Victims of the shootings of students during antigovernment protests in 1998 and 1999 were given solace on Thursday as lawmakers agreed to recommend the reopening of investigations into the incidents.

All factions represented on the House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights decided at a meeting on Thursday that the legislature must revoke its previous political statement that the incidents, which took place amid mounting demands for sweeping reform, could not be classified as gross human rights violations.

The investigations into the Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II incidents by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) have been stalled for years, as the previous House issued a decree declaring that these cases did not involve serious human rights abuses.

The decree was fiercely criticized by human rights groups. A series of preliminary probes by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) found that the incidents were indeed gross violations of human rights committed by government security forces.

Commission III said that based on a thorough review of the various documents and reports filed by Komnas HAM, it would seek the annulment of the decree.

"Based on our reviews, all Commission members have agreed that the decree should be reviewed. Reviewing it can only mean one thing, that is, the annulling of the decree. The process will be done through a House plenary session," Commission III deputy chairman Akil Mochtar said.

He said the recommendation would be forwarded to the House leadership as soon as possible in order to schedule a plenary session.

If the House actually endorses the annulment of the much- criticized decree, Akil said it would be up to Komnas HAM and the AGO to pursue further investigations into the incidents.

Legislator Panda Nababan shared Akil's view, saying that there would no longer be any excuses left for the AGO not to follow up on the Komnas HAM findings.

Once the AGO had finally completed the case files, the House would determine whether or not an ad hoc human rights tribunal should be set up to try the cases.

Four students from Trisakti University were shot and killed when demonstrating in front of their campus in Grogol, West Jakarta, on May 12, 1998, to demand reforms in the Soeharto administration and the military.

At least 16 more students were killed in a bloody clash between student demonstrators and troops at the Semanggi toll road off- ramp adjacent to Atmajaya University on Oct. 13, 1998, while 10 others were killed in another pro-democracy rally at the same place on Sept. 24, 1999.

Former senior officers of the Jakarta Police and the military have denied any responsibility, and claimed that they did not order their personnel to shoot the students.

Aside from the three incidents, Commission III also agreed to establish a special committee to look deeper into the gross human rights abuses that occurred during the May 1998 disturbances ahead of Soeharto's ouster. The mayhem led to the deaths of hundreds of people, widespread gang rapes and forced disappearances of activists.

Komnas HAM has set up a separate committee to investigate the events surrounding the May disturbances.

War on terror

Suharto-era spy network revived

Green Left Weekly - July 6, 2005

James Balowski, Jakarta -- After criticisms that intelligence agencies had failed to prevent a May 28 deadly bomb blast at a crowded market in central Sulawesi, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered regional governments to revive the Regional Intelligence Coordinating Body (Bakorinda) -- a network of intelligence offices used to quell dissent to the Suharto dictatorship.

Although a number of suspects have been arrested for the bomb attack, it remains unclear whether it was the work of Islamic militants or linked with attempts by local government officials to divert attention from a corruption scandal involving humanitarian assistance for refugees.

Local officials have also hinted that the bombing could have been politically motivated to justify a strong military presence in the area. Central Sulawesi has been dogged by violence between Christians and Muslims that has left more than 1000 dead.

The plan to revive Bakorinda -- which was mooted after the October 2002 Bali bombings -- was first proposed by the home affairs minister Muhammad Ma'ruf. Ma'ruf said Bakorinda would synchronise the anti-terror efforts of the military, police and judiciary in all parts of Indonesia.

The agency will be supported by provincial "terror desks". These desks may be placed under the authority of governors who will have access to intelligence reports from the police, the military and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). The governors will be responsible for coordinating the security authorities and will report any "suspicious" activity directly to the president.

Following a June 7 cabinet meeting on June 7, coordinating minister for security and political affairs Widodo AS, claimed that the new agency was need to bridge the current lack of coordination. "The central government cannot handle the fight against terrorism by itself. Provincial administrations must also play a role in this in order for the effort to be effective, since Indonesia is a vast country that needs comprehensive monitoring", he said.

Widodo refused to comment on whether the agency would have the authority to detain or investigate suspects, saying they had not yet worked out those details.

Bakorinda was scrapped following the fall of Suharto in 1998. It was used to monitor public activities, particularly any activity seen as having the potential to undermine the government.

Not surprisingly, TNI (armed forces) chief General Endriartono Sutarto was quick to give his blessing to the plan. Responding to fears that it would return Indonesia to its repressive past, he said, "Which do you prefer, having such fears or losing lives?" The public concern at the plan is reflected in some parliamentarians. "I'm suspicious of the initiator of such a plan because he is trying to revive the past repressive and anti- democratic government by using the issue of terrorism", Bisnis Indonesia quoted Djoko Susilo from the National Mandate Party (PAN) as saying.

Muhaimin Iskandar, also from PAN, said it would only bring back an authoritarian regime to the country. "The acts of terrorism only happen in certain regions. They don't take place throughout the country, so the plan to revive Bakorinda and link it to the issue of terrorism is not relevant".

The public's concern isn't surprising. Many are still traumatised by their past experiences of the network. Recent revelations that agencies such as BIN have been printing counterfeit money and were involved in the murder of renowned human-rights activist Munir have done little to boost public confidence.

In its June 13 editorial, the Jakarta Post said it sensed a "cringing and skepticism" from the public. As to assurances that the public has nothing to fear the paper wrote "But frightened and concerned we are; given the track record of our intelligence authorities who have proved their skill in capturing suspected political dissidents, all while the masterminds of the bombing of Bali, the Marriott, the Australian Embassy, etc, ad nauseum, remain at large and continue to pose a fatal threat".

The editorial went on to argue for more coordination: "Unwillingness to share information among related authorities is an appalling legacy among the officials, in whom we must entrust our very lives".

Rights campaigners fear that security forces will misuse it. "It sounds scary", Agung Yudhawiranata from the rights group Elsam told Associated Press. "We worry that the Suharto era has returned and that the agency will use the pretext of fighting terrorism to violate individuals' rights. It's a step backward in our efforts to limit the powers of the police and military".

Police charge 11 suspects with terror activities

Jakarta Post - July 6, 2005

Eva C. Komandjaja and Blontank Poer, Jakarta, Surakarta -- The National Police announced on Tuesday that 11 out of 17 alleged terrorists arrested last week had been officially charged as suspects in relation to a string of terror activities around the country, including the deadly bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last year.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko D.A. told reporters that the suspects, who were apprehended in Central Java and Jakarta, would be charged under the Antiterrorism Law (No. 15/2003), which carries a maximum penalty of death.

Nine of the 11 were apprehended in Surakarta and neighboring Wonogiri in Central Java, while the other two were arrested in Jakarta.

"We have issued arrest warrants and they have been detained," Soenarko said.

Soenarko refused to divulge the full names of the suspects, giving only their initials and their alleged roles in terrorist activities.

The first two suspects, who were captured in Jakarta, were identified as IH and EK.

They allegedly provided the detonating leads and TNT (trinitrotoluene) for the bomb attack in front of the Australian Embassy in September 2004, which killed 10, including the suicide bomber, and injured some 180 people.

Three other suspects were held in Central Java -- UP, DC and JT -- on charges of harboring two Malaysian fugitives, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd. Top as well as supplying materials for a series of bomb attacks around the country. The two Malaysians are the reputed top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror group linked to Al Qaeda.

Four suspects -- JT, JS, MI and HS -- were charged with aiding and abetting terrorists, including providing transportation and financing.

Soenarko also revealed that the last two suspects, HM and FP, were suspects in the murder of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi last year in conflict-prone Palu, Central Sulawesi. Ferry was shot dead in his car after leaving a house where he had attended an evening religious service.

"As for the other six people that haven't been declared suspects yet, they are still being interrogated," Soenarko said.

Police have arrested scores of terrorists linked to the bombing incidents in Bali in 2002, the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003, and the Australian Embassy in 2004. Three men have been sentenced to death in relation to the Bali attacks.

While most of those arrested have been found guilty by the courts, many have claimed to be innocent.

Meanwhile, a family member of one of the recently arrested terrorist suspects said that his brother, Joko Tri Purwanto (one of the two JTs identified by the police), was apprehended last week after his wife delivered their third child at a Surakarta hospital in Central Java.

According to Eko, Joko's elder brother, the latter had no criminal record and was not involved in terrorism. "In fact, he never leaves home for more than 24 hours," Eko told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said that the 34-year-old Joko looked after his two cell phone shops in Surakarta, working from 9 a.m until nine in the evening. "Even if he had to go out, it would only be to look for used cell phones to be sold in his shops." Eko said he was upset by how the police had handle the case, claiming that the police did not produce a warrant when arresting his brother.

He said that when Joko was arrested, he was carrying some Rp 7 million (US$737) in cash, which he intended to use to pay the hospital bills of his wife. He feared that the police would claim that the money was to be used to help finance terrorism.

Indonesia police arrest terrorist suspects

Associated Press - July 1, 2005

Several Muslim militants have been arrested in Indonesia in connection with a series of bloody attacks on Western targets in the country in recent years, police and media reports said Friday.

Police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar declined to discuss the arrests in detail until the suspects had undergone questioning. He indicated the interrogations would take a week to complete.

"We have detained some people with links to terrorism," he told reporters. "We will release more details in seven days' time." Local media reported that between 11 and 24 men were arrested this week at various locations in central Java province.

The Jakarta Post said the men were suspected of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists, and in the 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, the Indonesia capital.

Both attacks were blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror group intelligence officials say is financed by the al-Qaida network.

In the central Javanese city of Solo about 30 Islamic activists demonstrated against the arrests, saying police arbitrarily detained the men.

Police have arrested scores of militants in connection with the Bali and Marriott attacks, but several key suspects remain at large. Three men have been sentenced to death, and several more are serving long prison terms.

Most of those arrested have been found guilty of sheltering the bombers or withholding information about their whereabouts and sentenced to short prison terms. Many claimed to know nothing about the charges they were accused of, and were poorly defended in court.

Politics/political parties

Muhammadiyah: Between extremism and pluralism

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2005

Muhammad Nafik, Malang, East Java -- In villages across Java, you will rarely find Muhammadiyah Muslims and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslims praying together in the same mosque. It is even rarer to find them living peacefully alongside members of different religions.

Many rural Muhammadiyah members refuse to pray with NU members, despite the fact that they belong to the same religion, the only difference being the organizations to which they are affiliated. NU members often show a similar reluctance.

Top leaders of the country's two largest Muslim organizations frequently appear hand-in-hand in public, urging a similar unity among their members. But these exhortations have changed little at the grassroots level.

There continues to be a religious "competition" among rural members of both organizations, which has developed into a fierce political rivalry.

Muhammadiyah and the NU have failed to rid themselves of differences in practicing Islamic rituals, and they have failed to come together and work toward solving the intricate problems faced by the nation.

The word "pluralism", so often thrown around by officials of both organizations, remains missing at the grassroots level.

Muhammadiyah founder Ahmad Dahlan and NU founder Hasyim Asy'ari established a close personal friendship.

That bond should have been the inspiration for developing a wider relationship between the two organizations at all levels, along with promoting interfaith dialog.

The NU's current chairman, Hasyim Muzadi, and Muhammadiyah leader Ahmad Syafii Maarif have followed in the footsteps of Dahlan and Asy'ari by forging a personal relationship, but lower-level officials in both organizations seem unable, or perhaps unwilling, to follow suit.

Muhammadiyah's reform movement is aimed mainly at purifying Islamic practices in the country by removing all traces of takhayyul (mysticism), bid'ah (local traditions) and churaffat (traditional nonreligious beliefs). This puts the organization in direct conflict with the NU, which continues to embrace and respect local traditions as part of its principle of revitalizing Islam.

Muhammadiyah, often identified more with middle-class Indonesian Muslims and which claims to be the more modern and moderate of the organizations, is now facing the challenge of how to deal with its pluralistic members.

Some Muhammadiyah members embrace Islamic radicalism and are pushing for an Islamic state, although this is not the organization's policy.

At the same time, there is the "liberal" thinking of members of the Muhammadiyah Young Intellectuals Network (JIMM).

Similar to the high-profile Liberal Islamic Network (JIL), JIMM introduces its ideas in a nonconfrontational manner. Despite that, JIMM faces strong opposition from both inside and outside Muhammadiyah.

Critics often equate JIMM with JIL, which, they say, spreads a deviant form of Islam by introducing liberal thinking in the interpretation of religious teachings.

The ongoing six-day national congress of Muhammadiyah in Malang, East Java, should create clear policies for dealing with the internal conflicts in the organization between radicalism, liberalism and pluralism.

With a new chairman to be elected during the congress, it is hoped Muhammadiyah will take a more aggressive stance against radicalism, while at the same time playing a greater role in campaigning for pluralism.

In pushing for the reform movement, Muhammadiyah should not stick only to fighting takhayyul, bid'ah and churaffat in traditionalist Islam, but should move to be more progressive in Islamic thinking.

The introduction of different modes of thought should not be seen as a virus undermining Muhammadiyah.

Young Muslim scholars in Muhammadiyah are acquainted with Western ways of thinking in understanding Islamic teaching. This adds to the suspicion that their thoughts on Islam are not genuine.

The conservatives accuse the liberal intellectuals of trying to destroy Muhammadiyah and Islam.

Such misleading claims should be discussed within the organization before they cause serious damage.

The organization's focus on education and charitable activities needs to be maintained, but it should also not stop campaigning for a more moderate, progressive and pluralist Islam.

In this sense, cooperative efforts by the NU and Muhammadiyah to design and implement programs to combat endemic corruption should be expanded to fight religious radicalism and conservatism.

Compared to the NU, Muhammadiyah is less progressive and aggressive in promoting a tolerant and peaceful Islam.

Remedying this will be one of the main tasks of Muhammadiyah under its new leadership.

[The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.]

Muhammadiyah defends its involvement in politics

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2005

Muhammad Nafik, Malang -- Despite its pledge to stay away from politics, Muhammadiyah says its decision to give its support to last year's failed presidential bid by Amien Rais was not a violation of its nonpartisanship.

Muhammadiyah leaders and members said their organization's support for Amien's presidential nomination should not be considered a "political mistake" by Muhammadiyah, although it decided in 1971 to give up its involvement in politics.

Backing Amien for the presidency was a "responsible choice in a transitional situation to save the nation and the continuity of the reform movement", outgoing Muhammadiyah leader Ahmad Syafii Maarif said on Monday.

Presenting a report on his leadership to the organization's central board, he said, however, that Muhammadiyah must focus on its role as a socio-religious organization, and stay clear of practical politics.

"It must also remain consistent to its propagation and tajdid (reform) missions in this lovely country," Syafii added.

He claimed that Amien's failure to get through the first round of the July 5 presidential election should be considered a "valuable lesson" for Muhammadiyah, and should not spark an internal conflict.

Similarly, young Muhammadiyah intellectuals said they could accept the move to support Amien's bid, although they referred to it as a "political accident".

"It was merely a political accident that was unavoidable," former Muhammadiyah youth leader and current Golkar Party legislator Hajrianto Thohari told a discussion on Monday, without elaborating.

However, he stopped short of saying that Muhammadiyah should prevent such a "political accident" from happening again in the future.

Amien, a former Muhammadiyah chairman who also previously chaired the People's Consultative Assembly, was nominated for the presidency by the National Mandate Party (PAN), but was ejected in the first round.

Current Muhammadiyah youth leader A. Mufthi gave a similar assessment and said that there had been nothing wrong with his organization's decision to back Amien in the presidential race.

"It was just a political accident (for Muhammadiyah) but not a political mistake that must be corrected in the future," he told The Jakarta Post. "What's wrong with our giving support to Amien in the presidential election?" Mufthi argued that under its statutes, the 30-million strong organization is banned from supporting a political party, but not a presidential candidate, particularly one hailing from within its own ranks.

In what is seen by many as a confused stance on politics by Muhammadiyah, the organization allows its executives to also hold positions in political parties. Currently, many executives of the organization at both the central and local levels serve in a variety of political organizations, particularly PAN.

Such double standards are being applied despite Muhammadiyah's decision to cease its political engagement. This was agreed on during its 1971 national congress in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The ongoing six-day congress of Muhammadiyah, being held in the East Java city of Malang until July 8, looks set to continue the status quo and leave the decision unchanged.

Gender issue overshadows Muhammadiyah congress

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2005

ID Nugroho, Malang -- The gender issue could become a serious problem for Muhammadiyah, which claims to be a modern Islamic organization, with all of the 39 nominees selected as eligible candidates to vie for its top posts in the organization being men.

The 39 nominees were chosen during a plenary meeting on Friday of Muhammadiyah, the nation's second biggest Muslim organization, which is currently holding a national congress in Malang, East Java.

However, all of them are male after seven women candidates were rejected. Din Syamsuddin, Haedar Nashir and Abdul Rosyad Sholeh garnered the most votes during the meeting.

This sparked a strong reaction on Monday from the Muhammadiyah- affiliated Aisyiah women's organization, which accused Muhammadiyah of failing to promote gender equality.

Aisyiah leader Siti Chamamah, who had been considered a strong candidate, was among the seven women activists who lost in the early stages of the selection race.

She said her failure to get through to the next round showed that Muhammadiyah was not aware of gender issues.

"The exclusion of women from the selection of leadership candidates in Muhammadiyah worries us," Chamamah said, pointing out that women have long played vital roles in the organization's education and charitable activities.

"Women are already empowered, but why are they still discriminated against at the leadership level," she asked.

Chamamah said that Muhammadiyah had many women members who had all the qualities required to lead the organization, but they were nevertheless denied access to key positions in the organization.

Under the organization's statutes, the 39 selected nominees will now be allowed to press ahead with their bids to secure the organization's top post.

On Tuesday, the congress is scheduled to elect 13 central board members from among the 39 nominees, and whoever of the 13 elected candidates wins the most votes will be declared the new chairman of Muhammadiyah.

Similar criticism was also raised by another Muhammadiyah women's activist, Farida Burhan from tsunami-ravaged Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, who said the exclusion of female candidates during the early rounds of the selection process would make it even more difficult to reduce the marginalization of women in Indonesia.

"If a woman were to serve as a central board member of the organization, she would be able to seriously fight to help women," she said.

Ismiatun Daromi, who chairs Aisyiah's Yogyakarta provincial branch, said that the desire for gender equality was merely rhetoric within Muhammadiyah, as evidenced by the exclusion of women candidates.

"I wonder why so many people in Muhammadiyah still don't understand what gender equality means," she said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari officially opened Aisyiah's national congress at the Muhammadiyah University, Malang, the same venue where the Islamic organization's six-day conference ending on July 8 is being held.

Regional elections

Rate of absenteeism in direct elections soars - scholar

Jakarta Post - July 6, 2005

Masduki Attamami, Antara, Yogyakarta -- Direct regional elections have taken place around the country, and despite some protests they have in general been orderly and peaceful.

However, some scholars have expressed concern over the high rate of poll absenteeism in some of the elections. In some areas, including Gunungkidul regency in Yogyakarta, the number of registered voters who failed to turn up at the polls was larger than the number of votes obtained by the winning candidates.

During the regency election several days ago in Gunungkidul, 128,743 eligible voters did not cast their votes, while the winning candidates Suharto and Badingah received 126,601 votes.

The rate of absenteeism was also high in Bantul and Sleman regencies, where 26 percent and 22.66 percent of eligible voters respectively did not cast ballots.

High rates of absenteeism are unfortunate because these direct elections are important in determining the futures of regions, said Sunardi, a senior lecturer at private Sanata Dharma University.

"Having more people engaged and voting in direct regional elections will help determine the fates of regions," said Sunardi. Elected leaders will be less accountable to the public the fewer people vote in the elections, he said.

The fewer people who vote for leaders, the less indebted to the people these leaders will feel, making them less likely to serve the public's interests, he said.

He predicted that direct regional elections would continue to be plagued by high absentee rates because there were no laws requiring eligible voters to take part in the polls.

Sunardi said the media played a very important role in encouraging people to vote in direct elections in order to raise the quality of the elections.

East Java polls show new level of political maturity

Jakarta Post - July 4, 2005

Harry Bhaskara, Surabaya -- The loudspeaker in the office, half the size of a village classroom, was blaring; while graphics, projected on the wall, showed the preliminary results of ballot counting.

It was June 27, only an hour after polling stations had closed in 31 districts of the East Java capital. Thus, for the first time in history, the mayor of Surabaya had been directly elected by the people.

In the room were election officials, government officials, academics, policemen and reporters. Now and then, one of them would step forward, nonchalantly. As afternoon became evening, they belted out every tune from Love is a Many Splendored Thing to the Indonesian song,Kemesraan.

After the sun had set, the overhead projector was moved out of the election committee's office and set up in the open-air. That way, the public could see for themselves how their candidates were faring. Most Surabaya residents had a relaxed approach toward the election and many used it as an excuse to party.

Was that attitude responsible for the fact that almost half of the 1.9 million eligible voters did not exercise their right to vote? A figure not unlike those recorded in advanced democracies.

Was it because voting day was a Monday? pundits asked. Had people simply ignored the election in favor of a long weekend? Others said the people were indifferent because no matter who became mayor, there would be no changes: corruption would continue; bureaucrats' performance would be so-so, the gap between the rich and the poor would get wider, garbage dumps would be just as hazardous, public transportation would be inefficient like usual, street vendors would be a pest, and their homes would be flooded every wet season.

At any rate, it was concluded the low turnout had benefited the incumbent, Bambang Dwi Hartono, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who garnered 51.3 percent of the vote.

Bambang and his running mate Arif Afandi will become mayor and deputy mayor respectively for five years beginning next month.

Deeper analysis reveals other facets of the election. Not a single party out of the six political parties contesting the election insisted on a candidate who was a native Surabayan, which was imperative in many other parts of the country.

Aside from inside the party, the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) recruited candidates who were professionals, academics, businesspeople and government officials. The Democratic Party (PD), which allied with the National Mandate Party (PAN), chose a businessman to run for mayor -- a unmistakably unconventional move. For their deputy, the two parties opted for a PAN leader who was formerly a popular PDIP leader.

Though dirty politics was reported in the early weeks of the electoral process -- politicians allegedly dabbling in black magic and vote buying -- politicians showed some encouraging developments in behavior. The election itself was peaceful; a condition that was experienced on voting day for regent in three other locations in East Java: Lamongan, Kediri and Gresik. By year end, elections will be held in some 200 regions of the country in total.

Most winners of the election in these four places are the incumbents. A glance back over the electoral process reveals non-incumbents had too little time to introduce themselves to the public. They were also denied the "privilege" of exploiting the bureaucracy for their own advantage. In the absence of superb public relations campaigners, apathetic voters will almost certainly vote for a recognizable figure. Moreover, any candidate with a chance at success needed a billion of rupiah at the outset.

In terms of vote buying, these elections were not a far cry from past practices. The difference was where the money went.

In the past it was channeled through local legislators to their political parties, since local heads of government were elected either by the provincial or regental legislatures. Today the money goes directly to the political parties.

Despite its drawbacks, what happened in East Java in the past week is still something to be embraced. Although, public debate was absent, people are starting to learn there is nothing wrong with differences of opinion. People are also getting used to the voting process.

Creativity crept in with some polling stations devising novel ways to encourage voters, such as free bowls of soup. At another, poll officials decked out in soccer gear rewarded voters with a bag of peanuts if they could score a goal -- by kicking it between two posts -- after casting their vote.

East Javans have shown that democracy is not something they are incompatible with. They are ready for it and have proven some pundits wrong. The oft-repeated claim, particularly during the New Order period, was the people were not ready for democracy.

East Java people have particular characteristics: they are straightforward and tend to be rational, critical and more argumentative than the other people of Java. Yet, as soon as the winner was announced, the losers promptly congratulated Bambang Dwi Hartono -- something that former president Megawati Soekarnoputri failed to do when she was defeated by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in last October's presidential election.

In the months to come, civil society groups have to work harder to empower the people. The winds of democracy will likely blow from the east on Java island.

Government/civil service

Proposal to raise lawmakers' wages opposed by PKS

Jakarta Post - July 7, 2005

Jakarta -- The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is the first faction in the House of Representatives to openly oppose the controversial proposal for a hike in the salary and allowances of legislators.

A legislator of the faction said on Tuesday that the timing was not right for a hike in the salary of lawmakers amid the various difficulties suffered by the people such as natural disasters, malnutrition, endemic diseases and the high unemployment rate.

"The PKS faction opposes it. The timing is not right. We've seen unemployment problems in various regions," said PKS legislator Soeripto on the sidelines of a House hearing.

The House Secretariat had recently proposed a hike in the salaries and allowances of legislators, with some saying that the move was necessary to boost their performance. The higher allowance, for instance, is seen as important to help finance lawmakers' trips to various regions to meet their constituents, and also to hire experts as consultants to assist them in their legislative duties.

But the proposal has received widespread criticism from the public particularly amid the poor record of the 550 House members with regards their primary function of enacting legislation.

Out of the 55 bills scheduled to be completed this year, only one bill has been passed, and lawmakers have only begun deliberating a number of bills.

Minister of Finance Jusuf Anwar has also expressed concern over the impact of the proposed salary hike on the state budget, which is now struggling to cover the ballooning fuel subsidy amid surging international oil prices.

Meanwhile, a legislator from the National Awakening Party (PKB) also expressed disagreement over the proposed salary hike, pointing out the heavy burden on the state budget.

Legislator Nursjahbani Katjasungkana acknowledged that lawmakers badly needed a higher salary and allowance, but considering the current weak state of the economy and the various problems in society, the plan should be delayed.

Nursjahbani said that she received Rp 15.5 million (US$1,631) per month, but nearly half of it had to be donated to her party to help finance various programs.

Needy lawmakers seek extra money

Jakarta Post - July 4, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- They come, stay a while, murmur a few words, laugh, leave and get paid.

A few of the House of Representatives lawmakers do raise their voices and deliver critical points, but most of the time they are overshadowed by a host of others who are busy with their cellular phones and cigarettes, or just taking a comfortable nap.

Some ask questions during hearing sessions, but then check out of the room before an answer is produced. Some arrive ridiculously late, at times just as a session is wrapping up, just to sign the attendance list.

Those who fail to turn up for scheduled meetings are often not in their offices because they are either out of the city or the country, sometimes on business unrelated to their job.

Quite recently, Fridays have stopped being a workday, although their own regulations say otherwise. Fridays are officially designated for lawmakers to engage with their respective factions, perhaps to discuss various important issues.

The 550 House members have on their hands 55 bills that are scheduled to be completed this year, which increasingly appears unlikely to happen. These 55 bills are among 284 drafts scheduled for completion by the end of the lawmakers' term in 2009.

To date, eight months after their inauguration, the lawmakers have only passed the revision of the 2005 state budget, which happened last week.

They just began the deliberation of a sports bill last week, while other crucial bills are only in the early stages of deliberation. All of this work will come to a pause when the House begins its scheduled month-long recess starting July 8.

House Speaker Agung Laksono stands by his promise that the legislative body will finish deliberating and pass the 55 bills this year.

As well they might, given that the House Secretariat recently completed a proposal to raise the salaries of lawmakers by over 100 percent.

There is also a proposal to give legislators bigger allowances, for the purpose of helping the lawmakers spend more time with their constituents across the country.

A final proposal says House members will be provided with an additional Rp 15 million (US$1,560), deputy speakers Rp 22 million and the speaker Rp 30 million for unspecified "operational work". The House Secretariat says most of the additional money will be for allowances for trips and services, which in theory should be reimbursed only after the job is done.

The proposal, however, lumps these allowances into the lawmakers' fixed take-home pay.

Legislators recently said their "poor performance" was largely the result of their "low" salaries, which left them with little money to take business trips or rent hotel conference rooms to draft bills. Several others say larger allowances are necessary to hire experts to assist them in their legislative function.

Tommy Legowo from the legislative watchdog Formappi supports efforts to fairly compensate lawmakers, but warns against giving them more cash in the form of allowances.

"If they receive cash, who knows what they will spend it on. I support the idea of improving their welfare but only if it is tied to efforts to enhance their performance, but the money should be properly allocated," he said on Saturday.

Tommy, who is a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said lawmakers had been making progress compared to their predecessors in terms of their critical outlook. "But there are still moments where they engage in debates that are not substantial but only concern procedural issues," he said.

House members to each get Rp 35 million in take home pay

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Tony Hotland, Jakarta -- The House secretariat has proposed awarding legislators generous increases in salaries and allowances, despite the generally poor performance of the lawmakers.

According to the finalized proposal, which is to be submitted to the House budgetary committee for deliberation as part of the draft 2006 budget, salary and allowance increases for the 550 lawmakers will double the income they currently receive each month.

Based on the proposal, each House member will receive a take-home pay of Rp 6.2 million (US$641), up from the current Rp 3.72 million. Each deputy speaker will get Rp 7.3 million, compared to Rp 4.3 million at present, and the speaker will pocket Rp 7.96 million, compared to Rp 4.4 million currently.

Additional income for our public representatives comes from their communications allowances, allowances for holding more than one position, utility allowances (telephone and electricity), and travel allowances.

The communications allowance, which is aimed at improving members' relationships with their constituents, comes to Rp 7.6 million, compared to Rp 4.1 million currently, while each deputy speaker will receive Rp 8.5 million (Rp 4.5 million currently), and the speaker Rp 9.9 million (Rp 4.9 million currently).

Each member who sits on more than one commission will receive an additional Rp 1 million per commission. Each lawmaker will receive Rp 3 million to pay his telephone bill and Rp 2.5 for electricity, an increase from Rp 2 million previously.

Members' travel allowances will come to Rp 2.5 million for each lawmaker who visits a disaster-hit area, Rp 30.17 million for a visit back to his or her constituency, Rp 4.3 million for a trip representing a commission on which he or she sits, Rp 14.2 million for an inter-commission trip, and Rp 18.8 million for a joint commission trip. A commission or faction chairperson will earn an extra Rp 3.1 million per trip.

The proposal, drafted by the House secretariat, provides each lawmaker with Rp 15 million in allowances for unspecified or "special" trips, while a deputy speaker gets Rp 22 million and the speaker Rp 30 million if they take part.

All in all, a House member who sits on one commission will earn at least Rp 35.3 million per month, compared to the Rp 12 million they currently earn.

Several legislators have defended the plan, saying that the salary and allowance increases are essential for improving their performances and enhancing relations with their constituents.

Some others said they needed more money as they have hired experts to assist them.

Focus on Jakarta

FPI quizzes Sutiyoso's stand

Jakarta Post - July 5, 2005

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta -- At least 50 members of religious hard-line group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) sought an explanation from Governor Sutiyoso about the latter's stance on gambling and transsexuals.

"We want to hear from Sutiyoso himself whether or not he has donated Rp 100 million of the city budget to the pageant for transsexuals recently, and if he supports the idea of legalizing gambling in the city," said FPI's paramilitary wing commander Ahmad Sabri Lubis.

He met with Sutiyoso's subordinates, as the Governor was in a meeting.

Lubis said the organization suspected that Sutiyoso had ignored prevailing regulations which outlaw beauty pageants for transsexuals as well as gambling.

Lubis claimed that the FPI received a tip-off that Sutiyoso was also present at the beauty contest and donated around Rp 100 million for the event held at the Sarinah building on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta early last week.

More than 100 FPI members came to protest against the Miss Waria Indonesia, but the organizers refused to bow down to the protesters' demand to stop the event and went on with the contest under heavy security provided by the police.

In addition, Lubis said that FPI also alleged that Sutiyoso's administration was attempting to permit gambling businesses in the capital.

He asserted that by tolerating the beauty contest, Sutiyoso's administration had shown "serious contempt for Islamic teachings and law, which would lead to devastation of the whole society".

Another protester, who introduced himself as a representative of FPI West Java warned that Sutiyoso's stance would become a precedent for other provinces in the country.

Meanwhile, Juwita Harahap, head of the city's crisis center denied that Sutiyoso had donated money for the pageant.

"So far, there has been no decree issued by Sutiyoso over the use of city budget for a beauty pageant for transsexuals. My unit will be the first to know of any donations given for such events," Juwita said.

Juwita also asserted that the administration would do nothing that contravened prevailing regulations or laws. However, she promised to convey FPI's allegations and complaints to Sutiyoso.

FPI has become notorious for its violent raids on night clubs and entertainment centers across the capital in the past five years.

Street vendors protest evictions

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Jakarta -- Over 1,000 street vendors from across the city protested in front of City Hall on Thursday over a series of evictions.

The demonstration caused serious traffic congestion as the vendors marched from Jl. Kramat Raya to Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.

Traffic backed up on Jl. Salemba Raya, Jl. Kebon Sirih, Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Budi Kemuliaan when the protesters marched from City Hall to the Presidential Palace. There they demanded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono put a stop to the evictions conducted by the city administration.

Environment

Mining in protected forests legalized

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2005

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta -- The Constitutional Court has cleared the way for 13 mining companies to resume mining in protected forests, citing the government's need to improve the investment climate in the country.

Departing from common practice, the nine-strong panel of judges voted unanimously on Thursday for the enactment of Law No. 19/2004 to revise Law No. 41/1999 on forestry that banned open pit mining in protected forests, saying it did not violate the Constitution. A Constitutional Court verdict cannot be contested.

The ruling put an end to efforts by a group of non-governmental organizations and environmentalists to demand the revocation of the 2004 law, which they said was passed for the benefit of the 13 companies. The new forestry law took effect after the House approved the government regulation in lieu of law which justified the operation of the mining companies.

"We can understand the government's argument that the regulation should be issued otherwise it would face difficulties in developing a favorable investment climate," Constitutional Court president Jimly Asshidiqie said while reading the verdict.

"The request to annul the new forestry law lacks justification and therefore must be rejected." The judges rejected the plaintiffs' argument about the issuance of the government regulation in lieu of law, which they said did not meet the criteria for an emergency.

"The President has the discretion to define emergency conditions for the issuance a government regulation in lieu of law, and the House will decide whether it can be passed into law or not," Jimly said.

A government regulation in lieu of law is as powerful as a law, although its enactment does not require the House's approval due to its emergency nature. The government must notify the House of the regulation, and the lawmakers must respond within one month.

The government claimed that the controversial regulation was issued to prevent legal repercussions if Indonesia failed to honor mining contracts. It said the 13 mining firms were allowed to resume their operations in protected forests because they had proven reserves and were economically viable.

The 1999 Forestry Law had caused uproar in the international mining community for banning open pit mining.

The 13 firms are PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Karimun Granite, PT INCO, PT Indominco Mandiri, PT Aneka Tambang (Bahubulu), PT Aneka Tambang (Buli), PT Natarang Mining, PT Nusa Halmahera Mineral, PT Pelsart Tambang Kencana, PT Interex Sacra Raya, PT Weda Bay Nickel, PT Gag Nikel, and PT Sorikmas Mining.

Law No. 19/2004 bans open pit mining, excluding all mining licenses and contracts in forests made before the enactment of the 1999 Forestry Law.

Responding to the verdict, Siti Maemunah, the coordinator for the Network for Mining Advocacy (Jatam), one of the plaintiffs, said the ruling proved the government's failure to protect the people.

"The government has failed to prevent corporations from controlling the environment at the expense of the people," Siti said.

She expressed the fear that the court ruling would lead to deforestation and other environmental destruction causing the Indonesian people to suffer.

Siti regretted the fact that the judges failed to take into account the testimony of former environment minister Emil Salim and the people who bore the brunt of open mining activities.

Executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Chalid Muhammad shared Siti's concern, saying the ruling would encourage the government to issue more controversial regulations in lieu of law under the guise of a state of emergency.

Ladia Galaska road project to go ahead

Jakarta Post - July 7, 2005

Jakarta -- The government has decided to continue the construction of a controversial highway project in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, but will create a new route to avoid passing through a conservation forest area known as the Leuser Ecosystem.

The decision was reached during a recent meeting between Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmanto, Minister of Forestry M.S. Kaban and State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar.

According to the agreement, the project will not pass through the 45-kilometer route connecting Pinding and Lokop, which is located in the Leuser Ecosystem, as originally planned.

As an alternative, the government will construct a road connecting Peurelak. It will take about five months to redesign the alternative route. The 470-kilometer Ladia Galaska highway, which will link the west and east coasts of the province, is expected to stimulate economic activity in the province's western coastal areas.

However, environmentalists in Indonesia and abroad are concerned that the project will traverse protected forest, and cut through conservation forest, including the Leuser Ecosystem.

Buyat Bay residents get cold welcome

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Jongker Rumteh, Buyat -- Some 66 families living in Buyat Bay decided to take their fate in their own hands, relocating from their homes in Ratatotok district, South Minahasa regency to a new location in Duminanga subdistrict in Bolaang Mangondow regency, some 130 kilometers away.

The relocation of the families which was done with the assistance of a number of relief agencies and 15 NGOs grouped under the Buyat Bay Humanitarian Committee (KKTB), was against the regental, as well as the provincial administration plan, which had earlier designated another location proposed by the central government's task force.

However, some 24 families decided to stay, despite the fact that the bay area is allegedly being used to dispose of tailings by a giant gold mining company.

Before being transported to their new homes, Buyat Pante villagers started dismantling their homes and even burning them down.

"We have to burn down our own houses as a symbol that we won't return to the area again as there is nothing that we can hope for anymore there. We're certain that our fate will improve in Duminanga because the area is not polluted," said Mansyur Lombonaung, a community figure in Buyat Bay and the relocation coordinator.

The program was financed wholly by the KKTB without any government facilitation, while the Kelola Manado Foundation, spearheaded by Rignolda Djamaluddin, acted as advocate in the program which took place on June 25.

Rignolda told The Jakarta Post that during the demolition of homes by residents in Buyat Bay, KKTB had reclaimed a three- hectare plot of land from its owners in Duminanga.

Barracks-capable of accommodating some 269 people and equipped with lavatory and washing facilities as well as a public kitchen-have been built on the plot of land. So far, the barracks are only 90 percent complete.

"The residents will continue to build the unfinished part. The important thing is that residents must be immediately relocated to save their lives," said Rignolda.

He said the KKTB would provide residents with all their needs for three months, but declined to comment further on the continuity of the aid.

Chairman of the KKTB central committee, Muliadi Mokodompit, however, gave an unclear answer on the provision of funds for the relocated residents when asked by the Post by phone on Monday. He said the three-month aid provision was sufficient since the residents were expected to be self-reliant within that period.

"I expect they will already be self-sufficient in three months time and can fulfill their basic needs, but we will continue to monitor the situation. I cannot reveal the amount of funds allocated as yet," said Muliadi.

Both Muliadi and Rignolda said it was the residents who had demanded to be relocated since they felt insecure living in the area which allegedly had been polluted by hazardous waste. The organization only facilitated the residents' wishes.

"The Buyat Bay residents are still facing the threat of pollution and they wish to be immediately relocated from the area. They feel they can no longer fulfill their daily needs as their health and earnings have been affected," Muliadi said.

Head of Ratatotok district, Ronny Suwarno, who is also in charge of the Buyat Pante village, said his office helped supervising the relocation but was not directly involved in the matter since it was not in accordance with the government's plan.

Ronny said the South Minahasa regental administration had actually prepared an area in the neighboring village of Tatengesan, Belang district in South Minahasa regency for the Buyat Pante residents but they rejected it.

"The location in Belang district has been prepared by the central government's task force which had conducted a feasibility study here earlier," said Ronny.

Meanwhile, residents and the Bolaang Mangondow regental administration office were surprised when 66 families of Buyat Bay residents arrived in Duminanga village at about 7 p.m.

Bolaang Mongondow Regent Marlina Moha Siahaan said her office had not been notified about the relocation plan.

"We have never discussed the matter with the KKTB. Why have they suddenly appeared here?" said the first female regent in North Sulawesi.

Marlina said she had no objection, but it had not yet been approved by the regental administration.

"I praise the concern shown by KKTB in relocating Buyat Bay residents, but it should first be reviewed comprehensively, because, if not, it would cause them problems," said Marlina.

Duminanga residents said they were surprised by the arrival of hundreds of Buyat Bay people, accusing the KKTB of trying to gain something from the program.

"KKTB is incompetent. It even goes beyond procedures to gain money by raising the humanitarian issue, while it doesn't know whether those relocated will suffer more in Duminanga," said Alsidik Gobel, a community leader in Bolaang Uki.

He said the location in Duminanga was not suitable to live in since the swampy area was swarming with malaria-carrying mosquitos.

In a report signed by various element of the Bolaang Uki community which was delivered to the regent, they stated their reluctance about the relocation and urged the KKTB to be fully responsible for the livelihood of the relocated residents.

They also urged the regental, provincial and the central governments to first inform them of any decisions made before relocating people to the area.

Health & education

Teachers, schools 'failing students'

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2005

Jakarta -- Students at religious and private schools fared worse in the national examinations than their state-school counterparts, while the low quality of teachers nationwide is cause for concern, an official says.

Ministry of National Education research and development agency head Mansyur Ramly said the latest national exam results had given the ministry a useful map of how schools across the country had performed.

In general, the failure rates tended to be higher in religious schools than state schools. "It is also higher in private schools compared to state schools," Mansyur said.

Mansyur said that the highest failure rates were found in conflict areas and underdeveloped provinces, with rates the worst in tsunami-stricken Aceh, which has also had also been wracked by decades of separatist war. Mansyur said poor teacher quality was also an important reason why students were failing.

Ministry director-general of human resources development Fasli Djalal said that only between 10 and 20 percent of teachers had scored above average in recent competency tests held by the ministry. "All regions have already started evaluating their teachers' competence," he said, adding that the evaluation process had so far covered only 10 percent of teachers nationwide.

Fasli said the new national regulations on teachers' qualifications would gradually increase standards. "The minimum requirements for new teachers will be the D4 (university diploma-level) or S1 (university degree-level) graduates with an additional 38 to 40 credits in a professional subject."

He said the country currently had few primary and secondary teachers that met the criteria. It would take 15 years to gradually improve existing teachers' competence through training, he said, meaning students would have to make do in the meantime.

Increased pass-rate requirements set by the ministry have meant failure rates in the national junior and senior high school examinations have doubled this year, denying more students the chance to continue their studies.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Friday the examination pass rates showed up the failings of the education sector. However, a nation could only move forward if it was honest about its educational quality, he said.

It would take a concerted effort to improve the system, Kalla said. "We do not want to mistreat students, but we encourage them, as well as parents, teachers and local administrations to work harder." Some education experts have opposed the idea of measuring students' competency through centralized national examinations.

"Higher standards can be set after all the conditions are met," education activist Yanti Muchtar said. "Those (conditions) are competent teachers, sufficient infrastructure and contextuality to local conditions." It would have been better for the schools to decide whether their students should pass, Yanti said.

"Logically, they are the ones who know best about their students' ability and progress."

Business & investment

Big challenges of improving investment climate

Jakarta Post - July 8, 2005

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta -- Although the government claims otherwise, Indonesia remains the least attractive among East Asian countries for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Its political stability -- one of the strategic factors for a good investment climate -- did in fact strengthened after the peaceful, clean and fair general elections last year. But most other fundamentals for a conducive investment climate remain acutely weak.

True, FDI has started flowing in, but most of it has been for acquisitions and not green-field projects, the very kind of FDI the country badly needs to create new productive assets and jobs.

Judging from the presentations by panelists from developed and developing countries at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) two-day Conference on Investment for Asian Development that ended here on Wednesday, the challenges are indeed formidable for Indonesia to regain investor confidence.

Most of Indonesia's fundamentals for a conducive investment climate -- macroeconomic stability, legal certainty, policy consistency and predictability, and good basic infrastructure -- are still very weak. And the government would be well advised to realize that special incentives for foreign direct investment (FDI) are no substitute for sound macroeconomic policies and a conducive investment climate.

This clearly shows the crucial role of the government in creating a good investment climate. While the government has limited influence on natural resources and other fixed factors such as geography, its policies and behaviors play a key role in shaping the investment climate. Put another way, good governance reduces the costs and risks of doing business and minimizes barriers to sound competition.

Its rationale is that strong and consistent law enforcement is key to minimizing government policy-related costs and risks -- which are quite high in this country -- as well as those regarding regulations on taxation, customs, labor, local autonomy and basic infrastructure.

Strong legal certainty in turn helps build the credibility and certainty of government policies and curb corruption and other forms of rent-seeking behavior.

Policy credibility, certainty and predictability, which also are acutely lacking in Indonesia, are vital for both domestic and foreign investors because direct (not portfolio) investment is inherently forward-looking and long-term in nature.

Investors expect risks associated with changes in such factors as competition, customer behavior, and market preferences, but the government can offset these risks by helping to maintain a stable and secure environment for business operations.

A stable regulatory and policy environment apparently is not sufficient to woo FDI, especially in such countries as Indonesia with strong nationalistic sentiments. Even though the benefits of FDI in developing countries have been well documented, an atmosphere of supportive public opinion is also necessary to nurture conducive political and social conditions for FDI operations.

The experiences of China, Thailand and Vietnam, which have had great success in attracting FDI, shows that investment promotion cannot just be aimed at foreign investors. Such campaigns should also be targeted at local consumers and workers to persuade them to accept the presence of FDI and for all branches of government to convince them of the advantages of less and more efficient regulation of business.

Vietnam, a socialist country, which experienced long and bitter experiences with foreign colonialists, is the paragon, attracting US$48.5 billion in FDI in 5,500 projects between 1987-2004. Vietnam's investment officials Nguyen Van Cuong and Nguyen Huy Hoang recounted this at the conference, that enlightening their own people of the benefits of FDI has been central in their investment promotion campaign.

This is highly relevant for the Indonesian government that is drafting legislation for both domestic and foreign investment to replace the 1967 FDI law and the 1968 domestic investment law. Providing equal treatment to both domestic and foreign investment, as the new legislation is being designed to do, is a politically sensitive issue that needs a strong public-opinion support at the House of Representatives.

Another strong opinion emerging out of the conference warns the government against putting too much emphasis on the development of a "one-stop service center" for investment licensing, because what is designed as a one-stop shop often turns into just another additional stop with an extra bureaucratic layer.

The government's recent decision to dilute the authority of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and put it under the oversight of the trade ministry was seen an appropriate move, especially in light of regional autonomy.

BKPM, like most similar agencies in most developing countries, has never been able to operate as a one-stop service for investment licensing because most line ministries resist ceding their regulatory authority to another agency.

It would be much better for the government to purse a more direct approach by improving the efficiency of each individual ministry responsible for particular aspects of investment approvals and increasing the institutional capacity of investment bureaus at the provincial and regency-level administrations.

It would be more appropriate for the BKPM to function mainly as an investment promotion and facilitation agency and as a central source of all practical information for businesses, including as a matchmaker for joint-venture projects.

But then, however important investment is for generating growth and reducing poverty, it is not a panacea for specific poverty alleviation policies, especially in a country like Indonesia where the level of inequality in society is quite high.

The government should design an investor-targeting strategy focusing on stimulating a defined set of investment to selected categories of industries the government wants to develop in line with its objective to promote development with equity.

Such a strategy also allows the government to choose the kinds of FDI it wants and direct them to support its objectives related to employment, technology transfer, export competitiveness, skills development and other development goals.

Black markets thrive as fuel crisis worsens

Jakarta Post - July 7, 2005

Kupang/Yogya/Batam/Samarinda/Jambi/Manado -- The price of premium gasoline soared by up to 500 percent in some provinces on Wednesday as the country's fuel shortage bit deeper, with the National Police stationing officers at gas stations around the country to prevent outbreaks of violence among frustrated customers.

Long queues were seen at gas stations in all parts of the archipelago, with many people carrying jerrycans attempting to stockpile fuel in anticipation of prices rising further.

Kupang city in East Nusa Tenggara was the worst-hit areas, with hundreds of people seen waiting in line on Wednesday night at gas stations in queues up to three kilometers long.

"The employee at gasoline stations are rationing gasoline in order to ensure people get their fair share," said Antonius Amsekan, who had waited four hours to get gasoline after queuing at a station since 4 a.m.

At roadside retail outlets, the price of premium gasoline had reached Rp 12,500 (US$1.3) a liter, or about five times the normal price. Pertamax, a premium variant, which officially costs Rp 4,000 a liter, was not available in most gasoline stations in the city.

"A tanker carrying 2,500 tons of premium gasoline from Surabaya will arrive in the city on Friday, so the gasoline shortage is expected to end the next day," said Winrian, a Pertamina official in Kupang.

In Jambi, the price of premium gasoline rose three-fold in retail outlets on Wednesday, while passengers in minivans and buses were asked to pay more for tickets, reflecting the higher prices.

"It is hard to find gasoline and its price has been increasing. We have to increase the transportation costs in order to prevent losses," a minivan driver, Udin, said.

Normally, people paid Rp 1,200 for a short minivan ride, but now they were being asked to pay Rp 2,000, he said.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, some gas stations closed early after supplies were exhausted at 10 a.m, leading to longer queues at other stations in the city.

In Manado, North Sulawesi, shortages were also apparent, with Pertamina reducing premium gasoline supplies to stations from 450 kiloliters a day to 350 kiloliters for the past three days.

One place not affected by the shortage was Batam, where supplies to the Bintan and Sambu island depots were normal.

Responding to the shortage, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the public to be efficient in using energy, while Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X asked people not to travel by car or motorcycle unless it was absolutely necessary.

The shortage is caused by state oil company Pertamina cutting back fuel supplies to the regions so as not to overshoot its government set supply quota and pay financial penalties. National demand is currently about 10 percent higher than the budgeted supplies.

The company announced on Wednesday it was distributing more fuel across the country to ease the shortage. "Pertamina offices will open for 24 hours to help tackle the fuel shortage problems," Pertamina president director Widya Purnama said as quoted by Antara.

Separately, the National Police Headquarters announced on Wednesday that it had confiscated 3.4 million liters of fuel from fuel hoarders since last year. Police had arrested 304 suspects in 231 hoarding and smuggling cases, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis said.

Privatization will benefit economy

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2005

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- Defending its stance over the privatization program, the government has asked for public understanding for its plans to sell state firms that make little contribution to the state, arguing it would eventually benefit the economy in general.

"There will be an economic efficiency if the government sells unprofitable state firms. The firms were formed during the Dutch colonial era and have now become burdens to the state," Kalla said after the Friday prayer.

The government would conduct further study for one month before deciding which companies are to be merged or sold to the public or to local administrations, he said.

The government, however, would not be selling companies cheaply. "In the future, state companies that remain under government control are the ones that are strategic, have good prospects and are profitable, as well as operating for the public benefit," he said.

At present, the government is burdened with managing 158 state companies with combined assets worth about Rp 1,300 trillion (about US$133 billion). However, only about a dozen of them contribute any revenue to state coffers.

Most of the companies are currently in bad shape due in part to mismanagement and corruption amid the government's limited ability to properly supervise and set clear-cut policies to develop them.

The government is now trying to speed up the sale of several unprofitable and burdensome state enterprises, in particular those enterprises that have no public service obligations or that are not strategic in any way.

Almost always, however, such plans draw criticism and carry risks of being politicized, with narrow sectional interests saying that privatization goes against the national interest.

According to the blueprint on the development of state firms issued by the Office of State Minister of State Enterprises, the government will only sell an entire stake in companies that do not give any advantage to the state.

As for profitable companies, the government will only sell a part of its stake via the stock market, with the aim of helping to plug the budget deficit. Under this program, this year proceeds from privatization of state assets have been set at Rp 3.5 trillion.

Among the state companies included in such category are Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), and mining companies PT Antam, PT Timah and PT Bukit Asam Batubara.

Local governments urged to protect investor interests

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2005

The central government has ordered local administrations to protect the interests of foreign investors by extending a helping hand to settle disputes, including those related to property ownership, said Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"As long as the ownership of the land is legal, the local administration should favor the investors. They (the local government) should give a guarantee to foreign investors in their areas," said Kalla in a press briefing.

Aside from the "classic" problems confronting investors, such as illegal fees, corrupt bureaucracy and weak law enforcement, uncertainty in property ownership is now becoming more of an issue, especially for investors engaging in businesses related with forestry, agriculture and infrastructure.

Kalla said that the government acknowledged land disputes in several areas, such as in Papua and Kalimantan, which involved the operations of foreign investors, where local people often claimed that the place was ancestral land which should not be used for commercial means.

A recent decision by the government in issuing a presidential regulation on land acquisition for public interests has received largely a negative reaction, exacerbated by provocations by a number of political parties and non-governmental organizations.

The government says that the regulation is needed to speed up infrastructure projects of benefit to the public in order to address road congestion and distribution problems that may prevent the economy from growing at a targeted level of 6.5 percent annually.

Exports up in first five months of year: BPS

Jakarta Post - July 2, 2005

Jakarta -- A surge in demand for industrial products and high global metal prices caused exports in the first five months of the year to jump 30.79 percent from the same period last year, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

In announcing the results of its latest report on Friday, the BPS said exports from January to May reached US$33.88 billion, with non-oil and gas exports rising 34 percent to $26.56 billion from the corresponding period in 2004. That sector accounts for more than three-fourths of the total revenue from the country's international trade.

Sales of oil and gas rose 20.28 percent in the period to $7.313 billion, the report said.

The overall good performance of the country's exports could indicate record-high exports this year. "Export figures may rise even further," said BPS chief Choiril Maksum. "They may reach some $70 billion by the end of the year."

Indonesia's exports grew to an historic high of $69.71 billion last year, up 11.49 percent from 2003, boosted by strong sales of the non-oil and gas commodities of palm oil, electronics, clothing, coal and tin.

The trend has continued this year, with exports from the industrial sector, which account for 66 percent of total exports, expanding by 27.64 percent to $22.5 billion between January and May.

The ores, slag and ash group claimed the highest increase in the first five months of the year, as their exports more than doubled to $1.28 billion from the same period in 2004. The mineral fuels group, which includes coal, also showed impressive growth of 70 percent, increasing its exports value to $1.52 billion.

The country's trade balance stood at a surplus of $10.3 billion in the first five months of the year, with imports registered at $23.57 billion.

Year-on-year, the $7.21 billion in exports in May was a 31.16 percent increase from May last year. Imports were recorded at $4.96 billion for the month, 54 percent higher than the $3.22 billion in the same period in 2004. The May trade surplus stood at $2.25 billion.

However, the upward trend in exports, which boosted the trade surplus, has not translated into a stronger rupiah, which has been on a weaker footing against the greenback since the start of the year.

Analysts have said, as confirmed by the central bank, that large chunks of the export proceeds have never made their way into the country's foreign exchange reserves -- which could have helped bolster the rupiah -- instead remaining stashed abroad, intended by exporters to ensure a quick flow of transactions.

The rupiah was down for the fifth straight session on Friday, closing at Rp 9,770 against the dollar from Rp 9,758 on Thursday.

Sale of unprofitable, non-strategic state firms to accelerate

Jakarta Post - July 1, 2005

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta -- The government is contemplating speeding up the sales of several unprofitable and burdensome state enterprises, a minister says, adding that the firms do not have any obligations to provide public services and are not strategic in any way.

"We have too many state enterprises and most of them are not contributing any benefit to the state. The government will no longer maintain such companies since they are burdensome. We should be realistic in seeing this issue," State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto told reporters on Thursday.

The decision to accelerate the sales was taken at a meeting between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and economic ministers including Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie, Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu, Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Poernomo Yusgiantoro, Minister of Forestry MS Kaban and Minister of Industry Andung Nitimihardja.

The meeting was a follow-up to the government's blueprint for state enterprises that was arranged and issued by the Office of State Minister of State Enterprises earlier this year. The blueprint includes plans to merge and sell a number of companies.

Sugiharto said that of a total of 158 state firms, 10 contributed 80 percent of revenues to the state from state enterprises. Last year, state enterprises recorded a combined net profit of Rp 30 trillion (about US$3.2 billion) from assets worth more than Rp 1,300 trillion.

However, not all profits went into the state budget since most of the funds are used to capitalize development of the companies.

Sugiharto said it was the time for the government to remap the function of the companies and decide which ones should be maintained by the state and which sold to the private sector.

"My office will consult with other related ministries overseeing technical affairs of state firms to decide which of them should be maintained, downsized, merged or sold," he said.

The government will conduct a due diligence before selling or merging the companies in a bid to gain maximum proceeds from the process.

Sugiharto said that the government would keep its ownership of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina as it was not only deemed profitable but also strategic in ensuring energy supplies for the nation.

"We will maintain the 10 largest and most profitable companies, including Pertamina," he said.

The other nine are PT Telkom, Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, PT Jamsostek, PT Aneka Tambang, PT Kimia Farma, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara and PT Perusahaan Gas Negara.

Jakarta to 'right-size' 145 state enterprises

Asia Pulse - July 1, 2005

Jakarta -- The government will "right-size" or find the most appropriate form for 145 state-owned companies to optimize their profitability and operational cost efficiency, State Enterprises Minister Sugiharto disclosed the plan after a a meeting of 10 ministers led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla here Thursday.

The right sizing would be done with the particiaption of a number of related ministries.

"We have consultation here to discuss whether or not we need right sizing and not only down sizing (reducing the number of companies)," Sugiharto said.

Previously, Indonesia had 158 state-owned companies but the number had declined to 145 after 13 state-owned hospitals were turned into public health centers.

Sugiharto said, the government would make an inventory on companies that could be categorized as strategic and non strategic, which companies are still needed for public service.

He took the example of state-run railway company, PT Kereta Api which continued to suffer financial loss but the government would maintain the status on ground that it is still needed to serve the public in transportation.

After the inventorying, Sugiharto said, the government would conduct mapping and make a matrix on state enterprises which would be sold or be maintained.

"Insya Allah (God willing), the formulation will be completed within a month," he added. Right sizing has a different method with privatization, Sugiharto said, noting that the government would not privatize the companies until it could maximize their value.

The right sizing is necessary considering that of the total Rp30 trillion profit in 2004, some 80 percent contributed by 10 big companies and the rest came from other 100 state-run companies.

Among the 10 major companies are oil and gas company PT Pertamina and telecommunication company PT Telkom.

While the total Rp4.5 trillion of financial loss in 2004 was contributed by 10 companies, Sugiharto said without elaborating.

The right sizing, he continued, is also aimed to improve efficiency of operational cost for state-run companies running in the same field.

"For instance, if we have 15 companies in the same sector, is it necessary to have 15 directors while theie businesswa are the same. In the era of ITC (Information Technology Communication) many things can be done for cost efficiency," he said.

He said that alliances and synergy among state-owned companies could minimize their operational costs while increasing their productivity so that the companies could increase their dividends to the state.

"Insya Allah, within the next 5 to 10 years, there will be no more state-owned companies that ask the governemnt for for cash," Sugiharto said.

Present at the meeting were Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Aburizal Bakrie, Industry Minister Andung A Nitimihardja, Trade Minister Mari E Pangestu, Forestry Minister MS Ka'ban, Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono and officials of the Communication and Information Ministry.

Book/film reviews

Soeharto retrospective: Perils of power

Jakarta Post - July 3, 2005

[Indonesia in the Soeharto Years. John H. McGlynn, Jeffrey Hadler, Bambang Bujono, Margaret Glade Agusta, Gedsiri Suhartono, et al. The Lontar Foundation. 507 pp.]

Hartoyo Pratiknyo, Jakarta -- In this age of the instant book, seven years seems like a long time for somebody to come up with the idea of publishing a volume on what it was like to live and work in Indonesia through 32 years of what might be called the country's era of enlightened despotism.

Certainly, there is no lack of material on Indonesia's second president. After all, he was, up to the moment of his forced resignation on March 21, 1998, not only one of the longest ruling and most influential leaders in this region, but he was also one of the most fascinating figures in the history of modern Indonesia -- his leadership style, the scope of both his failures and accomplishments, the shrewd rationality that complemented his traditional Javanese weltanschauung, the continuing mystique surrounding the man and his background.

But if sheer bulk and number of contributors -- including some of the country's most respected scholars, activists, academicians, government officials, intellectuals and photojournalists -- are a measure of value, Indonesia in the Soeharto Years certainly does make up for this lapse in civic memory.

The book measures a good 22 by 30 centimeters and runs 483 pages from frontispiece to index, with sections structured in chronological order preceded by brief commentaries and a foreword by former United States president Jimmy Carter.

As the poet, writer and journalist Goenawan Mohamad notes in his preface, the book makes no attempt to give a comprehensive account of the era. Rather, its aim is to present the Indonesian public with "an album of Indonesia from 1965 to 1998,... an aide-memoire put together with enthusiasm and with a sense of inadequacy."

Perhaps this, and the abundance of material it attempts to cover, is why it takes some effort for readers to find details and hard information about certain subjects. The general index at the end is of little help. Some of the hundreds of pictures, many of which are previously unpublished, did not come out too well in print, while others lack impact.

But any discourse on Soeharto -- or on life under his all- pervading leadership -- must of necessity be inadequate. Soeharto came to power on the wave of one of the most crucial watershed episodes in Indonesia's modern history. A peasant boy by birth, unfamiliar with the particulars of modern Western thought but steeped in the wisdoms passed from generation to generation through traditional Javanese texts, he astounded the nation and the world by the swiftness and the thoroughness with which he quashed the October 1965 communist "uprising" -- and thereby saved the nation from its gradual slip into Marxist-Leninist totalitarianism.

And while ruthlessness was not uncommon among rulers in ancient Java, the way in which Soeharto tacitly condoned the hunting down and killing of hundreds of thousands of members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and communist sympathizers was entirely true to the dictum stated by Machiavelli in his famous little book, The Prince: "...it must be noted that men must either be caressed or annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance." Nor did he seem averse to using trickery and deceit to attain what, according to his beliefs, were morally justifiable ends.

For example, it has been asserted that, as commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (KOSTRAD) at the time, Soeharto had deliberately overstepped the limits of authority given to him by Sukarno's March 11 order (Supersemar) to take whatever measures deemed necessary to restore order and safeguard the president. Instead, Soeharto used the opportunity to take the de facto national leadership into his own hands.

In spite of his authoritarianism, however, many observers believe that it would be a mistake to assume that Soeharto had nothing but his own personal interests at heart. Rather, many contend, it was his belief in the traditional Javanese concept of manunggaling kawulo gusti -- the "oneness" of the ruler and the ruled, of man and divinity -- that led him to foster, in practice, what he saw as a benevolent and necessary form of authoritarianism for the sake of the common good.

This concept of "benign" dictatorship gradually came to pervade every aspect of societal life. All forms of dissent were nipped in the bud and political stability became the key phrase in New Order Indonesia.

Political parties were realigned and the media put under strict government control. All institutions of state, including the judiciary and the national and regional legislative bodies, were subordinated to the executive branch through a resourcefully conceived system of "Pancasila Democracy" that preserved the outward appearance of participatory rule, but in fact, left all decision making in the president's hands.

In this climate of sustained stability, the economy flourished and grew at an average of almost 6 percent to more than 7 percent between 1989 and 1994. As GDP and per capita incomes grew, the number of people living below the poverty line decreased from roughly 60 percent in 1966 to less than 14 percent at the end of that period. International praise was heaped on the country and the regime.

Today, with the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to point out the mistakes and the misconceptions in Soeharto's grand design. A new generation of Indonesians had begun to emerge, imbued with the ideals of personal freedom and human dignity. Soeharto's greatest mistake, it appears in retrospect, was that he failed to take into account these growing aspirations and so failed to anticipate the force of the combined onslaught of multiple crises and discontents that, in the end, collaborated to bring him down.

In this sense, this "aide-memoire" can serve as a reminder of how easy it is to digress from the true spirit of the manunggal doctrine once power is firmly in hand, and of the perils that are inherent in authoritarian rule, however "benevolent".