| Home > South-East Asia >> Indonesia | |
Indonesia News Digest 15 – April 15-22, 2008
Jakarta Post - April 21, 2008
Jakarta – The North Jakarta Health Agency recorded an increase
in the number of residents receiving subsidized medical services
through the Gakin insurance scheme, from 131,361 in 2006 to
136,633 in 2007.
Agency head Sugandi said the increase was indicative of the rise
in poverty in the municipality. "As of the end of 2007, there
were 5,272 new residents in six districts who received Gakin
cards," said Sugandi, as quoted by Beritajakarta.com on Monday.
He urged hospitals not to turn away patients with Gakin cards. He
said if the hospital was full, officials should provide patients
information on alternative hospitals.
"Residents in North Jakarta often go to Koja General Hospital,
which cannot accommodate all of them. For those who need
information about alternative hospitals, they can send a text
message to SMS Center: 021-91374461," Sugandi said.
The agency cooperates with 13 hospitals, including Suliyanti
Saroso Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Pluit Hospital, Port
Medical Center and Gading Pluit Hospital.
Agence France Presse - April 18, 2008
Jakarta – The director of an Indonesian radio station vowed
Friday to stay on air following a demand to shut down, saying the
government should not bow to external pressures.
Erabaru (New Era) Radio director Gatot Supriyanto said the
station had received a letter from the government's broadcasting
watchdog ordering it to close soon or "receive legal sanctions".
The Indonesian Broadcast Commission said last year that the
Chinese embassy had complained that the private radio station,
run by members of the Falungong spiritual movement, has been
airing criticism of Beijing.
It prompted the watchdog to monitor broadcasts from the station,
based on Batam island, south of Singapore.
"We reject any form of intervention from anyone towards the
freedom of press in Indonesia, including in this case the Chinese
government," Supriyanto said.
"We broadcast current events including oppression to Falungong
members by the Chinese government. Maybe they are unhappy with
it," he told AFP, adding that the radio station remains on the
air.
Falungong is banned in mainland China and rights groups have
accused Beijing of persecuting its members. Supriyanto said
although he practises Falungong, the radio station, which started
broadcasting in 2005, is neutral and is not run by the movement.
"I reject reports that Erabaru Radio airs programmes that
discredit the Chinese government," Supriyanto said.
Demos, actions, protests...
West Papua
Human rights/law
Labour issues
Environment/natural disasters
Women & gender
War on corruption
War on terror
Islam/religion
Elections/political parties
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
News & issues
North Jakarta sees more poor people
Indonesian radio station vows to stay on air despite threat
Multi-story buildings safe in sinking Jakarta, says official
Jakarta Post - April 17, 2008
Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Jakarta's property management and control agency says land subsidence is occurring in the city, but there is no threat to buildings.
Agency head Hari Sasongko said Wednesday the subsidence was a natural phenomenon and would not endanger the capital's multi- story buildings, including the Sarinah building in Central Jakarta, which was built in the 1960s.
"Land subsidence occurs naturally in Jakarta where the soil is relatively young," he said at City Hall. "And high-rise buildings in Jakarta, including the Sarinah building, have been designed to handle this subsidence."
Tempo daily recently reported the Sarinah building on Jl. M.H. Thamrin was tilting. Hari acknowledged the land around the Sarinah complex was sinking, but said it did not pose a threat to the building.
"The main building, which has a strong foundation deep under the ground, is safe," he said. "The tilting building in the compound is an annex, which was built for automatic teller machines and is separated from the Sarinah building's main structures."
The annex, he said, was built on a shallow foundation that was unable to withstand the impact of the sinking land as well as a deeper foundation. Hari estimated the ground beneath the annex had sunk by up to six centimeters.
He said across the capital, there had been subsidence of between 20 cm and 40 cm over the past eight years. The city mining agency has said subsidence has accelerated in business districts where numerous high-rises have been built.
In addition to compressing the land, the buildings are also though to be depleting aquifers. The groundwater level in the Mega Kuningan business district in South Jakarta is dropping by five meters per year.
The mining agency said 80 percent of the city's land subsidence was caused by building construction, 17 percent by groundwater exploitation and 3 percent by natural causes.
To anticipate the possible future impacts of the subsidence, Hari said his agency would cooperate with the mining agency. This future cooperation might also involve a Bandung-based geology research center and the Bandung Institute of Technology, he said.
He hopes the parties can map land conditions across Jakarta. "We'll start with land conditions around buildings from Monas (Central Jakarta) to Semanggi bridge (South Jakarta)." He said the mapping would help land movement and serve as a reference for future construction.
| Demos, actions, protests... |
Jakarta Post - April 22, 2008
Dozens of delman (traditional buggy) drivers staged a demonstration Monday, urging the Central Jakarta municipal administration to lift a ban on their operation inside National Monument (Monas) Park.
During the protest at City Hall, they also demanded that Central Jakarta's newly elected mayor, Sylviana Murni, step down.
"I heard the administration restricted the operation of delman in Monas because horses 'pollute' the park. In fact, their impact is nothing compared to pollutants from the diesel-fueled tourist trains. The horses' manure is environmentally friendly," said Agus Casyono, the demonstration coordinator, from the Union of Indonesian Poor People.
Agus was referring to two tourism trains which were launched March 9 by Governor Fauzi Bowo.
If the administration does not lift the ban, Agus said, they will hold a bigger rally Wednesday with 4,000 participants.
The ban was introduced in June last year while Muhayat was still mayor. At that time, delman were still allowed to operate inside the park on weekends.
Recently, however, the administration decided to further restrict delman, stopping them from entering the park at all. Now, the drivers wait for customers in a parking lot on the southern edge of Monas, offering trips around the park on public roads.
It is believed the administration replaced delman with free trains, which operate daily from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The delman drivers say they have lost almost half of their usual income.
"We used to make Rp 150,000 (US$16) on weekends but now it has dropped to Rp 75,000," said Nanang, who has been a delman driver for 14 years.
"I really hope the administration will allow us to keep operating in the park because delman are a Betawi tradition," he said.
Commenting on the protest, Fauzi Bowo said horse urine can cause acute respiratory infections in children.
"The urine can be smelled for meters in tropical conditions like Jakarta. If the smell can be eliminated chemically, we will work on it," he said, adding that he would discuss the issue with the mayor. (JP/trw)
Tempo Interactive - April 21, 2008
Agung Sedayu, Jakarta – Protest actions and parades across Central and South Jakarta will colour the capital today, Monday April 21. Based on information from the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre (TMC), the actions take place between 9am and 4pm.
A parade and peaceful action to commemorate World Cancer Day and Kartini Day is expected to cause traffic disruption on a number of stretches of road. "It's likely that several stretches of road will be obstructed, because althoughit's a peaceful action they will hold a parade through a number of streets," said TMC staff member Briptu Hariadi.
The parade will start at the Dharmais Hospital and pass through Jl. Gerbang Pemuda, Jl. Asia Afrika, Jl. Thamrin, the National Monument, Banteng Square, the Farmers Monument, Jl. Rasuna Said, Casablanca, Mega Kuningan, the Semanggi Plaza, Jl. Gatot Subroto and end at the Mulia Building. The action will start 12noon and finish at 4pm.
Other protest actions meanwhile will take place at seven points spread across Central and South Jakarta. In Central Jakarta there will be demonstrations at the House of Representatives building, the Department of Health, the Foreign Affairs Department, the Jakarta City Hall and the National Elections Commission.
In South Jakarta meanwhile, demonstrations will take place at the Department of Justice and Human Rights and the Corruption Eradication Commission on Jl. Rasuna Said.
In addition to this, a peaceful action handing out flowers to members of the public to commemorate Kartini Day will be held at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout at 1pm.
Notes:
Kartini was an Indonesian regent's daughter during the Dutch colonial period who, through her letters home, outlined her dreams of a better life for women. She died aged 25 a few days after giving birth to her first child. A variety of myths have made the original Kartini a nationalist hero and feminist symbol. Hari Kartini (Kartini Day) is a public holiday dedicated to the memory of the turn-of-the-century hero.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Tempo Interactive - April 17, 2008
Jakarta – Based on data from the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre (TMC) website, Jakarta and surrounding areas will be inundated by some 13 different protest actions today, Thursday April 17.
At 8am the Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM) will hold an action calling for contact workers or those working under outsourcing systems to be promoted to permanent workers. The protest, which will be joined by around 200 people, will be held in front of the Bekasi regent's office and the Bekasi Regional House of Representatives.
Also at 8am, a protest action will be held by the Imperial Trade Union (SPI, employees of the Imperial Treasure International Restaurant). The union will be holding the demonstration in front of the Department of Labour building. Led by Yuliana, it will be joined by some 60 people.
At 9am, the Manggarai Residents Double Track Eviction Victims will demonstrate in front of the Jakarta Bank International Cooperation (JBIC) offices on Jl. Jalan Sudirman in Central Jakarta. The action, which is expected to be joined by around 30 people and led by Abdul Rohom, will be demanding clarity and transparency in the payment of compensation to the victims of the railway widening project.
Also starting at 9am, the Student and Youth Caucus for the Upholding of Democracy (KMPPD) will be holding demonstrations at three locations, the National Election Commission offices, the Hotel Indonesia roundabout and the Department of Home Affairs. Led by Rudi Hartono, some 250 people are expected to join the protest.
The Jakarta Non-Government Organisation Forum (FK-LSM Jakarta) will also hold a series of protest starting at 9am. The protesters will be visiting three locations, the Benih Building on Jl. Saharjo, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building and the offices of the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises. The action, which will be led by Joseph Hutabarat, will be joined by some 100 people.
At around 10am, there will be two protest actions by the Indonesian Student Circle (LMI) and the United People's Coalition (KRB). The two groups of protesters will start their actions at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta and are expecting to attract around 100 people from each group.
At 11am the Peoples Movement for the Trial of Corruptors (GERAK) will also hold a protest in front of the AGO. The action, which will be led by Anis Fauzan, will be joined by some 300 people demanding the seizure of the assets belonging to people involved in the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) Scheme corruption case.
The Pro-Democracy Activist Network (ProDEM) will be also hold an action at the same time and location. Led by Andriyanto, around 150 people will be demanding that the AGO's prosecutor for special crimes, Marwan Efendy, reopen the BLBI case.
At 12noon, United Student Action (KAM), LAKSI, the University of Indonesia Student Action Front (FAM-UI), FIS, JAPRA and the Socialist Student Movement (GMS) will hold a joint protest in front of the State Palace. Led by Ifan, some 75 people will be calling on the government to guarantee the affordability of basic commodities for the people.
At 1pm, the University of Indonesia Student Executive Council (BEM-UI) will also hold an action at the State Place with similar demands. Led by Edwin Nofsan, the protest is expected to attract around 100 people.
Not wanting to be left behind, the Nusantara Student Youth Movement (GEMMA Nusantara) will be demonstrating front of the KPK offices at around 1pm. Led by Emon, around 100 people will be demanding that the KPK arrest corruptors that have fled overseas.
Finally, at 4pm this afternoon the Solidarity Network for Victims and Families of Victims (JSKKK) will be protesting in front of the State Palace. Led by Sumarsih, the action by around 25 people will be demanding a full resolution of human rights violation cases.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Detik.com - April 16, 2008
Rafiqa Qurrata A, Jakarta – Jakarta and nearby Bekasi will be coloured by protest actions today, Wednesday April 16, with six different groups of protesters voicing their aspirations between 7am and 5pm.
The day will commence with a protest by the PT Busana Prima Global III Independent Workers and Employees Alliance (GPBI) who will hold actions at three locations in the Bekasi area, the Bekasi Labour Office, the office of the Bekasi regent and the Bekasi Regional House of Representatives.
According to the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Centre, five demonstrations will take place in Jakarta. Between 8am and 5pm, the Imperial Trade Union (SPI, employees of the Imperial Treasure International Restaurant) will be demonstrating at the Department of Labour and Transmigration on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta.
The next action will be held at the Department of Home Affairs on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta at 9am. The protest is being organised by the North Maluku Development Concern Forum (FPP-Malut).
Between 10am and 2pm meanwhile, the Legal Aid Institute for Health (LBH Kesehatan) and the Poor Families Health Foundation (LKKM) will be holding protest actions at two locations in Central Jakarta, the Metro Jaya regional police headquarters on Jl. Sudirman and the offices of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Jl. Latuharharri.
Then at 10.30am, the Anti-Corruption Civic League (Permak) will be demonstrating at the Corruption Eradication Commission building on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta.
Students from the University of Indonesia Student Executive Council (BEM) meanwhile, will be protesting in front of the State Place on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta at 1pm. (fiq/ary)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| West Papua |
Tempo Interactive - April 22, 2008
Jayapura – Some 300 fully armed personal from the Indonesian military (TNI) and the national police (Polri) intercepted three trucks of protesters in the Arso Tujuh area bordering on the Keerom regency and the Jayapura city who were planning to demonstrate in Jayapura today.
According to United West Papua Popular Struggle Front (Pepera) spokesperson Arkilaus Baho, security personnel intercepted the protesters because they were prohibited from demonstrating at the Papua Governor's office in Dok II."The security personnel said that only representatives would be allowed to join the peaceful demonstration today", said Baho on Tuesday April 22.
In the Abepura district of Jayapura meanwhile, seven protesters from Pepera were arrested and are now being questioned the Jayapura municipal police.
According to Jayapura municipal police chief Senior Deputy Commissioner Robert Djoenso, they were arrested for holding a demonstration without an official permit from the police and for giving political speeches in front of a crowd in Abepura.
"The demonstration was related to issues of state sovereignty. Earlier in fact their [request for] a permit was refused by the police in accordance with law number 9 on protest actions that undermine the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, which are clearly not allowed. But the fact was, they still held the protest", he said.
According to Baho, the request for a permit to hold a demonstration today was submitted to the police well beforehand."They were too repressive in intercepting the protesters. Why did they have to be fully armed to do this?", he asked.
Baho said that the peaceful demonstration and call for a national civil strike was aimed at the governments of Indonesia, Holland, the United States and the United Nations, calling on them to return West Papua's sovereignty that fell on December 1, 1961, before the Indonesian presidential elections are held in 2009."We will also be boycotting the 2009 general elections if there is no response to our demands", he said.
Baho also said that simultaneous peaceful actions were also held by Pepera groups throughout Papua, Java and Bali. "Our members holding a demonstration in Manokwari, West Papua province, were also intercepted by security personnel and not allowed to demonstrate. But in Bali, Jakarta and Yogyakarta the demonstrations went ahead", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Tempo Interactive - April 22, 2008
Rofiqi Hasan, Denpasar – Scores of West Papuan students from the United West Papua Popular Struggle Front (Pepera) demonstrated today on the Udayana University campus in the Balinese provincial capital of Denpasar. They were protesting against special autonomy for West Papua and calling for a referendum to be held.
During the action, they wore traditional Papuan clothing, carried miniature bows and arrows, sang Papuan songs and danced. A number of posters adorned with photographs of human rights violations were also on display. The posters carried messages such as "Close Freeport, Now","Papua for Papuans" and "Release Selbius Boti and friends".
In his speech, action coordinator Wens Papua said that the Papuan people have become the victims of capitalist exploitation."We are asking for this to stop. Special autonomy is making us suffer more and more. Oppose special autonomy, hold a referendum", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Jakarta Post - April 21, 2008
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Fifty tribal leaders from Merauke, Boven Digoel, Asmat and Mappi have demanded the Papua people's assembly (MRP) soon process the proposed development of the four regencies into a new province separate from Papua.
During their meeting in Jayapura on Wednesday, the leaders presented the MRP with wati marind, a native Merauke plant. Agus Alua Alue, chairing the assembly, and other members received the plant and chewed it to show respect to the honorable guests.
The plant, symbolizing peace and harmony, is always used in traditional rituals and cultural events, reflecting the Merauke people's love of peace and cosmic harmony, especially among tribes and between humans and nature.
During the two-hour dialogue, the tribal leaders and MRP member from Merauke, Kamirus Gebze, asked the assembly to speed up the formation of the new province so they could deal with home affairs to better serve their public and improve social welfare.
"We are appealing to the assembly to soon issue a recommendation as a prerequisite for the formation of the new province, as is required by the law on special autonomy for Papua. Representing residents of the four regencies, we come here to bring this aspiration to the assembly," said Joseph Gebze, who lead the tribal delegation.
Gebze reiterated the proposed formation of the new province had won political support from the House of Representatives, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and former governor Jaap Salossa. The House has endorsed the bills on the formation of four new regencies, including South Papua, but they are yet to be deliberated with the government.
Joseph Gebze insisted the four regencies had great economic potential in the mining, agriculture, tourism and forestry sectors.
"We have spacious territory, mostly covered with rainforest, and many qualified workers. Our economic development has lagged behind because of poor infrastructure and the lack of attention paid to Papua's southern part," he said.
He also warned they would resort to other means to fight for the new province's formation, although said they would not use violence. In his response, Agus said the recommendation for the formation of a new province should be issued by the governor.
"The recommendation should be issued by the governor after getting an approval from the provincial legislature and the MRP. The problem is the governor has not submitted any proposal to the MRP or the provincial legislature," he said, suggesting the tribal leaders meet the governor to discuss the issue.
Following the meeting with the MRP, the tribal leaders questioned the political commitment of the local elite in Papua to speed up economic and democratic development.
Joseph Mahuse, another tribal leader, said the new province would have much to offer: Merauke, now 101 years old, is known as the rice belt in the province; Boven Digoel has spacious rainforest and oil and gas deposits; Mappi is known for its quality Gaharu wood supplied to the international market and Asmat is internationally known for its unique arts.
"A part of the new province's territory has seen little development and most people are still living in poverty and backwardness because of the absence of infrastructure and special attention from the government," said Mahuse.
The four regencies, with a total size of 198,500 square- kilometers, have a total population of 466,500, almost half that of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.
Mahuse said despite the poverty and "backwardness", the people in the four regencies were optimistic of significant progress under the new province and an improvement in social welfare.
"So far, we have had two 737-200 Boeing airplanes, light aircraft and four ships come to support public transportation. We will immediately build highway networks connecting the four regencies to break the isolation of remote areas," he said.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - April 18, 2008
Jakarta – According to a senior government official and a high- ranking police officer on Thursday, reports from Amnesty International and other international organizations about rampant human rights abuses in Indonesia are unfair and based on double standards.
Director General of Human Rights Protection at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, said the conclusion arrived at in those reports were based on few cases.
"They only conducted their research based only on reported cases and without confirming them with us," Harkristuti told The Jakarta Post.
Amnesty International released a series of reports Wednesday saying torture and other human rights abuses were still rampant in Indonesia 10 years after the reform movement.
According to the reports, Amnesty received abuse complaints on a regular basis, indicating state agents had been torturing and committing other human rights offenses during arrests, interrogation and detention, sometimes leading to death.
The widespread use of torture and other abuses, said Amnesty, was aggravated and supported by a pattern of impunity throughout the country. Harkristuti, however, disagreed with the statement.
"The fact is, we've taken strict measures against many state agents who have violated laws and misused their power. It's just not exposed to the public, making them think that we haven't done anything," Harkristuti explained.
She said Amnesty and other human rights organizations should also look at what the Indonesian government had achieved in upholding human rights.
"Of course they can blame us if we make mistakes, but please, also consider what we have achieved so far, for the sake of fairness," Harkristuti said.
Head of the Law Division at the National Police Headquarters, Insp. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi, agreed with Harkristuti, saying Amnesty and human rights organizations often applied double standards when making their reports.
"They only highlight the bad side, while ignoring the good," Aryanto said. "Furthermore, they generalize on a few cases to draw a single conclusion."
According to Aryanto, organizations like Amnesty have missed the fact that the police discipline errant officers.
"Just last year, there were around 3,500 police officers sanctioned and punished. Among them, about 350 were fired," he said, adding that in the last four months, 200 officers were dismissed from the force. "So, where's the impunity that they are talking about?"
Organizations like Amnesty often misunderstand the situation in Indonesia, Aryanto said.
"Once a foreign human rights representative came to a police office and saw a thief with bruises. The representative thought the thief had been tortured by police officers, however, he was actually abused by the villagers who caught him," Aryanto said.
According to Aryanto, starting from January this year, the police have operated a special team to monitor police procedures to make sure torture does not occur during the detention and interrogation.
"The team places CCTV (closed-circuit television) in the interrogation rooms. Even though this facility is still limited to some police offices, we are working on providing more. (dia)
Jakarta Post - April 17, 2008
Jakarta – Torture and other human rights abuses are still rampant in Indonesia 10 years after the fall of Soeharto, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Though the government ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and instituted key legal reforms after Soeharto's demise, Amnesty receives reports of abuse "on a regular basis," a briefing paper by the rights group said.
"As of early 2008, old and new national laws continue to offer inadequate safeguards to deter the use of torture and ill- treatment in all circumstances," the report said.
"Amnesty International receives on a regular basis reports indicating that state agents have been committing torture and other ill-treatment during arrests, interrogation and detention, sometimes leading to deaths," it said.
"This context of widespread use of torture and other ill- treatment is aggravated and supported by a pattern of impunity throughout the country, which can be perceived by perpetrators as giving them license to continue violating human rights."
The Amnesty report was put together ahead of the United Nations Committee Against Torture's review of Indonesia's progress in eradicating torture in May.
Last November, visiting UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, said beatings and other forms of torture were entrenched in much of Indonesia's prison system.
Meanwhile, rights activists have urged the government to implement the UN Human Rights Council's call for Indonesia to combat its culture of impunity and to protect its human rights defenders.
Issues of impunity and protection for human rights activists were highlighted in the April 9 session in Geneva, Switzerland, during which recommendations for Indonesia were formulated, Human Rights Working Group coordinator Rafendi Djamin said.
"We fully support these recommendations and we urge the government to immediately put these recommendations into practice," Rafendi told reporters Tuesday.
The working group on the Universal Periodic Review (established in accordance with the Human Rights Council's decision of June 18, 2006) held its session in Geneva between April 7 and 18. The Indonesian delegation was headed by Foreign Ministry multilateral affairs director general Rezlan Ishar Jenie.
Rafendi, who represented Indonesia's civil society groups at the review, said the session focused on the culture of impunity which had seriously hampered prosecution of past perpetrators of human rights abuses.
In Indonesia, Rafendi said, the persistent culture of impunity could be seen clearly in the characteristics of law enforcement bodies, including the Attorney General's Office. "The way they resolve human rights abuses remains the same as it was in the past," Rafendi said.
He said combating impunity was an indicator of the extent to which a country had improved its protection of human rights. "Combating (a culture of) impunity not only requires changing the norms, but also reforming politics and institutions. While the norms may have changed, the basic transformation in human rights cannot occur if institutions still have the same characteristics," he said. (alf)
Jakarta Post - April 16, 2008
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A review on Indonesia by the Human Rights Council has concluded in plaudits, with recommendations to eliminate impunity, legally define torture and ratify more rights-related UN conventions.
The UN body commenced last week in Geneva the first-ever Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of all UN members in a bid to appraise and produce input for countries in improving their human rights conditions.
The Indonesian delegation was led by Rezlan Ishar Jenie, director general of multilateral affairs at the Foreign Ministry, and Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, director general of human rights at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.
"After we delivered our report on April 9, delegations praised us because our report included both the progress and the challenges we face in protecting human rights," Rezlan said Tuesday of the 20-page report.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the seventh bilateral dialogue on human rights between Indonesia and Norway.
The report highlighted measures to overhaul rights conditions such as the ratification of rights conventions, the ending of military activities in politics and the freedom of speech.
"Some of the recommendations were for us to define torture in our Criminal Code, to continue ratifying rights-related treaties, to fight impunity and to continue holding bilateral dialogues on human rights issues," he added.
Human rights groups here have said impunity, particularly for former state officials and military generals associated with past graft and rights abuse cases, has persevered in Indonesia.
Rezlan also said Indonesia's vast ethnic, cultural and religious diversity was a challenge in promoting and protecting human rights, but "we are fully aware of this and have taken measures to address it".
Some hot points raised by the delegations were Indonesia's policy on the death penalty and protection of minority groups, such as the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect, said Harkristuti. Indonesia still uses the death penalty.
An extensive revision of the existing Criminal Code, however, stipulates the death penalty is to be applied only in extreme high-profile cases, she said.
The council's statement on Indonesia, said Rezlan, had been adopted last Friday and he was expecting the final text later this week.
Norway hoped the human rights dialogue it had had with Indonesia since 2002 would enhance bilateral relations and mutual understanding, Norway's State Secretary Elisabeth Walaas said.
She also sought Indonesia's support for Norway's bid to be elected to the Human Rights Council for the period 2009-2012. The election will take place in New York in May next year. Indonesia is serving as a council member from 2006 to 2010.
Tempo Interactive - April 16, 2008
Rini Kustiani/Titis Setyaningtyas, Jakarta – The Attorney of General's Office (AGO) is considered exceeding its authority by putting a halt to the cases of Trisakti, Semanggi I and II.
"The judge should make this statement," said a member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Yoseph Adhi Prasetyo, at his office yesterday.
The AGO returned four sets of documentation about human rights violations to Komnas on April 1st. The four cases are Wamena- Wasior; Trisakti; Semanggi I and II; 1998 May Riot; and Mysterious Kidnappings.
The AGO thought the investigation into Trisakti and the Semanggi cases cannot be continued due to incomplete information. The AGO returned the documentation and asked HAM to complete the information.
Yoseph criticized the AGO that has not investigated but already stated the Trisakti and Semanggi I and II as unable to be followed up for the reason of not being able to be convicted twice for the same crime.
The AGO's Hendarman Supandji said the return of the documents does not go against the procedure. Two meetings were held before with Komnas Head Ifdhal Kasim on January 28th and February 28th.
"They were submitted and should have no problem," said Hendarman after attending the coordinating meeting for political and security issues at the office of Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs in Jakarta yesterday.
Hendarman said both parties agreed to return the documents. The investigation will be continued after the documents are completed. "The documents were sent directly to Komnas HAM," he said. "As long as they are completed, AGO will receive them again."
Jakarta Post - April 16, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – An alliance of legal aid associations, the media, bloggers and non-governmental organizations is looking forward to filing judicial reviews of the newly endorsed law on electronic information and transaction.
The alliance agrees the law contains some articles "against civil liberty and privacy rights", with its ruling over "electronic documents with contents violating decency" and those "containing defamation".
"In general, let's say 80 percent of the law is OK. The problem is that it rules on a couple of things that don't need to be regulated," Anggara, representing a blogger community, said Tuesday at a forum organized by the Indonesia Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).
He agreed Indonesia needed a cyberlaw, but added it should be aimed at regulating business and economic transactions, rather than restricting citizens' privacy or civil liberties.
Asep Komarudin from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) said endorsements of the law were evidence of government attempts to avoid being scrutinized by the media, NGOs and the public.
Supi from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) said one could face heavy charges merely from writing critiques, jokes or anything in mailing lists or blogs. Therefore, he said, the law threatened freedom of expression.
The law, which was passed by the House of Representatives last month, says "anyone who deliberately and without rights distributes and/or transmits and/or makes accessible electronic information and/or electronic documents containing defamation" will be subject to six months jail and maximum fines of Rp 1 billion (around US$108,696).
The same charges apply to those who "deliberately and without rights distributes and/or transmits and/or makes accessible electronic information and/or electronic documents with contents violating decency".
Anggara said he actually agreed pornography needed to be regulated in order to protect children. However, he said the law "failed to define who it was protecting" as adults are not allowed to access adult sites "regardless of their privacy rights".
Due to an unclear definition of "decency", Supi is concerned the law could be abused by law enforcers to charge people at any time.
"The law stipulates it will charge those who make the information 'accessible'. It means those having obscene documents in their notebooks or on their flash disks, who are not by any means distributing them, can be subject to the charges, too," he said.
The alliance is set to scrutinize the law and is planning to file judicial reviews on some "troubled articles" to the Constitutional Court, as the articles threaten activists, NGOs, bloggers and media.
Kompas - April 15, 2008
Jakarta – The government must provide protection to Indra Setiawan after his release from jail on Monday April 14. The reason, because during his court hearing, the former executive director of Garuda Indonesia airlines provided a great deal of key evidence in the case of the murder of human rights activist Munir.
"Indra will be very susceptible to intimidation", said Solidarity Committee for Munir (Kasum) secretary Usman Hamid on Monday. The maximum protection available to Setiawan therefore would be to arrest and take legal action against the people cited in his testimony.
"Whether or not the people cited in Indra's trial are in fact involved or not in Munir's murder, that is an issue that must be demonstrated through legal process. Because, if the only protection is providing a day round guard for Indra, he will not in fact be given his freedom. The other question is, how long will this protection go on?", said Hamid.
During the court hearing, Setiawan said he believed that former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was a member of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). This conviction arose because Setiawan received a letter from BIN that was delivered to him by Priyanto and Priyanto's ability to arrange meetings between him and BIN Deputy Director M.A'sad (Kompas, 19/1/2008).
Kasum member Choirul Anam added that Setiawan's testimony during the trial could be used as evidence to name new suspects. This is because Setiawan's case has the strength of a permanent legal force.
Setiawan, who was sentenced to one year in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court, was finally released on Monday. His lawyer, Antawirya explained that he left the National Police Headquarters detention centre earlier on Monday. He was picked up by his children.
Antawirya said that one of the concerns felt by his client is that after leaving jail he would face security problems."When he was going to leave, he (Indra) began to worry about this", he said. (nwo/ana)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - April 19, 2008
Timika, Papua – As many as 700 workers from PT Trakindo Utama went on strike in Timika on Friday to demand higher salaries.
The workers, grouped in the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), marched from their factory to the Mimika legislative council calling for their monthly salaries to be raised by 97 percent.
The strikers claimed Trakindo promised them raises by the end of 2007. Trakindo is a partner company of PT Freeport Indonesia, which gave its workers raises in January.
"We demand the management raise our monthly salaries as high as other partner companies, or we will continue to stay out of the workplace," said the rally coordinator.
Councilors Maimun Madia and Marianus Maknaipeko, who received the demonstrators at the council building, tried but failed to facilitate a meeting between the workers and Trakindo management.
Tempo Interactive - April 17, 2008
Ahmad Fikri, Bandung – Labour organisations have already started socialising May Day, which is due to fall on May 1, by protesting at the Gedung Sate building complex in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung.
"This call is not just for the working class, but also middle- and lower-class people who are oppressed, we are making use of the momentum of struggle", said Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) coordinator Raya Hidayat in Bandung on Thursday April 17.
Hidayat said that the socialisation campaign will be continued by distributing leaflets at factories encouraging workers to take to the streets on May 1. The economic situation, he explained, is worsening with the jump in the price of basic commodities (sembako) bringing suffering to ordinary people.
The momentum of May Day, said Hidayat, is perfect for uniting the movement to resist oppression. According to Hidayat, the problems that are occurring at present are because many government policies favour foreign interests."We are being colonised by foreign capitalists", he said.
During the protest action, the workers formed up into ranks taking up one-third of Jl. Diponegoro, the road in front of the Gedung Sate building. They intentionally lined with their backs turned to the governor's office and the Regional House of Representatives building to demonstrate their distrust in the people's representatives.
KASBI was protesting the people's representatives because they believe that politicians only struggle for their individual interests and the interests of their parties.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Kompas - April 16, 2008
Iwan Setiyawan, Jakarta – Workers and employees in Indonesia are still not free to associate. This can be seen from the small number of trade unions in the workplace, that is around 5.8 percent out of a total of 189,000 companies in Indonesia.
This was one of the results of a study by the Indonesian Labour Education and Research Institute (LPPKI) and the Actrav Norwegia International Labor Organization (ILO) on the freedom of association, outsourcing and youth labour that was released in Jakarta on Tuesday April 15.
Based on data from LPPKI, only around 11,000 out of 189,000 companies have a trade union or employees association. The number of trade unions or employees associations meanwhile currently stands at 87 at the national level and hundreds at the regional level.
LPPKI is an alliance of three confederations, the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the Confederation of Prosperity Labour Unions (KSBSI).
KSBSI campaign coordinator Andy Sinaga revealed that the results of the survey showed that out of 144 employees from 110 companies in industrial zones in Banten province, Jakarta special province and the provinces of West and East Java in June 2007 indicated that a number of companies are still opposed to the presence of trade unions and carry out intimidation or establish rival trade unions.
Whereas Law Number 21/2000 on Trade Unions stipulates that employees and workers have the right to form trade unions along with the criminal penalties for those who violate this. "Freedom of association is still minimal. Ironically, [we] have yet to see criminal penalties [applied] against violations of the freedom of association", said Andy.
Six cases
As of 2007, six cases of violations against freedom of association in Indonesia have been reported to the ILO Geneva Committee for Freedom of Association.
According to Sinaga, trade unions are absolutely necessary to act as a bridge in the resolution of industrial conflicts. Some companies however still have concerns about the formation of trade unions or employee associations because they believe it will damage the company financially.
This problem is worsened by the low level of labour supervision, particularly in the regions. Out of the 700 supervisors across 33 provinces, more than 50 percent are not trained supervisors.
The head of the Worker Organisation Section of the Department of Labour, Agus Salim related how the placement of untrained supervisors results in many labour problems being ignored. Nevertheless, this year there have been efforts to obtain a commitment from governors, regents and mayors throughout Indonesia to undertake a revitalisation of labour supervision.
The other problem that hinders labour is contract labour systems (outsourcing) that ignores the length of time a worker has been employed and negates workers' rights.
Minimal awareness
The head of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) board of directors, Hasanuddin Rachman revealed that the small number of trade unions formed is because workers and employees still have a low level of awareness.
Labourers, continued Rachman, have the right to form or not form trade unions. Meanwhile it is difficult for the business world to motivate workers or employees to form trade unions.
Because of this therefore, tripartite efforts (government, employers and trade union confederations) are needed to socialise the formation of trade unions in the workplace.
In relation to contract labour, Rachman said that the system is in accordance with Law Number 13/2003 on Labour, that is a maximum labour contract of two years and maximum extensions of one year. (lkt)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Environment/natural disasters |
Tempo Interactive - April 21, 2008
Gunanto E.S./Ezther Lastania, Jakarta – The government will give fiscal incentive to 20 Industrial Timber Estate (HTI) companies.
Government regulation 1/2007 regarding income tax for certain business activity in certain areas regulates this incentive policy. Forestry minister, Malam Sambat Kaban, said that these incentives are to encourage the timber industry in Indonesia.
"We will give incentives to all timber groups, whether they are working in rubber, eucalyptus, acacia, or carpentry wood," said Kaban at the office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, on Monday (21/04).
The incentives are to be given to companies with land of 50,000 hectares and a minimum factory capacity of 60,000 tons per year. The incentive will be for two years, from when companies start planting.
Kaban said that in the future, it is targeted that between 7 and 9 million hectares of forest will be cultivated. "At least 5 million hectare in two years," he said. The Indonesian timber industry has the potential to be a world player.
If it can achieve between 7 and 9 million hectares, Indonesia will become one of the three largest timber players in the world. Currently, Indonesia is number 12.
The Australian - April 18, 2008
Ashleigh Wilson – Inadequate international laws are allowing an illegal timber trade worth more than $2 billion a year to flourish across the Asia-Pacific region, with 9 per cent of all timber imports to Australia coming from illicit sources.
The findings are contained in a report by the Australian Institute of Criminology, which says the revenue from illegal logging has been used to finance rogue regimes and human rights abuses.
The illegal trade, amid booming global demand for timber and timber products, results in lost government revenue and lasting environmental damage.
"Corruption and bribery at all levels of government are common at every stage of this illicit trade," the report says. "In very extreme cases, illegal logging and timber trafficking have been used to generate revenue to finance coups, rogue regimes, human rights abuses and wars."
The report – by Andreas Schloenhardt, a senior lecturer in criminal law at the University of Queensland, and published this week – details the "alarming" illegal trade in a region that already has the world's highest annual rate of deforestation.
It cites previous research that claimed illegal trade represented up to 70 per cent of the $US100 billion ($107billion) industry worldwide.
Developing countries were the worst offenders, it says, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea considered "significant sources" of illegal timber. Up to 73 per cent of timber exported from Indonesia, and 35 per cent from Malaysia, was estimated to be illegal.
China was believed to be the world's largest consumer of illegal timber, with 32 percent of its timber, pulp and paper imports in 2000 from illicit sources.
"Illegal logging appears to be particularly rampant in those countries in which forests are in remote locations that are distant from administration centres and are difficult to access for government officials and inspectors," the report says.
"Furthermore, levels of law enforcement – and lack thereof – have a direct impact on the levels of illegal logging and associated activities."
The report says Australia is the third biggest importer of timber or timber products in the region, behind China and Japan. About 9 per cent of timber or timber products imported into Australia, worth $452 million, comes from the illegal industry. And the illicit trade is responsible for 22 per cent of all wooden furniture imported into Australia.
The report says the consumption of illegal timber is "not criminalised and largely not regulated" in Australia. "It is this demand, especially for cheap timber supplies, that fuels the trade in illegal timber and translates into higher levels of illegal logging abroad," it says.
The report says no single international law exists to specifically suppress the illicit trade despite a "vast array" of treaties, agreements and organisations focused on the issue.
Jakarta Post - April 15, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Green activists unveiled Monday an ambitious plan to set up a political bloc which will pressure the government and lawmakers to take action against the country's ailing environment.
The Indonesia Environment Forum (Walhi) said the bloc would comprise people from the grassroots level, who would be trained to think critically about environmental affairs.
"We will build critical grassroots communities. We will organize them as a people's power to campaign for the environment and the prosperity of the general public," Walhi executive director Chalid Muhammad told reporters. He said Walhi would not turn into a political party by supporting certain parties or candidates.
Of about 70 registered political parties in the country, only the National Awakening Party (PKB), founded by Muslim clerics, has officially declared commitment to green campaigns. In Indonesian politics, however, green is the color representative of Islam.
Walhi said to meet the target of the green bloc, it would conduct a series of grassroots educational campaigns on environment issues, both in villages and urban areas. "We will also link our campaigns with those of international green activists," he said.
Walhi is part of the Friends of the Earth international environmental group.
Chalid said the plan to set up the green bloc would be discussed in the Walhi summit in Yogyakarta, which starts Wednesday. The summit, to be held in five villages in Yogyakarta's Bantul regency, will attract 5,000 activists, including representatives of Southeast Asian countries.
Walhi has long expressed concerns about recurring ecological disasters, such as floods, landslides, droughts, harvest failures and forest fires. They blamed the government for not making breakthroughs to stop the disasters.
The group recorded about 840 ecological disasters between 2006 and 2007, leaving over 7,303 people dead and destroying about 750,000 houses across the archipelago.
Chalid predicts massive exploitation of natural resources will continue in coming years as many existing government policies are pro-business. He said 90 percent of oil and gas fields were controlled by transnational corporations, of which 60 percent of the products were exported.
Walhi campaigner for fishermen and small island affairs Reza Damanik said the critical mass groups would be powerful in pushing for more eco-friendly regulations.
"With this knowledge, people can be more critical, especially when electing their local leaders," he said, adding independent candidates were not necessarily more aware of the environment than established elite groups.
| Women & gender |
Jakarta Post - April 19, 2008
Jakarta – A government official has criticized a ban imposed by Tangerang and Bandung administrations on dangdut singer Dewi Persik, saying it amounts to criminalization of women.
"The action the local authorities have taken against Dewi Persik is, first, discrimination against women and, second, paints women as seductresses.
"Third, they don't realize there are national laws on this issue. Sometimes local authorities issue regulations that contradict the national laws," Sri Danti, the deputy women's empowerment minister for gender mainstreaming, said Thursday.
"It's a setback. Dewi Persik is being criminalized because of the patriarchal way of thinking: seeing women as objects not as humans."
Dewi has been banned from performing in Tangerang and Bandung because her performance style and stage costumes are deemed sexually provocative.
Another dangdut singer, Inul Daratista, who rose to fame in 2003, received similar bans from the regional governments of Yogyakarta, Palembang and Surakarta.
Jakarta Post - April 19, 2008
Mariani Dewi, Jakarta – Indonesians believe domestic violence is the most serious problem for Indonesian women that authorities need to address urgently, a survey released here on Friday found.
The study found more than half of 2,500 respondents believed curbing domestic violence was the most urgent thing that needs to be done for women.
Other urgent problems identified for women were their access to health care (31.3%), a lack of formal education (31%), limited legal protection (24%) and income (24%).
The survey was conducted by the Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center (PIRAC) on middle-class households in 11 major cities including Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Bandung. The respondents, comprising men and women, were chosen randomly and interviewed face-to-face.
According to the National Commission for Women's Protection, domestic violence accounts for the majority of offenses against women in the last five years. Data from the Commission shows there were more than 25,000 cases reported last year through 215 organizations including police and hospitals.
The number of cases has increased threefold since 2003, the commission said. The commission said the sharp rise was due to increasing public awareness about such offenses, especially after the enactment of the 2004 national law on eradication of domestic violence.
However, the commission accused some local authorities of violating the laws by adopting discriminatory policies against women, especially sharia-inspired bylaws that have been much criticized by human rights groups.
Despite rising awareness, there was little practical public support for the interests of women, it said. The survey found only 20 percent of respondents had donated to empowerment programs intended for women, although more than 90 percent claimed to be willing to do so if requested.
More than half said they did not donate because they had never been approached or requested to, while another two-fifths did the same because they did not understand the problem or did not support the organizations seeking money.
"The public, especially women, want to donate but most organizations for women have failed to tap into the market," PIRAC researcher Hamid Abidin told a press conference for the survey.
"Donors need to be encouraged to develop preferences for women's projects. If they donate to a common cause, most of the funds will go to men. Men already have a head start," he said.
| War on corruption |
Jakarta Post - April 17, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is under fire for what lawmakers and experts said was an apparent attempt to interfere in the work of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
In a speech to participants of a national law convention here Tuesday, Yudhoyono said law enforcers should not "entrap" people. "If a citizen breaks the law because of his or her ignorance, we are guilty as well. Worse, (we) let them be trapped instead of just reminding them," he said.
The President specifically told the KPK, the Supreme Audit Agency and the Attorney General's Office to avoid entrapping citizens by taking advantage of their ignorance of laws and regulations on corruption.
These agencies, he said, should prioritize preventive measures over legal action in dealing with corruption cases. The statement has been widely interpreted as an attack by the President on the KPK's methods in investigating state officials and lawmakers suspected of corruption, which involve phone taps.
The latest state official arrested by the graft body was lawmaker Al Amin Nasution of the United Development Party (PPP). He was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe from officials in relation to the conversion of a protected forest on Bintan Island in Riau Islands province.
Last year the KPK arrested Judicial Commission member Irawady Joenoes in the act of allegedly accepting a bribe in connection with a land procurement deal.
Legal expert Denny Indrayana from Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta said the President's comment could be interpreted as an effort to interfere in the work of the KPK. "What the President said was counterproductive as it could be used as an excuse for corrupt officials and businesspeople to get away with their crimes," he said.
In reaction to the President's statement, the KPK said it was an independent body and would not accept interference by any outside party.
"The President's statement shouldn't have ended there," KPK chief Antasari said when visiting the studio of rock band Slank in Jakarta.
"It would be better if the statement went on to say: 'hey, you state officials, if you're going to manage the people's money, do it professionally and ethically, because the law will be enforced to those deviating from that mandate,'" he said. "Right now the KPK is adding that statement to the President's," he said.
Antasari said everyone in the country must understand the law, especially state officials. "It doesn't make sense that state official would not understand the law."
Another KPK member, Moch. Jasin, said the commission did not entrap people and always acted according to the law. "We also actively educate people and officials at the regional level so all can understand the KPK's duty and authority," he said.
Deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' disciplinary council, Gayus Lumbuun, agreed it was inappropriate if the President was calling the KPK's recent arrests entrapment. (anw)
| War on terror |
Associated Press - April 21, 2008
Zakki Hakim, Jakarta – Indonesian courts declared the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah a terrorist organization Monday and sentenced two of its leaders to 15 years behind bars.
Abu Dujana, the group's military commander, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit terrorist attacks, harboring fugitives and stockpiling illegal arms. Zarkasih, who judges said briefly acted as JI's caretaker leader in 2005, was found guilty of similar charges in a separate trial at the South Jakarta District Court.
Jemaah Islamiyah and its allies are accused of carrying out the 2002 bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, a 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, a 2004 attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, and 2005 triple suicide bombings on restaurants in Bali. Many of the more than 240 killed in the attacks were foreign tourists.
Neither Dujana nor Zarkasih – both of whom faced possible death sentences – were charged in connection with those bombings.
Dujana's conviction was over recent attacks on Christians on the eastern island of Sulawesi, which was plagued by religious violence from 1999 to 2001. He has condemned al-Qaida-style bombings, arguing they were counterproductive to Jemaah Islamiyah's reported aim of establishing Islamic law across the region.
Presiding Judge Wahjono, who like many Indonesians uses one name, sentenced Dujana to 15 years in prison, saying his recent public condemnations of terrorism had been taken into account. He also said he was convinced Dujana could play a role in helping reform other jailed terrorists.
Asked if he would appeal the ruling, Dujana, 37, said, "I'll think about it."
Judge Risdianto said Zarkasih, 45, was given a reduced sentence because he only served as a two-month caretaker leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, not the emir as had been alleged. The judge also cited his good behavior in prison.
The two judges also labeled Jemaah Islamiyah a terrorist organization, a move that could make it easier for the Indonesian government to formally ban the group or secure convictions against its members.
The group was formed in the early 1990s as an offshoot of another militant network stretching back decades. Its core leadership fought or trained in Afghanistan and some came under the influence of al-Qaida.
A regional crackdown following the Bali attacks netted hundreds of members and sympathizers, severely weakening the group. Former members and analysts say the hardcore faction that carried out the bombings no longer operates under its command.
Agence France Presse - April 15, 2008
Jakarta – A suspected militant being held here after his arrest in Malaysia has admitted involvement in the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls in 2005, Indonesian police said Tuesday.
The brutal killing of the three girls came at the height of violence between Christians and Muslims in religiously divided Poso on Sulawesi island, and shocked the world.
The national police spokesman said Agus Purwantoro, 39, had confessed his involvement in that and other crimes in Poso.
"Doctor Agus (Purwantoro) was wanted for a series of violent acts in Poso... he was also involved in the beheadings of the three schoolgirls in Poso on November 29 2005," said Anton Bachrul Alam.
Purwantoro was arrested in Malaysia in January along with Abdul Rohim, 49. Both men were extradited to Indonesia on March 28.
"Abdul Rohim is allegedly involved in meetings to plan violence in Poso," Alam said. "Both men admitted their involvement in the acts of terror and using forged passports."
The three teenage girls were walking home from school when they were attacked with machetes during a festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A fourth girl survived and fled with serious injuries. Three men were jailed last year over the crime.
Poso has seen sporadic unrest since violence between Muslims and Christians flared in 2000 and 2001, killing around 1,000 people.
Alam refused to comment on whether the men were involved in the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, which has been accused of fanning the flames of the unrest.
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - April 22, 2008
Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Ulemas of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization have given support to members of the "deviant" Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah to file a lawsuit against the government for its plan to outlaw the sect.
The ulemas of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chapter in Cirebon, West Java, also urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday to reconsider his recommendation for the ban, saying such a move would contradict the 1945 Constitution.
The Cirebon ulemas decided at a get-together to help protect Ahmadiyah members from any form of attacks. The meeting was held at the residence of Habib Syarief Utsman Yahya, a noted local ulema.
Following a recommendation from the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem), the government is currently preparing a joint decree to outlaw Ahmadiyah, which recognizes Mirza Gulam Ahmad, not Muhammad, as the last prophet.
Syarief said the protection of Ahmadiyah members would be seen to by thousands of members of the NU youth wing organization.
Efforts would be concentrated mainly on the residential complexes of Ahmadiyah members in a number of areas, including Manis Lor village at Jalaksana, Kuningan, and Sedasari village in Argapura, Majalengka, he said.
"Principally the protection and safeguarding of the country's citizens, including Ahmadiyah members, is in the hands of the police. But we are ready to help them anytime," said Syarief. "We are able to deploy at least 20,000 youths."
Monday's meeting was attended by ulemas from a number of influential Muslim boarding houses locally known as Pondok Pesantren, including Pondok Pesantren Babakan Ciwaringin, Pondok Pesantren Gedongan, Pondok Pesantren Kaliwadas and Pondok Pesantren Kempek.
Syarief further said the opposition to the ban on Ahmadiyah constituted the main stance among NU ulemas. "The government's stance cannot be justified as it clearly violates the freedom of religion and belief guaranteed under the Constitution."
"Ahmadiyah members have the same rights before the law. If they want to file a lawsuit against the government, we will fully support them," Syarief said.
He also reminded the President not to be in a hurry to make a decision on the ban against Ahmadiyah. "Consider... whether it is constitutional or not. If his decision violates the 1945 Constitution, he can face impeachment," he said.
The ulemas also urged the President to reconsider the establishment of Bakor Pakem as they were of the opinion the agency had sparked problems in the community.
"What is the use of Bakor Pakem? Is its existence in line with the 1945 Constitution? Is it beneficial to the community? It should be reevaluated," Syarief said.
Jakarta Post - April 21, 2008
Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Sunday launched a book detailing its political platform and dismissing the idea it aimed at making Indonesia an Islamic state.
The Islamic party also rejects the idea of a secular state in the predominantly Muslim nation, it says in the 643-page book titled "Struggling for a Civil Society".
The book also says the PKS promotes a free market system, calling it the most reliable and efficient means to provide equality for all economic players, while also acknowledging it does not always guarantee the fulfillment of people's rights.
Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who both spoke at the launch, praised the PKS for the book.
Azyumardi, also deputy secretary to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, said the PKS envisioned a moderate nation with its leaders, seeking to rule the country with Islamic values, not sharia law.
He said the book would explain the PKS's stance on relations between Islam and the state to the public, which mostly misunderstood the PKS as a hard-line party. "I recommend the PKS make an English version of this book to have more people learning about their platform."
PKS chief patron Hilmi Aminuddin in his opening speech said the party envisioned a civil society in which people bring into practice their own religious teachings to support universal values of humanism.
The book was launched as the party was taking early leads in direct gubernatorial elections in West Java and North Sumatra. Political pundits say the six-year-old PKS could win significant votes in the 2009 general elections, challenging the two biggest parties, Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
The book says the PKS does not want an Islam-based nation but seeks to restore the existence of Islam, which it called under- represented during the leadership of both Sukarno and Soeharto.
It says the survival of the nation cannot be separated from Islam, whose values have flavored the local culture and politics and gradually translated into the social structure of many generations.
The party, symbolized by a rice stalk divided by two partially eclipsed moons, says it was striving to reposition Indonesia's identity based on an anthropological study of the nation. "Islam has become the integrating factor for a multi-faced nation and it is the catalyst for nationalism. Islam is the flame, courage and spirit of the nation," reads the book.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani told the launch ceremony she was surprised the PKS promoted a free market system. She said it was true the free market did not always ensure the fulfillment of people's rights because it only aimed at efficiency. It is the government, she added, that should monitor and check the market to ensure efficiency is achieved.
The book says the current market is marked with monopoly and business crimes perpetrated by a small number of giant capital owners amid the government's corrupt institutions and weak international bargaining power. As a result, the economic system has failed to become an egalitarian system that promises people fair prosperity, says the book.
In response to the concept of just prosperity, Mulyani posed a philosophical question: "Is justice the goal or a means for the PKS?"
"Justice as the goal means you divide something – let's say a cake – equally for a group of people while justice as the means refers to meritocracy. It is when one has to compete with rivals from the same playing field to win the cake," she said.
Mulyani praised the PKS's platform for its comprehensible goals but said it lacked methodological explanations of how the party was going to achieve them.
Radio Australia - April 18, 2008
Indonesia's Attorney General has banned a controversial Islamic sect from practising in the country. But the government has stopped short of disbanding the Ahmadiyah sect altogether.
Presenter: Girish Sawlani
Speakers: Azyurmadi Azra, director, Graduate School, Islamic State University; Syafii Anwar, Executive director of International centre for Islam and Pluralism.
Sawlani: The Ahmadiyah sect was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the 19th century in the Indian state of Punjab, and is now estimated to have more than ten million followers worldwide. They believe their founder to be another prophet of Islam whose mission was to establish a movement that would revitalise their religion.
But mainstream Muslims around the world have strongly rejected Ahmadiyah's edict and insist that Prophet Muhammad is the final messiah.
And for more than 500,000 Ahmadiyah Muslims in Indonesia, those rejections took on greater significance after attorney general Whishnu Subroto banned the religious group form practising in the country.
The ruling has sparked an outcry among those who believe the government's decision violates Indonesia's constitution which guarantees the freedom to practice religion. Syafii Anwar is the Executive Director of the International Centre for Islam and Pluralism in Jakarta.
Anwar: This is definitely against human rights, against our constitution, and against religious teaching as well. Why, because the government should be maintaining religious freedom in Indonesia. Unfortunately the government seems to be siding with the Islamic radical groups who ban Ahmadiyah. I strongly believe that internationally this kind of decision would be counter- productive for Indonesia as perceived of a moderate Muslim.
Sawlani: Most of Indonesia's Muslims are moderate and as such haven't opposed the activities of Ahmadiyah members. But calls to ban the sect were recommended by several radical Islamic groups since 2005. Azyurmadi Azra heads the graduate school at the State Islamic University.
Azra: Mainstream Muslim organisation like NU and Muhammadiyah do not have a problem with Ahmadiyah because Ahmadiyah has been existence in Indonesian for many, many years since the 1920s. So they live peacefully side by side. So there is no problem with mainstream, but the problem is there are groups that are led by puritanical or pristine kind of Islam that wants to distance Islam from what they call deviant things.
Sawlani: So far Indonesia's two largest Muslim groups, the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah have remained silent on the attorney general's ruling. And with general elections looming, Syafii Anwar says both groups will be reluctant to weigh in on the controversy.
Anwar: Unfortunately they're just quiet, why because they most probably just... for the next general election. This is a matter of political game actually and it seems to me they do not care with this kind of religious freedom.
Sawlani: Although the government has resisted calls by some local governments and radical Islamic groups to outlaw the entire sect, Syafii Anwar believes the attorney general's decision could lead to violence against Ahmadiyah followers.
Anwar: It will be capitalised to justify the actions by the radical groups. That kind of recommendation from the Attorney General is counter-productive and could be upsetting Indonesian people and most importantly will be creating chaos because it can be capitalised by radical Islam to attack or even to kill Ahmadiyah members.
Sawlani: Azyumardi Azra, who also serves as a deputy in the vice president's office, says the government is obligated to protect Ahmadiyah Muslims against possible attacks by racial Islamists, who don't consider Ahmadiyah followers to be Muslim.
Sawlani: But Syafii Anwar fears authorities will not be able to guarantee the safety of Ahmadiyah members against radical groups such as Islamic defenders front, the FPI.
Jakarta Post - April 18, 2008
Panca Nugraha, Mataram – Fearing further persecution, some 190 followers of Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, urged the UN Human Rights Commission pay attention to their endangered condition that has followed a recommendation to dissolve the sect.
"We are asking the international human rights agencies to interfere with human rights abuses in Indonesia, especially in the case of Ahmadiyah followers," Syaiful Uyun, chairman of the sect's advisory council in the city, said Thursday.
The followers were responding to a recommendation of the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem), who found the sect "deviant."
After a three-month examination, the joint board, representing all denominations in the country, recommended the government ban the "misleading" Islamic sect. The recommendation was based on the examination of the 12 points of Islamic teachings, including the acceptance of Qoran and Prophet Muhammad as last prophet.
We are under threat of persecution following the recommendation, which the government will certainly accept, Syaiful said.
"We fear intensified persecution. During the developmental period when the sect was not banned, we were tortured and displaced from our villages. The widely exposed recommendation will likely incite certain groups against us," he said.
The Ahmadiyah followers were temporarily intercepted at the city's transmigration building and Praya General Hospital after their houses in Ketapang were torn down, forcing them to leave their village.
The Ahmadiyah followers cried out against the recommendation, which they said was against international human rights and the 1945 Constitution guaranteeing the freedom of religion.
Syaiful defended his organization, which was registered with the Justice and Human Rights Affairs Ministry on March 13, 1953. He warned the government that dissolving the sect was against human rights and the constitution. "Only the court has authority to dismiss the organization," he said.
The sect is expected to be banned by a joint ministerial decree as it breaches the constitution. Syaiful said his organization would file a lawsuit to the State Administrative Court against the ban.
Separately, Jamaah Ahmadiyah spokesman Zafrullah Ahmad Pontoh said the group would take legal action against the decision.
"We have the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) as our representatives. The government cannot force us to close Ahmadiyah," he told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta, adding the group had not received the recommended ban.
"We will not take any step until we receive an official ban from the board. We will take every legal effort," Pontoh said.
During the group's development around the globe, Pontoh said, Afghanistan was the only country to reject it.
"Look what happened to Afghanistan. As an Indonesian, I don't want to see my country suffer the same conditions as it does," he said, adding that Ahmadiyah internal activities were not affected by the recommendation.
"We did not panic in dealing with the case. Ahmadiyah is a spiritual group and we only do religious activities, like reading the Koran, praying five times and teaching kids to read the Koran. We aim to facilitate religious people," he said.
Some other Muslims, however, frown upon the sect, which has even become the target of violence by hard-liner group Islam Defenders' Front (FPI). "Some people claiming to be 'Muslim' took down our sign board," Pontoh said. (trw)
Jakarta Post - April 17, 2008
Muhammad Nafik and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Muslim scholars have warned extremist groups will renew attacks on Jamaah Ahmadiyah following a recommendation the government ban the "deviant" Islamic sect.
The recommendation was issued Wednesday by the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem). The board is made up of senior officials from the Attorney General's Office, the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Home Ministry and the National Police.
Deputy attorney general for intelligence Wisnu Subroto, who leads the board, said his team's three-month evaluation of 55 Ahmadiyah communities across the country found the sect failed to commit to the 12 points of its public declaration signed in January.
The declaration included acknowledging the Prophet Muhammad, instead of Mirza Gulam Ahmad, as the last prophet in Islam, as believed by mainstream Muslims worldwide.
On Jan. 15, the Bakor Pakem gave Ahmadiyah three months to prove its 12-point statement regarding faith and social values was not contradictory to Islamic values.
"Bakor Pakem believes Ahmadiyah has continued to follow activities and interpretations that deviate from Islamic teachings. As a consequence, it has caused unrest and conflict within society," Wisnu said.
Islamic scholars and civil society organizations warned the recommendation could spark further attacks on thousands of Ahmadiyah followers by militant Muslim groups across the country.
Former Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Ma'arif said the decision by Bakor Pakem would be used as a "justification" by extremist groups to attack Ahmadiyah again. "The state must protect them as they are still Indonesian citizens. If we fail to do so, we will end up as an uncivilized country," he told The Jakarta Post.
Azyumardi Azra, former Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University rector and current deputy secretary to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also lashed out at the decision.
"The potential for violence against Ahmadiyah is very high now," he told the Post. "Violence could become uncontrollable and widespread given the current political tension during local direct elections around the country."
He said the decision showed the "victory of extremist groups" over moderate ones in the world's largest Muslim nation. "The recommendation will damage Indonesia's reputation in protecting religious freedom domestically and internationally. The UN rights body is watching this issue," Azyumardi said.
Ahmadiyah members across the country have often been the targets of violence and death threats during the past several years. According to media reports last month, members have received death threats from hard-line groups.
A videotape screened by human rights groups last week showed Islam Defenders Front (FPI) secretary general Sobri Lubis urging followers to kill Ahmadiyah members.
"We will wage war against Ahmadiyah! Kill Ahmadiyah! Kill! Kill! Kill!" Sobri says to applause from those attending his sermon. "And if they say we are violating human rights, then I say damn human rights."
The Setara Institute, an NGO focusing on multiculturalism, condemned the decision by Bakor Pakem as a violation of constitutional rights. "Bakor Pakem has no right to forbid people's beliefs. By banning Ahmadiyah, (President) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and (Vice President) Jusuf Kalla have violated the Constitution. They should be held responsible," Setara chairman Hendardi said.
The Indonesian Ulema Council declared Ahmadiyah heretical in 2005 for believing Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the last prophet, not Muhammad. All the extremist groups – the FPI, the Islamic Ulema Forum and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council – have denounced Ahmadiyah and criticized the government for allowing the sect to exist.
| Elections/political parties |
Jakarta Post - April 22, 2008
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Supporters of gubernatorial candidates Agum Gumelar and Nu'man Abdul Hakim (Aman) on Monday besieged the West Java office of the General Elections Commission (KPUD), demanding it cancel a meeting scheduled for Tuesday to finalize election results.
Crowds from an alliance of political parties backing the Aman pair, including youth groups from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the United Development Party, began arriving at 9 a.m. The crowd, including housewives and children, were stopped by police at the entrance to Jl. Garut, 200 meters from the KPUD office.
"We urge the KPUD to immediately stop all the false vote counting because those who are leading have apparently cheated," a member of the West Java Ka'bah Front, Nurul Anggalaksana, told the crowd.
Police had to reroute traffic to Jl. Sukabumi because the crowd blocked Jl. Garut, forcing traffic to back up to Jl. Jakarta.
Hundreds of riot police were called in to control the crowd, which had inched its way to the KPUD office, where regency and city votes were being counted.
The heated situation prompted police to mediate and they eventually allowed 10 representatives of the protesters to meet KPUD officials at 12:30 p.m. However, none of the officials were ready to meet them and the protesters voiced their dissatisfaction.
KPUD spokesman Heri Suherman said his office could not stop the vote count. "The losing candidates have three days after the final vote count to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the results. Please make use of that period to express your dissatisfaction," Heri told the crowd, followed by boos from protesters.
Aman supporters presented alleged evidence of vote rigging found in Ketamukti and Gunungsari subdistricts, and in Ciranjang, Cianjur regency, where they claimed rival candidates Ahmad Heryawan and Dede Yusuf (Hade) from the Prosperous Justice Party and National Mandate Party had cheated.
In Gunungsari, the Hade pair won after obtaining an additional 369 votes, while in Kertamukti, a counting error indicated they earned 1,082 votes that should have totaled 985, the protesters claimed.
The representatives were angry, banging on desks and shouting that the KPUD had not acted lawfully. Police then detained a representative, Lili Muslihat, who threatened to strike a KPUD member during a quarrel.
"We will not leave the KPUD before you promise to cancel the plenary meeting. Look outside. We have thousands of people who are ready to do damage," asserted Lili when he was dragged away by a number of policemen.
Scores of protesters are still occupying the KPUD office, while most of them have dispersed. West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Susno Duadji urged political party leaders to restrain their supporters to prevent chaos.
During the campaign period between March 24 and April 9, the provincial police recorded violations committed by the candidates' campaign teams.
Based on video recordings, all candidates violated campaign rules, such as illegally putting up banners and posters, carrying out campaign rallies and parades outside their schedules as well as vote-buying. "We are still conducting investigations of every case that can be processed," said Susno.
Jakarta Post - April 21, 2008
Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) will put its preparations for the 2009 national polls at stake if it fails to settle the double leadership issue facing several political parties, including the National Awakening Party (PKB).
National Coordinator of People's Voter Education Network Jeirry Sumampow predicted the PKB's internal rift would drag on for a long time as both camps had started to take legal action against each other.
"The KPU should not wait for this legal fight to roll. When the deadline for party registration expires, the KPU should decide which party faction is legitimate to contest the 2009 election or just disqualify them all," Jeirry said.
Disqualification, he added, would serve as a warning for any political parties intending to contest the elections in the future to quickly solve internal disputes. "If they cannot even manage their internal business, how can they articulate people's aspirations?" said Jeirry.
He pointed out the KPU had less than one year to organize the election. "Within the next three months, the KPU must decide which parties can participate in the 2009 election," said Jeirry.
The PKB, which holds the fifth most seats at the House of Representatives, has been heading for a complete division as each faction is preparing an extraordinary congress early in May. Both camps took registration forms at the KPU as a requirement to contest the 2009 election.
The conflict evolved after the dismissal of party leader Muhaimin Iskandar earlier this month at the request of chief patron Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who is also Muhaimin's uncle.
The KPU has urged all parties embroiled in internal dispute to settle the conflict by May 12, otherwise the poll body will decide which factions will represent the parties in the 2009 legislative election.
Political observer Fachri Ali said the KPU was facing a dilemma in dealing with the PKB dispute. "Administratively, Muhaimin is registered as the chairman of the PKB. But on the other hand, Gus Dur is seen as synonymous with the PKB," he said.
Fachri said favoring Gus Dur would cause less political implications for the KPU. "Although Gus Dur is not as powerful as he once was, he can still mobilize people in the grassroots. It would be a problem if the election does not provide a channel for his supporters to articulate their political aspirations," Fachri said.
Jeirry warned the KPU against applying political calculation to decide which faction was legitimate. "The KPU does not have the authority to do that," said Jeirry, adding the KPU's main responsibility was to make sure the election would run smoothly.
Fachri, however, suggested the KPU wait until both factions complete their respective extraordinary meeting.
He sees an opportunity for both factions to reconcile. "In his statement, Muhaimin never attacked Gus Dur directly – only several figures surrounding him. On the other hand, I hope Gus Dur would realize the PKB is in critical condition," Fachri said. (alf)
Jakarta Post - April 20, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla remains upbeat his party will win next year's general elections despite recent losses for party candidates in a number of gubernatorial elections.
Kalla, who is also the country's Vice President, pointed out Golkar has enjoyed much success in regional elections over the past three years.
"Golkar's gubernatorial hopefuls won in seven of 21 elections in the past three years," he said after Friday prayers. "Golkar also recorded a 41 percent victory rate in 320 regency and municipal elections."
Ongoing vote counts for the West Java and North Sumatra gubernatorial elections show Golkar's candidates trailing in last place.
In West Java, Golkar and the Democratic Party nominated incumbent Governor Danny Setiawan and his running mate, former West Java military commander Maj. Gen. Iwan Sulandjana.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)'s Ahmad Heryawan and actor-cum-lawmaker Dede Yusuf of the National Mandate Party (PAN) look set to win that election.
PKS candidate Syamsul Arifin also leads the North Sumatra vote count. Golkar's Ali Umri and Maratua Simanjuntak are last among the five pairs of candidates.
Kalla dismissed these poor results, saying regional elections are different from the national elections that will take place on April 5, 2009. "In regional elections, voters put a priority on the candidates, instead of the party, before casting their ballots," he said.
He said voters would consider the party nominating the candidates for the legislative and presidential elections. "Therefore, I'm still upbeat (about the upcoming elections)," he said.
Golkar won 21.6 percent of the vote in the 2004 general election.
Kalla also dismissed the idea that the public wanted change by voting for younger candidates.
"It's definitely not true. Just look at the North Sumatra elections. The winners are not new figures. They are the former regent and from the older generation," he said.
"There are too many factors, including the success of campaigns and the figure of the candidates. While for the incumbents, voters will see the achievements during their leadership."
Kalla said many Golkar members were also backed by other parties in regional elections. "The North Sumatra governor candidate Syamsul Arifin is a Golkar cadre but he was nominated by other parties," he said. Syamsul is a former chairman of Golkar's local advisory board.
Kalla said decisions on nominating governor candidates were now in the hands of the party's provincial board members.
"We promote democracy in choosing governor candidates. Golkar's central board only has 40 percent of the vote to determine the candidates. Sixty percent is at the provincial level.
"While for the regent candidates, the central board has only 30 percent, while 70 of the vote belongs to respective local boards," he said.
Kalla also dismissed calls from party members for an extraordinary meeting to respond to Golkar's recent losses in regional elections.
Jakarta Post - April 18, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Political analysts have said the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has a chance of making a big leap in the 2009 legislative election due to its clean image and the failure of larger parties to deliver.
Political analysts, however, warned Thursday that though the PKS could claim back-to-back successes in the West Java and North Sumatra gubernatorial elections, the Muslim-based party was unlikely to win the legislative election.
"I think 15 percent of the vote is within reach for the PKS because of the effectiveness of its political machinery to woo more voters and the failure of bigger parties to retain their own followers," Airlangga University political scientist Daniel Sparringa said in Surabaya.
He said the two regional elections only indicated the PKS was still a "growing party".
Another political analyst, Indria Samego, said the PKS could continue to raise its votes after a strong showing in many regional elections, including the recent polls in West Java and North Sumatra.
"The party may secure up to 15 percent of the vote in the upcoming parliamentary election because it has young and militant members who contribute a lot to the party in terms of finance and recruitment," he said.
Indria, however, doubted the PKS could achieve its target of winning 20 percent of the vote in the 2009 election.
The PKS took only 7.34 percent or some 8.3 million votes in the 2004 election, far behind the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) which garnered 21.6 percent and 18.5 percent.
An early lead in the West Java and North Sumatra elections prompted PKS president Tifatul Sembiring to announce a party target of winning 20 percent of the vote in the national election.
Party patron Hidayat Nur Wahid said he believed the PKS could meet the target if party members could maintain the public's trust.
"The results in West Java and North Sumatra demonstrated people's trust in us. This is what we are going to maintain in the next election," said Hidayat, also the People's Consultative Assembly speaker.
Besides the prospect of winning both the West Java and North Sumatra gubernatorial elections, the PKS has won elections in Depok, Bekasi regency, and Bangka Belitung and Bengkulu provinces. It is now aiming at the South Sumatra gubernatorial election.
While praising the PKS as an example of a modern party, political scientist Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Indonesian Institute of Science warned that the party's growth was limited by the fact it was an Islamic party and won support from urban and moderate Muslim segments.
She said that different from local elections, in which candidate personality is more important than party affiliation, the parliamentary election would be determined by party ideology.
"We can't imagine, for instance, that the PKS could lure away PDI-P supporters or the PKB (National Awakening Party). It may attract Golkar supporters or young Muslims of the PPP (United Development Party), but parties like PAN (National Mandate Party) will be mostly hurt by the PKS because they target the same constituents," Dewi said.
Tempo Interactive - April 18, 2008
Pramono/Anton Septian, Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) might not take part in the election next year.
According to Andi Nurpati Baharuddin, a member of the General Elections Commission (KPU), participants in the election were only accepted if they had complete documentation signed by head of political party and general secretary, and acknowledged by the justice and human rights department.
"Otherwise, KPU cannot accept the documentation," he said after meeting the justice and human rights minister Andi Mattalata yesterday (17/4).
To date, PKB is divided into two administrations. One is headed up by Muhaimin Iskandar and the other by Ali Masykur Musa, the executive director, and Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh "Yenny" Wahid, the general secretary. They both applied to KPU as well as the Justice and human rights department to take part in the 2009 election.
Andi said KPU's decision was based on section 14, sub-section 1 and 2 of the State Decree of the Election of Members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representatives Assembly (DPD) and Regional Houses of Representatives (DPRDs).
It is stated here that a political party can take part in the election by submitting the registration documentation to KPU and this has to be signed by political party's head and general secretary.
KPU Head Abdul Hafiz Anshary said that the commission would not intervene in the internal conflict of political parties.
He asked PKB, the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party and Indonesian National Marhaenism Party, to solve their internal conflicts immediately and submit their applications by 12 May at the latest. "KPU will not accept double administrations of one political party," said Hafiz.
Kompas - April 15, 2008
Indah Surya Wardhani – The West Java election of regional heads, which looks set to be won by Ahmad Heryawan and Dede Yusuf, indicates that the voting patterns of traditional voters had changed significantly. The hope for the emergence of an alternative leadership is becoming a progressively stronger phenomenon and is more important than loyalty to a particular political party.
It is this phenomena that was recorded in a survey of voter behaviour (exit poll) conducted by Kompas Research & Development (Litbang Kompas) of voters after they had cast their ballot in the West Java gubernatorial elections (Pilkada Jabar) on Sunday April 13. It appears that the political party machines are no longer able to rely on their mass base in the 2004 general elections to guarantee the victory of the regional candidates they support. The personage of regional electoral candidates is more interesting to voters that the party supporting them.
Despite this however, the Prosperity and Justice Party (PKS) and National Mandate Party (PAN) coalition were the most solid in mobilising people to vote for their candidates. As many as 60.6 percent of votes from the mass base of the PKS and PAN coalition did indeed flow to PKS member Ahmad Heryawan and former actor and House of Representatives (DPR) member Dede Yusuf (Hade).
Only 19.8 percent "deserted" and gave their vote to the other candidates, with 11.3 percent voting for former transport minister and retired army general Agum Gumelar and incumbent West Java deputy governorNu'man Abdul Hakim, and 8.5 percent voting for incumbent West Java governor Danny Setiawan and former West Java military commander retired Major General Iwan Ridwan Sulandjana.
Conversely, although the majority of voters (41.5 percent) from the mass base of the coalition supporting Gumelar and Abdul Hakim – the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Star Crescent Party (PBB), the Functional Party of National Concern (PKPB), the Peace and Prosperity Party (PDS) and the Reform Star Party – voted for the Gumelar-Abdul Hakim ticket, 34.4 percent deserted them for other candidates.
Some 29.3 percent of the PDI-P's mass base voted for other camps. As many as 20.1 percent voted for the Hade ticket and 9.2 percent to the Danny-Iwan ticket. This was similar in the case of the PPP, PKB, PBB, PKPB, PDS and PBR mass base, with an average of around 18 percent of their supporters voting for the Hade camp.
This was also the case with the Golkar and Democrat Party. Only 28.8 percent of these parties' mass base voted for Sulandjana and Setiawan, which the two parties were supporting. The majority of votes were in fact distributed to the other camps, with 21.3 percent going to the Gumelar-Abdul Hakim ticket and 25.8 percent to the Heryawan-Yusuf ticket. This political dynamic indicates that the political parties are no longer the principle determinant in the victory of a candidate.
The Heryawan-Yusuf ticket, which based on earlier surveys was not as popular as the other two candidates, also had the smallest electoral base of support. From the results of the 2004 general elections in West Java, on paper the pair could only count on 17 percent of the vote. And this was primarily restricted to urban areas.
The PKS – which was the motor behind the coalition – has its largest mass base of support in urban areas, particularly in the cities of Depok, Bekasi and Bandung. In the 2004 general elections, the PKS won in these three cities.
Old constellations
The votes attracted by the Heryawan-Yusuf ticket overthrew the old constellation of political party forces in West Java. Based on the 2004 elections, the Golkar Party was the victor pocketing 27.9 percent of the vote out of 20.7 million registered voters. This was followed by the PDI-P (17.6 percent), the PKS (11.6 percent) and the PPP (10.6 percent).
The weakening loyalties of these parties' mass base of support was not just in urban areas, but was also apparent in almost all parts of West Java.
In the East Priangan area for example – based on the vote count in the 2004 elections – represented a traditional electoral base for the PDI-P and PPP. Out of 3.35 million registered voters, the two parties pocketed 34 percent of the vote in this area, which covers the regencies of Garut, Tasikmalaya and Ciamis and the cities of Tasikmalaya and Banjar. Moreover on paper, the colation of the seven parties supporting Gumelar and Abdul Hakim had the potential to garner 45 percent of the vote.
From the results of the survey however, not all of the mass base of the coalition of parties driven by PDI-P and PP voted for the Gumelar-Abdul Hakim ticket. As many as 24.2 percent of the votes from supporters of these seven parties went to the Heryawan-Yusuf ticket.
This was also the case for the Golkar Party, which with the exception of Tasikmalaya City, won in the East Priangan area and controlled 28.3 percent of the vote. After entering into a coalition with the Democratic Party, on paper the Sulandjana- Setiawan ticket should have been able to garner 32.6 percent of the vote.
The results of the survey however show that the majority of the Golkar and Democrat Party mass base in East Priangan actually gave their vote to the other camps. Only 29.3 percent of their mass basis voted for Sulandjana and Setiawan while as many as 27.6 percent actually gave their vote to the Gumelar-Abdul Hakim ticket and 15.5 percent to the Heryawan-Yusuf ticket.
The weakness of the parties' political machine could also be seen in Cirebon, which covers the regencies of Indramayu, Majalengka, Cirebon, Kuningan and Cirebon city. In 2004 these areas represented a loyal base of PDI-P supporters. PDI-P – which in 2004 won 25.6 percent of the vote out of 3.31 million registered voters in these areas – was the victor in Majalengka, Cirebon and Kuningan. Moreover on January 6, 2008, the PDI-P was also the sole party to support the Subardi-Sunarya ticket as candidate mayor and deputy mayor for Cirebon city.
Not surprisingly therefore, the Gumelar-Abdul Hakim ticket was expected to garner as much as 45 percent of the vote. Based on the results of the survey however, not all of the PDI-P's mass base of supporters in the Cirebon area voted for Gumelar and Abdul Hakim. Some the votes from this coalition (15 percent) actually went to the Heryawan-Yusuf camp. This may also be related to Yusuf's popularity as a member of the DPR representing Kuningan regency.
The lessening of party loyalties indicates that voters are now more influenced by the individual qualities of candidates. At least this is what was stated by 61.8 percent of respondents who believe that the capabilities of a candidate regional head are the main consideration in voting. Only 20.4 percent said that their vote was primarily determined by the political party they support.
In addition to this, the old political leaders are also seen as being unable to bring about any meaningful reform. The appearance of bureaucratic figures such as Gumelar or incumbents such as Governor Danny Setiawan and Deputy Governor Nu'man Abdul Hakim are no longer a draw card for voters. The dissatisfaction factor can become a boomerang for the previous leadership.
At least this is the picture provided by 57.8 percent of respondents from this exit poll who admitted they were dissatisfied with the incumbent governor and deputy governor of West Java. Only 31 percent of respondents said they were satisfied.
In the midst of this dissatisfaction, the appearance of the Heryawan-Yusuf ticket in the recent West Java gubernatorial elections has attracted people's interest. The pair was able to project the image of a new leadership that the pubic was hoping for. (Litbang Kompas)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the report was "Voter behaviour - Dreams of a new leader now winning out over loyalties".]
Kompas - April 15, 2008
Suwardiman – In the recent West Java election of regional heads, many respondents determined their choice just a week before voting. One out of five voters or around 20.4 percent only determined their choice on voting day itself and 22.2 percent only determined their choice 1-7 days beforehand. This phenomenon indicates that voters are struggling to make the critical decision in the final days before the vote.
This was the conclusion that was drawn from a post-voting or exit poll survey carried out by Kompas Research & Development (Litbang Kompas) of 1,194 voters in the West Java election of regional heads (Pilkada Jabar). The respondents questioned were spread across 26 regencies and municipalities throughout West Java in the gubernatorial elections that took place on Sunday April 13.
The competence and personage of the candidate governor and deputy governor was a far more important factor in determining the public's choice rather than the political vehicle or political party supporting the candidates. Leadership qualities and moral integrity was most the important element in deciding which candidate the public would direct their vote to.
As many as 24.8 percent of respondents stated that the leadership qualities of candidates was the most important thing in determining their vote. It so happens that the other 24.4 percent of respondents said that the moral integrity of the candidates was their most important concern.
Political education, which is more open at the moment, resulted in the West Java public being more critical and able to more objectively asses the performance of the existing administration. If the administration currently in office failed to fulfil their expectations, the public will look for alternative figures that they consider more capable of bringing about change.
The majority of the West Java public, around 57.8 percent that were netting in this survey said that they were dissatisfied with the leadership of the previous governor and deputy governor. Only 31 percent of respondents said the opposite. As many as 76.8 percent of respondents on the other hand, believe that the development that has been taking place in the province up until now has yet to fulfil their expectations.
The results of a quick count conducted by Litbang Kompas and other research institutions indicate that governor and deputy governor ticket of Justice and Prosperity Party member Ahmad Heryawan and former actor and House of Representatives member Dede Yusuf – known as Hade – who do not have an established political bureaucratic track record like the other candidates, were able, surprisingly, to obtain a vote well in excess of incumbent Danny Setiawan (the current West Java governor) and Iwan Sulandjana (former commander of the Siliwangi Regional Military Command), and Agum Gumelar (former transport minister and retired army general) andNu'man Abdul Hakim (the current West Java deputy governor).
There are many things that may have contributed to success of the Heryawan-Yusuf ticket in garnering the largest number of votes. The youth ticket (both were born in 1966) appears to have successfully stolen the vote of the youth constituency.
This was apparent from the majority of respondents (49.5 percent) in the 17-30 age group who gave their vote to Heryawan and Yusuf. Voters in the younger age groups have a great deal of potential to influence the vote in West Java. Population data from a 2005 Central Statistics Agency survey found that out of a total population of 27 million over the age of 15, 50.2 percent of the population of West Java is in the 15-34 year age group.
The public's choice
The visions and missions taken up by candidates in the campaign did not offer much that was new. Throughout the campaign, the three pairs of candidates made standard and relatively uniform promises, similar to those taken up in other regional elections. Among these were promises to improve the economic situation, infrastructure, development, the bureaucracy and the eradication of corruption and eliminating poverty. These issues were offered uniformly by the three candidate tickets for governor and deputy governor of West Java.
The public it seems did hope that the number one seat in the province over the next period would be able to make improvement to these sectors. The public however, also appeared to be nervous about whether the candidates would be able to overcome the problems that have been plaguing West Java up until now.
On the issue of the eradication of corruption for example, 58.7 percent of respondents doubted the capacity of the future provincial heads to implement their promises. Likewise also on the question of eradicating poverty, with voter's unease clearly apparent from the split in public confidence. As many as 49.5 percent of respondents said that they doubted that the future governor and deputy governor would be able to overcome the problem of poverty. The other 50.5 percent of respondents said they were optimistic.
Not having logged many flying hours in the bureaucracy and political arena can be of benefit to candidates, particularly if they are completing against incumbents whose performance can be measured in the public. The Heryawan-Yusuf ticket for example, appears to have garnered the most votes from members of the public who had placed their hopes in someone with a high level of moral integrity. In the case of these candidates, the public did not look closely at their track record in bureaucracy and politics.
There were hopes that Ahmad Heryawan, who before entering the political area had an academic background and Dede Yusuf who is a well known celebrity, would bring a breath of fresh air in taking the helm of the future West Java government.
Respondents who voted for the pair mostly determined their choice based on the belief that they had the highest integrity in terms of concern for the people's future. As many as 29.1 percent of respondents said they voted for the pair for this reason. As it happens, 29.2 percent of respondents who voted for them said that the leadership values of the pair were behind their choice.
Indeed, the public did not look closely at the pair's performance in the political and bureaucratic arena. This was different from the other candidates, who do in fact have long flying hours and whose performance could be measured by public in terms of development in the province.
For the other candidate tickets, voters mostly based their choice on whether the candidates had good leadership qualities. For those who voted for Gumelar-Abdul Hakim ticket, the majority of respondents (28 percent) based their choice on the leadership experience of the candidates. In the case of the Setiawan- Sulandjana ticket, the leadership experience factor was only of interest to 26.3 percent of respondents. (Litbang Kompas)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the report was "Survey - Critical choices made in the final week".]
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - April 21, 2008
Jakarta – The government hopes to cut the total losses of state companies this year by as much as 92 percent, thanks to strong progress in certain companies, the State Ministry for State Enterprises said over the weekend.
"Up to 28 state companies are still suffering losses, as our 2007 prognosis shows, amounting to Rp 2.94 trillion (around US$323 million)," Secretary to the State Minister for State Enterprises, Said Didu, told a group of reporters during a field trip to Subang, West Java.
"In 2008, the government plans to reduce the number of unprofitable state companies to 11, and the total losses to only Rp 0.23 trillion," he said.
According to Said, state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has always been one of the main contributors to the total deficit suffered by state firms.
The 2003-2007 State Enterprises Performance Report shows PLN remained in the red throughout that period. PLN suffered losses of Rp 5.9 trillion in 2003, Rp 2.02 trillion in 2004, Rp 4.9 trillion in 2005 and Rp 1.9 trillion in 2006. For 2007, the loss has been estimated at Rp 1.5 trillion.
"Hopefully, PLN will be able to significantly decrease its losses this year. If that happens, then PLN will follow (national flag carrier) PT Garuda Indonesia, which has now been in the black since 2007," Said said.
He was apparently unaware of a statement by PLN the same day, in which the president director said the company was expecting large losses this year due to soaring production costs caused by high oil prices.
The 11 companies expected to remain in the red until the end of this year include PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines and PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
According to Said, the losses were attributable either to mismanagement or inefficiency or to the firms' commitment to the so-called public service obligation (PSO) functions.
PSO is a requirement set by the government for state firms to serve the interest of the public ahead of their corporate aims of gaining profits.
"For the companies hampered by mismanagement, the government will instill the principles of good corporate governance by reforming their leadership. For those companies that have been burdened by their PSO tasks, the government will try to increase their operational efficiencies," he said.
He cited PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, railway company PT KAI and sea transportation company PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia as examples of companies carrying PSO responsibilities. (uwi)
Jakarta Post - April 22, 2008
Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Despite healthy growth in bank lending during the first quarter this year, Indonesian banks have been reluctant to lend to the process manufacturing industry and property sector, a BI survey says.
The BI survey, issued Monday, showed banks were little interested in disbursing loans to the process industry, particularly textile and wood processing companies.
The survey said banks perceived the textile industry as unable to produce garments that could compete with Chinese products, and the wood processing industry as prone to illegal logging, making them potential contributors to a rise in non-performing loans (NPLs).
Banks also thought the property sector had been oversupplied, most notably by malls.
BI surveyed about 80 percent of credit officers from all commercial banks whose main offices were located in Jakarta.
In general, however, bank loans in the first quarter grew as expected. The lending growth in the first quarter of 2008 was up 29.8 percent from the previous year, with 66.7 percent of correspondents saying their banks had disbursed loans as targeted.
"Overall, the lending growth went as expected," BI director of banking research and regulation Halim Alamsyah said Monday.
In 2007, bank lending grew by 25.5 percent from Rp 832.9 trillion (US$90.63 billion) in 2006 to Rp 1,045.7 trillion.
BI expects bank lending to grow by between 22 percent and 24 percent this year on the back of intensified infrastructure projects, Halim said.
Last week, five national banks – Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Mega – agreed to finance the construction of some power plants as part of the government's project to light all areas nationwide by 2010.
The government has said it would prioritize the development of infrastructure projects this year to support the country's economy.
Between January and March, the survey said, banks disbursed more loans for investment and working capital than consumption.
"Investment and working capital loans have grown significantly since 2007, as companies started to increase their production capacity to keep up with increasing demand," said Halim.
The survey said banks would keep prioritizing lending for investment and working capital, mainly in the trade, hotel and restaurant sectors, in the second quarter of 2008.
Sector-wise, Halim said businesses operating in the commodity sector, including in crude palm oil and chocolate, would see significant growth this year.
Jakarta Post - April 19, 2008
Yuli Tri Suwarni and Apriadi Gunawan, Bandung/Medan – Businesspeople in West Java and North Sumatra want new governors in the two provinces to retract business-unfriendly bylaws and repair damaged infrastructure blamed for the high-cost economy.
The deputy chairman of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Ari Hendarmi, said more than 100 local bylaws were deemed unfavorable to investment due to their inconsistency with laws and regulations issued by the central government.
Businesses in West Java, he said, face a confusing array of permits and licenses they must arrange at different agencies.
They are also burdened by non-compliance charges imposed by a number of regencies and cities, such as for owning power generators and fire safety equipment. The hotel and restaurant industry, he said, is weighed down by numerous fees, which vary from city to city.
"There are too many payments that are very cumbersome, not to mention the time it takes to arrange for the permits," Ari told The Jakarta Post in Bandung on Friday.
He cited Bandung municipality's Bylaw No. 11/2004 on tourism development and promotion permits that now must be extended every year compared to once every five years previously. Hotels are required to pay up to Rp 5 million (approximately US$550) depending on their class, while restaurants must pay an annual fee of Rp 3 million.
Ari said Apindo grouped more than 1,800 businesspeople in the province, from Bekasi, Karawang, Purwakarta and the capital Bandung, to Banjar and Ciamis in the east.
The total value of investments in West Java was Rp 22 trillion in 2007, short of the targeted Rp 27 trillion. Ari said this could be explained by the numerous ineffective ordinances that put off investors.
In North Sumatra, businesspeople located along the east coast of the province called on the new governor to honor his promises during the campaign, especially to address the prolonged power crisis and repairing damaged infrastructure.
Secretary of the North Sumatra chapter of Apindo, Laksamana Adiyaksa, said businesspeople on the province's east coast, mostly palm oil plantation owners, had been hardest hit by the power crisis over the past three years, forcing them to lay off some of their workers.
He said currently there are only 1 million palm oil plantation workers, compared to around 2 million just three years ago. "I'm afraid more companies will go out of business and more workers will lose their jobs if the new governor fails to overcome the power crisis," Adiyaksa told the Post.
The businesspeople hoped the new governor could lobby the central government to use some of its palm oil export earnings to develop the province.
Adiyaksa said if the government set aside 10 percent of the earnings for the province and 5 percent for regencies and cities, the money could be used to develop the province, particularly to improve infrastructure.
Ahmad Heryawan and Dede Yusuf continue to lead the vote count in the West Java election, with 39 percent, or 4.7 million, of 12.7 million votes counted by the provincial General Elections Commission (KPUD).
In Medan, of 1.3 million votes counted by the KPUD, almost 40 percent, or 524,000, have gone to Syamsul Arifin and his running mate Gatot Pudjonugroho. In second is Tri Tamtomo and Benny Pasaribu with 23 percent, or 302,000 votes.
Jakarta Post - April 18, 2008
Jakarta – Indonesia is the third most optimistic market in Asia after India and China, according to a quarterly investor survey by Dutch financial institution giant ING.
Despite global market uncertainty and the impact of US sub- prime crisis during the first quarter of this year, the fast growing markets of India, China and Indonesia have gained the highest level of investor confidence.
The ING Investor Dashboard survey measures and tracks investor sentiment and behavior quarterly from 13 Asia Pacific markets, with each market assigned an investor sentiment score ranging from 0 (the least optimistic) to 200 (the most optimistic).
India, China and Indonesia recorded the highest level of investor optimism scoring 168, 136 and 131 respectively.
Other countries surveyed included Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
ING Asia chief investment officer Hou Wey Fook, however, said Indonesia – like the rest of Asia – was not insulated from global market uncertainty.
According to Fook, 58 percent of Indonesian investors claimed the crisis had somehow affected their investment decisions during the first three months of the year.
"It is no surprise that Asia has not been spared the effects of the credit crunch and a slowdown in the US economy," said Fook in a recent statement.
"Investors throughout Asia are being impacted more by the global market's volatility because investors here also invest in global equity funds."
He said Asian economies would remain robust in the long run despite financial market volatility.
"It is likely GDP (gross domestic product) growth here will be impacted marginally and will be driven mainly by inter-regional trade and domestic growth," he said.
ING forecasted continued strong economic growth between 3 percent and 9 percent across the region this year. Last year, the Indonesian economy grew by 6.3 percent. The government has targeted growth to get stronger to 6.5 percent this year.
According to the survey, investors in Indonesia and the rest of Asia prefer adopting a "wait and see approach" and are considering investing in lower-risk businesses to ride out the current market uncertainty.
"The ING survey shows that most investors in Indonesia, like most of their counterparts in Asia, are moving toward holding cash deposits and gold during the first quarter, while investment in managed funds and stocks remained fairly consistent," said ING president director for Indonesia Robert Scholten. "This suggests investors in Indonesia are being fairly conservative."
Moreover, 17 percent of Indonesian investors considered continued investment in global commodities including oil, gas, mining and water in the second quarter of this year. (uwi)
Jakarta Post - April 16, 2008
Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Unreliable and expensive road transportation is a growing constraint to Indonesia's economic development, with the country now having the highest logistics costs in the region, a joint study shows.
The Asia Foundation and University of Indonesia's Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM) found that transporting goods in Indonesia was expensive because of charges imposed by local governments and illegal fees collected by police and thugs.
"These impediments, for example, have raised operational costs of a truck by 10 percent per year. The truck owner will then pass the costs to customers," the foundation's director for economic programs Neil McCulloch said Monday.
With the overall vehicle operating costs for trucks at 34 U.S cents per kilometer, the study concluded that Indonesia's logistics costs were higher than Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and China, whose costs are only 22 cents per km on average.
More than 35 trucks from more than 20 trucking firms were involved in the study, which was conducted last year. A surveyor, equipped with a global positioning system, was placed in participating trucks on nine different trading routes to obtain the direct costs paid by truck drivers during a trip.
Six of the nine routes selected were in Sulawesi – Bulukumba to Makassar, Pare-Pare to Makassar, Palopo to Pare-Pare, Mamuju to Pare-Pare, Marisa to Gorontalo and Kotomobagu to Manado. Other routes were Sumbawa Besar to Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara, Malang to Surabaya in East Java and Rantau Prapat to Medan in North Sumatra.
For the Malang-Surabaya route, for instance, on average a truck needs to spend an additional Rp 6.41 million monthly in operating costs, retributions and illegal fees.
"Most trucking firms are complaining about the user charges issued by local governments," McCulloch said, adding the charges were collected by different agencies based on the goods loaded.
Local administrations also issue fees for route permits and licenses, which are basically illegal in Indonesia as they are inconsistent with the national regulatory framework, he said.
According to the law, route permits are required only for public transportation vehicles, but in practice they are often required for trucks passing between provincial districts.
In many other countries, illegal fees and permit requirements at the local level are banned within the road transportation regulatory framework, which is more straightforward and less open to interpretation.
"Despite nationally set standards on road transportation and road quality, local governments passed regulations that contradict or disregard national regulations," said McCulloch.
The study recommended enforcing appropriate legislation while seeking to eliminate unnecessary road charges hindering the flow of goods. "We can use the example of measure in Gorontalo to eliminate user charges for natural resources as a model for addressing the high-cost economy," he said.
The study also revealed trucking firms in some areas made regular payments to thugs as well as to police and military officers to ensure the secure passage of their vehicle. Sometimes they even work hand in hand.
The country's poor road infrastructure, according to the study, has also exacerbated problems, driving up maintenance and fuel costs in particular.
The World Bank's Logistics Performance Index in 2007 ranked Indonesia 43 out of 150 countries. The index places Indonesia below many of its neighbors in Asia, including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and China.
In February, the World Economic Forum ranked Indonesia 91 out of 131 countries in the transportation area.
| Opinion & analysis |
Inside Indonesia - April-June, 2008
Jun Honna – A decade after the fall of Suharto, the Indonesian military is facing a historically unprecedented moment. Peace has broken out and there is no internal warfare. What does 'peace' mean for TNI (the Indonesian military), and for civil-military relations?
Since the independence war of 1945-49, a number of struggles for territorial integrity have strengthened the military's voice in government.
During the 1950s, the military expanded its influence in the Sukarno government after defeating rebellions in Sulawesi and Sumatra. In the early 1960s, it was involved in the anti- Malaysian 'konfrontasi' (confrontation) and in Irian Jaya (now Papua). In the 1970s, the military invaded East Timor. In the 1980s, it expanded counter-insurgency operations in Aceh. A history of counter-insurgency helped militarise Indonesia's political system, and politicised the military.
Even after the fall of Suharto in May 1998 and the arrival of democracy, the TNI was busy with domestic 'wars'. In 1999, it sought to derail the independence of East Timor, and pursued a scorched earth policy when that failed. A few years later, the TNI shifted its attention to Aceh, pressuring civilian political leaders to introduce a state of military emergency in the region in order to crush separatists. Again, combat operations did not solve the problem. The breakthrough leading to Aceh's peace settlement came as a result of civilian negotiations after the tsunami disaster of 2004.
Today, under the Yudhoyono government in power since 2004, the TNI is hard-pressed to invoke credible threats of national disintegration.
Questions about its mission are increasingly urgent. The generals say they are targeting 'terrorists'. The TNI also asserts that Papua has the potential to be the next East Timor. However, the political leaders running the country mostly do not support these claims. They understand that terrorism and Papua are political problems needing political solutions, not military force.
The TNI is hard-pressed to invoke credible threats of national disintegration. Questions about its mission are increasingly urgent.
With the end of armed conflict in Indonesia after sixty years of independence, the question is: has the moment arrived to transform the TNI into a modern, conventional armed forces organisation, without provoking a backlash? Is there a peace dividend, and how will it be realised? Can the Yudhoyono presidency use this opportunity to promote military reforms? How is the TNI responding to the new internal stability, which so radically challenges its self-proclaimed raison d'etre?
The TNI has long claimed to be the main 'guardian' of the unified republic (NKRI, Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia). It emphasised this logic to influence Sukarno's leadership, to dominate politics during the 32 years of the Suharto era, and to deflect pressure for change under successive post-Suharto governments. The pretext of preventing national disintegration has always bolstered TNI's political autonomy. Military officers invoked that pretext in order to perpetuate impunity for abusive military actions. But the Aceh peace of 2005 has made it more difficult for the TNI to sustain this pretext. This, more than anything else, has placed fresh pressure on the military to accept reforms that would lead to democratic control over the military as an institution.
Limited commitment
During a decade of post-Suharto reformasi, the TNI has not enthusiastically embraced internal reforms designed to end its ascendancy over political institutions. Even so, there have been some important changes. In 1998, soon after the fall of Suharto, the TNI introduced new policy guidelines withdrawing its support from Golkar, the ruling party during the Suharto era. It also declared an end to day-to-day involvement in politics and scrapped military offices which dealt with socio-political affairs at both the national and local levels. In 1999, the police force was split from the military; it assumed responsibility for handling internal security, leaving the TNI to concentrate on 'defence' matters.
Confirming these new arrangements, a national defence law was enacted in 2002, and the long-awaited TNI law was enacted in 2004. Both laws sought to rein in the military's political activism as a step toward recasting military-civilian relations.
However, these reforms have not been sufficiently reinforced by efforts to develop effective civilian control over security sector agencies, including the military and the police. As a result, the TNI retains considerable autonomy in relation to budgeting and defence policy. There has also been little progress in holding TNI officers accountable for human rights atrocities they have committed.
The TNI's budget is a central problem. Traditionally, a large share of military income has been self-generated, coming from regular business activities and from illegal activities such as protection rackets and smuggling. Military leaders counter civilian pressure to end such activities by insisting that the government is unable to provide sufficient funds to meet military needs. They thus ignore the democratic principle that it is the elected civilian political authority, and not the military, who decide the country's defence outlook, including the size and mission of the state apparatus. If the official budget is too small, the military needs to streamline its organisation, not engage in self-financing beyond government scrutiny. Civilian leaders seem unwilling to impose such a principle of accountable governance on the TNI, perhaps fearing the military's response.
The problem of defence policy is typified by the debate about the territorial command structure. The majority of the more than 200,000 army personnel are serving under twelve territorial commands that cover the country from Aceh to Papua and that reach down to the village level. This system was designed to fight a guerrilla war against the Dutch, but the Suharto government transformed its mission into an ongoing nation-wide campaign to suppress opposition to the regime. In the post-Suharto era there have been many calls to eliminate the territorial commands so that the TNI can concentrate on external defence.
But the generals have resisted this idea, asserting that the territorial commands remain useful. They have repeatedly insisted that the country's police force remains inadequate to the tasks it is responsible for and still needs TNI support in case of serious security disturbances. It is true that the police were unable to stop the eruption of post-Suharto ethnic and religious conflicts around the archipelago. This poor record helped neutralise reform pressures on the territorial command system. The military's assertions about 'incapable police' in conflict areas may have some basis, but they hardly justify continuing the old system in the non-conflict areas where most people live. Here too, civilian political leaders are vulnerable to military manipulation and are unable to assert their will in the face of military opposition.
Beyond appearances
Asserting civilian control in practice requires political support, leadership and, of course, good timing. It also depends on military cooperation, or at least acquiescence. Right now is a good time to take civilian control beyond mere appearances. First, an unprecedented absence of internal conflict has robbed the military of its 'saving the NKRI' pretext.
Second, Indonesia's first direct presidential election has given President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono an unmatched popular mandate. He has a strong hand to play, and could exercise leadership in furthering military reform.
Third, personal ties within the elite at present favour reform efforts, provided the government has the will. The current TNI leadership is loyal to Yudhoyono. In December 2007 he slotted two former subordinates into the top TNI positions. Djoko Santoso became armed forces commander, and Agustadi Purnomo became army chief. The trio shared younger days in the elite paratroop brigade of the army strategic reserve command.
Yudhoyono was the first to graduate from the academy, in 1973; Purnomo followed in 1974 and Santoso in 1975. They were all involved in counter-insurgency operations in East Timor, albeit in low-profile roles. All three have political experience. In 1999 Yudhoyono, as the TNI chief of territorial affairs, struggled with civilian demands for military reform. Santoso supported him as his direct assistant, and Purnomo as a member of the TNI faction in parliament. The trio's close relationship assures Yudhoyono of the loyalty of the current TNI leadership.
The present circumsances are conducive to the taking of significant steps towards effective civilian control, and towards improving TNI's budgetary and policy accountability. No other post-Suharto president has ever enjoyed such favourable conditions for transforming the Indonesian military into a peace-time defence organisation under civilian control.
Is Yudhoyono willing to play this historical role? It depends on how he gauges his re-election prospects next year. If he sees adopting the mantle of reform as the key to boosting votes, it is not impossible that he may press ahead with reform initiatives. If, on the other hand, he thinks 'friendship' with the military is more crucial to his re-election, he may avoid any initiatives that might provoke TNI. This could happen out of fear that his competitors, such as the retired generals Sutiyoso and Wiranto, who are both his military seniors, may mobilise TNI support for their political campaigns.
Will Yudhoyono seize the moment, or will he play it safe? Experience suggests he will act cautiously, carefully weighing the political merits of asserting civilian control. But if he faces stiff competition from credible civilians, he will be more likely to play his populist card and make significant gestures towards extending military reform.
[Jun Honna (junhonna@gmail.com) teaches at the Faculty of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of Military politics and democratisation in Indonesia (London, 2003).]
Jakarta Post Editorial - April 18, 2008
Here is an important announcement. Indonesia has officially stopped being the tolerant nation it has always proclaimed to be, especially when it comes to religion. The country with the world's largest Muslim population, one that has long prided itself for its diversity and peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths, is no longer a safe place, particularly for religious minorities.
Never mind what the Constitution and the state ideology Pancasila say – that freedom of religion is guaranteed and that citizens are protected to practice their faith. Today, those are mere ornamental words. The reality on the ground is the state has started to persecute people for their religious beliefs.
On Wednesday, a government panel decided that Ahmadiyah, a Muslim sect that has its origins in India but now has followers worldwide, including in Indonesia, is heretic and contravenes the tenets of Islam. The Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs – comprising government prosecutors, police and officials of the religious affairs and home ministries – issued a recommendation that Ahmadiyah, as a religious organization, be banned, along with all its activities.
The ball is in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's court, being the person authorized to ban any organization. But there is real fear that before he makes his ruling, the recommendation itself will be sufficient for various vigilante groups to start attacking and harassing followers of Ahmadiyah.
Many followers of Ahmadiyah have already had to live in makeshift shelters after coming under violent attacks in recent years from vigilante groups who acted on the fatwa (religious edict) of the Indonesian Ulema Council declaring Ahmadiyah heretic. The police, whose duty it is to ensure that every religious minority is protected, did not make much of an effort to prevent the violence. Typically, they only evacuated Ahmadiyah followers to safety and then gave the thugs free reign to destroy and burn down property belonging to the group.
Now, the same vigilante groups and many others like them will be encouraged to resume their attacks. Even the police will be required to act upon a ban and start rounding up the followers of Ahmadiyah. If this is not state-sanctioned religious persecution, then we don't know what is.
No wonder the first reaction from Ahmadiyah leaders when the ban recommendation came Wednesday was to brace themselves for violent attacks and to defend themselves. They knew too that they no longer could count on the protection of the state and the police against future attacks.
What is most disturbing is the way representatives of the conservative Muslims flexed their muscles to secure the ban, at times using violent language, forcing the government to comply.
This is the first time in the republic's history that the state, which proclaims to be neither theocratic nor secular, has interfered in the substance of the religion. In the past, the state restricted its role to ensuring freedom of religion and the right for everyone to practice their faith. It leaves the question of the right or wrong of particular teachings to religious leaders. Wednesday's recommendation broke the long-held taboo and clearly shows the state siding with the Muslim conservatives by agreeing Ahmadiyah is heresy and contravenes the tenets of Islam.
This is setting a dangerous precedent, for no religion is safe now from the possibility of having its beliefs probed and judged to contravene Islam. That literally means just about every existing religion. One wonders, now that the conservative Muslims have had their way, who they will target next. They know the state will again be submissive to their will.
This is the state playing God, a dangerous game that would spell the end of the religious diversity that has always underpinned this republic. We may as well declare Indonesia an Islamic state. At least the rules of the game for the religious minorities are clear. Today, we have a government that is failing in its constitutional duty to protect the religious minorities.
It is encouraging to see that Muslim leaders from the moderate camp quickly distanced themselves from the recommendation by the government panel and denounced it as a violation of the Constitution (which, incidentally, is an impeachable offense).
Former Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Ma'arif and leading Islamic scholar Azyumardi Azra both said the recommendation reflects the views of "extremist" elements in Islam rather than the "moderate" that continue to preach peace, tolerance and respect for religious differences.
More of them should come out of their shell and speak out about the real Islam.
If the state can no longer be counted on to defend Ahmadiyah followers, then the task should be taken up by moderate and peace-loving Muslims. They, along with leaders of religious minorities, should join hands in fighting religious extremists in our society (and apparently, in our government) and prevent this country from degenerating into a lawless state.
This republic was built upon, among other things, religious diversity and religious freedom. You take those away and you may as well forget about the republic. May God be with us.
Jakarta Post Editorial - April 17, 2008
Marvel Comics fictional vigilante Frank Castle is dubbed The Punisher for justifying the use of violence to fight crime. His brutal nature and willingness to kill made him a novel character in mainstream American comic books in the 1970s, but a mediocre movie hero in films in 1989 and 2004.
A third movie is planned for a release in December of this year, but it is unlikely it will win reception as enthusiastic as that for Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love) among the Indonesian public, although they have shown their true face as the real punishers in many elections.
The latest gubernatorial election in West Java is another event when the punishers made their day. Quick counts conducted by a number of survey institutes revealed that Ahmad Heryawan of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and his National Mandate Party (PAN) running mate Yusuf Macan Effendi, better known as Dede Yusuf, won the governor and deputy governor posts with 40 percent of the vote.
Given the reliability of the quick count method in the previous elections, the official vote count conducted by the West Java election committee will just confirm the victory of Ahmad and Dede. Major parties have expressed surprise with the unlikely performance of young politicians like Ahmad and Dede, who are 10 years or 20 years junior and for sure less experienced than the likes of Governor Danny Setiawan and former Cabinet minister Agum Gumelar.
Young voters might contribute a lot to the loss of old faces in the West Java election, but the work of public punishment cannot be ruled out. Since the direct election was introduced in 2004, many incumbents have felt the pinch of the punishment. Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose administration enacted the direct election to replace the old, prone-to-fraud method of election by Parliament members, was the first to fall prey to the punishers, who refused to vote for her out of disappointment with her performance and failure to meet promises.
Of 211 incumbents who sought a new mandate in regional polls in 2005, 87 of them conceded defeat. Last year, 15 of 31 incumbents who contested regional elections were crashed out, including the governors of West Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi and South Sulawesi. The North Maluku gubernatorial election, which remains in dispute, could follow the pattern if the provincial legislature decides in favor of the contender.
Many more incumbent candidates will join the list if they fail to learn from the lesson. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla are not an exception.
In many of the direct elections in the past, voters punished the incumbents who wasted their time, mandate and resources to bring improvement and prosperity.
The voters lost their trust in the incumbents who had been proven to fail and turned to new leaders who they thought could live up to their expectations, even if it was a gamble. New faces have no proven records, but voters cannot afford to plunge into the same hole twice.
Voters tend to punish the incumbents who represent the anti- reform forces or establishment. They want a change and vote for candidates who can convince them they are agents of change.
Thanks to the direct election, Indonesian voters have gradually displayed their maturity. Many, particularly in rural areas, will just follow the order of their leaders, but in urban areas voters resort to the cost-benefit calculation to select their candidates. The swing voters look at the figures, not the political parties nominating the candidates. The more voters rely on their common sense, the bigger a chance for independent candidates to win regional elections.
The message we can read from the West Java election and others is crystal clear. Constituents demand proof of their leaders' preelection promises and cannot wait. Popularity is just a matter of statistics that may go up and down depending on the mood of the pollsters.
What matters most is simply providing jobs to the employed, kerosene or gas to housewives who have been queuing for the energy commodity that suddenly disappears or a fair price of crops to farmers who have been sidelined in the agribusiness. The list of demands will definitely extend as the elections draw near.
Failure to meet the demands will provide contenders with plentiful ammunition to attack the incumbents. But the challengers may not need it; they could just wait for the punishers to finish their job.