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Indonesia News Digest 35 – September 15-22, 2008
Jakarta Post - September 20, 2008
Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – A severe water shortage in East Nusa
Tenggara threatens the livelihood of thousands with many forced
to drink from unhygienic sources as potable water dries up.
In the provincial capital Kupang, well water has turned brackish
due to dwindling supplies due to the prolonged drought.
Hundreds of residents in West Kupang, Sulamu, and West Fatuleu
districts in Kupang regency are also facing water shortages.
"We are forced to drink water from the lake which is contaminated
with cattle and goat manure," Yustinus Manafe, a resident in
Sulamu district, said Friday.
An Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction member at the
provincial legislature, Karel Yani Mbuik, told reporters in
Kupang on Friday that the government had not paid serious
attention to the problem.
"It has not set aside special funds to resolve the water crisis,
despite the fact that water is a basic human need and should be
readily available," Mbuik said.
According to Mbuik, the water crisis prevails every year, but the
government has failed to conduct anticipatory measures. "This
shows that the government is not serious about meeting people's
needs," he added.
Kupang mayor Daniel Adoe had promised to dig at least 200 wells
to meet the needs of 40,000 residents, but none had been
completed.
People continue to consume unhygienic water because they cannot
afford to buy water from the local tap water company between Rp
75,000 (approximately US$8.30) and Rp 125,000 per tanker, Mbuik
said. The local administration has not taken the steps necessary
to overcome the situation faced by a large part of the population
every dry season, he said.
In Rote Ndao regency, some 1,000 people in Maubesi, Lida Manu and
Lida Besi villages in Central Rote district, have to walk up to
five kilometers to fetch water.
Local resident Bernard Nalle, 32, said residents from the three
villages were severely deprived of clean water.
"There is only one public well in our village, but due to the
huge number of villages fetching water there, it has dried up.
Now, we have to walk for five kilometers to get to the nearest
water source," Bernard said.
He said the water crisis had affected crops, such as banana,
coconut and other side crops.
"Shallots and watermelons grown around the well have particularly
suffered from the drought."
Jakarta Post - September 20, 2008
Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The East Java Police have accepted
responsibility for recent fatalities caused by two separate
incidents in Pasuruan and Bojonegoro, saying they acted
negligently.
"We would like to apologize, especially to the relatives of
victims in these two incidents, which have occurred before Idul
Fitri. We are questioning the officers who allegedly committed
these violations," East Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Herman
Surjadi Sumawiredja told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The two incidents are important lessons for the police, he said,
adding the police would improve their professionalism in
safeguarding the public. A police officer accidentally shot a
six-year-old girl to death Thursday and injured two others while
escorting inmates to Bojonegoro Prison.
Several days before that, 21 women were killed in a stampede set
off by Pasuruan businessman Syaikhon Fikri's distribution of alms
to a crowd of more than 5,000, each of whom received Rp 30,000
(about US$3).
Police have been blamed for not implementing proper security
measures during the alms events Monday in which 21 indigent
individuals were killed and dozens more injured.
Police have detained an officer, Sec. Brig. Suprianto, in
connection with the accidental shooting death of Sri Wahyuni.
The body of Sri was buried Thursday, with her mother, Supatmi,
and an inmate, Aziz Sulaiman, receiving treatment Friday at the
Sosodoro General Hospital for injuries sustained during the
shooting.
"The suspect, Suprianto, could be charged under Article 359 of
the criminal code on negligence resulting in the death of
another, including facing jail time and dismissal from the
police," Herman said.
Police are questioning several high ranking officers, including
the Pasuruan Police chief, deputy chief and intelligence head, in
connection with the stampede tragedy, he added.
"The three will be firmly sanctioned if we find evidence they
acted negligently in carrying out their duty to secure the area,"
Herman said, adding the three men could be considered negligent
as they were unaware a crowd of 5,000 had gathered at the
entrepreneur's house, which is located 1.5 kilometers from the
police station.
Police have questioned Syaikhon, naming his son Faruq – the
coordinator for the alms distribution – as a suspect in the
case.
State officials, politicians, religious leaders and intellectuals
have publicly deplored the tragedy while expressing their
sympathy for the victims.
Giving alms to the poor is a central teaching of Islam, with many
Muslims preferring to distribute alms during Ramadan, when it is
believed they will receive more blessings for their acts of
charity.
Many Muslims choose to give alms directly to the poor, lacking
trust in existing private and state-run charitable institutions.
One of the 11 surviving stampede victims is currently in critical
condition in Soedarsono General Hospital's intensive care unit,
said Sugent Winarto, the hospital's director.
"A team of doctors is still treating Supriati, as her condition
has not yet shown signs of improvement," Sugeng added.
Supriati's condition has been steadily worsening since she began
intensive treatment at the hospital three days ago, he said.
Actions, demos, protests...
Pornography & morality
Aceh
West Papua
Military ties
Human rights/law
Labour issues
Health & education
War on corruption
Islam/religion
Elections/political parties
Aid & development
Economy & investment
Analysis & opinion
News & issues
Thousands affected by water shortage in East Nusa Tenggara
Police accept blame for stampede, shooting
When people die for less than US$3
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Pasuruan – While Rp 20,000 (US$2.3) or even Rp 30,000 might be considered an insignificant sum, it is for that amount that 21 women – many of them elderly and widowed – died while rushing to receive a cash handout from a philanthropist in Pasuruan on Monday.
Many of the thousands of women vying for the donation from businessman Saykhon Fikri were poor, with some receiving cash assistance disbursed by the government to the poor since a rise in fuel prices began in 2005.
Murniati, a 55-year-old widow killed in the tragic stampede, reportedly came on foot from her village in Sawahan district, hoping to find a way to support her two children.
As her tailor's salary was not enough to feed them and finance their education, she regularly relied on help from her brothers and sisters, Murniati's older brother, Sulaiman, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. By pedicab, he brought her body home for burial.
The site of the stampede was ghastly, with torn clothes and sarongs covering the dusty faces and limbs of bodies grouped together in a silent crush. Many of the dead were too poor to have afforded shoes.
Pasuruan comprises a municipal and regency administration and is flanked by Surabaya, Malang and Trenggalek. The majority of its 1.4 million inhabitants live in poverty.
Survivors were reluctant to speak of the tragedy, with many seemingly traumatized. "I would never allow any of my relatives to do this again. I'd rather stay poor and stick to my job as a beggar," Natikah, a 65-year-old survivor from Bugul Kidul district, told the Post on Tuesday.
The Pasuruan tragedy is not the first of its kind, with many in a crowd fainting last year as they surrounded Saykhon Fikri and his family to receive zakat mal (oligatory cash alms).
During Ramadan, rich Muslims are obliged to pay 2.5 percent of their wealth to the poor as part of the five pillars of Islamic teaching.
The philanthropist and his two sons, Vivin and Faruq, have refused to speak to the press since being declared suspects in the incident. They are being questioned at the Pasuruan police office.
Saykhon has been widely known in the city as a Muslim philanthropist, with the family annually donating portions of its wealth, amassed since 1990 from leather, car and swallows' nest businesses.
Nur Syam, rector of the Sunan Ampel Islamic Teaching Institute (IAIN) in Surabaya, said Saykhon did not allow the local government-run charity to distribute the family's tithe out of fear the funds would not reach the intended recipients. "That is why the family distributes the tithe itself," Nur added.
Commenting on the tragedy, Bagong Suyanto, a sociologist at Airlangga University in Surabaya, said sincerity – not desire for prestige – should motivate philanthropists who wish to donate alms and tithes as a show of solidarity with the poor.
Agence France Presse - September 15, 2008
Jakarta – At least 21 people were killed in a stampede in Indonesia on Monday as they crowded an alley to receive a cash handout for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, police said.
Another 11 people were injured in the crush as thousands packed the narrow sidestreet in Pasuruan, East Java province, to receive a cash gift of 30,000 rupiah (3.30 dollars) each from a rich family, police said.
"Some 21 people were killed and 11 people were injured," local police chief Adu Sunarto said.
Muslims are supposed to abstain from eating, drinking and having sex from dawn to dusk during Ramadan. At night they break their fast with relatively lavish family meals that often include expensive treats.
Cash handouts are a common form of charity favoured by wealthy Indonesians during the holy month.
"It's an annual activity from that family but there were a lot more people lining up today than in previous years," Pasuruan mayor Aminurrahman told ElShinta radio.
He said there were at least 2,500 people in the alley when the stampede began for unknown reasons.
| Actions, demos, protests... |
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Some 100 students from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) staged a rally Tuesday to protest the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Mayor Dada Rosada and Vice Mayor Ayi Vivananda.
The students, from the ITB Students' Body (KM-ITB), were protesting the conversion of Babakan Siliwangi forest, in the western part of the ITB campus, into a restaurant and a three- floor parking building.
Staged some 50 meters in front of the Merdeka Building on Jl. Asia-Afrika where the ceremony was held, the students demanded the Bandung municipal administration cancel a cooperation agreement with the project developer.
Students handed out flyers and held a silent protest by symbolically taping their mouths shut with black tape.
West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, who officiated at the inauguration ceremony, also asked the new mayor and his deputy to run the administration and development programs based on environmental considerations.
Ahmad said air pollution and a shortage of clean water were Bandung residents' main problems, triggered by environmental degradation and diminishing open green spaces.
"We have to change our development paradigm, which places more importance on the material side without considering effects to the environment," he said during the ceremony.
KM-ITB spokesman Irfani Priananda said the group's protest against the Babakan Siliwangi conversion was staged because the project would damage the environment.
In July, the students conducted a brief investigation on the project. They found there were many springs at the future project site which would cause damage to buildings.
"The springs in Babakan Siliwangi are unique because they produce clean water all year long, even during the dry season," Irfani said.
"The number of springs in the area has decreased from 13 to 7 since ITB built a sports complex and the Sasana Budaya Ganesha convention hall."
The students also reminded the administration the construction of the restaurant and parking building would only worsen groundwater degradation in Bandung, which is subsiding at a rate of 4.2 millimeters per year.
The administration was also urged to increase the number of open green areas, from 7.68 percent of the city's area to 30 percent.
Responding to the protest, Mayor Dada said he would reevaluate the project, handled by PT Esa Gemilang Indah from the Istana Group.
As mayor from 2003 until 2008, Dada signed a memorandum of understanding between the administration and PT Esa Gemilang Indah to redesign and operate Babakan Siliwangi until 2027.
The company will build a restaurant and a 7,000-square-meter art gallery, while the administration will build a three-story parking building.
"We will see whether the project threatens the environment. If so, we will revise the agreement," Dada said.
Dada's tenure has seen many green areas converted into commercial buildings and spaces, giving rise to numerous protests against the mayor.
| Pornography & morality |
Jakarta Post - September 22, 2008
Bramantyo Prijosusilo, Ngawi, East Java – Just as observers were commending the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) for distancing itself from the exclusive Islamism it is often associated with, the disappointing news that the party's faction in parliament is pushing for the controversial pornography bill to be passed, emerges (The Jakarta Post, Sept. 12, 2008).
Critics of PKS such as journalist Sadanand Dhume warn that in the long term, the PKS is the most serious Islamist threat to Indonesia's historic pluralism. We hope Dhume is wrong, but the actions of PKS parliamentarians sadly suggest that he may be right.
Critics have pointed out too many flaws in the bill, including the vague definition of pornography and its provision that opens the way for individuals and groups to take part in "preventive measures" against pornography. Considering that this provision will legalize anti-porn vigilantism, it beggars belief that PKS, which enjoys an image of being an "intellectual" party, should support it at all.
Mahfudz Siddiq, chair of the PKS faction in the House, said Indonesia was in urgent need of a pornography law due to widespread moral decadence. As the main evidence of Indonesia's moral decadence must be the rampant corruption in respectable institutions such as the Parliament, the Attorney General's office and the banking system, it is difficult to understand how a pornography bill will improve our nation's morals, especially where improvement is desperately needed.
When European artists raised in Victorian values first visited Java and Bali many of them felt liberated by the relaxed attitude people here had towards sexuality and nudity. Though nudity is now much less common than it was at the beginning of the last century, many Indonesian ethnic groups and sub-cultures still enjoy their age-old innocence.
Our indigenous people who have a different sense of decency in apparel than the mainstream Islamic dress code will be humiliated and alienated by this code. People of Papua, for example, who are accustomed to a degree of nudity, will be made to feel morally inferior. The bill will make criminals of artists who study the nude figure, poets who evoke erotic visions, filmmakers who show too much flesh and novelists who describe scenes of lovemaking.
The bill further defines pornography as things that "can arouse lust and lead to the violation of normative values within society; and it can cause the development of pornographic acts within society".
How vague can the definition of "arousing lust" be? If you Google the words jilbab and porno, the Indonesian word for porn, in less than a second over 200,000 sites will be made available for you to browse through. This indicates that for a great number of people, the jilbab head cover is sexy and arouses lust. Would it be reasonable to imagine that the bill will ban the jilbab because some men lust after women who wear it?
It is true that Indonesia has seen horrific scenes of sexual violence. The mass rapes suffered by ethnic Chinese women in Jakarta during the May 1998 riots are undoubtedly the worst examples of sexual violence that we have experienced. Did these rapes have anything to do with the consumption of pornography?
Reports from those horrific days told of mobs chanting holy names of God while they pillaged and raped. If chanting the hallowed names of God sexually aroused the mobs that raped the ethnic Chinese women in Jakarta during the riots of the fall of Soeharto, should the bill ban the chanting of God's names?
Lust is something that is aroused inside a person's mind and though outside stimuli can spark the arousal, it is irrelevant to what goes on inside the mind of the aroused. Therefore, it is very foolish to pass a law that attempts to regulate lust, as anything can become an object of desire. It is not what the senses perceive – rather it is what the mind thinks which makes one lustful.
Of course, no one in his or her right mind would support the idea that porn should not be regulated at all. Even in liberal democracies sexy magazines are displayed on the highest shelf where only adults can reach them, porn shops only serve adults and porn shows are for adults only. The Soho area of London's West End is famous for its sex joints, but an observation of the customers of sleaze there will show that most customers are tourists, many from religious countries where sexuality is repressed.
The urgency to pass a law on pornography here is political rather than real. Playing the pornography card is an easy way to elicit sympathy from the vocal minority of the Islamist masses. It is the same shameless reason that drove several politicians and a cabinet minister to visit the self-proclaimed defender of Islam, Rizieq Shihab, in police custody, accused of inciting violence.
There are so many other urgent issues that Parliament should concern itself with, such as corruption in Parliament or the question of bringing in more participation and transparency in development budgeting and planning. If we look at our media, we see that graphic violence in our television shows and in our society is much more intense than sex. Disturbingly violent police anti-crime shows are commonly aired during the times when small children are often glued to the television.
PKS parliamentarians should take a step back and listen to the critics of the pornography bill because the critics sincerely have the best interests of the nation on their minds. While the supporters of the pornography bill do not seem to care that the bill defines porn in such dangerously vague terms, its critics are justifiably concerned that the bill will bring more harm than good.
As a party that grew out of Islamic student discussion groups, PKS should not be promoting a bill that is completely devoid of intellect. Pushing this bill might endear PKS to the small minority of Islamists who delight in intimidating other members of society, but it will alienate rational and reasonable Muslims.
[The writer is an artist and former journalist. He can be reached at bramn4bi@yahoo.com.]
Jakarta Post - September 22, 2008
Ida Indawati Khouw, Jakarta – If lawmakers working on the pornography bill had taken the time to study the criticisms of the draft law found in so many academic papers, newspaper articles and others, Indonesians could have saved their much- needed energy for more important issues.
The House of Representatives finally announced good news on Thursday: They had postponed the passage of the bill due to divisions among the public, and they would extend the deliberation period, though still hoping to have the bill passed by the end of the year.
Critics demanded that legislators study carefully all the criticism voiced in the past years, that they should pay attention to what the critics were saying and stop playing dirty politics in the process.
A legislator from one of the parties that walked out of the deliberations claimed his signature had been forged for the sake of reaching the minimum number of House members needed to deliberate the bill.
"I found out my signature was forged in the interests of the bill's proponents. They did so in the hope that the deliberation meeting reached the quorum," said Agung Sasongko of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Other critics say the legislators supporting the bill were striving to make the process increasingly closed, allowing entry only to those parties likely to support the bill.
"We were once banned from joining a bill deliberation meeting at the House, while parties (supporting the bill) were being accepted," said Beny Wijayanto from the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK).
A respected scholar of philosophy, Franz Magnis-Suseno, wrote in Kompas last week that the lawmakers were acting like "thieves making use of the dim light" and even "blackmailing" people by implying that those who did not support the pornography bill were against the spirit of Ramadan.
Magnis-Suseno was referring to the dangerous politics the lawmakers were engaged in, with one House member even suggesting that the bill, if passed this month, would be "a Ramadan gift". "Aren't they ashamed?" he added.
Islamist political parties, such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) in alliance with radical elements within more moderate parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) as well as the Golkar Party are the staunch supporters of the bill. Clear opposition has come from the PDI-P and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).
Critics say the bill is framed as being what Muslims want, as the lawmakers supporting the bill associate it with promotion of "good values" – although winning Muslims' votes sounds the more obvious target.
The bill has been revised several times in the past 10 years with the latest version no longer criminalizing kissing in public, a clause which once made Indonesia the potential butt of worldwide mockery. But the contentious definition of pornography remains, potentially leading to public misinterpretation.
The concept and definition of pornography has always been hotly debated. The bill's latest draft defines pornography as "any man-made sexual material in the form of drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, text, sound, moving pictures, animation, cartoons, poetry, conversation, body movements, or any other form of communicative message or performance in public place that potentially arouses sexual desire and violates normative values within society".
Critics have pointed to what they said were the misleading terms of "sexual material" and "sexual desire".
Women's rights advocates deplore that instead of focusing on the degradation of women's dignity, the die-hard lawmakers are insisting on pushing moral issues behind the phrase "sexual desire" that potentially criminalizes women who, usually, are the object, and thus the victim, of the commercialization of pornography. Women's rights campaigners have asserted that the definition should focus on the degradation of women's dignity, instead of sexual desire or "arousing lust". They add that the target of any pornography law should be those behind the pornography industry, and not its victims.
The Network of Pro-Women's National Legislation Program (JKP3) also criticizes the term "sexual material", saying that sexuality encompasses the identity of human beings. It cited the 2005 Indonesian dictionary published by Balai Pustaka, saying that sexuality includes sexual desire and sexual characteristics.
"Sexuality" also encompasses eroticism and sensuality, the Network said, "which cannot be equated with pornography".
The difficulties in defining pornography are also complicated by differences among those who speak for women themselves – whether there can be a distinction between erotica (which is celebratory of female sexuality) and pornography.
Those who say "no" will find bedfellows with the Islamists, who say any portrayal touching on sexuality is degrading to both men and women.
Given all the complexity, the network and like-minded critics demand that the bill, if there must be one, should focus on effective regulation, imposing sanctions on the pornography industry while not interfering with people's private domain, through such vague restrictions regarding the body, art, cultural performances and individual expression.
Tempo Interactive - September 22, 2008
Rohman Taufiq, Surabaya – Hundreds of people from the East Java Civilian Community Network (JMSJ) and other NGOs protested against the draft pornography bill yesterday (21/9).
"We reject the draft bill as it only positions women subjects," said Erma Susanti, the coordinator of the protest.
Erma said the government did not need to make a new state decree to stop issue as Indonesia already has the protection of children and protection of women state decrees.
"If the intention is to protect children and women, just revise the two existing state decrees," said Erma.
Jakarta Post - September 20, 2008
Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Activists, including religious and public figures, will meet Sunday amid candlelight to commemorate the International Day of Peace Vigil, during which they will voice their concerns on the pornography bill and religious intolerance.
The rally participants, who say discrimination could lead to conflict and national disintegration, are representatives of groups of various religious and cultural backgrounds across the archipelago.
The pornography bill, sharia-inspired regional ordinances and the ban on Islamic sect Ahmadiyah are among the policies that have the potential to spark conflicts in the nation, the groups say.
"This is a wake-up call for everyone, especially the government, to pay more attention to conflicts and how they threaten the nation," priest Haryanto of the Indonesia Conference on Religion and Peace said Friday.
The event will take place at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.
Eliakim Sitorus of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the United Evangenical Mission said that during the commemoration activists would criticize government policies that create injustice and poverty.
"We have witnessed that legislation has triggered violence and conflicts among us. Instead of paying attention, the government has politicized the conflicts in some regions," said priest Gomar Gultam of the Indonesian Communion of Churches.
Islamic scholar Dawam Rahardjo said the gubernatorial ban on Ahmadiyah in South Sumatra would provide "fresh air" and inspire other regions to follow suit.
The porn bill is an example of the legislators' inability to formalize laws that can protect the whole nation, according to Patra Zen of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute.
Patra said the bill paved the way for conflict as it empowered the public with the ability to take action against pornography, rather than keeping law enforcement in the hands of officials.
The House of Representatives decided on Thursday to delay passing the controversial bill, at least until the end of this year.
"The most porn thing about the porn bill itself is its deliberation process, which was denied the formal procedure," Haryanto said.
"It also not only aims to regulate individuals in the public sphere, but also their own private rooms," Haryanto said.
Oslan Purba of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the night of vigil would also raise public awareness of the threat that political party candidates could twist issues of religion, ethnicity and poverty to win the 2009 elections.
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and other hard-line Islamic groups may not be able to present the pornography bill as a "Ramadan gift" as the House of Representatives has delayed passing it amid increasing public resistance.
The much-criticized bill was initially scheduled to be brought to a House plenary session next Tuesday for endorsement.
However, a member of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, Yoyoh Yusroh, said Thursday the committee needed to extend the deliberation period to discuss public opinions presented by several provinces nationwide.
The schedule for a plenary session to pass the bill into law remains tentative as the deliberation process is subject to change, she said.
"We still need to hold a series of discussions to accommodate more inputs after we have conducted public assessment (forums) in four provinces. We have set up a technical team to discuss the assessment results," Yoyoh said after a meeting with the team.
The forums were held in Maluku, South Sulawesi, South Kalimantan and Jakarta. She said people in each province were divided over the porn bill. "Some of them support our move to pass it, while others oppose it," said Yoyoh, a legislator with the Islamic- based PKS.
PKS faction chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said last week the bill, which was presented to the House for deliberation three years ago, would be passed within a few weeks as a "Ramadan gift" for Muslims.
Yoyoh said the next hearings, scheduled for after the Idul Fitri holiday, would include meetings with the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, the Communications and Information Ministry and the State Ministry for Women's Empowerment.
After the sessions, the bill will then be submitted to the House's consultative body for further debate before the final draft is brought to the plenary session.
The bill continues to spark controversies, with some critics saying it threatens the right to privacy as well as pluralism in the country. Many of its articles are "contentious and vague", they added.
Opponents also say the bill may spark national disintegration, and that it is not urgent as it overlaps with the Criminal Code and existing laws, including on child protection, broadcasting and the press.
Two of the 10 factions at the House – the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) – oppose the bill, and both walked out of deliberations during the plenary session.
Yoyoh said the other eight factions had responded positively to the bill during the session. However, she said the bill was expected to be endorsed by the end of the year, although she could not specify a date.
House special committee chairman Balkan Kaplale said the House could implement a voting mechanism should the plenary session end in deadlock. "Eventually, there should be a political decision after years of debate over the bill," said Balkan of the Democratic Party faction.
PDI-P legislator Agung Sasongko said his faction had decided to walk out of the deliberation because the party rejected some crucial points in the bill. "The thing is, the bill allows the state to intervene in people's private domains."
It would be better if the state intensified the implementation of existing laws instead of formulating a new law that has the potential to create conflicts within society, he added.
Jeffrey Massie of the PDS lashed out at certain nationalist parties for supporting the bill, warning that they were putting the nation's unity at stake.
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – As debate rages over a proposed bill to ban pornography in the country, House of Representatives legislators said Wednesday they were open to public opinions on the draft.
A member of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, Azlaini Agus, said although the working group debating the formulation of the bill would endorse the final draft on Thursday, the schedule set for a House plenary session to pass the bill remained tentative.
"We have set a schedule for the deliberation of the bill, but it's subject to change," Azlaini of the National Mandate Party (PAN) told a public discussion.
The working group will submit the draft to the House consultative body to undergo further debate before the final draft is brought to a plenary session.
Pros and cons of the long-debated bill continued to emerge during the discussion hosted by the Office of State Minister for Women Empowerment.
Another member of the working group, Irsyad Sudiro of Golkar Party, said the bill would be very different from the original version, including changes made to more than half of the seven chapters and 44 articles of the original draft law.
"There will be no more violations of human rights, discrimination and criminalization against women," he said, rebuffing all the criticisms against the bill.
The Golkar Party is the largest faction at the House, occupying 125 of the total 550 seats. If PAN, which has 53 seats, is unanimous in supporting the bill, it is very likely the controversial bill will be passed.
Also in support of the bill are three Muslim-based factions; the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Star Reform Party (PBR), which control a combined 117 seats.
Critics remain suspicious the parties are supporting the bill only to woo public support ahead of the 2009 polls.
Only the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) have openly challenged the bill. They also said they had exited the deliberation.
However, Azlaini denied the PDS had withdrawn. "In fact, it is only the PDI-P that opposes the bill. The rest, including the PDS, are still involved in the deliberation," she said.
State Minister for Women's Empowerment, Meuthia Farida Hatta, is a surprise defender of the bill. She said the country was in dire need of a law that could save the country's society from the negative impacts of uncensored pornography.
"We are trying to protect our future generations, rather than cause national disintegration," said Meutia, who chairs the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI).
Azlaini said the House would welcome public aspirations concerning the bill. "Anyone who wants to provide input on the bill can write to us. We will accommodate them," she said.
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Dicky Christanto, Denpasar – An estimated 5,000 Balinese flocked to the local legislative council building here on Wednesday, demanding legislators' support in rejecting the pornography bill currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives.
Traditional musicians and dancers wearing semi-transparent clothes participated in a mass-rally organized by the Bali People's Component (KRB) comprising human rights and student activists.
During the rally, which was also attended by members of the Inter-religion National Integration Movement, protesters marched from Bajra Sandhi Renon Square to the legislative council compound.
"We want to show (the rest of) Indonesia that all ethnic groups in Bali are united against a legal product which will hurt our constitution as an archipelagic nation," Sugi Lanus of KRB said.
He said the bill was the product of a single group's perspective and did not represent the perspectives of the rest of Indonesia's ethnic groups.
"Balinese believe the human body has an aesthetic value while the porn bill supporters view it as if it were the source of sin and lust. This is the major difference between us and them," he said.
Luh Anggraeni, another activist, said the bill was a serious threat to the country's unity as it discriminated against many other cultures in Indonesia.
Council speaker Ida Bagus Putu Wesnawa who attended the rally vowed that the local council would act. "We will tell them we will reject the porn bill if it is passed into law," Wesnawa said.
He said a team comprising local legislators was scheduled to go to Jakarta on Sept. 23, when legislators at the House were slated to commence a final hearing for the bill's deliberation.
Commenting on the plan, Ketut Kariayasa, head of Commission IV overseeing religion and culture, said he had prepared documents to be used as the team's basis of arguments once they were in Jakarta.
"If the government insists on passing this bill, the local legislative council here will stand by the Balinese by conducting civil disobedience. That is a promise," he said.
Balinese musicians also expressed their worry on Tuesday that the enactment of a law on pornography would limit expression through music.
Ari Astina of the band Superman is Dead said anything including songs associated with pornography under the would-be law could be subject to legal punishment, regardless of lyrics.
"Actually whether its pornographic or not depends on how it is seen," said Ari (aka Jerinx).
[Luh De Suriyani and Ni Komang Erviani contributed to this article.]
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Andra Wisnu, Sanur – Executives of the Association of the Indonesian Tour & Travel Agencies (ASITA) and tourism businessmen in Bali announced their rejection of the proposed pornography bill, further extending the list of opponents to the bill.
President of ASITA Ben Sukma criticized the bill, calling it a reckless move on the part of the House of Representatives (DPR) because the DPR had failed to accommodate the aspirations of the pluralistic cultures in Indonesia.
"Especially in Bali, where women wear cleavage-revealing dresses. That's not pornography. That's culture. The same goes for Batak, where women dress similarly," Ben said.
Speaking during the 11th ASITA Regional Assembly at the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur on Thursday, Ben said it was not how people dressed that was pornographic, but that it was evil only if people saw it as so.
"I think Indonesians never used to think badly about the way Balinese dressed in the past when women didn't even wear tops."
The bill defines pornography as acts that incite sexual desire. Proponents defended the bill, saying it would be a way to improve faith in God and to protect women and children.
Al Purwa, chairman of Bali's ASITA chapter, voiced similar concerns, predicting the end of Bali's flourishing tourism industry should the bill be made into a law.
He said if the bill was passed, then even the lengang lenggok dance (a traditional dance where dancers sway their bodies) could be mistaken as pornography, which in effect would take away one of the island's main tourist attractions.
ASITA plans to use all its influence to prevent the bill from being passed, he said.
ASITA joined, among others, recently installed Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika and the Provincial Legislative Council in opposition against the bill, repeating the province's synonymous movement when the draft was first proposed in 2006.
Most businessman with vested interests in the tourism sector also announced their concern for tourism should the bill pass.
Robert Murdoch, a hotelier, said the government had not taken into consideration the repercussions of the bill to the tourist industry.
He cited as an example Thailand's tourism industry at the time of the military coup d'etat that ousted then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, when more than 20,000 hotel bookings had been canceled.
He said the government's timing in reviving the pornography bill was even more egregious with the holiday season of Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year's closing in.
"I think the bill has a good potential to destabilize the country's political climate and therefore must be very carefully reviewed," he said.
I Gusti Bagus Yudhara, owner of Astina Tours and Travel, said he would be ready to comply with the bill's regulation if it passed, but had voiced his solidarity with other Balinese tourism business people in their opposition toward the bill. "Everyone of us in Bali is of the same voice and that voice is being carried by Bali's Legislative Council to Jakarta – that is to fight the bill," he said.
Agence France Presse - September 17, 2008
Denpasar, Indonesia – Thousands of Balinese in traditional outfits rallied on the Indonesian holiday island Wednesday against an anti-pornography bill derided by critics as a threat to local cultures.
More than 5,000 protesters occupied the lawn of the local parliament on the mostly Hindu island to oppose the bill, which is under deliberation by mostly Muslim lawmakers in the capital Jakarta.
The bill, which could be passed in a matter of weeks, criminalises all public acts and material capable of raising sexual desires or violating "community morality".
Protesters denounced the proposed law as too broad and a threat to local customs on the island, where naked temple statues proliferate and skimpily dressed foreign tourists unwind on famous beaches.
Demonstrators turned up to the rally in traditional clothes including semi-translucent temple blouses, saying such clothes could be deemed too suggestive if the law was passed.
"Balinese and other ethnic groups have a different view on what sexual or pornographic materials are," local intellectual Wayan Sayoga said. "We can view nudity without being trapped by lust because we look at it from an aesthetical perspective," he said.
Protesters put on traditional dances and one activist read out a poem that repeated the word "genital" to prove the mention of sex would not send the crowd into fits of lust.
"The government should never forget that Indonesia is a country based on non-discrimination over race, religion and ethnicity," acitivist Luh Anggraeni said. "This porn bill is a serious threat to the country's unity since it disrespects the perspective of others on many things."
The bill, which is being pushed by Muslim parties in Jakarta, is being challenged on other islands in the archipelago nation which encompasses cultures ranging from conservative Islam to semi- naked animist tribesmen.
Although it is the world's largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia has significant and officially recognised minorities of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Confucians.
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Dicky Christanto, Denpasar – Golkar officials in Bali have declared their opposition to the pornography bill, saying they accepted the risk of taking up a different position from their Jakarta counterparts.
The Golkar Party in the capital city have chosen to side with the pro-pornography bill supporters, who mostly comprise representatives of Islamic political parties.
The officials said they had prepared themselves to be expelled both from the party's legislative candidate list and party membership.
Dewa Ayu Putu Sri Wigunawati, deputy secretary of the Golkar Bali office, said she was ready to inform her party colleagues in Jakarta that the Golkar Bali office had thrown its weight into opposing the pornography bill.
Wigunawati, who is also named as the party's legislative candidate for the upcoming general elections, acknowledged that her decision might jeopardize her future political career.
Yet, she said, she also realized that her current position would be useful to help her explain the Balinese position on this issue.
"The pornography bill will likely mean abandoning part of the Balinese cultural inheritance, including sacred aspects, so even though Golkar legislators in Jakarta have showed their support for the bill, I have chosen a different path here. I'll take the risk," she told reporters after attending an activists meeting Tuesday.
Anak Agung Ngurah Mahadipta, chairman of the Indonesian Youth Reform Organization, said he had made up his mind to back the activists opposing the bill, saying the new law would create more harm than good for the country.
Along with Wigunawati, he said he wanted to communicate his decision to their colleagues in Jakarta.
"I will explain to them that the decision is not taken for political reasons, but purely motivated by the implications for national unity, which might be harmed in the immediate future," he said.
"I still hope that this explanation could help change the position of party central officials," he added.
The two Golkar officials were among the activists who attended a meeting, which was held to organize a series of mass rallies aimed at opposing the pornography bill.
Grouped under the Bali People's Component (KRB), the activists planned to put some pressure on the government during the deliberation of the bill.
"We will be all out on this as our main target is to get rid of the bill once and for all," Sugilanus, one of the KRB activists, said.
Sugilanus said KRB activists were also planning to organize daily art performances that might be considered to contain pornographic materials according to the bill.
Besides the Denpasar-based Golkar officials, representative from the Bali Tourist Guides Association, Nyoman Nuarta, also said he would ask his fellow tourist guides to support the struggle by joining the KRB mass rally.
"The bill will automatically disrupt our livelihoods as there will be less tourists to come to Bali if the government decides to pass the bill," Nuarta said. "Therefore it is our obligation to oppose the government plan to pass the bill," he said.
Nuarta said that there was also the possibility that he might inform tourists about this struggle during their trip.
"I could ask my guests to look at the mass rally and once they ask me the reasons behind the rally, I will explain to them that we are currently struggling for our right of expression."
"Hopefully they will pay attention to this matter by bringing the issue to their countries. The more people from other countries become aware of the issue the better," he said.
Jakarta Post - September 15, 2008
Abdul Khalik and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta, Denpasar – Civil society groups and several regions are voicing strong opposition to the controversial pornography bill as legislators rush through deliberations during Ramadan.
Critics have slammed the bill as a threat to national integration and pluralism.
Many members of the public have only recently become aware the House of Representatives' working committee has completed debating the bill and is set to submit the draft to a plenary meeting for endorsement in the next few weeks.
The bill has been approved by the Golkar Party and Islamic parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB). More moderate parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) are internally divided over the law.
The voting mechanism at the plenary session means the bill is likely to be passed.
Clear opposition to the bill has come from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS). However, their motion is too insignificant to stop the passage of the bill as its proponents will seek support from hard-line Islamic groups during Ramadan and the current election campaigns.
The bill has been staunchly opposed by organizations in Bali and South Kalimantan as well as by many civil society groups in Jakarta and other regions.
A coalition of influential organizations in Bali threatened Saturday to mobilize local people for a "civil disobedience" movement should the House press ahead with the bill.
"If the legislators refuse to take into account our opinions, and continue disrespecting our sacred principle of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) then we have no option but to ask our fellow Balinese to stand united in a civil disobedience movement," Bali's People Component (KRB) coordinator I Gusti Ngurah Harta said in Denpasar, Bali.
Members of the KRB include Balinese intellectuals and artists such as chairman of the High Priests' Body of the Indonesian Hindu Council (Parisadha) Ida Pedanda Sebali Tianyar Arimbawa, respected scholar I Wayan Dibia, legal expert and former Constitutional Court judge I Dewa Gede Palguna and Indonesian Cartoonists Association (Pakarti) chairman Jango Paramartha.
In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, local Commission for Indonesian Child Protection chairman Jumri said his organization and many people in the province opposed the bill.
"The draft law doesn't differentiate between children and adults as it hands out equal punishments for both. Children are only victims of the industry," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
In Jakarta, opposition was voiced by a coalition of NGOs, including the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK), at a news conference Sunday.
"We will write to the House, asking them to delay the deliberation as the passage of the bill at this moment will only spark unrest within society," Komnas Perempuan chairperson Kemala Candrakirana said.
Agung Sasonko, a PDI-P legislator in the House working committee (Panja), said the committee was testing the bill in three cities – Makassar in South Sulawesi, Banjarmasin and Ambon in Maluku – before it is approved.
"We question why they only picked these three cities. They are really in a rush to pass the bill. Tomorrow (Monday), we will assess the results from the these cities," he said.
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – Civil society groups and two House of Representatives factions are claiming the pornography bill currently before the House violates deliberation procedures and lacks urgency due to its overlap with existing laws.
The country already has several specific laws that take pornography into consideration, such as laws on child protection, broadcasting, the press and the criminal code, the groups said Monday.
"Why are we drafting a new bill on pornography when we already have clearer and stricter laws?" Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Agung Sasongko asked.
A lawmaker from the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), Tiurlan Hutagaol, shared a similar sentiment. The government should be strictly enforcing existing laws to protect the public from the harmful effects of pornography, he said.
PDI-P and PDS have withdrawn from the bill's deliberation.
"It's not that we don't support the anti-pornography movement. All of us here have the same concerns about the danger of pornography, but we don't think we should pass a bill that has the potential to create conflict," Tiurlan told a press conference in Jakarta.
The definition of pornography used in the bill encompasses any man-made work that includes sexual materials in the form of drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, text, sound, moving pictures, animation, cartoons, poetry, conversations or any other form of communicative messages.
The groups warned of the possibility of national disintegration as several regions had rejected the anti-pornography measure, including Bali, Papua, North Sulawesi, Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara.
The regions had rejected the bill because of the lack of public involvement in its deliberation, Nia Syarifudin of the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika National Alliance said.
"This has certainly violated the House's deliberation procedure, which requires public participation in the consultation and familiarization of a bill," Nia added.
Tribal groups are among those opposing the bill, claiming they were dismissed from public discussions, he added.
"Several tribal groups in South Sulawesi and Maluku, for example, claimed they had been ignored during the familiarization of the bill on Sept. 12 and 13. The funny thing is, the familiarization didn't show the bill for what it was," he said.
According to lawmaker Agung, the porn bill violated the 2004 law on bill-drafting procedures, which protects the principles of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika ("Unity in Diversity") and the notion of an archipelagic Indonesian state.
"Any bill should be in line with these principles. With Bali and Papua having clearly rejected the bill, its debate can't continue," Agung said.
If the House passes the bill on Sept. 18, the civil society groups will file a complaint with the Constitutional Court to have it revoked, Agung added.
Most journalists attending the conference were in favor of the porn bill and criticized the opposition groups, saying they failed to consider the voice of the majority.
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Denpasar – Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika on Monday stated the proposed bill on pornography, which is at the heart of a heated controversy on the island, should accommodate the local wisdom of the country's various ethnic groups.
"It should provide sufficient space to accommodate the prevailing local wisdom in different communities across the nation," Pastika said. "Failure to do so will give rise to a very complicated situation."
Pastika then pointed out the example of Papua, where it is still common for local residents to conduct daily activities without wearing any clothes. "Many people in Papua still live naked or half-naked. Are we going to arrest them all (for violating the bill)?," he said.
Pastika served as Papua Police chief before being assigned to Bali to lead the multinational team investigating the infamous 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.
Pastika added members of the House of Representatives in Jakarta should provide a clear definition of the term pornography before ratifying the bill. The definition should draw a clear boundary separating pornography from art, he said.
Pastika also reminded legislators that any new law should reflect the community in which it would be enacted, hinting that the bill would not be completely compatible with Balinese norms and customs.
"However, I believe our legislators will make a decision on this matter in a sensible and wise manner," he said. He added he hoped the government would not issue any policies that could polarize the community or lead to animosity and violence.
The House's working committee has finished debating the bill and is set to submit the draft to a plenary meeting for endorsement within the next few weeks.
The bill has been approved by the Golkar party and Islamic parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).
More moderate parties, including the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) are internally divided over the issue.
Strong opposition to the bill has come from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).
However, the voting mechanism at the plenary session means it is likely the bill will be passed.
Earlier Monday, Bali legislators said they supported an idea to conduct acts of civil disobedience if the government insisted on passing the controversial bill. They added they were forced to do so because the bill would hurt Bali the most.
I Gusti Ketut Adiputra, deputy chairman of the provincial legislative council, said councilors would once again send an official note protesting the House's decision to deliberate the bill.
"We sent one in 2006 and we will send one again this time to emphasize our protest against the bill's deliberation process," he said Monday at a mass rally held by students.
Two years ago, local councilors, along with the governor, sent an official note protesting the porn bill's deliberation. They argued the bill would violate the constitutionally enshrined principle of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).
"I cannot imagine the impact to all the hotels and tourists in Bali if the government insists on issuing the porn law," said PDI-P legislator Made Arjaya. "It is most likely people will be afraid to come to Bali because of the law."
Protesting students grouped under the People Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights (ARDHAM) requested the legislators urge their colleagues in Jakarta to stop deliberating the bill.
"We need them to deliberate dozens of other more urgent issues, including corruption, poverty and education. So why waste time discussing such an insignificant issue like pornography?" said Suresh Kumar, one of the protesters.
Also on Monday, activists from several NGOs focusing on women's empowerment and children's protection, gathered at the Bali Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) office to discuss the bill.
The activists agreed to reject the bill because it discriminated against and criminalized women. "The bill reflects the state's failure to protect the nation's multicultural heritage and pluralism," activist Luh Anggreni said.
[Dicky Christanto, Ni Komang Erviani and Luh De Suriyani contributed to this story.]
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – The much debated pornography bill may hurt Bali's tourism if it is passed, posing the risk of possible violent conflicts while a degradation of Balinese culture further reduces the island's attractiveness, experts said Monday.
The bill, currently in draft form at the House of Representatives, defines pornography as acts that incite sexual desire.
Experts see this as contentious, because the island's revealing women's traditional dress, as well as its tolerance for tourists to dress in bikinis, could be viewed as pornographic according to the bill.
"The island's tourism will clearly suffer should the House pass the bill," Ngurah Wijaya, head of the Bali Tourism Board, told The Jakarta Post.
He said the board, an independent private organization comprising nine tourism organizations on the island, was not as concerned with potential commercial losses as with the possible cultural degradation stemming from the bill.
"This country has hundreds of cultural values. It would be boring to equalize all these culture under a single definition," Wijaya said.
Gede Nurjaya, head of the Bali Tourism Agency, said the passing of the bill would put Bali's tourism industry under threat of a possible violent conflict.
He said a recent demonstration against the bill at the Regional Representatives Council office in Denpasar signaled a significant resistance toward the bill.
He expressed concern there would be clashes with parties having vested interests in the passing of the bill. Nurjaya's concern is not without merit.
In 2006, when the bill was first proposed, a hard-line Islamic group called the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) issued a legal summons to then governor Made Dewa Beratha, a vocal opponent of the bill, following the latter's threat to secede from Indonesia if the bill was passed.
The meeting never took place but in a series of interviews after the summons, MMI official Fauzan Al Anshori made the remark, "How about if we just blow it all up?" in reference to the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings that killed more than 230 people, most of whom were foreigners.
Nurjaya said the island's tourism industry would suffer immensely if a violent conflict took place. "In that case, I really don't know what we can do," he said.
Proponents of the bill claim the draft does not aim to regulate culture or dress codes, but simply to define pornography in pursuance of a more "civilized" country.
Bagus Sudibya, a tourism expert, acknowledged the moral stance behind the bill's inception, but warned against hidden agendas in the process to pass it into law.
He said these included politicians attempting to curry favor with conservatives by supporting the bill, or Islamic fundamentalists attempting to push the country closer to adopting sharia laws.
Bagus said the bill should focus on defining explicit pornography designed to arouse sexual desire or exploit women, and not condemn artwork depicting nudity.
"Many of Bali's trademark attractions are in close connection with its arts, which occasionally depicts women in the nude," he said.
"I don't agree with shows that explicitly try to arouse sexual desire, but the government must really be careful in differentiating those from the arts," he said.
| Aceh |
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Aceh might be dubbed the "Veranda of Mecca", but that seems to have done little to help the 81 candidates for the Aceh provincial legislative council who failed the Koran proficiency test.
The controversial test, organized by the Aceh Independent Election Committee (KIP), was taken by 1,368 candidates from local and national parties.
"Candidates who failed the test are not eligible to contest the 2009 elections," KIP candidacy working group chairman Yarwin Adi Dharma said Tuesday. "All of the candidates who failed are from national parties while those from the six local parties all passed the test."
Yarwin said it appeared local parties were more prepared than the national ones in readying their candidates for the proficiency test. "Perhaps the local parties conducted proficiency tests of their own," he said.
For candidates for regional councils, West Aceh, which had the highest number of candidates sitting the test, had the highest number who failed – 147 out of 601 – followed by Lhokseumawe municipality with 69 out of 423 candidates failing.
In Southwest Aceh 41 candidates failed, as did 35 out of 500 candidates in Langsa municipality, 22 out of 471 candidates in South Aceh and 11 out of 400 candidates in Pidie. "Other regencies have yet to send their results," Yarwin said.
The KIP said it was fully aware its decision to disqualify candidates who failed may lead national parties to file a lawsuit.
Lawsuits are possible as the Provincial Ordinance No. 3/2008 on Local Parties regulating the Koran proficiency test is regarded as violating a higher regulation, Law No. 10/2008 on Political Parties.
Home Minister Mardiyanto has revoked Article 36 of the provincial ordinance requiring candidates from national parties to take the Koran proficiency test.
Yarwin admitted national parties had their own regulations for candidacy under the 2008 law.
"We are fully aware of the lawsuit possibilities. But that is a consequence of the KIP's duty in enforcing the ordinance," he said. "So far no national parties have filed lawsuits. Perhaps the national parties are afraid and reluctant to sue the KIP because they do not want to lose supporters or be branded as un- Islamic."
A number of factors may have contributed to candidates failing the test, including the application of different standards.
North Aceh KIP candidacy working group chairman, Ayi Jufridar, admitted each regency and municipality used different standards. "The Aceh KIP actually uses a low standard, even lower than the Koran recital competition at the district level," he said.
The KIP scores the test according to three criteria: pronunciation worth 40 points, precision 20 points and manner 20 points. The pass mark was 50 points.
"Some regions even conducted the test openly where the public could witness each candidate's performance," Ayi said. "This caused psychological pressure for candidates and many of them could not concentrate."
One prominent Aceh figure, Humam Hamid, said the failure rate was a disgrace as Aceh had already declared itself a province implementing sharia.
"But it turns out that many people are still unable to implement it in their daily lives," he said. "However, this does not mean the failed candidates are bad people or prone to graft. We are humans, not angels."
| West Papua |
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The raising of a Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag by Papuans should be considered an attempt to seek attention rather than an act of separatism, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said in Jakarta on Thursday.
"We can't conclude that they want to separate from Indonesia just because they hoisted the flag. We should seek a dialogue with them instead of punishing them," he said in a joint press briefing with his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon.
Juwono said Jakarta must address the roots of the Papuan's discontent rather than simply punish them. "Only through dialogue will we know what they want. Punishing them will only spark antagonism," he said.
Jakarta outlawed the Bintang Kejora in 2007, and those who raise it face imprisonment.
This year alone, 10 incidents involving the raising of the flag have been reported and all perpetrators have been processed legally.
The latest incident occurred on Aug. 9 in Wamena. During the incident, a Papuan was shot by police.
Members of the Papua Customary Council have also played down the hoisting of the flag, calling it a spontaneous expression of dissatisfaction at the Indonesian government's failure to fulfill its promise of bringing prosperity to Papua.
Citing a separate incident, Juwono and Fitzgibbon agreed that five Australians that are being held in Indonesia after illegally flying a light aircraft into tightly controlled Papua airspace pose no threat to Indonesia.
"Our finding is that the Australians, who flew from Queensland to Papua, are not a threat or anything like that," Juwono said. "It was only a number of people looking for an opportunity to open up a tourism business," he said.
The group was brought to an immigration detention facility in Merauke after they had landed the aircraft in a town last Friday without proper clearance or documents.
"There isn't any evidence that they were up to what we would describe as any sort of activities that threaten Indonesia," Fitzgibbon said.
"I understand that they were under the impression that they would be able to secure a visa on arrival... (but) that doesn't change the fact that what they did show very poor judgment and the Australian government is very appreciative of the way the Indonesian government has handled the matter," he said.
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Markus Makur, Timika – In a bid to prevent further bombings at copper and gold miner PT Freeport Indonesia, Papua Police on Wednesday disposed of bags suspected to contain explosives near Freeport's power plant and water facilities.
Following a tip, the Mimika Police Mobile Brigade sent a bomb disposal team at 11:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. Jakarta time) to the scene to dispose of the bags, placed by a fence at the Smirna Church in the Timika Indah housing complex.
The bomb squad scoured the area for two hours while a patrol team and riot unit were deployed to the scene.
Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Godhelp C. Mansnembra told reporters Thursday that police received information about the presence of bags which looked like they contained explosives, at a garbage dump near the power generating facility at the residential complex.
However, the bags were found to be empty, except for the identity card of a Canadian citizen.
Police said they believed the bags were stolen and had been discarded at the dump. "The bags were placed against the wall. The perpetrators were likely scared and got rid of them at the garbage dump. This was not a threat because we didn't find any life-threatening items inside," Mansnembra said.
PT Freeport Indonesia has been the target of a flurry of bombings over the past week, from blasts at the Kali Kabur bridge at Mile 39, to a blast at a gas station on Mile 50. A blast also occurred at the main power relay station near Moses Kilangin International Airport in Timika.
Five members of the National Police's forensics laboratory were not allowed to board an Airfast Indonesia flight at the Airport. The airline has been chartered by Freeport. National Police are planning to file a lawsuit against the air charter company, Mansnembra said.
"The officers were returning to Jakarta and carrying with them chemical substances from the scene of the bridge bombing," he said. "They were already seated in the plane when the captain ordered them to disembark."
Mansnembra said the captain's actions violated National Police investigation regulations.
"The forensics officers clearly understood Indonesian civil aviation regulations and had secured the chemical substances," he said. "The captain, however, kept insisting they get off the aircraft."
The forensics officers eventually took a Garuda Indonesia flight back to Jakarta. "If Garuda was willing to let the officers on board with chemical substances, why not Airfast?" Mansnembra said.
Jakarta Post - September 18, 2008
Nethy Dharma Somba and Markus Makur, Jayapura, Timika – Members of the Papua Customary Council (DAP) on Wednesday demanded the Papua provincial police immediately solve the shooting of Opinus Tabuni.
Opinus was shot dead during celebrations to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous People on August 9 in Sinapuk Square in Wamena, Jayawijaya regency.
The demands were made during a rally staged outside the provincial legislative council building in the provincial capital of Jayapura.
"Why do they kill Papuans?", shouted the crowd of about 700 demonstrators at the end of their 35-kilometer march from the DAP office in Waena, just outside Jayapura. Demonstrator Markus Haluk insisted the police investigate and solve the case.
"At that time, there were only two state institutions carrying firearms: the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI). So it should be easy for the police to solve the case," Markus said. "It was either the police or the TNI (who shot Opinus). Why is it so difficult to solve?"
Fellow demonstrator Fadel Al Hamid said Opinus was one of thousands of Papuans who had been shot and killed but whose cases were left unresolved.
"We are in deep sorrow over Opinus' death," he said. "Today, it is Opinus. Tomorrow, the next victims could be you or me, all Papuans. That's why the DAP demands the case be solved transparently. We also hoped Opinus' case is the last case."
Fadel also read out the council's statement condemning Opinus' shooting as a crime against humanity.
The council stated there were some 20,000 Papuans attending the International Day of the World's Indigenous People commemorations when four flags were hoisted: the Indonesian national flag, the UN flag, the SOS flag and the separatist Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag.
The DAP also demanded police cease all investigations into the raising of the separatist flag in Wamena, which incited the August 9 shooting.
The DAP played down the hoisting of Bintang Kejora star as merely a spontaneous expression of dissatisfaction among native Papuans toward the Indonesian government's unfulfilled promise to bring prosperity to Papuans.
The council also blamed the UN for the incident because the International Day was established by the world body and declared during a UN General Assembly in 1994.
The demonstrators were met by Papua Legislative Council Speaker John Ibo, who promised to take their demands to the relevant institutions.
In Timika, police are searching for unknown people who hoisted a separatist flag in Kwamki Lama village in Mimika regency. The flag was hoisted at about 5:15 a.m. local time (3:15 a.m. Jakarta time). No arrests have been made because the perpetrators left the scene before police arrived.
"This is sedition, organized by a separatist group working in Mimika regency. We have blocked access to Kwamki Lama village," said Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Godhelp Mansnembra. "We have questioned five people as witnesses."
The Bintang Kejora flag was banned by the government in 2007.
Reuters - September 15, 2008
Jakarta – A separatist group in Indonesia's Papua province claimed responsibility on Monday for a series of bomb attacks in the area and called for the closure of a controversial huge copper mine.
A small bomb exploded near the remote province's Timika airport on Sunday after two blasts on Friday near a mine operated by the local unit of US firm Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
No casualties were reported in the explosions and Freeport's operations were not disrupted.
Freeport's Grasberg mine – believed to have the world's third- largest copper reserve – has been a frequent source of controversy over its environmental impact and the share of revenue going to Papuans.
Kelly Kwalik, chief of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), issued a letter to members of the group urging them to take action to push for the closure of Freeport's mine. The letter was obtained by Reuters on Monday.
"I as the highest commander of the OPM with a brave heart issue this instruction for the closure of Freeport's mine because the presence of the company has been causing many problems leading to clashes among Papuan people," Kwalik said in the letter.
He wants the Papuan independence issue to be discussed during the United Nations General Assembly meeting this month. Kwalik told Reuters his group were responsible for the recent attacks.
Independence activists in Papua have waged a campaign for nearly 40 years to break away from Indonesia, while a low-level armed rebellion has also simmered, often related to disputes over the sharing of rich natural resources.
The Grasberg mine accounts for 40 percent of Freeport's total copper reserves of 93 billion pounds, according to the company's website. Freeport is the world's largest publicly traded copper miner. (Reporting by Telly Nathalia in Jakarta and Oka Barta Daud in Jayapura; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
Associated Press - September 14, 2008
Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – A bomb exploded Sunday near an airport built by a US gold mining giant in Indonesia's restive Papua province, police said. No one was injured and there was little damage.
The blast half a mile from the runway at Moses Kilangin airport came days after two mortars were detonated on a road leading to the massive mine operated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
"Whoever did this is trying to create unrest and to get international attention," said police chief Maj. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto, as an elite anti-terrorism unit and bomb squad rushed to the scene.
Papua is home to separatist rebels who have long denounced the mine operated by PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the New Orleans-based company. They see it as a symbol of Jakarta's rule over the region.
A little-known group calling itself the West Papua National Army circulated pamphlets early last week demanding its closure, but police have refused to speculate who was behind any of the recent attacks.
The police chief would not say whether Sunday's bomb was related to the explosions on Friday. But other officials noted that all three makeshift bombs were made out of old mortars.
Ekodanto said Sunday's blasts occurred in an empty field and that no one was hurt. Part of the mortar hit a small electrical depot, creating a loud explosion, said Col. Paulus Waterpau, a senior detective. Residents said they could hear the blast three miles away.
Access to the airport was cut off and witnesses said Freeport's mine in Timika also was under heavy security.
Freeport's mining complex in Timika is one of the world's largest single producers of copper and gold, the company says on its Web site. Open-pit mining at the site began in 1990 and is expected to continue until mid-2015, it says.
The Grasberg mine has seen violent worker protests in the past, and environmental groups accuse the company of pollution and stripping the desperately poor province of its natural resources.
Separatist rebels were blamed for a 2004 ambush on a road leading to the mine that left two Americans dead. Indonesian security forces were initially suspected of taking part in those killings to extort higher protection payments from Freeport.
[Associated Press Writer Irwan Firdaus contributed to this report from Jakarta.]
Australian Associated Press - September 15, 2008
Five Australians accused of illegally landing a plane in Indonesia's sensitive Papua province have been detained in a hotel for a fourth day on Monday, officials say.
The two women and three men were arrested on Friday when they landed at Mopah airport in Papua's Merauke district after a flight from Australia in a light plane.
Provincial immigration official Freddy Manus said the Australians had committed a "serious violation" of Indonesian law and their case had been referred to Jakarta.
"The central government will take a decision on this matter because it's not a simple immigration offence but a serious violation," he said on Monday.
"They are still under tight surveillance from police and immigration officials here in Merauke."
The airport supervisor at Merauke said the Australians were being held in a local hotel pending a decision from Jakarta. "They are still isolated," he said.
The five were identified as pilots William Henry Scott Bloxam and Vera Scott Bloxam, and passengers Hubert Hofer, Karen Burke and Keith Mortimer.
Papua is the most sensitive part of Indonesia due to a low-level separatist insurgency which has been simmering since the 1960s. Journalists are barred from the province without special permits.
Officials said the Australians had no approval to land in Indonesia and no visas, and their passports had expired.
The Australians claimed to be visiting the eastern province on a tourist trip, according to Indonesian officials involved in the investigation.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed the detention of the Australians, a DFAT spokesman saying they were detained for not having flight, security or immigration approvals.
The Australian embassy in Jakarta was providing consular assistance.
Australian Associated Press - September 15, 2008
Papuan nationalists have protested in Canberra against what they say is an occupation of Papua New Guinea territory by the Indonesian military.
About a dozen demonstrators, some wearing indigenous costume, chanted slogans and sang songs outside the Indonesian embassy against the alleged incursion.
Independence group, the West Papua National Authority, accused the Indonesian army of occupying more than six kilometres of PNG territory across the border from Indonesia's Papua province.
"A so-called free-trade zone established between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea has been annexed by Indonesian soldiers," group foreign affairs coordinator Jacob Rumbiak said.
"This militarisation threatens West Papuan refugees living in PNG and West Papuans living in their own homes along the border. "It is typical of what is happening across all of West Papua."
| Military ties |
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesian and Australian defense companies will jointly build military equipment for both countries in the near future under a partnership that may ease Indonesia's dependence on weapons imports.
After meeting his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon in Jakarta on Thursday, Indonesia's Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said officials of the Indonesian Military and representatives of defense companies would soon fly to Australia to discuss what equipment would be built under the partnership.
"It will be equipment for our Navy, Air Force and Army. We must be able to increase domestic share of the production of any military equipment that the country uses to lessen our dependence on foreign countries," Juwono told a joint news conference.
Indonesian defense manufacturers, including PT Pindad, PT Pal, PT Dahana and PT Dirgantara Indonesia, produce 30 percent of the country's defense equipment, he said.
The minister said he was hopeful the negotiations could include technology sharing, although he added that he was aware the partnership must be mutually beneficial.
Fitzgibbon said the partnership would forge stability in the region. "We're happy to provide all the assistance they need," he said.
Restricted by an arms embargo imposed by the United States, Indonesia has turned to Russia and China to procure equipment and establish partnerships to modernize its underbudgeted defense force.
Juwono said Jakarta was planning to buy three more Russian Sukhoi fighters to add to the four it acquired in 2003.
Last month, Indonesia received six Mi-17 helicopters from Russia following an agreement between the countries signed in 2007 that saw then Russian president Vladimir Putin provide a $1 billion loan for Indonesia to purchase 22 helicopters, 20 tanks and two submarines from Russia.
Indonesia's 2008 defense budget is $3.2 billion. Juwono previously said $10 billion was required to bring to an acceptable level the defensive capabilities of the country, which is home to 230 million people and more than 17,500 islands.
Juwono said the country's prioritization of economic development was evidence Indonesia was not involved in an arms race, despite significantly increased spending on weapons by neighbors Australia and China.
"We just want to keep our minimum striking force and technology on par with our neighbors," he said.
Fitzgibbon said Indonesia played a key role in ensuring security in the region "and as the minister indicated once the government has dealt with their immediate social and economic challenges they will understandably seek to develop their military capability."
Indonesia and Australia signed the Lombok defense pact in 2006 after Jakarta had torn up a previous pact with Canberra nine years ago when Australia led an international force in East Timor.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd this month said he was concerned about the potential for an arms race with China, and to a lesser extent India, which have expanded their defense budgets.
Experts have estimated China's secretly guarded defense budget to be between $US59 billion and $100 billion. Australia's defense spending has leapt 56 percent in the past seven years to $25.66 billion.
| Human rights/law |
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – A witness on Tuesday testified that the alleged plot to murder prominent human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib was linked to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).
Indra Setiawan, former Garuda Indonesia president director, said during the trial of former BIN deputy head Muchdi Purwopranjono that he had assigned ex-pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto to be a corporate security officer following a special request by the BIN.
"I received an official letter with a BIN logo on the envelope and letterhead, classified as 'secret' and signed by (former) deputy chief M. As'ad," Indra told the South Jakarta District Court.
"The letter said Garuda needed to raise its security by deploying more corporate security staff. I agreed to the request because it came from the BIN, a high-level state institution."
Indra's testimony differed to previous statements he made during the trial of Pollycarpus, who was sentenced to 20 years for premeditated murder. At that time, Indra said he had assigned Pollycarpus on his own initiative.
"I can't disclose the reason (why I didn't tell the truth). But I have gone through a lot through in this (murder) case, so I decided to tell the truth," said Indra, who has already spent a year in prison for assigning Pollycarpus to the same flight as Munir.
On Sept. 7, 2004, Munir was found dead on board a Garuda flight to Amsterdam. The cause of death was arsenic poisoning, administered during a stopover in Singapore's Changi Airport.
Muchdi's defense team criticized Indra for his decision to reveal the letter despite its "secret" status, but Indra insisted he had to tell the truth.
However, Indra said the BIN letter went missing after someone broke into his car and stole his bag, including the letter within, on Dec. 31, 2004.
"Later, in a conversation with As'ad, I asked him about the letter and he said, 'Just pretend it's already extinguished'," Indra said, adding the conversation took place in the toilet of a hotel in March 2005.
Indra's earlier testimony also linked the alleged murder plot with the BIN. He said that during his phone conversations with Pollycarpus, the two had used several nicknames to refer to top BIN officials.
"Pollycarpus said we shouldn't use (real) names but codes, when referring to the officials," Indra said. "Joker was for (former BIN chief) Hendropriyono; Ace for As'ad – it was later changed to Asmini – and Bu Avi for (former BIN deputy chief) Muchdi."
State prosecutors later asked the panel of judges to replay a tapped phone conversation. However, presiding judge Suharto said he would allow it only if the court found any discrepancies between Indra's and Pollycarpus' testimonies.
Munir's widow Suciwati also testified Tuesday, saying her family had received many threats that, according to Munir, came from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).
"In 2001, someone sent a bomb to my husband's parents' home in Malang (East Java). According to police, it was a highly explosive one," Suciwati said.
"After Muchdi's dismissal as Kopassus commander, my husband reminded me we should be on alert for any possible threats." The threats continued even after Munir's death, Suciwati added.
"I received a box containing a chicken's head, feet and droppings. The box also had a note that read, 'Don't involve the military in your husband's murder, or you'll be the next (victim)'."
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Members of the National Alliance for Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) decided not to appear as witnesses in court Thursday without a security guarantee from the Central Jakarta District Court.
"We need the court to guarantee we will not have to deal with similar physical threats," Nong Darol Mahmada, an activist responsible for the safety of witnesses for AKKBB, told reporters Tuesday.
The decision was made following an assault on Nong outside a courtroom on Monday allegedly by members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).
They were at the court to support FPI leaders on trial for allegedly mobilizing their members to attack the AKKBB activists during a peaceful rally in the National Monument (Monas) park on June 1.
During the trial of Islam Troop Command leader Munarman, Nong said she left the courtroom to help a friend explain to a police officer that seven people wandering around outside the courtroom were defendants in the ambush case.
Her friend, M. Guntur Romli, a victim of the ambush and a witness that day, questioned the police officer why the defendants were allowed to walk freely after their court hearing.
During the heated conversation with the police officer, who did not believe that the seven people were defendants, Nong said, a man started shouting, "Provocateur!" and many people wearing FPI insignia or characteristic white robes surrounded her and Guntur.
"Then everything happened fast. Suddenly someone hit me in the forehead. When we were being taken to a witness room to get away from the seven defendants who were harassing us, a man groped me, pinched my waist and hit me in the abdomen," she said.
She said she recognized the man who had assaulted her.
The report was quickly denied by Achmad Michdan, a lawyer helping defend FPI, who said FPI members would not beat women.
AKKBB also urged the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office to protect their witnesses from the FPI supporters and to forbid the defendants from walking around freely in the court building.
"They're dangerous. We feel intimidated because they can walk around freely and confront us when they know we're giving testimony against them," Nong said.
Firdaus Mubarik, another AKKBB activist, said he was threatened by a man wearing FPI insignia when he attended a court hearing last week.
"The man grabbed my neck and told the other FPI members that he recognized me as an AKKBB activist from TV. He said, 'Let's fry him', and tried to take my picture with his cell phone camera."
Firdaus said he felt intimidated and decided to leave the court before the hearing ended.
Patra M. Zen, chair of the Foundation for the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, said the violence was a test of the court's credibility.
"The presiding judge can ask for maximum security from the police to protect these witnesses," he said.
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Indah Setiawati, Jakarta – Witnesses from the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) announced they would boycott trials on the June ambush at the National Monument (Monas) park after one of their activists was assaulted outside the courtroom Monday.
"We plan to boycott the upcoming trials because the prosecutors have failed to protect us. We feel intimidated," M. Guntur Romli, an AKKBB activist as well as a victim and witness of the June ambush, told The Jakarta Post.
He said during the trial of the Islam Troop Command leader Munarman, he had asked a police officer guarding the trial why seven of the 10 suspects in the ambush, purportedly members of the Islam Defender Front (FPI), were allowed to wander freely outside the courtroom.
"They defendants were laughing and chatting with their fellow FPI members during Munarman's trial. I don't understand why they were not in detention," Guntur said. The police officer said he did not recognize the seven, so Guntur asked another activist, Nong Darol, to check with the prosecutors.
"Nong told the police the seven people were suspects. The policeman started to scold me instead, saying 'What are you up to?' repeatedly," Guntur said.
He said the police officer's loud voice attracted the attention of many FPI members.
"They surrounded us, one of them beat Nong on her forehead and abdomen. Some plainclothes officers then took us to a witness room while others tried to hold the seven suspects who had harassed us," he said.
Guntur said the activists were also considering two other options besides a boycott: mobilizing more people to protect AKKBB witnesses during the trial or reporting the assault to the police.
"The court cannot protect us, the witnesses," he said, adding the defendants and their supporters should be strictly supervised.
A lawyer representing FPI, Achmad Michdan, said FPI members would not beat a woman. "But there was a woman attending the hearing whose comments infuriated other defendants who had just finished their hearing in a separate courtroom," he told the Post.
On June 1, AKKBB staged a peaceful rally in support of the Ahmadiyah community and to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the Pancasila state ideology.
Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, has been dubbed heretical and therefore their activities have been restricted by the government.
Some 70 activists attending the rally were injured when allegedly attacked by FPI adherents.
Earlier in the day, the trial of FPI leader Rizieq Shihab turned ugly as the defendant's supporters began to protest against presiding judge Panusunan Harahap for failing to rule on the defendant's request his detention be suspended.
Panusunan, who had already had one FPI supporter removed from the courtroom for contempt of court, immediately adjourned the hearing.
FPI lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir said the panel of judges was biased. "If the judges show prejudice, there should be no trial at all," he said.
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Jakarta – Former president director of state airline company Garuda Indonesia, Indra Setiawan, confessed Monday that pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was assigned as a Corporate Security staff by the request from the National Intelligent Agency (BIN).
The fact that was kept a secret during the former trial of Pollycarpus, was revealed to the public during Indra's testimony during the trial of deputy V BIN Muchdi Purwopranjono, at South Jakarta District Court, on Tuesday.
"There was neither tension nor pressure, but I would rather not answer this question," Indra said when asked about his silence during former trials on the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Talib.
Polycarpus has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for his role Munir's murder.
In his testimony, he said the assignment request came through a secret and sealed letter demanding Polly be transferred to Garuda's Corporate Security division, signed by the then BIN chief director M. As'ad.
"I regard the letter as a civic duty. It is mentioned in the letter that Garuda needed to increase its security level by adding corporate security staff," he added.
Indra also said he didn't know the whereabouts of the letter, since it went missing from his car along with other documents on 31 December, 2004. (ast)
Jakarta Post - September 15, 2008
Jakarta – Press groups are deeply concerned that the newly- passed law on electronic media could pose a threat to press freedom in Indonesia.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and other groups, including the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) and the Indonesian Legal and Human Rights Aid Association (PBHI), are currently preparing a request to the Constitutional Court to review the law.
The 2008 law on electronic information and transactions (ITE) contains numerous legal weak points potentially prejudicial to the press, AJI said in a statement released Saturday.
The plan for a legal challenge came after legislator Alvin Lie recently filed a defamation lawsuit against journalist Narliswandi Piliang over his article published in the Kompas Readers Forum's mailing list.
If convicted the journalist faces up to six years' imprisonment and a fine of Rp 1 billion, according to the law.
The article alleged that coal mining company PT Adaro Energy bribed the National Mandate Party (PAN) through its legislator Alvin Lie to influence the proposal in the House of Representatives to investigate PT Adaro's initial public offering.
In June the House turned down a request from 34 lawmakers to investigate the suspected transfer pricing case involving the country's second-largest coal producer.
Nine of 10 factions in the House denied the request, saying that despite the potential significant loss to state revenues, it was "corporate crime and not related to the public interest".
Adaro was allegedly involved in transfer pricing when it sold coal to Singapore-based coal firm Coaltrade Services International Pte. Ltd. – whose shares are owned by Adaro shareholders – at a below-market price of $32 per ton, despite prevalent high coal prices reaching an average of $95 per ton by the end of the year.
AJI and several media groups have warned that the new law could silence the press, through its provisions on defamation, by threatening potential violators with jail terms and fines, which are heavier than those stipulated in the Criminal Code.
Police also summoned Agus Hamonangan, moderator of the mailing list, on September 4 for questioning about Narliswandi's article.
The AJI said that although Agus was only a witness in the defamation case, he could later be charged under the ITE law.
The House passed the law not long after the passage of the 2008 Law on the Openness of Public Information.
Earlier, the Press Council had appealed to the President against signing the ITE bill to make it into law.
Jakarta Post - September 15, 2008
Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Indonesia's judiciary earned poor marks from expatriate business executives for having the worst system in Asia, in a survey conducted by a Hong Kong consulting firm.
Regional financial hubs Hong Kong and Singapore topped the list for having the best judicial systems on the continent. The survey, conducted by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), ranked Indonesia last against the other 12 Asian countries.
The judiciary "is one of Indonesia's weakest and most controversial institutions, and many consider the poor enforcement of laws to be the country's number one problem," PERC said, as quoted by AFP.
The agency did not provide specific examples.
Indonesia's poor ranking stems from the executives' strong dissatisfaction with legal proceedings, which are dogged by systemic corruption, senior lawyer and human rights advocate Todung Mulya Lubis told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
"It is not surprising Indonesia ranked at the bottom," he said. "Indonesia has yet to give businesspeople the legal certainty crucial in the investment world."
Todung gave the example of the recent Supreme Court ruling against Singapore-based investment firm Temasek Holdings, which was found guilty of breaching anti-monopoly laws.
Analysts have said Temasek was subjected to disfavorable divestment for "confusing and illogical reasons" made under the 1999 Competition Law. Temasek has continued to insist on its innocence.
The PERC survey confirms findings in several previous surveys. A recent report by the World Bank and its private arm, the International Financial Cooperation, showed Indonesia ranked 129th out of the 181 countries surveyed in terms of doing business.
In December 2007, a Transparency International Indonesia study ranked the judiciary as the most corrupt institution after the police.
A survey conducted by the Corruption Eradication Commission this year put the Attorney General's Office as the least credible for fighting corruption, followed by the courts and the police.
Hong Kong's judicial system topped the vote with a score of 1.45 on a scale where zero represents the best performance and 10 the worst.
Regional rival Singapore was in second place with a score of 1.92, followed by Japan (3.50), South Korea (4.62), Taiwan (4.93) and the Philippines (6.10).
Malaysia was in seventh place with a score of 6.47, followed by India (6.50), Thailand (7.00) and China (7.25). Indonesia's lowest score of 8.26 came after Vietnam's 8.10.
Survey respondents were 1,537 corporate executives working in Asia. They were asked to rate the judicial systems in the countries where they reside, using such variables as the protection of intellectual property, corruption, transparency, enforcement of laws, freedom from political interference and the experience and educational standards of lawyers and judges.
PERC said the less favorable perceptions of China's and Vietnam's judicial systems were rooted in political interference, adding the Communist Party "is above the law in both countries".
Although India and the Philippines are democracies, expatriates did not look favorably on their judicial systems because of corruption, PERC added.
| Labour issues |
Jakarta Post - September 22, 2008
ID Nugroho, Surabaya – The recent dismissal by management of two contract-based workers at a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food restaurant here has been met with protests from labor unions.
Over 300 fast food restaurant workers and activists of the Congress of the Indonesian Labor Union Alliance (KASBI) rallied Thursday in front of the Surabaya Plaza shopping center, where a KFC restaurant is run by PT Fast Food Indonesia.
"We came here to initiate a dialogue with the management," said Jamaluddin, a protest coordinator.
According to KASBI's spokesperson Yuyuk Yuniarti, 20 of the company's 120 workers have been employed under an internship program. "They deserve a monthly payment, an allowance and a special bonus for Idul Fitri," Yuyuk said.
A scuffle broke out between protesters and dozens of anti-riot police as the former tried to force their way into the company's office.
They receded only after five union representatives were allowed to speak with management, who eventually agreed to rehire the dismissed workers and cease employing interns and contract-based workers.
The protesters then moved to the nearby city council, demanding that councilors closely monitor and evaluate the municipal manpower agency, which they claimed had contributed to a new employment system that exploits workers.
"The employment of interns and outsourced workers goes against the 2002 Child Protection Law, the 2003 Labor Law and the 2004 Education Law. It constitutes labor exploitation and slavery," Jamaluddin said.
The protesters also voiced their dissatisfaction with the prolonged labor dispute between garment factory PT Artha Glory Buana (AGB) in Sidoarjo and more than 2,000 recently dismissed workers.
AGB has unilaterally declared bankruptcy over financial difficulties, resulting in a four-month delay in payment of workers' salaries, much less an Idul Fitri allowance and severance payments.
Negotiations between the management and workers have become deadlocked, with the former insisting on paying Rp 10 billion in salaries, special allowances and severance payments. Workers are demanding Rp 30 billion.
Jamaluddin criticized the manpower agency for doing nothing to resolve the dispute. "Government involvement is needed to protect workers' rights," he said.
The Surabaya municipal legislative council's spokesman Musyafak Rouf concurred, saying authority was in the hands of the manpower agency. "We will raise the issue in the upcoming hearing with the mayor," Musyafak said.
Head of the municipal manpower agency Ahmad Syafei said his office had never issued a permit to PT Past Food Indonesia to employ interns in its restaurants, including in KFCs.
His office has not yet received an explanation for the delays in payment for AGB workers' salaries, the Idul Fitri allowance and severance payment, he added. "The Idul Fitri allowance is mandatory. It must be paid at least ten days before Idul Fitri," he said.
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – It is 11 a.m. and three Indonesian children – two boys and a girl – are busily picking up palm oil seeds that have been dropped by their parents during harvest on a plantation in Sabah, Malaysia.
The children on the video were employed with ensuring that no seeds went to waste. One of the two boys, 10-year-old Ramdan, later said he could collect up to six sacks of palm oil seeds in a day, with each sack containing around 50 kilograms. Each sack is worth 1.3 MYR (38 US cents), he added.
The film continues. Ramdan, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, squats, his head bent to the ground. Next to him is his bucket, in which he places the seeds. Nearby, and similarly occupied, are a girl and another boy of a similar age to Ramdan.
That was the footage captured by Sahrizal, an Indonesian teacher recently assigned to Sabah to teach children of Indonesian migrant workers. The children in the video were among his pupils.
Sahrizal was among some 100 people grouped in the Forum of Non- Permanent Teachers in Sabah (FGTTS) who recently reported alleged child exploitation in the Malaysian plantation hub to the National Commission on Child Protection.
FGTTS member Khoerul Wajid said most children had to work all day to collect an average of two or three sacks of seeds and that it was their parents who forced them to do so at the bidding of their employers.
Commission secretary general Arist Merdeka Sirait said in a press conference here Wednesday that a fact-finding team his office had sent to Sabah for three days had beheld a scene of "modern slavery", which was affecting tens of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers and their children.
He said the employers made systematic efforts to keep the workers and their children enslaved.
He said local plantation firms sought to continue to "irresponsibly" employ the migrant workers and to offer them no choice but to live in poor-conditions; cooped up in isolated barracks that were cut off from all means of transportation.
Arist said the efforts included employing a system where the workers were forced to work to pay off bogus debts. The commission referred to the mechanism as "bonded labor".
"They work today to pay off debts from previous days. For example, they try to obtain permission to work there, but that's all they work for. But this debt will never be paid off, and it happens to both legal and illegal migrant workers," he said.
Data from the Indonesian consulate general in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, shows there are 200,000 legal and 134,000 illegal Indonesian migrants working on at least 103 plantations. The number of children is estimated at 72,000, all of whom have not been registered by their parents' employers so that their civil rights, including to education, are denied.
An official at the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia, who asked not to be named, said the Malaysian authorities and Indonesia's Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu were investigating the case.
The National Commission on Child Protection is urging the Indonesian government to use inter-ministerial diplomatic channels to end the reported slavery and to provide more jobs at home.
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Slavery practices at palm oil plantations in Sabah, Malaysia, have affected thousands of Indonesian migrant workers and their children, the National Commission for Child Protection has announced.
Commission secretary general Arist Merdeka Sirait said Tuesday a fact-finding team sent to plantations in Sabah discovered tens of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers and their children had been "systematically enslaved".
"They are placed in isolated barracks with no access to transportation, making it impossible for them to leave the plantations. Nor do they have access to clean water, lighting and other facilities," Arist, a team member, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
About 72,000 children of Indonesian migrant workers at the Sabah plantations were forced to work without regulated employment hours, meaning they were made to work all day long, he added.
The children were not provided with birth certificates or any other type of identity documents, effectively denying their right to formal education, among other rights, Arist said.
"It is done deliberately so they'll remain illegal and continue to serve as migrant workers, just like their parents. We call this 'bonded labor' (a means of paying off debt by direct labor rather than by currency or goods), and it is a modern kind of slavery," he added.
Citing figures from the Indonesian consulate general in Sabah's Kota Kinabalu, Arist said there were about 200,000 legal migrants from Indonesia – as well as 134,000 illegal workers – employed by at least 103 palm oil plantations in Sabah.
"Bonded labor" was common at all the plantations, he said.
In addition to suffering, illegal workers were paid very little and often extorted by Malaysian security officers who checked their documents, Arist said.
He accused the Malaysian authorities of deliberately allowing such conditions to persist, adding the commission would report its "very serious" findings to the Malaysian and Indonesian governments.
An official at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta told the Post local authorities have been jointly investigating the case with the Indonesian consulate general in Kota Kinabalu.
An official statement on the issue will be publicly released in the next few days, he said.
The commission sent a fact-finding team to the Sabah plantations after a group of Indonesian teachers working there reported an alleged case of child exploitation as well as several cases of physical and sexual harassment of children of Indonesian migrant employees.
A spokesman for the teachers, Sahrizal, said children between the ages of six and 18 had to work for hours collecting sacks of oil palm seeds scattered on the ground, in return for a minimal amount of pay.
The children were often forced to work by their own parents or by plantation managers, he added.
Jakarta Post - September 15, 2008
Luh De Suriyani, Contributor, Denpasar – The majority of domestic workers, which number about two hundred thousand on Bali island, have yet to receive their two basic rights for regular days off and medical benefits from their employers, a labor activist said.
"A large number of households in Bali, including those of expatriates, employ domestic workers. Unfortunately, they are still neglecting these two basic rights," Yastianti of the Bali's Legal Aid Institute (LBH) said.
She explained this during a public consultation to discuss a draft bill on protection of domestic workers jointly organized by Jala PRT, a national network of domestic workers, LBH Bali and the Bali administration here, Friday.
The category of domestic workers includes various jobs hired by householders, including housemaids, babysitters, drivers and gardeners.
The bill was drafted in an effort to provide domestic workers with legal status and protection from abuses, violence and discrimination.
The draft, stipulates that domestic workers should be at least 18 years of age. Those below this minimum age are considered child labour. Employing child labour is illegal in this country.
I Nyoman Ledang Asmara, head of Yayasan Sejahtera Berhasil, a Denpasar-based domestic workers' agency, estimated the total number of domestic workers in the island at around 200,000.
"The number was compiled with registered domestic workers' agencies," he said, hinting that the total number could be much higher.
Currently, there are 28 registered agencies in the island.
Member of the Bali Legislative Council's Commission I, I Wayan Ardita, admitted that the Bali administration had yet to produce a regional bylaw on the protection of domestic workers.
He agreed that informal sector workers, including domestic workers, were vulnerable to mistreatment and rights violations.
"Many women and children become domestic workers because Bali is still facing the problem of lack of job opportunities, as well as low quality of human resources," he said.
The National Coordinator of Jala PRT, Lita Anggreni said that based on her research, it was impossible for a domestic worker to carry out every wish and whim of his or her employer.
"They carry out all their duties, but only a fraction of domestic workers receive all their rights," she pointed out.
She explained that domestic workers could work for an average of twelve hours per day, because most of them stayed in their employers' houses.
Most, she added, did not get a day off, received their pay later than the scheduled dates, were subject to unilateral pay cuts, were prohibited from fraternizing and shouldered an excessive work load.
"Such practices are equal to subjecting them to continuing poverty," she said.
Unfortunately, Bali has yet to have an organization that will focus on assisting and empowering domestic workers.
Bali had a higher risk of abuse due to generally higher workloads which the island's domestic workers were required handle.
The high workloads, she said, were mostly due the Balinese householders obligations to carry out a series of customary and religious rituals.
Ledang Asmara concurred, but urged that the bill should also detail the domestic workers' obligations.
"I agree that the bill on domestic workers' protection must be ratified. But, it should not only regulate domestic workers' rights, but also define their obligations (to their employers)," he said.
The draft bill contains several articles regarded as controversial by domestic workers' employers. These include provisions on overtime payments, annual leave, pregnancy leave and health benefits.
"It will be very difficult to implement the bill because each region has a different set of norms and customs on how to treat domestic workers," Atik, a housewife, said.
Atik suggested that agreement should be reached through a mutually-beneficial compromise between employers and domestic workers.
"A government regulation will only bind us into a less family- like relationship with our maid," she added.
| Health & education |
Jakarta Post - September 19, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – A proposed bill to advance the privatization of top universities in the country may lead to classism and conflict, as higher tuition fees will prevent underprivileged students from undergoing higher education.
Education expert Darmaningtyas said tuition fees, especially at state universities, had rocketed since the government passed a regulation in 1999 that declared four top state universities legal entities.
The four are the University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
Since the bill was passed, the government has gradually cut subsidies to the four and has encouraged other universities to raise their own funds.
"The consequence of this liberalization of education is that education is no longer a basic right of every citizen. Rather it is a commodity, which only the haves can afford to buy.
"Education is getting costly," Darmaningtyas said in Jakarta on Tuesday during a discussion on legal entities organized by the Indonesia Corruption Watch.
The bill, which National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo earlier said would change "all state and private universities into corporate-like institutions", is currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives.
Jimmy Paat, an education sociology expert at Jakarta State University, said the essence of the bill was to privatize universities and that the proposal was "full of injustices".
"Many students will be gotten rid of not because of their lack of intelligence, but simply because of economic reasons.
"I believe education has to create fairness, equal opportunities for every one; Now how can we expect fairness from privatization?" Jimmy said.
It costs up to Rp 750 million (approximately US$79,300) to put a student through medical school at UI.
"With such high fees, it is no wonder why the poor cannot afford (tertiary) schooling and why medical treatment has become so costly; The medical students spend too much to graduate," ICW's Ade Irawan said.
Darmaningtyas said the liberalization procedure had caused pro- people universities to commit injustices.
"When I was at UGM, it allocated 18 percent of its seats for students from West Nusa Tenggara, Papua and Maluku so that we could find students from those provinces in every faculty in the university.
"However, they are no longer there now, and I'm suspicious that is a result of the high tuition fees," he said.
He said the fact that underprivileged students from eastern Indonesia could no longer enter top – and therefore costly – universities in Java could potentially trigger a culture of jealously and conflict for future generations.
"They can never compete in the job market even on their own home soil. Mining companies in Papua, for example, prefer graduates of UI or ITB to local university graduates," Darmaningtyas said.
"This can trigger jealousy, with top state university graduates deemed as colonizers. If the legal entities bill is finally passed into law, in 10 years we'll see social conflicts and disintegration prompted by jealousy," Darmaningtyas said.
Jakarta Post - September 15, 2008
The government's plan to increase the education budget to 20 percent of state expenditure, or around Rp 224.44 trillion (approximately US$24.45 billion), in 2009 has raised expectations that free basic education for all can finally materialize. But the plan looks to raise false hopes as National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said later that the bulk of the budget would go to teachers. Director of Paramadina University's Institute for Education Reform, Utomo Dananjaya, talked about his view of the education budget with The Jakarta Post's Erwida Maulia.
Question: The government has confirmed that despite the big leap in the education budget in 2009, free education for all will remain elusive. What do you think about this? Answer: This is what I think is wrong. The Constitution provides two guidelines on this (in Article 31): First, every citizen must participate in basic education and the government must finance it. And then the country must prioritize at least 20 percent of the state budget for education. Now, what is the fulfillment of 20 percent of the state budget for? As mandated by the Constitution, it should be to organize basic education without charging any fees to students.
But, what the president said was the government (with the huge 2009 education budget), would only make education affordable and not free of charge. Affordable, however, is relative. Affordable for who?
The consequence of this is that schools are still given opportunities to charge students. Especially, schools and principals in big cities will make use of the chance to continue charging levies, although, I believe, the levies are a waste of money for schools and a burden for students' parents.
It is obvious from his (state of the nation) speech that the President sees the allocation of 20 percent of the budget for education as his goodwill gesture, not his obligation to fulfill people's rights, although the latter is clearly what the Constitution wants.
The fact is the country raise money from taxes; from people. So, the budget for education actually comes from people. But, the President, the Vice President, the finance minister and the education minister don't understand this.
The President needs to be firmer; the central government and regional administrations must organize basic compulsory education that is free of charge. What the Article 31 clause 2 of the Constitution actually says is, the government and regional administrations must organize free of charge education at least at basic level.
The government will increase the School Operational Aid (BOS) funds for elementary and junior high school students, with free textbooks for students from three to five books per student per year. Do you think this will help students?
This is insignificant. BOS funds are not distributed to students, but to schools to finance their activities. BOS cannot free students from charges. The government should tell schools that as the BOS funds go up, schools should no longer charge levies. But, because what the government says is that BOS funds are aimed only at making education more affordable, schools continue charging levies.
The government has received tax money to manage schools, and disburse the BOS funds to actually pay tuition fees and other levies, but even though the BOS funds have been increased, schools continue charging students. This is disappointing.
The education minister says that a large portion of the 2009 education budget would be to pay teachers and improve their welfare. Do you think it's the reason why the government can't meet free basic education for all?
That's not the point. Even though teachers' payments are increased by, let's say, Rp 1 million per teacher per month, salaries for the country's 2.8 civil servants and private teachers will only amount to around Rp 92 trillion, or let's just say Rp 100 trillion. The increasing BOS funds will only consume about Rp 20 trillion and that amount should be enough to free students from levies.
So roughly there is still some Rp 104 trillion left for education management, quality improvement, research etc. Is that not enough?
We believe that the minister needs to be paid, that there needs to be operating costs. But, Rp 104 trillion is so huge. There's no way it is all used up; what is that for?
The government says that school operational costs could still be made free, but not so with investment costs. Is that true?
Yes, investment costs cannot be made free. But, let's look at this: who built the existing school buildings? All schools in this country already own buildings; so investment funds are no longer needed. Okay, some are damaged, but they only account for some 6,500 school buildings out of the country's 200,000 schools. When we say that many school buildings need repairs, the government will deny this, saying that only a few buildings, perhaps some 3 percent, are broken-down. But, when it comes to money, it will say that it needs investment funds; for what then? For buying computers in 200,000 schools? Just count how much it costs; not so big. So, the rest of the investment funds will be used for the lavish bureaucracy. Education management seems to be the most extravagant management; perhaps because of graft.
The government also says basic education can be free if only regional administrations support the funding. Do you agree with this?
The central government is the one who have the money. The Rp 89 trillion general allocation funds (which are disbursed to regions) are to pay teachers, while the special allocation funds (also disbursed to regions) are in fact managed by the central government; that is the source of graft.
The central government has a lot of money: Rp 581 trillion of national revenues, or 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. It is all controlled by the central government.
Regional administrations, meanwhile, earn only modest revenues, as most taxes are levied by the central government. They collect taxes, but significantly less than the central government's tax revenues. The regional administrations can perhaps only collect property taxes, which can be quite large in Jakarta.
| War on corruption |
Jakarta Post - September 20, 2008
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) promised Friday to move to take over the investigation into a huge loan scandal, as the government weighed in on the debate.
The move came following intense public pressure on the KPK to take over the investigation into the embezzlement of Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds, formerly handled by the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which has been plagued by corruption.
"It is a good move if the KPK will really take over the BLBI case because the commission has extraordinary powers that the AGO doesn't have. The government will certainly support it," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the press at his office Friday.
Pressure to take over the investigation, which caused trillions in state losses, intensified after the conviction of AGO prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan for corruption.
Urip, who headed the BLBI investigation, was sentenced by the Corruption Court to 20 years in jail for accepting a US$660,000 bribe from businesswoman Artalyta Suryani to stop the BLBI investigation into tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim. Artalyta was jailed for five years for the same charge.
Urip and Artalyta were arrested by the KPK on March 2, 2008, two days after the AGO dropped the BLBI cases against Sjamsul and another tycoon Anthony Salim.
KPK chairman Antasari Azhar said his office would discuss the BLBI takeover after the post-Ramadan festival of Idul Fitri.
"After this Lebaran (Idul Fitri), we will do that. I will coordinate with the attorney general. If they have thrown in the towel, we will step in," he told Antara news agency in Dili, Timor Leste.
Antasari, accompanied by his deputy of prosecutions Chandra M. Hamzah and KPK director of networking development Sujanarko, was in Dili to discuss Timor Leste's plan to set up a similar anti- graft body.
In a joint declaration last Monday, a number of House of Representatives and Regional Representative Council (DPD) members demanded the KPK immediately take over investigations into the huge loan scandal. They said the KPK had no excuse to delay taking over the case from the AGO following Urip's conviction.
The members said the court's verdict showed there were many problems with the AGO's investigation, adding that dozens of reports and studies had concluded that the scandal caused state losses worth hundreds of trillions of rupiah.
Last Wednesday, AGO spokesman Jasman Pandjaitan said the KPK could take over the BLBI probe after coordinating with his office to discuss it. "So the KPK cannot just take it over, but it must be conducted through the appropriate mechanism," Jasman was quoted by Antara as saying.
Urip's conviction also prompted a renewed call for the AGO to reverse its decision to drop the BLBI probe into Sjamsul. Attorney General Hendarman Supandji insisted the guilty verdict against Urip did not constitute new evidence for the AGO to reopen the case.
Last Thursday, assistant attorney general for special crimes Marwan Effendi said Urip's conviction would not affect the AGO's decision to close the case. "With or without Urip, bribes or no bribes, the AGO can't continue," he said.
Marwan said reopening the investigation into Sjamsul's involvement in the case would conflict with several regulations including the 2003 presidential decree on debtors.
The decree, issued by then president Megawati Soekarnoputri, stipulates that a cooperative debtor deserves a letter of settlement and will not be charged for violating the law.
Based on the 2000 law on national development, the BLBI case should be settled out of court, he said.
Jakarta Post - September 20, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – A House of Representatives' working committee is rushing to pass an amendment to the Supreme Court law later this month, with bribery allegations dogging the legislators involved in the deliberation.
"There will be only small problems so we expect to pass the bill this month," Ganjar Pranowo, secretary of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction at the House, said Friday.
The working committee (Panja) began deliberations in early September and is now holding a series of meetings in Bogor, West Java, to finalize the draft law.
The rushed process has sparked accusations that the sole aim of the revision is to allow Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan, who is due to retire on Oct. 6, to keep his position for another three years.
The bill extends the chief judge's compulsory age of retirement from 65 to 70 years, a move strongly opposed by anti-corruption groups.
These groups have alleged bribery involving the Supreme Court has tainted the deliberation process, with Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) claiming that about Rp 30 billion was channeled to smooth the passage of the amended law.
"We have sources saying the money was disbursed to accelerate the deliberation process," ICW's Emerson Yuntho said.
Panja member Nasir Jamil acknowledged he had heard rumors of bribes circulating within the committee, but said he had not uncovered any transaction or deal. "I hope it is not true," he said.
Although the bribery allegation reportedly forced PDI-P lawmaker Gayus Lumbuun to quit the Panja, Gayus said he withdrew because he was worried about a conflict of interest, as he will resume his job as a lawyer after retiring from the House.
Emerson urged political parties to scrutinize their members in the Panja and remove them from the committee if anything suspicious is detected. The speedy process and contentious issues, especially the extension of the maximum age for justices, have indicated that the revision to the law was merely intended to benefit Supreme Court judges, especially Bagir, he said.
"How can a bill get to the Panja so fast? As they are doing it in secrecy, we have every reason to believe they are playing around," Emerson added.
Bagir dismissed the bribery allegations, saying they were "way out of line".
Dozens of Regional Representatives Council (DPD) members demanded the government and the House be more transparent in the deliberation process and invite wider public participation before passing the bill.
"The current process seems to be done secretly. That's why many people have expressed suspicions with the process," DPD spokesman I Wayan Sudirta said.
Many other critics have said that although the age extension was proposed by the government, the Supreme Court was behind the suggestion.
"If it is true, then the Supreme Court is playing politics. It will be damaging if the judicial body is involved in politics because then law enforcement will politicized," Golkar lawmaker Harry Azhar Azis said.
Nasir Jamil said the Supreme Court would be indebted to the government and would have to pay later. "Then we will lose a chance to eradicate 'the court mafia' in the country," he added.
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Jakarta – The Corruption Court will continue its trial of Golkar Party politicians Hamka Yandhu and Antony Zeidra Abidin, charged with accepting money from Bank Indonesia (BI) in an embezzlement case.
On Tuesday, the court dismissed the pleas of Antony, a former member of the House Commission IX. However, Hamka agreed to continue the trial.
Both of them are charged with accepting bribes from BI officials to speed up the approval of the revised BI law and resolve the alleged embezzlement of bank funds in 2003.
During an investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Hamka said the 52-strong Commission IX shared Rp 30.5 billion (US$3.34 million) from BI.
According to Hamka's statement, commission deputy chief Paskah Suzetta, the current State Minister for National Development Planning, received Rp 1 billion and other members, including Malam Sambat Kaban, the current Forestry Minister, received at least Rp 250 million each.
Under the Corruption Law, Hamka and Antony are facing a maximum of 20 years in jail if convicted.
The court adjourned the trial and scheduled to present former BI governor Burhanuddin Abdullah and former deputies Aulia Tantowi Pohan, Bun Bunan EJ Hutapea and Maman Sumantri, during the hearing next week. (dre)
| Islam/religion |
Jakarta Post - September 21, 2008
Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan has marked the start of the seasonal prime time hours for Indonesian television stations: The wee hours before dawn. The sahur time, when fasting Muslims eat their first meal of the day before refraining from eating, drinking and having sexual relations from dawn to dusk, has always been a big opportunity for the country's television stations to reap profits from advertising time.
From year to year, the hours of 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. during the fasting month have been a battle field for television stations aiming to capture the greatest audience share, each airing their own Ramadan-related shows.
Indonesia has around 11 stations which broadcast nationwide. The 10 private ones are RCTI, Indosiar, SCTV, ANTV, TPI, TRANS TV, TV 7, Global TV, Metro TV and TV One, and the one public station is TVRI. Cities also have local stations.
The Ramadan month is a time of fortune for stations as more people watch television during this time of year.
Trans TV spokesperson A. Hadiansyah Lubis said the stations always experienced increases in advertising income during Ramadan.
"During Ramadan, advertising income can increase by 20 percent," he said. "It is one of the revenue makers, along with the badminton Thomas and Uber Championship and the station's anniversary."
According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, since the first week of Ramadan, beginning Sept. 1, there has been a 28 percent increase in television viewers compared to the week before.
"The average number of television viewers at the beginning of Ramadan is 5.8 million people over the age of five or 13.5 percent of the surveyed population," AGB Nielsen Media Research spokeswoman Andini Wijendaru said.
This year, AGB Nielsen surveyed 10 cities with a total television viewer population of 42.6 million. "The week before (Aug. 25 to 31), the average number of viewers was 4.5 million people," she said. That means entering Ramadan this year an additional 1.3 million people are tuning into their electronic tubes.
This might appear as positive for televisions stations; however, compared to last year, television stations are actually losing viewers.
According to AGB Nielsen Media Research data, the first week of Ramadan last year saw an average of 15.7 percent of the television viewer population of 42 million, or around 6.6 million people, watching television.
This year's first week of Ramadan saw 800,000 fewer people watching television compared to last year's. Andini said this year's decline was quite significant.
"Overall there has been a declining number of television viewers. In the first semester of 2007, 13.7 percent of the TV population watched television, while 2008 only saw 13.3 percent, so it declined an average of0.4 points. The decline in this year's Ramadan of 2.2 percentage points, is, therefore, quite significant," she said. "The assumption is that the people are becoming more selective," Andini said.
Twenty-six-year-old Citra Lestari said she turns the television off when Ramadan-themed sinetrons (soap operas) are on. "I can't stand watching 'religious' sinetrons. All I can do as a television owner is to turn the TV off when those shows are on," she said. "Watching TV is a choice," she said.
Each year during Ramadan, television stations have been criticized for commercializing religious themes.
In the attempt to grab the highest rating, television stations show a variety of Ramadan programs, such as comedy skits, talk shows, sinetrons, music shows, religious documentaries and sermons.
Most noticeable during Ramadan is the mushrooming of "religious" soap operas. Most "religious" sinetrons have the same formula as the usual sinetrons of the extreme good versus extreme evil – the kind protagonist being oppressed by the evil antagonist. The only differences are that "religious" ones incorporate religious symbols such as headscarves and the protagonists are usually depicted as religiously devout while the antagonists are depicted as evil.
This Ramadan, religious sinetrons dominate the television screens. Indosiar is airing sinetrons such as Tasbih Cinta (Love Chant), Muslimah, Syarifah and Jihan. TRANS TV is airing "Menuju Surgamu" (To Your Heaven). SCTV said this Ramadan they were depending on sinetrons Annisa, Zahra and Rinduku CintaMu (My Longing for Your Love) to draw in viewers.
"I can't say anything else about those sinetrons. I just turn the TV off," Citra said.
Midya Nurwulan Santi, 26, also has the same opinion as Citra. "I understand the stations want to take advantage of Ramadan to reap profits," she said. "As I don't like most of the shows I don't watch them."
Zaki Zulkarnain, 26, said he turned the TV on during sahur time to accompany him while having his meal. "In our house, we usually watch the slapstick comedies, just because it's entertaining," he said.
He said he watched Trans TV's slapstick comedy "Saatnya Kita Sahur" (It's Time for Sahur). The show received a rating of 3.4 the first week of Ramadan.
Hadiansyah said his station tried to avoid presenting Ramadan themes with a heavy hand. "We try to entertain people and give a touch of Ramadan to our program in a light way. We don't want people to get bored with our programs."
The first week of Ramadan saw the drama-comedy series Para Pencari Tuhan 2 (God's Seekers 2) produced by comedian Dedy Mizwar and its interactive quiz on SCTV having the highest ratings on sahur time. The quiz received a rating of 4.2 while the series got 3.9.
SCTV spokesperson Budi Darmawan said they were trying new ways to attract viewers.
"We had been airing comedies during sahur time for years. Since last year, almost all stations are airing slapstick comedy so we changed our tactic by showing drama comedy followed by the quiz in order to be different," he said.
"Television is an entertainment media, so we try to make our programs entertaining for people. In television we blend entertainment with moral messages, without indoctrination," Budi said.
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Former leader of the Council of Indonesian Jihad Fighters (MMI), Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, has declared a new political organization based on what he claims are the true Islamic teachings.
Ba'asyir named his new organization Anshorut Tauhid, which means the defender of the oneness of God.
The spiritual leader became known nationally at the beginning of the global war on terror following the 9/11 terror attack on the United States in 2001. The attack was allegedly carried out by a group of Muslim fighters from Afghanistan led by Osama bin Laden, Al Qaida.
Ba'asyir was accused by local and foreign authorities as the leader of the radical Islamist group, Jamaah Islamiyah, in Southeast Asia related to Al Qaida, with ties to the first Bali bombing that killed more than 230 people. He was charged over the bombing, but was proved not guilty in 2006.
Speaking to reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday, Ba'asyir spokesperson, Fauzan Al Anshori, said the organization's declaration was carried out that day in Bekasi and attended by hundreds of people.
A political manifesto of Ba'asyir was read during the declaration, Fauzan said. "The new organization aspires to implement organizational leadership again based on Islam. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is the leader of the Anshorut Tauhid congregation," he said.
Fauzan said the congregation would continue to promote the implementation of Islamic law in the country, just like what MMI had been fighting for.
Ba'asyir stepped down from his post as the leader of MMI in July due to an ideological dispute with fellow MMI members. He was quoted as saying that MMI was no longer in line with Islamic teachings.
The declaration was followed by a discussion on the leadership of Islam versus democracy, Fauzan said.
"A leader in Islam is chosen by an advisory council, which consists of chosen people, while democracy practices 'one man, one vote' – this means that people with knowledge are the same as criminals or prostitutes." (and)
| Elections/political parties |
Jakarta Post - September 21, 2008
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Most people in the country believe all political parties offer empty promises and are unable to change Indonesia for the better, a survey released Friday shows.
The survey was jointly conducted in June by Quest Research and the Institute of Social and Political Science (IISIP), and involved 14,229 respondents in 20 provinces throughout the country.
The survey shows that more than 70 percent of respondents believed all political parties are content with maintaining the status quo and are not committed to change.
Some 67.7 percent said the parties were "bad" because they fought for themselves, offered false promises, did not care for the public and failed to improve welfare.
"This is a warning for the parties to fix themselves ahead of the upcoming elections," Heruwasto of Quest Research told a press briefing to announce the survey results.
However, 74.5 percent of respondents said they would vote in the 2009 legislative election, while 8.9 percent said they would abstain from voting and 16.5 percent said they were undecided.
Some 24.8 percent of respondents selected the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to be the party most able to make changes in the country, while 20.7 percent chose the Golkar Party and 20.7 percent the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) were four and five with 15.7 and 8.6 percent, respectively.
When asked which party they would vote for if the election were held today, 26 percent chose the Golkar Party and 25.7 percent the PDI-P.
The Democratic Party and PKS tied for number three with around 12 percent each, followed by the National Awakening Party (PKB) and PAN in four and five with 6.9 and 6.6 percent, respectively. The United Development Party (PPP) was seven with 4.4 percent.
Among the new parties to contest the election, the Democratic Reform Party (PDP) ranked the best, with 2.3 percent.
However, the survey shows that only 18 percent of the respondents selected a party in the category, with the rest undecided.
"Over 40 percent of respondents said they would wait (to hear) party programs, and the other 30 percent were confused and said they would wait until days before the election to make a decision," said IISIP researcher Syafuan Rozi Soebhan.
He said the high level of undecided voters indicated that parties still had the potential to win over large numbers of voters in the campaign period.
Jakarta Post - September 21, 2008
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) is being urged to immediately list the names of potential voters in next year's elections in order to allow millions of citizens to register for the polls.
KPU staff can no longer afford to remain behind their desks and wait for potential voters to verify that their names have been included on the official temporary list of voters (DPS), the People's Voters Education Network (JPPR) said.
"It's impossible to wait for the public to check that their names are on the DPS. The KPU needs to take an active role by visiting people, such as mosque congregations, asking them if they are already registered for the polls," JPPR director Jerry Sumampow told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
The KPU has thus far been passive in asking citizens to come forward and check their names against the list, he added.
"The KPU can't continue to just say they want more people to take part in the upcoming elections. They have to understand the fact that the public is not interested in this election," he said.
The KPU announced last week that some 170 million people have been listed on the DPS, a decline from the prior figure of 172 million. According to KPU member Sri Nuryanti, double counting was responsible for the previously inflated figure.
The poll body extended the deadline for allowing more potential voters to register their names to Oct. 31.
Indonesia will host its second direct elections, with the legislative election slated for April 9, 2009, followed by the presidential election in July 2009.
The KPU should also reach out to the poor, who have been denied access to identity cards, including those living under bridges or on riverbanks, Jerry said. "General elections differ from local elections. People who don't have ID cards should still be eligible for these elections."
Executive director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) Hadar Gumay strongly criticized the KPU's performance in enlisting eligible voters. "The KPU has not acknowledged the poor quality of the list. Nor have they taken into account the voter registration survey," he said.
Hadar was referring to a survey jointly conducted in August by the Institute of Research, Education and Information on Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES) and the National Democratic Institute. According to the survey, over 36 million potential voters have not been listed.
The KPU should improve its monitoring system to ensure its provincial and regency/municipal branches are able to verify voter lists, he added.
"The KPU cannot just send letters to its branches without setting up a proper monitoring system. If there's no improvement soon, many voters will go unregistered and public participation in the elections will be low."
The KPU met with the House of Representatives' Commission II on home affairs, regional autonomy and agrarian affairs last Friday, with many lawmakers doubting the accuracy of the voter lists.
Inilah.com - September 16, 2008
M. Husni Nanang, Jakarta – Dita Indah Sari, the former (sic) general chairperson of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas), who is a legislative candidate for the Star Reform Party (PBR), believes that the comment by Ade Daud Nasution, who stated that the PBR has shifted in a communist direction, has no basis. She considers this to be a black campaign.
"My being in [the PBR] hasn't changed anything. It's still Islamic. In fact the PBR's current program is the mosque's celebration of the three annual Muslim religious festivals. The program is being conducted throughout the fasting month, where PBR cadre are instructed to clean mosques in their respective electoral districts," said Sari during a discussion with Inilah.com in Jakarta on Tuesday September 16.
According to Sari, Nasution's statement, which accused Sari and her colleagues of turning the PBR into a communist party, have absolutely no basis. This was only an expression of disappointment by a person who wanted to change parties in an inelegant way.
"He wanted to justify his actions by accusing people of being communist, accusing people of moving to the left. A party is not a religion. Religious people can just change religions right, never mind a party you know", she said in an outburst of emotion.
Sari said that she does not have a problem with Nasution wanting to change parties. However it should have been done in an open and gentlemanly manner. "There's no need to make accusations. No need to use black campaigns, make unclear accusations, because only a few activists such as myself have joined the PBR", said the former Papernas chairperson.
According to Sari, changing parties is something quite normal. What was unusual in this case was how. "[He'd] left without saying anything. [We] only new about it from the mass media, [he] didn't tell [us] himself. He made all kinds of accusations. So if so, it's like the New Order", she asserted.
As is widely known, Nasution stated that his move to the National Mandate Party was because he felt that the PBR had left behind its Islamic principles and was moving towards communism. This occurred after a number of former People's Democratic Party (PRD) activists joined the PBR. Among others this included former PRD general chairperson Yusuf Lakaseng, who has become the PBR's deputy general secretary, and Sari who has become a PBR legislative candidate for the Central Java V electoral district. [R2]
Notes:
PBR founding member and House of Representatives legislator Ade Daud Nasution was dismissed from the house and his membership of the PBR revoked after his name was included on the National Mandate Party's legislative candidate list. Speaking with Detik.com on September 12, he said that he regretted the entry of a number of allegedly left-socialist figures into the party adding that he is "anti-communist" and that communism is still banned by law.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
| Aid & development |
Jakarta Post - September 20, 2008
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia is unlikely to meet its target for access to drinking water set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) because of contaminated groundwater in cities and lack of funding to expand piped water coverage, a group has warned.
The MDG target is to halve by 2015 the number of people without access to safe drinking water.
Only 58 percent of Indonesians currently have access to safe drinking water, with those in urban areas more vulnerable to drinking "unsafe water" because of E. coli contamination in the groundwater, Drinking Water and Environment Restoration (AMPL) Network coordinator, Oswar Mungkasa, said Friday.
Access to safe drinking water is increasing at a rate of less than 1 percent per year, meaning Indonesia is off track on its MDG target of bringing the proportion to 67 percent by 2015, Oswar, a senior official at the National Development Planning Agency, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of an AMPL Network meeting on Friday.
"We have only seven years left. If we want to achieve the target, we need about 2 percent growth per year," Oswar said.
The report comes a week before world leaders meet in New York on Sept. 25 to renew their commitment to achieving the MDGs by 2015 and to set out concrete plans and practical steps for action.
The AMPL Network, established in late 2007, brings together stakeholders in water and sanitation matters, including representatives from the government, tap water operators and some NGOs.
Oswar said efforts to improve access to safe drinking water in urban areas tended to focus on expanding piped water networks, whereas those in rural areas generally relied on the excavation of wells for groundwater because of geographical and infrastructure issues.
Efforts are being hampered by funding shortages, with less than Rp 3 trillion (US$318.7 million) available per year, half the necessary amount of between Rp 5 trillion and Rp 6 trillion per year, he said.
Despite the gloomy outlook in the drinking water target, the AMPL Network reported Indonesia could reach the sanitation target in the MDGs.
The MDGs require that 65.5 percent of Indonesians have access to good sanitation, or access to toilets, by 2015.
In 2006, the proportion was 69.3 percent, but not all the toilets were connected to septic tanks, Oswar said.
Only about 45 percent of toilets in Indonesia lead to septic tanks, with the rest going into a waterway or nowhere.
Oswar added that the number of Indonesians with access to toilets channeled to septic tanks would equal the MDG target, as demonstrated by a number of ongoing programs.
The programs include the construction of communal septic tanks in 80 cities and municipalities, and the toilet use campaign in rural areas covering 500 villages.
"The problem in big cities is that there is not enough land for septic tanks. That's why we're building the communal septic tanks. In rural areas, meanwhile, we've learned that changing attitudes is the key," Oswar said.
"The villagers hardly used the toilets we built for them, but after we showed them how they contaminate the water they drink with their own waste, they started building their own toilets."
| Economy & investment |
Jakarta Post - September 17, 2008
Aditya Suharmoko and Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Indonesian stock market rebounded Tuesday after tumbling for the sixth consecutive day, as investors regained confidence after the government stepped in to avert havoc.
The Composite Index rose slightly by 1 percent after heavy selling of commodity stocks sent it plunging by more than 7 percent in early trade. The Index rose 16.39 points to end at 1,735.63.
After the intraday session, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stepped in to ease tension by reassuring businesses the national economy was well-managed and could endure the global turmoil resulting from the credit crunch in the United States.
"We should not panic as we did back in 1997 (when Indonesia was hit by the Asian financial crisis) because our fundamentals, at the national level, are good and well-managed," Yudhoyono said.
"I have ordered (the Finance Ministry and the central bank) to keep up good communication with businesses to maintain our economic stability. If we do that properly, I am sure we can manage any turbulence, globally or regionally."
He added it was important that authorities explained the situation to the public correctly to prevent speculation.
The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday raised its 2008 growth forecast for Indonesia to 6.2 percent from the 6 percent previously estimated due to the strong economic foundation that enabled the country to record accelerating growth in the second quarter.
Bank Indonesia (BI) took another step to ease panic selling in the equity and the rupiah-denominated assets by cutting its overnight lending rate from 12.25 percent to 10.25 percent to help pump liquidity into the market.
The move helped the market weather the turmoil with bank stocks saving the day. Bank BRI, Indonesia's third largest bank by assets, gained 7.3 percent to Rp 5,150, while Bank BCA, the second largest lender, jumped 4.7 percent to Rp 2,775.
"The government and BI will keep a close eye on the situation. What is happening in the world now is a result of global imbalances over the past decade," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
"The global economy has very large adjustments to make... In the process, there will be some back and forth, including speculation."
Mandiri Sekuritas analyst Ari Pitoyo said the recent heavy losses in the equity market were mainly due to its dependence on commodity-based stocks, which account for more than 30 percent of the market.
"As the oil prices go down, other commodities will follow," he said. The high interest rate also contributed to the jitters over a possible slowdown in the economy as firms put the brakes on expansion plans because of the higher cost of borrowing, he added.
Meanwhile, the rupiah continued its slump by trading at 9,470 to the US dollar, as against 9,435 on Monday. But Mulyani said the performance of the rupiah was not as bad as many had expected.
"The rupiah's performance, regionally, is not bad. As of September, the (Korean) won has dropped 19 percent, India (rupee) 15 percent, (Philippines) peso 12.7 percent, while the rupiah just 0.8 percent, meaning the volatility is less," she said.
The government pledged to unload its Rp 120 trillion ($12.76 billion) of idle funds held by BI to help spur economic activity. (additional reporting by Ika Krismantari)
| Analysis & opinion |
Jakarta Post - September 22, 2008
Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – People are longing and struggling for peace, although it's painful for some.
"Peace is beautiful if there is justice," Sumarsih, whose son Bernardus Realino Norma Irmawan or Wawan was killed in the Semanggi shooting incident in 1998, told a discussion to commemorate the International Day of Peace Vigil at the Legal Aid Foundation Institution (YLBHI), on Sunday.
Sumarsih has painstakingly been seeking justice following the death of her son and another 13 people when security personnel opened fire to push back protesters near the Semanggi cloverleaf in Jakarta over a decade ago.
"They all died from live bullets. We only want the case to be brought to court. That does not mean that we have a grudge or we are still looking at the past, but we insist that the case must end in court to prevent similar cases from happening," she said.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has concluded the incident was a crime against humanity.
But the Attorney General's Office (AGO) hesitates to continue investigations into the case, dashing any hopes of Sumarsih and the families of those killed in the incident that they might find those responsible for the shooting.
Sumarsih said she only wanted the parties responsible for the incident to receive punishment, which she said would deter others from making similar mistakes.
"As long as the guilty parties escape justice, we can be sure that we will continue to see violence and human rights violations occur in this country over and over again," Sumarsih said.
In her effort to encourage the government to settle the case, she pledged to continue to stage a protest outside the presidential palace every Thursday. This Thursday will be the 83rd time she calls on the government to heed her demand.
Guntur Romli, one of the victims of the attack on freedom of religion supporters who gathered at the National Monument (Monas) incident last June, expressed his concern for peace, which has remained elusive in the country.
He was among activists from the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) who rallied at Monas to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the inception of Indonesia's Pancasila State ideology, when a group of people from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and Islam Troops Command ambushed them. The attack injured 70 people.
"It seems like people are finding it hard to accept diversity and the state does not even provide us enough protection. Our sense of security is now fading away," he said.
FPI leader Rizieq Shihab and Munarman are standing trial for causing the violence.
Obertina Modesta, a preacher from Bandung, also shared her skepticism of the government's commitment to maintaining peace in this diverse country. She said her congregation had stopped activities in their church in Dayeuh Kolot due to intimidation from hard-line groups.
"We have received constant intimidation from groups of people who claim to represent the Anti Apostasy Movement Alliance (AGAP) and Anti Apostasy Body (BAP). They have caused us to move our religious activities to a hospital," she said.
She added that she had reported the violence to the police, but that to date no actions had been taken against the groups.
Jakarta Post - September 16, 2008
Jonathan Wootliff – In a new democracy like Indonesia's, there is rightly much concern for human rights. Since the fall of Soeharto, we have witnessed the emergence of thousands of homegrown civil-society organizations intent on improving the lives of the average Indonesian.
In a country rife with corruption and widespread poverty, these valiant not-for-profits play an essential role in safeguarding the rights of ordinary citizens who do not have the wherewithal to fend for themselves.
Without their determined efforts to make Indonesian society fairer, there is no doubt millions of vulnerable people would suffer a myriad of injustices.
But with all the gallant campaigning for enhanced constitutional privileges, rule of law, freedom of expression, protection of children, gender equality and so forth, there is a fundamental human right that sometimes gets overlooked.
Surely there can be no more fundamental right for every man, woman and child than unfettered access to clean water and fresh air?
Without these basic requirements for our survival, there would be no point in fighting for anything else. Nothing is more fundamental – nothing is more important – than human health.
Effective environmental management is the key to avoiding a quarter of all preventable diseases in Indonesia. And these diseases are directly caused by environmental factors.
The environment influences our health in many ways – through exposure to physical, chemical and biological risk factors, and through related changes in our behavior in response to those factors. According to the World Health Organization, millions of people die unnecessarily each year due to preventable environmental causes. Our disregard for the health of our planet is taking its toll on our own wellbeing.
Mitigating environmental risk could save thousands of Indonesian lives each year, and improve the health of tens of thousands more.
Children and the poor are the most susceptible to many life- threatening diseases that could be so easily be eradicated if we were to pay more respect to our environment.
All too often, the protection of our ecosystem and concern for nature is considered a luxury. But it is high time we wake up and understand that environmental protection must be a priority.
The fact is that saving the birds and trees directly translates into better quality human health and life expectancy.
Environmental problems are compromising Indonesians' health, both in cities and the countryside.
Respiratory diseases as a consequence of traffic pollution are rising at an alarming rate in Jakarta and other major metropolises.
The plundering of the nation's natural resources, particularly through deforestation, is damaging the health of those living in rural areas.
Food safety is becoming a growing issue as a consequence of irresponsible farming practices and a disregard for environmental protection.
Coastlines are increasingly exposed to natural hazards, and there is evidence that the 2004 tsunami hit those communities hardest where mangrove belts had been cut down.
From the Indonesian tropics to the Arctic Circle, climate and weather have powerful direct and indirect impacts on human life. While people adapt to the conditions in which they live, and though the human physiology can handle substantial variations in weather, there are limits.
Weather extremes – often caused or exacerbated by our lack of regard for environmental protection – such as heavy rains, floods and hurricanes, also have severe impacts on human populations.
Thousands of deaths occur in Indonesia each year as a result of climate tragedies alone, many of which can be avoided through sound environmental management.
In addition to changing weather patterns, climatic conditions give rise to waterborne diseases. Climate-sensitive diseases are among the largest killers on the globe.
WHO statistics show that diarrhea, malaria and protein-energy malnutrition alone caused more than 3.3 million deaths globally in 2002.
Both national and regional governments must take a stand. Indonesia must focus more on the environment. Everyone from ordinary citizens through to big businesses and politicians must understand the imperative of taking better care of nature.
The country is blessed with some of the world's most valuable natural resources. The future health of this nation depends on us taking the environment more seriously. If we squander nature, we put our very own survival on the line.
It's time we put humans on the endangered list, along with the orangutan and the tiger. Maybe then Indonesia will take more seriously its responsibility for nurturing nature.
[Jonathan Wootliff is an independent sustainable development consultant specializing in the building of productive relationships between companies and NGOs. He can be contacted at jonathan@wootliff.com.]
Jakarta Post - September 15, 2008
Frenky Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. In this country's long war against corruption, no institution breaths power more than the Corruption Eradication Commission, or the KPK.
This year alone, the KPK has shown that it can reach almost anywhere. And yet at the same time, some people in this government are scheming to strip the KPK of its power.
Soon, the legislation sub-committee of the House of Representatives Law Commission will prepare a law regulating the procedure of wire tapping. The argument behind this move has come about because according to some members, KPK's strategic wire taps have been an invasion of privacy.
One example cited was the use of a recorded conversation between alleged corruptors Al-Amin Nasution, from the House, and Bintan district secretary Azirwan. The conversation revealed Al-Amin's intent to request a certain service (presumably sexual) to be provided by Azirwan.
The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has also produced a draft law for the Corruption Court (UU TIPIKOR), and this has been submitted to the House for review. In the draft are some regulations which can be perceived as a move to undermine the KPK's present authority.
There are also some concerns over the process of reviewing this law, since based on the Constitutional Court ruling in December 2006, it must be finalized before December 2009, otherwise Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, on which the Corruption Court is based, could be deemed unconstitutional. Special cases need special treatment.
The present situation leads us to question, does the KPK need all of its power? Is it necessary for a government institution to have so much authority in order to effectively combat corruption? To handle corruption in Indonesia, I believe they do.
Under one of the most corrupt despots in the world for 30 years, the Indonesian government system has been totally infested with corruption. The reform era and the decentralization movement has fragmented the once centralized nature of corrupt behavior, making it localized and "un-organized".
Like a cancer, corruption spread into all levels of government and institutions, establishing local "players" in every part of the country, who run amok and sucked the benefits from development projects for themselves or their groups, in the name of autonomy.
Whereas the new wave of scoundrels have emerged from beneath the wave of reform era, from the ashes of New Order the old players still lurk, partially unharmed.
Against this setting, the KPK is born. They were tasked to fight a seemingly invincible enemy. In a rare case of good judgment, the government provided the KPK with enough firepower to actually do something – in the form of Law No 30/2002 on the KPK.
In it, the KPK was given enough ammunition and armor to put up a good fight against corruption. Judging from the circumstances, it is undeniable that the KPK really needs all the authority and power it has.
What the KPK faces is a powerful enemy; seasoned veteran cronies of the old regime, as well as the new, young, hungry rats ready to scavenge on the spoils of the new "reform" era.
They have resources far beyond the KPK's budget, they are smart and have enough power to reach and influence every aspect of government.
They can influence public attorneys, judges even law makers. Hell, in some cases, they are attorneys, judges and lawmakers. They have the power to orchestrate the process of trials, even from inside penal facilities.
The KPK must have enough power and authority to be able to combat enemies like this, otherwise their efforts will be futile. This power and authority, provided by the Law No 30/2002, is now in peril of being undermined by members of the government.
It is absolutely imperative for people to continuously check the power divested in the KPK. We don't want them to abuse their position and breech the sanctity of private life of Indonesian citizens.
In terms of using phone taps as a means of gathering information, there should be a mechanism to prevent this from being misused. In America, wiretapping can only be used by law enforcement agencies with warrants from the attorney general or judge.
This accountability mechanism can be adopted here, although judging by the present situation, appointing the attorney generals or state judicial offices as warranting institutions would not be a smart idea, considering that they are clearly part of the problem.
Instead, the Corruption Court, with its special team of judges, would be a good choice to be given this mandate. Thus, it has become crucial to legislate the law for the Corruption Court.
The mechanism for accountability should be one of the important elements to be included in this law.
Suffice to say it is important for us to always keep vigilant on how the KPK uses the authority it has been given. But judging by what we have seen, day by day across all media, we should be more concerned about those who we lend power and authority to every five years – who represent us.
They should be the ones we are worried about, because come the elections next year, these people will have the opportunity to be sitting in their comfortable chairs in Senayan again. I believe not all House members are corrupt. Not all politicians are rotten, so what people can do is deny the truly rotten politicians the opportunity to call themselves our representatives. We can identify them, and come Election, not vote for them.
[The writer is a researcher at Transparency International Indonesia.]
Jakarta Post Editorial - September 15, 2008
Even though the government might have some legitimate questions to raise about the accuracy of the latest business climate survey of the International Finance Corporation, the blunt fact remains: our business climate is really poor and worse than that of most ASEAN countries.
We have consistently performed poorly since 2004, when the World Bank's private-sector arm first introduced this comprehensive survey on the world business climate for its annual Doing Business Report.
The government has made significant progress in streamlining licensing systems, reducing both the time and cost of fulfilling regulations and procedures for starting up a business.
The problem, though, is that the government has often been inconsistent in the pace of reform, while many other countries have implemented regulatory reforms not only at a much faster pace, but also more consistently and step by step, thereby scoring higher than Indonesia in the business climate index.
The 2009 Doing Business Report, which was launched here last week, lowered Indonesia's ranking from 127th last year to 129th this year in terms of global business-friendliness, out of 181 countries surveyed.
Indonesia was also among the most difficult places in the world in terms of ease of doing business, ranked 135th out of the 175 countries surveyed in 2006 and 131st among 155 countries studied by IFC in 2005.
Sad to note we were ranked lower than most other ASEAN countries covered by the survey. We only performed better than the Philippines and Laos.
The survey tracks indicators of the time and cost to meet government requirements for business startups, construction permits, employment, property registration, access to credit, investor protection, tax payments, border-cross trade, contract enforcement and closing businesses down.
Yet more discouraging is that Indonesia would have done even worse if the tracked indicators included areas such as the condition of infrastructure and the availability of a highly- trained and skilled labor force.
One day after the release of the IFC business climate report, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu painfully found, during an incognito visit to Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port, the country's largest seaport, solid congestion of containers at the port terminal caused by poor port management. In many instances it takes a few weeks to have containers cleared.
This evidence shows how progress in regulatory reform has often been nullified by problems in other areas and inconsistencies in the pace of reform.
The recent wholesale reform of the customs service and the introduction of a national single-window for most public services and regulatory procedures at the Tanjung Priok port has improved significantly the flow of documents for clearance of goods out of the port area.
But this painstakingly-gained progress was made less meaningful because the flow of goods has been stalled by utterly terrible port management and inadequate infrastructure.
No wonder, overall, businesses in Indonesia often bear administrative and logistics costs up to twice as high as their counterparts in other Asian countries. Business leaders of the Indonesian Employers Association have often cried out against pointless regulations and irksome rules, but the improvements have at best been incremental.
In so far as the business climate is concerned, the responsibility does not lie solely with the central government. The central government, fully realizing the important role of private investment, may be able to push harder with reforming and streamlining the regulations within its jurisdiction – such as licensing systems at the Investment Coordinating Board and business incorporation at the ministry of law and human rights.
But there are many other permits a company must obtain from regional administrations before they can start up operations. The problem is that most of the 480 regional administrations where local autonomy is vested have yet to become aware of the key role of investment in fueling economic activities.
No wonder, the central government has been working hard to review and revoke thousands of regional bylaws issued by local administrations, which were inimical to business operations.
So instead of further grumbling about the IFC business climate survey, the government, in cooperation with regional administrations, should accelerate the pace of reform measures and do it consistently.