Bandung – Hundreds of quake victims from Pengalengan, Bandung regency, occupied the regency legislative building on Monday to demand clarification on the reconstruction program for their damaged houses.

The victims of the Sept. 2 quake deemed the government had neglected them and shifted the aid fund to West Sumatra quake victims.

They asked the administration to disburse the fund of Rp 21 billion (US$2.2 million) of the local budget, which had been promised earlier for the rehabilitation program.

"Their commitment is just a lie. We refuse to negotiate until they decide the budget," Umar Alam Nusantara, coordinator of West Java Quake Victims Solidarity, said.

Umar said the victims would continue to occupy the council until the legislature and Bandung Regent Obar Sobarna signed the disbursement of the fund for the reconstruction program.

Hundreds of police officers who were deployed to guard the council were unable to prevent the victims from entering the building.

The council leaders and the regent were discussing the "occupation" of the council outside the building.

Jakarta's Setia students demand water, power be restored

Jakarta Globe - November 3, 2009

Arientha Primanita – Hundreds of students of Arastamar Theological College protested in front of the City Hall on Monday demanding the city administration restore water and electricity to their dormitory in West Jakarta.

The students said they have not had power and water since Oct. 26, when officers from the West Jakarta District Court and the Sawerigading Foundation, which owns the building, partially demolished the buildings.

The building has been at the center of a dispute between the municipality and the Sawerigading Foundation.

Nearly 1,000 of the college's 1,300 students and staffers moved into the unused building after they were evicted from their East Jakarta campus in Kampung Pulo following a clash with local residents in July 2008.

City Secretary Muhayat said it was not possible for the students to move back to their original East Jakarta campus. "We fear if we do that, there will be another clash like last year," he said.

The city administration is discussing an agreement to use land in Lippo Karawaci as the relocation area for the Setia students. Muhayat said that is the long-term option the city is offering the college, adding that the Lippo Karawaci management had agreed to provide land for the development. The Jakarta Globe and Lippo Karawaci are affiliated.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said the city administration will coordinate with the Sawerigading Foundation to give the students more time to stay where they are.

"The city budgeted about Rp 10 billion this year to buy the land and buildings of the college in Kampung Pulo," he said, adding that the money can be used to build housing and a new campus.

AM Gayo, Head of the Monitoring of Domestic Security Division, said the city would also discuss with the Cibubur Camping Ground management the option of letting the students stay there temporarily.

If the Cibubur management did not agree, the students will be relocated to the old transmigration office in North Jakarta after it is made habitable.

Makassar locals protest court's eviction ruling

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Makassar. Residents of Bulogading in Makassar, South Sulawesi, demonstrated in front of Makassar's legislative compound on Monday to protest against a questionable court ruling that may lead to their eviction.

The rally turned tense when dozens of protesters, mostly women and children, reached the second floor of the legislature building, where the inaugural ceremony for new council leaders was being held. The situation slowly calmed down, however, after several council members agreed to meet several protester representatives.

The residents said their rights had been violated by a ruling from the Makassar District Court. "There are seven people who own deeds issued by the State Land Agency in 2006 for the land, but their certificates were bested by one building using a deed owned by the plaintiff, which expired in 1980," said Sunardi Rauf, head of Bulogading People's Forum, before the council members.

Sunardi also said the judges ignored testimony from the head of the Makassar Land Agency, who backed the locals.

The ruling paves the way for the eviction of 75 families, around 220 people, who have lived in the area since 1920.

The residents also called for protection from the council members, particularly prior to the final and binding ruling. "We will still lodge an appeal, and we ask the council members to protect our rights before a binding ruling is issued," Sunardi said.

Council head Inche Adnan Mahmud, after listening to the people's claim, said it was strange the plaintiff's expired building certificate could overpower valid ownership certificates belonging to the people.

Inche said the DPRD would arrange a meeting with the Makassar District Court to seek clarification regarding the matter, and would ask the court to postpone the eviction until the final verdict was issued.

Street protests greet Yudhoyono's inauguration

Direct Action - November 2009

James Balowski, Jakarta – Street protests across Indonesia greeted the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Budiono on October 20. Yudhoyono was re- elected president on July 8 with 60.8% of the 121 million votes cast. A former army general, he had served as president since winning the 2004 presidential election.

In Jakarta, thousands of protesters demonstrated near the House of Representatives (DPR) compound in Senayan, causing massive traffic jams across the city well into the afternoon. The People's Struggle Committee (KPR), which comprises trade unions, student groups, women's organisations and urban poor activists, and is supported by the Committee for the Politics of the Poor-People's Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD), staged a rally at which its organisers said Yudhoyono's first term had failed to improve working people's living standards. KPR spokesperson Akril Prasetya said the government had failed to increase wages, cut subsidies making it more difficult for the poor to make ends meet and made education less affordable.

Protesters from the People's Struggle Front (FPR) and the Association of Independent Trade Unions (GSBI) greeted Yudhoyono's convoy as it arrived at the DPR with shouts of "SBY-Budiono are American puppets!". Around 500 workers from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) staged a rally in front of the DPR calling the Yudhoyono-Budiono leadership "capitalist lackeys". Some 500 members of 23 NGOs staged a rally near the assembly compound, as did protesters from West Papua. They called on Yudhoyono to fulfil his promise of bringing welfare to the people, adding they would remain in Jakarta until Yudhoyono realised his promise.

At the State Palace, students from the All-Indonesia Student Executive Council (BEM-SI) urged the new administration to address key problems related to education, corruption and regional development. In the West Java capital of Bandung, hundreds of students staged a rally in front of the provincial administration office, expressing their readiness to monitor Yudhoyono's administration as an opposition force. In the West Java city of Tasikmalaya, members of the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Group (KAMMI) demanded that the new cabinet be free from corruption and unhampered in the pursuit of graft.

In Medan, capital of the North Sumatra province, several student organisations staged a rally denouncing the existing labour law as failing to benefit workers. The labour law was also the target of protest by hundreds of students in the central Java city of Yogyakarta, who also called for the controversial education legal entity law to be revoked. A demonstration by BEM was marked by the burning of T-shirts with pictures of Yudhoyono and Budiono. Demonstrations by the Yogyakarta Muslim Students Association for Reform (HMI-MPO), the Yogyakarta People's Solidarity (SRY), the National Student League for Democracy (LMND), the National Alliance and the Muhammadiyah Students Association (IMM) were also held in other parts of the city.

In Palembang, capital of the South Sumatra province, around 100 university students from the Indonesian Nationalist Students' Movement (GMNI) staged a rally at the governor's office and the provincial parliament carrying banners reading "Neoliberalism: Oil, gas and coal, sold cheap overseas".

In Semarang, capital of the Central Java province, some 100 students calling themselves the Semarang Students Organisation and Volunteers for the Country's Freedom, marched to the provincial parliament calling for democratic and clean government, an "independent" economy and reform of the national police and military. Also in Semarang, around 100 activists from the Volunteers of the People's Struggle for the Liberation of the Motherland (Spartan) released red-and-white coloured balloons at the parliament as they called on Yudhoyono to reject foreign intervention in his administration. Separate rallies were also held by the Central Java Love the Corruption Eradication Commission Movement (Cicak), the Central Java Indonesian Islamic Students Movement (PMII) and the Semarang Axis.

In the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, some 500 people calling themselves the Makassar Parliament of the Streets Alliance (APJ) accused Yudhoyono and Budiono of being "neoliberal lackeys" who would again bring suffering to the people.

Despite a heavy security presence at most rallies, protests proceeded peacefully except in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, where police arrested four students for burning photographs of the president. In Bali, a planned action in the capital Denpasar by the Anti-Neoliberal Social Union (PMAN) at the provincial parliament was blocked by police on the grounds that they did not have a permit. A demonstration by students in the Central Java city of Solo by some 30 students from the Greater Solo Student Movement (GMS) was also broken up by police and the participants detained.

Aceh

Civic groups call on Indonesia to annul Aceh stoning bylaw

Jakarta Globe - November 5, 2009

Camelia Pasandaran – Fourteen civil society groups on Thursday condemned Aceh's stoning bylaw, the Qanun Jinayat code, saying that most Acehnese were not in favor of it but that critics were being silenced by heavy-handed religious police.

The volunteer civic and social organizations and institutions, united under a coalition known as the National Network of Local Policy Observers, told a news conference in Jakarta that the central government should annul the bylaw – as well as 157 discriminatory bylaws like it throughout Indonesia – because they threatened human rights and degraded people. The old Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) endorsed the code, a set of local bylaws that have replaced parts of the Criminal Code with Shariah law for Muslims, on Sept. 14.

It imposes harsh sentences, such as stoning to death for adulterers and 100 lashes for people caught engaging in premarital sex or committing homosexual acts. It also stipulates a maximum of 40 lashes or 40 months in jail for drinking alcoholic beverages and 60 lashes and a fine of 60 grams of pure gold or 60 months in jail for sexual harassment.

Mike Verawati, of the Indonesian Women's Coalition, said outsiders may think that all Acehnese welcomed the code.

"In fact, many Muslim people in Aceh disagree with the Qanun," she said, adding that the bylaw and another imposed in West Aceh district, which prohibited women from wearing tight pants, would have "an extreme impact."

Hartoyo, an activist from gay rights group Our Voice, said thorough research was needed to determine whether or not Acehnese were in favor of the bylaw.

"I doubt whether the majority of Aceh people want the bylaw implemented," he said, adding that many people were afraid to speak out.

"There are a lot of people who oppose the bylaw but who cannot express their thoughts because they would be stigmatized as unbelievers, anti-Islam, and moreover, they might be expelled from Aceh."

Sri Endas Iswarini, from the women's organization Kapal Perempuan, said there were groups in Aceh that had been prevented from speaking out. "Once they come out against the bylaw, the local Shariah police will escort them out of Aceh," she said.

Umi Farida, of the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Apik), said that the bylaw had created an "invisible conflict." "It's time to prevent its enactment," she said. "The actual conflict is there, but people are being prevented from expressing their opinions."

LBH Apik has previously, and unsuccessfully, challenged the validity of three bylaws it views as discriminatory – including local ordinances adopted in Tangerang, where women out alone at night must prove they aren't prostitutes – in the Supreme Court.

Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, a Home Affairs Ministry official in charge of drafting laws, told the groups that the ministry could not annul the bylaw.

"First, it is not officially a bylaw because the local government has not agreed to it," he said. "But in any case, we could not annul it because that is the right of the president, not the minister."

Zudan said ministry had annulled more than a thousand tax-related bylaws. "But non-retribution bylaws come under the authority of the president."

He did say, however, that if the local government did formally pass the bylaw, the ministry would review it and submit its report to the president.

"The bylaw should be based on four things: Indonesian unity, the state ideology, Pancasila, the Constitution and the diversity of the Indonesian people," he said. "Local [legal] products should be in harmony with the national legal system," Zudan added. "The Qanun Jinayat is a repressive bylaw."

German Red Cross worker shot in Indonesia's Aceh

Associated Press - November 5, 2009

Banda Aceh – Officials say a German working for the Red Cross has been shot by men on a motorcycle in Indonesia's Aceh province.

Police say Erhard Bauer, 50, was shot Thursday in the arm and stomach. The motive is unknown. Red Cross spokeswoman Svenja Koch says Bauer was flown to Singapore for treatment. She could not say if the injuries were life threatening.

Aceh Gov. Irwandi Yusuf visited Bauer before he was evacuated but declined to comment to reporters.

Aceh, which was hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami nearly five years ago, was the scene of a string of shootings ahead of elections in April, but it has been months since an incident.

Bringing Aceh back in: Is sharia really needed?

Jakarta Post - November 5, 2009

Bachtiar Effendy, Jakarta – It seems almost natural that the Aceh legislature has passed a bill on adultery based on Islamic sharia – which derives from the Koran and Sunnah (traditions of Prophet Muhammad). According to the Koran, adultery is punishable by 100 strokes of the cane. A married person committing adultery has to be stoned to death.

This should come as no surprise to us given the central government's commitment to honor the political arrangements of 2001 that gave Aceh semi-autonomy and the unique position of being administered by Islamic sharia. Interestingly, the bill on adultery which was passed in early October this year by Aceh's regional parliament is still being put on hold. Aceh governor, the sole executor of any policies designed for the province, is reportedly still not willing to sign it into law.

The bill's fate is still not clear. But, if such thing – the passing of the bill by the regional parliament on one hand, and the unwillingness of the executive to sign it on the other – persists, it will not only create a political debacle in the region, but also raise questions regarding the whole idea of sharia as the governing mechanism of the province. Why bother having Islamic law if it is not going to be put into practice?

While the impasse between legislative and executive bodies may generate concern, especially with regard to the seriousness of some of the elites to implement sharia, it provides opportunities to once again discuss the position of sharia in Aceh. In this case, one simple question that has never actually been presented to the Acehnese in general is whether or not they really need their justice system to be based on sharia.

More than any other region in the country, Islam occupies a very special position in Aceh, to the extent that Aceh is symbolized by the nickname "Veranda of Mecca". Due to this socio-cultural trait, Aceh has never been historically treated as a secular region. At the same time, the government never authorized Aceh to be administered by Islamic principles.

Interestingly, no complaints were ever lodged against the central government on this matter. The uneasy relationship between two important leaders, rebel leader Daud Bereueh and former President Sukarno, for instance, did not involve religious issues. Similarly, Hassan Tiro's bitter enmity toward the government did not concern Islam among Acehnese. Indeed, the existence of the Free Aceh Movement only strengthened the belief that it was economic and political justice that the Acehnese were after.

A struggle to demand economic and political justice is not something that is unique to Aceh. Virtually all the other regions seek the same agenda. These were actually the expectations of any existing regions when they decided to join the unitary state of Indonesia. By integrating themselves into a greater Indonesia, the common ideals – stability, security, and prosperity – can theoretically be more easily achieved.

Under these circumstances there was no justifiable reason for the government to authorize Aceh to administer its affairs in accord with Islamic law as part of its special status. In fact, by doing so, the central government has actually planted a time bomb where Aceh would be viewed by other regions as a regional test case for Islamic sharia at work.

During my recent visit to Aceh I sensed that not even the Acehnese are interested in turning their region into a laboratory for the implementation of sharia. Instead, they want to seize their moment – the golden opportunity that has been presented to them since the fall of Soeharto, and especially after the 2005 peace agreement – so that they can develop Aceh socio- culturally, economically, and politically.

I might be wrong, but the Acehnese perceive the implementation of certain sharia laws such as the adultery law as hindering their efforts to catch up with the country's more developed regions.

It is time that both the government and the parliament need to re-evaluate the authority given to Aceh to administer itself by sharia. It certainly has influenced other regions to pass controversial sharia bylaws – a development that has raised concern and called for a repeal of these bylaws.

The fact that Islam is an important aspect of Indonesian social, political, and legal culture is not something that can be overlooked. Yet as shown in many of our national laws, the necessity to accommodate Islam has to be partial in nature.

While the existence of Islamic family law and rules concerning the management of hajj (the pilgrimage), are perfectly acceptable, an attempt to introduce or pass criminal laws based on Islamic sharia would certainly polarize the country.

Bringing Aceh back in the unitary, secular nature of Indonesia's legal arrangement is an initial step in preventing that from occurring.

[The writer is Dean of the State Islamic University's School of Social and Political Sciences in Jakarta.]

West Papua

Police told to free suspects in Freeport attacks

Jakarta Post - November 4, 2009

Jayapura – The Papuan Traditional Council (DAP), the Human Rights and Violence Foundation (Yahamak), and the Association of Pengunungan Tengah Students (AMPTI) urged police to release seven people arrested for a series of attacks on PT Freeport Indonesia.

DAP leader Forkorus Yoboisembut, Yahamak director Yosepah Alomang and AMPTPI chairman Dominikus Sorabut made the demand at a joint press conference Tuesday in Jayapura, Papua.

Dominikus said the seven were among 25 Papuans arrested after shooting incidents near the Freeport mine over the past four months.

The charges against the seven were seemingly fabricated because they were nabbed without evidence, he added. "Strangely enough, the seven people were arrested in downtown Timika, while the evidence (against them) was seized elsewhere," he said.

He added the charges against them were baseless, as their arrests had failed to stop the attacks on Freeport employees in Timika. Forkorus accused the police of staging the arrests to make it look like they were actually on the trail of the gunmen.

Yosepha said the seven suspects were not the shooters, but were victims. He pointed out one of them, identified as 25-year-old Domi Beanal, was mentally disabled.

Refugees/asylum seekers

Jakarta fearful of asylum-seeker fallout

The Australian - November 7, 2009

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Tanjung Pinang – Kevin Rudd might have been given another week to solve his Oceanic Viking public relations disaster, but that doesn't mean Indonesia is very happy about it.

As the Australian Customs vessel with its cargo of 78 Sri Lankans sits in waters off Tanjung Pinang and the monsoon makes its first early forays across the Riau archipelago, there is extreme disquiet in Jakarta.

The Foreign Ministry's director for diplomatic security, Sujatmiko, held nothing back when he declared Indonesia had been "more than patient" on the standoff and warned of the danger that "an issue this small could damage the relationship between the two countries".

Sujatmiko spent years living and studying international relations in Australia, and received a PhD at the Australian National University. The softly spoken and cultured diplomat knows exactly the impact of his words on an Australian audience. He and his colleagues feel they have done everything possible to honour the commitment made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Rudd in Jakarta almost three weeks ago to take the Tamil asylum-seekers, after their boat was rescued in Indonesia's zone of responsibility.

"But once the commitment is discharged, you no longer have a commitment," he says. "We have to find a balance between helping out a neighbour, and meeting Indonesia's own needs."

And those needs are, largely, domestic political ones. Under the country's decentralisation policy, which gives local leaders such as Riau Islands provincial governor Ismeth Abdullah genuine power to stand up to the central government, the support of the regions is crucial to Yudhoyono's ability to govern.

And while Jakarta understands the need for damage control around the issue of the Oceanic Viking, it also acknowledges the importance, in the burgeoning democracy Indonesia is becoming, of a free press.

When Australian officials asked Sujatmiko to stop journalists from taking small charter boats out to the ship, anchored 10 nautical miles off Tanjung Pinang, he shrugged and said he couldn't. "We have a democratic view of how the press works," he later said he had told them. "What's more, this is my country, not yours."

The Australians dealing with the standoff believe that if the Sri Lankans had not been able to communicate with the world – through throwing notes overboard, and through using phone numbers smuggled on board since their arrival at Tanjung Pinang, as well as ones they had hidden with them – the matter might have been resolved differently.

Indonesia extends Australia refugee boat's stay

Agence France Presse - November 6, 2009

Jakarta – Indonesia extended by a week on Friday a deadline for an Australian customs ship loaded with 78 protesting Sri Lankan asylum seekers to leave its territory.

The extension would allow the Oceanic Viking, which has been moored on Bintan island since last month, to stay while a solution is found to an impasse that has seen the migrants refuse to disembark, Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told reporters.

"We have issued a permit for the Oceanic Viking to stay in Indonesian waters until Friday next week," Faizasyah said. "Hopefully, the extension of the permit could be an incentive for Australia to speed up the negotiation process with the Sri Lankan migrants and come up with a resolution," he said.

The migrants were rescued by the Australians last month and brought to Indonesia by agreement between the two governments, but the ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans have refused to deal with the Indonesians and insist they be taken to Australia.

Australian media have reported that some of the migrants, who were rescued in Indonesia's search and rescue zone, had already been classified as refugees and had been living in Indonesia for up to five years.

The migrants are a part of a succession of over 1,500 people from countries such as Sri Lanka and Afghanistan that have made the risky boat journey to Australia this year, triggering severe political headaches for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Faizasyah said Indonesian and Australian officials met privately on Wednesday to come up with a joint solution to the issue and that relations between the two countries remained healthy.

Indonesia had earlier expressed annoyance about talk in Australia of an "Indonesia Solution" to the crisis that would see Australia pay its northern neighbours to temporarily pay host to asylum seekers stopped at sea.

The sinking of a boat carrying 39 Sri Lankan migrants in stormy weather in waters northwest of Australia this week killed 12 people.

Indonesia wants to find the 'Australian solution'

Sydney Morning Herald - November 3, 2009

Tom Allard, Tanjung Pinang (Indonesia) – The Indonesian Government is deeply unhappy with the notion of an "Indonesian solution" to the asylum seekers trying to come to Australia, calling instead for an "Australian solution".

As it prepares to host a top-level delegation from Canberra today to hammer out a new deal on the increasingly vexed issue, Jakarta is wrestling with a backlash from the local media and powerful politicians and officials angry at the suggestion Indonesia will be paid to warehouse would-be refugees for many years.

The foreign ministry senior spokesman Teuku Faizasyah yesterday had to hose down the growing hostility in the Indonesian press. "We question this concept of an Indonesian solution... if there is an Indonesian solution, why is there not an Australian solution," he said.

Speaking later to the Herald, he said it was untenable for Indonesia to accept the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers on the Oceanic Viking for a long period or, for that matter, the other asylum-seekers expected to flow through the archipelago in the future. "We have to respect what the local government and the local people feel," he said.

His sentiments suggest that any deal that Australian can strike with those refusing to disembark from the Oceanic Viking will have to guarantee a limit on their stay in Indonesia. That is, they will be accepted by Australia at some later date, taken to another country, or deported to Sri Lanka if the civil unrest there eases.

Indonesia vehemently denies reports that it has accepted $50 million as a pay-off for taking the 78 Sri Lankans. Rather, it was a one-off humanitarian gesture because there were supposed to be sick people on board.

Australian foreign affairs and immigration officials will attend a meeting in Jakarta today to knock into shape an agreement for handling the asylum-seeker surge.

Sujatmiko, a senior Indonesian official handling the issues of people-smuggling, said he hoped it would prompt an announcement of "newer developments" as soon as today. "We have to be very strong in giving the message to the [human trafficking] syndicates that Australia is a very tough country for them to enter and similarly Indonesia is not an easy country," he said.

Labour/migrant workers

Proposed wage far below minimum cost of living

Jakarta Post - November 7, 2009

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Labor unions in Tangerang, Banten, have rejected the remuneration council's decision to set the minimum cost of living in 2010 at Rp 1,170,000 per month.

Tangerang municipality's Indonesian Labor Union Alliance Congress (Kasbi) deemed the proposal was based on outdated data.

"The council conducted a survey on the minimum cost of living based on the 2005 Manpower Ministry regulation for an unmarried worker," Kasbi chairman Koswara said Friday. "The results do not apply to married workers or married workers who have children."

The cost of living will determine the minimum wage increase. "It's no secret that wage increase does not exceed the proposed minimum cost of living," Koswara said.

He also said workers had expected next year's wage to increase to Rp 1,650,000 per month, which equates to the cost of living based on Kasbi's survey. The current wage is Rp 975,500 per month.

Koswara said Kasbi would ask the manpower agency and the remuneration council to review the proposed minimum cost of living. "We still have 15 more days to protest the decision and fight for our rights, should our request be ignored," he said.

The Banten governor is expected to confirm the new regional minimum wage on Nov. 20 at the latest.

Workers demand transparency in minimum wage decision

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2009

Agnes S. Jayakarna, Surabaya – Workers in East Java have demanded transparency and fairness from the provincial administration in the decision on the provincial minimum wage, saying any decision would affect their livelihoods.

The provincial administration is currently in the process of deciding on the 2010 minimum wage. To do this, the administration is using figures recommended by all the municipalities and regencies in the province.

Protests have been voiced, however, with workers claiming many of the recommended figures were not decided in a fair mechanism.

"There were at least two mistakes in the process of deciding the minimum wage," Jamaludin, the East Java coordinator of the Alliance of Laborers in Struggle (ABM), said Thursday.

He added the figures recommended by the municipalities and regencies had not been decided on in a transparent way.

He claimed the municipal and regency administrations in question had replaced the heads of their respective employment agencies prior to formulating a minimum wage.

"We're concerned that the process will eventually lead to a minimum wage that is not in the best interests of workers," Jamaludin said.

He added many of the municipal and regency administrations had not taken into account the workers' interests and aspirations in deciding their minimum wages.

Pujianto, the East Java coordinator of the Federation of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPMI), said the process of coming up with a minimum wage figure was rife with political interests.

He claimed this meant the figures recommended by the municipal and regency administrations neither reflected nor recognized workers' living costs.

In addition, Pujianto went on, there was also manipulation in deciding on the recommended figures.

He claimed many of the minimum wage's components had been valued at less than their actual costs. As a result, the final figures from the process were also lower than the ones expected by workers.

"Based on the cost of living, the fair monthly wage for a single person living in Surabaya is Rp 1,350,000," Pujianto said.

"But the payment body only recommended a figure of Rp 1,031,500 to the mayor, who later recommended it to the governor." He said the payment body's decision had hurt workers and dashed their hopes for bettering themselves.

For migrant workers, health care often more miss than hit

Jakarta Globe - November 3, 2009

Nurfika Osman – Activists on Tuesday called for the government to pay more attention to the health needs of the country's migrant workers, saying most were not properly taken care of by their employers.

Aryo Yudhoko, the secretary general of the Indonesian Migrants Union (Unimig), said access to health services was a basic right all migrant workers should enjoy.

"They have the right to be healthy enough to be able to do many things, including work," he said. "If we cut their health access, it means that we are violating their human rights. The right to access health services cannot be hampered by anyone." According to Anis Hidayah, the director of Migrant Care, access to health care is largely dependent on the kindness of the workers' employers.

Anis said, however, that the situation was becoming worse as health care was increasingly being cut to lower costs. She added that the governments rarely monitored workers to ensure their health needs were being met.

Aryo said it was difficult to monitor the situation of domestic workers because governments could not intrude into private houses.

"One of the things we can do is to empower the workers before sending them abroad and making sure that they are properly documented," he said, adding that it was difficult to protect those who worked overseas without proper documents.

Anis said the government's proposed new agreement with Malaysia on migrant workers neglected health care. "The government does not include health access in the new agreement, even though it is a very important point because they should be healthy so that they can work," she said.

The proposed agreement only says that workers are entitled to a minimum monthly wage of 600 Malaysian ringgit ($175), regular days off and the right to hold on to their passports.

In response, Teguh Hendro Cahyono, labor attache at the Indonesian Embassy in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, said access to health care was already guaranteed for migrant workers.

He said that longstanding workplace regulations in Malaysia required employers to provide insurance and access to health care for their employees. "They will be punished based on Malaysian law if they do not obey the rules," he added.

Cahyono, however, did acknowledge that some migrant workers were treated badly. He added that his office reported all cases of abuse to the Malaysian government to address.

NGOs blame government for inadequate protection

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Jakarta – Labor rights activists urged the government to be more proactive in protecting Indonesian migrant workers that have fallen victim to abuse.

Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Unions (KSBSI), Rekson Silaban, said the government had never actively raised its voice at international summits on migrant workers.

"Indonesia mostly sends its delegate, who does not have the authority to speak up at such summits," he said Friday. "Consequently, the country's migrant workers are not adequately represented."

Rekson said the government had never taken measures against migrant worker agencies charging exorbitant service fees.

"They are often charged between Rp 10 million (US$1,045) and Rp 20 million for services provided. As a result, many employers do not pay the workers in the first six months of their occupations because they have to pay the agent back," he said.

Many Indonesian migrant workers have been violently abused by their employers since Indonesia began sending workers overseas in the 1980s.

Muntik binti Bani, for example, was an Indonesian worker in Malaysia who died last Monday, allegedly due to violent abuse by her employers. Her body was returned to her hometown in Jember, East Java, on Saturday. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is set to visit Malaysia in the near future to discuss several issues, including migrant workers.

Anis Hamidah, executive director of Migrant Care, said Indonesia had made very little improvement in its policies on migrant workers.

"Although the government has made efforts to negotiate holidays and minimum wages, there has been no improvement in the condition of migrant workers as yet," she said. "Our bargaining power is very weak. Malaysia knows that Indonesia cannot provide employment for its low-skilled citizens."

Anis said with no job opportunities at home, domestic workers were forced to seek employment abroad. She also said the Foreign Ministry did not provide protection for migrant workers in trouble abroad.

Hendardi, chairman of Setara, a human rights NGO, recently said the government's continuous delay to ratify the 1990 UN Migrant Workers Convention, in which Indonesia is a signatory, had worsened the condition of migrant workers.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said Friday that he would work toward the ratification of the UN convention within five years of his tenure. It will be up to the House of Representatives to ratify the convention. (nia)

Environment/natural disasters

Padang quake victims still waiting on money from government

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Anita Rachman – As 90,000 families struggle to rebuild their lives in West Sumatra after a powerful 7.9-magnitude quake rocked the area on Sept. 30, the local administration has yet to receive funds from the central government to help them start rebuilding.

The rehabilitation and reconstruction phase officially began over the weekend. The goal is to rebuild Padang and surrounding areas, which were shattered by a quake that took just minutes to claim the lives of 1,115 people and severely damage 1,188 schools, 170 roads and 20 bridges, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

Ade Edward, the chief of the West Sumatra's Disaster Management Agency, said on Monday that the province would work with the donations it had already received from within Indonesia and overseas.

Meanwhile, it would wait for the central government to study the province's request for Rp 8.6 trillion ($903 million). It is estimated that the rebuilding process will take about six months.

Although the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare has received the provincial proposal, it needs to first study it to see if the request is realistic, Ade said.

The request would also be studied by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) before a proposal is made to the Finance Ministry, he said.

Quake victims were now working with the help of volunteers to build stronger shelters while they waited for the central government funding, Ade said. People are now moving from their emergency tents – typically set up in front of their destroyed houses – to better shelters, he said.

Ade said quake victims were gathering wood or any other building materials left by the earthquake to use to build more permanent shelters.

"This is the rehabilitation phase. People wanting to live in better conditions need to build roofs, either from wood or other materials they have managed to gather," he said.

He added that they would depend on donations from international and domestic sources.

The local government is classifying the damaged houses into groups, according to the extent of damage suffered, Ade said.

Each household would receive aid in accordance with the extent of damage suffered, he said. He added that once the groups have been finalized, people listed in each group should open bank accounts so that the administration could transfer the funds into their accounts for the rebuilding of their homes.

Ade said it is very likely that the central government will not provide any funding for rebuilding this year.

BNPB spokesman Priyadi Kardono said he could not provide specific information on how much money the central government would eventually provide for West Sumatra, and when it would be distributed.

"There will be some distributed this year I believe, but for the rest we will have to wait until next year," he said.

Women & gender

Men's group takes stand against polygamy

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Anita Rachman – A number of men have formed a group to counter the controversial launch of a local branch of a Malaysia-based "polygamy club" in Bandung.

Speaking at a news conference at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Jakarta on Sunday, Wawan Suwandi, a member of the Men's Coalition to Reject Polygamy, said the failure of a growing number of men to consider women's perspectives on polygamy had forced them to act.

"The practice of polygamy is so patriarchal – there is no gender equality," said Wawan, who also works for a women's rights group, the Women's Journal Foundation (YJP). "We want to share this critical awareness with society and ask men to promote this awareness."

Wawan said the topic of polygamy was brought up now more than ever before, especially by elements that support what he called a discriminatory and degrading practice.

Last month, Bandung played host to about 150 people from across the nation to launch the first Indonesian branch of the controversial Global Ikhwan Polygamy Club. "We want people to know that not all men agree with polygamy," Wawan said.

He said that he did not believe that women who shared their husbands were truly happy, and that men who practiced polygamy were being unfaithful and hurt their wives. "Do you think that the wives of polygamists are all really happy?".

Wawan said that members of the new antipolygamy coalition, mostly nongovernmental organizations, would soon coordinate a public awareness campaign.

"We conduct online activity on Facebook but will still meet and talk with people," he said. "We urge our member to share their thoughts with friends – that's a more effective way to spread the message." The Facebook site, called Club Anti Poligami, had 287 members as of Sunday evening.

Estu Rakhmi Fanani, director of the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Apik), hailed the antipolygamy coalition's launch, saying she was happy that a men's group had finally taken a stand on the issue. "That's big support for us, opposing polygamy, to give more perspective to society," she said.

Wawan said the group acknowledged that people would disagree with their stance, especially among religious circles because Islam allowed polygamy under strict regulations. Some online discussions on the subject also say that men who opposed the practice are supposedly not macho enough.

"We know the risks that some people with their religious perspectives might oppose us," Wawan said. "In our opinion, polygamy is a form of denigration to men's dignity, as men are then labeled as treacherous, heartless and unable to manage their lust."

Men join in the fight against polygamy

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Pro-polygamy groups are now not only facing protest from angry housewives and women's rights activists; a new group of men calling themselves the Men's Coalition against Polygamy (Kolmi) has also joined the struggle.

Kolmi spokesman Abdul Hamim Fauzie said via a statement in Jakarta on Sunday that the coalition considered the practice of polygamous marriage degrading, not only to women, but to men as well.

"Facts show that polygamy leads to nothing but domestic violence, discrimination and the abuse of human rights," he said.

"However, polygamists often argue that polygamy is necessary to avoid infidelity and love affairs. They also claim that polygamy is a part of their religious beliefs. Men use these arguments to justify their polygamous practices," he added.

"They need to know that not all men agree with and support polygamy. For us, the practice only degrades men's values and dignity.

"The practice labels men as aggressive, egotistical, wild, unfaithful, and worst of all as being unable to control their libidos," he said further.

The coalition also said that it regretted a number of discriminative articles in the current marriage law.

"The law legalizes men to have more than one legal wife when their spouses are seriously ill or sexually incapable. "This is very unfair, especially to women, because the law only accommodates the needs of men," Abdul said.

Meanwhile, Muslim scholar Siti Musdah Mulia said that people practicing polygamous marriages who quoted verses from the Koran to justify their behavior were misinterpreting the message.

"Those people must not quote the Koran by verse. They need to read the whole context and understand its real essence before saying the Koran endorses polygamy," she said.

Musdah said the Koran actually says that Islam aimed to eradicate polygamous practices, not to endorse them.

"Islam considers polygamy an unjust practice that originated in the dark ages. Therefore, Islam sought to eradicate such practices, but due to the severe reaction it caused, it took some time to fully eradicate the practice from the culture at that time," she said.

"Overall, the Koran says that Islam aims to ensure justice among human beings and in the way they develop relationships from the smallest scale. Justice here means guaranteeing that no one will feel they are being treated unfairly or are being hurt," she added.

Musdah said that she was not surprised to see that a number of men decided to bond together and fight against polygamy. "Actually, anti-polygamy figures in the past were mostly prominent male clerics. The Prophet Muhammad himself was very angry when one of his son-in-laws planned to engage in polygamy," she said.

Recently, controversy has sparked following an official launch of a polygamy club, dubbed the Global Ikhwan, in Bandung. The club, originating from Malaysia, cites the noble aim of helping single mothers, reformed prostitutes and aging single women find spouses.

As soon as the club was established, condemnation poured in, especially from housewives and women's activists. Ironically, the club is chaired by a woman named, Hatijah Binti Am, who has insisted the club could introduce people to the beautiful side of polygamy.

Previously, a number of polygamy scandals have reduced the popularity of public figures engaged in the practise.

Agriculture & food security

Farmers still facing serious water problems

Jakarta Post - November 3, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Frustrated by procrastination and inaction by the government, traditional farmers and fishermen have acted to adapt to extreme weather changes resulting from climate change by using their own money.

Farmers in Pati, Central Java, have allocated one-eighth of their income to purchase water to irrigate their paddy fields to enable them to shift the planting cycle by two months ahead.

"We are forced to use our own money to buy water as no help is forthcoming from the government," Tanto, a farmer from Sukolilo in Central Java told a climate forum jointly organized by the Indonesian Civil Society Forum (CSF) and Oxfam on Monday.

Farmers and fishermen from several cities used the forum to share their ideas to adapt to extreme weather changes believed to be the products of climate change.

Farmers from Pati, Indramayu in West Java, and East Nusa Tenggara, admitted they faced unpredictable water supply and weather changes.

While farmers in Pati shifted their planting calendar by two months to avoid floods in January, farmers in East Nusa Tenggara still struggle to cope with "fake" rainy seasons, the forum heard.

"The rains usually fall once or twice toward the end of October triggering farmers to plant maize, but unfortunately if no more rains come in the next four weeks, this means the crops die," Dominggus Tes, a corn farmer from Nusa village, said.

Tanto said 170 farmers in his village had to pay Rp 92 million collectively every planting season to water their 150 hectares of paddy fields. Farmers plant paddy twice a year. "Each farmer pays one-eighth of his income [for water] after the harvest," he said.

Farmers in Pati have shifted the planting calendar to start from October instead of August, and from April instead of February to deal with the changes.

Indonesia has 12.4 million hectares of paddy fields, of which only 4 million hectares are irrigated. Data from the Agriculture Ministry revealed that 26,388 hectares of paddy fields suffered drought from April to June this year.

Meanwhile, traditional fishermen in Krui, West Lampung, said that during the last five years, they could not predict the weather in their area.

"Previously, we could predict the weather before going out to sea by observing the position of the South Star. But now we cannot," said Edy Hamdan, one of the fishermen.

He said they tried to adapt to the situation by creating new nets at a cost of Rp 20 million each. "Otherwise, we will get no results with the uncertain weather," he said.

The CSF urged the government to focus on concrete actions by allocating state funds for adaptation programs.

Health & education

Indonesia's contract teachers get no hiring guarantees

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Anita Rachman – At least 590,000 contract teachers working in state schools across the nation will not receive any guarantee of being awarded status as permanent employees, even though the Ministry of Education plans to add 737,000 new teachers, a ministry official said on Monday.

The ministry's director general for improvement of educators, Baedowi, said contract teachers wanting to be promoted to full- time civil servants needed to take the required tests, as is the case with any other profession, and that the ministry would only recruit those who met the required qualifications, including holding a bachelors degree.

"The authority to promote contract teachers to full-time employees actually falls under the discretion of the local governments," Baedowi said. "But we supply the local governments with guidelines."

Giri Suryatmana, secretary of the directorate, said an open recruitment process would be used to fill the vacancies and that all applicants would be screened fairly.

"There will be no special treatment for contract teachers," Giri said, adding that it would be difficult for local administrations to directly promote contract workers as they were not necessarily employed under existing regulations and now may not be qualified.

Both Giri and Baedowi noted that many contract teachers were employed as a result of having close relationships with the principals at schools, and that some schools "already have enough teachers."

"We don't want [contract teachers] to abuse the open recruitment process and fast-track themselves. They should meet qualifications first," Giri said.

He said that in the meantime, the government would attempt to stop substandard recruitment procedures, including those linked to nepotism.

Baedowi said the ministry would only add staff to schools that really needed new teachers.

"For example, if a school particularly needs a teacher with specific qualifications then it may recruit the teacher on a contract basis provided the teacher meets all the necessary qualifications, including having a degree," he said.

Sulistyo, head of the Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI), said that the government should understand that the only hope for contract teachers to make a decent living was to be promoted to become civil servants. According to PGRI records, there are hundreds of thousands of teachers who have worked for years but still only earn as little as Rp 100,000 ($10.50) per month.

He admitted that some of the teachers were recruited via substandard procedures but said the government should not only focus on that aspect alone.

"Where have these contract teachers been? They have been in the system for years. And now the government comes in and says, you must meet standards!" Sulistyo said.

Sulistyo said that some of the teachers have been teaching for two decades and may not be able to meet the ministry's standards today because when they were recruited, the regulations were different.

He said that even though the government might not be able to give contract teachers a guarantee of promotion, it should nevertheless protect them, at least by offering better pay for contract teachers.

"Factory laborers have regional minimum wage set for them. But why do teachers, people who educate the nation's new generation, not have [remuneration] standards set for them?"

Last week, Achmad Dasuki, director of the teaching profession at the ministry, said that over the next five years, 737,000 new teachers would be added to the civil service.

However, in what seemed like a contradiction of the open recruitment process, Achmad said that 300,000 positions would be filled from among new graduates while the remaining 437,000 posts would be filled by contract teachers currently working within administrations nationwide.

"But starting in 2011, candidates without a full teaching qualifications will not be appointed as permanent teachers," Achmad said.

Corruption & graft

Indonesian anticorruption deputies insist they weren't bribed

Jakarta Globe - November 7, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – In their first counterattack since being released from police detention in the wake of widespread public pressure, two antigraft commissioners on Friday refuted accusations by National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri that they had accepted bribes from two middlemen.

Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, suspended deputies of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), denied having ever received a bribe from Ary Muladi or Edi Sumarsono, as Hendarso had claimed during a late-night hearing with the House of Representatives the previous day. Hendarso had said the bribe came from a businessman investigated by the KPK over a graft case, and was delivered through Ary, Edi or another party.

"Not just from Ary Muladi, I have never received a bribe from anyone," Chandra said. "The only money I receive is from the government. My income only comes from the government."

"I have never received money, directly or indirectly, from Ary Muladi... or from anyone named for involvement in Anggoro's case," Bibit said, referring to Anggoro Widjojo, the subject of a graft investigation.

Hendarso, on Thursday, told lawmakers that police had evidence that two suspected middlemen, Ary and Edi, had visited the KPK's office in South Jakarta several times to meet with KPK commissioners. Bibit, however, dismissed the statement as "a big lie."

Chandra, his lawyer Alexander Lay said, had a strong alibi and had not, as Hendarso alleged, met Ary in a South Jakarta shopping mall. However, he said he would only unveil the alibi in court for fear that the police would use the information to seek other ways to implicate his client.

Alexander dismissed Hendarso's claim in the House that former Forestry Minister MS Kaban had received Rp 17 billion ($1.8 million) from Anggoro and that with the help of Chandra, whom he knew, had persuaded the KPK to drop the case against Anggoro's company, PT Masaro Radiokom.

Kaban has also issued a denial of the allegation. "In his effort to convince House members, the police chief used invalid information, which can be said to be just gossip," Alexander said.

Meanwhile, a presidentially-appointed fact-finding team tasked to look into the case involving Chandra and Bibit, on Friday questioned Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, former KPK Chairman Antasari Azhar and the National Police's chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji.

Hendarso announced on Thursday that Susno had tendered his "temporary resignation" in response to intense public pressure to step down after his name was mentioned several times in wiretapped telephone conversations that indicated attempts to fabricate a case against the two commissioners. His status, however, is still unclear.

The recordings, played at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, revealed an apparent plot to oust the two KPK deputy chairmen by naming them as suspects for abuse of power and extortion.

National Police investigators on Friday collected copies of recordings of 67 telephone conversations from the KPK office. They contain conversations involving Anggoro's brother, Anggodo, and several other people, including officials from the National Police and the Attorney General's Office, allegedly plotting against Chandra and Bibit.

The National Police's deputy spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak, said the police were in the process of verifying the authenticity of the recordings.

Sulistyo also said that Anggodo was still being questioned but that police did not yet have sufficient evidence to name him as a suspect. "We understand this has become a source of concern among the people, we also feel it. But we have to be careful," he said.

Anggodo, however, left National Police headquarters, where he was being questioned, at around 3 p.m. accompanied by his lawyer, Bonaran Situmeang. The lawyer said his client was showing "symptoms of a heart problem."

Lawmakers seen on the side of police in KPK conflict

Jakarta Globe - November 6, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Instead of cooling down the long-running conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission and the National Police, Thursday evening's late-night hearing held by House of Representatives Commission III on law and security affairs served only to fuel the controversy.

The televised seven-hour meeting with National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Gen. Susno Duadji, who resigned on Thursday as the country's chief of detectives, saw lawmakers lavish praise on the police's attitude toward the scandal involving Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, two suspended deputies of the antigraft commission, or KPK.

"I respect the National Police for not being provoked by the harsh statements," Fahri Hamzah, the deputy head of Commission III, said at the end of the marathon hearing.

Public sentiment has largely been against the police, who were seen to be involved in a plot to bring down the powerful KPK through baseless charges against Bibit and Chandra.

But Bambang Soesatyo, from the Golkar Party, said his faction would not sit still and watch the police being abused. He claimed the police must be saved from a "criminalization" effort. "The National Police's integrity has been violated," he said.

Other commission members even complimented the police for ignoring the recommendation of the fact-finding team to detain Anggodo Widjojo, the businessman suspected of playing a big role in fabricating a bribery case against the KPK deputies.

However, Anies Baswedan, a member of the special fact-finding team set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to help clear up the conflict, questioned the motives of the lawmakers, who seemed to have provided a favorable stage for the embattled Susno.

"The lawmakers appeared to be the public relations [arm] of the police," he said. At the hearing, Susno fought back tears while defending himself. After he raised his right hand and said, "As a Muslim, God knows I never received Rp 10 billion [$1 million] from anyone related to the Bank Century case," some members of the commission applauded.

The KPK had reportedly bugged Susno's telephone over allegations that he had received bribe money from a businessman who had millions of dollars stuck in a Bank Century account that he wanted to retrieve after the bank's assets were frozen.

"They openly showed the public that they took the side of the police. They did the opposite to the [KPK]," Anies said.

On Wednesday, lawmakers from the same House commission used a hearing with the KPK to question its powers and express concern about whether the antigraft body had followed the correct procedures in wiretapping the telephone conversations of Anggodo.

"It is very disturbing if wiretapping is entering into personal issues. This needs a ruling to avoid abuse of power," said Dewi Asmara, a Golkar lawmaker.

Commission III Chairman Benny K Harman, of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, said the KPK's level of authority was extraordinary and that he hoped it would not abuse its power. "We need a guarantee that wiretapping can't be open to anyone," Benny said. At the same hearing, lawmakers appeared to blame the commission for the conflict.

Sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola said that Susno showed up at the House and used the forum to defend himself because the police and the legislature shared similar interests – to weaken the KPK.

"You know that most people think that the House during the 2004- 2009 term, the police and the Attorney General's Office wanted to weaken the commission," he said.

The KPK has been instrumental in sending lawmakers from a number of political parties, police officers and prosecutors to jail in various corruption cases.

Up with Indonesian police, unlikely protesters cry

Jakarta Globe - November 7, 2009

Camelia Pasandaran – In the context of the events of the past two weeks, an unusual event occurred on Friday – hundreds of people rallied at the Presidential Palace against the two suspended deputy chairmen of the antigraft commission, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah.

The demonstrators – at least one of whom admitted to being paid to protest – demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dismiss the special fact-finding team he formed on Monday to investigate the police case against Bibit and Chandra.

The group, which claimed to have been composed of representatives from seven anticorruption organizations and university students, voiced concerns over the criminalization of the National Police – the same sentiment expressed by some members of the House of Remembers at a late-night hearing on Thursday.

"It is better for the president to dismiss the investigation team because they are not independent," Dimas, one of the demonstrators, yelled.

Dimas said that the Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK, was not a "superbody" and it should not protect its "guilty members."

"The public should not be trapped by misleading opinion regarding the Bibit and Chandra case," Dimas said. "We should let the National Police and Attorney General's Office work properly based on the law."

The protestors claimed the fact-finding team had stepped outside of its mandate by issuing political statements and had degraded the stature of the National Police and the AGO. "Provocative statements made by the team have caused confusion," Dimas said.

In contrast to the pro-KPK demonstrations seen in the past week that involved famous figures and activists from prominent NGOs, Friday's rally involved relatively unknown people from unknown organizations. One of the organizations identified itself as the Indonesian University Student Solidarity, but fewer than five university students wearing the jacket of Borobudur University were seen.

A teenager participating in the rally told the Jakarta Globe that he had received "pocket money" to join the rally.

KPK-police battle spawns fight among Indonesia Facebook Users

Jakarta Globe - November 6, 2009

Ulma Haryanto – Given that more than 900,000 Facebook users have now joined the online group supporting two embattled commissioners of Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), it was probably a risky idea to post a status message supporting their nemesis.

But one Facebook user, who identified himself as 23-year-old Evan Brimob – in reference to the elite Mobile Brigade police unit – did exactly that. "The police do not need the people. But the people need the police. Go Indonesian police, swallow those geckos alive," he posted, referring to the derogatory term coined by the National Police's chief of detectives, Chief Coms. Gen. Susno Duadji, to describe the antigraft agency.

Not surprisingly, a virtual uproar ensued. One user called Helmy Satria, who had a gecko for a profile picture, said Evan's message was arrogant. Hundreds of other angry comments soon followed.

Another user by the name of Maquis Spanish threatened to file a complaint with the police over Evan's remarks.

This led to an outpouring of chain mail and blog postings regarding the subject. Some of the messages urged people to visit the National Police Commission Web site to report him for defamation.

An Evan Brimob fan page on the social network had reached 1,400 members, most of them posting critical comments, far outnumbered by a the "Indonesia hates Evan Brimob" page with 6,615 members.

National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Nanan Sukarna told reporters on Thursday that regardless of whether Evan was a member of Brimob or not, Indonesia was a democratic country that ensured freedom of speech.

Heads roll, but Indonesia antigraft scandal grows

Jakarta Globe - November 6, 2009

Nivell Rayda, Farouk Arnaz & Heru Andriyanto – Though heads began rolling early on Thursday from the fallout of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) scandal, with the National Police's chief detective and a deputy attorney general both resigning, the plot thickened before the day ended.

At a late-night hearing held by the House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees law and security affairs, National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri delivered a strong defense of the police's case, publicly outlining for the first time their evidence against Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, two deputy chairmen of the antigraft agency.

However, the bribery case detailed by Bambang did not support the initial charges of extortion related to the probe of fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, the businessman at the center of a corruption scandal involving the Forestry Ministry. Instead, he claimed the police had evidence that the KPK deputies received bribes to protect a senior government official.

The revelations capped a dramatic day that began with members of the so-called Team of 8, the fact-finding team established by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday to investigate the scandal, threatening to resign, saying their recommendation to the National Police to suspend Chief Detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji had fallen on deaf ears.

However, Susno and Deputy Attorney General Abdul Hakim Ritonga both handed in their resignations later in the day. Calls for them to be removed from their posts mounted after wiretapped telephone conversations aired live on national television on Tuesday linked them to an apparent conspiracy to bring down Chandra and Bibit, as well as the KPK.

Yudhoyono said figures alleged to be involved in the plot should be suspended to help aid the legal process and cool public tensions about a scandal that has overshadowed the first weeks of his second term. "I think such a high degree of public distrust and mistrust, especially if it continues to spread, is not good," he said at the Presidential Office.

With the scandal threatening to engulf even him, Yudhoyono said he had carried out the recommendations of the fact-finding team.

"For example, when the public started demanding that the officials named in the recordings – or whatever you call the result of that piece of wiretapping – be suspended so that the investigation... could be carried out properly, I had already requested [such an investigation] before the team submitted [their recommendation]," the president said. "The police chief and attorney general will, of course, do [what is expected of them]. It is for the best."

At the House hearing, Bambang said Susno had resigned to allow the investigation to proceed smoothly, but that he would reappoint him if he were eventually cleared.

A visibly shaken Susno told the lawmakers and journalists gathered at the House: "I have gone to the KPK twice, challenging them to interrogate me. I have been investigated by police internal affairs. Nothing was proven."

Separately, Ritonga said his resignation was necessary to rescue the prosecutor's office. "I have examined the situation and came to the conclusion that the best solution to save this institution is my resignation," he said.

Meanwhile, the fact-finding team continues to demand that Anggodo Widjojo, Anggoro's brother and the most prominent figure in the wiretapped conversations, be arrested for allegedly plotting to bribe KPK officials to help his brother.

Lawmakers have also increasingly waded into the scandal, with Commission III members demanding the KPK hand over all wiretapped phone conversations involving Anggodo. They also called on the government to thoroughly investigate the controversial PT Bank Century case, which is deemed to be at the root of the current conflict between the National Police and KPK.

[Additional reporting by April Aswadi.]

Police chief finally outlines evidence against KPK commissioners

Jakarta Globe - November 6, 2009

Farouk Arnaz – After weeks of insisting they had evidence against Corruption Eradication Commission officials, the National Police late on Thursday night finally outlined its case before a riveted audience composed of top police officials, journalists and legislators.

National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the case against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, deputy chiefs of the commission also known as the KPK, began as a result of investigations into Yusuf Emir Faisal, a former legislator who was believed to have accepted bribes from telecommunications company PT Masaro Radiokom.

Owned by fugitive graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo, the company is being investigated by the KPK in relation to a Forestry Ministry project in 2006. Yusuf Emir was sentenced to prison in another graft case.

Speaking at a meeting hosted by the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing law and security affairs on Thursday night, Bambang said that after finding evidence linking Masaro to the Forestry Ministry's project during a raid at the ministry's offices, the KPK named Anggoro a suspect and slapped a travel ban on him.

"The matter of the travel ban itself contained inconsistencies," Bambang told legislators. He went on to explain that the ban was only known to Bibit and Chandra. When questioned about it, the three other KPK commissioners – former chief Antasari Azhar, Muhammad Jasin and Haryono Umar – said that they knew nothing about it, he said.

When consulted over the issuance of the travel ban, the antigraft body's legal affairs division said all five commissioners should have signed it, not just two, Bambang said.

Further investigations, he said, revealed what police believed was the true reason for the ban on Anggoro.

"We found a money trail worth Rp 17.6 billion [$1.8 million] for one of the chiefs of a state institution with the initials MK. We found a transcript of a [wiretapped] recording about this money," he said.

"We believe that Bibit and Chandra conspired with the chief of that state institution, and that they issued the travel ban against Anggoro to ensure that he never returned to Indonesia to testify against the chief of that state institution."

A Jakarta Globe source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Bambang was referring to the former Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban.

However, Bambang had to correct an earlier statement in which he questioned why the KPK only issued a travel ban on Masaro's chief director, Putra Nevo, nine months after Anggoro. Bambang acknowledged on Thursday that the ban on Nevo had been issued together with Anggoro's. He added that the police later found a Rp 350 million money trail leading back to Bibit and Chandra.

Bibit was also suspected of abuse of power, Bambang said, when he revoked a travel ban against another fugitive graft defendant, Djoko Tjandra.

He also said the police had evidence in the form of closed- circuit camera recordings to back up the testimony by the alleged case broker, Ary Muladi. Ary said he had paid Rp 6 billion in bribes to the KPK commissioners at the Bellagio Hotel and Pasar Festival Mall in South Jakarta. The police chief said that contrary to public belief and media reports, Ary had not recanted his admission.

"We are looking into a separate case involving the KPK officials, in connection with the Rp 350 million money trail which went from Putra Nevo into the officials' hands," Bambang said.

"We have the name and address of the case broker, going by the initial E, who acted as the go-between. We will arrest him to find out which officials obtained the Rp 350 million bribe."

Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the National Police's chief of detectives who resigned on Thursday over the case in the face of intense public pressure, also addressed the hearing, holding back anger and tears to plead his innocence.

The KPK had reportedly bugged Susno's telephone over allegations that he had received Rp 10 billion in bribe money from businessman Boedi Sampoerna, who had millions of dollars stuck in a Bank Century account that he wanted to retrieve after the lender's funds had been frozen. Susno allegedly also met with Anggoro in Singapore.

"As a Muslim, I have not taken a Rp 10 billion bribe from anyone and not from anybody linked with Bank Century," he said. "I have gone to the KPK twice, challenging them to interrogate me"

People's anger over injustice could crumble a nation: Discussion

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – A discussion warns Friday that people's anger towards injustice holds more hazards to the livelihood of a nation than poverty.

"Research shows that there has never been a country that crumbled because its people are living in poverty, because poor men can always find means to survive using their own respective diligence. However, the case is a lot different when it comes to injustice," a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), Farouk Muhammad, said in Jakarta on Friday.

"Once the people's feeling on justice is ripped apart, it is only a matter of time before the nation crumbles. I believe Indonesia now is at the yellow light status," he added.

Farouk was referring to the recent growing support for the two suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto.

Their suspension and recent brief arrest were considered unfair by the public, especially after a tape was played at the Constitutional Court and revealed an alleged plot to frame them, orchestrated by a number of high ranking officials at the National Police and the Attorney Generals' Office (AGO).

Noted lawyer, Bambang Widjojanto, said during the discussion that people are very sensitive to blatant injustice and abuse of power practiced in front of their eyes.

"That's when the people will bond together in solidarity to fight injustice," he said.

Even Yudhoyono has trouble cutting formidable Susno loose

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2009

Jakarta – A combination of a presidential order, mounting public pressure and a demand from a team of credible national figures, could only force Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the National Police chief of detectives, to temporarily relinquish his position.

National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri angrily told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday that he had never dismissed his chief of detectives, despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordering him to do so several days ago.

"There is no such thing as a dismissal. The truth is he is temporarily non-active at his own will," he said two days after wiretapped recordings played at the Constitutional Court revealed his alleged role in a plot to falsely incriminate two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies.

Susno's defining controversy is his central role in what critics say is a blatant attempt to undermine the KPK. He created the "Crocodile versus the Lizard" term, of which the powerful crocodile symbolizes the police, while the inexperienced lizard is intended to represent the KPK.

Born in Pagar Alam, South Sumatra, on July 1, 1954, Susno rose to fame during his tenure as West Java Police chief from January to October in 2008. He was earlier deputy chief of the Financial Transaction Report Analysis Center (PPATK) and in October last year, he was appointed as the police chief of detectives.

Although rumors that State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, Yudhoyono's most trusted aide, had helped secure his appointment, many observers believe that it was his three years at the PPATK that saw him become a feared police officer among other generals.

In 2005, the PPATK submitted to then police chief, Gen. Sutanto, a report containing bank accounts of 15 high-ranking officials, each of which held billions to hundreds of billions of rupiah.

With generals on salaries of less than Rp 10 million per month, observers said the inflated accounts were proof of rampant bribery within the police force.

David Ridwan Betz, the executive director of the Alliance of State Official Watch, said the 15 accounts only showed the tip of the iceberg of the total number of suspicious accounts held by police officers.

He estimated there were at least 300 officers that had accounts with billions of rupiah. He said that he knew that one account even contained Rp 800 billion.

The high-ranking officials with such suspiciously large accounts, he said, now occupy strategic positions within the police force, ranging from regental police chiefs, provincial police chiefs to other high-ranking officers.

As former PPATK deputy chief, Susno had access to data of the large bank accounts held by police officers, said Danang Widoyoko from Indonesia Corruption Watch.

"He knows the secrets of most of the high-ranking police officers. That makes him indispensable and very influential within the police force," he said. Danang urged the KPK to start investigating all alleged bribery practices in the police.

'TV news rating soars over KPK plot recording'

Jakarta Post - November 6, 2009

Jakarta – A recent survey by the AGB Nielsen Media Research has disclosed that the live-airing of the voice recording of an alleged plot to fabricate criminal cases against the leaders of the antigraft body has boosted news TV ratings, higher than that during the airing of the July bombings in Jakarta.

On Tuesday, at least two news TV stations – TV One and Metro TV – aired live from the Constitutional Court (MK) the hearing of judicial review of an article in the 2002 law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

During the hearing, the recording containing conversations between several police investigators, Attorney General Offi ce's officials, and the younger brother of KPK's graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, Anggodo Widjojo, was heard.

AGB Nielsen head of marketing service Christina Afendy said Thursday that the two news TVs enjoyed up to 279 percent increase of viewers aged above five during the airing.

According to the survey, which was conducted in Indonesia's 10 major cities, news TV watchers hit 729,000 people between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. "The peak was between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., the viewers of the two TVs reached 914,000 people on the average," she said.

As a result, viewers of non-news TV stations dropped during the time. "Viewer shares of non-news TVs dropped to 82 percent from 91 percent the day earlier," she added.

News TV stations enjoyed 15 percent of viewers shares on the day, up from 6 percent on the previous day.

The survey also showed that the viewers of news TVs tuned into television sets for 1 hour 41 minutes that day. "The day before, it was only 32 minutes," Christina said. She added that the average watching TV duration of general viewers above five years old was normally only 42 minutes.

The news TV ratings during the airing of the hearing at the MK were even higher than the ratings of both TVs during the day of the twinblasts at Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in July. AGB Nielsen recorded that only around 416,000 viewers tuned into news programs on the day of the bombings.

"Most of TV viewers who watched the MK hearing were males aged above 40 years with middle-up sosio-economy class level," Christina said.

The survey also revealed that TV One's Kabar Petang was the most viewed news TV program on the day when the hearing at MK was aired, with 104,000 viewers and 35.9 percent shares.

At the second place was TV One's Breaking News with 69,000 viewers (40 percent) followed by RCTI's Seputar Indonesia with 39,000 viewers (19.4 percent).

TV One's news broadcaster competitor, Metro TV, stood at the sixth place with 21,000 viewers and 11.7 percent shares, worse than Indosiar's Info Utama and Trans TV's Reportase Sore.

Standing at the bottom of the list was Trans7's Redaksi Sore which was watched by only 15,000 people, giving the program a 7.5 percent of viewers shares. (bbs)

Indonesian anger at KPK fiasco rising

Jakarta Globe - November 4, 2009

Farouk Arnaz, Nivell Rayda & Putri Prameshwari – After two Corruption Eradication Commision (KPK) leaders were released from police custody, public dissatisfaction was on the rise on Wednesday, with calls for action against officials and a businessman involved in a scandal that has captivated the nation over the past few weeks.

Police suspended the detention of Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) after wiretapped telephone conversations made public on Tuesday pointed to a conspiracy to incriminate them.

But businessman Anggodo Widjojo, whom the taped conversations showed to have allegedly played a key role in efforts to incriminate the two KPK leaders, was released after 24 hours of questioning by the police late on Wednesday, further fueling public protests.

National Police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said it had been unable to charge Anggodo, who allegedly contacted several officials at the Attorney General's Office and the National Police to push his case against the KPK commissioners.

"Investigators could not find enough evidence to name Anggodo as a suspect," Nanan said, adding that police had tried various angles, including defamation, contempt of institutions, bribery, slander and issuing threats.

He said the law should be upheld regardless of whether the public liked it. "People want him detained and arrested but the reality is not always fair and acceptable."

Erlangga Masdiana, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, said that the 270-minutes of taped conversations could have been used as evidence to detain Anggodo after their authenticity had been verified by experts.

But fellow criminologist Adrianus Meliala said wiretapping of an ordinary citizen was unadmissable in court.

Anggodo was released despite a request for his continued detention by an independent fact finding team, appointed by the president to investigate the case against Bibit and Chandra.

Team leader Adnan Buyung Nasution, a presidential adviser, said he had instructed National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri to immediately declare Anggodo a suspect for attempted bribery.

"Police must not only consider the technical procedures of the arrest, but also the moral obligations to the public after the recordings were made public and Anggodo himself had openly acknowledged that he attempted to bribe KPK officials," Nasution said.

"If Anggodo is released the public would believe that he was really collaborating with police officers to get himself off the hook. The police's reputation could be tarnished."

Meanwhile, pressure was also mounting for the dismissal of the National Police's chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duaji, who has been at the core of police efforts to name the two KPK commissioners as suspects for abuse of power.

Lawmakers demanded that the police investigate Susno after he was mentioned repeatedly in the taped conversations aired by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday.

"If the investigation proves his involvement, don't hesitate to fire him," House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie said.

The chairman of House Commission III for law and security, Benny K Harman, called for Susno to be investigated "as soon as possible." "If the taped conversations are true, arrest him," he said.

Lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul from the Democratic Party asked why Susno was "immune to the law."

Denny Indrayana, another member of the fact-finding team, said Danuri had signalled that Susno, whom the team will meet with on Thursday, would submit his resignation.

KPK supporters have accused Susno of attacking the the two commissioners to cover his alleged involvement in another graft case linked to the PT Bank Century scandal.

Susno has been accused of abuse of power by issuing a letter that later allowed a business tycoon to withdraw $18 million from the frozen funds of the troubled lender.

On Wednesday, Chandra and Bibit went to the Constitutional Court but declined to comment, only smiling.

Their lawyer, Bambang Widjojanto, said his clients remained purposefully silent because they did not want to be taken into custody again. "Last week, they were arrested because they talked to the press," he said. "So, please, don't ask them anything. If you want to ask, they will only smile."

KPK scandal brings demand to reform legal institutions

Jakarta Globe - November 4, 2009

Ismira Lutfia, Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Putri Prameshwari – The public will demand that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono personally take the lead in reforming Indonesia's National Police and Attorney General's Office in the wake of the KPK-National Police scandal, activists said on Wednesday.

Public trust in both institutions has plummeted following revelations of a plot by the police and state prosecutors against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

It's widely accepted among the public that officials within both institutions were attempting to frame KPK deputy chairmen Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto for taking bribes as part of a bid to weaken and eventually kill the anticorruption body.

In his first public statement after establishing an independent team to verify facts in the Chandra and Bibit case on Monday, Yudhoyono said that he had set up the team to improve public trust in the country's law-enforcement institutions.

"When there is mistrust over the process, we shall take the proper actions to uphold legal supremacy. I think it is the right action. It's not the first independent team I've set up," he said while opening a meeting at the Presidential Office on Wednesday.

Yudhoyono was previously determined not to be drawn into a conflict that has gripped the nation for months. However, on Monday he changed his mind amid growing public pressure, authorizing the formation of an eight-member team led by presidential adviser Adnan Buyung Nasution.

Teten Masduki, secretary general of Transparency International Indonesia, and Illian Detha Arthasari of Indonesian Corruption Watch, said the recent civil society movement in support of the KPK, in the form of both street protests and online activism, should be seen as more than just a demand to drop charges against Chandra and Bibit.

"The public has had enough of the fact that the legal process is open for sale," Illian said. "People are genuinely afraid. If the KPK leadership can be framed by the police and prosecutors, what could happen to the common people?"

Yudhoyono will have few other options to improve public trust than leading a sincere and comprehensive reform of both institutions, Teten said.

"He could start by dismissing the police chief and attorney general," he said, referring to National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji. "Both institutions are indeed rotten."

Yudhoyono previously set up a fact-finding team to look into the 2004 murder of Munir Said Thalib, a leading human rights activist, but its recommendations weren't implemented. Teten said Yudhoyono could not afford to ignore the newest team's report.

"He must implement the team's recommendations. Otherwise, people will think that he set up the team only to silence the public," he said.

Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), concurred, saying Yudhoyono must be seen as taking the claims of wrongdoing seriously.

"He must be transparent because people can see now how the government and businesspeople can bend regulations any way they want," Ikrar said, referring to the recorded telephone conversations that caught Anggodo Widjojo, the brother of fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, plotting against the KPK with officials from the Attorney General's Office and National Police.

Students vow to fast until charges against KPK duo are dropped

Jakarta Globe - November 5, 2009

Nivell Rayda – Despite the release of two antigraft deputy commissioners from police detention, students from various universities persevered with their hunger strikes in support of the body.

Camped out in front of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)'s headquarters in South Jakarta, the students, who have their mouths taped shut, passed their third day on hunger strike on Wednesday.

Immediately after their release on Tuesday, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah visited the students and urged them to end their strike.

The students, who jubilantly welcomed the two suspended commissioners, said they would continue with their fast until the charges against Bibit and Chandra were withdrawn.

"We won't stop until the case is dropped, Bibit and Chandra's good names fully restored and the National Police chief [Bambang Hendarso Danuri] and attorney general [Hendarman Supandji] step down from their positions," said Hendry, a student from East Java's Sebelas Maret University.

The condition of the students is continuing to deteriorate, with several of them passing in and out of consciousness.

Facebook support for Bibit and Chandra continues to swell

Jakarta Globe - November 5, 2009

The number of Facebook users supporting antigraft officials Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto reached more than 837,000 people on Thursday.

The Facebook page, titled "The Movement of 1 Million Facebookers to Support Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto," was created on Oct. 29 by Usman Yasin, the day that the two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen were arrested by the National Police.

Supporters of the antigraft officials have left messages of support on the page and have called on the government to take appropriate action.

"Pak SBY, your people are restless and your children – the Attorney General's Office, the National Police and the KPK – are fighting. Why don't you sit still, make peace among them, be a good leader?" supporter Budi Haryono wrote.

"Why have A.H. Ritonga (Deputy Attorney General) and Susno (Susno Duadji, National Police Chief Detective) resigned at the same time? Is it another game? Resignation is different to being suspended and Anggodo's status is still as a witness. Why is he not named a suspect? It is obvious that there was attempted bribery, threats and protection for Anggoro Widjojo," Dimas Bramantio wrote.

"Keep on fighting, Pak Bibit and Pak Chandra. Both of you have opened the gate to law and justice reform. I hope the momentum will not pass just like that," Iva Muna wrote on the page.

House dismissive of KPK recordings

Jakarta Post - November 5, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Legislators have seemingly ignored the content of recordings revealing an alleged plot by graft suspects, police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to fabricate evidence to frame the leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

During their meeting with the KPK on Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights questioned the legitimacy of the wiretapped recordings, rather than offering to help the antigraft body deal with recent attempts to weaken the institution.

For example, a legislator from the Golkar, Dewi Asmara, questioned the purpose of the KPK leaders publicly revealing the content of the tape at the Constitutional Court.

"Did you reveal the content of the tape for the KPK's interest as an institution, or in the interests of Bibit and Chandra? I am asking this because I worry that the decision to play the tape was based on personal interest rather than that of the institution," she said.

The tape was publicly presented for the first time at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, and revealed a number of dialogues detailing a plot involving several high ranking officials from the police, the AGO, and Anggodo Widjojo, brother of Anggoro Widjojo, a graft suspect who has fled to Singapore, to have the two KPK deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, framed and arrested.

A part of the tape even revealed a dialogue between Anggodo and a mysterious man who claimed he could assassinate Chandra as soon as he was detained.

Chandra and Bibit were released shortly after midnight on Tuesday, but the police repeatedly denied they had bowed to mounting public pressure.

KPK interim chief Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said Chandra and Bibit were accused of abusing their power in their capacity as the antigraft body's deputy chairmen, so the leaders had decided to publish the tape for the sake of the institution, not that of the deputy chairmen.

A number of legislators also asked Tumpak and his deputies about their professionalism in handling the tape because its transcripts were made public in the media before the court session on Tuesday.

Tumpak then told legislators the transcript available in the media was different from the original recording.

"There is no way a leakage could have occurred. We have a firm and complicated system. Even if there was a leak, it was not conducted by any of the KPK employees," he said.

Tumpak also said that legislators should not worry about being wiretapped during the hearing, in response to a statement issued by a legislator from the United Development Party (PPP), Ahmad Dimyati, who said, "Frankly Pak, we are worried that we are being wiretapped right now".

Transparency International Indonesia secretary-general, Teten Masduki, told The Jakarta Post that he was not surprised about the lack of support from House legislators in the case against the antigraft body.

"The House should have shown more support toward the KPK, but we know that it is never going to happen. That's because the KPK is also considered an enemy of the legislators, who have seen some of their peers imprisoned due to corruption scandals," he said.

Currently, at least seven legislators have been named as suspects in various graft cases. Previous legislators thrown behind bars include Noor Adenan Razak, Hamka Yandhu, Anthony Zeidra Abidin, Yusuf Erwin Faishal, Sarjan Tahir, Al Amien Nur Nasution, Bulyan Royan and Saleh Djasit.

Separately, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Burhanuddin Muhtadi, said the House had become a weak institution for failing to put pressure on the police and the AGO after the scandalous tape was revealed.

"The fact that Chandra and Bibit were released due to public pressure also shows that civilian forces have become more and more powerful, while the power of political parties is now practically dead," he said.

KPK law violates presumption of innocence

Jakarta Post - November 5, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Legal experts believe an article in the 2002 Corruption Eradication Commission Law violates the principle of the presumption of innocence and equality before the law.

"How can someone be punished before legally binding rulings have been handed down by the court," Rudi Satrio, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia testified before the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.

The hearing was part of a judicial review process of Article 32 in relation to the suspension of the two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, who the National Police have named as suspects in relation to allegations of bribery, abuse of power and extortion. Both Bibit and Chandra have been suspended from their positions due to their status as suspects.

Rudi then compared the KPK law with the 2003 Constitutional Court Law, the 2006 Supreme Audit Agency Law, the 2002 Broadcasting Law and the 2004 Law on Judicial Commission.

"All of the laws stipulate that members of the commission, body or institution can only be discharged if the court has handed down a legally binding ruling or if they are found guilty of criminal charges," he said.

He challenged Article 32 (1), arguing that it violated the presumption of innocence principle.

Former member of the National Commission of Human Rights, Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, shared a similar view saying the presumption of innocence was a right of each citizen and the state must protect it so that they had a fair and objective criminal process.

"The Constitution also upholds the principle of equality before the law, he said "Why is it that other legal or state institutions such as the Supreme Court, the BPK and Bank Indonesia uphold the presumption of innocence by stipulating that their members can only be discharged if the court has handed down a legally binding ruling?"

The government was represented by the Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar who argued the government and the lawmakers designed the KPK law in such a way because they expected the KPK commissioners to have moral integrity and honesty. "We expect them to be like angels," he said.

Besides, he added, the article was made to maintain the image and authority of the KPK so that KPK leaders who were defendants could focus on the prosecution process of their criminal cases. "I'm sure that requires time and consumes energy," Patrialis said.

During the session he also asked for an explanation from presiding judge Mahfud MD about the relevancy of playing the voice recording of a conversation between Anggoro Widjojo, brother of corruption fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, with several high ranking officials at the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) plotting a scheme to frame Bibit and Chandra, with the judicial review filed by the KPK deputies.

Mahfud argued that Article 32 (1) of the KPK law was prone to be fabricated in its implementation. "Therefore we need to hear whether the allegations were fabricated, even though I believe the aim of the article is good," he said.

The hearing was then adjourned for an indefinite time and Mahfud ordered all related parties to submit their conclusions to the court on Wednesday. "We will determine the next session after that, with an agenda to hear the judicial review ruling," said Mahfud, who is also the Constitutional Court chief.

Astounding tape hints at KPK framing

Jakarta Post - November 4, 2009

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The public Tuesday was glued to televisions and radios, listening to a live recording of wiretapped conversations featuring high ranking law enforcers believed to be key players in a corruption saga.

It was the first time the public has heard such a recording from the Constitutional Court, which had decided on Monday that the hearings should be open to the public.

The court had a full house but multitudes followed the proceedings from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in their offices, homes, markets and stations. The recordings belong to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which taped the conversations as part of their investigations into a corruption case.

"Lots of figures will be caught from this recording," a vendor at the Cikini station in Central Jakarta said. "The President should help to speed up the resolving of the case."

Although parts of the recordings have been leaked to the public, people could hear with their own ears the familiarity, coaxing, agitation – and a triumphant laugh – exchanged between a central figure in the recordings, businessman Anggodo Widjojo, with persons among others believed to be officials of the Attorney General's Office.

There's also a mysterious woman, identified as Yuliana, who mentions the President's "support" and a deputy attorney general. Later in a TV interview she is referred to as an alternative therapist by Anggodo.

Listeners got confirmation that "RI-1", a reference to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was mentioned more than once in the recordings, which also mentioned funds of Rp 3.75 billion (about US$395,000), supposedly available for bribery purposes.

The Court Chief Mahfud M.D. had said the recordings were needed in the judicial review of the law on the antigraft body.

The detained KPK deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, who were released past midnight, had filed a request for a judicial review of the articles regarding dismissal of KPK leaders once they are declared defendants in a legal case. In the event the recordings revealed a plot against the KPK leaders, this would prove the respective articles in the KPK law were prone to abuse.

In one part Anggodo is talking to a man believed to be Wisnu Subroto, deputy attorney general for intelligence, on a bribery case involving KPK leaders. Police suspected them of receiving bribes from Anggodo's brother, Anggoro Widjojo, who the KPK was investigating.

Anggodo mentions an "order" for KPK chief Antasari Azhar "to confess" about Chandra being bribed by Anggodo, in a bid to drop his brother's case. "But no confession was made; so who is supposed to confess?" Anggodo says.

Anggodo tells the person believed to be Wisnu, "I want him to [order] the handover [of money] to Chandra, because if no one ordered Chandra pak, there is no connection."

One conversation apparently followed the detention of the deputies last week. Anggodo is heard saying, "Turns out Truno-3 has a high commitment to me." Truno-3 is believed to refer to the chief detective at the National Police headquarters, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji.

Anggodo also tells an unidentified man that the police dossier on his brother's case should be seen as if alleged brokers and the KPK "are in one syndicate wanting to extort us."

Anggoro is commissioner of PT Masaro Radiokom, the contractor for the radio communications system at the Forestry Ministry. The firm is implicated in bribery of the ministry.

Indonesia antigraft deputies Bibit, Chandra released

Jakarta Globe - November 3, 2009

Nivell Rayda, Camelia Pasandaran, April Aswadi, Heru Andrianto & Farouk Arnaz – The live broadcast on Tuesday of incriminating wiretapped conversations in the scandal that has gripped the nation for days has led to the arrest of a businessman at the core of the controversy and the release of embattled Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah.

The nation was transfixed for hours by the proceedings in the Constitutional Court, as the playback of some 270 minutes of recordings revealed that there was an intricate plot with fabricated testimonies aimed at ousting Bibit and Chandra.

Interim KPK Chairman Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said the antigraft body only wiretapped the phone of businessman Anggodo Widjojo, who is being probed in relation to a corruption case and who, along with his brother Anggoro, claimed to have been extorted by KPK members Bibit and Chandra.

Anggodo allegedly contacted several officials at the Attorney General's Office and the National Police to convince them of the claims. Both institutions have clashed with the KPK in the past.

Anggoro, now a fugitive, has been in Singapore since July 2008, while Anggodo was arrested shortly after delivering a rambling defense of himself on live national television a few hours after the tapped phone conversations were made public on Tuesday.

In a news conference on Tuesday evening, National Police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said Anggodo was detained for questioning but that police had not yet decided whether to name him a suspect. Shortly after, Chandra and Bibit were released.

"This does not mean that their case is dropped, but their detention is waived following the mounting public response and in the interest of security and collective order," Nanan said.

Anggodo's voice was heard in several of the 67 conversations recorded by the KPK. In them he pushed several people, including from the police and the AGO, to incriminate the two KPK deputies.

Several individuals in the conversations also claimed that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono endorsed Anggodo's claims and the police's decision to declare Bibit and Chandra as suspects over abuse of power and extortion.

"The president wants a full investigation into the case, into why the president's name was mentioned," presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told a news conference at the State Palace. "Of course, there will be legal action, because defaming the president's name is a serious offense."

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar issued a stronger defense of the president. "It's defamation, it's a lie. People are just selling [Yudhoyono's] name. I guarantee that he has nothing to do with this case. It's a fabrication."

Adnan Buyung Nasution, who chairs the new fact-finding team appointed by the president to look into the alleged KPK extortion case, said the team would examine claims that Yudhoyono had issued a written consent in the case. "We don't know whether it's true, anyone could make a claim like that."

Nasution added that the team would meet with all those mentioned in the recordings on Thursday, including Deputy Attorney General Abdul Hakim Ritonga and retired senior AGO official Wisnu Subroto.

News portal Detik.com quoted another team member, Todung Mulya Lubis, as saying they would question the National Police's chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, today. Some of Anggodo's conversations played back on Tuesday were with Wisnu, while Ritonga and Susno's names were mentioned several times.

"If the recorded conversations are genuine, then the dignity of the police and the prosecutor's office has been compromised because of the implication they were involved in the alleged engineering of the case," Nanan said, adding that police would await the results of the fact-finding team before deciding what to do next.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said: "We are ready to work closely with the fact-finding team." He pledged to follow the team's recommendations regarding Wisnu and Ritongga.

University of Indonesia legal analyst Topo Santoso said the recordings had created tremendous public pressure."

Thousands of people take to the streets to support KPK

Jakarta Post (abridged) - November 4, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Thousands of people across the country Tuesday continued to stage rallies to express support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as the Constitutional Court heard controversial tape recordings related to the arrest of the two KPK deputy chiefs.

In front of the court, dozens of policemen tightly guarded the rallies held by different groups, some of which supported the KPK, while others supported the police.

In front of the court, hundreds of university students strongly rejected the criminalization of the KPK.

However, hundreds of others also supported the arrest of the KPK deputy chiefs, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, saying the two were mafia, not heroes.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, about 300 people staged a rally demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono save the KPK. "We urge the President to take a firm stance and save the KPK," said the rally's coordinator, Ervyn Kaffah.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, the Makassar Islamic Students Salvation Assembly Organization (HMI-MPO), the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI), and the Love Indonesia, Love KPK (Cicak) also held a demonstration on Tuesday.

Dozens of students also took to the streets in Situbondo, East Java, to show support for the detained KPK deputy chiefs.

[Panca Nugraha from Mataram and Andi Hajramurni from Makassar also contributed to this story.]

Coalition to blame for weak house reaction to KPK conflict

Jakarta Globe - November 4, 2009

Febriamy Hutapea – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's bulky coalition in the House of Representatives was being blamed for the soft stance of political parties in responding to the current conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission and the National Police, an analyst said on Tuesday.

"The House so far has not delivered on its monitoring function, particularly in regards to Yudhoyono's decisions on managing the conflict between police and the antigraft body," said Adi Sueyadi Culla, a political analyst from Hasanuddin University, during a discussion conducted at the House.

Adi said that the establishment of an independent team to verify and process the legal facts behind the decision to arrest suspended antigraft officials Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah was not the right solution, and did not live up to the public's expectations.

"The establishment of the fact finding team is only a lofty solution, while what people need is a real move which gets at the core of problem, not a decision which does not offer substance," he said.

Adi said that the political parties in the House were expected to give a clear response to Yudhoyono's much criticized decision to establish the independent fact finding team. "This is the impact of the bulky coalition. The House should push Yudhoyono to create law certainty," he added.

Lawmaker Achmad Rubae, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), admitted that the soft stance of his party was a consequence of joining the coalition with the Democratic Party.

"We're in a difficult situation. On one hand, we have to be very careful in issuing statements because we have to be in line with the coalition's spirit, but on the other hand, we will be deemed ignorant if we keep silent," Achmad said.

However, Achmad added that his party would wait and oversee the new fact finding team. "Above all, we still want to do something for the people because we still want to be on their side," he said.

Desmon Mahesa, a legislator from Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), said that the current public pressure showed distrust over the move made by Yudhoyono in responding to the conflict between the police and KPK.

"The public holds high expectations for Yudhoyono, but the reality [of his decision] didn't meet their expectations," he said.

Desmon said he also regretted Yudhoyono's decision to establish the fact finding team, which he deemed as interferring the legal process. "This is an intervention into the criminal court. With the estasblishment of the team, it shows that the president no longer trusts the police," he said.

Indonesia witness protection official drawn into KPK saga

Jakarta Globe - November 4, 2009

Nivell Rayda – Indonesia's Witness and Victim Protection Agency is the latest law enforcement agency to be dragged into the Corruption Eradication Commission saga, with a tape recording played at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday appearing to incriminate an agency official.

The antigraft commission, also known as the KPK, played 67 separate wiretapped telephone conversations recorded between July and August 2009, including four between Anggodo Widjaja and I Ketut Sudiharsa, deputy chairman of the witness protection agency, also known as the LPSK.

During the conversation, Anggodo sought the help of the LPSK to protect his brother, fugitive businessman Anggoro Widjaja, from the KPK. Abdul Haris Semendawai, LPSK chairman, said his agency would immediately launch an internal investigation into the allegations of impropriety.

"We will also summon Ktut and demand an explanation to decide if his actions have followed the proper procedures," he said. "If there is a breach of our code of conduct, we could impose administrative sanctions against him."

Anggoro is wanted by the KPK in relation to a bribery case in 2007, but has also come into the spotlight in the recent dispute between the commission and the National Police after he alleged that he had bribed KPK officials.

In the recordings, Ketut allegedly told Anggodo that he could ensure protection for his brother. An all-expenses paid trip to Singapore for Ktut and another LPSK commissioner, Myra Diarsi, to see Anggoro was also allegedly solicited from Anggodo.

Contacted by the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday, Ktut acknowledged that it was indeed his voice in the recording but maintained that the conversations were above board.

"Anggodo filed an application on his brother's behalf to be protected by the LPSK," Ketut said. "I was merely asking him to fill in all the necessary documents, especially documents from police investigators, who had already classified Anggoro as a key witness."

When asked about his trip to Singapore to see Anggoro, Ketut said that the trip never happened. "I was just being polite to Anggodo, that's why I said I would go to Singapore at his expense," he said. "I never received anything from Anggodo."

Topo Santoso, a legal analyst from the University of Indonesia said the recording could tarnish the credibility of the newly established agency.

"Part of the reason why the LPSK was established was to help the KPK in eradicating corruption by protecting whistle-blowers," he said. "The credibility of the LPSK will be hanging by a thread unless internal action is taken."

Another revelation from the recordings was Anggodo's repeated contact with a businesswoman named Yuliana Gunawan, who once spent two and a half years in prison for drug-related offenses.

Affectionately calling Gunawan, "my dear," Anggodo allegedly asked her to introduce him to former deputy attorney general for general crimes, Abdul Hakim Ritonga, who would handle the alleged corruption inside the KPK.

The recordings suggest Anggodo wanted to coordinate his testimony with Ritonga to ensure he would not be charged for attempting to bribe KPK officials.

"I have contacted Ritonga. Tomorrow he will be in Depok. Just tell him the truth, otherwise it's our ass because SBY is already behind us. Understand?" Gunawan said in the recording, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by his initials.

Anggodo, the recordings suggest, also coordinated with a police investigator named Parman.

General falls off high wire, Susno drags police into abyss

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Once a beacon of integrity in the graft-ridden police force, the actions and involvement of Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji in the controversial case is now lowering further the public reputation of the police force.

Born in Pagar Alam, South Sumatra, on July 1, 1954, Susno became a media darling for his efforts to root out ingrained graft during his stint as West Java police chief between January and October 2008.

Eliminating the illegal fees for processing driver's licenses and vehicle registrations at all levels of the police force were just part of Susno's legacy in West Java.

Susno has also cracked down on police officers involved in drug trafficking and illegal logging. "How can we clean up a dirty floor if the broom is also dirty?" Susno once famously pointed out.

Public hopes in Susno's "clean-police" policy abounded when National Police chief Gen. Bam-bang Hendarso Danuri appointed him in October last year as chief detective.

Once in the job, however, Susno began to entangle himself in a string of controversies, from the dropping of the high-profile Indover Bank case to his alleged involvement in brokering a deal between Bank Century and businessman Boedi Sampoerna to retrieve the later's US$18 million in savings stuck in legal limbo.

But Susno's defining controversy is his central role in what critics say is a blatant attempt to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). They say Susno has since early this year dragged the police into a full-fledged war against the KPK.

"The police's sidelining of the KPK is getting more blatant after Susno takes the detective chief job," said Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Danang Widoyoko.

Susno's apparent hatred for the antigraft body began when information was leaked by a telecommunications provider revealing the KPK had wiretapped several high-ranking police officers worried about a plan by legislators to transfer driver's license and vehicle registration issuance to the Transportation Ministry under a draft traffic bill.

The KPK also noted indications the police and the ministry were locked in a bidding war to buy the legislators' favor.

While it remains unclear whether Susno was among the officials being tapped, the ties between the police and the KPK began souring.

Susno's beef with the watchdog became personal in March after his mobile phone was reportedly wiretapped by the KPK, leading to allegations Susno had demanded a bribe from Boedi in the Century case, according to the Indonesian Anticorruption Society (MAKI) in early October.

The hostility intensified, leading to the arrest of KPK chairman Antasari Azhar in early May on charges of murdering prominent businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen.

Police have also accused KPK deputy chairman Chandra M. Hamzah of abuse of power in allowing Antasari to wiretap Nasruddin and others for personal reasons.

Allegations of the KPK leaders being framed were given greater credence after it was revealed Susno had met with graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo in Singapore on July 10, despite the KPK warrant issue for Anggoro's arrest.

Anggoro is the owner of PT Masaro Radiokom, a regular telecommunications contractor for the police, the military and the intelligence agency.

Susno denied accusations he was leading a witch hunt against the KPK, saying he was simply trying to follow up on testimony from Antasari of possible bribery involving KPK officials.

Despite mounting public indignation at the police's seeming criminalization of the KPK, Susno then declared Chandra and another KPK deputy chairman, Bibit Samad Rianto, as suspects for abuse of power, bribery and extortion.

It remains unclear which of the charges police will ask prosecutors to follow up on, after several key witnesses retracted their testimonies against the KPK deputies.

One high-ranking police officer says there is a rift growing within the force over the KPK case, with one side believing it to be politically motivated, in addition to being backed by weak evidence.

"The police chief is actually fed up with the case, because it only tarnishes our image even further," he says. "But he just can't control Susno."

Susno is known to have close ties with fellow South Sumatran Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa, according to a source at the Presidential Palace.

Hatta is President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's most trusted aide after State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, and is also a confidant of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono's. Hatta has refused to comment on the issue.

Danang says Susno may have received strong backing to pursue the KPK case, regardless of the public outcry.

"Susno may have been dragged into this corrupt and politically sticky environment without being able to resist like he did in West Java," he says.

"I think he couldn't take the pressure (of being the National Police chief detective), and preferred to play out the script already written for him."

Susno refused Friday to comment on the issues, saying only, "I don't know."

[Additional reporting by Ika Krismantari.]

KPK scandal taints Yudhoyono's political image, analysts say

Jakarta Post - November 3, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The battle between the police and the Attorney General's Office on one side against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on the other side provides President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with nothing but political burden, analysts say.

The battle is known by the public as lizards versus crocodiles, after National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, famously said "Can a lizard fight a crocodile?" when he found out the KPK had wiretapped him during a phone conversation.

"I believe the President should have been able to settle this issue from the start using his political power, but now, the fire of the battle has grown too big even for the President to handle," a legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Nasir Jamil, said during the discussion at the House of Representatives in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Monday.

"The issue between the police, the AGO and the KPK has now spread into the political and social domains. The President has tried to resolve this by establishing a fact-finding team. However, the question remains, does that team has enough legitimacy to summon anyone to settle the brouhaha?" he added.

A political expert from Charta Politika, Yunarto Wijaya, said the President's late response on the issue could open doors for his current political partners to take advantage in the future, especially in the 2014 general elections.

"As always, this issue can be used by the President's current political partners, who silently hold ambitions to take the leadership role in the 2014 general elections," he said.

"It's been custom for a political coalition to consolidate in the first two years, really working together in the third year, and trying to gain the support of voters by continuously attacking the government in the final two years," he added. "However, now (Yudhoyono) has already faced a major social issue from the start. This could be a problem," he added.

The police arrested the KPK deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, last week. The arrest of Chandra and Bibit has sparked controversy. The public deem the arrest is nothing but the police's personal vendetta against the KPK, because it managed to wiretap Susno.

The police, however, reject the idea and say Chandra and Bibit have been arrested because their continual expressions of opinion through press conferences have disturbed their investigation.

The police's reasoning was considered nonsense by the public, and the support for Chandra and Bibit has gained momentum, in the off-line world and online via Facebook. The Facebook group dedicated to Chandra and Hamzah had reached almost 450,000 supporters during the time of writing.

Meanwhile, leaders of the House of Representives have yet to take a firm stance on the issue, despite mounting demand from civil groups for the release of Chandra and Bibit. House Speaker Marzuki Alie from the Democratic Party, only said the police must be fully transparent in revealing their reasons for arresting the two KPK commissioners.

Public chants revolution, marches for the KPK

Jakarta Post - November 3, 2009

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Eleven years have passed since thousands of people roamed the country's streets while chanting the revolution cry: "revolution, revolution, revolution to the death", on the eve of Soeharto's fall from power. On Monday, the song was heard once again.

Supporters of the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) suspended deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, marched from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to the Presidential Palace to voice their demands for the release of the two.

Although the number of protesters was far less than in 1998, many said the rally was just the beginning.

"If the President won't heed to our demands, we are ready to come back again tomorrow in even larger numbers," said political observer Sukardi Rinakit, who joined the rally in the scorching heat.

University of Indonesia law professor Hikmahanto Juwana had said earlier the mounting public support had the potential to grow into another people power movement.

The protesters comprised student organizations, youth groups, NGOs, members of Cicak (Love Indonesia, Love KPK) and public figures, including former KPK deputy Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, political analyst Eep Saefulloh Fatah, and political communication observer Effendi Ghazali. They demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono take political action to release Bibit and Chandra, who have been detained since Oct. 29.

The protest also called for the establishment of an independent team to evaluate the criminal allegations against the two and to investigate the people mentioned in the wiretapped recordings at the center of suspicions that the two men may have been falsely detained.

Their other demand was for Yudhoyono to sack National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji from their posts – as their names were reportedly mentioned in the recordings allegedly containing conversations between the police and the Attorney General's Office plotting the fabrication of evidence to frame the KPK leaders.

An interfaith council demanded that Yudhoyono replace both the police chief and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji. Other groups including the Islamic Student Organization (HMI) and the UI alumni, staged rallies in front of the National Police headquarters to show their support for the KPK leaders.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of People Against Corruption supported the police in their handling of the investigation.

Deputy detective chief Insp. Gen. Dikdik M. Arif Mansur said the police had no problem with the protests. However, "Please understand that the police will not just bow to the people's aspirations." Protests supporting Bibit and Chandra also took place in Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Medan and Bogor. (adh)

Three groups in South Sulawesi stage protests supporting KPK

Jakarta Post - November 3, 2009

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Three groups in South Sulawesi staged protests on Tuesday to support the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) following the arrest of its two deputies by the police.

The Makassar Islamic Students Association-Organization Salvation Assembly (HMI-MPO), the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI), and the Love Indonesia Love KPK (Cicak) were the groups that held the demonstration.

They demanded the National Police release the two KPK deputy chairmen, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, from jail; urged the fact-finding team to remain independent; and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to act firmly in the anticorruption drive.

NGOs, students urge SBY to save KPK

Jakarta Post - November 3, 2009

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – About 30 NGO activists, university and high school students in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, staged a rally Tuesday to express their support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Protesting the arrest of the two KPK deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, they urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to save the KPK. During the demonstration, they distributed leaflets calling on people to support the KPK and tied black scarves on their left arms.

The rally's coordinator, Ervyn Kaffah, said the KPK was being attacked in a move to paralyze it. "The arrest of Bibit and Chandra is only a small part of a conspiracy with a wider objective to paralyze the KPK," he said. "We urge the President to take a firm stance and save the KPK."

"The KPK was set up because of the high level of corruption in Indonesia," he said. "The KPK was implemented because prosecutors and the police did not effectively fight corruption."

In addition, the KPK was established following the demand from people who wanted the total eradication of corruption, he said.

Efforts corrupt officials may have initiated against the KPK include filing a request at the Constitutional Court to review the law on the KPK, attacking the KPK's tapping authority, seizing the KPK's authority to prosecute corrupt officials through the anticorruption bill and withdrawing KPK investigators from the police and state audit agency, according to Kaffah.

Corruption dispute flares in Indonesia

Associated Press - November 2, 2009

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Public calls mounted Monday for Indonesia's president to defend the top corruption-fighting body in what is seen as a major test of his commitment to democratic reforms as he begins a second term in office.

Anti-graft campaigners say bogus charges were filed by police in the arrests of two deputies at the Corruption Eradication Commission last week to undercut its powers. The agency's head was suspended months ago and put on trial for murder.

The case has fueled opposition to the police and poses a serious challenge for the newly installed government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was sworn in last month for another five- year term in the Muslim-majority nation of 235 million.

"This is the time for SBY to prove his word," said Rezki Wibowo, deputy executive director of the Indonesian branch of Transparency International, an anti-graft watchdog, using the president's initials. This is a "systematic attempt to undermine the fight against corruption in Indonesia."

Newspaper editorials on Monday demanded the resignations of key members of the police force and Attorney General's office, whose phone conversations were wiretapped and broadcast on national television and who allegedly invented charges against the commissioners.

In a sign of public anger, more than 350,000 people joined a Facebook page in support of deputies Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto. Thousands more were signing up every hour and plans were under way for large demonstrations.

The deputies face charges of abuse of power for improperly issuing a travel ban against a corruption suspect, but deny the allegations. Deputy intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Dikdik Mulyana said they were also detained for hampering investigations by talking to the media.

In an effort to soothe the swelling outrage, a member of Yudhoyono's Cabinet met with university heads and anti-corruption groups Monday to address demands for an independent inquiry into the matter.

The case has exposed a bitter rivalry between the police and Attorney General's office and the independent anti-corruption agency, known by its Indonesian acronym KPK. The KPK has the authority to investigate corruption at all law enforcement bodies and has made powerful enemies.

The leaked wiretap conversations prove that high-ranking members of the police and Attorney General's office "engineered" fake accusations against the commissioners, the Jakarta-based daily Koran Tempo newspaper wrote in a Monday editorial.

The paper said the officials – chief of police investigations, Susno Duadji, and Deputy Attorney Generals Wisnu Subroto and Abdullah Hakim Ritonga – should be dismissed. The three have not denied that the conversations took place, but said they did nothing wrong.

Yudhoyono, a 60-year-old former general, has been widely credited for the success of the anti-corruption campaign during his first term in office. Scores of corrupt politicians, entrepreneurs and law enforcement officials were tried and convicted, including the father-in-law of one of the president's sons.

On Monday, several hundred protesters gathered outside the downtown headquarters of the KPK and in other cities on the main island of Java to call on Yudhoyono to intervene. National Awakening Party deputy head Nursyahbani Katjasungkana warned the arrests could fuel "public hatred of the police," already considered the most corrupt law enforcement organ.

"People think there were irregularities in the arrests," she said. "Most people reject the police's handling of the case... We call on SBY to intervene."

KPK case: Conspiracy and impunity?

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

More than just a regular criminal case, the arrest of two members of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has evoked a public outcry towards the pervasive culture of impunity and suspicions of blatant fraud in the justice system. The Jakarta Post's Rendi A. Witular digs deeper in this two-page special report into a case which has spun a web of deceit that may well implicate several state offices.

"I'm the granddaddy of wiretapping!" boasted National Police chief detective Comr. Susno Duadji in a voice recording obtained by the Post made during his meeting with KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin and his staff in early October.

Susno's remark was a boastful shot back at KPK officials, after Susno discovered he was being wiretapped by them over suspicions of demanding a bribe from businessman Boedi Sampoerna to retrieve the latter's US$18 million in savings from a legal limbo in Bank Century.

Almost boastful, Susno in the recording said the wiretaps could have remained concealed if the KPK had been more competent. With tongue-in-cheek he suggests perhaps KPK could use police wiretapping facilities and training.

For Susno, that meeting was a brief moment of triumph in the saga which many have described as a witch-hunt against the commission which has now seen two of its deputy chairmen – Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto – hurriedly detained on Thursday on allegations of abuse of power, bribery and extortion involving businessman Anggoro Widjojo.

While individuals like Susno may be currently in the spotlight, critics suggest that police may not have gotten so gung-ho had the momentum not been there. A climate of permissiveness was created by a conjunction of interests of high-ranking officials, politicians, law enforcers, and businessmen.

Bibit claims the assault on KPK is a consequence of a convergence of political and business interests. "First, the elite political community were unhappy with the KPK, which had disrupted their activities. Then it was the business community," the retired police general told the Post last week.

The fact that KPK was on top of many a hate-list is no surprise. No less than 152 politicians were implicated on various graft charges. They even had the "audacity'" to shame the first family by putting the father-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's eldest son Agus Harimurti up on charges of corruption.

The Commission also uncovered "case-brokering" practices at the Attorney General's Office, sending a prosecutor and a high- profile broker to jail while implicating other high-ranking prosecutors.

But the spark which ignited the blaze the fuel surrounding KPK looks to be the bribery case involving then politician Yusuf Emir Faisal and Anggoro Widjojo.

A crackdown of Anggoro's company PT Masaro Radiokom led the commission to uncover evidence of a string of bribery allegation involving politicians, government officials and law enforcers. Masaro is the regular telecommunications contractor for the police, the military and the intelligence agencies.

At the same time, KPK was also investigating allegations of bribery involving lawmakers in the election of then central bank senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom.

The case may yet implicate the son of a high-profile Chinese- descendant businessman known to have close ties with police and military officers as well as Yudhoyono's inner circle.

Another sensitive case being investigated revolves around the Bank Century fiasco, in which a peripheral event led to the wiretapping of Susno. Chandra and Bibit were at the center of these investigations, making them a primary target for any outside attempt to suspend investigations.

The window of opportunity opened when then KPK chairman Antasari Azhar, currently being indicted in the murder of businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, claimed that KPK officials were taking kickbacks from Anggoro.

Sources close to Bibit and Chandra allege that Antasari was eager to incriminate his deputies to ensure prosecutors would be lenient when forwarding charges before the court.

Police then claimed that the bribe money was handed to Chandra and Bibit by middlemen Ari Muladi and Edi Soemarsono. Ari has since retracted his statement concerning the accusation.

With the case becoming weaker, a new one was quickly constructed, that of abuse of power, in slapping a travel ban on Anggoro, and later attempted extortion for revoking it.

"The allegations are so weak. There are so many loopholes leading us to conclude that the case was fabricated," said Chandra and Bibit's lawyer Ahmad Rivai.

While Susno refuses to comment over the issue, National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri denied suggestions of fabricating evidence, contending that the allegations can and will be substantiated in court.

But the case may be unraveling more quickly than anticipated. "I can confirm that there's a senior police officer whose name I cannot disclose, who came to the KPK to confess about the fabrication," Bibit told the Post.

The senior detective, who was involved in the investigation, was so troubled about the extent of the cover-up that out of his own free will he personally confessed about conspiracy at the KPK office.

The disbelief over the validity of the case against Bibit and Chandra was reinforced by the existence of a voice recording between police officials and members of the Attorney General's Office to fabricate evidence to implicate the the KPK members.

The recordings allegedly involve a conversation between Anggoro Widjojo, Anggodo Widjojo, a high-ranking AGO official and another unidentified official. Anggodo is the brother of graft suspect Anggoro. Curiously, the President was referred to at least three times, referenced as "RI-1".

Yudhoyono has personally, and through his spokesman Dino Patti Djalal, denied involvement in any cover-up. However questions persist as references to either Yudhoyono or his inner circle continue to crop up, undermining claims of neutrality.

The latest involves another recording between Susno, prosecutors and other officials inferring the First Lady by reference of "Blue Sky" during a call about Bank Century. Susno has refused to comment over the issue.

As the case builds up – both for and against Bibit and Chandra – the political reverberations grow stronger. "We can say that the elite is trying to seek impunity for past and future misdeeds by strangling the KPK," said lawyer and activist Taufik Basari, who is also legal advisor to Chandra and Bibit.

[Additional reporting by Ika Krismantari.]

Students and public figures rally against KPK arrests in Jakarta

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Public figures and students gathered outside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in South Jakarta on Monday to show their support for arrested KPK officers Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah.

Among the crowd, who were mostly dressed in black, were lawmakers Ali Mochtar Ngabalin and former presidential spokesman Adhie Massardi as well as members of the National Student League for Democracy.

"The president should establish a fact finding team as soon as possible to investigate how the criminalization of the KPK could happen. We encourage all democratic and reformation figures to give support to the fight against corruption," Adhie told the press.

The students held speeches in front of the building and Adhie Massardi read a poem titled "Land of The Damned."

Meanwhile, KPK spokesman Johan Budi told Metro TV that the KPK will not release taped conversations allegedly revealing a plot against the KPK officers to the police or AGO, however they are holding a meeting to discuss how to deliver the transcript to the Constitutional Court.

The rally started at 10:15 a.m. and was still continuing at midday. Support rallies for the KPK were also conducted in Solo, Central Java, and Palembang, South Sumatra. Students in both cities held a peaceful demonstrations by wearing black outfits with black ribbons tied on their arms.

Public expresses support for KPK deputies, disapproval of police

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nurfika Osman – Public support for detained Corruption Eradication Commission deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah continued to build over the weekend as anger against the National Police grew.

A page on the Facebook Web site dedicated to Bibit and Chandra had attracted close to a quarter of a million supporters as of Sunday evening. It was created on Friday morning, a day after Bibit and Chandra were taken into custody by police on charges of abuse of power and extortion Meanwhile, politicians and religious groups jumped on the growing bandwagon.

Asri Anas, a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) representing West Java, said 30 fellow DPD members had signed a petition in support of Bibit and Chandra.

The petition, which Asri hoped would be signed by 70 DPD members, addressed five points: to fully support the upholding of the law, to urge all parties not to politicize and criminalize the commission, to give moral support to the commissioners, to express regret for the actions of a "certain party" which wanted to bring the commission down, and to ask the authorities to suspend the arrests of the commissioners.

The "certain party" referred to the police. Many believe police arrested Bibit and Chandra to muzzle the commission, also known as the KPK, which was investigating the National Police's chief detective, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, in relation to the Bank Century scandal. Susno was accused of abusing his power when he issued a letter that later allowed business tycoon Boedi Sampoerna to withdraw $18 million from the troubled bank.

According to state news agency Antara, the KPK has accused Susno of not following proper investigative procedures and fabricating charges against Bibit and Chandra.

The Facebook page contained a number of stinging criticisms of the police's decision to take Bibit and Chandra into custody. It was labeled "arrogant" and "wrong," among other things. "Where are your supporters, dear police, if your conduct is correct?" Facebook user Julia Sagita wrote. "People today are not blind."

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said the government was committed to respecting democracy and freedom of speech and would not take action against any civilian organizations protesting against the police.

"If anyone wants to express an opinion on the case, go ahead. Conducting a demonstration is also permitted, whether you support or object [to the police's action]," Suyanto said. He reiterated, however, that the government would not intervene in the police's decision to charge Bibit and Chandra.

On Saturday, former President Abdurrahman Wahid arrived at KPK headquarters to express his readiness to vouch for the innocence of the two suspended deputy chairmen. "I came to add more support for their release from detention. I am prepared to put my name on the line in this case," Abdurrahman said.

Masdar F Mas'udi, the deputy head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, said the president must act to resolve the dispute.

"This has become a political issue and it cannot be solved by the conflicting parties," Masdar said. "Letting this conflict continue could increase the public's uneasiness that the police are trying to bring down the KPK."

He said those who would benefit the most were the corruptors who remained at large, while the people's hopes for a corruption-free country would dissolve. "We can't let the public down as the commission is a very important institution in eradicating corruption in the country," he said.

The Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) said the arrests clearly demonstrated that the government was not serious about fighting corruption.

"If they are serious about eliminating corruption, they would not try to discredit the KPK," said Sanusi Pane, the secretary of KWI's Justice and Peace Commission. "We think that both suspended commissioners are on the right track as far as doing their jobs is concerned. The law should be upheld."

Haris Azhar, the deputy chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the president needed to urgently appoint an independent investigative team. He proposed that Constitutional Court President Mahfud MD and former president Jimly Asshidiqie should sit on the team.

Support mounts for arrested KPK deputies

Jakarta Post - November 1, 2009

Irawaty Wardany and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Supports is mounting for the two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chiefs arrested by the police on Thursday, including from former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Ashiddiqie.

Gus Dur visited the commission's headquarters on Saturday to show his support for Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, the two suspended deputies, and during his visit he questioned the reasons behind their status as suspects.

"I'm confused because the accusations thrown at them always change," he told the press after about an hour meeting with KPK leaders.

Initially Bibit and Chandra were accused of abuse of power and extortion for allegedly imposing and then lifting travel bans on graft suspects Anggoro Widjojo and Djoko Sugiarto Tjandra and were also accused of receiving bribes.

Gus Dur told the anti-graft body to continue "upholding justice, honesty and transparency", and said he would join the ranks of a number of national figures who would vouch for the two detained deputies in a bid to get them released.

He also supports the release to the public a voice recording believed to be that of a conversation between Anggoro's brother, Anggodo, and several other figures, including from the AGO, allegedly planning a plot to frame the KPK deputies.

KPK chief Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said the body had the voice record, which National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said he would confiscate.

Separately, Jimly told the KPK not to hand over the voice record to the police, saying it should instead be handed over to the Constitutional Court, which had earlier requested it. He said the tape recording should be disclosed during a session of the court.

Jimly also expressed his support for cancellation of the arrest of Chandra and Bibit, whom the police said had jeopardized the investigation by sharing their personal opinions with the public.

He added that investigators should quickly complete the legal processes against the two KPK deputy chiefs so that the case could immediately be brought to court. "That is so that the court can immediately try the case transparently," Jimly was quoted as saying by vivanews.com.

In Banda Aceh, Antara reported, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker M. Nasir Djamil said he was also willing to provide a personal guarantee for the release of Chandra and Bibit, saying his counterparts in the PKS faction at the House of Representatives' law commission all supported the two KPK deputy chiefs.

In Malang, a number of academicians joining the human rights and state administrative law lecturers network urging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to end this "criminalization" of the KPK leaders. They deem that the President has not been serious and responsible in trying to solve the problem, kompas.com reported.

"We urge that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately do some real and instructive acts, using his power to stop the arrogant and unprofessional behavior of the police," Herlambang Wiratman from Airlangga University said.

As of Saturday evening, the number of members joining "The Move of 1,000,000 Facebook Users to Support Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto", set up on Thursday afternoon, has reached over 130,000 people.

War on terror

Radical Islam still a threat in Indonesia: Experts

Jakarta Globe - November 3, 2009

Candra Malik, Solo – Noordin M Top is dead, but the feared Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network is not, experts gathered here said on Tuesday.

"Jemaah Islamiyah still wants to create an Islamic nation in Indonesia by using Islamic boarding schools as one of the bases to promote its political ideology," said Nurrohman MA, a lecturer from the Bandung Islamic State University.

He was speaking at the ninth Conference on Islamic Studies in Solo, Central Java, on Tuesday, an annual event held by the Islamic High Education Directorate of the Religious Ministry involving all Islamic universities in the country.

He went on to say that public schools, Islamic boarding schools, college campuses and jails were key environments for terrorist recruitment.

Nurrohman, who in the conference spoke on the political climates of Islamic boarding schools in Tasikmalaya, Garut, and Cianjur said several madrasas in West Java were potential breeding grounds for radical Islam.

Nurrohman said that if movement gained strength, the state philosophy of Pancasila will be even more threatened.

Mukhibat Mag, a lecturer at Ponorogo Islamic State University, said Islamic universities must make real contributions to fighting terrorism. One way is to integrate the values of religious tolerance in class material, methods and evaluation to prevent students from turning to fanaticism.

"Difference in belief is a blessing, and no religion ever teaches violence," he said.

Prof. Achmad Jainuri, a lecturer at Surabaya Islamic State Institute, said that Islamic studies should no longer be viewed as a separate discipline. "We urge the government to place Islamic studies in a conceptual framework with other religious views," he said.

Khaeron Sirin MA, a lecturer from Jakarta's Al-Qur'an University (PTIQ) condemned death sentences for terrorists, which he said gave birth to new violence. He added that despite a global move away from the capital punishment, Indonesia continued to perform executions.

New body won't be repressive: Minister

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The government has ensured the recommended special body to prevent and combat terrorism will not become a repressive body reminiscent of the New Order era.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said the body, a recommendation made by the National Summit at the weekend, would not resemble groups such as the notorious Operation Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib).

Established in 1965, Kopkamtib functioned as the New Order's main security organ, including supervising the activities of citizens, before being disbanded in 1988.

"I guarantee, as long as I still serve as the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, such concerns will never arise," Djoko told the press on Saturday evening after leading a meeting to discuss the results of the National Summit in the fields of politics and security, with related ministers and other heads of state institutions.

His assurance came despite the fact the body will be given more authority than the antiterror squad currently working under his office.

"Terrorism is related to a wide range of problems and efforts to combat it should involve various elements in communities, aside from those under my office," Djoko said.

"The desk, meanwhile, only has limited authorities. It doesn't cover the Religious Affairs Ministry, the National Education Ministry, the Information and Communications Ministry and other organizations. The body is expected to cover all elements in the community."

With the establishment of the new body, the public is expected to play a more active role in preventing acts of terrorism, Djoko said.

Details about the form of the body, whether it will be independent or remain under the authority of the coordinating minister's office, and several others, is yet to be deliberated by legislators at the House of Representatives.

Islam/religion

Banten residents protest visit by hard-line cleric

Jakarta Globe - November 1, 2009

Tensions were high in Banten early on Sunday when radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was confronted by angry residents and asked to leave their village.

About 50 people surrounded a house in Kaujon village, Serang, where the former head of the hard-line Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI) was visiting. They demanded Bashir leave because his presence caused concern among residents.

But Bashir refused to leave, saying he was invited to attend an event at his friend's house. "On what grounds do you reject me? I'm only visiting and attending a Koranic recital – I am not a terrorist," he told the residents.

Bashir has been linked to the regional militant network Jemaah Islamiyah and accused of being its spiritual leader. His Al Mukmin boarding school in Ngruki, Solo, has also produced several graduates who have gone on to plan and execute a string of deadly terrorist attacks across Indonesia.

He recently made headlines for staging a "hero's burial" in Central Java for alleged terrorists who were suspected of involvement in the July 17 bombings at two upscale hotels in South Jakarta that left seven people dead.

The angry residents would not accept Bashir's argument and one of the protesters, Lukman Hakim, who is also a member of the provincial legislative council (DPRD), nearly came to blows with one of Bashir's guards. A village elder, however, managed to defuse the situation.

The residents eventually allowed Bashir to stay, and some even shook hands with him and apologized when he left. "I suspect this is the deed of people who dislike the unity of Indonesians," Bashir said of the confrontation.

Meanwhile, a local public figure, Rois, said the whole incident was just miscommunication between residents and the organizing committee of the recital. (JG, Antara)

Sex & morality

Sexy costumes spark Halloween raids in Indonesia's Kalimantan

Jakarta Globe - November 2, 2009

Nurfika Osman – A Halloween party in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Saturday night got more spooks than it hoped for when public order officers arrived to break up the festivities apparently because some of the young women were wearing costumes deemed too revealing.

The city's spokesman, Muhammad Faisal, said on Sunday that about 10 young women under the age of 22 were arrested at 11 p.m. after celebrating at a local nightspot called Platinum. The women, he said, tried to hide but the officers were able to find them.

"They were released this morning. They only had to bring their ID cards and did not need wear costumes like that to the party," he said. "We had received complaints from residents that they were disturbed by such parties."

Although Samarinda does not have any regulations regarding inappropriate dress, Faisal said some residents had complained. He said the raid was part of the public order officers' program to maintain peace and security, as well as to settle neighborhood disputes.

According to Faisal, a separate Halloween party was also broken up by officers at a house in Sei Pinang subdistrict. He said five young women were found without proper identification and wearing "sexy attire."

Faisal said reports from residents had said that the house was being used as a brothel, however he could not comment further about the case. "The case has just been handed over to the police and they are currently investigating the rumors," he said.

Separately, the municipal administration has closed down two bars because prostitutes were found to be operating on the premises and they were also selling hard liquor without the proper licenses. "Two bars in the city were closed down last Wednesday but we will let them reopen again next month," Faisal said.

He said that the bars would be allowed to reopen after they signed an agreement with the city not to sell the restricted alcohol. "We only permitted them to sell class-A alcohol, which is beer, and they violated this," he said.

Elections/political parties

Half-hearted coalition 'benefits Golkar'

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The Golkar Party has started playing its political cards by criticizing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government over sensitive issues, which experts say are designed to reinforce its image and public support.

Political experts said that Golkar's criticisms including on the much-debated Bank Century scandal were aimed at attracting public support for Golkar thanks to its half-hearted coalition with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

"It is the (inherent) risk in a half-hearted coalition," Syamsudin Haris, political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

"Golkar still practices an ambivalent political culture; to support the government but on the other hand taking advantage by criticizing policies but backing the public interest."

He said that Golkar was currently in dire need of improving its image to mobilize public support ahead of the 2014 general elections.

"Golkar will criticize the government's policies to pull away public support; otherwise, the party will be smaller in the next election," he said.

Syamsudin also predicted that Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie had a hidden agenda to run for the 2014 presidential election. "It makes sense if Aburizal has an agenda to run for the presidency. He needs first to make the party bigger to fulfill his dream," he said.

Aburizal in its speech on Golkar's 54th anniversary Saturday said the party would continue to criticize the government for the sake of public. "As best friend forever, we will lend our support to the government but we will still criticize the government, although it is hard," he said.

Yudhoyono did not attend the anniversary. Vice President Boediono, former president BJ Habibie, the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Taufik Kiemas and other party leaders including Wiranto from the People's Conscience party (Hanura), and Prabowo Subianto from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) were among top figures seen at the anniversary.

Yudhoyono appointed four Golkar members as ministers, namely Agung Laksono as Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare, Fadel Muhammad as Minister for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, MS Hidayat as Industry Minister and Mustafa Abubakar as State Minister for State Enterprises.

The Golkar faction at the House of Representatives earlier supported establishing a special committee of enquiry to investigate the Bank Century's Rp 6.67 trillion bailout.

Aburizal also urged the government to soon resolve the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) problems over allegations the government was trying to weaken the commission.

Golkar also criticized the arrest of two suspended KPK deputy chiefs, Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, who have attracted widespread support from the public.

Meanwhile, political expert from the University of Indonesia, Maswadi Rauf, said the current coalition would not guarantee full supports for Yudhoyono's administration.

"Each party, including Golkar, would take advantage of the government for its own benefits including by criticizing government policies," he said.

He said Yudhoyono needed to upgrade his communications with the parties in coalition before issuing policies to minimize criticisms.

"Otherwise, parties in the coalition would make controversial remarks as entry points to pull away public support for their own advantage," he said.

Golkar reveals true colors in Suharto tribute, activists say

Jakarta Globe - November 1, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Golkar, the long-time political vehicle of former President Suharto, presented the deceased dictator with a posthumous award over the weekend for contributions to the nation and the party.

Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, in presenting the award to Suharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, also known as Mbak Tutut, spoke glowingly of the late strongman. According to Transparency International, Suharto allegedly stole $15 billion to $35 billion during his 32-year rule and left legacy of pervasive corruption and unresolved human rights abuses.

"I personally congratulate and give the highest appreciation to the late HM Soeharto as the Abdi Luhur Award recipient for his extraordinary devotion to this nation, especially in laying the foundations of the Golkar Party," Bakrie said.

The award, presented during the party's 45th anniversary in Jakarta on Saturday evening, was criticized by human rights organizations the following day.

Bhatara Ibnu Reza, a senior researcher at Imparsial, a nongovernmental organization concerned with human rights and defense issues, said presenting the award to Suharto had shown "the real face" of Golkar.

He said the party had been claiming it was involved in the reform movement that began in 1998, but that the award "has proven that Golkar will never change" and "can never be trusted."

Bhatara said the party was only interested in political power, as demonstrated during Suharto's regime and most recently in aligning itself with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party coalition, a move which made it more difficult to investigate past abuses.

Ridha Saleh, deputy chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas-HAM), said the decision was insensitive given the unresolved human rights abuses. "Note that the award will never erase what Suharto did from people's minds," Ridha said.

Also honored by Golkar was former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who stepped down as party chairman following the faction's crushing defeats in the legislative and presidential elections.

A number of analysts predict the party will struggle to repeat its feat in 2004, when it managed to overcome its involvement in Suharto's New Order regime and attracted more than 22 percent of the popular vote in the legislative polls, despite being under the helm of Bakrie, a controversial businessman with a low personal approval rating.

Kalla, who is in Europe, was represented by daughter Muchlisa Kalla. Also in attendance were former President BJ Habibie and his wife Ainun Habibie; incumbent Vice President Boediono; and Taufik Kiemas, chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Suharto-era generals Prabowo Subianto, Suharto's former son-in-law; and Wiranto, chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) were also there. Both men have been implicated in major human rights abuse cases.

The event was attended by about 3,000 party members, including Rizal Mallarangeng, a former spokesman for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign team, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa, as well as a number of artists and celebrities who performed at and attended the event.

Policy & legislation

Lobbying law 'could justify money politics'

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – A new law on lobbying might ensure public accountability towards politicians, but on the flip side, such a law could also serve as justification for them practicing money politics, observers and experts said here Sunday.

An expert from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Burhanuddin Muhtadi, told The Jakarta Post that political financing was inevitable, but people often confused that term with money politics.

"If we use the United States as a reference, a senator candidate can try to gain sympathy from a community by promising an increase in the financial budget for that community so that they should select him for the senate," he said.

"He will then deliver his promises after he secures his seat. This whole process is done on a written note, and is called political financing,"

What happens in Indonesia was very different, Burhanuddin said, as most of the political financing deals were done secretly between individuals and were taking place before the particular legislative candidate secured his or her seat.

"This, of course, makes it difficult for us to measure the accountability of the political process" he added.

Burhanuddin said that in such circumstances he could understand it was important for the country to have a law firmly regulating the requirements for transparent political lobbying processes.

"I fear that the law on political lobbying will then be exploited to justify the dirty money transactions during the political process. I agree to some extent that having that law is a major breakthrough, but the problem is that we simply do not have a House or a government that is capable enough to endorse the law in its original spirit," he said.

An expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Siti Zuhro, agreed with Burhanuddin, saying that it was more important to focus on the reform of House legislators' political morality and ethics rather than focusing on the political lobbying law.

"How can we ensure proper lobbying if we cannot ensure that the legislators can be trusted morally speaking? With morally-tainted legislators, it will be difficult for us to see that the proposed political lobbying law works in an effective manner," she said.

The House, faced heavy criticism on its image from various civil groups recently. For example, research by Transparency International on its 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) showed that the House was the most corrupt public institution.

Al Amien Nasution from the United Development Party (PPP) and Abdul Hadi from the National Mandate Party (PAN), were among many legislators jailed for taking bribes. Former legislators, such as Endin J. Soefihara from the PPP and Dudhie Makmun Murod from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), have also been named suspects in graft cases.

A legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Andi Rakhmat, said that the country could use the lobbying law applied in the United States as a working reference to help guide best practice in Indonesia.

"For example, the United States regulation stipulates that lobbying must be done by independent lobbyist agencies, which are then annually audited to ensure transparency," he said.

Jakarta/urban life

Jakarta drowning in household trash

Jakarta Globe - November 1, 2009

Emmy Fitri – The residents of Kalisari in East Jakarta used to dread the annual rainy season not just because of the floods. Rains also meant the polluted waterways running through their neighborhood would overflow and inundate their homes with filth.

"In the rainy season, we were always worried. If a flood comes, the water brings a lot of garbage," Evi Kurniasari, a housewife, told the Jakarta Globe. Her house sits just a few meters from a creek that feeds into the heavily polluted Ciliwung River.

But things have changed following campaigns to inform residents of how to properly dispose of their garbage.

"People are no longer throwing trash into the river. That is quite an achievement for us here," said Evi's neighbor, Magdalena Ketut. "All of our trash is collected and sent to Bantar Gebang as far as I know. But I have no idea what happens to it afterward. The cleanliness of our neighborhood is our main concern here."

Evi and Magdalena, along with their neighbors, may have been successful in cleaning up their neighborhood, but Jakarta's garbage problem does not end with residents leaving their waste in front of their homes for collection.

Four times a week, Parjanto and his two relatives push their old carts through the streets of Kalisari to collect household waste. Earning about Rp 500,000 ($50) a month, they take the trash they collect to a temporary dump site where dozens of scavengers sort out plastics and paper that can be sold to recyclers. The rest of the waste is left for the City Sanitation Agency's trucks to pick up.

The trucks take the collected waste to the 125-hectare Bantar Gebang dump site in neighboring Bekasi, east of Jakarta, where Kalisari's garbage meets the rest of the 6,000 metric tons of waste produced daily by Jakarta's 12 million residents.

The problem is that Bantar Gebang, which has been operating for two decades, has reached if not exceeded its capacity. The open dump also poses health and environmental hazards, including groundwater contamination.

Jakarta has signed an agreement with neighboring Tangerang to build an integrated waste-treatment facility in Ciangir subdistrict. The site is expected to start receiving garbage from West and South Jakarta next year. The tender to select a management firm is scheduled to be held this month.

But local residents have been protesting against the plan over worries about its impact on their environment. Ciangir residents are not the only ones against the new landfill. "[A new dump site] is not a sustainable approach to solid waste management," said Darrundon, an urban planner. "I have long proposed the use of a composting system applied in smaller units throughout Jakarta."

Household waste makes up nearly 60 percent of the city's trash. Most of it is organic, which means it is recyclable. But the practice of separating plastics and paper from organic waste such as leaves and food is not common here, despite numerous calls from green activists and the city administration.

Furthermore, according to the Indonesian Solid Waste Association, the Jakarta Sanitation Agency can only handle 35 percent of the total daily solid waste produced due to a shortage of trucks.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) says 28 percent of the capital's trash finds its way into the city's drains and rivers, contributing to the problem of chronic flooding.

"Forty percent of Jakarta's residential areas are well planned," Darrundon said. "They have open spaces that can be used as composting sites. Each neighborhood unit can have an area designated for composting. Fenced with bamboo or other vegetation, the process is simple and doesn't generate pollution."

If the waste was managed in each neighborhood unit, he said, many resources could be saved, such as the gasoline used by the city's garbage trucks.

Ridwan Pandjaitan, acting head of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), agreed with Darrundon, saying a community-initiated movement was the most viable solution to help the city administration manage waste.

"With the largest percentage of garbage coming from households, I think people should get involved in managing waste from their neighborhoods," he said.

The Jakarta administration has a program to clean up the 13 rivers that flow through the city. "We ask squatters living along the riverbanks to think twice before dumping their garbage into the rivers. They will be the first to be impacted by clogged rivers so there is a reason for them to cooperate," Ridwan said.

Several communities have initiated programs for solid-waste management, but most of these have been short-lived.

One of the most sustainable programs is being carried out by residents of Kampung Banjarsari in Cilandak, South Jakarta. The kampung, nestled between the city's busy Jalan TB Simatupang and Jalan Fatmawati, is a household name among green activists. The neighborhood uses the "4R" concept: Reduce, reuse, recycle and replant. It was recognized by Unesco in 1996 for its pioneer project in community waste management.

Harini Bambang Wahono, the woman behind the program, has traveled throughout the country to train communities in how to manage their neighborhood environments. Her efforts bore fruit as the original project was replicated in other locations.

Unesco began a similar project in 1999 in Kapuk Muara, North Jakarta, where it introduced regreening, composting and recycling. The next step will be to prepare formal policies, regulations and awareness campaigns to complement programs already underway.

According to Ridwan, the city is always receptive to positive ideas to involve the public in creating a better environment. He said he realized that many community-initiated programs have shortcomings, such as a lack of funding. But when asked whether there were policies to ensure the sustainability of community- initiated projects, he said, "It is beyond my ability [to say]. The city administration also has priorities and I believe the issue is part of it."

From Nov. 10-12, international experts will converge on Jakarta to map out a sustainable plan for the capital. For more information on the Sustainable Jakarta Convention, visit the Web site sjconvention.com.

This story is part of a five-day series on some of Jakarta's most serious problems. Tomorrow, we look at Jakarta's need for open spaces.

Armed forces/defense

Yudhoyono replaces Indonesia military chiefs

Jakarta Globe - November 7, 2009

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has unexpectedly replaced the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo will be replaced by Commander of the Army Strategic Command Lt. Gen. George Toisutta; Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno will turn his position over to Defense Ministry Inspector General Vice Admiral Agus Suhartono; and Air Force Chief Air Marshal Subandrio will give way to Deputy Air Vice Marshal Imam Sufaat.

Army Spokesman Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua said on Saturday that he did not know the reason for the substitutions and noted that it is the president's choice when to replace top staff. He said the presidential decree stipulating Agustadi's replacement was issued on Friday.

All three chiefs are to be sworn in next week. Air Force Spokesman Air Commodore Bambang Sulistyo said that presented a challenge. "We are working hard to prepare the inauguration ceremony because it is sudden notice," Bambang said.

But Commodore Sagom Tamboen, chief of the TNI Headquarters Information Service, told Antara news agency the changes were routine and had been planned for some time.

Both Agustadi and Subandrio have served in their positions since December 2007, while Tedjo Edhy has commanded the Navy since July 2008. All are set to retire from their military careers in 2010. That is when a chief of staff is typically replaced.

Christian Zebua said the new three chiefs would likely become candidates to replace Gen. Djoko Santoso as chief of Indonesia's armed forces. Djoko will reach retirement age in 2010.

A source within the military who declined to be named said Agustadi, Tedjo Edhy and Subandrio would likely be given new positions as ambassadors.

International solidarity

Indonesian leftist makes Australian speaking tour

Direct Action - November 2009

James Crafti – As workers filed out from their shift at the Buana factory in western Jakarta, they were greeted by members of the Solidarity Alliance for Workers Struggle (GSPB) who handed them leaflets demanding wage rises and improvements to working conditions. Very few of Indonesia's mostly women industrial workers are unionised. Active unionists like the members of the GSPB make new contacts outside the factory gates, and conduct trade union business in workers' homes because bosses use anti- worker laws to stop union organisers from entering the factories.

This was just one of the images of Indonesia brought to life for Australian audiences in the recent Australian speaking tour of Indonesian political activist Vivi Widyawati. The national coordinator of the Jaringan Nasional Perempuan Mahardika (National Network for Women's Liberation) and a leader of the radical left Committee of the Politics of the Poor-People's Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD), Widyawati visited Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in September and October.

Asked of her impressions from the tour, Widyawati told Direct Action she was surprised that people in Australia were unaware of the popular struggles across Indonesia for economic and social justice. She told Direct Action that "most people and activists in Australia don't know a lot about people's struggle and the political situation in Indonesia. While I was in Melbourne there were a few solidarity efforts such as solidarity with Palestine, Latin America, Cuba and Venezuela, and perhaps others – but for Indonesia it hasn't happened yet."

Indonesian 'democracy'

She added: "Many people in Australia still think that the quality of Indonesian democracy is already very good. In fact it's not. People were surprised when I reported on cases such as peasants getting shot, workers actions being broken up and that legal cases dealing with human rights abuses have never been concluded; that books are burned if they are considered to be communist or leftist books. These things are still happening.

"I was constantly asked 'how important is Islam in the oppression of women in Indonesia?' But women's oppression is not an issue of the domination of religion. While religion is one of the tools used in women's oppression, this itself is really a manifestation of the strength of patriarchal culture, which is everywhere, not just in Islam – it is also found in Christianity and elsewhere.

"Inside the Indonesian parliament Islamist political groups are strong. While not the majority, they continuously try to use political Islam to pass laws that discriminate against women and gain the support of non Islamist parties. Outside the parliament there are reactionary Islamist groups like the Islamic Defenders Front – the Front Pembela Islam (FPI) – that attempt to resist the women's movement and other people's movements, and they are not opposed by the government.

"Islamic fundamentalist groups in Indonesia such as FPI try to use Islam for the oppression of women – this is true. However, not only Islamist parties but almost all parties in Indonesia are involved in the oppression of women. For example, look at the pornography laws case. While these laws, that included restricting what clothing women can wear and introducing night curfews for women, were proposed by Islamist parties, non- Islamist parties supported these too."

Widyawati told audiences that the National Network for Women's Liberation – the main goal of which is to organise women to take action for their own liberation – is part of a broader people's movement that organises all sectors of Indonesian society from women, workers, urban poor, peasants and students to fight against their oppression in the face of capitalist domination of their country.

Widyawati's speaking tour included four public meetings organised by Direct Action and lectures to Indonesian language students at Sydney, Melbourne, La Trobe and Monash universities organised by Indonesian language teachers. Australia Asia Worker Links organised a number of meetings with unionists including addressing the Geelong Trades Hall Council and meetings with organisers and delegates from the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. Widyawati gave greetings to the abortion rights committee in Brisbane and Students for Palestine Rally in Melbourne. She was interviewed on the Asia Pacific Currents show on Radio 3CR in Melbourne and also for SBS national radio. She gave a report to the national committee meeting of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). Direct Action Films is currently editing a short documentary on Indonesia based on Widyawati's visit and that of fellow KPRM-PRD member Zely Ariane in June this year.

Discussions are underway among key organisers and participants in the speaking tour in Melbourne around the idea of establishing an Indonesia solidarity forum – an ongoing grouping that can link with and support popular struggles of Indonesian people. According to RSP member Sam King, who coordinated Widyawati's speaking tour and translated for her in Melbourne, "the first task of an Indonesia Solidarity Forum would be to show working people in Australia what is going on in Indonesia and educate them about the massive social struggles occurring there. Second would be to support some of those struggles.

Australian solidarity

"In my view the Indonesia Solidarity Forum should be democratic in character. That means it should not just support Widyawati's group or any one section of the popular movements, but should support all democratic struggles. Democracy in this context should be defined as it is by the Indonesian movements, where democracy is taken to include the right to access education and healthcare, the right to strike, land for farmers, bringing justice to human rights abusers as well as Indonesia's right to refuse its exploitation by multinational capitalist corporations.

"There are 300 Australian capitalist firms operating in Indonesia but working people here don't know where they operate, what they do, nothing. Meanwhile, the Australian government continues to tighten its ties with the Indonesian government despite that regime's falling legitimacy among the Indonesian poor majority. An Indonesia solidarity grouping could have provided a voice in the Australian media to denounce the disgusting collaboration between Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono to lock up Tamil refugees. Why on earth should Australian aid to Indonesia be designated for locking up innocent people to stop them exercising their rights? Surely there are more worthy causes. The refugee issue may be the topic of our first meeting later this year.

Michael Ewing, Head of Melbourne University's Indonesian Language program, told Direct Action that "such a network would create a very timely channel for opening up dialog between activists in Indonesia and Australia and with the concerned public more generally." He added that it could address "how little the Australian public at large knows about grass-roots activism in Indonesia".

Setyo Budi from the Asia Pacific Current radio program on radio 3CR told Direct Action: "The Indonesian forum can be important as a way to bridge understanding and form solidarity with labour and human rights activists in Indonesia. The forum can inform Australians who are often fed information that is looked at from the rulers', rather than the people's, point of view. Vice versa, the Indonesians can also be better informed about issues that relate the two countries. The East Timor referendum for independence in 1999 comes to mind: to date many Indonesians still think that East Timor wanted to be independent because they want to be part of Australia.

"The forum would be a continuation of solidarity that was formed in the past. The Indonesia-Australia solidarity movement has a long history. The Australian unions in the 1940s supported the Indonesian independence struggle, with the maritime workers refusing to unload Dutch cargo."

Economy & investment

Manufacturing industry stagnant, government vows to improve it

Jakarta Post - November 4, 2009

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – A large contributor to Indonesia's economy, manufacturing industry, had relatively stagnant growth this year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) says – but the government pledges to revitalize the crisis-hit sector starting next year.

In the first nine months of this year, large- and medium-scale manufacturing industries grew an insignificant 0.02 percent from the same period in 2008, BPS reported.

While manufacturing industry makes up 27 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) of about Rp 5,400 trillion (US$563.67 billion), manufacturing industry has been largely overlooked and needs to be improved to help spur economic growth, the BPS said.

Analysts said that in the past five years of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration manufacturing industry had received less attention. The government put its weight more behind the non-tradable sectors like telecommunications rather than the tradable sectors like manufacturing that could attract more workers, resulting in an imbalanced economy.

Moreover, since last year the country's manufacturing industry – in particular export-oriented sectors – had suffered from the negative impacts of the global economic downturn, which had significantly reduced overseas demand. While the global economy has seen signs of recovery, global demand has yet to return to the pre-crisis levels.

To fix this, the government has pledged to support the real sector in Yudhoyono's second five-year term, inviting stakeholders to the two-day National Summit held last week so as to hear their recommendations.

"We have stated that manufacturing industry and some strategic industries will be our priorities," said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati Tuesday, adding priorities included sugar, cement, palm oil and other natural resources.

With real sector improvements, the economy is expected to grow by more than 7 percent per year by 2014, Yudhoyono's last year in office.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat, himself the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said manufacturing industry would remain slow without better infrastructure, including gas and electricity.

Businesses have often complained against the decisions by state power utility PT PLN to shut off electricity in some areas, undermining and delaying industrial output. Higher gas prices have inflated fertilizer prices, discouraging farmers, a factor which has slowed down agricultural development.

Kadin has given recommendations for action plans for the government in the next five years, most notably to develop labor-intensive manufacturing and agriculture.

More employment is expected to cut the poverty rate, which now stands at 14.15 percent, or 32.53 million people, according to the latest BPS survey in March.

In a meeting Tuesday morning, Coordinating Minister for the economy Hatta Radjasa said economic ministers had reviewed all the recommendations by stakeholders in the National Summit. "We are focusing on the response. For instance, if a law revision is needed, [then] how long will it take."

Each economic minister will review their sector and report to the coordinating minister for the economy. On Thursday, the President will hold a Cabinet meeting to design the economic roadmap for the 2010-2014 period, said Hatta.

Carrefour fined $2.6 million for monopolizing Indonesian market

Jakarta Globe - November 3, 2009

Teguh Prasetyo & Aditya Wikrama – Indonesia's competition regulator on Tuesday ruled that the Indonesian subsidiary of French retail giant Carrefour was guilty of breaching antitrust laws, fining it Rp 25 billion ($2.6 million) and ordering it to sell most of its stake in a local retailer.

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) ruled that PT Carrefour Indonesia had violated the 1999 Anti-Monopoly Law by dominating the wholesale supplier market and forcing unfair trading terms on its suppliers following its acquisition of PT Alfa Retailindo in 2008. The acquisition gave the company an effective 58 percent share in the national retail market, the KPPU said.

Carrefour must sell its 79 percent stake in Alfa Retailindo within a year, said Dedie S Martadisastra, the head of the KPPU's legal tribunal.

"Since its Alfa Retailindo acquisition in 2008, the French retailer has been in control of the retail market nationwide with a 58 percent share, an increase from 46.3 percent in 2007," he said.

"The KPPU decision to sanction Carrefour has been made after a long investigation and with an objective analysis of evidence, including information from witnesses and relevant business partners such as the suppliers of Carrefour."

Dedie added that Carrefour's Rp 25 billion fine had to go into the state coffers through a state-owned bank.

Irawan D Kadarman, Carrefour's corporate affairs director in Indonesia, said the retailer was likely to appeal the ruling. Carrefour believed that the verdict was not based on the proper research and lacked a legal basis, he said.

"We still maintain the KPPU was not objective in its decision. Its verdict is groundless without the strong support of evidence or proper fieldwork."

Carrefour had strongly denied all charges about its relations with suppliers and, citing an AC Nielsen survey, maintained that the Alfa Retailindo acquisition only garnered it a 17 percent share of the national retail market.

KPPU Chairman Benny Pasaribu, who is also member of the legal tribunal, said the commission had also found evidence that Carrefour had violated another law on mergers and acquisitions.

"However, the commission dropped these charges because there are yet no government regulations implementing this law," he said.

Nugroho Setiadharma, a member of the Association of Indonesian Retailers (Aprindo), said the ruling could jeopardize both existing and future foreign investment in the retail sector.

Natalia Sutanto, a retail analyst at PT Ciptadana Securities, said the decision was unlikely to change the competition among the large supermarket retailers.

While global recovery sputters, Indonesia strong, IMF says

Jakarta Globe - November 3, 2009

Ardian Wibisono – Indonesia's strong domestic fundamentals should allow its economy to remain strong despite the prospects for a more sluggish global recovery than had recently been predicted, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

Milan Zavadjil, the IMF's chief representative in Jakarta, forecast that the country's economy would grow by 4.8 percent in 2010, just below the government's target of at least 5 percent.

"We expect the Indonesian economy to grow by 4 percent in 2009 and 4.8 percent in 2010," Zavadjil said. "We know it is below the consensus, but we still see the potential upside."

Zavadjil said the relatively conservative expectation was not because the country's economy was weaker than thought, but because the global economy was.

He said most of the positive signs of recovery in the global and Asian economies were fueled by massive stimulus packages and extraordinarily loose monetary policies issued by many countries in reaction to the economic crisis.

However, some indicators had raised doubt over the health of any broader recovery, he said. These included persistently high unemployment rates and weak retail demand.

Zavadjil said most Asian countries were in a precarious position because of their reliance on exports to support their economies, meaning stimulus was needed to maintain stable growth.

UBS global economist Paul Donovan had voiced similar estimates on Thursday, saying the shape of the global recovery would likely resemble a "Nike swoosh" rather than a classic "V."

However, both economists agreed that the slower global recovery would have only a minor impact on Indonesia's economy.

"The recovery in Indonesia is self-sustaining... due to strong domestic demand," Zavadjil said, adding that the 4.8 percent growth would be achieved mainly through that domestic demand.

Edward Teather, a senior economist at UBS, said Indonesia had advantages that would allow it to grow faster than its neighbors.

"Compared to Malaysia and Thailand, Indonesia has huge room for domestic spending, given the high rate of the savings and investment compared to GDP, the highest in Asia outside China and India," he said.

UBS sees the country growing by up to 5.3 percent in 2010. It said the government's target of 7 percent growth by 2014 was reachable if appropriate measures were taken.

"The key to higher growth is increasing productivity per capita, and infrastructure development would do this. With strong domestic demand, I also believe foreign investors will remain confident in putting their investments here," Teather said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said the country needed Rp 2,100 trillion ($220 billion) of investment per year for the next five years to be able to reach the 7 percent target.

Fauzi Ichsan, a local economist from Standard Chartered Bank, said the IMF's lower forecast might be caused by expectations of a slower global economic recovery, which "still has an effect on exports and commodity prices."

"However, we also see that the potential upside is bigger than the downside risk. The potential upside would depend on how fast the government could roll out planned infrastructure projects," he said.

Mandiri stays confident despite 'bad' debts

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Jakarta – Bank Mandiri, the country's largest bank by assets, claims its outlook is positive despite more than Rp 3 trillion (US$313 million) in non-performing loans (NPLs).

The bank reported its net NPL ratio as of September increased to 0.85 percent from last year's 0.56 percent. The September ratio however, was better than in the first half of the year, which had reached 1.09 percent.

Mandiri's director for special asset management, Abdul Rahman, said Sunday that the debts did not prevent healthy profit growth.

The bank's Jan-Sept net profits reached Rp 4.62 trillion ($482 million), 16.8 percent higher than the Rp 3.95 trillion gained in the same period last year.

Mandiri president director Agus Martowardojo said that the bank would prefer restructuring big debts rather than bringing them to the courts.

According to Abdul, the most affected companies came from the footwear and textile sectors, as their biggest importers – the US and European countries – had been severely hit by economic slowdown.

"We give them opportunities to reschedule their debt payments so that their business could keep rolling." Mandiri is now focusing on settling big debts with flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia, food producer PT Suba Indah, Bali-based hotel and tourism company PT Dewata Royal International, the plantation firm the Benua Indah Group, coffee producer Tripanca Group and a number of companies grouped under the Djajanti Group.

The bank, however, has been forced to file lawsuits against a number of debtors who were "unwilling" to repay their debts. "Bank Mandiri will take clear actions against debtors that seem not to show goodwill," Abdul said. (bbs)

KPK vs police saga may hurt investment, business group says

Jakarta Post - November 2, 2009

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The now-infamous saga between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police, and the arrest of two KPK leaders, must be resolved immediately or it will badly affect the investment climate, hampering economic growth, a business group says.

"The case of the KPK versus the police will clearly affect law enforcement and political stability, two basic things needed to improve the investment climate," Hariyadi Sukamdani, vice chairman on fiscal policy at the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said Sunday.

Two KPK chairmen, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, were taken into police custody last week. The two had been earlier declared suspects by the police for allegedly blackmailing and receiving bribes from a corruption suspect.

While the police have been insistent their actions are based on legitimate legal grounds, speculation has been widespread that they are using this case to cripple the KPK – a powerful anti- corruption body which has been the darling of the public for prosecuting and convicting corrupt officials, including high- profile ones.

Speculation was heightened by the revelation, after the arrest of the KPK chairmen, of an alleged recorded phone conversation detailing a scenario to frame KPK leaders.

Hariyadi said the business community was looking at this case carefully and considered this as a test case for Indonesia's legal system as well as over whether the country can guarantee legal certainty. He said the role of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be crucial.

"The society will see that the President is being inconsistent in upholding the law if this remains unsolved," he added.

The case comes when the government plans to improve the investment climate by achieving 7 percent economic growth by 2014, the last year of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second five-year term.

"If (the Police had) strong evidence to arrest Bibit and Chandra, then this must be disclosed to the public. But if this is weak, the case must be dropped," said Hariyadi.

His remarks follow previous similar statements. No less than Industry Ministry M.S. Hidayat has stated that if not resolved immediately and amicably, the case would negatively affect investment.

"I'm not referring to one particular case, but in the context of legal certainty, every legal dispute which has a national impact must be settled soon. If it drags on and on, it will surely affect investment," he said.

Dradjat Wibowo, economist who is also a former lawmaker, was more straightforward, saying that the case was a bad precedent for Indonesia's legal system which may spook investors who consider legal certainty as a key factor for investment.

"Let's say an investor on average invests 10, then because of this case, they will only invest 5," Dradjat said. "I think in general, the problem between the KPK and the National Police will negatively affect investors' perspectives toward Indonesia."

Analysis & opinion

Anticorruption scandal offers comedy, tragedy and farce

Jakarta Globe - November 7, 2009

Jakarta Globe – The war between the Corruption Eradication Commission and almost every other government institution allegedly responsible for enforcing the nation's laws fulfills all the requirements of a Shakespearean tragi-comedy – it's a serious play with a generous sprinkling of jokes and jokers to entertain an enthralled audience.

The public has long understood the depth of corruption within and the level of collusion between the National Police, Attorney General's Office and the judiciary. And the downtrodden majority begrudgingly accepted that state of affairs until Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, deputy chairmen of the antigraft commission, were taken into custody by the National Police last Thursday.

Since then, almost 1 million people have signed up to a support group on Facebook to back the commission, also known as the KPK, or to take verbal shots at police and other institutions or individuals believed to be participating in a vast conspiracy to weaken the successful antigraft body.

The unprecedented level of vitriol directed against police – especially Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the National Police's former chief detective, who coined the phrase "a battle between a crocodile and a gecko" – was perhaps best demonstrated at the expense of one young Facebook user identified as Evan Brimob, a member of the South Sumatra Mobile Brigade.

In what was either a moment of sheer idiocy or naive esprit de corps, Evan wrote on his profile: "The police do not need the people. But the people need the police. Go Indonesian police, swallow those geckos alive."

A little over 48 hours later, four anti-Evan Facebook accounts had popped up, including one which sported an altered photo of the officer in less-than manly attire. In all, they had attracted 20,000 supporters. National Police officials, who have defied calls from the public and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to fire Susno (he has stepped down, sort of) acted with unusual haste, apologizing "from the bottom of our hearts" for the comments. The "young and emotional" officer, police say, is now officially under investigation.

Sideshows aside, it was the murky disclosure that the KPK was in possession of wiretapped conversations involving senior law enforcement officials and allegedly criminal figures that prompted the police to detain Chandra and Bibit for alleged abuse of power and extortion in relation to a case involving fugitive corruption suspect Anggoro Widjojo.

The arrests and resulting public outrage led the Constitutional Court to demand the KPK hand over 67 taped telephone conversations. What followed was a hearing quite unlike any other.

For a full five hours, at least two major television stations suspended their regular programming to beam the scandalous content of the tapes into living rooms and warungs around the country. What they heard included threats by an unidentified man speaking to Anggodo Widjojo, Anggoro's brother, to kill Chandra in jail, and conversations involving Anggodo and a number of officials about bringing down the KPK.

Also implicated were Susno, two senior members of the AGO, and Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) deputy chairman I Ketut Sudiharsa. Even Yudhoyono's name was mentioned. He has denied involvement.

Again, there were moments of levity. There was Ketut recorded as asking if it was okay to bring his wife to Singapore to meet Anggoro, and asking Anggoro to save the "new" number he was calling from because he believed the KPK was tapping his old one.

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD, in response to a suggestion from Bibit and Chandra's lawyer during the hearing, said, "Don't tell law enforcement agencies what to do. Don't be like Anggodo."

On a more serious note, it was a recorded conversation between Anggodo and convicted drug dealer Ong Yuliana Gunawan that caused jaws to drop the furthest, laying out in plain detail the role of the "judicial mafia" in helping clients resolve cases.

After the hearing, Anggodo turned up at TVOne for what he thought was an exclusive rant against his many detractors. He became somewhat more subdued when told the station had been surrounded by police waiting to escort him to National Police headquarters. On his way out he stopped to apologize to the president and his own wife for the overly familiar language he had used in his conversation with Yuliana.

Anggodo, who has not been charged with any crime, shed no tears during the apology. That was not the case when Susno appeared before lawmakers on Thursday night. Fighting back what may said were crocodile tears, Susno pleaded his innocence.

Corruption bomb explodes in Indonesia

Asia Times - November 7, 2009

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta – Only a few short months since Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was re-elected with an overwhelming mandate on an anti-corruption platform, protest marches and chants calling for revolution against his government have been heard on the streets of the national capital and other cities.

"Revolution, revolution, revolution to the death!" This rally cry, not heard since the 1998 fall of former dictator Suharto, is being chanted by anti-corruption activists and other protesters over Yudhoyono's alleged involvement in a complex plot to criminally frame two deputy chairmen, Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, of the country's highly successful and widely respected graft-busting Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The politically explosive allegations were captured in a wiretapped conversation involving businessman Anggodo Widjojo, police and prosecutors, in which they appeared to plot against the KPK. Widjojo mentioned the police force's top detective, Susno Duadji, and deputy attorney general, Abdul Hakim Ritonga, as supportive of the plot. The conversation was nationally televised during Constitutional Court hearings and widely reported in the local media.

Both Duadji and Ritonga resigned their positions without explanation on Thursday. Under public pressure, Yudhoyono has launched an investigation, led by a group dubbed Team 8, into the allegations, and he has said that officials mentioned in the tapes should be suspended until the inquiry is complete. There are no indications that Yudhoyono intends to temporarily step down over the mounting scandal.

Anggodo allegedly contacted the Attorney General's Office and senior police officials to convince them of trumped up allegations against Chandra and Bibit. Anggodo Widjojo is the brother of fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, who is wanted for fraud and embezzlement and known to be at large in Singapore. Anggodo is heard on the tape to be soliciting "help" from Ketut Sudiharsa, deputy head of the witness protection agency, the LPSK, to protect his brother.

The allegations mark a dramatic turn for Yudhoyono, who was widely perceived as supportive of the country's much lauded anti-corruption drive. To nobody's great surprise, given that transcripts had earlier been leaked to the press, the plot by businessman Anggodo Widjojo to solicit false testimony was now on the record. Yudhoyono was indeed mentioned in the conversations as supporting the conspiracy.

Since its establishment in late 2003, the largely autonomous KPK has been at odds with entrenched forces in the government and bureaucracy. High-ranking officials in the police, Attorney General's Office, central bank and parliament have all been targeted for investigation and prosecution by the KPK, which boasts a 100% conviction rate in the cases it has brought before the special Corruption Court.

The KPK has come under fire from vested interest groups, including in parliament, that have tried to reduce or even eliminate the investigative agency's powers. That has been evident in parliament with the foot-dragging in debating a new Corruption Court bill, which effectively let the court's legal mandate expire. Parliament also bid to redefine the composition of the Corruption Court to dilute the number of ad hoc judges, who, unlike many career judges, have proven to be free from political influence.

But it's the alleged covert attempts to undermine the KPK that have caused the greater furor.

The accusation that KPK chairman Antasari Azhar contracted killers to murder a businessman who was the third corner in a love triangle involving a female golf caddy has come under new scrutiny amid the allegations political forces had aligned to undermine the KPK. Antasari is currently imprisoned and awaiting trial on murder charges.

He implicated and later withdrew accusations of abuse of power and influence peddling against other KPK members, sparking the police and Attorney General's Office to launch investigations. KPK deputy chairmen Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto were initially suspended over the investigations and then detained on October 28. There was immediate public suspicion that the two graft fighters, who have subsequently been released, had been framed. That suspicion was articulated in a vigorous online campaign in favor of the two commissioners.

Yudhoyono had been inundated with requests to intervene in the commissioners' defense. Although the KPK is an independent body, it is directly responsible to the president. Yudhoyono, however, in a display of his characteristic reticence, said the legal process must run its course. Protesters have since taken to the streets demanding action from Yudhoyono, who was until recently viewed as a dedicated champion of the anti-corruption drive.

Under mounting popular pressure, the police have temporarily released Chandra and Bibit. Police then detained Anggodo, who had appeared on a television show angrily defending his actions and denying he was trying to frame the two commissioners. Later, in another interview at police headquarters, a somewhat chastened Anggodo apologized to everyone he may have harmed through his wiretapped conversation, including Yudhoyono and deputy attorney general Ritonga.

Within 24 hours of his detention, police released Anggodo without laying charges against him. At first, police continued to stonewall the press while Anggodo secretly exited police headquarters through a back door, but soon began to send out mixed messages. Brigadier General Raja Erisman, National Police Director for Economic Crimes, was quoted as saying, "He is now under our protection."

A police spokesman, Inspector General Nana Sukarna, said, "We don't have enough evidence to name him as a suspect in each one of the six allegations. We can't blame him for his conversation with his friends, for mentioning the president, or for his threat to kill someone, as nothing materialized." He added, "It is the people who spread the recordings that should be blamed."

The news drew an immediate reaction from the hastily appointed Team 8 fact-finding group. A team member, Todung Mulia Lubis, a civil-rights lawyer and chairman of the executive board of Transparency International Indonesia, accused the police of "obstructing justice" and added, "This cannot be tolerated." Team 8 chairman Adnan Buyung Nasution threatened to have the entire team resign as their recommendations had largely been ignored. "What's the point of all our work?" he asked.

Some believe the debacle represents a golden opportunity for Yudhoyono to act decisively in cleaning up the police and Attorney General's Office, long seen among the most corrupt bureaucracies in the country. While much remains murky surrounding the alleged plot, including Yudhoyono's alleged involvement, one thing is certain: the president's once clean- hands image is now in doubt.

The new revelations could further erode Yudhoyono's graft- fighting credentials, and they threaten broadly the once vibrant reform movement he was democratically re-elected to lead.

[Patrick Guntensperger is a Jakarta-based journalist and teacher of journalism. His blog can be found at http://pagun- view.blogspot.com.]

Facebook people power

Asia Times - November 7, 2009

Sara Schonhardtm Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesians have taken to the streets in the past week to protest the arrests of two anti-corruption commissioners and demand that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono take a stand against graft in a nation with a long history of bribery and political shenanigans.

The demonstrations are a stark reminder of those that occurred more than 10 years ago, when Indonesians rallied to demand the ouster of dictator Suharto. This time, the weight of remonstration is digital, in the form of a Facebook group.

The popular social networking site claims a small but rapidly growing market in Indonesia, the world's seventh-largest Facebook community with 8.52 million users, according to data compiled by Google Trends. The growth rate is fast – 8.23 million joined in the past 12 months alone.

After two members of the Corruption Eradication Commission, better known as KPK, were arrested last Thursday, more than 350,000 people joined a Facebook page in support of the deputies. Thousands more signed up throughout the day and new comments have been posted to the wall almost every second. Public demonstrations have since been held, but they've drawn nowhere near the support seen on Facebook.

By Friday morning, a week after the site launched, it was well on its way to reaching one million members, with more than 925,000 people having signed up by 9am. Wall posts have ranged from outrage toward the police – "Confess now, then ask forgiveness later", wrote Agus Sutragus – to pleas for the president to "defend the people's struggle" and to root out corruption for the good of the country.

The site's main goal, according to creator Usman Yasin, is to push for law enforcement reform in Indonesia. The corruption scandal continues to swirl, raising daily intrigue and conspiracy theories. But what many analysts here are now discussing is how people have democratically responded to an event that has created mass public dissatisfaction and could, they say, significantly undermine the social and political stability that recently re- elected Yudhoyono struggled to rebuild during his first five years in power.

"Now we have a new model on how to control our government," said Teten Masduki, the secretary general of Transparency International in Indonesia and a part of the team summoned by the president on Sunday to advise him on an appropriate response to the uproar. "With new technology it's easy to share our dissatisfaction with the president: just update your status."

Teten also highlighted the importance of a change in election laws that saw politicians directly elected by voters for the first time in the 11 years since democracy has taken hold in Indonesia. He remains sanguine about the potential for Facebook and other on-line social networking sites to mobilize public opinion.

"People want to say we support the KPK and we believe justice will win. Facebook has become a political indicator of that," said the anti-corruption activist, who worked with a popular Indonesian band to release a ringtone Wednesday in support of the KPK. In the first few hours after its release, more than 40,000 people had used the jingle.

After decades of authoritarian rule under Suharto, which included a stranglehold on independent media, Indonesia now enjoys greater freedom of speech and more open political debate in the news arena.

The Internet increasingly plays a critical role as a platform for independent debate, "so much so that mainstream media are left with no choice but to start reporting issues that are causing waves in cyberspace," Jakarta Globe columnist Karim Raslan wrote on Thursday. He believes that the pushback from civil society shows people are not as complacent as they seem, and this could prove a challenge that will keep Yudhoyono on his toes throughout his second term.

Many politicians also have recognized the importance of the Internet, and several took their campaigns online during the July presidential elections as a way to win over young voters. New information minister, Tifatul Sembiring, says he sends out daily tweets on Twitter, a site that allows people to post short thoughts or questions.

'Game-changing' agent

Some see Facebook users as a strategic segment of society and believe a presence on the site increases their access to Indonesian youth as well as high-level bureaucrats and businesspeople who can influence public information. Other analysts say the latest Facebook showing is more proof of digital media's power, not only among Indonesian youth, but also among those who lost faith in the independence of mainstream media during the Suharto years and now prefer the Web for independent news and analysis.

"The Internet is a 'game-changing' agent even in a polity such as Indonesia where the media is relatively free," wrote Karim.

But whether online activism translates to political action remains to be seen. Some suggest it may be just a passing fad, pointing out that the majority of Facebook users in Indonesia are already well-educated, well-informed members of the middle class. That automatically makes them more likely to take an interest in politics and seek to influence politicians through outlets outside of Facebook.

Others say the swelling support seen on Facebook pushed Yudhoyono to assemble a fact-finding team into the allegations on Monday. But it was ultimately the public dissemination through court hearings of wiretapped conversation indicating that senior police and attorney general's office officials may have been complicit in a plot to undermine the KPK that led to the two commissioners' release on Tuesday.

This is not the first time Facebook has played a role in public protest in Indonesia. In July, thousands signed up to support Prita, a mother of two who was accused of criminally defaming an international hospital in an e-mail that criticized the facility's treatment. Whether or not the Facebook support made a difference, it did draw attention to Prita's case, with nearly 60,000 supporters signing up to the Facebook group calling for her freedom. When she was eventually released from jail, many social activists credited the campaign sparked by Facebook.

Other on-line protest groups include an anti-polygamy coalition started after a controversial global polygamy club launched a branch in Indonesia in mid-October. Indonesia Unite, which launched a page as a way for Indonesians to take a stand against terrorism following the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotel bombings in July, has since participated in a blogging conference and launched its own T-shirts, pins and stickers in an effort to gain a presence outside the Web.

While Facebook has become a prime way of coordinating people and promoting public awareness campaigns, the Internet still only reaches around 10% of Indonesia's 240 million people. Mobile connectivity is greater, with nearly 60% of Indonesians owning a cell phone, and the explosion of portable Web devices such as BlackBerrys have given more people access to Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to update their status on the go.

The low cost of such devices also opens Facebook to a wider swath of society, giving more citizens access to tools that help them shape not only the news but also the way the government responds to their demands. Public arguments on the social networking site have also raised debate about how the country's draconian electronic information law can best be applied in the new digital age.

After one week of solid support for the KPK deputies, in democratic fashion, one Facebook user posted a comment that backed the other side: "Go Indonesian police, swallow those geckos alive," wrote the user, referring to a derogatory term used to describe the KPK. Hundreds of angry comments followed the post, while others reminded members to the group that Indonesia is now a country that embraces free speech.

But the corruption scandal and the online response has revealed a rift in society that Transparency International's Teten said is becoming more polarized. "You can see the president is behind the police and the attorney general while the people are behind the KPK." It's an expression of popular dissent that wouldn't have been possible under the authoritarianism of Suharto, or before the advent of Facebook.

[Sara Schonhardt is a freelance writer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She has lived and worked in Southeast Asia for six years and has a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University.]

Justice for sale

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 5, 2009

The tape recordings played publicly by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Tuesday at the order of the Constitutional Court sent a chilling shudder through the spine.

This is so despite public knowledge of the sickening state of our judiciary. Shame on our nation, shame on our country. If the recordings prove to be authentic, they show how rotten some of our top leaders, particularly those at the National Police (Polri) and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) actually are. Their abuse of power, if it turns out to be true, is an insult to all law-abiding officials.

Credit should go to the Constitutional Court head, Mahfud MD, who decided to open the case for the public, and to the people who have exerted strong pressure to reveal the recordings, that proved to contain a scheme to undermine the KPK. Democracy has made what was unthinkable a decade ago possible.

The playing of the tape recordings has defused the tension arising from the nationwide pressure to uncover what they, the public, saw as an attempt by the Polri and the AGO to attack the KPK.

The pomposity of businessman Anggodo Widjojo, the central figure on the tapes, in his dealings with officials from the Polri and the AGO is reminiscent of the Artalita bribery case last year, in which a tape recording of justice being brokered was similarly heard.

Since the Artalita case last year, the suspicion, long harbored by the public, of the existence of the so-called "Court Mafia", persistently denied by government officials, has proved to be true. They often operate with total impunity and have the power to turn legal decisions upside down.

The mentioning of the name of the President in the recording is worrying and should be investigated, especially because the father of his daughter-in-law was found guilty of bribery by the KPK. The people who voted for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in July might have thought he was serious in battling corruption, even if it involved his family members, but subsequent events have, at the very least, put this in doubt.

The President remained aloof when the two KPK deputies were detained on bribery charges in September, before quickly moving to replace them.

Mahfud MD has given President Yudhoyono the perfect opportunity to clean up the police and the Attorney General's Office once and for all. Particularly necessary as the government has planned to increase the salaries of the employees in 11 institutions next year, including these two.

The successful reform of the tax office can serve as an example. A key element in the reform was the right choice of leader, in this case, the Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

We will know where the President stands on this case shortly by watching his follow-up actions. At the very least, the Polri chief and the attorney general should be sacked and those mentioned in the recordings, again if the recordings turn out to be authentic, should be harshly punished.

The hearing of the tape recordings is an essential lesson that everyone, including the President, is equal before the law.

The arrogance of power

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 3, 2009

The arrogance of power is something we did not expect to see in a democratic setting like today's Indonesia. Having gone through 32 years of authoritarian rule under president Soeharto until he was deposed in 1998, we have come to assume that the display of naked power in this country belonged to a bygone era.

We could not be more wrong. The arrest of two deputies from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, on Thursday shows that the old habit is still with us, even with the freshly re-elected government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The arrests triggered widespread protests from the public, which had been following the row between the KPK and the police these past few months through the media. President Yudhoyono's press conference defending the police action and saying he would not meddle in an ongoing legal process only added fuel to the protests. Since the National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri is accountable and answerable to him and him alone, it is unacceptable for the President to declare that he did not have the power to intervene.

Both Bambang and Yudhoyono are essentially hiding behind legal and constitutional arguments in defending and condoning the arrest of the two KPK deputies. Since they are effectively "the law", they may win the legal arguments and eventually prevail, if and when the case is heard in a court of law.

But they are forgetting one thing: The case is already now being heard in the court of public opinion, and the public is overwhelmingly against the arrests.

The street protests, the offer by public figures to stand in for Bibit and Chandra in the police detention center, the growing petitions in their support on social networking media like Facebook and Twitter, and the wearing of black attire or black armbands on Monday, attest to the revulsion many people feel at the seemingly gross miscarriage of justice.

Soeharto always felt comfortable hiding behind the law and the Constitution, which de facto he controlled (he was "the law" for much of his reign), but misread that, while he had constitutional legitimacy and exercised it with naked power, he never had that much popular legitimacy.

Yudhoyono too may feel that he has constitutional legitimacy, but he is wrong to assume that he also still enjoys a popular legitimacy, having won the election with 60 percent plus of the votes in July.

Many who supported his re-election have now turned against him. This could not have been a worse start to Yudhoyono's second, and constitutionally final, term in office.

Gen. Bambang should be fired, if not for miscalculating public reaction then for his poor sense of timing. The day the arrests were made was the day the President launched his National Summit, bringing in all the nation's top decision makers to hear about the direction and the goals of his new government. Rather than acting as a diversion, news on the summit was buried by the media (thank God for the free media) choosing the arrest and the public reaction as the main story on the day and for the next few days.

The episode has damaged not only the image and reputation of the National Police, but increasingly that of President Yudhoyono. Why he is aloof in spite of the public sentiment is baffling. His attitude has strengthened speculation that the KPK may be hitting the jackpot in one of its corruption investigations – catching a much bigger fish than they thought at first – so much so that the National Police and the President are going to such lengths as to put their own credibility on the line.

There is only one proper course of action for President Yudhoyono to take in order to pacify the public, restore their sense of justice and prevent the protests from escalating into one massive people power movement: Release Bibit and Chandra at once.

Let their legal cases proceed by all means and let them battle it out with the police in the open. But do not put them in detention.

Unity of the Indonesian revolutionary movement is urgent

IndoPROGRESS - November 1, 2009

The Second National Unity Cabinet has finally been formed. For those who had been eagerly tinkering around with possible elite political constellations, many were shocked. The composition of the cabinet, as it turned out, largely reflected a desire to consolidate the fragmented politics at the elite level.

But for the progressive movement, the composition of the cabinet only reconfirms what had been predicted up until now: the need to pursue the capitalist-neoliberal agenda immediately without a fuss being created by fragmentation within the elite. A stable elite constellation was one of the important aspects that had to be realised, and only then conquering or co-opting the anti- capitalist and anti-neoliberal forces. In order to discuss this political conclusion further, Coen Husain Pontoh from IndoPROGRESS spoke with Zely Ariane from the Political Committee of the Poor-Peoples Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD). The following are excerpts form the discussion.

IndoPROGRESS (IP): What is your opinion on the composition of the second National Unity Cabinet?

Zely Ariane (ZA): It is fitting to refer to the new cabinet as "bribery for the sake of stability". The new cabinet is a result of a compromise and horse-trading between the election winners, which was accelerated as a result of the capitalist crisis, with an opportunist elite political "opposition" that is asking for a share. The result only further demonstrates that they are indeed bogus, just a fake opposition. The entire thing has been blatantly for one purpose, for immediate peace in order to fight to patch up the financial losses of the foreign and domestic capitalist lords as a result of the global financial crisis.

IP: How have you arrived at an assessment such as this?

ZA: From the aspect of its composition, aside from his allies in the presidential elections, SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] has embraced all [the political interests and parties], particularly the remnants of [the late dictator President Suharto's] New Order regime, the Golkar Party.

Who knows why [Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, PDI-P Secretary General] Pramono Anung and [the daughter of PDI-P General Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri] Puan Maharani failed to become ministers, despite the fact that Megawati has gone as far as referring to the SBY government as "strategic partners" – perhaps because they couldn't agree on a suitable "price" – plus [Megawati's husband and PDI-P powerbroker] Taufik Kemas has succeeded in becoming the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

SBY had to give the largest bribes to the PDI-P. Because it is the PDI-P that is the largest "opposition" at the moment. And SBY was successful, at least in so far as Megawati was prepared to issue a statement to that effect. And perhaps by embracing the PDI-P, [Megawati's former vice presidential running mate] Prabowo Subianto from the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) was no longer important in his calculations.

The basis for all this is to ensure that the political situation is stable, the various remedies for the capitalist crisis set out by the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations, which has already "transformed" into the G20, of which Indonesia has already become an important part, must be pursued immediately. Don't create unnecessary complications by letting the elite hold "limited protests".

With the subjugation of the PDI-P through Megawati's statement, the representation of the biggest "reformers" – outside of the political parties that have already entered into a coalition with SBY – have again proven themselves bogus. And, their opposition will only be pretend opposition, fake opposition.

In historical terms, we already know all of the political elite's crimes, their betrayals. This has been demonstrated by their consistently being the defenders of big domestic and foreign capital – and only defending the ordinary people during election campaigns. They are even quite prepared to use "nationalist" sentiment to assist the interest of the domestic capitalist lords to defend them from the "threat" of foreign capital, although it is only for the sake of conducting negotiations.

IP: If there is no longer an opposition in the parliament, does this mean that hope for an opposition lies outside parliament. Is this possible?

ZA: Before assessing the opportunities for an extra-parliamentary opposition at present, I think it is important to look at why there is no material and historical basis for an elite opposition – which by definition is a group that opposes the government – in Indonesia. This is important so that we don't pretend to look for or fabricate something that in factual terms doesn't actually exist.

Post the 1998 reform period, there have been five political forces that have been the main obstacles to economic and political reform in Indonesia. They are: 1) The government as a capitalist collaborator; 2) the Golkar Party as a representative of the remnants of the New Order regime that survived and succeeded in adapting to political reform; 3) the military, which in structural terms inherited the values of violence and anti- democracy from the New Order – even the Dutch colonial army; 4) the fake reformists, namely the political parties and political elite that moved quickly to betray the promises of the 1998 reform movement; and 5) the reactionary civilian militia, the various organisations derived from the New Order and military, which are used to organise anti-democratic actions.

These five political forces have the same ideology: they are pro-capitalist and have voluntarily become capitalist collaborators.

I think that the Ciganjur declaration [a statement by four prominent opposition figures in 1998] and the parliamentary overthrow of Gus Dur [former President Abdurrahman Wahid] in 2001 by the "opposition" coalition of fake reformists, Golkar and the military, destroyed the material basis for the emergence of an elite opposition in Indonesia. At the very least, it has already been demonstrated that all of the civilian elite (who claim to be reformists) have given in to the military, and are even willing to again embrace the remnants of the New Order, whereas both represent the principle backers of the New Order political system.

It is because of this therefore, that a genuine opposition will only emerge when left forces, which are anti-capitalist, anti the remnants of the New Order, anti-military and anti the fake reformists, grow and develop, both in the parliament as well as outside the parliament. Given the current situation, because there are no left forces in the parliament, then the hope does indeed lie outside the parliament.

IP: Who possibly are the opposition forces outside of the parliament? How big is their potential to become an opposition force?

ZA: Before discussing that I would like to straighten out the statement about the opposition forces. With regard to the term "opposition" itself, I am still a little confused. Opposition, which by definition is a group that opposes the government, could emerge from anywhere (parliamentary or extra-parliamentary). Because there will always be many groups that will oppose the government in partial terms. Such as fighting government policies that damage certain bourgeois groups or factions, or the interests of the ordinary people, within a specific time frame.

In pursuit of such interests, it may well be that the PDI-P, or Gerindra and Hanura [the People's Conscience Party headed by former General Wiranto], could again become an opposition in parliament. Not excepting members of coalition members in SBY's cabinet itself. It is this that is referred to as pretend opposition, the fake reformists. Without exposing their track records and ideological veil, the progressive movements will continue to be trapped into supporting this kind of opposition.

Within this understanding of the word, there will be a great deal of opposition, and later this could well spread beyond the parliament. Even the spontaneous resistance of the people against forced evictions can be categorised as opposition, including resistance that is ridden with the interests of the political elite or even mobilised by them.

It is because of this therefore that I'm not interested in playing around with the word opposition, like playing around with the word anti-neoliberalism – as mainstream politics is so interested in doing at the moment.

So the word opposition is inaccurate or merely a simplification or a euphemism if it is not aimed at or pinned to groups who do indeed want to change the capitalist system into a proletariat or socialist system.

Myself, as part of one of these groups, could well be categorised as the opposition, but it's more than just that, we are part of the revolutionary movement that is endeavoring patiently, militantly, astutely and democratically, to continue to find a strategy and tactic to overthrow the capitalist state. And these groups are indeed still small.

So yes, there are left political forces outside the parliament, who are consistently cultivating the people's resistance, building the political movements and its unity to replace the government and the capitalist state. They also took part in the recent demonstrations on October 20 [against Yudhoyono and Boediono's inauguration], both in coalitions as well as individually.

IP: How big is the potential to be able to, at least at this stage, challenge the political hegemony of the elite?

ZA: I believe that objectively it's big. More and more people are disgusted with the behaviour of the political elite, which, at the very lest, has manifested itself in golput [to abstain from voting or not mark the ballot paper] (regardless of their backgrounds or motivation) in the legislative and presidential elections earlier this year.

The people's resistance is becoming bigger and its methods more advanced because it is increasingly obvious that their "representatives" do not defend their interests. Meanwhile the capitalist onslaught is further impoverishing them.

But all of this can also result in pragmatism, or disillusionment, because there is no, or never appears to be any solution. Moreover the people have witnessed how their organisational leaders, or the activists that they know (who are popular), have even joined hands with the political elite, which they had previously campaigned as the enemies of the people. So the ordinary people, who have a low intellectual capacity and historical track record, once again end up in despondency, or remain caught up in the political elite current, which is not revolutionary. This situation is clearly dangerous and at several levels, has already undermined the previous achievements of the movement.

IP: Who then is capable of providing the framework and direction for a struggle that is revolutionary?

ZA: Only the unity of the revolutionary groups that are patient, astute, militant and democratic in building a broader movement and creating their own political platform and explicitly rejecting interference or intervention by the political forces that are the obstacle to the people's liberation – or what we refer to as the politics of non-cooptation. And this also, again, is not an easy job at the moment.

IP: What about the methods needed to achieve this unity of the revolutionary groups, and exactly what factors have inhibited this unity up until now?

ZA: First of all, and most importantly, is the political importance of unity in the current stage of the revolution that must be strong and be strived for patiently – but of course not just foolishly maintaining unity that is artificial or undemocratic. As we stated in the KPRM-PRD's political position in its declaration: "It is a positive fact that uniting the millions of ordinary people (the exploited and oppressed) under a united leadership is one of the most difficult strategic and tactical tasks, and this demands determination, perseverance and courage".

Indeed, unity is only one of the tactics to enlarge the movement, achieving victory. However in the midst of the sea of masses who are still very reformist in outlook, movement unity is an absolute necessity to lead, and at the same time cultivate progressive mass consciousness, which will accelerate and broaden.

We believe that at this stage, unity among the revolutionary groups, socialist groups, is urgent and very necessary in order to provide direction and a framework to seek a solution to address the unrest among ordinary people. In its political expression, this kind of unity must, explicitly, reject interference, not be subordinated to and free of [elite political] influence, and (moreover) cannot be allowed to fuse with pro-government forces, the imperialist agents, the military, the remnants of New Order and the fake reformists. Let's not confuse the people again and undermine the anti-elite consciousness that has begun to grow.

This is what we refer to as the "politics of the poor", namely a political alternative (rival) that has its basis in the forces of the people's own resistance, with the principle of non- cooperation and non-cooptation in confronting the enemies of the people.

This position does not of course reject the possibility of short-term unity with democratic elements, in accordance with jointly agreed demands and on the basis of freedom to propagandise.

There is no manual setting out the methods for building unity at the moment. The key is what kind of unity, non-cooptation and collaboration with the enemies of the people, and the freedom to carry out propaganda. We have been able to learn from evaluating previous attempts at unity, the progressive aspects of which we must keep, and improve those that are still lacking. For the sake of unity of the revolutionary groups, we – although still small – have started to build a culture of political unity. As much as possible we will become involved with and work in solidarity with the various political expressions of other revolutionary groups, without having to use our organisational symbols.

The aim is to erode the subjective prejudices of fellow revolutionary organisations. But the impact of this effort will remain minimal if it is not quickly followed by a consolidation of this unity that has the capacity to build its own political vehicle, which can stand against the hegemony of the political elite.

It has never been clear what factor is actually obstructing unity, because formally all of the groups declare their agreement. Some cite their organisational integrity or bad experience with earlier unity attempts. In the case of the second argument, it is easier to resolve. But in the case of the first, personally I'm not willing to draw any conclusions other than that perhaps for them, the importance of unity, at this stage in the revolution, is indeed still not that important.

[Translated by James Balowski. Zely Ariane is the national spokesperson for the Political Committee of the Poor-Peoples Democratic Party. The original text of the interview in Indonesian can be found at http://indoprogress.blogspot.com/2009/11/zely-ariane-persatuan- kaum-pembaharu.html.]