Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – In the wake of mounting calls for the government to award the title of national hero to the late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, the Golkar Party has asked the administration to provide the same status to late former president Soeharto.

However, Golkar's demand immediately drew criticisms from a number of experts. Political expert Arbi Sanit and historian Asvi Marwan Adam said Golkar's demand was excessive, saying it was irrational to compare Soeharto with Gus Dur.

"This demonstrates Golkar's childish attitude," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. "Don't compare Soeharto and Gus Dur in terms of title for national hero because it is like comparing the earth with the sky, or water with oil."

Gus Dur passed away at the age of 69 at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital on Wednesday.

Arbi said Soeharto's track record on democracy and human rights was very poor. "Granting the status of national hero has nothing to do with economic achievement or nationalism. It is a matter of how the leader behaves with respect to democracy and human rights," he said.

He said by nominating Soeharto as a national hero, Golkar had gone back on claims it had reformed itself into a modern party. "Golkar still deifies Soeharto and his New Order regime," he said.

The People's Conscience Party (Hanura) led by former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Wiranto also echoed Golkar's proposal to name Soeharto a national hero.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to discuss the proposal to make Gus Dur, his predecessor, a national hero on Monday.

"We have received input from the people about [Gus Dur's] nomination. The President will hear opinions from several people and related institutions [about the proposals]," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Sunday.

Earlier, Yudhoyono referred to Gus Dur as the "father of multiculturalism and pluralism" who had raised awareness and institutionalized respect for diversity of ideas, identity, religion and ethnicity.

In a statement signed by chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said Gus Dur, the country's fourth president, should receive national hero status.

Megawati said Gus Dur played a crucial role in upholding pluralism, democracy, ensuring the world that Islam was a religion that promoted peace, and respecting freedom of other religions in Indonesia.

Islamic-based parties including the National Awakening Party (PKB), which was established by Gus Dur in 1999, and the United Development Party (PPP) also backed the proposed hero status.

University of Indonesia historian Asvi Marwan Adam said Gus Dur had transformed the country into a democratic nation which respected pluralism.

"I agree that Gus Dur be awarded the title of national hero this year. But it is not the right time to award Soeharto the same status, as he remains a controversial figure."

The government has awarded the title of national hero to Gus Dur's father, Wahid Hasyim, and his grandfather, Hasyim Asy'ari, who was also the first president of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization.

Youth from interfaith groups also supported the proposed nomination. Secretary-general of the Christian Youth Movement of Indonesia (GAMKI), Albert Siagian, said Gus Dur was a role model not only for Muslims but for the whole nation.

Solo royals calls for special status

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2010

Candra Malik, Solo – With controversy still raging around the bill to extend the special status of Yogyakarta, rival central Javanese city Solo wants to get in on the act.

The royal family of the Surakarta Hadiningrat court in Solo has asked the government to return the status of special province to the city, which is also known as Surakarta.

They argued that on Aug. 19, 1945, President Sukarno declared Solo the Special Region of Surakarta, following a meeting of the Indonesian Independence Preparation Committee.

"We ask that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono return the status as promised by his predecessor," Gusti Raden Ayu Koesmurtiyah said on Sunday during the commemoration of the 273rd anniversary of the founding of Surakarta, according to the Javanese calendar.

Koesmurtiyah said Sukarno had established Surakarta as a special territory in gratitude for the support for Indonesian independence from the kings of Solo.

However, Sudharmono, a historian from Sebelas Maret University in Solo, said the special status had been revoked on Jun. 16, 1946 a campaign to dismantle the Solo and Mangkunegaran courts.

From October 1945, Tan Malaka, suspected to be chair of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), led a movement to annul Surakarta's special territory status and dissolve the Surakarta and Mangkunegaran courts.

Malaka was allegedly involved in the confiscation of royal farmlands and the murder of several government officials and royal family members. The movement led to the 1948 PKI uprising in Madiun, East Java, which borders Sragen, Central Java, part of Solo's territory.

"Not equipped with military and police forces, the central government issued the 1946 presidential decree No. 16 on government of the special territory of Surakarta and Yogyakarta, temporarily taking over control of Surakarta until the law on the special status of Solo had been passed. If the bill on the special status of Yogyakarta is being deliberated now, we demand that the promise to make Surakarta a special territory is also upheld," Koesmurtiyah said.

Julianto Ibrahim, a history expert at Gadjah Mada University, said the archives were still available and could be tracked down. He said it was not appropriate for Solo to remain a common city and for the Surakarta royal court to be considered merely as a traditional entity without legal recognition or powers.

"Surakarta's status as a special territory is a forgotten part of the nation's history," he said, especially as Surakarta's declaration of special territorial status was made on Sep. 1, 1945, before Yogyakarta's declaration on Sept. 5, 1945.

Imam Samroni, chair of the Surakarta Special Status Reinstatement Preparation Agency, said that in 350 years of Dutch rule in Indonesia, Solo had never been occupied.

"The Dutch colonial government honored Surakarta's status as Zelfbesturande Landschappen, or non-occupied territory, so there was no ban on raising the red and white flag or the rice and cotton herald," he said.

Golkar seizes on Wahid national hero calls to promote Suharto

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2010

Amid strong public demand to name the late former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid a national hero, the Golkar Party on Sunday called for the same honor to be bestowed on its founder and former strongman Suharto.

"It's right to name Pak Harto a hero for his contributions to developing the country over 30 years, despite of all his weaknesses," said Setya Novanto, head of Golkar's faction in the House of Representatives.

Setya said he would present the proposal to Golkar's central board for approval when it reconvened next week. "We shouldn't forget Suharto's service to the country. Many programs conducted during his tenure focused on people's welfare," he said.

He said the party was ready for negative public reactions that could lead to the same furor that occurred in 2008 when the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) released a series of television advertisements praising the former president as a hero.

The PKS move sparked public outcry and was seen by many observers as an opportunistic move to appeal to Golkar's voters. Golkar also unsuccessfully proposed to have Suharto elevated to national hero status shortly after his death in January 2008.

"I believe that there will come a time when people will recognize Suharto's services, particularly in this difficult economic situation," Setya said.

PKS faction chairman Mustafa Kamal said his party was open to suggestions from anyone to formally recognize both former presidents as heroes. "We allow any aspiration because we believe that each figure has his own strengths and weaknesses," he said.

However, Mustafa added that the proper procedures should be followed to have the former presidents made national heroes. "The final judgement will be professionally determined by relevant officials," he said.

But Achmad Rubaie, a legislator from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said Wahid's contributions to the country were not the same as Suharto's, and the two should not be linked.

"The two proposals should be separated," he said. "Gus Dur's services are worthy of the [hero] title based on his effort to uphold democracy and pluralism."

During last November's 45th anniversary celebrations for Golkar, the longtime political vehicle of Suharto presented a posthumous award to him to recognize his contributions to the party and the nation.

The honor was slammed by human rights activists, who said the award could not sweep away Suharto's past misdeeds, which included numerous human rights abuses and massive corruption during his 32-year reign.

According to a 2007 report by the United Nations and the World Bank, Suharto was one of the most corrupt world leaders in history, having embezzled as much as $35 billion from the state during his time in office and leaving a legacy of pervasive corruption and unresolved human rights abuses. Febriamy Hutapea

Outlook 2010

Watch out: Here is the news for 2010

Jakarta Globe - January 1, 2010

Dessy Sagita & Emmy Fitri – A new year, a new decade. But is the country in for better things ahead, or will 2010 be as scandal- filled as 2009? Here is our list of issues that will likely make the year ahead an interesting one.

Bank Century scandal

The collapse of a mid-sized bank might not make for the juiciest of scandals, but throw in hundreds of millions of dollars and suspicions of money flowing to the upper echelons of government and you have the makings of the scandal of the century.

The country should tune in as the House of Representatives kicks off the year by summoning Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati for questioning on Tuesday over the controversial bailout, and see whether lawmakers take their inquiry right seriously or not, without succumbing to vested political interests.

Several political analysts and commentators have already aired doubts over whether the House's inquiry would amount to anything, and have said it was nothing more than a tool for political bargaining. Let's see if they're right.

Tifatul Sembiring

When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed Tifatul Sembiring, chairman of the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), as the new minister for communication and information technology, questions were raised regarding his capability and whether or not he would be able to perform his duty without being influenced by his religious beliefs. Less than a hundred days from taking office, Tifatul had already made headlines for a number of controversial moves and statements.

From saying natural disasters were caused by immorality to announcing that he would ban telecommunication businesses that have affiliations with Israeli companies, Tifatul has proven that he's someone whose words and deeds are something to watch out for. For this year, he has promised to complete the implementing regulations for the controversial Antipornography Law. Sounds like the minister will stay in the headlines this year.

Shariah law in Aceh

Aceh frequently made the news in the past year for its implementation of Shariah laws – unmarried couples were not allowed to sit next to each other, girls not wearing the jilbab properly were busted and harassed by the Shariah police, a bylaw banning skintight pants was issued in one district, and, perhaps the most controversial of all, the Aceh Legislative Council endorsed a bylaw mandating stoning to death for adulterers and lashings for unmarried persons caught engaging in sexual intercourse.

As the bylaw on skintight jeans goes into force this month, it will be interesting to see how people in Aceh will put up with what most of the rest of the world sees as backward steps.

Regional elections

Scheduled for July, the regional elections have already become mired in controversy, with the government and House debating over whether to continue the polling for 244 districts, municipalities and gubernatorial offices.

Indonesians can expect to see more of this ahead, as elections are natural magnets for controversies and scandals. Bribery, electoral fraud, nasty campaigns and disputes from losers are but a few of the stories expected to come out of this year's exercise of democratic freedom. With the General Election Commissions (KPU) having been massively criticized over its handling of 2009's presidential and legislative elections, many eyes will certainly be watching how it carries out its work this year.

Corruption

After a brutal year for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), with its former chief being tried for murder and two of its deputy commissioners having to fend off graft allegations, it will be interesting to see how the powerful body is going to bounce back this year.

Much work lies ahead. In 2009, the KPK received nearly 7,000 public complaints but only managed to investigate less than 70 cases. Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, the two deputy commissioners who bore the title of graft suspects for a few months, have pledged to continue their fight to eradicate corruption in Indonesia despite the challenges ahead.

Antasari Azhar

The former antigraft chief was undoubtedly one of the most talked about names in Indonesia in 2009.

Antasari was arrested and accused of being the mastermind behind the murder of Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, who was allegedly blackmailing him over a love triangle involving both men and former golf caddie Rani Juliani. Two other high-profile names were dragged into the case – former South Jakarta Police Chief Comr. Williardi Wizar and media mogul Sigid Haryo Wibisono. The courts have already found five men guilty of carrying out the gangland- style murder of Nasrudin. The country is now waiting to see whether the same fate will befall Antasari, Williardi and Sigid.

New media vs old media

Cheers to new media which arguably had its Indonesian highpoint in 2009 with the Internet-based social activism, which saw thousands of people pool forces to pay a fine imposed on Prita Mulyasari by the Tangerang District Court. The working mother of two was sued for defamation by an upscale hospital after she had sent an e-mail to friends complaining of the poor service she had received there.

In the wake of the July 17 bombings at the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels, users of micro-blogging site Twitter and social networking site Facebook launched a major drive to say no to terrorism. Will Internet users this year take the side of the weak and the voiceless? It's definitely worth watching out for.

Outlook 2010: Chaos threatens upcoming regional elections

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2010

Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – After the hectic string of national and presidential elections, residents in the regions will be at the polls again with local direct elections scheduled for this year.

As many as 246 regions, including seven provinces, across Indonesia are set for local direct elections in 2010 amid a lack of preparation from agencies at the central and regional level.

The elections for governors, regents and mayors will be held simultaneously in seven provinces, 204 regencies and 35 municipalities beginning February, with many of them scheduled to take place by mid this year. More than 100 local elections were scheduled to be held last year, but were delayed due to the national legislative elections in April and the presidential poll in July. Security and efficiency issues were cited as the reasons for the postponement.

The government is set to streamline the elections this year claiming that simultaneous elections in one province could save more than Rp 100 billion, according to the financial administration management director general Timbul Pudjianto. A gubernatorial poll normally costs Rp 250 billion, but the amount could be reduced to Rp 156 billion if the elections for regents and mayors are organized simultaneously, Timbul told Kompas daily. The cost of elections for regents and mayors is close to Rp 20 billion, but could be reduced to Rp 11 billion if held on the same day as the gubernatorial poll, he added.

Some legislators and analysts have called on the government to extend the postponement of regional elections, citing weakened political stability and economic recovery in the wake of domestic political and legal problems and the global economic crisis. Holding the elections at such a time, they warned, could create conflict in regions. Critics have also said that chaos and disputes could arise from next year's local direct elections as they will be conducted under conflicting regulations. The government, they said, needed to synchronize conflicting regulations to avoid unnecessary problems from arising. However, the central government has insisted on pressing ahead with plans for the 246 local elections.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi argued that any further delays would violate the 2004 Law on Regional Administration unless it was reviewed by the government and the House of Representatives. The law requires that regional administration heads be elected every five years.

The prevailing regulations related to local elections include the 2004 Law on Regional Administration and the 2007 law on Elections Administration. The 2004 law allows the Home Ministry to coordinate local elections, while the 2007 law authorizes the General Elections Commission (KPU) to oversee all national and regional polls. The 2004 law also requires voters to punch ballot papers instead of ticking them as stipulated under the 2007 law. In the general and presidential elections held earlier last year, voters were required to tick the ballot papers. The 2004 law also stipulates that local elections be held in stages and must begin six months before the incumbent administration heads end their five-year terms, but the 2007 law states the stages must begin eight months prior. The government and the KPU are currently undecided which law should apply.

There are also fears that local election bodies are not yet prepared for upcoming elections in their respective regions, which may cause irregularities and possible disruptions in administrating the polls. Furthermore, the upcoming regional elections are expected to see renewed conflicts over the electoral roll. The KPU has decided to use the electoral roll used in the July presidential election as the preliminary list of voters for the upcoming local direct elections, citing regulations from the 2004 law that allows the use of data from previous elections. However, the electoral roll used for the presidential election was widely criticized and rejected by some political parties for containing invalid and inaccurate data.

The nationwide fiasco over the controversial electoral roll sparked widespread accusations the KPU was "incompetent and unprofessional" in its organization of the legislative and presidential elections. With the KPU to coordinate local elections bodies (KPUD), many doubt that existing problems with the electoral roll will be solved in time for the regional elections.

A lack of accurate data on population and potential voters at local administrations could worsen the political situation ahead of, during, and following the local elections. Analysts say local election bodies (KPUD) across the country are currently unclear about how to draft the electoral roll for the upcoming regional elections. Under the 2004 law, the electoral roll is formed on the basis of existing population data at local administrations, while poll authorities may use the latest data on voters from the July presidential election.

Another serious problem likely to disrupt local elections is related to the transparent and accountable monitoring of the polls. Despite approaching election dates, election supervisory bodies have not yet been established in many regions, while the central Elections Supervisory Commission (Bawaslu) and the KPU are still divided over the rules and mechanism to be used to recruit and select members of local monitoring bodies.

The Bawaslu wants to reinstate the dissolved local monitoring bodies employed for the legislative and presidential elections to speed up and simplify the recruitment process. The proposal, however, was rejected by the KPU. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court recently issued an edict calling on local Bawaslu bodies to be established by regional legislative bodies as stipulated in the 2008 Law on Regional Administration.

Actions, demos, protests...

Thousands rally to demand delay of ASEAN-China FTA

Jakarta Post - January 7, 2010

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Thousands of workers from across West Java staged a rally in Bandung on Wednesday, demanding the implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement be postponed in Indonesia.

The protesters expressed fears that once the FTA came into effect it would trigger mass layoffs, as well as Indonesian products' inability to compete on international markets.

"I'm afraid that forcing this [FTA] will lead to millions of workers being laid off because of the relatively higher prices of Indonesian goods compared to those from China," said Baharudin Simbolon of the Association of Indonesian Labor Union's West Java chapter, during the rally outside the governor's office.

The protesters urged both the governor and provincial legislature to propose President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono postpone the FTA until the government reduced all unnecessary operational costs that had made it impossible for Indonesian products to compete in ASEAN markets.

"In terms of bank interest rates, for example, they're up to 16 percent here, while in China they're only between 4 and 6 percent. This excludes other unnecessary levies that further burden the business world domestically, making it difficult for us to compete," he said.

However, Simbolon said he understood that the multilateral agreement could not be cancelled just because of the Indonesian government's rush to sign it without considering or anticipating its negative impacts on the domestic market. For this reason, he said postponement was the best option.

Uye Guntara of the Association of Bandung Leather and Textile Workers, who has seen many workers being dismissed as a result of the global crisis, also said he feared potentially massive layoffs as a result of the implementation of the FTA.

"The global crisis has already impacted the textile industry. The ASEAN-China FTA is feared to make things worse," Uye said.

Protesters in Tuesday's rally came from various regions including Bandung, West Bandung, Cimahi, Sumedang, Bogor and Depok, forming a large crowd around the Sate Building complex that houses the governor's office and the provincial legislature building.

Anticipating traffic congestion from the rally, police decided to temporarily close the street. They also deployed up to 2,000 personnel to secure the rally that was expected to mobilize up to 50,000 workers.

Carrying banners condemning the Cabinet for its failure to address economic problems properly, protesters took it in turns to make speeches on a car stage. Some of their banners read "Say No to Free Trade", "Budiono Resign", "Fire Sri Mulyani" and "Run Pro- People Programs".

"We will enjoy poverty, collectively, if cheap Chinese products are allowed to enter Indonesia without tariffs. The government and neo-lib Cabinet have just taken sides with foreign interests," Sumarna, a protester, said in his speech.

Separately, the deputy chairman of the Association of Indonesian Businesspeople (APINDO) West Java chapter, Deddy Wijaya, said there up to 40,000 workers would be laid off in just three months following the implementation of the ASEAN-China FTA, with up to 30 percent of the 8,000 members of the association facing bankruptcy. "The biggest impacts will become visible in the second semester," he said.

Many, including West Java Manpower Agency chief Mustopa Djamaludin, have expressed support for workers' demands, and that they would send the central government a special recommendation to temporarily withdraw itself from the ASEAN-China FTA.

Mustopa said so far 40 companies in the province had proposed a postponement of the 2010 regional wage regulation, saying their businesses were not healthy. The same postponement was proposed by 87 companies last year.

"Although the number of companies proposing the postponement is less than it was last year, we still have to anticipate [future developments]," Mustopa said.

Coalition plans rallies to force SBY out of office

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2010

A cluster of organizations and academics is planning a rally this month to demand President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono resign or be forced out of office over a series of perceived shortcomings in the current administration during its first few months.

"There will be 'people power' on January 28 demanding SBY step down or be ousted," Haris Rusly, a member of the group Petisi 28, said on Sunday, referring to the president by his initials.

The president, according to Haris, has failed to achieve his own targets during the first 100 after his re-election, and has dropped the ball on improving the welfare of Indonesians. "The SBY government must end. Don't give him another chance," he said.

Boni Hargens, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia's Department of Political and Social Sciences, urged members of the public to take a stand against the administration of Yudhoyono, whom he accused of being "addicted to power."

"He often hallucinates. He said that the Marriott bombing was the work of people who had lost the elections, but that was proven to be untrue. He was also very reactive toward George's book," Boni said, referring to the recently released book "Unraveling the Cikeas Octopus," by academic and former journalist George Junus Aditjondro, which alleges that Yudhoyono is linked to corruption.

Boni said 2010 should see more Indonesians take up the fight against their government.

"There should be no more arguments. We have to fight," he said during a discussion hosted by Petisi 28. The event was titled "100 Days of the Failure of SBY-Boediono, the Octopus Regime, Neo- Colonialist Puppet Corruption: 2010, Change the System, Change the Leader."

Adhie Massardi, secretary general of the Indonesia Awakening Committee (KIB), an organization led by former finance minister and presidential hopeful Rizal Ramli, said rallies this month would demand the president be ousted if he refused to step down.

"Our country has been suffering due to the government's policies, which are not for the people," he said, adding that the Petisi 28 coalition also planned rallies on Jan. 9, 10 and 11 outside the office of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Petisi 28 was founded in October and has demanded that Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani step down for their roles in the controversial PT Bank Century bailout.

West Papua

Papuan tribe fights over rape compo

The Australian - January 7, 2010

Jakarta – Tribesman have resorted to arrows, slingshots and other traditional weapons in clashes over compensation for a rape in the Indonesian province of Papua.

At least 31 people were injured yesterday as violence involving hundreds of people entered a third day in Kwamki Lama, a regency in Mimika that boasts one of the world's richest goldmines.

One tribe member, Albert Mom, was killed on Tuesday. At least one police officer was injured by an arrow, reports said.

Mimika police deputy chief commander Jeremias Rontini was quoted as saying the clashes flared over unpaid compensation demanded by one village for a rape allegedly committed by a member of another village six months ago.

The violence erupted on Monday near the goldmine run by the US- based Freeport McMoran.

The seven tribes in Mimika had avoided violence since a 2008 peace deal, which included the creation of "peace statue".

"All the problems in Mimika should be solved according to the law," said Mimika Legislative Council acting speaker Trifena Tinaly.

"The groups have built a peace statue and agreed to settle the problem through the law." (Agencies)

Gus Dur and peace for Papua

Kompas - January 4, 2010

Wisdom cannot be measured by how long one has lived...

B Josie Susilo Hardianto – Anton Sumer sat stunned in front of the television. The news reports about the death of former Indonesian President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid grabbed his entire attention. "Ai, Aduh. It is fitting, that we, the Papuan people feel sad. He was our father, the father of the Papuan people. He also returned the name Papua [to us] again", said Anton holding his head in his hands.

In the past, during the New Order regime of former President Suharto, it was taboo for the Papuan people to refer to themselves as Papuans. Gus Dur however broke down that wall of fear. Prior to this Papua was referred to as Irian, and similarly its people as Irians.

In those days, although they were politically reluctant to refer to themselves as Papuans because they were afraid of being identified with the Free Papua Organisation (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM), deep down in their hearts they were still Papuans. "Because of Gus Dur, we were no longer afraid to refer to ourselves as Papuans, and we were proud of that," said Yehezkiel Belaw, a young Papuan from Paniai regency.

As president, in 2000 Gus Dur also consented to and even provided financial assistance for the Papuan people to hold the 2nd Papuan People's Congress. This consent was not just highly valued. For the Papuan people, democratic space had massive impact, particularly in terms of their self-identity as Papuans.

At the meeting, which was attended by around 5,000 participants from all corners of Papua, they again openly discussed the need to resolve Papua's historical distortions. They discussed the importance of resolving human rights violations in Papua and the neglect of basic rights, particularly in the economic and social and cultural fields.

They saw that dialogue and negotiations were an important step in resolving these three problems. During the congress held in the provincial capital of Jayapura, it was also agreed to establish the Papuan Presidium Council (Presidium Dewan Papua) that was chaired by Theys Hiyo Eluay.

In political terms, Gus Dur's wishes in the lead up to the 2001 New Year expressed through the words, "I want Papua to see the sun rise from the east," had an extraordinary impact on the Papuan people.

Papuan identity

Gus Dur also openly re-acknowledged the Papuan people as a nation. "He not only opened up and cultivated democratic space, created a sense of peace and security, but also acknowledged our dignity and status as Papuan people," said Papuan Traditional Council (DAP) General Chairperson Forkorus Yaboisembut.

Although according to Yaboisembut, in constitutional terms the acknowledgement of the Morning Star Flag and the son "Hai Tanahku Papua" (Hey Papua My Land) as symbols of Papuan identity were extremely controversial, Gus Dur still gave it his blessing.

The acknowledgement of cultural expression, freedom of expression and political identity was no just important for Papuan society, but also asserted the existence of the Papuan people and that they should be treated as equally.

"Through his spiritual and intellectual courage, he liberated the Papuan people from the bridle of the authoritarian and militaristic New Order," said Yaboisembut.

Unfortunately, according to a researcher from the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (Elsam), Amiruddin al Rahab, the moves pioneered by Gus Dur have not been continued. Nevertheless, he does not dismiss the important meaning of the things pioneered by Gus Dur in Papua.

For the head of the Fajar Timur Higher Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, Neles Tebay, it was this openness and democracy, supported by his spiritual and intellectual courage, that placed Gus Dur in the position of peace maker. "A Man of Peace," said Tebay.

It is not surprising therefore that Gus Dur's departure is a huge loss for the Papuan people. In fact they were actually in the middle of preparing a commemoration of the designation of the name Papua and were planning to invite Gus Dur to attend. According to Yaboisembut, Gus Dur inspired them to struggle in and for the sake of peace. Although his administration was very short, what he did for the Papuan people was extremely important.

"Although physically, it was difficult for Gus Dur to see, he had a heart that could see much further then the physical eye," said Sumer.

Amidst the silence of a mass to welcome in the New Year at a small church in the boarder area of Keerom regency, rose a prayer for Gus Dur. "Thank you Gus", whispered one member of the church community.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

House begins new year with call to develop Papua

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2010

Febriamy Hutapea – The House of Representatives on Monday opened its first session of the year by calling on the government to pay closer attention to Papua, which lags far behind other provinces in development.

During the House's year-end recess, lawmakers visited 22 of the country's 33 provinces. They found key problems stemming from a lack of public services, troubled administration, land disputes and overlapping authority in the fight against illegal logging.

"Especially in Papua, which was visited by House Commission I, overseeing defense and foreign affairs, and Commission III, overseeing security. It needs a lot of attention because of its snail-speed development," House speaker Marzuki Alie said.

Though Papua is rich in resources, it suffers from widespread poverty and lacks key infrastructure. Papua has also been marred by outbreaks of violence between indigenous Papuans, settlers and security forces since it was incorporated into the country in the 1960s.

In a 2005 study, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) indicated Papua had the lowest human development index in the country, scoring 62.1 compared to the national average of 69.6.

Marzuki said some of the demands of Papuans for increased development have been answered, particularly in light of the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy for Papua.

"Unfortunately, the special autonomy budget for Papua, which amounts to about Rp 30 trillion [$3.21 billion], has not fully answered high expectations for change, including from the local people," Marzuki said.

The special autonomy law included regulations meant to address reconciliation in Papua, including the resolution of human rights abuses, natural resources exploration and the protection of indigenous cultures.

Many Papuans, Marzuki said, live in poverty and remain uneducated despite large-scale mining and forestry operations in the region, such as in the giant Grasberg gold and copper mine operated by an Indonesian subsidiary of US-based PT Freeport McMoRan.

"The House's findings on problems occurring in the regions will be beneficial for material discussion with each commission's partners in the government during this year's period," Marzuki said.

West Papua liberation meeting scheduled for mid-year

Southeast Asian Times - January 4, 2010

Port Vila – The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation and National Authority has invited members of all the Indonesian province's resistance organisations to a "reconciliation meeting" in about June this year.

The invitation is contained in a New Year message from the organisation's deputy chairman, Dr John Ondawame, issued from its headquarters in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The message mourns the slaying of West Papuan National Liberation Army commander Kelly Kwalik in Gorong-Gorong, Timika, in the early hours of Wednesday, December 16 but says the death of "General Umeki Kletus Kolalok Kwalik" will not inhibit efforts to seek negotiations with the Indonesian government.

The commander had strongly believed in peaceful dialogue, it says. The statement also says the commander's death was the result of a "dirty game" that had been played by the Indonesian military and policeworking with local militia and internal enemies.

Previously Dr John Ondawame and the organisation's secretary general Rex Rumakiek issued a statement saying the killing was intended to undermine any peaceful settlement in the restive province.

No witnesses had been allowed to survive, their statement said. Eight of the commander's men were also slain in the attack.

Their statement said the land-owner commander had opposed the Freeport Mine because of the human rights abuses it had delivered his people and the irreparable damage it had done to the environment

The Antara news agency quotes West Papua Police Chief Inspector General Bekto Suprapto in Jayapura as saying the number of police guarding the Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Corporation Grasberg gold and copper mine in the eastern highlands of West Papua, about 3,400 kilometres east of Jakarta, would be maintained despite the commander's death.

Kelly Kwalik had many loyal supporters who might strike at any time, the police chief said.

Sydney-based Australia West Papua Association secretary Joe Collins has suggested that Australians may well have trained the Indonesians who shot and killed the commander. The training could have been done as part of Australia's commitment to Indonesia to the Lombok Treaty, he said.

Mr Collins said his association was also worried that Indonesia's military and police forces will now try to make the commander a scapegoat for the fatal shootings within the corporation's massive consession for its Grasberg mine.

The Australian Government dispatched two Australian Federal Police officers to investigate the shootings.

West Papua police chief Inspector General F.X. Bagus Ekodanto confirmed about two months ago that his officers, together with those of Indonesia's anti-terrorism squad, had met with Kelly Kwalik to discuss attacks on security forces and mine employees. "The meeting was held in the vicinity of Timika, but the place and the officers present cannot be publicly disclosed," he said.

Kelly Kwalik denied that he, or his supporters, was responsible for the attacks.

The attacks within the concession began when unidentified assailants shot and mortally wounded Australian technician Drew Nicholas Grant, 29, on Sunday, July 11.

In Jakarta last week, national police spokesman Inspector General Nanan Soekarna spokesman said five West Papuans arrested during the raid were likely to be relocated in Jakarta.

The relocation was intended to protect Jeep Murip, 24, Noni Sanawarme, 35, Martimus Katarame, 21, Yorni Murip, 10, Yosep Kwamtik, 60, from possible retaliation by Free Papua Organization members, the policeman said.

Police not reducing security personnel guarding Freeport

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2010

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The Papua Police says it will not reduce the number of police officers guarding the gold and copper mine of US-based PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua despite the recent fatal shooting of a local separatist leader.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Bekto Suprapto said over the weekend the police could not see any improvements in the security situation around the mining site although they had shot dead in mid-December Kelly Kwalik, the alleged leader of the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

The local military had blamed Kelly for masterminding a series of attacks on Freeport employees, accusations that Kelly had strenuously denied. Kelly's shooting sparked protests from both Papuans and national observers.

"We're not reducing the number of personnel safeguarding the company because of a number of factors, such as Kelly Kwalik's men who remain armed and can again cause disturbances in the area," Bekto was quoted as saying by Antara in Jayapura.

In an incident last Thursday evening, several houses in Mimika Regency, where Freeport ope rates, were attacked by churchgoers in New Mimika District in what was seen as retaliation after firecrackers were thrown into the church compound.

No one was injured in the attacks, but tensions had been high in the surrounding areas as people prepared to celebrate New Year's Eve, local officials and residents said.

Bekto said the attacks were proof the security situation in the area was still volatile. He added, however, the police would not increase the number of its personnel, saying the forces already deployed were sufficient.

Bekto said the police would cooperate with local people to arrest other OPM leaders should they be suspected of disrupting security and order in Papua. "With the partnership between the police and the communities, we hope we can maintain the security and order of the area," he said.

Kelly was assassinated on Dec. 16 during a Papua Police raid on a house in Timika.

Bekto also said the police predicted an increase in the number of attacks by armed people against police stations and local communities in 2010.

"The occurrence of attacks on local communities is predicted to increase in outlying areas," he said, adding that vulnerable regions included Merauke, Paniai and Jayapura in Papua and Manokwari in West Papua.

The Police, Bekto continued, also predicted an increase in the number of people staging rallies to protest the government's policies.

Widespread smuggling of marijuana and other crimes committed by foreigners such as illegal poaching were predicted to remain high, Bekto claimed.

"We believe the drugs will be smuggled in from Papua New Guinea. Papua is a transit point for the contraband before it's delivered to destination countries such as Australia," Bekto said.

He said the local police would improve patrol and security measures in vulnerable areas such as crowded spots.

Bekto added the police would look to improve its professionalism to speed up handling of cases in the area. Earlier on New Year's Day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono conducted a spot inspection of the National Police headquarters in Jakarta to check the results of police measures to maintain security during the Christmas and New Year holidays across the country, referred to as Operasi Lilin (candle).

After being briefed by National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, who said the operation was a success, the President held a teleconference with 30 provincial police chiefs, during which he told them to improve measures to maintain high levels of security in their respective regions.

Human rights/law

Rights groups slam appointment of vice defense minister

Tempo Interactive - January 7, 2010

Jakarta – Several human rights group in Indonesia condemned on Wednesday the appointment of Lieutenant Genral Sjafrie Sjamsoedin, as the Vice Defense Minister for his previous positions which are heavily related to human right violations incidents in Indonesia since 1991 which include East Timor and Aceh.

Director of Imparsial, Rusdi marpaung said on Wednesday "He had not proved his innocence in a string of serious crime against human rights in Indonesia."

Sjafrie was the commander of the national army special squad Special Force Command in East Timor when the Santa Cruz massacre took place in 1991 killed around 250 Timorese.

From 1997 to 1998, at the height of political tension that led to the resignation of Soeharto, he controlled Greater Jakarta Regional Military Command during which over a dozen of activists were missing.

In 1999 he reportedly led the "stealth force" in Aceh before being reassigned to East Timor. He was accused of being involved in the shooting incident at the residence of Dili bishop, Ximenes Belo in September 1999.

He refused to submit to the summon from the National Human Rights Commission in 2002 for questioning on 1998 riot before the downfall of Soeharto and threatened to face subpoena in 2005 for the refusal.

The track records, according to chairman of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, Usman Hamid made the US government denied access for him into the country when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Pittsburgh last September.

"The appointment could deface Indonesia's human rights enforcement reputation," Usman continued, aside from his unlawful appointment based on the Law No. 34 of 2004 on the National Armed Forces. "Active officer may only hold a non political civilian post."

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Sjafrie was the most appropriate officer for the position given his expertise in military techniques and his capability to manage the three divisions of the military. "He did not organize the 1998 riot. He was not involved in student kidnappings."

- Tomi, Gunanto, Bunga Manggiasih, Titis Setianingtyas, Yophiandi

Kontras opposes Sjafrie's promotion

Jakarta Post - January 7, 2010

Jakarta – The Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has voiced its strong opposition to the appointment of Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as deputy to the defense minister for legal background reasons.

Coordinator of Kontras Usman Hamid said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to appoint Sjafrie as deputy minister should be reviewed because it was against the 2004 Indonesian Military Law, prohibiting the promotion of active soldiers to political positions.

"Legally and administratively, Sjafrie's appointment while an active serviceman is unjustifiable as stipulated in Chapter 47 of the law," he said, adding that active servicemen were not eligible for ministerial posts and other political jobs.

He added that like two other deputy ministers, Yudhoyono should suspend Sjafrie's inauguration to prevent it from sparking opposition from the public.

Yudhoyono suspended swearing in Anggito Abimayu as deputy to the finance minister and Fahmi Idris as deputy to the health minister, because both have yet to reach the first echelon rank required by a 2008 law on Cabinet composition.

Yudhoyono on Wednesday swore in Sjafrie as deputy to the defense minister, Dipo Alam, a deputy to the coordinating economic minister as cabinet secretary and Lukita Dinarsyah as deputy to the National Development Agency minister/chairman.

Previously, Yudhoyono had appointed five deputy ministers, including Triyono Wibowo as deputy to the foreign minister and Bayu Khrisnamurti as deputy to the agriculture minister.

Usman said further concerning the promotion, Yudhoyono did not take Sjafrie's controversial track record into consideration.

"Sjafrie has to unveil accountability before the court on a series of political violence and human rights abuses in 1998.

"The President's step could tarnish Indonesia's good reputation concerning human rights. Even concurrently, he has been prevented by US security authorities from entering the country. It's not a simple case because it could undermine the military and defense cooperation between Indonesia and many other countries," he said.

Sjafrie was the Jakarta military commander when the capital was hit by riots that led to the ouster of former dictator Soeharto in May 1998, claiming thousands of lives in Jakarta and its outskirts.

He was also a confidant of Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto when the latter was commanding the army's special force before the series of bloody riots.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusginatoro said there was no problem with Sjafrie's appointment as deputy defense minister.

"I will not accept someone to accompany me as defense minister if I did not know their profile," he told a press conference at the Defense Ministry.

"There is no problem with his appointment. I am the guarantor. He is experienced in the defense sector so he does not need a transition period."

When asked whether a recent rejection by the US government to grant Sjafrie with a visa could disrupt the acquisition of a weapon system, Purnomo said Indonesia did not procure weapon systems solely from the US. "We are also procuring weapons locally and from other countries," he said.

Commenting on the controversy, Sjafrie said it was common worldwide. "We should not be shackled by controversy. "We should show our performance and integrity."

Concern over choice of deputy ministers

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran – By far the biggest controversy surrounding Wednesday's inauguration ceremony for a number of new deputy ministers was not the debate about a bloated cabinet, nor was it the fact that two of the planned five ministers weren't even sworn in.

That dubious honor was reserved for the new deputy defense minister, Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, an active member of the military who is a central figure in two of the nation's darkest moments.

Usman Hamid, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), was quick to criticize the appointment, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should not have named a person who was still on active duty to the post.

He said that according to the 2004 Military Law, active soldiers could only occupy civilian positions that were nonpolitical. "This move could tarnish Indonesia's human rights reputation in the world forum," Usman said.

Sjafrie, a key general during Suharto's rule, has been implicated in the deadly violence surrounding the anti-Suharto protests in May 1998. There were also allegations of his involvement in the formation of pro-Jakarta militia groups in East Timor surrounding the former Indonesian province's vote for independence in 1999. He has denied involvement in an attack on the Dili residence of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.

Junaidi Simun, a researcher for Imparsial, another leading human rights group, said the allegations still hung over Sjafrie, and that this had resulted in the United States rejecting the controversial general's visa application to accompany Yudhoyono to the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in November.

After his inauguration at the Presidential Palace, Sjafrie brushed off the visa issue, saying his new position would help him to open lines of communication with other countries, including the United States.

"As a citizen, as a state official, as a soldier, I feel that the visa refusal will not hamper me in my ability to carry out my main duties," he said.

Asked about the objections to his selection raised by Kontras and Imparsial, Sjafrie answered vaguely that it would help him "concentrate" and "introspect" in performing his main tasks.

Also sworn in on Wednesday were Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo as deputy minister of national development planning and Fasli Jalal as deputy minister of national education, along with new Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam.

However, the expected inauguration of two other officials – Anggito Abimanyu as deputy finance minister and Fahmi Idris as deputy health minister – was unexpectedly canceled.

State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said the appointments had been delayed because the State Secretariat had only just received the two candidates' curricula vitae and that these needed to be studied to see if they met the desired requirements.

It was not immediately clear why authorities had not first vetted the candidates' resumes before announcing that they would be appointed deputy ministers.

Andrinof Chaniago, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said the "fat" cabinet would increase the burden on the people. "Instead of improving the government's performance, it might not be efficient and effective, and [might be] against what we actually need."

[Additional reporting by Antara.]

NGOs say Sjamsoeddin's appointment damages sense of justice

Kompas - January 6, 2010

Jakarta – A coalition of non-government organisations (NGOs) have expressed their opposition to the appointment of Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as Deputy Minister of Defense saying that he was involved in many cases of gross human rights crimes when he was an active member of the Indonesian military (TNI).

This was conveyed by a number of NGOs including, among others, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Setara Institute and the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (Elsam) during a press conference at the HRWG offices on Jl. RP Soeroso in Central Jakarta on Wednesday January 6.

"The appointment of [Sjamsoeddin] as deputy defense minister has done irreparable damage to victims of human rights violations sense of justice who are still fighting for justice," said Kontras Secretary General Oslan Purba.

Similar remarks were made by HRWG Executive Director Rafendi Djamin. He said that Sjamsoeddin's record of gross human rights violations should be an important consideration in reviewing his appointment as deputy defense minister. He cited several recent cases that have involved Sjamsoeddin such as the abduction of activists in 1997/98, the May 1998 riots in Jakarta, the Trisakti student shootings and events in East Timor.

"Last November, even the US government refused to give a visa to Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin who was then the secretary general of the Defense Department. This should be a point of reflection for the government in human rights crimes," said Djamin.

The NGOs also explicitly called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to reconsider Sjamsoeddin's appointment, who will be tasked with assisting the Defence Minister in managing defense industry affairs.

According to Purba, the position of deputy defense minister should be carried out by a professional figure that is credible and accountable. "The president must have the courage to appoint a civilian that understand issues of national defense", he said.

President Yudhoyono appointed Sjamsoeddin as deputy defense minister earlier in the afternoon at the State Palace.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

'There are many roads to Rome' says Sjamsoeddin

Detik.com - January 6, 2010

Anwar Khumaini, Jakarta – Newly appointed Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has already once been refused entry into the United States. He does not however feel there will be any difficulties in performing his duties in the superpower country.

"There are many roads to Rome," joked Sjamsoeddin after being appointed as deputy defense minister at the State Place on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta on Wednesday January 6.

According to the former general secretary of the Defense Department, the previous rejection of his visa by the US will not disrupt his duties as deputy defense minister. On the contrary, this has provided an impetus to opening up communications with the US and other countries.

When asked why his visa was held back by the US, Sjamsoeddin said he did not know. "I don't know why the visa was held back", he said evasively.

With regard to the support and opposition to his selection as the number two person at the defense department, Sjamsoeddin specifically expressed his thanks. He views the discourse that has developed among the public as being extremely positive for his future duties.

"It is precisely this that has motivated me to be more introspective and attentive in carrying out [my] duties," said the former Jakarta military commander during the May 1998 riots. (irw/nrl)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Repeal indonesia's death penalty: Rights group

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran – Indonesian rights group Imparsial on Wednesday expressed concerns over the government's reluctance to do away with the death penalty.

In its latest report released, the organization said that 21 of the 119 people sentenced to death across the country had been executed between 1998 and December 2009. It said that almost half of those were executed in 2008 alone, when 10 prisoners faced the firing squad.

"From past experience, death row prisoners can wait as long as 20 years before they are finally executed," said Al Araf, a senior research coordinator at the rights group. He added that of the 119 prisoners on the death row, 55 were foreigners.

"Among the foreigners, the highest number comes from Nigeria, with 11 people," Al Araf said.

The other foreign prisoners on death row are from Australia, Nepal, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the Netherlands.

Al Araf said the government should commute the death sentence to life in prison for prisoners that have been on death row for five years or more.

"After five years, the sanction should be changed to a life sentence," he said, adding that more than 60 of those currently on death row have been waiting for more than five years.

Nineteen of the 21 prisoners who have faced the firing squad since 1998 were convicted for murder. Those convicted of drug offenses were the second-largest group, and those convicted of terrorism charges were third.

Indonesia is one of 66 countries around the world that still implements the death penalty. Although the country ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2005, it has not adopted the second optional protocol aimed at the abolition of the death penalty.

Despite international pressure, the death penalty is still imposed for crimes in Indonesia.

Al Araf said the death penalty was not an effective deterrent to crime, and everyone had the right to life. "As an intrinsic right, there should be no exception in whatever situation," he said.

"Instead, the death sentence has been promoted by politicians to show how serious they are in fighting crime. It has become a political commodity to win elections."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's legal affairs adviser, Denny Indrayana, recently said the government's stance was in line with a Constitutional Court ruling in March 2007 that threw out a judicial review filed by two Australians on death row, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. They had challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty.

Month long sentence for East Java cookie crook

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Amir Tejo, Pasuruan (East Java) – A court here on Wednesday sentenced a woman to 30 days in prison after finding her guilty of stealing cookies worth Rp 19,000 ($2.05) while she was handing out snacks to fellow workers last year at the tobacco company where she worked.

The trial and conviction were the latest in a string of questionable verdicts by the country's judiciary, and a local labor alliance supporting Sulfiana, the defendant and a former worker at PT United Tobacco, vowed to appeal the sentence.

In March 2009, Sulfiana, a 35-year-old single mother, was asked by the company to distribute free cookies to fellow workers, but one worker apparently failed to received one. A complaint followed, prompting the company's management to suspend Sulfiana from her job of 10 years and pursue a criminal case against her.

The woman offered to pay Rp 500 to compensate the company for the cookie, but her offer as rejected. Following a police investigation, the case was forwarded to the Bangil District Court, by which time the company was claiming that 11 cookies were stolen at a loss of Rp 19,000.

Jamaludin, chairman of the local labor union, said an appeal was planned because the guilty verdict allowed the company to fire Sulfiana. "The evidence presented at the trial was very weak," Jamaludin said.

Indonesia has seen several questionable legal cases in the past year that have exposed incompetence and corruption within its judicial system. Rights activists claim the rich and powerful are immune from prosecution and only the poor go to prison.

The most famous case involved Prita Mulyasari, a housewife in Banten who was jailed for three weeks last year for defamation after sending an e-mail message complaining about the treatment she received at a local hospital.

Last year, Minah, 55, an illiterate grandmother from a small village in Central Java, was placed under house arrest for 18 days for allegedly stealing three cocoa beans. She was convicted and given a suspended sentence.

In another case, two farmhands in East Java were detained by police for nearly a month for allegedly stealing a watermelon to quench their thirst.

Retiring Constitutional Court judges praised for legal views

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – The Constitutional Court has been praised recently for its efforts to curb corruption in the country. This week, it bid farewell to two judges, who were at the forefront of that battle.

The court's officials on Tuesday held a retirement ceremony for Abdul Mukhtie Fadjar and Maruarar Siahaan, whose liberal and democratic views will sorely be missed, their colleagues said.

Mukhtie was the presiding judge who ordered to make public wiretapped conversations allegedly linked to an effort to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Maruarar was known to stray from popular opinion held by his fellow judges and offer a different perspective.

"It comes from his broad knowledge of the law," said Maria Farida Indrati, the court's lone female judge, describing Maruarar.

"[Mukhtie] played a significant role in making sure that judges remained consistent with our previous rulings," added Mahfud MD, the Constitutional Court chief.

The two judges were eligible for retirement after they turned 67 in December.

Appointed by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Mukhtie was granted another term by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Mukhtie, a former head of the East Java Election Commission, joined the Constitutional Court when it was established in , 2003

Maruarar had worked for 35 years as a judge in various levels, serving in Southeast Sulawesi, North Sumatra, Surakarta in Central Java and Jakarta.

"Mukhtie was a walking dictionary," Mahfud said. "I and other judges continually relied on him to recall court rulings since 2003 until last year."

In describing Maruarar, a frequent participant of radio-singing competitions and who sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" during Tuesday's gathering, Mahfud agreed his point of view was almost always distinct.

"He went against the sentimental decisions of other judges," Mahfud said. "He often straightforwardly approved judicial reviews by identifying 'mistakes' in the law. He believed that no single law should contradict the Constitution," Mahfud added.

On Tuesday, Mukhtie said it was time to give way to new faces. "Though the Constitutional Court is the most prestigious of courts in the country, much needs to be improved," Mukhtie said. "Night has turned into morning. The old guard must leave as he has reached the final station."

The branch of government, which appointed the two judges, will be tasked to name their respective replacements.

The Supreme Court has appointed Achmad Fadhil Sumadi to take the slot vacated by Maruarar, while Yudhoyono has not chosen Mukhtie's replacement.

Supreme Court questions need for human rights court

Kompas - January 4, 2010

Jakarta - A existence of a human rights court and ad hoc human rights judges needs to be reexamined. Moreover ad hoc human rights judges are seen as excessive and consideration needs to be given to whether such ad hoc judges are in line with international justice.

This was one of the suggestions made following a Supreme Court comparative study to Sweden headed by Supreme Court Secretary Sareh Wiyono. The team spent two days between December 18-19 studying human rights courts and produced a 13-page report, which has been published on the Supreme Court's website.

Speaking in Jakarta on Sunday January 3 however, Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid said that the team's conclusions and suggestions are far too premature. He also suspects that there are other interests behind it.

"There are interests seeking to whitewash past human rights violations. They want to normalise the judicial system, to return the authority of judges solely to the Supreme Court without providing an opening for ad hoc judges. This is one of the forms of conservatism on the part of Supreme Court justices against reform", said Hamid.

Hamid explained that the choice of a comparative study to Sweden would not have been wrong if had been done in a comprehensive manner. The Supreme Court's team should not just have studied the Swedish justice system, but also the European justice system as a whole. Admittedly there is no special human rights court in Sweden and human rights violations are handled by ordinary courts, but the decisions of these courts can be annulled by the Regional Legal Court in Europe.

According to the comparative study report carried on the Supreme Court's official website, the choice of visiting Sweden was made because the upholding of human rights there is relatively better than Indonesia. Additionally the Indonesian government and Sweden have an exchange of notes (EoN) on human rights that has resulted in various forms of cooperation in organisational capacity building, human rights education and so forth.

The team visited the Swedish Justice Department and met with one of its high court justices and the Swedish Ombudsman offices. Sweden does not recognise human rights courts and human rights cases are presented in the form of class actions. The Supreme Court report also noted that phone tapping is not used in Sweden because it violates human rights.

Hamid criticised the choice of countries visited saying the Supreme Court should have conducted a comparative study in countries that have similar problems to Indonesia such as Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Guatemala. (ana)

Notes:

Late last year the Supreme Court was widely condemned by anti-corruption activists for its decision to send more than 70 judges and their staff on a trip to European and Asian countries costing the state some US$600,000. Critics have alleged that despite its complaints of a shortage of funds to finance its operations, including the establishment of corruption courts throughout the country, the Supreme Court engaged in useless and non-transparent projects that it hid from public scrutiny.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Criminal defamation articles seen as threat to free speech

Jakarta Globe - January 1, 2010

Nivell Rayda – After several high-profile criminal defamation cases in 2009, analysts said on Friday that the House of Representatives must pass legislation to remove articles on defamation from the Criminal Code.

Hasril Hertanto, a legal expert at the University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe that the current Criminal Code was based on the colonial Dutch code and had changed little over the years.

"Even in the Netherlands and other countries, defamation is no longer a criminal matter but a civil case between two parties," he said. "The existence of defamation charges in the Criminal Code poses a threat to freedom of speech and expression."

The House has said that plans are under way to amend the Criminal Code, to bring it into line with current legal thought.

Last year saw several high-profile defamation cases, including one that involved small businessman Khoe Seng Seng.

Khoe was given a six-month suspended sentence in July by the East Jakarta District Court for writing a letter to the editor that appeared in two national media outlets, complaining about his experiences with property developer PT Duta Pertiwi.

The past year, however, also saw some victories for free speech, with the acquittal of Prita Mulyasari on defamation charges stemming from an e-mail to friends complaining about the care she had received at a hospital.

"Prita was among the lucky ones because there was tremendous media coverage of her case and rising public pressure," Hasril said. "Not everyone is as fortunate as Prita, who had public sentiment behind her, so criminal defamation articles must be eliminated."

Usman Hamid, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said removing defamation articles from the Criminal Code was long overdue.

"A lot of people have fallen victim to the articles, including activists. Defamation is one of the most widely used tactics to silence critics of the government," he said. "Even countries like Ghana have eliminated criminal defamation articles to protect democracy."

Usman, who himself has repeatedly faced criminal defamation charges, said that at least 30 activists were reported to police for defamation over the last 12 months.

"This is the danger of criminal defamation. In other countries, you need a top-notch lawyer to sue someone for defamation," he said. "Here, all you have to do is ask the police to pursue the case and the rest is taken care of."

Hendrayana, chairman of the Press Legal Aid Foundation, said the articles on criminal defamation were subjective. "There are no exact definitions or boundaries as to what constitutes defamation, it all falls to the subjectivity of law enforcers," he said.

"We have seen in the past that an expert expressing his thoughts in the media can be charged with defamation, which makes it difficult for anyone to be critical of the government."

Hendrayana also said there was a growing trend for private companies and powerful individuals to take advantage of the criminal defamation articles. "This includes complaints against various media organizations."

Brad Adams, Asian director for Human Rights Watch, said that criminal defamation articles also exist in other laws, including the controversial Information Technology and Electronic Transaction Law.

Refugees/asylum seekers

Tamils not receiving medical help, doctor says

ABC News - January 6, 2010

An Australian doctor says he has had to resort to giving medical advice over the phone to asylum seekers on a boat at an Indonesian port.

The Tamils have been refusing to go into detention for processing for almost three months. A man died on the boat, moored at Merak, before Christmas, and others are getting treatment at the local hospital.

But refugee advocate and doctor Brian Senewiratne says authorities are not responding to requests for medical help.

"It is outrageous that I have to do such a thing because they are not getting any treatment of any sort," he said.

"There is a not a single medically-qualified person on the boat and all the international aid agencies and those who could supply help, such as international aid agencies, have all pulled out.

"I think that the Australian Medical Association should insist that Australian doctors – one, two or three – be allowed access for medical reasons to check up on the medical situation both on the boat as well as the so-called detention centres."

Jakarta bars Abbott asylum boat plan

The Australian - January 4, 2010

Paul Maley – Indonesia has rejected a proposal by Tony Abbott to tow seaworthy asylum boats back to Indonesia, saying Australia must deal with boats in its own waters.

As Border Protection Command yesterday intercepted a boat carrying 76 asylum-seekers off Christmas Island – the first this year – former immigration minister Philip Ruddock said the Howard government towed four boats back to Indonesia shortly after the Tampa crisis of 2001.

But Mr Ruddock acknowledged there were problems with such measures, saying people-smugglers began sabotaging their boats once they realised they were likely to be turned back on the high seas.

"Certainly, smugglers... would encourage people to sabotage vessels to ensure that they weren't seaworthy and that the return was not possible," Mr Ruddock told The Australian. "And in many cases that happened."

The Howard government minister's remarks followed a pledge by the Opposition Leader last week to tow asylum boats back into Indonesian waters.

The proposal, which was also endorsed by Kevin Rudd prior to the last election, was attacked by refugee groups and migration law experts as inhumane and illegal.

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser described the suggestion as "miserable". "The idea of turning the boats back is pure Pauline Hanson," Mr Fraser said.

Mr Ruddock said his government was able to tow boats back by working quietly with the Indonesians and not engaging in "megaphone diplomacy".

But yesterday, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah indicated that Jakarta would not agree to a repeat of the practice. "I don't believe we will be very happy with that policy," he said.

Rather, Australia should deal with boats in its territorial waters, just as Indonesia managed boats found on its waterways, Mr Faizasyah said.

Mr Ruddock said he recalled four instances where boats were returned to Indonesia. He said the policy was handled on a case- by-case basis, always with the consent of Jakarta. "If vessels were capable of being returned, they were," he said.

"Indonesia made it clear that, provided we didn't essentially crow about it, they would receive them back and they would then be available for processing or detained by the International Organisation for Migration and processed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

"Where vessels could not be adequately secured, they were then taken to offshore processing centres at Nauru and Manus."

Mr Ruddock said the policy helped alter the "psychology" around people-smuggling. "(Asylum-seekers) weren't prepared to pay up front because there was no guarantee that if they got to Manus or Nauru, or if the vessel was brought back to Indonesia, that they were getting what they wanted, which was access to Australia," he said.

Labour/migrant workers

Complaints surge over layoffs in 2009, says Jakarta Legal Aid

Jakarta Globe - January 5, 2010

Ulma Haryanto – More than 7,800 Indonesians laid off as a result of the global economic crisis filed complaints with the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute last year, the institute's director said on Monday.

Nurkholis Hidayat said the complaints were filed to highlight several issues, including wrongful dismissal and being laid off without severance pay or proper notice.

"The 125 complaint reports were filed by 7,863 people last year. This is a clear jump from 2008, when 70 reports involving just 2,064 people were filed," Nurkholis said, quoting figures from the institute's 2009 annual report.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) received 1,061 complaints in total last year, or 83 fewer than in 2008.

However, a trend was recorded throughout 2009, where people united to collectively file complaints about violations of their rights, Nurkholis said.

"The people are more organized. Although the number of cases we received decreased – from 1,144 cases in 2008 to 1,061 – the number of people involved increased exponentially, from 45,000 to 201,000," he said.

"We are predicting that this will continue in relation to the current president's promises of welfare. There will be a rise in the number of people who demand more transparency, and there is going to be a new law that will provide room for people to voice their concerns.

"Added to that, we have more people from across the provinces coming into Jakarta every year so that will also contribute to the rise in the number of urban poor."

According to Nurkholis, this will be a reaction to the unchanged system of government that still cannot accommodate the majority of the people.

"The increase [in complaints] is related to the failure of the government to provide for its people, and they also fail to protect the people from those with money who break the law," he added.

Furthermore, there were 138 reports of violations of civil and political rights last year, affecting 6,620 people. Nurkholis claimed that 93 percent of those who violated civil and political rights were police officers.

Complaints about violations of civil and political rights were the second most-reported issue to LBH. Some 227 reports involving 172,195 people were also filed in 2009 over labor-rights issues.

He also criticized on the "underperforming" National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the National Police Commission, which he believed had failed to serve the public's interests.

Activists call for monument to murdered labor hero, Marsinah

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2010

An artist on Monday called for a statue of a labor activist to be erected outside the House of Representatives to remind lawmakers about labor struggles.

Artist Ratna Sarumpaet said a statue of murdered labor organizer Marsinah should be built outside the House chambers in Senayan, South Jakarta. She said members of a crisis center the activist founded hopes to erect the monument.

"The Ratna Sarumpaet Crisis Center wishes to build the statue of Marsinah," Ratna said.

Marsinah was found dead near Nganjuk in East Java in May 1993 after leading a strike at PT Catur Putra Surya, a watch factory in Sidoarjo, East Java. Signs of torture and rape were later discovered during an inspection of her mutilated body.

Ratna said the she was drafting an official request for the Jakarta administration to approve the statue outside the House.

She hoped construction would begin on May 1 to commemorate World Labor Day. Ratna said she chose Marsinah as a symbol because she represented the struggle of laborers across the country. "There are so many problems faced by laborers. We need to remind lawmakers that they owe a debt to resolve labor issues," Ratna said.

There are allegations that security forces were involved in Marsinah's murder. The National Commission for Human Rights launched an investigation into the slaying in 1994. The probe failed to yield clear results.

Judi Susanto, the director of the watchmaking factory, was convicted of plotting the murder. He was released in November 1994 after the East Java High Court overturned his conviction. He had been sentenced to 17 years in jail. (Antara, JG)

Environment/natural disasters

Greenpeace calls for moratorium on logging

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2010

Ulma Haryanto & Arti Ekawati – Save the environment or lose up to $7 billion a year in revenue – as well as tens of thousands of jobs – from the forestry sector?

For environmental group Greenpeace, the answer is simple: Implement a moratorium on logging this year to allow the government time to clean up its act, and give the environment a breather from rampant deforestation. But the Forestry Ministry says the country cannot afford to do so.

"A logging moratorium means taking a break from logging activities, and by this we mean all logging activities," Bustar Maitar, a Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. "While the country is taking a break from logging activities, the government should check any overlapping laws between central regulations and regional application, which conflict most of the time."

During the hiatus, Bustar said the government could also look for nonforest areas in which plantations and production forests (HPI) could be developed.

Peatland forest conversion for development contributed 40 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, he said. "So why don't they use empty areas for these plantations and HPI?"

According to Bustar, other deforestation activities, such as logging, contributed an additional 40 percent to the country's carbon emissions.

"A logging moratorium and putting a stop to peatland [conversion] and deforestation should be included in the 2010 national roadmap to reach the country's emission reduction targets," he said, referring to the government's commitment to a 26 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.

But Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said Greenpeace's call for a moratorium was impossible.

"What should we do with our industry? Can [Greenpeace] provide any solutions for the logging industry and people who make their living from forestry sector?" the minister said on Wednesday.

According to Zulkifli, the moratorium would cause economic stagnation. Besides, he said, the country already had programs in place for sustainable forestry management.

"If we want to blame somebody because of deforestation, blame the illegal loggers and their buyers," he added.

Nanang Roffandi Ahmad, executive director of the Indonesian Forest Concessionaires Association (APHI), said the logging moratorium was not the right solution to reduce carbon emissions because it would have a negative multiplier effect if there was not any proper forestry management activity.

"The forestry sector contributed about $7 billion a year to the state income, with pulp industries contributing some 50 percent," he has said previously. "If it was stopped, the country would lose significant income."

Nanang said the government should also think about the workers who earned their livings from forestry activities, right down to those who transported the logged products.

"On average, there are more than 40,000 employees at forestry companies and we pay them about $3 a day. If there was a logging moratorium, how would these employee live?" he said.

Greenomics Indonesia, a nongovernmental organization that assesses the economic impact of the environment, had previously released data showing that a moratorium would cost the country at least Rp 75.24 trillion ($8.13 billion) from economic losses over the next eight years.

Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics, said a moratorium needed to be supported by developed countries in the form of funds to compensate for the restrictions on the forestry sector.

At present, there are 187 companies holding forestry concessions. Of those, 110 firms have rights to log natural-growth forests, which have a potential value of Rp 65.96 trillion to 2018; and 77 companies have rights to log HPIs, which have a potential value of Rp 9.28 trillion to 2018.

"In total, the country needs to cover Rp 75.24 trillion, which must be paid by [international] donors and other developed countries as compensation for protecting our forest from exploitation," Elfian said.

SBY facing mounting pressure over climate talks

Jakarta Post - January 6, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The Copenhagen climate change conference might be over, but differences continue to arise between environmentalists and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono regarding Indonesia's commitments.

A coalition of NGOs, led by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said Tuesday that Yudhoyono and his delegates had lied to the public in their statements during the talks and therefore the House of Representatives had to summon the President as soon as possible to demand a clarification.

"During the talks Indonesia said that it was seriously committed to reducing carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2020, however, the President lied about his seriousness," Walhi forest campaigner Teguh Surya said after meeting with House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung to file their complaints.

"First, the government did not raise its commitment to protect its natural forest during the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry [Lulucf] discussion.

"Only Africa, Nepal and New Zealand stated their commitment in the Lulufc discussion. This, of course, shows a betrayal of Indonesia's commitment," he added.

"The government has reserved 17.91 million hectares of natural for development outside of the forestry sector. We must also highlight the planned expansion of palm oil plantations by 26.7 million hectares in 17 provinces, which will convert existing natural forests.

"How can all of this happen if the President is serious about reducing emissions?" he said.

Presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal, however, told The Jakarta Post the Walhi was exaggerating and that their remarks about Yudhoyono's lack of seriousness showed their lack of knowledge about what really happened during the Copenhagen talks.

"Their attitude is unhelpful to the common efforts to promote cooperation on climate change," he said.

Dino said that Indonesia's seriousness was evident in the fact the country was the first among developing countries to announce it would reduce carbon emissions by 26 percent.

"Before Indonesia, the other developing countries were still shying away from stating their carbon emission reduction targets," he said.

"We are going to try our best to achieve the target. The Walhi should be trying to work together with us rather than propagating disinformation," he added.

Dino also said that Yudhoyono's personal commitment to preserving the nation's natural forest was clear by his decision to launch the "One Man, One Tree" program.

However, Teguh said the program was nothing but camouflage used by the government to outsmart the public and the global audience about what really happened.

"The facts show the amount of rehabilitated forest is much smaller than that of legalized deforestation projects," he said.

"The Walhi even found out the success rate of plantation projects in the National Forest and Land Rehabilitation Movement [Gerhan] is only between 0 and 60 percent, and it has cost the country more than Rp 18 trillion," he added.

Chairman of the Anti Debt Coalition (KAU), Dani Setiawan, said that Indonesia only exploited climate change issues to get more funding.

"During the talks, developed countries, such as the United States committed to giving Indonesia US$10 billion from 2010 to 2012. However, 50 percent of those funds will be considered as foreign debt, which is actually a setback," he said.

Dani said that Indonesia should have used better diplomatic bargaining skills, such as those employed by Bolivia.

"Bolivia used the historical aspects of its diplomatic bargaining with developed countries by securing non-foreign debt schemes," he said.

Komnas HAM to publish Lapindo probe results

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2010

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will announce the results of its final investigation on possible gross violations of human rights against thousands of mudflow victims in a 90-hectare area of Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java.

The hot, thick mudflow, allegedly triggered by careless drilling activities carried out by an oil and gas exploration contractor, has forced locals to flee their homes and rice paddies.

The contractor, PT Lapindo Brantas, is owned by the former coordinating minister for people's welfare, Abu Rizal Bakrie, who held the position when the disaster first occurred on May 29, 2006.

The commission's member, H.M. Kabul Supriyadhie, said here Monday that its final investigation results would determine Lapindo's responsibility in the disaster.

"We will take our report directly to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) after we finish the investigation," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Monday.

Junior Attorney General for special crimes, Marwan Effendi, said through a text message on Monday that he looked forward to the investigation results.

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) said in its report published in October 2008 the Lapindo mudflow resulted purely from human error and had nothing to do with natural disasters.

Lapindo said that it regretted the results of the report, as they were not based on research results by experts.

Rumble in the jungle: Man and elephants fight it out in Jambi

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2010

Dewi Kurniawati, Sekutur Jaya, Jambi – Despite its serenity, complete with smiling, laid-back people, a serious problem is weighing heavily upon this remote village in central Sumatra.

Just mention "Elephas maximus sumatranus," or the Sumatran elephant, and the serenity and smiles are replaced by fear, angry comments and a sense of helplessness.

Since 2002, herds of wild elephants have continually rampaged through palm oil plantations belonging to residents of Sekutur Jaya, destroying their crops and leaving angry farmers at their wits' end, as well as worried about their food security.

The fact that the elephants are an endangered species, and are merely reacting to human encroachment into their habitat, does little to mollify the villagers.

Sekutur Jaya was only founded in 1997 by transmigrants from Java and Sumatra.

"Could you please give me the forestry minister's phone number? I'd like to tell him about our despair," Sukur Rahmat, 58, the weary- looking village head, told visiting journalists from the Jakarta Globe.

As the lowest-ranking government representative in the area, Sukur is not only the depository for frequent complaints from the 275 families in the village, but is also one of the them, as the herds also affect his farm. "This week, those beasts came every day, destroying our palm oil fields," Sukur said, taking a deep breath.

Their sense of helplessness is understandable: What can a group of villagers do against an angry pack of pachyderms, most weighing several thousand pounds or more?

That's not to say they haven't tried. Every Thursday night, villagers walk to the fields to recite from the Koran, praying that the wild elephants will go away. They've also reported the problem to less divine authorities, including the district chief and Jambi's governor, but no solution has been forthcoming.

"It's very frustrating to see palm oil trees that you take care of every day destroyed by wild elephants," said Lukman, a transmigrant from East Java. "It seems that we don't have a future anymore."

"Where else can we go now?" Fauzi, another resident, said emotionally. "I started my field with 245 palm oil trees, now there are only 39 left."

Fauzi said he no longer had the energy to continue farming and attempting to fight back, and he's not alone. Comments from numerous other villagers ranged from "I'm ready to leave this place" to "How come nobody will help us?"

The root of the problem, unfortunately, is beyond the comprehension of these palm oil farmers. Long before the first houses were erected in Sekutur Jaya, Sumatran elephants roamed through the area. The village is merely apart of the offending herds' home range.

The central government's controversial transmigration policy, which began in the 1970s, eventually found its way to the forests of central Sumatra, which were cleared for settlements. It's unlikely that government officials ever foresaw turf battles between humans and elephants.

Encroachment is an issue in other areas of Sumatra, and it's not only about elephants. There were numerous incidents in 2009 of Sumatran tigers, another endangered species, attacking, and in some cases killing, illegal loggers, poachers and even villagers that were intruding into their territory. In response, humans are hunting, trapping and killing tigers.

A herd of Sumatran elephants needs a home range of at least 400 hectares, but rampant deforestation in Jambi has seen their territory replaced by palm oil plantations, leading to frequent clashes.

"Residents should understand that their village is the elephants' home range. That is why they will destroy everything on their way [through]," said Osman Tri, coordinator for animal protection at World Wildlife Fund Indonesia in Riau Islands province, which borders Jambi.

"Humans have to learn to share space with elephants if they want a peaceful life," he said.

The elephants that have been trampling through Sekutur Jaya village are among a remaining population of only 600 in Sumatra. Villagers won't hesitate to shoot elephants to drive them away – there are regular tales of harrowing encounters and photos of elephant carcasses – meaning the "man versus wild" battle will continue until the regional or national government finds a solution.

"The central government has the power to bring about an equilibrium between humans and elephants," Osman said. "We should ask the government what it will do to overcome this problem."

Jambi's provincial and district governments, despite wielding more power through decentralization, haven't done anything because they don't see this issue as a high priority, he said.

"[Central] government regulations issued in 2008 state that local governments should set up some kind of task force for animal conservation, but no local governments have abided by that regulation through today," Osman said.

Didy Wurjanto, head of the Natural Resources Conservation Center in Jambi, told the Globe that in his view, the final solution is to relocate Sekutur Jaya village and give the land back to the elephants.

"It's their home range, so we can't win this conflict unless we compensate those elephants and give them a new home, which would cost a lot," he said.

The other alternative, Didy said, would be to move the herd to one of the province's national parks.

"But I think it would be best if we just relocate the village. We can [then] make a new elephant national park," Didy said, citing the Way Kambas Elephant Training Center in Lampung as an example of establishing a preserve. "We can even add additional value to this solution, such as setting up the center as a new tourism site," he added.

However, it may not be easy to convince Sekutur Jaya's transmigrant villagers, who have spent the last decade there and are attached to their fields and way of life.

To the villagers, wildlife conservation is an alien concept.

Some farmers even sleep in their fields every night, lighting fires in some areas in an attempt to keep the elephants away.

"This palm oil field is the only thing we have. I can send my children to school from the results of this field," said Kusnari, a transmigrant from West Sumatra. "I don't understand why we should leave our village.

"I mean, these fields were created by the government. Why can't the government move those elephants somewhere else?" Kusnari said. "We just can't leave this place."

But neither can the elephants. Eventually, something will have to give, or Sekutur Jaya will never know peace.

Women & gender

Victims under threat of being sued back, activists say

Jakarta Post - January 7, 2010

The current legal system may cause women's attempts to sue those who commit violence against them to backfire, turning victims into criminals, activists said Wednesday.

"2009 showed how vulnerable women are to being fabricated as criminals," Eka Purnamasari, the legal service coordinator for the Legal Aid Institute for the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH Apik), said.

She was speaking during a discussion to evaluate the number and types of cases LBH Apik encountered last year.

LBH Apik's data revealed that it had received 1,508 reports of mistreatment, including violence and fraud, in 2009.

The number of reports increased from 853 in 2008 and 747 in 2007. The majority of cases reported last year had been those of domestic violence, making up 62 percent of the figure.

The number of domestic violence cases increased three fold from 12 in 2008 to 37 last year.

Yohanna, another legal worker for LBH Apik, said that there had been an increase in the amount of cases where alleged female victims were fabricated as criminals in the cases they reported.

"A woman may become a domestic violence victim, and then be accused as the perpretator. when the cases are reported, the law enforcers became reactionary," she said, illustrating the need for more competent workers in the legal field.

LBH Apik revealed several cases where victims of domestic violence were sued for various reasons.

One case involved a domestic violence victim who reported her husband to the South Bekasi Police, and fled her home to a relatives' house.

Her husband then reported the relative to the Setiabudi Police using Article 335 of the Criminal Code, which rules unpleasant conduct, before reporting her for violating Article 49 of the domestic violence law.

Article 49 of the law stipulates fines for those who neglect the members of his or her household.

Silvia Desty, a persecutor from the Central Jakarta District Court, said that there were several reasons why a female victim in a domestic violence case could be accused of being the guilty party.

"Sometimes the perpetrator files a report back and that report is processed sooner than the report filed by the victim. A woman might report experiencing domestic violence.

"However the accused party then reported a violation of the criminal code, which is easier to prove," she said.

"There have also been hindrances concerning evidence. There is a need for law enforcers who are sensitive to cases," she said.

Sinta Uli, a former wife of a high-ranking state employee, told her story where she was abandoned by her husband. She said the company did not facilitate her efforts to keep the household together.

"The mediation process occurred once and I was the only one summoned... the company only considered my former husband's rights," she said. (JP/dis)

Activists see need for family courts in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Anita Rachman – Family courts must be set up in Indonesia to strengthen legal protection measures for women suffering domestic abuse or simply embroiled in domestic problems, according to top officials from a number of nongovernmental organizations on Wednesday.

Estu Rakhmi Fanani, director of the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Apik), said the foundation, together with the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and a number of other organizations focused on women issues, were considering the possibility of officially asking the government to consider setting up family courts, which not only focused on family law, including issues like custody of children, but also on domestic violence.

Divorces are currently dealt with by religious courts. "Civil suits are filed if a couple wants a divorce. What happens if the divorce stems from domestic abuse? The abuse is not dealt with legally, just the matter of divorce. A divorce is not punishment. A family court is needed to deal with both matters," Estu said.

Nursjahbani Katjasungkana, a noted legal expert and chairwoman of the board of patrons with LBH Apik, said the court's principles of a fast, cheap and a fair trial still did not encompass women's domestic issues.

"We need a family court. It will integrate elements of criminal and civil courts. The courts today that separate criminal trials and civil trials neglect women's rights," she said.

Nursjahbani said other countries normally had family courts, such as Australia, Japan, Britain and the United States.

"We are currently still focusing on discourse through seminars on the issue of family courts," she said.

"Some judges in the Supreme Court have welcomed the idea. But of course we need to undergo a political process to set up a new law."

Estu said a family court was also needed to help women deal with public perceptions.

She emphasized there were many women who resorted to civil courts and silently "forgot" about their abuse over fears of being publicly stigmatized.

It is common knowledge that many wives choose not to send their husbands to jail due to fears of earning a negative reputation for doing so from neighbors, friends and possibly even their own children.

In 2009, LBH Apik received 1,058 complaints, including of spousal abuse, rape and sexual harassment.

Only 258 complaints were successfully dealt with legally mainly because they requested legal assistance.

"Only a tiny portion of the total complainants want real solutions," Estu said.

"Separate court systems [criminal and civil] will not teach a lesson to perpetrators of domestic violence," she said.

Rape tops cases of violence against women in Central Java

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2010

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Rape has topped the highest number of cases of violence against women in Central Java, director of the Semarang Legal Resources Center for Gender Justice and Human Rights (LRC-KJHAM), Evarisan said Monday.

In 12 months (from November 2008 to October 2009), according to Evarisan, the LRC-KJHAM Semarang had recorded at least 614 cases of violence against women in the province, 210 of which were rape cases. "The rape cases were committed by 338 perpetrators and five women were killed," Evarisan said.

She added that of the 614 recorded cases, 104 were based on reports made by the victims to the center and the remaining 510 cases were monitored by five print media, namely Kompas, Suara Merdeka, Jawa Pos, Wawasan and Solo Pos.

Domestic violence against women was the second-highest statistic with 149 victims. Of the victims, 16 were killed. Ranked third was violence related to love affairs, with 101 cases involving 126 perpetrators and 119 victims in which 13 of the victims were killed.

The fourth- and fifth-highest cases included violence against prostitutes, with 71 cases involving 343 victims, and violence against migrant workers with 44 cases involving 77 victims, 14 of whom died as a result of the violence.

In total, according to Evarisan, there were a total of 1,091 women who were both physically, psychologically and sexually abused, 48 of whom died because of sadistic violence, including being burnt and poisoned.

"We blame the lack of government protection as one of the main causes of violence," Evarisan said. She added the number of violations against women in Central Java in 2009 had increased by 37.7 percent from the previous year.

Based on crime statistics, Semarang municipality is ranked first among the province's 35 regencies and municipalities, with 120 cases of violence against women, followed by Surakarta with 30 cases and Kendal regency with 26 cases.

What is concerning, said Evarisan, was that of the 614 cases, only 22 had gone through the courts.

So far, she said, a rapist sentenced to 14 years by the Surakarta District Court was the most severe sentence so far, while the lowest sentence of six months was given to a domestic violence perpetrator by the Banyumas District Court.

Evarisan also highlighted that although various measures had been taken by the Central Java administration to promote services to victims of violence against women, there were still some structural obstacles.

Among the obstacles included discrimination by law enforcement officers and a lack of sufficient products, facilities and integrated service centers. "The quality of service, similarly, is also yet to meet high standards," she said.

Other problems, she added, included a lack of supporting policies to protect women, a limited budget, corruption and poor coordination among related institutions.

Bank Century inquiry

Link between top Century depositors and political figures - House

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Febriamy Hutapea – The House special committee investigating the PT Bank Century bailout said depositors who received bailout funds included some with names similar or related to the names of state officials and politicians.

Mahfudz Siddiq, the committee's deputy chairman, said it had received evidence on Wednesday from the Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) concerning recipients of some of the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710) used to rescue the bank.

"The names are either similar or related to the names of state officials or political party members," Mahfudz told the Jakarta Globe, adding that the evidence, requested last month, was sealed in a brown envelope and labeled "secret." The documents contained information about the 50 largest depositors in Bank Century.

"There are five depositors whose names are similar to political party figures. There are also two depositors who have a relationship with lawmakers," he said.

On Wednesday, the committee questioned three former Bank Indonesia deputy governors: Maman Sumantri, Maulana Ibrahim and Rusli Simanjuntak.

Their testimony revealed that the decision to merge three small banks – Bank Pikko, Bank Danpac and Bank CIC – to establish Bank Century in 2004 had not been based on a meeting of the central bank's board of governors.

Maman said the decision was made based on the board of governors' approval of the acquisition of the three banks by Chinkara Capital in November 2001.

In the 2001 meeting, the board of governors agreed to the acquisition on condition that Chinkara fulfilled all requirements. However, no meeting was conducted afterward to discuss whether the company had met the requirements.

The three deputies said they had not been fully aware of the credibility of Bahamas-based Chinkara. The company reportedly did not have complete administrative documents and had not submitted a financial report in three years.

The majority of shares in Chinkara were owned by British businessman Rafat Ali Rizvi, who later became a director at Bank Century, which has since been renamed Bank Mutiara. Rizvi fled the country after the Bank Century bailout and is still at large.

Golkar lawmaker Melchias Markus Mekeng criticized the deputies who gave approval to Chinkara without thorough due diligence of the company. "The deputies had neglected the fact that Chinkara should be questioned," Melchias said.

The deputies were frequently unable to answer lawmakers' queries, saying they could not recall events. They also claimed not to know about the detailed merger process and the person who should be responsible for making such decisions.

Robert Tantular, the owner of Bank Century, is expected to appear Monday before the lawmakers.

The committee has summoned Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to appear on two occasions next week, on Wednesday and Friday.

Sri Mulyani was summoned over her role as chair of the Committee for Financial Sector Stability (KSSK), which decided to rescue Bank Century.

Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla will be questioned on Wednesday evening. Vice President Boediono, who was questioned last month, will be summoned to appear again on Tuesday.

New Bank Century book launches

Antara News - January 6, 2010

A new book – of sorts – countering George Junus Aditjondro's controversial "Membongkar Gurita Cikeas" ("Unraveling the Cikeas Octopus"), which alleges state funds used to bailout PT Bank Century were diverted into President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's election campaign pot, will be launched in Jakarta today.

Setyardi Negara, author of "Hanya Fitnah dan Cari Sensasi: George Revisi Buku" ("Slander and Sensationalism: George's Revisionist Book"), said on Tuesday his 28-page offering was written to review Aditjondro's book.

"[George's] book jumps from one point to another and is very conspiracy oriented. Maybe the initial information was correct, but his conclusion was out of line," the former Tempo journalist said. "George had always thought of conspiracies and seemed to have an ulterior motive," Setyardi said.

He said that George had written a lot of nonsensical things, including a passage in the foreword that says that some of the Rp 6.7 billion ($710 million) injected into Bank Century had been used by Yudhoyono's campaign team, without any explanation or verification.

"Even novice journalists know such things shouldn't be written, because there are no clear facts or data about it," Setyardi added.

Setyardi claimed he had written his book without any political motivation, saying that he was driven to do so for business reasons and to share information as an ex-journalist.

"I do not have the legal standing to answer to the content of George's book. This is only an analysis or review of the book compiled into a pocketbook. I am not in the position to challenge. [The book was written] because no review had been made of it," Setyardi said.

The 24-page book contains only quotes from people commenting on Aditjondro's book and excerpts of news. The book launch will be attended by George and several analysts including M. Alfan Alfian and Soeyanto. "I've contacted George, but he said he's cooling down," Setyardi. said.

Yudhoyono's spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said that "Slander and Sensationalism" had not been published by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or any of his relatives. "The president sees no urgency to issue such a book. Let the people be the judge to that," Julian said.

Graft & corruption

Critics quick to judge judicial mafia eradication task force

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Farouk Arnaz & Heru Andriyanto – Criticism of the recently formed judicial mafia eradication task force increased on Wednesday, even as the National Police pledged firm action against any of the 33 provincial police chiefs across the nation if legal case brokers are ever discovered loitering about the compounds of any police precinct.

"Zero tolerance for mafia brokers loitering about in any police compound. I demand this. If it continues, [the responsibility] will fall on the shoulders of the chief of the police precinct," National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said at a gathering on Wednesday, attended by police chiefs and members of the judicial mafia eradication task force.

The task force, headed by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, was recently set up to curb practices of the judicial mafia, a term referring to legal case brokers who have worked to effectively choke the country's legal system.

Bambang said on Wednesday that eradicating the practices of the judicial mafia was not easy, even though he had instituted security measures to stamp them out, including the formation of a new monitoring team to supervise the work of detectives.

"We have increased the effectiveness of the internal affairs division and basically have CCTV cameras in every investigation room. Even if these brokers end up meeting with police officers outside the compounds, we have increased the role of police intelligence officers in this case," Bambang said.

Insp. Gen. Oegroseno, head of the National Police's Professionalism and Security Division, agreed combatting the practices of the judicial mafia was not easy due to existing relationships between a number of law enforcement officers and brokers that have proven to be mutually beneficial.

The nongovernmental Indonesian Anticorruption Society (Maki) said on Wednesday that the task force would provide no more than a hypocritical display of injustice unless it put the campaign against case brokers and crooked law enforcement officials into practice.

In particular, the group said, the task force has turned a blind eye to the humiliating scandal involving the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and alleged middleman Anggodo Widjojo.

"The first thing to do is to deal with the Anggodo case, that's the key priority if the task force wants to show its commitment to doing the job," Maki chairman Boyamin Saiman said.

Anggodo became the center of attention after the Constitutional Court played recordings of phone conversations in which the businessman was heard discussing ways to bring down two deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with top police and AGO officials.

Despite evidence of an apparent attempt to intervene in legal proceedings, Anggodo has never been charged by police.

"The task force may urge the KPK to name Anggodo a suspect and it doesn't need to worry about the police's reaction because it has been established by the president," said Boyamin. "Anggodo should be named a suspect by next week."

Deputy Attorney General Dharmono, a member of the task force, said the Anggodo case was a priority for the team.

"His case is currently being handled by the KPK. The task force will ask the KPK for a speedy conclusion of the case based on the existing laws," he said. "We focus on preventive measures, but we can also recommend the arrest and prosecution of suspected case brokers."

Emerson Yuntho, deputy head of Indonesia Corruption Watch, has also expressed doubts over the effectiveness of the task force.

"The task force only has the capacity to make recommendations to the president. As good as the recommendations may be, I doubt the resolution of law enforcement agencies to implement them fully," he said on Tuesday. "Case brokering has been around for many years, of course there will be resistance from rogue officers whose pockets will get thinner."

Teten Masduki, secretary general of Transparency International Indonesia, also told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday that the task force should be given more than two years to do its job.

"The team should be given more authority not only to formulate the law enforcement system, but also to ensure that the system is implemented properly and closely monitor the police and the AGO," he said.

Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of law from the University of Indonesia, said that the task force should have clear understanding of its "targets," adding that those involved in case brokering came from all walks of life.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared war on the judicial mafia after he assumed office for the second time in October, following mounting pressure over the arrest of two KPK deputies, which was believed to be engineered by businessman Anggodo Widjojo, the brother of fugitive Anggoro Widjojo. The case also implicated a senior police official and a senior prosecutor.

The existence of case brokers was confirmed to the public when the KPK arrested Urip Tri Gunawan, a senior official at the Attorney General's Office, for receiving $660,000 from businesswoman Artalyta Suryani in 2008, in return for putting an end to a major embezzlement case involving fugitive business tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim.

Now Indonesia's judicial mafia fight gets serious: SBY

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Muninggar Sri Sarawasti – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday stressed his resolve to purge the "judicial mafia," calling on law-enforcement agencies to commit to the fight.

To boost those efforts, he said he would demand bureaucratic reforms across 13 ministries and state institutions linked to law enforcement and governance.

"Remember, in the hands of corrupt law enforcers, anything bent can be straightened and the straight can be bent. I want judicial mafia practices to cease," said Yudhoyono at the State Palace, while introducing the 2010 budgets for ministries, government institutions and regional administrations.

Law-enforcement officials, whether in Jakarta or the regions, should not manipulate the law, he said.

The president named eliminating corruption in the judiciary as one of his top priorities when announcing the government's first- 100-day program in October. Last week, he formed a six-member task force to suggest ideas for eliminating graft in the country's courts, considered to be some of Asia's most corrupt.

The task force met with leaders of the National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday to discuss the way forward. A high-profile feud between the two institutions brought judicial corruption into the political spotlight last year.

Task force chairman Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said the antigraft agency had vowed to help. "The KPK pledged to assist us through its facilities, such as its complaint-handling mechanism that enables people to report judicial mafia activities online and anonymously," he said.

Edward Aritonang, a spokesman for the National Police, said it was also forming a team to support the task force. "We leave everything fully in the control of the task force," he said. The team would brief provincial police chiefs in Jakarta today, he added.

Yudhoyono also warned critics against judging his government's success in fulfilling the pledges of its first-100-day program. On Monday, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa claimed, without offering evidence, that the government had completed 92 percent of its 100-day goals.

"Although the government's first-100-day program is important, it is impossible to contain all the development priorities and targets for five years. In addition, it is illogical to measure government success for the 2009-14 period by the first 100-day program," Yudhoyono said.

But Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), called the first 100 days "crucial," saying success would boost public trust. "I'd say the success of the program is the embryo of the success of the government's five-year program," he said.

Yunarto Widjaja, a political analyst at Charta Politika, suggested that ministers should not hesitate to admit failures. "They should convince the people that they will work harder to implement their programs," he said.

Yudhoyono said the economic achievements of last year made him optimistic his government could reach its 2014 economic goals: an annual growth rate of 7 percent, inflation of 5 percent, poverty at 8 percent to 10 percent, and unemployment of 6 percent.

The economy grew by more than 4 percent in 2009. Inflation was 2.78 percent, the lowest in a decade. (Additional reporting by Antara)

KPK eyes Anggodo as suspect in plot against Bibit, Chandra

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2010

Heru Andriyanto & Nivell Rayda – The Corruption Eradication Commission hinted on Monday that it would name controversial businessman Anggodo Widjojo a suspect for allegedly conspiring with senior police officers and prosecutors to take down two antigraft commissioners.

"It's a big possibility," Bibit Samad Rianto, the commission's deputy for enforcement, said when asked about possible plans to charge Anggodo. He added the businessman could be charged with attempted bribery and obstructing an investigation by the antigraft agency, which is also known as the KPK. The charges carry a combined maximum penalty of life in jail.

Bibit and fellow deputy Chandra Hamzah were controversially charged by police with extortion and abuse of power in September based on the testimony of Anggodo and several other witnesses.

The case drew public outrage after the Constitutional Court played wiretaped phone conversations in which Anggodo was heard plotting measures to set up the two deputies who were investigating a corruption case involving his brother, Anggoro Widjojo.

Bibit said any decision to charge Anggodo would need the approval of the KPK's five-strong leadership board. "Hopefully, we can decide in the near future," Bibit told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar in Jakarta.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the KPK was planning to summon Anggodo this week.

The intimations, however, were immediately rejected by Bonaran Situmeang, a lawyer working for Angoddo, who dismissed the remarks as groundless. According to prosecutors, Bonaran said, Bibit and Chandra were the "real criminals." He said the Attorney General's Office had declared the case against Chandra and Bibit complete and said the criminal charges against them met all legal requirements.

The two men were initially accused of extorting Anggoro for money and younger brother Anggodo claimed to have paid them off through a middleman named Ary Muladi.

"My question is, the case against Bibit and Chandra has been declared complete but it was abruptly dropped, Bonaran said. "Why is [the KPK] now targeting my client for a bribery case that never existed?"

The AGO on Dec. 1 dropped the charges against Bibit and Chandra amid massive public opposition and a media uproar – not because they lacked evidence, but, Bonaran said, because "it would be more morally harmful than beneficial to bring their case to the court."

When asked why Anggodo handed Rp 5.1 billion ($545,700) to Ary Muladi to be channeled to the antigraft officials, Bonaran replied "because he was extorted and the money was meant to get their attention."

"Prosecutors said the Rp 5.1 billion was part of the extortion case [against Bibit and Chandra] but now the money is said to be [evidence] in the bribery case against Anggodo. Which one is true?"

Bonaran said if his client was summoned by the KPK, he would examine the summons letter before allowing his client to attend. "We will have to first check the case if it has anything to do with my client. He will attend the summons if necessary," he said, adding that Anggodo was still in Indonesia.

Emerson Yuntho, deputy head of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said that the KPK "had a moral obligation to the people to arrest Anggodo."

"Anggodo's arrest is very important if Indonesia wishes to curb case brokers," he said. "Activists and the Indonesian people at large have pushed for Bibit and Chandra's release. It is only fitting that the KPK returns the favor."

Emerson added that the KPK should also reposition several senior officials, whom the ICW suspects to have hindered the case against Anggodo and leaked sensitive information, namely KPK director of investigation Chief Comr. Suedi Hussein.

Suedi is an active police officer stationed at the commission. Before serving as a KPK director, Suedi was a subordinate of Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who is accused of being another key figure in the plot to oust Bibit and Chandra. Bibit said the KPK had received public complaints against Suedi and would soon act on them.

KPK must declare Anggodo suspect: ICW

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2010

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to, within two weeks, declare Anggodo Widjojo a suspect for attempted bribery or for obstructing investigations.

"An insider told us the paperwork for Anggodo's suspect status was complete, but we do not know why it has not been processed," ICW deputy coordinator Emerson Yuntho said Friday.

The KPK had strong evidence and witnesses, he said. "It is now up to the officials in charge of the investigations to decide whether or not to name Anggodo suspect," he said.

Anggodo, a brother of corruption fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, allegedly played the main role in an attempt to frame two KPK deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, for charges of abuse of power, bribery and the extortion of Anggoro.

Anggodo's role was detailed in wiretapped recordings of telephone conversations between him and middlemen and several senior officers of the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO). During the conversations, Anggodo assigned specific roles to police, prosecutors and witnesses to play so the deputies would be incriminated convincingly.

"We fear this case has been obstructed by KPK officials, because many of them are from the police and the AGO," Emerson said.

Emerson urged KPK investigations director Suaedy Husein to name Aggodo suspect within two weeks.

"Otherwise, he would be better off resigning to show he is responsible," he said. "Second, we will file a lawsuit against the KPK if it does not make any moves in this case within two weeks."

Emerson said he suspects the director, a police officer, to have a conflict of interest in this case, because it could implicate several of his colleagues and superiors, including former National Police chief of detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji.

In the wiretapped conversations Susno was mentioned several times by Anggodo and those he spoke to, implying that Susno also played a role in the attempt to frame the deputies.

Susno also admitted to a presidential fact-finding team to evaluate the Bibit and Chandra case that he had met Anggoro in Singapore even though he knew the KPK had named Anggoro a suspect in a corruption case at the Forestry Ministry.

Emerson was concerned that police officers embedded in the KPK could interfere with investigations of the Anggodo case. "Efforts to weaken the KPK do not necessarily have to come from outside the commission," he said.

He urged KPK leaders to be firm with this case. "If there are officials who try to obstruct the case, they must be kicked out of the KPK," he said.

Yudhoyono's new judicial corruption squad ready

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2010

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a decree on Wednesday to establish a special team to eradicate judicial corruption, as part of the administration's first-100-days program, a presidential staffer said Friday.

The team will be chaired by the Presidential Development Monitoring and Control Unit chief (UKP4) Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Presidential legal affairs staffer Denny Indrayana said. Denny himself will act as team secretary.

The team also comprises Deputy Attorney General Darmono, Brig. Gen. Herman Effendi from the National Police, Financial Transactions Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) chairman Yunus Husein and former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) interim leader Mas Achmad Santosa.

"The team will have to coordinate, evaluate and correct every legal measure to accelerate efforts to eradicate judicial corruption," Denny said as quoted by detik.com news portal. The team is set to hold their initial meeting on Monday at 10 a.m. to discuss their mission, Mas Achmad told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Combating judicial corruption has become one of the government's top priorities in its first-100-days program.

The establishment of the team was one of the recommendations submitted by a presidential fact-finding team investigating allegations of a high level plot to incriminate two leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

Previously, however, Kuntoro had said the establishment of the team was "related, but not necessarily a response to the recommendations of the fact-finding team".

Judicial corruption has long been major stumbling block for the Indonesian legal system, but until recently was largely ignored by the government and the public. Following the arrest of Bibit and Chandra, however, and the subsequent revelation of plot to frame them by Anggodo Widjojo, the brother of a corruption fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, public and political support for judicial reform swelled.

Voice recordings played at a Constitutional Court hearing on November 2009 revealed details of Anggodo's plan, who through his middlemen Ari Muladi and Edi Soemarsono, assigned roles for police, prosecutors and witnesses to play in an attempt to evade justice. The hearing lead to a public outcry, urging President Yudhoyono to end corruption within the justice system.

The voice recordings implicated several senior officers at the National Police and the Attorney General's Office.

Previously, the public was also shocked when senior prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan who was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for having received a US$660,000 bribe from businesswoman Artalyta Suryani.

At that stage Urip was leading a team investigating the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) cases implicating tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, a close relative of Artalyta.

During an AGO investigation, among 37 witnesses summoned Sjamsul was the only one who managed to evade interrogation sessions for his alleged involvement in the BLBI case. Sjamsul, the former owner of the now-defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, had been implicated in the embezzlement of Rp 28.4 trillion ($3.1 billion) in BLBI funds.

War on terror

Police warn of terrorism threat behind illegal immigrant issue

Jakarta Post - January 6, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The National Police have found early indications that might link the current influx of foreign immigrants, who enter this country illegally, with terrorism, chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said Tuesday.

"We received early intelligence information that shows these immigrants might be followed by those who share a relationship with some terrorist organizations," Ito said.

"As of now, I have to acknowledge we are still in the dark about the backgrounds of these immigrants, especially those from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka," he said.

"We will immediately follow up the intelligence report by working with our counterparts from other agencies [such as the immigration office] to avoid potential terrorist attacks," he said.

However, Ito refused to provide a detailed explanation when asked about the police's strategy to detect terrorism behind the illegal immigration issue.

Currently, there are several groups of foreign refugees from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Sri Lanka who are in the country. These refugees have usually chosen to leave their home countries saying they believed they would not be able to lead normal lives there.

In many cases, these immigrants have been arrested by local authorities in Indonesian waters on their way to neighboring countries like Australia and, further afield, New Zealand. On occasion, while in transit in Indonesia, these refugees have been able to form friendships with Indonesians.

Ito cited Saudi Arabian immigrants who make new friends very easily as they shared a common religious belief with the majority of Indonesians.

"Any terrorist activity could originate from informal activities based on the same religion. Therefore, learning from past experience, we should be very sensitive to this matter," he said.

When asked for comment, a former field officer who used to be involved with the counterterrorism task force, said he was not familiar with the conclusions drawn by Ito.

"In my extensive experience in handling terrorism-related cases, I have found no such indications linking illegal immigration and terrorism. Would-be terrorists usually find their way in through activities like Koran recital classes or using other religious activities as cover," the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

"No terrorists has ever entered their target countries through illegal immigration," he continued.

However, he acknowledged that terrorists might have changed their methods in infiltrating their target countries. "We have to wait and see what develops," he said.

Terror suspect accuses police of torture

Jakarta Globe - January 1, 2010

Nurfika Osman & Farouk Arnaz – Muhammad Jibriel, who is suspected of having links to the July suicide bombings at Jakarta's JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, claimed in a statement sent to the Jakarta Globe on Friday that he had been tortured by the police's elite antiterror police squad.

Jibriel said in the statement – sent via Arrahmah, an organization that publishes articles in support of suicide bombings – that the torture occurred on Wednesday at around 2 p.m. He claimed that antiterror officers from Densus 88 came to his cell at Mobile Brigade headquarters in Depok and tortured him.

The officers, he said, handcuffed him and put head restraints on him, which were then tightened with such force that bruises and swelling resulted. His protests, the statement claims, were dismissed by one of the officers, who told him: "You're a prisoner! Don't ask for anything."

Jibriel also claimed that this was not the first time he had been tortured by Densus 88, saying that since he was detained four months ago, the violence had been continuous.

The suspect also claimed to have been ill treated when he was brought to the South Jakarta District Court for the submission of his police dossier.

The head of Densus 88, Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian, denied any ill treatment of terror suspects. Tito also told the Globe that police dossiers for several suspects in the hotel bombers were ready. "All the dossiers have been completed except for the recently arrested Baharudin Latif and his son Ata," Tito said.

He said dossiers had been completed on Aries Sutanto and Indra Arif Hermawan – brothers who were arrested shortly before the raid on a house in Temanggung, Central Java, in August that led to the death of the alleged field coordinator for the hotel bombings, Ibrohim. Two other suspected field coordinators – Fajar Firdaus and Sonny Jayadi – were arrested in Bekasi.

Others suspects whose dossiers are ready include Putri Munawaroh, who was arrested in September during a raid in Solo that left suspected terrorist mastermind Noordin M Top dead; Amir Abdullah, an alleged assistant to top; and Saudi national Ali Mohammad Abdillah, who is accused of helping to finance the July bombings.

Police have killed or arrested 24 people thought to have been connected to the bombings.

Jibriel's father, Abu Jibriel, reported the alleged torture of his son to the National Commission on Human Rights in September.

Police say they suspect Muhammad Jibriel of helping to channel money from abroad to fund the bombings. They say a courier from the Middle East, who returned to his home country shortly after the bombings, hand-delivered the cash to Jibriel.

Abu Jibriel and his lawyer deny all accusations against Muhammad Jibriel.

Islam/religion

Indonesian cleric questioned over acid punishment

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2010

Dessy Sagita – An Islamic council leader in Lebak, Banten, is facing police questioning for allegedly pouring acid onto the hands of four of his young disciples as a form of punishment.

Speaking on Thursday, Warunggunung Police Chief Adj. Comr. Maiyusri said that detectives were questioning Ustad Deden, who leads the Warunggunung branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), as well as an undisclosed number of Deden's subordinates. All have been declared suspects in the case.

The incident, which occurred last week, left four of the suspect's victims with burned hands. The four victims were identified as Bahrul Ulum, 18, Herman, 15, Heriana, 15, and Sholeh, 19.

"Investigations are ongoing," Maiyusri said, adding that Deden was being questioned in accordance with Article 351 of the Criminal Code on torture and Article 80 of the 2002 Child Protection Law regarding acts of cruelty toward children.

The torture charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, while the child cruelty offense carries a maximum of three-and-a-half years.

Maiyusri said that Deden was questioned about why he had hydrochloric acid in his home, where he had purchased it from and why it had been used as a form of punishment.

Police suspect the incident was triggered when Deden's son reported to his father that he had lost his cellphone after staying over at his friend's place.

Deden called the four boys – all of whom were students at his Koranic learning center – to his home. They were then interrogated by Arif, a relative of Deden, and reportedly insisted that they had not taken the phone and had even helped Deden's son look for it.

Maiyusri said Deden then allegedly asked all four boys to undergo a test of honesty. After uttering an incantation over a bottle of mineral water, he then proceeded to instruct the boys to drink from the bottle.

According to Maiyusri, Deden told the boys that the "magic water" would protect them from punishment if they were telling the truth and had not stolen the phone.

Deden then allegedly instructed his subordinates to pour the hydrochloric acid onto the boys' hands as part of the test. Maiyusri said the boys were rushed to a local clinic to treat the burns on their hands, but later had to be taken to Depok for emergency medical treatment.

"The boys were somewhat lucky in that they rinsed their hands immediately and, of course, there was less than a quarter of the acid left in the unlabeled bottle found in Deden's house," Maiyusri added.

The boys' parents did not immediately report the case to police because they were focused on their children's recoveries, but filed a complaint with Warunggunung Police when they learned that the injuries would cause permanent disfigurement.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, secretary general of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said the incident was criminal and must not be tolerated. He said that Deden's irrational behavior had cost the children their future as they could now be permanently disabled.

"He had no right to punish them in the manner that he did," Arist said, adding that it was regrettable a senior member of the local community could resort to such cruelty.

MUI plans to regulate Indonesia's halal imports

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2010

Anita Rachman & Dian Arifahmi – The country's highest authority on Islamic affairs, the Indonesian Council of Ulema, is planning to insist that all imported food labeled as halal obtain the council's own halal certification before it can be sold here.

The council's Food, Drugs and Cosmetic Assessment Institute is the sole issuer of halal certificates for such goods. Locally produced goods are not required to have a certificate.

Ma'ruf Amin, one of the chairmen of the council, known as the MUI, said many products imported from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries carried halal labels but that the MUI did not always trust their certification standards.

Many overseas issuers of halal certificates do not have fatwa councils, and several do not operate under an Islamic organization, he said. Ma'ruf said the move was intended "to make sure that all products labeled halal are truly halal."

Key issues in halal certification include how animals are slaughtered and what ingredients go into processed foods, he said.

"For the time being, we will focus on food products, but in the future we will also deal with drugs and cosmetics," he said.

"This treatment will also possibly be applied to products from China and Asean under the framework of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement," Ma'ruf said, referring to the trade pact that took effect on Jan. 1.

"International certifiers have agreed – if they do not meet our standards their products will not be permitted to enter the country. So we will help them standardize the certification of products," he added.

The MUI is working with the Ministry of Agriculture, he said, as MUI representatives will now be involved in checking food at ports across the country.

"We will check whether the MUI has approved them. If they are approved, they can enter the country. But if they did not undergo standard certification we will hold them and then disqualify them," he said.

Food importers fear that regular quarantining of products would result in a costly but unofficial system of payments to get them released.

The MUI has repeatedly argued that it is its responsibility to protect Muslim consumers. Last September, the House of Representatives delayed passing a bill requiring most consumer products, whether imported or produced domestically, to be certified as halal or not.

The move came after strong protests, including from the local business community.

Ma'ruf said the MUI started to coordinate with international halal certifiers a year ago. He said it now recognized seven certifiers in the United States and eight out of 11 in Australia.

"Also some certifiers in the Netherlands, France and Belgium have received our recognition. We are now working with some certifiers in New Zealand on how to improve their certification quality. Because so far none of the New Zealand certifiers can meet our standards," he said. He added that several certifiers overseas are now undergoing MUI training.

Thomas Dharmawan, chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Producers Association (Gapmmi), said the MUI already checked products with halal labels from overseas.

He said getting a voluntary MUI halal label for locally made goods costs Rp 1 million to Rp 2.5 million ($108 to $270) per product.

"The MUI will ask the importer of the products to connect them to the agency in that country. And if there's no such agency controlling halal, MUI will ask the importer to take them to visit the place where the product is made," said Thomas, adding that the importer will be expected to pay for the process.

Sex & morality

Bandung sexy dancers busted for 'stirring desires'

Agence France Presse - January 5, 2010

Police confirmed on Tuesday the arrest of six people for the alleged performance of a "sexy dance" at a cafe in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Police arrested six people – four female dancers, the dance group's leader and the cafe owner, said Arman Achdiat, the local police's chief detective. "We're charging them for preparing the dance and performing it in public, which is against morality," he added.

Achdiat did not give any details about the dance but said the dancers, who had performed at a live music cafe in Bandung, south of Jakarta, were in skimpy clothing.

"It could be described as sexy dancing. But more importantly, they were wearing minimal clothing and performing in public, which can stir desires," he said. Under the country's Anti- Pornography Law, the dancers could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted, he added.

The controversial law, passed in October, criminalizes all works and "bodily movements" deemed obscene.

It has prompted protests across Indonesia. While the law is supposed to exempt cultural performances, critics fear it could threaten traditions ranging from temple statues on Hindu Bali Island to penis sheaths on tribesmen in Christian and animist Papua.

The law has been championed by Indonesia's Islamic parties and is backed by the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Six arrested over Bandung New Year striptease

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2010

Bandung – Police said Monday they had named six people suspects for their role in staging a striptease on New Year's Eve at the Bellair Cafe and Music Lounge Paskal Hyper Square, Bandung, West Java.

Bandung Police chief detective Adj. Comr. Arman Achdiat said four of the suspects were "naked dancers" from Jakarta and the two others were their managers.

The suspects were arrested Friday morning, he added. Arman said the police had seized as evidence the dancers' underwear and Rp 1.9 million the latter had received in tips from the audience.

The suspects were charged under the pornography law and the Criminal Code, under which they could face five to 10 years in jail.

Cafe owner Eddy Warna denied there had been a striptease. "We just provided 'sexy dancers' for the entertainment," he said.

Bandung Mayor Dada Rosada, who came to the cafe with city security officers, stopped short of sealing off the building, but said he might consider revoking the cafe's operating permit.

Elections/political parties

'Octopus' publisher set to dish more dirt

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2010

Nivell Rayda – The battle over George Junus Aditjondro's controversial book "Membongkar Gurita Cikeas", or "Unravelling the Cikeas Octopus", heated up on Wednesday with the publisher saying that more detailed allegations over campaign financing irregularities would be presented in a revised edition soon.

Julius Felicianus, chief executive officer of Galang Press, told the Jakarta Globe that many government insiders and officials had come forward following the book's launch two weeks ago to offer George information and data to support the claims made in his book.

"The response was overwhelming. The data presented by these people surprised even George himself," Julius said. "George is now writing intensively. Our next version will be much more comprehensive."

The book accuses President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party of funneling money from the 2008 PT Bank Century bailout through various foundations to finance last year's election campaigns.

Several major bookstores refused to sell the book and it was even threatened with a formal ban, despite the fact that most of the claims in the book stem from second-hand sources and information that has already been circulating on the Internet.

The book gained even more notoriety last week after George used a copy to smack a lawmaker in the face during a heated public discussion of the book's merits. The book now sells for as much Rp 150,000 ($16.20) in the second-hand market, almost five times the cover price of Rp 36,000, and pirated editions are being peddled on the street.

Also on Wednesday, former journalist Setiyadi Negara launched a slim volume that purports to counter Gurita Cikeas, titled "Hanya Fitnah dan Cari Sensasi, George Revisi Buku" or "Nothing More than Slander and Sensationalism: George Revise Your Book".

In his 31-page volume, Setiyadi comments on the apparent flaws of George's book but fails to present new information or data. Setiyadi accuses George of distorting news reports to support his claims.

Political analyst Alfan Alfian, a speaker at Setiyadi's book launch, said the new book was nothing more than a "lengthy book review." Setiyadi said he wrote the book on his own initiative and was not influenced by the government or Yudhoyono's political allies. "My only motivation is to question the methodology used by George," Setiyadi said. "George's thoughts are too filled with conspiracy theories."

PAN lawmaker slams party on eve of congress

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Febriamy Hutapea & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – On the even of the National Mandate Party's (PAN) national congress, a senior member has called the congress "illegal" and criticized supervisory board chairman Amien Rais, who he claims is "acting like God."

Lawmaker Hatta Taliwang, an ally of outgoing party chairman Soetrisno Bachir, said at the House of Representatives on Wednesday that many party members had misinterpreted the role of Amien as PAN's supervisory board chairman, which allowed him to usurp Soetrisno's authority.

"Amien Rais acts like a God in the party by doing whatever he likes," Taliwang said. "Sutrisno Bachir seems like a doll, his role has been taken over by Amien. This is not healthy for the democratic process."

He cited as an example a leadership meeting at Amien's Yogyakarta home on April 19, 2009, when 27 provincial chairmen agreed to form a coalition with the Democratic Party to support President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election campaign. This was in direct opposition to the wishes of Soetrisno, who planned to form a coalition with presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Amien, an unwavering populist politician and nationalist, was at the forefront of the reform movement that led to the downfall of former dictator Suharto in 1998. In 1999, he led the newly formed PAN to secure 7.1 percent of the vote in the legislative elections.

Taliwang also branded the national congress as "illegal" and threatened to hold another congress in April.

"As one of PAN's founders, I am strongly against the party congress in Batam because it contravenes the party's goals and ideology," Taliwang said.

The congress, he said, had been convened using a party regulation annulled by the South Jakarta District Court in February 2009.

Meanwhile, the main aim of the national congress is to elect a new party chairman.

Squaring off against each other are heavy favorite Hatta Rajasa and the relatively unknown Drajad Wibowo, both of whom were nurtured by Amien.

Most pundits believe that the contest for the chairmanship of PAN would have not attracted much publicity was it not for the fact that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is looking to shore up his increasingly vulnerable ruling coalition in the House in the wake of the PT Bank Century scandal and whispers of attempts to impeach the president and key cabinet members.

Researcher Burhanuddin Muhtadi, of the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said PAN would not risk electing Drajad because he was critical of Yudhoyono's policies. "SBY and the Democrats have a special interest in a Hatta victory," he said.

The former chairman of Yudhoyono's campaign team, Hatta, the coordinating minister for the economy, is one of the president's closest aides.

KPU faces calls for probe of Yudhoyono campaign funds

Jakarta Globe - January 4, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – The General Elections Commission was facing growing calls on Monday to order a complete re-audit of presidential campaign donations following allegations made in a controversial book that funds from the Rp 6.7 trillion ($717 million) bailout of PT Bank Century found their way into the campaign coffers of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"The KPU [General Elections Commission] and the Bawaslu [Elections Supervisory Board] must order the new audit and make the results public. The results of the previous audit are no longer trustworthy," Muchtar Sindang, secretary general of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), said on Monday.

Written by sociologist and former journalist George Junus Aditjondro, the newly launched book – called "Unraveling the Cikeas Octopus: Behind the Bank Century Scandal" – accuses Yudhoyono's Democratic Party of using nonprofit foundations associated with the president and his wife, Ani Yudhoyono, to channel illegal funds into his campaign. The book also claims that state funds used to bail out Bank Century were diverted to one of the foundations.

Yudhoyono's spokesman has said he is concerned about inaccuracies in the book.

The Union of Indonesian Constituents (Sakti), a civil society organization, called on the KPU to publicly address the allegations. Sakti chairperson Standarkiaa criticized the KPU over what it said was its inability to detect the use of illegal funds to finance the presidential campaign.

"The law forbids candidates from receiving donations via criminal activities, including money laundering," Standarkiaa said. "Presidential candidates who received illegal funds could be sentenced to four years in jail."

The KPU failed to publicly declare on its Web site specific details about donations made to political parties even though independent auditors submitted detailed reports – including the amount donated by each individual or foundation – to the KPU.

The information available on the KPU Web site is limited to the amount of money donated to each party, how much was used and how much was left.

"As [information on the Web site] may be incomplete, we are going to evaluate and consider what can be published on the web site," KPU member I Gusti Putu Artha said on Monday. "The principle of elections is transparency. We will clarify these allegations to the public."

It has also been claimed that the KPU received part of the bailout funds. Putu denied the allegations.

Bawaslu has previously reported candidates to the police over allegations of campaign-finance irregularities. On Sep. 18, it reported the campaign teams of Yudhoyono, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Bawaslu reported Djoko Suyanto, currently the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, who, as the deputy chairman of Yudhoyono's campaign team, signed off the campaign-finance report. Bawaslu claimed that a Rp 3 billion donation had been received by the party from PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional, which has overseas shareholders.

The campaign-finance report said the donations were made by two separate companies owned solely by Indonesians. Djoko has dismissed the accusations.

Bawaslu also found other donations made to Yudhoyono's campaign team that could not be clarified. Police dropped the cases over a technicality.

Wahidah Suaib, a Bawaslu member, said the police may not be interested in investigating because the case was technically considered to have "expired" as the elections ended months ago.

Moreover, Bawaslu "cannot do much," she claimed, as "our mandate is to monitor campaign funds as reported by each election participant only."

'Octopus' a reminder to fix campaign fund rules

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2010

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Calls have mounted for tighter regulations of election campaign funds, with the controversial newly launched book Cikeas Octopus suggesting "illegal" flows of such funds to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign team.

Although Yudhoyono and officials from his Democratic Party have repeatedly denied all accusations made in the book, observers agree the message the book conveys is the lack of transparency in campaign fund management, possible illegal sources of such funds and loopholes in the current election law to allow such practices to occur.

Critics maintain that while large sums are clearly spent by all major parties and presidential candidates, especially in the form of television ads during the election campaign, which reach hundreds of billion of rupiah, much lower expenditure figures are reported to the General Election Commission (KPU), without any investigations or sanctions in place.

Adnan Topan Husodo from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said existing regulations were not enough to force election participants to publicize the source of their campaign funds, while fellow ICW member Febri Diansyah highlighted the lack of sanctions against violators.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bakti said this situation led to difficulties in determining the validity of funds collected by election participants.

"ICW has concluded from our study of campaign fund reports for all presidential candidates that none of the reports meets standards of accountability and transparency," Adnan said Sunday.

"Many funds collected could not be traced back to the donor's identity and address. Some of these donations also exceed the maximum limit of donations for a holding company," he added.

The difficulty in tracking down the sources of the funds, Adnan said, made it possible for illegal funds, such as from the Bank Century bailout funds, to have been channeled to the accounts of election campaign teams.

Adnan said there was a possibility Yudhoyono's campaign team benefitted from the bailout funds, although this is not confirmed by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) or the Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Febri said existing regulations did not specify any sanctions for violators, another loophole in the country's election monitoring system. He said there were no legal grounds for KPU to follow up on the election campaign fund reports.

Ikrar suggested the election campaign funds reports be reviewed to confirm whether all donations were legal. "I believe the possibility of receiving illegal funds is shared not only by those from the Democratic Party, but also by candidates from all the other parties," he said.

Membongkar Gurita Cikeas: Di Balik Skandal Bank Century (Unmasking the Cikeas Octopus: Behind the Bank Century Scandal) is a book written by former investigative journalist George Junus Aditjondro.

The book has been enjoying intense media coverage and public interest due to reports it links Yudhoyono with the Bank Century bailout case.

It suggests that some of the Rp 6.7 trillion (US$710 million) in bailout funds might have been channeled to Yudhoyono's re- election campaign team. Officials mentioned in the book, however, have strenuously denied George's accusations.

Contentious points raised in the Cikeas Octopus book

1. A Supreme Audit Agency report from Nov. 20, 2009, shows that Bank Century suffered losses because it had to cover a deposit made by Boedi Sampoerna, its largest customer, which was embezzled by bank commissioner Robert Tantular and executive Dewi Tantular. Boedi's son, Soenaryo, had been channeling Sampoerna Group funds to the Jurnal Nasional group of publications, which were largely known as a mouthpiece for President Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party during the 2009 legislative and presidential elections.

2. Half of Antara state news agency's Public Service Obligation fund, worth Rp 40.6 billion (US$4.3 million), was channeled to the Bravo Media Center, which was part of the Yudhoyono-Boediono campaign team.

3. Three foundations associated with Yudhoyono (with their board of directors and advisory council members included in the President's inner circle): the Majelis Dzikir SBY Foundation, the Puri Cikeas Foundation and the Concern and Solidarity Foundation (YKDK), are suspected of gathering political and financial support for his re-election.

4. The YKDK is accused of receiving $1 million from Bank Bali graft fugitive Djoko Tjandra.

5. The Mutu Manikam Foundation, which is linked to First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, is said to have businesswoman and bribery criminal Artalyta Suryani as its treasurer. Artalyta is a close aide to Syamsul Nursalim, a business tycoon allegedly responsible for causing Rp 4.2 trillion in state losses related to the Bank Indonesia liquidity funds scandal. Syamsul is believed to remain free because of Artalyta's closeness to Ani.

6. "Potential" election violations by legislative candidates from the Democratic Party, who allegedly bought votes to secure legislative seats. George said this led to votes for the party tripling between 2004 and 2009.

7. The reluctance of the Democratic Party at the House of Representatives to question the government over the Bank Century bailout.

Rocky road to reconciliation for Indonesia's PKB

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2010

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Calls for unity and reconciliation by National Awakening Party chairman Muhaimin Iskandar have been dismissed by members of a splinter group, who claim he is taking advantage of the late Abdurrahman Wahid's memory.

The Muslim-based party, also known as the PKB, was founded by the former president but has been racked by internal conflicts and political rifts in recent years. It was reportedly Wahid's dying wish that the party's different factions reconcile their differences.

But supporters of Yenny Wahid, the party's former secretary general and Wahid's daughter, rejected Muhaimin's offer on Sunday. The splinter group, also known as PKB Kalibata, said it would instead host a national party meeting in April, as Wahid had planned before his death on Wednesday.

"Gus Dur actually wanted it to be held in February, but we need time to prepare everything," said Imron Rosyadi Hamid, a spokesman for PKB Kalibata, referring to Wahid by his nickname.

Imron said the national party meeting would be attended by top executives from PKB Kalibata and a number of Islamic clerics. He accused Muhaimin's camp of trying to dominate the party.

"He even manipulated Gus Dur's death by claiming to accept his last wishes," Imron said, adding that Wahid had never made any last wish regarding politics.

On Thursday, the day after Wahid's death, Muhaimin said: "Gus Dur's last message was for the PKB to be in peace and grow naturally."

Imron said he suspected the claims by Muhaimin, who is also Wahid's nephew, were an attempt to make peace with supporters of the former president, who was ousted from his position in the party after clashing with his nephew in 2008.

Muhaimin has managed to remain PKB chief and was appointed minister of manpower and transmigration by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose Democratic Party was supported by the PKB during last year's presidential election.

Imron said Wahid and PKB Kalibata had previously offered to reconcile with Muhaimin's camp, but the offer was rejected. "They even said that Gus Dur was no longer a PKB member," he added.

Abdul Kadir Karding, a senior PKB executive, said his camp would continue to seek unity with PKB Kalibata and other party factions. "We will approach all camps, particularly those who were once a part of the PKB," he said. "Strengthen the PKB is our way of honoring Gus Dur."

A week before Wahid's death, the PKB controversially ousted Lily Wahid, the former president's sister, from the party after she was accused of undermining Muhaimin's position.

Legislation & parliament

Lawmaker returns second hand car because it 'disgraces' council

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

While controversy brews over new luxury cars being granted to lawmakers, one Central Java Regional Representatives Council member has returned his official car because it is second hand.

Regional lawmaker member Abdullah returned his Toyota Kijang station wagon, which had previously been used by another government office, to the DPRD speaker.

"Many people told me that I was disgracing the Regional Representatives Council because I used a second hand official car, therefore I returned it because I don't want to disgrace my corps," Abdullah told RCTI.

Abdullah claimed he would rather be given a "very ugly car in bad condition," as long as the car had never been previously used by any other government officials.

Abdullah's reason for returning the car was very different to deputy speaker of the Regional Representatives Council La Ode Ida, who returned his official car, a Toyota Crown Royal Saloon, this week because it was too expensive.

La Ode said he preferred to use his own personal vehicle, a Toyota Innova – which he said he was still paying off in installments – rather than use the Toyota Crown, which is valued at Rp 1.3 billion ($139,000).

"When I use the car, I feel uncomfortable. The people's money is being used to buy such a luxury," said La Ode, who represents Southeast Sulawesi.

New legislators find it hard to live up to expectation

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – As many as 560 legislators at the House of Representatives took their oath on Oct. 1 and pledged to wholeheartedly serve their constituents.

More than 100 million eligible voters elected the legislators directly during the intense and grueling legislative elections in April 2009.

As a result of the elections, some 70 percent of lawmakers elected were new faces and they will be responsible for producing legislation, monitoring the executive and approving the state budget.

With such expectations, civil society leaders, activists and political analysts have put high hopes on the new faces at the House, the image of which has been severely tarnished by graft scandals and under-performing legislators.

On their inauguration day, the new legislators promised to live up to the public's expectations.

A legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN), Eko Hendro Purnomo, promised that he would put his constituents' interests before those of his party.

"If I'm forced to approve or disapprove of a policy that doesn't benefit my constituents, then I will resign," said the man famously known as Eko Patrio in the country's comedy scene.

Legislator Vena Melinda from the Democratic Party, the most dominant party at the House, promised to build her own community center in her constituents' region in East Java.

Vena is mostly known as model, soap opera star and dance trainer. Her claims echoed the same optimistic tone of other new legislators.

However after three months, the new legislators are yet to receive any significant praise from the public for their work.

Over the last three months, legislators have attracted nothing but criticism, distrust and condemnation, especially of their responsibility to keep the executive accountable.

The first week at the House was filled with internal conflict between several commission leaders and the speaker, Marzuki Alie from the Democratic Party.

Marzuki was said to have gone too far by canceling commission hearings with ministers, which some said was a bias decision. He was accused of reducing the House's control mechanism of the government.

Marzuki defended himself saying the cancellations were made because he wanted the commissions to establish a clear agenda and clear goals before summoning ministers.

When the hearings did take place, a number of new legislators seemed to have a lot of trouble delivering their questions proportionally.

Some of them began their inquiries by quoting verses from their respective holy books, and most of the time, irritated commission leaders due to the time they wasted on unnecessary religious lectures.

Some seemed so busy they even had their personal assistants open and pour their mineral waters for them.

A former legislator from the PAN, Alvin Lie, said that he was not surprised about the questionable attitudes of the new legislators. "They are having stage fright. I guess they have finally realized that being a legislator is not easy," he said.

More criticism followed when some members of the law commission gave an ovation to the then National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji at a hearing in early November.

Susno was considered to be one of the main culprits in a conspiracy to weaken the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) by framing its deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.

The legislators' ovation was seen as a disgrace by antigraft activists, considering that just a day before at a hearing with the police the law commission had been cynical of the KPK, despite the fact the KPK had managed to salvage some Rp 139.8 billion (US$14.86 million) in state funds as of November 2009.

The latest criticism has been directed to the House's apparent ignorance of public opinion by appointing Golkar member Idrus Marham as chairman of a Bank Century inquiry committee. The inquiry team is responsible for investigating the bank's controversial bailout worth Rp 6.76 trillion.

Dozens of demonstrators rallied outside the committee meeting room and hundreds more outside the legislative body compound, demanding committee members not vote for Idrus because he did not initiate the inquiry and was considered incompetent to lead it.

However, as it turned out, Idrus was elected chairman by obtaining 19 out of 30 available votes and by defeating his closest rival, Gayus Lumbuun of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), with a 12-vote margin. The voting process, broadcast live, raised more questions about the legislators' commitment to resolving the debacle. Some of the lawmakers were seen laughing and joking around while casting their vote.

Other legislators where upset about the lack of seriousness some were showing. "I hope I'm not going to become like one of them," said Mukhamad Misbakhun from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

A former legislator at the law commission, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, said she understood that everyone had an "inner child", but legislators should be more controlled while attending a serious forum.

Despite heavy blows for the new House, a number of legislators have provided a glimmer of hope.

An expert from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Burhanuddin Muhtadi, said that Gayus had set a good example for new legislators when he walked out of a hearing with Attorney General Hendarman Supandji.

PDI-P's Maruarar Sirait also said that he applauded a number of new legislators who had dared to take a different stance with their respective parties to initiate the Bank Century committee. Sebastian Salang from the Indonesian Parliamentary Watchdog (Formappi), however, said that even though there was some idealism left in the House, he expected people would not have high expectations of legislators.

Media/press freedom

New Indonesian laws a threat to free press: Activists

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2010

Ismira Lutfia – Though Indonesia was a leader among fellow Asean member nation in press freedom in 2009 and violence against journalists here has declined in recent years, media activists warned that the country should remain on guard.

Advocates have been relentless in their criticism of the government for introducing repressive laws, such as the controversial 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction Law (ITE) and the Freedom of Information Law, saying such measures are simply new ways to control the media.

A bill set for deliberation this year relating to information technology crimes – already labeled by the Alliance of Independence Journalists (AJI) as even "more repressive and stretchable" – is facing strong resistance, while further discussion on the state secrecy bill has been suspended after a public backlash because of its perceived goal of taming the media.

In its year-end review, the AJI said "these undemocratic laws are threatening cyberspace, known to be the freest form of media."

The alliance also said that these laws often clashed with the nation's ideals of freedom of expression and led to the prosecution of critics on defamation charges.

However, Press Council member Abdullah Alamudi said "Indonesia is better off compared to other Asean countries in terms of its [media] laws even though in reality there are still attempts by the government to control the media."

The World Press Freedom's poll last year placed Indonesia in 101st place out of the 175 countries surveyed. It was 111th among 173 countries surveyed in 2008, when Burma ranked a dismal 171st.

Atmakusumah Astraatmadja, a Ramon Magsaysay honoree in 2000 for journalism, literature and the creative communication arts, said that "compared to most countries in Southeast Asia, we have to be thankful and need to keep working to maintain this position, especially since the [media] license-revoking laws of the New Order era no longer exist."

"However," he added, "the new laws [are more accommodative to the government's interest than to the public's interest."

A Burmese journalist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Jakarta Globe that the media in that nation is subject to strict censorship under the junta's oppressive body, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, which scans the contents of magazines and news journals once or twice a week.

The tight censorship rules discourage privately owned companies from publishing daily newspapers, unlike state-run newspapers, which are spared the screenings.

"We often have paragraphs in our political-related news articles chopped or even whole articles removed. If we insist on publishing certain stories, we could be sued by the government," said the journalist, adding that the censorship body was "a huge hindrance and hampers our work as journalists."

The journalist also said that the junta has warned reporters and media outlets that "a troubling article" could result in the offending organization's license being suspended.

The situation faced by journalists from Cambodia is only slightly better. That country ranks 117th, the second-best in Asean in the World Press Freedom survey. Freedom House, a separate NGO that advocates for political freedoms, dropped Cambodia's press freedom status from "partly free" to "not free" in its 2009 rankings as a result of increased violence against journalists.

Alamudi said there was almost no press freedom in Cambodia under the authoritarian rule of the government,which imposes strict control over the media.

Say Soeun, a journalist from English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post, said that a journalist in his country could end up in jail for being too critical of the government.

"I can only hope that the government allows our journalists more freedom in the future," said Soeun, adding that there were journalists in prison because their organizations had taken an oppositional stance to the government.

AGO defends banning of five books

Jakarta Post - January 6, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has insisted John Roosa's famous book on the September 30th Movement and Soeharto's coup d'etat has 143 crucial points that led to its being banned.

"We won't go into details on the reasons because the public, especially at the lower levels may react in a way that could open the way for conflicts," AGO spokesperson Didiek Darmanto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday when asked for legal justifications for the book banning.

Roosa's book Dalih Pembunuhan Massal Gerakan 30 September dan Kudeta Soeharto (Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Soeharto's Coup d'Etat) offers an alternative perspective to the mainstream version that places the blame for the September 30th Movement on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). The book alleges the abortive movement was actually Soeharto's way of seizing power from founding president Sukarno.

The documentary film on the Sept. 30th Movement depicting the Soeharto-led Army Strategic Reserve Force's role in wiping out the alleged abortive coup, had been screened annually by state-run television station TVRI during Soeharto's 32-year reign, sending the message that the coup was launched by the now-defunct PKI.

Roosa's is one of five books that have been banned by the government because, despite the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution, "their publication could disrupt public order."

The four other banned books are Cocratez Sofyan Yoman's Suara Gereja bagi Umat Tertindas Penderitaan Tetesan Darah dan Cucuran Air Mata Umat Tuhan di Papua Barat Harus Diakhiri, Rhoma Dwi Aria Yuliantri and Muhidin M. Dahlan's Lekra Tak Membakar Buku: Suara Senyap Lembar Kebudayaan Harian Rakjat 1950-1965, Darmawan's Enam Jalan Menuju Tuhan and Syahrudin Ahmad's Mengungkap Misteri Keberagaman Agama.

Asked about violating the Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, Didik defended the AGO's authority to ban the publication and circulation of printed materials that were subjectively determined to threaten public order.

He ironically said the AGO respected freedom of expression but that the ban was based on considerations from institutions including several ministries, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Didiek said the ban was not permanent and could be reviewed, given the appropriate situation. "Several books were banned during the New Order regime but were reprinted once we entered the reform era," he added.

Government studying books seen as possible threat to public order

Antara News - January 4, 2010

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar on Monday said that a special team has been given two weeks to study a number of books that are deemed to potentially pose a threat to the unity of the nation.

"The team just started working today [Monday] to study those books and I have asked the team [to complete their work] within 15 days at the latest," Patrialsi told journalists at the presidential office.

He said that the results of the study would then be discussed at a meeting of Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs officials "to decide on the next steps."

He declined to say whether the next steps would include blacklisting the books, saying, "we are not yet talking about banning."

Patrialsi said that there were more than 20 books that would be looked at by the team. The books, he said, were related their perceived negative effect on "the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia [NKRI]"

"We love NKRI, we love the nation," Patrialsi said. "The books would be studied to see whether they threatened the NKRI, for example, by denying that Indonesia was a unitary state."

He declined to give further details, including giving the titles of the books being examined or their authors, saying that was not necessary because "the study process is still ongoing and therefore no decisions have been made yet."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Mahfud MD, said that NGO activists could seek a judicial review of the articles or laws that concerned bans on books that could cause public disorder. He said that such demands for a review would be processed by the court.

Efendi Ghazali, from the Coalition of the Civilian Society Against Corruption (Kompak), said his organization was planning to file several judicial reviews to the Constitutional Court.

One of them, Efendi said, was related to the use of the 1963 law on "measures for print products with contents considered harmful to public order."

Efendi, who is also a communication expert of the University of Indonesia, said that law had been used by the government as a basis for banning books deemed to cause unrest among the general populace.

The banning of books, Efendi said, was regrettable especially since Indonesia was now widely regarded as one of the world's largest democracies.

The Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has also sent a letter to the Attorney General's Office concerning its recent ban on several books deemed to cause anxiety among the people.

The organization said that the letter was sent to the AGO last Tuesday.

In the letter, Kontras deplored a move by Attorney General Hendarman Supandji to ban the circulation of five books deemed to disturb public order, including, "Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia" by John Roosa.

According to Kontras, the move by the AGO was reminiscent of President Suharto's New Order regime.

AGO claims exclusive authority to ban books

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2010

Jakarta – While calls mount for the government to stop banning books, the Attorney General's Office and the Justice and Human Rights Ministry are not seeing eye to eye over which institution has the authority to do so.

Apparently irritated by statements made by Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar who said last week that his office was currently reviewing some 20 books to see if they should be banned, the AGO asserted here Monday that only the Attorney General had the authority to ban books.

"Others can only give recommendations," AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto told reporters at his office in Jakarta. He said the Justice and Human Rights Ministry was not even included on the inter-departmental "Clearing House" team authorized to review books considered controversial.

The team will consist of officials from the police, State Intelligence Agency (BIN), the Indonesian Military (TNI), the Religious Affairs Ministry and the National Education Ministry. "Results of the review from the team will then be submitted to the Attorney General," he said.

The AGO referred to two laws that give them the authority to ban books. They included Article 30 of the 2006 law on the AGO related to maintaining public order, which specifies the AGO has the authority to monitor the circulation of printed materials, and a 1963 law that specifies the Attorney General has the power to forbid the circulation of printed materials that could disrupt public order.

No regulations, however, specify that other ministries have similar powers, but in a surprising announcement last week, Patrialis said that his ministry had judged 20 books as very dangerous to the public because they were all anti-government.

"We are currently evaluating 20 books that we consider provocative, and could lead to disintegration within our nation," Patrialis said. One official said the books largely concerned self determination, pluralism, spirituality, corruption and history.

Speculation has emerged that George Junus Aditjondro's recently released book, Membongkar Gurita Cikeas: Dibalik Skandal Bank Century (Unmasking the Cikeas Octopus: Behind the Bank Century Scandal) suggests a link between Pre-sident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Bank Century bailout scandal.

Previously the AGO banned five books, including Dalih Pembunuhan Massal Gerakan 30 September dan Kudeta Soeharto (Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Soeharto's Coup d'Etat) by John Roosa.

Human rights activists demanded the government and the House of Representatives amend laws authorizing book banning, saying they were preparing to file judicial review requests with the Constitutional Court.

The National Commission on Human Rights said on Monday the AGO had committed human rights violations by banning books. "We will ask the government to amend the laws allowing books to be banned."

Ifdhal said the country had entered the reform era and should not have such laws forbidding people to express their ideas. "Let the judges decide who is wrong," he said. (nia)

Government reads 'danger' in more titles

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2010

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – After the controversial banning of five books last week, the government has added 20 more titles to its evaluation list, citing suspicion the books potentially endanger national integrity.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said over the weekend his ministry had judged the 20 books as very dangerous to the public because they were all anti-government, and would soon ask the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to ban them. "We are currently evaluating 20 books that we consider provocative and could lead to disintegration within our nation," Patrialis said.

Patrialis, a member of the National Mandate Party, said it was the responsibility of all Indonesians to prevent such books from being distributed widely.

"Currently, the government with all of its ministers is working very hard to improve the people's welfare, but at the same time there are certain people who want to discredit this government," Patrialis said. "We do not know their intention or why they have to oppose the government."

While Patrialis refused to mention specific titles or authors, one official said the books largely concerned pluralism and spirituality; the Sept. 30, 1965, incident; corruption; and history.

Speculation has emerged that George Junus Aditjondro's recently released Membongkar Gurita Cikeas: Dibalik Skandal Bank Century (Unmasking the Cikeas Octopus: Behind the Century Scandal) suggests a link between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Bank Century bailout scandal.

Another title allegedly on the list is Berpihak dan Bertindak Intoleran (Taking Sides and Being Intolerant) by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace. This book is a report on obstacles to the freedom of religion in Indonesia. The Setara Institute recommends in the book that Yudhoyono revoke a joint ministerial decree to limit Ahmadiyah's freedom.

The Justice and Human Rights Ministry's head of research and development, Hafid Abbas, said the government was in fact paying special attention to around 200 titles that, but that it was currently only focusing on 20 considered to suggest separatism. "We will come up with recommendations as soon as possible," he said.

By law, the AGO has authority to ban books as recommended by other ministries. Previously the AGO banned five books, including Dalih Pembunuhan Massal Gerakan 30 September dan Kudeta Soeharto (Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Soeharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia) by Jhon Roosa, Enam Jalan Menuju Tuhan (Six Paths to God) by Darmawan M. M, and Mengungkap Misteri Keberagaman Agama (Resolving the Mystery of Religious Diversity) by Syahrudin Ahmad.

The two other banned books were Suara Gereja Bagi Umat Tertindas Penderitaan Tetesan Darah dan Cucuran Air Mata Umat Tuhan di Papua Barat Harus Diakhiri (The Voice of Churches for Suppressed People, Blood and God's Tears in West Papua) by Cocrateze Sofyan Yoman, and Lekra Tak Pernah Membakar Buku: Suara Senyap Lembar Kebudayaan Harian Rakjat 1950-1965 (Lekra Never Burns Books) by Roma Dwi Aria Yuliantri and Muhidin M. Dahlan.

The AGO claims these books regarding faith and spirituality could spread heretical teachings and cause public confusion.

Experts have criticized these steps as a legacy from the New Order Era, and as limiting intellectual freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. Critics have also recommended the AGO's authority to ban books be revoked.

Tourism & culture

Indonesia's tourism potential remains untapped

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2010

Jakarta – Every Indonesian child has been told the story of their beloved country being the emerald of the equator, with its breathtaking scenery and vast cultural diversity, and how others, from their lack of such grandeur, envy it.

The corollary, then, is that people from all around the world should be racing for a glimpse of the rich beauty here. But experience has told us otherwise.

There is no doubt that the archipelago is home to some of the world's best diving sites, with beautiful beaches and a balmy tropical climate. It also hosts a great number of cultural heritage sites.

But even these are not enough to attract a large enough number of foreign visitors. At least not when compared to other countries in the region.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows the number of foreign visitors arriving here from January to October this year was 5.16 million, a slight increase from the 5.09 million recorded in the same period in 2008.

While it represents an increase, the number is paltry compared to what neighboring Malaysia recorded during the same period this year at around 19.4 million, a 7 percent increase from around 18 million a year earlier.

The Indonesian figure is also lower than those of Thailand and Singapore.

There are several reasons why Indonesia's tourism has again recorded mediocre performance. Despite the fact the country has many tourism spots, only a handful of them receive decent attention from the government.

Many lack the needed basic infrastructure for the tourism industry to thrive locally. There is also the same old story of the low quality of services that tourists often encounter when visiting the country.

The visa-on-arrival service at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta and Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali is still raising concerns over its long lines.

Some tourists have also complained about corrupt, money-grubbing immigration officials, while others lament the long wait for their bags at the luggage carousels.

A regular visitor to Bali once called her experience at the arrival area of Ngurah Rai "a very unpleasant start to a holiday".

And to make things even worse, there were several other incidents in 2008 that the government has added to its list of reasons for the second-rate achievement.

July's twin hotel bombings in Jakarta were a major factor; in addition, potential tourists the world over are putting their holiday plans on hold as the global financial downturn takes its toll.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry previously targeted drawing around 7 million foreign visitors this year, until the bombings hit two upscale hotels in the heart of the capital.

That and the global recession prompted the government to revise down its target to around 6.5 million visitors, just slightly up from last year's total of 6.23 million.

Planned visits to the country were canceled in the immediate wake of the attacks, with one of the earliest cancellations being that of top soccer club Manchester United, which had been scheduled to stay at one of the stricken hotels just days later.

After the attacks, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik also lowered his previous target of generating US$7.4 billon in related revenue to $5.5 billion. Last year, the tourism industry generated income of $7.5 billion, much higher than the $6 billion originally targeted by the ministry.

The minister previously predicted that average tourist spending per visit would decline from $1,170 last year to around $1,000 in 2009. He also said the limited funding allocated to tourism marketing had hampered efforts to boost tourism amid the financial crisis.

The marketing budget earmarked for 2009 increased slightly from last year's Rp 250 billion ($26 million) to Rp 300 billion, a number, he said, that was far from ideal to reach the tourist arrival target.

He added the ministry needed around Rp 700 billion to market the country's tourism highlights.

Marketing remains one of the top challenges for the tourism industry in Indonesia. The country seems to have lost steam in coming up with slogans for its regular Visit Indonesia campaign, such that the 2009 one has been left without even a mediocre one.

The branding of Indonesia as a tourism hot spot has become confusing to some, with the government changing the theme several times.

"Indonesia, just a smile away" was the call back in 2001 and 2002. It then changed to "Indonesia, endless beauty of diversity" during the administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The list of changes includes "Indonesia, the color of life", "Indonesia, ultimate in diversity" and the ill-advised "Celebrating 100 years of National Awakening" for the 2008 campaign.

The government's seeming lacking of basic marketing savvy had to be countered by the tourism industry's private sector.

S.B. Wiranti Sukamdani, chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), said the country could see an increase in foreign tourist arrivals if hospitality industry operators offered new services and products.

The country has benefited from international events held here, including the Asian Development Bank summit in Bali and the World Ocean Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi, both in May.

With a 2010 target of attracting 7 million foreign visitors, Jero Wacik is working on a new agenda in his second tenure as the culture and tourism minister. The program will focus on improving immigration and flight services, he promises, and refurbishing tourism hot spots.

"We'll facilitate efficient administration procedures for foreign tourists," he told The Jakarta Post in October.

The ministry expects a Rp 1.3 trillion in culture and tourism budget for 2010. (adh)

Police/law enforcement

Critic questions selection of Constitutional Court judges

Jakarta Globe - January 7, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran – Concerns have been raised about the consideration given to the appointment of two Constitutional Court judges, both of whom have strong Islamic backgrounds, who were sworn in at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Thursday.

Ahmad Fadhil Sumadi, former deputy head of the Religious High Court in Yogyakarta, replaces Maruarar Siahaan, the court's only Protestant Christian, while lawyer Hamdan Zoelva, deputy head of the Islam-based Crescent Star Party (PBB), takes the seat of career judge Abdul Mukhti Fadjar.

Ahmad was selected by the Supreme Court, while Hamdan was chosen by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who attended the inauguration ceremony.

Maria Farida Indrati, a Catholic, is the only woman and non- Muslim left on the court. She has praised Maruarar and Mukhti for their liberal and democratic views. There are a total of nine Constitutional Court judges chaired by Mahfud MD, a highly respected member of Nahdlatul Ulama, the nation's largest Islamic organization.

Constitutional law expert Refly Harun of the Center for Electoral Reform, played down the religious significance of the new judges' backgrounds, saying, "I don't think the religious background will have an influence on the court's rulings."

He said former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshidiqie, for example, had a strong religious background but was an ardent backer of pluralism.

"The two newcomers will in the end be influenced by the way of thinking of the other judges," he said. "They will base their rulings solely on the Constitution."

Refly did, however, raise concerns about the apparent lack of thought that had gone into the appointments to the court, which has recently become a key supporter in the fight against corruption and a major critic of poor legislation often passed by the House of Representatives. The court is currently considering challenges to the controversial Anti-Pornography Law.

"I worry about the selection method as it seems the selection was not carried out seriously – without proper consideration as to who should replace two respected judges," Refly said.

Hamdan's appointment increases the number of judges from political parties to a total of three.

"What's most important is that the court judges are independent, holding to the principle of impartiality," Hamdan said. "As long as judges are free from political party interests or other affiliated influences, the decisions will be alright.

"The ruling of the judges will influence the future of the nation. I will be responsible both to God and to Indonesia."

I'm a 'sweet boy' who follows orders, says Susno Duadji

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji said on Wednesday that he did not want the position of deputy police chief. Susno also said that despite his alleged involvement in recent controversies, he is "a sweet boy" because he always follows orders.

Susno said he did not want to be the National Police number two because of the negative stigma he was still trying to shake off after public accusations that he was involved in the fabrication of a case brought on antigraft officials Bibit S Riyanto and Chandra M Hamzah.

"If I had been chosen as the deputy police chief, I would have refused. The time is not right because I'm not cleared yet," Susno said at the National Police Headquarters on Wednesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Susno made the statement to respond to questions from journalists about the reasons why he had reported an analyst to the police. Reporters asked whether he made the report because he was disappointed after having not been chosen as the deputy police chief.

Susno denied such allegations and said that he was still facing the consequences over the Bibit and Chandra case as well as his delivery of summons to news editors from several media organizations.

"The media said Susno was responsible and Susno must resign so I resigned. But I'm still on the payroll," he said.

"I was stigmatized as an arrogant person and could not speak to the press. But it was because I was forbidden to talk because information could only be obtained through a single door. I followed suit. A sector police chief could speak (to the press) but Susno couldn't. I followed the order. I'm a sweet boy," he added.

Susno Duadji's lawyer reported an analyst, Bambang Widodo Umar, to North Jakarta Police last week for defamation and libel.

Bambang had previously said in Koran Tempo daily that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should not consider Susno as a candidate for the deputy police chief position because Susno was "problematic."

Indonesia needs to monitor law enforcers' discretionary power

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – What do Robert Tantular and Amir Mahmud have in common? Both of them are convicts. Both of them were sentenced to four years in prison because judges found them guilty.

Robert, the former co-owner of now-defunct Bank Century, was sentenced to four years in prison and was fined Rp 50 billion by the Central Jakarta District Court on Sept. 10 last year. He was found guilty of embezzling the savings of the bank's customers.

Meanwhile, Amir, a former driver at the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), was sentenced to four years as well by the West Jakarta District Court in March 27 last year after being found guilty of possession of one ecstasy pill. He was also fined Rp 150 million by a panel of judges.

One point of interest is worth mentioning: Amir's hearing reportedly lasted less than an hour.

Robert's crimes negatively affected the lives of thousands of the bank's customers, yet he only received a four-year sentence.

Amir, whose everyday life was already a struggle thanks to the country's continuous inability or reluctance to improve the livelihoods of its citizens, was sentenced for a crime where he was the only victim. Such disparity weighs on the public conscience.

Experts have said the choice of laws and regulations that should have been used by both police and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute both cases was a contentious debate, and one with no clear answers.

Apparently, these two cases are indicative of the thousands of other similar cases throughout the country where the discretionary authority of law enforcement officials has been questioned.

Jakarta Muhammadiyah University legal expert Chairul Huda said abuse of power by police, prosecutors and judges while handling cases has been increasing in recent years.

"The current system does not provide proper monitoring of these law enforcement officials. The same system has also allowed arbitrary intervention from senior officers toward their subordinates," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

"Thus, anyone who is in the current system would immediately lose his or her independency and soon, integrity, while handling cases, especially high-profile cases that involve a lot of money, such as drug trafficking and corruption cases," he added.

Chairul said although the current system had internal monitoring divisions, they lacked authority and independence, thus allowing high-ranking officials to intervene at will.

The current system also prevents the public from monitoring the handling of cases by police and prosecutors, as both these institutions can chose to withhold information on their cases.

"Who is going to monitor every step of the investigation process in thousands of cases that are currently being processed by both police and prosecutors?" Chairul asked.

According to data from the Attorney General's Office, there were 102 special criminal cases and 1378 general criminal cases currently being investigated. While the police have not provided similar data, Chairul said many more cases were being handled by police officers.

Therefore, he said, it was time for the country's legal system to adopt a new mechanism that would allow stricter monitoring of the use of discretionary power.

Chairul said the Criminal Code Bill, which is stagnating at the House of Representatives, was actually designed to provide a solution to the lack of monitoring.

In this new version of the Criminal Code, a law enforcement official would need to seek a warrant from a judge to initiate legal actions, starting from naming a suspect to sending the suspect to jail.

He explained that this judge's position would differ from that of his colleagues who would be tasked with conducting the hearings. Additionally, this judge would be obliged to perform their duties in a transparent manner, open to the public.

Chairul added that the judge would be closely monitored by the Judicial Commission, NGOs and other parties with an interest in the investigation of the case.

The role of senior officers in law enforcer institutions, he added, would be drastically reduced. These officers, he said, would no longer be in charge of case investigations. "This means they would not be able to intervene in the case," he explained.

In early 2006, the new versions of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Code Procedure were successfully drafted by a group of the country's top legal experts.

However, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration then decided to halt the deliberation of both bills, citing what experts consider unclear reasons.

The University of Indonesia's Rudi Satrio Munkantarjo agreed that both bills would improve the country's legal monitoring system, arguing that abandoning the deliberation of the bills would only deteriorate the country's law enforcement process.

"If we are unable to immediately improve the system now, I strongly suggest we should initiate a partial improvement," he said.

University of Indonesia political expert Eep Saefuloh Fatah said in order to build a strong mechanism that would allow law enforcement officials to improve their performance, the government had to improve its monitoring system.

Experts doubt police's ability to resolve graft cases

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2010

Jakarta – The long-standing poor image of Jakarta Police affected legal practitioners' appraisal of its performance in graft investigations last year, experts say.

Iqrak Sulhin, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, said that cases that were resolved were relatively minor. "The police did not announce the total amount of money recovered from these cases," Iqrak said.

The public would not likely believe the police's commitment to eradicate corruption because so many officers continued to request and receive bribes.

Jakarta Police on Tuesday reported they had resolved 25 of 37 corruption cases reported to them last year.

It highlighted three major cases: First, there was a case of tax fraud worth Rp 32 billion, implicating officials from South Jakarta Education Agency.

Second was an embezzlement and money laundering case, worth Rp 220 billion, involving a bank in West Jakarta.

Third was a case of embezzlement worth Rp 12 billion, involving a fictional company and officials from the Agricultural Ministry.

Emerson Yuntho from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the organization never had much faith in the police because of their lack of transparency in corruption investigations.

"ICW reports corruption evidence we find to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)," Emerson said.

Jakarta Police also acknowledged that officers who abused their power for corrupt purposes were still part of the picture.

According to the police, around 20 officers who received kickbacks were handed down punishments this year, compared to 13 officers in 2008.

"There are 31,365 officers in the Jakarta Police, which means only 0.0063 percent of officers received kickbacks in 2009," Jakarta Police chief Ins. Gen. Wahyono said.

Wahyono promised harsher punishment of officers who broke the rules. Iqrak said he appreciated the police's efforts to scrutinize their officers. "In any profession it is hard to punish your own colleagues," he said. (mrs)

Foreign affairs

US allows Riady to enter after rejecting RI generals

Jakarta Post - January 6, 2010

Jakarta – Tycoon James Riady made it to Boston in September last year when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivered a speech in front of US and Indonesian businesspeople.

Riady could re-enter the US after the US State Department through the country's embassy here, waived an eight-year ban on him.

At the same time, two Indonesian generals, Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Maj. Gen. Pramono Edi Wibowo, had to stay home after the embassy rejected their visas although they applied for them as part of the President's entourage, raising questions here and in the US on how such a contrast of treatment could occur.

There was no official statement on the reason for rejecting the visa application for the two generals, but speculation emerged that Sjafrie, today announced as deputy defense minister, was barred due to his alleged involvement in a human rights violations in Dili, East Timor, and in the bloody May 1998 riots, while Pramono, the Indonesian Army special squad Kopassus commander, was not provided a visa because of his squad's past involvement in rights abuses.

While Sjafrie has never been charged with a crime, Riady was barred from America after pleading guilty in 2001 to a "conspiracy to defraud the United States" through illegal contributions to Bill Clinton's campaigns and other Democrats.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Riady traveled twice to the US last year after receiving a waiver from a rule that forbids entry to foreigners guilty of "a crime involving moral turpitude", a term that government lawyers generally interpret to include fraud.

The newspaper said that Riady's return to the US posed a prickly question for Hillary Clinton's State Department: hhow and why did a foreign billionaire, stained by Clinton-era scandals, receive a US visa after being denied entry for so long under the Bush administration?

Riady's ties to the Clintons have been a source of heated controversy since the late 1990s when Riady became embroiled in one of the murkiest episodes of the Clinton presidency, a fund- raising scandal that caused a political ruckus in Washington amid Republican Party allegations, never proved, of meddling, by China intelligence in American politics.

The saga brought Riady and his family run conglomerate, Lippo Group, a US$8.6 million fine, the biggest penalty in the history of US campaign finance violations.

Riady told The Washington Post that he had not seen the Clintons during his 2009 trips to America, but did pay $20,000 to become a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual gathering of prominent figures in politics, business and philanthropy, sponsored by Bill Clinton.

A member of the foreign affairs commission at the Indonesian House of Representatives, Guntur Sasono from Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, questioned the double standard of the US, saying the House had asked the foreign minister to address the matter.

An expert from Bandung's Parahyangan Catholic University, Anak Agung Banyu Perwita, said it was no surprise the US applied a different standard on Riady and Sjafrie.

"The US has authority," he said. "However, due to Sjafrie's important position, we should ask the US about the different treatment. "Although it has the right not to answer."

Economy & investment

Indonesia consumer confidence slips in December

Reuters - January 7, 2010

Jakarta – Indonesia's consumer confidence weakened slightly in December partly due to higher food prices in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, a central bank survey showed.

"The easing of consumer confidence was seen partly due to an increase in the rice prices starting in early December after a plan to raise the farm gate prices for unmilled and milled rice," the bank said in a statement.

As of January 1, the farm gate prices for rice were raised by an average of 10 percent to improve farmers' welfare. The move, however, is likely to push up overall retail rice prices by about 2 percent throughout the year. [ID:nJAK210420]

The government uses the reference prices as its purchasing prices from farmers when rice prices drop because of an abundant supply during the harvesting season.

Bank Indonesia's survey showed the consumer confidence index fell to 108.7 in December, from a reading of 111.0 in November. A reading above 100 means more consumers are optimistic than pessimistic.

The survey was released on the central bank's website and covered 4,600 households in 18 cities across the country.

Industry, government dozed as China trade pact neared: Critics

Jakarta Globe - January 6, 2010

Dian Ariffahmi, Irvan Tisnabudi & Muhamad Al Azhari – What were you waiting for? That is the question many analysts are asking of trade groups, industry players and the government about the belated move to renegotiate aspects of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement.

Some observers blame both the government and industry for failing to anticipate sooner the consequences of the FTA, which some fear will undermine domestic manufacturing as cheaper Chinese imports flood in.

"It is a bit funny. Why did all the noise emerge just now?" said Pande Radja Silalahi, a senior economist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Pande has a point, one echoed by Anwar Suprijadi, former chief of the country's customs and excise office. In his farewell speech on Dec. 31, Anwar said he had warned officials at the trade and industry ministries years ago about the problems the country would face once the Asean-China trade pact was implemented.

"Two or three years ago, I warned my colleagues in the Trade Ministry as well as those on the House of Representatives budgetary commission that this [pact] should be reviewed," Anwar said.

"If it needs to be revised, it should have been done six months before it came into effect. We usually like to do something when it is too late and we only start making noise when it becomes a big problem," Anwar added.

In September, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu blamed industry players for failing to officially ask the government to try to delay or modify the agreement earlier.

"This agreement was signed years ago. And I had told the industry players about this. But somehow, they just realized about the impact later," Mari said.

Mari represented Indonesia at the 2005 signing of a limited trade pact between China and Asean. The preliminary agreement was signed in November 2002.

Indonesia has notified Asean of its plan to seek modification of the FTA by renegotiating 228 tariff categories in eight industrial sectors, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said on Monday. He declined to say when the request was sent.

The government wants to give local industries more time to become competitive to withstand the onslaught of cheap Chinese imports. In return, it has offered to accelerate implementation of tariff cuts on 153 tariff categories.

The Asean FTA council has 180 days to make a decision. Meanwhile, the trade deal will be implemented as planned.

A clause in the deal states that the council can reject Indonesia's request if other Asean countries oppose it. However, if the council sees Indonesia's offer as reasonable, it will represent the country in new negotiations with China.

Under the trade agreement, which took effect on Jan. 1, tariffs will be reduced or eliminated on thousands of products. Some reductions were effective immediately, with others scheduled to take effect in 2012, 2018 and 2020.

Meanwhile, the government has also made a series of efforts to shield the domestic market from cheap imported products by using non-tariff barriers.

In 2008, it issued a regulation requiring that imports of clothing, footwear, food and beverages, electronics and toys could only enter the country through five main ports.

In addition, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said the government should also enforce rules that require imported products to meet national standards for quality.

While the government is trying to renegotiate aspects of the FTA, it believes that the agreement as a whole can still be beneficial. Mari argued that the FTA could help Indonesian exporters benefit from greater access to regional emerging markets.

"Demand for Indonesian-made products from these emerging market countries will rise at a faster rate compared to demand from the more-developed countries that are expected to have a slower recovery. This will have a positive impact for Indonesia," she said.

The collaborative spirit behind the agreement is also positive, officials said. Asean and China are aiming to become the world's third-largest free-trade area, with a combined population of 1.9 billion and a combined GDP of nearly $6 trillion. However, the impact will vary from country to country.

In 2008, Indonesia experienced a significant trade deficit with Asean countries. Exports totaled $23.51 billion, lower than the $27.17 billion of imports, resulting in a $3.66 billion deficit, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

In the same year, the trade balance with China worsened, with Indonesia posting a deficit of $3.6 billion after recording a $1.1 billion surplus in 2007.

Razeen Sally, a director of the European Center for International Political Economy, told Bloomberg that the FTA "takes down the tariffs but does little on all the non-tariff barriers, where you would have much bigger gains to trade."

Indonesia can leverage its plentiful natural resources and large labor force, Pande said. "What we don't have is the expertise from people," which is needed if the free-trade pact is to be truly positive for the country, he said.

Government to scrap oil and gas cost recovery cap

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2010

Alfian, Jakarta – Pressured by falling oil production and failure to attract enough investors to develop new oil and gas blocks, the government says it will abandon the recently adopted practice of putting a ceiling on the annual cost recovery payment reimbursed to contractors.

"The policy of capping cost recovery is not appropriate. This is not supposed to be capped. We will fix this matter," Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa told reporters Monday.

Indonesia's oil and gas production sharing contract (PSC) scheme previously required the government to reimburse all contractor cost items within the scope of the cost recovery payment rules.

The payment is reimbursed after the contractors enter the production stage. But following strong criticism over alleged lack of transparency in the implementation of cost recovery, as of last year, eligible expenses due for payment from the state budget have been capped annually.

The law on the 2010 state budget caps the total cost recovery payment at US$12 billion, up from US$11.05 billion in 2009.

Hatta said that the article would be revised for the 2010 budget. "We have corrected this. The most important thing is not to cap the payment, but how to avoid moral hazard [in the payment]," he said.

Hatta's statement received a positive response from oil and gas contractors.

"We as the player in this business fully support the government's decision. Oil and gas investment is high risk and capital intensive, therefore, it requires certainty. Including the cost recovery payment as a parameter in the short-term law budget is an extremely nice fit with the long term nature of oil and gas investment," Budi Basuki, president director of Medco E&P Indonesia said in a text message.

The government's decision to scrap the cost recovery cap may satisfy the oil and gas contractors, but external analysts say this may make no significant contribution to help the country's oil and gas blocks to find new investors.

"Despite the claims about cost recovery capping, the government actually has never truly capped cost recovery spending. The payment is only carried over to the following year, but is never capped," energy analyst from the Reforminer Institute Pri Agung Rakhmanto said.

He added that the government had responded wrongly to public concern over the transparency of cost recovery payments. "Instead of focusing on the capping of the cost recovery payment, the government should have responded to the issue by strengthening the capacity of [upstream oil and gas regulator] BPMigas who control the cost recovery process," he said.

Pri Agung added that cost recovery capping was actually not the main reason behind Indonesia's failure to find investors for most of its oil and gas blocks last year. "The main problem is the poor exploration data. The government only offers the basins without initial geology and physical surveys.

If things stay like this, the next tender will still have poor results even though the capping has been scrapped," he said.

Oil and gas contribute about 30 percent to state revenues. But, the sector's performance is in question as it missed production and investment targets last year.

BPMigas reported last week the country's oil lifting in 2009 was 949,138 barrels of oil per day (bopd), lower than the state budget target of 960,000 bopd.

The energy and mineral resources ministry also revealed that the investment generated by the sector in 2009 was $12.18 billion, lower than the 2009 investment target of $13.77 billion as well as the 2008 actual investment total of $13.52 billion.

Inflation down to 2.78 percent in 2009, the lowest in a decade

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2010

Jakarta – The country's 2009 inflation rate touched 2.78 percent, the lowest full year level (December-to-December) in a decade, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Monday.

"We have been trying to get the inflation level below 5 percent since the fall of New Order era and it has been accomplished now," BPS head Rusman Heriawan told a press conference at his office.

Last year's inflation was the lowest since 1999, when it fell to 2.01 percent, Rusman said. In 2008, the annual inflation was 11.06 percent.

The highest monthly inflation was in September (1.05 percent), but in December it was only 0.33 percent and 2.78 percent year-on-year.

The BPS has also recorded deflation in three months in 2009; in January at 0.07 percent, April (0.31 percent), and November (0.03 percent). Rusman said that of 66 cities surveyed, 18 showed negative levels of inflation (or deflation).

"The highest inflation is in Ambon, [in Maluku], with 3.49 percent, while the highest deflation is in Maumere [in East Nusa Tenggara] with 0.83 percent," he said.

Rusman added the low inflation level was due to falling demand following the global economic downturn. "The global economic crisis was a contributory external factor, in addition to the depreciation of the US dollar, which contributed to our low level of inflation," he said.

The prices most goods and services rose by less than 5 percent in 2009, except for foods, beverages and cigarettes which collectively rose by 7.81 percent – the highest among seven categories of goods and service measured by BPS – while clothing prices rose by 6 percent.

But transportation, communications and financial services prices fell by 3.67 percent.

"The prices of clothing, processed foods, beverages, cigarettes and tobacco were the major contributors to inflation. But this was countered by low inflation in several categories of services, resulting in an overall low rate of inflation," Rusman explained.

Acting Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Darmin Nasution has predicted that 2009's full-year inflation would not exceed 3 percent, prompting the central bank to keep its benchmark interest rate at 6.5 percent in December last year.

Darmin said inflation this year would return to a more "normal" rate of between 4 and 6 percent.

This prediction was shared by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati who said recently that commodity prices would rebound this year, triggering higher inflation.

She said the government had prepared measures to cushion negative impacts resulting from higher prices, including subsidies to the poor.

"Subsidies are needed to stabilize prices, from fertilizer to rice. Some administered prices like electricity and fuel will also not be changed either," Mulyani said.

According to BPS, 60 percent of inflation in Indonesia is propelled by private consumption. (bbs)

Forest-based industries on the edge of survival

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2010

Benget Besalicto Tnb., Jakarta – Indonesia's forest-based industries remain on the edge of survival after more than a decade of government decentralization that was accompanied by a series of failed policies and mismanagement.

The situation deteriorated in 2009 as the domestic troubles were coupled by a slump in global demand that was caused mainly by two factors: the greatest financial crisis in history and the growth in global awareness of the sustainable management of forests.

The annual value of Indonesia's exports of wood products – mainly panel products such as plywood, sawn timber and woodworks – has been decreasing since at least 2003 when the value stood at 5.4 million cubic meters and was followed by 4.6 million in 2004, 3.5 million in 2005, 3.1 million in 2006, 2.9 million in 2007, and 1.68 million cubic meters in 2008.

For 2009, it is seemingly impossible to reach the same level as the previous year as, by the end of November, the total exports had only reached 1.2 million cubic meters.

Industry players said the government was failing to keep up with global reality, regardless of the numerous regulatory amendments made in the past few years.

David, a vice president at the publicly listed PT Sumalindo Lestari Jaya, said the "improvements in forest governance" had yet to help boost the growth of the country's forest-based industries.

"In fact, this situation has persisted for the last 10 years, except for the pulp and paper sector.

Forest-based industries have continued to decrease. "While demand from the international market continues to increase, we see the shrinking of our market share," David said.

China is an ideal model for Indonesia to follow in terms of its ability to diversify its products and improve its value-added production system.

"In 1991, while our production of panels had reached about 10 million cubic meters, China only produced about 1 million cubic meters. But then in 2007, China managed to supply 74 million cubic meters or one third of the total global demand, which stood at 220 million cubic meters of panels," he said.

David said to produce the panels and other wood products China needed about 200 million cubic meters of logs every year, which were mostly supplied from its 26 million hectares of plantation forests.

Policy making in Malaysia is another good example for the Indonesian government, he said.

"If China managed to sell wood products at cheaper prices due to availability of cheap logs from its plantation forests, Malaysia did it through its costs allocation that enabled it to spread the costs across all wood products, from high-value ones to lower- value ones, such as logs, which are allowed to be exported, unlike in Indonesia," he said.

The Malaysian government has also been pursuing all-out efforts to help market the country's wood products on the international market.

"Considering their achievements, I don't think they only rely on buying illegal logs from Indonesia, as many people here have suspected up to now. I think, instead of only thinking of the negative aspects, we should look upon their achievements as a lesson to learn," David said.

Nana Suparna, deputy chairman of the Association of Indonesian Forest Businessmen (APHI), concurred with David, saying that, especially over the last three years, all forest industries have been struggling to survive.

"For example, many plywood industries have had to lay off workers or reduce their working hours due to the slump in sales," he said.

Nana deemed the situation would worsen, with more companies collapsing, should the government refrain from implementing the necessary fiscal incentives for the forest-based industries.

The government, at the request of the House of Representatives, plans to introduce various fiscal incentives, as hinted at by Forest Minister Zulkifli Hasan recently.

"We all agree that the government should increase its income from forest-related taxes. But it should not be done by choking the industries themselves. It should help them expand their businesses,"

"The more their businesses grow, the more the government's tax income increase will be. I think instead of raising taxes it should help us by providing incentives to expand," Zulkifli said.

The implementation of fiscal incentives in conjunction with the improvement of the global economy would serve as a positive momentum for domestic companies, both David and Nana said. National Forest Council chairman Taufiq Aliani said only by further improving its forest governance could Indonesia manage to attract new investment and help develop trust on the international market on the legality and sustainable management of Indonesian forests and forest products.

Taufiq said the government should go ahead with the formation of an independent agency for wood legality verification, as demanded by the Forestry Ministry regulation No. 38 that was issued in 2009.

The agency, which membership include the government, industry players and non-government organizations, will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of all verification processes and also overseeing a dispute settlement body for conflicts on wood legality.

"Unlike what happens now, the government's influence on the verification process and dispute settlement is too direct and too dominant," Taufiq said.

Such a dominant influence, he said, would be prone to abuse of power and corruption, thus increasing the distrust of foreign buyers, particularly those from Europe and the United States.

Unfair tenders still the most reported cases

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2010

Jakarta – Unfair procurement tenders topped the list of cases reported to the anti-monopoly watchdog throughout 2009.

Of the 201 reports of unfair business practice across the nation filed with the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) in 2009, 169 or 84 percent were related to unfair procurement tenders.

Unfair tenders also topped the 2008 list with 189 cases or 79 percent of the total 230 reported cases.

The KPPU, as of the end of 2009, has only investigated 33 cases, of which 13 cases have since been closed. In 2008, the anti- monopoly body investigated far more cases, 68, and completed 43 of them.

In addition to the reported cases, the commission also received 529 written complaints from the public about alleged unfair business practices, KPPU spokesman Ahmad Junaidi said Wednesday.

Other cases reported to the commission included alleged illegal business cartels, mergers that led to monopolies, price fixing, predatory pricing and other unfair business practices prohibited under the 1999 Monopoly Law.

Ahmad said the figures showed people were now no longer afraid to report irregular procurement processes. "Businesses are now more open to filing complains over alleged unfair tenders to the KPPU," he told The Jakarta Post.

Fines imposed by the KPPU since its establishment in 2000 have also contributed Rp 1.01 trillion (US$107 million) to the state's non-tax revenue, Junaidi added, "while we have used only Rp 139 billion from the state budget."

The sectors that received the most attention from the KPPU in 2009 were infrastructure, energy, oil and gas, transportation, public health services, agriculture and small and medium enterprises.

In 2010, one of the KPPU's focuses was to monitor abuse of power by officials in connection with government procurement tenders.

"Our observations so far show many government procurements still involve unfair processes, for example by fixing the outcome of tenders," Junaidi said. "Such practices mostly involve intervention by the bidding committee or even by top officials." (bbs)

Analysts say domestic demand, not stimulus, saved economy

Jakarta Globe - January 3, 2010

Muhamad Al Azhari, Irvan Tisnabudi & Dion Bisara – Despite the turbulence in financial markets decimating global commerce and nearly toppling trade-driven economies in February, the Bank Indonesia governor at the time, Boediono, said the nation had "a blessing in disguise."

He was referring to the economy not being advanced enough to become reliant on international trade. As a result, the collapse in global demand would not seriously dent growth, he forecast.

"Thank God consumer purchasing power remains strong, otherwise we could have been hit badly," Chris Kanter, deputy chairman for investment at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin), said in December.

The predictions of Boediono, professor of Gadjah Mada University School of Economics and the current vice president, have proved correct. But he said the challenge ahead would be positioning Indonesia as "the first developing nation" to take advantage of an awakening global economy this year when the collective hangover begins to wear off.

While 2009 saw some trade-dependent neighbors' economies contract sharply, such as Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia is expected to post 4.3 percent growth, the third-best growth in Asia behind China and India.

But how did Southeast Asia's biggest economy record such impressive growth? Consumer spending, economists say.

"Indonesia suffered a relatively mild impact from the global financial crisis and was more resilient compared to some of its neighbors because of its sustainable household spending," M Ikhsan Modjo, an economist from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, said at a seminar last month.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), household consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the nation's economy, grew 5.2 percent last year through September. It sustained economic growth when exports contracted and investment slowed.

But did government fiscal and monetary policies do much to combat the effect of the global downturn at home? Among those who say neither policy worked is Lim Su Sian, an economist for DBS in Singapore. "Government spending didn't really add that much to the strong growth picture," she said. "This growth came about without much fiscal help and very little credit [from banks] oiling the wheels."

The government expected its stimulus plan to help domestic manufacturers survive the downturn and keep consumer spending strong to support demand at home, and the House of Representatives approved in February a proposal for an Rp 73.3 trillion ($7.9 billion) stimulus package. More than half the funds went to tax incentives for businesses and consumers, and about 16 percent, or Rp 11.55 trillion, for infrastructure projects.

Chris of Kadin said the tax incentives had not helped domestic manufacturers much because they were poorly implemented. "The reaction from industry players is that the disbursement of tax incentives was not satisfactory," said Chris, pointing to the complicated procedures to claims tax credits.

In addition, the central bank gradually eased its benchmark rate by 3 percentage points to historic lows of 6.5 percent in August, in a bid to boost commercial lending and create jobs. Despite BI's rate cuts, Lim said the "effect on credit levels has been relatively minimum."

On New Year's Day, the Finance Ministry announced the state budget had come in at Rp 87.2 trillion, or just 1.6 percent of GDP. The figure was far lower than the 2.4 percent target expected taking stimulus spending into account, showing that the government spending had been slow.

As far as stimulus in the form of infrastructure projects, spending was pushed back to the fourth quarter of last year and disbursement was lower than expected.

Dedy Priyatna, a deputy state minister for national development planning, said the state had disbursed only about 70 percent of the stimulus spending through early December to build ports, airports, toll roads and bridges.

Timing was also an issue, with less than 25 percent of the funds had disbursed through the end of September, with the vast majority of the infrastructure spending coming afterward.

"Such [slow] spending implementation is not good. The impact to employment is marginal," said David Sumual, an economist from PT Bank Central Asia.

Harry Azhar Azis, chairman of the House budgetary commission, said "This is just a traditional bad habit in which spending is only pushed quickly in the last few quarters," he told the Jakarta Globe last month, adding that the full impact of the stimulus would not be visible until next year.

On the lending side, the central bank's monetary policy review for the fourth quarter, noted that lending rates fell only 76 basis points – a small drop compared with the 300 basis points of BI cuts since December 2008.

Gundy Cahyadi, an analyst at IDEAGlobal in Singapore, said the time lag for BI rate cuts to be followed by lenders was quite high. "It might take up to six to 12 months before any impact could be felt from the low rates," he said in early December.

According to Bank Indonesia, lending grew only 5.3 percent to Rp 1,377 trillion last year through October, far off the 10 percent rise predicted by the central bank.

Looking ahead, analysts have been pondering whether Indonesia is poised to take advantage of the global economic recovery next year. Most experts are upbeat the nation will book strong 5 percent to 5.5 percent next year, thanks to the expected revival in exports and an increase in investment.

Despite the upbeat targets, BCA's Sumual posed an interesting question. "When other [nations] start to grow faster, where will we be? Will we return to being a lagging nation? This year, a lot of homework awaits. There are infrastructure problems, customs and excise preparation for the [China-Asean] free-trade pact, legal certainty and questions from investors about the Bank Century scandal.

"I hope all these factors will not make investors choose rival economies as a destination for their funds," he warned.

Inflation holds 9-year low in December: Statistics agency

Bloomberg - January 4, 2010

Indonesia's inflation held near a nine-year low in December, providing the central bank room to delay raising interest rates.

The consumer price index rose 2.78 percent from a year earlier last month, the central statistics agency said on Monday. That's less than the 2.92 percent median estimate of 17 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The November inflation rate was 2.41 percent, the lowest since June 2000.

Bank Indonesia has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 6.5 percent since August following nine rate cuts that have helped Southeast Asia's biggest economy avoid a recession. Low inflation and a decline in borrowing costs may spur consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of Indonesia's $514 billion economy.

"The likelihood of Bank Indonesia delaying raising its interest rate is becoming more apparent," Eric Alexander Sugandi, a Jakarta-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc, said before the release. "This will provide the opportunity for banks to further lower their rates, which should boost the economy," he said.

Commodity prices won't surge as they did in 2008 when the global credit crisis triggered an outflow of funds from stocks into commodities, Sugandi said. Oil futures rose to a record $147.27 a barrel in July 2008 compared with about $80 a barrel today.

Big risk

Still, rising prices of commodities such as oil and food are a "big risk" this year, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in a commentary written for Bloomberg News on Dec. 28. Oil rose 78 percent last year on signs the global economy is recovering, increasing demand for energy.

Indonesia's economy may grow an average 6.6 percent annually over the next five years as the government aims to reduce poverty and unemployment, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday. Bank Indonesia expects the economy to have expanded 4.3 percent last year and as much as 5.5 percent in 2010.

Growth in bank lending may exceed 20 percent this year, central bank Senior Deputy Governor Darmin Nasution said in November.

"Bank Indonesia still appears unsatisfied by the slow pace of credit growth," Anton Gunawan, chief economist at PT Bank Danamon Indonesia, said in a Dec. 22 note. "Accordingly, Bank Indonesia's monetary policy statement may not turn hawkish very soon."

The central bank will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at its next policy meeting on Jan. 6, according to all 18 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. It may not raise the interest rate until the end of this quarter or early second quarter, Danamon's Gunawan said.

Analysis & opinion

The same old story

Jakarta Post Editorial - January 5, 2010

Many of us are grappling with Twitter and the language of the young, which increasingly resembles an obscure Morse code with a brazen and come-what-may sense of ethics. The puzzles of decoding new behavior and new developments are part and parcel of any generation, but some of us have managed to act as if the world has stood quite, quite still.

This includes members of officialdom behind the walls of the justice ministry and the Attorney General's Office; from where we learned Saturday that dozens of new books might be banned. The officials' family members and grandchildren were probably chatting and playing games with friends across borders, or downloading music and reading material – while with a straight face Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar told the Indonesian public that "we are currently evaluating 20 books that we consider provocative and could lead to disintegration within our nation".

He was speaking 10 years after reformasi, at a time where we thought such policies were a thing of the past.

As if nothing had happened, minister Patrialis added that it was the responsibility of all Indonesians to prevent such books from being widely distributed. He is an executive of the National Mandate Party (PAN), one of the new parties known for its progressive platform in the first months since the New Order ended. Yet what we heard was plain New Order-speak, to the degree that some thought it must be a New Year hoax.

If it hadn't been for the problem of nonexistent providers for the likes of Kindle here, the electronic books would have been a much coveted Christmas and year-end gift in these parts – adding to the figure of Internet access to virtually all books, banned or otherwise.

The titles the Justice and Human Rights Ministry are "evaluating" are "provocative" because they deal with issues of corruption, freedom of religion and the 1965 communist purge – all issues that have led to hundreds of new titles since Soeharto stepped down from his authoritarian rule.

Since then, everyone can read anything, practically anyone could write anything and the former taboo issues sold well, to the extent that we are now drowned in books by obscure writers.

New writers are coming up, staid publishers are overcoming earlier failures to recognize new talent and blogs are always there for those who are still happy to scribble and interact with readers in cyberspace.

A ban on books? As usual, such statements only serve to pique curiosity and help sales – besides leading to laughter all around. While we're overwhelmed and spoilt with choice, the government still has the ancient mind-set of being tasked and trusted to control the content of books reaching a random audience.

A step past the old Indonesia would be an awareness the state had better spent its energies on citizens' needs. A zero tax on books would be a great, overdue New Year surprise. It would mean recognition of the need to stimulate citizens' intellect, instead of wondering about "certain parties" who want to discredit and oppose the government and spread heretical teachings and confusion with books.

Wahid's death buries Indonesian reform

Asia Times - January 5, 2010

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar (Bali) – Praise poured in to honor Indonesia's fourth president, Abdurrahman Wahid, on his death last week at the age of 69. The richly deserved tributes recalled Wahid's wit, his leadership of the country's largest grassroots Muslim organization, and his commitment to pluralism.

There's even talk of declaring Wahid, affectionately known as Gus Dur, a national hero. His usually reticent successor and some- time rival, Megawati Sukarnoputri, said, "Gus Dur meets the requirements," and indicated that her political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had already endorsed his enshrinement.

But the plaudits ignore the dark side of Wahid's 21-month presidential term, which marked the nation's definitive break with Suharto's New Order authoritarianism. The national mourning for Wahid failed to examine what has become of the reformasi (reform) movement that brought Wahid to power, the backlash against his presidency, and why Wahid was the lone genuine reformer to occupy Merdeka Palace and remain prominent as a reformer on the political scene throughout the near dozen years since Suharto's fall in 1998.

Wahid's presidency set back the cause of reform, perhaps crippled it forever. Ironically, his term in office strengthened the hand of Islamic extremists and the military. It also set the stage for sectarian violence and terrorist attacks that killed thousands and threatened unity across the archipelago. Most important, Wahid's bungled presidency illustrated the potential cost of democracy to the old guard before it stripped their power to derail reform.

Born in East Java in 1940, Wahid was the first child in a prominent family of religious leaders and nationalists. His grandfather, Hasyim Asy'ari, founded Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), destined to grow into Indonesia's largest grassroots Muslim organization with 50 million members. Wahid was chosen as NU chairman in 1984, a post that gave him a power base and a public pulpit to advocate pluralism and personal choice in religion. NU took a liberal line on religious matters through its acceptance of mixing pre-Islamic traditions with Muslim practice. A 1998 stroke, brought on by diabetes, left Wahid nearly blind and dogged by health woes throughout his remaining years.

Wahid's NU post drew him into politics, even though he'd withdrawn NU from formal politics; like religion, politics was a matter of personal choice. In the early 1990s, Suharto tried to recruit Muslim leaders as allies, but Wahid was among those who resisted. That put him in conflict with Suharto's New Order and made him a leading dissident figure at a time when there wasn't much dissent. Wahid allied with Megawati; the daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, she headed one of the officially sanctioned opposition parties. Her popularity would make her a threat to Suharto and the focal point of the burgeoning reformasi movement that gained momentum as the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis hit Indonesia.

Killing unarmed protesters and deadly riots of murky origin forced Suharto to step down in May 1998. Wahid took a leadership role in the new National Awakening Party (known by its Indonesian acronym, PKB) and was nominated as its candidate for president in the 1999 election. Voters would choose 500 legislators, who, along with 200 regional and group representatives, would select the president.

These were heady times, with reformasi thick in the air as Indonesia held its first free general election since 1955. Predictably, Megawati's party won the largest number of votes in the election, 34% of the total, while Wahid's PKB finished third with 13%. Supporters of reform expected Megawati to become president. PKB backed Megawati against the incumbent, Suharto's vice president, BJ Habibie.

However, a coalition of Muslim parties, led by reform figure Amien Rais, emerged to block Megawati's selection. Amid fervent backroom dealing reminiscent of the Suharto era or mid-20th century Chicago, Wahid supported Rais to head the legislature and Rais' coalition backed Wahid for the presidency. In the vice presidential voting, Wahid prevailed on Suharto's military chief General Wiranto to withdraw, clearing the field for Megawati to get the executive consolation prize.

Reform's failure

Wahid took the presidency with a mandate for reform but failed to capitalize on it. His reform movement never articulated a coherent program for reform, nor set out a coordinated program for it. Some of that was the legacy of Suharto, who had effectively stunted political development for more than three decades. But some of the fault belongs with Wahid himself for failing to seize the moment and rally popular support for the cause. His death revealed a well of public goodwill that Wahid never managed to tap as president.

Wahid's presidency featured many admirable steps. He abolished Suharto's levers of political control, including the Ministry of Information. He lifted a number of measures that discriminated against the Chinese minority and declared Chinese New Year a national holiday. He began to fight the endemic corruption of the New Order by disbanding the Ministry of Welfare.

Armed with a keen intellect, acid tongue, and firmly convinced of his own righteousness, Wahid wasn't ideally suited for a political life of compromise. Even though he assembled a broad cabinet that included all factions, his forte was getting out in front and expecting others to follow, rather than building consensus and moving incrementally. That would cost Wahid dearly when he moved to reform the military. Throughout the transition from Suharto's rule, the military under Wiranto had largely gone along with reform. Wiranto had prevented elements of the military, reportedly including Suharto's former son-in-law (and Megawati's 2009 running mate), Prabowo Subianto, from staging a coup as Suharto stepped down amid street protests. Wiranto also cooperated with separating the military and police, and supported disengaging the military from politics, earning him the mantle of reformer. The withdrawal from East Timor, which voted for independence in a 1999 referendum, was bloody and destructive, but it was accomplished without a mutiny within the bitterly opposed ranks of the armed forces.

Wahid appointed Wiranto as his Coordinating Minister of Politics and Security, the second most important role in the government. Yet there's little evidence that Wahid used Wiranto as a bridge to build support for change. Many in the military would be happy to see a genuine separation between politics and the armed forces, but it would be a separation running both ways – soldiers would stay out of politics, but politicians would stay out of military affairs, including alleged human rights abuses and the armed forces vast network of businesses, legal and otherwise. (That appears to be the current modus vivendi under incumbent president and former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.) But when Wahid began to attack corruption within the military's business empire and fired Wiranto after just three months on the job, the gloves came off.

The military moved to destabilize Wahid's government. It allegedly began stoking and arming sectarian violence in Ambon and central Sulawesi. The military also apparently supported coordinated church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000, and helped rehabilitate radical Islam that had been discredited under Suharto.

Wahid's erratic governing style and lack of skill as an administrator left him with few political allies. Rather than deriding the legislature as a "kindergarten" and later a pre- school "play group", he could have advanced the notion of legislative accountability. His presidency was characterized by off-hand remarks and snap decisions that began to disillusion supporters of reform – a process Megawati completed as his successor with a thoroughly corrupt regime that harked back to the Suharto era.

The corruption charges against Wahid that led to his impeachment were trumped up, but the sentiment that his presidency had failed was real and unfortunate. Cornering the military dragon without the power to subdue it has let the armed forces continue to occupy an outsized role in Indonesian society. Failing to present a good government alternative to business as usual has doomed Indonesia to another generation of endemic corruption and the widespread poverty that goes with it.

Wahid was a fine man with a lifetime of lasting achievements, but with his passing it is important to remember that he was no hero to Indonesia's reformers.

[Longtime editor of investor rights advocate eRaider.com, Gary LaMoshihas written for Slate and Salon.com, and works a counselor for Writing Camp (www.writingcamp.net). He first visited Indonesia in 1994 and has tracking its progress ever since.]

Defense reforms for 2010-14: Men over materiel?

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2010

Evan A. Laksmana, Jakarta – "To defend everything is to defend nothing." There is a lot of wisdom in this old military axiom. Indeed, it is hard to deny that when it comes to national defense, and even war, we just simply can't do it all. We need to prioritize.

Yet, when we briefly glance through the recent policies made by the Defense Ministry for its 100-day program, the policy makers there seem to be doing the exact opposite – from stepping up military modernization, strengthening local defense industries, to improving border security and disaster management.

The more worrying aspect, however, is not so much the all- embracing priorities, but the perception that the next step after getting the military out of politics and business is to upgrade their weaponry.

As if getting a budget spike, committing to using local-made defense hardware, and purchasing state-of-the-art fighter jets or submarines, will lead us down the path to "military transformation".

Certainly ensuring the safety of our men by upgrading our military hardware should be a top priority. But to hold such views narrowly could risk losing sight of the fact the key to sustainable military readiness and effectiveness is in the nation's men and women in uniform – not the tools they use.

Without dedicated, motivated, able, and well-trained troops, the ministry's investments in revitalizing defense industries or acquiring state-of-the-art weaponry will be wasted.

As such, our defense planners must realize that overhauling the Indonesian Military's (TNI) manpower or personnel policies should be a priority over the next four years. Not just to bring in and retain the capable and dedicated officers we need, but also to lay the foundation for a truly transformed military.

Aside from overhauling the entire military education system, military scholar Cindy Williams argued in Service to Country that a comprehensive personnel policy transformation should include an incentive structure meant to attract people to join the force, encourage those with the right skills to stay in, motivate them to work hard and do their jobs well, and influence those whose skills are no longer needed to leave.

One of the first issues we need to address in this regard is the size of the officer corps. Studies have shown the unstable, and often bloated, number of military academy graduates has contributed to a decreasing military readiness, unstable tours of duties, and a fractured, or even politicized, promotion system and career paths.

These factors have played a role in upsetting the overall morale and cohesion of the officer corps from time to time. This is true especially when strategic billets have shrunk over the past decade after the abolishment of civilian and socio-political posts following Soeharto's fall. As such, we need to debate and look at ways to gradually downsize the officer corps or revamp the force structure to allow a more sustainable, stable corps.

But to avoid crippling our military in the process, we also need to expand our recruitment drives through professional recruiting methods to enlarge and upgrade the pool of prospective officers.

Unfortunately, before we can do that, we need to improve the working conditions of the people who serve by eliminating bureaucratic red tape – or similar counterproductive "traditions" – and improve overall infrastructure and equipment.

This should be done in conjunction with the overhaul of the internal career path system – either by ensuring that commissioned officers are professionally, not politically, evaluated, or by adding the number of Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), or both.

For such merit-based systems to be effective, improving military pay schemes and raising basic income must also be part of the program. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the TNI to win the competition in wooing our nation's best and brightest.

Military pay schemes should also incorporate greater flexibility across postings and duties – especially in those hard-to-fill- in, or dangerous ones. Indeed, the flexibility to pay military specialists more for jobs that are highly rewarded in the private sector, like IT or logistical planning, may be crucial to realizing high-tech-driven transformation.

Last but not least, we need to improve the overall post-service career prospects and quality of life – not just for the officers, but for their families as well.

This includes improving pension schemes, which profoundly affect officers' decision about their duration of service – and by implication, the size and shape of the force – as well as providing training for skills valued in the civilian job market and ensuring proper housing and other benefits.

After all, the prospect of a better economic future in the civilian world after a commissioned service can be a strong incentive for people to serve.

Yet, the almost-certain clashes between families of retirees and the TNI over housing – the last one being in Jakarta last week – suggests how military families and other quality-of-life benefits are often neglected by defense planners.

Now that we are no longer faced with a pressing internal insurgency, and with a military reform agenda nearly complete, it is time for us to use this "peace dividend" to do the big, long- term thinking and ensure the ministry-TNI can be competitive employers and effective human resource managers.

Military history has shown us that it is people who win wars, not technology.

[The writer is a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta.]