Apriadi Gunawan and Jon Afrizal, Medan/Jambi – Hundreds of private school teachers from various regions in North Sumatra held a rally at the provincial legislative building in Medan on Thursday, demanding welfare improvement.

The rally coincided with National Teacher's Day. The teachers, affiliated with the North Sumatra chapter of the Private Schools Teachers' Association (PGSI), called on the government to pay them more attention.

A rally participant said the government was more concerned about teachers with civil servant status.

"Based on facts, the government has not paid attention to private school teachers. We hope the government fosters equality of public as well as private teachers in the country," Salahuddin, Langkat regency PGSI secretary, told The Jakarta Post.

The rally was joined by teachers from Medan, Tebing Tinggi and Binjai cities as well as Langkat, Deli Serdang, Serdang Bedagai, Batubara and Asahan regencies.

Teachers demanded an additional quota for teachers' certification and promotion of private school teachers who had served for a long time as government employees.

In response to the rally, a member of the legislature's Commission E on people's welfare, Ahmad Hosen Hutagalung, said the demands were very humane, and that his commission would urge the provincial administration to address and realize their demands in the near future.

Separately in Jambi, the Bungo regency administration was reported to have failed to pay the salaries of 320 contractual teachers for four months.

Education Office secretary Hardius confirmed the reports but refused to disclose the amount of salaries in arrears. "I'm not sure of the exact amount," he said.

The 320 contractual teachers, who have not yet received their salaries, are composed of elementary, junior and senior high school teachers in Bungo. Hardius said their monthly salary of around Rp 700,000 (about US$70) would be paid immediately.

He said teachers had not received their salaries due to the budget deficit faced by the regency.

He added that the government would make efforts to fulfill teachers' rights. A teacher who requested anonymity said he did not know as of Thursday when he would receive his salary.

"We are aware of the regency administration's financial condition, but we are not certain of when we will get paid," he said.

Protestors pelt eggs at officials' cars

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2010

Jakarta – Two non-government organizations (NGOs), Petisi 28 and the Indonesian Students' Action Front, staged a protest at the House of Representatives Tuesday.

Three protestors donned colorful wigs and masks depicting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's face. Some threw eggs at two cars with the license plates B 17323 RFS and RI 6, both of which were parked at the entrance of the House.

A scuffle with security guards ensued as the guards hauled off the one of the protester, Lubis, who allegedly threw an egg.

"There is just one way to take SBY down," Haris Rusli of Petisi 28 said in his oration. President Yudhoyono had to be taken down as he was part of the reason why cases such as Bank Century and Gayus H. Tambunan remained unresolved, he added.

Security officers moved the rest of the small crowd of protesters away from the House. (gzl)

Aceh

Aceh woman honored for compassion and bravery

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2010

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Islamic boarding schools, called dayah in Aceh, are not just for the pious.

According to Hanisah, a 42-year-old Acehnese teacher, dayah are meant to shelter the downtrodden. And she has no qualms about proving shelter to anybody, even if it means risking her own life – as she did two years ago.

Although it had previously mainly taken in orphans, Diniyah Darussalam Dayah, a boarding school that Hanisah founded in Pandang Mancang, a village in West Aceh district, two years ago took in a new pupil – a 17-year-old girl who was a victim of rape.

"She was seven months pregnant. The girl had nowhere else to go," Hanisah explained, adding that neither she nor the orphans living at the school, nor its teachers, were prepared for what the local villagers had in store for them. One evening, she said, the school was surrounded by a mob that started shouting for the girl.

"Get her out of here! This boarding school is sheltering adulterers!" cried several of the hundreds of villagers that surrounded the dayah. "The people in this school have polluted the sanctity of our village. Get all of these violators out of our village!"

The rage and insults continued late into the night, as those inside the school, including the now frightened orphans, began to pray for their lives. Hanisah said she remembered stepping out of the school to confront the mob.

"Our teachers, all female, came out and stood by me. The orphans came out as well and surrounded me. We knew what was coming," Hanisah said. "I was kicked out of my own dayah, which I founded 10 years ago. Why? Because I dared to take in a victim of rape.

"I remember walking in a line under heavy police protection, with the children trailing behind me. The village chiefs, who should have protected us, were instead themselves stirred by the chaos, and called for us to be shunned. "All of us, including that 17-year-old girl, were nearly mobbed. Somehow we ended up at a small store owned by a neighbor."

Hanisah and the 25 orphans under her care, as well as the rape victim, ended up living at the neighbor's store in Meunasah Buloh village, just 500 meters from the school.

The store is now slowly being developed into yet another Islamic boarding school, which will go by the same name – Diniyah Darussalam.

The new school has several wooden platforms built for prayer and for sleeping, with a separate room for administrative duties and computer lessons. The second floor of the store is still under construction.

"The residents of Buloh village helped us build this school and shelter so that the children can have a decent place to sleep," Hanisah said, adding that now, aside from providing shelter to victims of rape, she also provided shelter to battered women and sexual assault victims from all around West Aceh.

Hanisah's valiant efforts were recognized this year when she was awarded the 2010 Acehnese Women's Award, presented by the Acehnese Women's Movement, a coalition of national and international women's organizations.

The award, presented on Thursday during a ceremony in Banda Aceh, was decided by a panel of women's rights activists, who had struggled to choose a winner from the 39 nominees who had made it past the first cut.

After whittling down the nominees to the final four, the panel began a thorough verification process before selecting Hanisah as this year's winner.

The three other finalists were 50-year-old Ainah Mardhiah, the first female district head in Aceh, who currently leads the Sabang administration's public services and protocol division; Nurbaeti, a 37-year-old housewife who has fought for women's rights in Bener Meriah district by taking battered women into her home; and 36-year-old Yusdarita, a housewife who set up a women's cooperative in Bener Meriah.

West Papua

Four injured, one dead in Abepura shooting

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2010

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A man was shot dead and four others, including a child, were injured by unidentified armed men on Sunday in Nafri village, Abepura, outside the Papuan capital.

The deceased, Riswandi Yusuf, was riding his motorcycle to a popular fishing spot with his wife Dian when shots were heard. The incident took place about four kilometers outside Jayapura at 9:30 a.m., family members said, quoting Dian.

Dian, who was not hurt in the incident, ran for help. The four injured included 9-year-old Zainal and his father, Alex Nongka. Along with another man, Baharudin, a taxi driver, all are being treated at the Abepura hospital.

The boy "was shot in the left chest, while Alex Nongka and Baharudin were shot in the hand," Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Imam Setiawan said. A woman, Lalua S. Bowo, was grazed on the knee.

Alex Nongka said the assailants hid behind a roadside bush and started firing at his motorcycle and a car behind him. Witnesses said four men suddenly fired shots at passersby.

Local councilor Yan Mandenas called for calm and an immediate investigation, into, among others, "those who do not want a peaceful Papua, especially in the run-up to Christmas". "The victims are innocent civilians," he said.

Police later said there were five suspects carrying rifles. Quoting witnesses, police spokesman Snr. Comr. Wachyono said the assailants also carried "arrows and machetes" as well as rifles.

"They were shooting from the direction of the mountain near Jayapura," he was quoted as saying by news portal vivanews.com. There were also reports that the gunmen shot at passing vehicles, including a garbage truck.

Police said they were examining the bullets recovered from the scene, and investigating whether the incident involved the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The OPM is often blamed in shooting incidents where the perpetrators are not known.

Papua is ravaged by incidents of violence, but human rights activists say much of it is carried out by authorities. Activists have long demanded investigations into civilian reports of abuse at the hands of the military.

The latest allegations involve torture and killing by security forces, with some incidents captured on video, believed to be taken by the perpetrators themselves. Earlier this month, a military tribunal in Papua sentenced low-ranking soldiers for assaulting 30 Puncak Jaya residents in March.

In another case, the National Commission for Human Rights said the military had still not identified the perpetrators behind a widely circulated video showing the graphic torture of two Papuans in May.

One dead and six wounded in Papua roadside shooting

Radio New Zealand International - November 29, 2010

Reports from Papua in Indonesia say unidentified gunmen have shot at traffic outside Jayapura, killing a motorcyclist and injuring six others, including a nine-year child in a public bus.

Paula Makabori from the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights says the victims in Sunday morning's attack were mainly Indonesians.

She says the shooting comes just days before the 49th anniversary of the West Papuan Declaration of Independence from Dutch colonial rule.

Ms Makabori says the killing appears superficially to have been carried out by pro-independence guerrillas.

But she says the Indonesian military are most likely responsible and she's called for an independent investigation because Indonesian police cannot look into a possible covert operation by soldiers.

Papua living costs said to be key development issue

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – Bringing down the high cost of living in Papua, which is paradoxically the country's least-developed province, is a key factor in boosting development there, the government says.

The matter was raised on Tuesday at a meeting between Vice President Boediono and Gamawan Fauzi, the home affairs minister.

"We discussed how to make things cheaper there, such as cement and basic goods," Gamawan said after the meeting. "Because the living costs there are high, we need to take steps to reduce them, while still abiding by the principle of regional autonomy."

Despite being among the most resource-rich parts of the country and receiving the biggest allocation of all provinces from the state budget, Papua remains largely underdeveloped.

Many Papuans accuse the government of not fairly distributing the revenue from resources mined there, while a low-level insurgency has persisted for decades, fueled in part by the torture and ill-treatment of Papuans by the security forces.

Following international criticism of the situation, the government in October decided to accelerate development in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Part of the initiative includes the establishment of what the government calls "economic clusters" in two plantation areas to directly address economic and social problems.

Gamawan said the government was also drafting a new presidential decree on the development of Papua, as well as planning the establishment of a new Government Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) to oversee it.

Meanwhile, Yopie Hidayat, a spokesman for Boediono, said the vice president had also called for the National Development Planning Board's (Bappenas) programs for Papua to be amended. "There's much that needs to be improved," he said.

Human rights & law

Human rights violations increasing

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2010

Makassar – Over the past ten years since Indonesia's reformation, human rights violations have been escalating, said the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Commission member Hesti Armiwulan said at a media conference in Makassar on Monday that during the period between 2008 and 2010 the number of complaints filed to the commission showed an increase. "We received 4,000 complaints in 2008 and 5,000 in 2009. This year, up to October, we had more than 5,000 complaints," Hesti said.

The commission is holding a workshop on human rights for governors, regents and mayors from across the country, beginning Tuesday. She said not only did the number of complaints increase, but the scope of violations also expanded from initially civil political rights to economic, social and cultural rights.

Freedom of expression & press

Aburizal Bakrie cries foul on Gayus meet reports

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2010

Ismira Lutfia & Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie on Wednesday reported a number of Indonesian media organizations to the Press Council for allegedly defaming him.

Aburizal's lawyer, Aji Wijaya, said the tycoon-cum-politician named five organizations for reporting that he may have met with disgraced tax official Gayus Tambunan in Bali this month.

Agus Sudibyo, the council's head of ethics and public complaints, said the complaint named online news portal Detik.com, Kompas, Metro TV, Media Indonesia and SCTV's news program Liputan 6.

In a statement, Aji said Aburizal specifically mentioned a Kompas news report on Nov. 12, that cited "information that Kompas obtained," saying Aburizal "met with Gayus on Saturday in a resort that he owns, and was said to have been accompanied by Fuad Hasan, Golkar's head of information and opinion polling."

The managing editor of Kompas, Budiman Tanuredjo, told the Jakarta Globe that the daily "respects the complaint and would wait for the council's summons to discuss the report." He said the newspaper's report was no lie and that it had included responses from the parties mentioned.

"Our news reports are already in compliance with the ethics of journalism," Budiman said, adding that Kompas would abide by the mediation process that the council would likely conduct between the media organizations and Aburizal, who has been frequently mentioned as a likely presidential candidate in 2014.

The Press Council's Agus noted that Aburizal filed the complaints before exercising his right of reply. Agus said the right to reply to the reports could be "an option should we find any violation to the code of ethics."

Arifin Asydad, deputy editor of Detik.com, said his office was still waiting for official notification of Aburizal's report. "Until now we haven't received any summons. Let's wait and we will respond accordingly."

Arifin said Detik never violated journalistic ethics in reporting on Gayus's trip to Bali, which he took after allegedly bribing his way out of a police detention cell.

"We tried our best to cover the story from all aspects, we followed the proper procedure. I don't really understand why we were blamed for defamation," he said. "We will investigate thoroughly any part of our coverage considered unethical."

Earlier on Wednesday, Aburizal told journalists at Golkar's headquarters in West Jakarta that the press should improve its reporting to avoid falsehoods. "This should serve as a lesson to the press and the public as well," Aburizal said.

Deny Indrayana, secretary of the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, told reporters on Wednesday that there was no evidence that Gayus had met with the Golkar chairman in Bali. "We have to be fair. There is no indication that Gayus meet Ical," he said, using the tycoon's nickname.

Gayus, who is on trial for corruption, said he went to Bali for a "vacation" with his family.

The press council, a non-governmental body, is empowered by the Press Law to settle disputes between the media and individuals and institutions that take exception to coverage.

Gayus claims to have taken bribes for favorable tax treatment, including from Kaltim Prima Coal, Arutmin and Bumi Resources, all linked to Aburizal.

[Additional reporting from Farouk Arnaz.]

Journalists get death threats

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2010

Jakarta – A number of journalists were threatened, and several others were attacked, while reporting on a Indonesian migrant workers' shelter in Condet, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

"Bottles were thrown at us from outside," said Stephen, a reporter from television station Trans 7, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The incident took place when the journalists arrived to cover an unscheduled inspection of the shelter by the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry. The shelter is managed by PT Dwi Insan Setia.

Stefanus said one of his colleagues, a cameraperson from SCTV television station, was asked to hand over his footage while he was smoking outside the shelter. He was told that he would be killed if he did not, Stefanus said, adding that his colleague had avoided trouble by returning to the shelter.

Stephanus said he saw about 120 migrant workers at the shelter, and that some of them became distressed when ministry officials inspected the shelter from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The men who had threatened the reporters were nowhere to be seen by the time the visit wrapped up, Stephanus said. No one was physically assaulted, he added.

Bakrie reports five media organizations to press council

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Jakarta – Golkar Chairman Aburizal Bakrie has reported a number of Indonesian media organizations to the Press Council, alleging defamation.

Bakrie's lawyer, Aji Wijaya, said the businessman and politician had laid complaints against five organizations for reporting accusations that Bakrie had met with disgraced tax official Gayus Tambunan in Bali earlier this month.

"On behalf of Aburizal Bakrie, I filed a complaint against Kompas daily, Media Indonesia daily, SCTV, Metro TV and news portal Detik.com," Aji said. "For SCTV, it includes Liputan 6 [SCTV's news program] and Liputan6.com [SCTV's news portal]," he said.

Lalu Mara Satriawangsa, a senior Golkar politician and a spokesman for Bakrie, told the Jakarta Globe that the politician would also lodge a complaint with police.

Gayus was photographed by the Jakarta Globe watching a tennis tournament in Nusa Dua, Bali when he was supposed to be behind bars during the course of his corruption trial, with media outlets also noting that Bakrie made an appearance at the same tournament a day later.

Gayus has previously claimed to have amassed a fortune from bribes he received from 149 companies, including miners Kaltim Prima Coal, Arutmin and Bumi Resources, all of which are part of the Bakrie Group, owned by the family Bakrie.

The bribes, Gayus said, were in exchange for lowering the companies' taxes and ensuring the government lost its appeals against them at the Tax Tribunal.

Speaking on Tuesday, Bakrie said he believed he had been defamed by the reports, saying he had repeatedly denied the accusations but to no avail. "The news was spin doctored and turned out to be a slander, I think this is a character assassination," Bakrie said.

Speaking on Wednesday, Bakrie told reporters said the media must improve "their ways of reporting and be responsible so there won't be any more public lies."

Metro TV and Media Indonesia are owned by political rival Surya Paloh. Bakrie, a controversial figure even on his good days, has had a number of spats with the media.

Politics & political parties

Bakrie, Anas meet for lunch amid talk of coalition 'rift'

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Leaders of the two largest political parties, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the Golkar Party, met Thursday amid a series of political incidents seen by many as signs of deteriorating ties between the two parties.

Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said they spoke after lunch at a hotel.

"We often [meet]. The point is to keep the coalition solid as the base of support for the government," Anas told The Jakarta Post via a text message after the meeting. Aburizal agreed, saying, "Members of the ruling coalition routinely hold discussions. There is no hidden agenda."

Top officials from both parties were also at the table, including Golkar secretary-general Idrus Marham and chairman of the party wing in the House of Representatives Setya Novanto, as well as chairman of the Democratic Party wing in the House Jafar Hafsah and secretary of the coalition's joint secretariat, Syarief Hasan.

At the House, Democratic Party spokesman Ruhut Sitompul said Anas and Aburizal discussed the election of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leader.

Later in the day, former Judicial Commission chairman Busyro Muqqodas won the most votes from the House commission in charge of selecting the KPK leader. Earlier, Golkar had been seen as favoring his rival, antigraft activist Bambang Widjojanto.

Commenting on which candidate the parties favored, Anas said, "that is a matter for the legislators, not us. For the Democratic Party, both candidates are equally capable of leading the KPK."

On Wednesday, Golkar legislators at the House's political affairs commission rejected calls to join Democratic Party legislators in their efforts to prevent politicians from becoming members of the General Election Commission (KPU).

The commission ruled in favor of Golkar against the Democratic Party, which only had the support of the National Mandate Party (PAN). These and other political stances by Golkar have raised questions whether it might lose a seat in Yudhoyono's Cabinet.

Anas and Aburizal on Thursday denied discussing a possible Cabinet reshuffle. "Changing ministers is the President's prerogative," Anas said.

Another thorny issue has been the case of low-ranking tax official Gayus Tambunan, who testified in court that he received US$3 million in fees for his "services" in settling tax cases involving three giant mining companies partly owned by the Bakrie family.

The firms have denied the allegations and also accusations that Gayus met Aburizal in Bali earlier this month. Gayus was spotted by photographers in a wig watching an international tennis tournament, which he has admitted to. Aburizal, however, denied even knowing Gayus. On Wednesday he filed reports against seven news outlets to the Press Council.

Political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi from the Indonesian Survey Institute said he believed elites from both parties had made a deal. "The lunch meeting was merely a political symbol. They want to give the impression that no rift remains between the two parties," he said.

Indonesia struggles to limit number of parties in House

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Jakarta – For the average Joe on the streets of Indonesia, a simple party system is just a matter of convenience, or a bit of nostalgia.

"We're confused," Surabaya resident Suanto said, adding that, more than a decade after reformasi, he missed the "good old days" when there were only three political parties on the ballot papers.

But the need for an efficient party system, politicians and pundits agree, stems from the conviction that the many parties in parliament undermine the country's presidential system, which leads to an ineffective, if not lame- duck, government.

Since the Sukarno era, Indonesia attempted to simplify its political system, but the effort has always met with failure, except when it was under the authoritarian rule of the New Order, which limited the number of parties to three: Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Then president Soeharto saw that the multi-party system in the times of Sukarno, who reduced the number of political parties in parliament from 23 to 10, was inimical to development, a jargon he used to build and maintain his iron-fisted 32-year rule.

The policy ended when he was forced to step down in 1998, when the drive for political reform opened the way for the emergence of new parties.

The government team tasked with drafting electoral reform laws was cautious of the possible excessive proliferation of small parties at the time. The team, led by political scientist Ryaas Rasyid, set the parliamentary threshold at 10 percent – as suggested by caretaker president B.J. Habibie – but the figure was reduced to 2 percent.

The number of political parties in parliament decreased from 21 in 1999 to 17 in 2004. The threshold was then raised to 2.5 percent for the 2009 elections, leaving only nine parties in the House of representatives. But nine is still too much for many parties.

Today, the country's three largest parties – the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – are determined to have fewer rivals in the House by increasing the parliamentary threshold from the current 2.5 percent to between 3 and 5 percent.

The House commission on political affairs is deliberating revisions to a slew of political reform laws, including the 2007 General Elections Commission Law, the 2009 General Elections Law, the 2008 Political Parties Law and the 2009 People's Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives, Regional Representatives Council, and Regional Legislative Councils Law.

Legislators are expected to finish the revision by 2012 to give enough time for the General Election Commission to prepare for the 2014 elections. But the strategy to raise the parliamentary threshold has proven hard to implement and has become a contentious issue that will slow down the bill.

Smaller parties, though agreeing that less parties is better than more, have strongly contested the proposal.

Abdul Hakim Naja of the National Mandate Party (PAN), with only 43 seats at the House, told The Jakarta Post that "small and medium-sized parties should be given time to consolidate so that votes for them would not be in vain in the upcoming elections".

He warned that should the major parties press ahead with plans to raise the bar for parties to enter the House, the 32 million people voting for minor parties would be effectively disenfranchised. The argument, however, does not hold water for the major parties.

The PDI-P's Ganjar Pranowo said maintaining the current system was not feasible. "We can only have a strong and healthy government if the number of parties in the legislature isn't as large as it is now."

Despite forming a coalition government, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration has come under pressure from the House, including from Golkar and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which are coalition members.

Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia said raising the parliamentary threshold would never be easy due to resistance from minor parties, but it was the only way to reduce the number of parties as it was compatible with the proportional representation system applied in the country.

Several countries such as the US use a winner-take-all voting system or single member district system, which could help reduce the number of parties represented in the house.

"This system could not accommodate the country's plurality," Arbi said, adding that Indonesia could not use the deposit fee system either as applied in the UK.

"Every system basically has strengths and weaknesses," Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi said.

He proposed that the number of constituencies be raised so parties would compete for fewer seats in each constituency. This, he said, would reduce the number of parties in the house.

But would the House approve this proposal? "History proves that the people are capable of adapting to new systems. But the real problem lies in our political elites, who only want a system for their own benefit."

Electoral commission & elections

NGOs want politicians excluded from KPU

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Jakarta – A group of election watchdogs has called on legislators to revoke their decision, taken through voting, to allow politicians to become members of the General Election Commission (KPU).

"We want to ensure that the upcoming elections are transparent and free from disputes. Only an independent poll body is capable of holding fair and democratic elections," the group said in a statement released on Thursday.

The group was comprised of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), the Indonesian Parliamentary Center (IPC), the Election and Democracy Syndicate (SPD), Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate (SSS), the People's Voter Education Network (JPPR), the National Consortium for Legal Reform (KHRN), the Society for Election and Democracy (Perludem), the Center of Political Studies at the University of Indonesia (Puskappol UI), the Independent Elections Monitoring Committee (KIPP), the Indonesian Voters Committee (TePI), and Sigma Indonesia.

The group said it did not believe that political party members could maintain their independence if the draft regulation was finally approved in the plenary session.

The House of Representatives' commission on political affairs decided on Tuesday that party members could join the General Election Commission as long as they resigned from their parties.

Labour & migrant workers

Jamsostek needs major reform for strategic role

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The social security programs for workers need to be overhauled to provide social protection to the majority of people as well as to speed up economic development, according to labor unions and experts.

The Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSPSI), the Confederation of National Workers Union (KSPN) and the Confederation of All-Indonesia Workers Union (KSPSI) said all four social security programs – health care, occupational accident, old-age risk and death schemes – needed to be overhauled and added to the pension scheme, which, according to the 2004 national social security system, is compulsory.

They said the five programs, including the pension scheme, are mandatory not only for paid workers but also for those in the informal sector, including self-employed people. "The new law needs to be revised to impose sanctions against employers and workers failing to participate in the programs. This is aimed at increasing the number of the programs' participants," KSBSI chairman Rekson Silaban said.

The three confederations winning support from minority labor unions were of the same view that based on the social security principles of solidarity, portability, accountability and trust funds, state-owned PT Jamsostek has to be reorganized to become a trust fund institution managed by a tripartite management representing the government, employers and workers.

They said Jamsostek had to give top priority to repairing the health care and old-age risk schemes to give access to all workers and their family members at all state-run general hospitals and enable them to enjoy their retirement.

The labor unions were of a similar view as employers, who want Jamsostek to concentrate on programs it can run professionally.

Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) deputy chairman Djimanto said Jamsostek should focus on the occupational accident, old-age risk and pension programs and leave the health care program to a more professional provider like PT Askes, which cooperates with state and private hospitals because the current service given by Jamsostek under the health care program does not meet national standards.

"It would be better if the health care scheme was entrusted to a professional provider to give better services to all people, including civil servants, servicemen and their families. The government should pay its contribution, and all existing social aid in the health sector such as Jamkesnas and Jamkesda should be integrated into the health care scheme to give equal opportunity to the health care providers and to make medical services affordable," he said.

Hasbullah Tabrani, a social security law expert at the University of Indonesia, said the National Social Security Board and all providers should assess and review the contribution employers and workers have to pay to all the five programs in an endeavor to give maximum benefits to participants.

House labor commission: No more Indonesian workers sent off to Saudi Arabia

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has taken the manpower minister to task over the government's apparent lack of protection for migrant workers and called for a freeze on sending labor to Saudi Arabia.

Monday's hearing before House Commission X, which oversees labor affairs, was called in the wake of allegations of torture and even murder of Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia by their employers.

Commission chairwoman Ribka Tjiptaning, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said most of the nine parties at the House were agreed on not sending any more workers there until regulations to protect them had been sorted out.

"A moratorium, that's what the parties want," she told Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar. "It's not just the opposition saying this, but other parties like Golkar and the PKS [Prosperous Justice Party] too. If the government keeps on sending workers to Saudi Arabia, then it's nothing more than a trader."

Ribka also accused the government of caving to pressure from migrant worker placement agencies (PJTKI) rather than coming up with solutions to keep workers from having to go overseas in the first place. "The government has chosen to send workers abroad rather than hand out cash aid or create jobs," Ribka said.

She called on the government to show some political will in resolving the problem, citing the Philippines' success on this issue. "Look at the Philippines – its president comes out directly to defend migrant workers, but what about here?" she said.

Muhaimin, however, said imposing a ban on sending workers to Saudi Arabia was not a viable option. "Our experience from similar actions that we've taken with Jordan, Kuwait and Malaysia shows that a ban is not an option for Saudi Arabia," he said.

"We have a long history of sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia. If we go ahead with a moratorium, there will be an increase in workers going there illegally." He added at least 20,000 Indonesians went overseas in search of work every month.

Muhaimin said that in the meantime, his ministry would tackle various factors contributing to the problem, including evaluating about 100 out of 565 PJTKI flagged for questionable practices in sending migrant workers overseas.

He added these agencies could face forced mergers to improve their quality or even closure. Only 37 percent of the 565 agencies are categorized as "good" by the ministry, while 43 percent are deemed "adequate" and the rest "unsatisfactory."

"We'll monitor them before we decide on what action to take against them, though I can't say how long that will take," the minister said. "It could be months." He added that he would also reconsider the option of a moratorium, but stressed it was a very remote possibility.

Should one be issued, he went on, it would require the approval of not just the Manpower Ministry, but also the Religious Affairs Ministry, given the large number of Indonesians who go to Saudi Arabia during the hajj to seek work illegally.

"A moratorium should only be imposed in the case of human trafficking and poor treatment of our migrant workers." He said this was the rationale for the Jordan moratorium.

15% minimum wage hike appears to please no one

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2010

Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration on Friday said the increase in the new minimum wage for next year would be 15.8 percent, a move that labor unions lambasted as too low and employers as too high.

It would increase the monthly minimum wage in the city from Rp 1.12 million this year to Rp 1.29 million ($143) in 2011. It is more than the 7.1 percent recommended by the city's wage council, which comprises representatives of the administration, workers' unions, employers' associations and experts.

But it also falls short of demands by workers' unions that the increase be based on the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL), which for Jakarta is pegged at Rp 1. 4 million a month this year.

Deded Sukendar, head of the Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency, said the increase would take effect on Jan. 1 next year and would apply to unmarried workers.

"That figure represents the main salary, but most employers will also provide transportation and meal allowances, so the take-home pay will likely be higher than that," he said.

He added companies that could not afford to pay their employees based on the new figure could apply for an exemption from the administration.

"But we'd need to really examine whether such companies are really financially incapable of complying," Deded said, adding not all companies would be considered for exemption. "They'd have to submit their financial audits for us to study."

He also said that with the 15.8 percent increase, the minimum wage in Jakarta would for the first time in two years surpass those in the satellite cities of Depok, Bogor and Bekasi. Jakarta's minimum wage has been less than those in the surrounding areas since 2009.

Mas Muanam, a wage council member representing a labor union, said the workers' demand for the 2011 minimum wage to be based on the KHL had been dismissed in favor of the employers' interests.

"During discussions, the wage council concluded that if the minimum wage was raised to the same level as the KHL, then most companies would go bankrupt," he said. He added that in a minor concession, the council had agreed that workers would be eligible for a salary increase after 12 months of employment.

Muanam also said the wage council would next year carry out spot checks at companies to ensure compliance with the new minimum wage. "Employers who fail to pay their workers at least the stipulated minimum wage can be charged under the 2003 Manpower Law," he said, adding the violation carried a maximum prison sentence of four years and fines of up to Rp 400 million.

But Sarman Simanjorang, deputy chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said the increase did not seem to take into account current economic conditions. "The increase must be based on economic conditions and inflation," Sarman said. "If inflation in 2011 is predicted to be 5.7 percent, then a 15 percent increase is too much."

He said he was concerned the new wage would have a negative impact on businesses, particularly big ones like those in the automotive industry.

Nita Yudi, another Kadin deputy head, said the increase would push companies to find ways to boost efficiency, like reducing electricity consumption. But she warned that "if the companies can afford to, they may have to lay off some of their work force."

Jakarta's migrant workers sweat to make rupiah stretch

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2010

Elisabeth Oktofani, Jakarta – Among the millions of who flock to Jakarta in search of jobs each year, many will tell you they can subsist on minimum wage, but it's unlikely to be any fun.

People living on slightly above or below the monthly minimum wage – to be raised to Rp 1.29 million ($143) in 2011 – have their work cut out for them. For photographer Sugiharto, making ends meet on just Rp 1.4 million a month is a challenge.

The 35-year-old father of two, married to a public school teacher in Bekasi, said he had been trying to use his networking skills to land photography jobs, selling personalized services for customers and corporations.

Though his wife earns Rp 800,000 a month, Sugiharto says their combined income is barely sufficient. "It's never enough if you live in Jakarta," he said. "We have a list of bills to pay which we struggle to meet."

Sugiharto says his firstborn's monthly school fees are Rp 160,000, the family's electricity bill runs up to Rp 250,000, and around Rp 600,000 goes toward transportation. "So if I don't look for extra income, how can I support my family properly?"

Budi Hartono, 26, who works for a cleaning service, says he continually racks up debts just to be able to support his family.

"I trust my wife to manage my monthly salary. It's not much, just Rp 980,000. Even though we have no children, my monthly salary isn't enough," he said, adding his debts made him uneasy. "Early in the month, I always try to pay off my debts slowly. Only then can I think of buying luxuries like chicken, meat or fish. And all of that is just [for] the first week of the month."

Tutut, 23, who works at a juice counter at the Plaza Semanggi mall, says she earns Rp 1.05 million a month, with half of it going to her parents and the remainder spent on commutes. She says she looks forward to Idul Fitri, when she gets her bonus and can buy new clothes.

"It's nothing fancy, but it's the only time I can finally treat myself to something special," Tutut said. "I can't really do much with my salary as it is.

"It might not be fun to live on a small salary, but I'm so grateful to have a job and help my family," she added. "I just hope that when my salary increases, the living costs don't increase as well, so I can manage my life better."

Jakarta minimum wage rises by 15.38% next year

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Jakarta – The Jakarta Administration has increased the provincial minimum wage (UMP) for 2011 to Rp 1,290,000, (US$120) or an increase by 15.38 percent from the 2010 minimum wage of Rp 1,118,009.

Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Deded Sukandar claimed that the increase was much higher than the demand of Rp 1,197,000, or 7.15 percent, proposed earlier by workers unions.

The 2011 minimum wage, which applies for a single-status worker with under one year's work experience, however, is still below the surveyed cost of living, which stands at Rp 1,401,829.

Deded said that some sectors would enjoy a higher increase. The sectoral minimum wage will be decided by the administration by the end of this year.

"The sectoral minimum wage is 5 percent higher than the UMP minimum, especially lucrative sectors such as automotive industries, " Deded said. Friday.

Meanwhile, head of the Jakarta Workers Union (Aspek), Mas Muanam, said that the 2011 minimum wage referred to the economic growth forecast by 7 percent and the inflation rate of between 6 and 6.5 percent next year.

NGO wants laws enforced, not cell phones

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2010

Jakarta – Migrant Care, an NGO that focusing on the welfare of Indonesian workers abroad, says the government's initiative to provide migrant workers with cellular phones is an "irrelevant" response to a serious problem.

Anis Hidayah, Migrant Care Jakarta chief, said the government should instead enforce legal protections. "The President's idea to provide them with cellular phones is irrelevant. We need a legal protection package that will prevent them from being abused," Anis said on Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.

For a start, she said, the government should demand that the Saudi Arabian government and governments in other countries that employ Indonesian workers guarantee that workers have access to their phones. "I have found in many cases that workers' cell phones are kept by their employers," she said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono previously said he planned to provide every Indonesian worker abroad with a cell phone to communicate with their families in Indonesia regularly. The statement was made following the case of Sumiatai, the Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia who allegedly suffered severe injuries at the hands of her employer.

Former McDonald's workers stage rally

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2010

Jakarta – More than 100 former employees of the McDonald's fast food restaurant chain held a rally in front of the Jakarta Police on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta.

The employees demanded the police arrest the owners of Indonesia's McDonald's franchises because they did not pay the employees' salaries when ownership was handed over to Toni Jack's Indonesia.

"The welfare benefit money has been embezzled, the last six months' salaries remains unpaid, savings and cooperative money has also been defrauded, the workers have been neglected," one of the protesters, Guntur, said in a statement.

The employees, now working at Toni Jack's, said the McDonald's franchise owners had stolen hundreds of millions of rupiah from them in the form of unpaid wages and social welfare benefits. McDonald's franchise owners were not available for comment.

Who's in charge of protecting Indonesia's migrant workers?

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Dessy Sagita & Zaky Pawas, Jakarta – Amid the furor over the abuse of Indonesian maids abroad, questions are being raised over which government body is ultimately responsible for the safety and well-being of migrant workers.

Policies relating to migrant workers are introduced by the Manpower and Transmigration Agency and implemented by the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI).

However, board Chairman Muhammad Jumhur Hidayat said even though he was aware that many people expect the body to issue policies on the protection of migrant workers, his hands were tied.

"I do have a lot ideas on how to protect migrant workers, including setting up a monitoring body, and I have conveyed them repeatedly to the authorities, but it's beyond my power to implement them," he said.

He added that the BNP2TKI was established only to implement policies issued by the government and therefore had no right to draft regulations.

"With limited authority, the BNP2TKI basically just does whatever we're told to do," he said. "Most of the time there's some confusion because we don't know the extent of our responsibility. I don't even know which powers we are allowed to use."

Ribka Tjiptaning Proletariati, chairwoman of House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing labor affairs, said no one was willing to take the blame for the lack of protection of migrant workers.

"When it comes to sending maids overseas, everyone wants to be in charge, but when complications arise, they say [addressing the problems] is not within their authority," Ribka, from the Indonesian Democratic party of Struggle (PDI-P), said on Tuesday.

She called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to meet with the BNP2TKI and Manpower Ministry heads and order them to work together to address migrant worker issues.

However, Roostiawati, subdirectorate head of foreign cooperation at the migrant worker placement directorate of the Manpower and Transmigration Minister, denied that the ministry and the BNP2TKI were trading the blame for the lack of protection. "There's no such passing of the buck," she said. "We're both government institutions."

She added that the ministry consistently coordinated with the BNP2TKI on any new policies, because the latter was responsible for implementing them. "Our system is integrated, so there's no dispute between us and the BNP2TKI," Roostiawati said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman said he would crack down on placement agencies, also known as PJTKI, that sent workers abroad without training them properly.

Authorized placement agencies are mandated to provide prospective migrant workers with necessary training. "If they plan to send them to the Middle East, then they should teach them Arabic beforehand," he said.

In other news, North Jakarta Police said they had seized a boat carrying 36 people who were believed to be heading to Singapore and Malaysia to work illegally.

Detective Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Irwan Anwar said two brokers, identified as Arifin and Darta, had been arrested. He said the suspects claimed to be sending the workers to Bangka Belitung, but the North Jakarta office of the Manpower and Transmigration Agency has flagged the incident as a suspected cross-border people smuggling attempt.

Indonesian Maid Sumiati tortured for alleged poor work

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Jakarta – A Saudi Arabian woman has admitted to burning her Indonesian maid, Sumiati, with an electric iron and other forms of torture because she was "reckless" in performing her duties, it was reported on Tuesday.

The Saudi Gazette said the Saudi Investigation and Prosecution Bureau (IPB) had formally charged the employer, who was not identified, and sent her to the General Prison in Madina. A source close to the IPB, the Gazette reported, said Sumiati had alleged that she had been abused over a period of three months.

"Her body was burned on many places, both legs were almost motionless, some parts of her skin on her head were removed and there were marks of old wounds on her body including skin loss on her lips and head, a fractured middle finger and a cut near an eye."

The paper quoted Sultan Bin Dhahim, Head of the Lawyers' Committee in Madina, as saying the employer had also been charged with premeditation to commit physical assault.

He said that such cases of abuse in Saudi Arabia were rare – claims that have previously been rejected as false by a number of migrant worker organizations.

The Gazette also reported that the employer's son had initially contacted police to report the abuse. "He also said that his mother tried to deceive the police by saying Mustapa had tried to commit suicide."

Indonesian minister on Saudi mercy mission is still awaiting visa

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Armando Siahaan & Antara, Jakarta – An Indonesian minister tasked last week with ensuring the welfare of a migrant worker tortured and abused in Saudi Arabia was still stuck here on Monday, six days after being asked to fly out.

Linda Gumelar, the state minister for women's empowerment and child protection, confirmed on Monday that she was still waiting for a visa to Saudi Arabia to ensure that the victim, Sumiati, was well treated and received justice.

"A ministerial-level visa not only needs to be approved by the Saudi Embassy in Indonesia but also by authorities in Saudi Arabia," she said. "Let's not think negatively. I heard the Saudi government hasn't approved my visa because it was still a holiday there. The government has just resumed its activities [on Monday]."

She said, however, that Saudi authorities had already let other Indonesian officials into the country. "Several members of my team have departed for Saudi Arabia and we have kept in close contact. I have also met with the Saudi ambassador who promised to help speed up my visa application."

Linda was ordered on Wednesday to lead an inter-ministerial team to help ensure that justice is served for Sumiati, 23, whose shocking injuries have again highlighted the abuse of female migrant workers in the Middle East.

Sumiati, from Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara, is being treated at a hospital in Medina, suffering from multiple internal and external injuries, after alleged abuse by her Saudi employers.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Michael Tene suspected that Linda's visa was delayed because of a procedural differences for authorization between a minister and a non-minister. He said there was no report of visa rejection so far.

Meanwhile, Muhaimin Iskandar, the minister of manpower and transmigration, said the body of Kikim Komalasari, an Indonesian worker allegedly killed by her employers in Saudi Arabia, would be flown home to Cianjur, West Java, next week. Indonesian officials had arrived in Jeddah to repatriate her body, he said.

Kikim's brutalized body was found in a dumpster last week in the Saudi city of Abha. Her neck was slashed and she had deep cuts over her body. Saudi Police say her employers murdered her.

Muhaimin has also threatened to freeze the licenses of labor placement agencies, also known as PJTKI, found to have sent migrant workers abroad without the required skills or preparation.

Images of abused maid rattle Indonesia

Associated Press - November 23, 2010

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta, Indonesia – She arrived in Saudi Arabia a high- spirited 23-year-old, eager to start work as a maid to help support her family back home. Four months later, Sumiati was Indonesia's poster child for migrant abuse, alone and staring vacantly from a hospital bed, her face sliced and battered.

But while public anger has forced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government to acknowledge the problem for the first time, few expect any firm action to be taken.

Gruesome images snapped of Sumiati, now recovering in the Saudi city of Medina, have been splashed on the front pages of local newspapers and led television newscasts for more than a week.

Her employer – who has been taken in for questioning by police – is accused of cutting off part of her lips with scissors, scalding her back with an iron, fracturing her middle finger, and beating her legs until she could hardly walk.

"It's hardly the first such case," said Wahyu Susilo, a policy analyst at Indonesia's advocacy group, Migrant Care. "Again and again we hear about slavery-like conditions, torture, sexual abuse and even death, but our government has chosen to ignore it. Why? Because migrant workers generate $7.5 billion of dollars in foreign exchange every year."

Workers from Asian countries dominate service industries in the Middle East and there have been many reports of abuse – including allegations in recent days that an employer in Kuwait drove 14 metal pins into the body of a Sri Lankan maid.

"The wanton brutality alleged in these cases is shocking," said Nisha Varia, senior women's rights researcher at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which called on authorities to investigate claims promptly and bring those responsible to justice. She and others called cases like that of Sumiati the "tip of the iceberg."

But countries that export labor have a responsibility as well, Nisha said.

Though Indonesia sends more than 6.5 million workers abroad every year, it has drawn much criticism for failing – despite repeated promises – to ratify a 1990 UN convention on the protection of migrant workers. It also has not signed a bilateral agreement with Saudi Arabia that would give workers a legal basis to challenge employers.

But Oon Kurniaputra, an adviser to Indonesia's Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, argued Tuesday that the problem is not the fault of governments. It is with profit-hungry recruitment agencies that lure young men and women overseas without ensuring their safety when they get there, he said.

Sumiati's case prompted President Yudhoyono to call a Cabinet meeting late last week to discuss ways in which the government could – and would – do more. It turned out to be a public relations disaster.

It emerged during the talks that another Indonesian maid, 36-year-old Kikim Komalasari, had allegedly been tortured to death by her Saudi employer, her body found in a trash bin on Nov. 11 in the town of Abha.

"It's shocking to hear this... it's beyond inhumane," said Yudhoyono, as the government sent a team of diplomats to the scene to investigate. "I want the law to be upheld and to see an all-out diplomatic effort."

Some lawmakers suggested a moratorium on sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia, something that is considered unlikely given the close economic and political ties between the predominantly Muslim countries.

It also comes at a sensitive time, with hundreds of thousands of Indonesians in Saudi Arabia performing in the annual hajj pilgrimage.

Yudhoyono, meanwhile, had a proposal of his own: Give all migrant workers cell phones so they can call family members or authorities if they need help.

"It just shows how little he understands the problems domestic workers abroad are facing," scoffed Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, an opposition lawmaker who is dealing with labor and domestic workers affairs. "Their employers are locking them up and taking away their passports... they aren't going to let them keep a phone."

Most people believe little will change until girls are better educated and prepared for better jobs in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelagic nation of 237 million people, where the average wage is less than $300 a month.

Sumiati, a recent high school graduate from a fishing village on Sumbawa island, was bouncing with enthusiasm when she left for Saudi Arabia on July 18 with the help of a local recruitment agency, according to family and friends.

She saw it as a chance to be able to help her three younger siblings through school. When the family – together with the rest of the country – first saw the cell phone picture of their little girl on television, they "went crazy."

"Her mother... started crying hysterically and lost consciousness," Sumiati's uncle, Zulkarnain, was quoted as saying in the English-language The Jakarta Globe.

When they got Sumiati on telephone in the hospital, she said in a voice almost unrecognizable: "Please come in the form of angels and take me back home to my village."

Workers in Java and Sumatra protest low wages, arbitrary dismissals

Liputan 6 SCTV - November 25, 2010

Liputan6.com, Yogyakarta – Scores of workers in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta from the Security Employees Union (SPK) and the United Indonesian Labour Movement (PPBI) demonstrated at the Yogyakarta mayor's office on Thursday afternoon, November 25. They were demanding wage improvements.

Unfurling banners the demonstrators also urged the government to abolish contract labour systems and defend the Indonesian working class. They also said that the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ignored the plight of Indonesian domestic workers. The foreign exchange heroes [as the government refers to them] are simply being sent off without guarantees or protection.

In the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya, students and workers demonstrated in front the Negara Grahadi building where they opposed the Surabaya city minimum wage for this year, which they consider unreasonable. The demonstrators also urged East Java Governor Sukarwo to immediately revise the 2011 minimum municipal wage.

In the North Sumatra city of Medan, scores of dismissed workers pelted the North Sumatra Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) office with rotten eggs. The former PT WRP Buana Multicorpora employees said that that the people's representatives (legislators) had failed them in dealing with the problem of workers who have been arbitrary dismissed.

The protest action continued for around one-and-a-half hours. Unfortunately, their demands were not realised. (WIL/SHA)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Environment & natural disasters

Forest damage threatens East Lampung, Tanggamus: Residents

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Some residents of coastal settlements in East Lampung and Tanggamus regencies say they are at risk from huge waves due to erosion.

Coastal erosion is also evident near Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, causing pine trees and rocks to collapse on the volcano's western slope.

In East Lampung, erosion has affected Pasir Sakti, Sragi and Maringgai districts. Mangrove forests are dwindling rapidly due to their uncontrolled conversion into traditional shrimp and fish farms.

In Labuhan Ratu village, East Lampung, abrasion has shortened the distance between coastal settlements to less than 100 meters. Scores of homes were swept away by waves during extreme weather in October.

Surahman, 45, a Pasir Sakti resident, said coastal erosion was not severe when mangrove trees shielded the land from the pounding surf. According to Surahman, indiscriminate felling of trees has left the land exposed to the waves and wind.

Marwinto, a resident of Muara Belukang, said he was worried about huge waves at night. "We are gripped with fear almost every night. We have reported this to the East Lampung regency administration, but have had no response yet," he said.

Coastal erosion and sedimentation has become a serious threat to infrastructure in Tanggamus, especially to roads, bridges, residential areas, ports and other facilities.

Erosion has caused several stretches of road to collapse, including the provincial road connecting Kotaagung, Limau and Cukuhbalak, better known as the Bay Semaka coastal highway.

Erosion on this stretch of road began at the Kotaagung Religious Office in Pekon Sukabanjar. At the stretch of gradient near Batubalai hamlet, Pekon Sukabanjar, Kotaagung district, half the road has collapsed and was hanging on the edge of a deep ravine immediately facing Bay Semaka Bay.

According to a report from the Lampung chapter Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), 70 percent of mangrove swamps in Lampung, which holds 160 hectares of mangrove forest, have been damaged due to shrimp farms. Of a total 160,000 hectares of mangrove forests, 136,000 have been damaged, Walhi said.

"Mangrove forests have lost to the shrimp industry, a huge section of which are believed to be exploited by two large-scale hatcheries," Lampung Walhi director Hendrawan said.

The Lampung provincial administration estimated that US$220 million would be needed to restore the damaged mangrove forests.

Jakarta 'chasing' investment at cost to environment

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – Despite warnings by experts that unbridled urban development would harm the environment, a Jakarta official said the economic benefits were too great to resist.

Hasan Basri, the city secretary's economic and administrative assistant, said on Tuesday that although experts lamented the explosion of malls and commercial centers at the expense of green space, the capital needed the revenue. He said retail, trade and service sectors accounted for 72 percent of the city's economy, valued at Rp 757 trillion ($84 billion) last year.

"Investment creates jobs, so when people start demanding that the development of malls and other construction be stopped, that needs to be carefully discussed," Hasan said. He said, however, that the administration would improve the city's investment climate without forsaking environmentally sound spatial planning.

Edi Kuntadi, chairman of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said programs like the one-stop service for investment licenses would make Jakarta a more appealing destination for capital. The service, introduced in September, cut down the time it took for business permits to be issued by the government.

However, Yayat Supriyatna, an urban planning expert from Trisakti University, said the city was chasing investment at the expense of caring for the environment.

He also said the administration had failed to allocate funds from its budget to social services and infrastructure. "The administration easily issues permits for buildings, while things like access to water and good roads are overlooked," the urban planning expert said.

Indonesia's billion-dollar forest deal in danger: Greenpeace

Agence France Presse - November 23, 2010

Greenpeace on Tuesday warned that a billion-dollar deal between Norway and Indonesia to cut carbon emissions from deforestation is in danger of being hijacked by timber and oil palm companies.

The environmental group said "notorious industrial rainforest destroyers" such as palm oil and pulp producers intended to manipulate the funds to subsidize further conversion of natural forests to plantations.

The allegations came in a new Greenpeace report called "REDD Alert: Protection Money," expressing doubts about Indonesia's aims to use a UN- backed scheme to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

It said Indonesia's plans to cut its output of greenhouse gases (GHGs) "may create perverse incentives to clear forests and peatlands, create opportunities for corruption... and actually drive an increase in GHG emissions".

Under a REDD scheme announced in May, Norway has agreed to contribute up to a billion dollars to help preserve Indonesia's forests, partly through a two-year moratorium on new clearing of natural forests and peatlands from 2011.

Indonesia is the world's third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, due mainly to rampant deforestation fuelled by corruption in the palm oil and paper industries.

"Expansion plans show that these sectors intend to utilize the Indonesian government's ambiguous definitions of forests and degraded land to hijack the funds and use them to subsidize ongoing conversion of natural forests to plantations," the group said in a statement.

The current expansion plans pushed by industry – with support by some government ministries – seek to treble pulp and paper production by 2025 and double palm oil production by 2020, the report said.

"This expansion, coupled with weak definitions for degraded land in Indonesia, could see REDD funds which are designed to support protection of Indonesia's forests and peatlands actually being used to support their destruction," it added.

The areas earmarked included 40 percent of Indonesia's remaining natural forest – or an area the size of Norway and Denmark combined.

Health & education

Women with HIV face greater risks

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Women are not only more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection, they also face greater risks of violence and discrimination when they become infected by the deadly virus.

The percentage of women living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia has been rising steadily. In 1989, women made up only 2.5 percent of people in the country living with HIV/AIDS, but by 2009 the figure had jumped to 25.5 percent.

As of December 2009, data from the Health Ministry showed that of 3,525 women with HIV/AIDS, 1,970 were housewives, 604 female sexual workers and 366 regular employees.

Other data showed that based on the infection mode, the highest percentage of infections occurred in the heterosexual activity category with 51.30 percent, while hypodermic needle drug users accounted for 39.60 percent, homosexual activity 3.1 percent and perinatal (the period immediately before and after birth) just 2.6 percent. Infection through heterosexual activity was recorded at below 50 percent in 2004, when perinatal infections were only 0.05 percent.

National Commission on HIV/AIDS Prevention secretary general Nafsiah Mboi said the figures indicated that women were most prone to being infected with HIV/AIDS by from their partners, and female teenagers usually had a four to six times higher infection rate compared to their male counterparts.

National Commission on Violence Against Women vice chairperson Desti Murdijana said that women were more at risk of HIV/AIDS exposure, and her commission found many cases of violence against women with HIV.

"Some of the cases of violence against women with HIV include sexual abuse, coerced abortion and marriage. There are also cases of sterilization for women with HIV," she said.

Indonesian Association of HIV Positive Women (IPPI) national coordinator Sunarsih said the higher HIV/AIDS infection rate for females was caused by several factors, such as biology, society (a patriarchal culture) and economics (financial dependency of women).

"The lack of information on reproductive health and men's power over women's bodies has made women more vulnerable to HIV infection. Also, there is human rights abuse against women with HIV/AIDS, such as sterilizations carried out by doctors," she said.

Sunarsih said that cities found with cases of sterilization included Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan, Padang, Samarinda, Bali, Makassar, Manado and Papua.

"If HIV positive women receive the Antiretroviral [ARV] during pregnancy, it would reduce the possibility of mother-to-child transmission. It means more than 96 percent of [these] women were left to give birth to HIV positive babies," she said.

Until 2009 the government had only facilitated 30 mother-to-child preventions integrated with antenatal care service, she added. "Also, only 165 women out of 1,306 HIV positive pregnant women were provided with ARV. We hope the government stops discrimination against HIV positive women," said.

Most Jakarta teens sexually active: Agency

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – More than half of the teenagers in Jakarta have had pre-marital sexual intercourse, according to a National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) survey.

"Out of 100 teenagers, 51 of them are no longer virgins," BKKBN head Sugiri Syarif said at an AIDS awareness campaign in Jakarta on Sunday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The numbers in Jakarta were lower than those reported in other cities, such as Surabaya (54 percent), Medan (52 percent) and Bandung (47 percent). Teenagers accounted for 800,000 of the 2.4 million abortions conducted in Indonesia every year, according to the survey.

Another survey in Yogyakarta said that 37 percent of 1,160 university students polled reported pre-marital pregnancies.

Sugiri added that more than 78 percent of Indonesia's estimated 3.2 million drug users were teenagers, and this had contributed to the nation's growing number of HIV/AIDS cases.

The Health Ministry reported 21,770 cases of AIDS and 41,157 HIV infections in Indonesia as of June, while 48 percent of those with HIV were from 20-29 years old and 30.9 percent were from 30-39 years old.

Ministry data also shows that 49.3 percent of AIDS infections here resulted from heterosexual intercourse, injections accounted for 40.4 percent and homosexual intercourse for 3.3 percent.

Sugiri said his agency would step up counseling to reduce the number of abortions and the incidence of HIV/AIDS among teens.

The National Commission on HIV/AIDS Prevention (KPAN) has said it was optimistic it would achieve its target to increase condom use and raise teen awareness of the disease.

KPAN has established HIV/AIDS clinics for voluntary counseling and testing (VST) and also for care, support and treatment (CST).

There are 789 VCT and 259 CST clinics in Indonesia today, up from 25 VCT and 25 CST clinics in 2004. KPAN plans to increase those numbers to 872 VCT and 296 CST clinics by 2014.

KPAN has given HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drugs to 16,982 people with HIV/AIDS and pledged to provide more doses by 2015.

One Jakarta teenager who asked to be named only as Felisia said that the BKKBN's report had no effect on her views of sexuality or virginity.

"It's a fact of life. I decide what to do with my virginity, not society," said Felisia, who lost her virginity at the age of 19 in Yogyakarta.

Officials and sex workers say it's safer to keep prostitution centralized

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2010

Elisabeth Oktofani, Indonesia – Although prostitution is technically illegal in Jakarta, it is common knowledge that it can easily be found throughout the capital. Some government officials and sex workers say the best way to keep prostitutes safe is to have them work in centralized areas where health guidelines can be enforced and monitored.

Officials from the National AIDS Prevention Commission (KPA) spent time on Saturday educating sex workers at a karaoke bar in West Jakarta's Taman Sari subdistrict about the proper and necessary use of condoms.

Ajianto Dwi Nugroho, from the KPA, said that as the sex trade became more spread out, it grew much more difficult to monitor the health of sex workers and provide education about the risks of their profession.

"Local politicians have been known to order the shutdown of red-light areas during election campaigns. And they do get shut down," Ajianto said on Sunday.

"But this is no solution to the problem of prostitution. What happens is that the sex workers simply move further underground. They end up walking the streets, going to bus stands or food stalls to try to sell their bodies. Then they have no access to information on how to protect themselves. They receive no regular health checks, no sex education from NGOs or the government and, in the worst-case scenario, they become slaves to terrible pimps," Ajianto said.

"Take Rawa Malang [a red-light district in North Jakarta]. The pimps there will ask their prostitutes to drink five bottles of beer a day, or even demand their girls pay them if they fail to secure a customer."

But this is not always the case. Sex workers at the karaoke bar the KPA visited had good things to say about working conditions. Weni, a 40-year- old prostitute, said all the sex workers at the bar were required to have a health check every three months, particularly to spot STDs.

"I feel lucky to work as a prostitute in such an organized and clean place as this. The club owners show us how to maintain our health. They even allow us to say no to customers if they do not want to use a condom," she said.

"I cannot imagine how bad my health would be if I worked on the streets. I would not know about all the risks of prostitution. Everybody working here is like family. The prostitutes, the boss, the cleaning service guys, the waiters and even the regular customers are family. We respect each other and treat each other properly. It is because we understand completely what kinds of lives we actually live."

Weni said the prostitutes working at the club did not see themselves as criminals. "We do not steal, we do not rob. We sell our bodies voluntarily because we want to have better lives. We also do not harm others. We always play safe by staying healthy."

Tari, an 18-year-old sex worker at the bar, said one of her initial customers had been violent, particularly after she refused to have sex without a condom. "I was slapped and hit hard by my customer. It was crazy. But, I think Rp 100,000 [$11] is not worth taking such a dangerous health risk," she said.

The club charges as much as Rp 225,000 per client, which covers an hour of "massage services" in a room. Of this, the woman earns Rp 100,000, not including tips, said Leha, a 32-year-old prostitute.

International standards for Indonesian schools seen as failure

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Teachers and education activists have called on the House of Representatives to repeal a law obliging all districts to have at least one international-standard school, calling it a useless gimmick.

Under the 2003 National Education Law, each district or city must have at least one school undergoing the process of attaining international status, known as an RSBI school, at the elementary, junior high and senior high levels. Those schools are then expected to attain full international standing over the next few years.

RSBI schools are required to give lessons in both Indonesian and English, have fewer students per class and adopt a curriculum integrating national and international education standards, including those used in developed countries.

Each school gets an annual block grant of between Rp 300 million and Rp 500 million ($33,000 and $55,000) from the National Education Ministry to buy equipment and hire staff. They also have the discretion to levy fees from students, whereas other public schools are meant to be free.

However, Indonesia Corruption Watch says the entire program is an attempt to commercialize public education. "There's a good possibility that these schools are only being used by the government to pass off the responsibility of funding education in the country," an ICW researcher, Febri Diansyah, said on Monday.

Most RSBI schools, he added, have not shown any indication of improved education quality, and are focused more on building physical facilities rather than improving the quality of teaching and extracurricular activities. "Many of those schools can't even produce qualified graduates," he said. "Some of them even scored poor results in the last national exams."

The government, he said, is trying to sell students on the idea that because English is used as the language of instruction these schools are better than regular public schools, an idea he called an oversimplification.

"They hire English trainers to coach the teachers, then the teachers try to teach in broken English, and of course the students end up not understanding the lessons," he said.

Unifah Rosyidi, co-chairwoman of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), agreed that the poor quality of many RSBI schools was due to this assumption that merely teaching in English made them superior.

Mohammad Abduhzen, executive director of Paramadina University's Institute for Education Reform, went a step further and said the national education system should be designed to address local issues. With Indonesia being a mostly agrarian society, he said, the focus of schools should be to boost the agricultural sector rather than to adopt international standards that may not be appropriate for the country.

The backers of the 2003 National Education Law, however, insist the concept of RSBI schools is a sound one, but its adoption by school boards has been flawed.

Heri Akhmadi, deputy chairman of House Commission X, which oversees education, said there was nothing wrong with the education law and it did not need to be amended.

He said any commercialization of the public education system was the fault of school boards and their interpretation of the RSBI obligation. "They've gone overboard with the privilege," he said. "They think the law means they can overcharge the students by as much as they like."

Heri also acknowledged that many schools were more focused on adopting English into their lessons rather than on improving the quality of teaching. "It's unfair to declare all RSBI schools a failure and blame the law. Schools in Surabaya, for instance, have been successful in implementing the system properly."

Government must improve birth control

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Jakarta – Indonesia's population will jump to 255.6 million people by 2015 if the contraception rate remains constant, a senior demographic researcher says.

University of Indonesia' Demographic Institute director, Sonny Harry B. Harmadi, said Wednesday that the contraception rate had stagnated during the last seven years because contraceptives were difficult to access.

"Only 67 percent of the total number of fertile-aged couples are participating in the national family planning program," Sonny told The Jakarta Post. He said the contraception rate should increase by at least 1 percent per year to prevent a baby boom.

"A 1 percent increase in the contraception rate would add between 500,000 to 600,000 new family planning participants. This would be a quite significant number toward preventing a new baby boom in Indonesia," he said, referring to the country's first baby boom in the 1980s.

The national census this year counted 237.6 million people in Indonesia, up from 205.1 in 2000, ensuring the country will remain the world's fourth largest population after China, India and the US.

Indonesia's population growth rate stood at 1.49 percent per year from 2000 to 2010, higher than the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) estimate after the 2000 census of 1.34 percent per year.

Sonny said the government might not be able to prevent a baby boom without revitalizing its national family planning program. It needs to increase its budgetary allocation to provide an adequate supply of the contraceptives direly needed by fertile-aged couples, especially those in the low-income bracket, he added.

Citing the latest report from BPS, he said the country's population growth had reached 1.49 percent per year, surpassing the government's initial target. "It is alarming," he said, adding that this figure signaled that Indonesia was close to its second baby boom.

The National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) head Sugiri Syarief said that Indonesia might prevent a new "baby boom" only if the family planning program ran well.

Citing an example, he said that the government might provide free contraceptives in all provinces as part of its effort to revive the family planning program.

Thus far, the government has been giving out contraceptives for free in only six provinces: East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and Aceh. Sugiri acknowledged that the family planning program had been stagnant since the beginning of 2000. "We have been putting too much focus on decentralization issues and neglecting the family planning program," he told the Post.

The latest BPS census this year, however, had reminded the government of the need to revive the stalled family planning program.

Soemarjati Aryoso, a medical expert, said the population growth had significantly increased because many fertile-aged couples preferred to use short-term contraceptives, such as pills. "It is better to use IUDs. It is safer," said Soemarjati, a former BKKBN chairman. (ebf)

Women & gender

Pretty face secret to success in Indonesian broadcast news

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2010

Elisabeth Oktofani, Jakarta – The media is a powerful force in forming public opinion, but all too often, that power is used in a way that reinforces the exploitation of women for profit, analysts, activists and professionals working in the industry say.

Women working both in front of the camera and behind it are often judged based on standards of physical beauty. In visual media, Indonesian female journalists are almost always conventionally attractive, with light skin, trim figures and long hair. Experts say this ideal of feminine perfection represents a skewed image of reality.

"In our daily life, when was the last time you saw a woman of great physical beauty walk elegantly to a busway stop, as what some audio-visual advertisements show?" says Mariana Amiruddin, editor in chief of Jurnal Perempuan, a women's rights magazine.

"A few years ago, there was so much critical writing about beauty advertising in media. But unfortunately, nowadays it seems that the beauty myth in advertising has instead spread out and influenced the journalism world."

And some female journalists back her claim, saying that physical beauty, not talent, is the essential element for a successful onscreen career.

Luviana, a news producer with private broadcaster Metro TV, says many female journalists are not allowed to present their own news reports because they do not have a "camera face."

"There are many television companies which will only hire female news anchors who have won a beauty contest or used to be models," she says.

"The reason why television companies hire female anchors is based on the myth of beauty. They believe it helps them earn more profits. Other than that, many male sources, from the police or at the parliament for example, would much rather be interviewed by a good-looking female journalist," Luviana adds.

Chantal Della Concetta, a former news anchor for RCTI, is diplomatic about the industry's preference for beauty. "It doesn't mean that physical beauty is the only requirement for a news anchor. Keep in mind that inner beauty is a must for a news anchor. We have to be smart to ask questions and analyze the current issues," Chantal says.

Many viewers, however, look past a pretty face in their search for substantive news.

"I do not like to watch a news anchor who appears too arrogant when interviewing their source, either ordinary people, actresses or actors or a member of the House," says Faozan Latief, a television viewer in Jakarta.

"Yes, they might be pretty. But what do we need after all if we are watching a news program? To watch the anchor or get the news?" he says.

Iswandi Syahputra, a media analyst and member of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), explains that in the broadcast and television sector, many women working as news anchors, actresses or advertising models welcome the chance to be judged on the basis of their looks, believing that any resulting popularity is a path to economic success.

But beyond those working in the media sector, experts say women are often exploited for the sake of producing sensational – and popular – news stories.

Neng Dara Afifah, a senior member of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), says there are many blatant cases of unethical newspapers and TV programs churning out stories about sexually abused women.

"When it comes to sexual abuse, women as the victims are always exposed, but what about the perpetrators?" Neng says. She says media companies, which sensationalize what should be private cases, are actually guilty of "sexual violence" against the victims.

Since January, Komnas Perempuan has recorded 151 news reports of sexual violence against women.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and Komnas Perempuan are urging journalists to apply the Indonesian journalists' code of ethics, in particular articles 4,5 and 8.

"Those three articles focus on gender perspective, requiring journalists to show sympathy to the victims of sexual abuse in their reporting," says Rach Alida Bahaweres, coordinator of the women's division at AJI.

Rethinking Indonesian women's rights in religion

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2010

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Patriarchal religious traditions play a key role in fostering a culture of violence against women, and Indonesia is not immune to this problem, activists have said.

The activists were speaking at a discussion on Thursday as part of the UN's Unite campaign – a 16-day global initiative held in the run-up to International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which was observed on the same day.

Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, the widow of former President Abdurrahman Wahid, said the problem in Indonesia arose from the fact that Koranic teachers were almost invariably men, who tended to put a patriarchal spin on their interpretations of holy verses.

"We need to reinterpret the verses so that they're no longer gender-biased, and we need women to be involved in the process," she said.

"When we deal with violence against women, we often face practices informed by mistaken interpretations of the verses. I know this isn't an easy job for everyone, because religious traditions are very strong – as is the patriarchal system – but we can minimize this."

Nuriyah has worked with women's groups for the past 10 years to get pesantren, or Islamic boarding schools, to teach their female students about the Koran. "The key is pesantren-based movements, as these schools are run by kyais, the highest authority in Islam," she said. "These people are highly respected in society, and most religious interpretations originate from their schools."

She said that while it had been a struggle to persuade kyais to teach girls, the momentum should not be stopped.

Nuriyah said the patriarchal system that influenced much of Indonesian life could be eased through ongoing engagement at all levels of society, including with policy makers. "Continued dialogue by all parties is needed to eliminate all violations of women's rights and to raise awareness of gender and women's rights at all levels of society," she said.

Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said her group was working with religious leaders on reinterpreting the scriptures.

"We've published a book titled 'Memecah Kebisuan' ['Breaking the Silence'] that shows that if religious groups take a stand against gender discrimination, the ideas will be disseminated to their followers and thus promote gender awareness in society," she said.

She added the book included views from Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah – the country's two biggest Islamic organizations, which together have nearly 70 million members – as well as Protestant and Catholic leaders.

Yuniyanti also said that enlisting men in the campaign was crucial to ending gender discrimination. "We have two male commissioners at Komnas Perempuan, and one of them is from a religious organization," she said. "This is how we approach religious groups to get them to adopt more gender-sensitive views."

Between 1998 and 2009, Komnas Perempuan received 295,836 reports of violence against women, 91,311 of which involved sexual violence. The number of reports peaked last year at 143,586, although this has been attributed to more women coming forward to report cases rather than a spike in violations.

Marriage & polygamy

Indonesia survey says early marriages lead girls into lives of desperation

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – A new study has found that Indonesian girls aged 10 to 18 who were forced into early marriage struggled to secure good futures for themselves or their children due to higher health risks and less access to education.

The Health Ministry study, which collected data from over 20,000 respondents from across the country, showed that 68.5 percent, a little over 13,700, came from villages, many of them from far-flung regions, forcing them to rely upon substandard health care.

"These girls are very vulnerable. They are too young to marry. They are not ready, psychologically or physically. When they do get pregnant, they are far more vulnerable to health risks than your average adult," Tin Affifah, a researcher from the Health Ministry, said on Tuesday.

Tin said the study, conducted between July and August of this year, also showed that the majority of the girls surveyed came from low-income families. Only 31.5 percent of the girls in the poll lived in an urban area.

"There is this intergenerational cycle of marrying early. It effects the quality of the younger generation and it really needs to be a major concern for more people," Tin said.

According to Tin, this year's Basic Health Study, or Riskesdas, found that 9 percent of the girls aged between 10 and 14 in the survey had been forced into marriage. The remainder were married at the ages of 15 and 18.

Tin said the survey also discovered that 12.5 percent of the girls, about 2,500, had failed to finish school. "Only 38 percent had even finished elementary school," Tin said.

Henny Warsilah, a sociologist from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said on Tuesday that another problem with early marriages that Indonesians should be aware of was accompanying human rights violations, including trafficking.

"These girls have no future. They are at risk for unemployment. They often end up choosing to become migrant workers, and legal protections for Indonesian migrant workers remains low," Henny said.

"Many here still consider it shameful if a teenage girl remains unmarried upon reaching the age of 17. Thus, marriages are hastily arranged as soon as families learn the girls have begun to menstruate," she said.

"Indonesia needs to issue policies that will legally force parents to send girls to school and only allow them to marry when they reach adulthood." Henny added that, as most of the girls come from low-income families, the government should provide these families with some financial support so they could start small businesses.

"There should be a nationwide promotional campaign to encourage these girls to become decision makers, making them a more integral part of society."

Children & domestic violence

Poverty Watch: Domestic violence makes children suffer most

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2010

Agus Maryono, Cilacap – A recent survey conducted in Cilacap, Central Java, shows that children suffer most from domestic violence triggered by economic hardship in the family.

The survey also revealed that the number of cases of abuse reached 62 during the period between January and November this year. "Based on available data, victims of abuse are dominated by children," nongovernmental organization Citra advocate Nolly Sudrajat said.

Citra focuses on cases of violence perpetrated against women and children. The figure signified a 100 percent increase from the previous year, and was attributed to economic hardship and low education levels, Nolly said.

"The difficulty of earning a living relying on a low education level has apparently made fathers prone to becoming angry and hostile toward their wives and children," Nolly said. "Many cases of domestic violence are family neglect."

The survey showed that 31 of the 62 recorded cases of violence involved child abuse, with some of the victims being below the age of 10.

"Some of them are only three-and-a-half years old and others between the ages of five and 13," Nolly said, adding that the actual statistics could be higher than the findings because many cases go unreported. "The number of cases of abuse in Cilacap always rises year to year," he said.

Citra found that 185 cases of violence were reported between 2005 and 2009, with the total number of children victimized reaching 221. "Based on the data, we recommend the local administration improve the non-formal education standard through study groups and the training center. This is a way to provide education for uneducated people," said Nolly.

Data from the social affairs agency shows that in 2008 as many as 38 percent of Cilacap's population of 1.75 million lived below poverty line, and the percentage has since increased significantly.

The data also shows that in 2009 the poverty figure stood at 861,385 of 1,752,506 people in Cilacap, or around 50 percent. They live in 284 villages in 24 districts in Cilacap.

Cilacap Vice Regent Tatto S. Pamuji blamed the increasing poverty rate on high population growth and limited job opportunities.

"We are currently concentrating on infrastructure development following the wave of corruption plaguing Cilacap. To alleviate poverty we have carried out rural allocation funds and the Mandiri Community Empowerment National Program [PNPM]," Tatto told The Jakarta Post.

Graft & corruption

Antigraft commission eyes abuse of regional funds

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to investigate the disbursements of general and special allocation funds by local government administrations, following reports that many region heads keep the funds in their personal bank accounts.

"The KPK plans to hold unannounced inspections at local government administrative offices to check on the allocations of local funds, including municipality funds, regency funds and provincial funds," KPK deputy chief Mochammad Jasin told reporters Monday after a press conference on the Assessment of the 2010 Anti-Corruption Initiatives.

Every year, the central government distributes two kinds of funds to support regions in developing infrastructure projects. Although Indonesia has implemented regional autonomy, regions are still dependent on general allocation and special allocation funds.

In its 2010 revised budget of Rp 1.126 trillion (US$124.9 million), the government provides Rp 203.6 trillion for general allocations and Rp 21.1 trillion for special allocations.

In comparison, of the estimated total state budget of Rp 983.2 trillion in 2009, about 30 percent or Rp 303.1 trillion, was allocated for regions. According to Jasin, misallocations of both types of funds occurred frequently.

"The KPK has found many irregularities in the management of the central government's funds by local administrations," he said, adding that regional corruption cases handled by the KPK also had covered such budget violations.

"We will study the disbursements of the funds, including the procedures and methods. We will also look into procurement procedures," he said. Jasin said such inspections would warn local administrations not to misuse the funds. "We will look into whether they use the funds for personal benefit or not," he said.

Jasin added that the commission would cooperate with the Home Ministry and the Development and Finance Surveillance Agency (BPKP) in conducting its inspections, which it said would commence as soon as possible. He added that his office had received a report from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) that some such funds had been distributed to personal accounts.

On Saturday, PPATK chairman Yunus Husein said that many heads of local administrations kept local allocation funds in their personal bank accounts.

"We received around 1,500 reports that private bank accounts were used to keep general allocation funds and special allocation funds," Yunus said during a seminar on State Officials' Illicit Enrichment, "There are indications of misuse of these funds." Yunus said that his office had been receiving such reports for a long time. "Currently, I believe my office is receiving around 40 reports daily," he added.

According to Yunus, PPATK reports such irregularities to law enforcement institutions, including the KPK. He said many of these funds were also distributed to the personal accounts of officials' spouses and children. "Funds flow to their families' accounts; this is wrong," he said.

The KPK has put in place a mechanism to monitor state officials' assets, including those working within local administrations, through the state wealth disclosure program. Government officials, including those from state-owned enterprises, are required to disclose their assets before, during and after their appointment.

Jasin lamented that the KPK could not punish officials if they failed to disclose their assets. Based on Law No. 30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission and Law No. 28/1999 on Good Governance, the KPK has the authority to only impose administrative penalties in this matter.

"The KPK also has another mechanism to promote anticorruption and good governance which is called the Assessment of Anticorruption Initiatives. But it is voluntary," Jasin said.

The program, which covers government institution units, including those located in the regions, and local administrations, assesses the moral value and ethics of officials in relation to the good governance of each unit. It also assesses the transparency of procurement procedures; transparency in governance; public access to information; and promotion of anticorruption policies. (ipa)

Graft suspects face new punishment

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2010

Jakarta – The country's top antigraft and auditing bodies called for a review of asset forfeiture and corruption court laws to grant them more authority to prosecute graft suspects.

This new authority, including the ability to freeze and confiscate all assets of a suspect, as well as reversing the burden of proof, would leave suspects with a smaller chance of escaping charges.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman M. Jasin said seizing the assets of state officials who failed to account for their dubious extra income could deter corruption.

"The absence of a severe penalty in the existing laws means state officials can be careless about disclosing the source of their wealth," Jasin said after a seminar Saturday.

Currently, no law allows for the investigation of illicit enrichment. The antigraft body is obliged to follow procedures based on the KPK law and the good governance law, which only rule that government officials, including those from state-owned enterprises, make a formal disclosure of their wealth before, during, and after their appointment to a position.

If asset forfeiture was allowed, state officials would immediately be deemed to have enriched themselves illicitly if they could not reasonably explain the significant increase in their assets in relation to their declared income.

Jasin said these new mechanisms were important, especially in complicated corruption cases such as the recent tax scam of Gayus Tambunan.

Gayus, a low-ranking tax official, is charged with receiving money from several companies to lower their tax bills. He also bribed police, prosecutors and a judge to have the graft case against him overturned.

Recently, he also admitted to bribing prison officials to allow him to leave his cell on multiple occasions.

The ineffective supervision of state officials' assets meant antigraft officials could not expose the case earlier. With Gayus now dragging many others down with him, antigraft authorities run the risk of losing track of financial transactions.

Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) chairman Yunus Husein said there were two ways to confiscate illegally gained assets.

"We could impose a system to seize illicitly gained assets for those officials who cannot account for a significant increase in their wealth," he said, referring to an item being deliberated for the corruption court bill.

"This could be put in place before the official goes to trial." The other tool was a "non-conviction based on asset forfeiture", Yunus said, as was proposed in the asset forfeiture bill. "The assets would be confiscated after the suspect is sentenced."

Both methods require that the burden of proof lie not with prosecutors, but with the suspects, Yunus said. Jasin said the KPK could not probe many suspect asset disclosure reports because the burden of proof lay with them.

Recently, several high-ranking police officials dodged a KPK investigation into their suspiciously large bank accounts.

A draft of the asset forfeiture law is one of the priorities of the House of Representatives, while the corruption court draft bill is still being supervised by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) legislator Martin Hutabarat from the House's Commission on legal, security and human rights affairs, said he supported the idea, adding that a strong deterrent was needed to eliminate corruption. (ipa)

New KPK chief must adapt quickly

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has urged its new chairman to quickly fine-tune the commission's system to foster corruption eradication.

"We urged Busyro to adapt quickly to our system, so we could promptly continue our task in investigating corruption cases," deputy chief Bibit Samad Rianto said Friday at the KPK building.

Bibit was referring to Busyro Muqoddas, who was made the new KPK chairman through a House of Representatives' Commission III vote on Thursday.

Bibit said that there was already reform within the KPK system, regardless of Busyro's ideas to reform the KPK as he presented during the fit and proper test for the KPK's deputy chief earlier on Thursday.

"With Busyro's experience handling bad judges during his tenure as the Judicial Commission's chairman, we hope he could provide us extra power to eradicate corruption," he added.

However, Bibit lamented Busyro's appointment as merely a political decision justified under pertinent law. (ipa)

To Indonesia's KPK, a man 'who does not know fear'

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2010

Jakarta – "Corruption is a crime against humanity." It may be that these words uttered by outgoing Judicial Commission leader Busyro Muqoddas during Wednesday's grilling by lawmakers proved to be the clincher for the job of anti-corruption czar.

But it remains to be seen how literally the former vice dean of the Islamic University of Indonesia plans to implement that sentiment by pushing efforts to legally turn graft into a human rights violation, which would allow for tougher punishments.

He also told lawmakers that the Attorney General's Office needed to take a more central role in going after those involved in corruption, including in the confiscation of assets.

A law graduate from the Indonesian Islamic University and holder of a master's degree from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, Busyro has long been favored by lawmakers. House Commission III lawmaker Edi Ramli Sitanggang said that Busyro "did not know fear" and would effectively lead the battle to eradicate corruption.

Born in Yogyakarta on July 17, 1952, Busyro has been a staunch critic of the Supreme Court, and is known for his spats with then Chief Justice Bagir Manan for the court's failure to take stern measures against rogue judges.

When screened for the job on the Corruption Education Commission (KPK), Busyro was asked why the Judicial Commission had managed to sanction just 11 judges when hundreds of reports against judges were filed each year.

The outgoing chairman of the judiciary watchdog replied: "It's because of resistance from the Supreme Court to get those judges prosecuted. This would not happen if I were to lead the KPK."

Gayus vs government official over alleged Bakrie bribes

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Farouk Arnaz & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – A member of the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force and corruption suspect Gayus Tambunan are now apparently in disagreement over how much Bakrie companies allegedly paid the rogue taxman in bribes.

Gayus was recently quoted in media reports as denying that he said most of his ill-gotten wealth came from Bakrie companies. In response to a journalist's question about the supposed statement, Gayus reportedly said: "It's Ota who said that. Bakrie only paid $3 million. After that, there's no more. I forget where all the money [in my accounts] came from."

Ota is Mas Achmad Santosa, the member of the task force who, along with another member, Denny Indrayana, fetched Gayus from Singapore when the taxman was a fugitive.

Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo on Tuesday said the statement was a clear indication that the case had been politically manipulated to attack his party and its chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, whose family owns Bakrie Group.

"For us, it's now clear who lies behind the Gayus case. We will question the task force's dirty jobs during our meeting with the National Police chief next Monday," Bambang said.

"We are considering filing for the right of interpellation [formal request] to question the task force. The president must explain to us why the task force had gone too far in legal manipulation."

But Achmad on Wednesday stood by his statement, denying allegations that he pushed Gayus to confess that he was bribed by the Bakrie companies. "I only repeated what Gayus told to us when we were in Singapore [in March]," he said.

When Achmad first made the statement, Gayus was only believed to have amassed around Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million) in illegal wealth. In June, police found several safe-deposit boxes linked to Gayus – eight were empty, but one held Rp 74 billion in foreign currency and gold ingots.

Gayus has twice claimed in court to have received bribes from 149 companies, including miners Kaltim Prima Coal, Arutmin and Bumi Resources, all of which are part of the Bakrie Group. The companies have all denied the claims, calling them defamatory.

In October, Denny testified that Gayus mentioned the Bakrie companies in particular after he was apprehended in Singapore. Denny said he had recordings of his conversations with Gayus and had handed them to police, but prosecutors said they were not included in the evidence list.

On Nov. 11, Achmad testified in court that Bakrie Group companies bribed Gayus. "The information is not from me, I only cited what Gayus had told me," Achmad said on Wednesday of the testimony.

Cirus defends charging decision in Gayus trial on his first day in court

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – A senior prosecutor widely believed to be the key figure behind Gayus Tambunan's controversial March acquittal appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday to defend his actions during the rogue taxman's first trial.

A visibly uncomfortable Cirus Sinaga, who appeared in his prosecutor's uniform at Gayus's trial at the South Jakarta District Court, was pounded with questions about why he added the embezzlement charge against the former taxman, despite initial charges from the police of corruption and money laundering.

The earlier trial in Tangerang was based on the suspicious Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million) bank accounts in Gayus's name uncovered by a report by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Gayus was eventually acquitted of all charges after prosecutors dropped the more serious counts of corruption and money laundering, and demanded only probation for minor embezzlement, which had nothing to do with his huge bank accounts.

In court on Wednesday, Cirus replied after a long pause that the embezzlement charge was added "to increase alternatives in the indictment so if the defendant was cleared of corruption, we could pursue him with money laundering and then embezzlement." He said after prosecutors examined police documents, they found indications that Gayus had embezzled a Rp 370 million fund unrelated to his huge bank accounts.

Cirus said his team had instructed police on Oct. 21, 2009, to seize the money from Gayus's accounts, and the seizure document was used as the evidence to add the embezzlement charge.

He also said Gayus was the subject of additional interrogation because of the embezzlement charge. But his answer sparked anger from the defense.

"Are you sure police seized the money after instruction from you?" said Gayus's lawyer, Adnan Buyung Nasution.

"Yes," Cirus replied.

"The bank said the seizure of the Rp 370 million fund took place on Oct. 14, not after your instruction [on Oct. 21] and I have the evidence," said the veteran lawyer, who then showed the seizure document to the judges and Cirus.

"What I want to say, Your Honor, is that his testimony is contradictory to the facts," Adnan said angrily.

Presiding judge Albertina Ho asked the lawyer to hold his questions until witnesses from Bank Central Asia testified on Monday.

Witnesses had earlier told the same court that Cirus apparentely asked police to add the embezzlement so he could handle the case. In the Attorney General's Office, corruption cases are prosecuted by the special crimes unit, while Cirus at that time served with the general crimes unit.

Cirus was formally named a suspect on Tuesday in a document forgery case related to Gayus's first trial, in which he allegedly leaked doctored sentencing demand papers to Haposan Hutagalung, a lawyer for Gayus at that time, who was then said to have used it as leverage to extort $50,000 from Gayus.

But Cirus also claimed in court on Wednesday that he didn't know Gayus personally and that he was too busy handling the high-profile murder trial of former antigraft agency Chairman Antasari Azhar to pay closer attention to the taxman's case.

Gayus, meanwhile, denied having undergone the additional questioning over the embezzlement charge as Cirus claimed.

A second prosecutor, Fadil Regan, also testified in the Wednesday's hearing and denied nearly all allegations against him in Gayus's Tangerang trial. Fadil, a member of the prosecution team in Gayus's first trial, said he never phoned police officers asking them to add the embezzlement charge.

"The officer, Arafat Enanie, told this court he got a phone call from you making that request, but you said here you never did that," Albertina said.

"Yes, Your Honor," Fadil said.

"So, one of you two is a liar. Do you know that? Two people said the opposite things about one event. And the liar can possibly be you," the judge told Fadil. "Be very careful with what you say in the court, especially because you are testifying under oath and false testimony brings legal consequences."

Arafat, one of the detectives assigned to investigate Gayus, was given a five-year jail term for "multiple counts of corruption," including receiving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a bribe.

Police insist on retaining Gayus cases despite mounting protests

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2010

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – After meeting with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over mounting calls to hand over the long-standing Gayus Tambunan scandal, the National Police have said they are determined to resolve the case internally.

"We will intensify coordination with the KPK in investigating the cases," National Police has Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said in a press statement made after a two-hour meeting with the KPK on Tuesday.

KPK deputy chairman Bibit Samad Rianto said a series of technical meetings had been slated as a follow up. "We will continuously monitor the investigations that are currently being conducted by the police," he said.

Bibit refused to answer when asked whether the KPK intended to take over the case. The Anti-Corruption Law enables the KPK to supervise graft investigations and take over stalled investigations from the police or prosecutors.

When asked why the police had produced no evidence in the Gayus case brokering and tax fraud cases implicating dozens of large companies, Timur said investigations were ongoing.

"We are still examining and looking for more evidence. The police would never abandon any valuable leads if there were any. To this date we are still expecting Gayus to cooperate further with us regarding this case," he said.

Chief Detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi, who also attended the meeting, confirmed an investigation was ongoing, but refused to elaborate. "We can't reveal any details right now," he said.

Gayus, a former low-ranking tax officer, has said that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from dozens of companies for helping them evade taxes.

The police have said an investigation cannot begin based solely on a testimony. Of all of the companies that Gayus mentioned in his testimony, only one case – involving Sidoarjo-based company PT Surya Alam Tunggal – has been brought to court.

Two other tax officials, Maruli Pandapotan Manurung and Humala Napitupulu, have been names suspects based on Gayus' testimonies.

Gayus' lawyer, Adnan Buyung Nasution, earlier said he was confounded by the police's statement that it would not investigate based on testimony alone. He said his client had fully cooperated with the police in questioning.

"The police never summoned any of the companies' representatives to clarify the case," he said, adding that the police were not fit to handle the investigation.

Indonesia Supreme Court wants case Vs. KPK dropped

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw its support behind plans by the Attorney General's Office to drop the prosecution of two antigraft agency deputies despite warnings by legal analysts that it would only drag the pair further into legal limbo.

Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), had been accused by businessman Anggodo Widjojo of extorting Rp 5.1 billion ($570,000) from him in 2009 in exchange for halting a criminal investigation of his brother, Anggoro, and lifting a travel ban on him.

Analysts and antigraft activists see Anggodo's accusation and the AGO's decision to prosecute the case as an attempt to undermine the KPK's authority.

Amid growing public pressure, the AGO last month said it was mulling the use of the old Dutch legal principle of "deponering" which allows prosecutors to drop criminal charges, in the case against the two commissioners.

But many have pointed out that the principle would not be invoked due to the absence of evidence but to protect the public interest.

Chief Justice Harifin Tumpa on Tuesday said the Supreme Court in its legal view on the application of the principle, as required by the Code of Criminal Procedures, "supports a deponering because legally it is within the power of the AGO."

Harifin was quoted by Antara news agency as saying that the use of the principle would automatically render void the court's instruction for the AGO to proceed with a trial.

The AGO is also seeking input from the House of Representatives, the Constitutional Court and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono before formally issuing any decision.

Hasril Hertanto, a legal expert from University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe that although other institutions could not intervene in the AGO's final decision, the House "could still exert political pressure on the AGO to cancel the deponering."

The analyst added that the House might want to retaliate against the KPK, that has so far charged 41 former and current lawmakers for graft. Year after year, the House is listed by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt institutions in Indonesia. Several lawmakers have already said that they would reject the AGO's decision to drop the case.

Bibit's and Chandra's lawyer, Taufik Basari, said he was concerned over the final draft of the deponering decision. "We are still waiting for the final decision to be made. We don't want Bibit and Chandra to be held hostage over the status of the case."

Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a legal expert from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said that if the principle were applied, Bibit and Chandra could be seen as guilty in the eyes of many, as they would not get the chance to clear themselves in court.

"Deponering [in this case] would mean that there is a sufficient amount of evidence but prosecuting the case would harm the public interest. So in a way, the AGO would be deceiving the people in the face of mounting pressure," he said, adding that such a decision would harm the KPK's reputation.

Last week, the Jakarta High Court upheld a decision that found Anggodo guilty of attempted bribery and raised his sentence from four to five years.

Hasril said deponering would allow Anggodo to take advantage of the legal limbo. "At the Supreme Court, Anggodo might argue that according to the AGO, Bibit and Chandra are guilty of extortion, meaning that he is a victim and not a perpetrator of a bribery attempt," he said.

SBY trusts the police to investigate Gayus

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2010

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Disregarding calls that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should take over the investigation of graft suspect Gayus Tambunan, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono persisted in his support of the police's handling of the case.

The police are committed to settling the case and bringing it to court, and we ask the public to wait and see, Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Tuesday. He added that the process would be transparent.

"The President completely trusts that the system is working and the police will solve this case in accordance with existing regulations. We have to trust the police," Julian said.

Julian also dismissed the public's mistrust of the police, who have recently been under fire because of Gayus' illicit outing to Bali, where he was discovered watching a tennis match while supposedly in police detention in Depok, West Java.

"Distrusting who? The police force is a credible institution. [Gayus's outing] was the work of only a few police officers. The police are currently investigating the case," Julian said.

KPK moves to take over Gayus' probe from police

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2010

Jakarta – The antigraft body has formally requested a meeting with the police to discus whether it can take over investigations into a slew of corruption allegations centering on former taxman Gayus Tambunan, who claimed Monday that he was only a pawn in the crimes he admitted to having committed.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bibit Samad Rianto said Monday the commission was ready to take over the Gayus case and it had sent a letter to the National Police asking for a meeting with newly installed National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo.

"The schedule is up to him," he said. The KPK, he added, had not yet decided which of the various graft allegations surrounding Gayus – who has been charged with tax fixing and bribery – it would take over from the police. "We'll see what the police have done with regard to the Gayus case and then we'll decide which case [we can follow up]."

The police have not yet responded to the KPK's request, but detective chief Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said as quoted by Antara that the handover of the investigations into Gayus' alleged crimes should be in accordance with regulations.

Police spokesman Brig. Gen. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said: "We take the idea of taking over Gayus' case as input. But the most important thing is good communication between the KPK and police in the field."

He said the police were still working on the Gayus case and that it was not necessary for the antigraft body to immediately take over the case.

Calls for the antigraft body to take on the Gayus case are mounting. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party said the police could no longer handle the case and should have handed it to the KPK to ease public antipathy toward the institution. According to the 2002 KPK Law, the commission is allowed to take over a corruption case from other institutions if there is indication that the probe into the case is also marred with corruption and aimed at protecting certain groups.

Gayus is standing trial for allegedly bribing police detectives, prosecutors and a judge to the tune of US$2.5 million to escape charges. He is also alleged to have amassed billions of rupiah from tax evaders while he was still at the tax office.

Investigations revealed that Gayus amassed at least Rp 100 billion (US$11 million) from 43 corporate taxpayers, including three giant mining firms partly owned by family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

So far, only the case related to PT Surya Alam Tunggal has been sent to court. The police have failed to prove that the company's money went to Gayus.

In his testimony on Monday, Gayus told the court that the government should not focus on him if it wants to eradicate corruption at the taxation office. "Start [probing] from the tax office's director general to the head of the local tax offices."

Gayus, a low-rank official, said that he was "nobody" at the tax office, implying that his superiors were responsible for what he did.

The court decided to transfer Gayus from the police detention center in Depok to Cipinang Penitentiary on Monday evening.

Former social affairs minister accused of stealing from disaster victims

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – Former Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah faces life imprisonment for his alleged roles in three separate cases of corruption – including one case in which he allegedly profited from victims of natural disasters – which are said to have cost a total of Rp 36.6 billion ($4.1 million) in state losses.

The Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday began hearing Bachtiar's trial. Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) formally indicted the United Development Party (PPP) politician, accusing him of violating articles 2 and 3 of the 1999 Law on Corruption.

Lead prosecutor Zet Todung Allo told the court that in all three cases, Bachtiar had appointed companies without tender processes linked to the procurement of live cows, sewing machines and sarongs.

Zet, reading the indictment, said Bachtiar violated the law for personal profit, or to allow others or private corporations to profit.

In the first case, Bachtiar is suspected of collaborating with a private importer, PT Atmadhira Karya, to mislead the government about the number of live cows imported from Australia in 2004. Atmadhira later channeled Rp 800 million to a non-profit foundation owned by Bachtiar, Insan Cendikia.

That same year, the ministry appointed PT Ladang Sutera Indonesia to provide 6,000 sewing machines to assist home industries nationwide. The KPK said, however, said that ministry officials had contrived for the machines to be distributed to major companies because they were unsuitable for use by small and medium enterprises.

In the third case, Bachtiar allegedly conspired with businessman Cep Ruhyat to rig the procurement of sarongs earmarked for victims of natural disasters in 2006 to 2008.

Bachtiar denied enjoying illicit funds from the projects, saying that his former director general on social aid and security, Amrun Daulay, was in charge of the procurement processes.

Amrun is now a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party headed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

War on terror

Witness testifies Bashir involved with militant training camp in Aceh

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Mohammad Adhe Bhakti, Jakarta – Firebrand Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was definitely involved in the operation of the now outlawed militant group training in Aceh, a witness said at a terror trial on Monday.

Suramto was testifying in the trial of Qomarudin, alias Abu Yusuf, and Ubaid, alias Luthfi Hudairoh, in a West Jakarta district court. The two men are accused of involvement in the Aceh militant group as well as the twin hotel bombings in Jakarta last year.

Suramto said he personally saw Bashir watch a video of the group training in Aceh. He said he met Ubaid at the office of Bashir's Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid group in Pejaten, South Jakarta, and it was there that he saw Bashir watching a video of the training.

Answering queries from Prosecutor Bambang Hariyadi, Suramto said that the video was presented by Ubaid, who also told Bashir that the Aceh training operation lacked about Rp 500 million ($55,500) in funding. "Insya Allah (God Willing)," Bashir was quoted by Suramto in answer to Ubaid's demand for money.

Also present in the video was a man identified as Ustadz (teacher) Haris and Abu Tholut, a man who now tops the police's list of wanted terrorists.

He said he was at the JAT office because he had met Ubaid at the organization's headquarters in Solo, Central Java, and the latter knew that Suramto was being sought by the police in relation to the bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta on July 17, 2009.

Suramto is accused of recruiting one of the suicide bombers and buying explosive materials used in the hotel attacks.

Ubaid offered Suramto to take part in the armed group's training in Aceh. He trained there for one week but had to flee when the group's camp was raided by security forces in February. He fled with Qomarudin, who he said was one of the trainers at the camp, teaching fitness and strategy.

Mutarto, head judge in the case, said the trial, now in recess, would resume on Dec. 2.

The Aceh camp was allegedly planning a major attack on the president and state guests during the Independence Day ceremony at the State Palace last August.

In a surprise operation on Aug. 9, the police antiterrorism unit arrested Bashir in West Java on allegations that he funded the Aceh camp and recruited top militants such as the late Dulmatin to lead the training.

Freedom of religion & worship

Religious intolerance 'on the rise in Jakarta'

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – A survey published Monday has confirmed a widely held assumption that religious intolerance is rising in the Greater Jakarta region.

The survey, conducted by human rights watchdog Setara Institute from Oct. 20 to Nov. 10, found that close to 50 percent of the respondents thought it was unacceptable for houses of worship of other religions to be constructed in their neighborhood.

"This public opinion survey found that 49.5 percent of respondents in the whole Greater Jakarta area refused to have places of worship of other religions built in their neighborhood. There is potential for the outbreak of tensions between people of different faiths," Benny Susetyo of the Setara Institute said in a press conference.

In the survey, Setara Institute interviewed 1,200 respondents in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. The survey's margin of error was said to be 2.2 percent.

Individual regions showed far higher levels of intolerance. The survey found Bekasi to be the least tolerant region, with 74 percent of the respondents rejecting construction of places of worship of other religions.

In recent months, Bekasi has seen a number of clashes between religious groups, including one between local Muslims and a Christian foundation accused of proselytization.

Earlier this year, a local group called the Islamic Community Forum demanded the removal of a statue that it deemed symbolic of the Holy Trinity. The statue was designed by a Balinese sculptor.

Central Jakarta also registered a high level of intolerance with 68 percent of respondents declining to have minorities build places of worship in their neighborhood. The figures for Depok and Tangerang were 66 percent and 62 percent.

However, when asked about the roots of terrorism, 42 percent of the respondents said it was the result of both economic and political injustice. "Bombers are the results of accumulating social frustration," Benny said, quoting respondents.

Last week, the International Crisis Group (ICG) issued a similar report, warning the government of mob rule and religious intolerance in response to its findings, which indicated a general fear among Muslims of Christian proselytizing. A lack of proactive measures by the government has led to stagnation in promoting religious tolerance, the ICG said.

The ICG senior adviser Sidney Jones said the government at both the national and local levels needs to push efforts to promote respect for other religions.

The Setara survey also found that the majority of the respondents had problems accepting religious beliefs other than the six faiths recognized by the government – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Budhism and Taoism.

Sixty-one percent of the respondents said "legitimate" religions were those recognized by the government. Some 29.8 percent of the respondents said all religions in the world should have equal status. The survey also showed that 40.3 percent of the respondents deemed Ahmadiyah heretical and 28.7 percent acknowledged the rights of Ahmadiyah subscribers to perform their religious rituals.

Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said the government should try to curb intolerance by adopting more religions as legitimate in the country. "In any modern constitution-based nation, there is no limitation whatsoever on what religions the citizens can subscribe to. I believe that as long as a belief does not violate other people's rights and freedom, then such a belief can be recognized as a religion," he said.

Destruction of Ahmadiyah houses reported

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2010

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Members of the Ahmadiyah sect reported an attack on their homes in Gegerung village to the West Lombok Police on Saturday. The villagers could not identify any of their attackers.

"We reported the destruction, in line with existing procedure, and hope that the police will investigate it," Nasiruddin, an advisor to the Ahmadiyah followers, said.

Nasiruddin was accompanying three Ahmadiyah followers who represented dozens of their congregation members whose houses were vandalized. "There were 21 houses destroyed in the latest attack," he said.

Indonesians reminded of their nation's origins in diversity

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2010

Nivell Rayda & Fitri, Indonesia – A hundred police officers armed with assault rifles and pistols were not enough to dissuade Tuti (not her real name) from walking barefoot for a kilometer, her 3-year-old son on her back, to the village of Gegerung in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday.

Once she arrived, the 25-year-old mother joined hundreds of people from her village in ransacking and demolishing dozens of houses belonging to members of the Ahmadiyah minority sect. "Infidels," she screamed as she pelted one of the homes with rocks. "Get out of our village."

The mob destroyed 22 homes, with one burned to the ground after villagers emptied a canister of kerosene in it and lit it on fire. As Tuti watched the house burn, she and the other villagers thanked God for the suffering of those they deemed heretics.

Need for a national strategy

The seemingly never-ending string of attacks on minority religious groups – at least a hundred against Ahmadiyah alone over the past decade, according to one activist – prompted the International Crisis Group in a recent report to call on Indonesia to adopt a comprehensive national strategy to promote religious tolerance and curb rising sectarian violence.

"There needs to be a long-term vision and strategy. Local officials have been addressing the incidents on a case-by-case basis," said Jim Della- Giacomathe, the ICG Southeast Asia project director. "And most of the time, they surrender to those with the loudest voice. If this keeps happening, mob rule prevails."

Della-Giacoma's statement highlights an important observation regarding the government's response so far to the apparent increase in religious intolerance in the country: that the core of the problem isn't being addressed.

In Bekasi, which the ICG report says is a clear example of the tensions brought about by clashing fundamentalisms, 10 people have been arrested for an attack that saw one churchgoer hospitalized with a stab wound and a female reverend badly injured.

Among those arrested was the local leader of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a group that has led calls for Christians to leave the area.

West Lombok Police operations head, Comr. Deky Subagio, has promised that his office will investigate the attack on the Ahmadiyah homes on Friday just like any other case. Despite local police promises such as these, attacks continue.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, vice president of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said if the core of the problem was not addressed soon, sectarian conflicts would be unavoidable.

"There are elements within the minorities that are discontented with the government's inaction and are becoming fed up with continuously playing the victim," he said. "These elements may even have become radicalized themselves."

Largely local?

Bonar notes that the areas prone to religious conflict often have weak law enforcement or government leaders who are easily pressured by majority religious groups.

For instance, in Kuningan, West Java, where mainstream Muslims in July attempted to seal off an Ahmadiyah mosque, the local government has been reluctant to acknowledge marriages involving members of the minority sect.

In West Nusa Tenggara, the local government has also refused to issue mandatory identification cards to followers of the sect, and last month raided homes belonging to Ahmadiyah members, urging them to move out of Gegerung village.

The government announced plans to relocate the remaining members of the community to a remote island in the Sumba Strait, some 40 kilometers off the main island of Lombok, saying it was the will of other religious communities and residen ts.

In Bekasi and Depok, where a string of attacks and forced closures of Protestant churches has taken place, local administrations have defended their position of siding with the demands of hard-line groups against minorities by saying they needed to keep the peace.

"The political support of religious elites is essential even for political parties that are not based in Islam," Bonar said. "Religious elites need to expand their political influence; in return politicians enjoy great support from faithful followers of certain religious leaders."

Decentralized, disconnected

Analysts trace part of the problem to decentralization. "Decentralization has brought more autonomy and self-government, but unfortunately the interpretation and implementation of religious freedom and tolerance, in practice, is also left with the local leaders, who sometimes have a narrow view on the subject," said Siti Zuhro, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

Zuhro said that during the iron-fisted rule of former President Suharto there was no tolerance shown for religious frictions, and any statements that had the potential to stir up social, religious and racial tensions were greatly limited.

"Today, the situation is different. Hate speech is protected by the citizens' constitutional rights of freedom of expression," she said. "But this is a slippery slope."

Bonar said that although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had made a number of speeches expressing support for religious freedom and the need to protect minority groups, his words had never been translated into definitive action by local governments.

"There is a discrepancy between the central government's commitment and the policies and practices at the local level," he said.

"Decentralization has left the central government to rely heavily on how local officials can translate its directives. But while the central government claims that the job of protecting minorities rests with local governments, the local governments tell minority groups that they have to consult with the central government."

Confusing commands

Even at the national level, Yudhoyono's statements on religious freedom sometimes stand in stark contrast to the words and actions of his ministers.

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, a member of the president's Democratic Party, pointed out that Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali "has made comments that oppose religious freedom and have a dangerous potential to fuel further violence."

The minister has repeatedly called for Ahmadiyah to disband, and has showed support for the 1965 law on blasphemy that many observers say has legitimized acts of violence against minority sects and groups.

He also supports the 2006 joint ministerial decree on houses of worship, which requires the consent of the surrounding community for building churches, temples and mosques. Critics say the regulation is discriminatory.

Rohadi Abdul Fatah, the director of Islam and Shariah law at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, denied that anyone had turned a blind eye to the problem of intolerance.

"Our officials always work according to the law and official procedure," he said. "We never harm other groups, for example by prohibiting them from using public facilities or burning their places of worship. That is totally against human rights and the law."

Regarding Ahmadiyah, he said the ministry did not tolerate the sect, but that did not mean the ministry was failing to provide members protection. "We keep trying to persuade Ahmadiyah through education and dialogue to return to the right path of Islam," he said. "We don't tolerate anyone who harms them even though their belief is not acceptable in Islam."

Democratic pitfall

So what should a government that listens to its people do when a number of surveys indicate a worrying increase in religious intolerance among Muslims in the country?

A survey released in September by the Center for the Study of Islam and Society found that among 1,200 adult Muslim men and women surveyed nationwide, 57.8 percent said they were against the construction of churches and other non-Muslim places of worship – the highest rate the study center has recorded since 2001. More than a quarter, or 27.6 percent, said they minded if non-Muslims taught their children, up from 21.4 percent in 2008.

"The government should not bow down to political pressure from a religious elite that voices intolerance," Ulil said. "The government should protect minorities and not only cater to the demands of the majority.

"We should re-educate these opportunistic bureaucrats and political parties about 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' ['Unity in Diversity'], the principle taught by our founding fathers."

Firdaus Mubarik, an Ahmadiyah activist, said he hoped the government would listen to minority voices as well. "The government should remain neutral on religious issues and bridge differences between religious groups," he said. "If the government continues turning a blind eye to the problem, hard-line Muslim groups will soon target other minorities."

Government monitors Ahmadiyah religious practices

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Mataram – The government continues to provide counseling to the Ahmadiyah sect and ensuring that Ahmadis are not disseminating their teachings, says an official.

Didiek Darmanto, head of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) prosecutor's office also heading the religion and sect monitoring body, warned people against resorting to violence in dealing with the issue.

"The prosecutor's office helps monitor Ahmadiyah in NTB based on joint decrees by three ministries," he said at a media conference on Wednesday. "We hope people do not resort to street justice."

Considered heretical, minority Ahmadiyah followers have been refused from the Muslim community including those in West Lombok, NTB.

After having been forced to take shelter, around 12 families last week returned home to their village, only to be evicted again by local residents. They are part of 35 families taking shelter at Wisma Transito in Mataram after being evicted from their village in February 2006.

They had been forced to return to their homes because they had been staying at the Wisma Transito shelter without any certainty of their fate.

"The prosecutor's office only monitors religious activities by Ahmadiyah. The social impact and the placing of Ahmadiyah followers are the domain of both West Lombok and NTB offices," Didiek said.

ICG warns of mob rule, religious intolerance

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2010

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The government must take action to curb rising religious intolerance triggered by struggles between evangelical Christians and hard-line Islamists, a think tank says.

In a report titled Indonesia: "Christianization" and Intolerance, the Indonesia Crisis Group (ICG) said that Islamists use "Christianization" – a local term referring to alleged acts of proselytization by Christians in the predominantly Muslim country – as a justification for mass mobilization and vigilante attacks.

"Without a clear strategy, mob rule prevails. All too frequently, officials capitulate to the group that makes the most noise and the victors are then emboldened to raise the stakes at the next confrontation," ICG senior advisor Sidney Jones said in a media release on Wednesday.

The group followed clashes between religious groups in Bekasi, West Java, where a Christian foundation had been accused of proselytization. Muslim groups claimed the foundation used its social and education activities as "camouflage" to convert the poor, especially street children.

Another foundation, which used Arabic calligraphy on booklets, required students to convert at least five people as a graduation requirement, according to the report.

The ICG said proselytization has prompted violence, such as the attack on a HKBP church site in October – even though the denomination was not evangelical and did not seek Muslim converts.

The ICG documented similar incidents in Poso, Central Sulawesi; Palembang, South Sumatra; Bogor, West Java; and several areas in Papua.

A lack of proactive measures by the government has led to stagnation in promoting religious tolerance, the ICG said. "The government at both the national and local levels needs to push efforts to promote respect for other religions, for example by working with the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission [KPI]," Sydney said.

The ICG identified several religious broadcasting institutions preaching hatred that the government and the KPI should target. Another suggestion was to promote respect for different religions in elementary school curriculums.

"Officials and legislators talk of the need for religious harmony, but there is a sense that this can be also legislated or even imposed," ICG Southeast Asia Project Director Jim Della-Giacoma said.

"It will require some of the wisest heads in Indonesia to understand the sources of tension and come up with policies that can change attitudes and decrease confrontation."

The head of Center of Religious Tolerance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Abdul Fatah, played down the ICG's report, saying the government had done its best to promote tolerance.

"I acknowledge sometimes some cases appear and the public points their fingers at us. Please don't generalize and undermine our efforts based on incidental cases," he said.

He said that the 2006 joint ministerial regulation on houses of worship, which has been deemed discriminatory by human rights groups and pluralism activists, was the most effective way to address religious conflicts.

"The law should be enforced and perpetrators of attacks on houses of worship should be punished regardless of their religious backgrounds," Abdul added.

The report gave six reasons behind rising intolerance, three of which were under the purview of government, which the report said had failed to prevent the intimidation of religious minorities and to promote religious tolerance as a national value.

Della-Giacoma feared that proselytization would lead to the radicalization of non-violent Islamic groups.

"In 2008, members of a non-violent anti-apostasy group in Palembang were radicalized after a fugitive terrorist persuaded them to try to kill pastors. Several men currently on trial for participating in a terrorist training camp in Aceh admitted they joined out of concern of 'Christianization' in Aceh," he said.

Islam & religion

Fundamentalism spread among science students: Cleric

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – While students of Islamic universities in Indonesia are embracing liberalism, their counterparts in science schools feel apparently more appeal to fundamentalism, a prominent Islamic cleric said here Tuesday.

Hasyim Muzadi, former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, cited the phenomenon as he addressed a workshop on deradicalization organized by the National Anti-Terror Agency (BNPT).

"Islamic universities these days usually produce liberalists, while science schools generate fundamentalists," Hasyim said.

"I guess it's because students of Islamic universities are tired of having to be pious – they've had to do it all the times; while science students are hardly in touch with religions that they search for it from available sources."

He said the phenomenon could be seen among top science schools in Indonesia, including at the University of Indonesia. Indonesian Ulema Council secretary Amirsyah Tambunan blamed weak monitoring for the intrusion of fundamental movements in campuses.

Indonesian cleric gets 4 years jail over sex with child bride

Agence France Presse - November 24, 2010

Jakarta – An Indonesian court sentenced a wealthy Muslim cleric to four years in prison on Wednesday for having sex with a 12-year-old girl he took as his unofficial wife.

Pujiono Cahyo Widiyanto, 45, from the Central Java city of Semarang, sparked nationwide controversy over his decision to wed Lutfiana Ulfa in August, 2008.

"The defendant has been proven to have had a sexual relationship with an underage girl, Lutfiana Ulfa. We sentence him to four years in prison," judge Hari Mulyanto said.

Lutfiana screamed hysterically when she heard the sentence read out in court. "We'll appeal against the decision," Widiyanto's lawyer OC Kaligis said.

Widiyanto – also known as Sheikh Puji – said the girl had reached puberty when he married her in an unofficial religious ceremony, and claimed his actions were acceptable under Islam.

The age of consent in Indonesia is 16 for married females and 18 for males. Indonesian law has harsh penalties for pedophilia, but unregistered marriages between older men and under-age girls are common in rural areas.

Sex & pornography

FPI leader defines 'pornography rules', will carefully study Miyabi movie

Jakarta Globe - November 30, 2010

Jakarta – Habib Umar Salim, the head of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front advisory council defined the criteria for pornography while organizing a protest against the arrival in Jakarta of porn starlet Maria Ozawa on Monday.

Islamic Defenders Front, also known as FPI, plan to hold a rally against Japanese porn-star Maria Ozawa, popularly known as Miyabi, in front of the office building of film production company Maxima on Wednesday.

Miyabi was rumored to have landed in Indonesia on Monday night to attend her movie premiere, "Hantu Tanah Kusir" ("Tanah Kusir Ghost").

The group leader said beside demonstrating, they would study the movie to see if it had any pornographic scenes. According to Salim, a movie is considered pornographic if it contained certain types of scenes.

"If there are kissing scenes, [the actors] are wearing barely-there outfits, there are striptease scenes or if [the actors] wear hot pants or above-the-knee skirts then a movie is porn and morally destructive," he said.

"We haven't seen the movie and we don't know what the movie's like. We only received information that it is a comedy movie," Habib Umar Salim was quoted as saying by news portal Detik.com.

FPI said they had planned to hold the rally on Tuesday but the Jakarta Police did not give them the permit. "We are delaying the rally to tomorrow. We will throw eggs and chicken carcasses at Miyabi's poster. I will lead the demonstrators tomorrow," Salim said.

Judges asked to drop charges against Ariel

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Lawyers for former Peterpan vocalist Nazril "Ariel" Irham have asked the Bandung District Court to drop all the charges against him and his music editor, Reza Rizaldy.

Reza's lawyers also asked that all the charges be dropped in the high- profile pornography case. Reza is accused of uploading the infamous sex videos allegedly depicting Ariel and two top artists, Luna Maya and Cut Tari, to the Internet.

The lawyers stated that the prosecution's charges were vague and inaccurate. "Based on strong legal foundations, we assert to the judges that Ariel is not guilty of spreading pornography on the Internet," Ariel's lawyer Timothy Inkiriwang said at Ariel's second session in court. Like the first court session, the second was held behind closed doors.

In the initial trial session on Nov. 22, Ariel was accused of violating a 2008 pornography law on the production, copying and distribution of pornography, a 2008 law on information and electronic transactions for intentionally showing lewd and immoral acts and an article in the Criminal Code.

If he is found guilty, Ariel could face a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 years in prison and a fine of between Rp 250 million (US$27,750) and Rp 6 billion.

Ariel's lawyers said he should be acquitted of all charges because he would not have ruined his career in such a way by distributing sex videos over the Internet.

Reza faces almost the same charges as Ariel, including violating the 2008 law on information and electronic transactions. Reza's lawyer Yulius Setiarto asked the judges to drop the charges because the alleged acts took place in 2006, while Reza is being charged with a law that was enacted in 2008. "The laws are not retroactive, unlike the corruption law," Yulius said.

Yulius also said that the indictment dealt mostly with computer files and folders but did not describe them in detail, including their contents and length.

He said prosecutors erred in the indictment, which stated that Reza copied the sex videos from Ariel's external hard drive to two personal computers. One of the computers was owned by a recording studio in Antapani, Bandung, and the other was Reza's home computer.

Chief prosecutor Rusmanto objected to all the lawyers' statements and said the evidence and indictments were accurate. "We ask the judges to overrule the objections and proceed with the trial," Rusmanto said.

FPI porn star protest prompts Miyabi security concerns

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Controversial pornography actress Maria Ozawa, also known as Miyabi, is due to land in Jakarta on Monday night according to her movie distributors despite the threat of protests from a hard-line Islamic group.

Maxima producer Ody Mulya Hidayat said that Maxima still was not sure whether to let Ozawa to stay in Jakarta or to re-route her to Bali for a while to prevent a potential clash with FPI, also known as the Islamic Defenders Front.

Ody, who was interviewed while waiting for Ozawa at the airport said that some of his friends had already spotted FPI members standing by at the airport.

"We are still arranging the best plan to take her here safely – let's wait and see," he said. He said that he could not disclose any information about Ozawa's flight for security reasons.

Ody refused to answer if Ozawa had left Japan to Indonesia because he was afraid that FPI members would wait for her at the airport.

"The only reason I openly announced that Miyabi will be arriving here today was because there was no controversy during her stay in Jakarta earlier to shoot the movie,' he said. "I never expected that the controversy would happen again like this," he said.

Ody said that there was a possibility that Ozawa would postpone her flight until Tuesday morning and to a city other than Jakarta. He said that he was interested in holding a discussion with FPI to explain that Ozawa's visit did not violate any law and that Maxima had completed all the necessary documentation to invite her to Indonesia.

He said that it was Ozawa's intention to visit Indonesia to meet fans and to promote her new movie "Hantu Tanah Kusir". "She's the main star, so she should be here, but with this whole issue with FPI I'm not sure," he said, adding that Ozawa's management was very strict with regard to security issues.

Rallies greet Ariel's first court hearing

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2010

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The tightly guarded first court hearing of singer Nazril Ilham, or Ariel, on Monday was marred by rallies staged by those condemning him for his alleged involvement in scandalous sex videos as well by those supporting him.

More than 600 police personnel secured the trial, which was preceded by another trial involving the Peterpan vocalist's song editor, identified only as Rj. Rj has been charged with uploading the sex videos onto the internet.

The videos, which were circulated publicly, feature figures who appear to be Ariel, girlfriend Luna Maya and TV host Cut Tary in separate clips. The three have admitted their roles.Hundreds of journalists covered the much- awaited trial since the National Police Headquarters officially detained Ariel on June 21.

Ariel, wearing a gray shirt covered by the red vest, then sat as a defendant in the courtroom, which was occupied by 10 lawyers, 10 prosecutors, court employees and a few police personnel.

Public prosecutors read out the multiple charges against Ariel, such as violating Law No.44/2008 on pornography for producing, duplicating and distributing pornographic materials.

Prosecutor Rusmanto said Ariel could be sentenced to between six months and 12 years and fined between Rp 250 million (about US$25,000) and Rp 6 billion if found guilty. He said he would present 30 witnesses, including Luna Maya and Cut Tary, to defend the charges.

Outside the court, two groups of demonstrators took opposing stances over the case. The Indonesian Muslim Forum (FUI), affiliating seven Islamic organizations and assisted by the Hajar non-governmental organization from Jakarta, gathered at the eastern entrance of the courthouse and urged judges to hold an open trial and hand down a fair sentence.

They unfurled various protest banners, two of which read: "Stop Pornography, Stop HIV" and "Punish Ariel, Luna and Tary Severely".

On the other hand, Ariel's fans, which included dozens of young women, rallied at the western entrance of the courthouse. They carried banners, one reading "Free Ariel, Uphold Justice". "He is a victim legal-wise, and is not guilty. His has faced social justice and people have forgiven him," said rally coordinator Indra Permana.

Ariel's lawyers asked the judges to view Ariel as a victim rather than a perpetrator. "Ariel is a victim and not a perpetrator. He should be protected as a victim by the state. Don't let him be judged by the public before going through the legal process," Aga Khan, one of the lawyers, said after the hearing.

Separately, in a court cell, Rj, who edited Peterpan's songs at a studio in Antapani, Bandung, denied he had uploaded the videos. He said Ariel must have unintentionally copied the videos when he was copying a song in 2006.

Legislation & parliament

Indonesia ethics council shake-up falls flat

Jakarta Globe - November 30, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – A promised shake-up of the House of Representatives' beleaguered Ethics Council was unveiled on Monday, but the only significant change was the withdrawal of its chairman by his party.

The council has been virtually paralyzed since early this year when Deputy Chairman Chairuman Harahap, from Golkar, led a vote of no confidence against Chairman Gayus Lumbuun, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Golkar later attempted to defuse the tension by replacing Chairuman as deputy chairman with fellow Golkar legislator Nudirman Munir.

However, the spat flared up again this month when Gayus called for Nudirman and seven other council members to be suspended and brought before a tribunal, following allegations of a leisurely jaunt to Turkey on the taxpayer's dime.

On Thursday, the seven parties represented on the Ethics Council agreed to announce replacements for their members by Monday. However, on Monday, only the PDI-P followed up on its promise to pull all of its members on the council, saying it would replace both its members.

Muhammad Prakosa will step into Gayus's role as chairman, while M. Nurdin will fill in for Sri Rahayu. "I believe this is the best solution," Gayus said. However, he added this should not spell an end to calls to probe the Turkey trip.

Nudirman, who is at the center of the controversy, will stay on as deputy chairman of the council, Golkar announced, while Chairuman will be replaced with Edison Betaubun.

"We've coordinated with the other parties and decided that we'll keep Nudirman on the Ethics Council," said Ade Komaruddin, Golkar's House secretary. "It was an internal conflict that had led to the problems, but Golkar has coordinated with the other parties."

House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, also from Golkar, said he believed rotating the members would help put an end to the unrest within the Ethics Council. "It could be new names or the same, we don't want to interfere [with the parties' decision], we'll leave it up to them" he said.

Saan Mustopha, the House chairman of the ruling Democrats, also said his party would only replace one of its two members on the council, but did not say who it was. The current Democratic council members are Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe, a deputy chairman, and Darizal Basir.

With only three members replaced, there are concerns the Turkey fiasco may never be probed.

Ronald Rofiandri, director of advocacy at the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), said it seemed the PDI-P had given up. "Have they sacrificed Gayus?" he said, adding that those involved in the Turkey trip were still sitting on the council.

Of the four remaining parties, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) have both confirmed their members would stay on.

Marwan Jafar, the PKB House chairman, said because most of the parties had decided not to change their members on the council, "we'll also keep our member, Ali Maschan Moesa, on the council."

Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, the PPP House chairman, also said his party would not replace its representative, Hisyam Alie.

The two remaining parties – the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) – are reportedly also not making any changes. Their council representatives are Ansory Siregar and Abdul Rozaq Rais, respectively.

Legislator denies yelling at migrant workers

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2010

Jakarta – House Commission V overseeing public housing would issue a formal reprimand to legislators who neglected Indonesian domestic workers in Dubai International Airport, should any of them be reported, a legislator said.

"The victims should report directly to us," commission vice chairman Mulyadi said Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Mulyadi, who was with the commission's group during the incident, had earlier denied neglecting the Indonesian workers.

Mulyadi led the commission's group that went to Moscow to study low-cost apartments. Returning home, the legislators met 150 Indonesian domestic workers during the flight's transit in Dubai. They were all expecting to take the same flight to Jakarta. The flight's delay caused panic among the women workers, who were required to fill out forms so that they could stay overnight while waiting for another flight.

An online media service reported that the legislators huddled among themselves and refused to help the confused workers, most of whom could barely speak English. One legislator, Etha Bulo, reportedly shouted at them.

Etha admitted to asking the workers to be quiet but denied having raised her voice toward them. "Imagine, there were 150 of them, all talking loudly. Aren't we supposed to be ashamed of it? I told them to ask for the flight information from [airport] officials. I didn't yell," the politician from Papua said.

House blames government on slow lawmaking

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives believes the government's legislative performance is poor, saying the government has yet to submit important bills for deliberation.

Chairman of the House's legislative committee Ignatius Mulyono said the government had agreed to prepare around 40 bills to be listed in this year's legislation priority, but only dozens were submitted.

He added that many bills prepared by the House could not be deliberated because the government had not appointed its relevant ministers to discuss them.

"The legislative committee is still waiting for 17 of around 70 bills, which have been given top priority to be endorsed this year and it's impossible for the two sides to reach the legislative target within the next one month," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

Mulyono claimed that endorsing 15 bills was the best the House could do under the current legislative process and that its performance could only be improved if the current system was repaired.

However, he expressed his optimism that the House could complete the deliberation of 18 more bills in the 26-day sitting period just to show that it was committed to improving its performance in the legislative field.

Deputy chairwoman of the legislative committee Ida Fauziah said the public was unfair when it did not say anything to the government, which also had its legislative right.

"Of 70 bills given top priority, 36 should come from the government and only dozens have been submitted to the House," she said, adding that according to the constitution, the legislative right belonged to the House and the government.

Airlangga Hartarto chairing the Commission VI on trade and industry also criticized the government for its poor legislative performance. He said the legislation process became stagnant mainly because of the government factor.

"The series of natural disasters in Wasior, West Papua, Mentawai, West Sumatra, and Yogyakarta, Central Java, have been used as an excuse for the government not to submit many draft laws and respond to the House's move to speed up the deliberation of bills given top priority," Airlangga said.

He said the government had not yet submitted two long-awaited bills on trade and industry while three bills on micro-finance institutions, storage and trade commodity, which were prepared by the House, have not been endorsed into laws.

The House has been under fire for its poor legislative performance. Civil society groups condemned the House when the House proposed the rehabilitation of legislators' housing in Kalibata, South Jakarta, the new hall construction project at the House's compound, the allocation of pork barrel funds for legislators and the foreign trip of several groups of legislators for a comparative study this year.

Sebastian Salang, executive director of the Parliament Watchdog called the House's blame as an excuse to counter the public's anger over its poor legislative performance.

"First of all, the House has yet to show strong political commitment, focusing on its main function in the legislative body and the conflicting interests among political parties and between the government and the House has also contributed to the boycotting of certain bills," he said.

House leaders want an end to Turkey talk

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Leaders in the House of Representatives pushed for a resolution to the case of eight legislators accused of taking a two- day jaunt to Turkey on the taxpayers' dime, hinting that the scandal was linked to internal conflict between the lawmakers.

The legislators in question are from the House Ethics Council. Their stop in Turkey came after they left Greece, where they had gone on a controversial trip to study parliamentary ethics.

Two of the council members, deputy chairman Nudirman Munir and Chairuman Harahap, both from the Golkar Party, defended the stop in Turkey, saying it was necessary due to the schedules of their connecting flights.

Ethics Council chairman Gayus Lumbuun, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said all eight would need to be suspended and replaced before they could face an ethics tribunal.

On Tuesday, House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung, also from PDI-P, said the controversy must be brought to an end or the House would risk losing all credibility.

He said the matter could only be resolved by a high-level discussion between the House speakers and faction leaders. "We need to take immediate action, especially given the House's deteriorating image, what with all the negative coverage of lawmakers," he said.

Anis Matta, a deputy speaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said House and faction leaders would meet later on Tuesday to discuss the case. "We look forward to the PDI-P's response to this matter and a show of their commitment to the Ethics Council," he said.

He was referring to a claim made by Nudirman on Monday that the controversy might stem from an internal conflict between members of the Ethics Council. Most council members have called for Gayus to be replaced as chairman.

Meanwhile, Tjahjo Kumolo, House chairman of the PDI-P, said the council should resolve the spat internally.

He said that while his party was could transfer Gayus to another post within the House, such a move would be inappropriate and unethical if based simply on demands from others. "Only if we have proof of his wrongdoing can we transfer him," he said.

Tjahjo stressed that transferring Gayus without any such proof would set a bad precedent, leading parties to call for the transfer of legislators simply because they disliked them.

Nudirman previously denied the group had spent taxpayer money on entertainment, including a reported belly-dancing show, while in Turkey.

Jakarta & urban life

Sex by the train tracks: Indonesia's working girls

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Ade Mardiyati – For more than half a century, a neighborhood in Menteng, Central Jakarta, has become known as a haven for prostitutes. These women walk the one-kilometer stretch of railway track along Jalan Latuharhary and Jalan Halimun. Most of them start working at 6 p.m., but the more industrious ones start earlier.

The area is crowded at night. There are makeshift stalls made of tarpaulin and tables that sell drinks and peanuts. People huddle around dim kerosene lamps, just sitting and talking. But for most, this is the area where transactions between prostitutes and clients take place.

Once a deal is reached, the parties involved go into one of the makeshift tarpaulin cubicles – their room – for an average of five minutes.

The kamtib, or Jakarta public order officers, have conducted repeated raids here, but this does not stop the illegal activity. The prostitutes that work here usually run away during the raids, with some jumping into the river next to the railway track to avoid getting arrested.

There are stories of prostitutes drowning in the river because they couldn't swim. The Jakarta Globe talked to four prostitutes who walk these streets.

Ade, 31

Ade got pregnant when she was very young and was forced to quit school. She has been married three times.

Her first husband, the father of her child, was a thief. Her second husband was an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver. She had another baby with him, but the marriage did not last. Her third husband died last year.

Ade had previously worked as a prostitute and stopped. She returned to the profession after her third husband died to earn a living.

Her day in Menteng starts as early as 7 a.m. She goes home to rest around midday, then comes back at 9 p.m. She calls it a day when the mosques sound the first call to prayer at 4 a.m.

"I charge Rp 30,000 [$3.30] during the day and anywhere between Rp 55,000 to Rp 60,000 at night. I pay my boss Rp 5,000 each time," she said, referring to her pimp, who owns the makeshift structures where she has sex with her clients. Ade said she has at least five loyal customers that visit her on regular basis. Most of her clients are bajaj (auto rickshaw) and taxi drivers.

She is aware that she risks contracting sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, because of her multiple partners. Trying to protect herself, she always asks her clients to use a condom that she gets for free from a health center in the area.

"But there are times when clients refuse to use condoms. They say that the sex is not as good," she said. "When that happens, I have no choice but to do what they want. I need the money."

She said she regularly has medical checkups at the health center and is "perfectly healthy in general." "I know I take a risk when I have sex with clients who refuse to use condoms, but like I said, I need the money."

Wi'ah, 41

Wi'ah collects old newspapers, plastic bottles and cups during the day and works as a prostitute at night. She earns Rp 1,500 for every kilo of newspaper or plastic rubbish that she collects. "A hard day's work collecting rubbish would only earn me less than Rp 20,000," she said, adding that it is not enough to feed her three children.

Wi'ah left her hometown in Pemalang, Central Java, in 1985 to work as a maid in Jakarta, but had to quit after she got married five years later.

"My employer did not allow me to live with my husband. It was either I stayed to work there or leave the job. I chose to live with my husband, of course," she said.

Wi'ah started working as a prostitute after her husband left her for another woman. "Now I can meet as many men as I like. Most of my customers are drivers, construction workers and garbage collectors like me," she said. "I charge Rp 20,000. It's cheaper than most girls here." Wi'ah wears a jilbab, or headscarf. "It's not because I'm religious," she said, with a laugh. "My hair had started to fall out about two years ago and I am now bald."

Wi'ah said that she felt "just fine" having unprotected sex and never uses condoms. "It's not that [customers] refuse to wear it. It's because I'm too afraid of using it," she said. "Because we have sex in a hurry, what if we get nervous and the rubber gets stuck in my vagina and I can't take it out?"

She added, however, that she sometimes feels an "extreme tiredness, as if I have no energy after sex". "I have a fever sometimes. When it happens, I just take Super Tetra. It's a medicine that can help me become stronger again," she said.

Wi'ah is proud that men still desire her at her age. "Most of my clients are married," she said. "And most of them come to me because they are bored with their wives."

Rasti (not her real name), 25

Rasti has been working in the Menteng area for only a few months. She previously worked as a masseuse at hotels in Jakarta and Pekanbaru. "It was pijat plus plus," she said, referring to massage services involving sex.

Rasti's husband has no idea that she works as a prostitute. "Ironically, he's one of the pimps here," she said, with a laugh. "But I don't think he'll find out because his post is at the far end of this area."

Rasti said she works as a prostitute to help her husband "earn extra money." She starts at 7:30 p.m. after her husband leaves for work.

Being one of the youngest prostitutes in the area, Rasti is able to charge higher rates. "My rate is Rp 60,000 and I usually have five clients every night," she said, adding that if she wants to earn more money, she allows some of her clients to do other things to her for an extra charge.

Rasti said her clients are mostly cooperative when she asks them to use condoms. "I charge higher when the sex is not protected, anywhere between Rp 10,000 to Rp 15,000 extra," she said.

Sri (not her real name), 56

Wearing a loose shirt and a skirt, Sri looks like your typical mother next door. "It's not easy being [an] old [prostitute]. Very often, I don't have any clients at all," she said, adding that she sometimes only has one client a week.

But this doesn't stop Sri from coming back here on and off for the last five years, where she says she has more of a "good time" than at home.

"All my three children are married and live with their families. My husband has been suffering from a mental illness for a long time," she said. "I don't do this for the money and that's why I only come a few days a week. It's merely for reducing the stress and boredom I feel at home."

Sri said that although most of her family's money has been spent on her husband's medical bills, she does not feel that she has to work hard to survive. Her three children help her and her husband with their daily needs. "I cannot imagine what would happen if they found out that their mother is a prostitute," she said.

As the oldest prostitute there, she is aware that she can't demand much from her clients, including asking them to use condoms. "Sometimes they use it, but most of the time they don't," she said. "I am only worth between Rp 15,000 and Rp 25,000."

Rest assured, soldiers to help traffic taskforce

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – You know things are really bad when the military is called in, and that is exactly what the Jakarta administration did Monday when it established a new taskforce charged with mitigating traffic in the capital.

Faced with traffic congestion of epic proportions, the city administration and the Jakarta Police included the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the City Transportation Agency in the taskforce.

However, the military was not called on because of its credentials for problem solving and swift implementation. The Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center coordinator Comr. Indra Ja'far said the TNI had been included so that it could clamp down on its own members who ran protection rackets and provided security for illegal parking spots and public transportation vehicles. "This time we want to be more comprehensive in our efforts," Indra said.

Indra said the new taskforce would consist of 3,000 personnel, including officers from the City Transportation Agency. The personnel would be deployed to the streets to manage traffic and enforce the rules of the road.

Those duties would include stopping illegal on-street parking, controlling the behavior and driving of public transportation vehicle drivers, and mitigating flood-related congestion, such as by stopping motorists from taking shelter under overpasses during downpours.

This is the second time in less than six months that the government has announced it will set up a team to handle traffic problems in the capital.

In September, the central government appointed head of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control Kuntoro Mangkusubroto as chairman of a team tasked with tackling the capital's congestion problems.

One of the proposals made by the team was reviving the city's terminated monorail project.

The new team produced a total of 17 proposals, including clearing the TransJakarta busway lanes of private vehicles, opening more busway corridors, implementing an electronic road pricing system to replace the three-in-one car pooling policy, and constructing a mass rapid transit system.

Traffic congestion has worsened in the city over the past few years. Torrential downpours have literally brought the city to a stop, trapping motorists in traffic snarls on inundated roads for hours.

One such massive gridlock occurred on Oct. 25, when torrential rain triggered flash floods throughout the capital, filling the city's clogged drains, and prompting cries of outrage from the city's motorists, some of whom waited in traffic jams for more than five hours on their way home from work.

However, conditions are only slightly improved during the dry season. The growth of private car ownership has skyrocketed amid a lack of any credible wide-ranging public transportation system.

Currently, Jakarta is home to 11.3 million motor vehicles, a number that grows at the alarming rate of 1,500 new motorcycles and 500 new cars a day. Jakarta has 7,650 kilometers of road, which are expanded on average by 0.01 percent annually.

The Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) reported that an ideal scenario would be one in which 65 percent of the city's residents used public transport. The MTI also revealed that currently more than 98 percent of Jakartans use private vehicles, and that 2 percent use public transportation.

Judiciary & legal system

Bad apples mar KY candidate list

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2010

Jakarta – A study by the Indonesian Legal Roundtable has found that less than half of the candidates proposed to form the Judicial Commission (KY) were unqualified.

"Based on their integrity and competence, only five of the 14 candidates are worthy of leading the Judicial Commission," legal activist Asep Rahmat Fajar said, adding that the five had backgrounds as legal practitioners, academicians and social figures.

Another four candidates were clean, but did not stand out in terms of integrity and quality, he said. The remaining five, he said, were problematic, including two judges who had been reported to the Judicial Commission for alleged misconduct.

House weighs candidates, new powers for court body

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Anita Rachman, Indonesia – The seemingly renewed national commitment to law enforcement that last week saw the appointment of an antigraft czar and an attorney general will continue this week as the House of Representatives assess candidates for the Judicial Commission.

The 14 candidates for the seven seats on the commission, which serves as a watchdog for the country's courts, will take a written exam today.

Legal experts, however, are focused not so much on the selection process as on the House's promise to grant the commission greater powers.

Tjatur Sapto Edy, deputy chairman of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs and will vet the candidates, had said his commission would prioritize the deliberation of an amendment to the 2004 Judicial Commission Law.

He said this would include giving the Judicial Commission the authority to dismiss unethical judges. The commission is now limited to giving recommendations to the Supreme Court.

"We'll discuss the amendment in January," Tjatur told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. "We want to give them more authority so they can properly monitor judges. If they have more authority, their supervision will be more effective."

If passed, the amendment would allow the commission "not only to recommend rulings on judges, but issue them," he said.

Asep Rahmat Fajar, from the Indonesian Legal Roundtable, welcomed the move as long overdue. "We've been waiting for this since 2006, for the House to give more authority to the Judicial Commission," he told the Globe.

"It's very important in relation to the commission's agenda to eradicate the judicial mafia," he added, referring to the system of institutional corruption spanning a variety of government and law-enforcement institutions.

He said changes to the 2004 law had been expected since a review of it by the Constitutional Court in 2006, but the House had since put off deliberating an amendment. "They must now deliberate it as soon as possible," Asep said.

Among the powers he said he wanted the Judicial Commission to receive was the authority to force judges to come to Jakarta for questioning. "At the moment, there are many judges who fail to show up after being summoned, simply because the commission doesn't have the power to force them to come," he said.

Eva Kusuma Sundari and Syarifuddin Sudding, both members of House Commission III, promised that the Judicial Commission would be given more powers, but said legislators would focus on the amendment once the selection process was over.

Police & law enforcement

KPK case tops new Indonesian attorney General's agenda

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Newly appointed Attorney General Basrief Arief vowed on Monday that the notorious criminal case against two antigraft agency deputies would be his top priority.

"The first thing is 'deponering', which has been discussed for a long time," Basrief said during a ceremony marking his first day back at work after retiring as deputy attorney general in February 2007.

He was referring to a legal principle, adopted from the Dutch judiciary system, in which the chief prosecutor reserves the right to drop criminal charges in the interest of the public.

In September of last year, Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), were named suspects for abuse of power and extortion.

However, wiretapped phone conversations, played as evidence at the Constitutional Court, indicated that their case could have been fabricated by elements within the National Police and the AGO.

While their fate has been in limbo for over a year amid pre-trial motions and court appeals, the acting attorney general, Damono, decided to use deponering to drop the case last October. However, Basrief took over leadership of the AGO before the decision could be made final.

"I will still read the documents, especially to assess if they still need more consideration. I've learned that the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court have already delivered their opinions," Basrief told reporters. Both courts supported the use of deponering.

Two other issues that are near the top of his agenda are the graft trial of rouge taxman Gayus Tambunan and the corruption case involving former Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and business tycoon Hartono Tanoesoedibjo.

He said the disciplinary measures used against prosecutors in his office would be intensified during his term to improve human resources and the quality of case handling.

"I will strengthen discipline within this office. I think we have all agreed to that. We must start immediately," said Basrief, who was warmly welcomed by top AGO officials and several of his predecessors.

Darmono, who effectively returned to his current post as deputy attorney general with Basrief's arrival, described the ceremony as "a homecoming."

Also present at Monday's ceremony were two former attorney generals, Hendarman Supandji, who was ousted from his post on a court ruling stating that his term was unlawful, and Marsilam Simanjuntak.

"I pray for Basrief in the hope that he is always under God's protection while doing his job. Enforcing the law is a job that requires diligence, seriousness and sincere prayer," Hendarman said of his successor.

Hendarman lost his job two months ago after the Constitutional Court ruled his appointment was unlawful because the president had failed to swear him in again when Yudhono's second term began last October.

Hendarman said he was now busy doing social activities and teaching at his former school, Diponegoro University in Semarang.

President appoints 'insider' as new attorney general

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2010

Erwida Maulia and Dicky Christianto, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed former deputy attorney general Basrief Arief as the new attorney general, a surprise decision hailed by prosecutors and deplored by antigraft activists.

"I decided to name Basrief the new attorney general after advice from many parties, including the Vice President," he told a press conference at the Presidential Office on Thursday. He said he would soon appoint the head and members of the Prosecutors Commission to oversee and ensure reforms in the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

Basrief will be inaugurated as new attorney general, replacing Hendarman Supandji, on Friday. In late September, Yudhoyono dismissed Hendarman Supandji from his position following the Constitutional Court's verdict on former justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra's request for a judicial review of the AGO law.

Hendarman was appointed attorney general in a 2007 Presidential decree. The President later appointed Deputy Attorney General Darmono to be interim leader. However, this has left the country without a chief prosecutor for two months. Basrief's appointment has received mixed responses.

"I have faith in him because he knows his way around the AGO," Chaerul Umam, Basrief's former colleague at the AGO, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. "It could be considered one of his strong points in leading the institution, apart from his skills and warm personality."

Chaerul said Basrief's background as an intelligence officer at the AGO would enable him to deliberate better strategies in tackling many key cases. However, Chaerul said Basrief was not an especially outstanding prosecutor. "It wasn't entirely his fault because his position, particularly in intelligence division, rarely gave him the chance to be a decision maker."

Emerson Yuntho from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said Basrief was appointed because he was seen as neutral by opposing groups within the AGO. "It's clear that the President did not look for someone committed to fighting graft." The graft watchdog said Basrief was an "insider" incapable of bringing reform to the AGO, which it accused of having long been riddled by corruption.

Basrief, who graduated from Padjajaran University in West Java and Andalas University in West Sumatra, was deputy attorney general between 2005 and 2007.

He once headed the AGO's corruption suspect search team and was a former member of the Corruption Eradication Commission selection team. He is also one of nine founders of the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Government. (ipa)

Basrief will be inaugurated as new attorney general, replacing Hendarman Supandji, on Friday.

Foreign affairs & trade

Indonesia formalizes ties with 21 countries

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2010

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Israel and Taiwan on Monday became the only two countries with no diplomatic links with Indonesia, after the government and House of Representatives agreed on the opening of new diplomatic relationships with 21 countries.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa met with House Commission I, which oversees foreign affairs, to seek approval to formalize ties with 21 countries that are members of the United Nations. "With these 21 countries, there are no other countries with whom we don't have diplomatic relationships with, except for Israel and Taiwan," he said.

Out of the 21 new countries, eight are in Africa, including Bostwana, Niger, Chad and Malawi; three in the Pacific – Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu; two from Central America, Belize and El Salvador; five from the Caribbean, including Haiti and Barbados; two from Europe, San Marino and Montenegro; and one from Asia, Bhutan.

Marty reiterated the government's stance on its non-existent diplomatic ties with Israel and Taiwan.

"The Indonesian government will not open diplomatic relationships with Israel before it abides by all UN resolutions." Marty said Indonesia would only establish formal ties with Israel once "Palestine attains its independence, living side-by-side with Israel."

On Taiwan, Marty said that the government would stick with its one-China policy. "Ever since we revived our diplomatic relationship with China in 1990, it has regulated how [Indonesia] deals with Taipei," he said.

But Marty emphasized that even without a formal diplomatic relationship, the country's level of bilateral trade and economic exchange with Taiwan is still high. "There is nothing broken that needs to be fixed," Marty said.

With no single objection from the attending lawmakers, Mahfudz Siddiq, the chairman of House Commission I, said they "fully supported" the government's request.

Mahfudz noted that the opening of ties with the 21 countries was merely a formality, though, as Indonesia has already established positive relationships with them. "We're just clearing the deck," he said.

Still, he explained that formal ties were needed to better facilitate trade relations as well as for the government to ensure protection to its citizens traveling, working or residing in those countries.

The foreign affairs minister also said these countries predominantly have similar voting tendencies in the UN, given that they are members of organizations Indonesia is also a part of, namely the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77.

"In general, these countries have the same voting pattern as Indonesia, especially when it comes to development," he said. The only country that has voted in dissent with Indonesia was Sao Tome and Principe during the vote on East Timor's independence.

Dutch court rejects RMS bid to arrest Indonesian ex-minister

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – A court in The Hague on Tuesday rejected a motion filed by the South Maluku Republic seeking the arrest of former Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda during his visit to the country.

Dutch news portal Nieuws quoted a court official as saying the court had ruled in favor of the Dutch government, which argued that arresting Hassan would damage ties between the two countries.

The ruling came just hours before Hassan left the Netherlands for Belgium. He arrived in The Hague on Monday, where he was invited to speak about ties between the two countries at the Peace Palace.

This is the second time a Dutch court has rejected a motion filed by the separatist South Maluku Republic (RMS) seeking the arrest of an Indonesian official. Last month, the court rejected a motion to arrest President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a planned visit that was canceled at the last minute because of the court case.

It filed the motion against Hassan on Nov. 16, arguing that as a former foreign minister he was partially responsible for the torture of RMS activists and the ill-treatment of political prisoners from the group.

In making its claim of human rights abuses, the group cited the arrests in 2007 of several activists who performed a traditional war dance during a visit by Yudhoyono to Ambon.

"The RMS has a strong case [against Hassan] backed by evidence such as video recordings and reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on human rights abuses in Maluku," said Williem Sopacua, vice president of the RMS.

The group responded to the rejection of its motion by lodging a complaint with the court's review board claiming judicial bias. The board, however, ruled that the judges had accommodated both the RMS and the Dutch government throughout the proceedings.

Bantarto Bandoro, an international relations expert at the University of Indonesia, called the RMS's move a publicity stunt. "What does a former foreign minister like [Hassan] have to do with torture and human rights violations in Maluku? The RMS is clearly targeting random [Indonesian officials] traveling to the Netherlands," he said.

Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia, said the decision by Yudhoyono last month to cancel his trip to the Netherlands had only served to boost the RMS's profile in the international arena.

The RMS declared independence from Indonesia in April 1950 and began a campaign of guerilla warfare against the Indonesian military. The uprising was crushed in a matter of months. Thousands of RMS supporters fled to the Netherlands where they were granted political asylum and established an RMS government-in-exile.

Mining & energy

Indonesia's dependence on foreign crude set to grow

Reuters - November 25, 2010

Florence Tan, Singapore – Indonesia's crude imports will keep rising over the next few years as its economy rebounds and a delay in getting peak output from the giant Cepu oil field defeats efforts to cut dependence on overseas crude.

Indonesia's need for crude imports for its simple refineries will feed competition among top Asian buyers such as China and India for sweet grades as regional supplies from matured fields dwindle while strong dated Brent prices may curb arbitrage flows from the Atlantic Basin.

"I think it is a combination of increased demand, less product imports in favor of crude and improved refinery utilization," said Al Troner, president of Asia Pacific Energy Consulting.

Southeast Asia's largest economy imported 11 percent more crude this year than in 2009, at around 103,000 barrels per day, as refineries improved processing rates. This followed annual declines of 10 percent to 12 percent between 2007 and last year, data from Reuters and FACTS Global Energy showed.

The country will remain one of Asia's top buyers of sweet crude to feed its refineries, which lack upgrading capabilities to process domestic grades that have increasingly higher sulfur content. It has also built new storage tanks for bigger imports.

Indonesia could have boosted its refinery utilization to 90 percent to 95 percent from 80 percent to 85 percent in recent years, said John Vautrain, from Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. But a lack of new oil refining capacity, as well as growing use of gas and coal in critical industries, could cap purchases over the next few years.

The former OPEC member's push to limit oil imports by boosting domestic supply took a hit from problems last month at its two largest fields, Minas and Duri, with production set to fall short of the 965,000-bpd goal this year. Declining output at Indonesia's aging fields and sudden shutdowns in oil wells have often derailed its plans to meet annual production targets.

"The problem in Indonesia has been, other than these big projects [Cepu, Tangguh], there's been no other big new sources of crude oil," said Stuart Traver, from Gaffney Cline and Associates.

Exxon Mobil expects peak oil production of 165,000 bpd from its Cepu block, one of the oil major's top 10 projects worldwide, to be delayed until the end of 2013, with current production seen around 20,000 bpd.

Indonesia needs a plan to spur operators to either explore more or try to enhance production in its own existing fields, Traver said. "A big, big part of Indonesia's future is how they get companies to explore and develop discoveries in the deepwater [off eastern Indonesia]," he said.

Indonesia has been trying to ease its reliance on imports by tapping more domestic supply for refineries and cutting the use of oil products for power and fertilizer production by switching to coal and gas. It aims to use renewables for a quarter of its total energy mix by 2025, with coal at 32.7 percent and gas at 30.6 percent.

Infrastructure & development

Indonesia government plans to finalize land reform law by end of year

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2010

Shirley Christie, Jakarta – A draft bill to regulate land acquisition for public projects was sent to the president last week and would reach the legislature before the end of the year, the head of the National Land Agency said on Wednesday.

The assurance came during a luncheon hosted by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club, where Joyo Winoto, the head of the agency, also known as the BPN, was a guest speaker.

According to Joyo, the government plans to conduct "peaceful and lawful" agrarian reform to accelerate the country's infrastructure development and correct land ownership imbalances.

Joyo said the reform was key to accelerating economic growth and allowing Indonesia to follow in the footsteps of countries like Japan, India and China, all of which had successfully converted farm land for industrialization while protecting the rights of land owners.

The government is restricted in its ability to redistribute land due to strong public resistance. "We exercise ways to redistribute wealth within society, but every time we talk about land acquisition, everyone is pessimistic," Joyo said.

He said the new Agrarian Law was based on the principles of Pancasila, the state ideology, and existing laws. "Basically, with the Agrarian Law, Articles 1 to 15, the emphasis is on social justice. The rest is how to manage control of land by society," he said.

Joyo added that the law would tread a middle line between socialism and capitalism because it acknowledged private ownership but also involved the community.

He later explained that the market-based agrarian reform strategy, which has been used by the World Bank, would expand the land market by facilitating the transfer of ownership transparently and without force.

Countries such as Zimbabwe have adopted radical reform policies, but Indonesia, he said, did not want to head down that path.

Joyo said the government would determine land use through consensus and ensure sale prices were based on transparent administrative value, also called NJOP, determined by government officials. An independent land appraisal unit would determine land values, he said.

If the price was in dispute, landowners could appeal to a local court, which would have 14 days to decide on the value.

Vital infrastructure projects often grind to a halt due to land acquisition problems, which analysts say discourage potential investors.

Economy & investment

New Kadin board urging Indonesian government incentives for growth

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2010

Faisal Maliki Baskoro & Fransiska Nangoy, Jakarta – With economic opportunity knocking on Indonesia's doors, the freshly formed board of the country's chamber of commerce has called on the government to provide greater incentives for businesses and a stimulus package to help the nation achieve double-digit growth by 2014.

Suryo Bambang Sulisto, the new chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said on Thursday that business-friendly policies were needed to boost Indonesian companies, which were facing stiff competition from foreign firms.

"Next year's economic challenge will be tough," Suryo said. "The new executive board will discuss with the government the stimulus package that the business world needs in order to reach double-digit growth by 2014."

Comprising some of the country's most powerful businessmen, Kadin's newly inaugurated executive board also said it was keen to work closely with the government to boost growth.

Suryo added that in the next five to 10 years, the Western economies that had powered the world economy and served as the main export destinations for Indonesia would suffer more economic slowdowns.

Indonesia therefore needed to find new markets for its goods if the economy was to continue to expand. The country, he added, should focus on its competitive advantages, including its big population, rich natural resources and ample agricultural land.

"Indonesia's economy is gridlocked. This means that if we experience an economic decline, the impact would be severe," he said. "But the economy cannot grow faster because it is lagging in infrastructure."

Indonesia has been one of the fastest growing economies in the region this year and escaped relatively unscathed from the global economic downturn in 2008, but lack of infrastructure and excessive red tape has stunted growth. The economy is expected to achieve 6 percent growth in gross domestic product this year.

Kadin's call has been heeded by the government, with the coordinating minister for the economy, Hatta Rajasa, saying the chamber will play an important role in helping boost per capita income to $5,500, from $3,300 now, over the next few years. "The government sees Kadin as a strategic partner," he said. "We will facilitate a quarterly meeting to improve policy coordination and formulation."

James Riady, Kadin's deputy chairman for manpower, education and health, said that over the next five years, significant investment should go into improving education and health so that they meet international standards and be affordable at the same time.

"Only 2 percent of the population can afford to study at university," he said, "so building more universities, especially in eastern Indonesia, will be crucial."

Riady is deputy chairman of the Lippo Group, which is affiliated with the Jakarta Globe.

Zulkarnain Arief, Kadin's deputy chairman for infrastructure, construction and property, also called for the government to spend more on infrastructure, which would help create jobs.

"Construction companies are struggling with stiff competition and soaring raw material prices," he said. "The government must provide us with stimuli, even if it means increasing its budget deficit – as long as the industry grows."

Kadin on Thursday also announced its new board members, including prominent businessmen like Emirsyah Satar, president director of flag carrier Garuda Indonesia; Rosan P. Roeslani, president director of Recapital Advisers; and Peter F. Gontha, president commissioner at First Media.

A surprise addition to the committee was Edhie Baskoro, also known as Ibas, the 28-year-old lawmaker son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Edhie was elected as Kadin's deputy chairman for international promotion, tourism and culture.

"Ibas was elected based on his experience at the House of Representative's Commission I, overseeing defense and foreign affairs," Suryo said. "He may be young, but Kadin needs to start regenerating."

Finance & banking

Half-spent Indonesia budget sign of 'lack of planning'

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2010

Francezka Nangoy – In keeping with recent history, Finance Ministry data released on Tuesday showed that the government had spend just over half the national budget so far this year.

As of Nov. 22, the government had disbursed only Rp 556.28 trillion ($61.75 billion), or 56 percent of the total budget of Rp 993.14 trillion.

The slow rate of spending worries experts, who point out that government expenditure is a crucial pillar for growth in the economy. A key area where spending is lagging is infrastructure development, according to an analyst.

Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, chief economist at state brokerage Danareksa Sekuritas, said the low rate of budget spending shows poor planning for projects.

He noted that the Ministry of Public Works had only spent Rp 18.26 trillion of its allocation, or 49.26 percent of its Rp 37 trillion. The ministry is responsible for development of roads, bridges and ports.

"This is not about how much money the government can save, but how the government will use the money it has to push the economy," Purbaya said. He said it was also disappointing that the government did not spend the budget evenly, pushing spending at the end of the year to catch up.

However, lawmaker Harry Azhar Azis, deputy chairman of House Commission XI, which oversees finance, remains optimistic. "Maybe there are projects that are already in progress but have just not been disbursed," he said in a telephone interview.

He said the House of Representatives is pressing the government to evaluate its spending every three months in 2011 and to implement a reward-and- punishment model for ministries to spend their budget allocations.

Eric Sugandi, an economist from Standard Chartered Bank, said one reason for poor infrastructure development is concern about coming to the attention of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). "There are many cases where the appointed project managers are too careful in spending their budgets for fear of the KPK."