Nethy Dharma Somba and Yemris Fointuna, Jayapura/Kupang – One person was killed in a clash between residents and police personnel in Moenamani village, Nabire, Papua, on Wednesday, while two residents and three police members were injured.

The identity of the deceased has not yet been confirmed due to a communication problem in Moenamani, while the wounded are currently being treated at Nabire Public Hospital.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono told The Jakarta Post that the clash broke out at around 2:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday when a crowd attacked Moenamani Police station. An hour earlier, its police nabbed drunk residents and those who bought illegal togel lottery tickets at Moenamani Market.

Residents did not accept the police action and later assembled at Moenamani Police asking them to return the lottery tickets they had confiscated earlier. They also asked police to legalize togel as public entertainment.

The crowd grew and began vandalizing the police station, tossing rocks. Police personnel responded with warning shots, but one hit a resident who died later, and the other injured a resident. The situation mounted when the crowd set fire to Moenamani Market. "During the clash, the police chief's pistol was reportedly seized by the crowd. We still need proof on this," said Wachyono.

The Moenamani Police later asked Paniai and Nabire Police forces for assistance, including backup from the local military command.

The situation in Moenamani has since returned to normal. The crowd has dispersed and returned to their respective villages.

Separately, three residents from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in Gendang Hero Koe hamlet, Ketang village, Lelak district, Manggarai regency, were killed and 10 others seriously injured after a group, believed to be from Gendang Langke Norang village, attacked them Wednesday noon. The attack was believed to be triggered by a land boundary dispute.

The victims were identified as Gerardus Gabut, Matias Jemali and Petrus Jemali. The 10 wounded victims suffered critical injuries and are receiving treatment from the Cancar Community Health Center and Ruteng Public Hospital.

West Manggarai Vice Regent Deno Kamelus said his office had requested police aid to secure the incident scene to prevent further clashes. "It's a pity because the disputing parties have family ties. They should have resolved the issue amicably," said Kamelus.

A relative of a deceased, Marthin Sinani, said the clash stemmed from a traditional ritual carried out by a family from Gendang Hero Koe at its ancestors' cemetery. "During worship, a group of people from Gendang Langke Norang armed with knives and machetes arrived. Many victims were from Gendang Hero Koe's side," he said.

Another Indonesian film to feature international porn star

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani – The latest Indonesian movie featuring an international porn star is set to hit the country's screens at the end of the month, the producers said on Tuesday.

Iyan Widjaya, a publicist for the movie "Pocong Mandi Goyang Pinggul" ("Shrouded Corpse Bathing While Hip-Shaking"), said it would feature an appearance by US porn starlet Sasha Grey.

"Although this is an Indonesian movie, Sasha's lines are in English and she plays the main role in the movie," he told the Jakarta Globe. "Basically, we'e ready to bring this movie to cinema screens on April 28 because it's been passed by the LSF [Film Censorship Board]."

Iyan said the movie, produced by K2K Production, was set in Jakarta and Los Angeles, where Grey's scenes were filmed over 10 days.

"Because there are also Indonesian actors in the movie, after we finished filming Sasha's part, we continued production in Jakarta for a couple of weeks of shooting," he said, adding the Indonesian actresses in it were Anisa Bahar and Baby Margaretha.

He said the producers would launch a contest for the public as part of efforts to promote the movie, with three lucky winners getting flight tickets to Los Angeles.

The movie is the latest in a growing list of Indonesian productions employing foreign porn stars to generate box-office hype. Previous cameos have been done by Japanese starlets Maria Ozawa aka Miyabi, Rin Sakuragi and Sora Aoi, as well as US porn queen Tera Patrick.

Iyan said "Pocong Mandi Goyang Pinggul," directed by Yoyok Dumpling, went with Grey because she was "more prominent" than Miyabi, who is hugely popular in Indonesia.

Sri Mulyani steals SBY's limelight

Jakarta Post - April 9, 2011

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – In an event attended by finance ministers and senior officials from ASEAN states, as well as representatives of various regional and international organizations in Bali on Friday, journalists paid most attention to a familiar charming lady.

At the 15th ASEAN Finance Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, all eyes were on Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the World Bank managing director and former Indonesian finance minister. Her departure from the Finance Ministry to Washington, DC in May last year was the result of pressure from major political parties, especially the Golkar Party and its chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Twenty or more journalists ran after the 48-year-old reform-minded economist, asking questions such as "How are you?" and "How's everything?" as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo and other ministers walked past.

Sri Mulyani, widely known for her tough character, answered, "I'm good, I'm good. I arrived [in Bali] last night. All is well, thank you."

When asked if she had met the President prior to the opening ceremony of the meeting, Sri Mulyani, dressed in a green and black batik dress, answered, "I met him earlier this morning. We met with other delegates."

Rumors and speculation abounded that Sri Mulyani's acceptance of a prestigious post at the World Bank was an order by Yudhoyono and was not negotiable.

Soon after saying she had met the President, Sri Mulyani stopped taking questions and walked on, but journalists continued to block her way. "I cannot move," Sri Mulyani, who is now a "Washingtonian", said in English.

This marks Sri Mulyani's first visit to Indonesia after almost a year at World Bank headquarter in Washington, DC.

A local newspaper journalist stood still from afar while fellow reporters interviewed Sri Mulyani. "I just wanted to see her. It's been a long time since I last saw her," Dwi Tupani, a Media Indonesia reporter, said when asked why she did not approach Sri Mulyani herself. When told about this, Sri Mulyani patted Dwi on the back, saying, "So sweet."

Sri Mulyani, the only woman posing for pictures with the 17 ASEAN key figures at the Bali opening ceremony, is scheduled to return to Washington on Saturday after a brief two-day visit to Bali.

"The Banteng people did not ask me to come. They did not invite me," she said, referring to Lapangan Banteng, a soccer field in Central Jakarta close to the Finance Ministry and office of the coordinating minister for the economy.

Despite not being invited to "Banteng", Sri Mulyani still managed to joke about "Banteng people" (Finance Ministry officials). "I heard the current Echelon I [level of civil servants] is getting fatter?" she said, hinting that current Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo was "not tough enough".

"The current minister is not as tough as I was. I was a step-mother. I [told the Banteng people] to eat and exercise. But it was actually good. Now it's 'dangerous'," she told smiling journalists, who may have sensed the hidden meaning of "fat".

Activists blame government in case of imposter 'wife'

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Nurfika Osman – Rights activists on Friday said a man who was detained for forging his documents to pose as a woman was actually the victim, instead blaming the Indonesian government for forcing him to hide his identity.

Rahmat Sulistyo is being investigated by police for changing his identification to state that he was Fransiska Annastasya Oktaviany, or Icha, after his real identity was uncovered by neighbors who had become suspicious after he married a man.

"Icha forged the documents because the government doesn't recognize the gender role that Icha wants to play," said Inez Angela, an activist from GWL INA, an association for gay and transgender people. "Why do we have to blame Icha here?"

Inez said gender and sexual identity were complex issues and no one should be forced to play certain roles based on the prevailing sociocultural system. "There are people who are born men but they have thoughts and emotions like a woman, or vice versa. But we are also human," he said.

According to Inez, transgender people in Indonesia have never had an easy time getting IDs, a problem that he has been dealing with since 2006. "That is why many transgenders choose not to have any ID at all," he said.

Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, a former lawmaker for the National Awakening Party (PKB) and current director of the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Apik), said the country's legal system did not accommodate people who were different. "The fact is that only through legal recognition can they fight for their rights formally, within the law," she said.

According to Nursyahbani, problems such as Icha's case would continue to arise so long as people's identities were regulated by the state. "An individual does not have the right to talk about what they feel and what gender role they want to play here," she said.

Nursyahbani said the 2006 Law on Citizenship Administration did not accommodate a transgender identity even though the transgender community at the time had pushed lawmakers to include them. "We are still living in a world where it is always male and female; we are trapped in this traditional binary gender model," she said.

Baby Jim Aditya, a prominent psychologist and HIV activist, said it was wrong to believe that sexual orientation was innate and fixed.

"Sexual orientation is a combination of genetic, hormonal and environmental influences and it develops across a person's lifetime – patterns of emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to men, women, both genders, neither gender or another gender," she said.

"When it comes to sexual orientation, Indonesia is always debating which is wrong or right, sinful or not. This leads people like Icha to use a social mask in order to be accepted in society. Icha dresses like a woman, forges his ID and marries a man."

Baby Jim said some people unfortunately still believed that transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual people were actually suffering from a mental illness.

"People should know that since 1993 we've had the PPDGJ [Guidelines of Classifications and Diagnoses for Mental Illness], and the police officers who quiz Icha should learn psychology and sexual orientation more deeply," she said.

Sri Agustine, a lesbian activist, said the worst part of Icha's case was the fact that people believed he had hidden his gender from his husband for six months. "I don't think that if you're living together for six months you wouldn't know your partner," she said.

Icha was married in September after the couple met on Facebook and agreed to marry following a brief courtship.

Icha's identity was revealed when neighbors this week stripped his clothes off following months of speculation about his gender. The marriage has since been declared invalid. The activists said the neighbors' treatment of Icha was also a human rights violation.

Aceh

Activists denounce shariah vigilante justice in Aceh

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Human rights activists on Tuesday criticized Aceh's provincial administration for failing to prevent vigilantes from punishing alleged violators of Shariah law in a variety of ways – from sexually harassing people to beating them up.

Activists Evi Narti Zain and Hendra Fadli said that if the province's apparatus and the general public in Aceh could take matters into their own hands by physically punishing people for violating Islamic laws, it was because they were allowed by local authorities to do as they pleased.

Evi is executive director of the human rights coalition HAM Aceh while Hendra is coordinator of the Aceh office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

The activists' statements come on the heels of a sexual harassment incident involving three men who raided a home in Ajun Jeumpet village of Aceh Besar. An amateur male photographer there was taking pictures of a girl who was not related to him by blood. The girl, identified as 18-year-old Aliyah, was then allegedly subjected to sexual harassment – the men who raided the house stripped and groped her, before verbally humiliating her.

Aliyah was subsequently caned outside the Al Munawarah Mosque in Jantho, in accordance with Aceh's Shariah law, for committing khalwat, or being in close proximity with photographer Setya, a married man. She received four lashes as punishment.

Aliyah's family filed a police report against the three men. One of them, Sabirin, a 45-year-old civil servant, has been arrested and is facing trial at the Jantho District Court. The other two remain at large.

Hendra argued that vigilante justice continued to occur because perpetrators were rarely prosecuted by the law. According to Kontras's records, more than 100 cases of street justice relating to perceived Shariah-law breaches have occurred in Aceh in the past three years. These included false imprisonment, raids and beatings, Hendra said. "Even police – when they conduct raids they are supposed to get a warrant," he added.

Hendra urged Aceh's Shariah Office to educate people in the province to prevent them from taking justice into their own hands in the name of Islam.

Evi said that conducting street justice and vigilante crackdowns on people's homes simply because of alleged violations of Shariah law constitutes a violation of human rights.

Indonesian couples caned over extramarital affairs

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Aceh Besar – Two couples in staunchly Muslim Aceh were caned in public on Friday for separate acts of indecency.

The first pair, Sudirman, 43, and Irdayanti, 34, each received nine lashes of the cane by the Wilayatul Hisbah, or Shariah Police, for committing adultery. Both are married to other people, though Irdayanti is in the process of divorcing her husband.

A crowd of 200 people gathered outside the Al Munawwarah Mosque in Jantho, Aceh Besar district, to watch the caning shortly after noon prayers.

Sudirman and Irdayanti had been sentenced to the punishment the previous day by the Jantho Shariah Court. Prosecutor Bendry Almy said both were guilty of khalwat, or "close proximity," under a 2003 Shariah bylaw that carries a maximum punishment of nine strokes of the cane and a minimum of three.

"In their case, the harshest penalty was handed down because both were married at the time they committed the crime," he said.

Sudirman and Irdayanti were caught together in the latter's bedroom on Jan. 1 by neighbors. It remains unclear what they were doing.

"Irdayanti was known to frequently invite men into her home," said Teungku Syarifuddin, deputy commander of the provincial Shariah Police. "That got the neighbors all riled up, so that night they busted into the house."

The mob then took the couple to the local police station to be charged.

The second couple caned on Friday was Rudi Setia Yudda, 40, and his alleged mistress, Nuramalia, 18. Rudi was caned seven times while Nuramalia received four strokes. The two were also accused of close proximity after being found alone in a room together.

Yusuf, head of general crimes at the Jantho Prosecutors' Office, said that in the incident on Jan. 18, Yusuf had been caught photographing Nuramalia, who was dressed in see-through clothing.

Syarifuddin said that in the ensuing mob arrest, Nuramalia had been molested by several of the men leading the raid. "The Banda Aceh Police are now investigating the molestation case brought by the woman," he said.

Friday's canings were marked by occasional taunts and jeers from onlookers. "That's what you get for fooling around," one person called out as Sudirman and Rudi were being lashed.

Shortly after her caning, Irdayanti passed out and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

None of the four were allowed to consult a lawyer during their trials at the Shariah Court, unlike four district officials caught for gambling in January. The officials were each sentenced to 11 lashes but have yet to be caned pending appeals mounted by their legal teams.

Shariah law was first implemented in Aceh in August 2003 after an order by then-president Megawati Sukarnoputri granted the province partial autonomy as part of an attempt to ease separatist tensions.

However, the system has been dogged by criticism over perceived double standards heavily in favor of officials over regular citizens.

Grenade attack on Aceh party official's home

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Unknown assailants threw a live grenade at the home of an Aceh Party leader early Friday, sparking fears about the resurgence of politically motivated terrorism in the province.

The attack on the house of Izil Azhar, head of the Sabang chapter of the party, occurred at 3:30 a.m. on the outskirts of Banda Aceh. No one was injured in the incident, although some damage was reported to the house's facade and to Izil's car.

Syahrial, the politician's brother, said Izil had just half an hour earlier returned home from the Lampriet area of the city. He added he believed Izil had been meeting with Governor Irwandi Yusuf, who lives in Lampriet and whom the Aceh Party recently announced it would no longer back for re- election in October's gubernatorial polls.

"We were all shocked and we ducked [when the grenade exploded]," Syahrial said, adding there had been six women in the house with them at the time. "We didn't dare look outside until the police arrived."

Banda Aceh Police Chief Sr. Comr. Armensyah Thay said police still had no leads on who the perpetrators were or their motive in targeting Izil's home. "All we've been able to ascertain at this point is the type of grenade used, which we determined from the discarded pin," he said.

The police chief declined to say whether Friday's incident was linked to a spate of similar grenade attacks against politicians between late 2008 and April 2009.

Those attacks, in the lead-up to the 2009 legislative elections, targeted the offices and homes of politicians from several parties, but especially those from the Aceh Party, which was founded by former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) guerilla fighters. Nine men were later convicted for those attacks.

Friday's attack also comes in the run-up to key elections. In conjunction with the gubernatorial election in October, voters in 16 districts and cities in the province will also go to the polls to elect district heads and mayors. Izil, a former marine who deserted to join the GAM, previously served as the separatist group's commander for Sabang, before the Helsinki-brokered peace agreement of 2005 ended the 30-year insurrection and led to the disbanding of the GAM.

In February, police named Izil a suspect for assaulting a Sabang businessman over a soured development project. To date, he has not been detained and the case has not yet gone to trial.

West Papua

Papuan lawmaker wants police chief fired after two civilians shot dead

Jakarta Globe - April 15, 2011

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A Papuan legislator has called for the firing of the provincial police chief following the shooting deaths of two people in Dogyai district this week.

Ruben Magai, a Democratic Party lawmaker at the Papua Legislative Council (DPRD), said on Friday that the Papua Police chief should be held accountable for his men opening fire on civilians with live rounds on Wednesday.

"The police continue to take a brutal and trigger-happy line against the Papuan people," he said. "This shameful incident only adds to the long list of human rights violations by the authorities here."

The police said they were forced to open fire after rioters attacked the Moenamani subdistrict police station in retaliation for an earlier raid on an illegal gambling den. Two civilians were killed and three others injured.

However, officials from the Kingmi Church said there was never any raid. They claimed officers shook down two people for money, one of whom, Dominikus Auwe, was selling tickets for togel, a popular lottery-like game.

Dominikus then went to the police station with three others to demand his money back. "The police shot him point-blank in the chest and head, killing him on the spot," said Yones Douw, the church's peace and justice coordinator.

He said police then shot two and wounded others, Albertus Pigai and Vince Yobe. A riot later broke out and the police station was attacked but no one was injured in that incident.

In response, a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit was deployed to the area. The next day, a man was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest, while another was wounded in the arm and leg.

Yones alleged the police had shaken down Dominikus to protect Made, a rival togel dealer from Bali.

"Made was the one who started the togel racket here last year, but because the police get a cut of his action, they protect him and crack down on his competition," Yones said.

Police chief urged to resign following shootings in Moanemani, Dogiyai

Bintang Papua - April 15, 2011

Chairman of Commission A Parliament of Papua together with Dogiyai citizens went to the Papua Police Headquarters on Friday (15/4) in connection with the bloody incidents that have occurred in the District of Moanemani Dogiyai.

Jayapura-Papua Police Chief, Inspector General of Police, Beko MSI Suprapto was urged to resign immediately, because of his inability to safeguard security and protect local residents following a shooting incident in Moanemani Dogiyai District on Wednesday (13/4) at 12.00 noon which killed Dominic Auwe (27) and Aloysius Waine (25) while two others [three names given] suffered injuries, Vince Yobe (23) and Albertus Pigai (25) and Matthias Lyai (27). Dominic Auwe died from wounds in the chest and head with the bullet still in his body. Waine suffered a gunshot wound to the chest when bullets penetrated his head.

Yobe suffered a gunshot wound in the chest which exited through his right armpit. Albertus Pigai suffered a gunshot wound in the back which penetrated his front ribs and abdomen. Matias Lyai (27) suffered a gunshot wound in the calf, ankles and soles.

This was explained by the Chairman of Commission A of the Parliament of Papua, Ruben Magai, accompanied by Chairman of Parliament Dogiyai Lamek Kotouki SH, Ananias Pigai Commission Vice Chairman, Member of Parliament of Papua, Hagar Commission E Aksamina Medes, Chairman of the Front PEPERA PB Selpius Bobii and community representatives from Dogiyai when issuing a press release regarding shooting incident which involved four civilians in Dogiyai, at the room of the Papuan parliament of Papua, on Friday (15/4).

This incident had been triggered by an increase in toggle gambling in Moanemani, the capital of the District of Dogiyai. It is suspected that the gambling is backed by the local police. Prior to this incident, a dispute had broken out between police and the seller of the toggle, when security apparatus reached the toggle sales location in Moanemani Market.

Without saying word, the security forces seized money from the toggle seller who immediately went to the police office in Moanemani to ask for her money back. There was a fierce exchange of words that ended in gunfire that killed two civilians and wounded three people.

Not satisfied with the actions of the police, a large crowd of people burned down the Moanemani police office.

The chairman of the Democratic Party in the Papuan Parliament urged the central government to immediately deal with this bloody incident. He also appealed to the National Human Rights Commission to conduct an investigation into this incident and disseminate the results to the international community since such problems are a part of the continual abuse of human rights in Papua.

"We demand that the new Papua police chief should properly understand conditions in Papua and should be able to provide security for the local communities," he said.

The chairman of the Dogiyai Parliament, Kotouki SH Lamek, who was present at the time expressed his concern about the humanitarian tragedy that had occurred in Dogiyai, whereas the addition deployment of additional of military personnel and police did not safeguard security but created feelings of intimidation and the random shooting of innocent civilians. Adding to the tragedy was the fact that when the disaster occurred, local government officials were absent from Dogoyai.

"The actions taken by the security forces in Dogiyai were inhumane," he said.

A local resident who arrived in Jayapura on Friday (15/4) reported that the security forces had seized his pistol and demanded the return of the weapon no later than Friday (15/4).

The chairman of Committee A of the Papuan Parliament, Ruben Magai Dogiyai, together with local citizens urged the Papua police headquarters Inspector General of Papua Police chief Pol Suprapto MSI to resign immediately because the shooting incident had involved civilians in Moanemani Dogiyai District. However, the officials concerned were not present. Finally the head of Police public relations Papua Police Commissioner Pol Wachyono... (sentence in original not complete).

At the time that this report was written, the situation in Moanemani was still tense. Security forces supported by the TNI conducting sweepings at the scene forced many residents to flee to safer locations.

Meanwhile, the Justice and Peace Coordinator in Papua, Yones Douw of the Kingmi Church said in a press release that the tragedy Moenamani was a gross human rights violation. The police had shot people at random just because of gambling. he said.

"This is a crime against humanity, because police shot and killed people just because of something very trivial," he said.

The chronology of the incident according to the Kingmi Papuan Church is as follows:

On April 13, at about 09:00, Dominokus Auwe was selling gambling toggle coupons in Moenamani Market. There were many buyers. Suddenly members of the Moenamani police arrived at the place where the sales were taking place and immediately seized money from the victim and from another person called Seme. After that, the police returned to police headquarters. Because they had lost money, the victim and two colleagues went to police station and asked for the money to be refunded. "When the victim asked for his money to be returned, police said nothing but immediately shot the victim in the chest and head. The victim died in front of the police station," he said.

After that, the police shot another victim named Albert Pigai in the ribs and shot Vince Yobe in the chest. "The third victim was taken to the nearby health center."

When they heard about the brutal incident, the residents refused to accept the police explanation and went to police station which and set on fire. They also attacked the barracks dormitory kiosk belonging to Madeleine Airport in Moenamani. The crowd also attacked local police headquarters and several members of the Police.

At 12:00 noon on the same day, Albert Pigai and Vince Yobe were taken away by the police from the health clinic and taken to Nabire Hospital.

Both were given infusions which restored them to consciousness when they realised that they had been treated while in handcuffs.

Not long afterwards, two truckloads of Brimob and Dalmas troops arrived in Moenamani. On the next day 14 April, five trucks from Battalion 753 special team arrived in Moenamani from Nabire. A resident named Alwisius Wanine Ikebo was found dead in the village of Ikebo with a gunshot wound to the chest. And on the same day, the two victims were buried.

According to Yones, a businessman from Bali named Made had opened the Moenamani toggle gambling site in 2010, with police protection for the business in exchange for a fee. The toggle business toggle is very attractive to local citizens, which is why Made launched the sales agency.

The Police should have arrested the resident bookie Moenamai, not the retailers, but because the police are paid a fee, they have become untouchable,' he said.

This illegal business are always constantly protected by the police, and when citizens demanded that it be closed down, they are confronted by the security apparatus. "Because the police benefit from the Made, they always protect it and only arrest the retailers,' he said. (Jir/MDC/don)

Angry gamblers attack police in Papua

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Following a police raid on gambling at a market in Papua on Wednesday, hundreds of people retaliated by attacking the police chief and the precinct office. Two people were injured in the incident.

Police raided the Moenamai market in Dogyai district at noon to close down gambling locations there.

Soon after, hundreds of people came to the police station in protest of the raid and demanded a guarantee there would be no more action against gambling in the area.

When the police chief refused to comply, he was attacked by some of the rioters who tried to seize his gun. He escaped, but the mob outside began pelting the police office with rocks, Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono said.

The crowd grew even more angry after police opened fire, injuring two people. The crowd then went to the Moenamai market and burned down some kiosks in protest, Wachyono said.

Group urges Vanuatu PM to clarify Papua stance

Radio New Zealand International - April 13, 2011

The Free West Papua Association in Vanuatu has asked the coalition government of the prime minister, Sato Kilman, to clarify its position on the Papua issue.

The Association's President, Pastor Allan Nafuki, says it is well aware that some ministers don't support the decision by Mr Kilman to give Indonesia observer status at the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Pastor Nafuki says the people of Vanuatu are confused over the stance by Mr Kilman's government and the association would like clarification after the MSG again snubbed the Papuans' bid to become observers.

He reminded Mr Kilman that Vanuatu has diplomatic relations with France but it is New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS movement which is an MSG member, and not the government of France.

Papua church leader warns of 'unfair' gubernatorial election

Jakarta Post - April 11, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The death of a prominent Papuan leader has sparked concerns over the security of the upcoming gubernatorial election in the volatile region.

GKI Papua synod deputy chairman Rev. Elimelekh D. Doirebo said that the demise of former Papuan People's Assembly speaker Agus Alue Alua destroyed any expectations of a fair and safe election for the province this September, as well as undermined the possibility of a pro-Papuan Assembly.

"Agus was very vocal in fighting for the rights of the Papuan people, including supporting the policy that Papua local administration heads must be Papuan," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Agus reportedly died Thursday at Dian Harapan Hospital in Jayapura. Agus, who was re-elected to the Assembly for a second term, died soon after being admitted to hospital. The cause of death is unknown.

Agus was known for his policies, including a decree stipulating that Papua local administration heads and their deputies must be from the region. "We believe Agus died as a result of the persistent intimidation he faced," Elimelekh said.

He claimed Agus faced threats especially from Barisan Merah Putih, which wanted to oust the original members of the Assembly whom they perceived as too radical in their defense of Papuan rights and their opposition to special autonomy.

In June last year, rallies initiated by the original Assembly members drew thousands in Jayapura, who issued 11 recommendations for a better solution to the strife in Papua.

The protestors urged the central government to annul special autonomy, which they claimed was a tool for the central government to win the hearts of Papuans while toning down demands for independence. They also called for a dialog mediated by neutral international parties to address Papuan grievances.

"Several Papuans in Jakarta once came to Papua to meet Agus and basically forced him to stop criticizing the election of new Assembly members and special autonomy. They also forced him to step down," Elimelekh claimed.

Later, he added, Agus was removed from the roster of new Assembly members following accusations he supported separatism.

Hana Hikoyabi, who was also re-elected to the Assembly, was likewise disqualified. As of today, the new elected Assembly members, who will serve until 2016, have not been inaugurated.

The GKI, along with Papua's KINGMI synod and Papua's Baptist churches synod, boast a following of more than 1.3 million members, most of them native Papuans.

Freeport car crash duo died in fire, police claim

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The funeral for two employees of mining giant PT Freeport took place Sunday while a police report said the two died in a fire.

Daniel Mansawan was buried in Timika on Sunday while Harry Siregar's remains were flown to Jakarta for burial. The two, who were security officials in the company, were found dead Thursday night in their burned- out car at the mile 37 marker of the Tanggul Timur road near Nayaro village.

The car itself had bullet holes, raising speculation that the men were shot dead. However, police say autopsy results proved otherwise.

"The results of the autopsy conducted by our forensics team show that the cause of death was fire," Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono wrote in a text massage to The Jakarta Post.

Although the cause of death was confirmed to have been the fire, Wachyono said police would continue to investigate the discovery of the bullet holes in the car and a shooting incident that occurred the day before.

Abdul Simanjuntak and Agus Patah, both also Freeport employees, were fired upon on Wednesday while driving. They were not hit, but were injured by shards of glass from the windscreen.

Military authorities in the province said they were helping the police conduct sweeping raids to search for the shooter. "We have been continuously involved in security operations," Mimika military commander Bonni Christian Pardede was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

He denied suggestions that the military and police were not serious about providing security for employees of Freeport or its subcontractors. Freeport employees had staged a rally outside the Mimika legislative council building following the two incidents.

"We are serious. We never assume duties in a not-serious manner. We all want security. No one wants such incidents happening," he said.

He said guaranteeing security for Freeport employees and Mimika residents in general was a shared responsibility. "There is a need for better cooperation all sides, including the company and the government, if we are realize that the company and employees are state assets," he said.

Local leaders and councilors were also criticized by protesters, who on Saturday staged a rally for their two dead colleagues. They said they believed the two men were killed before their car was set on fire.

"The death of Daniel and Harry was an inhumane act because they were killed and then burnt like animals," a protester said. "The government and the council do not seem concerned about the case while they live on royalties and employees' taxes."

They voiced their disappointment at the treatment they received from councilors following a rally on Friday, in which no council members met with them.

Freeport spokesman Ramdani Sirait said the company hoped the incidents would not distract employees. "The workers' union instructed employees to return to work and to leave the case to the authorities to investigate the security disturbances," Ramdani said.

Two Freeport workers die in Papua

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Two employees of mining giant Freeport were killed in Papua after the car they were traveling in overturned and caught fire, a company spokesman said on Friday.

Freeport spokesman Ramdani Sirait said the incident occurred outside of the company's mining area at about 6:15 p.m. on Thursday. The two company employees were security manager Daniel Mansawan and security officer Aris Siregar, he said.

Police sources have said they found spent bullets at the scene indicating that the car might have overturned after it had been shot. "We are assisting the police in their investigation of the incident," Ramdani said, declining further comment. Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono was not immediately available for comment.

Early on Friday, hundreds of Freeport security employees gathered in front of the regional legislature in Timika, in a show of support for their two deceased colleagues.

Paulus Kogoya, coordinator of the event, said that since 2009, four members of the Freeport security department had been killed and dozens of others injured but none of the perpetrators had been found or punished.

"As their colleagues, we want to remind management – and the outside world – that between 2009 and 2011, it has been members of the security department who have been the victims," Paulus said.

"We are concerned by this incident and demand that this case be comprehensively investigated in line with prevailing legal procedures." The demonstrators held a joint prayer session and also demanded that the perpetrators be found.

"If not, we will take the bodies of our colleagues and bury them in the front square of the Freeport office in Kuala Kencana," Paulus said.

Demianus Dimara, a Freeport vice president, asked employees to return to work while awaiting the results of autopsies on the two victims, which will be performed at Tembagapura Hospital.

The incident occurred just a day after shots were fired at another company car, wounding two Freeport employees. Police said on Friday that they had found empty bullet cartridges at the scene of the shooting, at mile 37 on the road leading to the mine.

The Freeport mining complex and its employees have often been targeted by snipers. Police have alleged that Papua separatists are behind the attacks, claims the separatists deny.

In January, gunmen ambushed and fired at a convoy of vehicles carrying Freeport employees and family members on the highway between the mine and Kuala Kencana, injuring nine.

The injured included an American and a South African who had been working at the Grasberg gold and copper mine, the teenage daughter of a mine employee, as well as four Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police officers on security detail.

The Papuan mine is run by a subsidiary of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.

[Additional reporting from Antara, AP.]

Military ties

Indonesia, US armies to hold joint training in June

Jakarta Post - April 15, 2011

Jakarta – Around 700 soldiers from the Indonesian and US armed forces will take part in the "Garuda Shield" training, an annual 12-day peacekeeping training camp, starting June 1 this year.

"This year, the training will be held at the headquarters of the Army Engineering Education Center in Bogor," Col. Dedy Agus Purwanto, the head of the general information subdivision at the Army Information Office, said on Thursday.

Around 400 national army personnel, consisting of soldiers from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), are expected to take part in the training, which will be divided into two activities: post training exercises and field training exercises. The training will include urban warfare simulations and civil service missions, Dedy said.

"We will also conduct civil service projects in the surrounding communities," he added, citing construction work as an example. Dedy said he hoped the joint training would strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two nations.

Prince Andrew attacked for opening door to arms dealers

The Times - April 11, 2011

David Brown – Prince Andrew, the Duke of York was criticised for "opening doors for arms dealers" yesterday, while senior business and political figures gave their backing to his role as a government trade envoy.

Prince Andrew arrived back from his visit to Indonesia, which is seeking the lifting of a British arms export ban so that it can buy military jets.

His trip took place six weeks after David Cameron was criticised for promoting the sale of British weapons in Egypt as the country went through a bloody revolution.

It was his first trip as trade envoy since the revelation of his links to an American sex offender and support for deals with countries with questionable human rights records.

During the three-day trip he met President Yudhoyono and Mari Pangestu, the Indonesian Trade Minister, both of whom he had also met in Switzerland in January.

The Times revealed last month that Indonesia has made an informal approach to acquire as many as 24 Eurofighter Typhoon jets in a deal worth up to pounds 5 billion ($7.7 billion AUD). Separately, BAE Systems has offered to upgrade the country's Hawk aircraft.

Gerald Howarth, the Defence Minister, attended a defence summit in Jakarta last month where he said that he expected to discuss sales of the Typhoon.

Sales of military equipment to Indonesia were banned in 1999 after reports that the Hawks were used to attack civilians in East Timor and West Papua.

Kaye Stearman, a spokeswoman for Campaign Against Arms Trade, said that Indonesia bought half of its military equipment from Britain in the five years leading up to the export ban.

"It seems that Prince Andrew's role is to open doors to arms deals rather than to do the actual negotiation," Ms Stearman said. "People in some of these countries are still impressed by the British royalty, but it is highly damaging for the Royal Family to be associated with such deals."

A Commons committee this week laid bare the "dirty secret" of Britain selling arms to some of the world's most brutal regimes. The Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls said that Labour and Conservative governments alike had misjudged the risk that the arms might be used for internal repression.

Britain banned arms exports to Indonesia when Robin Cook, the Labour Foreign Secretary, acknowledged that British-supplied Hawk jets and Scorpion armoured vehicles had been used against civilians in breach of assurances given by Jakarta.

The Duke's involvement in trade talks with the Indonesian government has been criticised by campaigners from West Papua, a province fighting for independence. Opposition groups claim that they have been bombed by military jets supplied by Britain.

However, about 20 senior business and political figures have signed a letter defending the Duke's role as a trade envoy for UK Trade & Investment and asking for the media to be fair in its reports.

The signatories include Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC; Michael Spencer, chief executive of ICAP and former Tory party treasurer; Lord Levene of Portsoken, chairman of Lloyd's of London; Lord Davies of Abersoch, a former trade minister, Lord King of Bridgwater, a former defence secretary, and Lord Young of Graffham, who quit last year as David Cameron's enterprise adviser.

A previous attempt by the Government to demonstrate support for the Duke backfired when a collection of supportive quotes from leading companies turned out to have been made several years ago.

A spokesman for UK Trade & Investment said: "The Duke's visit to Indonesia is part of our building a trade relationship. He is not visiting any defence companies."

During the visit the Duke promoted British expertise in energy, transport manufacturing and financial services, and was assured that Indonesia is lifting barriers to international businesses. The spokesman said that the trip was unrelated to Mr Howarth's visit to the defence forum last month.

Human rights & democracy

Accomplice in murder of Munir has served time: AGO

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – The Attorney General's Office on Wednesday said a former airline employee who was sentenced to a year in jail for a minor role in the murder of renowned rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib, had already served her term.

Responding to rights groups who on Tuesday demanded the immediate imprisonment of the woman sentenced in January 2009, AGO spokesman Noor Rachmad told a press conference that "the convict, Rohainil Aini, was imprisoned on September 16, 2009, at the Tangerang Correctional Facility by prosecutors from the Central Jakarta office."

Several human rights groups including Sahabat Munir (Munir's Friend), Imparsial and Human Rights Working Group Indonesia visited the AGO to demand the imprisonment of Rohainil, the former chief secretary for pilots at Garuda Indonesia. She was found guilty in January 2009 of falsifying the assignment documents of Pollycarpus Priyanto, allowing the off-duty pilot to be on the same Amsterdam-bound flight as Munir on the day of the murder.

Pollycarpus, who at that time was originally assigned to join another flight to Beijing, is currently serving 20 years in jail for administering a lethal dose of arsenic into Munir's drink on the flight in September 2004.

Choirul Anam, deputy director of HWRG Indonesia and one of those who demonstrated in front of the AGO, said they would verify the office's claims.

He said he had been monitoring the case and knew of no imprisonment despite repeatedly asking AGO officials between 2009 and 2010 whether the convict had been put behind bars.

"They never provided clear answers. They always said 'we will check' but there was no confirmation that the imprisonment ever took place. Even if they have done the job, why did it take so long? Rohainil was convicted in early 2009 but the imprisonment began eight months later, if that's true."

The fact that no one outside the prosecutor's office knew about the imprisonment also underlined the lack of transparency in the case, he said.

"But the biggest problem is that we have directly met with senior AGO officials and we have sent them many letters asking about the case, yet there was never a clear answer stating that the convict had been imprisoned.

"Before Tuesday, we met Marwan Effendy, the deputy attorney general for internal supervision, in late 2010 and his answer was also 'we'll check,'" Choirul said. He said he would get to the bottom of whether Rohainil had actually served her term in prison.

NGOs say US got it wrong on Indonesian human rights

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Dessy Sagita – Indonesian activists on Sunday criticized the US government for praising Indonesia's progress on human rights, saying that the barometer used for the report could be misleading.

"I'm a bit concerned with the diplomatic statements made by some countries regarding Indonesia's progress on human rights, because it could give people the wrong perception about what's really happening," Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), told the Jakarta Globe.

As in previous editions, the US State Department's annual survey on human rights pointed to concerns in Indonesia, this year including accounts of unlawful killings in violence-torn Papua along with violations of freedom of religion.

But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while presenting on Friday the mammoth, 7,000-page global report, pointed to Indonesia as a success story.

"Indonesia boasts a vibrant free media and a flourishing civil society at the same time as it faces up to challenges in preventing abuses by its security forces and acting against religious intolerance," she was quoted by foreign wire agencies as saying.

The survey covers the period before Islamic fanatics brutally killed three members of the Ahmadiyah sect in early February, raising questions over Indonesia's commitment to safeguard minority rights.

The concern over Papua is primarily a reference to the torture of two civilians there last year by soldiers. They were subsequently court- martialed in January but given sentences of less than a year, a punishment slammed by the influential group Human Rights Watch as far too lenient to send a message that abuse was unacceptable.

Kontras's Haris said both indicators presented by the US government – that Indonesia has been progressing in terms of media independence and better access for civil societies to voice their concern – were also incorrect.

"Freedom of journalism? I don't think so. It's still fresh in our minds that several journalists have been brutally attacked because of their reporting, some were even murdered," he said.

"And in terms of flourishing civil societies, it's true, non-government organizations are mushrooming, but what's the point if human rights defenders and anticorruption activists are assaulted?" he added.

According to Kontras, in 2010 alone more than 100 human rights activists here were victimized and many of the perpetrators remain free.

And according to Reporters Without Borders, when it comes to press freedom, Indonesia ranks very low, much worse than it did several years ago when Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid was the president.

The US report in some ways echoes progress noted by New York-based Human Rights Watch in its own annual review of human rights practices around the globe, released in January. Then it noted that while serious human rights concerns remained, Indonesia had over the past 12 years made great strides in becoming a stable, democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media.

But Andreas Harsono, from Human Rights Watch, said it was perplexing that the US government would compliment Indonesia's progress on rights.

"It's a big joke," he said. "Attacks against Ahmadiyah have been happening since 2008, after the joint ministerial decree was issued, and attacks against churches during SBY's six-year tenure are even more prevalent than during the five decades in which Sukarno and Suharto ruled," he said.

[Additional reporting by AP, AFP.]

Politics & political parties

Heirs to the throne

Jakarta Post - April 13, 2011

By Hasyim Widhiarto

Capt. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono

Place/date of birth: Bandung, West Java, Aug. 10, 1978

Current position: Official at the Defense Ministry directorate general of defense strategy North America desk.

Religion: Islam (moderate)

Education:

Taruna Nusantara High School, Magelang, Central Java (1997)
Magelang Military Academy, Central Java (2000)
Masters degree in Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2006)
Masters degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, United States (2010) - Maneuver Captain Career Course (MCCC) at Fort Benning, United States (20-week course). The course prepares officers for company commands and posts as staff officers at battalion and brigade levels.

Marital status: Married, one child.

Notes: Known widely as the crown prince of the Yudhoyono and Wibowo (the family of First Lady Kristiani Herawati, who is the daughter of legendary Gen. Sarwo Edhie Wibowo) clans, Agus has enjoyed numerous privileges during his career in the military, including exclusions from posts in conflict areas in Indonesia. Agus is President Yudhoyono's eldest child.

Puan Maharani

Place/date of birth: Jakarta, Sept. 6, 1973

Current position: Head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction in the House of Representatives (since 2011); PDI-P political and external relations department head (2010 - 2015).

Education: Bachelor in Communication Studies from University of Indonesia (graduated in 1997).

Religion: Islam (moderate)

Marital status: Married with two children

Notes: Puan is the daughter of former president and PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (the daughter of first president Sukarno), and has been considered the future successor of the Sukarno political dynasty.

From her first marriage, Megawati has two sons. Puan is her daughter from her third marriage with Taufiq Kiemas, now speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Puan began her "official" political apprenticeship in the early 2000s as personal assistant to Megawati during her presidency. Appointed later as a party executive, Puan actively campaigned for her mother during the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections.

She secured a seat in the House of Representatives in 2009 and was recently appointed head of the PDI-P House faction. With her strategic positions both at the House and within the party, Puan represents the party in all strategic negotiations, including the latest discussions with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the possibility of the PDI-P joining his Democratic Party-led coalition.

Aryo Djojohadikusumo

Place/date of birth: Jakarta, April 25, 1983.

Current position: Head of Tunas Indonesia Raya (Tidar) (2011 - 2016), the youth wing of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) founded by Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo and his younger brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo, who is Aryo's father. Aryo also acts as a Gerindra deputy secretary-general. In business, Aryo is PT Arsari Pratama commissioner and PT Karunia Tidar Abadi president director.

Religion: Christian Protestant

Education: The University of Durham, the UK (2001 - 2004), and the School of Oriental & African Studies, the University of London, the UK (2006-2008).

Marital status: Single

Notes: Aryo is the eldest son of businessman Hashim. Upon returning to Indonesia in 2008, Aryo was assigned to lead Tidar during Prabowo's vice presidential bid in the 2009 elections.

Aryo is currently considered the future chief patron of the influential Djojohadikusumo family. Aryo's great grandfather, Margono Djojohadikusumo, was the founder of state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia, while his grandfather, Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, was the country's economic guru during Sukarno's era and Soeharto's New Order.

Anindya Novyan Bakrie

Place/date of birth: Jakarta, Nov. 10, 1974

Current position: President director of PT Bakrie Telecom (since 2003); president director of PT Visi Media Asia (since 2008); Chairman of Viva Media Group; Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry's (Kadin) vice chairman of organization, membership, regional empowerment and corporate governance (2010-2015); chairman of Bakrie Center Foundation (since 2010)

Religion: Islam (moderate)

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University, United States
Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States

Marital status: Married with three children

Notes: Anindya is the eldest child of businessman Aburizal Bakrie, the Golkar Party chairman and chief patron of the Bakrie family. Anindya became involved in the family business in 1999 when he was asked to help manage PT Bakrie & Brothers as deputy chief operating officer and as a director. Anindya, touted to become the future chief patron of the family, is building his credentials at home and overseas and currently has no appetite to engage in politics.

Ahmadi Mumtaz Raiz

Place/date of birth: Yogyakarta, Sept. 17, 1983

Current position: Deputy Treasurer of the Yogyakarta branch of the National Mandate Party's (PAN) Youth Alliance (2006-2008); Deputy Secretary of the PAN faction in the House of Representatives (since 2009), member of House's Commission VI for trade, industry and state companies.

Religion: Islam (Muhammadiyah)

Education: Bachelor in Economics from Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (graduated in 2008)

Marital status: Single

Notes: Mumtaz is the second son of 1998 Reform movement icon and PAN founder Amien Rais. After graduating from Gadjah Mada University, Mumtaz made his way to the House of Representatives in 2009 from Central Java's eighth district. At 27 years old, he is PAN's youngest lawmaker.

Aside from Mumtaz, Amien's eldest son, Hanafi Rais, recently plunged into politics by running for Yogyakarta mayor in the upcoming elections to be held in September. Hanafi showed a lesser interest in politics compared to Mumtaz when he turned down his father's request to manage the PAN and to become legislator along with Mumtaz during the 2009 general election.

Zannuba "Yenny" Ariffah Chafsoh Rahman Wahid

Place/date of birth: Jombang, East Java, Oct. 29. 1974

Current position: Head of the National Awakening Party (PKB) splinter group. The PKB party was founded by Yenny's father – Indonesia's third president, the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid – but was taken over by Gus Dur's nephew Muhaimin Iskandar, who is now manpower and transmigration minister. Yenni is also the director of the Wahid Institute (since 2003), a think tank engaged in pluralism and democracy issues.

Religion: Islam (Nahdlatul Ulama) Education: Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications from Trisakti University, Jakarta; Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, United States.

Marital status: Married with one daughter

Notes: Yenny is Gus Dur's second daughter and is currently considered one of the most prominent women in Indonesian politics.

Her political career started in 1999 when she worked as personal assistant for his father in the presidential office in charge of several duties, including managing the president's international travel and press relations.

Yenny has said she is now preparing a political party grouping of politicians who have splintered from the PKB.

Open door for children of the political elite

Jakarta Post - April 13, 2011

Hasyim Widhiarto – The scions of Indonesia's political elite are born with silver spoons in their mouths – something which smooths the way when the children of senior party members enter politics.

Hanafi Rais, the eldest son of reform icon and National Mandate Party (PAN) founder Amien Rais, is one of those lucky few. The 30-year-old spends most of his time as lecturer and researcher at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.

Politics was not Hanafi's forte until he agreed late last year to run for mayor of Yogyakarta in September's election. Hanafi's candidacy is supported by none other than his daddy's party, PAN, and is likely to be financed by PAN loyalists and businessmen close to the party, of which Amien is now the chief patron.

PAN chairman and (coordinating minister for the economy) Hatta Rajasa said Hanafi's candidacy developed after a swell of requests from PAN members and supporters.

"Pak Amien has not forced us to support Hanafi. It was the demand of the party's members to have him as our pick in the upcoming mayoral election," Hatta said on the sidelines of ASEAN's 15th annual Finance Ministers Meeting in Bali on Friday.

"Hanafi's credentials, which show a lack of political experience, will not be a handicap in managing Yogyakarta," he said.

Hanafi's candidacy is also supported by the Golkar Party.

His selection as PAN's candidate became mired in controversy after incumbent Yogyakarta mayor Herry Zudianto – also a PAN member – refused to back Hanafi.

Herry, who cannot run for a third term due to term limits, initially supported his deputy, Haryadi Suyuti, in the mayoral race. However, PAN leaders forced Herry, who has been widely praised by Yogyakartans for his successful management of the city, to shift his support to Hanafi, who has no prior experience in politics nor in managing a bureaucracy.

Similarly, Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, the son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the founder of the Democratic Party, was appointed the party's secretary-general without any sweat.

Critics said the appointment was made to ensure that members of the President's family were onboard, rather to ensure that a qualified politician was appointed to the job. Observers said that party chairman Anas Urbaningrum's appointed Ibas as secretary-general as a concession to Yudhoyono, who backed Anas' rival, former presidential spokesman (and current Youth and Sports Minister) Andi Mallarangeng, in the Democratic Party's chairman election last year.

Despite his strategic position within the party, Ibas, also a legislator, has been rarely seen attending meetings or hearings at the House of Representatives.

Roy Suryo, a Democratic Party legislator and Ibas' colleague on House's Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs and communications, said last month that Ibas had been assigned by the party to focus on defense issues and would only show up when the commission discussed that subject.

However, Ibas was nowhere to be found when the commission held a hearing on the future of the Indonesian defense industry late last month, which was attended by, among other people, the National Police chief, the Army Chief of Staff, the defense minister and research and technology minister.

According to a source in the Democratic Party, who declined to be named, several party members felt that Ibas' lack of seriousness has led to legislator Saan Mustopa, Anas's close associate, to assume much of the work of the secretary-general. "Saan is actually our real secretary-general," the source said.

The Jakarta Post was unable to reach Ibas for comment. But Roy Suryo said that Ibas' tenure as the party's secretary-general had created stability within the party. "I believe Mas Ibas has learned a lot of things from his role as the party's second-in-command," said Roy.

Dynasties in the making

Jakarta Post - April 13, 2011

Hasyim Widhiarto – Daddy's and mommy's big name coupled with inherited wealth and traces of attractiveness are probably the best assets for children of the political elites in vying for the country's future leadership in the next five or 10 years. The Jakarta Post's Hasyim Widhiarto explores how children of political powerhouses gear up to take the stage. Here are the stories:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's eldest son Capt. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, 32, recently finished a course at the prestigious Fort Benning Infantry School, the US, and graduated with flying colors.

Also recently, the eldest son of powerful Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, Anindya Bakrie, 36, leveraged his father's clout at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), a powerful business lobby propelled primarily by Golkar supporters and the Bakries. Golkar is the second largest party after Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

Anindya recently chaired Kadin's steering committee for the group's national meeting, besides spearheading the family's expansion in telecommunication and mass media businesses.

The eldest daughter of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, Puan Maharani, 37, is also increasingly playing a more influential role in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – a party known to hoist the symbols and teachings of Puan's grandfather, former first president Sukarno.

Puan, who leads the party's faction at the House of Representatives, was recently granted by her father and mother a greater say in the decision on a proposal from Yudhoyono's camp to include PDI-P, the country's third largest party, in the ruling coalition. She eventually rejected the proposal.

While India has the Ghandis and the United States the Kennedys and the Bushes, Indonesia as the world's third biggest democracy, also sees the possibility of an emergence of numerous political dynasties.

While these children of the political elites are unlikely to play major roles in the upcoming 2014 elections, analysts predict that they may dominate the political sphere in the next five to 10 years.

For now, their parents are well engaged in grooming their crown princes and princesses.

Agus Yudhoyono, for example, has enjoyed many privileges in the military even without having had any major combat experience. Unlike most officers of his age and rank who have to bear the hardship of tours of duty in remote and conflict-prone areas across the archipelago, Agus has spent most of his military career at school.

In less than six years, Agus has already secured two master's degrees: one from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University and the other from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

A month after graduating from Harvard, Agus flew back to the US with his family in August to enroll in the seven-month military course at Fort Benning, and graduated in early March. Agus is now stationed not far from his folks' place as an officer with the Defense Ministry's directorate general of defense strategies.

Although Agus' little brother Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro is the Democratic Party's secretary-general and a legislator, analysts have voiced doubt that he will become the family's future flag bearer due to his unconvincing appearance and capabilities. Despite his strategic position in the party, Ibas, however, has rarely attended House hearings, or party meetings. Unlike Yudhoyono who seems to put up no barriers when it comes to privileges for his children, Aburizal has granted Anindya great responsibility in steering the course of the family's business but with some challenges.

Referred to as the Bakrie's future chief patron, Anindya is currently betting his credentials on pursuing the protracted merger of Bakrie Telecom (BTEL) with a unit of state-run telecommunication company PT Telkom. Although Telkom last year agreed to a certain degree to the merger of its Telkom Flexi with BTEL, no progress has been seen on the deal.

Anindya has also increasingly appeared at numerous public events, with the latest one being a speech he made before Yudhoyono, ministers and noted business leaders during Kadin's national meeting in early April.

He has also appeared as a guest lecturer at several universities, talking about entrepreneurship, small businesses and telecommunication.

Aside from strengthening his presence at home, Anindya has also gone international by attending numerous high-profile summits, and furthering his Southeast Asian studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

"Anindya focuses more on growing the family's businesses. He has no interest thus far in politics as he is not canny enough," said family spokesman Lalu Mara Satriawangsa late last year.

Another elite's son clawing his way into becoming the family's flag bearer is Aryo Djojohadikusumo, 27, the eldest son of Hashim Djojohadikusumo, one of the country's richest tycoons and key financier for the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) since its founding in 2008.

Aryo's uncle is Maj. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, the party's patron chief, who is expected to run in the 2014 presidential election. Aryo, chairman of Gerindra's youth wing Tunas Indonesia Raya (Tidar), said his encounter with politics was rather "accidental".

"When my father and my uncle set up the party, they had problems in recruiting people. That's why they ended up asking family members to fill some of the party's positions," he said.

In August 2008, after spending 12 years studying in the United Kingdom, Aryo returned to Indonesia and was assigned to lead Tidar – Gerindra's youth wing.

Many consider Aryo the future flag bearer of the Djojohadikusumo family both in business and politics as Prabowo's only child, Didit Hediprasetyo, has decided to pursue a career in fashion design.

"My grandfather [legendary economics minister Soemitro Djojohadikusumo] was once a politician, as is my uncle now. I think it's normal to see other family members taking a similar path," Aryo said.

Other children of influential political leaders jumping into politics include National Mandate Party (PAN) legislator Ahmad Mumtaz Rais, 27, who is the son of the 1998 Reform Movement icon and PAN chief patron Amien Rais; and chairwoman of the splinter group of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Yenny Wahid, the daughter of the late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid. Dave Akbarsyah Laksono, the son of Golkar deputy chairman and Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono, is trying his luck in politics as chairman of the Golkar Party's youth wing – the Indonesian Youth Reform Force.

National University political observer Alfan Alfian believes there is nothing wrong with the children of the senior politicians pursuing careers in politics, but strongly urges them to be "outspoken" and critical politicians who do not only stand behind their parent's "big name".

"The essence of becoming a politician is to speak out for public aspirations. These children could secure their legislative seats easily during elections, but could they contribute anything significant?"

University of Indonesia political communication expert Bachtiar Aly echoed Alfan's view, saying these future leaders would someday face the inevitable "natural selection" mechanism despite their families' big names.

"A party must ensure that their young leaders are mature and capable enough before giving them certain strategic posts," he said.

"It is true that their family name could become an everlasting benefit for these young politicians. But in the end, people will consider their leadership track record before voting for them."

Dispute brewing on which party will run the coalition

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Anita Rachman – A leading Democrat on Monday said the daily leadership of the pro-government coalition, currently in the hands of Golkar Party, could soon be rotated among the other members.

Jafar Hafsah, chairman of the Democratic Party faction at the House, said that although the decision was not yet final, there had been talks on the possibility of giving the managing chairman position to all parties based on a rotation system.

Jafar said that under the details of the proposal, current managing chairman Aburizal Bakrie, Golkar head, would be moved into a deputy chairman position.

However, a senior Golkar source challenged Jafar's statement, saying that under a final contract the party had recently signed to stay in the coalition, the joint secretariat's daily leadership would not be rotated but would remain firmly in Aburizal's hands.

A 2009 agreement appointed Aburizal as the managing chairman of the joint secretariat, serving alongside secretary Syarif Hasan from the Democrats. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono serves as the group's general chairman.

Priyo Budi Santoso, chairman of Golkar's executive board, also said on Monday that as far as he knew, the rotation would only apply to the leadership of individual meetings, but not for the managing chairmanship. "So far as I know, it's about the meeting leader's rotation. Not the daily manager," Priyo said.

Following repeated instances where coalition members disagreed on key issues, Yudhoyono has demanded that all member parties renew their commitment to the consensus-driven group through a contract that compels them to give their full support to the government in both legislative and executive matters.

Talk of the new contract has particularly centered on Golkar and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). Two of the leading parties in the coalition, both have broken rank with other members on several major issues.

Democratic chairman Anas Urbaningrum has said that the renewed agreement is "a refinement and further operational translation of the October 15, 2009, contract," referring to the initial contract signed by coalition member parties. Anas also confirmed that all but the PKS had signed the revised contract.

The senior Golkar source also said that under the new contract signed by the party, it was still allowed to put forth a differing opinion, but not on strategic matters.

On Sunday, M. Romahurmuziy, deputy secretary general of the United Development Party (PPP), said that one point in the contract said that the coalition would be led collectively.

He also said that a leadership rotation system would serve to bridge what he believed was a widening communication gap among the members of the joint secretariat. "Communication now is usually only between Yudhoyono and Aburizal," he said.

Speaking separately, PKS senior official Fahri Hamzah said his party was not worried about the fact that it was the only coalition member not yet offered the new contract to sign. He said PKS felt confident and would wait for the president to invite the party for discussions.

Late Gus Dur's daughter to start a new party

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Yenny Wahid, the second daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, on Monday announced she was forming her own political party.

Yenny, whose birth name is Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh Wahid, said she registered the new party with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and was now awaiting government approval and recognition.

Elected in December as the leader of a splinter group that emerged from her father's National Awakening Party (PKB), Yenny has been unsuccessful in gaining rights to the party name.

PKB secretary general Imam Nahrawi on Monday welcomed her decision to establish a separate party.

"Such a decision is better than always claiming that she is a representative of PKB. In a legal context, there's no double leadership in PKB," Imam said. "Indonesia is a democratic country, no one will ban her from establishing a new party."

Yenny's father, Abdurrahman Wahid, known popularly as Gus Dur, served as chairman of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, for 15 years. He founded the PKB in 1998 to provide a political voice to NU members, and was elected the nation's president in 1999.

But the PKB split in 2004 when Gus Dur dismissed Muhaimin Iskandar as the party's secretary general after an internal spat. Muhaimin contested his dismissal in court and won.

He then organized a congress that elected him as chairman and the government recognized his camp as the official bearers of the party name. The Gus Dur camp in the conflict has since become a splinter group of the party.

Yenny called on members who supported her during December's meeting of the faction in Surabaya to help her establish the new party. She claimed she has the support of around 33 provincial branch offices of the pro-Gus Dur PKB camp.

"If the party is approved by the ministry and is able to compete in general elections, I am prepared to come out to rural areas to struggle for the party's programs and Gus Dur's ideals. I am ready to go to villages for the sake of the greatness of Gus Dur and the party," Yenny said, as quoted by Antara news.

She declined to reveal any further details about the party's leadership or political platform.

The PKB's Imam said it did not expect to lose too many members to Yenny's new party.

"Our party members know who the real figures behind her are, and our members won't be interested with them," Imam said, without clarifying which figures he was referring to.

"We are even ready to help her with her new party. So, welcome to politics. It's more mature than just an ongoing war of claiming ownership of the PKB name."

Indobarometer executive director Muhammad Qodari praised Yenny's step. He said that many hoped the new party would provide a platform for expressing the political aspirations and interests of NU members.

With around a third of the country's population being members or supporters of NU, Yenny's new party is likely to become a powerful force. Qodari said that the fact that PKB under Muhaimin only scored about five percent of the votes in 2009, showed that many NU members no longer voted for the party and could likely be swayed to support Yenny.

Golkar accedes to coalition contract

Jakarta Globe & Antara - April 11, 2011

With the Golkar Party finally signing the revised coalition contract, only the Prosperous Justice Party has yet to renew its commitment to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Anas Urbaningrum, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, announced on his official Twitter account over the weekend that five parties had already signed up to the agreement, which is "a refinement and further operational translation of the October 15, 2009, contract."

"We are only waiting for one more," Anas said, referring to Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which has yet to meet with the president after a rift in the House of Representatives over a proposed tax mafia inquiry.

Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie also confirmed the news, saying his party would remain in the coalition to support the government until the end of Yudnoyono's term in 2014.

"We think the new contract for coalition membership does not confine or restrict member parties. Golkar will sign the contract," he said on Saturday.

The party was said to have been opposed to the draft of the revised contract, which reportedly requires member parties to support any decision made by the coalition's joint secretariat and give full legislative backing to all government policy.

The contract is said to also include a system of rewards and punishments, and revises the coalition's leadership structure.

A political source on Friday said Golkar might have been offered a different version of the contract, one that did not prevent it from challenging the government or reduce Aburizal's role as managing chairman of the secretariat. Golkar had reportedly balked at the idea that the position held by Aburizal be rotated among different parties. As of Sunday, that point still had not been clarified.

M. Romahurmuziy, deputy secretary general of the United Development Party (PPP), said one point in the contract his party had signed stated that the coalition would be led collectively.

"This is important to bridge the gap in communication between coalition members because communication now is usually only between Yudhoyono and Aburizal," he said, adding that he did not believe Golkar had received a different contract.

He also said the new contract did not eliminate the right of each party to voice its own opinion, and the PPP was pleased it accommodated its suggestion for rewards and punishment.

Marwan Jafar, factional chairman for the National Awakening Party (PKB) in the House, however, said he had not heard anything about a collective leadership system for the coalition.

Saan Mustopha, deputy secretary general for the Democrats, meanwhile, said Aburizal's position as the secretariat's day-to-day manager would remain the same and that he knew of no point in the contract requiring the position be rotated or of a collective leadership system.

Elections

Analysts see voter backlash for PKS over scandals

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Anita Rachman – When the dust settles on the spate of scandals surrounding the Prosperous Justice Party, its focus for future political campaigns may have to shift to what it can offer voters besides moral platitudes.

Political analysts on Monday warned that if the Islamic-based party, also known as the PKS, did not want to see its voter base diminish, a new strategy was needed because its high moral values were under threat from a series of sex and corruption scandals dogging its members.

The call comes on the heels of the resignation of Arifinto, a PKS legislator who was photographed watching a pornographic movie on his tablet computer during a plenary session at the House of Representatives. Anis Matta, the party's secretary general, was also allegedly implicated in a sex video posted on Twitter in February, although he was later cleared by police of any involvement.

Yusuf Supendi, the party's ousted co-founder, meanwhile, has accused senior PKS officials of embezzling Rp 10 billion ($1.2 million) from the party's funds and others of having polygamous marriages that were not approved by the party's Shariah Council.

Hanta Yuda, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute, said the PKS's tough talk on graft and upholding moral values had previously brought the party much success at the polls.

But today, with several of its lawmakers entangled in alleged corruption and sex scandals, he said the PKS should be bracing itself for a voter backlash.

"The impact is going to be big enough, I think, to affect the PKS's future electoral situation," he said. "The party must clean up its image. Morality is not the key for political parties anymore, it's performance. Morality should just be a part of the package."

Hanta said that while the PKS might still retain voters, it was bound to face growing criticism those who had cast their ballots for the party expressly because of their morality and antigraft campaigns.

"Those educated people who voted for the PKS, they're disappointed to see the state it's in now," he said. "A real improvement in performance is needed, with PKS members in local administrations fighting for the rights of the people instead of issuing morality-based regulations."

Morality, according to Ahmad Norma Permata, an associate researcher from the Maarif Institute, was not the leading factor for most people deciding which political parties to support. "The most important thing is their work, their performance. What they do for the people," he said.

Ahmad, who wrote a doctoral thesis on the PKS, said Arifinto's case would damage the PKS's image among educated voters. He said the party would also no longer get respect from fellow lawmakers and politicians.

"They will think: 'Ah, the PKS is just the same as the rest of us.' Remember, all the PKS's talk about morality and corruption contributed a lot to its voter base."

Surahman Hidayat, head of PKS's Shariah Council, however, insisted that neither the party's voter base nor its membership would be impacted by the scandals. He said the PKS was prepared to work even harder for the people to make up for all the recent controversies.

He also stressed that the PKS would never stop campaigning on high moral and antigraft platforms. "That's more than jargon. Morality and fighting corruption are PKS principles," he said.

Arifinto was one of the founders of the PKS back when it was named the Justice Party (PK). "I have heard that Pak Arifinto was also one of the founders of Sabili magazine," Ahmad said. "And heard rumors that he also mobilized people to support Islamic issues."

Fahri Hamzah, a senior PKS politician, said that the people had attached the morality label to the PKS and advanced its antipornography drive, not the party itself.

Party alliance to push for 3 percent threshold

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Jakarta – Three medium-sized political parties – The National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) – have agreed to join hands at the House of Representatives to set the legislative threshold at 3 percent.

The House is currently deliberating a legislative elections bill that aims to make it more difficult for political parties to gain House seats. "We'll continue to make the effort," PKB's House faction head Marwan Ja'far said Sunday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Marwan said the alliance was currently trying to persuade the National Mandate Party (PAN), the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) to join them.

Twenty-nine of the 38 political parties competing in the 2009 elections failed to pass the legislative threshold, which was set at 2.5 percent at the time.

Labour & migrant workers

Growth fails to translate into quality employment: ILO report

Jakarta Post - April 15, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Despite higher economic growth in the last several years, Indonesia has not been able to translate its economic improvements into quality employment due to, among other things, mismatch between education and job demand, the ILO says.

The creation of quality employment is linked closely to poverty alleviation, the report went on. The report defines employment as "productive employment and decent work", which excludes work that does not result in economic activities and output, and jobs that do not ensure freedom, equity, security and human dignity.

Kazutoshi Chatani, an economist from the International Labour Organization (ILO), said Thursday the Indonesian labor market had huge unexplored potential that could create productive employment.

"Indonesia has seen a decrease in its unemployment rate. However, productive employment creation in the country still lags behind the vast increases in job opportunities," he said on the sidelines of the launching of the ILO report titled "Labor and Social Trends in Indonesia 2010: Translating economic growth into employment creation".

Chatani said the Indonesian economy had shifted into the service sector. However, only few job seekers had the adequate skills and educational background to meet the opportunities.

"Indonesia has lost its competitiveness in labor-intensive manufacturing. The situation has been worsened since many new job opportunities are dominated by the service sector requiring highly skilled workers only," he said.

The huge income gap between workers with a university education and those with only a basic and secondary education reflects an imbalance between demand on manpower and the availability of highly skilled job seekers.

Referring to the significant improvement in economic growth recently, Chatani said Indonesia was "blessed by huge economic potential". Indonesia maintained positive economic growth both in 2009 and 2010 despite the impact of the global financial crisis across the region.

The Indonesian government is targeting annual growth in GDP of between 6.3 to 6.8 percent per year between 2010 and 2014.

"Indonesia can tap its potential for further economic growth by improving its infrastructure and governance, by creating an efficient and effective administration, as well as [improving] the country's education [system]. By tackling these three things, I believe Indonesian economic growth can progress faster," he said.

A World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) report titled "Doing Business in Indonesia 2010" said it was difficult to start a business in Indonesia. Surabaya in East Java was ranked the worst performing city in terms of days to deal with construction permits, which takes 230 days on average. Jakarta ranks the worst in terms of days to start a business (60 days).

Poor infrastructure due to protracted land clearing processes aggravates the difficulties in starting a business in Indonesia, negatively affecting employment creation, the ILO said.

"Indonesia hasn't benefitted from the available opportunities and strengthened the link between economic growth, employment creation and poverty reduction," ILO director Peter van Rooij said.

The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) said most investments in Indonesia were made by companies with a portfolio in the financial services, absorbing less manpower. "Less labor-intensive manufacturing firms are attracted to Indonesia due to poor infrastructure, including electricity supply shortages," he said.

An Indonesian Jobs Pact (IJP) recently signed by representatives of the government, workers and employers is expected to bring the benefits of economic growth to Indonesians by creating decent and productive employment. "I hope it can make the Indonesian economy more competitive," Chatani said.

Environment & natural disasters

Weather blamed for caterpillar plague

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti & Elisabeth Oktofani – Unpredictable weather coupled with a decline in natural predators is responsible for a recent plague of caterpillars in parts of the country.

Though the phenomenon is centered largely in Probolinggo, East Java, smaller reported outbreaks in Central Java, West Java, Bali and, most recently, Jakarta have prompted fears of a widespread infestation.

But Aunu Rauf, an entomologist at the Bogor Institute of Agricultural (IPB), says there is no connection between the outbreaks in Probolinggo and those in the other areas.

"There are at least 120,000 types of caterpillars in the world, so those found in Bekasi [West Java] and Probolinggo would be different from each other," he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

"I'm sure the ones in Tanjung Duren [West Jakarta], where people have claimed to have been 'attacked' by caterpillars, are also a different type."

Since March, millions of hairy caterpillars have cropped up in at least five subdistricts in Probolinggo, invading fields and homes. They have also caused itchy rashes among residents.

The caterpillars have also destroyed more than 8,800 mango trees – the district's main agricultural produce. However, the caterpillars in Bekasi were found largely in bushes, while those in Tanjung Duren were found on pine trees.

"Basically, in the life cycles of pests, it's normal for them to increase in number at the start of the dry season – especially caterpillars," Aunu said, adding that the country was currently in the transition period to the dry season.

"In the current case, however, their numbers exploded because of the prolonged rainy season last year that disrupted [the population growth of] natural predators, particularly birds and other insects.

"In addition, parasitoids, insects similar to wasps whose larvae live within caterpillars as parasites, are for some reason on the decline. Their role as the caterpillars' natural enemy is very important because they lay their eggs inside the caterpillar, and when those hatch, the larvae eat up the caterpillar from the inside."

Aunu said the outbreak in Probolinggo, coming 70 years after the last similar outbreak there, was remarkable only for the extent of the damage being caused to mango trees.

"These caterpillars have had a tremendous effect – not only economic, from eating all the mango leaves, but also social," he said. "Because now the villagers are afraid to carry out their regular activities due to all these insects coming into their houses."

Aunu said while it was good for people to be aware of the caterpillar phenomena, including in Tanjung Duren and Bekasi, he stressed it was normal for the caterpillar population to increase at this time of year and should not cause too much concern.

"If these caterpillars were the type that run around fields or enter homes instead of clinging to tree branches, then we would have to take action," he said.

Hari Sutrisno, an entomologist from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that as long as the caterpillars were not harming people, they should be left alone.

"There's been quite a frenzy over these caterpillars, and it's all a bit too much," he said, adding that the reports from Bekasi were particularly exaggerated. "Caterpillars don't claim lives."

Hari said the best way to deal with the insects was to collect them for incineration rather than use pesticides on them.

"Another method is to blend dead caterpillars with water and spray it on the live ones," he said. "The spray acts as a natural insecticide because caterpillars that die naturally usually contain a virus that's deadly for the species. It's a lot better than using pesticides, which can have a long-term impact."

Aunu also cautioned against using pesticides. "Just pick them off the tree branches and get rid of them," he said. "Don't use pesticides because you don't know what other kinds of insects you'll be killing that serve a function for the tree."

In the Probolinggo case, Aunu said the caterpillar numbers were already declining because most of the insects had already turned into butterflies.

"The only way to deal with them is still through their natural enemies," he said. "To do this, put caterpillar pupae into a jar and see whether they become butterflies or wasps. If they turn into butterflies, then we need to kill them. But if you get a wasp, that means they need to be released because parasitoids are present and functioning."

Darmuna, a resident of Tanjung Duren, said the problem was that the hairs of the dead caterpillars were being blown around by the wind and making people itchy. He added that the outbreak was not a new problem, with a similar event taking place in 2007.

Sholeh, deputy head of a neighborhood unit in Tanjung Duren, suggested the best way to get rid of the pests would be to chop down the 29 pine trees along Jalan Sekretaris on which they were gathered. He also said the trees needed replacing because they were old and several had been uprooted during rainstorms.

"We expected the city administration to take our opinion seriously and take action on this case by chopping down the trees and replacing them with new ones," he said. "Instead, they just sprayed the lower parts of the trees [with pesticide].

"Every day we have to deal with the hairs that make us itchy. We could chop the trees down ourselves, but it'd cost Rp 300,000 [$35] per tree and there are 29 of them. Besides, the administration already has a budget to chop down trees."

Caterpillars are a 'Warning from God,' house speaker says

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

A senior politician from the ruling Democratic Party says an outbreak of caterpillars that has reached plague proportions in parts of Indonesia is a warning from God.

House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Marzuki Alie, who has a reputation for putting his foot in his mouth, said on Wednesday that the caterpillar infestations in parts of Bali, Java, Jakarta and Sumatra was a message from God for Indonesians to look inwards and evaluate themselves.

"Yes, it was God's warning," Marzuki said at the DPR. "It is God's warning that we should introspect and make changes. Every incident has a meaning behind it."

Marzuki said it was "not good" for us to keep on debating and fighting over issues. He said Indonesia was facing many problems and therefore it was better for all elements in society to focus on their work for the betterment of the nation.

Marzuki has most recently made headlines for continuing to push for the controversial construction of a Rp 1.13 trillion office tower for legislators. When an NGO threatened to file a lawsuit against him, Marzuki claimed that nongovernmental organizations did not represent the people, lawmakers did.

"[NGOs] please don't speak on behalf of the people, House members are the official representatives," he said.

In late October, following the tsunami that devastated the Mentawai Islands off West Sumatra, Democrat and House Speaker Marzuki Alie was widely criticized for saying the victims should have expected the disaster.

"If you're afraid of waves, don't live by the shore," he said. "To be swept away by a big wave or by a tsunami is probably the consequence of living on an island."

Health & education

Communities tackle a persistent health woe

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

Nurfika Osman – Tackling waterborne diseases in Indonesia is a question of educating the 30 percent of the population still practicing open defecation, health experts say.

Eka Setiawan, a sanitation expert with Plan International Indonesia, a nongovernmental organization focusing on children's access to health care, sanitation and education, says residents who continue to defecate in rivers and streams must be made to realize the error of their ways.

"Accompany them around their neighborhoods and ask them to monitor the situation, then get them to participate in a sanitation discussion," he told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

"Take them to the riverbanks where they practice open defecation and then to the riverbanks where they bathe or take water for drinking. When they realize that they're consuming their own feces and urine, they'll stop that behavior."

Poor hygiene was responsible for the contamination of 75 percent of the country's drinking water in 2008, according to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). Health problems as a result of poor sanitation, including diarrhea, dengue fever, typhoid fever and cholera, cost the country Rp 57 billion ($6.6 million) a year, it said.

"People tend to underestimate the importance of sanitation and related diseases," Eka said. "In fact, if patients suffering from severe diarrhea are not given proper medical treatment within 48 hours, they can die."

He said the most vulnerable group was children under the age of five. Eighteen percent of the 161,000 deaths within this group in 2006 were caused by diarrhea, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO also says there are at least 350 cases of typhoid fever per 100,000 people in Indonesia. A country is considered highly endemic for the disease at more than 100 cases per 100,000 people. In 2010, the WHO reported that the illness killed at least 50,000 Indonesians every year.

"Changing people's behavior by improving their awareness and knowledge is much more effective than spending money building them latrines when they don't understand the importance of sanitation," Eka said.

In East Nusa Tenggara's Pulau Ende district, officials are working with Unicef to declare the area Open Defecation Free.

Spurred by the high rate of diarrhea and other waterborne diseases, a community-led total sanitation, or CLTS, approach was launched in 2007, involving community and religious leaders, women and youths in the area.

"This declaration is a significant milestone because almost 30 percent of Indonesians, some 65 million people, still practice open defecation," Unicef representative Angela Kearney said, praising the initiative to eliminate open defecation by 2014.

In the past two years, the number of cases of diarrhea in Pulau Ende has fallen by 89 percent, according to district officials. Unicef says this speaks to the success of the ODF program, particularly in preventing child deaths.

"Globally, 5,000 children die every day from diarrhea because they don't have access to proper toilet facilities or fall victim to poor hygiene practices," Kearney said.

Over the last three years, communities in Pulau Ende have been made aware of the dangers of open defecation through the CLTS method.

The program marks a strategic shift from constructing toilets for individual households to community-led initiatives. Its proponents say the CLTS approach triggers the community's desire for change, directs them toward specific actions and encourages innovation and mutual support using local solutions and leading to greater sense of ownership and sustainability.

Programs supported through the initiatives also include hygiene promotion training for the community, construction of more than 1,500 rainwater tanks and the installation and repair of more than 170 wells.

Staff members and students at eight high schools have also received training on the importance of hygiene, and new school latrines have been built.

To support the program, the district administration has drafted a village regulation on water sanitation and hygiene that encourages community members to treat open defecation as a social taboo.

With head in the sand, Indonesia struggles to tackle AIDS

Reuters - April 12, 2011

Tan Ee Lyn & Fitri Wulandari – Financial troubles drove Liana into prostitution almost four years ago, but the 30-year-old ex-accountant said she'd had no idea then that unprotected sex could give her HIV/AIDS, a disease she now has to live with.

Liana, who holds an economics degree, is one of 300,000 Indonesians in the world's most populous Muslim nation who have fallen victim to widespread ignorance about AIDS, and the government's inability to campaign effectively against it for fear of being accused by conservatives of promoting promiscuity.

Social taboos and strict laws that ban prostitution also work against those most vulnerable to the incurable disease, because police often use condoms – one of the best protection against AIDS – as evidence against sex workers.

Although HIV prevalence in Indonesia's population is low at 0.2 percent, the government and health experts are worried because the number of newly confirmed cases has more than doubled to 4,158 in the five years to 2010.

"When I started the job, I did not know anything about HIV/AIDS or that condoms can prevent you from getting infected with the disease," said Liana, who quit her job and turned to prostitution after her husband died in 2007 because she needed to pay off a mortgage and support their daughter.

A few months after she started sex work, Liana heard about HIV and tried getting tested. But was turned away two times by healthcare workers, who often do not understand the disease and are afraid of getting infected themselves.

Liana tested positive last year after falling ill and is now on AIDS drugs, which cost her Rp 30,000 ($3.50) a month as they are subsidized. Until today, she doesn't know how she became infected. Her 4-year-old daughter is uninfected.

"Thinking it over, I'm not lacking in education. But how is it that I never heard of this disease nor how to prevent it? Why does the government not spread the information," said Liana, a graduate of an East Java university who now insists all her clients use condoms. "How can we prevent HIV/AIDS if we can't use the only protection that we have?"

Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih says the government faces enormous opposition in the fight against AIDS.

"We cannot put ads for condoms openly on television or promote their use, or people will say the Ministry of Health promotes promiscuity," she said in a recent interview.

"We have a program for methadone substitution and clean needle exchange [for drug users] but it's very difficult to expand it as it is seen as legalizing narcotics use."

Indonesia's approach is in sharp contrast to the aggressive interventions taken in nearby Thailand, which implemented a high-profile "100 percent condom use campaign" in the early 1990s to rein in an explosive HIV epidemic.

That campaign was hugely successful and brought down drastically new HIV infection rates particularly in young men. The disease, which has killed 4,539 people so far in Indonesia, used to be spread mainly by injecting drug users. Eight out of 10 addicts have HIV.

But in 2010, 65 percent of newly confirmed HIV infections came through unsafe heterosexual sex between sex workers and clients, who went on to infect their wives or girlfriends.

The government estimates there are 200,000 female sex workers in the country and a male clientele of up to 3 million. Only 10 to 15 percent of clients use condoms.

A sharp jump in mother-to-fetus HIV infections is one of the clearest signs that the AIDS epidemic may be moving from particularly vulnerable groups, such as injecting drug users and sex workers, into the general population. These perinatal infections made up 3 percent of all newly confirmed HIV cases in 2010, up from 0.2 percent in the 1990s.

"This means that HIV transmission within the family is increasing... If we have no new approach for HIV prevention within the family, it (the HIV epidemic) may become generalized. We should think out of the box to protect the family from AIDS," said Inang Winarso, assistant deputy secretary of the National AIDS Commission for program coordination.

Winarso, who was involved in a successful campaign against HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men, hopes to stop the virus from spreading among sex workers through empowering the women, quietly.

"In every story that was told to me, nobody said they liked or that they trained to be sex workers. They all started because of trafficking or because of poverty, but they have no awareness that they are victims," he said.

Winarso and his colleagues plan to reach out to sex workers in a pilot project in Semarang, East Java.

"We will visit brothels, we will avoid the pimps. We will spread awareness, get them to tell us their stories, so that they realize they are victims, and continue to be victims under their pimps," Winarso said.

"How do they fight? They need to fight their customers [for condom use] and they must fight the government to provide them with jobs."

The World Health Organization estimates there are 300,000 people in Indonesia living with HIV/AIDS, with the worst affected places being Jakarta and Papua province, where 2.3 percent of the population is infected. Some 50,000 HIV patients require drugs, but only 20,000 are getting them.

"There are several reasons: no access and shortage of drugs even though there are 200 [HIV drug distribution] sites all over the country," said Khanchit Limpakarnjanarat, the WHO's representative in Indonesia.

The WHO has a 10-member team in Indonesia and one of its missions is to train medical personnel in treating HIV patients.

"We need to strengthen the healthcare system in terms of human resources... To provide HIV services requires human resources, like counseling and testing. Drug treatment is complicated. These remain a challenge," he said.

How to stop national exam cheats this time around?

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Dessy Sagita & Arientha Primanita – With the national school examinations looming later this month, educators are focusing on tight supervision to prevent the recurring problems of leaked test papers and cheating.

Arief Rachman, an education expert, said on Monday that it was difficult to stop people from selling copies of the exam question sheets because demand was always high. He also said that to prevent cheating inside the exam room, students should only be allowed to enter with the bare minimum of stationery.

"It's not enough to tighten the supervision. It has to be super tight," he told the Jakarta Globe. "Every student must be checked thoroughly before they enter the test venue."

Mungin Eddy Wibowo, a member of the National Education Standardization Agency (BSNP), said this year's national exams would be conducted in a much more efficient manner to prevent cheating. "We will anticipate every possible leak and we won't allow any of the incidents that occurred in previous years to recur," he said.

In 2009, thousands of students from 34 schools across eight provinces were found to have cheated in the national exams by filling in their test papers with answers they had bought from a syndicate claiming to have the test copy. The answers turned out to be wrong and the students who used them failed and did not graduate.

The fact that every single student from each of the 34 schools cheated raised suspicions that the teachers supervising the exams were party to the cheating. In the wake of the scandal, the Ministry of National Education promised to investigate the incident.

"This year, we will provide a layered security system to secure the question sheets, while police officers and independent supervisors from various universities will monitor the distribution of the papers from the printing company to the schools," Mungin said.

He also said that this year, the question sheets would be divided into five versions with the same level of difficulty.

"So in each class of 20 students, five different versions of the question sheet will be distributed randomly, making it very difficult for the students to cheat or to copy their friends' work," he said.

Mungin said that spare question sheets would also be different from the five main versions to further prevent cheating.

"We have also selected only trustworthy teachers to supervise the exams," he said. "The teacher in charge of a given subject will not be allowed at the school on the day that the exam for that subject is being taken. We realize there will always be ways for students to cheat, but we're optimistic that we have made every possible effort to minimize cheating and leaks."

Arief said the best way to prevent teachers from unfairly helping their students was to bring in more independent parties to supervise the tests. "Hire people from nongovernmental organizations if we have to, because some teachers tend to be soft on their students to help them pass the exams," he said.

Both Arief and Mungin agreed that the role of the police in the exams should not extend to monitoring the venues. "Even though we want the national exams to be as fair as possible, having policemen walking around on school grounds could intimidate the students and distract their attention," Arief said.

He said police involvement should be strictly limited to monitoring the printing company and the distribution of the question sheets. "In many cases, those who leak the questions are insiders working for the printing company. The police should be aware of this," he said. "But don't get too close to the schools. We don't want them scaring the kids."

Education Minister Muhammad Nuh had said that his ministry was prepared to impose strict sanctions on schools caught manipulating the exams in any way. Mungin said any indication of violations would see the offending school and students immediately barred from the exams.

Baharuddin, the principal of a state senior high school in Jambi province on Sumatra Island, said that as much as he wanted his students to pass the test, he would comply fully with the ministry's regulations.

"I've warned all teachers at the school not to let their feelings for the students cloud their judgment, because by helping the students cheat they will only do more damage," he said.

Jakarta education office flunks English prep test

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Ronna Nirmala – If you were a schoolteacher who learned that the official answer key of a test, prepared by the Ministry of Education and used by examiners to grade students, contained the wrong answers, what would you do?

This was the question facing Maria Yuniar, an English teacher for the SMK Saint John vocational school in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

Last month, when her students were sitting a pre-examination school test, she got a good read of the answer key. Maria found a total of 16 mistakes on the English answer key, which had been prepared by the Ministry of Education's Jakarta office.

She decided to draw up her own answer key, Maria told the Jakarta Globe, believing this was her obligation as the teacher.

Following the test, she learned that if the students' papers were graded according to the answer key provided by the ministry, 15 of her students would have failed, as they would not have attained the minimum grade.

"If I were to grade them using the answer key I drew up, just four students would have made the minimum grade," Maria said on Monday.

The pre-exam is a school test that is part of the national exams and is held to prepare students for the finals.

"It took me by surprise when I learned that my answers were different to those issued by the [education] office. I double checked them again and again."

Maria did not go into the specifics of the mistakes, but one local media report cited the following question – "I expect you could do with a cup of tea, couldn't you? Do you take milk and sugar?"

To this, the choices were:

A. Only if you're having one.
B. Please do. You've hardly eaten anything.
C. No, thank you. I've had too much already.
D. No, really thank you.

Maria's choice was A. The ministry's choice was C. Her unease caused her to report the matter to the school's headmaster. "However, I received an unsatisfactory response from the principal," Maria said. She added that the only option left to her was to speak to the media.

"I am actually a little scared about this, but I believe I am not wrong. I am worried that this mistake will carry over to the final exams, which are scheduled to begin next week. If we can prevent this mistake from happening again, we will be helping more students out," Maria told the Globe.

Taufik Yudi Mulyanto, chief of the Jakarta Education Office, said the exam answer key was not entirely the responsibility of his office.

"The exam is drafted by many parties, including teams of school officials and academic experts. What we do is just legalize it. If this exam is limited to just this school, we shall give the school the authority to get its teachers to correct the exam with their own answer key." Taufik said.

[Additional reporting by Dofa Fasila.]

Graft & corruption

AG blames staff for drawing presidential anger

Jakarta Globe - April 15, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – Attorney General Basrief Arief on Friday blamed his spokesman for providing inaccurate data that stated that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had as yet failed to allow corruption investigations against 61 regional politicians to proceed.

Basrief said the figure was eight, not 61. "I apologize for the inaccuracy and I have questioned the director of investigations and the spokesman about this matter," he told reporters.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Noor Rachmad has earlier irked the president and his office by claiming that as many as 61 graft cases involving regional leaders were still awaiting presidential approval.

The presidential office immediately denied delaying any cases and argued that no requests had reached Yudhoyono's desk.

Basrief said he would coordinate with the Cabinet Secretariat about the eight cases that needed presidential approval. "As I said before, district [prosecutors] often send the requests directly to the president while they need to pass my office first," he said.

Corruption fight in Central Java hindered by intimidation: NGO

Jakarta Post - April 14, 2011

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – An NGO says that anticorruption activists working in several regencies in Central Java have reported 24 cases of criminal or violent intimidation over the last five years.

"This is proof that human rights defenders, including corruption activists, are still facing serious threats in the country," Central Java Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism Investigation and Eradication Committee (KPPKKN) secretary Eko Haryanto told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. "This must not be ignored if the country wants to root out corruption."

Eko said that the alleged intimidation took the form of spurious libel lawsuits; assault; torture; vandalism and arson attacks on the homes, cars and personal property of activists; harassment and death threats.

"We recorded 24 cases of intimidation over the past five years that befell our fellow corruption activists in Central Java, including those at the KPPKKN," Eko said.

In addition to corruption activists, Eko alleged that Temanggung regency administration officials had also been intimidated by the regent, who was himself the subject of a police investigation.

"It took place in January 2005 when the Temanggung regent was being examined by the police for graft. He threatened 61 regency officials, who were also interrogated by police, that he would fire them if they testified," Eko said. The officials subsequently resigned and the regent was dismissed over the case.

"That's why we, from the Central Java KPPKKN, urge legislators at the House of Representatives to take a firm stance to protect anticorruption activists from every kind of intimidation and violence for the reports that they make," said Eko.

He added the bill on human rights protection currently being discussed should be immediately approved as it would ensure the safety of anti- corruption activists.

He further said that Indonesian law enforcement authorities did not regarded human rights defenders as crucial.

"The United Nations has also deemed the same. UN special envoy on human rights Hina Jilani stated in his report on the condition of human rights protection in Indonesia in 2008 that activists are still in a threatened condition. They often encounter obstacles when carrying out investigations and advocacy actions," Eko said.

The current situation, according to Eko, was a strong challenge to the burgeoning role of civil society groups in eradicating corruption, which has been accommodated by the government through Article 41 of the 1999 Corruption Law, which provides rewards for preventing and eradicating corruption.

ICW disappointed at early release of graft convict

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Dessy Sagita – A senior member of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says that he is disappointed with the early release of graft convict Sjahril Djohan.

"ICW believes that corruption convicts should not be granted early remission, let alone be released on probation. It will not teach them anything," Emerson said on Thursday.

Sjahril was relased on probation earlier on Thursday, after serving two- thirds of his 18-month sentence for channeling bribe money to the National Police's chief of detectives in an attempt to fix two criminal cases favoring a lawyer. Emerson said Sjahril's lenient punishment and steadfast release would lead to speculation that the judicial mafia were involved in the case.

"He was only sentenced to a short amount of time, but already he has been released on probation. I don't understand why [Justice and Human Rights] Minister [Patrialis] did that," he said.

Emerson said Sjahril's premature release would set a bad precedent, allowing people to think that corruption was not a serious crime because of the privileges given to graft convicts.

KPK says its advice falls on deaf ears

Jakarta Post - April 14, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says 25 case studies on how officials swindled state funds have largely been ignored, showing institutional foot dragging in implementing reform.

The 2002 KPK Law orders the agency to examine the systems in place at government agencies and ministries, including regulatory policies and the management of funds and resources, to detect loopholes that pave the way for graft.

Once it detects loopholes, the KPK issues recommendations, usually in the form of action plans outlining reform policies, for state bodies to implement.

The KPK monitors a government body's progress in implementing its recommendations every three months. However, after eight years, the KPK said many government institutions have failed to implement its suggestions.

"Just two months ago, we reported the Religious Affairs Ministry and the National Land Agency [BPN] to the President for failure to comply with our recommendations," KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin told The Jakarta Post.

In 2005, the KPK scrutinized the land management system handled by the BPN and found indications of systemic graft.

In 2010, KPK identified 48 weaknesses in the Religious Affairs Ministry's management of the Muslim pilgrimage that might lead to corruption.

The weaknesses, among other things, concerning the interest accruing to haj applicants' installment deposits and a lack of transparency surrounding the public trust fund that holds excess interest not disbursed for pilgrimage services.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali denied allegations that the ministry misused the public trust fund, while the KPK insisted that it might take legal action against the ministry.

"Rest assured, if they keep ignoring our suggestions we will catch them red-handed and prosecute them," Jasin said.

The KPK arrested Mohammad Khudlori, the former head of the Surabaya Land Agency in East Java, for extortion in 2008. A year later, the Corruption Court sentenced a Customs and Excise official, Agus Sjafiin Pane, to four years' imprisonment for accepting bribes from importers.

KPK has found that almost every system was prone to corruption. "Almost every system we studied was problematic," Jasin said

The KPK has studied 25 systems at several government bodies, including the management of the haj, forestry licensing, taxation system and customs, as well as a recent study on social aid management by local administrations.

Most loopholes that the KPK found were related to overlapping regulations that led to abuses of power, a lack of transparency in budget management processes leading to bribery, a lack of professionalism and the low integrity of employees.

Jasin said that the KPK would continue to search for systems and processes connected to public services which might be prone to corruption.

Among the indicators of corruption are: Systems receiving public reports; institutions that handle the state budget, such as the Finance Ministry and institutions responsible for large budgets, such as the National Education Ministry and the Public Works Ministry.

"We also get hints of corruption from cases we handle, for example, the recent case of the misuse of local funds related to management of soccer teams," he said.

According to Jasin, the KPK would create teams to conduct thorough studies. The process would take around three to six months depending on the complexity of the system.

"The team will study it against the existing law; whether or not it violates the law. We will also conduct a survey against the service providers and the customers," he added.

50 officials suspected of money laundering

Jakarta Post - April 14, 2011

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – Over 50 officials who are clients of alleged Citibank embezzler Inong Malinda, aka Malinda Dee, are suspected of being linked with the fraud case that may also indicate money laundering, Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) officials say.

Chairman Yunus Husein said on Wednesday that the PPATK was studying money- laundering indications in 28 transaction reports from two insurance firms and eight banks, including unidentified state-owned, private and foreign- owned lenders.

"We have not figured out if the large amount of private banking funds came from money laundering... If we were to guess, using income statement analyses, or lifestyle and network analyses, we could jump to that conclusion. How come they have little income but the account shows huge amounts of money?" he said at a press briefing at the PPATK office in Jakarta, adding that there were several "former officials" who were clients of Malinda.

The National Police are currently investigating a case of alleged embezzlement of client funds and have taken into custody the 47-year-old former Citigold wealth manager, who, according to the PPATK, used four different identification cards in her alleged embezzlement operation.

When asked how many high-ranking officials were suspected of money laundering in the Citibank fraud case, PPATK supervisory and compliance director Subintoro said it "may be more than 50".

"The modus operandi is rolling over funds into other funds. For instance, [Malinda] withdrew Rp 5 billion [US$580,000] from Customer A, which goes straight into her office. Later on, she covers the Rp 5 billion with Rp 10 billion withdrawn from Customer B. Then she will withdraw from another big customer. That goes on," Subintoro said.

PPATK, Bank Indonesia (BI) and the police plan to cooperate in investigating the Citibank fraud case, which may be worth more than the initial Rp 16 billion, all of which belongs to Citibank's first-class customers.

Yunus said that Malinda should definitely be charged with money laundering, as she "withdrew and shopped funds that were not hers but her customers' without their permission".

Article 4 of the Law on Money Laundering stipulates that charges of money laundering could carry a 20-year prison sentence and a Rp 10 billion fine.

By law, the PPATK is obliged to finish its investigation in five plus 15 work days, but BI's deputy governor in payment systems, Budi Rochadi, said the fate of the case would be determined in two weeks, after a "special investigation" by the three investigating bodies, the PPATK, BI and the police.

Afterwards, BI will proceed with a fit and proper test for Citibank executives, he added. "There are several suspicions in the case, and we are preparing administrative sanctions including the fit and proper test. Criminal charges are with the police," BI's Deputy Governor for banking supervision Halim Alamsyah said.

As of April 6, Citibank had suspended its Citigold unit from recruiting new customers following an order from the central bank, who also told Citibank to stop processing new credit card applications pending an investigation into the death of customer Irzen Octa, while he met with Citibank debt collectors.

Budi said possible sanctions on Citibank might range from an administrative warning to a freeze on the bank's credit card operations and private banking permits.

Meanwhile, Citibank official Ditta Amahorseya denied the information. "The information is not valid. All accounts in Citibank has complied with KYC [know your customer] principle," Ditta said in a text message sent to The Jakarta Post.

SBY insists he never got requests to probe officials

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

Arientha Primanita & Heru Andriyanto – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday denied he had withheld permission for law enforcement officials to probe 61 regional heads, saying the requests had never been made.

Speaking before a cabinet meeting, he said he had duly signed all papers presented to him, often up to 20 per day, but had not received any requests from the Attorney General's Office to investigate regional heads for various violations.

"Normally any documents on my desk are signed off before the deadline, and no documents stay overnight except those requesting clemency for death-row inmates, in which case I need to consider the request for two or three days," the president said.

"I've asked my subordinates to see if the 61 letters [from the AGO to probe regional heads] were misplaced or not yet sent to me."

Last week, AGO spokesman Noor Rachmad said that since 2005, his office had been unable to question regional heads as suspects in corruption cases because of the lack of presidential approval to proceed.

But Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam said there was no attempt on the part of the president to thwart graft probes. "President Yudhoyono is committed to law enforcement and does not discriminate on corruption eradication," he said.

He said that if no approval had been obtained from the president within 60 days, prosecutors could proceed with probing district heads, or 30 days for legislators.

Attorney General Basrief Arief said his office would look into the whether the requests to investigate regional heads had been properly filed with the Cabinet Secretariat for submission.

"I've asked my staff to recheck again carefully and also look in the archives because there are some [suspects] whose terms have since expired," he said. He added he had issued a warning to Noor about "checking and guaranteeing accuracy before giving information."

On Monday, Basrief said the president was not to blame for the lack of approval to investigate the officials because the requests had never reached him.

"Not a single letter has reached the president's desk, so how can he grant permission?" he said. "Before those cases reach the president, they have to be fully complete. For regional law-enforcement officials, they have to first clarify the case to us before we can make a formal request. There must be comprehensive discussions on each case before we can lodge the formal request."

Law enforcement agencies urged not to let egos get in the way of graft war

Jakarta Globe - April 12, 2011

Farouk Arnaz, Semarang – A senior police official on Monday said there was a need for more cooperation among law enforcement agencies to bolster the fight against corruption.

Comr. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, deputy chief at the National Police, said cooperation needed to be boosted to curb what he termed a "counterattack by corruptors." Nanan told a workshop at the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement in the Central Javanese capital: "We have to be more serious and work together."

He conceded that institutional egos sometimes stood in the way of cooperation and prevented the various law enforcement agencies from working together on corruption cases. "This cannot be tolerated anymore. We have to think about the future of this country," he said. "We want to improve and get Indonesia off the list of most corrupt countries."

Officials from the National Police, Attorney General's Office, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), tax office and Supreme Audit Board (BPK) all attended the workshop. Also represented were the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and State Finance and Development Comptroller (BPKP).

Nanan said a presidential decree addressing the fight against corruption would soon be issued to outline the steps to eradicate graft over the 2011-2014 period. Moreover, he said, the police were determined to root out corruption in their own ranks. "We have the political will to combat rogue police officers," he said.

Meanwhile, the KPK's chairman, Busyro Muqoddas, told the workshop that corruption remained firmly entrenched in the country because it had many backers. "Especially law enforcers, case brokers, middlemen and intellectuals who are prostituting themselves to help corruptors escape justice," he said. He said the case of disgraced former tax official Gayus Tambunan was the perfect example.

Busyro said corruption in politics was even exerting an influence on legislation and public policy. "Like, for example, the new anticorruption bill, in which anything under Rp 25 million ($3,000) is not considered as corruption," he said.

Busyro said cooperation was also needed with other stakeholders. "To create a society that is civilized, honest, based on meritocracy, professionalism and egalitarianism takes time, of course, but we must start with ourselves," he said.

War on terror

Suicide bomber hits Indonesian mosque, wounds 28

Associated Press - April 15, 2011

Ali Kotarumalos, Jakarta, Indonesia – A suicide bomber blew himself up as police were praying Friday, wounding 28 people in the first attack on a mosque since extremists started targeting the predominantly Muslim country a decade ago.

The attack – which followed a nearly two-year lull in suicide bombings – occurred in the West Java town of Cirebon. The victims were rushed to hospitals with nails, nuts and bolts embedded in their bodies, said Yeni Rahmawati, a hospital spokeswoman.

Indonesia, a secular nation of 237 million, has been hit by a string of al-Qaida-linked terrorist attacks since the 2002 bombings on two crowded Bali nightclubs that left 202 people dead.

There have been three other major suicide bombings since then, the most recent targeting two luxury hotels in Jakarta in 2009, killing seven and wounding more than 50. Many of the victims have been foreign tourists.

In the last year, however, militants seeking to carve out an Islamic state have said the country's moderate leaders and security forces would be their main targets.

They've attacked several police posts since then, but never a mosque and their decision to do so during holy prayers Friday shows just how out of touch with public opinion they are. Houses of worship are commonly targeted by militants in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

"It's really worrisome," said Mardigu Wawiek Prasantyo, an intelligence analyst, noting that the bombing during Friday holy prayers points to a "hardening of militants."

The mosque stood on the grounds of a police compound, but was open to the public. Most of the wounded were officers, among them local police chief.

West Java police chief, Maj. Gen. Suparni Parto, told El-Shinta radio the mangled body of the suicide bomber was found at the scene.

The attacker was apparently wearing a suicide vest beneath his black Islamic robes and sitting among dozens of worshippers when he set off the bomb, shouting "God is great!" said Agus Riyanto, a police spokesman.

Indonesia has battled Islamist militants with links to the Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah since the 2002 Bali bombings.

Though hundreds of suspected militants have been captured in a security crackdown in recent years, terrorists have proved resilient, with networks splintering and mutating.

[Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report.]

Do not be provoked by terror attack: Minister

Jakarta Globe - April 15, 2011

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has called on Indonesian Muslims to refrain from being provoked by Friday's terrorist attack.

"To all Muslim followers, please do not be provoked by this inhumane action," Suryadharma said of the bombing during Friday prayers in a mosque in a police compound in West Java. "Let's just keep living peacefully and let the police resolve the matter."

Suryadharma, also chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), said the party hoped the identify of those involved in the attack at the Cirebon Police headquarters and the motives behind it would be revealed as quickly as possible. National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and a number of senior antiterror police officers are now flying to Cirebon in the aftermath of the bombing, which wounded almost 30 people, including a number of police officers, and claimed the life of the alleged suicide bomber.

Defense Ministry secretary general Eris Herryanto, meanwhile, urged National Police to immediately file a request allowing the Indonesian Military (TNI) to assist in the investigation.

"On several occasions we have announced that the military is available to help in such matters," Eris said. "But as of yet, the police have never asked for the military's assistance."

Syafii Maarif, the former head of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization, condemned the attack. "In my opinion, only people who have lost their minds are able to carry out such evil attacks," he said in a statement on behalf of the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity.

Fajar Riza Ul Haq, the executive director of the institute, said the attack highlighted weaknesses in the country's fight against terrorism.

"The police haven't even finished investigating the book-bomb attacks and now there has been a suicide attack in Cirebon," he said. "There is something wrong with our terror prevention and security efforts."

The attack is the most serious incident in a recent spate of attacks by Islamist militants. Indonesia has been the scene of some major attacks by militants linked to Al Qaeda over the past 10 years but there have been few big attacks recently.

Police have said that militants in Indonesia have recently changed tactics and were now going after government and law enforcement officials as well as Western targets.

"The police have been the most active in fighting terrorism and that is why they are furious with us," National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.

The head of Indonesia's National Counter-Terrorism Agency, Ansyaad Mbai, said in a recent interview that militants were using parcel bombs and targeting minorities to try to push an Islamist agenda and warned that more attacks were likely.

Militant attacks and incidents of religious intolerance have risen in recent months, with mobs lynching three followers of a minority Islamic sect and torching two churches on Java island.

Parcel bombs have been sent to people involved in promoting pluralism and counter-terrorism in Jakarta. (Jakarta Globe & Reuters)

Terror was Aceh camp's aim: Testimony

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – The final witness for the prosecution in the trial of cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has corroborated earlier testimony that the paramilitary camp linked to the defendant was established to sow terror.

Chairul Huda, a legal expert from the Islamic-based Muhammadiyah University, told the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday that any armed activity targeted at the state and posing a threat to stability should be categorized as an act of terrorism.

"Terrorism is based on a certain ideology, and in the process of attaining its goals, it justifies the use of violence," he said.

"Since the enemy is the state, terrorism doesn't discriminate over its targets." Chairul said that to qualify as terrorism, the paramilitary camp in Aceh, which was raided by police in February last year, would have had to involve fugitives previously charged with terrorism or have involved organizations known to be terrorist groups.

"And if the people involved in the paramilitary training weren't part of a separatist movement, it would still be classified as terrorism," he said.

The court had earlier heard that the training activities at the camp were led by key terrorists such as the late Dulmatin and Abu Tholut.

Chairul's testimony ties in with previous witnesses' assessment that operating the camp, which was believed to be preparing for Mumbai-type assaults on key targets, constituted an act of terror.

However, Bashir, who stands accused of raising funds for the camp, denied this, insisting it was a religiously justified I'dad, or preparation for armed conflict. "The paramilitary training was the implementation of Allah's orders," Bashir said after the hearing.

He also took the opportunity to promote his upcoming book titled "Seruan Tauhid Di Bawah Ancaman Mati" ("Calls for Recognizing Allah's Oneness Under Threat of Death"), which aims to cast the paramilitary camp in a positive light.

"The book is meant to counter the ideology of the Zionists, the Jews, who are destroying Islam by killing the two most fundamental principles of Islamic governance," Bashir said.

"The first is that Muslims must uphold Islamic law in their country. If my struggle to uphold Shariah in this country is perceived as terrorism, then that perception goes against Allah's orders."

Bashir said the second principle was for all Muslims to follow the example set by the Prophet Mohammed.

Bashir's trial was adjourned until Monday, when the defense will present its first witness. The 72-year-old cleric faces multiple charges that could see receive the death sentence.

Freedom of religion & worship

Ahmadis want freedom of religious practices

Jakarta Post - April 15, 2011

Fadli, Batam – The Riau Islands provincial administration was welcome to ban Ahmadiyah (an Islamic sect considered heretical) in the region, but was urged to let Ahmadis perform their religious practices as usual, an Ahmadi said.

Speaking at a dissemination forum on Thursday regarding the joint ministerial decree on the ban of Ahmadiyah in Batam, which was led by Religious Affairs Minister's expert staff Tulus Sastrowijono, an Ahmadi from Bintan regency, Muhammad Sani, questioned the ban.

"You talk about the ban on Ahmadiyah. Does it also include the ban on our religious activities, because we still pray five times a day and perform our Friday mass prayers?" said Sani, who came with his wife and their baby.

Tulus Sastrowijoyo, who oversees law and human rights affairs, responded by saying that Ahmadiyah was blasphemy against Islam. Banning it, he said, did not violate Article 29 of the Constitution because freedom of religion was also confined by the prevailing laws.

"The central government is still waiting for proposals from each of the provincial and regency/municipal administrations on their stance regarding Ahmadiyah," he said.

He added that, so far, none of the 33 provincial administrations had sent an official proposal regarding the matter. "If a region wants to ban Ahmadiyah, it has to propose so to the central government and this will be the stance of the government," Tulus said.

Tulus also said that the central government was not passing the problem to regional administrations but rather did not want to act authoritarian in the matter.

So far, he said, only two provinces, West Java and East Java, have issued a gubernatorial decree banning Ahmadiyah, but both were annulled by the Home Minister because it was the central government's authority.

Separately, the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) Riau Islands provincial branch chairman Tengku Azahari Abbas said all elements of Muslims in the province had agreed on the banning of Ahmadiyah.

"If a proposal is needed [for the ban], then we will push the Riau Islands governor to urge the President to ban Ahmadiyah because the sect has caused restlessness and tarnished Islam," Azahari said.

He added that there were some 200 Ahmadi families in Riau Islands, 72 of which were in Batam. In Batam they are concentrated around a mosque called Alzikir.

"The mosque has been sealed by the Religious Affairs Ministry because it violated a joint ministerial decree on the establishment of houses of worship," said Azahari, expressing hope that the government would take stern action against Ahmadiyah.

The same hope was also expressed by Didi Suryadi of the Islamic Forum (FUI). He said the President had to be stern against Ahmadiyah and quick in dealing with it.

Passing the problem to the regional administrations would only create new problems because different regions had different stances. "The President has to take stern action before the people take action," Didi said.

Over 400 Ahmadis 'on right path,' West Java governor says

Jakarta Globe - April 15, 2011

Yuli Krisna – More than 400 members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah have converted to mainstream Islam since a ban on their activities was issued in West Java, officials claimed on Thursday.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said encouraging conversions was the main objective of the ban, which he ordered on March 3. The ban followed a series of attacks against the minority sect by mainstream Muslims and hard-liners.

"This is a truly historic moment," Ahmad said. "More than 400 Ahmadis have rushed to embrace true Islam. Our aim is to put these people on the right path."

He added that in order to renounce their faith, there was a 12-point program that the Ahmadis had to follow, including acknowledging Muhammad as the last prophet in Islam.

The animosity toward the Ahmadis stems from the sect's belief that its founder, Mirza Gulam Ahmad, was a prophet, albeit subordinate to Muhammad. This difference in opinion has resulted in Ahmadiyah followers being subjected to attacks and other forms of persecution.

However, the governor defended the decree banning the sect's activities as a means of ensuring an end to the violent attacks. "There's more security with the decree in place," he said.

Rafiq Ahmad Sumadi Gandakusuma, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyah congregation in the province, however, disputed that claim. He pointed out that on April 3, a mob attacked five homes belonging to sect members in Bogor. "Besides, the decree is unconstitutional," he told the Jakarta Globe.

He also said the mass conversion of Ahmadis to mainstream Islam was not significant given that most of them "weren't really believers, so it was always going to be easy to sway them."

Young attackers of Cisalada Ahmadiyah sent to prison

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Vento Saudale, Bogor – A court in Bogor sentenced three people charged in a mob attack on an Ahmadiyah community to prison terms of between four and six months on Wednesday.

In the first hearing at the Cibinong District Court, judges ruled that Dede Novi, 19, and Aldi Afriansyah, 21, were guilty of attacking a mosque belonging to the minority Muslim sect in Cisalada village on Oct. 1, 2010.

The attack in Cisalada, home to about 600 followers of Ahmadiyah, also targeted homes and schools of the group, which has come under increasing attack by Islamic hard-liners in Bogor and other parts of West Java.

Dede and Aldi were ordered jailed for six months and given a year's probation. The sentence handed down was lighter than the nine months prosecutors had sought.

Judge Astriwati, presiding over the hearing, said one of the facts in favor of the two defendants was the lights at the mosque had been turned off at the time of the attack, so it was not entirely clear to what extent they were involved in the incident.

However, the judge stressed that Dede and Aldi were definitely in the group of around 30 locals who ransacked the mosque. "A witness testified to seeing the defendants carry out the vandalism," she said.

San Alauddin, a lawyer for the defendants, said after the sentencing that he would leave the decision of whether to appeal up to the families of the defendants.

In the second case heard on Wednesday, the court sentenced 13-year-old Akbar Ramanda to four months in prison and eight months' probation for the same offense. Prosecutors had sought five months in jail for the minor.

For all three defendants, Astriwati said the main mitigating factor prompting the lighter sentences was that "they are all young and have their whole life ahead of them."

Eviarti, the chief prosecutor in all the cases, said her office would have to consider appealing the light sentences. Prosecutors typically only appeal if the final sentence is less than two-thirds of their demands. The prosecution and defense have seven days to file an appeal.

There was a heavy police presence at the court in anticipation of violence by the defendants' supporters, more than 500 of whom turned up. Six hundred officers and riot control personnel from the Bogor Police checked everyone going into the courthouse.

Mukhtar, an official from the Bogor branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which has repeatedly called for the disbanding of Ahmadiyah, said before the hearing that if the three were not acquitted, "there will be problems later."

Sex & pornography

Disgraced Arifinto kisses politics goodbye

Jakarta Post - April 13, 2011

Jakarta – His resignation announced, apologies offered and sanctions enacted, former legislator Arifinto bid farewell to his political career. His first adieu will be with constituents in several regions in West Java.

Arifinto, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator, arrived in Karawang regency on Tuesday where he met with local farmers. "Most of them already knew about my case from the other day because the TV and other mass media had heavily exposed it," he told The Jakarta Post.

Arifinto said he did not try to clear his name or defend himself for his alleged porn-watching behavior, which was caught on camera during a House plenary session last week.

"Since I had to resign [from the House of Representatives] due to the case the other day, I am using this visit to my constituents as a chance to say goodbye. I'm going to meet with my constituents and my party colleagues in the regions to apologize and bid farewell to the party," he added.

Politics would no longer be his avenue to fight for people's interests, he said.

"Politics, for me and my friends in the PKS, is just a means to fight for the people," he told the Post, adding that he was not interested in politics in the first place. "So, resigning from politics is not a problem for me."

But Arifinto highlighted that his withdrawal from the PKS would be a decision for the party's leaders.

Earlier on Tuesday, he apologized to his party and the public for his behavior. "I would like to make a special apology to the people of Indonesia. I also apologize to all the cadres in my party on the error I have committed," he said.

Arifinto is now clearing out his office at the House and said he would submit his official resignation letter to his party by Wednesday.

His resignation received both appreciation and jeers. PKS colleague and Communication and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring lauded Arifinto's decision.

"His move to resign is a good example. Many public officials have been proven guilty; they failed and continue to fail," he said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Arifinto said he would resign to set an example for others in acknowledging their mistakes. "Hopefully, my approach will set an example for others in admitting their faults with honesty. Hopefully, God will forgive my error," he said.

The scandal Arifinto found himself in has not only caught national attention, but also piqued the international media on Monday.

Time.com, citing the BBC, published a quote by Arifinto: "I will continue to work for my party. I am also going to continue to better myself... by reading the Koran and asking for guidance" in its "Quotes of the Day" posting on Monday.

Other quotes came from former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Ivory Coast's ambassador to the UN, Youssoufou Bamba.

Time.com also mentioned that Arifinto came from an Islamic party that "promoted the nation's controversial anti-pornography laws".

The PKS, an Islam-based political party, was a staunch supporter of the law that received much public criticism for its loose definitions and discrimination against women.

Time also published Arifinto's claim that the images came via a link in an email. The journalist who took the photographs, however, contested the claim, saying he had at least 60 photos of the legislator accessing the porn from a folder on the tablet.

Arifinto told the Post on Tuesday that he was considering reopening his book publication business. (lfr)

PKS lawmaker resigns from DPR after porn bust

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Anita Rachman – Arifinto, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker under fire for apparently watching pornography during Friday's plenary session in the legislature, has just announced that he is resigning.

"As one of the founders of the Prosperous Justice Party, I feel obligated to come out and speak for myself and on behalf of my party," he said in a press conference at the House of Representatives.

"On my own will, without any pressure from anyone, for the sake of myself and the party's honor, I will soon tender my resignation from the House of Representatives," Arifinto said.

"I apologize to the Prosperous Justice Party, the cadres and to everyone at the House of Representatives. I will keep dedicating myself to my party."

A series of photographs taken by Media Indonesia photographer Mohamad Irfan shows Arifinto selecting a pornographic film from a folder in his tablet, rather than opening an e-mail link as he had claimed, during the House plenary session last Friday.

Arifinto also said he would seek to be better by doing introspection, reciting the Koran, seeking advice from ulema, giving charity to the poor and other good things that could lead to glory in this life and the one after.

Nudirman Munir, the deputy chairman of the House's Ethics Council, has said it was better for Arifinto to resign instead of waiting to be dismissed, which would see him lose his rights to a former lawmaker's pension and medical benefits.

PKS legislator's pornography slip-up has nation transfixed

Jakarta Globe & Antara - April 11, 2011

From comparisons to the Peterporn scandal to plans to seize and examine politicians' gadgets, the case of a lawmaker photographed browsing a pornographic Web site has sparked a range of strong and unusual reactions.

Indonesia's online community was abuzz over the weekend commenting on the controversy, particularly since the lawmaker involved, Arifinto, hails from the staunchly Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Several posts and tweets compared Arifinto's treatment to that of Nazril "Ariel" Irham, frontman of pop band Peterpan, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after sex tapes featuring a man resembling him spread like wildfire.

Ligwina Hananto, a noted financial planner, wrote on her Twitter account that if Arifinto is allowed to walk free, Ariel should be released as well.

Meanwhile, the West Java board of the PKS said it planned to confiscate gadgets owned by party lawmakers in the local legislative council (DPRD) to prevent them from watching porn.

Tate Qomarudin, the head of the party's leadership board in the region, said he had decided to take preventive measures after the recent scandal. "The gadget raid may be done at any time, but we are still focusing on investigating Pak Arifianto's case," he said.

Tate said the party's strong stance against pornography, led by communications minister and PKS politician Tifatul Sembiring, would not change in the wake of the incident.

"Public criticism that Pak Tifatul's antiporn campaign has been ruined by one of his fellow party members is a sign the public cares about fighting pornography," he said.

In one of the strangest responses to the issue, a sarcastic tweet by Norwegian porn actress and nude model Vicky Vette was taken as fact by some local media outlets.

After she tweeted, "I am super happy that Mr. Arifinto got my e-mail, I sent him my best pictures," stories saying "Vicky Vette admits sending Arifinto e-mail" appeared on various news portals.

Vette immediately tweeted a response: "Indonesian reporters, we have a thing on Twitter called sarcasm, look it up."

PKS member trapped by anti-porn stance

Jakarta Post - April 9, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – "Yes, it was me. I received an email, and there was a link, but it turned out to be one of those movies," the clearly embarrassed legislator desperately defended himself before journalists after photographers caught him red-handed watching a porn clip on his tablet computer while attending a House plenary session on Thursday.

Arifinto, who serves in the House of Representatives' Commission V on transportation affairs, said that he was caught on camera. He even said the incident was intentionally engineered by certain parties to tarnish his image and that of his party.

"I am afraid I was photographed as a trap against me aimed at killing [my political career] although I never saw the clip," Arifinto said.

However, the photographer who captured the moment insisted he had strong evidence that Arifinto, a legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), intentionally searched for the porn clip and did not stumble upon it by accident as Arifinto insists. He also denied he was part of a plot against the politician.

The photographer recounted that the legislator was sitting in the left wing at the back row of the House. He said he saw Arifinto select a porn clip from a folder on his tablet.

"I have the proof at my office. The video was not from an email [as claimed]. He took two minutes selecting the one-minute clip," Media Indonesia photographer Muhammad Irfan said.

The fact that Arifinto watched the video during a House plenary session is adding to the scandal, which is growing, as evidenced by the increased interest in the topic on Twitter on Friday and the many jokes making the rounds hinting at the irony in the legislator's behavior, given his party affiliations.

Arifinto's party aggressively supported the highly controversial anti- pornography bill, which was passed into law in 2008 despite widespread protests from artists, pluralists and human rights groups.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring, the former leader of the PKS, blocked porn sites and threatened to ban RIM's BlackBerry from Indonesia unless it blocked access to porn sites.

Liberal Islamic activist Muhamad Guntur Romli posted on Twitter that "Arifinto watched a porn clip as he thought it was a religious film because the actors were moaning 'oh my God'. Arifinto is very devoted, so is his party."

PKS legislator Nasir Djamil said the incident should be handled by the House Honorary Council. "There are binding ethics, especially during a plenary meeting," he was quoted as saying by news portal kompas.com.

PKS secretary-general Anis Matta recently claimed his party was a target of political attacks and said he believed more attacks lay ahead.

He said the attacks intensified after the PKS backed a failed proposal to set up a special legislative inquiry into graft at the tax office.

In a second blow to the party and to Anis himself, PKS founder Yusuf Supendi claimed Anis embezzled Rp 10 billion, filing a report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Yusuf also accused PKS chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq of slander. The two politicians have strongly denied Yusuf's accusations.

Land disputes & evictions

Komnas HAM team to deal with land rows in Jambi

Jakarta Post - April 14, 2011

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will send a special team to monitor and deal with various land conflicts and cases involving the community and plantation companies operating in Jambi province, a Komnas HAM official said.

"Our team will arrive in Jambi today," said Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Jambi provincial administration on Tuesday for the improvement and familiarization of the human rights network in the province.

He added that the commission was finding ways to end land disputes in Jambi, especially the one involving the recent shooting of farmers by police officers in Senyerang subdistrict, West Tanjungjabung regency and in Karang Mendapo subdistrict, Sarolangun regency.

He said the commission had received reports regarding the matter from the community. The five-member team, according to Ifdhal, would implement a thorough approach to all involved parties in its task.

"Based on the data they collect, we will give recommendations to both the central government and the respective local administrations," he said. He also said his office would seek clarification from the local police regarding the shooting, although it had received an initial report on the matter. "We will see if it involved a misuse of the police's authority."

Separately, Jambi Governor Hasan Basri Agus said his administration had a strong commitment to thoroughly dealing with various land-related problems in the province. He said the administration had set up a team to take inventory of the conflicts in Jambi, some of which were already in a settlement process.

The cases include the Senyerang shooting and the dispute between local farmers and PT Wirya Karya Sakti over a 41,000-hectare field.

Army in retreat after Central Java protest

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Army said on Tuesday that it was committed to the peaceful settlement of a land dispute in Central Java, a day after thousands of farmers protested the use of farmland in Urutsewu district as a live-fire training ground.

"We will avoid any clashes with local villagers. Training must continue but we will relocate to another area," Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Wiryantoro said.

On Monday, thousands of protesters, many of them farmers from the surrounding Kebumen district, blocked access to the land, forcing the Army to cancel its first scheduled training session there. The Army said it had planned on carrying out weaponry and ballistics training.

Imam Zuhdi, a protest coordinator, said villagers were prepared to physically stop the Army from using the disputed land. "If the military keeps insisting on doing their training here, then we will do all we can do to prevent them," he said.

Wiryantoro stressed that the Army had a legal right to use the land. "It was already included in our plans years ago to use the site as a place for training soldiers and weaponry tests," he said.

However, Imam, a member of the Forum for South Kebumen Farmers (FPPKS), accused the Army of conspiracy. He alleged that the Army had colluded with unnamed private investors to mine the farmland for iron ore.

"For us, the Army's plan is a conspiracy among the military, businessmen and local political powerholders to exploit iron ore for private interests," he said.

He added that a private company had already requested that the government approve an environmental impact analysis report for the land, which is needed before a mining permit can be granted.

"We reject the plan because it would cause environmental damage," Imam said. "Besides, it would cost us our livelihoods since most of us are farmers here."

Wiryantoro denied the allegations. "We can't comment on the iron ore issue, because the military has nothing to do with business as stipulated by the law."

After protests, PT Fathi Resources halts work

Jakarta Post - April 12, 2011

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – PT Fathi Resources says it will halt exploration at a mining site in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) until it gets a safety guarantee, following protests from local residents.

The decision was taken to prevent further possible anarchic action by local residents near the site in Umbu Ratu Nggay district, Central Sumba regency, according to the company.

Residents of Praikarokujang village recently attacked and set fire to heavy machinery used by the company to drill and to detect gold deposits.

Fathi Resources managing director Ahmad Chandra said over the telephone on Sunday that the company would not take legal action against the alleged arsonists and would leave further investigation to the police.

"We will not take legal action despite the fact that we have incurred billions of rupiah in damage. Exploratory work will resume when the local administration has given us a safety guarantee," Ahmad said.

According to Ahmad, Fathi Resources had not seized the site, located within the Manupeu Tana Daru National Park, as alleged by protesters.

Fathi Resources had been given permits from the local administration and Forestry Ministry for exploration, according to Ahmad. "We have carried out exploration and surveys based on the map," he said.

Ahmad said he hoped the government and the national park authorities could meet and come to terms so as to prevent further disruption.

Central Sumba community leaders from Praikaroku Jangga village, Umbu Janji, Umbu Mehang and Umbu Pindingara filed reports with the police alleging that PT Fathi Resources had seized the land of residents for exploration.

"The community figures reported the matter to the regency police on April 9," Felipus Yanggu, an activist from the Central Sumba Environmental Awareness Forum, said. According to Felipus, the community leaders allege that Fathi Resources has been conducting exploratory activity since March without giving the community prior notice.

"On March 31, PT Fathi Resources brought in heavy machinery to explore the site without the prior approval of the local community," Felipus said.

According to Felipus, Fathi Resources allegedly surreptitiously brought in its machinery after residents attempted to stop the company from exploring the site. "We did not resort to anarchy, or set fire to the machinery owned by PT Fathi Resources," Felipus said.

Hundreds of Praikarokujang residents, armed with edged weapons and stones, allegedly attacked Fathi Resources employees carrying out exploration work in the area on April 8, after the company and local administration failed to heed their calls against exploration.

PT Fathi Resources obtained a six-year gold exploration permit for Sumba from the NTT provincial administration. The company's surveys have been underway since the end of 2009.

Several mine sites were reportedly located within the national park while others were on private property, leading local residents to rally against the company's exploration activities.

The Manupeu Tana Daru National Park, covering 87,894.09 hectares, was designated as a national park based on joint Agriculture and Forestry Ministerial decree No. 576, dated Aug. 3, 1998.

Legislation & parliament

Potential DPR tower contractors implicated in earlier scandal

Jakarta Globe - April 15, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Two state-owned contractors implicated in illegal markups in a prior project are among five companies that have passed the first qualification phase for the construction of a new office tower for legislators.

Pembangunan Perumahan and Adhi Karya were on Thursday named by the House of Representatives as having passed the administrative test for the Rp 1.13 trillion ($130 million) project. The three other companies are Hutama Karya, Waskita Karya and Duta Graha Indah. The latter is the only private contractor in the batch.

Sumirat, an official from the House Secretariat overseeing the bidding process, said six other companies had failed the administrative test. "They'll have five days from the time of this announcement to challenge the results," he said.

Adhi Karya was previously accused of illegally cooperating with Pembangunan Perumahan when the latter firm won the contract to build homes for legislators in Kalibata, South Jakarta.

The project was marred by allegations of massive markups and expensive delays. Many legislators refused to move into the taxpayer-funded homes, citing substandard building materials and other irregularities.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie had previously warned the House Secretariat to blacklist any companies with bad records from participating in the bid for the new project.

However, Sumirat said that neither Pembangunan Perumahan nor Adhi Karya were on the House's blacklist, despite the earlier controversy. "None of the five companies are on the secretariat's blacklist, so we haven't banned any of them," he said.

He added that the bidding process could not proceed any further until the Public Works Ministry had evaluated the building plan. The House has given the ministry a month to carry out the evaluation from the time the announcement of the first-phase winners is made.

"According to our previous schedule, we were supposed to have determined the winner of the bidding process by June," Sumirat said.

"But because of this new evaluation phase, that might be postponed. We might need even more time if the ministry recommends changes to the building design or the budget plan." The project has been widely criticized by budget watchdogs, the public and individual legislators as wasteful and unnecessary.

However, the House has refused to budge on the issue, insisting the growing number of staff employed by each legislator necessitates the need for a new building, which it says will cost Rp 1.13 trillion but which watchdogs say will amount to Rp 1.8 trillion once furniture and fixtures are included.

On Thursday, hundreds of students from universities across the Greater Jakarta area held a rally outside the House complex in South Jakarta to protest the plan.

"We demand the cancellation of the new building project," said Andi, a spokesman for the student protesters. "There are still many poor citizens who need that money."

Maruarar Sirait, a legislator from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), urged the House leadership and individual parties to respond to the growing public outcry against the plan.

He said the current office tower was still adequate to accommodate legislators and their staff members.

"We should prioritize the people's needs before our own," Maruarar said. "Many educational and health facilities need to be built now, so it's not proper to busy ourselves with building a new legislative building."

Activists not giving ground against DPR tower project

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Dessy Sagita & Anita Rachman – - Though the House of Representatives still refuses to back down from its plan for a new office building, it seems civil society groups have no plans on giving up calling for it to be halted either.

On Wednesday, a group of nongovernmental organizations again reported House leader Marzuki Alie to the House Ethics Council for what they called the "House speaker's lies."

Ray Rangkuti, director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), said that Marzuki had several times told the public he would scrap the plan under certain conditions – but he hasn't.

Sebastian Salang, a coordinator for the Concerned Citizens for the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi), said that even though it had sent several reports to the House, the ethics body never took any action in response.

"Even after Marzuki told lies and hurt the people's feelings, the Ethics Council never did anything about it," Sebastian said.

He also said the plan for a new office building seems to be shrouded in mystery. Sebastian said the House has never put the people's aspirations first. Instead, he added, the House just keeps violating ethics codes.

The House has refused to budge on the issue of the new building, which lawmakers say will cost Rp 1.13 trillion ($130 million) but watchdogs say will amount to Rp 1.8 trillion once furniture and fixtures are included.

Separately, Indonesia Corruption Watch said on Wednesday that it had given a second warning to the House regarding the project.

"We want the construction to stop and we will ask the Supreme Audit Agency [BPK] to audit the money that has been used for the building," said Ade Irawan, an ICW researcher.

Ade said if the House still insisted and chose to ignore the warning, ICW would file a law suit along with other NGOs. If filed, it would be the third suit against the House over the office project. "The more people and NGOs suing the House [over the building] the better," Ade added.

He also said that since taxpayers would pay for the building, the process should comply with all government regulations. "According to a public works minister's decree issued in 2007, the House should consult with the ministry before they plan to build the tower," he said.

Ade said based on the ministerial decree, the Public Works Ministry could issue a recommendation to the Ministry of Finance about the proper budget needed for building.

"And according to our estimation, there are parts of the building which will cost twice the allowed limit stipulated in the decree," he said. "It is understandable if many people think there will be a lot of markup during construction," he said.

On Tuesday, Indonesian academics also voiced their rejection of the new building as a waste of the country's money when the old one was still usable.

"People across the country have complained about it and said they don't want it, so the legislators pushing for it are not representing the people's voice," Edy Suandi Hamid, former chairman of the Indonesian Rectors Forum and now a member of the forum's guidance council, told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

Rectors, students, journalists, and ulema on Sunday signed a petition against construction.

Lawmakers spend Rp 4.5 billion on latest study junkets abroad

Jakarta Globe - April 14, 2011

Anita Rachman – A state budget watchdog on Thursday released data detailing extravagant spending by House Commission I members on comparative study trips.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), said that members of House Commission I overseeing defense affairs had already spent Rp 4.5 billion ($522,000) on study junkets to United States, Turkey, Russia and France. The members departed the country on Wednesday.

"They don't want to put a stop to the construction of a new office tower, and they continue to maintain their hobby of traveling overseas," Uchok said at the release of Fitra's latest report.

According to Fitra, the trip to the US has been allocated the most state funds, about Rp 1.4 billion, while lawmakers have been budgeted Rp 1.2 billion for the Russian trip, Rp 944,500 for France and Rp 879,900 for Turkey. The funds have been taken from the House budget.

The House's Household Affairs Committee (BURT) recently proposed allocating Rp 541.2 billion ($63 million) to its legislation budget for 2012. The figure is almost double the budget of Rp 301.7 billion set in 2010.

The proposed budget also reportedly provides a substantial increase to funds allocated for comparative studies abroad despite widespread criticism that the trips were a waste of taxpayers' money.

Uchok said comparative studies were yet to prove fruitful, adding that it was unfair for lawmakers to spend Rp 4.5 billion in one month, while taxpayers spend the year gathering the money.

He said the amount spent by the Commission I lawmakers was the equivalent to the funds needed to educate 98 students from elementary to university. "They should have used the budget for the poor instead of using the money for their own pleasure. Moreover, they left the country without any announcements," he said.

Uchock said lawmakers needed to understand that the overseas jaunts were hurting the public, and instead of traveling abroad, lawmakers should visit their local constituents.

Hidayat Nur Wahid, senior politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) who is also member of Commission I, said that some Commission I lawmakers were yet to leave on the state-funded junket.

He declined to comment on where he would be traveling and the purpose of the trip. "Please ask the secretariat of Commission I for that [information]," he said.

Legislators receive more perks for less work: Critics

Jakarta Post - April 13, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Poor attendance rates, dismal performance in the last legislative session and embarrassing scandals at the House of Representatives have lent new fuel to protests against House plans to construct a new building.

Recent photographs showing Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Arifinto watching porn clips during a plenary session triggered condemnation of the House, which was already the target of much public anger for its controversial plan to construct a new building.

House leaders last week announced they would go ahead with the project only hours after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono publicly remarked that the plan should be reevaluated.

Most people believe the project, at a cost of Rp 1.13 trillion (US$131.08 million), was too expensive, especially for the 560 lawmakers who were deemed to have no significant achievements to show since 2009.

"Millions of Indonesians, particularly in remote areas, still have poor access to basic rights such as education and healthcare," Alfon Kurnia Palma from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) said Tuesday. The YLBHI is one of dozens of NGOs filing a lawsuit against the House and government over the project.

Apart from the building project, allocations from the state budget to the House will increase 40.3 percent from Rp 2.16 trillion in 2010 to Rp 3.03 trillion this year.

The plethora of overlapping bodies at the House is also seen as a means for lawmakers to receive more perks. Apart from the eleven commissions, each lawmaker can also be a member of seven internal bodies, including the Household Affairs Committee, the Consultative Body and the Interparliamentary Cooperation Body (BKSAP).

The 51 members of the BKSAP, for example, barely meet once a week. "However, each member of the BKSAP gets an additional monthly allowance," Sebastian Salang from Indonesian Parliamentary Watch (Formappi) said.

Yuna Farhan, the national secretary-general of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), said many of the House bodies could be scrapped.

A lawmaker receives a monthly salary of about Rp 60 million. Being a member of an internal body "earns" them an additional Rp 1 million to Rp 5 million each month. Members of the ad-hoc special committee (Pansus) and working committees (Panja) are also entitled to extra allowances.

A lawmaker can earn Rp 100 million a month as they are also eligible to claim aspiration absorption funds amounting to Rp 40 million per recess period and a communication allowance of Rp 11.5 million.

To critics, the perks don't correlate with legislative performance. The House's own Secretariat General showed attendance was at only 75.6 percent in the third meeting.

A Fitra study showed each lawmaker received an average of Rp 5.6 million per working day. "That means a lawmaker's absence at the House a day is a waste of Rp 5.6 million in taxpayer money," Yuna said.

The House legislative performance has been a target of criticism with only 14 of the planned 70 bills being endorsed so far.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party defended the increased budget for the House, saying it was needed to improve performance. He denied accusations that the numerous internal bodies were wasteful.

Indonesia politicians want more money for foreign trips

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

Anita Rachman – The price of passing legislation will become a lot more expensive if the House of Representatives gets its way – including a proposal to double its hugely controversial budget for overseas comparatives studies.

Refrizal, deputy chairman of the House's Household Affairs Committee (Burt), said the House, also known as the DPR, had proposed allocating Rp 541.2 billion ($62.8 million) for its legislation budget for 2012. The figure is almost double the budget of Rp 301.7 billion set in 2010.

The budget is also understood to provide a substantial increases for costly comparative studies abroad despite widespread criticisms the trips are wasteful travel junkets.

Ignatius Mulyono, chairman of the House Legislation Body, told the Jakarta Globe that it had been proposed that the budget for each comparative study linked to a specific piece of legislation be increased from 1.7 billion in 2011 to 3.4 billion in 2012. The total budget in 2010 is understood to be 129.2 billion, of which 58 percent was spent.

Ignatius said that lawmakers believed they were equal to ministers and as such had the right to fly business class, hence the budget increase.

The proposal is sure to provoke increased criticism of the House, which critics say remains a bastion of corruption and is out of touch with the people.

Watchdogs set to file lawsuit to stop tower

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Dessy Sagita & Anita Rachman – With all other efforts proving futile, a group of watchdogs said it would push through with filing a civil lawsuit today to force the leadership of the House of Representatives to cancel a planned office tower for lawmakers.

"The lawsuit will be directed to the House speaker, heads of the political factions, the House secretariat, the finance minister and the president," Yuna Farhan, secretary general of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), which heads the group of nongovernmental organizations bringing the suit, said on Sunday.

"We are asking all the aforementioned people to cancel the plan to build the new building, and we are asking the court to issue an order to halt any activity related to the construction."

Yuna said the group had exhausted all other avenues to halt the construction. "We conveyed open criticism through the media, staged demonstrations, we warned them of legal action. None of our efforts received a proper response from House," he said.

This is the second civil suit lodged against the House in relation to the new building.

The House has refused to budge on the issue of the new building, which lawmakers say will cost Rp 1.13 trillion ($130 million) but Fitra says will actually amount to Rp 1.8 trillion once furniture and fixtures are included.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that he welcomed the lawsuit but wanted the public to understand that he was not responsible for the decision to give the project the go-ahead. He said all House factions had supported the decision.

At Friday's House plenary session, the last before a month's recess, legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) walked out to protest the fact that there would be no discussion about the plan.

Marzuki insisted the PDI-P had not rejected the proposal when it had the chance during a consultative meeting the previous day. "We can take a look at the recording of the meeting. The PDI-P never opposed the plan, so let's not fool people here," he said.

Marzuki said the plan would go ahead because that was what the House factions had decided. "How great would I be if I could decide something that important on my own?" he said.

Jakarta & urban life

Survey of super-rich clients shows Jakarta rising in stature

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Shirley Christie – The news will come as little surprise to those who frequent Jakarta's top hotels or have an eye on snapping up units in the latest luxury apartment complex, but the capital's standing among the global super-rich should soon land it among the world's top 30 cities.

That's according to a new global wealth report compiled by Citi Private Bank and property consultancy Knight Frank, which puts Jakarta at 48th in a ranking of world cities based on their attractiveness as an investment destination for those with at least $10 million in assets.

The report, based on a poll of 160 Citi Private Bank wealth advisers, predicts Jakarta will rise to 28th in the world by 2020.

That means it would surpass Taipei, Delhi, Abu Dhabi and Seattle. New York and London are the top destinations now and are predicted to remain so in 10 years, with Hong Kong and Singapore staying at Nos. 3 and 4.

The prediction was reasonable, said Artadinata Djangkar, a director at commercial property developer Ciputra Property.

"Top businessmen come to Indonesia for business trips and to explore investment opportunities," he said on Sunday, adding that recent increases in foreign direct investment in Indonesia were a good indicator of how it had outstripped emerging neighbors such as Vietnam.

Property and luxury living were the areas that were most telling, he said, although Jakarta was not a holiday destination like Singapore, Hong Kong or Shanghai, but primarily a investment destination.

"Jakarta is not far behind other Southeast Asian cities when it comes to luxury residences," Artadinata said, with at least seven five-star hotels spread around Jakarta. "The existence of these hotels shows that developers have realized there is occupancy potential in the city. This number will keep on growing."

The advisers polled almost 5,000 people – referred to in the survey as "ultra-high-net-worth individuals" – from 36 countries and worth on average more than $100 million. The poll was held online in January, with the advisers asking clients to choose their top 10 cities in order of priority.

Arief Rahardjo, head of research and advisory at real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield, said he doubted the prediction would come true without changes in regulations.

"Right now, it is not possible for foreigners to buy residential property in Jakarta. They are only entitled to 'right to use' [hak pakai]," he said on Sunday.

The Attitudes survey, released with the wealth report, showed property accounted for 35 percent of clients' investment portfolios. It said luxury market prices in Jakarta are about $2,800 per square meter, almost half the price in Kuala Lumpur or one-tenth of Singapore and Hong Kong.

8,000 street kids to get 1.4 million rupiah each

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Arientha Primanita – The Indonesian government is aiming to give the estimated 8,000 street children in Jakarta at least Rp 1.4 million ($160) each by the end of the year as part of efforts to get them off the streets.

Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al-Jufri said 3,500 street children have so far received the allowances, which come in the form of savings accounts, through various shelters. "So for the next eight months, the rest must be covered," he told reporters at the Vice Presidential Palace on Thursday.

The savings program is part of efforts to help meet the ambitious goal of having Jakarta's roads free of street children by the end of the year, and the rest of the country by 2014.

Salim said there are currently about 230,000 street children in the country, and if the program proves to be successful in Jakarta, it could be replicated in other areas. The idea behind the program is to provide children with allowances to eliminate the need for them to go out on the streets and find money.

"Almost 80 percent of the children out working on the streets are there on orders of their parents. If they don't come home with money, the parents would not let them in," the minister said.

Therefore, with this program, he said, the parents should be responsible enough to no longer ask their children to go to the street and work.

The money, he added, should be used for the needs of the children, such as food and other snacks. "The savings are purely for the needs of the children. If the money is used for other purposes, then we will take it back," he said.

Other areas planning to adopt the program after Jakarta are Bandung, Solo, Surabaya, Semarang, Makassar and Medan.

But since the government's budget for the program is limited, Salim is calling on private companies to become involved in the effort through their respective corporate social responsibility programs.

Besides the savings program, Salim said parents also need to be empowered. "Many of the children's parents are unemployed so they need to be empowered," he said, adding that other directorates under the ministry are working to address this part of the problem.

Other ministries and government agencies are chipping in, as well. The police, for example, were working to enforce the law against criminal rings that use children as buskers. "That is exploitation and trafficking for which police must take action," he said.

Intelligence & state secrecy

Intelligence bill sparks concern over wide-ranging powers for agencies

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Heru Andriyanto – The proposed intelligence law that is being discussed at the House of Representatives could bring the nation back to the repressive era of the Suharto regime, in which the state spied on citizens for unspecified reasons, experts warned.

"We are concerned that the House and the government seem to be in a hurry to get the bill passed in July, regardless of its obvious weaknesses that may cause major problems in the future," said Poengky Indarti, executive director of nongovernmental group Imparsial on Sunday.

"The bill grants the intelligence agencies greater authority to deal with suspected terrorists, separatists and threats to security. It is basically a duplication of the intelligence work by the Dutch colonial rulers, which was in turn adopted by Suharto to spy on his own citizens," she told the Jakarta Globe.

The bill would allow the intelligence agencies to, among other things, arrest suspected terrorists and separatists while the existing Criminal Procedural Code rules that this authority rests with police and prosecutors.

Moreover, the bill would also grant intelligence officials the power to wiretap terror suspects without having to obtain a court order while the 2003 counterterrorism law says that only police can wiretap suspected terrorists, and only after securing permission from a judge.

"From these [provisions in the draft bill] alone, we know that the bill is in conflict with existing laws and it may cause the powers of the military, the police and the intelligence agencies to overlap. This makes these institutions vulnerable to future conflict," she said.

Poengky also said the House and the government had ignored the potential threats resulting from the bill as the ongoing discussions were lacking transparency and public participation. "We and other competent communities never get invited for hearings, while there are many people who have positive input and want to speak," she said.

Some lawmakers have also criticized the draft bill, saying the powers described in it could be abused.

Tjipta Lesmana, an intelligence analyst, warned the bill does not regulate the coordination among intelligence units at the police, the military, the Attorney General's Office, the Customs and Excise Directorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

PDI-P warns against powers in intelligence bill

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said on Friday that intelligence officers should not have powers to arrest terrorists and should serve only to warn the state against impending attacks.

The statement of the opposition party, also known as the PDI-P, came amid concerns over a new intelligence bill being deliberated by the House of Representatives.

Among the main points of the bill is to give the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) the authority to arrest terrorists before they attack.

However, PDI-P secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo said on Friday that Indonesia should emulate the systems of European intelligence agencies, where agents gather information on possible threats and leave arrests to police. "So [the intelligence agency] will work as an early-warning system," he said.

He said the European model was suited to Indonesia, where there were strong concerns about human rights violations. "I think it's normal if many citizens are concerned if the intelligence agency is given rights to execute [arrests]," Tjahjo said.

The intelligence bill, which has drawn criticism from rights groups, also seeks to allow the pre-emptive arrests of people suspected of subversion. It also contains a controversial article allowing the BIN to wiretap phone conversations without a court order.

Some lawmakers have criticized the new proposal, saying such powers could be abused, especially by the administration, which has the spy agency under its command.

However, Muhammad Najib, a member of the National Mandate Party (PAN), dismissed such notions, saying safeguards could be easily written into the law.

"I guarantee this bill will never be aimed at, let's say, protecting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," he said during a forum on the intelligence bill in Jakarta on Friday.

"All the proposed [powers] for BIN are aimed at giving the agency [the capacity] to secure the nation's sovereignty," he said.

Najib also said the president was not seeking to gain from giving the BIN more powers, despite accusations that the bill would protect his vested interests. "Our president is an intelligent man. I am sure he will govern us until 2014 with or without giving the BIN new powers," Najib said.

The lawmaker also claimed "almost all" of his fellow members on House Commission I, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, were in favor of passing the bill intact.

Tjipta Lesmana, an intelligence analyst, said there were other pressing issues concerning the intelligence bill aside from new powers for the BIN. Another crucial issue that needs to be discussed, Tjipta said, is how to integrate intelligence units within the country's ministries and other departments to ensure national security.

He said several government agencies operated their own intelligence units, including the National Police, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), the Attorney General's Office, the Custom and Excise Directorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"The lawmakers must give more attention to how to smooth out the coordination among all the units," he said on Friday. "Of course, the user of the intelligence units must also be clearly regulated in the bill."

Criminal justice & prison system

Antasari judges likely 'ignored' facts

Jakarta Post - April 14, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Judicial Commission (KY) has found indications that judges in Antasari Azhar's trial ignored important evidence and testimony that might have cleared him of murder charges.

"We have made a preliminary conclusion that shows indications of unprofessional conduct and other ethical violations made by the judges in the Antasari trial," KY spokesperson Asep Rahmat Fajar told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The conclusion was welcomed by Antasari's team of lawyers, who had planned to file a case review to the Supreme Court, the last resort available in Indonesia's judicial system to appeal a court verdict.

"Look at this, revelation after revelation. The KY has even made us more confident and assured that Antasari's case was totally orchestrated," one of Antasari's lawyers, M. Assegaf, told the Post.

The commission will follow up its probe by summoning and questioning all related parties, including the plaintiffs, the judges and witnesses not necessarily limited to those who already testified in court, Asep said.

Responding to KY's preliminary findings, Supreme Court spokesperson Hatta Ali said judges held the absolute authority to assess the significance of testimony or evidence in a case. Hatta said KY's authority was limited to imposing administrative sanctions on judges.

Antasari, the former chair of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence for masterminding the murder of businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen in March 2009.

Nasruddin was killed in his car in a mob-like drive-by shooting by a man riding on the back of a motorcycle.

The alleged hired assassins testified in court that they had been tortured severely by police before their confessions. The police investigation found Nasruddin had been shot at close range, while forensic expert Mun'im Idris testified that the victim was shot from a distance. Mun'im also testified that the police had asked him to eliminate the forensic results he had found from analyzing Nasruddin's body.

Asep said KY commissioners alleged the judges deliberately ignored expert witnesses, particularly in connection with the type of firearm and its bullets. An IT expert also testified in court that text messages saved in Nasruddin's cell phone were bogus, but the judges did not take that into account, Asep said.

The texts containing threatening messages supposedly from Antasari had been used by police investigators as proof that Antasari had a motive to kill Nasruddin.

Former mid-ranking police officer Sr. Comr. Wiliardi Wizar, who was convicted in the case, testified in court that he had been forced by police generals to testify against Antasari.

Former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, previously testified at another trial that the National Police had a special team tasked to target KPK leaders.

High-profile graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan also made a statement that prosecutor Cirus Sinaga, who once handled his case, had been involved in a plot targeting Antasari.

Sources said Antasari had been targeted by those in power in connection with KPK's move in 2008 to detain President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's father-in-law Aulia Pohan, a former Bank Indonesia deputy governor.

Economy & investment

Reform of regulations 'key' for infrastructure

Jakarta Globe - April 13, 2011

Faisal Maliki Baskoro – As many as 16 infrastructure projects are being offered to foreign investors this week at an international forum, but prospective investors say the government should focus more on fixing the regulatory framework needed to expedite existing projects.

Jean Emmanuel Seixas, a representative from French engineering and consulting company Egis, said on Wednesday that the government should focus on its most important projects.

"I think there are too many projects the government is trying to offer," he said on the sidelines of the three-day Indonesia International Infrastructure Conference in Jakarta.

The government is offering 16 projects worth more than $30 billion at the forum, which is hosted by the Indonesian Chamber of Trade and Commerce (Kadin).

"We're actually interested in some of the projects, especially the railway projects. However, there are still several issues like land acquisition and transparency that need to be resolved," Seixas said.

"Land acquisition is the main problem. How can we build without land? After we acquire the land, we can see the other problems that may arise afterward."

He also noted a lack of transparency and fairness in tender projects that tend to discourage many potential investors.

Crumbling infrastructure has been blamed for hampering Indonesia economic growth and scaring off potential investors. In response, the government has led a push to upgrade the nation's roads, ports and power stations.

Ignatius Jonan, president director of state railway company Kereta Api Indonesia, shared Seixas's concern over too many projects being offered.

"The government is planning to build or upgrade several railway tracks. With the land acquisition law still uncertain, we'd rather focus on our own capacity expansion because that is more feasible," he said.

Among the projects on offer are a 33-kilometer railway connecting Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Manggarai, the Purukcahu-Bangkuang railway and the Bali tourism railway.

"We've decided to pull out of the tender for the SHIA-Manggarai railway project, but we're doing a feasibility study on the 500-kilometer railway encircling Bali," Jonan said.

He said the Bali railway project was estimated to cost around $2 billion and would involve KAI, the provincial administration and the Transportation Ministry. "The Bali government will provide the land, the ministry will provide the railway and KAI will provide the trains and will be the operator," he said.

Tundjung Inderawan, director general for railways at the Transportation Ministry, said the land acquisition law was crucial for the progress of the railway projects and that the ministry needed extra funds to finance land acquisition.

"Just for the airport railway project, we have Rp 450 billion [$52 million] for land acquisition. That is not enough as we need at least Rp 1.5 trillion. We need a lot more for our projects," he said.

Unlike KAI, MEC Holdings, a unit of Dubai's Trimex Group, said it had completed the land acquisition for its $1 billion railway project to connect its mining site in Kutai to a port. The link is part of a 130- kilometer railway project in East Kalimantan.

"Our key to success lies in our personal approach to the people living near the planned coal railway. We told them the benefit of the railway and they understood. We acquired the land last year," Mashael Al Naimi, head of corporate communications at MEC, said on Wednesday.

Deputy Finance Minister Anny Rachmawati said the land acquisition law should be passed this year, paving the way the way for foreign investment.

She also said the government had increased land acquisition funds from Rp 1.4 trillion to Rp 3.4 trillion last year, with plans to raise it to Rp 4.9 trillion by 2013, she said.

World Bank, ADB support Indonesia's economic corridor scheme

Jakarta Globe - April 9, 2011

Jimbaran, Bali – The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have voiced support for Indonesia's plans to accelerate economic expansion.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said on Saturday that ADB president Harihuko Kuroda and World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani – until last year Indonesia's top finance minister – had delivered their support at a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"They will support the master plan to speed up infrastructure development and connectivity as the main pillar in the economic acceleration and integration of regional sector in six corridors," Hatta Rajasa said.

According to government plans, six regions will be designated as main economic corridors. Sumatra will be developed as an agricultural and national energy center, while Kalimantan will focus on mining and energy, Sulawesi-North Maluku on agriculture and fisheries, Bali-Nusa Tenggara on tourism and supporting national food self-sufficiency, Papua-Maluku on natural and human resources, and Java on industry and services.

Hatta on Saturday said that the ADB intended to give direct assistance to both state and private enterprises to develop added value for Indonesian economic acceleration and expansion.

"Thus connectivity, capacity building, and human resources are the three main pillars the Asian Development Bank is interested in," Hatta said, adding that he had been asked by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to talk with the World Bank and ADB to follow up with the support.

The economic minister explained that based on ADB and World Bank evaluations, Indonesia's economic situation at present was good, although it faces three problems – namely rising food price rises, oil prices and general inflation. (Antara, JG)

People

Journalist 'Pak Ros' Anwar put to rest

Jakarta Globe - April 15, 2011

Dessy Sagita & Arientha Primanita – Indonesia on Thursday bid farewell to veteran journalist Rosihan Anwar, who was laid to rest at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta with full military honors.

Pak Ros, as he was fondly called, passed away at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday morning from heart failure. He was 89.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who visited the journalist's home in Menteng, Central Jakarta, in the afternoon with the first lady, Ani Yudhoyono, said the country lost a major figure.

He said Rosihan was known not only as a journalist but as a writer, humanist and a film figure. "He has done so many things for this country," the president said, adding that even though Rosihan had been critical of his administration, the criticisms were delivered with responsibility and good intentions. "He criticized me several times but we remained close friends," Yudhoyono said.

Vice President Boediono said Rosihan was witness to a number of important moments in Indonesian history. "His works documented this country's history, and that is very useful to future generations," he said.

Hariman Siregar, a former activist, praised Rosihan as a great journalist. "Rosihan was a true journalist," he said. "He was never afraid to write the news based on the truth, regardless of the consequences."

He cited Rosihan's coverage of the 1974 Malari incident – an abbreviation of Malapetaka Lima Belas January, or the Tragedy of January 15th – in which Suharto's men quashed a mass student protest, turning it into a bloody riot. Suharto subsequently sealed off the Pedoman newspaper, which was edited by Rosihan.

Born in Kubang Nan Dua, West Sumatra, on May 10, 1922, Rosihan started his career in journalism in 1943 as a reporter for Asia Raya newspaper. In 1945, he became an editor at Merdeka newspaper and the chief editor for Pedoman newspaper.

He was one of the few Indonesian reporters to cover the Round Table Conference in The Hague in 1949, when the Netherlands officially agreed to transfer sovereignty to Indonesia.

In his long career, Rosihan wrote more than 20 books. His latest, "Backtrack to the Netherlands: 60 Years Journey of the 1949 Round Table Conference Journalist," was published on his 88th birthday last year.

Rosihan was also active in several organizations. He was appointed the chairman of the Indonesian Journalist Association (PWI) in the early 1970s. He remained head of its Honorary Council. In 1974, he was awarded the Bintang Mahaputra III, the highest award given to a civilian who has made a significant contribution in the military.

Jakob Utama, a senior journalist and founder of Kompas media, said Kompas Gramedia was set to launch Rosihan's latest work on his wife, "Love Memoir: The Romance of Rosihan Anwar and Zuraidah Sanawi".

"He was independent. As a journalist, his strength was he read a lot and wrote with rich words," Jakob said.

Rosihan left three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Rosihan's wife, Zuraidah, died in September last year. Since then, his own health had been in decline, according to his son, Umar Luthfi Anwar.

Analysis & opinion

Urgently needed: Truly clean and caring party

Jakarta Post - April 15, 2011

Pandaya, Jakarta – First, a revered figure made earth-shaking revelations on corruption, a breach of electoral laws and commonplace polygamy among leaders of the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which strives to portray itself as "clean, caring and professional".

The revelations were shocking because of the caliber of the person who made them: Yusuf Supendi, a PKS cofounder who once headed the party's sharia court and an ex-House of Representatives lawmaker.

Then last week, the PKS became the butt of jokes after one of its politicians, Arifinto, was caught on camera watching porn clips on his tablet computer to overcome boredom at a plenary session in the House.

It was unforgivable mockery of the controversial 2008 Pornography Law the party fiercely promoted with the fanatic backing of Islamic groups but strongly opposed by other religious groups and human rights activists suspicious of its hidden ideological agenda.

Then several more idealistic but sidelined party elders – PKS founders frustrated by the pragmatism of the incumbent younger leaders – are entertaining the idea of establishing the splinter Hisbullah Party.

Some of the fading figures such as Yusuf are unhappy because the pragmatic younger leaders have been leading the PKS away from the original tracks laid out by its founders as a partai dakwah, or a party with Islamic propagation missions.

The series of unfortunate events have unquestionably dealt a heavy blow to the PKS, which has aspired to become one of the top three political parties in the 2014 general elections, in place of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and challenge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the Golkar Party.

Securing 57 seats in the House, the PKS is the fourth-largest and belongs to the "medium group", vying for voters with other Islamic-based parties, the United Development Party (PPP), National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awaking Party (PKB).

Choosing Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood as its role model, the PKS relies on the educated, academic urban communities for core support.

To attract a wide spectrum of potential voters and make the party big, the PKS has declared itself an "open" party that accommodates non-Muslims. This move has raised some eyebrows because the PKS has never rescinded its ultimate goal of turning Indonesia into an Islamic state.

"How can you win the elections in predominantly Hindu Bali if you do not involve the Hindus there?" says Fahri Hamzah, a senior PKS lawmaker.

The recent flurry of allegations leveled against PKS leadership eclipses the party's relatively clean image as it is formed by respected figures although they may no longer hold sway.

Yusuf specifically accused party secretary-general and lawmaker Anis Matta of embezzling Rp 10 billion of the Rp 40 billion fund made available by Adang Daradjatun who needed PKS backing to run for the Jakarta gubernatorial race in 2007.

He also accused PKS chief Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq of accepting Rp 34 billion from Jusuf Kalla who needed the party's support for his presidential bid in 2004, and accused party lawmaking council chairman Hilmi Aminuddin of having a penchant for "gifts".

Particularly interesting is Yusuf's claim that the PKS, then named simply the Justice Party, obtained more than 90 percent of its 1999 election campaign funds from the Middle East. Indonesian laws forbid political parties from accepting foreign funds.

Party executives have strongly denied the allegations, which Yusuf has reported to the Corruption Eradication Commission, the House's Ethics Council and the police.

The Hizbullah Party that former senior PKS leader Tizar Zein has established may not pose a serious threat to the bruised PKS, but it will be the most visible crack resulting from bitter internal rivalry in the party that many have believed would become one of the country's biggest.

History has shown that splinter parties resulting from internal rift within major parties fail to see the light of day. They called it a day after they fail to pass the minimum electoral and legislative thresholds.

At the end of the day, all the unfortunate incidents only convince people that there is no such thing as a "clean party", not even those religious- based, in Indonesia where corruption is often official.

Only time will tell if would-be voters will still trust the PKS as a "clean, caring and professional" party.

Political chameleons

Jakarta Post Editorial - April 15, 2011

The floodgates of reform opened at the end of president Soeharto's repressive and monarchial New Order have, directly and indirectly, paved the way for unlimited political freedom in Indonesia.

Many things that were unimaginable in the past have become commonplace in the present. Some developments have been good; others have proven unhealthy for the democracy that we have been and will continue to fight for.

The ambiguous nature of certain aspects reform has been underscored by recent chameleon-like changes in the loyalties of the country's political elites. More precisely, it has become common for politicians to change their party colors ahead of local elections throughout the nation.

The color-changing chameleon offers an apt metaphor for Indonesian politics: local parties are associated with specific colors on ballot sheets: yellow for the Golkar Party, for example, or green for Islamic parties.

The politicans' opportunism is so blatant and ubiquitous that switching (party) colors might be termed a trend for party executives facing reelection to top posts at the national and regional level.

Recent party-switchers share one thing in common. By and large they have abandoned the parties that backed their campaigns and moved to the big winner of the 2009 election – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

It remains to be seen, however, why many have defected to the Democratic Party. Some might have been driven by a desire to cling to power. Or perhaps the Democratic Party, hoping to repeat its success at the ballot box, has been recruiting incumbent officials to switch parties.

In any event, it is no secret that incumbents have all the benefits when running for office.

The latest incident of party switching is the widely reported exit of West Java deputy governor Dede Yusuf from the National Mandate Party (PAN). After securing his billet running with PAN's support, the actor-turned- politician has reportedly expressed a desire to run for West Java governor under the banner of the Democratic Party.

Dede never officially confirmed his departure, but PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa said Dede would run. "He said he wanted to be governor, so he needs a bigger party. I said that's okay," Hatta said.

Bandung mayor Dada Rosada is on a similar path. Dada, who secured his post with the Golkar Party's support, has not denied rumors of his move to the Democratic Party – or of his intention to run for West Java governor.

Previously, Tangerang mayor Wahidin Halim, who won his current post with Golkar's support, moved to Democratic Party and was elected as chairman of the party's Tangerang branch.

Others party switchers include West Nusa Tenggara Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi, a Crescent Star Party (PBB) politician who was recently elected as chairman of the Democratic Party's West Nusa Tenggara chapter; North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, who won with the support of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Makassar mayor Ilham Arif Sirajuddin, a former chairman of Golkar's South Sulawesi chapter who was elected chairman of the Democratic Party's local chapter last year.

Incumbent party switching does not violate the Constitution, Indonesian law or regulations, including political parties' internal regulations. However, the repeated exoduses only raise questions about the commitment of politicians to the noble ethical norm of faithfulness.

Party switching has no legal consequences but it brings with social sanctions: a loss of public respect and trust – and the stigma of being branded as a politician without integrity. It is their choice.

A good time to weed out the no-hopers

Jakarta Globe Editorial - April 12, 2011

With the political rumor mill in full swing over an impending cabinet reshuffle and a senior conservative lawmaker photographed watching pornography during a plenary session, the behavior of legislators is once again in the spotlight.

Arifinto, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator at the center of the storm, has tendered his resignation from the House of Representatives and been forced to quit from the party's Syura [advisory] Council in the hope that this will deflect public criticism.

Speaking at a press conference at the House on Monday, Arifinto said he was stepping down to protect the good name of the party. In all honesty, this is the absolute minimum he should have done given his outrageous behavior. The PKS has always promoted its clean-cut image to urban voters. Today that image is in tatters.

Indeed the image of all legislators has taken a beating in recent months. The Indonesian public has had to witness one scandal after another, and the stubborn way in which legislators have pushed ahead with plans for a controversial new office tower has not helped their cause.

Amid the growing criticism, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono apparently plans to reshuffle his cabinet, citing unhappiness with the performance of some of his ministers. It would be an opportune time for him to do so and inject some new blood and fresh ideas into the government.

The criteria for selecting cabinet members and legislators is the same. We need individuals who are competent, hard working, have a strong moral compass and will serve with dignity. We need individuals who will put the interests of the people and the country above their own.

The public has a right to demand the highest standards of behavior and performance from these individuals. Sadly, many of them have let down the people who put their trust and faith in them.

This trust can be rebuilt, but it will take time and enormous effort. The issue at hand is the credibility, performance and moral character of our political leaders. Can they rise up to the standards expected of them?

Jakarta Journo: the 'accidental' porn fan

Jakarta Globe - April 10, 2011

Armando Siahaan – Nazril "Ariel" Irham must be smirking right now, knowing that a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party, which was one of the many groups calling for him to be imprisoned over his leaked private sex tapes, was caught red-handed watching pornography.

A Media Indonesia photographer caught Arifinto, a legislator from the party also known as PKS, opening a porn Web site on his tablet computer during a House of Representatives plenary session on Friday.

Arifinto admitted that it was in fact an adult site that was shown on his gadget, but he claimed he had merely opened a link attached to an e-mail he had received from an anonymous sender.

But one of the photos clearly showed that Arifinto had his fingers on the screen, which was filled with thumbnails of different sex videos on the site.

I want to make it clear that my anger over this matter does not stem from the act of watching porn itself. Rather, it is the many layers of irony and hypocrisy that I cannot stand.

Arifinto dons the uniform of the uber-conservative PKS, which was one of the most aggressive advocates of the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law. So for PKS to have one of it own sons break that law, not to mention doing it in the same place where the law was drafted and passed, is colossally hypocritical.

Moreover, let's not forget that PKS is the party of the antipornography bill's godfather, Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring.

Tifatul was one of the first public officials to condemn Ariel's sex tapes and denounce them as a violation of the Anti-Pornography Law. He was also the man who has religiously pushed for the filtering of pornographic Web sites, including on BlackBerry devices.

So the big question now is, what will Tifatul do? Will he push for the porn-watching politician to get punished? Or will he, like other PKS officials, make ridiculous excuses to defend his colleague.

I'm equally interested to see the reaction of Islamic hard-liners like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

They mobilized their followers to make sure that authorities put Ariel behind bars, and they were also ready to blitzkrieg Japanese porn star Miyabi at the airport upon hearing of her plans to shoot a part in a local movie.

Now we have a lawmaker, a representative of the country's largest Islamic party, caught watching porn. According to FPI's worldview, shouldn't this guy be dealt with swiftly and harshly, given that he has clearly tarnished the reputation of all Muslims?

Even if we put the porn issue aside, the Arifinto controversy should at least raise serious questions about the work ethics of our lawmakers.

Let's say Arifinto really was just opening an e-mail. Shouldn't he be paying attention to the meeting, instead of playing around with his gadgets?

Those who have paid a visit to one of these plenary sessions know that a lot of our lawmakers seem to suffer from attention-deficit disorder.

Many of the politicians that come to these meetings seem do whatever it takes to avoid having to do any actual work, whether it is chitchatting with their friends or playing with their BlackBerrys and iPads. The especially hardworking ones simply fall asleep.

And, of course, there are plenty more who simply don't come at all, which explains why there were no lawmakers sitting around Arifinto when the incriminating picture was taken.

A year ago, lawmakers were under fire over their chronic absenteeism at plenary sessions. Even after all of the media scrutiny, most of these sessions still never reach anything close to a full house.

We are also faced with our legislators' utter inability to actually legislate. Critics have often lambasted lawmakers for being unable to meet the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) target. Has anything changed?

No. Despite their poor performance, most politicians are still living large. They receive big monthly salaries and all kinds of additional allowances. They get to travel overseas in the name of research and, just like a 5-year-old boy asking for a mansion on his birthday, are adamant that their plan to build an ultra-expensive new office building for themselves is completely justified.

House Ethics Council deputy chairman Nudirman Munir said on Sunday that Arifinto had disgraced the House and that he had only two options – to resign or be dismissed. Whether the council has the political will to follow up on these threats is perhaps another matter.

The whole controversy may just play out like the case of Yahya Zaini. He was a former Golkar lawmaker who made a sex tape with dangdut singer Maria Eva that got leaked onto the Internet. Ultimately he did resign over the issue, but he was never pursued by the House Ethics Council or the police.

So will PKS lawmakers put their money where their mouths are and fire Arifinto? Will FPI stage a protest against the porn-watching politician? Will Tifatul call for the police to arrest him for violating the Anti- Pornography Law? I seriously doubt it.

Indonesia's culture of impunity offers too many excuses

Jakarta Globe - April 11, 2011

Yohanes Sulaiman – A scan of recent news offers more evidence, if any were needed, that accountability means little in the upper ranks of politics and business in Indonesia.

Inong Malinda Dee, an employee of Citibank in Jakarta, last week declared that she was not guilty of embezzling millions of dollars from customers' accounts. A day later, she promised to return the funds, while maintaining that her actions did not cost Citibank a penny. Her excuse for using her clients' money? They had handed it over for her to manage.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie, when recently faced with heavy public objections over his plan to build a luxurious new building for the legislature, declared that opposing factions were only trying to sully his reputation. This was his latest in a series of gaffes, from his dismissive attitude toward victims of natural disasters in Mentawai – telling island-dwellers "If you're afraid of waves, don't live by the shore" – to his declaration that Indonesian migrant workers were hurting the country's reputation with their bad work ethic and lack of skills ("Some of them can't iron properly, so it's natural if the employer ends up landing the hot iron on the migrant worker's body").

In refusing to resign from his post as chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) this year, Nurdin Halid claimed that special interests and political pressures were working to oust him. He seemed to ignore the fact that under his leadership the PSSI's reputation had sunk to a new low, dragged down by money politics, manipulation and the inability to control hooliganism at matches.

Arifinto, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker, was caught on camera watching a pornographic video at a plenary session last week. He feebly claimed that he was checking his e-mail when he accidentally stumbled upon the pornographic material and deleted it immediately. The fact that a Media Indonesia journalist had sufficient time to take several photographs of the lawmaker viewing the material suggests otherwise.

Finally, the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has declared that Ahmadiyah must be disbanded for upsetting social harmony, despite the fact that it is the members of the religious sect who have been harassed, attacked and even killed in past months. Instead of defending the marginalized group, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali blamed the Ahmadiyah for being un-Islamic.

In Yiddish English, such an attitude is called chutzpah, the classic tongue-in-cheek definition of which is "killing your parents and then asking the court to have mercy upon you as an orphan." In Indonesian, it is called tidak tahu diri, or "not knowing oneself."

Indonesia is not the only country with this kind of problem. The attitude is common throughout the world, from rich countries like Saudi Arabia to poor ones like Zimbabwe, from Western democracies like the United States to the totalitarian regime of North Korea. People say stupid things and deny responsibility for their actions. It's always somebody else's fault.

In Indonesia's case, the difference lies in the frequency and the scale of denial. The more a society demands accountability from elected officials or public figures, the more careful these figures will be. This is generally a feature of mature democracies, where critical citizens demand social equality and competitive elections.

In advanced democracies such as Europe, the United States and Japan, there have been many cases of public officials resigning due to gaffes, inadequate contributions and unethical impropriety. The reason is simple: People hold officials accountable for their conduct, and they wield the power to vote them out.

By contrast, in an authoritarian society, or in nations where elections are not competitive due to the dominance of one political party, massive electoral manipulation or a nationwide coalition, politicians and public figures simply do not see themselves as accountable to the people. The higher their rank, the less accountable they feel.

Indonesia's electoral system bolsters such a sense of impunity. Under the representative system, each party has the power to decide which of its members will have a seat in the legislature and government. The reason is simple: Citizens choose parties in the elections, not candidates. As a result, a candidate's ability to rise to power and enjoy its perks is not controlled by the people.

Even when the Constitutional Court forced a mixed-system under which people could choose either a candidate or a party at the polls, electoral manipulation and lack of familiarity among voters – not to mention confusing ballot sheets full of names – meant that many people still ended up picking parties instead of candidates.

At the same time, back-room dealings among political players, coupled with a lack of law enforcement, helped violent groups such as the FPI become important tools for imposing political control.

For people who lack the finesse, familiarity or connections to engage in politics, they can rely on vocal and violent groups to signal to others that they are also key players in politics. Should those in power fail to serve their interests, they can bring out such groups to cause chaos and embarrass the government.

Political backing allows such violent groups to act with impunity, even taking over the regulatory function of the police. Such unchecked erosion in the authority of the police force further fuels the confidence of violent groups, as it signals to them that they are above the law.

With such an attitude of impunity running rampant, it is no wonder that public trust in the government's ability to maintain order is declining.

There are three main solutions to this problem of accountability.

First, a major overhaul of electoral law is needed, changing the electoral system to purely a district basis of representation. Under this system, politicians will have to compete against each other solely on track records, forcing them to own up to their transgressions.

Second, rule of law must be implemented, under which violent groups will be given no room in the democratic system.

Third, and most important, is constant and insistent public pressure for accountability, demanding the heads of irresponsible public figures.

Such pressures are able to force change, even in China, where the "Tiananmen treatment" toward protesters allows the authoritarian regime to stay in power.

Last October, in China, Li Qiming was arrested for seriously injuring two girls while driving under the influence. One of the victims later died in the hospital. When the police came for him Li Qiming yelled, "Arrest me if you dare. My father is Li Gang" – the deputy director of local police.

Usually, a culture of nepotism would mean the case would be quietly shelved and the victims' family pressured to drop the charges. This time, however, the Internet was soon buzzing with outrage – enough that in January Li Qimin was arrested and sentenced to six years a prison. It was a relatively light sentence, and yet, considering his position, it could be seen as progress.

Such popular pressures can force a strong authoritarian government to buckle, compelling it to address injustice. In a democratic Indonesia, we should expect this much and more.

[Yohanes Sulaiman is a lecturer at the Indonesian National Defense University and a researcher at the Global Nexus Institute.]