Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Sidoarjo, East Java – Hundreds of mudflow disaster victims from Mindi village in Sidoarjo, East Java, staged a rally on Tuesday, by blocking highways and dismantling railway tracks in Porong district, to vent their anger over the lack of attention to their desperate living conditions.

The protest was held because, at a recent meeting, the Sidoarjo Mud Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPLS) failed to tell the public works minister, Joko Kirmanto, about the real conditions in their villages, which were affected by the mudflow disaster.

As a result of their protest, the major roads from Surabaya to Malang, Pasuruan, Probolinggo, Jember, Situbondo and Banyuwangi were paralyzed between 10:55 a.m. and 5:25 p.m. Thousands of passengers abandoned public vehicles and trains; the road and rail blocks required them to continue their journeys on foot. Trains from Malang to Surabaya were forced to stop in Bangil railway station and those from Surabaya, in Sidoarjo station.

Rally coordinator, Suprapto, said the protesters were demanding that their affected villages, which are no longer suitable for habitation, be included in the Lapindo Brantas mudflow map.

"When we went to Jakarta to meet minister Joko Kirmanto recently, he said that, based on data from BPLS, our villages are still green with many trees," he said.

Suprapto explained that the real condition was far from what Joko had been told; apart from many bubbles appearing from cracks in people's houses, pollution from discharged gas really affects their daily lives.

Most residents cannot do anything to earn a living, thereby forcing thousands of people to ask for the inclusion of their villages on the map, which shows areas affected by the mudflow disaster.

In their speeches, the residents demanded that BPLS chairman Soenarso come to the protest site to meet them. But Sidoarjo police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Eddy Hermanto, said that the BPLS head was instead willing to talk with the protesters at his office in Gayungsari, Surabaya.

"The problem actually lies at BPLS, which did not explain the real condition about our villages to the public works minister," Suprapto said.

With regard to the protesters' demand, Joko told them at that time that they should have waited for the result of seismic tests. But the protesters said there was no need to wait for such tests to decide about the inclusion of their affected villages on the map; seismic tests were needed only for drilling purposes.

A protester, Joko Mulyono, said that if the BPLS was not willing to act responsibly toward the villagers, they would continue their protest action with a series of further demonstrations.

Commenting on the severe traffic jams caused by the road blocking, Sidoarjo police chief said that traffic had been diverted in cooperation with representatives from the BPLS and East Java's provincial administration.

"However, up to the present, it's still not clear as to who will meet and hold talks with the protesters to persuade them to open the blockade. We can only stand by and watch; we cannot do anything because we refuse to be repressive toward the protesters," Eddy said.

Meanwhile, Sri Winarto, spokesman from the East Java office of railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia, said that the protest had disrupted 20 railway services, mostly passenger trains.

"There are at least 500 passengers on every train," Sri Winarto said.

Protests outside Malaysian Embassy in support of 'Bersih' movement

Jakarta Globe - July 12, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – In a show of solidarity with Malaysian activists calling for electoral reforms in their country, a number of Indonesian civil society organizations staged a rally on Tuesday in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.

Chanting the word "bersih," Malay for "clean," 20 protesters representing the Alliance of Civil Societies for Clean Malaysia tried to erect a banner reading: "Bersih Malaysia Bersih Indonesia," or "Clean Malaysia Clean Indonesia," at the embassy's gate.

The protestors also mimicked the act of cleaning the gate with mops and brushes. Some of the protesters were also wearing masks depicting characters from the popular "Upin & Ipin" animated children's show, which is set in rural Malaysia.

One of the protesters said the rally was not intended to meddle in the neighboring country's domestic affairs, but that it was meant to serve as a reminder to the Indonesian government to make good on its own promises of reform and democratization that began a decade ago following the fall of President Suharto.

"Indonesia should also push for democratization in Malaysia considering that this could affect many Indonesians there, and this is also a wake-up call for Indonesia not to return to what we were before," said Haris Azhar, the chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), referring to the huge number of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia working as housemaids and construction and plantation laborers.

Kontras was one of the nongovernmental organizations united under alliance, along with the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) and the Human Rights Working Group, among others.

Wahyudi, a representative from Elsam, demanded that Malaysian authorities release protestors detained in Kuala Lumpur during protests there since Saturday. The activist said the Bersih protestors were reminiscent of the Indonesians who took part in the reformation in 1998. "As a neighboring country, Indonesia should also set an example for Malaysia," he said.

Nurkholis Hidayat from LBH said the alliance thought it necessary to stage the rally despite having no formal affiliation with the Coalition For Clean and Fair Election movement, or Bersih 2.0., in Malaysia.

"We are doing this in respect to the universal values of human rights and freedom of expression and we are against the detainment of Malaysian activists who rallied peacefully in the name of those values," Nurkholis said.

West Papua

Difficult conditions remain for Freeport's Papua workers

Radio New Zealand International - July 14, 2011

Striking workers at Freeport-McMoran's gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province have returned to work after their union said the firm agreed to its demands in the latest round of talks.

The estimated 7-thousand workers had been demanding higher wages and were protesting against the dismissal of six union leaders. Their eight-day strike crippled operations at the remote Grasberg mine, which contains the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest single gold reserve.

Johnny Blades reports that Freeport's Papua staff work under uniquely difficult conditions:

Freeport management has granted the reinstatement of the sacked unionists, and has agreed to further negotiations on wage rates. Nick Chesterfield of West Papua Media Alerts says no real concessions have been made to the workers who are said to be paid up to 10 times less than what other Freeport workers around the world earn.

"People who are working significant hours, and their welfare is not being looked after. They're only earning about a dollar-fifty (US) an hour for extremely dangerous conditions. They wanted their pay to be raised to three dollars. Freeport are out there, making massive amounts of profit and not giving anything back to the workers or the people."

Not all employees at Freeport were happy with the industrial action. One non-striking worker who wishes to remain unnamed warns that any wage increases would incur a cost for the local community.

"It will be impact to other sub-contractors for Freeport. They will lose their jobs because their company cannot pay for the high salary in their company like Freeport. And the other people in Timika – like police, like local government, community – will get a problem because for meals, for transportation, for gasoline, the price will rise up like that."

Freeport workers have recently been demanding guarantees of safety at Grasberg. An Indonesian human rights activist, Andreas Harsono, says the deaths of two staff in an attack in April are still fresh in workers' memories.

"They also had a strike last year, demanding better security. The problem with security in Freeport is not always coming from the West Papua guerilla fighters. Sometimes it also comes from Indonesian security forces. The Indonesian military police used to be bought earlier this year but the ones who shot (workers) at Freeport mine were actually three Indonesian soldiers."

Andreas Harsono hears many complaints from Freeport personnel about the conduct of the Indonesian security forces around the mine. There are 3,000 of these forces in the area and the soldiers tend to act as a law unto themselves.

"The solders sometimes go beyond their duties like selling protection, involved in illegal alcohol sales, prostitution, and of course hunting, because it is so difficult to control the soldiers in the jungle and mountains around Freeport."

For the strike to end, the union wanted Freeport's Indonesia CEO Armando Mahler to be included in negotiations over pay. Union leaders say Mr Mahler will be involved intermittently in pay talks, which are due to start next week.

More soldiers shot in Puncak Jaya

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2011

Jayapura – Five soldiers were wounded in a gunfight with a group of armed people in Puncak Jaya, Papua, on Tuesday.

The five, who were evacuated to Jayapura, were identified as Jefry Satria, Nahor Awate, Heiberd Rivo Sipir, Sitorus and Manuel. Most of them were shot on the arms.

They were reportedly raiding a group of Free Papua Movement (OPM) members under Goliat Tubuni in Monia village, Tingginambut district, when they met with opposition. "Gunfire later took place, and five soldiers were wounded," a source who requested anonymity told The Jakarta Post.

Cendrawasih Military Command denied that the soldiers had been wounded in an exchange of fire with armed civilians. "They attacked the soldiers who were carrying out social work. It's unacceptable," intelligence officer Imam Santoso said in a text message to the Post.

The incident came two days after three soldiers were shot while patrolling the area Sunday.

The military has been carrying out non-combat social work since May and has been attacked by armed civilians 10 times. On May 25, a soldier had his rifle stolen and he was shot in the head at close range.

TNI launch military operation in West Papua highlands

Jakarta Globe - July 12, 2011

Lauren Zumbach – A major military operation has been launched in West Papua following the ambush of an Indonesian military patrol last week, reports said on Tuesday.

A West Papua Media stringer in Puncak Jaya, West Papua, has received reports from local human rights activists, church officials, and an adjutant to West Papuan National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) leader Goliat Tabuni that more than 600 Indonesian Army (TNI) troops have been conducting combat operations in the Tingginambut area since July 4.

West Papua Media editor Nick Chesterfield said sources had said that troops from the 753 Nabire battalion had surrounded Tabuni's headquarters and reportedly attacked nearby villages.

He said the battalion had stopped work on the TNI Bakti social mission project rebuilding houses that had been burned in Puncak Jaya in 2010, a day after the soldiers were shot in Kalome village.

"Because of the speed with which witnesses and villagers said people working on the house-building project dropped their tools and picked up their guns, it certainly seems like a spontaneous reaction by the military to events on Tuesday," Chesterfield said.

He added that they have been unable to confirm what triggered armed men in Kalome to allegedly ambush in the TNI patrol. The attacks left three soldiers with gunshot wounds.

"Something had to have happened to for three people to stand up like that," Chesterfield said.

Because international human rights monitors and journalists are currently banned from entering West Papua, reports of abuse by Indonesian military forces are very difficult to verify.

Papuan strike halts world's biggest gold mine

Associated Press - July 12, 2011

Alfian Kartono, Timika, Indonesia – A few clicks on the keyboard of his computer was enough to get Simon Windesi and his friends riled up about the low wages their employer, a global mining giant, pays in this far-flung Indonesian province.

After years of toiling at Freeport-McMoRan's gold and copper mine in easternmost Papua province – where tribesman can still be found living a near-Stone Age existence in dense jungles and rugged mountains – many still get just $1.80 an hour.

"That's a 10th what the company pays workers in other countries!" the 43- year-old said after a quick Internet search. "And this is their biggest profit-maker. Their production costs are the lowest. How does that make sense?"

The men are among 10,000 employees who – while renegotiating contracts and protesting the dismissal of six union leaders – last week brought operations at the Grasberg mine to a standstill.

Within days of launching their July 4 strike, the site, a sooty kilometer- wide gash in the otherwise lush Puncak Jaya mountain range, was all but abandoned.

Gray piles of ore stood untouched. Trucks had stopped ferrying copper and gold concentrate to the port. And cargo ships, empty, had no place to go. Grasberg's known gold reserves are the world's largest and it is also one of the biggest copper mines.

Sinta Sirait, vice president of Freeport Indonesia, said Tuesday that management and union officials reached an agreement just before midnight Monday. Details of the new contract have yet to be released, however, and there was no sign by mid afternoon that the mine was coming back to life.

"We need everyone to get back to work as quickly as possible," Sirait told reporters. "Many sites are filling up with water. We have to get them dried out."

Indonesia has had a long, complicated relationship with Freeport – and Papua, its most remote province, both geographically and politically.

Months after Gen. Suharto seized power in a 1965 coup, Jim Moffett, Freeport's chairman, reached out to the dictator, forming what was to become a close friendship and eventually winning the right to explore for gold and copper.

Freeport, now based in Phoenix, Arizona, pumped $175 million into Papua to build a Western-standard road, pipelines, an airstrip and a new, first- class mining town – all of it to serve the mining operation.

The Grasberg mine helped bolster Suharto's corrupt and often bloody regime until his 1998 ouster and, even today, remains one of the country's biggest sources of income, helping shield it from outside criticism.

It generates more than $2 billion in taxes, royalties and dividends every year, according to data provided by the University of Indonesia's Economic and Social Research Institute.

Locals complain, however, they have seen little benefit, pointing to environmental damage caused by mine tailings pumped into the Aghawagon River and its tributaries.

Some of the mine employees interviewed by The Associated Press argue that ethnic Papuans should make up a larger part of the Grasberg work force. Of the 20,000 employees, around two-thirds are brought in from Java, Sumatra and other Indonesian islands.

The rugged region is home to a decades-long low-level guerrilla war that has left more than 100,000 people dead, many at the hands of Indonesia's security forces.

Many in the province of nearly 3 million people remain desperately poor and ancient tribal ways still pervade life. Men wear nothing but feathers in their hair and hollowed-out gourds that cover their penises. They hunt with bows and arrows and live in villages ringed by thatched huts, reachable only by foot or small aircraft.

Windesi and his friends say the Internet has provided a rare direct link to the outside world – raising awareness among the mine's workers about their low pay. "We believe this mine helps finance Freeport's other operations," said Herman Sirakoie, 29, who last week joined thousands of others workers in a half-day march from company's mining town, Tembagapura, to Timika.

Dozens collapsed from dehydration and exhaustion along the way, he said, compelling the company to send 60 buses to pick them up. "We just want to know why we're getting less than workers at other Freeport companies," said Sirakoie, who usually spends his day loading gold and copper concentrates onto cargo ships for export.

West Papua peace conference calls for dialogue

Radio New Zealand International - July 11, 2011

An official presence by Jakarta at a conference in Papua discussing peaceful solutions to the long simmering conflict in the region has been described as positive.

The over 500 participants at the Papua Land of Peace Conference at Jayapura's Cenderawasih University included religious, customary and resistance leaders from throughout Papua.

Among those speaking were Indonesia's Minister-Coordinator for Politics and Law, Papua's Governor, Chief of Police and a local military commander.

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation's Rex Rumakiek says there was a unified call by Papuans to pursue dialogue for peace.

"The issues that normally are very sensitive to the military and the government were laid out in the presence of the officials and that is very good. But it's not enough. We have to wait. I advise people not to take it on face value and go ahead and make some more mistakes. Just wait for Jakarta to consume it and respond properly before we can take any more steps."

Further call to make Papua more peaceful

Radio New Zealand International - July 11, 2011

There's been another call by West Papuans for dialogue with Indonesia's government towards making the Papua region peaceful.

The call came from the more than 500 participants at the Papua Land of Peace Conference at Jayapura's Cenderawasih University. They included religious and customary groups, women, youth, academics, students and resistance groups from throughout Papua region.

Among those speaking at the conference were Indonesia's Minister- Coordinator for Politics and Law, the Governor of Papua province, Papua's Chief of Police and the local military commander.

One of the five Papuans nominated to a negotiating team for the dialogue is Rex Rumakiek.

"But still we have to wait for Jakarta to respond and whether they accept this proposal from the conference to go ahead. If this is the path that they want to take, then we can proceed from there. But peaceful negotiation is the only way to go. I think we have been generous to offer Indonesia a win-win solution. This is the clearest message. That they were willing to attend the conference, that is the only positive thing that ever happened."

Police reject allegations of hostage-taking in West Papua mining flap

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2011

Banjir Ambarita – Raja Ampat Police on Monday denied reports that legal advocate Johnson Panjaitan has been held hostage as a result of a dispute between two mining companies in West Papua.

Earlier on Monday, Tagor Simanjuntak, Johnson's colleague, told Liputan6.com that Johnson went to Kawe Island to represent Kawe Sejahtera Mining, which is filing a lawsuit against fellow miner Anugerah Surya Indotama.

Tagor said that Kawe Sejahtera claimed that a ruling from the State Administrative Court stipulates that Anugerah Surya should suspend all its mining activities until the legal dispute is over.

Johnson was sent to the site following a report that the company was continuing to operate in defiance of the court order. Tagor said that he received reports from Johnson's staffers that the legal advocate was being held hostage.

But the local police chief denied the report. "I was in Jayapura, but from the report I got, Johnson Panjaitan is in Kawe Island, but the hostage issue was not true," police chief I Nyoman Suastra said.

He said he had already looked into the allegation, and had turned up no evidence of hostage-taking. "It's clear there are no hostages, I've crosschecked already," he said.

Freeport strike to continue for a second week after negotiations collapse

Jakarta Globe - July 10, 2011

Banjir Ambarita – A strike that has crippled Freeport Indonesia's copper and gold mine in Papua is expected to continue well into its second week after talks between management and workers collapsed, union representatives said on Sunday.

For the last seven days, 8,000 of the 19,500 workers at Freeport's Grasberg mine, the world's biggest gold mine and third-biggest copper mine, have been on strike. They have called for contract renegotiations and have demanded a wage increase from $1.50 to $3 per hour.

They also want the reinstatement of Sudiro, the head of the Freeport chapter of the All-Indonesian Workers Trade Union (SPSI), and five other union members they claim were fired last month for planning the strike.

Freeport Indonesia is the local unit of US-based miner Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.

According to a statement by the Sudiro camp, the negotiations, which are being mediated by members of the Mimika Regional Representatives Council, soured after Freeport's management refused to talk with Sudiro and other SPSI members considered legitimate by the workers.

"The management has made it appear that the negotiations are being conducted by people who are illegally representing the union," said Obed Lobo, a member of the Sudiro camp. He accused Freeport's management of targeting Sudiro and his supporters, and of trying to have them thrown out of leadership positions at the union.

Obed said that during the talks, which started on Thursday before breaking down on Saturday, management had refused to revoke its sanctions against Sudiro and other SPSI officials.

Septer Manufandu, a human rights activist, said he was concerned that authorities would use the strike as an excuse to tighten their grip on the province by making it appear the workers had a hidden agenda of pushing for Papuan independence.

"We want the military to look at the strike objectively as a dispute between workers and the management, and nothing more," he said. "We know that there are a lot of [political and monetary] motivations to protect Freeport's interests. Don't let the workers fall victim."

Mediation offers have poured in from officials concerned about the impact of the strike. Muhaimin Iskandar, the manpower and transmigration minister, said on Friday that his office was assessing the strike, which began on Monday, and had sent a team to try and find a speedy resolution.

"Our duty is to facilitate negotiations, but Freeport will have to find a solution for its workers," he said. "We urge Freeport to listen to the workers' demands."

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has also sent a team to try and reach a solution.

Freeport spokesman Ramdani Sirait said the strike, which workers claim has brought operations at Grasberg to a halt, was illegal and the company would not give in to the workers' unilateral demands.

"The union must appoint a legitimate leader before starting negotiations on a new two-year joint work cooperation agreement," he said. He added that workers' salaries were in line with average wages last year of about $230 per month in Papua.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said, however, that rising inflation had increased living costs in the remote and mountainous province.

Freeport's Papua mine is already facing a 17 percent decline this year in production of copper because of worsening ore quality, with the strike likely to exacerbate the drop, said Gavin Wendt, an analyst at MineLife.

Freeport has said concentrate shipments have not been affected so far, although it has declined to comment on its operations and production.

Analysts say any force majeure enabling Freeport to halt contract shipments to buyers would depend on the level of stocks the US mining firm maintained at the remote mountain site.

Freeport halts operations due to labor issues

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2011

Jayapura – Protesting employees and PT Freeport Indonesia management failed to reach a compromise over the strikes which had entered the fifth day, obstructing the company's mining operations.

Company spokesperson Ramdani Sirait called the strikes illegal, but added that the company was ready for round-table talks over work contracts for the next two years beginning in October.

"A meeting has yet to be initiated because of the uncertainties over who is the legitimate leader of the labor union," he said.

"The company is appealing to the employees to return to work so as to stem disadvantages to the workers, the Indonesian government and the company while we are still finding a way out."

The workers have demanded a pay raise. Freeport co-chairman James R. Moffet is expected to be arriving in Indonesia soon to help address the issues.

Human rights & justice

Indonesia torture case vs Exxon Mobil revived

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2011

Indonesian villagers who accused Exxon Mobil Corp's security forces of murder, torture and other atrocities have regained their right to sue the giant oil company in the United States.

A federal appeals court said on Friday that companies are not immune from liability under a 1789 US law known as the Alien Tort Statute for "heinous conduct" allegedly committed by its agents in violation of human rights norms.

The 15 villagers contended in their lawsuit that family members were killed and that others were "beaten, burned, shocked with cattle prods, kicked, and subjected to other forms of brutality and cruelty" amounting to torture in Indonesia's Aceh province between 1999 and 2001, a period of civil unrest. A divided panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said Exxon Mobil should be forced to defend against such charges.

Given that laws in civilized nations hold corporations responsible for lesser wrongs, "it would create a bizarre anomaly to immunize corporations from liability for the conduct of their agents in lawsuits brought for shockingly egregious violations of universally recognized principles of international law," Judge Judith Rogers wrote for a 2-1 majority.

Friday's decision reversed part of a ruling by the federal district court in Washington, D.C. It is also at odds with a landmark ruling last September by the federal appeals court in New York, raising the prospect that the US Supreme Court could try to resolve the dispute.

"The ruling basically says that corporations are not above the law," said Jennifer Green, a University of Minnesota law professor and director of that school's human rights litigation clinic, who submitted a brief on the plaintiffs' behalf.

"When corporations have knowledge that they are aiding and abetting human rights abuses, they can be held liable in a US court."

Exxon Mobil, based in Irving, Texas, said it is reviewing Friday's decision, calling the plaintiffs' claims "baseless." Indonesia's government has also opposed the lawsuit."

The villagers sought to hold Exxon Mobil responsible for having retained soldiers from Indonesia's military as guards for a natural gas facility in Aceh, despite knowing of past human rights abuses by Indonesia's army and that the contract would lead to human rights violations against Aceh villagers.

In its ruling, the D.C. Circuit also upheld the district court dismissal of claims under a different law, the Torture Victim Protection Act. It returned the case to that court, where a jury could decide liability and any compensatory or punitive damages.

"We have fought these baseless claims for many years," Exxon Mobil spokesman Patrick McGinn said in a statement. "While conducting its business in Indonesia, ExxonMobil has worked for generations to improve the quality of life in Aceh through employment of local workers, provision of health services and extensive community investment. The company strongly condemns human rights violations in any form."

Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the decision makes clear that corporations would be "as liable as anyone else" for violating international human rights norms.

Friday's decision puts the D.C. Circuit in agreement with the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. It also put both courts at odds with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which said companies are not liable in US courts for violating international human rights law.

That case was brought against Royal Dutch Shell Plc by the families of seven Nigerians executed by a former military government. They accused Shell of helping Nigerian authorities violently suppress protests against its oil exploration and development in the 1990s.

The 2nd Circuit decision applies in New York, Connecticut and Vermont.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh dissented from Friday's decision, saying it would be "quite odd" for a US court to allow Alien Tort Statute claims against a corporation based on customary international law, when no international tribunals would. He also said the ruling could harm US-Indonesian relations, and perhaps damage the war on terrorism.

Kavanaugh was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush. Rogers and Judge David Tatel, who comprised the majority, were appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Freedom of expression & press

Press Council hits back at SBY's criticism of media

Jakarta Globe - July 12, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – The Press Council on Tuesday questioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to safeguarding press freedom in Indonesia, in light of his statement that his party had been the subject of relentless media reports.

"He should stay true to being a Democrat and make the press his partner," council chairman Bagir Manan said.

Bagir, speaking at a news conference, said that although it was the president's individual right to voice his disagreement with certain media reports, the fact the complaint came from the president could be seen as an attempt to influence coverage.

He also said that though the press had the obligation to carefully measure Yudhoyono's statements as the leader of the Democratic Party or as president.

Bagir cited the press reports on the alleged bribery cases plaguing the Democrats, saying they were reported in adherence to the journalistic code of conduct. He said what the press had been reporting were hard facts. The party's former treasurer, Nazaruddin, a fugitive suspect in a corruption case, was one such example.

"Those are the facts commonly known by the public and none of them are fictitious," Bagir said, adding that it was too early for Yudhoyono to complain that the press had blown up the issue of his party being mired in corruption allegations.

Bagir also said that it was acceptable for the press to pursue stories based on anonymous tip-offs, as long as the press verified the information in accordance with journalistic standards.

"Whether the allegations conveyed are true are not, it would be up to the law enforcers to prove that and they should take that as a starting point to probe the allegations," Bagir said.

Eradicating corruption is a public concern, Bagir said. As to whether the issue was hijacked to pursue other interests such as politics was another matter. He acknowledged that there was no press in the world free from certain political affiliations.

He called on the president and other government officials who believed they had been unfairly singled out by the press to lodge their complaints with the Press Council and avoid using their "dominant" position to express their disagreement with the press.

"Let's stick to the rules of the game and use the system we have to determine whether certain news reports have been unfair," he said, adding that it was human for the press to make mistakes but it could be solved with the existing system for correction. "It is a matter of perception whether the press exaggerates," Bagir said.

Prita handed suspended jail sentence

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2011

Prita Mulyasari has been sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for one year, after the Supreme Court controversially found her guilty of libeling privately owned Omni International Hospital in a private email.

Supreme Court Justice Salman Luthan was quoted by Antara as saying the Tangerang mother needed to show good behavior for the next year, or risk having the jail term imposed.

Salman gave the only dissenting opinion in controversial ruling, He said Prita's email was not unconnected to the service she experienced at the Tangerang hospital. "That's why it did not qualify for libel," Salman said.

Facing prison, Prita has just one question: Why me?

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani – Tangerang mother Prita Mulyasari, facing jail time after the Supreme Court found her guilty of libel, said she did not understand why law enforcers were so eager to go after the vulnerable while taking a soft stance on high-profile graft cases.

"My case is just one of many small cases that prosecutors have eagerly pursued. I really find it odd that our law-enforcement officials prefer to handle small cases rather than big corruption cases," the 34-year-old said in an interview with the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. "Why are things so backward in the Indonesian legal system?"

A notice on the Supreme Court's Web site said that Prita had been found guilty of libel under the 2008 Electronic Transactions and Information (ITE) Law for e-mails she sent to friends in which she complained about the service at Tangerang's Omni International Hospital.

Her protracted legal battle began when the upscale hospital reported her to police for defamation and filed a separate civil case in the middle of 2008.

The mother of three pointed to another case in Tangerang in which an elderly maid was detained on trivial charges of stealing plates and ox tail from her employer. The maid was eventually acquitted after the trial sparked a public outcry. Regarding her case, Prita said the ITE Law remained contentious and had never been adequately explained.

"I don't thing the ITE Law has ever been properly explained to people. People need to be aware that they can be charged under this law for sending private e-mails," she said. "I had heard of the ITE Law but I didn't understand the details of it."

Prita said that during her trial, even the judges and the prosecutors didn't fully understand the law, "let alone ordinary people like me."

But the thing that confuses her most is just why she was such a major target for prosecutors, who doggedly pursued her case for more than two years, even after the Tangerang District Court had acquitted her of the criminal charges and the Supreme Court had cleared her in the civil suit.

"I'm wondering if the prosecutors used their hearts when prosecuting my case, which inflicted no losses on the state whatsoever," she said. "Why didn't they just stop there when I won this case? Why did they file an appeal against my acquittal?"

The libel case became a public issue in early 2009 when Prita was detained for three weeks despite concerns that her second child still needed to breast-feed and allegations that prosecutors had accepted bribes from the hospital.

In that election year, many prominent figures, including former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and top officials from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, visited Prita in jail to show support.

"I was so glad that so many people were supporting me at that time, including some prominent public figures," Prita said. "But I just hope that their support was not merely to get sympathy ahead of the presidential election in July 2009. I hope that they really meant it and were really sincere about it." Now, with a third child who is just a year old, Prita faces imprisonment again and is expected to learn the length of her sentence at a hearing today.

Komnas HAM to brief UN rep on Prita

Jakarta Post - July 10, 2011

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says it will bring the libel case implicating Prita Mulyasari to the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Frank LA Rue during his visit to Jakarta this week.

"We will bring Prita's case to the UN special rapporteur," Komnas HAM member Saharuddin Daming said Sunday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The Supreme Court sentenced Prita, a housewife, to six months' imprisonment on Friday for sending an e-mail to friends and associated alleging poor treatment at a private hospital in Tangerang, Banten – an action that lower courts deemed criminally libelous. Saharuddin said the decision "clearly violated human rights".

Komnas HAM sent a brief to the court that said Prita's actions were not criminal and were protected under the freedom of expression, Saharuddin said. (rpt)

Shock guilty verdict in Prita Mulyasari saga

Jakarta Globe - July 9, 2011

Faisal Maliki Baskoro & Rangga Prokoso – Two years after Prita Mulyasari, a mother of three from Tangerang, was first detained for supposedly defaming an upscale hospital, and after three times having courts find in her favor, the Supreme Court has upheld an appeal and found her guilty.

The 34-year-old has faced a roller-coaster legal battle that started in mid-2008 when Tangerang's Omni International Hospital reported her for libel for sending e-mails critical of its service to 20 friends.

Although the e-mails were meant to be private, Omni sued Prita in a civil case at the Tangerang District Court, winning Rp 312 million ($37,000). Prita appealed the decision to the Banten High Court, which cut the damages to Rp 204 million, before appealing to the Supreme Court, which quashed it altogether.

At the same time, however, she was tried in a criminal libel case. This time, the Tangerang court threw out prosecutors' preliminary arguments and later acquitted her during the trial proper. Prosecutors appealed this ruling, and it was this appeal that the Supreme Court upheld on Friday in a ruling posted on its Web site.

"We will fight against the Supreme Court's decision," Prita's husband, Andri Nugroho, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. "We can still request a case review by presenting new evidence. We will see this case through to the end."

He said the family was confused by the ruling because the Supreme Court had earlier backed Prita in the civil case. Prita's attorney, Slamet Yuwono, said this earlier ruling made it difficult to believe that the Supreme Court would now deliver a guilty verdict in the criminal case.

"It is bizarre that the same court would deliver conflicting rulings in the same libel case. This can serve as new evidence and we will ask for a case review, for sure, because if the announcement on the Web site is true, then Prita must serve time in jail," he said.

"The ruling also sets a bad precedent because hundreds of thousands of people could be jailed for complaining in an e-mail. But we are not sure of anything until we receive official notification from the Supreme Court, because the court's Web site is sometimes wrong."

The Web site said three judges – M. Zaharuddin Utama, Salman Luthan and R. Imam Harjadi – accepted on June 30 the appeal by prosecutors, who in November 2009 had recommended a six-month jail term for Prita. The Web site, however, did not specify a jail term and the court's spokesman, Hatta Ali, did not respond to calls for comment on Friday.

Tangerang's chief prosecutor, Chaerul Amir, meanwhile, said he was ready to imprison the mother of three as soon as official notification of the verdict was received. "We have recommended six months, but we don't know if our appeal was accepted entirely or partly," he said.

Prita was detained by prosecutors for three weeks in early 2009 and only released after a public outcry, with many prominent figures, including former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, visiting her in jail to show support. Some Rp 800 million was also raised from public donations to help fight her case.

Her trial started in June 2009 but the judges in Tangerang immediately dismissed the case on the grounds the prosecution had used the wrong law to indict her. However, prosecutors successfully challenged the preliminary ruling and the High Court ordered a retrial, in which Prita was acquitted in November 2009.

Journalist given posthumous award

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2011

Jakarta – The Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) bestowed the Udin Award, an award for journalists who have become victims of violence due to their work, to a Sun TV correspondent, the late Ridwan Salamun, on Friday.

Ridwan was lynched by local residents of Tual, Maluku, last year, while he was trying to report a brawl.

The members of the jury – Poengky Indarti from human rights watchdog Imparsial, Bekti Nugroho from Indonesian Television Journalists Association and Eko Maryadi from AJI – said Ridwan was chosen from several other strong candidates because he was not only a victim of a cruel murder but also of case brokers.

On the same day, the AJI presented the Tasrif Award to Tessa Piper, Media Development Loan Fund program director for Asia, for her long dedication to freedom of the press since the New Order era.

Tasrif Award is an award for journalists or other figures who have contributed to freedom of the press, or have fought injustice or corruption.

Both awards were presented during the AJI's 17th anniversary event on Friday at the National Gallery in Jakarta.

At the event, the AJI also presented the S.K. Trimurti Award to Kathe Vince Dimara, the director of community radio station Pikon Ane Radio located in Yahukimo in Papua. Yahukimo is a remote area whose districts are separated by mountains and rivers, therefore the existence of Pikon Ane Radio is an important source of information for locals.

S.K. Trimurti Award is given to female journalists or activists who fight for gender equality, freedom of expression and freedom of information.

Political parties & elections

Ninety percent of Nasdem West Java executives resign

Jakarta Post - July 17, 2011

Jakarta – Following the lead of the former head, other executives of the West Java chapter of the National Democrat (Nasdem) renounced their membership of the organization due to its transformation into a political party on Sunday.

Chapter deputy head Ade Sudrajat, chief patron Tjetje Hidayat Padmadinata and expert board chairman Nana Ma'soem were among those following in the footsteps of Sudrajat, the former chapter head.

Sudrajat and dozens of members of the Central Java chapter of Nasdem renounced their membership with the organization last week after Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono (HB) X said he would leave after finding out that it had turned into a political party.

Nasdem was founded by media mogul Surya Paloh, and announced to the public in July last year by renowned figures including Muslim intellectual Anis Baswedan and the late singer Franky Sahilatua.

In April, however, several members of the organization announced that they had formed a political party named the Nasdem Party, which would be declared on July 26 and join the 2014 elections race.

Ade said about 90 percent of the members of the West Java chapter had decided to leave Nasdem, kompas.com reported. Following the lead of the former head, other executives of the West Java chapter of the National Democrat (Nasdem) renounced their membership of the organization due to its transformation into a political party on Sunday.

Chapter deputy head Ade Sudrajat, chief patron Tjetje Hidayat Padmadinata and expert board chairman Nana Ma'soem were among those following in the footsteps of Sudrajat, the former chapter head.

Nasdem was founded by media mogul Surya Paloh, and announced to the public in July last year by renowned figures including Muslim intellectual Anis Baswedan and the late singer Franky Sahilatua.

In April, however, several members of the organization announced that they had formed a political party named the Nasdem Party, which would be declared on July 26 and join the 2014 elections race.

Ade said about 90 percent of the members of the West Java chapter executive board had decided to leave Nasdem, kompas.com reported.

House finds loopholes in election mechanism

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Election Law will see major changes after a legislative committee, established to probe alleged election fraud in the 2009 polls, found that many alleged election violations were due to loopholes in the current law, lawmakers said on Wednesday.

The findings prompted the House of Representatives to delay deliberation of the revisions to the Election Law.

Committee chairman Chairuman Harahap of the Golkar Party said a slight delay would not be a problem because his committee's purpose was to ensure transparent and accountable elections in the future.

"We are working very hard to finish deliberation of the bill on time even though at the same time we have the election fraud committee, which has made many interesting findings about many alleged violations in the last elections," he said.

Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), a member of the committee, said he was optimistic that the bill would be passed by the end of this month or before the House went into recess on Aug. 1.

Ganjar said one of the most important things the committee had found so far was that the level of managerial quality and competency of most General Elections Commission (KPU) members were very low.

Ganjar said that during several hearings with KPU members, the commissioners often failed to answer lawmakers' questions about basic administration matters in the institution.

"They were uneasy when we asked about the minutes of KPU meetings. How can a state institution like KPU not take minutes at every official meeting? When we asked about it, the blame game began... very unprofessional. How could they pass the selection process?" he said.

Ganjar said the incompetence of the commissioners was likely an outcome of a weak selection mechanism. "The new law must set stricter criteria and a tougher selection process for KPU members," he said.

The House committee was formed last month in the wake of the disclosure of an election document forgery case implicating former Constitutional Court justice Arsyad Sanusi and former KPU member Andi Nurpati.

Ganjar said the committee's probe into the case had unraveled mismanagement and weak supervision inside the KPU.

Andi allegedly masterminded the falsification of a Constitutional Court letter to the KPU to help a People's Conscience Party (Hanura) politician Dewi Yasin Limpo secure a seat at the House.

The court holds the authority to settle election disputes, but the implementation of its rulings depend on the KPU.

The letter was supposed to be an explanation of a court ruling on an election dispute, but Andi, along with former Constitutional Court staffer Mashuri Hasan, allegedly changed the content of the letter so that it was no longer in line with the court's ruling.

Court chief justice Mahfud MD, knowing that the court's original letter had not been presented at an official KPU meeting, informed KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary about the matter. Mahfud also filed a police report on the alleged letter forgery.

Another KPU member, I Gusti Putu Artha, said it was likely that many other Constitutional Court rulings had also been manipulated in such a way. "I support the efforts by the House committee to uncover everything," he said.

Ganjar said Andi's case proved that there was something miss with the court ruling and the implementation by the KPU. "A court ruling on an election dispute is supposed to be final and legally binding. This case has shown that even a final court decision can be 'engineered'," he said.

Small parties want 2.5 percent threshold

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2011

Jakarta – Small political parties met the leaders of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, demanding major political parties keep the legislative threshold at 2.5 percent.

"We demand that political parties do not revise the previous law," Didi Suprianto, the secretary-general of the alliance of political parties, said on Wednesday.

The 2008 General Elections Law states that a political party has to garner at least 2.5 percent of the vote to secure a seat in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers from major political parties in the House have proposed to increase the figure from between 3 to 5 percent.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie said he would present the proposal to other parties soon. "Such input will soon be formulated that we will pass it to all faction leaders," Marzuki said on Wednesday as quoted by Tribunnews.com.

A similar opinion was also expressed by the deputy speaker of the House, Pramono Anung. He said that the House could not immediately grant the request made by the 23 small parties. "I cannot say yes right away; this must be submitted to all the factions to be discussed together," he said.

As many as 23 non-legislative political parties, with various ideological backgrounds and grouped under the National Union Forum (FPN), met the four House speakers. These small parties objected to the revision of the 2008 General Elections Law.

The long-standing discussion on the amendment of the 2008 General Elections Law at the House's legislative body has stepped forward this week after completing the bill's draft, ready for deliberation.

PPP want former members to boost its thinning ranks

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The United Development Party announced a novel, if not desperate, plan to rejuvenate its thinning ranks on Wednesday – recruit former members who have jumped ship to other parties. "We want to recruit everyone to come to our party," said Suryadharma Ali, chairman of Indonesia's oldest party, known as the PPP.

The Islamic party – which has seen its popularity plummet in recent years and been wracked by infighting – has asked former PPP members Hasyim Muzadi, Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Syaifullah Yusuf to return to the party's fold. Both Khofifah, a former minister of women's empowerment, and Syaifullah, deputy governor of the East Java Province, left for another Islamic party, the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Muhaimin Iskandar, general chairman of the PKB, declined to comment on the PPP's plan to recruit Khofifah and Syaifullah.

Hasyim, a former chairman of the nation's biggest Islamic organization, Nahdatul Ulama, left the PPP to run with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the 2004 presidential race.

So what about fugitive lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin? He ran with the PPP in 2004 before securing a seat with the Democratic Party in 2009.

"Don't be like that. Everyone is free to come, but there must be a filter," said Suryadharma, Indonesia's controversial minister of religion. "If we don't use a filter, there would be unrest within the House."

"Like the Democratic Party?" the journalist asked. Suryadharma chuckled without giving an answer.

Noted members abandon ship as National Democrat linked to party

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2011

Jakarta – A number of politicians and national figures who joined the mass organization National Democrat (Nasdem), founded by media mogul Surya Paloh, left the organization after a political party with a similar name and logo was established to run in the 2014 elections.

On Friday, the head of the organization's West Java branch, Sudrajat, announced his resignation from the organization.

In Central Java, dozens of members have also reportedly resigned from the organization following in the footsteps of Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono (HB) X, who said Thursday that he would leave the party after he found out that it was turning into a political party. The Sultan, like Paloh, is a member of the Golkar Party. "I joined Nasdem when it was a mass organization and not a political party," he said.

National Democrat was declared in July last year by renowned figures including Muslim intellectual Anis Baswedan and the late singer Franky Sahilatua. Paloh insisted that the organization would not transform into a political party, though analysts and his political rivals in Golkar suggested that it would.

In April, several members of the organization announced that they had formed a political party named the Nasdem Party, which would be declared on July 26. The National Democrat's leaders said the organization had nothing to do with the party, but added that the organization could not prohibit members from establishing a political party.

The party, however, has created confusion among the organization's members, said the Sultan, who sits on the organization's advisory council. "The name of the party is identical and the logo is way too similar. We are confused."

With local offices in 33 provinces, the organization could help the Nasdem Party pass the verification process at the Law and Human Rights Ministry. The new election law requires that for a party to participate in the general election, it should have offices in all 33 provinces, 75 percent of the cities and regencies in each province and 50 percent of the districts in each city and regency.

Compared to other new parties, Nasdem seemed more prepared to compete with older parties in the upcoming elections.

The Sultan's departure, however, will likely encourage other members to defect, analysts said. "The declaration [of the party] has been rejected by its members. Some members have even walked out of the organization. It is already a hard start," Arie Sudjito, a political analyst at Gadjah Mada University said.

Nasdem member Budiman Sudjatmiko, who is also an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician, said he was ready to leave Nasdem if it turned political. "Politics is not why I signed up here. I joined because it is a social organization," he told The Jakarta Post.

His party had warned him about his involvement in the organization, he said. "No less than Megawati herself warned me. I told her that Nasdem was a social organization. Now that I have heard about the establishment of the Nasdem Party, I might change my opinion about it."

He said the organization's leaders should seek clarification from the party's founders about their intention to use the organization's name and logo. He said he would resign should the organization's leaders fail to discipline them.

Another Nasdem member, Akbar Faizal, who is also a member of both the House of Representatives and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said that he could not stay with Nasdem now that it had transformed itself into a political party.

"I am a politician from Hanura, and I will choose my party rather than this newly established party called the Nasdem Party," he said.

Internet & social media

Tweeting Tifatul denies calling for the government to control social media

Jakarta Globe - July 16, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring denied on Friday that he had called for government control over social media sites, saying his remarks a day earlier had been misquoted.

The minister was quoted on Thursday as saying in a speech that the government needed to act as a gatekeeper for the Internet, including social media sites, to stop the kind of social unrest that erupted in the Middle East.

However, in a clarification posted on his own Facebook page early on Friday and linked to his Twitter account, @tifsembiring, Tifatul said he had only called for the productive use of the Internet.

"I was calling on teachers to guide and control students in their use of the Internet, including the use of proper language," he said in the statement. He said he had made the call in light of the growing influence of social media on politics, economics and daily life.

Gatot Dewa Broto, a spokesman for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, agreed that the minister had no intention of trying to control social media and was merely advocating its positive use.

"He was also suggesting that any legal woes resulting [from exchanges in social media] are individual consequences," he said. "So there's nothing to worry about."

The initial reaction to Tifatul's reported remarks were scathing, with Twitter users lambasting the minister. Even a legislator from his own Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) highlighted the preposterousness of trying to control social media.

Margiono, an advocacy coordinator for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), acknowledged that in this case, the demand for instant news may have compromised the accuracy of the news.

The competition in the online news industry, he said, was driven by the number of hits that a "continuously running controversial issue" generated.

But Donny B.U., a senior researcher at Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Watch, which campaigns for the safe use of the Internet, said Tifatul should have spoken to the media outlets he thought had misquoted him and not made a clarification through social media. "It would have been better for him to use the proper channels instead of tweeting his defense," he said.

Wimar Witoelar, a political pundit and prominent social media user, said the government faced more immediate threats from private television stations owned by politically vested groups than from social media. He added social media could encourage "discussion to push the government to get on its feet fast" in addressing issues.

Tifatul wants social media controls to avoid Arab spring-style uprisings

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2011

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tifatul Sembiring said that the Indonesian government was obligated to serve as a gatekeeper for the Internet, including social media.

According to Tifatul, stricter controls were necessary to prevent Indonesia from suffering the same fate as Tunisia and Libya, where huge portions of those populations rose up to depose autocratic rulers.

"The government is obligated to control the Internet," he said on Thursday. "Don't let uprisings, like what happened to Tunisia and Libya – who failed in controlling the social media like Facebook and Twitter – happen to us,"

His remarks came at an event in Menteng, Central Jakarta, to inform children about safe and healthy use of the Internet.

"In the past, control toward the government was done through the House of Representatives, but now the control and critics toward the government is done through the social media. The public is free to express their opinion but they have to be responsible," Tifatul said.

His call to arms garnered swift reaction. A Prosperous Justice Party lawmaker Mahfudz Siddiq said the government should not meddle with limiting speech in social media.

"Twitter is a public communication media, thus there is no need to limit or control it," Mahfudz said. "Besides, how will the government control Twitter? The social and online media are not constrained to time and space, how will we limit something like that?"

Indonesian Twitter users responded harshly to the minister's latest statement. @samleinad wrote, "Did Tifatul think when he tweeted about AIDS?'

Last year, the minister raised the hackles of gay rights activists with a series of homophobic tweets in which he blamed "perverted sex acts" for the spread of HIV/AIDS. In one tweet, he quoted a passage from the Koran that told of Allah "smiting [homosexuals] with rocks from a burning land."

Another Twitter user, @Amulia, wrote, "Why are you taking care of something which is totally not important?"

@Achtungkoro wrote, "Pak Tif, uprisings didn't happen because of social media but there is something wrong with the government and it had to be criticized and improved."

On his Twitter account, Tifatul once again stressed that social media could have a major effect on many aspects of the nation. "What I'm saying is social media can affect politics, economy and even social structure so we have to pay attention," he tweeted.

Labour & migrant workers

Law on migrant workers under scrutiny, experts say not enough

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2011

Jakarta – The government should revise the 2004 Migrant Worker Law to better protect Indonesians working overseas amid rising concerns for their safety, experts say.

Aswatini Raharto, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said that of the 16 chapters and 109 articles in the 2004 Overseas Placement and Protection for Indonesian Workers Law, only one chapter was related to protecting migrant workers. Most of the law was about the procedural aspects of placing workers, she added.

"Government regulations are not enough to protect migrant workers," she told reporters on the sidelines of the "Migrant Workers in Asia: Policies and Practices in Social Sciences" seminar in Jakarta on Thursday.

Prasetyohadi, a researcher from the Institute for Ecosoc Rights, concurred with Aswatini, saying that the existing law focused more on the business aspects of sending workers abroad, especially regarding the roles of the government and labor placement agencies.

Stories of migrant workers being abused or killed by their employers or facing legal problems while abroad have been common in recent years.

The government has taken steps to address the issue, but violence against migrant workers continues to make headlines. The nation was recently shocked by the beheading of Ruyati, a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia who was accused of killing a Saudi Arabian woman with a machete.

The law did not specify which party should protect migrant workers, Prasetyohadi said. Article 5 of the law stipulates that the government is responsible for protecting the workers, but Article 82 puts the responsibility on the agencies who sent them abroad.

A lack of knowledge about the problems migrant workers faced made it harder for the government to provide better protection, he said.

It is estimated that of 450,000 workers sent abroad annually, 25,000 faced various physical or labor rights abuses.

Prasetyohadi added that prolonged abuse of Indonesian migrant workers was due to their lack of knowledge of their legal rights. The government did not provide them with the necessary knowledge or skills relevant to their jobs and their placement nations, he said.

Hubert Gijzen, director and representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said the government needed to give honest, straightforward information so the workers could go abroad prepared and with realistic expectations.

"Many migrant workers step on the plane with wrong expectations. They expect that they are going to face a wonderful world with easy work and life," said Gijzen.

He said that the government needed to assist migrant workers because the burden was too heavy for them. "Especially if they get into legal problems in a foreign country and they don't know the legal system, they definitely need help. And yet most of the migrant workers feel very much alone," Gijzen said.

Hikmahanto Juwana, a law expert from the University of Indonesia, said the government never treated the migrant workers as human beings. "The government only sees them as names," he said at the two-day seminar.

Hikmahanto added that the government never considered migrant workers to be people with families and hopes. (drs)

Nike faces new worker abuse claims

Associated Press - July 14, 2011

Niniek Karmini and Stephen Wright, Sukabumi, Indonesia – Workers making Converse sneakers in Indonesia say supervisors throw shoes at them, slap them in the face and call them dogs and pigs. Nike, the brand's owner, acknowledges that such abuse has occurred among the contractors that make its hip high-tops but says there was little it could do to stop it.

Dozens of workers interviewed by The Associated Press and a document released by Nike show that the footwear and athletic apparel giant has far to go to meet the standards it set for itself a decade ago to end its reliance on sweatshop labor.

Nike says nearly two-thirds of the factories that make Converse products fail to meet its standards for contract manufacturers but insists it cannot address many of those problems because many factories operate under contracts that were set before Nike bought Converse in 2003.

That does not appear to explain abuses that workers allege at the Pou Chen Group factory in Sukabumi, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Jakarta – it didn't start making Converse products until four years after Nike bought Converse. One worker there said she was kicked by a supervisor last year after making a mistake while cutting rubber for soles.

"We're powerless," said the woman, who like several others interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals. "Our only choice is to stay and suffer, or speak out and be fired."

The 10,000 mostly female workers at the Taiwanese-operated Pou Chen plant make around 50 cents an hour. That's enough, for food and bunkhouse-type lodging, but little else. Some workers interviewed by the AP in March and April described being hit or scratched in the arm – one man until he bled. Others said they were fired after filing complaints.

"They throw shoes and other things at us" said a 23-year-old woman in the embroidery division. "They growl and slap us when they get angry. It's part of our daily bread."

Mira Agustina, 30, said she was fired in 2009 for taking sick leave, even though she produced a doctor's note. "It was a horrible job," she said. "Our bosses pointed their feet at us, calling us names like dog, pig or monkey." All are major insults to Muslims. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.

At the PT Amara Footwear factory located just outside Jakarta, where another Taiwanese contractor makes Converse shoes, a supervisor ordered six female workers to stand in the blazing sun after they failed to meet their target of completing 60 dozen pairs of shoes on time.

"They were crying and allowed to continue their job only after two hours under the sun," said Ujang Suhendi, 47, a worker at a warehouse in the factory. The women's supervisor received a warning letter for the May incident after complaints from unionized workers.

The company's own inquiries also found workers at the two factories were subjected to "serious and egregious" physical and verbal abuse, including the punishment of forcing workers to stand in the sun, said Hannah Jones, a Nike executive who oversees the company's efforts to improve working conditions.

"We do see other issues of that similar nature coming up across the supply chain but not on a frequent level," she said. "We see issues of working conditions on a less egregious nature across the board."

Nike, which came under heavy criticism a decade ago for its use of foreign sweatshops and child labor, has taken steps since then to improve conditions at its 1,000 overseas factories. But the progress it has made at factories producing gear with its premier "swoosh" logo is not fully reflected in those making Converse products.

An internal report Nike released to the AP after it inquired about the abuse show that nearly two-thirds of 168 factories making Converse products worldwide fail to meet Nike's own standards for contract manufacturers.

Twelve are in the most serious category, indicating problems that could range from illegally long work hours to denying access to Nike inspectors. A Nike spokeswoman said the company was not aware of physical abuse occurring at those factories. Another 97 are in a category defined as making no progress in improving problems ranging from isolated verbal harassment to paying less than minimum wage. A further six factories had not been audited by Nike.

Nike blames problems on pre-existing licenses to produce Converse goods that it says prevent the parent company from inspecting factories or introducing its own code of conduct.

It says the situation is further complicated because the license holders themselves usually farm out the production work to a subcontractor. Most of the agreements have come up for renewal in the past five years.

But it is only the past two years that it has made a concerted effort to incorporate Converse factories into the monitoring program that applies to Nike factories.

"We have been working every time we can to renew those agreements or change those agreements or to cease those agreements and to ensure that when we do new agreements we get more ability to influence the licensee and their subcontractors much more directly," Jones said.

Some corporate experts question whether the company is doing all it can. "I simply find it impossible that a company of the size and market power of Nike is impotent in persuading a local factory in Indonesia or anywhere else in meeting its code of conduct," said Prakash Sethi, a corporate strategy professor at Baruch College at the City University of New York.

Critics of outsourcing manufacturing to the lowest-cost countries say it keeps prices down but allows apparel, electronics and toy companies to reduce their accountability for the conditions in such factories. Even as concern about sweatshop labor has grown, some contractors have simply moved operations to more remote areas, farther from the prying eyes of international and local watchdogs.

Indonesia is Nike's third-largest manufacturing base, after China and Vietnam, with 140,000 workers at 14 contract factories. Of those, 17,000 produce its Converse line at four factories.

Pou Chen, the largest of the four Converse factories, is located in a hilly city where the minimum wage is well below the national average. Sukabumi can only be reached by car – a five-hour journey across bumpy, winding roads. The plant started making Converse products in 2007.

The Taiwanese contractor said it fired one supervisor after being told workers had spoken to The AP earlier this year. Others involved in mistreatment, however, have been allowed to keep their jobs, according to Pou Chen.

Nike says the factory is developing programs to teach managers cultural sensitivity and leadership skills. It says it also is closely monitoring the PT Amara factory.

After years of criticism over its labor practices at factories abroad, Nike in 2005 became the first major apparel company to disclose the names and locations of hundreds of plants that produce its sneakers, clothes and other products.

It admitted finding "abusive treatment" – either physical or verbal – in many of the Nike plants. The complaints ranged from workweeks that exceeded 60 hours to being forbidden to go to the bathroom.

The Beaverton, Oregon-based company has since invested heavily in training managers and more closely monitoring their activities. Nike has not published the locations of all factories making products for affiliate companies, which includes Converse, but plans to by the end of the year.

Groups twist DPR's arm on BPJS bill as deadline nears

Jakarta Globe - July 15, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman – Youth organizations and labor unions appealed to the House of Representatives on Thursday to ensure the immediate passage of the controversial yet long-delayed bill on the Social Security Organizing Body.

If the government keeps delaying the bill known as the BPJS, which essentially aims to provide comprehensive social security, then the legislature should initiate an inquiry to find out why, the groups said.

They formalized their demand through a petition signed by Andi Jacob Nuwa Wea, chairman of the Confederation of All Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), and Azis Syamsuddin, chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Organization (KNPI), an umbrella group for 82 youth organizations. Aziz is also a Golkar lawmaker and chairman of the House's legal affairs commission.

"We urge the House and the government to pay real attention to this legislation," Azis said. "If it's needed, the House should [invoke] its right to express an opinion or its right to an inquiry and question why the government is hampering [its passage]."

The BPJS, which some legislators are rushing to pass before the House goes into recess next week, is needed so that the provisions of the 2004 Law on the National Social Security System (SJSN) can be implemented.

The bill aims to merge four state firms already handling social security services. They are social security provider Jamsostek, civil service pension fund Taspen, military pension fund Asabri and health insurer Askes.

Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, a vocal supporter of the bill from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), urged citizens to hold a vigil in front of the House on July 22, the deadline for its passage.

"We must guard the process. If it's needed, let's break into the legislative building if the House and the government fails to pass the bill," she said.

Azis noted that Article 28H of the Constitution stated that citizens had a right to receive social security from the state.

KSPSI's Andi, meanwhile, criticized those who had been lobbying against the BPJS bill, including other trade unions led by former Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari, who on Wednesday called the measure "evil."

"If they're representing the poor, how can they reject the bill? It's so strange," Andi said. "They are accusing us of receiving money from foreign entities to finance our rallies. Please show us the evidence. We collected money from our members for the rallies."

Azis said he would send a letter to all provincial branches of the KNPI, asking them to "fight back against those opposing the BPJS bill. We have 82 youth organizations as members. We must fight the [critics]," he said.

Among Siti's allegations is that the bill would force citizens to pay a premium or else face penalties – a charge the government has vehemently denied. Siti also raised concerns about the lack of checks and balances for the new social security body that would be created by the bill.

The House and central government have been locked in debates over four scenarios regarding this merger.

The options are keeping the four companies independent, merging them all into the BPJS, maintaining the four entities while creating a new social security provider for the poor or preventing a merger while creating a new social security system for the long and short term.

Bandung workers wary of mass layoffs

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2011

Bandung – Thousands of workers staged a rally in Bandung on Tuesday in protest of a city administration policy that they feared would trigger mass layoffs.

The rally protested the Bandung municipality's plan to terminate factories' contractual land permits in Kiaracondong to free the land for a business center development project.

"Layoffs would ensue if factory owners failed to relocate and opted to close down their businesses," United Labor Forum head Wagianto said.

Kiaracondong is home to 19 factories, which employ 5,000 workers. Labor representatives and the administration were reported to have been in talks since July 5, but no solution has been revealed.

"We have no certainty about our fate. We are worried about the administration abruptly executing their plan. We would lose jobs and become burdens to the state," Dian Abdi, another worker, said.

Labor agency hits companies over insurance

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2011

Palu – The Labor Affairs Agency has criticized local companies of being reluctant to register their employees as members of Jamsostek, the national social and work insurance program.

In its release, the agency revealed that only 409 out of the 1,049 companies in the province had registered their workers with Jamsostek.

It was reported that many companies had not registered with Jamsostek because they employed only contractual workers. Many of them said they were unable to pay the premium.

The labor law stipulates that a company that employs more than 10 workers is obliged to register their workers with Jamsostek. Violations are liable to sentences of six months' imprisonment or Rp 50 million (US$5,850) in fines.

PT Jamsostek said 851 companies from the province had registered with them, including 21,000 workers. It also said the company covered 8 million of the 100 million informal workers nationwide.

Environment & natural disasters

Lava, ash fill sky as Indonesian volcano erupts

Agence France Presse - July 15, 2011

An Indonesian volcano has erupted, spewing rocks, lava and ash hundreds of metres into the air, an official says, three days after its alert status was raised to the highest level.

There has been a significant rise in volcanic activity at Mount Lokon on Sulawesi island since June 9, prompting hundreds of people to evacuate the area.

"There was a big eruption around 10.31pm local time (1.31am Melbourne time), which saw ash, sand and rocks thrown 1500 metres into the air," government volcanologist Kristianto told AFP.

Grass and shrubs in an area stretching 500 metres around the volcano were on fire but there was no immediate danger to people living nearby, he said. The volcano's status was raised to its highest red alert level after it spewed ash 500 metres into the air over the weekend, leading to a 3.5- kilometre evacuation zone being established in case of a bigger eruption.

"There is no mass panic because the community has already been warned of the situation and we are continuing to evacuate people," added Kristianto, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Around 28,000 people live within the evacuation zone. The 1580-metre Mount Lokon is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. It erupted in 1991, killing a Swiss tourist.

The Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines known as the Ring of Fire between the Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, has killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions which started in late October.

NGOs want to overturn government decision on Newmont tailings

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2011

Jakarta – A group of environmental NGOs say they will ask the State Administrative Court in Jakarta to overturn the government's decision to permit PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) to continue dumping its tailings into the sea.

"We want [the government] to revoke the permit and admit to having made a mistake," Jumi Rahayu, the legal and policy advocacy manager of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), told reporters at her office in South Jakarta recently.

Walhi and several other NGOs, including the People's Coalition for Equal Fisheries (Kiara) and the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), said in a statement that issuing the permit to NNT to dump its mining tailings into Senunu Bay would endanger marine life.

The bay is located in the southern part of Sumbawa Island. Newmont Nusa Tenggara is a subsidiary of the US-based Newmont Corporation, which operates a massive copper and gold mine in Batuhijau in the regency.

The company has dumped mine tailings into the bay since 1999 under a license from the Environment Ministry. Jumi said that NNT was allowed to dump 148,000 tons of mine tailings into the bay a day, or about 51.1 million tons a year.

"Right now our legal team is preparing documents and we will file them with the court next week," Wahli campaign manager Deddy Ratih said on Tuesday.

Jumi said that issuing the permit was controversial as the West Sumbawa administration already issued a letter to NTT telling it to stop dumping tailings into Senunu Bay on April 27. "The local government didn't know about the permit renewal."

As reported earlier, the local government sent a letter prohibiting the company from dumping residue from its operations into Senunu Bay effective May 9.

According to Wahli, the Environment Ministry previously issued a regulation based on government regulation 19/1999 on the control of marine pollution and destruction, which is managed by the ministry.

Meanwhile, Wahli assumed that the government regulation was not applicable because it contradicted the Environmental Protection and Management Act, which limits the government's authority to issue permits to dispose of waste in the sea, maintaining that permit issuance should not be monopolized by the ministry.

Jumi said that the central government should have discussed renewing the permit with the local government, which had better knowledge of local conditions.

Both the local government and residents have complained that the dumping of tailings into Senunu Bay has damaged the environment and might negatively effect the health of residents, according to Jumi.

Kiara research coordinator Mida Saragih said that the company's tailings had damaged flora and fauna in the surrounding waters.

According to data released by the local government in 2010, several commonly found aquatic animal species had disappeared from the bay, including snapper fish, grouper fish, pomfret, shrimp, tuna, and mackerel.

Mida also said that the catches of local fishermen have continued to decline since the company was first allowed to dump its tailings in the area. (drs)

Health & education

New payout procedure makes BOS fund prone to corruption

Jakarta Post - July 16, 2011

Oyos Saroso H.N. and Agus Maryono, Bandarlampung/Purbalingga – A new disbursement procedure is raising concerns that it may aggravate corruption surrounding the School Operational Assistance (BOS) fund.

The new procedure will see funds siphoned to local administrations, instead of being channeled directly from the National Education Ministry to schools.

Anti-Corruption Committee (Koak) coordinator, Ahmad Yulden Erwin, said that the new payout system may lead to corrupt practices. He said the BOS payout in Lampung was already mired-down with late disbursements because the proposed budgets were also late.

"It is invariably the late disbursement of the BOS funds that has been the excuse for school headmasters to take levies from students' parents, despite the fact that such practices are not allowed," Erwin told a workshop in Bandar Lampung, on Friday.

Erwin said that even with the old system, in which BOS funds were directly transferred from the National Education Ministry to schools, the funds were only disbursed in February at the earliest, in Lampung.

With the new system, the fund will be transferred to regency/municipality administrations before it is further transferred by the administrations to the schools in their respective regions.

"The new system requires the BOS fund be allotted to regency/city budgets. The regents/mayors will then transfer it to the recipient schools only after the budget is approved by the regency/city legislative councils," Erwin said.

The recipient schools, in turn, will be able to distribute the funds only after submitting their school budget activity plans (RKAS) to their respective regents/mayors.

The BOS fund has been distributed to state-run and privately-run elementary and junior high schools nationwide since 2005. An elementary school student is eligible for Rp 400,000 of BOS annually while that of a junior high school student is Rp 575,000.

Nationally, the total allocation for the BOS fund in the 2011 state budget is Rp 16,265 trillion. It is to be distributed to over 27 million students at some 146,000 elementary schools, and around 9.5 million students at 34,000 junior high schools. The fund is transferred once every four months.

Separately in Purbalingga, Central Java, over 1,000 elementary school graduates are reportedly unable to continue their studies at junior high schools because of their inability to pay the admission fees.

"I feel really sorry for my child because he really wants to go to school. But there is nothing that I can do. We are poor," said Taryono, 47, of Padamara, Purbalingga.

He said he was forced to have his son help him work as a scavenger when he graduated from elementary school as he did not have the money to enroll him in junior high school.

"I was told that it requires millions of rupiah to enter a child into school. I just don't have the money. We even find it difficult to afford our daily meals," Taryono said.

Data at the Purbalingga Education Agency showed that 1,031 elementary school graduates did not continue their studies due to the lack of money.

This accounts for 6.6 percent of the total 15,549 elementary school graduates this year.

"This is unreasonable. The central government cannot let this happen. This is the impact of the expenses at state-run schools: that economically poor families feel unable to send their children to school," Prayitno, a staff member at the regency administration's public relation division told The Jakarta Post, on Thursday.

Healthcare sector fails many Indonesians

Straits Times - July 15, 2011

Bruce Gale – An elderly man was left literally rolling in pain outside the emergency room of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta in mid-May after being denied treatment.

As bystanders looked on, 78-year-old Sa'at clutched his abdomen and groaned in pain. A large sign hung outside the government-run hospital, one of the biggest in the country, saying the emergency room could no longer accept patients because its beds were full.

Media reports say that about 75 per cent of the patients that arrive at RSCM every day are from poor families. Hospitals are often reluctant to accept poor patients because the government is lax on reimbursements.

Public health care expert Kartono Muhamad blames the system: "When the hospital is earning profit, the government puts its hand out for its share. But when it comes time for the government to pay, it stalls."

"Orang miskin dilarang sakit" (the poor are not allowed to get sick) is a phase with which millions of Indonesians are familiar. Then there is SADIKIN – a pithy Indonesian-style acronym warning lower-middle-class citizens about the cost of private medical treatment. It stands for "sakit sedikit miskin" (if you get sick, you will become poor).

So what is wrong with Indonesia's health insurance system, and what can be done to improve it?

Indonesia maintains a confusing patchwork of health insurance systems that vary in effectiveness and leave millions without any form of social security.

The four state-owned companies involved are Askes (for government employees), Asabri (for the military), Jamsostek (for workers in large factories) and Taspen (an old-age savings pension scheme used by state- owned companies).

For the desperately poor there is the Surat Keterangan tidak Mampu (SKTM) card, which is supposed to ensure that those who hold them get free treatment at hospitals and clinics throughout the country. These cards are issued by local kecamatan (subdistricts) and the resulting medical claims are met by a combination of local taxes and central government revenues.

The result is that an estimated 56 per cent of Indonesia's 238 million population – including private sector employees – have some form of health insurance. The remaining 44 per cent of the population have no medical insurance at all.

Apart from government hospitals, there are numerous charities in the country that provide medical services focusing on the needs of lower income groups. These include Muslim organisations such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, as well as Christian groups such as the Catholic Church and the Salvation Army. Government policy is to reimburse these hospitals as well if the poor present their SKTM cards.

But the system is far from perfect. According to Firman Lubis at the University of Indonesia's faculty of medicine, it is not only the poor who have such cards. Influence or bribery can also ensure possession, while genuine cases go without. Those with no fixed address find it particularly difficult to obtain the card.

The SKTM system is also becoming increasingly ineffective as millions across the archipelago move to urban areas looking for work. Because medical expenses are funded partly by the subdistrict that issues the SKTM cards, local officials are reluctant to provide such documentation to new arrivals who do not posses locally issued identity cards. Needless to say, Indonesia's bureaucracy is such that obtaining such identity cards is also difficult. And when a poor citizen finally does get his SKTM card, there is no guarantee that medical treatment will be supplied.

The 2004 Social Security Law attempted to change all this by setting up a single national health insurance system under which medical insurance cards could be used across the country. But the law's implementation has been delayed for years due to prolonged debates on how the social security system should be organized. For example, the 2004 law stipulates that the four existing state-owned companies should become the backbone of the system. Many legislators, however, insisted that the system would be more efficiently run by a single non-profit entity.

In a compromise announced late last year, the government and Parliament agreed that multiple non-profit bodies would run the social benefit programme. But the two sides have yet to agree on how the multiple insurers system would be implemented, including the level of contributions by the government, citizens and employers.

Last year, Indonesia opened up its health-care sector to foreign investment. The government is also encouraging investors to reserve 25 to 50 per cent of beds and services for Class 3 wards, which will be paid for by the government.

But a more systematic and comprehensive approach to the nation's health- care system awaits the outcome of ongoing debates within the Jakarta elite. Meanwhile, poor Indonesians like Sa'at will just have to wait.

'Indonesia unready for universal healthcare'

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2011

Jakarta – Amid public pressure to enact the Social Insurers bill (BPJS), the government says the nation lacks the infrastructure to implement universal healthcare.

Coordinating People's Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said that speedy access to healthcare remained a major problem for people in remote areas.

"Sometimes the problem is that sick people have to go too far, three hours, for example, to reach the hospital. It can be very dangerous," he said at his office on Wednesday.

The minister's deputy for social welfare, Adang Setiana, said that the nation's healthcare infrastructure was just 50 percent ready to implement the universal coverage mandated by the 2004 Social Security Law. "We have yet to have adequate health infrastructure, especially in remote areas."

Adang said the Office of the Coordinating People's Welfare Minister, the Health Ministry and the Finance Ministry had plans to improve regional healthcare facilities.

"The government's top priority is to establish the amount of each citizen's health insurance, Adang said. "At the same time, we should also plan to build more hospitals and deploy more doctors to remote areas."

The Social Security Law stipulates that the government must establish non- profit bodies to implement five mandatory social insurance programs to be funded by beneficiary contributions covering healthcare, workplace accidents, death, old-age risks and pensions.

The BPJS bill is intended to establish a framework for the institutions that would administer the benefits.

The government has been criticized for its resistance to transform the four state-owned insurance companies – PT Jamsostek, PT Askes, PT Taspen and PT Asabri – into non-profit entities.

The government and the House of Representatives have recently agreed to form two new non-profit bodies alongside the four insurers to implement the programs. However, delays have motivated some groups to act to accelerate implementation of the Social Security Law.

An alliance of labor unions and students organizations under the aegis of the Action Committee for Social Security (KAJS) filed a citizen lawsuit against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono, House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie and eight ministries for delaying approval of the bill.

The Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday granted the plaintiffs' demands, saying that the government has neglected the law's mandate to implement the programs.

The court urged the government to endorse the bill as soon as possible and to transform the four state insurers into non-profit bodies. "This is a boon for all Indonesians since the verdict would guarantee healthcare benefits for all," KAJS chair Indra Musawar said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Agung said the government was considering an appeal, given that it had done its best. "The judges' decisions might be wrong," he said.

The verdict would not affect progress on the approval of the BPJS bill or on creating the social security framework, he added. "The four state insurers that provide social security benefits for civil servants and workers in formal sectors will not be merged," he said. (lfr)

Politics stalls school funds

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2011

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – The huge portion of the state budget allocated to education has been instrumental in greatly improving the welfare of teachers, but local administrations often use the funds as a political and economic bargaining chip, a senior government official said Tuesday.

Such practices seriously hinder the government's drive to get all children to undergo nine years of education because parents were often forced to pay for their children's education although the Constitution obliges the government to allocate at least 20 percent of the budget on education.

The central government allocates a school operational assistance (BOS) fund to all schools across the country. However, regents, mayors and the local councils often intentionally delay the disbursement of the funds to schools on trumped-up reasons, despite being aware that the learning process in schools would be severely hampered, the official said.

Speaking in an interview with The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, Deputy National Education Minister Fasli Jalal said local politicians and officials often used the large funds from the state budget to consolidate their political power.

"Regional leaders delay disbursing the funds and hold on to the money by reporting it as locally generated revenue [PAD] for the next fiscal year. Unfortunately the funds are then spent on non-education goals," Fasli said.

To minimize this practice, the disbursement of the BOS will no longer require the authorization of regional legislatures and will be automatically sent to schools.

Fasli warned there was a possibility that the government would centralize the BOS policy if local administrations were not able to fully implement the program.

He said many schools were forced to impose illegal levies on students, such as admission and registration fees, mainly because they did not receive BOS funds on time.

Municipal and regency administrations are often at odds with local legislative councils when deliberating annual budget allocations and the disputes can lead to delayed disbursements.

Administrations and local councils also often delay the BOS disbursement until schools hand over their budget reports for the previous academic year.

The central government began allocating BOS funds in 2005 following regional autonomy. This year, it has allocated almost Rp 20 trillion to BOS funds for 258,000 state and private elementary and junior high schools with a total of 43 million students.

The BOS funds are aimed at ensuring the success of the government's compulsory nine-year education program, to increase access to education for the poor and to lower the incidence of students dropping out of school.

In compliance with the Constitution, the government this year allocated 20.25 percent of the Rp 1,229 trillion state budget, or almost Rp 249 trillion, for education, with Rp 158 trillion is transferred to regions under the General Allocation Funds (DAU).

Fasli warned that it was impossible for the government to provide a totally free education. Students and parents still had to pay for books, learning tools, accommodation and other expenses. "Most parents do not want their children to feel alienated and inferior in school because of economic problems," he said.

Fasli added that the government had managed to improve the social welfare of 3.4 million teaching staff by phasing in allowances.

"For now, teachers with 15 years or more of employment have been given priority to receive the allowance, which can be up to 70 percent of their monthly salaries," he said.

"Grade IIIC teachers receive a monthly salary of around Rp 3 million and will receive an additional Rp 2 million pay in allowances. A teacher with a monthly salary of Rp 5 million will be able to support their family and have no reasons to moonlight," Fasli said.

Drug traffic touches all villages in Indonesia: Official

Antara News - July 10, 2011

The illicit drug trade, typically associated with the country's larger cities, has now spread to every village across the archipelago, an official from the Social Affairs Ministry said.

"I would say that all villages in Indonesia have been affected by drug trafficking from Aceh in the western tip of Sumatra to the Indonesian eastern regions," said Max H. Tuapattimain, the ministry's director of rehabilitation for drug users.

His remarks came during a walk-a-thon held in conjunction with International Anti-Narcotics Day on Saturday.

Max said the number of drug addicts in the country had reached 3.6 million, or 1.5 percent of the population. About 80 percent of the country's drug addicts were aged between 15- and 39-years-old, or 50 percent aged between 15- and 29-years-old.

The number of drug addicts using intravenous injections to get high – thus exposing them to greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS – made up almost 40 percent of narcotics abusers in the nation, Max said.

That figure is believed to be a low estimate, as the government believes there are many more addicts who remain unrecorded.

A National Narcotics Agency (BNN) survey in 2008 extrapolated that unless firmer education and rehabilitation efforts were employed, drug addicts could make up 1.99 percent of the population by 2015.

Women & gender

Girls put at risk by circumcision edict: Experts

Jakarta Globe - July 12, 2011

Nurfika Osman – The number of young girls in the country being circumcised could increase following a Health Ministry decree on the procedure, health experts warn.

The decree appears to contradict a 2006 memo from the ministry prohibiting health workers from circumcising girls.

"It's a huge setback that Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, who is also a doctor, has allowed this nonmedical practice to persist," Kartono Muhammad, a former head of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), said on Tuesday. "With female circumcision now formalized in regulation, this will encourage practitioners to perform the procedure."

He said that female circumcision did not have any health benefits and instead harmed girls and young women. Among the immediate complications are severe pain, shock, bleeding and tetanus as a result of infections arising from shoddy surgery, he said.

"Female circumcision, which is usually performed on newborn babies, is very dangerous because they are more susceptible to infections," Kartono warned. He also said the long-term consequences could include bladder and urinary tract infections, as well as cysts and infertility.

Ramona Sari, from the Indonesian Family Planning Association (PKBI), said the type of female circumcision most commonly done in Indonesia was risky, since it often involved lacerations to the clitoris.

"It's widely performed across the country and is particularly dangerous because in small villages it's often done by traditional healers without the right tools or proper sterilization," she said.

Kartono said other forms of circumcision, including the removal of the clitoris, had also been reported in the country. "Cases of removing the entire clitoris have been found in a few areas in West Java and West Sumatra, where they're performed by ultraconservative Islamic communities," he said.

He said the rationale for female circumcision was a mix of cultural, religious and social factors, motivated by the belief that it would ensure abstinence and future marital fidelity.

"Many communities believe circumcision helps reduce a woman's libido and thereby helps prevent her from engaging in illicit sexual acts," Kartono said. "No religious scripts prescribe the practice, but practitioners often believe otherwise."

The World Health Organization says that up to 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences of female genital mutilation.

Speaking after protests on the issue last month, Ina Hernawati, a Health Ministry official, said the decree did not represent support for female circumcision, but instead offered guidelines to reduce the risks in cases where it occurred.

Disability discrimination

Lion air no-show at Human Right Commission hearing

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Indonesian carrier Lion Air failed to turn up for a meeting with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Monday after complaints by five disabled customers.

Speaking at midday on Monday, Komnas HAM commissioners Saharudin Daming said it was apparent that Lion Air was a no-show, despite being asked to attend Monday's meeting seven days earlier.

Rina Prasarani, a blind woman who works in the hotel industry, is one of the five customers who lodged a complaint against the airline. She said she was disappointed that Lion Air failed to attend the meeting, saying it had been convened only to help the carrier improve its services.

"The idea is to improve [Lion Air's] service quality because if they could accommodate the needs of the disabled, it would automatically improve their services for non-disabled people," Rina said.

Rina was among the five people allegedly forced to sign a controversial letter before Lion Air would allow her to fly. The other alleged victims were Didi Tarsidi, Rianty Ekowaty and Sugiyo, who are all blind, and Ridwan Sumantri, who is confined to a wheelchair.

Ridwan has previously told media that he was denied a request to be have a seat near the door and that he had to be carried to his seat in the middle part of the plane. He was also asked to sign the letter agreeing that he would shoulder the medical costs of other passengers who fell ill because of him.

It is also alleged that Lion Air staff intimidated disabled customers into signing the documents. A Lion Air spokesman was quoted by Tempo Interaktiff as claiming they had not received the summons.

Graft & corruption

NGO offers Rp 100 million reward for Nazaruddin arrest

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2011

As if to mock the fruitless efforts to bring former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin to justice, an NGO is offering a Rp 100 million (US$11,700) bounty for anyone who can locate and catch the graft suspect.

The People's Information Center (LIRA) will put up posters to announce the reward and will distribute them to all provinces. "Inform and catch fugitive corruptor. 100 Million Rupiah Prize for Nazaruddin. Call: 021- 70809494" a poster reads. The reward will also be published in print and online media.

LIRA president Jusuf Rizal said Thursday that the reward was meant to encourage the public to find Nazaruddin, who fled to Singapore on May 23 and has since ignored summonses from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The KPK later named him a graft suspect on June 30 for allegedly receiving fees for arranging the winning tender for construction company PT Duta Graha Indah to work on a Southeast Asian (SEA) Games construction project. He is alleged to have sought 13 percent of the Rp 191 billion (US$22 million) project cost.

On July 5, Singapore's foreign ministry said Nazaruddin had left Singapore and that this information was conveyed to Indonesian authorities "weeks ago", long before he was named a suspect by the KPK.

The ministry said it had no knowledge of Nazaruddin's current whereabouts, adding "we do not track people after they leave Singapore".

Leaked intelligence obtained by The Jakarta Post showed Nazaruddin left Singapore for Malaysia and Vietnam. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has refused to comment on this.

Rizal said that LIRA did not intend to undermine law enforcement officers through the reward. "We want to help the government, the KPK, and the National Police find the fugitive," he said.

LIRA is run by the same people who helped establish the Blora Center, the campaign center for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 2004 presidential bid. "LIRA will increase the reward if Nazaruddin cannot be found," Rizal said at a press conference Thursday.

Nazaruddin's case has shaken the Democratic Party and the government as other party executives and top officials are also implicated in the graft scandal.

An indictment read by KPK prosecutors in the trial of former PT DGI marketing manager El Idris on Wednesday stated that he alleged that two other Democratic Party officials received bribes in the case: Angelina Sondakh and Mirwan Amir. He also confessed to agreeing to a disbursement of 2 percent of the value of the project to Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Wafid Muharram, 2.5 percent to the development committee, 0.5 percent to the South Sumatra procurement committee and 2.5 percent to South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin.

The governor on Thursday denied any knowledge of the illegal payouts. On Thursday, Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said the government was struggling with the minimal assistance it received from authorities abroad in pursuing Nazaruddin.

"Due to reasons of privacy, not every country wants to share its data on people entering their country. However, we should respect their decision," Patrialis said Thursday.

He cited Hong Kong as one of the places that refused to share data citing privacy reasons. "We have asked many parties to help us handle this situation. I am still optimistic we will succeed eventually," he said.

More named in Games bribery

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – More people were implicated in graft allegations on Wednesday after the first hearing of the Southeast Asian Games bribery scandal trial at the Corruption Court in Jakarta.

The court heard testimony that shed more light on the alleged role of several suspects, including fugitive former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin.

In the defendant's chair was Mohamad El Idris, the marketing manager for PT Duta Graha Indah (DGI), which won a contract to build the athletes' village for the SEA Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

In the indictment paper read out by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors, El Idris implicated several persons as designated receivers of the bribe.

None of them were names mentioned by Nazaruddin last month, including fellow party members Angelina Sondakh and Mirwan Amir, as well as I Wayan Koster from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). El Idris was indicted for bribing Nazaruddin and the Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Wafid Muharram.

"The defendant paid three checks worth Rp 3.2 billion [US$374,400] to Wafid and four checks worth Rp 4.3 billion to Nazaruddin as a member of the House of Representatives," prosecutor Agus Salim said.

According to prosecutors, El Idris and DGI president director Dudung Purwadi came to PT Anak Negeri's office in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta, last year to meet Nazaruddin, whom he met during previous development projects.

"Both DGI officials asked Nazaruddin to give DGI [some] projects," Agus said. Nazaruddin operated several companies, allegedly including Anak Negeri, that often bid on government contracts.

"Later, Nazaruddin asked a go-between, Mindo 'Rosa' Rosalina Manulang, who was also a marketing director at Anak Negeri, to follow up on the meeting." According to the indictment, Nazaruddin and Rosa then met with Wafid in August 2010 at a restaurant near Wafid's office and asked Wafid to consider DGI for projects commissioned by the ministry.

Wafid later issued a ministry letter on development subsidies for the athletes' village to allocate funds from the ministry's 2010 budget to form a development committee in the province.

After the company won the contract in December, El Idris, Dudung, Nazaruddin and Rosa agreed to disburse 13 percent of the Rp 191.7 billion contract to Nazaruddin, 2 percent to Wafid, 2.5 percent to the development committee, 0.5 percent to the South Sumatra procurement committee and 2.5 percent to South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin. The indictment alleged that Wafid was caught red-handed by KPK investigators when accepting his share in April along with Rosa and El Idris at Wafid's office.

Prosecutors alleged that Nazaruddin had accepted only Rp 4.3 billion of the Rp 24.9 billion promised him and that El Idris had only partly distributed the bribes to the procurement and development committees. The indictment did not specify if El Idris gave the bribe to Alex or not.

"The defendant, individually or together with Dudung and Rosa, gave or promised to give something to public officials to influence them to do something that was contrary to their duty," Agus said.

If found guilty, El Idris might be sentenced to five years' imprisonment under the 1999 Corruption Law.

Suwidya, the presiding judge, granted a request from El Idris' attorney, Tommy Sihotang, to adjourn until Wednesday.

Separately, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said investigators were investigating the entire procurement process and would likely find more suspects. "We are currently working on the alleged bribery of the [Wafid]." Johan added that his office has yet to question Alex.

El Idris was the first suspect named in the case to go to trial. Cases are still being prepared against Nazaruddin, Rosa and Wafid.

Fugitive lawmaker Nazaruddin's trail of unresolved cases and empty homes

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2011

Nivell Rayda – As the sun sets, lights are turned on one by one inside houses along Jalan Pejaten Barat Raya, a busy street in South Jakarta. One two-story house, however, remains dark.

Behind the imposing pillars and marble, the home seems empty. For more than a month now, its owner, Democratic Party lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin, has left his home in the care of a security guard who can occasionally be seen touring the premises.

Neighbors say it is a far cry from its heyday when it was teeming with life. The who's who of Indonesia's ruling party, at times wearing the party's official blue jackets, often visited the 600-square-meter house.

"Nazaruddin's house was never short of visitors," a neighbor who asked not to be named told the Jakarta Globe. "This street was always filled with cars, sometimes buses filled with visiting orphans or party members. Nazaruddin always [held] gatherings at the house."

But in recent weeks, the house's only visitors have been Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officers delivering summonses in relation to a graft case in which Nazaruddin is a suspect. Encounters with law enforcers, though, is not new for the 32-year-old politician.

In late 2005, the year he joined the Democrats at the age of 26, Nazaruddin was arrested on suspicion of falsifying documents on two tenders by the ministries of industry and maritime affairs. He was released after less than 24 hours and the investigation was halted in 2007.

In 2008, Nazaruddin was charged by the National Police for fraud and embezzlement in connection with the renovation of an airport in South Sulawesi.

The police alleged he had siphoned Rp 7 billion ($822,000) from 25 subcontractors hired by Nazaruddin's construction company, Guna Karya Nusantara. Nazaruddin was never arrested in the case and no significant progress in the investigation has been made.

Critics suggest Nazaruddin's and his party's influence may have been a factor in authorities' slow action on these cases.

As the Democrats' deputy treasurer, "Nazaruddin monitored the money flow inside the party so he would possibly have knowledge about shady deals and illegal campaign funds," said Boyamin Saiman, chairman of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (Maki).

"At the time, Nazaruddin would have been an asset with his enormous wealth and power to rig a government tender. If the Democrats were really serious about fighting corruption, it could have fired Nazaruddin then," Boyamin said.

The party did the exact opposite during these scandals, putting Nazaruddin in more prominent positions by making him a member of the House of Representatives in 2009 and party treasurer a year later.

Controversies, however, did not stop hounding him. Last year, allegations emerged that Nazaruddin raped a sales promotion girl at a Bandung hotel during the party's national congress in May. In November, tabloid C&R ran a cover story about the rape allegations and all the copies were purchased by "mystery buyers." Nazaruddin was never questioned about the accusation.

This year, after Nazaruddin's name was dragged into the scandal linked to a construction project for the Southeast Asian Games – to be held in Sumatra in November – he was also accused by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud M.D. of giving an "unsolicited payment" of 120,000 Singapore dollars ($97,000) to the court's secretary, Janedri M. Gaffar.

In addition, he is also accused of rigging a tender at the Ministry of National Education and another project at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration. These allegedly graft-riddled contracts spurred the National Police to relook at Nazaruddin's 2008 embezzlement case.

"If the other [lawmakers] find out that one of Nazaruddin's companies is bidding for a government contract, they immediately back down," said Tom Pasaribu, from the Indonesian Parliamentary Monitoring Committee (KPPPI). "There is no way they are going to outbid him. He was that good a businessman," he said.

His business savvy is usually attributed to growing up as the son of a wealthy palm oil trader, along with six siblings, in Bah Jambi town, North Sumatra. After his father passed away, the family moved to Pekanbaru, Riau, where Nazaruddin owns another house where his wife's family lives.

A testament to his financial success, Nazaruddin owns two properties in Bah Jambi and an apartment in Taman Rasuna, South Jakarta. Like the house on Jalan Pejaten, these residences are silent – their owner having fled the country after the latest graft scandal broke.

Maki's Boyamin suggests that Nazaruddin's aggressiveness both in business and politics – often mixing the two interests – was also his downfall.

Boyamin said: "[He] would have inside access to many government tenders before anyone else. It is obvious that he is abusing his position in the House budget committee. His firms are small but they can outbid big companies like [state pharmaceutical firm] Kimia Farma or [state contractor] Wijaya Karya."

A year on, still no progress in brutal beating case

Jakarta Globe - July 10, 2011

Arientha Primanita – A year ago on Saturday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono stood beside the hospital bed of Tama Satrya Langkun and urged the activist to continue his fight against corruption.

A day earlier, the Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher had been brutally assaulted by unknown men. The president ordered the case investigated immediately. "I want whoever did this to be found and I want to know why they did it," Yudhoyono said shortly after news of the attack came out.

But on Friday, Tama stood in the street in front of the State Palace along with several other activists asking why his case was still unresolved. "It has been a year and the police still have not been able to identify my attackers," said Tama, whose scar from the incident is visible on his forehead.

The incident took place around 3 a.m. on July 8, 2010, in Duren Tiga in Pasar Minggu. Tama and his colleague, Laode Moammar Khadafi, were on their way home after watching a World Cup match when four men on two motorcycles stopped them.

Describing the attack last year, Tama said the men pushed him off his bike and started beating him with a metal object. According to a statement Khadafi made at a news conference following the incident, the men specifically focused on Tama.

The timing of the attack – just days after a Molotov cocktail hit the offices of Tempo Magazine – gave clues to a possible motive.

Tama was one of the ICW activists who had given the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) information about millions of dollars allegedly in the bank accounts of six police generals.

On June 28, a week before the Molotov attack, Tempo magazine ran a cover story about the suspicious bank accounts, but the issue was cleared off every shelf in the city by groups of men in a predawn buying spree.

"SBY's statements were just empty talk," said Abdullah Dahlan, a researcher at ICW who was present at the rally on Friday. "So far, there has been no significant progress in the case."

Apung Widadi, another ICW researcher, said that aside from Tama's case, there were other unresolved cases of violence toward pro-democracy activists, such as the murder of Munir Said Thalib in 2004. After almost seven years, he said, there is still no clue as to who ordered the murder.

"Yudhoyono has promised to give his full support to corruption eradication and human rights development," he said. "But activists and journalists are still suffering violence and murder under Yudhoyono's administration, from 2004 up to now." The activists gave a black flower arrangement and an open letter to the president through the guards at the gate of the State Secretary Office.

The letter, Apung said, is to remind Yudhoyono of his promises to protect all citizens including activists and journalists.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha declined to comment on the demands of the activists.

Tama said he would continue fighting graft. "My family asked me to quit ICW and I also received offers from companies with far bigger salaries, but this job really suits me," he said.

Still, he said, he will be more cautious now. "I am alert every time there is a motorcycle getting close to me on the road," he said. "When I eat outside I choose to have my meal in the open air, or in places with many people, or in the corner where I can see everyone."

SBY forgets his promise to an antigraft activist

Jakarta Post - July 9, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – "I want to make sure that whoever carried out this attack for whatever motive is punished," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono boasted to antigraft activist Tama S. Langkun in hospital last year.

He ordered top police generals, including then Jakarta Police chief Timur Pradopo (now the National Police chief) to immediately bring Tama's attackers to justice. "I strongly encourage you to keep going despite this setback. The struggle must go on," the President said while holding Tama's hand.

A group of armed men assaulted the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) official at 4:30 a.m. on July 8 last year, several days after he filed a report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on the questionably large bank accounts of several senior police officers. He sustained severe head injuries after being hit with iron rods.

The office of Tempo weekly newsmagazine, which ran a cover story on the suspicious accounts, was also attacked with Molotov cocktails.

Anticorruption activists have made repeated attempts, including through the media, to remind the President of his assurances that he would find those responsible for the acts of violence against Tama and the magazine. But one year on, the police, including Timur, insist the investigation was still ongoing.

"A year ago today I was attacked. Has the President forgotten his promise to me?" Tama said at a rally close to Merdeka Palace, the President's official residence. He was accompanied by protestors carrying large photographs of Yudhoyono visiting Tama in hospital. The protestors were members of ICW, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and students.

Dressed in black, they also carried black posters reading "SBY, where is your promise?", "The government is sleeping", "Solve this act of violence against an activist" and "The government failed to protect a citizen".

The one-hour rally ended with organizers issuing an open letter to the President that was received by a representative from the Merdeka Palace security detail. The protestors also handed over a black wreath as a symbol of their disappointment at the government's failure to address acts of violence against human rights activists.

Yudhoyono has not been shy about promising justice to victims of violence. A few months after winning the country's first direct presidential elections in 2004, he emotionally swore to the widow of slain right activist Munir that he would never give those responsible for his murder even the smallest chance to escape justice. Munir was poisoned and died on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam.

Several military generals were implicated in the murder, but so far, only a Garuda pilot – widely seen as a scapegoat – has been punished for the crime.

War on terror

Police open fire at Islamic boarding school siege, three wounded

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2011

Farouk Arnaz & Fitri R. – Security forces besieging a radical Islamic boarding school in eastern Indonesia have opened fire on student protesters, wounding three, National Police confirmed on Wednesday.

National Police have also confirmed that they have dispatched additional forces, most likely members of the elite Densus 88 antiterror police, to the Umar bin Khatab Islamic Boarding School in Bima, Sumbawa, nearly 48 hours after a homemade bomb detonated prematurely and killed a suspected terrorist.

It is understood that four platoons of local Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and antiriot police, as well as additional forces from the Indonesian Military (TNI), have surrounded the school, which is understood to house 45 students, as well as teachers and an unknown number of supporters.

Students armed with sticks and machetes have been preventing investigators from reaching the scene of the explosion in a tense stand-off.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam told the Jakarta Globe that police at the scene had opened fire on a group of students who had been hurling stones at police.

"The students were throwing stones at the police chief and his personal aide. They suffered minor injuries," he said. He said police had retaliated, opening fire and wounding three people.

The report is at odds with local police officials, who have been claiming that they are adopting a nonviolent approach. "We are still using persuasive ways to avoid casualties," NTB Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein told the Jakarta Globe in Mataram on Wednesday.

National Police Operational Assistant Insp. Gen. Badrodin Haiti told the Globe that "there was not a single piece of land in Indonesia that was untouchable by our officers" whenever the law had been violated. He said police would try their best to achieve a negotiated settlement and to avoid major bloodshed.

The school is associated with Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), a hard-line group founded by convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Bashir.

Police clash with civilians, 'extremists' in Bima

Jakarta Post - July 13, 2011

Irawaty Wardani, Jakarta – An investigation into an explosion at an Islamic boarding school in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, escalated into open conflict Tuesday between police and civilians armed with machetes and arrows.

The residents blocked the only road connecting Bima to neighboring Dompu regency, blocked a police investigation and demanded that authorities return the remains of a school teacher, Suryanto, also known as Firdaus.

Suryanto was reportedly killed by a homemade bomb that exploded at 3:30 p.m. on Monday as he attempted to show students how to make explosives at the Umar bin Khattab boarding school. Police say Suryanto died en route to the hospital. Eleven students who were present at the hospital were later detained by police for questioning.

National Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said in Jakarta that the bomb was to have been used in a terror attack against police.

Previously, a student at the school, 16-year old Sa'ban Abdurrahman, was arrested for allegedly stabbing a policeman to death on June 30. Police said Sa'ban told investigators that the police deserved to die for hunting down jihadists.

Anton said the investigation into the explosion was made difficult by residents, students and teachers of the school who took to the streets and blocked roads.

"They don't want us there. We are still negotiating with them to allow us to enter the scene of the explosion. We can force the issue, but we don't want there to be more victims," he said.

Anton said the Bima Police and soldiers had deployed four platoons to end the roadblock and threatened to launch "repressive" actions should the blockade remain.

Antara news agency reported that the roadblock was lifted later in the afternoon and three civilians were taken to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds. Police investigators, however, have not been able to enter the boarding school.

Terrorism commentator Dynno Creesbon said the objection by residents to the police investigation was a manifestation of the deeply rooted radical doctrine in the area. He said Bima was a stronghold for Islamic hard-liners from the southern Philippines and Java.

Dynno said Firdaus was a member of Jamaah Islamiyah and was trained in bomb-making in the southern Philippines. He said he suspected Firdaus joined the school to teach students how to use bombs to attack police.

He added that terrorist groups operating in Indonesia faced the threat of a massive police crackdown, so felt the need to reassert themselves through new attacks, albeit with limited resources. Dynno said he suspected the incident in Bima was one such attempt.

He added that it was natural for extremists to recruit followers at Islamic boarding schools, as it was easier to introduce extremist ideology to people with similar beliefs.

However, Dynno, this did not mean that all teachers or students at the school were involved. "There are many incidents where new members of hard- line group are recruited individually without the knowledge of other people". (rcf)

Hard-line & vigilante groups

FBR protesters abuse Greenpeace staff during rowdy Jakarta protest

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2011

Dessy Sagita – Almost 100 members of a Jakarta-based vigilante organization staged a noisy rally outside the Indonesian headquarters of Greenpeace, labeling the international environmental watchdog an illegal organization.

In chaotic scenes, members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum – known for employing thug-like tactics – demanded access to the Greenpeace compound in Kemang, South Jakarta.

Greenpeace opened its gates to allow a dozen members of the forum, known as FBR, in to meet Greenpeace Indonesia country representative Nur Hidayati. She was verbally abused but not assaulted.

There were roughly 50 police officers guarding the rally, including the Mampang Prapatan Police chief, Comr. Siswono.

The FBR demanded Greenpeace register with the city administration, though Greenpeace countered they had registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. An FBR spokesman yelled at Nur Hidayati, saying her response was "arrogant" and indicated that the NGO was concerned about being audited.

The Greenpeace representative said they had nothing to hide and each year received 50,000 individual donations in Indonesia alone.

Greenpeace has recently been in the news for its sustained campaign against the palm oil industry in Indonesia, in particular deforestation activities by major palm oil companies, including Sinar Mas.

FBR spokesman Fajri Husbin demanded that Greenpeace stop spreading negative stories about Indonesian companies, particularly those that created local jobs.

Protesters outside the offices also demanded Greenpeace employees sing the national anthem and recite the state ideology Pancasila and if they could not, face eviction from Indonesia.

Freedom of religion & worship

Sidewalk church protest remains civil despite odds

Jakarta Globe - July 11, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani – A protest in Bogor that had been expected to turn violent remained civil on Sunday as a group of people in the mostly Muslim community voiced opposition to the Yasmin church congregation holding services on a sidewalk outside of its sealed-off church.

Global rights group Amnesty International earlier reported that the congregation had received threats from the local community that if the services did not stop by Sunday, "anarchy" would erupt.

"In the last couple of weeks, the religious hard-line groups haven't showed up to protest against us using the sidewalks to hold a Sunday service," church spokesman Bona Sigalingging said. "However, there was a group of people present, even the head of my community."

The group did not threaten them, he said. "This group did not come up with intimidating banners or shouting sectarian words," he said. "They even sang some national songs as they asked us to move somewhere else because sidewalks were not a place for worship."

The city government had earlier asked the congregation to move to an alternative location, the Harmoni Yasmin building, instead of using the sidewalk to avoid clashing with protesters.

Bona said his congregation has no plans to move the service to the Harmoni Yasmin building or anywhere else. "They are saying the sidewalk is not a place for worship, but neither is the Harmoni Yasmin building," he said. "We just want our church reopened."

The Bogor administration revoked the church's building permit, alleging that the congregation had falsified signatures to obtain it. The Supreme Court has ordered the church reopened, but the city has refused to comply.

"Basically, this [disturbance] is the result of the Bogor mayor ignoring the Supreme Court ruling," Bona said. "If they want us to leave the pavement, let's unite and urge the Bogor mayor to reopen the Yasmin church. It's as simple as that."

Bona said police officers were deployed to secure the area and prevent clashes. "We really appreciate how serious the police have been about ensuring security for us while we were doing the Sunday service in recent weeks," Bona said.

On Friday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on attacks against minorities such as Christians and Ahmadiyah in Indonesia, shining a spotlight the violent persecution of minorities in the c ountry.

The resolution expressed "grave concern at the incidents of violence against religious minorities, particularly Ahmadi Muslims, Christians, Baha'i and Buddhists" and called on the Indonesian authorities to repeal or revise local bylaws governing heresy.

In June, a delegation from Christian Solidarity Worldwide returned from a three-week visit to Indonesia with first-hand evidence of increasing violence against religious minorities, particularly Christians and the Ahmadiya Muslim community, the group said in a statement.

CSW visited churches in Bekasi and Bandung that had been forced to close, and it met with pastors who faced increasing harassment, threats an d attacks.

Governence & bureaucratic reform

'Redundant' government bodies brace for termination

Jakarta Post - July 16, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – A security guard, sitting and smoking at the reception of Building C at the Agriculture Ministry complex, answered, "Fifth floor", when asked about the location of the little-known Indonesia Sugar Council.

It was 1 p.m. on Thursday but the long corridor on the fifth floor was quiet. One of the signs in the corridor read "Indonesia Sugar Council".

One woman and two men wearing uniforms were sitting at their desks among dozens of other empty desks in the 100-square-meter room. According to a 2006 Agriculture Ministry decree, the council actually has 86 members of staff.

The woman refused requests for an interview and suggested The Jakarta Post get in touch with the head of the council's secretariat, Bambang Priyono, who was not at the office at the time. "Bambang has been in Bandung for days on official matters. You can come back here next Friday," the woman said.

Administrative Reforms Minister E.E. Mangindaan recently announced that the council was among six nonstructural state bodies that would be merged with other institutions with similar functions. "What the institutions do are more or less the same as similar bodies. It is duplication or redundancy of authorities that leads to the potential waste of state funds," he said.

Another body in this group is the National Aeronautics and Space Council. According to a 2007 study by the State Administrative Agency, the council had conducted a meeting only once – back in 1980 – since its establishment in 1955.

The ministry has recommended eliminating four other nonstructural bodies, including the National Book Council and the National Regulatory and Management Body for Housing and Residential Affairs.

Such state bodies, now numbering 88, have been under scrutiny since 2005 because of their ineffectiveness and potential waste of state funds. Such bodies are formed by the President and are structurally not under any ministries. Citing data from the Finance Ministry, Mangindaan said the cost to the state of funding all nonstructural state bodies was Rp 14.9 trillion (US$1.74 billion) in 2010, or 1.42 percent of the total state budget.

"However, many of the bodies do not contribute significantly to the state," he said. He added that officials from some of the 10 bodies may have known the results of the study prior to his announcement. "There was a sudden surge of communication with us. They showed us their programs as if to prove they were necessary," Mangindaan said.

The ministry findings led to questions over several others bodies. The National Commission for Elderly People, for example, may be unfamiliar to many Indonesians even though it was established in 2004. The commission occupies two floors of the four-story Aneka Krida building at the Social Affairs Ministry in Jakarta.

Most of the rooms in the commission's office were locked up when the Post visited earlier on Thursday.

Legislation & parliament

Release lazy legislators' attendance figures: House Speaker

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2011

Anita Rachman – The deputy house speaker is tackling the House of Representatives chronic absentee lawmaker problem head-on. He is urging the House Secretary hand over attendance lists to the House Ethics Council.

"The lists must be released. Lawmakers are public officials and, therefore, the public has the right to know," Pramono Anung, the deputy speaker of the House, also known as the DPR, said on Wednesday. "The public needs to know whether the individuals they have voted for are actually diligent or not."

Pramono acknowledged that the country's legislators had a long history of poor attendance at meetings and plenary sessions.

The House has previously faced a steady stream of criticism for the slow pace of its work, blamed in large part on legislators' poor attendance. This is in spite of legislators receiving salaries and allowances in excess of Rp 51 million ($6,000) a month, as the Jakarta Globe reported in May.

"Why are we paying them that much for their poor performances?" Roy Salam, of the Indonesian Budget Center, said at the time.

Pramono said the initiative to reveal the attendance list was part of the effort to force lawmakers to fulfill their responsibilities as representatives of the Indonesian people.

"I am one of the people who thinks the attendance list must not get hidden," Pramono said. "I will ask for the names of those that have skipped meetings, hearings and especially plenary sessions. These names will then be passed to the House Ethics Council."

House Ethics Council deputy chairman Nudirman Munir previously stated that the council had also asked the House Secretary to release the attendance list, though it is yet to do so.

However, Pramono said the House Secretary should not release the list directly to the public, saying it should first be handed to the Ethics Council, who would then release the information to the public.

Jakarta & urban life

Jakarta suspends permits for new malls

Jakarta Post - July 14, 2011

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo says he is planning to stop issuing permits for new shopping malls and commercial centers with footprints bigger than 5,000 square meters for the next year.

Fauzi said Wednesday that he would sign a decree on the moratorium soon, adding that the decree would be valid until late next year.

"I've received a lot of input and suggestions saying that permit issuance for malls or trade centers of more than 5,000 meters needs to be evaluated," the governor said.

"Until an evaluation has been completed, the city administration will not issue new permits for malls," he said, adding that applications for such permits that had already been submitted would still be approved. Fauzi said that mainly malls and commercial centers had low visitor numbers.

Indonesian Shopping Center Association (APPBI) chairman Handaka Santosa said although there were some malls with low visitor numbers, many others were constantly packed, especially on weekends. "We are still seeing enthusiasm from city residents. The consumption rate is still high."

The administration announced earlier that Jakarta's average per capita GDP was around US$10,000 (Rp 85.47 million), and that the city was expecting to see an economic growth rate of 7 percent, following last year's 6.51 percent growth.

The private sector contributes 75 percent of the city's economic growth, and the rest is contributed by the public sector. "Like the administration said, the city recorded a 6.74 percent economic growth in the first semester of 2011. We are seeing a high purchasing power here," Handaka said.

According to the APPBI, there are currently a total 68 malls and trade centers across the city. "Looking at the economic figures, I believe the city is still able to have between 5 and 10 percent more malls," Handaka said.

Rapid development, including a construction boom in the property and industry sectors, in the city has been blamed for an alarming rate of land subsidence and the shrinking number of parks and green spaces over the past decades.

Indonesian Real Estate Developers Association's (REI) Jakarta chairman, Rudy Margono, said currently property businesses were rushing to get their construction permit issued by the government before the City Council delivers the new Spatial Planning Bylaw.

Police & law enforcement

NGOs demand probe into police 'fat' bank accounts

Jakarta Post - July 15, 2011

Jakarta – Several non-governmental organizations grouped under the People's Coalition for Police Reform rallied in front of the National Police headquarters on Friday, demanding a full investigation of the long- forgotten case of police officer bank accounts allegedly containing billions of rupiah.

"We demand police investigate the 'fat' bank account case," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Danang Widoyoko said Friday.

Danang added that the rally was also organized to remind the police and public about the stalled investigation of a brutal assault on activist ICW member Tama S. Langkun. Tama had originally broken the news of the accounts to the media.

"If there is no further investigation, we are afraid this case will lead to impunity for police and set a bad precedent for law enforcement," Danang said.

The case emerged last year after Tempo news magazine ran a cover story about considerable amounts of money in bank accounts of high-ranking officers. ICW filed a report to Commission for Public Information (KIP) to urge the police to disclose the names of generals who owned the accounts.

"We don't want public faith in the police force to be undermined by leaving this case unresolved. We also want police to improve their integrity by pursuing this case," Danang said.

Besides ICW, other NGOs including ELSAM, Kontras, Imparsial and Jakarta Legal Aid Institute also joined the rally. (rcf)

IPW slams police for ignoring graft cases

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2011

Jakarta – The National Police have been dragging their feet in investigating 20 major corruption cases, a watchdog says.

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) chairman Neta S. Pane said investigations into the cases had been halted for five years. "[Police] should not neglect the cases," he was quoted as saying Sunday by news portal tempointeraktif.com.

Among the cases cited was embezzlement at state insurance company PT Jamsostek, in which former directors Horas Simatupang and Akmal Husein were declared suspects for stealing Rp 45 billion (US$5.28 million).

Another case revolves around doctored data at PT Darma Niaga that caused Rp 70 billion in losses to the state. Company directors Winarto, Wahyu Sarjono and Sudadi Martodirekso were declared suspects but there have been no further developments in the case.

40 percent of investigations flounder, says new chief investigator

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2011

Jakarta – Newly appointed National Police chief detective Insp. Gen. Sutarman admits police are unable to resolve a large portion of cases they are tasked to investigate.

"Investigators solve around of 60 percent of cases reported by the public," Sutarman said Monday. He added that the main factors hindering police from resolving cases satisfactorily were a lack of eyewitnesses and evidence.

"Cases can be brought [to court] when evidence and testimonies are avaiable," he said. "[But] what can we do if it is difficult to find evidence?" he added, as reported by tribunnews.com.

Earlier, Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) released data on police investigation of corruption cases. The study revealed no progress had been made on 20 corruption cases, one of which was filed eight years ago.

"The [cases] are worth hundreds of billions [of rupiah]. The police are not serious in investigating them," IPW chief Neta S. Pane said Sunday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Intelligence & state security

ICG urges Indonesia to delay controversial intelligence bill

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2011

Jakarta/Brussels – Indonesia should put the passage of a controversial intelligence bill on hold until there is a more comprehensive assessment of its security needs, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group.

"Indonesia: Debate Over a New Intelligence Bill" looks at the debate that the draft law has produced over the role of the intelligence services in a democracy, many of whose citizens are still sceptical that once repressive institutions have actually changed, a news release says.

The report also examines the process that led to the bill's moving to the top of Indonesia's legislative priorities.

"The idea of giving a formal legal basis to the intelligence agencies is a good one, but a concept paper on national security strategy should have come first, with an assessment of the challenges the country faces and the appropriate roles for different agencies in addressing them," says Achmad Sukarsono, Crisis Group's South East Asia Analyst. "The drafting process was backwards".

Prepared in late 2010, the draft was originally scheduled for enactment in July 2011 but has been delayed by differences among four major constituencies: lawmakers, the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, civil society and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

The controversy centers around three issues: whether BIN should have arrest and detention powers; whether wiretapping and other intercepts should require a court order; and how to ensure oversight and accountability mechanisms consistent with democratic governance.

The government is arguing for more powers and less oversight than even BIN itself sees as desirable, while civil society organizations fear a return to abusive practices of the past.

In the middle are the legislators, who wanted to give a legal mandate to the only part of the security structure that still lacks one, as well as to put in place better intelligence coordination and more safeguards against rogue activities.

The debate has been further complicated by plans for other security-related legislation, including a broader national security bill and proposed amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Failure to consider these as a package or coordinate discussion around them may increase the possibility of inconsistency, overlapping mandates and unclear division of labour among security agencies, the release says.

The lack of legislative coordination may be an inevitable consequence of the fact that these bills are being drafted by different institutions in a new democracy.

"Some democratic messiness is better than authoritarian precision, but a little more strategic direction would be useful", says Jim Della-Giacoma, Crisis Group's South East Asia Project Director. "Working out a solid national security agenda is worth a few more months of discussion."

Declaration says intelligence bill will revive New Order

Jakarta Post - July 11, 2011

Jakarta – More than 70 noted experts and activists issued a declaration on Sunday condemning a House bill regulating the nation's intelligence agencies, saying it would return authoritarian rule to Indonesia.

The bill was premature and would lead to abuses of power similar to those that occurred under former president Soeharto's, according to the declaration.

"Lawmakers on the House of Representatives' Commission I overseeing defense must cancel deliberations of the bill, or possibly drop it," the statement said. "Lawmakers should first start collecting public opinion about an ideal bill before starting deliberations."

Critics said article 17 of the draft bill, which would give the President as the head of the National Security Council (DKN), the authority to determine "potential threats", evoked the practices of Soeharto's New Order.

"Does the House aim at bringing us back to the Soeharto era? We've experienced such a dictatorial government. This bill, I assume, will take us there again," high-profile attorney and human rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution said.

Adnan highlighted article 54 of the draft, which stipulates that "national security agencies have the authority to tap a conversation, to investigate, to arrest and to take other authorized necessary measures".

Todung Mulya Lubis, another prominent lawyer, said that if the bill was enacted the House would effectively give a "blank check" to the nation's intelligence community "to do whatever it desired".

Article 24 of the bill defines intelligence information as information pertaining to national intelligence activities and operations, criminals and crime prevention and documents related to national security and intelligence personnel.

Unfortunately, Todung said, the bill did not demarcate the limits of the intelligence community's power.

"Big powers are in its hands – without clear definitions of its responsibility," he said. "Even a super-powerful intelligence body should be held responsible if it makes mistakes."

The nation's intelligence agencies were ruthlessly used to stifle dissent in the 1990s. Soeharto, the "smiling" general authorized the nation's spies to maintain his grip on power by any means necessary. Hendrik Sirait, a victim of an intelligence operation in 1996, said the draft bill ignored his experiences. "I was kidnapped for six days. I was beaten. My case has never been clearly resolved."

"Years ago, they abused us in the absence of regulations. In the future, they will probably torture people using regulations," Hendrik said.

After Soeharto was ousted, the reputation of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) worsened following the alleged assassination of human rights activist Munir by a BIN agent on board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam in 2004.

Former top BIN official Muchdi P.R. allegedly played a role in the murder. (lfr)

Criminal justice & prison system

Jailed PKS legislator seen at mall 'fixing broken laptop'

Jakarta Globe - July 14, 2011

Disgraced Prosperous Justice Party lawmaker Muhammad Misbakhun was spotted enjoying a day out of prison at a mall in South Jakarta on Wednesday.

Misbakhun, who allegedly amassed a fortune when he worked at the Tax Directorate-General before launching a political career with the Islam- based PKS, was jailed for just one year for forging documents to obtain huge loans from Bank Century, a bank he had strongly criticized as a lawmaker.

Prosecutors had sought eight years for the crime, which is alleged to have cost the state as much as $22.5 million. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has previously demanded an explanation for the sentence, though none has been forthcoming.

It remains unclear whether Misbakhun remains a legislator and member of the PKS. He is just short of serving two thirds of the sentence, the point at which prisoners are eligible for parole, depending on behavior.

His lawyer, Luhut Simanjuntak, told Metro TV that his client had jointed the prison's "assimilation program," which was designed to enable convicted criminal to reintegrate into society. Luhut said Misbakhun was at Ratu Plaza to service his broken laptop.

Minister of Justice Patrialis Akbar told Detik.com that Misbakhun was allowed to leave his cell during the day as part of the program.

"Misbakhun can leave the prison but he must not stay away from the prison overnight, and he has done so since April. So if he wants to go to the mall there is nothing wrong with it as long as he doesn't sleep in the mall."

Indonesian officials slammed over teen's prosecution for theft

Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2011

Febriamy Hutapea – The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force said on Tuesday that it had found irregularities in the prosecution of a boy on trial for stealing a mosque's speakers.

Harimuddin, a member of the team, said on Tuesday that law enforcers and judicial officers had violated regulations in the arrest and detention of the 13-year-old, identified as R.S., last month.

He said the task force had interviewed witnesses from the boy's hometown of Cianjur, West Java, and found glaring abuse, including not allowing the boy to have an attorney present during his questioning.

"The boy was detained for 30 days pending the initial police investigation," he said, adding that the teen was only assigned a lawyer when he went on trial.

Harimuddin also said R.S. was handcuffed when he attended court hearings and was placed in a holding cell for adult defendants rather than juveniles.

Police and prosecutors, he said, appeared to have brushed aside standard procedures in order to bring the boy's case to court quickly, including the obligation to take a "friendlier approach" that would not traumatize the child.

"The police should find a better solution when dealing with children," Harimuddin said. "This can include involving the parents, other members of the family and even the victims."

The task force appealed for leniency in the case ahead of the verdict, which is expected to be handed down on Thursday. Harimuddin said police and prosecutors had failed to consider restorative justice, the more lenient option in criminal cases involving juveniles.

Restorative justice treats a crime as an offense against the victim rather than against the state, and allows for a variety of options for the offender to make reparations, including by apologizing, returning stolen items or doing community service.

A joint decree issued by the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police states that cases involving youthful offenders should be handled through restorative justice, Harimuddin noted.

In order to prevent similar mistreatment of minors by law enforcement agencies, the task force official said his team would send a letter of reprimand to each office that had been accused of violating rules when investigating, detaining or prosecuting juvenile offenders.

According to the task force – which was created by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Dec. 30, 2009 – it has received at least 4,500 reports of such law enforcement and legal irregularities since it was set up.

The task force was created with the aim of eradicating systematic corruption in the judiciary as well as case-brokering, or accepting goods in exchange for favorable results in cases.

Economy & investment

Indonesia resources export ban may boost jobs: Expert

Jakarta Globe - July 17, 2011

Dion Bisara & Francezka Nangoy – The government's plan to ban the export of raw minerals under a deadline three years from now may be feasible and could even create jobs once smelters have been built, according to an analyst and a company executive.

"Excuse of financial loss is impossible," said Kurtubi, an economist at the University of Indonesia and director of the Center for Petroleum and Energy Economics Studies. "Smelters might need large investments, but they can also generate large revenues. If smelters anywhere else in the world can succeed, why not in Indonesia?"

A 2014 regulation would order all miners to process raw commodities including gold, nickel, tin, copper and silver before being shipped overseas. That would force companies to build smelters, Hatta Rajasa, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, said on Friday.

Three years is enough time for miners to build smelters, and mining companies that build smelters close to operations could save on transport costs, while also saving money by using existing infrastructure, Kurtubi said.

"With this regulation, the government also expects to trigger a positive multiplier effect, creating jobs and other value-added schemes," he said. "Mining companies should understand that and follow the rule. Not only the miners, all parties involved should also support this. Stop making excuses."

Some of the world's biggest mining companies operate in Indonesia, including US-based Freeport McMoRan in Papua and Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton in Kalimantan.

According to the incoming law, coal miners must export coal that is at least 5,600 kilocalories, a higher threshold than currently exists for many exports.

Earlier this month, Supriatna Suhala, director executive of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI), said that the cost of building a smelter to boost the quality of coal might be as high as $80 million.

Sukrisno, president director of Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam - a state- controlled coal miner- supported the idea of giving added value to coal, as it would provide many jobs.

There are offers from Chinese and South Korean companies to open processing plants, and Bukit Asam would only pay an operational fee based on the amount of coal processed, he said.

"That scheme is risk-free, as we do not have to invest in anything," Sukrisno said, declining to provide more details because the plan is still at an early stage.

As long as commodity prices stay high, it remains practical to build additional refining capacity. Demand is still increasing from China and India, while other countries, including Japan, may need to use fossil fuel as they turn away from nuclear energy, Sukrisno said.

"In terms of coal prices, I don't worry too much," he said. "There are volatilities but the trend is up, as demand from India and China is still strong. Demand from Japan will also increase as they convert 25 percent of their energy supply from nuclear."

Ban on raw mineral exports begins in 2014

Jakarta Post - July 16, 2011

Rangga D. Fadillah, Jakarta – The government will proceed with its plan to ban raw mining product exports beginning in 2014 despite concerns of a lack of mining refinery facilities to support the policy.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said on Friday that the government was preparing a road map to ensure that all related stakeholders were ready to apply the policy on schedule.

He said that prohibiting the raw mining product export was part of the government's commitment to fully enforce the 2009 Mineral and Coal Law. The policy would also include the government's plan to renegotiate all mining contracts that were not in line with the law, he added.

"Starting in 2014, we'll ban all raw mineral exports. Therefore, we need to prepare a road-map, and it's also important to rethink the royalty payment so that renegotiations can find a win-win solution. Fairness and mutual benefit must happen," he told reporters from his office in Jakarta.

He added that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry would lead the renegotiation process. "The renegotiation team is working under the leadership of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. Any development in the process will be reported to my ministry," Hatta said.

The minister emphasized that renegotiation would focus on around 6,000 overlapping mining permits across the country, thus the process would also involve regional governments.

Between 65 and 70 percent of mining business owners had implied their agreement with the renegotiation plan, he said, adding that the government would continue to persuade companies who refused to renegotiate.

"We respect the contracts we have made with those companies, but we also want the contracts to be fair [for both the country and the companies]," Hatta said.

A member of the advisory board of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Herman Afif Kusumo, praised the government's policy to ban raw mineral exports, saying that all businessmen should support the policy. "Ready or not, companies have to build smelters [processing plants]," he said in a telephone interview.

However, he warned the government to not only create regulations, but also give incentives to companies that complied with the new rules. The government should also strengthen its oversight so the implementation of the policy would be more effective, he added.

"In China, the incentive and consequence system has been applied. If companies export raw materials, the government will apply very high taxes, but if they export processed goods, there will be no tax," he said.

To build a copper smelter, a company would have to spend around US$800 million, while a nickle smelter would cost between $200 million and $2 billion, depending on its processing capacity, Herman added.

Earlier, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, the operator of the Batu Hijau gold and copper mine, said it would not build a smelter. The company's feasibility study showed that the project was not economical due to the difficulty of securing a raw material supply.

Ministry confident it will achieve 6.1% growth in manufacturing this year

Jakarta Globe - July 10, 2011

Faisal Maliki Baskoro – Indonesia is on track to achieve its growth target in the manufacturing sector on the back of planned incentives and increased investment, an official said.

Manufacturing rose by 5.75 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, within the forecast range of 5.2 percent to 6.1 percent, Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat said on Friday. Growth would be supported by five main sectors – machinery and transportation, food and beverages, base metals, cement and textiles – he said.

"These sectors are performing very well and if they can keep it that way, the optimistic scenario [of 6.1 percent growth] will be achieved this year," he said. "In the first half, industry grew beyond our expectations, but we can't disclose details yet."

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) will release first-half manufacturing data next month.

Preliminary figures from industry groups suggest manufacturing is growing. Cement sales increased more than 6 percent in the first half from the same period last year, boosted by higher property and infrastructure spending, according to the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Car sales surged 12 percent to 415,276 units in the first half, the Indonesian Automotive Industries Association (Gaikindo) reported.

Hidayat also said a number of large investments this year could help the ministry meet its targets in other areas. "We're also luring investments in the downstream sectors of mining and agriculture," he said. "On top of that we expect to create around 300,000 jobs in the second half, to complete our target of 530,000 [manufacturing] jobs this year."

Major investments, he said, included South Korean firm Posco's $6 billion joint venture with state steel maker Krakatau Steel; Astra Daihatsu Motor's Rp 2.1 trillion ($248 million) expansion plan; state miner Aneka Tambang's chemical-grade aluminium project in Tayan, West Kalimantan, valued at Rp 4.3 trillion; and the Sei Mangke palm oil industrial zone in North Sumatra, worth Rp 2.5 trillion.

Hidayat said his office would push the Finance Ministry to provide incentives, such as tax breaks or holidays, for foreign companies wanting to establish projects under Indonesia's Rp 4,000 trillion economic master plan.

However, Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said he doubted the government would be able to meet its most optimistic targets. "Incentives and disincentives are necessary to reduce exports of raw materials and boost domestic industry, but to develop the downstream sector could take years, even with strong will from the government."

Analysis & opinion

Bloated bureaucracy is failure of reform

Jakarta Globe Editorial - July 14, 2011

Among the many reforms Indonesia instituted after 1998, the resolution to downsize a bloated bureaucracy and make government more efficient stands out as one of the most significant.

For the three decades prior to the end of the New Order, a job in government was a ticket to lifetime employment – and profiting from unnecessary red tape.

The reform era has begun to change some of these mind-sets. The government, it must be said, is more responsive than in the past. But the bloated bureaucracy remains and has actually grown larger, burdening the state budget. The over-the-top hiring of civil servants has become unmanageable and costly – so much so that a hiring freeze may soon come into effect.

In an effort to control skyrocketing salary spending, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi has announced that the government will decide in a month's time whether to impose a freeze on hiring new civil servants. His ministry is now in talks with the state administrative reform minister and the finance minister under the coordination of the vice president to determine how to rein in the problem.

We welcome the move and urge the government to push for a smaller, more efficient bureaucracy. Civil servants should be targeted to specific jobs and all departments should account for the number of people they hire.

New civil servants are unevenly distributed around the country and often are not assigned according to their areas of expertise. Even more concerning is the fact that in more than 294 municipalities and cities, salaries and staff expenses account for more than 50 percent of the total regional budget. In some places, it is even more than that.

According to the Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), there are 16 regions in 2011 that have spent more than 70 percent of their regional budget on salaries. The East Java district of Lumajang topped the list with 83 percent of its budget. Only 1 percent was devoted to capital spending.

If this is where our money is going, it is no surprise that many regions continue to have poor infrastructure and woeful public services. If we are to remain true to the spirit of reform, this must change and the public's money must be put to much better use.

The wallowing president

Jakarta Post Editorial - July 14, 2011

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The free-for-all politics of Indonesia over the last decade has taught us a valuable lesson well known to other democracies: There is no such thing as an absolutely "clean" political party.

Power corrupts absolutely. It doesn't matter if we are talking about the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) or the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) – all have been lured by avarice, a relentless vice that constantly tempts those who have had their first whiff of power.

The Democratic Party has proven to be no different, and in some ways worse, by resolving to blame others for the corruption scandal allegedly implicating former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, among others.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the party's chief patron, on Monday launched a salvo of diatribes, saying his party was a victim of intrigue perpetrated by media organizations and other "invisible hands" trying to divide the party.

One cannot help but smile and shake one's head as Yudhoyono lambasted "unchivalrous politics" aimed at discrediting the Democratic Party while all the while "unchivalrously" censuring the press as the cause of his party's problems.

Unsurprisingly a slew of criticism has appeared in local headlines as media observers and the Press Council lambasted Yudhoyono for wallowing in self pity.

One should no longer be taken aback at such behavior. The "blame game" attitude has increasingly become a characteristic of the Yudhoyono administration. Instead of humble introspection, they maintain a pretense of innocence while holding others at fault. It exemplifies weak leadership.

It is the same when Yudhoyono blamed his Cabinet last week, all the while neglecting the failures that should be his sole burden as the chief executive.

Polls showing a decline in Yudhoyono's popularity are testament to the fact that people are tired of a president who seems to be more concerned about his image than his country.

Nevertheless there is still every reason to believe that the Democratic Party can survive these indignities. There is still time to clean house and regain the trust of the voting public.

One painful strategy that must be undertaken is to demonstrate transparency and accountability to the public without hiding behind the shirttails of a president who technically holds no executive power within the party.

The most damaging outcome of Monday's charade is a perception that the Democratic Party is nothing but a stooge of the Yudhoyono family and its inner circle.

The picture of Yudhoyono making grotesque counter-accusations as the party's top executives – including his son – stood glumly in the background reinforced the cult of personality being built around a man who once carried the democratic hopes of this nation. Like the PDI-P and its leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri, ultimately the Democratic Party will soon find that their strongest asset is their biggest liability.

No excuse to delay immigration reform

Jakarta Globe Editorial - July 12, 2011

It has been three months since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono put his signature on a landmark immigration bill. Under the new law, foreigners married to Indonesians would no longer have to apply for a work permit every year.

They also would no longer be sponsored by an employer as an Indonesian citizen would be able to sponsor their spouse. The bill is a breakthrough in terms of not discriminating against Indonesians married to foreigners.

Three months on, though, little has changed. The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration is still clinging to the 2003 labor law that states foreign workers are allowed to work in Indonesia only if they are sponsored by the company. The sponsor must pay an annual fee even if the foreigners has an Indonesian spouse.

It is worrying to hear Edy Purnama, an official from the directorate of foreign workers at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, openly admit its unwillingness to implement the new immigration law.

"We still have to protect Indonesian workers," he said, adding that the fee to renew a work permit should be paid by the sponsor or the company instead of the foreign worker. He is entitled to his views, but as a government official he is duty-bound to apply the law.

We thus back the comments by Fahri Hamzah, former chairman of the parliamentary working committee on the immigration bill, that the ministry's excuse of protecting Indonesian workers was uncalled for because protectionism would only ruin the country's reputation. Indonesia would be deemed a closed country that did not accommodate the need to improve the investment climate.

Implementation has always been Indonesia's Achilles' heel. Bureaucratic red tape, poor coordination among various government departments and a lack of will has hindered progress even when new laws are passed. This must change, and a new mind-set needs to be adopted if Indonesia is to become progressive.

Few countries in the world treat their citizens so poorly when they choose to marry a foreigner. Not only do the children of Indonesians married to foreigners lose their rights to own property, they also lose the right to claims Indonesian citizenship. The new immigration law has righted these wrongs. There is no excuse not to implement it as it benefits the nation.