Dessy Sagita – From more than 50,000 bakso vendors in Indonesia, less than 1 percent have secured a halal certificate, according to the Indonesian Ulema Council.

Ma'ruf Amin, the deputy chairman of the organization known as the MUI – which is also the sole issuer of halal certificates in Indonesia – said they could not force bakso vendors to undergo halal verification.

"The law rules that halal certification should be voluntary. We cannot force someone to test their products," Ma'ruf told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Lukmanul Hakim, the head of the MUI's Food, Drug and Cosmetics Assessment Agency (LPPOM), said that the council were only authorized to control the supply chain and production process of a food or beverage product after the producer voluntarily applied for halal certification.

He added that even if producers only used halal beef to make bakso, a popular meatball soup, the end products could still be haram as production tools used might have also been used to process pork.

"Throughout Indonesia there are more than 50,000 bakso vendors, but probably only about 100 of them have obtained halal certificates," Lukmanul explained.

The MUI's statement comes as a response to recent findings that some markets in Jakarta were using pork rather pure beef for bakso meatballs. Similar findings have been reported in East Kalimantan. The reports have concerned Muslim consumers as eating pork is forbidden in Islam.

Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said last week such that bakso producers could face up to five years in jail for violating Indonesia's consumer protection law – unless they informed buyers that their bakso contained pork.

Bayu added that bakso producers may have added pork into the meatball mix as a way to save costs, following the soaring prices of beef after the government slapped a restriction on beef imports to encourage growth in the local meat and cattle industry.

"The government must find a way to protect the public from non-halal products, without victimizing bakso vendors," Ma'ruf said.

SBY tells men to respect women, marriage

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – In the wake of the outcry over the controversial four-day marriage by a West Java regent, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on men, particularly those serving as public officials, to respect women and marriage.

Yudhoyono made the call during a ceremony commemorating the 84th National Mother's Day at the Small and Medium Enterprises Tower in South Jakarta on Tuesday.

"We need to build a culture of respect and honor. Men must respect and honor women and vice versa. Hence, I ask men, in particular those who serve as leaders, both formal and non-formal, to respect marriage and to uphold and obey the 1974 Marriage Law. All Indonesians must promote ethics in matters relating to marriage," the President said.

Yudhoyono also appealed to Indonesians to help prevent harassment and violence against women.

His statement on marriage was the second in under two weeks, apparently prompted by the actions of Garut Regent Aceng Fikri, who divorced his teenage wife four days after their wedding.

At a Cabinet meeting on Dec. 6, the President told ministers he wanted his aides to take Aceng as example seriously, as the four-day marriage to a teenage girl was a violation of women's rights. At that meeting, the President also said he wanted to be kept updated about Aceng, who faces impeachment at the Garut Legislative Council in West Java.

Aceng made headlines after a teenage girl, identified only as FO, revealed that she had been divorced by the regent via text message. The message was sent only four days after their marriage, which was unregistered according to Islamic custom.

Aceng was reportedly still married to Nurrohimah, the mother of his three children, when he decided to take FO as his new wife.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi previously said that Aceng had violated the Marriage Law and breached his oath as a public official to uphold law above all else. "Under the law, all marriages entered into by state officials must be registered," Gamawan said.

At the Mother's Day ceremony, Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari said that Aceng was proof of the failure by regional administrations to promote gender equality.

"Some local cultures with strong patriarchal norms tend to undermine women's rights, and that is exacerbated by local leaders who are not gender-responsive," Linda, the wife of former transportation minister Agum Gumelar, said.

National Mother's Day is usually commemorated on Dec. 22 but this year, the ceremony was held four days earlier because Dec. 22 falls on a Saturday, according to a statement by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.

The theme of this year's National Mother's Day was "Promoting the Roles of Women and Men in Implementing Sustainable Development for the Nation's Welfare".

Pork bakso fiasco won't be last unless beef supplies rise: Joko

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2012

Ronna Nirmala & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Calls to bolster the depleting supply of beef in Jakarta have increased after the recent discovery of a meat-processing plant that mixed pork into beef meatballs sparked outrage among consumers.

Pork is much cheaper than beef in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population. In Islam, pork is considered haram, or forbidden.

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo said on Sunday that with beef prices continuing to soar, there was a risk that more butcher shops and meat- processing plants would try to pass of pork as beef. Random inspections of markets have revealed that such practices are widespread, he added. "Everyday we discover [pork mixed with beef] in our raids," Joko said.

Jakarta Police arrested four people on Wednesday for running a meat- processing factory that allegedly mixed pork into what was supposed to be pure beef meatballs.

The arrest was made during a joint raid of the factory near Cipete Market in South Jakarta by police and the livestock, agriculture and fisheries unit of the South Jakarta municipal administration. The factory supplied meatballs to bakso vendors in Jakarta.

Police detained the owner of the factory, Eka Prayitno, and three of his employees and seized 50 kilograms of pork and 15 kilograms of processed meat containing beef and pork from the factory. Police also questioned two meatball sellers who were seen at the location.

The suspects are charged with violating a city bylaw on meat trade and slaughter monitoring, and face up to three months in jail and Rp 5 million ($520) in fines.

But Joko said conducting more raids without addressing the diminishing beef supply would not stop people from selling pork as beef. "The most important thing is how to [sustain] a sufficient supply of beef. If it's insufficient, then the practice will continue," he said, adding that his office would start working on a solution to the issue.

Drajad Wibowo, deputy chairman of the Islamic-based National Mandate Party (PAN), blamed the pork fiasco on the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) for failing to confirm whether food product that it stamped with a halal label were indeed fit for consumption by Muslims. He said is some cases, beef products with pork had been given a halal label.

"The MUI has been shifting the blame on others, arguing that [the vendors and companies] used an expired label, and so on," he said. "Don't blame this on others. The MUI should examine its own performance and determine why this was allowed to happen. Consumers are paying for the [halal] certification, which is included in the price set by the producers. So it's the MUI's responsibility to ensure that there is no misuse [of the certificates]."

Actions, demos, protests...

East Kalimantan teachers protest over unpaid benefits

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2012

Nurni Sulaiman, Samarinda – Dozens of public school teachers staged a rally in front of the Samarinda City Hall and the Samarinda Legislative Council (DPRD) in East Kalimantan on Tuesday to protest against unpaid social benefits due to them as certified teachers.

Darmadi, the coordinator of the rally, said that the government had not paid their benefits since 2010. "We demand the government pay the outstanding benefits," he said.

East Kalimantan Education Agency head Musyahrim said that the teachers should report the case to the Samarinda Education Agency as the body with the authority to handle it.

"If they can prove that they indeed have not received their rightful entitlements, then the authority should immediately pay them," he said. (han/iwa)

West Papua

Police spin on Papua under fire

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Concerns over an escalation of human rights abuses are growing as the National Police decided to use the antiterrorism law to deal with armed groups in the resource-rich province of Papua.

On Wednesday, National Police Criminal Investigation Division (Bareskrim) chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman said the police would use Antiterrorism Law No.15/2003 to deal with individuals or groups terrorizing people in Papua, including those attacking police stations.

"Armed individuals and groups have brought anxiety and terror into society. We won't hesitate to use the law on those who kill innocent civilians," Sutarman said in response to journalists' queries on rising violence in the province. The decision to use the law has nothing to do with the burgeoning separatist movement, according to Sutarman.

The decision by the National Police promptly raised criticism from human rights defenders, saying the police only seek justification for their abuse of suspects.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Friday, Catholic priest John Jonga said use of the Antiterrorism Law in Papua would send misleading messages to both Papuans and others with interest in the province. Security personnel would take it as license to use violence against Papuans in the name of counterterrorism.

"We, Papuans, are not terrorists. I regret the decision to even think of using that law to respond to local violence. Even without that law, the police already treat Papuans as terrorists. Can you imagine what they would do with more justification?" John said.

Mako Tabuni, deputy chairman of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), was killed in an ambush by the police in June this year. There are numerous examples of police abuse of Papuans accused of creating "discomfort" in the region.

John, who received the human rights Yap Thiam Hien award in 2009, emphasized that Papuans were struggling even for their most basic rights.

Separately, Poengky Indarti of human rights watchdog Imparsial suggested that the plan for the Antiterrorism Law in Papua, could only heighten the already tense atmosphere in the province.

"The law doesn't provide a clear definition of terrorism. The police could interpret it subjectively and use it for their own interests," Poengky said.

"The police must crack down on arms smuggling into Papua instead of imposing this law. Locals suspect security officers of supplying arms for business or power interests," she added.

Responding to the criticism, Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian insisted that the law would strengthen police powers to deal with actions that spread insecurity among the people of Papua.

"There are cases of violence that meet the elements of terrorism as stipulated in the law. We need to use it carefully here, because of the highly politicized atmosphere. No matter what, I want to ensure that we have no cases of criminals hiding behind the [Papuan] freedom movement," Tito told the Post.

He cited a criminal case that occurred two months ago. An armed group kidnapped and raped seven girls from Kebo District in Paniai Regency, and demanded a ransom of Rp 50 million (US$5200) from their parents.

"These criminals introduced themselves as freedom fighters in order to wheedle support from rights activists. Should we let such criminals go free after causing such a horrible situation in the region? This is a fact that many people have failed to recognized," he said.

Tito is aware of the urgency of upholding human rights values while promoting security in Papua, particularly in dealing with groups struggling for independence. "However, not all of these groups are purely promoting independence. These are the kind of groups that we need to anticipate," he emphasized.

AMP Yogyakarta holds silent protest commemorating Trikora invasion of Papua

West Papua Media - December 21, 2012

Hundreds of Papuan students belonging to the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) staged a silent protest on Wednesday (19/12) commemorating the 51st anniversary of Trikora, the campaign that enabled the military invasion of West Papua by Indonesian forces.

The mass action began with a long march from the Papuan student hostel "amasan 1" to the centre of town in front of the Post Office, at 11.00, West Indonesian time [WIB]. The students carried and wore messages about their protest as local media followed events from the sidelines, despite heavy rain.

One of the protest coordinators, Phaul Hegemur, said that on 19 December 1961, then Indonesian president Soekarno proclaimed TRIKORA (Tri Komando Rakyat, or the Triple People's Command) in the North Alun-Alun [town square], intended to stymie the formation of the independent state of West Papua that had been declared on 1 December 1961 whilst under Netherlands administration.

Following that, Soekarno as Commander of the forces for the "Liberation of West Irian" [now Papua] issued Presidential Decree No. 1 of 1962, which ordered the Mandala Commander, Major General Soeharto, to conduct a military operation to seize the territory of West Papua as a region of Indonesia, said Phaul.

"So there followed several waves of Military Operations: among others by air, were Operation Banten Kedaton, Operation Garuda, Operation Serigala, Operation Kancil, Operation Naga, Operation Rajawali, Operation Lumbung, Operation Jatayu. Operations by sea included Operation Show of Force, Operation Cakra, and Operation Lumba-Lumba," Hegemur said.

Hegemur explained that it was also the beginning of the phase of exploitation through Operation Jayawijaya and Special Operations [Opsus]. "Through this, West Papua was occupied, and it's suspected that many many Papuans were massacred at that time. And up to the present, the military- police forces are the most powerful state apparatus that Indonesia uses to crush the resistance of the Papuan people wanting full independence."

Human Rights violations against the Papuan people continue to occur due to the brutality of the Indonesian military.

The silent protest made 7 demands:

That the Indonesian government and its allies immediately recognize the Independence of West Papua on December 1, 1961,
That we vehemently oppose the results of International Law (the New York Agreement and the Rome Agreement), and make the UN immediately responsible to reverse the unilateral surrendering of West Papua to the Republic of Indonesia, based on the people's decision of 1969 [Pepera] which led to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 2504 (XXIV) condemning Pepera as undemocratic and unrepresentative.
That we strongly reject the demeaning offerings of the colonial Indonesian government (Special Autonomy, UP4B, National Dialogue, Peace Talks) through the limbs of PAPINDO in West Papua,
That those who have seriously transgressed Human Rights be immediately brought to justice through the mechanism of the International Criminal Court based in The Hague, The Netherlands; that both organic and non- organic military should be pulled out and the violence against the people of West Papua cease forthwith, On behalf of the West Papuan people from Sorong to Merauke, we firmly PROTEST the TRIKORA declaration that trashes the value of humanity in Papua,
We demand that West Papua be open to International Journalists and International Human Rights Workers,
Finally that a REFERENDUM of the Papuan people be held soon.

[With West Papua Media stringers and AMP in Jogjakarta.]

ELSHAM reveals that acts of violence have increased in West Papua

Bintang Papua - December 20, 2012

Jayapura – The human rights organisation ELSHAM believes that the level of violence and conflict in West Papua has increased significantly since August last year. It reports a number of incidents when many lives were lost but the government. did not do anything in response.

ELSHAM spokesperson Paul Mambrasar said that these days, everywhere in Papua you can hear people saying 'Christmas means Peace' but, sad to say, this is no more than a slogan.

There have been so many killings, acts of intimidation while joint operations by the Indonesian army (TNI) and the police (Polri) continue to occur. There seems to be no end to the violation of human rights in Papua. He said: 'Papuan people are still being killed and intimidated and the security forces do so much to spread fear among the people.'

Operation Aman Matoa 1 in 2011 which was aimed at combating armed criminal gangs in Puncak Jaya, was carried out on the orders of the chief of police on 27 August 2011. During this operation, two Papuans were killed, SalmonYogi, 20 years old and Yustinus, 30 years old. Four people were injured during armed conflicts, Melkias Yeimo, 35, Yohanis Yogi, 25, Yulian Kudiai, 22 and Paskalis Kudiai, 21. There was damage to property during armed conflict in Eduda when 78 homes were torched by Satgas Ops; eight primary schools and 2 lower secondary schools were unable to function.. A number of churches were not able to hold religious services while a number of weapons such as knives, cleavers and arrows were confiscated. As a result of people fleeing their homes, 37 people died including 13 infants, seven children and seventeen adults.

Communities in Komopa, Keneugida, Bibida, East Paniai and Kebo who fled their land suffered many losses because they were unable to tend their gardens and were compelled to kill a number of animals such as cows, pigs and chickens. After they returned to their kampungs, they were confronted with a serious lack of food. Members of Satgas Ops had removed their fences and used them as firewood.

The security forces are still continuing to commit acts of violence such as the following:

(a) police assault against Persipura supporters at the Mandala Stadium on 13 May 2012 when 18 people were unable to breath because tear gas bombs had been fired while 6 people were arrested. An incident on 15 May 2012 when police opened fire in Degeuwo as a result of which one person died and three were injured.

An incident on 6 June 2012 when members of Battalion 756 fired on people in Honai Lama, Wamena as a result of which one person died and 14 people were seriously injured.

Arbitrary arrests by the police when ten people were taken into custody in Serui while they were celebrating the International Day for Indigenous People on 9 August 2012.

The dispersal of a KNPB demonstration in front of the Papuan State University campus on 23 October 2012 in Manokwari. Fifteen people were arrested by the police of whom nine were tortured and two suffered gunshot injuries.

There have also been a number of shootings by the police against pro- democracy activists who are members of the KNPB. Mako Tabuni, 34, was shot dead on 14 June 2012, clear evidence of the actions of the security forces against civilians. There was a similar action on 16 December 2012 when Hubertus Mabel, 30, chairman of KNPB in Baliem was shot dead.

In addition, there have been a number of killings by 'unidentified people' in 2011 and 2012.

During the period from 5 July to 6 September 2011, the security forces shot thirteen people and wounded at least 32 others, Meanwhile, during 2012, shootings by unidentified people have killed 35 people and traumatised two others.

There have been internal movements of people in Keerom from July to November 2012, something to which little attention has been paid by the government. ELSHAM in collaboration with the Keerom Catholic Church was able to help 38 people who had fled to return home and settle down.

The absence of any attention from the government to all these incidents suggests that West Papua is far from enjoying Special Autonomy but has become a "Daerah Operasi Khusus" (Special Operations Area), very similar to what happened from 1970 – 2000. The perpetrators of all these acts of violence have enjoyed impunity; no one has been charged, tried and convicted.

The fact that Papua is closed to international humanitarian organisations, foreign journalists and outside investigators is what is justifying this marked increase in acts of violence by the security forces in Papua. Elite units such as the anti-terror Detachment 88 have spread terror among pro- democracy activisits in Papua, said Paul Mambrasar.

In view of the serious social and political circumstances experienced by the Papuan people, ELSHAM urges the government to allow access to international organisations and foreign journalists to enable them to investigate the human rights situation in Papua.

Secondly, the police should make public information about the mysterious shootings that have been occurring in Papua for a very long time.

Thirdly, the government and anti-government groups should enter into dialogue as the way to put an end to all the violence and conflict.

And fourthly, the army and police should respect the many universal principles of human rights which have been ratified by the government of the Republic of Indonesia.

[Slightly abridged translation by TAPOL.]

NZ MP labels government stance on Papua 'ironic'

Radio New Zealand International - December 19, 2012

The New Zealand Green Party MP says the government's stand on issues in Indonesia's Papua is ironic given its principled line when dealing with Fiji.

Catherine Delahunty has been asking more questions of the government about how it engages with Indonesia, a major trading partner, on security and human rights issues in Papua. This includes questions about the New Zealand police training programme in Papua.

She says the Foreign Minister Murray McCully says that his government is aware of ongoing violence and rights abuses but rarely takes up such matters with Indonesia's government.

"You know, I find it very ironic that they (the government) are up in arms about Fiji and certainly things like torture in Fijian prisons are disturbing but we now have, on a weekly basis, military and police killings, harassment, torture, arrests of West Papuans who are simply standing up for their self-determination."

Perpetrators of violence in Papua to be charged under anti-terrorism law

Kompas.com - December 19, 2012

Dian Maharani, Jakarta – National police criminal investigation bureau chief Commissioner General Sutarman says that perpetrators of violence in West Papua could be charged under Law Number 15/2003 on Terrorism.

According to Sutarman, the national police will also not hesitate to use the articles under the law against armed perpetrators that cause loss of human life.

"If someone in Papua shoots an innocent person or migrant, or creates fear, we cannot rule out the possibility of using the articles on terrorism", said Sutarman at the national police's Bhayangkara Field in South Jakarta on Wednesday December 19.

In previous shooting incidents that have occurred in Papua, perpetrators have not been indicted under the Terrorism Law. Sutarman denied that the articles on terrorism had not been applied because of the existence of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM).

"It's not because [of the OPM]. It is Indonesian territory. The law [will be applied] based on the articles that are violated and the evidence that we find. It is Indonesian territory, even though [West Papua] has special autonomy", he explained.

Mysterious shootings have occurred frequently in the Land of the Cenderawasih (Bird of Paradise, West Papua). In the most recent incident, a sectoral police post in Pirime, Lany Jaya regency, was attacked and burnt down by an armed group on Tuesday November 27. Three police officers including sectoral police chief Ipda Rofli Takubesi were shot dead.

A shoot out also occurred on Wednesday November 27 between a group led by Papua police chief Inspector General Tito Karnavian and an armed group at the Indawa village located between the district of Makki, Jayawijaya regency and Tiom district, Lany Jaya regency.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Low Awareness, unsafe sex fuel Papuan HIV/AIDS rise: Official

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2012

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The total number of reported cases of people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua has topped 13,000, with 150 of the new cases involving infants below the age of five years who contracted the virus from their parents.

"There are 150 infants who have positively contracted HIV in the province," Josef Rinta, the head of the Papua Health Office, said on Monday. "They are spread across several areas in Papua and they contracted the virus from their parents."

He added that some of the infants had gone on to develop full-blown AIDS. "Once it [develops into] AIDS, it will ruin their immune system," he said.

Josef said most of those living with HIV/AIDS in Papua were in their productive age. "Eighty percent of them are aged between 15 and 40 years old," he said.

He attributed the high prevalence of infections in the province to unsafe sex practices.

"Ninety-eight percent of the [people who contracted the] deadly virus got it because they have multiple sexual partners and don't use protection when having sex," Josef said.

"Men in Papua tend to be highly mobile so it's difficult to reach out to them and raise awareness about the dangers of HIV/AIDS."

The health office continues to run campaigns to promote awareness about the virus to curb the number of transmissions. However, it said it was facing geographical challenges in reaching out to a wider number of people.

"In this program, we're having trouble detecting [the people contracting HIV] in remote areas due to the difficulty in accessing those areas," Josef said.

Australia has provided A$25 million ($26 million) in assistance to help Indonesia improve access to HIV services in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, embassy officials said in August.

The aid is part of a A$100 million HIV six-year partnership commitment between Australia and Indonesia that started four years ago. The embassy said the Australian government, through its aid program AusAID, had been combating HIV with the Indonesian government in Papua and West Papua since 2004.

The new Rapidly Expanding Access to Care for HIV (Reach) program will build on the success of existing partnerships, an Australian official said.

The government and United Nations officials are also focusing their efforts in the fight against AIDS, ensuring no Indonesian child is born with HIV.

West Papuan separatist group wants a peaceful route from Indonesia

Radio New Zealand International - December 18, 2012

A member of a West Papuan separatist group which declared independence last year says it will keep seeking a peaceful route to separation from Indonesia.

This comes amid continuing violence in Wamena where Indonesia's security forces have focussed their hunt for members of the National Committee of West Papua, or KNPB.

During the weekend in the Highlands town, a KNPB leader Hubertus Mabel was shot dead by a police who made several arrests of other members, triggering gunfire exchanges.

Yoab Syatfle a spokesman for the group which declared a Federated Republic of West Papua at last year's Papuan People's Congress, says such tensions are common across Papua.

He says the jailed leaders of the Federated Republic remains determined to forge a peaceful solution. "West Papua don't have a gun to fight against Indonesia with guns.

No, West Papua fights by peace. We fight and declare independence by peace not war. So Indonesia has to respect about human rights and democracy in West Papua. West Papua has a right to independence."

Papuans in Jakarta condemn killings and arrests of activists in Wamena

Tribune News - December 18, 2012

Adi Suhendi, Jakarta – Scores of Papuan youths living in Jakarta held a demonstration in front of the Security Maintenance Agency (Baharkam) building at the national police headquarters in South Jakarta on Tuesday December 18.

The protesters unfurled a 1 x 1.5 meter banner with the message, "State crimes, the TNI [Indonesian military] and polri [national police] have shot, arrested humanitarian activists and burnt down the Wamena Papua Traditional Council office".

They also wrote their demands in a cartoon titled, "The violent actions by the TNI and polri are just security to safeguard foreign interests in Papua".

Action coordinator Martheen Goo [from Papua National Solidarity, NAPAS - JB] said that the protest action represented Papuan's sense of mistrust in the national police headquarters.

"When the police in the regions commits crimes in the field, the national police headquarters just claim that there was an attempt to resist", Goo told Tribune News on the grounds of the Baharkam building.

Goo also responded to the arbitrary arrests of several Papuan activists on charges that they were from a separatist group committing treason.

"Yet they were [just] local people and the best of Papuans who take pride in giving voice to the truth, but when they speak the truth, the state scapegoats them with accusations of being a separatist group or committing treason, but what are the separatist or treasonable actions in this? It is foolishness", he said.

Goo charged that the TNI and the national police are maintaining a climate of violence in Papua and questioned why the police have been unable to uncover who is behind the acts of violence committed by so-called unidentified individuals (OTK). Goo suggested that this is being done intentionally by the TNI and police as justification to carry out sweeps in the land of Papua.

"It is suspected that the OTK are being maintained, in order to provide legitimisation in conducting sweeps. It is suspect that it is the TNI and the police that are maintaining them (the OTK). This is foolishness", he asserted.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

KNPB: 'When one is shot dead, a thousand will rise up!'

Bintang Papua - December 18, 2012

Jayapura – The fatal shooting of an activist of the KNPB, Hubertus Mabel, has been condemned by his family and by the KNPB – National Committee of West Papua – as unlawful. According to the law, if a person is deemed to be engaged in unlawful acts, he should be arrested and charged before a court of law but this did not happen in the case of Mabel and his colleague.

A spokesman for the KNPB, Wim Medlama, said that Hubertus had been immobilised by being shot in the legs. The security forces then pushed him into a police van where he was tortured and stabbed.

When he was arrested along with Natalis Alua, the two of them did nothing to resist arrest yet nevertheless they were shot.

"We understand," said Medlama, "that Hubertus was severely beaten and stabbed in the chest. Natalis was also badly injured and is now being treated in hospital," said Medlama. He accused the security forces of acting without having any thought for the lives of their victims. "The security forces behaved like sadists and won't even allow members of his family or his KNPB colleagues to see his body or demand an autopsy."

Hubertus and his colleagues were not involved in the attack on Pirime Lanny Jaya. His activist colleagues believe that the police were feeling very frustrated and had opened fire on Hubertus and his colleague out of a sense of revenge for the deaths of three members of the police force who died during an attack on the Pirime police station.

"The scenario was to convict Hubertus for showing resistance but this is simply not true. According to the law, a person should be taken into custody and brought before the court, not shot dead. When taking someone's life, the police should be able produce powerful evidence before taking the law into their own hands like this," said Medlama.

If Hubertus did violate the law, he should be tried, not shot dead as happened to Mako Tabuni.

"What the security forces are trying to do is to stamp out the issue of Papua Merdeka but the way they behave is having precisely the opposite effect, making Papuans more determined than ever to achieve an independent Papua."

"For every single Papuan who is murdered, a thousand Papuans will rise up and struggle for their freedom," said Medlama

"They have accused us of being terrorists but we don't have any bombs yet the allegations still persist. We have no idea what other tricks the security forces have up their sleeves in order to discredit us and the people of Papua", he said.

[Translated by TAPOL.]

Suspects in setting police station on fire arrested in Papua

Antara News - December 17, 2012

Jakarta – Police have arrested five suspects following a riot when mobs attacked and set on fire a police station in Wamena, Papua, yesterday. "They were being investigated," police's chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said here on Monday.

The incident took place all of a sudden following the death of Hubert Mabel, who had been in the police's list of wanted men, shot by police on Sunday morning.

The mob protested the shooting of Mabel, who was a suspect in the recent bombing of the Jayawijaya district legislative assembly office and police station in Wamena.

Boy said police were forced to shoot Mabel as he rejected arrest and tried to grab the weapon of a police officer. The situation in Wamena is now under control, Boy said

Mabel was known to be the chairman of the West Papua National Committee. Papua has remained a hot spot with separatists have not given up fighting for independence of the easternmost region of Indonesia.

Affirmative action to start in Papua

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The government has issued a regulation that will allow only native Papuan businesspeople to make bids on government construction, part of a strategy to accelerate development in the country's easternmost province and improve prosperity in the region.

Presidential Decree No. 84/2012 stipulates that all state-owned companies as well as private firms doing construction projects in Papua and West Papua provinces must seek active involvement from Papuan businessmen in the procurement of goods and services needed.

Article 2 of the decree, for instance, requires companies from outside of Papua to partner with local businessmen to procure goods or services worth up to Rp 5 billion (US$518,835).

It further exempts local businessmen from qualifications required to participate in such procurement, in an effort to give opportunity for local business to thrive.

The new regulation also gives sanctions to companies that fail to actively involve Papuans in their daily operations. Sanctions will also be given to local businessmen who subcontract their projects to non Papuans.

"Such a presidential decree will undoubtedly improve the life of Papuans economically, which will gradually bring peace to the land," Amiruddin Al Rahab of the government's Special Unit of Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) told The Jakarta Post recently.

Amiruddin highlighted that the issuance of the decree would open the door for Papuan businessmen to join the massive infrastructure project of building at least 909 kilometers roads in Papua and another 803 kilometers in West Papua, which the government targets to finish by 2014.

The decree is the latest on the long list of initiatives made by UP4B. Others include a scholarship program for Papuan students to enroll in 32 state-owned universities nationwide as well mobile health services aimed at reaching out to the province's remote areas and agriculture projects that include the opening of sago plantations and pig farms.

However, many are skeptical about whether the efforts and the disbursement of Rp 30 trillion of the special autonomy fund in the past 12 years could help improve the life of Papuans.

Former regent of Merauke, John Gluba Gebze, said the fund has failed to accelerate development in Papua and West Papua because the central government was clueless about what it should do in Papua.

"The central government thinks that money will take care of everything. I think that the government should come up with a clear and comprehensive plan on what to do, and prepare necessary human resources, before transferring the money," John told the Post. He added that the fund has also largely been misused.

An audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) revealed that at least Rp 3.34 trillion of the total Rp 28.84 trillion of special autonomy fund allocated for Papua and West Papua between 2002 and 2010 has been misused or embezzled.

The BPK has found that around Rp 28.94 billion has been earmarked for fictitious projects such as the construction of housing for teachers in Boven Digoel Regency worth around Rp 112.7 million, while around Rp 27.17 billion was stripped from the fund to pay for a third party.

John said the only way to better deliver prosperity in Papua was to divide the region more. "Even a small island like Java has six provinces while Sumatra has 10 provinces. How can Papua, whose territory is almost as sizable as Sumatra, only have two administrative regions?" he said.

So far, the House of Representatives has received 33 proposals for the setting-up of new autonomous regions in Papua, comprising three provinces, 29 regencies and one municipality.

A source close to Commission II told the Post that the commission has set to approve at least three new provinces in Papua next year, including one in the western territory, one in the Pegunungan Tengah area and another one in the south. In October this year, the House also approved two new regencies in West Papua – Manokwari and Arfak.

Arson, gunshots following death of Papua activist

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2012

Banjir Ambarita & SP/Robert Isidorus – A police outpost in Papua was set on fire on Sunday night, following the death of a Papuan activist who allegedly tried to attack police earlier that day.

Residents, who witnessed the incident but declined to be identified, said a police post in Wouma, in the town of Wamena in the central highland district of Jayawijaya, was set on fire at around 10:25 p.m. on Sunday.

They said the police post was empty at the time because a roll call was being held in the Wamena town police headquarters. The residents said some 20 men came to the post, pelted it and once they discovered it was empty they set it on fire.

Police, who are questioning around 30 witnesses, used their firearms to disband the attackers after they arrived at the scene.

"Residents around the police post were also evacuated to the police headquarters and the local military dormitory until the situation had really returned conducive," one of the residents said, adding that the exchange of shots was still going around midnight.

Adj. Sr. Comr, I Gede Sumerta Jaya, the spokesman for the Papua Police, said on Monday that the situation in Wamena was under control. "But we remain alert," he said, declining to provide any further details as the headquarters were still coordinating with the local district police.

Sumerta speculated that the violence was tied to the death of a suspect from an attack on the police and the district legislative council building earlier that day.

He said that at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, police received a report that Hubertus Mabel – a suspect in the bombing of the Jayawijaya district legislative office and in the attack on the Pirime subdistrict police station which left three officers dead – was in Abusak village, in the subdistrict of Kurulu near Wamena.

Two members of a special police unit went to Abusak, accompanied by MJ, a suspect who had been arrested for possession of ammunition. In Abusak, MJ called Hubertus on the telephone and demanded he meet him on the side of the main highway.

Hubertus agreed but arrived with four other people, who were all carrying machetes. Police then ordered them to lay down on the ground but Hubertus resisted the order.

"He angrily tried to attack and rob the firearm carried by the personnel so that a scuffle developed and the firearm almost got taken. One of the special team members then shot him in the foot in order to immobilize him," Sumerta said.

The four others were arrested without resistance while Hubertus was rushed to a hospital in Wamena. "But because he lost a lot of blood, Hubertus Mabel could not be saved," Sumerta said.

Terianus Satto, who claims to be the head of the general staff of the National Freedom Soldiers of the Free Papua Organization (OPM), said in a short message on Monday that a national mourning period had been declared following the death of Hubertus, who he identified as a member of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB).

Two West Papuan activists shot

Melbourne Age - December 17, 2012

Michael Bachelard – Indonesian police have shot dead two West Papuan activists and burned down a house in the provincial city of Wamena which was used as the "Tribal Council" office for community meetings.

Hubertus Mabel, 30, and Natalis Alua, both members of the West Papua National Committee (KNBP) were shot outside a house in the village of Kurulu at about 11am on Sunday, and later died. Activists said the house belonged to Hubertus's family and he was there to celebrate Christmas.

So far this year, 22 KNPB members have been killed; three are missing; seven have been charged with various offences and more than 200 arrested but released within three months.

The shootings may indicate a new crack-down on separatist activity under the new chief of Papuan police, Tito Karnavian, who formerly ran counter- terrorist police unit Densus-88, which is partly trained and funded by Australia.

Australia is adamant that West Papua should be part of Indonesia, with Foreign Minister Bob Carr saying recently it was "utterly inconceivable" that "some other arrangement" could occur.

After the most recent incident, three men burned down a small wooden police post in a Wamena marketplace, an act which apparently prompted police to go to the city's Tribal Office which is used for community meetings and also burn it to the ground.

Police spokesman, Senior Commissioner Gede Sumerta Jaya, denied the police had deliberately killed the two men. "It wasn't a shooting, it was an effort to arrest someone who broke the law," commissioner Gede said.

He said two police had gone to the house in the village about 30 minutes from Wamena because they had received information that one of the people responsible for planning an attack on Pirime police station, which killed three policemen in late November, was there.

Commissioner Gede said that, at the house, the police were outnumbered by Mr Mabel and four of his friends, who were armed with machetes.

"Our officers ordered them to lay down their weapons but they didn't listen. In fact they came to the two officers and attempted to grab the officers' weapons from their hands," Commissioner Gede said.

"They almost made it but then the officers shot Hubertus on both his legs to paralyse him. Two ran away and the other two were arrested along with Hubertus."

Catholic priest John Djonga told Fairfax he had tried to see Hubertus's body yesterday afternoon, "but couldn't because a lot of police officers were guarding the hospital".

KNPB leader Victor Yeimo dismissed the police version as a "propaganda report to justify police".

"Indonesian police through chief of Papua Police, Tito Karnavian and its soldiers, Densus 88, have made a scenario through labelling the KNPB's activists in Wamena as terrorists," Mr Yeimo said.

He confirmed that Mr Mabel was "one of the freedom fighter who [was] militant and radical," and had helped "strengthen the resistance" of KNPB. "He has inspired so many young West Papuan to stand strong in fight for the right of freedom," Mr Yeimo said.

Mr Djonga said the later fire at the Tribal Office had been lit at the command of the deputy Wamena police chief himself. The office's guards said the a group of police had gone to the building, fired their guns repeatedly into the air, and then started the fire.

A low level insurgency has been raging in the resource-rich province since Indonesia arranged for it to become part of the country in 1969.

Densus 88 shoot and arrest KNPB leaders near Wamena as tensions rise

West Papua Media - December 17, 2012

A West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activist has been killed, and a farmer has died from his wounds in hospital, after being shot by members of the Australian-trained anti-terror unit Detachment 88 outside Wamena on December 16, following raids that arrested at least six activists on Sunday morning, according to multiple sources.

KNPB activist Hubertus Mabel (aged 30) died shortly after being taken by police to Wamena hospital after the shooting at 10.30 am in the village in Milima (or Kugima) in Kurulu district outside Wamena. Local farmer Natalis Alua (34) died in coma in hospital after being shot in the same incident, according to latest reports from human rights sources in Wamena.

According to journalist Victor Mambor, at this time Hubert was still alive and this was confirmed both by the police and Victor Yeimo (National KNPB Chairman). "Police told me that Hubert was shot in the leg at 09.30 (morning). Hubert was taken to hospital by police and then died at the hospital because of loss of blood... At 6 (afternoon), Hubert claimed by police died in hospital."

"Some peoples in the Kugima Village, the place where Hubert was shot, told us police entered the village in full force. They brought two people who had been arrested before (Meky Kogoya and Wene Gombo) to the village to tell them where Hubert lived."

At 9am, the same joint police/army and Densus 88 squad conducted a armed raid in the village of Kosi Hubi Holima, in Wamena. KNPB Wamena Chairman Simion Daby was arrested with human rights activist Baroy Sambon, Meki Jikwa (Kogoya), John Huby, Pie Huby, Herae Huby, and Ima Mebel, allegedly at the house of Meky Kogoya, who was accused by police of being responsible for a bombing incident in Wamena. They were all taken forcefully by police to Jayawijaya police headquarters.

It is believed that human rights worker Sambon was arrested as he was trying to alert international media to the situation, but this has not been verified.

The KNPB have repeatedly denied involvement in planning or carrying out acts of violence or bombings in Papua, a view supported by the Churches, human rights organisations and legal networks in Papua. Police have yet to provide any credible evidence that shows their involvement, despite millions of dollars being provided to Densus 88 by Australia for forensic evidence analysis.

Alleged TPN retaliation questioned

There have been reports of an alleged West Papuan National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional or TPN) retaliation against police over the shooting of Hubertus Mabel, but human rights workers have cast doubt on the involvement of TPN forces, instead accusing Indonesian security forces of acting up to continue to create a false scenario for conflict.

According to a report in Tabloid Jubi, the sound of gunfire could still be heard up to 11pm on 16 December in Wamena.

"On 10.25pm, there was an exchange of fire between the TPN-OPM (the military wing of the OPM) and the TNI/Polri, Indonesian army and police, somewhere between Misi Market and Sinakma, Yusodarso Road. The situation in Wamena was said to be tense and there were calls for help," according to a local report as quoted by Jubi.

A local resident, Yason, confirmed reports of the sound of gunfire which was still continuing. It is alleged that this was in response to the shooting of Hubertus Mabel. Another local resident named Vita told JUBI that the local police station had been burned down in response to the shooting of Hubertus Mabel.

According to Vita, "Mabel and member of the KNPB was shot by the security forces as he was suspected of a bombing the Wamena, which led to the police station being burned down." The local police chief later confirmed to JUBI that there had been an exchange of fire, but West Papua Media was unable to find any witnesses or evidence that any armed TPN unit was in the area.

However long time human rights worker Markus Haluk told West Papua Media that local investigators had been visiting witnesses and have compiled a chronology that sits at odds with this account. According to Haluk, at around 8pm local time, a number of drunk people set fire to one market stall at Pasar Misi/Bungsu. Haluk also reported that at 11pm local time, police arrived on the scene with the Deputy Chief of Jayawijaya Police and opened fire with a barrage of shots, all from one side, with no clear target apart from civilians who had gathered. Police then moved to the Dewan Adat Papua offices less than a kilometre from the scene, and set fire to them in retaliation, despite the burning market stalls having no connection to either the DAP leader or council staff.

Markus Haluk said that the "Alleged drunks burning kiosks in the market (is) scripted by the security forces to divert attention from the arrests and shootings of civilians and KNPB activists, and is a conscious Scenario consciously to burn the office and create psychological pressure against the leaders and members of the Papuan Customary Council Lani Pago Baliem Region."

Local human rights workers believe this latest round of security force misbehaviour is due to the payment to the new Papua Police Chief Tito Karnavian (former Densus 88 commander) of Ten Billion Rupiah (approx US$1 million) from the Papuan Governors office, for the provision of "Phase 2" security for the Papuan Gubernatorial Election campaign, which was also earmarked to maintain a peaceful environment in the lead-up to Christmas.

"Many parties are upset with these incidents," said Haluk. "For catching, shooting in Wamena occurred on Sunday, when people were seeking to church to worship. While the arson of the DAP offices were do middle of the night, when the community was quiet for the night," he explained.

"On receipt of the funds, the Papua Police Chief conveyed the importance of maintaining the security and peace of Christmas and the election of Governor. Instead, he led police officers making arrests, shootings and arson of Balim Traditional Council offices," an exasperated Haluk told West Papua Media.

These arrests come amidst a major series of operations by Indonesian security forces across Papua on the anniversary of the Densus 88 assassination of legendary TPN guerrilla leader Kelly Kwalik on December 16, 2009. Heavily armed Densus 88 personnel, including an unidentified Australian man, were seen to be guarding Kelly Kwalik's tomb to prevent a memorial service from being held to commemorate the anniversary of Kwalik's extrajudicial execution.

Also, in news from the Paniai, Brimob paramilitary police have reportedly shot and captured Yakobus Utii in Enarotoli on Sunday, alleging that he was a senior figure in Jhon Yogi's TPN command.

[Compiled from reports by Tabloid Jubi, Victor Mambor and West Papua Media stringers in Wamena.]

Aceh

Banda Aceh to act quickly to prevent religious conflicts

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Allegations of widespread proselytizing by Christian missionaries and the presence of illegal churches have prompted the Banda Aceh municipal administration to act quickly to prevent religious conflict from undermining peace in Aceh.

"Don't let such a sensitive issue damage [peace] and create new problems, especially regarding the ethnic and religious harmony that has been achieved in Aceh," said Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Illiza Saaduddin.

To curb Christian evangelism and the operation of illegal churches, the municipality will inform the public of the regulations on interreligious harmony in Aceh, especially in Banda Aceh. The awareness campaign will involve stakeholders, such as Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist and Hindu leaders in Banda Aceh.

Illiza said her office had recently closed a number of storefront churches in the Peunayong area, which is dominated by the ethnic Chinese community. The closures were carried out because a group of residents had earlier attacked a church that did not have a permit designating it as a place of worship.

"We understand that many non-Muslims have come to Aceh after the tsunami and the peace pact, but as the local administration, we must be firm on the matter by immediately resolving it by closing the illegal churches," said Illiza.

She suggested that non-Muslims, especially Christians, worship in the churches already available in the city. Banda Aceh is home to four long- standing churches, namely the Hati Kudus Catholic church, Western Indonesian Protestant church (GPIB), Methodist church and the Batak Protestant church (HKBP), while there are also 93 mosques, 112 musholla (small mosques), a Buddhist temple and a Hindu temple in the city.

Banda Aceh's population of 216,941 includes 2,535 Buddhists (11.34 percent), 1,571 Protestants (0.07 percent), 431 Catholics (0.19 percent), 50 Hindus (or 0.02 percent), and three Confucians (0.001 percent).

To maintain religious harmony in Banda Aceh, Illiza expected all religious leaders to enlighten their communities through passages from their respective holy books, in addition to participating in regular dialogues facilitated by the Religious Harmony Community Forum (FKUB).

The deputy mayor urged all residents to respect diverse religious faiths, enhance the value of nationalism and to help each other without offending each others' creeds.

Albert Manurung, a member of the Hati Kudus Catholic church in Banda Aceh, addressed claims about the presence of Christian missionaries in the area. According to him, the current evangelistic activities in Banda Aceh had been carried out by outsiders and had made his congregation nervous of the consequences.

Manurung said many residents in Banda Aceh did not understand the difference of what they thought as "illegal" worship and Christian worship conducted outside their respective houses of worship.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that has implemented sharia law, though the secular Criminal Code also continues to be enforced.

Aceh's Special Bylaw No. 25/2007, which regulates the construction of non- Muslim houses of worship, was issued during Irwandi Yusuf's leadership as governor.

This regulation stands apart from those in other provinces due to the stipulations under Article 3 Paragraph 2 that require prospective houses of worship, in the pursuit of their permit, to collect the names and identity cards of 150 people, 120 endorsements from members of the local community, a recommendation letter from the village head, and written recommendations from the district administrative office, religious affairs office, regency religious office and the FKUB.

Human rights & justice

Authorities fail to address human rights abuses: Legal Aid Foundation

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2012

Antonia Timmerman – Indonesian authorities once again failed to address a host of significant human rights offenses in 2012 as abuses against religious and ethnic minorities, the poor and the landless climbed in excess of 900 reported instances, the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation said on Thursday.

Law enforcement failed to protect the rights of Indonesian citizens and, in some instances, was allegedly responsible for the abuses, read the foundation's end-of-the-year report "Paradoks Negara Hukum" ("Law State Paradox").

A lack of political and legal will to address a host of human rights offenses led to some 917 reported instances of abuse between December of 2011 and November of this year, the report read. The National Police, Attorney General's Office, House of Representatives and private companies were among the institutions listed as responsible for human rights abuses in 2012.

The foundation said the report illustrated how justice and rule of law had not been extended to all citizens. "Indonesia has been dubbed as the most democratic country among the neighboring nations, but its human rights abuses are still quite high," said Feby Yonesta, director of the legal aid foundation.

The violations included attacks on citizens' economic, social and cultural rights, as well as violations of their access to land, housing, health care and a clean environment.

There were also numerous attacks on freedom of religion in 2012, including continued abuses against the GKI Yasmin congregation in Bogor, the HKBP Filadelfia congregation in Bekasi, said Muhammad Isnur, an advocate and lawyer with the foundation. Members of the Ahmadiyah and Shiite Muslim sects also faced discrimination.

The report urged the National Police to stop criminalizing marginal groups and enforce stiff penalties on human rights abusers.

'Extreme risk' of human rights violations in Indonesia

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – A London-based political-risk consultancy has cited Indonesia in its newly released Human Rights Atlas 2013 as a country with an "extreme" risk of human rights violations.

The organization, Mapplecroft, said that Indonesia was listed in that category because of the increasing number of instances where security force members resorted to violence when dealing with protesters and political dissent, and did so with impunity. Mapplecroft said that the rising wealth gap from mining and agricultural projects had led to tensions in some regions that could lead to violence.

It also highlighted the rise of social media, which made it easy for social protests to escalate.

The company started compiling its human rights report in 2006. It ranks 197 countries based on 24 different types of human rights violations.

Currently there are 32 countries that have been included in the extreme risk category. Others are classified into low, medium and high risk.

The top 10 countries rated as extreme risk are Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and South Sudan.

Indonesia ranked 32nd in this year's report and India, in 24th position, entered the extreme risk category for the first time this year.

Mapplecroft is the chief implementing partner in the Human Rights Dilemmas Forum, a joint project with the United Nations' Global Compact exploring the dilemmas faced by multinational companies working in emerging markets.

Its chief executive officer, Professor Alyson Warhurst, sits on the human rights working group of the UN Global Compact and is an active participant on the Board of Transparency International (UK).

Responding to the survey, Poengky Indarti of the human rights monitoring group Imparsial questioned the "extreme risk" category because she believed that the risk from human rights violations now was not as severe as it had been during the New Order period.

"If you say that the condition of legal certainty in Indonesia is poor then I would say that is true, but regarding the situation of human-rights violations I believe we are still better than other Southeast Asian countries," she told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

She said it was true that the security forces had frequently been unable to handle protesters and political dissent, but she said that more protests and political dissent could also be a good indicator of the country's democracy.

"Most of the protests in the country are now initiated by workers, that is a good sign because it means that workers have now learned to fight for their rights," she said. Poengky added that the growing social media-based movements could also be a good sign of the country's fledgling democracy.

Separately the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) revealed that the National Police as well as mining and plantation companies topped the list of actors that should be held responsible for human rights abuses.

The commission said in its 2012 annual report, that there were 1,635 human rights violations committed by members of the police. There were also another 1,009 human rights violations initiated by mining and plantation companies.

Freedom of speech & expression

Lawyer faces prison for tweet against AGO official

Jakarta Post - December 20, 2012

Jakarta – Muhammad Fajriska Mirza may become the first person in Indonesia imprisoned for making statements on Twitter.

The lawyer is currently on trial at the South Jakarta District Court for libeling a government official on the social microblogging website. He faces eight years' imprisonment if convicted.

The case began six months ago, when Deputy Attorney General for Supervision Marwan Effendy read several messages that appeared on Fajriska's Twitter account, @fajriska, alleging that Marwan had embezzled Rp 104 billion (US$11.02 million) in cash from the evidence room at the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.

The messages went into wide circulation after they were reposted by @TrioMacan2000, a currently inactive Twitter account that has been noted for its outspoken comments.

Marwan filed a complaint against Fajriska at the Jakarta Police in June, alleging that Fajriska was the owner of @fajriska and @TrioMacan2000 and had written the messages.

Prosecutor Arif Indra Kusuma Adhi said during the first day of proceedings on Wednesday that Fajriska had violated Articles 310, 311 and 317 of the Criminal Code covering defamation and Article 263 on document forgery.

Fajriska was also accused of breaching Article 27 the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law by distributing false information through electronic means, which carries a maximum sentence of six years' imprisonment.

Arief said Fajriska posted his messages to Twitter after he did not receive a response to a letter he sent on the graft allegations implicating Marwan to Attorney General Basrief Arief.

"The Twitter account @fajriska was used to distribute information that is identical with that written in the defendant's letters," Arief said in his indictment.

At the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, Fajriska denied all charges made by prosecutors. He is expected to deliver his defense statement on Jan. 3.

A posting was made to the @fajriska account on Twitter on Wednesday with the message "SAVE BOY". Boy is the nickname of Fajriska.

Social media analyst Nukman Luthfie said the deputy attorney general should have confirmed the identity of the Twitter user before he filed his lawsuit. "Marwan could have asked for the National Police assistance to uncover the identity of the Twitter user. The police are certainly able to do that," he said. (yps)

Social media cases

Dec. 15, 2009: Actress Luna Maya was reported to police for comments on her Twitter account in which she said "infotainment is worse than prostitution". On Feb. 18, 2010, the report was revoked.

Feb. 16, 2010: Nurarafa alias Farah, 18, was sentenced to 2.5 months in jail for defamation via Facebook.

June 14, 2012: A court in West Sumatra sentenced Alexander Aan, 32, to 2.5 years in prison for blasphemy and publicly declaring himself an atheist.

Sept. 2012: Yenike Venta Resti, 20, stood trial for defamation via Facebook.

Oct. 5, 2012: Mustika Tahir was arrested by police in South Sulawesi for defamation via Facebook.

Dec. 10, 2012: Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Muhammad Misbakhun reported the owner of Twitter account @benhan to the police for alleged defamation and libel.

Political parties & elections

Aburizal balks at proposal to quit his bid

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – In response to mounting calls for his early exit from the presidential race, tycoon and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has vowed to press ahead with his campaign.

Aburizal rejected the proposal made by the chairman of the party's board of advisors, Akbar Tandjung, who said he should drop out of the race if he failed to boost his electability rating within the next six months.

Aburizal's spokesman, Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa, said the decision on Aburizal's candidacy was a formal party decision made at a national meeting to which all party members had to defer.

"Now is the time for all party members to work for Aburizal's presidential bid in 2014 and help Golkar win the legislative election," Lalu Mara, who is also the party's deputy secretary-general, said on Thursday.

Last week, Akbar, who is himself a former party chairman, threatened to annul Aburizal's nomination by July 2013. He said he was not convinced that Aburizal would gain in popularity before the presidential election.

Akbar, who is also considered the de facto leader of opposition within the party, sent an official letter to Aburizal to deliver the message. "The letter contains a suggestion. We must listen to suggestions from the board of advisors but we don't have to act on them," Lalu Mara said.

Contacted separately, Akbar said there was growing pessimism among party members, particularly at local levels, about the prospect of Aburizal being successful in 2014.

"I have met with local party branch members who are disappointed because they were left out of the last national party meeting that resulted in Aburizal's nomination," he said. Akbar insisted, however, that his letter was not intended to cause a rift within the party.

"The central executive board should respond to the letter positively because it is for the sake of this party. We, the board of advisors, are obliged to provide advice that we think necessary. So, our suggestion to evaluate the nomination in July 2013 merits serious discussion," said Akbar.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a Golkar executive and also deputy speaker at the House of Representatives, suggested that Aburizal and Akbar should have met to discuss the nomination issue.

"The letter from the board of advisors is positive in the sense that they want total consolidation within the party so that we can win the 2014 election," Priyo said.

J Kristiadi, a senior analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that Aburizal's decision to plow ahead with his candidacy could inflict serious damage to party unity.

"A political party is not a robot. You need to accommodate different aspirations if you want your party to be big. There is no such thing as a "truth" in politics; everything is a potential option," he said.

Aburizal has consistently found himself at the bottom of opinion polls determining the most electable candidates for 2014, although Golkar remains one of the country's most popular political parties.

A significant factor contributing to Aburizal's poor showing in the opinion polls is the ongoing mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, which was allegedly caused by improper drilling by PT Lapindo Brantas, an exploration company partly controlled by the Bakrie family. The disaster displaced thousands and has cost the government trillions of rupiah in recovery measures.

The conflict between Akbar and Aburizal is only the latest in a series of spats within Golkar.

Previously, Aburizal's camp responded with hostility to an announcement by Aburizal's predecessor, Jusuf Kalla, that he might run on a presidential ticket alongside Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2014.

Yudhoyono needs Anas to save Dems

Jakarta Post - December 20, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Democratic Party chief patron President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is relying on party chairman Anas Urbaningrum to unite the party until the 2014 general elections, and he will do whatever it takes to retain Anas in his post despite the graft allegations leveled against him, analysts say.

Syamsuddin Haris of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said Yudhoyono had no option but to back Anas' leadership for the sake of the party's future.

"Although there is apparent tension between Yudhoyono and Anas, the President has to support Anas as he is party chairman, the formal leader of the group. SBY has no other option because his close confidant, Andi Mallarangeng, has been named a suspect in the Hambalang scandal," Syamsuddin said.

Yudhoyono, however, would only support Anas until the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) decided his fate, he added. "SBY needs Anas to consolidate the party ahead of the 2014 elections and he will support Anas only while the KPK does not name him a suspect," he added.

Syamsuddin warned of the increasingly apparent tension between Yudhoyono and Anas, with the latter trying to control the party's local leadership. "This will make it hard for the party to finish even second in the 2014 general elections," he said.

Other analysts have said that it would take substantial effort to wrest Anas from his post as he remained in strong control of the party.

"Anas remains powerful within the party. He is probably holding a trump card on corruption cases that may implicate other senior figures in the party," said Hamdi Muluk, political analyst with the University of Indonesia (UI).

Anas and former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng have repeatedly been named by former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin as accepting bribery money from the budget for the Hambalang sports complex in West Java. Nazaruddin accused Anas of accepting Rp 50 billion (US$5.18 million) to finance his bid for the party chairmanship in 2010, in which he ran against Andi.

Anas won the chairmanship even though Andi was backed by Yudhoyono's son, Edhie Baskoro "Ibas" Yudhoyono. After his win, Anas shrewdly appointed Ibas as the party's secretary-general.

Anas stated in March that he was ready to face a firing squad or be hanged at the National Monument if he was found guilty of corruption.

According to a recent survey by the NGO, Founding Fathers House, Anas was considered the country's most-loathed politician of 2012 as his name appeared almost daily in national newspapers alongside graft allegations.

Many have suggested that Yudhoyono could at least suspend Anas from the party chairmanship to reassure the public about the party's commitment to fighting corruption.

Hamdi, however, said that Yudhoyono was reluctant to do that as he was concerned about Anas going rogue. "SBY is now in a difficult position. He is worried that Anas will launch an attack against him."

PAN in accord on Hatta Rajasa for president

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2012

Ezra Sihite – The National Mandate Party (PAN) has agreed to nominate Hatta Rajasa, its chairman as well as Indonesia's coordinating minister for the economy, as the party's candidate for the 2014 presidential election.

A deputy chairman of the party, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, said all party cadres had agreed to Hatta's nomination, although PAN had yet to plan an event to declare the presidential bid.

"That will still have to wait," Zulkifli said in Jakarta on Wednesday, adding that Hatta himself had yet to approve of his nomination.

Zulkifli said PAN was confident that Hatta's popularity would increase ahead of the 2014 election, and that PAN was ready to continue its partnership with its coalition partners, including the Democratic Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), for the 2014 poll.

Hatta, who celebrated his 59th birthday on Tuesday, is a close aide to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the founder of the Democratic Party. He is also the father-in-law of the president's youngest son, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono.

Hatta said on Tuesday that Yudhoyono had presented him with a birthday gift, although he refused to say what it consisted of, before the president took off for a working visit to Malaysia and India.

Edhie and his wife, Siti Ruby Aliya Rajasa, are expecting a baby later this month.

Prabowo wants 'guided democracy' if elected

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and presidential hopeful Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto has offered his new vision for the country, saying that his version of a "better-guided" democracy would help solve the problems currently plaguing the country.

Prabowo said that if he was elected president, he would work with the country's best and brightest minds to realize a better version of democracy for the country.

Speaking at a public lecture organized by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate (SSS) on Tuesday, Prabowo highlighted the fact that the current form of democracy in Indonesia suffered a lack of firm leadership.

"[We have] no compass... Indonesia is at a crossroads where a group of Kurawa [evil kingdom] aims at hijacking our idea of democracy. What is at stake now... is a struggle for power between the Kurawa and the Pandawa [good kingdom]," Prabowo said, alluding to the popular Mahabarata epic.

Prabowo advocates that this is the time to start a groundswell for a movement. "The current situation will continue if the good guys remain silent. We do have good guys, they are everywhere not only in Gerindra," he said to roaring applause from the audience.

Prabowo, who is also a former commander of the Army's elite Special Forces Command (Kopassus), said that Indonesia was not experiencing the ideal form of democracy as the country's political scene was dominated by money politics.

"When I speak to them about my mission and vision for the country, they [uneducated voters] do not care about it. They just ask how much money I will give them," Prabowo said.

"You will not understand politics in Indonesia until you learn about serangan fajar [dawn attack]," Prabowo said, referring to the practice of vote-buying just hours before balloting take place.

Prabowo then related a story about having to pay witnesses deployed at polling stations in the recent Jakarta gubernatorial election only to find out that some of them left their posts because they had received more money from rival political parties.

"We lost around 6,000 witnesses at 3,000 polling stations because a certain political party had paid Rp 600,000 [US$62.20] to each of them, whereas we only gave them Rp 200,000 each. We were fortunate that it was in Jakarta where we could easily find other individuals to secure the empty polling stations. This is the reality here. This is the world of supply and demand," he said.

In his presentation, Prabowo also underlined several problems that the country would have to deal with in the near future, such as a population explosion, uncontrollable regional expansion and an energy crisis.

Prabowo wrapped up his speech by calling on fellow countrymen to cast political candidates in a positive light.

"I know that people will immediately picture me as a former member of the Indonesian Military, who once headed the Kopassus, who once tried to stage a coup against a president and was involved in the 1998 [anti-Chinese riots], and it is always in that order. I am a retired lieutenant general who once attempted to overthrow a president. But I failed to do it, and I regret that I failed," Prabowo said with a chuckle, prompting laughter from the audience.

University of Indonesia political communication analyst Effendi Ghazali said that Prabowo could win over Indonesian voters, who long for a strong and decisive leader. "A firm leader will strengthen a good system, which will eventually lead to a kind of standard of democracy that Indonesia aims to achieve," he said.

Existing laws blamed for driving political deals

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2012

Jakarta – Several observers have blamed existing legislation for encouraging political parties to rely on business tycoons to support their operational costs, saying such practices often lead to political transactions.

According to the Clean Indonesia Movement (GIB) chairman Adhie Massardi, several existing regulations had driven political parties to dishonestly exercise all possible means to solicit financial aid.

"The 2012 Legislative Election Law, for example, requires political parties to have regional chapters in all provinces in Indonesia. It doesn't make sense," Adhie said during a discussion in Jakarta on Monday.

The aforementioned law stipulates that every political party that wishes to contest the 2014 elections must at a minimum have regional chapters in 33 provinces and in 50 percent of 495 regencies and municipalities across the country.

Given such a stipulation, political parties have to do extra work to convince businesspeople to join and help finance their party's operational costs, Adhie said.

"Transactional politics often occur in such cases. Corrupt businesspeople approach political parties to get something in return from the party," he said, adding that legal immunity was one of privileges sought by such businesspeople.

Business tycoon Siti Hartati Murdaya, for instance, was untouchable for decades due to her alleged strong connections with all of the country's presidents except for Sukarno.

Thanks to moves by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the business tycoon is now standing trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court. The former member of the Democratic Party's board of patrons is accused of bribing the Buol regent with Rp 3 billion (US$311,043) to secure business permits for the operation of her two oil palm plantations in a regency of Central Sulawesi.

To end or minimize the practices of transactional politics, Adhie said, the government needed to give all political parties financial assistance.

Currently, under the Home Ministerial Decree No. 212/2009, the government provides financial assistance only to nine political parties at the House of Representatives. The decree rules that each of the parties receive Rp 108 per year for every vote they received in the 2009 general election.

According to recent research from the Associations for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), the Democratic Party receives Rp 2.34 billion each year because it secured 21.65 million votes in 2009.

The association stated that the total amount of financial assistance for the nine parties was Rp 9.2 billion, less than 0.001 percent of the 2012 state budget of Rp 1.548 trillion.

In its research, the association argued that the lack of financial support from the government had forced politicians to raise money from other sources. Such practices, it said, could lead to the possibility for certain groups or individuals to exert their influence on politicians, or even the government.

Therefore, the Perludem suggested that the government gradually increase the amount of aid to discourage transactional politics.

Meanwhile, National Democratic (NasDem) Party chief Patrice Rio Capella noted that political parties needed huge amounts of capital to finance their activities.

Moreover, he said, political parties' spending increased especially after the adoption of a direct presidential election as well as after direct elections for heads of regional administrations.

NasDem is a new political party that is cofounded by media tycoon Surya Paloh. Another media mogul, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, had also joined the party. "It takes a lot of money to establish a political party, so they try to seek businesspeople to join them," he said.

Patrice said his party was drafting a scheme to lessen its dependency on businesspeople. (riz)

A presidential free-for-all

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2012

Pitan Daslani – The temperature in Indonesia's political theater will soar next year as potential presidential candidates and political parties intensify efforts to boost their images ahead of 2014 legislative elections.

Even this passing year has seen a rapid increase in the tempo of political machines pushing their candidates for the country's top position.

The year 2012 has seen an intense battle of interests and strategies regarding the requirement for proposing presidential candidates. Big parties insist that according to Law No. 42/2008, only a party that can command 20 percent of parliamentary seats or 25 percent of the popular vote may propose a presidential pair. Other parties insist that the barrier should be lowered to 3.5 percent – the threshold for a political party to have seats in the House of Representatives – to allow alternative candidates to join the race.

A judicial review has been filed with the Constitutional Court by activists of smaller parties, but the court will not change the law, because it does not have the authority to do so. All it can do is retain the norm or ask the House to modify it – a proposition that will bow to the wishes of the big parties.

Legally speaking, it is true that political parties or coalitions that win 20 percent of parliamentary seats are allowed to propose presidential candidates. However, this mechanism denies potential candidates from outside of political parties the opportunity to compete in an election.

This also means that for the 2014 election, only such parties as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar Party and possibly the ruling Democratic Party have a chance to propose presidential candidates – if each of them can win 25 percent of the vote in the legislative election.

The ruling party commanded only 20.81 percent of the vote in the 2009 election, so raising the bar to 25 percent means even the big parties will need to set up coalitions.

Smaller parties will have no choice but to form coalitions to meet the 20 percent to 25 percent requirement in order to be able to field their own candidates.

So legally speaking, in talking about presidential candidates for 2014, one needs to first of all predict which parties will win 25 percent of the popular vote in the April 2014 legislative election, and decide which ones are likely to form coalitions.

Since the goal is to grab 25 percent of the vote in the legislative election, political parties must rely heavily on the popularity of public figures. This is why the entertainment industry's celebrities are "selling" themselves well these days. This is also the reason why public figures' image-polishing campaigns are so common.

Due to the requirement, analysts believe that the next presidential contest will most likely be a political battlefield involving a maximum of five candidates.

One of these candidates will come from the ruling Democratic Party (provided the party can remove all its corrupt cadres with enough time left over to rehabilitate its image). This candidate will not come from inside the party because none of the party's cadres is qualified enough to join the race – which is the reason the party will conduct a convention next year for "outsiders" or popular non-members to step in.

The second candidate might come from the PDI-P, whose chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri is still interested in joining the race after losing three times. The PDI-P's most popular and capable candidate today, after Megawati, is Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, who could be a powerful magnet.

The third candidate might be Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of the Golkar Party, who became the first politician to announce his candidacy this year.

The PDI-P and Golkar can reach that magic level if each of them can command 20 percent of parliamentary seats, or through coalitions with other parties.

The fourth candidate will be proposed by a coalition of political parties to be spearheaded by the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), whose chairman, Prabowo Subianto, has ranked high in opinion polls throughout this year.

The fifth candidate will be proposed by another coalition of political parties that will field popular public figures that do not have a political party of their own, or whose electoral support is insufficient to carry a candidate forward.

Such public figures as House of Regional Representatives Chairman Irman Gusman, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati, managing director of the World Bank, are likely to be recruited for their perceived above-average leadership, capability and statesmanship, analysts said.

Retired General Wiranto, who leads the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), seems to be the right man in the wrong time and at the wrong place. He had two exclusive opportunities during Suharto's and Habibie's terms to replace them officially but he refused to do so and is now facing a hard time competing against more popular candidates.

A big mystery surrounding the ruling party is whether it will be able to regain the people's trust after its image and reputation sustained a substantial amount of damage by the corrupt behavior of its many members.

Amid the need to rehabilitate its image, the ruling party will surely need people with integrity and good track records to be its remedial candidates. Earlier this year, some names were believed to fit the bill – including Irman, State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, and chairman of National Economic Commission Chairul Tanjung.

Another name that was getting the full support of the National Awakening Party (PKB) until recently was Mahfud M.D., chairman of the Constitutional Court. The PKB became splintered after members in the party backed dangdut singer Rhoma Irama as their candidate.

This scenario could fan religious discrimination and social disharmony. This also means that Mahfud is losing support from his own political base. Worse, his chairmanship of the court will expire by the end of March 2013. That will reduce his popularity a great deal.

Unlike legislative elections, where voters opt for political parties' best members to occupy the legislature, the presidential election in July 2014 is an entirely different contest in which personal charm, a track record, integrity, leadership and a high level of nationwide acceptance will be the determining factors.

Apart from that, there is now a public perception that the next president must come from the younger generation, meaning that the candidate must not be older than 54, because 55 is the retirement age.

The main reason for that is that the largest segment of 2014 voters will be made up of young people who prefer to associate themselves with a national leader who is not too far removed from their own generation.

Aggressive image-building maneuvers by presidential hopefuls have become synonymous with a thirst for power in the domestic political theater over the past year.

Prabowo and Bakrie have dominated the undeclared campaign through television. Irman is mesmerizing university campuses across the country, while Jusuf is making use of social occasions to promote his profile. Mahfud's head is full of striking ideas but some of his statements have been controversial.

After becoming a media darling for several months because of his eccentric maneuvers, Dahlan is now toning it down despite harboring the ambition to be on a ticket for 2014.

Surya Paloh, meanwhile, is slowly rising with his National Democrat (NasDem) Party, hoping to control one-fourth of parliamentary seats. Swing and new voters will probably find this party a good alternative in April but probably not in July 2014.

Polling agencies, meanwhile, have been very active in forming and influencing public opinion toward the presidential election, but the most important issue has been left untouched: What kind of a nation will Indonesia be in the 5-10 years, starting in 2014, and what kind of a national leader should be given the mandate to head the government and state?

What are the challenges the nation will face, and what are the solutions? Political parties and presidential candidates must provide the right answers, and the one that can give us the best answer and solution should be the one most suitable to become Indonesia's next president.

Also, given that Indonesia is playing an increasingly important role in international politics, what kind of a national leader should be installed to promote the nation's image on the global stage? He or she must be a visionary leader that can correctly position the nation as a competitive player in the global community of nations.

Do the potential candidates meet these requirements? Polling agencies that are monopolizing the public opinion-forming game have not taken these issues into consideration. They only rely on the popularity of the candidates, as if fame is what makes a person presidential.

And the next president of Indonesia is...

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2012

Megawati Sukarnoputri

The highest position Megawati Sukaroputri has occupied was president of the Republic of Indonesia from July 23, 2001, until Oct. 20, 2004.

She was preceded by Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and replaced by her former minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. She joined the presidential election in 2009, pairing with Prabowo Subianto, but Yudhoyono – who teamed up with Boediono – proved too popular with voters.

Despite the fact that she will be 67 years old in 2014, Megawati is still interested in returning to the palace even against the will of her husband Taufik Kiemas – chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) – who said that she would be too old to run and that it was time for the younger generation to lead the nation.

The second-most popular figure in her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) today is Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, who could be a potential presidential candidate. But many analysts have said that the next in line for Megawati's political dynasty might be her daughter, Puan Maharani. But many say Puan is too young and inexperienced.

Megawati will most likely join the race in 2014 since she still tops opinion polls to date. As a former president, Megawati is experienced. But her chances will depend on PDI-P's ability to win 20 percent of votes in the legislative election.

Prabowo Subianto

A former general whose popularity is rising surprisingly fast these days despite his supposed track record for human rights violations, Prabowo Subianto has in recent months topped opinion polls as the most favored national leader to replace the current president due to his perceived decisiveness and strong character.

He will turn 63 by the time he joins the next presidential election in 2014, though Prabowo has all the ingredients for becoming a powerful magnet to attract people from all walks of life. He was the chief of the Strategic Reserve Command before being dismissed by a military panel of senior generals, including Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, over a breach of the military code of conduct during the events of 1998.

While most polls have placed Prabowo as a front-runner for 2014, many noted that he could end up failing to qualify by not garnering enough support as his Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) is too small to support him.

Several months ago, Prabowo was nixed as Megawati Sukarnoputri's possible choice to represent the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the presidential election. The PDI-P and Gerindra successfully joined forces in supporting Joko Widodo and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama as Jakarta's top officials in September. But many said Prabowo erred in glorifying his role in the Jakarta governor race and damaged his chances of being selected by Megawati.

Aburizal Bakrie

As chairman of the formerly-in-power Golkar Party – which is also one of the top three factions in the House of Representatives today – Aburizal Bakrie is campaigning to become the next president through his media.

The clearest insight into his ambition to lead the nation emerged in December 2011 when Paul Wolfowitz, the former US ambassador to Jakarta, asked him during a USINDO meeting in Washington DC if he were ready to run for office.

Quite timidly, Aburizal said that he had yet to receive a green light from his wife and children. But on July 1, 2012, Aburizal became the first political party leader to announce his candidacy for the 2014 presidential election.

Surprisingly, the chairman of Golkar's own advisory board, Akbar Tandjung, blocked him several times through remarks to the mass media, saying that if Aburizal's popularity declined, Golkar would need to have second thoughts They reconciled afterward, and the two television stations he owns have run exclusive political ads to boost his popularity. However, he has yet to break the top three in any opinion polls thus far.

Aburizal is an experienced leader who was once the coordinating minister for people's welfare. However, not being Javanese-born and allegations one of his companies caused the mudflow that swept thousands of people from their homes have hurt his chances.

Mahfud M.D.

He is the chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK) and considered a potential candidate for the 2014 election. His closest political vehicle is the National Awakening Party (PKB) which, prior to his current position, pushed him into the position of minister of defense after representing the party as a lawmaker for several years

By the end of March, Mahfud M.D.'s term in office at the MK will expire, so he will no longer occupy a high-ranking state position. He said he wants to go back to Gadjah Mada University to teach. Would this boost his chances for presidency, or is it an elegant excuse?

He won't be very young when the next presidential election takes place. By July 2014, Mahfud will be 63 years old. In terms of credibility, he is known as a fair and honest judge who has led the MK with a good reputation for integrity.

His institution has canceled about 60 laws because they were against the provisions of the 1945 Constitution. In recent months, Mahfud has appeared on television talk shows and public-service ads to promote a law-abiding culture in Indonesia.

Earlier this year, many thought Mahfud would be recruited as a presidential or vice presidential candidate representing the ruling Democratic Party. But his recent statement that the palace had been infiltrated by a drug mafia might have derailed that dream.

Jusuf Kalla

Jusuf Kalla is a former vice president who used to be recognized as "the real president." He teamed up with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the 2004 presidential election after serving as a minister under Megawati Sukarnoputri, whom they defeated.

Kalla is also former chairman of the Golkar Party. He was preceded in the position by Akbar Tandjung and replaced by Aburizal Bakrie – his possible rival in the 2014 election.

Kalla is still yet to officially reveal the parties that will give him a ticket for the presidential race. Many believe he remains one of the strongest candidates given his charm, experience and high level of acceptability. He is often dubbed "the peacemaker" due to his successful handling of the horizontal conflicts in Aceh and Poso, Central Sulawesi.

A nimble-minded pragmatic leader, Kalla is well known as a "fast decision maker" because he is always ready with practical solutions. In the 2009 presidential race he teamed up with Wiranto but lost to Yudhoyono.

At 71 years old, age could be an obstacle for this popular figure, if indeed the majority of voters in the next election – which comprise members of the younger generation – seek a national leader closer to their age.

But even if he does not make it, Kalla will still be recognized as a wise leader full of fresh, practical ideas to solve Indonesia's problems.

Dahlan Iskan

Popularity-wise, Dahlan Iskan is well known across the country as a down-to-earth leader who does not care for protocol. He often breaks many state stipulations – from the way he dresses to the way he maneuvers as state enterprises minister.

As the owner of Jawa Pos Group, which comprises 130 publications that include newspapers, tabloids, magazines and television, Dahlan does not need any more promotion.

He was reportedly influential in boosting Yudhoyono's popularity during the past election and was called upon to join the cabinet after becoming head of state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara. Dahlan is also a former journalist who still actively writes in his many publications.

Despite being so popular and an idol for many young people, Dahlan still does not have a political vehicle that could take him to the presidential race in 2014, when he will be 63 years old.

His humility has often been misunderstood as an overt expression of eccentric behavior. He once opened a toll gate to allow for free passage because ticket operators were not in place when he passed by. In another occasion, Dahlan joined the cleaning service boys at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to clean a toilet that was too dirty. Does Indonesia need this kind of president? Time will answer.

Pramono Edhie Wibowo

The four star general, who currently serves as the Army's Chief of Staff, is the younger brother of first lady Ani Yudhoyono. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ruled out the possibility of his wife and sons running in 2014, but he didn't say anything about his brother-in-law.

Several of Yudhoyono's aides have said that the only logical candidate to represent the president's family and his party is Pramono.

While many people across Indonesia are reluctant about having a Javanese military general as president, several experts have agreed that Pramono has a chance to come out as a winner in the upcoming presidential election.

They claim that while elites in urban areas may be reluctant to support a military man like Pramono, grassroots voters, especially across Java's villages, see him as a perfect candidate. "He will have a chance if Yudhoyono launches a massive campaign to support him," said Fachry Ali, an expert at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

However, as a quiet and low-profile figure, Pramono has yet to comment on his candidacy. Meanwhile, many are still wondering what he has achieved aside from being a member of the country's first family and climbing up the military ranks over the years.

Pramono will be 59 years old in June 2014 and, according to polls, can't compete with heavyweights like Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Hatta Rajasa

As the current coordinating minister for the economy, Hatta Rajasa occupies one of most strategic posts on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet, as he is practically the chief economic policy maker in the country.

His powerful post, coupled with a marriage between his daughter Siti Ruby Aliya Rajasa and Yudhoyono's second son, Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro, makes him one of the most trusted of the president's men.

He was the state secretary and transportation minister under Yudhoyono, and research and technology minister under former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. He is also the chairman of National Mandate Party (PAN), a moderate Islamic party that obtained around 7 percent of the votes in the 2009 legislative election.

With all those ingredients, Hatta, who will be 61 by the 2014 election, should not have any trouble getting Yudhoyono's endorsement. However, Yudhoyono may be reluctant to throw his support behind his in-law as Hatta failed to fare well against other candidates in many recent polls.

Hatta is from Palembang, South Sumatra, and doesn't enjoy built-in support of Javanese voters, who make up about 60 percent of the electorate. With his profile, Hatta could be better off as a vice presidential candidate.

The struggle for emerging presidential contenders

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2012

Throughout 2012, new names for presidential candidates have emerged in the mainstream and social media, but the old names continue to dominate the news.

Despite so many names popping up in public discussions, the nature of the debate has made a clear distinction between the contenders and the pretenders for the 2014 presidential election.

First, no matter how popular the figures are, they cannot become contenders if they are not qualified to run in the election. The major obstacle to run for able candidates is the presidential threshold.

While legislators are still negotiating the threshold required to make a bid for the presidency, many say the current figure of 20 percent will be maintained, meaning anyone intending to run needs support from a party or coalition of parties that have won at least 20 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election.

All the major parties at the House of Representatives want a high threshold, with the Golkar Party even suggesting 25 percent, while the Democratic Party is eyeing the range between 15 and 20 percent.

If the prevailing figure of 20 percent holds, then the 2014 election will only see three or four candidates run for the country's top job, as Article 6 of the Constitution obviates the possibility of an independent candidate, says Aleksius Jemadu, dean of Pelita Harapan University's (UPH) School of Social and Political Sciences.

"We're still waiting for the new law on the presidential election. But if the current threshold is maintained then we can only see three or four pairs of candidates run in the upcoming election," he said. With the same threshold, only three candidates ran in the 2009 election.

Taking these conditions into consideration, the only real contenders at this point are Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president, and business tycoon and Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Regardless of internal wrangling, Golkar has formally nominated Aburizal as its presidential candidate. By doing so, the party, which won 14.5 percent of the vote in the 2009 legislative election, has effectively closed the door on all other contenders, including those from inside the party.

That means that although former vice president and ex-Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla is more popular than Aburizal according to most recent surveys, he must look to other parties for support if he chooses to mount a bid.

Megawati, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), which won 14 percent of votes in 2009, has yet to announce her candidacy, but did indicate recently that she might run, dashing the hopes of retired general Prabowo Subianto of obtaining the party's nod.

Most polls have named Prabowo as the leading candidate for 2014, ahead of even Megawati and Kalla. However, many noted that his bid could be over before it begins because of a lack of party support.

However, analysts say Prabowo burned his bridges with the PDI-P by glorifying his role in the Jakarta gubernatorial poll, thereby damaging his chances of being selected by Megawati. Though she did not mention Prabowo by name, the former president blasted "free riders" that took credit for Joko Widodo's election victory.

Prabowo has two options left if he wants to run. One is to persuade President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to allow his Democratic Party, which won 20.8 percent of votes in 2009, to support him. A less likely scenario is that he forms a coalition with several minor parties.

However, the biggest question in 2012 and heading into 2013 is who Yudhoyono will back. With the Democrats taking a shellacking from a host of graft allegations, Yudhoyono has indicated that the party will seek an outsider as its presidential candidate, saying that the party will only support the most popular figure.

Besides Prabowo and Kalla, others mentioned as possible picks for the Democrats include chief economics minister Hatta Rajasa and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, both of whom are in-laws of the president. Others include chief security minister Djoko Suyanto, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan and Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud M.D.

SBY must take action against Anas

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

University of Indonesia analyst, Iberamsjah, said that as chief patron of the Democratic Party, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had to immediately take action against party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

"SBY has to once one for all solve the Anas problem. This concerns not only him and his party only but also the country," Iberamsjah said as quoted by tribunnews,com. Iberamsjah warned that if no action was taken against Anas, the public could easily doubt Yudhoyono's commitment to eradicating corruption.

"Inaction will harm our law enforcement process and democracy. But if Anas is punished, that it will help the law enforcement effort," he said. Anas has been implicated in the multibillion rupiah Hambalang sports complex scandal.

Akbar sets six-month deadline for Aburizal

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Another stumbling block has been put in the way of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie's bid for the presidency with the party's board of advisors issuing a six-month deadline for him to boost his electability.

Apparently not convinced by Aburizal's efforts to gain the public's trust, the board's chairman, Akbar Tandjung, has threatened to annul Aburizal's nomination in July 2013.

"I think Aburizal must not be over confident and ignore the fact that the results from opinion polls and surveys have not indicated a rise in his popularity. The party should immediately mull other options although I cannot tell you what those options might be," said Akbar, a veteran politician who also served as party chairman until 2004.

Akbar said that July next year was the perfect time to run an evaluation of Aburizal's nomination "because it will be exactly one year after Golkar decided to name Aburizal as its official presidential candidate for the 2014 election."

He said that one year was more than enough for Aburizal to boost his electability rating. "Also, we will have about one year before the election. It will still be possible for us to nominate another figure at that time and work on his or her bid," he said.

Akbar, who serves as a de facto leader of opposition within the party, also confirmed that the advisory board had officially sent a letter to the party's leadership about the ultimatum.

Opinion polls have regularly put Aburizal at the bottom of lists of the most electable candidates, far below figures like chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri, patron of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD and Aburizal's predecessor as Golkar chairman, Jusuf Kalla.

A study by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) last month even omitted Aburizal from its list of 18 most-preferred candidates for the 2014 presidential election, in spite of Aburizal's media campaign to boost his popularity.

Analysts say that Aburizal's image has been badly tarnished by the mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, which was allegedly caused by improper drilling by PT Lapindo Brantas, an exploration company partly controlled by the Bakrie family. The disaster has displaced thousands and cost the government trillions of rupiah in recovery measures.

Aburizal spokesman, Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa, acknowledged that Aburizal's electability rating was still below those of other figures such as Megawati and Prabowo.

Lalu Mara, however, downplayed Akbar's ultimatum, saying that Aburizal had designed a special strategy to boost his popularity. "I appreciate Akbar's letter. It will be treated as an impetus for us."

Lalu Mara said he was surprised that the letter, which should have been kept confidential, had been widely circulated by Sunday.

"The trend of Aburizal's electability has been positive, albeit still low. We can't make a decision based on today's electability because the election is still one-and-a-half years away," he said, adding that Aburizal had been testing what he called the "4-3-2-1" strategy.

"It is assumed that a family of two parents and two children are Golkar supporters. That is the four. Each family member will be asked to invite three other people to support Golkar who will then be asked to invite two people. At last, each of the two will be asked to bring one new Golkar supporter. In soccer, the 4-3-2-1 strategy almost never loses," he said.

Previously, Aburizal's camp responded with hostility to Kalla's announcement that he might run on a presidential ticket alongside former president Megawati in 2014.

Golkar's top politicians have expressed concern about Kalla's plan, saying the former vice president's move might split the party's support for Aburizal's presidential bid.

SBY calls on party to reform

Jakarta Post - December 16, 2012

Jakarta – Amid internal bickering, the chief patron of the Democratic Party, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is ordering party leaders to start soul searching ahead of the 2014 elections or face losing the trust of voters.

The Democratic Party needed to get its act together, Yudhoyono reportedly told hundreds of party executives and members at a national gathering at the Sentul International Convention Center in Bogor, West Java, on Saturday.

"Let us start introspection and reform from within the party, while continuing to behave ethically in political competitions," Yudhoyono said in a speech following a closed-door session with hundreds of party members.

No media was allowed to attend the meeting, which was convened after senior party executive Andi Malarangeng resigned as youth and sports minister following the KPK's decision to name him as a suspect in the Hambalang sports complex scandal.

Ulil Absar Abdalla, the Democratic Party's strategic policy development chief, said that Yudhoyono has been concerned about the misconduct of some of the party's politicians, Antara news agency reported.

However, it was not too late for the Democratic Party to reform, according to Ulil. "Time goes by so fast in politics. One-and-a-half years is enough to make a rebound."

At the meeting, Yudhoyono also reportedly tried to boost the sagging spirits of the Democratic Party's faithful following the string of corruption allegations and convictions involving its politicians and lawmakers.

According to those inside the meeting hall, Yudhoyono said that he was ready to lend a hand to improve the party's chances in 2014, which critics and pollsters have said were not too good, given the incessant scandals.

"SBY told us that the fate of the Democratic Party cannot be changed unless its members are committed to changing it and to winning the election," Democratic Party spokesperson Andi Nurpati told reporters.

Andi said that Yudhoyono had also given orders to start reforming the party and to prepare a strategy to improve the party's standing ahead of 2014, when the nation will elect a new president and all 560 members of the House of Representatives.

Yudhoyono also gave the instruction that party members must only use money from legal sources to run their political campaigns in 2014.

Polls have suggested that the Democratic Party, which won 21 percent of the vote in 2009, may secure less than 15 percent of the vote in 2014. Respondents have said that they could no longer trust the Democratic Party after a host of its senior members were implicated in graft scandals, according to the polls.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who has also been implicated in the graft scandal that led to Andi's fall from grace, has been attempting to reassert control over the party's rank and file.

Anas fired Ruhut Sitompul as the party's communications and information chief after Ruhut urged Anas to resign to protect the party. "Anas dug his own grave. I stand by my words: He should step down," Ruhut said. Ruhut attempted to make his case to Yudhoyono on Saturday. He was denied the entry to the closed-door meeting and escorted out of the building.

Responding to Yudhoyono's call for party members to use legal sources of funding to finance their campaign, Anas said that the party's leaders had always used money from legitimate sources.

"The Democratic Party, since it started to run in elections in 2004, has used money from halal [legal] sources. These halal funds are what we use to fund the party. This is part of our commitment," Anas said.

Surveys & opinion polls

Opinion polls show voters have little faith in political parties

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2012

Pitan Daslani – This year has been one of tight scrutiny for Indonesia's political parties which are being blamed for most of the damage the nation has suffered in political, economic social and even moral fields.

The nine political party factions in the House of Representatives entered 2012 with the determination to accelerate the creation of a good governance culture, only to discover later that they were the actors that should be judged.

Amid legislators' proclamations for an anti-corruption culture this year, the judiciary system dumped many appointed and elected officials in jail and the presidential office announced that the parties were setting bad examples because many of their teams were corrupt.

The most corrupt parties, according to Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam, were the Golkar Party, Indonesian Democracy Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the ruling Democratic Party (PD), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Seen from the perspective of the number of executive regional leaders in jail, 36.35 percent came from Golkar, 18.18 percent from PDI-P, 11.36 percent from PD, 9.65 percent from PPP, 5.11 percent from PKB, 3.97 percent from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and 2.27 percent from Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

That was the situation between October 2004 and September 2012, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued 176 permits for the Attorney General's Office to prosecute district and regency chiefs, mayors and governors.

Those 176 presidential permits led to the indictments of 103 mayors and district chiefs, 31 vice mayors and vice district chiefs, 24 members of the legislative body, 12 governors, three vice governors, two senators and one judge of the Constitutional Court. They did not include the indictment of the ruling-party politician Angelina Sondakh, or Siti Hartati Murdaya, a member of the party's advisory committee. Nor did it include the party's secretary and former Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng.

Not surprisingly, several opinion polls have concluded that many people think political parties ruined the nation's progress while greedily taking advantage of state resources.

Ironically, political parties are the machines that supply the bodies that fill key positions in the government and parliament. They are the ones that have the legal right to appoint the president and vice president, governors, mayors, district chiefs and leaders in other strategic positions.

Governors and deputy governors of the central bank, commanders of the military, and the chief of National Police are all appointed or approved by political parties – an indication of the extent of power the nation has given to its parties.

And the biggest tragedy in this country is that political parties are the institutions most often ridiculed for their lack of integrity.

In terms of respondents' satisfaction over state institutions' performance, 79.1 percent of the thousands of people polled said the government performed badly, while 84.6 percent said the House of Representatives performed even worse. Meanwhile, 78.4 percent said political parties were useless.

That poll, the most comprehensive this year, found that political parties only garnered 16.7 percent of respondents' trust while the House gathered 21.7 percent. This is why even Marzuki Alie, the speaker of the House, said that "70 percent of House members are pembawa petaka [carriers of disasters]."

That's not all. Unqualified recruitment means that cadres of political parties that occupy the parliament are not necessarily the right people in the right place.

Simple proof is that during the 2004-2012 period, almost 60 laws that were produced were annulled by the Constitutional Court because the laws went against the constitution.

Given this situation, Indonesia has been taken hostage by the laws that authorized political parties to form the government and parliament because the laws did not allow for streamlining of political parties to ensure their credibility and integrity.

As a result, scrutiny of the parties is done by the public at large in the sense that voters would abandon those parties that fail to deliver and set good precedents of justice, morality and integrity.

This was clearly visible in the recent Jakarta gubernatorial election. The ruling Democratic Party, Golkar, PAN, PPP and PKS with all their might, facilities and influence supported Fauzi Bowo, but this camp was defeated by Joko Widodo who rode on PDI-P and Gerindra vehicles.

What would these new developments mean for the next legislative election in April 2014? It means, very plainly to many political pundits, that the aspirations of political parties are not necessarily the same as those of the increasingly educated public at large – in fact, in most cases they contradict one another.

It's time political parties learned that unless they upgrade their recruitment process, voters will abandon them, political observers have said. An enlarged floating mass indicates that dissatisfaction with political parties has reached an alarming level, they said.

In such a situation, voters would want to look for alternative avenues to channel their aspirations. They would find such avenues either in mass and non-governmental organizations, public forums or in new political parties that will participate in the next elections.

Not surprisingly, the outcome of the next legislative elections will differ greatly from that of 2009 elections.

The Democratic Party may not necessarily be the ruling party again, given the damage inflicted by its own cadres. The fact that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – whose popularity is much greater than that of his party – cannot run for a third term will seriously trim people's trust and sympathy for the Democrats. Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum's declining reputation over allegations of corruption will aggravate the situation.

On the contrary, the PDI-P will presumably get more support due to a recent boost by Joko who could be a potential candidate for presidency. Its consistent advocation of pro-poor programs has boosted its image further.

Golkar will likely remain stable and may perform better due to its consistent pioneering of legal supremacy issues – its politicians have been championing the anti-corruption drive despite the fact that some of its own cadres went to jail for corruption.

Wiranto's People's Conscience Party (Hanura) might have difficulty raising its profile given the former presidential candidate's somewhat declining acceptability in certain circles amid the aggressive rise of Prabowo Subianto, whose Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) is expanding.

Surya Paloh's National Democrat (NasDem) Party may be a good escape, especially for voters who are fed up with old parties' empty promises. NasDem could even be among the big five in 2014, analysts say.

Putting aside maneuvers toward 2014, the most crucial issue that parties need to address is political professionalism and management accountability.

The parties' vested interests are the reason Indonesia has difficulty grooming the right people to become national leaders, because they determine that only a party or coalition of parties that gets 25 percent of votes or 20 percent of parliamentary seats may propose presidential and vice presidential candidates.

But given that political parties are protected by the Constitution – and are even constitutionally mandated to conduct political education – for many years to come Indonesia will still rely on such parties to form the government and parliament.

All the state policies – be they in business and economy, politics, legal and security affairs, education, religion and other aspects of national life – will still be formulated by cadres of such political parties in the government and parliament.

Many have agreed that if the country wanted to create good governance, it needs to begin by creating it in political parties.

Likewise, analysts said, given that government decision makers are cadres of political parties, there need to be efforts to clean the parties on the upstream level starting from the recruitment process, so that their downstream output will not be too disappointing.

Women's rights

Society's mind-set hampers gender equality

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2012

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari revealed on Friday that efforts to bring about gender equality faces cultural barriers, particularly the patriarchal mindset of society.

"This cultural obstacle impacts the structural authority and affects the bureaucrats' attitude through a stereotypical distinction in considering the gender-equality issue," the minister said on Friday.

To promote gender quality, the minister has asked the National Institute of Public Administration (LAN) to include "gender mainstreaming" in its public servants training. "We hope, in the future, gender mainstreaming will be integrated into LAN's curriculum," Linda was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

The minister noted that gender mainstreaming is a cross-sector issue which is very important for reaching a consensus to create an accommodating atmosphere for gender equality. "This is in line with the agreement between the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry and LAN regarding the Memorandum of Understanding [Mou] for gender-mainstreaming acceleration, which has already been signed," she added.

Hizbut Tahrir to hold women's International Conference in Jakarta

Antara News - December 20, 2012

Jakarta – Islamic organization Hizbut Tahrir is set to hold an International Women's Conference on December 22 at Sahid Jaya Hotel, Jakarta, according to a press release received from the organizing committee here on Thursday.

The upcoming conference themed "The Khilafah: Protecting Women from Poverty and Enslavement" will gather 1,500 influential women from across the world to discuss the causes of and solutions to the desperate poverty, widespread exploitation, and general economic oppression affecting millions of women across the Muslim world and globally.

The conference will be attended by an audience of female political activists, journalists, academics, teachers, professors, university students, lawyers, community leaders, and representatives of various organizations.

Speakers from around the world, including Africa, Asia, the Arab world, and the West, will discuss the detrimental impact of the capitalist system and its free-market economy on the lives of women and their families.

They will also highlight the failure of the current leadership in the Muslim world to provide financial security for Muslim women and to protect them from enslavement.

The event will also present a detailed discussion of the Khilafah system, which is based purely on an Islamic Constitution, and will explain how its unique policies and laws provide a credible and time-tested approach to protect women from poverty and exploitation as well as establish financial security for them.

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz, Women's Representative of The Central Media Office of Hizbut Tahrir, commented, "For too long, Western capitalist states have been selling the illusion to the world that the capitalist system and a free-market economy are the best ways to establish economic stability and prosperity for women."

She said, in reality, this corrosive ideology, which embraces the interest-based, debt-fuelled model of growth built on greed and credit, has created volatile economies, mass unemployment, and a one-track flow of wealth from the poor to the rich.

This has generated mass inequality in wealth and desperate levels of poverty, which afflicts millions of women across the world, causing many to seek employment as migrant workers in factories, farms, or businesses, often working under slave-like conditions for financial survival.

"There needs to be an end to all of this. It is now time for a new political and economic vision for the women of the Muslim world. There needs to be a system that places human need above financial gain a system that places the eradication of poverty through the fair distribution of wealth at the heart of its economy," she added.

Nawaz suggested the Khilafah system as a solution for the world. It is a system that greatly values motherhood and ensures that women are always financially supported by their male relatives or the state, while simultaneously viewing the preservation of women's economic rights as sacred, including their right to work in a safe environment that is free from exploitation or abuse. (Uu.A051/INE/KR-BSR/O001)

Communities called upon to stop violence against women

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Social activists have called for intensive efforts from people across the country to curb violence against women, which is often viewed as normal in several communities.

Once each community tackles violence against women, activists say, there will be more opportunity for women to take part both in social and economic development.

Antarini Arna, Oxfam's gender justice lead in Indonesia, said women would continue to suffer from acts of violence unless more people became fully engaged in reducing the crime.

"To reduce violence against women, we should ensure changes in our behavior and attitude both at individual or community level. Many communities still consider violence against women as normal," said Antarini, also known as Rinno, at a discussion in Jakarta recently.

In many areas in the country, social and cultural values justify such violence as normal. "In such situations, winning the support of local people to work as change makers in their own society is crucial to reducing the social and cultural acceptance of violence. Otherwise, we will see more violence in the future," Rinno said when discussing Oxfam's Change Maker program, designed to reduce the acceptance of violence against women.

In its recently published report, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded that 119,107 cases of violence against women occurred in 2011, in which 95 percent were domestic violence.

As of August this year, 282 regulations issued by various state institutions were discriminative toward women, making it more difficult for them to obtain their rights on economic, social and political issues.

Through its "We Can" campaign, the Change Maker program delivers many different kinds of activity that aims to change attitudes toward violence against women. Merri Djami, director of the Circle of Imagined Society (CIS) Timor, a local NGO that partners with the Oxfam, said a "change maker" was a person who could encourage others to support efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

"In the 'We Can' campaign, we encourage all groups of people or communities to play roles as change makers. They can do it by opposing violence in everyday life or encouraging other people to do the same," said Merri.

The campaign was first funded by Oxfam Novib (Netherlands) before Oxfam Australia provided its financial support.

The campaign started in six South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Oxfam then expanded the campaign to more countries, including Indonesia.

In Indonesia, the campaign is coordinated by Solidaritas Perempuan, a Jakarta-based women's rights NGO, and runs in 32 areas across the country from Aceh to Papua.

In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), 509 people have joined the Change Maker program. They come from one municipality – Kupang City – and four regencies, namely Atambua, Kupang, Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) and So'e.

Sisca Solokana, the leader of the program in Kupang, said most people who became "change makers" were either former perpetrators of violence against women or victims of the violence.

"They [the perpetrators] committed various violent acts ranging from physical violence to emotional and verbal abuse," she told The Jakarta Post.

Labour & migrant workers

Poor protection blamed for repeated abuses of migrant workers

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Indonesian migrant workers will always be vulnerable unless the government imposes strict policies to protect them throughout the whole process – from recruitment until their return from overseas employment.

When it was first reported that Satinah, a migrant worker from Ungaran, Semarang, Central Java, was to face the death penalty for killing her Saudi Arabian employer, the state's response was too late. Further, the negotiation process appeared ineffective.

"The government had no intention to save Satinah from the death penalty," Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah said at a discussion held by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to commemorate International Migrant Day on Dec. 18.

After tough negotiations, the Saudi government accepted Rp 7.7 billion (US$793,100) in compensation and released Satinah. She was previously required to pay diyyat (blood money) of Rp 25 billion or she would be executed.

Anis said it was as a result of the government's tardy response that such a critical point was reached. "If the government had given legal assistance from the very beginning and monitored the case, I think the situation would be different," she said.

The crisis began in 2009 when a Saudi court sentenced Satinah to death for killing her female employer from Al Ghasseem province, Saudi Arabia, in an incident in 2007.

Migrant Care wrote to the Foreign Ministry in February 2009, asking the government to take steps to save Satinah. A second letter to the ministry followed in October.

The organization received no response from the Foreign Ministry until October 2011 when it received a letter describing measures the government had taken to save Satinah. The letter came only few months after the Saudi authorities executed Ruyati binti Satubi on June 18, 2011, for killing her employer.

The government seems unable to do anything to protect the workers despite laws to protect them.

Data from Migrant Care shows that as of 2012, 420 migrant workers from Indonesia are facing the death penalty – mostly in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia – 99 have already been executed. In 2012, 16 Indonesian workers were shot by Malaysian police without a clear reason. In a recent case, three Malaysian police officers allegedly gang-raped a 25-year-old Indonesian female worker.

Anis said that 2012 was the year where the Indonesian diplomacy reached its lowest ebb. "The situation is really bad. The government is passive, slow and seems to lack the 'teeth' to save our workers overseas," said Anis.

Sulistri of the Confederation of Indonesia Prosperity Trade Union (KSBSI) said Indonesia has voiced its commitment to promoting the rights of workers including those overseas.

"It lacks the necessary implementation. Many workers are exposed to abuse in destination countries and during the recruitment process, which is partly caused by weak control of recruitment agencies," she said.

The government had taken some steps to address this situation in 2012 with its decision to ratify the 1990 convention on migrant workers and the issuance of the president directive or amanat presiden (Ampres) on the revision of Law No. 39/2004 on Indonesian migrant workers.

In April, after more than 20 years, the Indonesian government ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

Migrant workers can come home as regular travelers

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry has issued a regulation that will allow migrant workers to arrive at the regular passenger terminal of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

The new regulation, Ministerial Decree No. 16/2012 on migrant worker arrival procedures, which is expected to take effect on Dec. 26, will require homeward-bound migrant workers to register with airport officials before being allowed to get their own public transportation.

Until now, workers were required to go through the special lounge at Terminal 4 in Selapajang, Tangerang, where the workers are prone to extortion by airport officials and others.

Beside having to pay hefty administrative levies, workers have also complained about having to exchange foreign currencies on the spot or pay exorbitant prices for their ride home. Some of the returning workers often fall victim to robbery or carjacking.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said his ministry had liaised with the National Agency for Labor Export and Protection (BNP2TKI), state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II and the airport police to implement the new rule.

"Migrant workers will no longer face discriminatory treatment and, like any other Indonesian citizen, will be allowed to come home through Terminal 2," Muhaimin said.

As for Terminal 4, Muhaimin said it would be used for arrivals of migrant workers in need of special treatment before they were transported to their home villages.

Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care, which provides legal advocacy for migrant workers said the new policy was long overdue.

The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry must now cooperate more closely with BNP2TKI and port authorities to prevent abuse of homeward bound workers and provide the high-quality service the deserve.

"The government and port authorities have to provide better transportation, especially airport buses, to regions in Jakarta's vicinity like Indramayu, Karawang, Cianjur and Sukabumi, the four regencies supplying the most migrant workers from West Java," she said.

Migrant workers are mostly female and rarely graduated from high school. Most returning migrant workers also go home with a large amount of cash and valuables with them. "Such conditions make them prone to extortion, robbery, abduction and rape," she said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Labor Supplier Association (Himsataki) Yunus Yamani added that returning migrant workers should also contact their sponsors if they want to renew their contracts.

Industry ministry pushes for wage hike exception

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2012

Amahl S. Azwar and Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – In an attempt to meet the country's expected industrial growth by the end of 2013, the Industry Ministry has recommended that labor-intensive firms, including textile, garment and shoe manufacturers, be exempted from adopting a new minimum wage in the new year.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat said on Monday that his office was "upbeat" about the country's non-oil and gas industry growing to around 6.8 percent to 7.1 percent next year, despite the challenges of poor infrastructure and the high cost of investment.

However, he said the estimated growth might not be realized if labor- intensive companies, which employed tens of thousands of workers, remained under the new minimum wage between 30 and 40 percent to around Rp 2.2 million (US$228) next year.

"If we force them to comply with the new minimum wages, they might have to lay off their workers, creating a huge amount of unemployed people."

The ministry, he said, was currently waiting for a response from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry about the proposal for labor-intensive companies to be exempted from the new minimum wage. The deadline for a decision from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, according to Hidayat, was on Dec. 20.

This year saw a number of incidents where labor union members shut down several factories by force as they demanded a higher minimum wage in moves that thwarted the country's business certainty.

Both Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar and the ministry's director general of industrial relations and social security affairs Irianto Simbolon were not available for comment on Monday.

In November, Muhaimin said that firms claimed to have been burdened by the new minimum wages would be able to file complaints with their respective provincial administrations.

The administrations, he said, would carry on auditing the firms' financial performance as part of the requirement of suspending raising minimum wages for their workers.

The growth for the textile, leather and footwear industries in the third quarter this year was among the lowest compared to other sectors, with only a 3.64 percent growth – smaller than the same period last year, which saw the industries reach 8.77 percent growth.

Petrochemical and rubber industries experienced the largest growth in the third quarter of 2012 by reaching 8.91 percent, followed by cement and non-metal extractive industries (8.75 percent) and drinks and cigarette industries (8.22 percent).

In a job creation coordination meeting on Monday, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the recent trend showed investment in labor intensive sector had declined.

"The ratio of investors interested in the cheap workforce and labor intensive sector has declined. More and more are interested in the manufacturing and secondary sectors. This is part of our industrial transformation," Hatta said.

Hatta said to provide more jobs in 2013, the government planned to prepare regulations that could help small and medium scale enterprises grow.

Protest marks international Migrants Day in Indonesia

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2012

Jakarta – Members of advocacy groups focused on workers and women rights such as Migrant Care and Kapal Perempuan (Women's ship) demanded the government to take firm action to protect Indonesian migrant workers during International Migrants Day on Tuesday.

The government failed to protect workers employed overseas as there had been several cases of workers that fell victim to rape and abuse, Migrant Care executive director Anas Hidayat said during a rally at the Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta.

Recently, Malaysia has been heavily criticized by numerous advocacy groups for the reported rape of an Indonesian migrant worker identified as SM from Batang, Central Java, by three police officers at their office in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, on Nov. 4.

Meanwhile, another worker hailing from Aceh was reportedly raped by her employer at the latter's residence in Negeri Sembilan on Nov. 5.

According to Anas, Malaysia has become a killing field for around 500 workers annually and a haven for rapists because those who allegedly raped Indonesian women migrant workers were not severely punishment. "Our migrant workers have also been beheaded or executed by firing squads in the destination countries," she said as quoted by tempo.co.

As the world's fourth most populous country, Indonesia has become one of the biggest migrant-sending countries in Asia after Sri Lanka and the Philippines, sending 4 million workers to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Taiwan. (han)

Wage hike may keep workers in Indonesia

Straits Times - December 17, 2012

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja – The number of Indonesians working abroad could decline in the coming years as minimum wages in various regions of the country rise, some labor activists and workers say.

The Jakarta administration last month decided to set the capital's minimum wage at 2.2 million rupiah ($228) a month, starting next month. This is an increase of about 45 percent from around 1.5 million rupiah currently.

City administrations in other regions around the capital city, such as Bekasi, Depok and Bogor, will also raise their minimum wages to 2 million rupiah a month and above, from the less than 1.5 million rupiah currently.

"This will affect the urge of the otherwise potential migrant workers to leave the country. But this is good," said Anis Hidayah, executive director of Jakarta-based Migrant Care, which looks after workers' welfare. "We may see a decline of 10 percent to 20 percent next year," she added.

Said Roni Febrianto, spokesman for the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers: "If one can have a job with a decent pay here, why go abroad and be very far from families? "The risks are huge while state protection is much less."

The prospect of a decline in migrant workers from Indonesia comes as employers in Singapore are paying higher agency fees for maids even as the number of well-trained maids has dropped. Employers are spending up to $1,600 for a new Indonesian maid this year, up from between $400 and $600 previously.

Some maids from Indonesia prefer going to Taiwan or Hong Kong, where monthly salaries are generally more than 5 million rupiah, compared to 3.5 million rupiah in Singapore and the government-mandated 2.3 million rupiah in Malaysia. There are 208,400 maids in Singapore, most of whom come from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Workers in Indonesia are lauding the planned first-ever fat pay rise, which will allow them to live decently with some money to save and spend on recreation.

Their new monthly pay, which they will receive from Jan. 1, will reach 3 million rupiah after including meal and transport allowances and the occasional overtime pay. The higher wage will allow Agus Sunaryo, 27, a plastic packaging worker in West Jakarta, to apply for a mortgage loan and save as well.

"A third of the pay would be around 700,000 rupiah, which is the minimum monthly mortgage installment for the cheapest 40-million-rupiah house. I will be bankable next year," Agus told The Straits Times.

Such a brighter picture in a factory worker's life in Jakarta will be a great temptation to Indonesians working in neighboring countries, a Jakarta-based blogger wrote in a post on Kaskus.com, a popular Indonesian website.

"Living expenses are not as costly in Jakarta and it's nearer to their kampung. They can more easily go home for breaks," wrote the blogger, who identifies himself as Dibers.

Still, things might not be as simple as that, said Jumhur Hidayat, who heads the National Placement and Protection Agency for Indonesian migrant workers. He said the substantial pay hike may lead companies to lay off many workers in order to reduce costs.

"There may be hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs and they would see going overseas for work as an option," Jumhur told reporters in Batam recently.

Caswati, director of an Indonesian agency for migrant workers, said it would take a while to see the impact of Indonesia's rising minimum wage on the flow of workers going out of the country.

She told The Straits Times: "Let's see what happens in four to five months' time. "If companies are laying off workers, then we will have more people wanting to become migrant workers."

Riau Islands governor signs decree on new minimum wage

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

Fadli, Batam – After days of delay due to health concerns, Riau Islands Governor Muhammad Sani has officially signed a decree for the 2013 Batam minimum wage of Rp 2,040,000 (US$211.51).

Riau Islands administration spokesman Riono said Monday that the new minimum wage, a 45 percent increase from last year's Rp 1.4 million, would come into effect on Jan. 1 next year.

He said the provincial administration had delayed the announcement of the minimum wage as Governor Sani was undergoing medical treatment in Germany. "We only made the public announcement on Sunday, even though the decree was signed on Dec. 6," he said.

Riono added that the administration was ready should any company file a lawsuit to challenge the new wage. "The decision on the new minimum wage was made following thorough consideration [of all factors]," he said.

Riau's Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) had previously said that 150 small-scale factories had filed proposals for the postponement of the new pay raises. Kadin and Apindo are ready to file a lawsuit against the 2013 minimum wage.

In the same decree, Sani also set a minimum wage for other regencies and municipalities in Riau Islands. The administration set the minimum wage in Bintan at Rp 1.9 million, up from Rp 1.22 million; while Tanjung Pinang's pay was set at Rp 1.37 million, up from Rp 1.01 million; and Natuna's minimum wage was set at Rp 1.37 million, up from last year's Rp 1.11 million. (lfr)

Sectorial workers to get higher wages

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

Jakarta – The Jakarta Remuneration Board set the 2013 minimum provincial wage for different sectors (UMSP) between 5 to 17 percent higher than the standard wage, despite there being no agreement between employers and workers.

Board chairman Deded Sukandar said on Sunday that although there was no deal between the two, the UMSP had to be set.

"There have been four bipartite meetings between employers and workers but no solution was reached. The board finally made a decision on Friday because we needed to settle this immediately," Deded, who also works at the Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency, said.

He added that the recommendation would be submitted to Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Monday.

Deded said that there were 11 top sectors that would use the new UMSP, including construction and public works at 15 percent of the new minimum wage; chemical, energy and mining at 7 percent; electronic and machinery at 17 percent; automotive at 17 percent; insurance and banking at 15 percent; and telecommunication at 10 percent.

"The administration will also issue a gubernatorial decree as the legal basis of UMSP for workers," Deded said.

The city remuneration board set the 2013 minimum wage (UMP) at Rp 2,216,243 (US$228.60) or 44 percent higher than this year's level of Rp 1.53 million.

The board also increased the calculated basic cost of living for a single worker by 32 percent to Rp 1.97 million from Rp 1.49 million per month. This amount was used as the main reference in defining the provincial minimum wage remuneration for 2013.

The board is chaired by officials from the city administration and representatives from labor unions and employers' associations.

The deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Jakarta office Sarman Simanjorang said that they did not agree with the UMSP figure as it was considered too high.

"The increase in the new minimum wage will be a burden for us, and now we feel the burden on us further with this new wage for additional sectors," he said.

He cited the example that if employers in the electronic and automotive sectors had to pay the new wage, 44 percent higher than the previous year with the additional 17 percent for UMSP, they would need to pay a total of 51 percent, equal with Rp 2,574,000.

Sarman said he expected the governor, fearing that there would be layoffs in many companies to compensate the high cost, not to sign the gubernatorial decree on the UMSP. "If we could, we would want to pay the new wage," he said.

In a similar situation to the settlement of the 2013 minimum wage, employers refused to sign the UMSP settlement document.

Environment & natural disasters

Dayaks fight palm oil plans

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2012

SP/Sahat Oloan Saragih, Pontianak, West Kalimantan – Supporters of the Uud Dhanum Dayak tribe in West Kalimantan's Sintang district have called on local authorities to declare their land a cultural conservation area, in a bid to protect it from a planned oil palm plantation.

Syamsuni Arman, an anthropologist at Tanjungpura University in Pontianak, the provincial capital, said at a seminar that the land in question was considered sacred to the Dayak and there must be guarantees in place to ensure that it would not be taken over or the tribe evicted. "Economic development policies around the area where the Dayaks intend to establish their cultural conservation area must take into consideration the traditions and cultural sensitivities of the locals, as well as the need to conserve the existing biodiversity," he said.

The call was made in response to revelations that the district administration had granted a 1,000-hectare concession in the area to a palm oil company.

Rafael Samsudin, the head of the Uud Dhanum Dayak tribal association, said that the Sintang authorities were perfectly aware that the area in the Sakai River basin was considered by the tribe as ancestral land and therefore sacred.

The concession was issued to Sinar Sawit Andalan, which is currently applying for a land use permit with the National Land Agency (BPN).

Rafael said his association had sent a letter to the BPN head office in Jakarta as well as to its provincial and district offices, calling on the agency not to issue the land use permit.

He said the tribe was worried that once the permit was awarded and the company started clearing the land for the plantation, the water table in the area would drop, affecting not just the tribe but also the local plant and animal life.

He pointed out that the forested area was home to many protected species, including several varieties of toucans, and if the forest was logged and replaced by oil palms the wildlife would disappear.

The tribe also fears that a drop in the water table would diminish the water level in the Sakai River, where they hoped to build a small hydroelectric plant to provide power for the community.

Rafael stressed that the tribe had safeguarded the forest for generations and would not allow it to be destroyed now for mere commercial gain.

Syamsuni said that in addition to conserving the area, the district and provincial authorities should also start recognizing and incorporating the Dayaks' age-old forest stewardship practices into their own conservation policies.

He argued that their sustainable brand of forest management had allowed them to live and farm in the forest for generations with no adverse affect on the local wildlife or the integrity of the forest.

A national conference of indigenous peoples earlier this year highlighted another branch of the Dayak, the Iban Dayak in Kapuas Hulu district, West Kalimantan, as gaining official recognition for their forest stewardship practices.

The tribe has since 1819 practiced a quota system for logging trees and mapped their own forest zones.

"We sustain our forest by designating zones for housing and for preservation," Samay, an Iban member, said at the conference in North Maluku in April.

"For instance, we don't touch water catchment areas because that's our source of clean water. We also allow each family to cut down just five trees a year, and the wood may only be used to build a house."

The Iban's forest stewardship methods were certified in 2008 by the Indonesian Ecolabel Foundation as sustainable forest management, making it the first community forest to get the certification.

But the community's efforts at forest zoning have still not been acknowledged by authorities in their home district.

"We've tried to get acknowledgment for our mapping since 1998 from the local government, but still nothing," Samay said.

"We need that acknowledgment because we're worried that our lands could be changed for other uses. It's not for us, it's for our children and grandchildren."

Health & education

Indonesian health issues go up in smoke

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2012

Nivell Rayda – Health issues have always been a prickly subject in Indonesia and this year was no exception as the country mourned the loss of a minister, heatedly debated the need for tobacco control and fought an uphill battle in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and curbing maternal and infant mortality rates.

But 2012 also saw some major breakthroughs and developments in public access to health, particularly for the impoverished and those living in underdeveloped areas of the country.

The year began with the country on high alert after tests confirmed that a Jakarta resident who died on Jan. 9 had the H5N1 virus. He became the country's bird flu victim this year.

The death forced Health Ministry officials to acknowledge that despite all its efforts, Indonesia had been unable to completely wipe out bird flu in the country as long as the infection remained endemic among poultry.

Indonesia has had a hard time controlling the spread of the disease because backyard farming is such an ingrained part of the culture. The Health Ministry has found that in some traditional markets in Jakarta, traces of the H5N1 virus are found not only on sick poultry, but also on knives and cutting boards as well as the vendors, although they were not infected. By December, a total of 10 people were confirmed dead from bird flu.

Where there's smoke

But the issue generating the most headlines this year seemed to be the endless battle to curb Indonesia's prevalent addiction to smoking. The government seems to be split between factions which are against smoking and those who are say that tobacco control will cost jobs and tax revenue.

On April 18, Indonesia was forced to take a step backwards in tobacco control after the Constitutional Court forced officials in Jakarta to rewrite regulations mandating public buildings to provide smoking rooms.

Jakarta will now have to revise a 2010 gubernatorial decree that ordered an end to smoking rooms, making all public buildings in the capital smoke-free zones, but enforcement of the decree has never been vigorous.

The court's ruling on the challenge by Enryo Oktavian, Abhisam Demosa Makahekum and Irwan Sofyan will now make it obligatory for these places to provide smoking rooms. Antitobacco activists said the ruling meant they would have to restart their fight to make public buildings smoking-free.

It must have especially heartbreaking for former minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih who had been battling for more tobacco control since she took office in October 2009. Less than a week after the court ruling, Endang resigned as minister to take on another battle, this time against the lung cancer that would ultimately take her life.

Endang died at the age of 57. She spent the last three weeks of her life at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.

To the minister's credit are policies such as free maternity programs for the poor, the issuance of a government regulation that makes exclusive breast-feeding obligatory and programs to fight bird flu and dengue fever.

The fight for tobacco control was passed on to former National AIDS Commission chief Nafsiah Mboi, who was appointed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 13 as the new Health Minister.

"I saw commitment and real work from her to make people healthy," Yudhoyono said at the Bogor presidential palace. "Therefore, I consider her to be the right person for the position of Health Minister."

Nafsiah, 72, is seen by many as too old to hold a ministerial post. However, her track record shows she is a qualified replacement.

She graduated from the University of Indonesia's School of Medicine in 1964 and became a pediatrician in Belgium. She shared a 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award, went on to work as a civil servant at the Health Ministry and in 2006 was appointed by Yudhoyono as the head of the National AIDS Commission.

Stub it out

Nafsiah soon learned that the Health Ministry's plan to enact an implementing regulation on tobacco control would meet huge resistance, not just from tobacco companies and farmers but also from fellow cabinet members.

In June, Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar claimed that hundreds of thousands of jobs would be threatened by the proposed regulation which would mandate graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and covers tobacco advertising, no-smoking zones, cigarette sale restrictions and excise levels.

The Indonesian tobacco industry employs millions and is one of world's largest cigarette-producing markets, with about 6 percent of the government's revenue coming from cigarette excise. The powerful tobacco lobby has been actively campaigning to block regulations that would restrict sales.

Activists say that despite creating more state revenue, the industry absorbs money from families in lower income brackets, trapping them in a cycle of poverty.

A recent survey by the University of Indonesia's Demographic Institute found that 57 percent of Indonesian households bought cigarettes, and that cigarettes were the country's second-largest expense after rice. According to the survey, the average household spends Rp 36.5 million ($3,800) every 10 years on cigarettes.

Agung Laksono, the coordinating minister for people's welfare, has said that the landmark regulation could be issued by July but as the year draws to a close, that regulation keeps getting postponed and the plan now faces an uncertain future.

And the cigarette industry is taking advantage of the government's weak political commitment. The cigarette industry patronized the Indonesian government with the recent World Tobacco Expo in Jakarta, with a website promoting the expo that described Indonesia as a country with no cigarette regulations.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey released this year ranked Indonesians as the heaviest smokers in the world, with 67 percent of all male citizens more than 15 years old lighting up consistently. According to the World Health Organization, about a quarter of Indonesian boys aged 13 to 15 also smoke.

On Nov. 13, the government announced that it would increase the excise by an average of 8.5 percent next year to boost state revenue and also discourage people from taking up the unhealthy habit.

Cigarettes sell for about $1 a pack in Indonesia, far less than in neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, where a pack goes for $3 to $4. In developed countries like the United States and Australia, cigarettes can cost upward of $10 per pack. Even the excise on cigarettes, which is currently less than 40 percent, is extremely low by regional standards.

The fight for tobacco control might take another hit next year as the House of Representatives announced last week that it is formulating a bill aimed at protecting the tobacco industry and that it is included as one of 70 bills prioritized to be enacted next year.

"My question to the House of Representatives is how can a bill not accompanied by an academic paper without a draft legislation proposal can get prioritized [for deliberation]," said National Commission for Tobacco Control chief Priyo Sidipratomo last week.

Tulus Abadi of the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation said the bill should be dropped and called for the House to enact the Bill on Controlling the Impact of Tobacco Products, deliberation of which has stalled since July 2011.

Making progress

The year also saw some major breakthroughs and developments. On Nov. 10, the Jakarta Government introduced the Jakarta Health Card (KJS), providing impoverished Jakartans access to free health care.

Governor Joko Widodo has handed out 3,000 KJS cards. Eventually the KJS is expected to reach 4.7 million residents.

The government is also aiming to make Indonesia an international health destination because of its abundant natural beauty, which is a potentially huge draw for tourists also looking for low-cost health and medical care, said Mari Elka Pangestu, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, on Nov. 29.

And Health Minister Nafsiah said that it is not a far-fetched dream, citing the rapid development of new state of the art hospitals in Indonesia this year, including in the underdeveloped eastern region. Another factor, Nafsiah said, is the fact that more and more Indonesian hospitals are receiving international accreditation from the Joint Committee International Accreditation.

But Nafsiah also said that attitudes need to change so that Indonesians seeking medical treatment will make an effort to find that treatment at home.

"I often wondered why Indonesian people like to get check-ups in Singapore," Nafsiah said. "What is it that we don't have? It turns out the answer is because of the service and the mental attitude. We don't have any pride to serve."

Nafsiah said that in Singapore, doctors were willing to spend time to listen to patients' complaints and discuss the various medical procedures that were available.

83% of customers to abortion clinics in Indonesia are married: Study

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2012

Married women make up the majority of customers to abortion clinics in Indonesia, according to the Indonesian Family Planning Association.

The organization, known as PKBI, said on Tuesday that of the 32,517 women who had abortions from one of 13 clinics in 11 provinces between 2008-2011, 83 percent were married. Only 8 percent of them were students or teenagers.

The total number of abortion patients across the 13 clinics rose from 31, 697 in the 2004-2007 period.

"Most people associate abortions with teenagers as they accuse them of engaging frequently in free sex. But our study found that this perception is likely mistaken," PKBI researcher Arsi Suarsi said as she presented the results of the study in Jakarta, according to Indonesian news portal detik.com.

Arsi added that 54 percent of the married women said they had an abortion because they already had enough children, mostly two. Other married women cited their age, either being too young or too old, as the reason behind their abortion. Half of the clinics' customers worked, 42 percent of them didn't and 8 percent were students.

Arsi said that unmarried women had abortions because they were ashamed of being pregnant without a husband or because they were afraid of their parents reaction.

Abortions are against the law in Indonesia, according to the 2009 Law on Health, which makes all 13 clinics illegal. The law only exempts abortions for emergency medical situations including if a mother's life is being threatened with pregnancy or for rape victims who are suffering from psychological trauma.

Criticism of Indonesia's school curriculum keeps on mounting

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2012

SP/Fuska Sani Evani, Yogyakarta – Education authorities in Yogyakarta have rejected the Education Ministry's new elementary school curriculum for 2013, saying that it violates prevailing laws and is of questionable quality.

Wuryadi, head of the local education office, criticized the plan to drop science and social studies from the curriculum, saying on Monday that the move would be legally flawed because both subjects were mandatory under the 2003 National Education System Law.

He also said the ministry's proposal to integrate the two subjects into Indonesian language classes made no sense, arguing that they should have been merged with similar subjects. He said that science could easily be integrated with math, while social studies would be more suitably integrated with civics classes.

Wuryadi also found issue with how the proposed new curriculum was drawn up, saying it was not based on evaluation of the 2006 curriculum and therefore would confuse teachers trying to implementing it. The new curriculum assumes all teachers have the same teaching capacity.

"All this time, no new curriculum has ever been made based on the evaluation of a previous curriculum," he said. "There should have been an evaluation to identify the good and bad points of the previous curriculum. Steps like that have never been taken."

Given these weaknesses, he went on, the Yogyakarta Education Office was calling on the government to redesign the curriculum for next year.

Hary Dandy, the office's deputy chief, criticized the government's plan to increase the hours that the students would have to spend in class, saying that it would not be effective. He suggested that it might be better to reduce the number of subjects taught instead of reducing or increasing overall school hours.

The government has said it want to increase the amount of time spent on "character-building" subjects such as Islamic studies and local culture. Character and cultural development among students can be materialized through the integration and interconnection of subjects that emphasize faith and morality, the implementation of religious values, the implementation of the state ideology, the understanding of the concept of nationhood, the spirit of patriotism and Indonesian cultural wisdom," Handy said.

The education office will send its analysis of the curriculum to the Education Ministry, the House of Representatives and the president, he added.

Educators and experts have expressed criticism over the new school curriculum, which is set to be implemented in July next year, saying that the plan would only cause problems for teachers and students. The Education Ministry has argued that the current curriculum is putting too much strain on students, and that it is looking to limit subjects taught in elementary schools to just six, eliminating science, social studies and English.

The new curriculum would contain religion, nationalism, Indonesian language, math, arts and sports.

The Indonesian Teachers Union Federation (FSGI) criticized the elimination of information technology and communications (TIK), a subject that was recently created by the government.

"There are a lot of candidate teachers for the TIK undergoing training. What will happen to them now? Has the government thought [the new curriculum] through?" said Retno Listyarti from the FSGI. She added that the new curriculum did not take into account the fate of science, social studies and English teachers.

Although she acknowledged that young students should not be forced to spread their attention over an expansive range of subjects, Retno said science and social studies should be taught from the fourth grade.

The ministry says elementary school students will still be able to study basic science and social studies through the Indonesian language classes.

Education Minister Mohammad Nuh said the sciences would no longer be subjects of their own. "The subjects will be integrated, not eliminated. Therefore, science and social science will always be included," he said.

However, experts have cast doubt on the logic behind the plan. "How are [teachers] supposed to integrate science into Indonesian language lessons?" Retno said. "It seems like the government hasn't thought this through."

The ministry has also proposed a credit system for senior high schools, which Retno warned would make certain subjects more popular than others. If the credit system is enforced, "then what about the national exams? How do you determine which subjects to test the students on?" she said.

Despite claiming that the new curriculum would mean less of a burden, the ministry has also decided to increase school hours to 38 per week from 32.

The new curriculum sparked controversy and polarized the nation, with proponents of the plan arguing that children had long felt overburdened by the curriculum.

Graft & corruption

Antigraft body urged to take back convicts' ill-gotten gains

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2012

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – In an attempt to further deter corruption, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been urged to consistently require graft convicts to return all the money they amassed from their unlawful activities.

"People commit corruption to get wealthy. Therefore, confiscating their assets is one of the best deterrents," criminal law expert Gandjar Laksmana of the University of Indonesia told the press in Jakarta on Friday.

He was commenting on the trial of Democratic Party politician Angelina Sondakh on Thursday. Prosecutors are demanding the court to hand down a 12-year prison sentence to her and compel her to return the money she received to the state.

At the trial, the prosecutors used Article 18 of the 1999 Anticorruption Law which allows the court to order the confiscation of assets obtained from illicit practices. In Angelina's case, the former beauty queen could be asked to return more than Rp 33 billion (US$3.41 million) she received as kickbacks.

The prosecutors are hoping 12 years in prison for Angelina, saying that as a member of the House's budget committee she had also violated Article 12 by accepting a gratuity from a company in exchange for securing budget allocations for programs at two ministries in 2010.

Gandjar added that people who commit graft were not afraid of being locked up in prisons since the court did not confiscate their wealth. "They think they must steal as much as possible and enjoy the money later after they serve the a couple of years in jail," he said.

Although Angelina did not steal the state's money, Gandjar said, she should realize she could not receive gratuities related to her position as a lawmaker.

"This is the doctrine in anticorruption campaigns and combattining money laundering: State officials must not receive anything for their public duties," he said. "They are already paid for their services."

Donal Fariz, an anticorruption activist from the Indonesia Corruption Watch, agreed. "Although there was no state money involved in Angelina's case, KPK can use Article 18 as long as the money came from a corruption. Article 18 stipulates it," he said.

He added that the effectiveness of the anticorruption fight was measured by how much money was recovered, not imprisonment of convicts.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the prosecutors' demand for confiscation of Angelina's wealth and a 12-year jail sentence was based on the argument that the money Angelina received was supposed to be used to fund programs in 16 universities.

The measure is in line with United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) provisions. The KPK previously imposed Article 18 for its deterrent effect. "However, how effective the implementation of the article is, depends on the judges," he added.

In March, the Jakarta Corruption Court ordered Ridwan Sanjaya, a former official from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, to pay Rp 13.1 billion in restitutions to the state for rigging a tender bid for a home solar energy project in 2009 worth Rp 526 billion.

Ridwan was sentenced to six years in prison when found him guilty of accepting Rp 14.6 billion. The court ordered Ridwan to pay a fine of Rp 250 million or serve an additional three months.

Gandjar, however, warned the commission to be extremely cautious in imposing assets forfeiture. "They have to be sure that the assets they confiscate are indeed from corruption," he added.

KPK mixing it with the big boys as Hambalang starts to unravel

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has questioned high-profile witnesses in its effort to find key evidence in the case surrounding the multibillion rupiah Hambalang sports complex swindle.

Witnesses included former youth and sports minister Adhyaksa Dault, former head of the National Land Agency (BPN) Joyo Winoto and secretary of the agency Managam Manurung.

Adhyaksa, who was questioned on Tuesday, maintains that the Hambalang center was originally planned as a modest project worth Rp 125 billion (US$12.97 million). When Andi took over, the budget increased to Rp 1.17 trillion.

Adhyaksa also said that from the start the project had problems with land acquisition. "During my tenure, I did not allow the project to start construction because the ministry had not acquired the land-use certificate [HGU]," he told reporters on Tuesday.

He said at that time, 32 hectares of land for the project was controlled by Probosutejo, the half-brother of late president Soeharto. Probosutejo's tenure over the land had expired and needed to be renewed.

The KPK summoned Probosutejo for questioning earlier this week, but, surprisingly, the businessman didn't show up, citing health problems.

Adhyaksa said that the ministry could not start construction before it had the HGU. The House of Representative had also laid down conditions that the ministry would not get any money until land acquisition was complete.

Another star witness testifying on Tuesday was Joyo, who was questioned for seven hours but had nothing to say when the session wrapped up. Joyo was fired as head of the BPN in June and replaced by former attorney general Hendarman Supandji.

Joyo's secretary, Managam, was questioned on Monday. Managam said he was ordered by Democratic Party lawmaker Ignatius Mulyono to expedite the HGU. "Pak Ignatius has called me once," Managam said.

Ignatius is a member of House Commission II responsible for the BPN. Ignatius claims he received his orders to secure the HGU from Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum. Anas denies the allegation.

Aside from Managam, KPK investigators have questioned three other BPN officials; Binsar Simbolon, Bambang Eko and Suharna.

KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain declined to comment whether the investigators are now zeroing in on the land certificate. "We always see a case as a whole. Of course we need to understand the processes involved because before one can construct a building you need to get the permit first," he said on Tuesday.

Zulkarnain also denied speculation that lawmakers had meddled with the certificate. "It is the investigators' responsibility to discover if there are more individuals involved in the case. We will get a more complete picture as we gather more evidence," he said.

Freedom of religion & worship

Followers of unapproved faiths denied rights: Eva

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A seminar on agnostics and ancestral beliefs revealed that agnostics and followers of unofficial religions are often denied civil rights in Indonesia because the state only recognizes six religions.

Participants from 35 remote communities who inherited their faith from their ancestors attended the seminar.

"The [blank] strip on the religion column in their identification card [KTP] often caused them to lose their civil rights such as birth, marriage, death certificates and even denied health services," Eva Kusuma Sundari, of House Commission III which oversees legal affairs, said on Friday.

"They are also denied their rights to education and jobs because they don't have a religion. You can say that the discrimination against followers of ancestral beliefs is systematic from the day they were born until the day they die. The public often rejected their bodies to be buried in public cemeteries," Eva said.

Eva said that Law No. 23/2006 does not require agnostics and followers of unofficial religions to fill in the religion column in their KTP, but to simply put a strip on the column or leave it vacant.

"However, the Home Affairs Ministry's breakthrough to allow agnostics [and followers of other religions] to provide a letter from their organizations didn't help solve the discrimination problem," she said.

She added that the government's authority to determine whether or not a religion is official has been straightened out by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the government does not have the authority to determine the legality of a religion.

"Therefore, the decision which said that the state only recognizes six religions is automatically invalid. Based on the Supreme Court's ruling, the Home Affairs Ministry, including the directorate general of civil administration, should implement the law. This means the requirement to fill up the religion column is no longer in accordance with the Constitution," said Eva.

Church without permit is sealed in Sleman

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2012

Bambang Muryanto – The Sleman administration sealed Elshaddai Pentecostal Church on Jl. Pringgodiningrat in Tridadi village, Sleman, on Wednesday afternoon due to a permit issue.

Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo said that based on a regency decree signed on March 7, the administration did not issue a construction permit for the church because it did not comply with articles 13 and 14 of the Joint Ministerial Regulation No. 9/2006 and Home Ministerial regulation No.8/2006 on the construction and maintenance of houses of worship.

"We rejected the issuance of a construction permit for the church because based on building permit No.62/IMB/DPU/1995, the land is supposed to be used for a private home," Sri Purnomo said.

The Sleman District Court is currently processing the alleged permit violation. Sri said that the case would be completed and the verdict read in February next year.

On Wednesday, a group of people from the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) came to the regent's office to demand the administration seal the church because it did not have a government permit as a place of worship.

The protesters' coordinator Turmudzi claimed that the church's reverend – Nico Lomboan – had violated an agreement stating that he would not use the property as a house of worship.

Yet, on Dec. 2, the reverend did hold worship activities in the house and on Dec. 18 the regency administration sent him a letter, asking him not to continue the activity.

Nico said that the church had stood from 1995 and that problems started to emerge when he renovated it in 2010. "I cannot comment, I'm out of town," Nico told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Yogyakarta Pentecostal Churches Association chairman Rev. P. Hutagalung said that Nico had not yet discussed the issue with association members. However, he suggested that Nico comply with the administration's regulation. "To resolve the issue, I suggested that [Nico] follow the Sleman administration's decision. What else can he do?" he said.

Yogyakarta Interfaith Forum (FPUB) chairman Muhaimin said that the administration's decision to seal the church did not violate any laws because the church did not have a proper permit.

"This action does not violate religious freedom. There is no religious conflict in this case," he said, and added that the forum had been trying to mediate between the disputing parties for two years.

Politicians fuel raging hatred and intolerance

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) blamed politics for the increasing number of attacks against religious minorities and warned that religious tension would escalate as the country headed toward election year.

Newly installed Komnas HAM chairman Otto Nur Abdullah said on Thursday that discrimination against religious minorities, including the closure of places of worship, increased around local and regional elections.

The campaign to shut down Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Bogor, West Java, gathered pace soon after Mayor Diani Budiarto was elected in 2008. The same pattern emerged in Aceh Singkil Regency.

"It happened with churches in Singkil. Candidates made agreements with certain religious groups, which resulted in the closure of the church. This mix of politics and religion results in intolerance," Otto said.

In Bogor, the dispute about the building permit for GKI Yasmin started five months prior to the local election and lasted until the election was over. The church was officially sealed in December 2010. The Aceh Singkil administration closed some 20 Christian churches over illegal permits on May 1, just a month after the local election.

Otto believed the influence of Wahhabism, centered in the Middle East, had also contributed to growing intolerance in the country and that this strand of Islamic thinking had been adopted by local politicians to boost their credibility.

"Indonesia is a target for such transnational Islamic thought. The ideas have been adopted by political parties and turned into a political movement. The more followers the party has, the more people, including the police, will take their side," Otto told reporters.

Otto said that the National Police were the only hope to stop the rise of these radical groups and hoped that the corps could be neutral and strictly impose the regulations whenever religious attacks took place.

Komnas HAM previously announced that it had received 5,442 reports of human rights violations between January and November this year, with 1,635 being committed by members of the National Police.

Another report from human rights watchdog the Setara Institute has also cited the National Police as the top rights violator, having direct involvement in at least 40 of 371 religious clashes in 2012.

Meanwhile, research by human rights group Imparsial concluded that the National Police were involved in discriminatory practices against minority groups by omission, but also actively took the initiative in punishing religious minority groups.

Imparsial said that police in a number of cities joined local authorities to curb the freedom of minority groups. Imparsial found that the police were responsible for the local joint decision (SKB) that outlawed the Ahmadiyah sect in Manis Lor, Kuningan, West Java, in 2002.

The report further says that the military police of Siliwangi Military Command in West Java were responsible for a covert operation, Operasi Sajadah, which was a deliberate oppression of Ahmadiyah in the province.

Deputy National Police chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna said that they could do little in the face of politics.

"We are conscious of human rights. We have internalized human rights values. However, we are very much influenced by politics. The country's leadership and public policies determine our responses when dealing with religious conflicts," Nanan said.

"Public pressure has further influenced our actions. This is what happened in West Java when Ahmadis were attacked. It's difficult to respond. The majority forced us to take action against the Ahmadis."

Recent attacks on minority groups

Oct. 25, 2012: Idul Adha celebrations in Bandung, West Java, are marred by an attack by members of the hard-line group the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) on An-Nasir mosque, home to hundreds of Ahmadiyah followers who were later barred from performing Idul Adha prayers and slaughtering animals during the Islamic Day of Sacrifice.

Aug. 26, 2012: A crowd descends on Shia minority villages in Sampang, Madura, East Java. Two die in the attacks and dozens of homes are destroyed.

April 22, 2012: Local Muslim groups break up a HKBP Filadelfia church service in Tambun, Bekasi.

April 20, 2012: A crowd of around 150 people from various Islamic organizations, including local residents, vandalize the only mosque left for Ahmadiyah followers in Singaparna, Tasikmalaya.

Feb. 17, 2012: No one is injured when a crowd of about 50 people vandalize a mosque used by 200 Ahmadiyah followers in Cipeuyeum, Cianjur regency, West Java.

Jan. 22, 2012: At least 70 supporters of two hard-line groups and officers from the municipality's public order agency force the congregation of GKI Taman Yasmin church to halt a Sunday service being held at the house of a church follower.

Jan. 1, 2012: Members of hard-line Muslim groups attempt to prevent GKI Taman Yasmin churchgoers from conducting the first Sunday service in 2012 near the sealed church.

Merry Xmas? Not for Muslims, conservatives insist

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2012

Dessy Sagita – For another year running, Islamic clerics have raised a ruckus about the question of whether Muslims can wish others a "Merry Christmas" or celebrate the holiday.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), ostensibly the country's highest Islamic authority, said on Wednesday that the question was "still up for debate," and urged Muslims to refrain from making any mention of Christmas.

"It's better if they don't [say 'Merry Christmas']," Ma'ruf Amin, the MUI chairman, said in Jakarta. "It's still up for debate whether it's halal or haram, so better steer clear of it. But you can say 'Happy New Year.'?"

He also called on Muslims not to attend any Christmas parties or celebrations, saying that such a move would certainly be considered haram, or forbidden in Islam.

"The MUI has issued an edict forbidding Muslims from attending such rituals, because they are religious in nature. It would be haram for any Muslims to take part," Ma'ruf said. The MUI's edicts carry no legal authority whatsoever.

The MUI and conservative clerics have made it their own December tradition to raise the matter each year, and have in the past even taken issue with Christmas decorations being put up at shopping malls. Other more authoritative figures, however, say the conservatives are making much ado about nothing.

Din Syamsuddin, the chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-biggest Islamic organization, previously said that he routinely wished his Christian friends a merry Christmas. "If it's just a matter of the greeting, that's not forbidden," he said.

Ma'ruf said that while he would still recommend that Muslims not say "Merry Christmas," they should still respect the holiday and the right of Christians to celebrate it, in the spirit of religious tolerance.

"We hope that all Muslims will respect the celebration of Christmas and help to keep the peace [at churches] during the occasion," he said.

However, one Christian congregation that will almost likely celebrate the holiday outside its rightful church for yet another year running is the GKI Yasmin congregation in Bogor.

The group has been locked out of its church since 2010, when the Bogor administration claimed that church officials had falsified the signatures on the petition required to get a building permit.

Despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering the city to reopen the church, the authorities have refused to allow the congregation to worship.

Religious intolerance is alive and kicking

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Observing a growing intolerance in the country, a human rights watchdog announced on Monday that it had recorded increasing hostility against religious minorities, from 299 cases last year to 371 incidents this year.

To make matters worse, the Setara Institute said those attacks against minorities had claimed 10 lives nationwide, including two Shiites in Sampang, Madura, last August, and three others in Bireuen, Aceh.

"At a glance, intolerance this year does not seem to be as dramatic as last year, when we witnessed a vicious attack against the Ahmadiyah community. But more people have lost their lives due to the growing intolerance this year, including Aiyub Syahkubat and his follower Muntasir in Aceh," Setara Institute researcher Ismail Hasani said on Monday.

Aiyub and his follower Muntasir were reportedly burnt alive by the mob who accused Aiyub of blasphemy. A man identified as Mansur was also killed during the attack.

Setara recorded that the National Police was the top human rights offender, showing that the police had been directly responsible for 40 of the total 371 incidents.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) also recently named the police as the top rights violators. According to the commission, police officers had committed 1,635 of the total 5,442 reported human rights violations.

Setara also cited local administrations nationwide as the worst violators of religious freedom.

"The lack of a firm national policy granting religious freedom has encouraged local administrations to act on their own agenda, as well as political interests, when dealing with religious conflict," Setara deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

Bonar wants the government to take immediate "serious and concrete" action to protect different religious followers, particularly as the country approaches legislative and presidential elections in two years.

"People will manipulate religious sentiments to win votes in areas of the country where religious issues are sensitive. Biased policies in favor of certain groups will exacerbate this, unless something is done about it," he said.

Setara cited West Java, East Java, Aceh, Central Java, and South Sulawesi as the top five provinces where most religious discrimination occurred this year. West Java was the country's least tolerant place.

According to Setara, violations have occurred at various education institutions with at least 10 incidents involving discrimination against students and lecturers over religious belief.

The study, for example, noted that students from the indigenous community of Samin in Central Java's Kudus and Rembang regencies were forced to convert to Islam in order to participate in school programs.

Meanwhile, a university lecturer in Aceh, Mirza Alfath, was forced to give up his job for promoting reason over the faith in Islam on his Facebook page.

Concluding the study, Setara chairman Hendardi encouraged the government and House of Representatives to initiate a bill to eliminate religious discrimination, in addition to existing efforts. "All eyes are on the President. He is the only one who can unite the nation," he said.

Rights group says SBY all talk, no action on tolerance

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2012

Ezra Sihite – For all his rhetoric on the importance of religious pluralism, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to take meaningful action to maintain tolerance in the country, a rights group claims.

The Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said on Monday that cases of religious intolerance in Indonesia had increased steadily from 2007 to 2012.

"Just as in 2011, [this year] SBY preferred to make speeches about tolerance rather than work seriously and meticulously to create a climate of tolerance," Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said in Jakarta.

The institute recorded 135 cases of religious intolerance in 2007, 265 cases in 2008, 200 incidents in 2009, 216 in 2010, 244 last year and 264 incidents this year.

"Without the guarantee of religious freedom, tolerance will remain mere political rhetoric from a president who has failed to contribute to human rights progress," Bonar said.

With two years left in its term, the Yudhoyono administration has failed to make any progress in terms of religious tolerance, Setara said. "The SBY regime has clearly chosen the path of political discrimination in regulating religious life since 2011," Bonar said.

Setara said the 264 cases of religious intolerance this year, which included acts of violence against religious minorities or other acts of discrimination such as the banning of religious sects, occurred in 28 of 33 provinces in Indonesia.

West Java experienced the highest number of incidents, with 76 cases this year, followed by East Java with 42 cases, Aceh with 36, Central Java with 30 and South Sulawesi with 17 cases.

Setara added that state officials were involved in 154 of the 264 cases. In some of these incidents, government officials made provocative statements that encouraged or condoned violence and later became the justification for violent acts against religious minorities.

Other cases saw government officials threaten to fire people based on their faith or threaten to close non-Islamic houses of worship. Officials were also complicit in intimidating minority congregations, banning religious sects or their activities, and issuing discriminative policies.

Shariah law & morality

House to mull bill banning alcoholic beverages in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Indonesia would introduce stiff penalties for the consumption of all alcoholic beverages under a controversial bill drafted by the Islamic United Development Party (PPP) that would effectively ban the sale, production and consumption of alcohol in this Muslim-majority nation.

Hard alcohol is already heavily regulated in Indonesia, where hefty taxes contribute to some of the highest prices in the region and local bylaws limit the open sale of liquor in some municipalities. This new regulation would go further, effectively banning all alcohol, including domestically produced beer like Bintang, in a push that would make Indonesia a dry country.

Those caught consuming alcohol could face up to two years in prison. Distributors would face up to five years while producers could face a maximum of 10 years in jail.

"This will be a ban on producing, distributing and consuming alcohol," Arwani Thomafi, secretary of the PPP faction at the House of Representatives, said.

The bill is among 70 "high priority" bills scheduled for deliberation next year. The Islamic party introduced the bill to bring the nation in line with "religious guidelines" as well as address the negative impact of excessive alcohol consumption on people's health, Arwani said.

The lawmaker claimed the consumption of alcohol spurred a rise in crime and offered no significant contribution to state coffers.

Tourist areas and "certain ethnicities" might be spared the ban, Arwani said. He did not explain which tourist areas or ethnic groups would be allowed to drink alcohol under the ban.

Arwani said any controversy the bill generates was just a part of process. "I think it's part of the usual dynamics in bill deliberations," he said. (BeritaSatu, JG)

Push to ban alcohol in Indonesia

Sydney Morning Herald - December 20, 2012

Michael Bachelard – Indonesia will consider banning all alcoholic beverages and putting drinkers in jail for two years.

The ban, which, if implemented, would decimate the night-life in tourist haven Bali, has been proposed and listed on Indonesia's national parliamentary legislative agenda for next year.

The secretary of the Bali Hotel and Restaurant association, Perry Markus, said it would be "very odd and very bad" for Bali to try to market itself as an international tourist destination if it could not offer alcohol to guests.

The Bill for a Ban on Alcoholic Drinks was drafted by the Islamic-based United Development Party, a member of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's governing coalition. The strict ban would be "applied nationwide within the territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia", the bill says.

Those who produce alcoholic drinks would be subject to penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and 10 billion rupiah ($1.05 million) in fines; there would be $520,000 in fines and five years in prison for those who distribute them, and two years imprisonment and a $20,800 fine for those who consume alcohol.

Indonesia is a Muslim majority country, where most of the population refrains from drinking. But alcohol is freely available in nightclubs, bars and some cafes. In regions like Bali, the economy relies heavily on tourism, which includes a heaving, alcohol-fuelled night life.

However, the ban is part of a heavy 2013 legislative agenda in a notoriously gridlocked and slow-moving parliament. It may never even be debated, let alone passed. In 2008 a bid by Islamic politicians to ban the bikini was over-ruled after protests from the tourist industry.

The anti-alcohol law's proponent, United Development Party MP Ahmad Kurdi Moekri, told Fairfax Media the proposal was "to safeguard the nation's morals". "It is the mandate of our constitution, it's about character building," he said.

Mr Ahmad, a member of the national parliament's Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said alcoholic drinks "have a greater negative impact on the nation than positive, and anything negative to the nation is the nation's enemy".

But he warned outsiders not to interpret the legislation as an act of religious radicalism.

"We should not take the stance... that, since the bill was proposed by a party of certain religious background, that it might lead to turning the country into a religious-based state," he said. "It's such a small-minded approach."

The United Development Party (PPP) has 39 representatives, or 7 per cent of the seats in the 560-seat parliament.

Indonesian brewer, Bintang, maker of the favourite beer among Australians travelling in Bali, declined to comment, a spokeswoman saying it was a "very sensitive subject" for them.

Mr Markus said a few months ago supply constraints meant that some restaurants and hotels had trouble re-stocking their supplies of alcoholic drinks, and even that had shown up in a downturn in trade.

Regional autonomy & government

Study reveals astonishing levels of pay for governors

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2012

Jakarta – A study by the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) has found that East Java Governor Soekarwo is the highest-paid local government official for 2012, receiving a breath-taking Rp 642.36 million (US$66,655) per month.

The budget watchdog group said that trailing Soekarwo were two governors in Java; West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan with a take-home pay of Rp 603.42 million per month and Central Java Governor Bibit Waluyo at Rp 438.09 million.

Awang Faroek Ishak, the governor of resource-rich East Kalimantan, came fourth with Rp 344.08 million, while North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho is in fifth with Rp 327.25 million per month.

FITRA researcher M. Maulana said that Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who gets a princely Rp 1.2 billion per month, was not eligible for the list given Jakarta's distinctive administrative status.

The five governors on average earned Rp 5.65 billion per year from the state budget this year. According to World Bank data, Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita stood at US$3,494 or Rp 33.67 million last year. Maulana said that the salary figures were indicative of local economic progress.

According to Government Regulation (PP) No. 59/2000 and Presidential Decree No. 68/2001, every governor receives a fixed monthly salary of Rp 8.4 million.

However, the governors can take home such whopping amounts due to incentives and operational allowances. Government Regulation No. 109/2000 stipulates that operational allowances are paid based on local revenues (PAD).

One method of calculation is that a governor, whose region has revenues of more than Rp 500 billion, is entitled to an operational allowance of Rp 1.25 billion or 0.15 percent of the regional income.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, the coordinator of FITRA, said that similar arrangements were applied in the calculation of other allowances.

Another rule, Government Regulation No. 69/2010 stipulates that any region that takes in more than Rp 7.5 trillion in tax and levies should award its local leader 10 times their monthly salaries and benefits.

"Local leaders don't deserve this level of payment. They have not provided better services for the public," Uchok said. He singled out Soekarwo as a local leader who had fallen short of meeting his obligations.

"Just take a look at Soekarwo who is still unable to handle the Lapindo mudflow," he said, referring to the massive mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, that was allegedly triggered by drilling activities of the oil and gas company PT Lapindo Brantas.

Uchok suggested the government oblige local leaders to spend money from their allowances on health and education programs. "We suggest the government amend the regulations. The governor should meet the basic needs of the people and only take their cut if there's anything left," he said.

The FITRA study also found that the administrations spent the largest proportion of their budgets on running their bureaucracies.

It reveals that a staggering 302 of 524 cities and regencies across the country spend more than half of their budgets on civil servants' salaries. Eleven local administrations allocated 70 percent of their budgets for civil servants' pay. (yps)

Parliament & legislation

Critics call for end to lawmakers' overseas jaunts

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2012

Corruption watchdogs say that overseas trips are no longer needed at a time when lawmakers can easily obtain information online.

An allocated Rp 248.12 billion ($26 million) is budgeted for the coming year for Indonesian lawmakers to conduct "comparative studies" on issues pertaining to legislation. But critics say all the necessary information can be easily obtained via Internet search engines.

The criticism comes after it was revealed that only three mediocre reports were produced by lawmakers who conducted 143 overseas trips during the 2004-09 period.

"All they need is a computer connected to the Internet and they can gather all the necessary information without spending a penny," a staff member of a high-ranking government institution told the Jakarta Globe on condition of anonymity.

"The bad tradition is that the frequency of such trips usually increases toward the end of the year because the lawmakers need some kind of justification to get extra money, take their spouses for free trips to many countries and come home with nothing concrete," the source continued.

"In such cases, they usually inflate the transportation and accommodation rates or apply their usual dirty techniques to officially steal state funds. This has been going on for years and they enjoy it, though they claim to be the watchdogs that scrutinize state budget utilization by the government," he added.

This statement was endorsed by Roy Salam, a researcher from the Indonesian Budget Center, who told the press that most of the lawmakers are "immune to public criticism."

Earlier this year, delegations of lawmakers went on working trips to places such as Turkey, Germany and Denmark, only to arouse public anger because of the mediocrity of reports they produced following the trips.

In spite of such poor performance, the House has determined that for the next budget year, the fund allocation for overseas working trips should be increased to Rp 248.12 billion, up by 77 percent from this year's total.

Roy said the lawmakers were planning to visit 38 countries but he wasn't sure if they would bring back anything beneficial. Roy explained that he did not understand the logic of the lawmakers because at a time when they say they want to control the government's implementation of the state budget, they themselves are wasting so much money and nobody is holding them to account.

"The ears of those politicians in Senayan [the site of the parliament] are already deafened. They do not take criticism," he said.

But House Speaker Marzuki Ali said such criticism was unfair because, "the fact is, we have streamlined the budget allocation and utilization so tightly that there is no inefficiency in overseas working visits."

He said that such visits were only allowed for lawmakers who intended to vastly improve a piece of legislation that was in need of outside expertise. But for other purposes, overseas visits were not allowed, Marzuki said

"Therefore I said it is unfair, because we, the leadership of the House, have worked hard in promoting budget efficiency."

Despite the defensive posture, Eryanto Nugroho, executive director of the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), said that there is still too much inefficiency because during the 2004-09 period alone, lawmakers conducted 143 trips to produce only three reports that were far from exclusive, or even credible.

He explained that the worst example of inefficiency occurred when lawmakers went to South Africa and produced a report that was "a copy-paste document" taken from Internet websites.

And now, against public opposition, a number of lawmakers are making preparations to visit China and France. The purpose, they say, is to collect enough material to write a law on the livestock industry.

Ari Junaidi, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said the plan to visit China and France was "an annihilation of our sound logic."

At a time when many people are suffering, he said, how can lawmakers embark on such thinly veiled holidays that are paid for with public money.

"If the purpose is to study livestock science and data, they could just go to East Java or Tapos in West Java or to Bali," he told Okezone.com.

But Rosyid Hidayat, a member of House Commission IV, which oversees agricultural and forestry issues, said the visits to China and France would be "very necessary," because the reports that will follow will provide crucial input for formulating a law on livestock raising and industry.

"In the name of Allah I swear that I will not visit the Eiffel Tower or dine in expensive restaurants, or go to questionable places while there," he stressed.

What often happens during overseas working trips is that lawmakers meet their counterparts in official forums and visit industrial centers.

Toward the end of the trip they are led to visit tourist destinations, dine in expensive restaurants and crown the trip with a shopping spree, paid for with state funds, critics say.

Ethnic & communal conflicts

Local elite blamed for Maluku's continuing violence

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Research has indicated that the violent actions of a local elite in Maluku to gain political and economic benefits after the signing of the Malino Declaration peace pact in 2002 has partly accounted for continuing violence in the province.

The findings of the research were made public on Tuesday at the launch of a book entitled "Seusai Perang Komunal: Memahami Kekerasan Pasca Konflik di Indonesia Timur dan Upaya Penangannya" (After Communal War: Understanding Violence After the Conflict in Eastern Indonesia and Efforts to Deal With It).

The book was written by two researchers of Gadjah Mada University's (UGM) Center for Peace and Security Studies (PSKP), Muhammad Najib Azca and Tri Susdinarjanti, and a doctoral student of Oxford University, Patrick Barron.

"We looked into local aspects to see the roots of the violence, which persists in Maluku," Najib said. The authors, according to Najib, looked into three local factors: the elite, the community and the environment, to study why instances of the deadly violence had been more frequent in Maluku than in North Maluku province, after the conflict in both regions.

The North Maluku conflict took place from August 1999 until June 2000 and claimed 3,257 lives, while the Maluku conflict ran from January 1999 to February 2002 and claimed 2,793 lives.

The researchers noted that during the eight years following the peace agreement, there had been 51 violent acts committed in Maluku, killing 133. While in North Maluku there had been only 11 violent acts that killed 11 people.

Najib disagreed with the view that the violence in Maluku was the result of the political games played by the elite in Jakarta, which he said was just a scapegoat for the violence.

Najib said the research found that the local elite in Maluku used violence as a strategy to prevent the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) from investigating corruption cases involving the local elite. In North Maluku, on the other hand, the elite tended not to use the same methods to secure their political and economic interests.

Tri Susdinarjanti added that in North Maluku, people were fed up with conflict, were willing to open up to reconstruction and give a role to custom institutions to strengthen interfaith and interethnic ties.

Philosopher Aholiab Watloly of Patimura University in Ambon, Maluku, said the stigmatization of the South Maluku Republic (RMS) group further accounted for Maluku's continuing violence. "The government has acted only as a firefighter," Aholiab told the discussion forum.

Armed forces & defense

TNI reshuffle: More than reorganization of military leadership

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2012

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono swore in the new chiefs of the Navy and the Air Force in a ceremony at the State Palace on Monday.

Adm. Marsetyo was inaugurated as the new Navy chief of staff, replacing Adm. Soeparno, while Air Chief Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia was inducted as the new Air Force chief of staff, replacing Air Chief Marshal Imam Sufaat.

The partial reshuffle – involving only two of the three forces within the Indonesian Military (TNI) – was, to a certain extent, a common regeneration process within the armed forces as Soeparno and Imam, both aged 57, are approaching the mandatory retirement age of 58 for high- ranking officers. Imam will officially retire next January and Soeparno next September.

Monday's reshuffle was indeed spectacular in essence as Marsetyo and Putu Dunia, who both belong to the Class of 1981 in their respective Navy and Air Force academies, were deemed the best graduates in their academy batches.

It was also controversial in nature, however, as Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who is also 57 years of age, was not part of the current regeneration process and has been retained instead – at least until further notice – as the Army chief of staff. Pramono will officially reach the mandatory retirement age in May next year.

Upon observing the partial transfer of duties within the TNI on Monday, it is therefore difficult to deny the speculation that the latest TNI reshuffle was politically motivated and linked to political constellations ahead of the 2014 general election.

TNI reshuffles have always been widely anticipated events, especially when the reorganization process comes close to one of the most crucial political events in the republic, namely the five-yearly elections – the legislative elections and the presidential election, scheduled for April and July 2014, respectively.

Further speculation is rife that Pramono, who is also President Yudhoyono's brother-in-law, could be promoted as the next TNI chief despite his age. According to Article 13, Paragraph 2 of Law No. 34/2004 on the Indonesian Military, a TNI chief is inaugurated and dismissed by the president upon approval of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Upon observing the political configuration within the House, with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party-led coalition controlling 423 seats (75.5 percent), it is thus not impossible for him to have Pramono promoted as TNI chief.

It is true that it will not be easy for Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party to persuade their coalition members to dance to their tune and unanimously endorse Pramono's promotion, as the coalition itself has been volatile, with members acting against the party's line on certain issues.

But, as there is a popular adage among politicians that there are no permanent friends or foes in politics, only interests, it could be a possibility that the House – particularly members of the Democratic Party-led coalition – would agree on his promotion.

Should Pramono's term be extended – moreover, if he was then promoted to lead the TNI – President Yudhoyono and perhaps the House would have to face another problem: resistance from the other two forces, particularly the Air Force, as the military's top post of TNI chief, according to the 2004 law, should rotate between the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs.

The current chief, Adm. Agus Suhartono, who will reach retirement age in August next year, is from the Navy, while his predecessor, the now-retired Gen. Djoko Santoso, was from the Army. The next in line should, therefore, be from the Air Force.

However, the legal constraint could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Pramono, as Paragraph 4 of the 2004 law's Article 13 stipulates that the military's top post "can be" (thus, not compulsory) rotated between the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs.

Moreover, with the retirement of both Imam Sufaat and Soeparno, Pramono will then be the most senior active TNI officer among the three military forces. Pramono will not only be the most senior officer in age, but also in graduation year. He belongs to the 1980 Military Academy graduates, one year earlier than Marsetyo and Putu Dunia.

Apart from seniority issues in the TNI's leadership, Pramono's promotion to the TNI's top post would be a valuable benefit for him as it would raise his profile prior to receiving the "leadership relay baton" in the Democratic Party from his brother-in-law, as Yudhoyono cannot run for a third presidential term.

Indeed, Pramono has been widely tipped as Yudhoyono's successor in the ruling party, whose popularity has declined following a number of its senior officials being convicted for and implicated in a number of corruption cases.

Will this scenario be the eventual path taken by Yudhoyono and Pramono? Only time will tell.

Judicial & legal system

KY finds many judges dishonest

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2012

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Judicial Commission (KY) has found that many judges were dishonest in exercising their judgments and fell short of applying strict court procedures.

The KY said in its year-end review that "intellectual dishonesty" had led to partiality in judicial decisions. "We found, from the rulings, judges rule out facts in their considerations," KY commissioner Ibrahim told a press briefing on Thursday.

Ibrahim said that during a recent hearing on a judge who was alleged to have breached the code of ethics, the KY found the judge ruled out testimony from an expert witness.

The commission also found that between 70 and 80 percent of judges in the country had fallen short of applying strict judicial processes, including by taking into consideration only two pieces of legitimate evidence.

"They are concerned with procedural justice rather than substantive justice. The doctrine [they are using] is the due process of law, instead of the total justice approach," he said.

Ibrahim said that some of the judges were only preoccupied with providing legal certainty. "This is not wrong, but it's not total justice. A judge must hear and consider everything."

In its year-end report, the KY revealed that between January and Dec. 15, it received 1,482 complaints from the public, down from 1,710 in 2011.

This year, the commission launched a probe of 160 judges over alleged ethics violations and handed down punishments to 20 judges.

Three judges were dismissed after hearings convened by the Judicial Ethics Council – consisting of KY members and Supreme Court justices – found ethical breeches and violations of the judges' code of conduct.

A total of five judges were brought before ethics tribunals in 2012. The KY investigated 81 judges for possible impropriety in 2011. Based on its findings, the commission recommended the Supreme Court to sanction 15 judges and to dismiss one judge.

The commission said that the increasing numbers of judges being punished showed that all parties – the commission, the Supreme Court and the public – had been striving improve the quality of the judiciary.

"This shows that there is a significant public support to monitor the judiciary," KY deputy chairman Imam Anshori Saleh said. The commission, Imam added, would continue pushing for better case management in all levels of courts across the country to improve the quality of the judiciary.

Commission spokesman Asep Rahmat Fajar added that the increasing number of judges examined by the commission showed that "the commission performed better this year than last year."

Imam also commended efforts to amend the Judicial Commission Law, which was endorsed in late 2011, as it had given the KY more authority to monitor the nearly 8,300 judges in Indonesia.

Watchdog receives more than 1,000 reports against prosecutors in 2012

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2012

Rangga Prakoso – A government watchdog monitoring the performance of prosecutors says it has received about 1,107 complaints from the public in 2012, ranging from allegations of extortion to collusion with other law enforcement officials.

Halius Hosen, head of the Prosecutors Commission, said on Monday that his office received the complaints via letters, phone calls, text messages and directly from the people complaining.

"Out of the 1,107 reports, 568 have been forwarded to the attorney general and assistant attorney general for supervision," he said.

Some complaints were lodged against prosecutors who allegedly failed to enforce court verdicts, while others chided prosecutors who were deemed unprofessional because they sided with or defendants.

Others were accused of not following proper procedures or for weakening their cases against defendants. Some were cited for dragging their feet in prosecuting cases, while others were called out for not returning seized evidence.

Some prosecutors were accused of extorting defendants, while others allegedly colluded with police officers, judges or lawyers who turned civil cases into criminal ones.

Halius said that 207 reports had not been followed up on by his commission because the people who reported the cases gave false addresses.

In October, the Attorney General's Office began investigating three of its officials for allegedly attempting to extort a Rp 2.5 billion ($260,000) payment from a company by claiming that it was the subject of a criminal investigation.

S.T. Burhanuddin, the assistant attorney general for civil and state administrative affairs, confirmed at the time that all three suspects were from his department but denied that they had been acting on department orders.

"It has nothing whatsoever to do with my department. What they did was purely on their own," he said. "Their superiors also don't know anything about it. If they did, we would have arrested them too." He added that investigators had not yet questioned the suspects' superiors.

The case stems from the arrest on Oct. 8 of Dedi Prihartono, a former prosecutor, during a sting at a mall in South Jakarta. He was arrested while allegedly taking a Rp 50 million bribe from a representative of a company identified only as BIM.

BIM had earlier reported Dedi to the AGO for allegedly claiming that the company was the subject of a criminal investigation, but that the company could get the case dropped in exchange for a Rp 2.5 billion payoff. Dedi's bust led to the arrest of three novice officials at the AGO.

Foreign affairs & trade

Study shows Indonesia rife with unfair trade practices

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2012

Unfair trade practices in Indonesia are highly prevalent and burdensome to the relevant national stakeholders, according to the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK).

"Unfair trade practices [UTPs] such as unfair pricing, misleading advertisements, undue use of bargaining power by big businesses, et cetera, are thought to be extreme and highly prevalent in Indonesia by 90 percent of representatives of relevant national stakeholder groups," researcher Ningrum Sirait said in a statement on Friday.

Ningrum, PSHK's lead researcher on competition issues and a vocal advocate for fair competition in Indonesia, identified those stakeholders as consumers, businesses and government officials.

She spoke at a one-day Policy Dialogue organized as part of a two-year regional research project implemented by the Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International). The international NGO conducts research and advocacy on various issues related to international trade, competition law and policy, economic regulation and consumer protection, in collaboration with PSHK.

The research was conducted across five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – with support from the International Development Research Center, an organ of the Canadian government.

"These very same stakeholders think that, even though the legitimate rights and interests of small businesses and consumers in the country are being negatively affected by these unfair practices, they are not receiving sufficient protection due to the ineffectiveness of regulatory and institutional frameworks," Ningrum said.

Ahmad Junaidi, head of the public relations and legal bureau at the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), called for harmonization of Indonesia's legal and institutional frameworks and a reduction of uncoordinated policies across the various agencies that deal with unfair trade practices, with a focus on the welfare of consumers.

Junaidi affirmed KPPU's support for the CUTS International project, and its findings and recommendations. Udai S. Mehta, associate director of CUTS International, emphasized that the project, a pilot initiative, had been successful in pointing out and highlighting the problems and challenges within as well as across Asean countries related to unfair trade practices.

Providing an overview of the situation across Asean countries, Deunden Nikomborirak, director of the Thailand Development Research Institute, pointed out that unfair trade practices were highly prevalent in various sectors such as the retail trade, franchising, contract farming, and multilevel marketing, harming Asean consumers and small businesses.

However, the legal and institutional frameworks dealing with these practices remain very much inadequate across these countries, Nikomborirak said. Making matters worse, the frameworks are extremely different among nations, putting the issue of competition laws' harmonization in Asean under the spotlight, Nikomborirak said.

The prospect of an Asean Economic Community by the year 2015, in which all member states share a unified competition law, is attractive to all stakeholders involved, Nikomborirak said. However, skepticism about the feasibility of that achievement has led some to urge a more realistic and cautious working agenda on the issue.

Friday's meeting brought together more than 40 experts and academics within and beyond the Asean region.

Organizers also invited partners, advisors and select local government officials working in the field to discuss and exchange views on the nature and prevalence of unfair trade practices in the region, their impact on business growth and consumer welfare, and the legal and regulatory frameworks as well as institutions assigned and yet needed to deal with them.

Infrastructure & development

Indonesia's clogged ports strain growth prospects

Reuters - December 17, 2012

Jakarta – At Jakarta's infrastructure monitoring nerve center, live TV cameras track traffic flows on port access roads and highways, satellite images show cloud cover, and a Twitter feed allows officials to respond in real time to any public complaints.

But the only movement comes from the flowing screen images, since there is no one working at the room's empty desks.

Senior public works officials interviewed by Reuters said they do not know how to use the system. They cannot name a single infrastructure project to be finished in Indonesia's capital this year, despite their budget of $384 million. Only 35 percent of that money had been spent by early December.

Indonesia's back-to-back years of economic growth above 6 percent and a youthful population of 240 million have made it a magnet for foreign investment, which jumped 22 percent in the third quarter to $5.9 billion. But until it can efficiently move goods across its 17,000 islands, Indonesia will struggle to live up to its potential.

"If we don't sort out our problems then we're in trouble," said R.J. Lino, chief of Indonesian port firm Pelindo, as he surveyed cranes belching diesel smoke and moving containers onto ancient sagging trucks at the country's largest port.

It can take seven days for containers to move through the port in Jakarta, which handles two-thirds of the surging trade flows in the G20 economy, the longest time in Southeast Asia and up from around five days a couple of years ago.

The inefficiency at Indonesian ports means it is cheaper to send goods to China from Jakarta than to the edge of the archipelago, creating rising logistics costs and the risk of inflation as an Achilles heel for the economy.

In neighboring Singapore, by comparison, technicians at the world's busiest port control electric cranes by joystick from an office, moving containers within one day onto cargo ships three times bigger than Jakarta can handle.

Lino's state-owned Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Pelindo) is seeking to follow suit and modernize itself, from better use of yard space and a new IT system to plans for a whole new $2.5 billion Jakarta port by 2017.

But it faces a race against time as the existing Jakarta port is already at full capacity. Firms such as Toyota Motor Corp, Caterpillar and Unilever Indonesia Tbk are investing billions to boost manufacturing on the main Java island and are relying on the state to improve its port infrastructure.

"The port is likely to be a growing constraint for the Indonesian economy and for the country's competitiveness," said Henry Sandee, trade specialist in Jakarta at the World Bank. Shake-up

Lino worked at Chinese ports before being picked by the government three years ago to try to improve the situation.

Giving a pitch for the role, he lambasted the staid bureaucracy and corruption at state-run firms, in front of an audience of stunned ministers. They still gave him the job.

In the past decade, container traffic growth in Indonesia grew 5.8 percent, only slightly above the country's average economic growth rate of 5.2 percent in the same period.

"It should actually grow three times more compared to our economy. The problem is we don't have the capacity. We have a minimum of hard infrastructure and our productivity is bad. So we need to catch up," Lino said.

Traffic at the Tanjung Priok port this year surged 26 percent to around 7.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Patches of tarmac still lie unused, where barefoot workers play football, though it is unclear if capacity can be increased much further before the first phase of Pelindo's new Kalibaru port brings another 4.5 million TEUs in 2017, at the earliest.

State-controlled construction firm Pembangunan Perumahan Persero is building the port. Groundbreaking is expected to start in January, with the expansion partly funded by a bond issue and equity listing of a Pelindo logistics unit next year.

Until Kalibaru, Lino is relying on improvements in soft infrastructure. He wants to bring in a better berthing schedule, and an integrated IT system that aims to links the port with customs, shippers and banking nationwide in the next couple of years. He's also spending $50 million on educating staff.

One such motivated employee is Fajar Setyono, who has studied in Japan and hopes to study port management in Sweden. "If we can fix the IT, research shows we can reduce time by one day, with no infrastructure," Setyono said. "If we move the containers faster, capacity will rise without adding yards."

Land run

Changing the soft infrastructure is no easy task. Jakarta's public works officials could only cite one road flyover, meant to be done this year, that might finish in 2013, according to interviews with the department's chief Ery Basworo and his deputies at their headquarters.

That doesn't bode well for a critical toll road that is meant to link the port to Jakarta's ring road within a couple of years. There are also plans to build a railway from the port to a dry storage port near industrial estates, but no new railway has been built in Indonesia for more than 60 years.

"These plans are much less advanced than the port itself," said the World Bank's Sandee. "There's a lack of bureaucratic capacity. Government agencies are not equipped to manage these large scale tenders."

Local media reported on Friday that Indonesia's public works ministry planned to open bidding for 22,736 infrastructure contracts worth Rp 73.41 trillion ($7.62 billion) in 2013.

How many projects will actually be completed – or even started – is an open question. Officials cite land acquisition as the key problem to infrastructure, despite a long-awaited new land bill.

"The reality is we still have a problem with the price of land," said public works official Yusmada Faisal, adding prices had risen 10 percent this year and negotiations took months, as landowners sought three times what they were willing to pay.

Advantage China

These problems mean that, despite Lino's best efforts, the World Bank still sees the "dwell" time for a container to move through the Jakarta port rising to 10 or 11 days within five years.

Having goods stuck at the port for a few extra days means a need for a few more days worth of inventory, an expensive problem for firms such as Toyota sourcing parts from multiple countries and using a just-in-time inventory system.

It is not just the ports but jammed access roads and slow customs. Shipping goods from an industrial site near Jakarta onto a cargo ship costs around $700 per container, versus $420 from a similar site in Malaysia, Sandee said.

Sending that container from Jakarta to China, Indonesia's top trade partner, costs up to $200 per TEU. It costs twice as much to ship it to Belawan, Indonesia's No.3 port near the city of Medan on western Sumatra island.

To get it all the way to Sorong, in the easternmost Indonesian region of Papua, the bill soars to $2,000, Lino said. "If we don't do anything about this then it will be a big advantage for China," Lino said.

Economy & investment

Government offers tax incentives to help minimum wage hikes

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has proposed incentives for companies to help resolve disputes between workers and their employers over the provincial minimum wages.

To avoid disputes over the minimum wage issue Muhaimin said the government would give tax and fiscal incentives to small- and middle-scale companies. The incentives would also be offered to labor-intensive industries to enable them pay their workers in accordance with the current remuneration system.

Muhaimin made his statement during a keynote speech at a public discussion on industrial disputes organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta on Thursday.

He disclosed that many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were unable to comply with the provincial minimum wages and had planned to gradually downsize in the next few months due to the additional expense they would have to bear in 2013.

The minister added that the wage hike was part of the ministry's plan and had nothing to do with pressures from the recent national strikes. The wage hike was necessary because the 2005 ministerial decree on 46 wage components was no longer relevant with the decent wage concept, he said.

Muhaimin, who is implicated in the graft case centering on the 2012 transmigration infrastructure accelerated development funds (PPID), said that the government set the minimum wages based on the classification of the companies and their financial capability.

"The minimum wage for SMEs should be different from big companies while micro finance [UMKM] is excluded from the requirement," he said.

Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the Indonesian footwear producers association, Anton Supit, said there would be massive dismissals in the next few months as a result of the increase of the wage, even though most would not be able to pay dismissal severance as a result of financial difficulties.

"This will worsen the unemployment problem because most workers [affected] are unskilled elementary and high school graduates," he said. He said that with the wage hike being up to 70 percent next year, the cost for workers in labor-intensive companies would leap to 32 percent from the current 15 percent.

Chairman of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI) Syukur Sarto said the two alternatives were applicable but employers should be transparent about their financial conditions so that wage problems could be resolved through bipartite dialogue.

"Wage conflicts have often occurred because of employers while big companies are proud of having paid workers according to the minimum wages," he said.

Earlier this week, the Industry Ministry recommended that labor-intensive firms should be exempt from adopting the new minimum wage next year to meet the country's expected industrial growth by the end of 2013.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat said on Monday that his office was "upbeat" about the country's non-oil and gas industry growing to around 6.8 percent to 7.1 percent next year, despite the lack of infrastructure and the high cost of investment.

He added that the growth estimate would not be realized if labor-intensive companies, which employ tens of thousands of workers, remained under the new minimum wage between 30 and 40 percent to around Rp 2.2 million (US$228) next year.

Rupiah falls to lowest since 2009 on concern deficit will widen

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2012

Yudith Ho – Indonesia's rupiah fell to the weakest level since September 2009 as concern the current-account deficit will widen prompted investors to pull funds from the nation's assets. Government bonds advanced.

Overseas funds sold Rp 2.15 trillion ($220 million) more local-currency sovereign debt than they bought in the three days through Dec. 19, poised for the biggest weekly outflow since August, Finance Ministry data show. The current-account shortfall may widen to 2.3 percent of gross domestic product this quarter, the most since Bloomberg began compiling the figures in 1997, the central bank said on Dec. 11.

"We expect the rupiah to remain an underperformer in the region," said Prakriti Sofat, a regional economist at Barclays in Singapore. "The overall balance-of-payments position remains weak, which continues to weigh on the rupiah."

The rupiah dropped 0.4 percent to 9,688 per dollar as of 11:22 a.m. in Jakarta, after reaching 9,785 earlier, the lowest level since Sept. 16, 2009, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. The currency lost 6.4 percent this year, the worst performance among Asia's 10 most-traded currencies excluding the yen. The rupiah will weaken to 9,900 in 12 months, Sofat predicted.

Indonesia posted a current-account deficit of 2.14 percent of GDP for the three months through September, its third quarterly shortfall in a row, central bank data show. Foreign funds have sold $36 million more local stocks than they bought this month, according to figures from the exchange.

Bank Indonesia intervened shortly after trading opened on Friday, according to two traders who asked not to be identified, as the currency posted a weekly decline of 0.5 percent. The central bank will remain in the market to guard the rupiah, Governor Darmin Nasution said last week.

One-month implied volatility in the currency, a measure of expected moves in exchange rates used to price options, rose 15 basis points, or 0.15 percentage point, to 5.85 percent on Friday and this week. It was 13.2 percent at the end of 2011.

Government bonds advanced for a fifth day. The yield on the 7 percent notes due in May 2022 fell nine basis points this week to 5.16 percent, prices from the Inter Dealer Market Association show. That's the lowest level since Feb. 15.

Analysis & opinion

Newer deal for Papua

Jakarta Post Editorial - December 20, 2012

Since 2007, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched the new deal for Papua, the government has initiated numerous measures to improve the welfare of people in the natural resource-rich but long-neglected province.

The recent issuance of Presidential Decree No. 84/2012, which requires state and private companies doing construction projects to involve Papuan businesspeople in procurement of goods and services needed, is the latest of Jakarta's moves to show its commitment to Papuan development.

Previous initiatives included scholarships for Papuan students to enroll in 32 state universities across the country, infrastructure projects to bring remote areas out of isolation and agriculture projects to enhance food security. The government's intentions to empower the local population are also evident in its approval of a regional bylaw that restricts regional elections to candidates with Papuan blood only.

These pro-Papua policies have complemented the special autonomy status awarded to the provinces of Papua and West Papua that has resulted in the transfer of Rp 30 trillion (US$3.12 billion) in special autonomy funds over the last 12 years to improve the lives of Papuans.

The government expressed its seriousness in winning the hearts and minds of the Papuan people with the formation of the Special Unit of Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), which answers to the President, last year. Apart from dealing with policy matters, the new working unit has approached groups known for their critical views of the government and even separatist leanings.

Given the frequent reports of violence and aspirations for independence in Papua, however, it seems the government's hard work has yet to pay dividends and is perhaps doomed to fail. Like it or not, resentment of Jakarta, which is still alive despite the government's efforts, is a fact that the government has to accept.

The government may claim that the poverty rate in Papua and West Papua is declining, but the fact that the two remain the poorest provinces in the country, barely reflective of contributions the exploitation of their natural resources make to state revenue.

A huge amount of money did pour into Papua, but whether it really reached the people remains an unanswered question. The Supreme Audit Agency found Rp 3.34 trillion of special autonomy funds had been misused between 2002 and 2010, while the education and health standards of the local people have hardly improved as the lion's share of the regional budgets went to the bureaucracy.

The government's resettlement policy – transmigration – represents a potential time bomb in Papua if not handled with care.

With migrant populations set to exceed the number of native people, Papuans will find a longer and more difficult path in closing the gap with the rest of the nation. A newer and fairer deal is what Papuans need now.