Arnold Belau, Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) is calling on all West Papuan people from Sorong to Samarai to boycott both the legislative and presidential elections that will be held on April 9 and July 9.

KNPB spokesperson Bazoka Logo said that Indonesian democracy only hypnotises the West Papuan people through each regional and national election.

"Democracy ala Indonesian neo-colonialism has been hypnotising the West Papuan people for 50 years in each and every general election. But this effort will never succeed in guaranteeing the West Papuan people's political freedom to determine their own future", Logo told journalists at Expo in Waena on Friday afternoon March 21.

According to Logo, the aim of the Indonesian festival of democracy in Papua is very clear: first to strengthen the agents of colonialism, second to strengthen the Indonesian colonial system and third to strengthen the hegemony of Indonesian neo-colonialism.

Logo also said that the colonial democratic system has cause the Papuan people's way of life to fall apart and created a discriminative social order.

"Because of this therefore, the KNPB is calling on all West Papuan people to boycott the legislative and presidential elections for as long as West Papua's political status remains unresolved", he asserted.

According to Logo, West Papua's political status must be resolved through an international mechanism, namely a referendum; whether or not the Papuan people wish to remain part of Indonesia or wish to manage themselves.

Not long ago meanwhile, the chairperson of the West Papua National Parliament (PNWP), Buchtar Tabuni also called on the West Papuan people not to take part in the festival of democracy or great people's festival that is held every five years in Indonesia. (Jubi/Arnold Belau)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/2014/03/21/knpb-serukan-boikot-pemilu-2014/

West Papuan self-determination must involve Jakarta, says Lilo

Radio New Zealand International - March 21, 2014

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister says any self-determination efforts in Indonesia's Papua region must be made in conjunction with Jakarta.

Gordon Darcy Lilo and other leaders in the Melanesian Spearhead Group are considering a bid for membership by the indigenous Melanesians of Papua region.

Mr Lilo, who says Jakarta has taken heed of his call for an end to abuses by security forces in Papua, describes Indonesia's legitimacy over the region as unquestionable.

He says the choice by West Papuans to join Indonesia was made with the 1969 Act of Free Choice, although the referendum is widely regarded as having been stage-managed.

"They've done that. And it was done under the auspices of the United Nations. We need to respect that process. We need to work within that legitimate authority that they've made a decision on and make a point where we can find a way for that legitimate authority to make a decision whether or not the choice of autonomy or the choice of an independent autonomy will be the path that both parties will agree to put an agenda on to work towards into the future."

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/239500/west-papuan-self-determination-must-involve-jakarta,-says-lilo

Papua's endless cycle of strife and poverty

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia – A 2-year-old girl chews on an areca nut, while a drunken man slumbers by the roadside that morning. A group of children walks to school barefooted in a village where proper housing is scarce, as are health care facilities and school buildings, and where infants are undernourished. This is the Waris district of Papua's Keerom region.

District chief Yusuf Wally told the Jakarta Globe that since assuming office, the regional government has allocated Rp 1 billion ($87,374) annually to each of the 61 villages across Papua to boost the local economy and build infrastructure, especially in the border areas.

"The main principle of every policy we make is to serve Papuans in every sector. The Rp 1 billion fund can be used to build roads or houses, provide water, electricity, or education, develop the economy... It depends on what the villagers want," he said.

Much like the Village Law passed by the House of Representatives at the beginning of this year, the funds provided to each village will be disbursed every four months, depending on the developments made by the village.

"The supervisory team will then evaluate whether the village needs to be given the next infusion of funds," Yusuf said, adding that most Papuans prefer to use the money to construct houses.

However, an activist, who declined to be named, claimed the program lacked proper monitoring by the district chief and supervisory teams had the tendency to hand in fictitious reports to the regional government.

Furthermore, according to the activist, residents living in the border areas also tend to distribute the funds amongst themselves as they wait for the next disbursement from the central government, without building infrastructure or supporting the economic growth of their villages.

"The program has only succeeded in one or two villages, but most have failed," he said. "Some residents even built houses merely as a symbol. They don't live in it. They keep going back to the forest. The rest of the money goes into their pockets to, in several cases, they spend it on alcohol. "Any monitoring done on the project is very poor," the activist added.

Poor public facilitations

Andi, a 4-year-old boy of small stature with a resigned look on his face, lives in Banda village in Waris district. For a boy his age, Andi is severely undernourished, weighing only 9.8 kilograms. According to his mother, Andi has been underweight and suffering from a complex lung disease since the age of two.

"I thank God that he's still alive now. For the past two years, I've been carrying him to hospital to get medical treatments. With the help of public health centers [puskesmas], I have Andi's condition checked every month," the mother said. "All I want is for my children to be healthy and happy," she said.

Waris Puskesmas head Agustinus Fereira said poverty is among the main factors behind the spread of skin diseases, diarrhea, and a lack of nutrition, which severely affects the health of the people

"There are so many things that need improvement," he said. "More than Rp 200 million is in the allocation budget this year and we are hoping that some of the funds could be used to improve health care facilities in the village."

"The first step toward a solution is to invite all the village chiefs for a discussion and to share the necessary information [on the matter]," Agustinus said, adding that with Wahana Visi Indonesia, his team could easily promote a variety of health care programs to the village residents.

Joni May, the Banda village chief, disagreed with Agustinus's conclusion and told the Jakarta Globe that the main issue within the area was not poverty.

"We are not poor. We don't lack land for farming. We can also collect food from the forest," he said. "We need the government to pay attention to us. We want our village to develop and to improve on health care, education, housing and the overall economy."

Meanwhile, Dian N. Wellip, principal of Waris's public high school, said efforts to improve education is severely lacking. "We have yet to complete the addition of a library and laboratory," Dian said. "Only one or two teachers come to the school every day. Some, many of them women, have to take care of their own children. Several of our teachers are sick and some are currently on maternity leave."

Krispinus Bidi, a pastor appointed by his church to serve the Waris district, also expressed his concerns. "Papua is very rich and is still accepting money from the central government. It is a positive move, yet most of the indigenous Papuans are still poor," he said. "Something is wrong with the system. The government can't just hand out money without teaching the people how to spend it wisely, or how to build houses. Money is not every solution to every problem."

Special autonomy

Dr. Adriana Elisabeth, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said the situation in Papua needs to be thoroughly evaluated before officially labeling its special autonomy a failure.

She emphasized that the core of the problem not only lays in policy implementation, but also in the political history of the central government and the region.

"If the special autonomy is considered a failure, the government should investigate its own actions and pinpoint why the effort did not succeed," she said. "Is it wise to give a conflicted area such as Papua special autonomy after centralization, without thorough supervision?"

"It is crucial to trace the root of the failure. If social and economic developments failed to take off, then it's high time for both the regional and central government to conduct an internal evaluation. They would need to conclude whether their efforts were good enough to make any impact on the region," Adriana said.

In 2013, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed to upgrade Papua's autonomy status to a Special Autonomy Plus, in hopes of better addressing the host of developmental and security issues.

But the move garnered its fair share of criticism from the public, including students from the University of Cenderawsih in Papua, who claimed that such proposals would not improve the welfare of Papuans. The students pointed to the alarming fact that Papua is ranked 32nd out of 33 provinces on the Human Development Index in Indonesia.

Papua, which was annexed by Indonesia on May 1, 1963, was granted special autonomy by Jakarta in 2001 in an attempt to address social grievances and a poverty rate that remains among the highest in the country, despite the region's immense wealth of natural resources.

The central government has poured trillions of rupiah into the region over the past decade as part of the autonomy push. However, with 31 percent of the population still living below the poverty line, critics say the huge amounts of money have not been allocated effectively and that the special autonomy status has failed to achieve its primary objectives.

Adriana, too, chimed in on criticism for plans of an upgrade. "If the plan continues, some laws would overlap. Which one will be implemented first? It will only complicate and confuse local officials and residents," she said.

Adriana suggested that instead of trying to introduce new laws to Papua, the government should identify the core of the multitude of problems currently raging though the island.

"Judging Papua by the rare instances of success brought on by the special autonomy would lead us up the wrong path. Neither would it truly solve Papua's problems," she said, adding that the region's historical and governmental issues overlap and should be targeted simultaneously.

"Social, economic, and infrastructure problems may be dealt with separately. However, the core of Papua's difficulties lie in two sectors: politics and development.

"Let the local officials handle any road bumps with regard to matters on development. Political discussions need to be held by Jakarta and Papua. Political matters cannot be solved by the declaration of special autonomy. Solving politics with money will not work," Adriana said.

"Even if all the developmental goals of Papua are achieved, political rifts remain. The lack of law and order, the absence of security will remain. People won't feel safe in Papua," she added.

Adriana warned that a military presence would not offer a solution. Instead, the military would be considered a symbol of violence, put in place only to instill fear among locals.

"These forces don't understand Papuan culture and values. To the military, the smallest indication of 'chaos,' any sign of disobedience against government policy is viewed as an act of rebellion or part of a separatist movement. However, isn't it natural to shout out aspirations in such a democratic country?" Adriana said.

Demands for justice and transparency

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Jakarta-based Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said instead of the trillions of rupiah in handouts, Papua only needed three things. "Indonesia needs to give Papuans justice, recognition, and return their wealth," Haris said.

"This country has been throwing large amounts of money to Papua for the development of infrastructure, but has anyone questioned what its indigenous people truly need? As long as their island is exploited by private and foreign corporations, any development efforts are useless. No amount of money would give these people back what Indonesia has taken away from them," he said.

Haris added that the full support of the government would be needed to give Papua the justice it deserves. "Now, the question is, is the country willing enough to restore what it had destroyed in the region?"

Haris said the special autonomy was simply a way for the local and central elite to scrape profits for their own interest.

"Special autonomy is just a scam, another method of manipulation. The money is never given to the people; it goes to luxurious cars and houses, to both local and central elites. Meanwhile, the people that live in the border areas have to suffer with limited health care facilities, poor education and inadequate infrastructure," he said.

Haris said the government's failure to provide wealth and safety to Papua stems from the country's perception of the region; it views Papuans as voiceless objects that have no say in any matter.

"They need to be considered. They want to participate in determining policies that will effect their own land. But instead of including its people, the officials care only about money. In the end, it's all about money," Haris said.

Corruption has grown rampant throughout Papua since the 2001 implementation of the special autonomy, which allows the government to disburse trillions of rupiah with the goal of accelerating the development of infrastructure.

The central government has allocated some Rp 4.7 trillion towards Papua's special autonomy this year alone, a massive Rp 400 billion increase from last year. Meanwhile, the government allocated only Rp 2 trillion of its 2014 annual budget for the West Papua region.

However, with such large funds handed out annually, no significant changes have been made, especially in the border areas, where a majority of the citizens continue to live in poor conditions. Without the skills to turn to agriculture, these people are forced to forage the forest for food.

Tama S. Langkun, a researcher for the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said according studies carried out by the institution, 98.13 percent of corruption cases coming across its desk were from regional and district governments, including those in Papua.

However, compared to other provinces, such as North Sumatra, West Sumatra and most regions of Java, instances of corruption in Papua have not been optimally managed, mostly for geographical reasons.

"Based on our research, we know that 54 percent of these alleged corruption cases occur in the procurement of goods and services. This means they involve money from the spending sector, or more specifically, from the special autonomy fund," Tama said.

"According to our 2013 research data, 567 alleged cases were reported in Papua. With such a high number, we now know where all the money [from the autonomy fund] went; it never even reached the hands of the indigenous Papuans.

"Despite the trillions [of rupiah] supposedly given to the people, many Papuans continue to make a living by selling areca nuts. This paints a true picture of the degrading welfare of Papuans."

Tama added that from 34 Indonesian provinces, Papua ranked 26th in its ability to handle corruption cases, from July to December last year. He cited the poor ranking to the government's inability in managing the special autonomy and its budget allocation. "The government can't simply give out money and wash their hands off any responsibility," he said.

Peaceful dialogue

Haris said since the New York Agreement, a treaty signed in 1962 to end the territorial dispute between Indonesia and the Netherlands over western Papua Island, the role of Papuans in determining policies implemented in the area remains quite low, thus inspiring separatist activities, such as those by the Free Papua Movement.

Matius Wetapo, a resident of Wonorejo village in the Arso district, claimed such a movement was no longer active.

"The movement was born as a result of Papuans' dissatisfaction over Indonesian government policies, which failed to involve Papua in its processes," he said. "But the rest of the movement is not as aggressive as it was in the past. We all want peace now."

He also deplored the lack of impact the government policies have made in the development and welfare of Papuans living in border areas.

"I think the central government is quite good, but corruption has continued to hamper the development process. Money from the special autonomy policy rarely arrives at the right places," he said.

Matius also commented on the presence of the military in Papua. "At the moment, we [Papuans] have a good relationship and maintain positive communication with the military. We do not feel threatened, instead we feel safe having the TNI here," he said.

He emphasized the need for comprehensive dialog between the separatist movement and the government, underlining that arrests or punishments will not help solve the issues. "All we want is peace," he repeated.

To Krispinus, however, gaps still exist between troops deployed by the central government and local residents, despite the conducive relationship between the two entities.

"It's as if there's an invisible, historical scar separating the people from members of the military," he said. "To unite them, the church sometimes hosts activities that engage both sides. But ultimately, they just don't quite belong on our land."

Haris echoed such sentiments, saying the move to send the military to the region was unnecessary. "I think that this is an effort to foster the image that Papua will always be a conflicted area, which needs to be secured by military forces. There are entities who don't want Papua to be explored by foreign media. They don't want the truth to be known. Especially regarding corruption," he said.

"Instead of sending armed forces and prohibiting the foreign media from visiting Papua, the Indonesian government should start to think about holding dialog with the Papuans."

Adriana of LIPI sees the deployment of the military in the area as acceptable, saying it was common practice to send security forces to border areas.

However, she agrees that the main solution to Papua's political and historical issues would involve a discussion between government officials and the island's indigenous people, sorting through policies that need to be implemented.

"At the moment, the central government has engaged a top-down form of communication with Papua. However, it is high time to change the pattern of this dialog," Adriana said.

"The citizens love to be involved in the political process, which is why a bottom-up approach suits Papua. When the government finally understands this, they will then have the attention of the regions' citizens, who will finally begin to recognize the Indonesian government as a dignified one."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/papuas-endless-cycle-strife-poverty/

Free West Papua Campaign calls for election boycott

Radio New Zealand International - March 18, 2014

The Free West Papua campaign is calling on ethnic Papuan people to boycott upcoming elections in the disputed Indonesian province.

A campaigner, Benny Wenda, says voting in the provincial elections, held by Jakarta, would only allow Indonesia's control of the province to continue.

The chair of the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association, Pastor Alan Nafuki, is supporting Mr Wenda's call. He says Papuans hold divided opinions on who they are, and what they want.

But Pastor Nafuki believes a referendum for West Papua's self-determination is preferable over the elections. "Now a lot of people are talking about a referendum, that's one option. The other one would be if they would ask other bodies, like other governments of the world to assist."

Alan Nafuki says West Papua needs the support of the United Nations to achieve self determination, something Indonesia refuses to consider.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/239098/free-west-papua-campaign-calls-for-election-boycott

One suspected Papuan separatist dead, 4 arrested

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2014

Jakarta – A joint police and Indonesian Military (TNI) patrol has killed a suspected separatist and arrested four others in Papua.

"The military and police encountered the illegally armed men in Kota Mulia, a regency of Puncak Jaya, on Saturday," Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said in Jayapura on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

The military and police were on a joint patrol heading to Kota Mulia when the officers encountered the men, who then started shooting at the patrol, Tito said.

One of the men was wounded in the encounter and died en route to a local hospital, Tito explained, adding that two of four had also been injured but had received treatment at hospital. Tito said the patrol found 29 bullets after searching the suspected separatists.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/18/1-suspected-papuan-separatist-dead-4-arrested.html

West Papua: Indonesian warning may force activists to stay in exile

Pacific Media Centre - March 17, 2014

Port Vila (Radio New Zealand International/Vanuatu Post) – Two leaders of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation have been warned that they face assassination by the Indonesian military, say media reports.

As a result, the WPNCL's Vanuatu head of mission Andy Ayamiseba, and its vice chairman, Dr John Otto Ondawame, may have to remain in exile in Port Vila, Radio New Zealand International reported.

Vanuatu Post journalist Len Garae wrote yesterday that his newspaper had received an invitation from two West Papuans (Franz Albert Joku and Nicholas Simion Messet) who work for Indonesia, inviting Ayamiseba and Dr Ondawame home on the grounds that "times are changing in West Papua for the better".

Barak Sope, who is the Vanuatu special adviser to the coalition, reportedly told Ayamiseba and Ondawame not to heed calls to return home and lead their people.

Sope reminded the public that when he was prime minister of Vanuatu, he invited West Papuan Chief Thys Elouy to Vanuatu for its 20th independence anniversary. But just after Elouy arrived back in West Papua, he was killed by the Indonesian police.

Papuan birthright

Ayamiseba has said he will only go back to West Papua once the Indonesian military occupation is over, according to Radio New Zealand International.

He was quoted by the Vanuatu Post as saying: "Who does not long to return to his beloved country? But there is a very strong reason why we cannot. The reason has to do with our birthright, our political status and our security. We are after our indigenous identity. We are born Papuan and we will die Papuan. We are not Indonesian. And our birthright has been raped by colonialists supported by the United Nations".

Ayamiseba raised the troubling issue of a total lack of media freedom in West Papua, asking why, if the situation had improved, were journalists still banned from West Papua.

He also pointed out that in January this year, member states of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) went on a fact-finding mission to West Papua, but were prevented from meeting any West Papuan activists. Instead, most of the West Papuan activists were arrested before the mission started and detained in prison for its duration.

Vanuatu's Prime Minister, Moana Carcasses Kalosil has been a strong advocate for freedom in West Papua, telling the United Nations recently that it was neglecting the indigenous people of West Papua, 10 percent of whom are claimed to have been slaughtered by Indonesian military invaders over the past 50 years.

Source: http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/west-papua-indonesian-warning-may-force-activists-stay-exile-8514

Police trace instigators of Timika clash

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2014

Jayapura – The Papua Police are on the hunt for the instigators of the communal clash in Timika that broke out on March 4, resulting in the deaths of seven people while 300 others have been left injured.

"It has been indicated that the communal clash was provoked. The clash stemmed from a border dispute in Jayanti village, which has actually been resolved," said Papua Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw in Jayapura on Friday.

"Both groups have carried out the broken arrow ceremony, which means peace has been reached, but the clash recurred. Many parties with vested interests were involved in the clash."

The Papua Police have sent a team to carry out peace efforts and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) members have been withdrawn as one of them was shot by an arrow.

Police personnel have been positioned to prevent further clashes. Besides the seven victims killed in the clash, six homes and heavy machinery were razed by the mob. "Police have questioned 12 people regarding the vandalism," Paulus said.

Papua Peace Network coordinator Pastor Neles Tebay, who is also rector of the Fajar Timur Theological Institute in Jayapura, urged the local administration to actively seek a solution to end the prolonged communal clash.

"They must be proactive in gathering traditional leaders from both warring sides. The land dispute must be resolved. The war has caused residents to suffer. They have always faced violence and it should be stopped," said Neles.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/17/police-trace-instigators-timika-clash.html

Aceh

Aceh Party members arrested in election violence crackdown

Jakarta Globe - March 23, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Police charged 21 members and supporters of the Aceh Party over a string of violent attacks on rival political parties ahead of the April legislative election.

Local police initially arrested 50 people in connection with a spate of attacks targeting members of the Aceh National Party (PNA) in Banda Masen Village, in Lhokseumawe district, early Saturday morning. A mob of PA supporters converged on the home of Amri, a local official with PNA, in retaliation over the shooting of the PA's Ahmad Syuib, 28, during a campaign event.

Ahmad was shot after an Aceh Party event in Ulee Reuleueng Village, North Aceh, at 8 p.m. on Friday. The 28-year-old was injured in the shooting and admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment, said Lhokseumawe Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Joko Surachmanto.

Aceh Party supporters responded by engaging in a series of attacks targeting the rival party. Two men were badly beaten at a coffee stall in Cot Murong village, Dewantara, North Aceh. The mob then set the local office of the PNA on fire before turning on a car and home owned by local PNA legislative candidate Dedi Safrizal.

They then destroyed campaign paraphernalia throughout the subdistrict and attacked the home of Amri.

"Six other people have been named suspects for possessions of arms, including machetes, bayonets, knives and two airsoft guns," Joko told Jakarta Globe. "All of them are cadres or supporters of PA."

In total 21 people were charged in connection with the attacks. Police seized 16 vehicles used by the mob. "The 21 suspects are facing more than five years in prison," Joko said.

An investigation into the shooting of Ahmad and the other attacks on PNA members is still under investigation. "Sooner or later the perpetrators will be arrested," Joko said.

Aceh has struggled with a spate of violence in the lead-up to the legislative election as members of two rival parties both founded by ex- Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels fight for control of Indonesia's most Islamic province.

A third party, the Aceh Peace Party (PDA) was founded by local ulema and has been largely uninvolved in the violence, according to initial reports. PA officials could not be reached for comment by deadline.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/aceh-party-members-arrested-election-violence-crackdown/

Election violence continues in Aceh

Jakarta Globe - March 22, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Two National Aceh Party (PNA) members were critically injured and a member of the Aceh Party (PA) was hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries in related incidents on Friday.

Aceh Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gustav Leo said on Saturday that PA member Ahmad Syuib, 28, was shot on Jalan Banda Aceh Medan at Ulee Reuleueng village, North Aceh district on Friday night.

"He was shot in the ribs when he was on his way home [with other party members] in a convoy of cars after attending the Aceh Party's campaign event," Gustav said.

Zulkarnaini Bin Hamzah, chairman of PA's North Aceh district chapter, called on the police to investigate the case. "There was no problem when supporters and members of the Aceh Party headed to the campaign location," Zulkarnaini said. "But on the way home after the campaign, the shooting happened."

Local residents said the man was traveling in a car made to look like a military vehicle. "A person in the car shouted 'someone has been shot'," said one resident, who asked not to be identified. "The convoy stopped and the victim was taken to Arun hospital."

Aceh Party supporters then went looking for the perpetrator and, based on the assumption that the shooting was the work of a rival party, destroyed the car and house of Dedi Safrizal, a PNA councilor on the Aceh Legislative Council from Lancang Barat village. "They also destroyed PNA campaign materials across the street," the resident said.

The group then assaulted two members of the PNA, Armiya, 24 and Tauhid, 25, who were sitting in a coffee shop in Cot Murong village, Dewantara subdistrict.

"Two members of the PNA task force are critically injured with head and other injuries after they were seriously assaulted by PA supporters," said Sofyan, the secretary of the PNA North Aceh chapter. "Both are in intensive care at Kesrem hospital in Lhokseumawe."

He said the PA supporters also destroyed the house of Amri, the commander of the local PNA task force in Uteun Bayi village. "Even though our members were assaulted and their houses destroyed, we advise all PNA cadres not to retaliate, as we love peace," Sofyan said.

Both parties were formed out of the now-disbanded Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a separatist movement that fought the Indonesian government for Aceh independence for three decades. "Why bother winning [the conflict] if it is only increasing the number of orphans in Aceh," Sofyan said.

Gustav said that the situation in North Aceh was under control by Saturday afternoon. "Police are still investigating the shooting," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/election-violence-continues-aceh/

TNI probes alleged involvement of soldiers in Aceh election attack

Jakarta Globe - March 19, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Wednesday it was investigating allegations that several soldiers had rented their guns to the perpetrators of an attack on a National Democratic (NasDem) Party campaign office in the district of North Aceh last month.

"Kodam Iskandar Muda [the Aceh military command] has formed a team to investigate the alleged involvement of TNI members," Iskandar Muda spokesman Col. Subagio Irianto said on Wednesday. He said that six soldiers had been questioned so far, and four others would be interrogated soon.

The 10 soldiers were all stationed to guard facilities of US oil giant ExxonMobil in North Aceh. Subagio only identified one of them – Chief Private Heri. "The team... has questioned Chief Private Heri and five others out of 10 personnel tasked with guarding the [facilities]," Subagio said.

Heri, according to Subagio, is a friend with Rasyidin, 30, one of the two men arrested recently over the alleged attack of a campaign office set up by NasDem legislative candidate Zubir H. T. in the Kunyet Mulee village of North Aceh.

Two members of Zubir's campaign team were injured in the attack that took place on Feb. 16. Police said Rasyidin, also known as Mario, was a former combatant with the now-defunct separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The second attacker has been identified as Umar Adam, 35, reportedly an official with the Aceh Transition Committee (KPA), an organization formed after the signing of a peace deal between GAM and the Indonesian government in 2005 to accommodate former GAM members.

National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said on Tuesday that Rasyidin and Umar claimed to have rented their guns, which were used in the Feb. 16 attack, from TNI personnel. "[But] Chief Private Heri denied ever lending nor renting any gun to anyone, including Mario," Subagio said on Wednesday.

He added the 10 soldiers' ammunition, based on preliminary investigations, were still intact. "The TNI has deepened their investigation by borrowing a shell casing found by the Aceh Police at the crime scene," Subagio said. "We will test it in a forensic lab to determine whether or not the guns were from the TNI."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/tni-probes-alleged-involvement-soldiers-aceh-election-attack/

Former GAM combatant allegedly involved in Aceh election violence

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2014

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – One of the participants in an attack on a National Democrat Party (NasDem) campaign office in Munyee Kunyet village, North Aceh in February was a former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatant, police said on Tuesday.

"The office was hit by two shooters," an unnamed source at the National Police headquarters said. "The first one, RSD, was an ex-combatant in GAM and the other one, Umar, was the one who fired [the shots]."

RSD allegedly drove the motorcycle the pair used in the attack. After firing at the building, the men allegedly went inside and beat up two campaign workers. No one was injured by the gunshots.

RSD was arrested in a warung in North Aceh on Sunday at around 4 p.m., and Umar was arrested in North Aceh late Monday night. Both alleged attackers rented firearms illegally from a soldier stationed locally, police said.

"The two shooters have been detained," National Police Chief Gen. Sutarman said. "According to them, the firearms used were rented from an army member. We are now working together with the army to solve the case." He declined to comment further.

Sutarman said the attackers also lowered a NasDem political party flag, sparking anger. "The motive was political," he said. "There was a flag of a certain party [that was taken down]. [The perpetrators were] were also connected to a different political party. We are studying the case."

Police on Tuesday were searching for additional suspects in the attack. "We're searching for another two perpetrators," said the police source who would not be named.

Aceh has experience a rash of violent incidents in the run up to the April elections. Earlier this month, a legislative candidate from the Aceh National Party (PNA) was shot and killed by unknown gunmen on a secluded road in South Aceh.

"The institutional transformation of the former GAM is remarkable, with the establishment of a local political party. But it did not come with a change in their political behavior. In that case, they failed," Aceh Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) director Mustiqal Syahputra told the Jakarta Globe.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/former-gam-combatant-allegedly-involved-aceh-election-violence/

Human rights & justice

Privatization an obstacle to right to clean water

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2014

Corry Elyda, Jakarta – A foreign expert on public services has said that water privatization is an obstacle to the government in implementing human rights, especially relating to the access to clean water.

London-based University of Greenwich lecturer Emanuele Lobina took the stand during a hearing on water privatization at Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, saying that around 90 percent of cities around the world had ended their cooperation with private companies and returned the provision of their water supplies to the public sector.

Lobina, who has conducted a substantial amount of research into water privatization around the world, said that although the reasons for the contract terminations were various, most of them related to poor services and high operating costs.

"The failure to invest in accordance with the contracts as well as other issues like corruption are also key factors," he said, adding that this was not only the case in high-income countries but also in middle- and low- income countries. Lobina gave an example of developing countries, including South Africa. Its water rates were so high, low-income families could not afford to pay them.

"Some locals eventually filed a citizen lawsuit and won the case. The contract was eventually terminated and the country did not have to pay compensation to the private water operator," he said.

He added that poor services and high operating costs resulted because the private companies tended to prioritize profits. Lobina also said, however, that around 10 percent of the world's cities still used public-private partnerships (PPPs) for the provision of water supplies.

"The reasons behind such practices may vary, but many cases occur because of the World Bank's influence over local decision-making," he said.

The privatization of Jakarta's water supply was instigated following a World Bank initiative. According to testimony by a previous witness, the World Bank initiated the water privatization project after lending city- owned water operator PAM Jaya US$92 million.

A group of residents and campaigners, gathered under a coalition called Jakarta Residents Opposing Water Privatization (KMMSAJ), filed a lawsuit demanding the court annul the cooperation agreement between PAM Jaya, PT Aetra Air Jakarta and PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya.

Lobina suggested before the court that the city administration should be brave enough to follow the example of those cities that unilaterally terminated their contracts, and in some cases even paid the compensation, rather than continuing with the cooperation.

By terminating the contract, he went on, the city could directly take over the supply of water for the sake of people living in Jakarta.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/19/privatization-obstacle-right-clean-water.html

Women's rights

Surabaya's Ibu Risma applauded for firing polygamous civil servants

Jakarta Globe - March 21, 2014

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women has praised Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini for her decision to fire a number of civil servants for polygamy.

"It's the right decision because civil servants had to promise when they were installed that they would not break regulations, laws or the constitution," Masruchah, the deputy chairwoman of the commission, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. "It's a lesson for other civil servants to maintain the harmony of their family."

Risman fired 30 civil servants in 2013. It could not be confirmed how many of the 30 had been fired for polygamy – a number lost their jobs to other factors, the local government said.

"Most of those fired by us during 2013 were for having a second marriage without a permit – the rest was for misusing the budget," Risma said as quoted by news portal Merdeka.com on Tuesday.

Risma said that she had issued formal warnings to the civil servants, but all were ignored. "The response to the warning showed they were underestimating, even challenging us," Risma said. "So we fired them."

A regulation passed in 1983 requires civil servants seek a permit from their superiors to take a second wife.

"The decision was correct because having more than one wife causes problems both in the family and the office," Masruchah said. "There's no such things as healthy polygamy as there are always people who get hurt because of the second and subsequent marriages."

Regardless of the rules, she said, many public figures including prominent politicians continue to consider it acceptable for a man to hitch his ride to more than one woman.

Under Indonesia's archaic 1974 family code, men may marry more than once if they can prove that their first wife is disabled, terminally ill or unable to bear children.

"They are lawmakers; they should comply with the law," she said. "The 1974 Marriage Law stated that the principle of marriage is monogamy. Polygamy is a crime."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/surabayas-ibu-risma-applauded-firing-polygamous-civil-servants/

Political parties & elections

Maldives getaway to teach actresses about tourism: Bakrie

Jakarta Globe - March 23, 2014

Semarang – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie doubled-down on claims that there was nothing out of the ordinary about jet-setting to the Maldives with a pair of Indonesian actresses on Sunday, explaining that he was merely showing the sisters how the island nation had capitalized on its tourism potential.

"The Maldives is a very small country, but it's tourists exceed the tourists who come to Indonesia," the presidential candidate told the Bakrie family-owned news portal Vivanews.co on Sunday. "We brought along those two sisters because they're very concerned about tourism. Oliv happens to enjoy diving while Marcella likes making videos about marine tourism."

The Maldives recorded a little more than 958,000 tourists in 2012 as political instability took hold. Indonesia booked more than 8 million tourists during the same period, according to the state-run Antara News Agency.

But Bakrie, forced to address the trip after a vacation video was leaked on the Internet last week, said Indonesia had a lot to learn from the small island nation.

The Indonesian tycoon was seen on video traveling to the Maldives with celebrity sisters Marcella Zalianty and Olivia Zalianty and Golkar Party lawmaker Aziz Syamsuddin where they reportedly enjoyed the comforts of the W Retreat & Spa – a pricey upmarket resort on Fesdu Island where the two- bedroom "Ocean Haven" currently fetches up to $8,400 a night.

The video appeared to take place in May of 2010 – when tourist visits to the Maldives numbered less than 800,000 annually, according to government reports. "If the Maldives can [be a popular tourist destination], why can't Labuan Bajo, Maluku and Bunaken?" Bakrie asked.

Marcella and Oliva hoped to apply the lessons learned in the Maldives to the Indonesian tourism industry, Bakrie said. Neither of the sisters have a stake in the nation's tourism industry and have made no moves to enter the competitive market in the four years since the video was shot.

Regardless, the Golkar Party continued to characterize the video as an attempt to defame the presidential candidate ahead of the election season. The chairman of former President Suharto's election machine, Bakrie – one of Indonesia's richest men – hopes to ride a wave of New Order nostalgia into office this July.

He said he had warned his family of negative campaigns during this election season. His family was prepared for such attacks, Barkie said as he stood alongside his wife Tatty Murnitriati and their sons Anindya Novyan Bakrie and Anindra Ardiansyah Bakrie at Semarang's Ahmad Yani International Airport.

"I already said while [declaring my presidential bid] in 2012 that my children and wife will bear the heavist burden from [the black campaigns]," he said.

His wife dismissed the video as a politically motivated attack on her husband. "There's nothing out of place in the video," Tatty told the Indonesian news portal Tempo.co. "They [the Zalianty sisters] are like my own kids. Many political rivals want to bring him down. They make attacks on his character, not only him as a person, but also on his family."

The husband and wife were affectionate before the cameras, sharing a hug and kissing each other on the cheek before boarding their flight.

Bakrie's daughter-in-law meanwhile reappropriated a stuffed bear seen in the leaked images as a campaign tool. The 67-year-old man was seen hugging a stuffed bear in one of the images posted to the blog "Aburizal Bakrie sik asik Marcella Olivia Zalianti di Maldives."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/maldives-getaway-teach-actresses-tourism-bakrie/

Jokowi looks for Muslim support

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2014

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – With religious sentiment believed to still play a significant role in the nation's politics, presidential hopeful Joko "Jokowi" Widodo – widely seen as a typical Javanese abangan, or nominal Muslim – has been working aggressively to garner support from the nation's Muslim leaders.

In his second attempt to woo Muslim voters, the Jakarta governor and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) nominee, paid a visit to the Central Java city of Rembang on Thursday night, to meet with influential Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) cleric Mustofa Bisri, known as Gus Mus – but this time without any high-profile media coverage.

It was reported that Jokowi left City Hall on Thursday at 3 p.m. and arrived in Rembang, located 600 kilometers east of the capital, several hours later. Jokowi, according to media reports, also visited PDI-P politician and Kudus regent Musthofa on his way back to Jakarta.

Nusron Wahid, leader of the Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor), a youth wing of NU, who was present at Jokowi's meeting with Gus Mus, considered the meeting a "regular gathering".

"They [Jokowi and Gus Mus] discussed many things, including the country's religious affairs and how the government should handle them in the future," said Nusron.

As the chairman of NU's religious council, Gus Mus is considered one of the organization's most senior figures. The 69-year-old cleric is also known as a popular figure on Twitter with more than 300,000 followers.

Earlier on Thursday, Jokowi visited the headquarters of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Muslim organization, in Central Jakarta, and led a dhuhur (midday) prayer gathering at the request of Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin.

Jokowi's official schedule, however, mentioned nothing about his later meeting with Gus Mus. Jokowi, who returned to his office on Friday, refused to comment on his brief trip to Rembang.

PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo said Jokowi's visits to Muhammadiyah and NU should be seen as an effort to show respect to the organizations.

"If the PDI-P and Pak Jokowi manage to secure the people's mandate [to lead the country], NU and Muhammadiyah, along with other religious organizations, would become very important for the country in achieving its national goals," Tjahjo said.

Many surveys have suggested that Jokowi and the PDI-P will be victorious in the upcoming legislative and presidential elections. However, after receiving the official PDI-P presidential nomination earlier this month, Jokowi has only a few more weeks to consolidate support for his party ahead of the April 9 legislative election.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political science researcher Firman Noor said Jokowi's visit to Gus Mus was necessary after NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj recently signaled his personal preference for the Muslim-based National Awakening Party (PKB) through his appearance in the party's political advertisements. "Overall, Gus Mus is considered a 'neutral' NU figure who can help Jokowi earn recognition from NU supporters," Firman told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, on Friday, leaders of political parties continued to woo supporters in different cities on the sixth day of the open campaign period.

In Malang, East Java, PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar served as the party's main campaigner, while National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa took the lead for his party in Sumedang, West Java.

In Depok, West Java, Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie told supporters he would introduce free 12-year education and direct funding to support village development.

[Corry Elyda contributed to this article.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/22/jokowi-looks-muslim-support.html

Mixed reaction to celebrity candidates

Jakarta Post - March 21, 2014

Jakarta – Political parties are trying to gain as many votes as possible during the open campaign period ahead of the April 9 legislative election, including fielding celebrities to secure a 3.5 percent electoral threshold at the House of Representatives.

In a move seen as upping the ante, a number of political parties are fielding sexy models, not just simple celebrities, as legislative candidates. Their candidacy has been met with mixed reactions from the public, ranging from approval to strong opposition.

Destiara Talita, 26, a former adult magazine model, is running for a legislative seat for the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), vying against other candidates in Electoral District West Java VIII, which comprises Cirebon and Indramayu regencies as well as Cirebon city.

In addition to Destiara, who studies law at Indonusa Esa Unggul University, the PKPI has also nominated dangdut singer Camel Petir.

Destiara is not the only legislative candidate with a controversial career running for election. Angel Lelga, a B-movie actress and swimsuit model, has recently also been in the spotlight for her candidacy with the Islamic-based United Development Party (PPP).

PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali said Angel wanted to join the party because she wanted to complete her understanding of Islam and associate with Muslim communities. However, she faced public criticism after she gave stuttered responses to questions posed by a talkshow host on a private TV station.

Celebrities seeking election draw various responses from the public, from welcoming such lawmakers with racy backgrounds to outright rejection.

Fisella Mutiara, who comes from a corporate legal background, said as long as long as the candidate did not rely solely on a sexy image to win the seat, she would not question her candidacy.

Meanwhile, electrician Temor said even though he could accept a celebrity legislative candidate, he would not vote for those who used to be sexy models.

Former actress and lawmaker from the Democratic Party, Venna Melinda, said it was normal for people to question celebrities' political campaigns. However, for her, the most important things were good intentions and a willingness to improve their knowledge if they were elected.

Responding to the recent development, the General Elections Commission (KPU) said it could not respond as its remit only concerned administration. (idb)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/21/mixed-reaction-celebrity-candidates.html

What do you want from your politicians?

Jakarta Globe - March 21, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia – As Indonesia's legislative election candidates canvass the public ahead of next months poll, voters have voiced their hopes for the next intake of lawmakers.

Astra, a taxi driver from Jakarta, said he was disappointed with how politicians had performed over the past five years, but would not miss his opportunity to vote on April 9.

"I am exhausted with the candidates and the promises that they made during their campaigns. I no longer want to know about a single party or candidate, but I'm still going to vote," he said.

Astra said that his hopes were high in 2009, but as the five-year term draws to an end and many of the politicians' promises have yet to be fulfilled, he has become more skeptical about this year's legislative candidates.

"I am hoping for clean and honest candidates. Are there still any good people out there? Often they're good at the start, but who knows what will happen once they secure political office," Astra said.

"Many competent candidates offered promises five years ago. Today the backgrounds of the candidates vary... One of the candidates is a celebrity. God, I hope she knows what she's doing," Astra said, referring to Angel Lelga, a legislative candidate from the United Development Party (PPP).

Triyadi, an office employee, said he hoped this year's election could offer better legislative candidates so that they could bring positive changes to Indonesia.

"Given the poor performance shown by many in the House of Representatives and regional councils, I hope they are better this year. I want Indonesia to have competent politicians with good hearts," Triyadi said.

"Over the past five years, most of the parties only tried to work in their own interest; they only fought to shore up their political interests... It would be more helpful if they were focussed on helping the Indonesian people. Now, we want justice. Now, we the citizens, want figures with great will to accommodate the people's aspirations."

Iffah Adilah, a freelance consultant, said she was hoping for really hard- working candidates who were people-minded. "We don't need candidates who only want the prestige of being in the House," she said.

"There are candidates with no organizational experience for whom it seems that they are only interested in prestigious political titles. For them it's just about living a life that they can brag about."

But Iffah said experience of politics was not necessarily the most important requirement for a good politician. "Pramoedya Ananta Toer [a writer] once said that as long as you are willing to work hard and you care, a bachelor's degree or political background is not really needed," Iffah said.

"Every citizen has the right to become a legislator, but one must remember that once you make that call, you carry a heavy responsibility. You have to be responsible for the people who voted for you."

Crave for change

Sulastio, the director of the Indonesian Parliamentary Center (IPC), a think tank, said that 90 percent of this year's legislative candidates were those who were seeking another term in office.

"However, with their poor performance in the current term, will the people put their faith in them to bring about chance again? I don't think so," Sulastio said.

"With their experience serving in the House, you would expect that those candidates would have a good chance of getting re-elected. However, people nowadays have become more critical and skeptical and perhaps more likely to endorse a newcomer. With many new legislative candidates, we are hoping for refreshment. We are hoping that they will be able to bring positive changes to the nation."

Sulastio emphasized the need to upgrade the 2009 law that regulates the performance and working mechanism of institutions such as the House, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and the hundreds of regional legislatures, or DPRD, throughout the country.

"We need to bring discipline to legislative members. Upgrading the law is expected to improve the performance of the members and officials," Sulastio said. He emphasized that the candidates have to be equipped with sufficient political education to adapt to the system of government.

"What happened during this term was most of the elected candidates in 2009 spent two years learning how to operate inside the system. After that, they used the remainder of their term to 'work' on their policy agenda," he said.

"There is a wide variety of candidate-background. I hope that they can understand the systems of the House.

"The politicians must also understand that their performance is valued based on their success in birthing wise and useful policies. One thing that political parties must comprehend is that the duty of the lawmakers is to make policies, not to negotiate on profitable projects.

"I am hoping that the 'new' legislative candidates are not aiming to spread corruption for the next five years."

The analyst also noted that too much time had been wasted by lawmakers in plenary meetings, which were slowing the process of government.

"Regarding the performances of the lawmakers, I noted two points: they have only accomplished 30 percent of their duties [to pass bills into law], and most of this was done at the very end of their term; the second is that too much time is spent in discussion through special committees, and these are ineffective and useless," he said.

"The setting up of special committees has been pointless. They make so much buzz but it results in little action. Do they not realize that holding such discussions, eats into the state budget?" Sulastio said.

"The Bank Century case has been going on for years. But the discussions about it in the House never resulted in a single decision, a single conclusion. There has never been a significant decision that has resulted from the plenary meetings. This indicates the low performance and confused stance of members of the parliament," Sulastio said. "Hopefully the performances of legislative candidates can improve for the sake of Indonesia," he said.

Celebrity status

Despite the professional diversity of this year's legislative candidates Yunarto Wijaya, a political analyst at Charta Politika, said that judgements about a candidates' competence could not be based on their professional background.

"There are several politicians who were celebrities such as Rieke Diah Pitaloka, Nurul Arifin, Dedi Gumelar. They've all contributed to the policy-making process that has helped improve the country," he said.

Yunarto said that legislative candidates from a non-political background could adapt to their new work environment. "Those that I mentioned were able to adapt well," he said.

However the analyst also warned of celebrities using a political career simply as a means of boosting their public profile, and of parties nominating celebrities as candidates to achieve the same goal.

"Generally, less popular parties tend to engage celebrities in order to raise their popularity," Yunarto said. "On the other hand, political office is now viewed as a high status position. Even though the celebrities are already popular, a political position will enhance their prestige," he said. Celebrities with fading popularity who see politics as an opportunity to regain the spotlight, Yunarto added.

"What matters now is how the Indonesian people see this phenomenon in a critical way. Are we critical enough to see which politicians are fully committed to bring changes to the country and which ones are only being used by political parties as mannequins for the display window?" he said.

Yunarto said that the media has so far only written about celebrities involved in politics without highlighting how political parties were banking on their popularity to improve their electability. Yunarto stressed that whatever background prospective politicians came from it was important that they researched what their role was going to entail.

"Legislative candidates have to know which commission they want to join. That is enough indication that they know what they are doing," he said. "Legislative candidates should become a representative for their constituents to fight for their needs," he said. "The most important thing is that the candidates have a good track record."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/want-politicians/

Bakrie paints Maldives jaunt with two actresses as research trip

Jakarta Globe - March 21, 2014

Jakarta – A video clearly intended to embarrass Aburizal Bakrie emerged on the internet on Thursday showing the Golkar Party presidential candidate jetting off to the Maldives with a lawmaker and two actresses.

Sisters Marcella and Olivia Zalianty – familiar faces on the Indonesian movie circuit – joined Golkar lawmaker Aziz Syamsuddin on the trip.

Bakrie responded to the suspiciously timed video by characterizing the trip not as a skip over the Indian Ocean to agreeable over-water accommodation in the company of a couple of winsome actresses, but as some sort of fact- finder set up with the betterment of the rakyat in mind.

"It's to show that if [the Maldives] can be that great, why not our country?" Bakrie told reporters on Friday, as quoted by Indonesian news portal Okezone.

Indonesians may hope that the Maldives is not an accurate comparator. Ruled by a strongman for much of the last century, the Muslim-majority island nation entered a period of democratization before disintegrating into political disarray and violence.

Aziz, meanwhile, refused to say when the video was shot. "It's a black campaign," the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, told the Jakarta Globe. "A.R.B. is considered a parent to many – including me. You're just exaggerating to make it sensational."

While Aziz would not say when the video was filmed, it is most-likely about four years old – the May 5, 2010 issue of Indonesian news weekly, Gatra, is clearly visible on a center table on the plane in part of the video.

The video ends with a long shot of what appears to be one of the more expensive rooms at the W Retreat & Spa – a kitschy upmarket resort on Fesdu Island where the two-bedroom "Ocean Haven" currently fetches up to $8,400 a night. The room, one of two featuring the type of curved infinity pool seen in the video, is described as "the ultimate getaway, the Ocean Haven takes relaxation – or entertaining – to the extreme," on the W's website.

Golkar Party Secretary Idrus Marham said that Bakrie had been on the trip, but that several more people had been in attendance and it was not just the four of them. "That's the trick of the video... it did not capture the whole group," Idrus said at Golkar's office, as quoted by news portal jpnn.com on Friday.

Yet only four people appear on the holiday video, which seems to present a plane-to-resort account of the Indonesian tycoon's island vacation.

He added that Bakrie, one of Indonesia's richest men, had often asked various people to join him on holiday and past destinations had included a spell to Melbourne for the Australian Open and a group holiday to Komodo.

News of the island-getaway broke this week when a hastily made blog titled "Aburizal Bakrie sik asik Marcella Olivia Zalianti di Maldives" appeared online. The blog, which only has a single post, featured a small collection of vacation snapshots.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/bakrie-paints-maldives-jaunt-2-actresses-research-trip/

Muhammadiyah rank and file support Jokowi, says Din Syamsuddin

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2014

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate, visited the central board of Muhammadiyah on Thursday, the country's second largest Muslim organization, and met with its chairman Din Syamsuddin.

This was Jokowi's second visit to the Muhammadiyah central board office in Jakarta during his governorship.

Upon arrival, Jokowi, Din and the rest of the entourage performed a mass Duhur prayer in the Muhammadiyah mosque with Jokowi as the imam (leader of the mass prayer). Both leaders later had lunch together and a closed-door meeting.

"We are happy to have Pak Jokowi as our imam during the Duhur mass prayer. We have always given the honor of being an imam during a mass prayer to our honorable guests," Din told reporters after the meeting.

When asked about whether such a gesture was a sign of support for Jokowi's candidacy, Din was quick to quell speculation. "We are an independent organization and it is our basic principle to not be affiliated with a political power," he said.

Nevertheless, Din acknowledged that most members of the organization supported Jokowi. "I asked members of Muhammadiyah at the lower level and most of them said they liked Pak Jokowi and expressed their support for him," he said. Din also pointed out that he and Jokowi had often met when Jokowi was still the mayor of Surakarta (Solo) in Central Java.

"I received a report that Ibu Ana [Jokowi's wife] had built a Joglo house [traditional Javanese house] in one of our schools of nature in Solo. That means a lot to us," Din said. Jokowi emphasized that the meeting had nothing to do with his nomination.

"We talked about education and health as those are Muhammadiyah's core programs," the governor said, pointing out that Muhammadiyah schools and hospitals were among the beneficiaries of the city administration's Jakarta Smart Card (KJP) and Jakarta Health Card (KJS) programs. "We also talked about broader issues," he added, declining to elaborate on the details.

During the meeting, Din said he delivered his plan to expand the Muhammadiyah office building to the governor. "I hope the building permit can be issued while Pak Jokowi is still the governor," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/20/muhammadiyah-rank-and-file-support-jokowi-says-din-syamsuddin.html

Poll watchdogs overwhelmed by scale of violations

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2014

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – As the campaign season entered its fourth day on Wednesday, election watchdogs said campaign violations had become so widespread they were virtually impossible to deal with.

In the city of Bengkulu, six out of 12 political parties contesting the April 9 legislative election have been reprimanded by the provincial capital's General Elections Monitoring Body (Bawaslu) for putting up campaign advertisements not in compliance with the General Elections Commission's (KPU) regulations.

The six parties were the Gerindra Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) Bengkulu member Fatimah Siregar said.

"We frequently remove the illegal campaign advertisements but they always put them back up. Some times, within an hour after we remove them, they manage to put up even more," he said, while pointing to a pile of campaign materials seized from restricted areas.

In Yogyakarta, the province's Bawaslu reprimanded Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo Notodiprojo, who is also a Democrat legislative candidate, for putting up banners that failed to comply with regulations.

A 2013 KPU regulation, for example, stipulates that billboards can only be used by political parties provided they do not display candidates' pictures. Candidates may only use banners. The campaign material can only be displayed in designated zones and the maximum number of displays by each party or candidate allowed in each zone is also limited.

"The violations here are so massive that our financial and manpower resources can not cope with them," Bawaslu Yogyakarta head Muhammad Najib said.

Bantul regency's Bawaslu in Yogyakarta said it had spotted 5,200 campaign displays that were not compliant with KPU regulations.

In Semarang, Nasdem Party chairman Surya Paloh was prohibited from giving out motorcycles as "door prizes" to two "lucky" supporters at a party campaign event in Central Java's capital by the province's Bawaslu, which warned the prizes could be categorized as a violation. The warning came a bit late as the party had already distributed other door prizes such as LCD televisions.

Bawaslu Karawang in West Java also reprimanded a political party after it was caught "engaging in vote-buying".

Civil servants, who by law should not be partisan, were also reportedly campaigning for parties and candidates. Bawaslu Cianjur in West Java, for example, questioned one district head and three other civil servants for serving on campaign teams of certain legislative candidates. Bawaslu Cianjur head Saeful Anwar said the case could go to court, pending completion of investigations.

Many regional Bawaslu, such as those in Jakarta and Karawang, West Java; also reported the extensive use of children in campaigns which is a violation of election laws.

Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Asrorun Niam said the commission had reported all 12 political parties to the National Bawaslu for failing to prevent their supporters from taking their children to campaign events.

Police chief Gen. Sutarman, however, said the force had not found any major election violations across the nation. "So far, we have only received reports about alleged vote-buying but none have been proven," he told reporters at the State Palace.

Meanwhile administrative and logistics problems continue to plague election preparation in regions.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, 5,767 unregistered voters were discovered, despite registration being open since February, furthermore 2,130 registered voters were found not to have valid citizenship numbers.

In Biak Numfor regency, Papua, KPU head Diana D. Simbiak said that blind people in the regency would have to use assistants to vote because the Braille ballots had failed to arrive.

Diana also said that 1,131 out of the total 365,508 ballots they had received were damaged.

Suherdjoko, Ainur Rohmah and Ruslan Sangadji contributed to this story from Semarang and Palu.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/20/poll-watchdogs-overwhelmed-scale-violations.html

Indonesia's Constitutional Court strikes down Yusril presidential challenge

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2014

Jakarta – A legal challenge by lawyer and Crescent Star Party (PBB) head Yusril Ihza Mahendra that threatened to turn Indonesia's presidential election on its head was rejected on Thursday by the country's Constitutional Court.

Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a law professor at the University of Indonesia and a key aide to former president Suharto before the transition to reformasi, filed a challenge against the 2008 Presidential Election Law with the Constitutional Court in an attempt to enable him to run for the presidency without the PBB first passing the legislative threshold.

The 2008 law mandated that parties may field a presidential candidate only if they secured either 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) or 25 percent of the popular vote.

Indonesia votes on April 9 for 560 seats in the House and 132 in the Regional Representatives Council (DPD). The outcome of these elections will determine who can run in the July 9 presidential race – the third direct presidential election in Indonesia's history.

"It's against the 1945 Constitution," Yusril said at the court's preliminary hearing in January. "There are 12 political parties in the 2014 election: these 12 parties therefore have the right to nominate their candidates for president and vice president."

People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Sidharto Danusubroto said at the preliminary hearing that such a profound jolt to Indonesia's electoral system would have a destabilizing effect.

"This rule was prepared for 2019," he said in January. "If it were implemented this year it would be chaotic."

Yusril, a prolific lawyer and former defender of Suharto's son, Tommy, launched the challenge to enable him to run for president on his party's ticket. The PBB, an Islamist bloc that grew out of the banned Masyumi Party in the 1960s, is one of several Indonesian political parties that gathers only a fraction of the vote and would be unable to put forward a candidate of its own in the July election.

In a provocative move aimed at raising the temperature surrounding the ruling, Yusril announced his candidacy for the presidency in December – despite his party having no seats in the current incarnation of the House and little prospect of jumping over either the DPR or popular vote hurdles in April's legislative ballot. The party secured around 3 percent of the vote nationwide in 2009, save for in his native Bangka-Belitung, where the party won just over a tenth of all votes cast.

"The consequence is clear; the threshold remains," said Ari Dwipayana, a political science lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta – "Competition in the presidential election is going to be tight, there is only a limited number of presidential candidates that can participate.

"New coalitions will be formed as a result of this. And Yusril might take another step – he might take issue with the results of the election. That is a real possibility."

Yusril gave an exasperated statement immediately after the ruling, implying that the court had not done its job.

"The [Constitutional Court] has always been vocal in saying it is the sole interpreter of the constitution," he said via his Twitter account, @Yusrilizha_Mhd. "But when I requested the court make an interpretation, it said it is unauthorized to interpret the constitution. Peculiar."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesias-constitutional-court-strikes-yusril-presidential-challenge/

House hopefuls splash cash on campaign trail

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2014

Jakarta – The University's of Indonesia's (UI) Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM-UI) has estimated that a legislative candidate for the House of Representatives must spend an average of Rp 1.18b (US$104,045) to have any chance of securing victory in the upcoming election.

"This figure has increased from an average of Rp 250 million in the 2009 legislative election," LPEM-UI researcher Teguh Dartanto said as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday.

He estimated the total income of a House member for five years reached to between Rp 5.3 and Rp 5.4 billion. Meanwhile, he said, the total income a Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) member at the province level could reach was between Rp 1.6 and Rp 1.8 billion. The minimum funds required by regional legislative candidates to run total Rp 320 million.

Both figures were calculated from the official and unofficial incomes of the House members and regional councilors, he said. He pointed out that candidates would spend money excessively in the hope of recouping capital when they won the election. (put)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/20/house-hopefuls-splash-cash-campaign-trail.html

Students slam bourgeois elections as contest of criminals, rights violators

KRjogja.com - March 20, 2014

Tomi Sujatmiko, Yogya – Demonstrators from the Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (Pembebasan) held a protest action at the zero kilometer point near the central post office in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Thursday March 20 opposing the legislative and presidential elections.

Pembebasan general chairperson Arie Nasrullah Lamondjong explained that they are rejecting this year's elections because they are bourgeois elections and those taking part are criminals, corrupt political parties, people who are anti-worker and counter-revolutionary.

"The 2014 bourgeois elections are just a contest between criminals, human rights violators, those who promote discrimination, who are anti-poor. So we reject them", he explained.

In addition to this, according to Arie, the existing democratic system is only a procedural democracy. There is no free space for constituents to withdraw their vote when the legislators they elect fail to carry out their mandate.

"It's only partial democracy, involving the ordinary people only when there are elections. So we reject it", he added. (Den)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service.]

Source: http://krjogja.com/read/209086/pembebasan-tolak-pemilu-2014.kr

PKS candidate gets 6 months for vote buying

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2014

Jakarta – A candidate vying for a seat in West Lampung Legislative Council (DPRD) has been sentenced to six months in prison for vote buying during campaigning, according to Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu) Lampung head Nazaruddin.

Nazaruddin said on Wednesday the candidate, endorsed by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), was identified as ET. He added that the case was one of 150 campaign violations found by the committee.

"At that time he gathered residents and distributed his cards as well as cash in Rp 50,000 [US$4.4] denominations. The local election supervisor discovered this and took photos," said Nazaruddin as quoted by kompas.com. Upon learning he had been photographed, ET asked Bawaslu Lampung to delete the photos before leaving the campaign location. The committee then filed a report with the local police.

Nazaruddin said the local district court declared ET guilty of violating regulations and sentenced him to six months in prison with a four month probation term. "He may win the election, but the win will mean nothing as he cannot be sworn in," he confirmed. (idb)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/19/pks-candidate-gets-6-months-vote-buying.html

Golkar rift out in the open

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2014

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – In spite of calls for him to reconsider his presidential bid following the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) nomination of Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has maintained that his nomination was final.

From the campaign trail, Aburizal also said that he was confident about winning the presidential election. Aburizal showed that confidence on Tuesday when he met with hundreds of supporters gathered at the Ciracas Sports Center in East Jakarta

Responding to reporters' queries about a possible change of plan following the PDI-P's move, Aburizal said: "Golkar's strategy remains the same, with or without Jokowi being nominated. Perhaps, Jokowi could be my vice presidential candidate," he said, followed by chuckles from people in his entourage.

Following the statement, Aburizal entered the 5,000-capacity stadium, only to find that it was half empty.

Also appearing on stage with Aburizal was Akbar Tandjung, the head of the Golkar's advisory council who until recently demanded the Golkar leadership reconsider their presidential election plan.

The Golkar central board has named some of its figures to be campaign speakers including Akbar and former chairman and vice president Jusuf Kalla, who had been perceived as a figurehead for a splinter faction within the party – a move deemed by many as a show of unity.

In Ciracas, however, the cold relationship between Akbar and Aburizal was visible to all. Only last week, Akbar said publicly that he was willing to be "a vice presidential candidate and paired with any 'clean' presidential candidate".

On Wednesday, Akbar appeared to want be somewhere else and could be seen making awkward movements on stage – a sharp contrast to other party executives secretary-general Idrus Marham and central board member Rizal Mallaranggeng, who both spoke energetically to the audience. After the campaign event wrapped up, Akbar left the stadium alone, leaving Aburizal's entourage behind.

"I have enough experience under my belt, in the government, in politics and at the House of Representatives. If that makes me capable [of being a vice presidential candidate], I am ready," Akbar told The Jakarta Post.

Akbar, however, denied the suggestion that he had been making maneuvers to shore-up support for his vice presidential bid. "I have never mobilized support nor approached other parties," he said.

When asked about the potential of him being paired with Jokowi, Akbar said: "Don't be in a hurry, let's now focus on the legislative election. At the moment, that is our priority." Akbar also said that he had not discussed the issue with Aburizal. "I met him just now. We never had such a discussion."

Besides Akbar, the name of Kalla has also been floated as a potential vice presidential candidate.

Senior Golkar lawmaker party executive Yorrys Raweyai, who is also known as a member of the party's "eastern Indonesia faction" to which Kalla also belongs, said that Golkar should consider pairing Kalla with another party's presidential candidate, particularly given the former vice president's high electability rating.

"The nomination of Aburizal is already final. So now, let's nominate Kalla for vice president," he said.

Earlier, Golkar senior politician Zainal Bintang openly urged the Golkar Party to drop Aburizal's nomination to prevent an outright defeat in a race against Jokowi. On Tuesday, Aburizal brushed off the statements. "Regarding Zainal's statement [...] I don't know. Zainal who? But on Akbar and Yorrys, I think it was the media that misquoted them," he said.

Also on Tuesday, the Hanura Party held a campaign rally in Depok, West Java, with the party's vice presidential candidate, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, serving as the main campaigner.

Speaking in front of hundreds of supporters, Hary pledged that the party would transform Indonesia from a developing to a developed country and provide its citizens with, among other things, free education and quality health care.

Other than providing free entertainment of dangdut music, Hanura gave away free premium life insurance, which would allow family members of the holder to receive up to Rp 9 million (US$794) in the case of death. Hary's media group recently made inroads into the insurance business with the launch of PT MNC Asuransi Indonesia.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/19/golkar-rift-out-open.html

Backlash begins as rivals remind Joko of promises made

Jakarta Globe - March 19, 2014

Carlos Paath & Hotman Siregar, Jakarta – With Governor Joko Widodo the frontrunner in the upcoming presidential election, politicians from opposing parties have started to get jittery and are launching attacks against his performance as governor.

National Mandate Party (PAN) chief of advisers A.M. Fatwa, who initially supported Joko in the race for Jakarta's governorship, said that all the promises that Joko made during his campaigns were simply image-building.

"There were about 19 promises, but we can now see that most of them were just image-building. Jokowi inaugurated many big projects and then said please continue. This is quite strange," he said.

Didik J. Rachbini, also from the PAN and a deputy gubernatorial candidate when Joko won in the 2012 Jakarta race, said that the media, freedom and democracy helped create the spin. "With the media structure, including freedom and democracy, a figure can be presented in a positive way that appeals to voters," he said.

He said Indonesia's middle class are quite critical of image-building politicians but they were outnumbered by people with a low education background who mostly support figures based on popularity and not capacity.

Didik questioned Joko's competence, saying that he has failed to improve Jakarta. "The Jakarta administration under Jokowi has been a failure," said Didik, who is also the founder of United Data Center (PDB), referring to Joko's popular name.

Didik said that perception of Joko after he was elected as governor in 2012 was high. "People were excited by what they felt he offered and were prepared to back him," he said.

Didik said that based on the surveys his office conducted, there are three major problems that Jakarta residents wished Joko to solve; traffic congestion, floods and economic problems or unemployment.

The survey also found that people considered Joko had only been successful in overcoming problems in a handful of sectors such as public service, hawkers and creating parks. "This means, despite Jokowi's popularity, he's considered not good in handling traffic jams and floods," he said.

With those failures, Didik questioned Joko's leadership competence if he wins the presidential election. "A person's capability and capacity is two different things. He cannot even handle the Ciliwung, now he wants to handle 17,000 islands in Indonesia," said Didik.

Fatwa also said that if Joko is elected as president, Joko's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), should still form a coalition with other political parties.

"PDI-P and Jokowi should not monopolize everything, including the vice presidency. It should not take both the presidential and vice presidential positions for itself, it should share power even though the party is big and it has a popular figure. "Indonesia should be supported by all elements in the country. Minority groups should not be left out in developing the country," he said.

He said PDI-P should seek a vice presidential candidate with experience in the bureaucracy or in the government. "PDI-P and Joko have to consider figures like Hatta Rajasa [PAN chairman], Jusuf Kalla [former Golkar chairman] and Mahfud M.D. [former Constitutional Court chief justice]," he said. Despite criticizing Joko, Didik said his party was open to forming a coalition with the PDI-P.

Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) founder and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, in an apparent attack against Joko, had previously cautioned voters not to choose a "puppet presidential candidate." Polls have consistently shown if Joko wasn't running, Prabowo would the clear favorite to win the election.

A team named the New Jakarta Advocacy Team, which supported Joko and his deputy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, in their gubernatorial campaign in 2012, on Sunday said they would file a lawsuit against Joko for accepting the presidential nomination. The group demanded that Joko remain in his post until the end of his term in 2017.

New Jakarta Advocacy Team coordinator Habiburokhman said the team had supported Joko in becoming the governor, and it expected him to repay that support by seeing out his terms and promises.

Habiburokhman, who is also the head of Gerindra's advocacy unit, said Joko was legally bound to his promises because they were the basis for his winning in 2012.

During his party's campaign on Sunday, Joko played down the threat. "It was the same, back in Solo [where he was previously mayor]. I experienced the same thing. I'm used to being insulted and attacked, I'm used to it," he said.

"I don't want to comment on things that would complicate the situation. Let's practice good manners in politics," Joko said. "If you want to offer your support, then do. But if not, I think that's fine, too."

Firman Noor, a political analyst from the Indonesia Institute of Sciences, said that the public's disappointments towards Joko's decision to accept the presidential nomination and criticisms against him could serve as ammunitions for his rivals.

"It could be easily used to expose Joko's shortfalls, because there are also allegations that he doesn't have sufficient managerial skills," he said.

Ari Dwipayana, a political analyst from Gadjah Mada University, said that the attacks against Joko were part of his competitors' strategies to hurt his electability as a presidential candidate. "The attacks are a display of panic on the competitors' side," Ari was quoted as saying by Tempo.co on Monday.

The verbal attacks are mainly aimed at Joko's integrity who during his gubernatorial campaign promised to serve as governor for five years and to help overcome Jakarta's problems. Another strategy to hurt Joko's credibility is through the lawsuit filed by the New Jakarta Advocacy Team, he said.

Dono Prasetyo, chairman of Jokowi's National Secretariat said the lawsuit was a blatant attempt from rivals to create a bad impression of the governor. "They are afraid to compete with Jokowi," Dono told Tempo.co.

Habiburokhman denied that the lawsuit was a smear campaign, but insisted it was a form of support for Joko to remain as Jakarta's governor because he has been working well.

"Pak Jokowi should not be trapped by the political interests of one certain group and should not let himself be taken advantage of. Deliver your promises as the Jakarta governor to the people," Habiburokhman said.

Joko's popularity in part comes from a 'man of the people' image and a willingness to out and visit poor communities to hear what they have to say about the issues that effect them the most.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/backlash-begins-rivals-remind-joko-promises-made/

Surge in social fund spending questioned

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2014

Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – The government has reduced the allocation for infrastructure projects by about Rp 48 trillion (US$4.27 billion) in the 2014 state budget and instead used most of the funds to finance "social-assistance programs", programs that have often been abused by relevant ministers to fund political agendas.

According to the latest budget-realization data published on the Finance Ministry's website, this year the government is allocating only Rp 184 trillion for capital expenditure, which comprises funds for infrastructure projects.

The amount is far lower than the Rp 232 trillion stipulated in the 2014 state budget that was passed in a House of Representatives plenary session in October last year.

The allocation for social-assistance programs, meanwhile, has been increased by Rp 36 trillion to Rp 92 trillion, compared to Rp 56 trillion in the government's initial budget plan.

Legislators demanded an explanation from the government for the changes as they were made without their consent. They feared that the funds could be used for social activities to lure voters during the legislative elections in April and the presidential election in July.

Arif Budimanta, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker from House Commission XI overseeing the economy and finance demanded clarification from the government because there had been no consultation about the changes.

Ecky Awal Mucharam, a member of the House Budget Committee from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) reminded the government that any alterations to state budget fund allocations, without prior consultation with lawmakers, was against the law.

The Finance Ministry distributes funds for social-assistance programs to some ministries as part of the government's efforts to improve people's welfare and reduce poverty levels.

However, the funds are "vulnerable to abuse for political purposes", according to the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice Indonesia (KIARA), which criticized the lack of clarity in the disbursement of Rp 595 billion in social-assistance funds given to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry earlier this year.

At least 18 out of 34 ministers in the current administration have party- political backgrounds and are thus obliged to spend lavish sums to woo voters in the upcoming legislative elections in April.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Finance Minister Chatib Basri acknowledged that there were changes to the allocation of funds in the 2014 state budget, but dismissed the idea that the budget was altered due to political motives.

He attributed the alterations to differences in accounting classification methods, as some infrastructure funds included economic costs that had to be classified under social-assistance funds – not capital expenditure funds – because they were unable to be calculated in real economic terms.

When asked about the substantial increase in funds earmarked for social- assistance programs, Chatib argued that it was because a sizable proportion of some ministries' budgets were accounted for in those programs. For instance, around Rp 20 trillion of the Social Affairs Ministry's budget was classified under the funding for social-assistance programs, he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/18/surge-social-fund-spending-questioned.html

Despite scandal, Indonesia election could entrench political dynasties

Reuters - March 18, 2014

Andrew R. C. Marshall, Makassar, Indonesia – Makassar is a scrappy, traffic-choked port city in South Sulawesi where everybody knows your name. If, that is, your name is Limpo.

The family of Syahrul Yasin Limpo, the second-term governor of this resource-rich Indonesian province, has dominated local politics for three generations, and a fourth waits in the wings. Eight of Limpo's close relatives will run in the country's parliamentary elections on April 9: two sisters, one brother, two brothers-in-law, two nephews and a daughter.

It all adds up to a formidable dynasty in a country where political families are both increasingly common and dogged by allegations of corruption, neglect and misrule.

In December, Indonesia's anti-graft agency, known by its Indonesian initials KPK, arrested Ratu Atut Chosiyah, 51, the matriarch of a wealthy clan with a stranglehold over politics and business in Banten, an impoverished province west of the capital Jakarta.

Chosiyah is now in detention awaiting trial accused by the KPK of bribing a judge to favor her candidate in an election dispute last year. Her lawyer denies the charge. The KPK seized her family's fleet of luxury cars, while local media reported on overseas shopping sprees and a US$500,000 renovation of Chosiyah's private mansion.

Her arrest has not dimmed the ambitions of other political families, who – as the lengthy list of Limpo candidates suggests – could become more deeply rooted than ever in the post-election landscape.

Paradoxically, these dynasties are byproducts of Indonesia's democratic rebirth. After the 1998 overthrow of former dictator Suharto, Indonesia embarked upon an ambitious program of decentralization that, through direct elections, turned many local leaders into influential politicians.

Following these politicians into public office are spouses, children, siblings and in-laws, spawning family fiefdoms in every corner of this vast archipelago. Some have shored up power by misusing central government funds intended for regional development, analysts said.

"Indonesia right now is flooded with money and there are many so-called little kingdoms around the country where nobody's checking how local officials spend their budgets," said an official at an international development agency who asked not to be named because he works closely with the Indonesian government.

In the Philippines, political dynasties have held sway for 70 years or more and are "prevalent in areas with more severe poverty," said a July 2013 study by the Asian Institute of Management in Manila. Poverty entrenched those dynasties, said the study, although there was "less evidence" that dynasties caused poverty.

In Indonesia, dynasties are a relatively new phenomenon and it's too soon to conclude that they impede development, said Michael Buehler, an assistant professor at Northern Illinois University who has studied Indonesian elites in depth.

"But the Philippines basically shows us that dynasties are bad news. Overall, the economic development of places where dynasties have been for decades has been worse than places where there is more competition."

'I'm yellow'

The Limpo homeland of South Sulawesi, about 1,400 km (870 miles) east of Jakarta, is no economic backwater. With a population of about 8 million people – the same as Switzerland – the province is rich in nickel ore and a major producer of rice, cocoa and maize. Its capital Makassar is a trade and transport hub between east and west Indonesia.

Sitting in an office guarded by a tiger which has been stuffed in mid- snarl, Limpo cites his achievements as governor: a growing middle class, falling poverty levels and a higher than national economic growth rate.

However, South Sulawesi ranks low among Indonesian provinces for spending on health and education, according to a 2012 study by the Australian government and the Indonesian policy group Partnership for Governance Reform.

Limpo began his career as a low-level bureaucrat in Gowa, a district adjoining Makassar's eastern suburbs and run since 2005 by his younger brother Ichsan.

There are eight Limpo candidates standing for election or re-election to district, provincial and national assemblies on April 9, mostly – but not always – on a ticket for the Golkar Party, which was Suharto's political vehicle for decades.

Limpo's younger sister Dewi is running for the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and his daughter Thita for the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Limpo doesn't view his family as a dynasty. Voters have a choice, he argued, and if they happen to choose a Limpo – that's because his relatives are hard-working, experienced and honest. "My family members have dedicated their lives to the people, and so far our track record is very good," he said. "Until now none of the family has shown signs of corruption."

At 28, Limpo's nephew Adnan is already a political veteran. He was first elected to the provincial assembly a decade ago while still at high school. Now a Golkar candidate – his campaign slogan ("I'm Yellow") derives from the party's color – Adnan is running for his third term in office.

"Look at John F. Kennedy," he told Reuters after a recent strategy meeting in one of Makassar's smoke-filled coffee shops. "All his relatives were fit to be leaders during that time."

Thita, 33, one of three Limpos running at the national level, compares her family to the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty of India.

Clan versus clan

Understandably, the Limpos are less keen on comparisons with Chosiyah's disgraced clan in Banten. "We have different origins," said Limpo. Chosiyah's dynasty is rooted in business: construction projects her father won during Suharto's rule were the foundation of its current wealth and power.

Her husband Hikmat Tomet, who died in November, headed Golkar's Banten branch, which allowed him to place family candidates at the top of the party's list, said Buehler. Three of the four Chosiyah relatives running in the April election are Golkar candidates. "I'm not even sure her arrest will undermine her family's power," he said. "All her underlings are still in place."

Chosiyah's spokesman Fitron Nur Ikhsan has repeatedly defended the family in the Indonesian media, describing it as "democratic" and ruled by consensus.

By contrast, the Limpo family is rooted in the bureaucracy – the governor's father was a former soldier and five-time district head – and boasts neither the same wealth nor control over party politics. Limpo is head of Golkar in South Sulawesi, but choosing election candidates is the task of another party member belonging to a rival family. This could make it more vulnerable than Chosiyah's family, said Buehler.

The growth of Indonesia's clans is not inevitable – just look at the results of last year's mayoral election in Makassar – Irman Yasin Limpo, the governor's younger brother, ran against a local architect and lost. So did Nani Rosada, who ran in June 2013 to succeed her husband Dede as mayor of Bandung, the capital of West Java province.

In most areas, however, the member of a clan loses not to a reform-minded candidate, but to a member of a rival clan, said Buehler. "The dynasty building of families is mainly constrained by the influence of other families," he said.

The KPK's investigation of Banten's first family could further entrench some dynasties, as incumbents seek to be replaced or joined by children and other relatives who might help shield them from unwanted scrutiny.

After an interview at the governor's official residence, Limpo's daughter Thita presents a 15-year-old schoolgirl who had recently returned from summer school in England with a burning desire to enter politics. She is Andi Tenri Bilang Radisya Melati – the governor's granddaughter.

[Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor in Jakarta.]

Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/asia/despite-scandal-indonesia-election-entrench-political-dynasties.html

Prabowo calls out Megawati for breaking political pact

Jakarta Globe - March 17, 2014

Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto has accused Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri of violating a 2009 political agreement – dubbed the Batu Tulis Pact – that included a point where the PDI-P pledged support for Prabowo's presidential bid in 2014.

"If you're a human being and on my side, what would you do?" Prabowo, who is the leader of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, said on Sunday. "I don't know what my mistake was. I respect her."

Prabowo sought to emphasize that he would move on from the PDI-P's decision to back out of the pact and instead nominate Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as its candidate. He said, however, that he hoped that the party would have informed him in person, according to the state-run Antara news agency.

"I respect Bu Mega," he said. "I want a united Indonesia, that's what I want... I don't understand what kind of [political] dynamic is happening here."

Megawati and Prabowo had previously ran a losing campaign together in the 2009 presidential election. Later, in 2012, they linked up again, as their two parties formed a coalition that helped Joko secure the Jakarta governorship – a move many believed foreshadowed another political partnership for the 2014 presidential race.

The political ties between Prabowo and Megawati soured soon after, however, after Megawati expressed anger with him for supposedly taking credit for Joko's victory in the capital. Members of the PDI-P, meanwhile, have steadfastly denied Prabowo's stance, saying that the agreement was void after their 2009 loss.

"The pact was made on the assumption that the pair would win the 2009 race," Tubagus Hasanuddin, the head of the PDI-P's chapter in West Java, said on Monday. "Since they lost, the agreement was automatically canceled."

Hasanuddin also urged Prabowo to put the dispute to bed. "We, cadres of the PDI-P, will not budge," he said. "We are now focusing on convincing the people to be more understanding and selective in choosing their leaders."

PDI-P lawmaker Eva Sundari echoed the sentiment, saying that political shifts over time were unavoidable. "Anywhere in the world, no coalition is permanent, since elections are uncontrollable and full of surprises," she said. She added that Gerindra should now concentrate on winning the legislative and presidential polls rather than dwell on a broken agreement.

The PDI-P decision to nominate Joko is a profound blow to Prabowo's campaign to win the presidency, which various polls showed was the most likely outcome if he ran in a field that did not include the fiercely popular Jakarta governor.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-calls-megawati-breaking-political-pact/

23 governors request leave of absence to campaign

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2014

Pekanbaru – Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi says 23 governors and 11 deputy governors have asked for a leave of absence in order to campaign for their respective parties ahead of the upcoming legislative election.

"During the 2014 election campaign period provided by the General Elections Commission (KPU), starting from Sunday, any governor that wants to become a campaigner will be given a leave of absence for two days only [but] must obtain a permit from the home minister," Gamawan told journalists in Pekanbaru on Monday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said the two-day absences would be provided for weekdays, while anyone wanting to carry out campaign activities on weekends or holidays would only be required to submit a report. Any governor that violates the regulations will face sanctions from the Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu).

"The figures will likely increase as is still quite a long campaign period. Regents and mayors can be given a permit for a leave of absence from governors," said Gamawan.

Head of the Riau administration's governance bureau, Muhammad Guntur, said four regents had so far obtained campaign permits from Riau Governor Annas Maamun. They are Siak Regent Syamsuar, Kuantan Singingi Regent Sukarmis, Kampar Regent Jefri Noer and Rokan Hulu Regent Achmad. (idb/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/17/23-governors-request-leave-absence-campaign.html

Behind failing house, dodgy candidates

Jakarta Globe - March 17, 2014

Abdul Qowi Bastian – "I want to apologize for not having done much in the past five years," legislator Rieke Diah Pitaloka told a crowd of young people during a youth event in South Jakarta last December.

"As long as there are laborers being treated unfairly, I haven't succeeded in my job as a politician," she continued. "As long as there are Indonesian migrant workers being sentenced to death in other countries, we haven't succeeded. As long as there are poor people being refused treatment in hospitals, we haven't succeeded."

Her apology came just as Indonesia prepares for a legislative election in April. Rieke, a politician from the House of Representatives' Commission IX, which oversees manpower, transmigration and health issues, is up for re-election this year from West Java VII constituency, which covers Bekasi, Karawang and Purwakarta.

Critics have lambasted the current batch of legislators, who took office in 2009, for the slow pace of legislation passing through the House during their term. In 2013, the House Legislative Body set a target of passing 75 bills. By the end of the year, it had managed just seven, according to JurnalParlemen.com.

Female legislators in particular, analysts said, did not live up to expectations, as proven by their failure to pass bills of significance to women's interests, including the Gender Equality Bill.

Several factors have been blamed for their low productivity on this front, including their political inexperience and unproven track records.

Corruption, once the exclusive domain of the male members of the House, is also a problem. A growing number of high-profile women in politics have been implicated in major graft cases, including Angelina Sondakh from the Democratic Party, Wa Ode Nurhayati from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Chairun Nisa from the Golkar Party.

Both Angelina and Wa Ode are in jail after having been convicted in separate corruption cases, while Chairun is currently standing trial.

The political party recruitment system has been cited as the main factor in the poor qualifications and low competency exhibited by those voted into the House. Parties have long been accused of picking popular figures, including actresses and singers, to garner as many votes as possible, regardless of the candidate's abilities or whether they are even from the constituency for which they are nominated.

All about bras

Indri Yuli Hartati was born and lives in Jakarta, but is running for the Central Java X constituency that covers Batang, Pekalongan and Pemalang districts.

The 35-year-old candidate from the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) caused a stir last December by handing out free bras for women in the constituency. The stunt generated a media buzz, but Indri claimed it wasn't a publicity stunt, even though she continues to do it.

"Giving out bras is not something that I want to be known for," she told the Jakarta Globe. "The women told me that they feel like they deserve the attention. Their husbands never pay attention to their underwear."

She said it was also about empowering small and medium enterprises, with local producers commissioned to produce the bras. "It was unintentional. I wanted to empower my constituents by allowing them to sew and produce bras. It'll help their own economy eventually," she said.

Indri also claimed to have sold 10 of her houses to raise Rp 3 billion ($264,000) for her campaign, and promised if elected to give half her pay as a legislator to her constituents. "I'm rich. I don't need a salary to live on," she said at a discussion last September, as quoted by Radarpena.com.

'I know nothing of politics'

Destiara Talita is another PKPI candidate who has raised more than a few eyebrows. The 25-year-old, best known for her racy poses in adult men's magazines, told the Globe that she had never thought of running until her friend asked her to.

"I didn't even know what kind of party the PKPI is," she said with a laugh. "My friend introduced me to the people from the party, and they are quite friendly, so that's it."

Destiara, who is still in university, said she wanted to expand her network and experience. "Actually I want to add experience. I am in the modeling industry, but I don't want to be the model who only depends on a sexy body," she said. "I know nothing of politics. This will be a learning period for me. I don't actually have high hopes of becoming a legislator," she added.

Destiara said that if elected, she would fight for the rights of Indonesian migrant workers, many of whom come from Indamayu – part of the West Java VIII constituency, which also includes Cirebon, in which Destiara, from Bekasi, is running.

She said she often felt like crying whenever she was made fun of. "There were complaints made to the KPU [General Elections Commission]. They said, how can a sexy model be a legislative candidate?" she said. "So I wrote an open letter saying that I am serious in becoming a legislator and will leave my modeling career if elected."

Not a gender issue

Titi Anggraeni, executive director of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), said the cause for the poor-quality candidates being fielded, whether male or female, was the parties' recruitment mechanism.

"Both men and women face the same problems in politics," she said. "Competency, qualifications and political motivation are problems that are not restricted by gender."

Political parties are free to recruit any potential members they see fit to bring in the most votes. Tit says that in exchange for the nomination, the parties oblige the candidates to kick back money for campaign funding. "Is that illegal or legal? There is no regulation. It's a gray area," Titi said.

If the system worked properly, parties would be training grounds where young politicians could grow and enhance their skills, she said. But for parties and legislative hopefuls, the expedient solution is the system of instant recruitment.

"Political parties have failed in their membership training programs. If these parties are committed to developing the skills of their members, this would not be a problem in every election," Titi said.

Female participation in politics was low during Suharto's authoritarian New Order era, but has risen steadily since. The KPU has since 2004 enforced a 30 percent quota for legislative candidates.

In 1999, only 9 percent of House legislators were women. Today there are 101 female legislators, or 18 percent of the 560-member House. This year's House election will feature 2,465 women on the ballots, out of a total of 6,607 candidates, or about 38 percent, according to Perludem data. But much remains to be done, Titi said.

"We have made political parties committed to having 30 percent of women in their legislative candidate lists, but the work is not done," she said. "They still need to build these women's capacity and competency."

Prior to the election, parties and nongovernmental organizations have teamed up to hold training workshops for first-time female candidates. "In the workshops, the candidates are taught about capacity building, campaign strategy, constituent outreach and fund raising," Titi said.

Background not a factor

Titi contends that a candidate's background or profession shouldn't matter, long as they have a clear vision and goals to fight for the rights of their constituents.

She cites the likes of Rieke from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Nurul Arifin from the Golkar Paty and Nova Riyanti Yusuf from the Democratic Party as examples of legislators from the entertainment industry who had performed admirably at the House.

She said they had been vocal in defending women's rights, access to health care, welfare for female workers, working mothers' rights, and child protection. "A legislator's performance doesn't depend on her profession or education. It depends on how they are able to represent their constituents," Titi said.

Rieke, a former TV sitcom star and student activist during New Order era, said it was a positive development that people from all walks of life could enter politics, but cautioned against voting for candidates who relied only on their popularity.

"Politics doesn't discriminate," she said. "Everyone has the right to choose and be chosen. But it's unfair if you only rely on popularity to enter politics."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/behind-failing-house-dodgy-candidates/

Banned, but vote-buying still plagues Indonesia's election process

Straits Times/ANN - March 17, 2014

Zubaidah Nazeer, Jakarta – When lawyer Taufik Basari visited constituents in his Jakarta district to distribute leaflets telling them why he deserved their vote, many asked him why the envelope was missing.

"Some residents opened the fold of the leaflet, expecting to find money, and asked 'Pak, where is the envelope?'," said the 37-year-old first-time legislative candidate for the National Democratic Party (NasDem).

"They are still expecting cash or generous handouts of groceries. But I tell them, a political office is a mandate. That cannot be bought – it is priceless."

His experience is not unusual. A recent survey by the Indikator Politik Indonesia found that four out of 10 Indonesians still find it acceptable for politicians to hand out money or staples like rice or oil, as part of campaigning. A third of these said their vote would go to the candidate who did that.

Indeed, despite a ban on vote-buying, chances are it will surface again in this year's election campaign. In 2009, vote-buying was the top violation recorded by police, making up a third of all election-related complaints.

Things may get worse this election as robust economic growth in recent years has filled campaign coffers to bursting with donations from tycoons for some candidates.

While there is a law capping the amount that an individual can contribute to candidates, analysts say enforcement is weak. The result is that candidates flush with money are likely to ramp up efforts to woo voters with cash and kind.

Indonesia's law defines vote-buying as handing out cash or other items in an effort to influence votes. The penalty is a maximum fine of 48 million rupiah (US$4,272) and four years' jail.

But tough sanctions alone will not be enough to guarantee a clean campaign, said Abdullah Dahlan of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), whose outfit campaigned in 15 of the country's 33 provinces recently to raise awareness about the issue.

"Our monitoring shows this practice is still widespread," he told The Straits Times. "People's mindsets have yet to change. Many find it odd if a politician doesn't give them something. It is a two-way street."

This expectation from voters certainly adds to the burden of candidates, who have to set aside money for "goodie bags" of food staples and cash handouts of about 50,000 rupiah to 100,000 rupiah for each individual on walkabouts.

For the 2009 legislative election, each candidate spent an average of 2 billion rupiah, according to associate research fellow Fitri Bintang Timur and senior research analyst Adhi Priamarizki of Singapore think-tank, the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

The total campaign spending declared by parties this time has risen to nearly a trillion rupiah, compared to 298 billion rupiah in 2004 and 826 billion rupiah in 2009, they added.

In addition to direct handouts, politicians have also to decide whether to make use of agents purportedly claiming to be able to secure votes in exchange for money.

Mufied Mubarok, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2009 legislative race, told of how he was approached by people offering him a win if he gave them 15,000-20,000 rupiah per vote.

"Many were touting this service, guaranteeing 1,000 votes, but it was unclear who these voters are or what constituencies they belong to," he was quoted by Media Indonesia daily as saying.

There has been some pushback against vote-buying, with some clerics joining in. Yamin Hadad, head of the North Malukus chapter of the Indonesia Ulema Council, reportedly told his followers: "Whatever the reason, any form of money politics is banned, be it under the rule of the country's law or in religion."

Several non-governmental organisations like ICW are targeting young people, hoping that, in time, they will add to the number of voters who reject the idea of cash for votes. First-time voters make up about 22 million, or 12 per cent of the 187 million voters this election.

Fresh graduate Lydia Agustina, 22, is among those helping ICW to organise roadshows in Jakarta aimed at young voters.

The NGOs have also set up a website – Bersih2014 – which highlights graft-free candidates. Its list of 100 candidates is tiny relative to the 6,600 candidates vying for 560 national parliamentary seats, but the NGOs are intent on getting their message out.

"In 2009, we listed the bad apples. This time, we reversed it to list the good ones," said Agustina. "It is a controversial idea because we should be neutral, but we tell people it is not meant to be an endorsement, but about sending a message that there are clean candidates."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/17/banned-vote-buying-still-plagues-indonesias-election-process.html

Komnas HAM declines to judge presidential hopefuls

Jakarta Post - March 17, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will refrain from assessing the human rights records of presidential candidates in the 2014 election despite calls from activists for the body to do its job as a rights defender.

Newly elected Komnas HAM chairman Hafid Abbas insisted that ranking the human rights records of presidential hopefuls was not part of Komnas HAM's duty.

"Don't force us to mind someone else's business," Hafid told The Jakarta Post on Friday. "It is not included in the mandate granted to us by the law," he added, emphasizing, "Under my leadership, Komnas HAM will not comply with rights campaigners' demands."

Hafid, who was last week chosen to replace former chief Siti Noor Laila after a year leading Komnas HAM, suggested rights activists forward their demands to the General Elections Commission (KPU) as it was the election organizer.

Rights activists have been calling on Komnas HAM, which is mandated by a 1999 law to be the foremost human rights defender in Indonesia, to provide recommendations regarding presidential hopefuls who are linked to cases of human rights violations in the past, including Gerindra chief patron Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto and Hanura chairman Gen. (ret) Wiranto.

"Law No. 39/1999 [on human rights] mandates Komnas HAM to conduct studies as well as monitor the situation of human rights in Indonesia. This means that it is also obliged to actively assess the commitment of the country's leaders to upholding human rights," Choirul Anam from the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) said.

Anam added that Komnas HAM had previously been asked to provide recommendations on the human rights records of the country's National Police chief candidates and the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief candidates.

"Thus, it must also be involved in providing similar recommendations on the country's presidential candidates. Komnas HAM cannot simply say 'no' for the most important leadership position in this country," he added.

Meanwhile, Poengky Indarti of Imparsial said that Komnas HAM's reluctance to rate the candidates' records would only confirm suspicions that infighting within the institution – which has culminated in the change of an internal regulation allowing the annual turnover of the commission's leadership – has interfered with the organization's efficacy ahead of the 2014 elections.

Additionally, members of the commission may have ulterior motives. "Our suspicion goes further as we found out that the wife of Komnas HAM's leader [Hafid Abbas] is a legislative candidate from Gerindra," Poengky said, referring to Ernawaty Amrah, who is registered as a legislative candidate from South Sulawesi.

Prabowo, who was former head of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), has been accused of ordering the torture and kidnapping of activists during the May riots in 1998, which triggered the fall of the New Order regime of then president Soeharto. Many activists from the era are still missing and presumed dead.

Wiranto, meanwhile, was the Indonesian Military supreme commander during the May 1998 riots, in which thousands of men and women died on the streets of Jakarta. Survivors of the riots have said that they saw military personnel commit atrocities during the uprising.

In 2003, Komnas HAM released the results of an investigation finding that Prabowo and Wiranto were responsible for human rights abuses committed during the 1998 riots.

Komnas HAM submitted its findings to the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which has so far refused to take further action, arguing that Komnas HAM's findings were not supported by evidence.

On Friday, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) also pressed the KPU to be more selective in approving presidential candidates by excluding Prabowo and Wiranto.

The head of KontraS division of impunity watch, Muhamad Daud Berueh, said that the KPU should filter presidential candidates based on human rights records.

Were Prabowo or Wiranto to win the presidential election it would deal a blow to the country's attempt to prevent human rights violations, according to Daud.

"The victims and the public have the right to know the truth [behind the cases implicating Prabowo and Wiranto]," Daud said. "[However,] there will be difficulties for the victims in settling the cases [if either Prabowo or Wiranto become president]."

KPU chairman Husni Kamil Manik, however, said that the commission's hands were tied, since political parties had the right to select their presidential candidates.

He added that it was still difficult to determine whether a presidential candidate had violated human rights without a conclusive judicial process. "So we have to study how far the KPU can assess the requirements [of a presidential candidate] in terms of human rights violations," Husni said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/17/komnas-ham-declines-judge-presidential-hopefuls.html

Indonesia starts election campaign, voters set to choose radical change

Reuters - March 16, 2014

Jonathan Thatcher, Jakarta – Indonesia's raucous election season kicks off on Sunday with the promise of a fresh style of leadership in the world's third largest democracy, whose economic promise has been sapped by rampant graft, confusing policy and weak rule.

An uncertain election outlook abruptly changed on Friday when the main PDI-P opposition party named the hugely popular governor of Jakarta as its candidate for July's presidential election. That lifted even further its chances of dominating the parliamentary election on April 9.

Opinion polls suggest the presidency is governor Joko Widodo's to lose, with old-style contenders ex-general Prabowo Subianto and tycoon Aburizal Bakrie trailing far behind.

A hint of the euphoria attached to the nomination of the charismatic Widodo was shown in the 3.2 percent jump in Jakarta share prices after the announcement.

"[It was] driven by sentiment that Indonesia will have a good president who is willing to take difficult decisions, has a good and clean historical track record... and most of all an expectation of a smooth transition of power," said Wilianto Ie, head of research at Maybank Kim Eng in Jakarta.

It will only be Indonesia's third direct election since it tumbled into democracy 16 years ago amid social and economic chaos in the wake of the downfall of former dictator Suharto.

Nearly 190 million Indonesians are registered to vote to choose a new parliament and so decide which parties meet a threshhold to field a candidate in the presidential election three months later.

Though close to 90 percent of the population identifies itself as Muslim, none of the Islamic parties are expected to win a major chunk of the vote, including the current leading Muslim party, PKS, whose reputation has been hit hard by a highly publicized corruption scandal.

The ruling Democrat Party of outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, restricted by the constitution from seeking a third term, has seen public support plummet to single digits after graft scandals claimed senior officials including the party's former chairman and a cabinet minister.

Critics say that while Yudhoyono brought stability to Indonesia, his nearly 10 years in power has been marked by indecision and at times confusing policy, with criticism that his government has not done enough to address high levels of poverty and mounting religious intolerance.

Economic growth since he took office has averaged around 5.8 percent, high by global standards but well below what many see as Indonesia's potential and still heavily reliant on fluctuating prices of natural resources which remain the backbone of the economy.

'I am here to serve you'

Indonesia's new leader will be in charge of a remarkably young population that is high on ambition but low on education. That could see Southeast Asia's biggest economy start to falter in the face of growing competition from its neighbors as the region moves toward establishing a common market from 2015.

Almost 30 percent, or 54 million, of eligible voters are under 30. Nearly half of them will be voting for the first time. They appear captivated by Joko, as do the large emerging middle class and the poor. About 40 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty, or very close to it.

The slightly built furniture manufacturer has in just over a year of running the capital turned his straight talking "I am here to serve you" style into the new face of Indonesian politics, long dominated by authoritarian figures and their powerful, wealthy cliques. Those authoritarian figures, however, still loom over national politics.

Both parties that polls say will dominate next month's election – PDI-P and the more pro-business Golkar – are clinging firmly to the legacies of their autocratic founders who led the vast former Dutch colony for its first five decades of independence.

PDI-P is led by ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of first president Sukarno whose image, and the strongly nationalist tone it implies, is a constant motif in party propaganda.

And increasingly, Golkar is looking to the early economic successes of Suharto, the man who pushed Sukarno aside and went on to rule Indonesia for 32 years until 1998, when he was forced from office in the face of mass protests and what by then had turned into the near collapse of the economy.

A party, or coalition of parties, must have 25 percent of the national vote or 20 percent of seats in parliament to put forward a candidate for the July 9 presidential election.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia-starts-election-campaign-voters-set-choose-radical-change/

Indonesia political parties mark start of campaign season

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2014

Jakarta/Magelang/Surabaya – Indonesian political parties on Sunday kicked off the beginning of the 2014 campaign season with a mixture of mass gatherings, street convoys and rallies across the country.

The events ranged from grand spectacles to subdued displays of support, as parties tried to solidify their bases ahead of the April 9 contest.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), for example, booked Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta to mark the first day of campaigning. The party was expecting some 250,000 supporters to gather at the event, which officials said would be "full of surprises."

"The surprises include a church choir from East Nusa Tenggara singing the PKS anthem and 'Indonesia Raya' [the country's national anthem]," PKS deputy secretary-general Fahri Hamzah said before the event on Sunday. "This will support our [image] as an open party."

The Islamic-leaning PKS – plagued by a corruption scandal that saw its former chairman sent to prison last year – has been trying to market itself as an open party that is inclusive of people from various faiths and belief systems. Fahri added that three PKS presidential hopefuls – Anis Matta, Ahmad Heryawan and Hidayat Nurwahid – would give speeches at the event.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), meanwhile, utilized the recent presidential candidacy of the massively-popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to commence the party's campaign.

Joko led a convoy of PDI-P officials and supporters around some of Jakarta's historical sites, including the National Awakening Museum, the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) Museum and the Pancasila Hall in Central Jakarta.

"This is the place where Indonesia's first modern organized movement began, where our national awakening began," Joko said at the National Awakening Museum, which once hosted Budi Utomo, Indonesia's first modern political society. "We hope with a new national awakening, [the era] of Great Indonesia will begin."

Away from Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party focused its campaign activities in the Central Java town of Magelang. Party patron Pramono Edhie Wibowo said the campaign event at Magelang's Pujon field was expected to draw 30,000 supporters.

The event was originally scheduled to include the installation of State- Owned Enterprise Minister Dahlan Iskan as a new party cadre, but Yudhoyono's last minute decision to cancel his attendance at the event delayed Dahlan's membership ceremony. The president is currently visiting Riau to check on the province's forest fires and haze problems

Dahlan, however, was still expected to address party supporters in a speech, Pramono said. "I'm welcoming Pak Dahlan [to the Democratic party]," Pramono told reporters in Magelang. "The Democrats are getting stronger now."

The United Development Party (PPP) started its campaign activities in Surabaya with an event held by party chairman and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali.

Campaign trail

On the administrative end of the elections, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has divided the 12 participating political parties into three groups, each of which share different campaign schedules for different provinces.

The first group, for example, consisting of the PKS, the PDI-P, the National Democratic (NasDem) Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), is scheduled to hold campaigns in Jakarta on March 16, March 24 and April 1.

The second group, comprising the Golkar Party, the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN), meanwhile, is only allowed to campaign in the capital on March 18, March 26 and April 3.

Members of the third group – the PPP, the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) – will be allowed to campaign in Jakarta on March 20, March 28 and April 5.

The KPU has set an "open campaign period," during which political parties are allowed to hold gatherings and marches and advertise in mass media, from March 16 to April 5 – four days before the April 9 contest.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia-political-parties-mark-start-campaign-season/

Red-hot favourite Joko Widodo launches presidential campaign in Indonesia

Sydney Morning Herald - March 16, 2014

Michael Bachelard, Jakarta – Indonesia's political darling Joko Widodo touched base with almost every historical political symbol in Jakarta on Sunday as he kicked off his campaign.

In a helter-skelter tour of the city's central area, the Jakarta governor, who is universally known as Jokowi, dragged a 100-strong media pack through five locations related to Indonesia's independence and unity.

The theme of the tour by the 52-year-old presidential favourite was youth and vitality, mixed with veneration for the heroes of the past.

At the National Awakening Museum, a colonial-era medical school where student Sutomo began fomenting for independence from the Dutch in 1908, Mr Joko examined a model corpse. It was tempting to joke about a man trying to revive Indonesia's body politic, which is racked by corruption and nepotism. The corpse looked very ill indeed.

But if the mood outside in the street was anything to go by, Mr Joko is the man to do it. Dressed in his trademark plain white shirt, Mr Joko stopped and chatted to beaming street vendors, handing out campaign material as people shouted "Jokowi!" from cars. "I love Jokowi," said one middle-aged man, moved to fervour by the sight of his hero.

The second stop of the tour was the Youth Pledge Museum where, in 1928, students declared that the Indonesian independence movement, until then racked by ethnic and linguistic division, should aim for "One Nation, One People, One Language". There he sang the national anthem in baritone solo.

The third stop was intended to be the site where the first president, Sukarno – the father of Mr Joko's political patron Megawati Sukarnoputri – proclaimed independence in 1945, but, on this, the first day of official election campaigning the spot was already taken by another political party. Instead Mr Joko went to the site where the five pillars of Indonesian polity, called Pancasila, were read out for the first time. He recited the pillars.

That building is now used as the headquarters of the Indonesian foreign ministry, Kemlu, and it's where the completely unknown foreign policy of this political newcomer will be formulated and discussed should he become president in July.

More symbolism was also laid over the tour. It started in the morning from Teuku Umar street – symbolic of the province of Aceh in Indonesia's far west – and ended at Cendrawasih Square, which is named after a bird found in Papua, in the far east of the archipelago.

Campaign organiser Hasto Kristiyono spelt it out: Mr Joko, a youthful revolutionary (of sorts), in touch with both common folk and Indonesia's proud anti-colonial symbols, will govern for all.

But not all are happy. Just a day after Mr Joko was announced as the presidential candidate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), his nearest rival, Prabowo Subianto, leaked against him.

The front pages of a number of local papers carried a story that Mr Prabowo had been promised Ms Megawati's support for president after he supported her in the 2009 election. The clear implication is that Ms Megawati's support for Mr Joko is illegitimate and founded on betrayal.

The charge is unlikely to stick to Mr Joko. At the time of these machinations among the old political elite, he was the unknown mayor of the provincial city of Solo. And judging by the polls, the humble mayor is rising far above that kind of politics as usual.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/redhot-favourite-joko-widodo-launches-presidential-campaign-in-indonesia-20140316-hvjdc.html

Mega's broken promises leaked

Jakarta Post - March 16, 2014

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – It appears that presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto has all the reason to resent the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)'s surprise decision to nominate the wildly popular Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as its presidential candidate.

A document outlining the political commitment of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to support the presidential nomination of Prabowo – Gerindra Party chief patron – in the 2014 presidential election was leaked to the public only a day after the PDI-P announced the Jakarta governor's nomination on Friday, providing PDI-P's political opponents with a reason to question the integrity of the party and its leader.

The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, contains seven articles and was signed by Megawati and Prabowo on May 16, 2009, the day they registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) as presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2009 presidential election.

Two articles, for example, stipulate that should Megawati and Prabowo win the 2009 election, the latter will be assigned to handle the country's economic policies and granted a right to handpick related ministers, including agriculture minister, finance minister and energy and mineral resources minister.

The last article, considered the most crucial point, mentions Megawati will "support the nomination of Prabowo Subianto as a presidential candidate in the 2014 presidential election". Prabowo is considered the most popular presidential candidate if Jokowi is taken out of the equation, according to various political surveys.

PDI-P deputy secretary-general Hasto Kristianto said he had learned about the leaked document but refused to comment on its authenticity. He, however, did not deny all the agreements outlined in the document.

"Such political agreements should be seen in the whole context, meaning all clauses in the document can only be implemented should the [Megawati- Prabowo] pair win the 2009 presidential election," he said.

Law No. 42/2008 on the presidential election cites only a political party or a coalition that garners 20 percent of legislative seats or 25 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election is eligible to contest the presidential election.

In the 2009 election, the PDI-P only won 14.45 percent of the vote and desperately needed support from smaller parties, including Gerindra, to pave the way for Megawati's presidential nomination.

Prior to Jokowi's official nomination, Gerindra politicians repeatedly mentioned Megawati and Prabowo's political agreement prior to the 2009 presidential election, known as the Batu Tulis pact, in hopes of winning the PDI-P's support for a Prabowo nomination in this year's presidential election.

Asked whether the document was intentionally leaked to attack Megawati's integrity, Hasto said his party was ready to respond any political attack following its decision to nominate Jokowi.

Separately, Gerindra secretary-general Ahmad Muzani said he was sure the document was authentic but refused to comment on the allegation it was leaked intentionally.

Political analyst Yunarto Wijaya said the leak would not harm Jokowi's presidential aspirations. "The agreement was made between two party elites. Jokowi has nothing to do with it. Even if the document is authentic, it might only change the public's perception of Megawati, not Jokowi," he said.

Yunarto also said that the PDI-P's political opponents should have highlighted other issues, such as Jokowi's decision to cut short his duty as Jakarta governor, to challenge his presidential nomination in an "elegant manner".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/16/mega-s-broken-promises-leaked.html

Surveys & opinion polls

Jokowi's nomination good for PDI-P's electability, says survey

Jakarta Post - March 19, 2014

Jakarta – Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) executive director Kuskridho Ambardi says the nomination of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a presidential candidate has had a positive impact on the electability of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Respondents of a survey conducted by the LSI said they would vote for the PDI-P if Jokowi was nominated as a president, he said.

"We posed two different questions [on whether they would vote for the PDI- P]: First, if Jokowi was nominated, and second, if he was not. It turned out that the respondents would rather vote for the PDI-P if Jokowi was nominated," Kuskridho said in Jakarta on Wednesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

It is predicted that with Jokowi named a nominee, the PDI-P is looking at reaping 28 percent of the vote, or the higher than any other party. If Jokowi was not nominated, the Golkar Party would have secured the highest number of votes, around 30 percent of votes.

"This research shows that Jokowi has a huge impact on the PDI-P," Kuskridho said. (idb/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/19/jokowi-s-nomination-good-pdi-p-s-electability-says-survey.html

Media & journalism

Tutut files police report against Hary over MNC TV takeover

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2014

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The daughter of former president Soeharto, Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana, on Monday filed a police report against media mogul and Hanura Party vice-presidential hopeful Hary Tanoesoedibjo, claiming the latter has refused to give up national network MNC TV despite a Supreme Court ruling that she is the legitimate owner.

Tutut's lawyer, Dedy Kurniadi, accused Hary and MNC TV president director, Sang Nyoman Suwisma, of prohibiting Tutut's son, Dandy Rukmana, and Muhammad Jarman from entering the station's headquarters in Jakarta on Jan. 11.

According to Dedy, Dandy and Jarman are the station's legitimate directors based on a Supreme Court verdict issued on October 2013. "There have been concerted efforts to prevent the legitimate directors from performing their duty," Dedy said after filing the report at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

In the Supreme Court's decision, it found that Tutut was the rightful owner of a 75 percent share of MNC TV – overturning a lower court verdict that named the company PT Berkah Karya Bersama as the primary stakeholder.

PT Berkah argued that the company had taken over Tutut's shares in MNC TV, originally named Indonesia Education Television (TPI), in 2005 through a debt-to-equity conversion.

PT Berkah's lawyer, Andi Simangunsong, argued that Tutut did not retain the rights to control the television station as the company had sold its shares to MNC Group, which is controlled by Hary.

"MNC Group and HT [Hary] as an individual have never been involved in the case. They are not bound to the verdict," Andi said in a telephone interview on Monday.

Andi added that Tutut's attempt to regain control of the television station was in "bad timing" as PT Berkah was still trying to appeal the Supreme Court ruling.

"We have requested a case review with the Supreme Court and filed the case with the Indonesian National Arbitration Agency [BANI]. If they [Tutut] want to execute the verdict, it must be done with the court's permission," he said.

According to the court verdict, PT Berkah is located in Menara Kebon Sirih, or in the same location as the MNC Group's office. Andi denied that the two companies were linked, but declined to name PT Berkah's stakeholders.

"The owner is not Pak Hary or anyone related to MNC Group. I am not in the position to specify [the stakeholders]," Andi added.

Through advertising and programming, Hary has been using MNC TV to promote the Hanura Party and its presidential aspirant, former Indonesian Military commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto, in the run-up to the elections.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/18/tutut-files-police-report-against-hary-over-mnc-tv-takeover.html

Environment & natural disasters

Indonesia's fires feed 'brown cloud' of pollution choking Asia's cities

The Observer - March 22, 2014

John Vidal, Manila – High above the vast Indonesian island of Sumatra, satellites identify hundreds of plumes of smoke drifting over the oil palm plantations and rainforests.

They look harmless as the monsoon winds sweep them north and east towards Singapore, Malaysia and deep into Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. But at ground level, south-east Asian cities have been choking for weeks, wreathed in an acrid, stinking blanket of half-burned vegetation mixed with industrial pollution, car exhaust fumes and ash.

From Palangkarya in Borneo to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the air has been thick, the sun a dull glow and face masks obligatory. Schools, airports and roads have been closed and visibility at times has been down to just a few yards. Communities have had to be evacuated and people advised to remain indoors, transport has been disrupted and more than 50,000 people have had to be treated for asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses in Sumatra alone. Last week more than 200 Malaysian schools were forced to close, and pollution twice reached officially hazardous levels.

The Asian "haze", which comes and goes with the wind and droughts, is back with a vengeance just eight months after an embarrassed Indonesian government promised it would never happen again and was forced to apologise to neighbouring countries for the pollution that blanketed the region in June 2013.

Mixed with the dense photo-chemical smogs that regularly hang over most large traffic-choked Asian cities, south-east Asia's air pollution has become not just a major public health hazard but is said to be now threatening food production, tourism and economic expansion. In addition, say scientists, it may now be exacerbating climate change.

According to Nasa satellite maps, more than 3,000 separate fires have been recorded across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia since mid-January, more than in June 2013 when the pollution spiked to dangerous levels and became a regional diplomatic crisis. This time, the monsoon winds mostly spared Singapore but sent the thick smog from burning peat soils and vegetation over much of the region. Around 10 million people and an area the size of Britain and France have been affected.

Just as in 2013, most of this year's fires appear to have been started in Riau province, northern Sumatra, the centre of the rampant Indonesian palm oil and pulp-paper industries. According to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, 70% of these fires were lit by landowners wanting to clear ground for more plantations. But while Indonesia is widely blamed for the air pollution, the latest satellite images show fires burning and haze spreading across Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos and as far away as the Philippines and Papua.

What has surprised observers is the timing: the burning season, when farmers clear land, does not usually start for many months. Monitoring groups such as Walhi, the World Resources Institute and Greenpeace say the fires are linked both to the worst drought seen in years and corruption and inaction at government level. So far, says the Riau government, only a handful of suspects have been held for setting the fires.

Nearly half are burning on land managed by large pulpwood, palm oil and logging companies which have turned the rainforest into a giant fire-prone region by clearing millions of acres for plantations, says Nigel Sizer of the Washington-based World Resources Institute, which uses satellite data to pinpoint hot spots. The corporations have denied involvement, saying the latest fires are illegally set. "The fires are starting outside our forest concessions but with the heavy, circular winds they're jumping everywhere," said Kusnan Rahmin, president director of the pulp and paper manufacturer April Indonesia.

Sizer says: "Even if they did not start the fires, they are responsible for massive and dramatic clearing of forests in the regions that have been burning, and to some extent for the conflicts with local communities that may be starting fires to stake their claim to land awarded in concessions to the companies."

"Once ignited, peat fires are extremely difficult to extinguish and generate massive air pollution that contributes to the choking haze now blanketing much of Sumatra," says Rhett Butler, editor of the international forest conservation website Mongabay.

Scientists now fear that the Asian haze will intensify and become an annual event as the population of the region rises to an estimated five billion people and climate change bites over the next 30 years. This week's IPCC report on the expected impacts of climate change will warn of the cities becoming unliveable in for millions as temperatures rise. Droughts are expected to become longer and more intense and the number of extremely hot days to grow.

Still unclear is how far the haze from burning forests feeds into Asia's rapidly worsening urban air pollution to form a semi-permanent toxic cloud thick enough to disrupt monsoons and weather patterns across the world and reduce sunlight and crop yields.

From being more or less accepted as the inevitable price of industrial development and poverty reduction just a few years ago, air pollution has risen dramatically up the region's political agenda as the costs are counted. Asia is now the centre of global air pollution, which along with obesity is the world's fastest growing cause of death.

Every year, says a recent Lancet report, more than 2.1 million people in Asia die prematurely from air pollution, mostly from the minute particles of diesel soot and gases emitted by cars and lorries, as well as half- burned vegetation from forest burning. Of these deaths, 1.2 million were in east Asia and China, and 712,000 in south Asia, including India.

According to the Lancet report, by a consortium of universities working in conjunction with the UN, Asia loses more than 50m years of healthy life from fine particle air pollution per year. Air pollution also contributes to higher rates of cognitive decline, strokes and heart attacks, it says. In a separate report last month, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences claimed that Asian air pollution was now affecting climate around the world and making cities like Beijing uninhabitable and suggestive of what a "nuclear winter" might be like.

"Pollution originating from Asia clearly has an impact on the upper atmosphere and it appears to make such storms or cyclones even stronger," says Renyi Zhang, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University and a co-author of the study with Nasa scientists.

"This pollution affects cloud formations, precipitation, storm intensity, and other factors and eventually impacts climate. Most likely, pollution from Asia can have important consequences on the weather pattern here over North America", said Zhang. The study backs UN research that suggests a layer of air pollution, the "brown cloud", regularly covers the upper atmosphere over Asia between January and March and could precipitate an environmental disaster that could affect billions of people.

It is, says scientists, the result of forest fires, the burning of agricultural wastes, dramatic increases in the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, industries and power stations, and emissions from millions of inefficient cookers burning wood and cow dung.

"The effects of the 'Asian brown cloud' have been linked to the retreat, over the last half a century, of glaciers in the Himalayas that supply water to major rivers, including the Yangtse, the Ganges and the Indus," says co-author Harshal T. Pandve.

Asian leaders have been slow to understand and act on air pollution, but are now aware of people's anger. China, embarrassed by air pollution before the 2008 Olympics, says it is now costing its economy $400bn a year, or 6% of its GDP. Beijing last month pledged $1.6bn to reward cities for tackling it and said it planned to close 300 factories. Meanwhile, Singapore has proposed a law which would allow it to fine foreign companies for causing cross-border air pollution. But observers say that passing new laws will not enough. In the Philippines, where car numbers are predicted to quadruple within 20 years, a brown cloud hangs over the mega-city of Metro Manila most days, despite higher standards for vehicles and draconian laws.

"Most Asian governments are still concerned with economic development to the detriment of everything else," says Vicky Segovia, of Manila's Clean Air partnership. "We are not impressed by any of them."

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/23/indonesia-forest-fires-pollution-asia

Watchdog accuses companies of mining in conservation area

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2014

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Balikpapan – A mining watchdog group in East Kalimantan says that a number of companies are using conservation areas in the region for mining activities.

According to the East Kalimantan Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) data showed that up to 42 licenses were issued for mining activities within the Hutan Raya Conservation Park in Bukit Soeharto, Kutai Kartanegara, of which 31 were issued in a 1991 decree by the Forestry Ministry and 11 in a 2009 ministerial decree.

"It isn't only operational licenses, but there are also five coal hauling lanes within the conservation park. The state losses – if calculated using the non-tax state revenue method – would stand at Rp 18.1 trillion [$1.6 billion] from 2008 until today," said Merah Johansyah of Jatam. "It is accumulated over five years, and the losses could be higher because this is only a partial calculation. There are other losses that have not been included in the calculations."

Merah said that the 1991 ministerial decree shows that among the companies working in the conservation area are Moreseni Indonesia Pratama, with a mining area of 1,991 hectares, 50.4 hectares of which are located within the conservation park

Additionally, the 2009 ministerial decree mentions Tuah Bumi Etam with a 65,000-hectare mining area, 64,000 of which are located within the Hutan Raya Conservation Park, while companies identified as Lembuswana Perkasa and Energi Bumi Kartanegara reportedly owned hauling lanes from 2007 and 2010 respectively.

Jatam says it has filed the case to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) late in 2013, with regional officials and Forestry Ministry officials being named in its report.

"We have reported this case to the KPK, so we hope the KPK will immediately launch an investigation into this case so it can put behind bars the officials or businesses who have caused damage to the environment," Merah said. He also called on Kutai Kartanegara district chief Rita Widyasari to look into the matter and revoke operational licenses that were issued in violation of the law.

"The licenses have to be revoked if [the authorities] are serious in cleaning up the mining sector in Kutai Kartanegara, especially where bad mining companies are concerned," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/watchdog-accuses-companies-mining-conservation-area/

Refugees & asylum seekers

Asylum seekers detail Operation Sovereign Borders lifeboat turn-back

ABC Radio Australia - March 17, 2014

George Roberts in Jakarta and Mark Solomons – Asylum seekers who were forcibly returned to Indonesia by lifeboat have given the first detailed account of their ordeal, and a unique insight into the Federal Government's Operation Sovereign Borders.

New video footage of their journey has also emerged, despite Australian Government attempts to keep the turn-back operations secret.

The passengers who are now in detention in Indonesia have given the ABC's 7.30 program their accounts of being forced onto an orange lifeboat after being held on the Australian Customs ship Triton off Christmas Island for up to a week.

Iranian asylum seeker Arash Sedigh, 35, said it was the second time he had tried and failed to reach Australia and been put on one of the orange boats, bought specially for the purpose by the Australian Government.

Mr Sedigh says, during their detention on board the Triton, he was separated from the other passengers so he could not warn them about their imminent return. He claims officers "punched" him before putting him onto the lifeboat.

"I asked [sic] them, 'We will die in this orange boat, it's not suitable for passing the ocean," Mr Sedigh said. "They told me, 'That's not our problem, that's yours. If you die in the Indonesian water, [it] makes Indonesian government in trouble and responsible. That's not our problem'."

Mr Sedigh's wife, Azi, has told 7.30: "I was just screaming, I kept saying, 'This boat of yours is not suitable for me to board it'." "I was holding to the sides of the boat that they took us to... I was just screaming. But the only thing they did was to pull me forcefully towards that boat," she said.

Mr Sedigh said he had threatened to kill Customs officers after he had earlier requested medical attention for a pregnant woman and other sick passengers, a request he alleges was refused.

He also claimed that after demanding to know what was going to happen to him and his fellow passengers, officers had said: "We don't know, you have no rights, you have no rights."

At another point, he said they had heard they were to be transferred to Christmas Island "very soon". Instead, the asylum seekers were placed in the lifeboat and towed to within a few hours' sailing time of the Indonesian coast.

Asylum seeker says passengers treated 'like prisoners of war'

A Pakistani asylum seeker, who wanted to be known only as "Mr Dar" because he had been targeted by Islamic militants in Pakistan and feared for his family, said he and fellow passengers had been treated "like war prisoners".

"But all people were innocents, small babies, ladies, pregnant ladies and everybody was disturbed and in difficulty. Otherwise, why we go there?" he said.

Mr Dar said the lifeboat was "very small and very smelly". "This boat is like a grave," he said. "The people neck to neck and knee to knee... somebody vomiting, the bad smell of the vomiting, other people start smoking, vomiting. All the people one by one – vomiting."

The ABC spoke to a dozen passengers who left Indonesia on a wooden fishing boat on December 27 and washed up in the lifeboat at Pangandaran on the south coast of West Java on February 5. Some of them agreed to give in- depth interviews, but many appointed Mr Sedigh as their spokesman and said they agreed with his version of events.

The ABC has put detailed questions on the turn-back operation to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, including allegations of mistreatment made by the asylum seekers.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison did not answer specific questions. He said Navy and Customs and Border Protection officers working under Border Protection Command were "well trained and act in accordance with that training and the guidelines and protocols established for these operations".

"The Government rejects unsubstantiated allegations of inappropriate conduct made against our Navy and Customs and Border Protection personnel," the spokesman said.

The new interviews and exclusive footage of the asylum seekers' journey will feature on tonight's 7.30 program as the first instalment of a two- part special investigation into Operation Sovereign Borders.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2014-03-17/asylum-seekers-give-details-on-operation-sovereign-borders-lifeboat-turnback/1280736

Graft & corruption

Justice Gayus defends Supreme Court official's lavish wedding

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2014

Jakarta – Supreme Court justice Gayus Lumbuun on Wednesday defended a Court secretary's eyebrow-raising decision to hand out 2,500 iPod Shuffles as party favors at his daughter's Hotel Mulia wedding reception.

"The price on the invoice [for each unit] was Rp 480,000 [$42]," Gayus told Indonesian news portal kompas.com on Wednesday. "They were purchased in July 2013."

He cited the figure because the Indonesian Judges and Justices Association (Ikahi), of which he is a chapter head, classifies banned gratuities as those that cost more than Rp 500,000 ($44).

The two-gigabyte devices cost around Rp 700,000 off the shelf in Indonesia, but he said they were ordered at a wholesale discount, directly from the United States.

If so, Nurhadi, the secretary, may potentially have violated a regulation requiring Indonesian-language manuals, warranty cards and official certificates from the directorate general of telecommunications for electronic devices imported here.

Indonesian weddings typically feature small gifts for the guests. Even at reduced price, the iPods would have cost some Rp 1.2 billion in total.

Nurhadi is on the highest paid grade at the Supreme Court. As of Jan. 1, 2014, the grade was capped at Rp 70 million per month, according to Indonesian news portal Jawa Pos.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said Nurhadi has not yet completed his required wealth report, according to Indonesian news portal Skalanews.com.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has urged the KPK to look into all expenditures surrounding Nurhadi's daughter Rizki Aulia Rahma's marriage to Rizky Wibowo.

"Where did the money come from? As a civil servant his salary is publicly known," Indonesia Corruption Watch's Ade Irawan said on Tuesday. "It would be impossible to pay for such an expensive wedding on his salary."

Gayus said that the expenses, including the iPods, were paid for by the groom's family, citing Javanese tradition. He said that Rizky's late father was a civil servant in the Ministry of Public Works and his mother was as a businesswoman.

"I haven't learned so far what sector of business she does," Gayus said, according to Indonesian news portal Liputan6.com.

KPK chief Abraham Samad on Wednesday said the antigraft body was looking into Nurhadi's wealth. "We are investigating," Samad said.

Gayus has made headlines in recent months for his high-profile defamation suit against celebrity illusionist Deddy Corbuzier over claims that the justice had received bribe money from dangdut singer Julia "Jupe" Perez.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/justice-gayus-defends-supreme-court-officials-lavish-wedding/

Freedom of religion & worship

Another church faces closure amid hard-line protest in West Java

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2014

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – A West Java court threw out a Bekasi government-issued building permit for a Catholic church on Thursday, ruling that the church congregation failed to openly advertise the long-planned construction in the latest instance of a public institution cowing to pressure from hard-line Islamists in this Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) stronghold.

"The church considers it invalid because the church only informed people door to door, not openly," said attorney Uli Parulian Sihombing, who represented the Stanislaus Kostka Catholic church.

The congregation began the lengthy process of securing a building permit in 2005 to construct a church for the nearly 500 Catholic families living in the immediate area. The church members walked the streets of Kranggan, Bekasi, gathering the 60 signatures needed from local residents before submitting the paperwork to the Bekasi district government. The signatures were reportedly verified by the local urban ward office.

The congregation received the support of the Interfaith Harmony Forum (FKUB) and the local branch of the Ministry of Religious Affairs as it prepared the necessary documents. By November of 2012, the local administration issued the building permit, giving the congregation the green light to begin construction.

Some five months later, the congregation broke ground in a ceremony that was attended by Bekasi District Mayor Rahmat Effendi. The work continued for several months until the local Islamic Peoples Forum (FUI) – a hard- line group that routinely campaigns against non-Sunni Muslim houses of worship in West Java – mounted a protest against the Catholic church.

The paperwork, the hard-line Islamists argued, was invalid because the signatures were allegedly fake. The group urged the local administration to renege on the building permit, staging noisy protests outside the building's gates with the notorious Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) – an organization implicated in violent attacks on houses of worship and people engaged in activities deemed haram by the hard-liners.

Some Islamist groups have enveloped themselves in a war of attrition on the institutions of religious minorities in West Java, rampaging through offending mosques and holding unruly protests with the tacit support of West Java Governor Ahmad Heraywan's administration.

The most successful tool in the hard-liner's arsenal, a government regulation requiring all religious institutions obtain a building permit before construction, has been used to shutter dozens of churches in Indonesia despite reports highlighting that mosques broke that rule more frequently than the country's churches.

The Bandung Administrative Court ruled in the FUI's favor in this most recent case, revoking the Catholic church's building permit on the grounds that the congregation had failed to adequately advertise their planned construction project.

The attorney for Stanislaus Kostka accused the court of siding with the hard-liner group, explaining that the Catholic community was open about their intentions to build a church. There is no regulation in Indonesia requiring additional steps beyond the initial 60 signatures for a building permit, Uli said.

"Even the urban ward [chief] informed the residents about the church construction," he said. "The judge's opinion is strange. I guess they just made it to please the plaintiffs."

The court, in its ruling, said the church had not faked any of the signatures submitted to the local administration. Furthermore, four residents who came forward in support of the FUI, saying that their signatures had been forged by church officials, had all lied, the court ruled.

One judge, Nelvy Christin, ruled in favor of the Catholic church, deciding that the congregation had fulfilled all the necessary requirements. But in the end, the administrative court declared the building permit invalid.

The ruling, Uli said, has left the church community scratching their heads. It is unknown if construction of the building should stop, or how the Catholic church could meet the new mandate of openly advertising the project.

"So, again, the decision only stated that the decision to issue the permit was invalid," Uli said. "It did not say whether the permit was revoked or whether the construction should be terminated.

"What is even more strange is that the ruling could not be implemented, as all of the judges rejected the request of the plaintiff to suspend the church's construction. It's a confusing decision."

The church plans to appeal the case to a higher court.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/another-church-faces-closure-amid-hard-line-protest-west-java/

Islam & religious affairs

Religious leaders accused of misleading, abusing followers

Jakarta Globe - March 20, 2014

Ellya Rossa's search for a traditional healer to treat a chronic heart ailment brought her to Guntur Bumi, an ustad, or Islamic cleric, who has often appeared in television commercials plugging his "alternative healing" clinic.

She first came to the ustad, popularly known as UGB, on Feb. 10, after making a telephone appointment and being told that she only had to pay Rp 500,000 ($44).

Once at the clinic in Tangerang, however, the experience was nothing like she'd imagined. The ustad claimed a spell had been cast on her. He charged her Rp 11 million to cure her, her husband and their two children – although he'd never even seen the latter, and Ellya's husband hadn't claimed to be ill.

He also told her to read through the entire Koran that very night, or if she couldn't, to pay him an extra Rp 1 million. He said if she refused to pay, she would continue to be cursed by the spell.

"He told me that patients who could afford to pay him but claimed otherwise ended up getting into an accident or dying," Ellya says. "I felt in my heart that I was being cheated, but I wanted to be cured. I told myself there was no way an ustad would cheat someone."

Guntur is now the subject of a probe by the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country's highest Islamic authority, after dozens of complaints by former patients like Ellya who claimed they were extorted and never healed by the ustad.

The case is one of several high-profile scandals revolving around popular clerics accused of exploiting the influence they wield over their followers, or of violating the trust vested in them by the public.

In Guntur's case, says the MUI, the cleric has apologized to those "who felt that they were cheated," and has signed a declaration to that effect. "Hopefully UGB will change his ways and comply with the terms of the declaration," says Cholil Nafis, an MUI deputy chairman.

In the declaration, read out at the MUI headquarter on March 12, the ustad said he would "seek penance for all the wrong that I have done." He also promised to stop practicing as an alternative healer and to close down all his clinics throughout the country

Guntur said he would also pay back any patients who felt they had a legitimate grievance – but only on the condition that they were able to prove the money, gold and other items they'd paid him had not been given in good faith.

Despite the tacit admission of Guntur's fraud, the police have not launched a criminal investigation. Sr. Comr. Rikwanto, a spokesman for the Jakarta Police, says an investigation can only begin if one or more of the former patients file a report with the police.

Profitable preachers

Extortion or fraud allegations involving ustads abound. Last year the hugely popular TV cleric Yusuf Mansyur was accused of using billions of rupiah in donations from his followers to build time-share properties; Sholahudin Mahmoed, a celebrity preacher better known as Ustad Solmed, was criticized for pulling out of a gathering with Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong when they couldn't pay his fee – after he'd initially promised not to charge them.

Meanwhile, a corruption probe into the former chief of the country's biggest Islamic political party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has revealed indications of massive money laundering by the party's top officials, most of whom call themselves ustad – a title that is claimed, not conferred.

The MUI has proposed a certification system to regulate the number of clerics who can call themselves ustad, particularly for celebrity clerics who often appear on television.

Muhyidin Djunaidi, a top MUI official, says there needs to be an ethical standard that all ustads must comply with, citing what he calls a growing number of clerics who are more style than substance.

"You get ustads who sometimes make controversial statements. This is something we need to be careful about because matters of religion are very sensitive," he says.

"You also get those who are kind of eccentric. They're more about tontonan [the spectacle] than tuntunan [the guidance]. An ustad must be more tuntunan than tontonan."

Muhyidin warns that some ustads are misinterpreting the Koran when they preach to their followers, and suggests a "fit-and-proper" test administered by the MUI to gauge their understanding of holy texts. "At the end of it we could have some sort of certification," he adds.

Abusing the followers

But it's not just in matters of money or message where ustads have often strayed. Countless clerics have over the years been accused of sexual misconduct by their followers, in many cases minors or highly impressionable young people.

The most recent high-profile case emerged earlier this month in Bogor, where police have charged Saiful Sardi Jayadi, a cleric with the local office of the MUI and head of an Islamic boarding school, in connection with a sex video purportedly featuring him in a threesome with two kindergarten teachers.

The video, reportedly made in 2011, only recently caused a stir after being uploaded to the Internet.

Saiful, who faces up to 12 years in prison if found guilty of the charge of distributing pornography, has since been dismissed from his MUI post. The council has also condemned his alleged actions, and welcomed the police investigation into him.

In Bekasi last month, police arrested a man who claimed to be an ustad for alleged raping a 17-year-old girl. The suspect reportedly ran a traditional healing clinic where the victim was a patient. He allegedly raped her on the pretext of treating her.

In Temanggung, East Java, last October, an Islamic school teacher was arrested and charged with raping three of his students. He refused to take the blame for it, calling the incident "a test from Allah." In another case, Hariri Abdul Aziz Azmatkhan, a TV preacher known as Ustad Hariri, has come under criticism for stomping on the head of a sound operator at an event he was attending, after a video of the assault was uploaded to the Internet last month.

The cleric has denied the attack, despite the video evidence, while his manager says he did it because the victim had been insolent and drunk. The police are not investigating the attack.

The MUI itself has not been above reproach. The council is currently embroiled in a battle with the government over which side should be in charge of a proposed mandatory halal certification system. The scheme, if it goes through, would be a lucrative source of revenue to the administering body, with producers of food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics required to pay fees to certify their products as being fit for use by Muslims.

Halal certification is currently not mandatory, and the MUI issues its own seal of approval for products voluntarily submitted to it by producers.

Dradjad Hari Wibowo, a member of the House of Representatives who serves on the committee currently debating the Halal Products Bill, says the lack of transparency about halal testing procedures means an MUI seal is not something that would be recognized by Islamic authorities in other countries, including Malaysia, which is widely recognized as the world leader in halal certification standards.

He acknowledges that the money at stake is a huge factor, but warns that if the MUI's only motive for having control of the certification process is the revenue stream, then it will defeat the ultimate purpose of halal branding.

"Certification is obviously big business, which is why everyone's fighting over it," he says, noting that there will always be the temptation for the administering body to take bribes from producers to certify products that might not necessarily pass testing.

"So even if the product really is halal, the fact that a bribe has been transacted for the certificate renders that halal rating useless," Dradjad says.

Amidhan Shaberah, the MUI's head of halal products and business affairs, is at the heart of such a controversy. An investigative report by Tempo late last month unearthed allegations that Amidhan forced officials from the Halal Certification Authority Australia to pay Rp 300 million for an overseas junket for MUI officials in exchange for accreditation by the Indonesian council.

Amidhan has denounced the accusation as false – but notes that even if it was true, he hadn't done anything wrong because he was not a state official and therefore "I can take gratuities."

Celebrity preachers

Dradjad, a Muslim scholar, says business and religion should never be mixed. "If [ustads] want to do business then stop taking money from the public in the name of religion," he previously told the Jakarta Globe.

Ustads enjoy huge influence in Indonesia, where more than a third of the population have only a primary school education, and most people see religious law as the highest authority.

That has allowed clerics to flourish and expand the ranks of their loyal and unquestioning followers. Ali Musthafa Ya'qub, the grand imam at Jakarta's Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest in the country, acknowledges that people are far too trusting of ustads, and that this trust is often exploited by unscrupulous individuals for various purposes.

"Just because someone wears a robe and a turban doesn't make him a religious teacher," he says. He cites a verse from the Koran, Yasin 21: "Follow those who do not ask of you [any] payment, and they are [rightly] guided."

The problem, Ali says, is that many Indonesian Muslims tend to follow the wrong people, often simply because they happen to be popular.

Hasyim Muzadi, the former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's biggest Islamic organization, says ustads hold a very important responsibility for the spiritual wellbeing of their followers, and thus violating that responsibility is a serious matter.

He says there is a danger in idolizing celebrity preachers, because with the higher profile come the usual trappings of celebrity excess. Dradjad says the media helps to sensationalize and distort religion, and becoming a cleric has become a profitable and prestigious profession.

"The media grooms preachers and turn them into celebrities. People adore them and are captivated, willing to part with their money in the name of religion," he says. "It should not be supported," he adds.

Media expert Nina Armando blamed a "symbiosis" between the media and preachers – the preachers need a platform while the media needs content. It is up to the public to exercise their critical faculties when viewing, she told the Jakarta Globe previously.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/religious-leaders-accused-misleading-abusing-followers/

Sex & pornography

Communications minister 'accidentally' follows Twitter porn account

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2014

Jakarta – Indonesia's social media community uttered a collective "LOL" on Tuesday after the country's vehement anti-pornography crusader Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said he had followed a pornographic Twitter account "by accident."

Tifatul – via his Twitter account @tifsembiring – began following @ToketQueen on Monday, sending the Indonesian Twittersphere into hysterics as users sought to point out that the content offered up by the account did not fit with the high principles espoused by Tifatul's Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) or Indonesian law, which includes an outright ban on pornography.

@HariSulistyo tweeted on Tuesday, "... Mr. Minister @tifsembiring, thank you. because of you, we now know @ToketQueen. Long live PSK [the Indonesian acronym for commercial sex workers]; oops, PKS.. !!"

@andi_giling wrote, "I'm sure @tifsembiring will say humans make mistakes... but why so many mistakes:p #PKS"

Tifatul on Tuesday clarified the issue, saying he had made the error after one of his followers had sent him a link to the offending account, asking that it be blocked.

"Someone reported a pornographic twitter account, asking [me] to block it," Tifatul said. "I accidentally pressed the 'follow' button. That often happens with touch-screen gadgets. The 'follow' button is on the lower left. So, when it's touched, we become a follower."

Tifatul denied perusing the content of the adult Twitter account. "Following someone doesn't necessarily mean we open and check their account. [And], not following a person doesn't mean they never check the person's account...:D"

The minister said he would be more careful next time and reminded his followers to also keep an eye out for pornography, adding that anyone could complain about "negative content" on the internet via aduankonten@mail.kominfo.go.id.

Tifatul, a former chairman of the PKS, joined Twitter in October 2009 after he was installed as Indonesia's communications minister. He has gained almost 730,000 followers since.

Twitter analytical website http://twtrland.com said he was a "super active" user, tweeting an average of 14.5 tweets per day. Tifatul, sometimes called "Tiffy" by his critics, is also considered among the most popular Twitter users, with every 100 tweets of his being retweeted 4,570 times on average.

Tifatul is a frequent target of criticism on Twitter, no more so than when he shook hands with US First Lady Michelle Obama during President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia in 2010. Some supporters of the PKS criticized him, as some conservative Muslims consider shaking hands with members of the opposite sex to be haram, or forbidden.

Tifatul defended himself by saying he had been caught off guard by FLOTUS.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/communications-minister-accidentally-follows-twitter-porn-account/

Indonesia's sex tape Islamic cleric charged with violating anti-porn law

Jakarta Globe - March 18, 2014

Bogor – A prominent Islamic cleric sacked after a videotaped threesome with two school teachers surfaced online was charged on Tuesday with violating Indonesia's controversial anti-pornography law, police said.

Saiful Sardi Jayadi, a former member of the Bogor chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI Bogor), admitted to starring in the sex tape, telling police that he recorded the three-way with two local school teachers for his personal collection, Adj. Sr. Comr. Sony Mulvianto, of the Bogor Police, said on Tuesday.

The video was shot in 2011, but only recently appeared online, the police officer added. "Based on the investigation of S.S., police increased his status from witness to suspect," Sony said. "The suspect did it in a hotel in Bogor."

The grainy video, titled "2 PNS Hebohkan Puncak" (Two Civil Servants Create a Stir Puncak), surfaced online last week and was widely shared on file hosting sites like 4Shared and Mediafire before it was taken down. Saiful, chair of the Nurul Iksan Islamic boarding school, was dismissed by the MUI Bogor last Thursday amid public outcry over the supposedly respectable Islamic cleric's less-than-virtuous after-hours activities.

The Bogor Police are still investigating how the video appeared online and have questioned eight suspects so far, including the two women who appeared in the video. The women, both allegedly kindergarten teachers, may be fired by the Cisarua subdistrict education agency.

Agency head Aas Turmika plans to file an official request for the teachers' dismissal. "We recommended they be fired because of so many complaints from parents who feel concerned over what the teachers did," Aas said.

Concerned by alleged calls for violent retaliation by local residents, police stationed officers outside the disgraced cleric's home on Tuesday. The officers will guard Saiful's residence until the threat dissipates, Sony said. "Police have assigned some officers at the suspect's house following information that there would be an attack by residents," he said.

Saiful faces up to 12 years in prison under Indonesia's vague anti- pornography law, which criminalizes representations of everything from sensual kissing to full-on intercourse. Sex videos are allowed, as long as they are for personal use, under the law.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesias-sex-tape-islamic-cleric-charged-violating-anti-porn-law/

Land & agrarian conflicts

Government urged to pass bill on indigenous people's rights

Jakarta Post - March 23, 2014

Jakarta – The Indigenous People's Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) has called for the immediate ratification of the indigenous people's rights acknowledgment and protection bill, so the well-being and sustainable livelihoods of indigenous people can be protected.

"We urge the Indonesian government to immediately implement the Constitutional Court and House of Representatives' decisions to pass a bill on the acknowledgment and protection of indigenous people's rights," AMAN secretary-general Abdon Nababan said in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He reminded that the 2012 court verdict had a crucial role to play in indigenous people's struggle as it stated that customary forests did no longer belong to the state.

"Previously, customary forests were considered as state forests, paving the way for the expropriation of land and natural resources, including customary forests, belonging to indigenous people," said Abdon.

Unfortunately, he added, many policies contradicted the court's verdict, giving the sense that some efforts were aimed at delaying the bill and ultimately overturning it.

AMAN's deputy secretary-general for advocacy on policy, legal and political affairs, Rukka Sombolinggi, said that with slow progress being made on the ratification of the bill, conflict continued in areas that should be categorized as customary forests.

"One year after the court verdict was issued, indigenous communities in Indonesia continued to suffer land and natural resource-based conflicts," said Rukka. Community and Ecological-based Society for Legal Reform (HuMa) executive director Andiko, said the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus (REDD+) program should support the implementation of laws that were conducive to fulfilling the rights of indigenous people and local communities, including the 2012 court verdict on the status of customary forests.

"This should also help the resolution of hundreds of ongoing forest conflicts," said Andiko. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/23/govt-urged-pass-bill-indigenous-people-s-rights.html

Armed forces & defense

Military ambition in Indonesia - analysis

Eurasia Review - March 21, 2014

Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi – Heading into the 2014 election, Indonesian society is being faced with certain political figures, ranging from businessmen and office holders, to military background figures.

However, given many election surveys, two prominent figures have emerged as the most likely to be the next Indonesian president, namely Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. Joko Widodo, affectionately known as Jokowi, is Jakarta's current governor, whereas Prabowo is the chief patron of the Greatest Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) as well as a former general of the late President Suharto. Recently, Jokowi has been announced as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) candidate. Thus, the governor Jokowi and former military general, Prabowo will likely dominate the Indonesian political landscape prior to presidential election in September 2014.

After 15 years of democratic consolidation, the big inquiry is whether Indonesia still needs the military style leadership. In the last three general elections, the military candidates have always been involved to run for office. The current president is the former Suharto general who has been in office for two terms.

In this 2014 election, at least two former generals have announced their candidacies beside Prabowo, namely former Indonesian military commander Wiranto supported by his party, the Peoples Conscience Party (Hanura) and Sutiyoso, retired army lieutenant general cum Chairman of the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI). The ruling party, Democrat, also is presenting former army chief of staff Pramono Edhie Wibowo as one of its presidential candidates. All of these generals, except Pramono Edhie, served during Suharto's waning days. And these three generals are also widely believed to have been involved in human rights violations.

Ironically, on the one hand, Indonesian society is hoping to have clean and good leaders, such as Jokowi and Tri Rismaharini, the Surabaya Mayor.

On the other hand, as a recent survey shows, many Indonesian voters still prefer a presidential or vice presidential candidate with a military background over a civilian. Three characteristics have been advanced for this preference, namely decisiveness, discipline and firmness. This tendency exemplifies the romance of the Suharto-backed military regime among Indonesians.

The military in Indonesia has two prominent reasons why they have to meddle in daily political life. First, the Indonesian military (TNI) still criticizes the current democratic system. As attributed by Indonesia's army strategic command head, Lieutenant General Gatot Nurmayanto, Indonesian democracy is not always right for Indonesia. Accordingly, democracy based on popular vote does not always lead to the strengthening of the nation.

For some political analysts, this is the picture of a hard-line faction within the TNI to push for more military involvement in Indonesia's daily politics.

Second, the TNI has doubted the ability of civilian government to govern. Corruption and immorality have become chronic diseases in the civilian government. As a result, certain political regulations can risk national stabilization, such as the current dispute over the legitimacy of Law No. 42/2008 on presidential and vice presidential elections. As former army intelligence head, Soleman B. Ponto argues, the potential of national chaos is high, given that the law was dismissed by the constitutional court in January 2014. If national chaos develops, the military will launch what Ponto calls a "constitutional coup".

In addition, during my personal interview in 2012 with former Vice Chief Staff of Army, retired Major General Kiki Syanahkri, he expressed the same concern. He thought that the quality degradation of civilian government and intended to take political steps necessary to return to the original version of the 1945 constitution. To support his idea, Kiki and his colleges in the Retired Army Association (PPAD), proposed to form a "national council". This would allow the military to legitimately engage directly in politics. These statements raise the question about the military's relentless tendency to take any opportunity to influence or even to take over the civilian government.

Democracy allows for every individual, regardless of their background, to run for office. However, after the downfall of authoritarian regime and the beginning of democratic consolidation, the remnants of a former authoritarian regime, including the military, should be restricted from participating in politics. The former regime was highly backed up by the military in Indonesia during the new order period for over 30 years. This history can give the military the desire to re-engage in the new political system. If it does, there is high possibility for the military to bring back an authoritarian spirit, such as in Egypt and Thailand.

According to the Indonesian constitution, military figures can run for office after resigning from active duty. However, the close relations between former officers and active officers are difficult to overlook. Former officers support the core interests of their institution. This again brings up the question of the future of the TNI reformation that has stalled during the second term of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). Three crucial areas of the TNI's internal reform could be "blocked" by former senior officers if they get elected.

First and foremost is the uplifting of human rights values among officers. The TNI has been globally known for its human rights record toward its own people. The military internal reformation failed to deal with this issue, particularly in Papua province. The military candidates are likely to defend their former institution. For instance, the prison raid by army special forces (Kopassus) that killed four detainees in Cebongan, drew support and even praise from Prabowo and other former generals, including SBY. In addition, Pramono Edhie Wibowo recently called to forget past violations of human rights conducted by the TNI.

The second area of army reform which might be left undone is the reorganization or even liquidation of some army territorial commands across country. Many territorial commands at the regional level have been widely alleged to be used for political and economic purposes. As a leading general during the early days of TNI's reformation, Wiranto supported and defended the existence of the commands. In present day, there are no military candidates have questioned these commands in light of charges of misuse for political purpose and human rights violations.

The third area of military reform needed is the management of its businesses, particularly the illegal ones, such as illegal logging, gambling, and the security business. It seems hard to tackle this issue if some former generals get elected in September, given the fact that the military still highly depends on these off-budget resources.

Given the uncertainty at the national level, Indonesian democracy will arguably allow the military figures to continue their role as decisive political actors as happened during the new order. In contrast, after the era of strong military regimes, certain Latin America countries have produced many strong populist leaders, such as Lula Da Silva and Dilma Rousseff in Brazil; Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentine and Evo Morales in Bolivia. These figures can restrict constitutionally military ambition in their countries. They can channel effectively people's aspirations to support government policies, instead of paving the way to the military to get its second opportunity to govern.

Indonesian politics has never gotten out from under military influence, and certain populist leaders, such as Jokowi and Risma, also appear to rely on military support. As a result, the future of the Indonesian democratic system remains uncertain.

[Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi is a visiting scholar in the Equality Development and Globalization Studies at the BCICS, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, the US.]

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/21032014-military-ambition-in-indonesia-analysis/

Economy & investment

Indonesia's logistics still behind peers: WB

Jakarta Post - March 20, 2014

Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – Indonesia's competitiveness is suffering because, despite improvements, its logistics performance still lags behind its Southeast Asian neighbors, a World Bank survey has revealed.

Indonesia came in 53rd this year among 166 countries surveyed in the bank's latest Logistics Performance Index (LPI) released on Wednesday Jakarta time. The ranking was an increase from 59th in the previous index two years ago.

By comparison, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore were ranked 48th, 35th, 25th and fifth, respectively, in the survey, which was conducted between October and December last year and involved about 1,000 respondents in international logistics firms in 143 countries.

Components in the survey included customs; transportation infrastructure; ease of arranging shipments; quality of logistics services; tracking and tracing; and timeliness.

The World Bank said trade powerhouses in developing countries like Indonesia saw seamless and sustainable logistics as an engine of growth and of integration into global value chains. Although Indonesia had set up a connectivity program, the concept remained intuitive and often loosely defined, it said.

Indonesian Logistics Association (ALI) chairman Zaldy Masita said it was easy for neighboring countries in the region to outrank Indonesia as it had failed to improve in the logistics sector. "[Therefore] it remains a challenge for us ahead of the [2015] ASEAN Economic Community," he said on Wednesday.

Zaldy has previously said several key policies on infrastructure were likely to further harm the logistics sector rather than develop it.

For example, he said the US$2.5 billion Kalibaru Port project in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, would further increase road congestion, leading to higher logistics costs, because the project was not matched by improvements in land transportation infrastructure.

"We will see doubled outflows once Kalibaru Port is operational. Meanwhile, roads are already heavily congested with the current flow of goods from Tanjung Priok," Zaldy said, adding that the government's plan to construct a railway from Bekasi, east of Jakarta, to Tanjung Priok remained unrealized.

According to Zaldy, logistics services are at their best when based on railway transportation, which currently accounts for less than 1 percent of the country's total transportation share.

He said that the country's logistics sector could look forward in the near future to the Trans-Java double-track railway system connecting the capital city to Surabaya, East Java. The railway is scheduled to begin operations next month.

"The double-track railway system will help reduce logistics costs by 20 percent, but it should be supported by proper loading and unloading facilities at stations," Zaldy said.

Separately, Transportation Ministry director general for sea transportation Bobby Mamahit said it would take time for the industry to fully reap the fruits of the government's infrastructure projects.

"We are still developing ports including those in Tanjung Priok, Kalibaru, Belawan [North Sumatra] and Makassar [South Sulawesi]," he said. "I believe that by the end of 2015 we can significantly improve our logistics performance, and compete with other ASEAN countries when those ports and their supporting infrastructure are ready."

Business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan analysts say that Indonesia's logistics industry is expected to grow by 14.7 percent to Rp 1,82 quadrillion ($160 billion) in transactions this year on the back of growth in the services sector and a surge in consumer spending.

Frost & Sullivan vice president for transportation and logistics in the Asia-Pacific Gopal R. said on Tuesday that growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power were among the key indicators of increased trade volume and value, which would favor freight distribution in the country.

He said that the capacity for the transportation of freight by road in Indonesia was only constrained by road congestion near ports.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/20/ri-s-logistics-still-behind-peers-wb.html

Indonesia economy still facing challenges, WB says

Jakarta Post - March 18, 2014

Jakarta – World Bank (WB) lead economist Jim Brumby predicts that the Indonesian economy will still face a number of challenges related to the country's uncertain investment levels and declining export sector, which have caused its economic growth to slow to 5.3 percent this year.

"Global growth has shown positive signs; however, Indonesia is facing a number of challenges, including terms of trade which remain unchanged, higher interest rates and policy uncertainties," he said in a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara.

Brumby further explained that the latest challenge Indonesia was currently dealing with was related to a ban on raw mineral exports which had increased uncertainties among long-term investors and put more burdens on the state budget (APBN).

The WB predicted that the ban would have a negative impact of US$12.5 billion on net trade and $6.5 billion worth of losses in fiscal revenues from royalties and export and income taxes for the next three years.

Therefore, implementing policy reforms and reducing policy uncertainties are among efforts the government needs to carry out to support economic growth, which had reached 5.7 percent in 2013.

"Concerning risks of a sustainable economy and Indonesia's development agenda which is ambitious, reducing uncertainty in policies and reform follow-ups should be prioritized," Brumby said.

He said one reform the government could carry out was adjusting fuel prices to reduce the burden of energy subsidies which were predicted to increase by more than had been allocated for in the 2014 APBN.

The WB has predicted that the subsidy expenditure will increase to around 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 2.2 percent of the GDP in 2013, unless there is a future-oriented policy arrangement.

"The policy adjustment must relate to a shifting of significant subsidy expenditures to other needs which are more urgent, such as infrastructure investment, investment in the climate and public-service delivery improvements," said Brumby. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/18/ri-economy-still-facing-challenges-wb-says.html

Analysis & opinion

When Patsey was lashed, some in the audience giggled

Jakarta Post - March 22, 2014

Amron Hamdi, Jakarta – One heart-wrenching scene in the Academy Award- winning film 12 Years a Slave is the stripping and whipping of Patsey, a slave girl on a Louisiana plantation. I recently saw the film in a Jakarta cinema, and during this brutal scene two men sitting next to me were giggling. As an Indonesian man, I knew their reaction must have had something to do with the exposure of Patsey's bare, black female body.

After the movie, I kept thinking how women and men from places like Papua, who are also dark-skinned with curly hair, continue to be ridiculed. Lastri, a classmate in my junior high school who had tight curls and dark skin, was often teased for her appearance.

Most of the bullies would call her kribo (curly) or Blackie, which was even more hurtful since it is usually a name given to a black dog. Lastri would often laugh along, but I knew that was a defense mechanism. Some might say their jeers were just kids being kids. But like many expressions of racial discrimination, what they did to Lastri was also a learned experience – something that had been passed down. It needs to stop.

As Indonesians are born with various body shapes, facial features, hair types and skin color, we should be expected to fully embrace and celebrate our diversity in physical appearance. Apparently not! Lastri was among the "unlucky" ones not born with fair skin and straight hair – the embraced and well-celebrated features of beauty in Indonesia.

Although there are many Indonesian women who feel blessed for their dark skin, everywhere they face images of young women with light, almost white, skin, who are considered more desirable by society.

There are so many whitening creams, soaps and lotions sold in the market and shamelessly advertised with the promise to make women fairer and supposedly more beautiful. To this date, there have not been significant complaints, warnings or bans on whitening products and commercials that clearly discriminate against people of dark complexion from supposedly "enlightened" agencies like the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM), the Indonesia Broadcasting Commission (KPI) or the Indonesia Consumer Foundation (LPKI).

I can only imagine what a Papuan woman would feel when she watches television commercials portraying a group of fair looking young women with straight hair. One ad has a girl with a fake tan trying to avoid the sun and carrying an umbrella to protect her skin.

She is never noticed by her male friends, but after a few weeks using a lightening product that makes her skin "fair and lovely", she becomes happier and is suddenly the center of attention. It's a lame advertising concept and disgusting indoctrination.

Would the Papuan watcher turn off her set? She would probably just let it be. She might think it is a battle she should not fight because she is just a minority, one of fewer than 3 million Papuans out of 240 million Indonesians who seem to be OK with what the products and commercials dictate.

Meanwhile, the media displays poor ethics when it criticizes the government for having exploited Papua's rich natural resources, marginalized its people, failed to develop Papua's economy and so forth, while their reports are sponsored by skin whitening products that clearly marginalize and hurt Papuan women and men even further.

When I was a child in the early 1990s, state-run TVRI had news anchors, whom I believed were Papuan, that presented the network's late night news. I would also laugh when my brother mimicked the Papuan anchors presenting the news. We joked about their "weird" accent, or just made fun of their big Afro hairstyles. Now I realize that TVRI might have been trying to represent Indonesian diversity through its news anchors.

At that time, TVRI was not allowed to run commercials; also back then, skin lightening products were not as popular and as aggressively marketed as they are today. Life might have been much more peaceful for our Papuan anchors, and people in general, because their skin color was not as "embarrassing" as it is suggested to be today.

From the Indonesian media today, I only see Papuan women once in a while, for instance in reports on a celebrity going on an "exotic" vacation to remote Papua, or in coverage of another shooting incident near the Freeport mine.

I no longer see them as news anchors, let alone as actresses in films, as models for dairy products, as chefs in cooking shows or as doctors on a health show. Where have they all gone? Are they really missing? Or have they all straightened their hair and lightened their skin so that we can no longer tell who they really are?

TVRI's choice of news anchors during the Soeharto era in the 1990s might have been fulfilling a "diversity quota" for Papuans, like the often- criticized policy of affirmative action in America.

But if Indonesian media showed more Papuan women and their side of stories to the Indonesian public – not merely exploiting them for "exotic travel" features or political gains – then the two guys sitting next to me in the theater might have had different reactions to a horrific display of violence.

They would not get comedic enjoyment out of Patsey's punishment because they would better understand her and the root of her discrimination. They would have shown more sympathy as any human should when witnessing another human being treated so terribly simply because of the color of her skin.

[The writer is a communication and media specialist living and working in Jakarta.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/22/when-patsey-was-lashed-some-audience-giggled.html

What Papua needs is more transparency

Jakarta Globe Editorial - March 20, 2014

Papua has become an example of what happens when a nation's ruling elites fail to give everybody a piece of the economic pie. It also showcases the greed of several groups merely interested in the region's natural resources, without ever considering the livelihoods of the locals.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that he has done much to develop Papua, but the country's easternmost province is still one of its poorest. The irony is that it is also the country's most wealthy region in terms of natural resources. Over the years, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, for instance, has extracted huge amounts of precious metals, with many saying that the world's biggest gold miner would have gone bankrupt without its Indonesian operations.

It is true that the central government has allocated trillions of rupiah (hundreds of millions of dollars) to develop the province. But the money has not reached all the people who desperately need it, because a lot simply has been stolen.

The province has always been treated as a rebellious region, because a small number of armed groups want to be independent. This unrest has long been cited as a reason to station a large amount of troops there and to boost military and police budgets. And because of the huge natural-resource profits, rogue security officers can enrich themselves by running illegal businesses. This context gives rise to the thought that some powerful stakeholders have little interest in truly making Papua safe and want to keep it closed to foreign journalists. The police and military leadership can end such suspicions by opening up the region to all people.

It is time to treat Papua normally, just like any other Indonesian province. This will create more transparency, which is essential for Papua's development and the improvement of people's lives.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/editorial-papua-needs-transparency/