Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – Heratetty will never forget the day she received news that her son was shot and killed during a student-led rally demanding the resignation of then-president Suharto at Trisakti University.

Her son, Elang Mulia Lesmana, 20, along with Heri Hertanto, 21, Hafidin Royan, 22, and Hendriawan Sie, 23, were fatally shot by the Indonesian Military on May 12, 1998, a day that started with what were supposed to be peaceful demonstrations organized by university students from all over the country.

A group of more than 6,000 students, lecturers and staff members had gathered at the campus of Trisakti University in West Jakarta, with plans to march toward the House of Representatives (DPR/MPR) building in peaceful protest against a regime that was losing control of the country's plummeting economy.

However, with a barrage of security forces blocking their path – which included the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob), Army Strategic Reserves (Kostrad) and the Jakarta Military Command's (Kodam) riot squad – the crowd was brought to a halt several hundred meters away from the gates of the university. Aware of their limitations, they chose to conduct a sit- down before returning to the campus.

What happened next remains unclear. Students reported shouting, taunts being hurled at them from security personnel. Then the shooting started.

The military and police opened fire, causing the youths to disperse in frightened panic. Elang and Hendriawan were shot trying to return to the university campus.

Several hours later, a group of protesters who managed to return to the campus gathered in the courtyard to discuss what had happened, unaware they were the target of soldiers who had climbed onto rooftops with sniper rifles. Several more shots rang out, killing Heri and Hafidin.

News of the students' deaths spread quickly, triggering three days of widespread riots throughout the city.

Still, when the looting stopped and the fires died down, as a blanket of brittle calm settled over the capital and Suharto stepped down from his 31-year reign as president, Heratetty's pain was just beginning.

"God knows, back then, I did not even have the strength to eat by myself," she said. "But God held my heart, and as the years went by, I learned to let go."

Sixteen years later, Heratetty is still waiting for justice, clinging to the hope that one day someone will have the courage to resolve the senseless shooting of her son and his three friends, whose only mistake was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"It's been 16 years, there have been four presidents, but none have shown the guts to solve the case," she said. "My hope has never faded, but waiting for justice to come from the government is [futile]," she said.

Christianto Wibisono, founder of the Indonesian Business Data Center (PDBI) who had actively criticized the government's policy during its New Order regime, was a victim of the anti-Chinese sentiment that arose during the 1998 riots, in which countless Chinese-Indonesian women were assaulted and raped.

His daughter's house was among those that were torched during the chaos, which claimed approximately 1,190 lives and injured 118, according to the report by a joint fact-finding team. However, Jakarta Police released different data, saying 451 people were killed and an unrecorded number of people wounded.

Like Heratetty, Christianto has forgiven the perpetrators of the traumatic event, saying it is now time to look to the future.

"But as much as we have forgiven, we cannot forget easily," he said. "The fact is that women were harassed and raped, innocent people suffered burns, minority Indonesian-Chinese citizens were killed in the riots... and the perpetrators have not been taken to court."

Christianto also called the government and General Election Commission's (KPU) decisions to allow the Kostrad chief at the time, Prabowo Subianto, to run for president a "blunder," pointing out the fact that Prabowo has featured prominently in allegations as the primary instigator of the 1998 riots.

"The government and the KPU were supposed to prevent all parties involved in human rights violations to take part in the election," he said. "The government has a great debt to this nation, to its people, to the victims' families... by revealing facts about human rights violations. The government is hurting its image and existence of this nation before the international community," he said. "This nation is not brave enough to face its own history," he added.

Political reluctance

Andreas Harsono, a researcher with Human Rights Watch Indonesia, said the issue of human rights in Indonesia was a highly complex matter as it continued to overlap with the political interests of government officials.

The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has called for an inquiry into the 1998 incidents, but the body is limited to investigating, with no power to bring suspected perpetrators to justice, Andreas said.

"Komnas HAM cannot force the people allegedly involved in human rights crimes to heed their summons. The institution's authority is limited. That is why when Prabowo refused to comply to their summons, it could not force him," Andreas said.

"Unlike the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK], the human rights agency does not have the power to bring perpetrators to court. It actually grew weaker."

Hafid Abbas, the newly appointed chairman of Komnas HAM, conceded that the commission was bound by legal limitations in pursuing Indonesia's human rights abuse cases, saying the law only allowed the commission to carry out investigations and recommend action.

"The investigation of the 1998 human rights violation was conducted in 2006. We have submitted a report to the Attorney General's Office, so it's in their hands now," he said, adding that the AGO had failed to launch an inquiry as recommended.

"There have been ad hoc trials on three human rights abuse cases that occurred in East Timor, Tanjung Priok and Makassar, but they [the AGO] also failed to bring anyone to justice," Hafid said.

Andreas said that if Indonesia could not resolve its own human rights cases, it should ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Rome Statute is the first permanent treaty based on the international criminal court of The Hague, in the Netherlands, which was established to help end impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), echoed Andreas's sentiments, saying the government's lack of willingness to resolve the cases was due to the political interests of its leaders.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is trapped in the political interests of Indonesian human rights violators who still play a public role in this country," he said. "It is not that they cannot solve the case, but that they are unwilling to do so."

Historical burden

Hafid said the reluctance to probe the rights abuse cases was a historical burden that could hinder national development.

"It is highly risky if a nation is still carrying a dark past. We owe it to the Indonesian youth. Let them see the scars, let's open the scars from the past so that we can heal the wound together," he said.

"If the government, especially the next government, wants to open its mind to solving the human rights issues, there are many ways to go about that. Every nation has its own spirit, but when injustice is ignored, that kills the national spirit. This is why Indonesia needs to be open to rights cases, and if it does, it will surely grow to become a developed civilized country that will not carry a historical burden."

Andreas said the government's reluctance to address human rights issues was unwise. "The consequence is that the country's younger generations will never know their country's history. Many of them will not know that government officials were involved in human rights abuses," he said.

"If people like [Prabowo] are elected, that dark history could be repeated. We should look at other countries that have already taken steps to face their dark pasts. South Korea, Germany... both countries have built monuments, apologized to their people. South Korea even included human rights violations committed during its authoritarian military regime in the 20th century in its history books, so that the younger generation can learn," he said.

Haris echoed the sentiment, saying that justice and reconciliation was important in order to move forward.

"Indonesia needs to show the younger generation its heroic soul – and show why this nation deserves to be a nation. It should also show the international community that Indonesia is ready to move on from its past by bringing the cases to court and punishing the perpetrators, if they are proven guilty," he said.

"The nation needs to acknowledge it first to the public. Apologies are important but they're not enough. If we let this drag on, there is a possibility that a similar incident could happen again in the future. We don't want it to happen again, do we? That is why it is important for the government to solve the cases."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/16-years-98-justice-remains-elusive/

Abuse claims cloud Prabowo's run for presidency

Agence France Presse - May 30, 2014

Angela Dewan, Jakarta – Mugiyanto recalls the horror of being abducted by soldiers, blindfolded, beaten and electrocuted as a student activist fighting to end the long rule of Indonesian dictator Suharto.

Sixteen years on, he can't believe the man who ordered his capture could be the country's next president.

Former general Prabowo Subianto is trying to erase human rights violations from his image as he pursues the presidency in the world's third-largest democracy. But the voices demanding he be brought to justice are growing louder as the July 9 poll approaches.

Twenty-three activists were kidnapped in the months before the three-decade rule of Suharto was brought to an end in May 1998, when the Asian financial crisis sparked violent protests as it tore through Indonesia.

As head of the army's special forces (Kopassus) in early 1998, Prabowo admitted to ordering some of the abductions, including Mugiyanto's. He was discharged from the military following Suharto's downfall for "exceeding orders".

But the former general denies ordering the torture. The 62-year-old, who used to be married to Suharto's daughter, has never faced a civilian court. He also denies accusations he was involved in the disappearance of 13 activists, whose fates remain unknown.

Mugiyanto hopes that by telling the story of his three-day interrogation he can educate those who know little about the ex-general's past.

"The most painful part was when I heard my friends being tortured," Mugiyanto told AFP, his voice quavering as he recalled sobbing uncontrollably when he heard their screams. "I thought they were going to kill me," the 41-year-old said.

'Dirty games'

Most Indonesians are in the dark about Prabowo's past. A poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute found that less than 30 percent of respondents knew about the abductions or that Prabowo was discharged from the military.

At a recent pro-Prabowo demonstration, supporters described the ex-general as "honest", and one man said the allegations against him were all "lies". "His rivals are just playing dirty games. There is no problem. This is just a dirty conspiracy," supporter Binsar Effendi Hutabarat said.

Prabowo still polls a distant second to his only rival – the popular Joko Widodo, who rose to fame in his stint as Jakarta governor – but he has narrowed the gap dramatically in recent months.

His Gerindra Party has a strong "pro-poor" platform that appeals to the masses – half of Indonesia's 250 million people live below or hover around the poverty line of $2 a day.

And his militaristic past is seen as a plus by millions who yearn for a strong leader to follow outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, widely criticized for his indecision.

'Hot-tempered'

While activists are demanding Prabowo's past be discussed, rights have taken a back seat in the local media's election coverage.

Prabowo has barked at local reporters venomously when asked about rights. His brother and senior advisor, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, says Prabowo has been "hot-tempered" since he was a boy, and that he was unlikely to change.

Prabowo has kept most foreign journalists at arm's length ahead of the elections, refusing AFP's repeated requests for an interview in recent months.

When asked about his rights record during a talk with foreign correspondents last year, Prabowo snapped: "Do you come to us and tell us that 250 million Indonesians are all stupid?"

"Let the Indonesian people decide. Let them scrutinize the past. Let them decide who will be their elected leaders," he said.

There have been attempts to haul Prabowo before courts in the past, but they have all failed.

Last week a group of lawyers filed a suit calling for an ad hoc human rights court to be established to try Prabowo and others allegedly involved in the abductions, in line with a 2009 recommendation by parliament.

A push for Prabowo to be tried has also come from neighboring East Timor, where he is accused of atrocities, including the massacre of hundreds in 1983, during Indonesia's occupation. Prabowo denies those allegations as well.

A Prabowo victory could prove awkward for the United States, an ally of Indonesia. He was denied a visa to the country in 2000, reportedly because of his rights record, although US officials have indicated they will work with whomever is elected.

While the masses may not consider rights as they cast their votes, the families of those missing hope the election will bring greater attention to their cause.

Yan Siahaan, whose son was one of the 13 students who disappeared, has protested every May for the past 16 years in the "Against Forgetting" campaign. "We want the public to know who Prabowo is," he said at a demonstration among a sea of banners branding the ex-general a "kidnapper, murderer and rights violator".

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/abuse-claims-cloud-prabowos-run-presidency/

A checkered past continues to dog would-be leader

Jakarta Globe - May 30, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto's past is proving to be his Achilles' heel, with activists pointing to allegations of rights abuses and the unceremonious way in which he was bundled out of the armed forces in 1998.

"There are mounting calls from the public for the military to release the documents on Prabowo's discharge," Poltak Agustinus Sinaga, the head of the Association of Legal Aid and Human Rights Institutions, or PBHI, said in Jakarta on Thursday.

"The people need to know the true factors behind Prabowo's dishonorable discharge. Was it because of the kidnapping [of anti-Suharto demonstrators]? Was it because he was planning a coup d'etat? Whatever it was, the public needs to know because it concerns a man who is running for president."

Rights groups have long questioned Prabowo's eligibility to run for president, noting that he was discharged from the Army in August 1998 for "misinterpreting orders" in the abduction of the democracy activists earlier that year.

While that was the military's official statement, observers have long believed that it was a coup conspiracy that saw Prabowo, then the commander of the Army Strategic Reserves, given his marching orders.

Prabowo has admitted to the abductions, but claimed he was just following orders. He has repeatedly denied eyeing a coup, despite trying to storm the presidential office with truckloads of his troops a day after Suharto resigned.

Prabowo is now angling for the endorsement of the influential Democratic Party, with whose chairman, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he served in the Army. Growing signs that Yudhoyono is leaning toward supporting Prabowo, however, have been met with criticism.

"As a soldier, SBY knows full well the importance of discipline and upholding the Constitution," Arie Sudjito, a political expert from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University. "He also knows that Prabowo was discharged from the military, so why would he want to support him now?"

Yudhoyono, the military's chief of staff for sociopolitical affairs during the tumultuous period in 1998, served on the military tribunal that discharged Prabowo. "So it's ironic that he should now want to endorse him, knowing his disciplinary problem," Arie said.

He also argued that Yudhoyono would be doing his Democratic Party, laid low by a litany of corruption scandals, no favors by allying it with Prabowo's coalition, which includes a host of parties whose top officials have been the subject of graft allegations.

Key among them is the United Development Party, or PPP, whose chairman, Suryadharma Ali, resigned on Wednesday as the minister for religious affairs after being named a suspect in the embezzlement of hajj management funds.

Another graft-hit party in Prabowo's coalition is the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, whose president, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, was in December last year sentenced to 16 years in prison in a bid-rigging case at the Agriculture Ministry.

If the Democrats join such a coalition, Arie warned, "their image will only worsen." "They should do the brave thing and steel themselves for five years in the opposition, which would be much more positive [than joining Prabowo's coalition]," he said.

The Democrats, however, have shown increasing signs that they will endorse Prabowo, with several top officials joining his campaign team. They include Ahmad Mubarok, a member of the party's board of patrons, and Marzuki Alie, the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Syarif Hasan, the Democrats' executive chairman, said on Wednesday that the party was not officially endorsing either Prabowo or Joko Widodo, the candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, and that the support from individual party officials should not be construed as the party line.

Arie said the likes of Marzuki and other high-profile officials flocking to Prabowo were mere opportunists. He pointed out that Marzuki had failed to win re-election to the House in the April 9 legislative election, and that by allying himself with Prabowo he hoped to curry favor with the candidate.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/checkered-past-continues-dog-leader/

Labour & migrant workers

Tangerang bus drivers organize strike, hundreds stranded

Jakarta Post - May 24, 2014

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Hundreds of inter-city and inter-province bus drivers instigated a strike on Friday against new "unfair" regulations, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded in Tangerang.

Drivers were sgainst PT Arimbi Jaya Agung's new policy, which threatened drivers with dismissal should they cause road accidents. Drivers would also be financially responsible for any damage caused, including victim compensation.

"We are very disappointed. The decision is absurd, because the company refuses to take joint responsibility with drivers as its working partners," Agus, one of the drivers, said.

Because of the strike, some passengers had to postpone their travel plans or find alternative transportation. "I was planning to take the bus from Kalideres bus terminal to Bandung – I had to find another bus," Achmad, one of the passengers, said. (gda/dic)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/24/tangerang-bus-drivers-organize-strike-hundreds-stranded.html

Political parties & elections

Aburizal not promised post of chief minister: Hatta

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2014

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Hatta Rajasa, the running mate of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, denied on Friday that the pair had ever promised a top Cabinet position to Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Hatta seemed to contradict Prabowo's earlier statement that he had offered Aburizal the position of menteri utama, or chief minister, in return for Golkar's support.

"The chief ministerial [position] does not exist in law," he said on the sidelines of the declaration of support from former national athletes' for Prabowo and Hatta at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Central Jakarta. He added that the pair had also not promised Cabinet seats to members of the coalition who supported their candidacies.

Prabowo previously said that there would be a professional "chief minister" who would manage the grand plan to speed up development. "Thank God, he [Aburizal] is willing [to accept the offer]," Prabowo said after visiting Aburizal's home on Jl. Ki Mangunsarkoro in Jakarta earlier this month.

He said the position offered was a key position to control the economy of the fourth-most populous country in the world.

Prabowo said that Aburizal was capable of handling such a task because the Golkar chairman had served as coordinating economic minister from 2004 until 2005 and coordinating minister for people's welfare from 2005 until 2009.

Shortly after Prabowo made the offer, Aburizal declared Golkar's support for the Gerindra Party-led coalition, despite speculation that the party would team up with Gerindra's rival, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The offer has been criticized by constitutional experts who say the country's system of government would have to be changed from presidential to parliamentary for such a ministerial position to exist.

University of Indonesia (UI) political law expert Ganjar Laksmana Bonaprapta, for example, said that the country did not recognize such a ministerial position. "Chief minister in the English language means prime minister. We don't recognize that," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Despite the conflicting stances, Aburizal appeared to still hold out hope on the offer. "We'll see later [whether I will get the position or not]," he told the Post when asked about the issue.

The head of Prabowo-Hatta's campaign team, Mahfud MD, meanwhile, said that there was no need to make a fuss about the offer because it was fully constitutional. "There is no formal term for chief minister. It can be called head minister, coordinating minister, prime minister, whatever. There's no problem. It's legit," he said on Thursday.

Therefore, he insisted, Prabowo would not change the presidential system as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution. "It won't change. Everything is already stipulated in the ministerial law. The position probably will be the same as coordinating minister. The position of coordinating minister itself is not stipulated in law. It is the creation of the President himself," he said.

Ganjar, however, said that a chief minister would be different from a coordinating minister. "We already have coordinating ministers. If he [Prabowo] wants to position someone above coordinating ministers, we can actually call the position anything," he said. "But I'm worried that it wouldn't be effective."

Ganjar reasoned that such a position would only make the government bureaucracy bigger than before as it would add another layer between the coordinating ministers and the president.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/31/aburizal-not-promised-post-chief-minister-hatta.html

Prabowo criticized for FPI overtures

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The Wahid Institute, a progressive muslim research and tolerance outreach center, on Saturday criticized Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto for courting votes from the hardline Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, in the run up to the July 9 election.

"It is unwise," Wahid Institute researcher Muhammad Subhi Azhari said. "The people will think that this candidate tolerates violence."

The jab may have been aimed at the candidate's checkered history: He has been criticized widely, at home and abroad, for human rights abuses committed by his troops in 1997 and 1998 – when he was a special forces commander under strongman President Suharto – including the alleged kidnapping of 13 political activists who remain missing.

The FPI has a history of violent attacks against minority Ahmadiyah, Shiite and Christian communities and thug tactics in campaigns against brothels and nightclubs. "All mass organizations must be embraced, including the FPI," Prabowo said last week, using the local term for large civil society groups.

Prabowo's running mate, Hatta Rajasa – chairman of the Islamic-based National Mandate Party (PAN) – earlier this week attended a muslim service in South Jakarta with core FPI members. He asked attendees to support the Gerindra ticket.

By gaining the support of a wide range of muslim constituencies, including hard liners, he hoped to build cooperation, he said. "I hope that [Indonesia] can be calm, peaceful and with no stark differences," he said, as reported by news portal Solopos.com. "Keeping harmony, this is important."

The FPI, however, have time and again acted against religious inclusion. The group has campaigned successfully for years to keep an Ahmadiyah mosque in Bekasi, West Java closed to worshipers.

Hatta was not the only vice presidential candidate to have paid lip service to a controversial mass organization.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle presidential candidate Joko Widodo's running mate, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, was seen expresing support for paramilitary group Pemuda Pancasila, known for thuggish tactics and admitted involvement in the 1965 communist purges, in director Joshua Oppenheimer's acclaimed documentary, "The Act of Killing."

"The nation needs preman," he said in the film, using an Indonesian loanword that means both "free man" and gangster. "We need our gangsters to get things done." The Joko-Kalla camp have not publicly reached out to the FPI.

Subhi of the Wahid Institute said that the Prabowo campaign's efforts to court the FPI vote were "morally wrong." "[Prabowo and Hatta] have not set a good example fot the Indonesian people," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-criticized-fpi-overtures/

The power players behind Indonesia's presidential candidates

Jakarta Globe - May 30, 2014

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Two tickets running in Indonesia's upcoming presidential election revealed the major compositions of their respective campaign teams last week; one is filled with a vast rank of veteran politicians plus retired Army generals, while the other is likely gathering an army of young intellectuals.

The bulky team of Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa consists not just functionaries and veteran members of five political parties in the coalition led by the Great Indonesia Movement party (Gerindra), but way beyond that – including former hopefuls ditched by the rival bloc and some top names rarely mentioned in Indonesia's political arena over the past few years, until they suddenly appeared on the campaign team's list.

Former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD, for example, has agreed to head the executive board of the Prabowo-Hatta team, after the National Awakening Party (PKB), which he has been affiliated with, decided that former vice president Jusuf Kalla would make a better running mate to Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, the presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) coalition.

"I hereby declare the start of my fight alongside the Prabowo-Hatta pair by heading the national team to support their win," Mahfud announced in Jakarta last week.

Former Army chief of staff George Toisutta has been appointed one of Mahfud's deputies, as have each of the parties' secretaries general. Meanwhile, Gerindra deputy chairman Fadli Zon, often considered his party's major strategist after its founder Prabowo, is the team's secretary.

Dangdut king Rhoma Irama, another disappointed former presidential/vice presidential hopeful of the PKB, is now enlisted as a member of the board of advisers in the Prabowo-Hatta team after also swiftly changing his allegiance.

The board consists of not only senior patrons of all five party members in the coalition, such as Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Akbar Tanjung of Golkar, and Prabowo's brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo, but also a number of retired military generals, including former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Djoko Santoso, Gen. (ret.) Farouk Muhammad Syechbubakar, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Syamsir Siregar and Lt. (Gen.) Syarwan Hamid.

The military-laced composition came as no surprise, given Prabowo's former role as chief of Kopassus, the Army's special forces. Mahfud even likened the team's campaign strategy to that of a war.

"Like war, there will be ground attacks and airstrikes," Mahfud said over the weekend. A "ground attack" would be equivalent to wooing voters directly through open campaigns in public places, while "airstrikes" will come in the form of advertising and media exposure, he explained.

Media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who recently relinquished his membership of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) – a member of the PDI-P-led alliance – has found himself a new position on Prabowo-Hatta's board of experts, along with economist Didik J. Rachbini, professors of politics Ryaas Rasyid and Bahtiar Effendy, and former National Police deputy chief Adang Darajatun.

Several senior politicians with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party also appeared on the Prabowo-Hatta team roster despite the Democrats' official decision against joining either of the rival coalitions and thus abstaining from participating in the July 9 presidential election. Among these are House of Representatives (DPR) speaker Marzuki Alie and former state administrative minister Taufiq Effendi.

Prominent businessman Sandiaga Uno, meanwhile, has made the cut as the coalition's spokesperson and public campaigner, along with former actresses Desy Ratnasari and Nurul Arifin.

The sheer size of the Prabowo-Hatta campaign team makes it difficult to determine the direction in which the coalition is heading, aside from the overall nationalist-religious platform attributable to the presence of three Islamic parties in its midst, namely PAN, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), according to Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political analyst with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"This is a pragmatic coalition. Its size, the number of people and the kinds of people involved make it difficult to determine where they're heading [with their campaign strategy]," he said.

Their political ambiguity is unlike the rival PDI-P-led coalition, which can easily be identified as nationalist-marhaenist (an Indonesian form of socialism), Ikrar said. "This coalition is filled with academics and intellectuals who similarly adopt the nationalist-marhaenist ideology," he said.

In addition to the prominent politicians from each of the coalition's parties, which includes the PKB, Hanura and the National Democrats (Nasdem), Joko-Kalla chose to enlist the support of a number of rising, young intellectuals to make up the core members of their campaign team – a noticeably smaller grouping than the one formed by the opposing ticket.

Among the oft-mentioned names in the Joko-Kalla side is Andi Widjajanto, a defense and foreign policy expert from the University of Indonesia (UI).

Arbi Sanit, a fellow lecturer and political analyst with the UI, believes Andi is contributing a significant amount to compose a campaign platform for the Joko-Kalla ticket, especially but not limited to the issues of defense, security and foreign policy. "If they win, he might as well become their defense minister. That's his area of expertise," Arbi told the Jakarta Globe.

Andi, according to the campaign roster obtained by media, stands as a principal member of the so-called Election Campaign Body, a main unit in the team, along with Puan Maharani, daughter of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri, as well as secretaries general of the PKB, Hanura and the National Democrats (Nasdem). His top position comes despite his previously unknown affiliation with any political party.

However, the promising UI lecturer is not the only up-and-coming academic recruited by the Joko-Kalla ticket. Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan, Center for Strategic and International Studies executive director Rizal Sukma, Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate founder Sukarni Rinakit and progressive Islamic scholar Musdah Mulia, to name a few, have also joined the popular pair's bid.

Anies said he was invited to join the campaign team by both Joko and Kalla themselves, before deciding to accept the invitation because he wanted a new face to rule the country.

"What Indonesia needs right now is a new face who can alter [the atmosphere] of the country's politics," Anies told Gatra magazine. "Jokowi is that new face. And although he pairs with a senior figure, both of them offer a larger potential for new [changes] and breakthroughs."

Indra J. Piliang, head of Golkar Party's research and development division, last week said he was also looking to join the Joko-Kalla campaign wagon, along with other young members of Golkar who have publicly disagreed with chairman Aburizal Bakrie's last-minute decision to join the Gerindra-led bloc.

"Once I get in [the Joko-Hatta campaign], I want to offer my input to team, add a few details to the campaign manifesto, including in the field of regional administrations and local politics," said Indra, also a former political and social researcher with the think tank CSIS.

"The younger Golkar members who support the Joko-Kalla ticket, will also mobilize crowds in our respective region to support their campaign," he added.

Bantarto, a political observer from the Indonesia Defense University, said while it was easy to see how academics and young intellectuals contributed to the campaign strategy and main platform of the Joko-Kalla ticket, the same had not been seen with the opposing side.

"I think Prabowo himself is the creator of his coalition, directing the strategy and manifesto," Bantarto said. "Hatta's 10-year term in the current cabinet will help him gain access to a wide expanse of government agencies."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/power-players-behind-indonesias-presidential-candidates/

Platform Politics: Where the presidential candidates' stand on key issues

Jakarta Globe - May 28, 2014

While TV pundits and social media commentators have been busy hashing out the personality differences between presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, little has been said about either side's policies and platforms.

To that end, the Jakarta Globe presents a rough guide to the issues that matter:

Prabowo-Hatta

Economic policy: Collaborate with the private sector and foreign investors; limit foreign investment; annual GDP growth of 7 to 10 percent; reject nationalization; anti-privatization; anti-trade liberalization; infrastructure investment (railways).

Political reform: Strong state control and centralization; fight graft; 30 percent quota for women in the cabinet.

Social: Build a national identity, fight intolerance.

Education & health care: State-funded 12-year compulsory education; require graduate doctors to serve in poor areas.

Energy: Review foreign investment in energy; encourage domestic investment; biofuel research; limit exports; pursue limited protectionism.

Defense: Better pay for police, soldiers and veterans.

Foreign policy: Cooperate with both China and Japan.

Jokowi-Kalla

Economic policy: Gradual reduction of fuel subsidy; infrastructure investment (ports and airports).

Political reform: Fight graft in judiciary and tax office.

Social: End rights abuses; investigate past rights violations; combat religious intolerance.

Education & health care: Emphasis on behavior and ethics in schools; state-funded health care for the poor.

Energy: Limit energy imports; keep mineral export ban.

Defense: Increase military spending to 1.5 percent of GDP.

Foreign policy: Expand economic and naval ties with neighbors.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/platform-politics-presidential-candidates-stand-key-issues/

Forget mistakes and focus on legacy: Prabowo

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Bandung – Prabowo Subianto, the presidential hopeful from the Gerindra Party and its coalition, called on Indonesian voters to focus on the good deeds of the country's leaders instead of their mistakes.

"We are quick to condemn people for their mistakes and slow to thank people [for their good deeds]," Prabowo said before his supporters in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday.

"Never forget our leaders. If they make mistakes, bury such mistakes deeply and instead uphold their good deeds," the former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) added.

Prabowo further depicted critics of the government as spectators at a football match who seemed to know how to play the game better than the players. "They [the spectators] shout protests at missed goals, but they forget that the players did their best to win."

Prabowo was in Bandung to greet various local groups that formally declared their support for him and his running mate Hatta Rajasa. Later in the day, he was expected to inaugurate a campaign team tasked with winning voters throughout West Java.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/28/forget-mistakes-and-focus-legacy-prabowo.html

Court confirms military, police neutrality in July election

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2014

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court issued a ruling on Wednesday confirming that active military and police personnel were not eligible to vote in the July 9 presidential election, following a judicial review of the 2008 Election Law proposed by a non-governmental organization.

The review was filed due to the possibility of multi-interpretation of the regulation.

Previously, two activists from the Indonesian Institute for Constitutional Democracy (IICD), Ifdhal Kasim and Supriyadi W. Eddyono filed for a review with the court regarding Article 260 of the law, which stipulates that military and police personnel are not eligible to vote in the 2009 presidential election.

"Perhaps the lawmakers overlooked that the year mentioned in the article could be misinterpreted as being applicable for the 2009 election only, while the law itself also applies to the 2014 election. The effect of this problem could be vast," Ifdal said in a press statement.

Ifdal also said that military and police personnel were expected to remain neutral in the elections for a number of political and social reasons, including the trauma of New Order's militaristic regime

Also on Wednesday, the court said that limiting military and police personnel's right to a say in elections could be justified by Article 28J of the 1945 Constitution, as long as it was done in accordance to the law and based on strong reasons.

The article stipulates, "In exercising their rights and freedom, every person is subjected to limits set by law with the sole purpose of guaranteeing the recognition of and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and to meet the demands of justice in accordance with morality, religious values, security and public order in a democratic society."

Separately, Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Moeldoko said he hoped that the court ruling could convince the public that the military would maintain its neutral in the presidential election.

"It also means that we do not need any government regulation in-lieu-of law (Perppu) regarding the issue," he added. (gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/28/court-confirms-military-police-neutrality-july-election.html

Party divisions give candidates blank checks

Jakarta Post - May 26, 2014

Bagus BT Saragih and Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Golkar Party politicians were stunned last Monday by the sudden move from chairman Aburizal Bakrie to announce an alliance with the Gerindra Party, something that had previously been considered very unlikely.

"I supported Aburizal until the final minute. But, at the final stage, Golkar endorsed Prabowo-Hatta; I am done with that. I opt to support Kalla because it is a matter of choosing a figure and I know [Kalla's] credentials, on top of the fact that he is a former Golkar chairman," Golkar senior member and former industry minister Fahmi Idris said, referring to Jusuf Kalla, the running mate of presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, as well as rival candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa.

Hence, it was inevitable that a large portion of the party's members expressed their criticism of Aburizal's decision and demanded an explanation for such an "unacceptable" policy. Some even openly joined the rival camp of Jokowi-Kalla, such as Fahmi and Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

It seems that Golkar's formal support for Prabowo-Hatta will not translate into significant electoral benefits for the pair, regardless of the 14.75 percent of votes the party garnered in the legislative election. "Aburizal is offering Prabowo a paralyzed political machinery," Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political observer Siti Zuhro said.

Similar situations are likely to have occurred in other parties. The National Awakening Party (PKB), which formally endorsed Jokowi-Kalla, will also be struggling to consolidate its members nationwide, let alone supporters of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Islamic organization, which the PKB has served to accommodate its political aspirations.

Former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD, a prominent PKB senior member, was appointed to lead the Prabowo-Hatta campaign team after he failed to win the race to become Jokowi's running mate. Analysts said Mahfud's move could divide PKB and NU members at the community level, taking into account some respected Islamic clerics who have expressed their support for Mahfud's move.

Aside from Mahfud, former PKB lawmaker Ali Masykur Musa, who is now a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) commissioner, has also conveyed his support for Prabowo-Hatta.

Other figures affiliated with the PKB and NU who support the pair include Yenny Wahid, daughter of PKB founder and former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, as well as dangdut singer Rhoma Irama, who was once touted as a potential PKB presidential candidate.

When asked if these phenomena could affect the PKB's support for Jokowi- Kalla, chairman Muhaimin Iskandar said, "Insyaallah [God willing], no."

The Hanura Party's last-minute decision to join the Jokowi-Kalla camp has also resulted in many of its members jumping ship to join Prabowo-Hatta. Among them are chief patron and media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo and former finance minister Fuad Bawazier, both of whom have resigned from the Hanura party.

The National Mandate Party (PAN) has also encountered a similar situation, albeit less serious, after some of the party's minor members, such as Jakarta legislative councilor Wanda Hamidah, showed support for Jokowi- Kalla, despite Hatta, PAN's chairman, being nominated as Prabowo's runningmate.

Key 'splinter' figures

Pro Jokowi-Kalla

Gen. (ret.) Luhut B Pandjaitan (Golkar)

Last Tuesday, Luhut, the deputy chairman of Golkar's advisory council, revealed that he had actually backed Jokowi's camp since Jokowi was declared the PDI-P's presidential candidate in April. "I think Golkar's decision to support Prabowo is not right," he said.
The next day, Luhut tendered his resignation to Golkar's advisory council head, Akbar, from his position as the latter's deputy. Luhut, who is Jokowi's friend and business partner, said he was still a Golkar member.
Luhut, who spent most of his military career in the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), frequently expressed his dislike of Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo, the force's former commander. Luhut has established close connections with other retired generals who are also known to be opposed to Prabowo, such as former Indonesian Military (TNI) deputy commander Gen. (ret.) Fachrul Razi and former Army deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. (ret.) Johny J. Lumintang.

Indra J. Piliang (Golkar)

Known as a vocal politician, Indra has openly declared his defiance of Golkar's decision to join the Gerindra camp and support Prabowo's presidential bid. He and some other young Golkar politicians, such as lawmakers Meutya Hafid and Poempida Hidayatulloh, managed to mobilize fellow party members with similar views and group them under the Indonesian Youth Paradigm Movement Forum (FPGMI) last Tuesday.
A few days later, Indra announced his resignation from Golkar's research body. He has also openly declared his support for Jokowi-Kalla and joined the pair's campaign team.

Sutrisno Bachir (ex PAN)

After a period of silence following his resignation from politics in 2010, former PAN chairman and businessman Sutrisno surprised many by appearing at the declaration of a Jokowi-Kalla support team in Jakarta on Friday. He has also been listed as a member of the pair's campaign team.
"I have known Kalla for years and I also understand what type of leader Jokowi is," he said when asked about the move. When asked why he did not opt to support Hatta, his successor at PAN, Sutrisno said, "Jokowi and Kalla are very humble and close to the people. They are not the type of leaders who the people don't want today."

Dahlan Iskan (Democratic Party)

State-owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan, who also controls the Jawa Pos media group, won the Democratic Party's presidential convention. But the party's chairman, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, declined to name him a presidential or vice-presidential candidate on the basis that the party did not garner a sufficient number of votes in the legislative election.
On Sunday, Kalla's camp confirmed speculation that Dahlan was supporting Jokowi-Kalla, regardless of his membership in the Democratic Party, which has opted to remain neutral ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

Pro Prabowo-Hatta

Mahfud MD (PKB)

Mahfud seemed disappointed by the PKB's failure to nominate him as Jokowi's running mate following the party's decision to support the PDI-P's presidential candidate. A few days later, he was announced as the leader of the Prabowo-Hatta campaign team.
"I was contacted by the Prabowo-Hatta camp and I said I was willing to join them. I made the decision for the sake of Nahdlatul Ulama [NU] members and the nation," Mahfud, who has a strong following in East Java, said. "I will mobilize support to secure Prabowo's victory."

Ali Masykur Musa (PKB)

Ali, a former PKB lawmaker who is now a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) commissioner, was also a participant of the Democratic Party's convention. Unlike Dahlan, he has joined Prabowo's camp.
"My choice is in line with the preference of most of NU members," he said on Sunday. Ali refused to comment when asked about the PKB's decision to support Jokowi-Kalla. He also denied that he had been persuaded by Mahfud to join Prabowo's camp.

Hary Tanoesoedibjo (Hanura)

Hary, the president and CEO of the Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) Group, has had a relatively short political life but his maneuvers have nevertheless managed to create some surprises in the country's political arena.
Reports said that he had approached the Jokowi-Kalla camp even before Hanura made the decision to do so. But after Hanura eventually endorsed the pair, the party's executives were shocked by media reports over Hary's appearance at a meeting with the Prabowo-Hatta team.
The reports forced Hanura chairman Gen. (ret.) Wiranto to make a decision regarding Hary. "Hary is not only a Hanura official. He is also an entrepreneur, so he has a lot of friends. Coincidentally, he was approached by both Jokowi and Prabowo," Wiranto said last Tuesday. "I have asked him to resign from the party."
Hary joined Hanura in January 2013, only one-and-a-half years after he officially entered politics by joining the NasDem Party.

Fuad Bawazier (Hanura)

Fuad remained outspoken when expressing his disappointment over Hanura's decision to join the Jokowi-Kalla camp.
"Many Hanura members are actually Prabowo-Hatta supporters but they were reluctant to openly reject Hanura's decision [to support Jokowi-Kalla]," the former minister said. "Hanura's locomotive to Jokowi is carrying empty cars."
Like Hary, Fuad has tendered his resignation from Hanura. He also denied that he was pursuing a ministerial post by supporting Prabowo.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/26/party-divisions-give-candidates-blank-checks.html

Smear campaigns intensify as poll nears

Jakarta Post - May 26, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Five weeks ahead of the July 9 presidential election, both presidential candidates – the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto – have become targets of smear campaigns that have mostly turned up on the Internet and social media.

In recent days, pictures of what were purported to be copies of Jokowi's marriage document and identification card, suggesting that the former Surakarta mayor was of Chinese descent and was a Christian, circulated online. The document said that Jokowi's full name was Herbertus Handoko Joko Widodo, the son of Oey Hong Liong, a local Surakarta businessman of Chinese descent.

The circulation of the documents was allegedly aimed at eroding support for Jokowi among Muslim voters, who make up the majority of the 190 million voters eligible to cast their ballots in the July 9 poll.

After initially ignoring the smear campaign, Jokowi stepped up to defend his true identity, challenging his critics to instead bring up a more substantial discussion.

"I went on the haj pilgrimage in 2003. And I have performed the minor haj at least four times. My father, mother and siblings have also performed the haj. And so did my wife," Jokowi said on the sidelines of his visit to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Sunday.

Jokowi also said that he did not believe voters would be swayed by such a cowardly campaign. "Look at the way the campaign was launched. I believe that people are smart enough to respond to such accusations. Nevertheless, it's better to debate ideas or programs instead of such unfounded allegations," he said.

Jokowi said, however, that he would not take the smear campaign lightly. He said that his campaign team was launching an investigation into the source of the documents, which were allegedly forged, and would take legal action against the person who initiated the smear campaign.

The attack on his faith and ethnicity was only the latest in series of broadsides against Jokowi, who has earlier been described as a puppet who would be controlled by PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri if elected.

The attack on Jokowi's independence intensified after Megawati made a speech during a ceremony to declare Jokowi's candidacy earlier this month, in which she reiterated that Jokowi was merely an officer of the party.

Meanwhile, Prabowo has also become the target of smear campaigns, a move that he attributed to his opponents being in a state of "panic".

After repeatedly fending off allegations about his involvement in a gross violation of human rights that took place during the May 1998 anti-Chinese riots, Prabowo now has to face questions about his alleged Jordanian citizenship.

In recent days, a number of online articles have begun to look to the time when Prabowo left Indonesia for Jordan, following the May 1998 riots. Some of the articles said that he was granted Jordanian citizenship by the country's leader King Abdullah II, who happened to be Prabowo's friend from his time at Fort Benning, the US.

Prabowo declined to address the accusation directly. "Smear campaigns are a sign of panic. Don't spread lies and don't make baseless accusations," he told reporters.

Separately, a member of Prabowo's legal team, Mahendradatta, said that he would file a report with the National Police against a Twitter user behind the @SamadAbraham account, which alleged that Prabowo had cooked up a plot to murder Jokowi. The account, which has not been linked to Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad, called on the public to protect Jokowi from the plot.

"This is unacceptable because it has tainted the credibility of a state institution like the KPK. We demand the police immediately do something about it because the damaging tweets have been massively retweeted," Mahendradatta said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/26/smear-campaigns-intensify-poll-nears.html

Suryadharma remains on Prabowo's campaign team

Jakarta Post - May 24, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa campaign team has yet to decide whether to dismiss Suryadharma Ali after he was named a suspect in the haj-management graft case on Thursday.

The United Development Party (PPP), of which Suryadharma is the chairman, said Friday that it would seek clarification from Suryadharma about the case against him.

"We have yet to make a decision. We will first hold an internal meeting to hear his explanation about the case," the party's secretary-general, M. Romahurmuziy, said.

The PPP is one of six parties in the coalition supporting the candidacy of Gerindra Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa as presidential and vice presidential candidates in the July 9 presidential election. As PPP leader, Suryadharma, who is the first political leader to pledge support for Prabowo, is an adviser on the pair's campaign team.

Previously on Thursday night, Prabowo said he was convinced that Suryadharma was innocent. "I was shocked by the news. But I personally don't believe that Pak Suryadharma is guilty in the case," he said as quoted by Antara.

Prabowo added that Suryadharma had clarified his status to him as a suspect in the case and that he believed that the PPP chairman had committed no wrongdoing. "This country is based on the law. Thus, we have to uphold the presumption of innocence."

Gerindra chairman Suhardi said the coalition would provide legal assistance to Suryadharma. "We will give legal assistance to him because as an individual he has the right to legal counsel," he said. He argued that he was suspicious that politics was behind the Corruption Eradication Commision's (KPK) move to charge Suryadharma.

Separately, Hatta said on Thursday night that the coalition would likely evaluate the position of Suryadharma as an advisor on the campaign team. "The case will automatically lead to a discussion on the possibility of evaluating his position," he said, adding that who would replace Suryadharma in the position would depend on the PPP. "The PPP will announce it [the replacement]."

The KPK charged Suryadharma with regard to irregularities in the 2012-2013 haj pilgrimage program.

Suryadharma said on Friday that he would not quit his post as he needed to take care of this year's haj program. He also claimed that he did not understand why he was named a graft suspect.

A political analyst at Jakarta-based Political Communication (Polcomm) Institute, Heri Budianto, said that retaining Suryadharma would do more harm to the Gerindra coalition as it would be perceived as defending a graft suspect.

"Such a public perception would damage the electability of the candidates ahead of the election. So, to prevent it, Suryadharma should voluntarily give up his positions as minister and as PPP chairman," Heri told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"If later Suryadharma resigned from the two posts through the means of an internal mechanism within the ministry and the party, not voluntarily, then it would have a bad effect on the Prabowo-Hatta bid. The only way to prevent further their electability plunging is for Suryadharma to leave the two posts voluntarily."

Meanwhile, KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain shrugged off speculation that the naming of Suryadharma was politically motivated, taking place as it did amid the febrile political atmosphere ahead of the July 9 election. "We work based on the law, not according to politics," Zulkarnain said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/24/suryadharma-remains-prabowo-s-campaign-team.html

Prabowo camp to file police report over punch footage

Jakarta Post - May 24, 2014

Ina Parlina and Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – The Gerindra Party is preparing to file a police report following footage on YouTube showing its chief patron and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto allegedly punching an unidentified man.

The footage, uploaded by Jenita Jernih on Thursday, showed Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa fight their way out of the crowd to register their presidential candidacy at the General Elections Commission (KPU) headquarters on Tuesday.

On his way through the KPU's exit gate, Prabowo suddenly turned around and appeared to throw his right fist at a man in a blue shirt.

Gerindra legal team head Habiburokhman said on Friday that such an incident never happened. "I was there. No one was punched. The situation was very crowded," he said.

He urged the police to identify those distributing the video. "We're going after those who spread the lies. They have violated the Information and Electronic Transactions Law for distributing slanderous allegations through electronic means," Habiburokhman added. As of Friday evening, the footage had been viewed over 16,000 times and had garnered 53 likes and 94 dislikes.

This is not the first time Prabowo's temperament has been placed in the spotlight. Last month, media outlets published a report citing an unidentified witness that Prabowo had furiously thrown his cell phone at United Development Party (PPP) deputy chairman Suharso Monoarfa after the party revoked its support for Prabowo.

Elsewhere on Friday, Prabowo and Hatta took turns undergoing a series of psychological and physical examinations as registration requirements for presidential candidates.

Prabowo and Hatta arrived at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta at 6:25 a.m. The 10-hour examinations were overseen by a team of 80 senior specialists and 50 nurses.

"The nurses were amazing. Two patients were overseen by a lot of professors. Everything was thoroughly checked. Our mental and physical condition was examined. Hopefully we will pass the test," Prabowo told journalists afterward.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla held talks with Hasyim Muzadi, former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, in Depok, West Java.

Kalla and Hasyim discussed the decision by several top NU figures to join Prabowo's camp. "Let them build their political careers. The most important thing for them is to not pledge their support on behalf of NU," Hasyim said.

Kalla also visited the residence of former Army chief of staff Gen. (ret) Ryamizard Ryacudu in East Jakarta. Ryamizard, a family friend of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, said he would fully support Kalla and PDI-P presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Jokowi and Kalla finalized on Friday the structure of their campaign team, assigning PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo as head of the team.

Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) director AM Hendropriyono, former BIN deputy director As'ad Said Ali and former chairman of the Military Intelligence Agency (BAIS) Ian Santoso are listed as members of the team's steering committee.

NasDem Party politician Victor Bungtilu Laiskodat is also included as member of the presidential campaign body alongside top PDI-P politician and Megawati's daughter Puan Maharani.

Victor was implicated in the alleged brutal abuse of Susandhi "Aan" Sukatma in December 2009. Susandhi, allegedly beaten by his superiors at Artha Graha Group headquarters in Jakarta, is a former employee of PT Maritim Timur Jaya, a fishery unit of the Artha Graha Group – a business conglomerate controlled by tycoon Tomy Winata.

Victor, who was then Maritim Timur Jaya president director, repeatedly denied his involvement and accused Susandhi of defamation and slander. Victor was never charged.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/24/prabowo-camp-file-police-report-over-punch-footage.html

Constitutional Court starts hearing hundreds of election disputes

Jakarta Post - May 24, 2014

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court opened on Friday the hearings into 871 disputes pertaining to the legislative election for seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Legislative Councils (DPRDs).

The Golkar Party has filed the most complaints, comprising 131 cases from various electoral districts in 26 provinces. Of Golkar's 131 cases, which came second in the legislative election with 14.75 percent of the vote, 38 petitions are based on results in Papua.

Golkar is followed by the Hanura Party, which filed 91 cases from 24 provinces, while the ruling Democratic Party filed 82 cases from 24 provinces.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which won the legislative election with 18.95 percent of votes, filed only 19 cases from 10 provinces.

Most of the disputes center on alleged violations concerning ballot counts and vote-buying. The bench found on Friday, however, that most of the plaintiffs had not provided complete and systematic evidence to back up their claims.

The court had urged all political parties and this year's legislative candidates to learn from the 2009 election, and appreciate that they had to meet certain requirements for filing such disputes with the court, including providing strong evidence. The court had also helped them by providing information on the case mechanism, as well as assistance to make the plaintiffs' draft their cases more thoroughly.

The court had found, during hearings following the 2009 legislative election, that more than 50 percent of the evidence provided was incomplete, unclear or inconsistent. According to the court, it only went ahead with around 10 percent of the complaints received at that time.

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hamdan Zoelva instructed all 871 plaintiffs to mend their petitions and provide the required information before Saturday morning at 10:50 a.m.

"I repeat, [those who submit] revised petitions after the deadline will be considered as having not submitted a revision," Hamdan said during the hearing. "This is the law." Hamdan later adjourned the hearings until Monday.

Meanwhile, despite urging candidates who wanted to file cases against colleagues from the same party to try to settle their disputes internally before pursuing the matter through legal channels, the court found that many of these cases were filed without consent from their respective party leaders, including a petition filed by senior Democratic Party politician Sutan Bathoegana.

The court had laid out a clear requirement that a candidate could only file such a case with the signed consent of his or her party's chairman and secretary-general.

Hinca Panjaitan, who represented the Democratic Party, said after the hearing that the party had not given its consent to Sutan, who is now a corruption suspect, due to the pending graft case.

"It was impossible [as he is a suspect], so we dropped his petition," Hinca said, adding that the party had also dropped three other petitions as they planned to settle those internally.

Several plaintiffs dropped their cases during the hearing due to a lack of evidence, including the Gerindra Party, which had filed 70 petitions from 26 provinces, and the NasDem Party, which had filed 59 cases from 23 provinces.

"Most of the plaintiffs who dropped their cases felt they had no evidence. We had rushed to file the petitions but after we verified them, some of the plaintiffs dropped their cases, while some other cases are being settled internally," Gerindra's advocacy head, Habiburokhman, told the bench during the hearing.

Representing NasDem, Taufik Basari told reporters after the hearing that his party had also dropped several cases due to a lack of evidence.

The court has said it will handle all the cases carefully and professionally within 30 days – despite the high number of cases – by barring a justice from hearing a case based in the electoral district where they live.

The court also heard 32 cases filed by candidates for Regional Representatives Councils (DPDs) from 19 provinces, some of which were petitions by incumbents including designer Poppy Dharsono of Central Java.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/24/constitutional-court-starts-hearing-hundreds-election-disputes.html

Media & journalism

Media battle begins after MNC boss joins Prabowo

Jakarta Post - May 24, 2014

Jakarta – The nation will again see a fierce political battle involving media magnates after MNC group owner Hary Tanoesoedibjo pledged support for Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa in the upcoming presidential election.

Hary resigned from the Hanura Party after its chairman Wiranto endorsed the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential pair of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jusuf Kalla.

On Thursday evening, Prabowo and Gerindra co-founder Hashim Djojohadikusumo appeared at Hary's house in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

Hary said he supported Prabowo because the two of them had similar visions in advancing the country's economy. "I will be involved in supporting Prabowo. Currently, the country's economic growth benefits the middle and upper classes and not the whole community," he said after Prabowo's visit.

With Hary's support, Prabowo will receive a significant campaign boost through MNC Group – which claims to be Southeast Asia's largest integrated media company.

Under the MNC flag, Hary has the biggest share of the free-to-air market with three television stations, namely RCTI, MNCTV and Global TV. The group also has three pay television networks – Indovision, Okevision and Top TV. Aside from that, Hary controls Koran Sindo newspaper and a handful of radio stations.

The impact of Hary's media power was evident just hours after the meeting. For example, while other newspapers made Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali's corruption charges headline news, Koran Sindo chose to run "Hary All Out for Prabowo's Victory" on its front page, coupled with a large photo of Hary and Prabowo clasping hands.

Aside from Hary's media outlets, Prabowo will likely benefit from his coalition with the Golkar Party. The family of Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie controls PT Visi Media Asia (VIVA), which owns two television stations – ANTV and TVOne – as well as online portal Vivanews.

Jokowi, on the other side, is prepared with significant media support from NasDem chairman Surya Paloh, the owner of Media Group. The group manages news station Metro TV and Media Indonesia daily. Hary was a member of the NasDem Party before severing his ties with Surya and joining Hanura.

Some media stations belonging to Surya, Bakrie and Hary gave excessive coverage and advertising spots to their respective parties in the lead up to the April 9 legislative election, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) and the Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) has found.

The possibility of this election violation reoccurring ahead of the presidential election may not be small as some media outlets are considered to have presented extensive coverage on particular presidential hopefuls.

A political expert with Pol-Tracking Institute, Hanta Yuda, criticized disproportionate political reports in the media outlets. "Let the public assess both presidential candidates because they are looking for a leadership figure," he said in a telephone interview on Friday.

Hanta added that endorsing a presidential candidate could have an adverse impact on the media outlets as they could become dependent on the candidate's party and figures. (put)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/24/media-battle-begins-after-mnc-boss-joins-prabowo.html

Environment & natural disasters

Joko promises to support Lapindo mudflow victims

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2014

Presidential hopeful Joko Widodo on Thursday pledged full compensation and steady jobs for victims of a mud volcano in Sidoarjo, East Java, whose eruption in 2006 has been blamed on a company linked to a party supporting rival candidate Prabowo Subianto.

Joko made the promise during an event to mark the eight anniversary of the eruption of the mud volcano, which swamped dozens of villages and hundreds of hectares of farmland.

Scientists blame drilling activities by the company Lapindo Brantas for triggering the eruption, but the government at the time decreed it a natural disaster.

Lapindo is controlled by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who has endorsed Prabowo for the July 9 presidential election. Aburizal was the chief welfare minister at the time the eruption began.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/joko-promises-support-lapindo-mudflow-victims/

Victims still await full settlement after eight years

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2014

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Sidoarjo, East Java – Tjarwadi, 68, a resident of Siring village, Sidoarjo regency, East Java, had not previously known 65- year-old Sadawi Priadi of nearby Glagah Arum village.

However, they shared the same fate when their homes and all their belongings were engulfed by the hot mudflow originating from the Panji I oil well drilling conducted by PT Lapindo Brantas Inc. in 2006.

Lapindo is partially owned by the Bakrie family, which is under the patronage of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie. Neither Tjarwadi, a trader, nor Sadawi, a driver for a shoe factory, have received the full compensation long promised by the government.

"Whereas in fact, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono personally promised to compensate every one of the victims of the Lapindo mudflow by February 2010, this has not happened in reality," Tjarwadi told The Jakarta Post during the commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the eruption of the mudflow on Thursday in Sidoarjo.

He claimed that Lapindo should have already paid Rp 635 million (US$54,588) for his 235-square-meter plot and 135-square-meter house, but Tjarwadi and his wife Saropah, 55, have so far only received Rp 247 million.

"The initial payment was 20 percent of the total amount, while the rest was to have been paid in installments at Rp 15 million per month, but that happened for eight months only. I've received no cash transfers for the past year," said Tjarwadi.

The same tale was also related by Sadawi who lost 887 square meters of land and a house measuring 165 square meters. He should have received compensation of Rp 1.1 billion, but has only received Rp 320 million as of now.

Thousands of people swarmed on top of embankment 22, located west of the gush point, bordering the railway line and the Porong-Sidoarjo highway to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the Lapindo mudflow. Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo also attended the commemoration and met the mudflow victims on Thursday.

Jokowi, who has been nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the NasDem Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Hanura Party, also signed a political contract with various civil society groups if elected as president.

"The Lapindo hot mudflow case must be settled. The state must be manifest among the people. If this was resolved it would indicate the state is there for the people," Jokowi addressed the crowd.

Jokowi will run in the presidential election on July 9 against Prabowo Subianto who has been nominated by several parties, including the Gerindra Party and the Golkar.

According to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) the mudflow has caused Rp 27.7 trillion in losses. It has buried more than 600 hectares of land, displacing 39,700 people and submerging three subdistricts, 12 villages, 11,241 buildings and 362 hectares of rice paddies.

Both Tjarwadi and Sadawi were of the same opinion when they were asked about presidential candidate Jokowi. "I don't care about his party. I only see his character. I believe he would not be as hesitant and be able to speed up the compensation process through the state budget," said Sadawi.

If he was elected as president, added Sadawi, Jokowi would be the same as when he led Surakarta (Solo) and Jakarta. Sadawi said he was drawn to what he believed to be the humble personality of Jokowi, and he believed him to be close to the people.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/30/victims-still-await-full-settlement-after-eight-years.html

Health & education

Surabaya councilors pass bylaw on alcoholic drinks

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2014

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Amid controversy, the Surabaya City Council has passed a draft bylaw on the control of alcoholic beverage distribution.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, or Risma, said with the approval of the ordinance, it was expected that the bylaw would be effective in protecting youths from the dangers of mixed liquor.

"The bylaw will serve as a control on the distribution of alcoholic drinks. I'm also ready to pull alcoholic drinks from the shelves. We will deploy public order [Satpol PP] officers to do so," Risma told reporters on Monday.

The councilors passed the draft law on the control of alcoholic drinks distribution into law. Article 23 of the bylaw stipulates administrative sanctions, sale bans, licensing procedures and labeling for alcoholic drink producers wishing to distribute alcohol across the city.

The distribution of hard liquor in Surabaya must obtain labels from the city administration. The labeling applies to all types of liquor and is effective for all categories, such as Category A (from 0-5 percent alcohol content), Category B (from 5-20 percent) and Category C (from 20-25 percent).

Apart from the label issue, alcohol will also be banned from supermarkets and convenience stores, such as Indomart, Alfamart and Circle K.

Surabaya City Council vice speaker Ahmad Suyanto said the bylaw would have many benefits for society. Alcohol sellers will have a period of a month to meet the requirements set forth in the ordinance.

The distribution of alcohol in Surabaya is regulated in bylaw No. 1/2010 on trade and industry. The bylaw has often been used by the police to uncover the illegal sale of alcohol in the city.

"Although methanol has claimed the lives of many people, we've found this does not have a deterrent effect. We will continue to conduct patrols to curb the distribution of methanol," said Surabaya City Police chief spokesman Comr. Suparti after a raid on methanol sellers on Jl. Gubeng Kertajaya in Surabaya recently.

The coordinator of the East Java chapter of the Drugs and Addictive Substance Abuse Victim Network, Rudhy Wehasmara, said the new bylaw on alcohol addressed moral issues, but it was aimed at raising provincial revenue from tax.

"This is very regretful, especially as the alcohol bylaw in Surabaya has no correlation with government efforts to curb methanol, which has claimed lives," said Rudhy. He added the government also had to educate society about alcohol because people's awareness on alcohol remained low.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/28/surabaya-councilors-pass-bylaw-alcoholic-drinks.html

Graft & corruption

Anas charged with corruption and money laundering

Jakarta Globe - May 30, 2014

Novianti Setuningsih, Jakarta – Former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum on Friday was formally charged with corruption and money laundering connected to the Hambalang graft case. The charges could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

The Bogor, West Java sports center project had originally been conceived as single-year undertaking worth Rp 300 billion ($25.8 billion), but was later revised to a multi-year one costing Rp 2.5 trillion.

The Corruption Eradication Commission detained Anas on Jan. 10, alleging that he took bribes from contractors attached to the project. The sports minister at the time, Andi Mallarangeng, also from the Democratic Party, is currently standing trial for graft.

"The defendant wanted to become the Indonesian president and needed a political vehicle, and that is why he joined the Democratic Party," prosecutor Yudi Kristiadi said at an indictment hearing at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Friday.

"The defendent allegedly received [cars and the funds] in his capacity as a lawmaker to smooth out the Hambalang project and other projects in the Sports Ministry and the Education Ministry."

Prosecutors said he received millions of dollars in cash and two cars, a Toyota Harrier and a Toyota Vellfire, as bribes.

Anas was a commissioner at the General Election Commission (KPU) in 2004, before joining the Democratic Party. In the House of Representatives, he sat on Commission X, which oversaw sports and youth affairs.

In 2010, he was tapped to lead his party. He resigned from the legislature to focus on the chairmanship. As chairman, he allegedly asked subordinates to gather bribes.

Anas said he would fight the charges. "Allow me to submit an appeal," he said.

He also denied that he has been planning to use the money to run for president. "They said that I had been collecting money to run for the presidency in 2005," he said. "Just one word: 'Imaginary.'"

Presiding judge Haswandi set the trial to continue on Friday, June 6.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/anas-charged-corruption-money-laundering/

Agung Laksono replaces Suryadharma

Jakarta Globe - May 28, 2014

Deti Mega Purnamasari, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono has been appointed Acting Religious Affairs Minister after embattled former minister and United Development Party (PPP) head Suryadharma Ali stepped down to face corruption charges connected to his management of the nation's $5 billion hajj fund – money collected from prospective pilgrims to pay for the yearly venture.

"The presidential decision has been signed and I have been called," Agung said on Wednesday. "It means that starting today I'm officially the Acting Minister of Religious Affairs until further notice."

Agung said he was asked to fill the position because he had already worked closely with the Religious Affairs Ministry in his capacity as Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.

He has been involved in the government's efforts to keep returning pilgrims from spreading the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus.

He said that he would prioritize a smooth transfer of authority to keep the ministry performing properly in the run up to the hajj and Ramadan. He would not say how long he expected to hold the position.

"It's the president's prerogative, we don't meddle in it," he said. "The most important thing is now we have a lot to do, including... Ramadhan and hajj management."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/agung-laksono-replaces-suryadharma/

Storm clouds gather over Suryadharma

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2014

Haeril Halim and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who tendered his resignation to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday following graft charges, is likely to be charged with money laundering after the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) confirmed that records of his financial transaction carried irregularities.

According to the PPATK, if the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) finds the transactions do not match Suryadharma's profile as a state official, the antigraft body could charge him with money laundering.

"Every record of financial transaction handed to the KPK contains an indication of money laundering and we have sent reports of his financial transaction analysis to the KPK," PPATK deputy chairman Agus Santoso said on Monday.

Agus declined to give details on whether the dubious transactions in Suryadharma's records were related to the alleged embezzlement of haj funds being investigated by the KPK, simply saying that the total amount involved in the transactions was "substantial".

Suryadharma, also chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), has been accused of committing malfeasance, enriching himself and others, as well as corporate enrichment in relation to alleged irregularities during the 2012-2013 haj program worth Rp 1 trillion (US$86 million).

The KPK earlier said its investigation focused on three areas: the procurement of goods and services in the haj pilgrimage program during 2012-2013, the management of the haj pilgrimage fund during 2012-2013 and the provision of haj facilities to individuals who were not entitled to them.

Suryadharma allegedly flew dozens of people, reportedly including his relatives, colleagues from the ministry and members of the House of Representatives whose names were falsely registered as Indonesian Haj Organizing Committee (PPHI) representatives, to join him on a haj pilgrimage using state funds.

The PPATK investigation into the haj program during the period of 2004-2012 found dubious transactions worth a total of Rp 230 billion that the agency considered "unnecessary". The total haj fund managed by the ministry during the period was Rp 80 trillion, with Rp 2.3 trillion in interest per year.

Suryadharma, who resigned from his position on Monday, said he had made a "voluntary" decision. He tendered his resignation to Yudhoyono on Monday after reports circulated that the President would dismiss him.

"The President did not fire me, but I appealed to him to accept my resignation. My legal status will probably compromise the work of the government, so I think it is important for me to return the mandate to the President," said Suryadharma, who until late last week insisted that he intended to retain control of the ministry "to ensure that this year's haj runs smoothly".

State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said on Monday that Suryadharma had maintained his innocence in the graft case during his meeting with Yudhoyono.

"After receiving the proposal, the President will make a decision," Sudi said, adding that during the meeting Suryadharma also handed over official reports on the haj program that "indicated good progress".

Religious Affairs Ministry spokesman Zubaidi said Suryadharma remained in charge of the ministry pending Yudhyono's decision to officially dismiss him from his ministerial post.

"As to who will replace Pak Suryadharma, the decision is completely in the hands of the President," Zubaidi said on Tuesday, responding to a query on whether Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar would serve as an interim minister. Nasaruddin is also ensnared in a graft case surrounding the procurement of Korans worth Rp 75 billion in 2011 and 2012.

Graft convict and former director of sharia guidance at the directorate general for Islamic guidance at the ministry, Ahmad Jauhari, said Nasaruddin was involved in the case.

The KPK summoned Nasaruddin, who remains a witness in the Koran graft case, in August 2012, during which he said that Suryadharma should be held accountable for the case.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/28/storm-clouds-gather-over-suryadharma.html

Fraudulent use of hajj funds long suspected: ICW

Jakarta Globe - May 26, 2014

Vita A.D. Busyra – The naming of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali as a suspect last week concerning a graft-ridden management of hajj funds has raised questions among anti-corruption activists on the effectiveness of Indonesia's hajj management.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Ade Irawan expressed on Friday his disappointment in the Ministry of Religious Affairs – often dubbed the ministry of corruption for its notoriously corrupt handling of Indonesian hajj pilgrims' funds.

Ade said it should come as no surprise that Suryadharma was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commisison (KPK) last Thursday concerning his alleged roles in graft-ridden management of hajj funds for the years 2012 and 2013.

"We've had strong evidence concerning misuse of funds at the ministry for some 10 years. Our suspicion was prompted by how powerful the hajj management authority is," Ade told the Jakarta Globe. "They [the administrators] can control and regulate... [and] have hampered the implementation of good principles and governance."

Ade cited past cases involving former religious affairs minister Said Agil Husin Al Munawa, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 over hajj fund graft, as well as the ICW implicating Said's successor, Maftuh Basyuni, who is Suryadharma's predecessor.

"ICW also had reported [to the KPK] a suspected hajj fund corruption in 2010 during Suryadharma's term," he uttered.

The ICW's central data and analysis coordinator Firdaus Ilyas once said in 2011 that the initial deposit of all pilgrims totted Rp 1.1 trillion ($95 million), but around 60 percent was used for preparatory and operational fees, such as hotels and flights, whereas such expenses were guaranteed by the state budget (APBN) – as stated in the 2008 Hajj Management Law.

Furthermore, Ade said the ICW had demanded that the Ministry of Religious Affairs submit the hajj fund management's financial reports, but it has failed to respond even though the public has the right to access these kind of reports – according to the public information law.

Ade said the ministry should no longer hold the authority to manage hajj funds. "In order to get to register for pilgrimage and be in a queue, they [pilgrims] need to pay Rp 25 million. The current number of people registered is three million already, whereas around 195,000 depart every year. Some of them should wait for 10 to 20 years. So, where do the deposits go?" Ade said.

He suggested that hajj funds be managed by an independent agency, rather than the Religious Affairs Ministry, adding the fund management should not be subject to monopoly.

Ade cited as an example how Malaysia runs its Lembaga Tabung Haji, an independent hajj fund board, which allows saving for hajj pilgrimage through Shariah-compliant investment vehicles.

A senior researcher with the Wahid Institute agrees on the urgent need to reform Indonesia's hajj fund management. "The need to reform the management should be radical, that is, to build an administration agency outside the Religious Affairs Ministry," said Rumadi.

Other parties involved

Rumadi criticized the current hajj management's vulnerability to corruption. "There are too many holes that could be played by organizers; almost all aspects in the hajj management can be abused for corrupt purposes," Rumadi said on Saturday.

"These [corrupt] practices have been going on for a long time and there has been no satisfactory improvement. The public has sensed the dreadfulness of the hajj management as well.

Rumadi said Suryadhama might be a victim of deeply rooted corrupt practices. "He can't control a culture that accepts graft and misuse as the norm in the hajj management," Rumadi said.

"Corrupt practices, sometimes, don't just come from Religious Affairs Ministry side, but from external parties, such as the House of the Representatives [DPR]."

Ade said there were indeed multiple actors in hajj management, including lawmakers. "Yes... they have the authority to push for regulations concerning hajj funds, including for catering. Aside from the ministry and the DPR, there are local and foreign agencies providing catering, insurance, transportation and accommodation, who may push ministry officials to engage in corruption, Ade said.

Rumadi asserted that the House needed to accelerate deliberations of a hajj financial management bill so greater transparency and accountability can be applied to money deposited by the faithful who only wanted to perform a sacred duty as required by their religion.

Given that the hajj funds stored has reached Rp 64.5 trillion, deliberations of the bill can not be postponed again, Rumadi said.

He said the government had submitted the bill to parliament, but it seemed like there was no strong commitment from lawmakers to resolving differences because of conflicting interests among them.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, investigation director of Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), lamented severe corruption in the ministry. "It's ridiculous. We can see obviously from the high cost of hajj pilgrimage, which is around Rp 34 million [for each pilgrim]," Uchok said.

While the pilgrims are paying premium prices, catering and accommodation are widely reported as being of poor quality. Indonesia sent more than 156,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia last year.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/fraudulent-use-hajj-funds-long-suspected-icw/

Religion affairs minister quits over pilgrimage graft

Agence France Presse - May 26, 2014

Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali resigned Monday after being accused of misusing funds that were supposed to help Muslims go on pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

The anti-corruption agency last week named Suryadharma a suspect in its investigation into alleged graft in the organisation of the haj, or pilgrimage, to Saudi Arabia in 2012-13.

The agency previously said it had detected suspicious transactions of around $20 million in a special haj fund, which is a combination of government money and cash from people who plan to make the pilgrimage.

The allegations have caused outrage in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, where millions have paid in to the fund and must wait years as the annual quota of haj pilgrims is strictly controlled.

Suryadharma is the latest figure close to outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to be ensnared in a corruption case. The scandal also threatens to tarnish presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, whom Suryadharma's Islamic party is backing at forthcoming elections.

The minister insisted at the weekend that he would not resign over the allegations, but changed his mind after a meeting with Yudhoyono on Monday.

"Suryadharma Ali returned to the president the title of religion minister that had been entrusted to him," state secretary Sudi Silalahi told reporters after the meeting at the presidential palace in Bogor, outside Jakarta.

He said the president had "asked him to file a written resignation in one or two days". Silalahi added that Suryadharma continued to insist that "he was not in the wrong" during the meeting.

Anti-corruption investigators have said they are probing irregularities in the overall cost of the hajj, accommodation for pilgrims, and the people selected to go on the pilgrimage.

Media have reported one of the allegations against Suryadharma was that he had helped some 100 people, including relatives and lawmakers, skip the queue to go on the haj, instead of waiting years as most Indonesians have to.

Suryadharma remains head of the United Development Party and he is not in custody, although the anti-corruption agency has given him a travel ban.

He is the second sitting minister in Yudhoyono's cabinet to quit over corruption allegations, following the sports minister's resignation in 2012.

The flood of corruption cases has damaged the Democratic Party of Yudhoyono, who will step down this year after a decade in power, with its support falling by half at legislative polls in April.

Indonesia is ranked 114th out of 177 countries and territories in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. A number one ranking represents the least corrupt.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/26/religion-affair-minister-quits-over-pilgrimage-graft.html

Terrorism & religious extremism

Behind claim of resurgent terror, the shadow of political intrigue

Jakarta Globe - May 24, 2014

Josua Gantan & Farouk Arnaz – For years the police had crowed about having Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terrorist network affiliated with Al Qaeda, in retreat, rooting out its members in raid after raid and foiling one attack after another.

That narrative was shattered last week, when a raid that uncovered an arms-making operation in Central Java revealed a new reality, according to officials: JI was in the ascendancy.

"The new JI cell is very neat and organized," a source with Densus 88, the National Police's counterterrorism unit, told the Jakarta Globe.

"They have proper management, soldiers and an Amir [leader]," the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We estimate them to have at least 3,000 soldiers and we think the Amir is a returning old player."

The source said that the terror suspects arrested last week in Klaten, Central Java, were linked to Eko Budi Wardoyo, a hard-line Islamic cleric who was involved in a bombing at a market in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in 2005 in which 22 people were killed and more than 40 injured.

Eko was subsequently arrested and tried, and in 2010 was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Many of his associates from the bombing, though, have been on the run for nearly a decade, during which they formed a new cell, according to the police source.

'Exaggerated enormity'

But the new picture being painted, of JI having regrouped and reorganized into a more effective unit, is disputed by others, who also question the timing of the revelation, less than two months before the country goes to the polls in an all-important presidential election.

"Recently this issue has gotten a lot of attention, and I think the enormity of the matter has been exaggerated," says Mahfudz Siddiq, a senior member of the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, which draws its support from a conservative Islamic base. "Many of JI's leaders have been arrested. I think they're in decline," Mahfudz says.

He cites the number of high-profile JI operatives who have either been captured or killed by security forces since the group peaked with the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings: bombmaker Azahari Husin, killed in 2005; bombmaker and financier Noordin M. Top, gunned down in 2009; and Hambali, the group's former military leader and once referred to as the "Osama bin Laden of Southeast Asia," who was captured in Thailand in 2003 and is now being held by the US government at its notorious Guantanamo Bay facility.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the firebrand cleric who was JI's spiritual leader, was in 2011 sentenced to 15 years in prison on a raft of terrorism charges.

Mahfudz, who serves on the House of Representatives' Commission II, overseeing domestic affairs, says that while he does not believe JI is making a comeback, acknowledges that the group remains a menacing presence in the country.

"In my view, they are not growing stronger. It's just that their recruitment and radicalization processes are still working," he says.

He stresses the need to rehabilitate terror operatives currently in prison, to stop them from proselytizing others, and for effective public engagement measures to change the prevailing mind-set among some Indonesians that armed extremism is a righteous path and that there is honor in being martyred for the terrorist cause.

Mahfudz says these preventive measures are necessary for Indonesia to take, in addition to the "corrective" approach, or raids, long adopted by Densus 88.

"I want to stress that legal and corrective approaches alone will never end this cycle," he says. "Corrective measures have been carried out, but unless we tackle the ongoing problem of recruitment and radicalization, we can never end the cycle. Arrests and punitive measures alone do not solve the problem," Mahfudz adds.

Politically engineered?

For some observers, the timing of the recent reveal is the real story. Analysts note that by putting the extremist Islamic fringe under the national glare, the police may be trying to paint the coalition of presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto in a bad light, given that four of the six parties in his coalition, including the PKS, are Islamic-based parties.

Bambang Widodo Umar, a security analyst and former senior police official, says he was especially alarmed by the possibility that the police would do this.

"The police should not act with political purposes in mind," he tells the Globe. "When such [terror-related] arrests are made, they should be made purely for the criminal aspect."

Haris Azhar, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or Kontras – which has long called for Prabowo to be brought to justice for a slew of alleged human rights abuses during his time in the military – is also concerned that there might be a political motive for the police's alarmist declaration that JI is on the rise.

"I won't go so far as to be too suspicious about it, but I think there's the possibility" that the situation has been politically engineered, he says."But we shouldn't be too rash to draw such a conclusion," he adds.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/behind-claim-resurgent-terror-shadow-political-intrigue/

Freedom of religion & worship

Yogyakarta's diversity in peril

Jakarta Post - May 31, 2014

Bambang Muryanto and Yuliasri Perdani, Yogyakarta/Jakarta – Yogyakarta has long been known as a province of peace, but increasing intolerance directed at religious minorities in recent months is undermining the region's long- held pride as a champion of diversity.

The latest incident took place on Thursday evening in Ngaglik, Sleman regency, as dozens of people dressed in gamis (long clothes usually worn by Arabs) attacked the house of Julius Felicianus, the director of Galang Press, while a number of Catholics were worshipping. Five people were injured in the incident. The injured individuals include Julius; Kompas TV journalist Michael Aryawan; Julius' neighbor, who reported the attack; and three worshippers.

National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said on Friday at least 15 people were involved in the attack. "At first, eight people stormed the house. They left and then came back. There were 15 perpetrators in the second attack," Agus said.

As of Friday, the police had arrested a suspect identified as KH, who lived nearby to Julius. Agus said the police had also identified other suspects.

Agus refused to confirm that the suspects were part of a religious hard- line group. "They do not belong to a certain group. They acted as individuals. It is alleged that one person instigated the attack, but we still need more evidence," he said.

He indicated the assailants were of a different faith to the victims. "The preliminary investigation found the victims and assailants follow different religions, but please don't relate this attack to religion. This is an individual act," he said.

According to Julius' colleague Teguh Prastowo, the incident took place at around 8:45 p.m. when Julius was at his office. Upon receiving information from his son, Julius went home to find the windows and door of his house broken, with the worshipers cornered inside.

The attackers then knocked Julius unconscious. Teguh said Julius suffered a serious injury to the back of his head and a broken shoulder bone. He is being treated at Panti Rapih Hospital.

Teguh denied rumors the violence was linked to religion. "This is a personal problem between Julius and his neighbors."

Julius, an activist of the Joint Secretariat for Yogyakarta's Special Status, supported the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) following the attack by Kopassus members on Cebongan Penitentiary in Sleman that killed four detainees last year. Julius is also an active supporter of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jusuf Kalla in the upcoming presidential election.

The Sleman incident adds to the number of religious intolerance cases in Yogyakarta, which is widely known for its highly educated population. In January, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Yogyakarta branch called on the police to freeze or disband institutions or organizations whose members were adherents of Shia Islam.

On March 30, Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) followers vandalized the Kemah Injil Indonesia (GKII) church in Girisubo district, Gunungkidul regency, calling on the church congregation to no longer hold religious activity in the building.

The attack was followed by another incident on April 6 when FJI members sealed the church as it had allegedly not obtained a building permit.

On May 2, FJI followers allegedly assaulted the chairman of Gunungkidul Interfaith Forum, Aminuddin Aziz, following his statement quoted in online media about the FJI allegedly damaging and forcing the closure of the GKII church.

Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X recently received a pluralism award from the Indonesian Inter-Faith Network (JAII) for his success in maintaining pluralism in the province.

Meanwhile, dozens of local journalists staged a rally urging the police to deal with Michael's attackers. Siti Noor Laila of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) also warned of increasing intolerance in the region, given the recent rise of violence in the name of religion.

"The perpetrator in the Sleman attack was a childhood friend of the victim [Julius]. This may be an indicator that cases of intolerance in Yogyakarta are reaching worrying levels," Siti said.

[Slamet Susanto contributed to this story.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/31/yogyakarta-s-diversity-peril.html

Sex & pornography

Minister Tifatul wants local administrations to ban porn

Jakarta Post - May 26, 2014

Jakarta – Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring has called on local governments to pass bylaws banning Internet cafes from providing access to pornographic content for their customers.

Tifatul said during a visit to Padang, West Sumatra, that so far, only one provincial administration had imposed such a ban, namely Central Kalimantan.

"It is time for the West Sumatra governor to pass a bylaw that will ban access to pornographic websites," Tifatul said as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said West Sumatra could set an example for other provinces by passing such a bylaw, as the province had a reputation as being a hub of refined culture and civility.

Tifatul also suggested that harsh penalties should be meted out to proprietors of Internet cafes found guilty of providing access to pornographic sites.

"Just as in Central Kalimantan, the governor could directly issue an instruction to shut down any Internet cafe that failed to adhere to the bylaw," he said.

Tifatul added that the government would be stepping up its measures to crack down on pornographic websites in the near future. "For websites, we have the authority to crack down on them. We will block all pornographic content," he said.

He explained that the blocking of pornographic sites was to protect the country's younger generation from moral pollution. He then cited his oft- quoted argument for banning porn: "Every time you look at pornography, five of your brain cells die," he said.

Tifatul's statement came only days after he caused an outcry after deciding to ban video-sharing site Vimeo, claiming that it ran "pornographic" content.

The site, which was founded in 2004, was the first video-sharing site to support high definition, and was widely used by independent musicians and filmmakers to advertise their work.

The ministry said that its research into the site had found 7,712 videos tagged as "Nudie Cutie"; 6,915 titled the "Art of Nakedness", and 1,186 as the "Beauty of Nakedness".

The ministry said the ban was based on the controversial 2008 Pornography Law, which defines pornography as, among other things, displays of "nudity or nude-like features" and human genitalia.

Many have accused Tifatul of issuing the ban against Vimeo in retaliation after the site hosted a fake campaign video of a legislative candidate from his political party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), featuring a dangdut singer performing sexy dance moves. Tifatul has denied the accusation.

Tifatul, whose term is expected to expire in October, is no stranger to controversy, due primarily to some of his statements made on Twitter, where he has more than 700,000 followers.

In February, Tifatul made a quip in response to a global report that said the country's Internet was the second-slowest in the world. "Dear tweeps, if we had a faster Internet connection speed, then what would we use it for?" he posted on his Twitter account, @tifsembiring.

Previously, in 2010, he made a joke about AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) patients. In a tweet, Tifatul said that AIDS stood for Akibat Itunya Ditaruh Sembarangan, which translates into English as, "caused by the reckless use of one's penis".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/26/minister-tifatul-wants-local-administrations-ban-porn.html

Indigenous rights

Indonesia probes violations of indigenous rights in contested forests

Thomson Reuters Foundation - May 29, 2014

Fidelis E. Satriastanti, Jakarta – Indonesia's Human Rights Commission has launched the country's first national inquiry into alleged human rights violations related to land conflicts involving indigenous people.

"It is the first inquiry into these (land conflict) cases on a national scale because we have indications of the same patterns (of human rights violations) for these conflicts," said Sandra Moniaga, a member of the commission, which is known as Komnas HAM, before the launch of the initiative in Jakarta on May 20.

Public hearings will be held in seven regions – Sumatra, Java, Bali-Nusa, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Maluku and Papua – in addition to a national hearing. Each hearing will involve witnesses, experts, local leaders and advocates from civil society organisations.

Around 140 cases have been reported to Komnas HAM as part of the inquiry. "We will have a comprehensive investigation (and) secondary data collection from institutions that are concerned with this issue," Moniaga said.

The institutions include the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago, the Association for Community and Ecology-Based Law Reform and the National Forestry Council.

The commission aims to complete its inquiry by November and to issue recommendations for action by the country's next president, who is due to be elected in July.

Nearly 70 percent of Indonesia's forest – 136 million hectares (336 million acres) – belongs to the state. Land conflicts involving indigenous people date back to the Dutch occupation of the country from 1847 to 1942. Land was frequently claimed as the state's property without considering the customary claims of native people living in forested areas.

Disputed forest law

In 1967, then-President Suharto issued a forestry law that covered only forest categorised as protected, natural reserves and forest used for production or tourism. The 1999 Law on Forestry did mention indigenous forest, but defined it as state-owned forest situated within an "indigenous law community area", meaning an area where local people have established mostly unwritten laws and customs over generations.

Activists slammed the 1999 law for excluding the claims of people living near or inside the forests, which resulted in ongoing conflicts. "The previous laws should be corrected by the ruling government," said Moniaga, who says the state has engaged in systematic land grabs.

"People usually associate human rights violations with social and political rights, but these (indigenous) people are also suffering from human rights violations. They lost their rights to their lands, they lost their political rights, and most of these conflicts ended up with deaths," she added

Abdon Nababan, secretary general of the Indigenous People's Alliance of the Archipelago, agrees with this characterisation. "We are referring to economic, social and cultural rights," said Nababan. "These are the same rights being taken away from indigenous people."

Forced out

Kaharuddin, a member of the Dayak Punan tribe, one of the oldest indigenous communities in Kalimantan, said his tribe has suffered as a result of the government's policies, from "forced" migration to the granting of timber concessions in the tribe's customary forests.

"We were forced to move from the forests to settlements by the government in 1972 for the (stated) reason that we were living in too-remote areas. But we are forest people, we would eventually go back to the forests," said Kaharuddin. Only 63 families are still living in the forests, making the tribe an endangered community, he added.

To make things worse, the Punan tribe's 22,000 hectares of traditional forest are now threatened by timber concessions. "These companies... come to our forests and just leave it damaged. They have destroyed fruit, trees, rattan and rubber which are the main commodities for the Punan people," said Kaharuddin.

"We Punan people (are) always careful in managing our forests. We usually cut trees every five years, but these concessions with their equipment cut hundreds of trees (very quickly). It's painful to hear that we are being accused of destroying our own forests," he added.

Key court ruling

The struggle of indigenous communities to have their land recognised by the state received a boost in 2012 when the Constitutional Court granted an appeal by civil society organisations to revise the definition of indigenous forest in the 1999 forestry law.

The court's decision, popularly known as MK 35, excluded indigenous forest areas from being categorised as state forests and recognised indigenous people's ownership of the land in their forest areas. However, there have been no significant efforts by the government to follow through on the decision.

"On the contrary, it is going backwards after the ministry of forestry and ministry of home affairs issued letters presenting bureaucratic obstacles" to implementing the decision, said Iwan Nurdin, secretary-general of the Consortium for Agrarian Reform.

Nurdin cited a 2013 letter from the forestry minister stating that indigenous forest can remain in the state's possession if the community's claim to the forest has not been legalised by regional regulations. Few such regulations have been issued in the past year.

The second letter from the home affairs minister also sparked controversy because it included land owned by traditional royal families in the category of "indigenous law community areas", a classification that many experts and historians reject.

The implementation of MK35 is being overseen by the coordinating ministry of people's welfare. The assistant deputy for conflict issues, Marwan (who goes by one name), was only appointed two months ago. "I am still learning about the cases, but we will find a way to deal with these conflicts," he said.

Kaharuddin said his tribe simply want their forest lands back. "(They) don't have to be in good condition. Give us back our forest, we will fix it ourselves," he said.

[Fidelis E. Satriastanti is a Jakarta-based writer with an interest in climate change issues.]

Source: http://www.trust.org/item/20140529110927-5sw62/?source=hpeditorial&siteVersion=mobile

Armed forces & defense

TNI commander pledges to fight for soldiers' welfare

Jakarta Post - May 24, 2014

Suherdjoko and Agus Azka, Semarang/Purbalingga – Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Moeldoko has vowed to improve the welfare of soldiers by proposing an increase in remuneration. He confirmed that he had lobbied the government and members of the House of Representatives' Commission I overseeing defense.

"I'm aiming to raise remuneration by up to 60 percent," Moeldoko said, as he gave directives to 2,339 soldiers and civil servants at the Soldiers Center at the Diponegoro Military Command IV in Semarang, Central Java, on Friday.

So far, improvements to the benefits paid to TNI personnel consist of additional allowances, which have been increased from Rp 30,000 (US$2.60) to Rp 60,000 per day for on-duty personnel and from Rp 25,000 to Rp 30,000 during training.

"Apart from that, planes are now used for the deployment of troops, as opposed to ships. In the past, it took 14 days to dispatch troops to Papua by ship," he said.

In a dialogue with soldiers and civil servants within the TNI circle, it was reported that soldiers wished to be promoted prior to retirement.

"This is not a matter of jealousy. Police personnel and civil servants are promoted three months before they retire. Surely TNI personnel should receive the same treatment?" one of those attending the dialogue, Capt. Suyitno, said.

Moeldoko immediately responded to the proposal. "We'll look at the rules first. Personally, I strongly agree. Why is promotion prior to retirement so difficult?" Moeldoko replied.

Another officer, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, proposed that the post of a regency or city military command chief should be aligned with the rank of major, which is on a par with a local police chief.

"I have no qualms about the proposal. A military command chief is a major, but it is currently only applied in tier-one cities," Moeldoko said.

Regarding the procurement of a new weapons system, Moeldoko said he had provided training to soldiers so that they could operate the new weaponry. "We are arranging everything, including doctrines to strengthen the TNI's training command. We have sent some soldiers to Singapore for training so that they can operate the new Leopard tanks," he said.

At the same time, however, Moeldoko has urged all TNI personnel to continually enhance their performance.

"Every working unit must keep in mind the 'need of achievement'. Currently, I see that the 'need of achievement' within the government is very low. However, I urge every TNI officer to be prepared to serve their subordinates and the people," he said.

"Battalion commanders should not think of making money. They must always focus on their role as soldiers. Don't think of when you can drive a BMW," said Moeldoko, who graduated top of his class from the Military Academy in 1981.

He also referred to the Japanese bushido spirit, which essentially upholds loyalty. "You won't be poor if you do good to your subordinates. The strength of a commander lies in his subordinates," he said.

Separately, he said TNI neutrality in the political domain, especially with the presidential election approaching, had not been set explicitly. The government should have issued a strict ruling so that the TNI would remain neutral.

"I plan to propose a regulation on TNI neutrality for the presidential election. This is necessary so all TNI personnel remain truly neutral and do not get involved in politics," Moeldoko added.

"During the legislative election back in April, the law was clear. The TNI was neutral and did not have voting rights, but in the upcoming presidential election, there is no firm rule yet."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/24/tni-commander-pledges-fight-soldiers-welfare.html

Judicial & legal system

MA regrets budget cut for KY

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2014

Jakarta – The Supreme Court (MA) says it regrets a government decision to reduce the Judicial Commission's (KY) 2014 budget by 27 percent.

Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur said the decision could affect the hiring of new justices and judges, which could adversely impact the performance of the judiciary.

After learning about the budget cut, the Judicial Commission announced that it would not join the selection sessions for justices and judges, which was required by the Judicial Commission Law.

"In the past four years, we haven't conducted recruitments and this will affect the rotation of our judges," Ridwan said as quoted by tribunnews,com.

With the budget cut, the commission will only receive Rp 57.3 billion (US$4.9 million) as an operational budget for the 2014 fiscal year, down from Rp 83 billion last year. Currently, the commission has only Rp 1.8 billion at its disposal.

With the budget constraints, the commission will only carry out its function in receiving complaints from the public.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/28/ma-regrets-budget-cut-ky.html

Mining & energy

Campaign against tin mining in Bangka island targets Microsoft

The Guardian (Australia) - May 30, 2014

Sajid Shaikh – A campaign against tin mining in Bangka and Belitung islands of Indonesia is targeting tech giant Microsoft. The islands, off the coast of Sumatra, are being stripped off their forests and marine wealth and dug up for tin, used widely in the electronics and IT industry by major brands making mobile phones, tablets, laptops, computers and other gadgets.

Friends of Earth Netherlands, an environmental group fighting for sustainable sourcing of tin, said they are targeting Microsoft for "refusing to take steps to end irresponsible mining practices on Bangka and Belitung islands." Asus, HTC and Huawei are other brands named by the group using tin sourced unethically.

"Big brands such as Apple, Philips and LG openly support projects to produce tin in a better way. It is unacceptable that other brands still refuse to follow this lead and take responsibility. They have been made aware Bangka-Belitung islands are being destroyed and miners are dying every week. All brands use tin from Bangka-Belitung since a third of global tin production comes from these Indonesian islands," said FoE campaigner Evert Hassink.

The group has launched an online petition against Microsoft. "We ask people to support our petition. In the Netherlands we will be collecting signatures on the streets and at festivals. We will take direct action against Microsoft," Hassink said.

On Thursday, FoE targeted Microsoft's Amsterdam office, confronting employees over the difference between their working conditions and those of tin miners in Indonesia.

Microsoft, however, said it's committed to responsible production of its hardware and packaging, including the raw materials used in making them. Brian Tobey, corporate vice president for manufacturing, supply chain and information services at Microsoft, said in a statement to the Guardian: "We have reecently formalised our values and approach to responsible sourcing through Microsoft's responsible sourcing of raw materials policy, to extend our positive influence to the furthest reaches of our upstream supply chain."

Tobey said Microsoft is in touch with FoE to share the approach. "On 2 June we will publish a Conflict Minerals report which will disclose the number of tin smelters and refineries in our upstream supply chain, including those in Indonesia. The report will include maps showing the locations of all confirmed mines and smelters or refiners identified in our raw materials supply chain."

Nokia, which is now part of Microsoft, is already a signatory to the Tin Working Group, a public-private partnership that includes campaign groups like FoE, Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, businesses and Indonesian government, working together to improve the sustainability of tin production in Indonesia.

Bangka has population of over a million and tin mining is a major source of revenue. According to government figures 44,202 metric tons of tin was mined in 2012. The revenue tin mining generates in Bangka-Belitung province is estimated to be over #42m. But regulation is weak and many mines are illegal and in some cases even employing children.

A Guardian and FoE investigation in 2012 highlighted how unregulated tin mining was devastating the environment and killing an estimated 150 miners every year. The investigation also revealed child labour was being used to extract tin from the island which was sourced by major brands. In 2013 Samsung admited its phones may contain tin mined by children and launched its own investigation into how its supply chain was procuring tin for the company's products.

FoE's previous campaign, Make It Better, called for Europe-wide legislation that would require companies to report on their products' full human and social impacts - from accidents and pollution to how much water, land and raw materials they use.

"Bangka has more or less turned into one big mining pit. Off shore tin mining is also rampant. Suction ships and bucket dredgers are killing marine life and destroying coral reefs," Hassink said.

The Indoneisan government had passed a bill to move people away from mining to agriculture, but it hasn't had much success on the island. Environmental photographer Marten van Dijl who has extensively documented tin mining on Bangka said locals have no alternative.

"A lot of the people I spoke to said they would much rather do different work, because they realise they are destroying their island, and the work is dangerous. They see no alternative though, because prices of export products like rubber and pepper have plummeted. People can no longer earn the same amount of money for a day's work as compared to mining," Van Dijl said.

About 80% of the island's population depends on mining, he said. "All small scale fishermen have turned to mining. Over the years, dredgers and suction ships owned by big mining companies have clouded the water and destroyed coral reefs off the coast, and as a result only larger fishingboats can still find fish. Mining has driven people away from their occupation, and made them miners."

Tin is ubiquitous across technology products, used mainly as soldering alloy to hold components of mobile phones, laptops, desk computers and gaming consoles together.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/30/tin-mining-bangka-island-microsoft-indonesia

Oil, gas firms' appetite to invest 'weakening'

Jakarta Post - May 28, 2014

Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – Oil and gas companies are losing their appetite to invest in Indonesia, thanks to a number of critical challenges that remain unsolved for years, according to a survey.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Indonesia, which surveyed the executives of oil and gas firms representing 80 percent of the country's 2013 oil production, as many as 48 percent of respondents suggested their interest in further investing in Indonesia had declined.

The survey, released this month, also found 64 percent of respondents said the industry would need to spend more in the next five years on work in mature fields and on more difficult exploration activities, such as billion-dollar deepwater projects.

"The fact that industry participants still expect the need for capital to increase but at the same time almost half of the respondents are indicating weakening investment appetites for Indonesia, is a red flag for the Indonesian upstream sector," the report said.

Upstream Oil And Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) figures showed the amount of realized investment in the upstream sector was lower than the proposed amount, citing an example of 2013, when only US$19.3 billion of investment was realized, lower than the $23 billion planned.

The five most critical challenges according to the survey's participants were interference from other government agencies; contract sanctity; confusion in the roles of the central, provincial and regional governments; new regulations; uncertainty over cost recovery; and the audit findings of SKKMigas and the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP). Companies considered that there were no significant efforts by the government to manage four of the five critical issues, which respondents also selected in the 2012 survey.

The government has been calling for more exploration to boost oil production to meet rising demand, but instead has been met by complaints from business players lamenting prolonged permission processes, among other obstacles.

Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) president Lukman Mahfoedz said he worried about future production, citing the 10 percent realization of drilling activities to find new hydrocarbon resources. "The realization for exploration been only $2 billion to $3 billion per year in the last four years. For development projects, it's only $3 billion to $4 billion. We need more spending if we want to increase production," he said.

PwC Indonesia's survey also showed that 24 percent of respondents said they had considered leaving the country. The participants considered Norway, Australia, Malaysia, China, the US and the United Arab Emirates to be more competitive than others for oil and gas in terms of geological prospects, infrastructure, political stability and regulatory frameworks.

Indonesia, according to the respondents, was only more competitive than Nigeria, Venezuela and Angola in all of those matters, except for geological prospects. Indonesia was also rated better than Thailand in terms of political stability but lagged in infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.

Erwin Maryoto, vice president for public and government affairs at ExxonMobil's subsidiary Mobil Cepu Ltd., said foreign oil and gas firms operating in Indonesia sometimes had to compete with their own sister firms elsewhere to ensure their parent company kept on disbursing funds for their Indonesian operations.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/28/oil-gas-firms-appetite-invest-weakening.html

Analysis & opinion

Election or 'Muslim Idol' contest?

Jakarta Post - May 30, 2014

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – It has long been the norm that politicians use Islam as electoral bait. But never has it been so intense as in this year's election, which resembles an idol contest to find the best Muslim president.

The media reports that the candidates were challenged to engage in a Koran recital duel has left me flabbergasted. I am not sure whether the challenge was serious or just being sarcastic, but all these rumors about Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Prabowo Subianto not being Muslim enough to lead the country are getting ridiculous and should be stopped.

It was Mufidah Kalla, Jokowi's running mate Jusuf Kalla's wife, who told reporters that Jokowi and her husband were fed up with all the negative campaigning thrown against them. "Pak JK [Jusuf Kalla] said, if Jokowi keeps getting accused of [being a non-Muslim], he will hold a Koran recital contest between Jokowi and Prabowo," she said on the sidelines of an event that was organized by a group known as the Green Hijabers (women in Muslim headscarves) to declare support for the Jokowi-Kalla pair.

It is more upsetting that the Muslim leaders, who are also divided over the election, are taking this political farce so seriously.

Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin, who obtained his PhD from UCLA in the US, for instance, recently claimed that he once tested Jokowi by allowing him to lead a zuhur prayer. He said he briefly lost focus on his own prayers since he had to ensure that Jokowi got it all right. "Allhamdulillah, everything was correct. There was nothing wrong with [his prayers]," he said.

Din might have meant well to reassure anxious voters, but, seriously, knowing how to pray in a correct manner should never be in a presidential resume. Whether or not a president will succeed has nothing to do with how correct or how often they pray. It is downright irrelevant.

Prabowo is lucky to have gained the support of all the Islamic parties: the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the United Development Party (PPP). All he has to do is wear a peci and pray solemnly and observantly at the mosque to get the nod from Muslim voters, just as he did a few days and even hours before registering his candidacy.

Pictures of him praying next to the nation's political bigwigs including PPP leader Suryadharma Ali, now a graft suspect, can easily be found on the Internet. Regardless of whether Prabowo and Suryadharma are really devout Muslims, what they did is political kitsch at its most banal.

And this is not going to end anytime soon. With the Islamic fasting month starting two weeks before voting day on July 9, the issue of religiosity will only intensify. During Ramadhan, most Indonesian Muslims try hard to look more devout and observant, and they listen to what the preachers say. Neither camp will waste the chance to bedevil each other from the pulpits.

It is hard to fathom who is really to blame for this. Voters, I think, have become more rational and secular in the past few years. Poll results have confirmed that trend. But why then is this happening?

I point my finger at a handful of small-minded Muslims and politicians who have never tired of playing this issue to advance their respective causes. They are currently engaged in fear mongering through social media, which is the most effective tool for spreading rumors and creating mass hysteria.

Fear is an effective psychological instrument to sway voters during elections. Both camps have been capitalizing on this. Sadly, as of today, there is perhaps nothing more unsettling to many Indonesian voters than knowing that one of the presidential candidates is the enemy of Islam.

It is such a shame that this is still happening now. For this is arguably the most interesting presidential election ever with both candidates having hard-core, die-hard supporters. Debates on social media about the pros and cons of the two contenders are so vibrant and intense that people are unfriending friends and even leaving Facebook because of it.

It is also worth mentioning that Jokowi and Prabowo are very close to non- Muslims. Jokowi's current deputy in Jakarta and former deputy in Surakarta are Christians. Prabowo's mother and brother are also Christians.

They should be the first to publicly denounce negative campaigns attacking candidates' beliefs and should not play along with them by trying to present themselves as better Muslims. The two, I believe, have strong enough electoral power to do that. They could put this folly to rest if they wanted to.

It is true that Muslims account for the largest share of the electorate in the country but there is nothing to gain from perpetuating the idea that someone needs to prove he is good Muslim to become a president. This is an election, not a "Muslim Idol" contest.

[The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/30/election-or-muslim-idol-contest.html