berita abu abu

2003-12-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Observers Say People Want the Return of Soeharto Era
(The Jakarta Post via Joyo)
The public at large are disappointed with the sluggish process of reform, including in the legal sector, and have begun to hope for the return to the old system under former authoritarian president Soeharto who, with his iron fist, managed to make the people abide by the law, legal observers said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Tracing Democracy and Law Enforcement Road in Indonesia seminar, constitutional expert Satya Arinanto said that people at the grass roots were currently suffering from SARS or Sindrom Aku Rindu Soeharto (I-miss-Soeharto Syndrome).
"This SARS arises because the people are disappointed with the slow reform process, including in the legal sector," Satya told the seminar, which was jointly organized by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
According to Satya, current legal reforms were focusing too much on legal structures and substances such as commissions and legislation without building the legal culture, which was also an important aspect.
He said the absence of legal culture development, worsened by weak law enforcement, had resulted in frequent legal violations.
The slow and weak reform process, he said, was used by elements of the New Order -- the so-called regime of Soeharto -- to boost their interests.
A survey sponsored by the Asia Foundation revealed on Monday that the majority of eligible voters for the next year's general elections wanted a strong leader like Soeharto.

2003-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

Nomor Urut Parpol Peserta Pemilu
(Detik)
Proses undian nomor urut parpol telah selesai pukul 19.37 WIB, Senin (8/12/2003). Berikut nomor urut selengkapnya:
1. PNI Marhaenisme
2. Partai Buruh Sosial Demokrat (PBSD)
3. Partai Bulan Bintang (PBB)
4. Partai Merdeka
5. Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP)
6. Partai Demokrasi Kebangsaan (PDK)
7. Partai Indonesia Baru (PIB)
8. Partai Nasional Banteng Kemerdekaan (PNBK)
9. Partai Demokrat
10. Partai Keadilan dan Persatuan Indonesia (PKPI)
11. Partai Penegak Demokrasi Indonesia (PPDI)
12. Partai Persatuan Nadhlatul Ummah Indonesia
13. Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN)
14. Partai Karya Peduli Bangsa (PKPB)
15. Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB)
16. Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS)
17. Partai Bintang Reformasi (PBR)
18. Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDIP)
19. Partai Damai Sejahtera
20. Partai Golkar
21. Partai Patriot Pancasila
22. Partai Sarikat Indonesia
23. Partai Persatuan Daerah
24. Partai Pelopor
news

2003-11-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

* TIONGHOA TANPA HAK PILIH, SALAH SIAPA?
(Radio Belanda)
Memang sulit jadi warga keturunan Cina di Indonesia. Rezim boleh silih berganti tetapi berbagai aturan yang mendiskriminasi etnis Cina terus ada. Kasus terbaru adalah terhambatnya sekitar 300 ribu warga keturunan Cina Jawa Barat untuk ikut pemilu tahun depan. Mereka belum didaftarkan ikut pemilu karena sulit memperoleh dokumen untuk mengurus kartu tanda penduduk atau KTP. Masalah ini disampaikan Yayasan Anti Diskriminasi Indonesia atau YADI kepada Komisi Pemilihan Umum KPU.
Pendiri YADI, Frans Hendra Winata mengungkapkan, etnis Cina sulit mengurus KTP karena tak punya Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia SBKRI. Mereka juga tak punya akta catatan sipil lengkap. SBKRI dan dokumen catatan sipil kerap tak diurus, karena untuk itu sering harus menggunakan uang suap. Karena itu, Frans minta agar KPU turun tangan.
Frans Hendra Winata: Ditekel oleh KPU tentunya supaya mereka berani mendaftar. Kemudian jangan sampai dimanipulir kalau mereka sudah jadi warganegara dan mempunyai hak, nggak punya KTP karena apa, ya diupayakan supaya mendapat KTP.
Sementara itu, Ketua KPU Nazaruddin Syamsuddin mengatakan tak dapat memenuhi permintaan ini. Sebab KPU tidak menyediakan SBKRI. Menurut dia, ini adalah wewenang menteri kehakiman dan hak-hak asasi manusia. Nazarudin juga meminta mereka menyampaikan masalah ini ke departemen dalam negeri.
Nazaruddin Syamsudin: Karena itu kan melanggar peraturan. Jadi kita harapkan dalam waktu yang tersisa 20 hari ini orang-orang yang belum mendaftar karena tidak punya KTP mereka ya supaya mendatangi kantor kelurahan untuk mengurus KTPnya baru bisa didaftarkan oleh KPU.
Walau KPU Pusat lepas tangan, KPU Daerah Jawa Barat masih ingin meneliti kasus ini. Namun, menurut ketua KPU Jawa Barat Ferry Kurnia Rizkiansyah bisa jadi kasus serupa juga berlangsung di luar daerahnya. Oleh sebab itu, penyelesaiannya harus dilakukan secara nasional.
Ferry Kurnia Rizkiansyah : Tapi sebenarnya harusnya itu sudah selesai, ketika KPU melakukan penelitian dan kecocokan pemilih. Nah kalau toh ditemukan seperti itu di lapangan yang jumlahnya cukup besar sampai 300-an ribu KPU tampaknya juga harus punya inisiatif untuk melakukan penelitian kembali terhadap yang bersangkutan begitu. Kita harus tetap menunggu informasi dari Jakarta karena ini adalah bagian dari pemilih secara nasional.
Masalah SBKRI memang tak kunjung usai. Diskriminasi yang timbul akibat surat itu tak hanya menimpa orang kebanyakan. Masih ingat kasus Hendrawan? Pebulutangkis itu harus menunggu bertahun-tahun untuk mendapatkan tanda pengesahan sebagai warga sebuah negara yang kerap dibelanya mati-matian di ajang olahraga internasional. Baru setelah Presiden Megawati Soekarnoputri turun tangan, Hendrawan bisa mendapatkan surat kewarganegaraannya.
SKBRI sendiri sebenarnya telah dicabut melalui Keppres Nomor 56 Tahun 1996 tentang Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia. Keppres itu menegaskan, bukti kewarganegaraan cukup ditunjukkan dengan Kartu Tanda Penduduk atau Akta Kelahiran. Ketika memerintah Presiden BJ Habibie juga telah mengeluarkan Instruksi Presiden Inpres Nomor 4 Tahun 1999. Isinya kurang lebih agar semua instansi memberikan layanan sama terhadap setiap warga negara, tanpa mempertimbangkan ada SBKRI atau tidak.
Namun di lapangan, SBKRI masih wajib bagi keturunan Tionghoa yang ingin masuk sekolah, mengurus akta kelahiran, KTP, membuat paspor, dan urusan-urusan bank. Berbagai instansi masih saja mensyaratkan SBKRI, seperti Kantor Catatan Sipil, kelurahan, perbankan, pendidikan, dan kantor imigrasi. Alhasil SBKRI tetap menjadi sumber korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme. Para pejabat dan pegawai negeri terang-terangan saja dan tanpa malu-malu terus minta suap pada warga keturunan Tionghoa yang tak bisa menunjukkan SBKRInya. Tak ayal, SBKRI juga menjadi lahan yang menguntungkan setiap instansi atau pejabat yang menerbitkannya.
Lagu ciptaan Guruh Putri Tionghoa: Aku Putri Indonesia, peranakan Tionghoa, namun ku sangat cinta nusa dan bangsa. Tanah air Indonesia. Aku bangsa Indonesia, dari etnik Tionghoa
Waktu pendaftaran peserta pemilu berakhir bulan ini. Langkah cepat harus dilakukan agar negara bisa menjamin semua warganya ikut dalam pesta demokrasi. Kalau tidak, lagu ciptaan Guruh Sukarnoputra si adik presiden tadi, cuma tinggal lagu belaka yang tidak ada hubungannya dengan kenyataan pahit sehari-hari.

2003-10-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dirut PT Probest Ditahan Dituduh Menggelar Praktik Perbankan
(Media Indonesia)
Direktur Utama PT Probest Internasional Indonesia (PII) Burhan Sofian, 41, ditahan pihak Direktorat Reserse Kriminal Khusus Polda Metro Jaya dengan tuduhan menghimpun dana masyarakat tanpa izin.
Polisi menahan Burhan karena sudah dua kali tidak mengindahkan panggilan untuk diperiksa sebagai tersangka. "Polisi juga sempat melakukan penjemputan paksa tetapi Burhan tidak ditemukan meski sudah dicari ke beberapa tempat," lanjutnya.
Kamis malam, Burhan datang ke Polda Metro Jaya disertai pengacaranya. Penyidik langsung melakukan penahanan sebab penyidik sudah menemukan indikasi kuat PT PII melakukan praktik perbankan tanpa izin Bank Indonesia (BI).
Seorang penyidik yang menangani kasus tersebut menjelaskan surat yang dimiliki PT PII merupakan izin usaha perdagangan dari kantor suku dinas Wali Kota Madya Jakarta Pusat.
Tetapi dalam praktiknya, PT PII terindikasi melakukan praktik perbankan sehingga harus memiliki izin dari BI. Seorang saksi ahli dari BI yang dimintai masukan oleh penyidik menyebutkan PT PII diduga melakukan praktik perbankan berdasarkan setoran dari nasabah sehingga sama dengan praktik yang dilakukan perbankan.
"Dalam penghimpunan dana secara massal, terdapat penyerahan dari nasabah atas dasar kepercayaan, perjanjian, serta imbalan berbentuk persentase atau nominal yang tetap. Hal ini sesuai dengan aplikasi operasional perbankan yang berkaitan dengan penghimpunan dana," jelas Prasetyo.
Usaha PT PII tersebut dituduh ilegal dan Burhan dijerat dengan Pasal 1 ayat 5, Pasal 16, serta Pasal 46 UU RI No 10/1998 tentang Perbankan. "Ancaman hukuman sekurang-kurangnya lima tahun dan paling lama 15 tahun penjara serta denda sekurang-kurangnya Rp10 miliar dan paling banyak Rp200 miliar," tambahnya. more

2003-07-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Muslims 'should embrace modern science'
(Straight Times)
Ulamas hold the key to Muslim progress as they can help change mindsets, Mahathir tells conference of clerics.
The ulamas (scholars) should instead teach their 'very confused and divided' flock to embrace modern science readily so that the community could once again stand tall in the world, he said.
He asked why suicide bombers were regarded as martyrs, but scientists, mathematicians and engineers who developed the defence capabilities of Muslim nations were not accorded the same merit.
He delved into history to support his argument, noting that the Muslim empire lost Spain in 1492 after 500 years of rule after the ulamas began to frown upon the study of 'non-religious subjects' and the works of non-Muslims. This made them technologically weak.
His message: Balance worldly knowledge with religious knowledge.
He noted that Muslims were once a global force in various fields, but they had failed to keep up with the development of Westerners and were now weak and backwards.
'The Muslims will never be able to bring back the honour and the respect for Islam and the Muslims unless they become capable again of defending themselves,' he said.
This should be done not through violence and terrorism, but by restoring the glory of Islamic civilisation.
'Our salvation will not be achieved by blindly killing innocent people. Rather, we should plan and execute a long-term development plan to excel in all fields,' he said. more

2003-05-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

DISKRIMINASI, SAMPAI KAPAN LAGI?
(Radio Belanda)
Diskriminasi rupanya menjadi harta warisan Orde Baru yang masih dipelihara dengan baik oleh pemerintah Megawati Soekarnoputri. Harta itu misalnya Surat Keputusan Menteri Dalam Negeri Nomor 24 Tahun 1991, yang melarang mantan anggota tahanan politik untuk memiliki KTP seumur hidup. Akibatnya, orang-orang seperti Nani Nurani harus menerima kenyataan pahit. Perempuan berusia 62 tahun ini selalu ditolak oleh petugas kelurahan dan kecamatan Koja, Jakarta Utara, tiap kali mengurus KTP.
Nani Nurani :
Jauh sebelum KTP saya habis, saya sudah urus. Sebelum ke kelurahan saya ketemu Pak Camat. Dia bilang saya punya hak KTP seumur hidup. Tapi begitu saya ke kelurahan, saya tak bisa.
34 tahun silam, perempuan kelahiran Cianjur, Jawa Barat ini, dijebloskan ke penjara Bukit Duri, Jakarta. Nani meringkuk di penjara tanpa pengadilan hanya gara-gara menyanyi pada hari ulang tahun Partai Komunis Indonesia, bulan Juni 1965.
Perlakuan diskriminatif jelas bukan monopoli mantan tahanan politik. Masih ingat Ivana Lee, seorang pemain bulu tangkis andalan Indonesia di era 1980-an yang keturunan Tionghoa? Ia lahir dan besar di Indonesia lalu mengharumkan nama bangsa lewat dunia olah raga bulutangkis. Tapi nasibnya ternyata tidak lebih baik dari si mantan tapol Nani Nurani tadi. Hingga kini petugas imigrasi masih terus mempertanyakan status kewarganegaraan Ivana, tiap kali ia pergi ke luar negeri. Ivana juga mesti menghadapi birokrasi yang berlebihan saat mengurus surat-surat seperti membuat KTP. Dipastikan, petugas menanyakan Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia SBKRI.
Ivana Lee :
Kami kan lahir di Indonesia. Tapi kami kalau mau bikin surat ini itu harus menunjukkan Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan. Diminta atau disuruh membuktikan itu. Bahkan untuk perpanjangan paspor saja, bukan bikin baru ya, itu hatus diminta lagi.
Ivana Lee tidak sendirian. Ada sederet nama besar di dunia bulutangkis yang bernasib sama seperti Liem Swie King, Tan Joe Hok dan Hendrawan.
Pemerintah memang sudah berupaya menghapus diskriminasi macam ini. Misalnya, SBKRI tidak diperlukan lagi bagi WNI keturunan yang telah memiliki Akte Kelahiran dan kartu tanda penduduk. Kecuali, bagi mereka yang masih dalam proses naturalisasi. Namun agaknya aturan ini hanya berbunyi di langit.
Menteri Kehakiman dan Ham Yusril Ihza Mahendra menyatakan, perlakuan diskriminasi yang menimpa para pebulutangkis etnis Tionghoa itu hanya karena ulah aparat di lapangan.
Yusril Ihza Mahendra:
Kita tak punya kebijakan seperti itu. Itu soalnya orang-orang di bawah saja yang macam-macam cuma mau cari duit saja. Ada 36 cara untuk membuktikan seseorang itu warga negara Indonesia. Misalnya KTP, paspor, akte kelahiran. Itu sudah cukup.
Keluhan kaum etnis Tionghoa itu sudah lama masuk telinga wakil rakyat. Anggota DPR Rekso Agung Herman menyatakan, Undang-Undang yang mengatur soal SBKRI masih ada. Tidak aneh jika diskriminasi masih terjadi di lapangan. Rekso Agung Herman menyatakan sudah mengirim surat kepada pimpinan DPR agar undang-undang itu segera dicabut.
Reksa Agung Herman:
Keppes itu sudah dibuat oleh Presiden Gus Dur dulu. Inpres sudah juga dibuat oleh Presiden Mega. Namun undang-undang ini tak bisa dihapus oleh Keppres dan Inpres. Undang-undang harus dicabut dengan undang-undang juga.
Aktivis organisasi anti diskriminasi Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa, Esther Yusuf menilai, apa yang menimpa para pebulutangkis etnis Tionghoa itu menunjukkan DPR dan pemerintahan kurang mempedulikan kepentingan rakyatnya. Bagi Esther, para anggota DPR yang terhormat dan pemerintah terbukti hanya sibuk mengurus kepentingan politik partai mereka saja.
Esther Yusuf:
Kita juga berhadapan kepentingan-kepentingan orang-orang yang terlibat dalam pelanggaran Ham berat yang rasis. Berikutnya, kita berhadapan dengan masyarakat yang sekian puluh tahun terbentuk pola pikir yang rasis.
Kini, menurut Esther, yang paling penting adalah niat baik Pemerintah untuk lebih memperhatikan warga negaranya, dengan menanggalkan politik diskriminatif yang masih menindas warga etnis atau kelompok tertentu.
Seruan serupa disampaikan dosen Institut Ilmu Pemerintahan Jakarta, Joehermansyah Johan. Ia meminta pemerintah mencabut Surat Keputusan Menteri Dalam Negeri Nomor 24 Tahun 1991, yang melarang mantan anggota tahanan politik memiliki KTP seumur hidup.
Joehermansyah:
Itu harus ditinjau kembali keputusan Mendagri itu. Harus dicabut. Jadinya masih berlaku. Padahal ada perkembangan-perkembangan yang ada dalam pemerintahan.
Pekan-pekan ini lima tahun sudah Soeharto yang zalim itu berlalu dari panggung politik Indonesia. Tapi nyatanya warisannya terus bertahan. Seolah Indonesia harus terus menanggung penderitaan di bawah kezalimannya. Padahal andil kalangan etnis Tionghoa dan kaum komunis dalam mendirikan Indonesia dulu juga tidaklah kecil. Patut pula dicatat, di awal abad 20 kalangan komunis dan Tionghoa termasuk pihak pertama yang datang dengan gagasan Indonesia merdeka. Hanya Soeharto yang menyangkal itu semua, atau mungkin masih ada saja pengikut Soeharto yang tidak mau tahu sejarah?

2003-04-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ternyata Inul Dipaksa Bertemu Rhoma Irama
(Detik)
Kontroversi seputar pertemuan Inul Daratista dengan Rhoma Irama akhirnya terkuak. Menurut Inul, dirinya dipaksa oleh Direktur Operasional SCTV, Alex Kumara untuk menemui dan meminta maaf kepada pedangdut senior tersebut.
"Tujuannya adalah meminta maaf karena mungkin saat masuk Jakarta belum 'izin' sama Bang Haji. Pak Alex bilang, "sudahlah Nul, kalau ada kita-kita ini mana mungkinlah Bang Haji marah sama Inul," tutur Inul menirukan Alex seperti dikutip Tabliod Nova terbaru edisi 4 Mei 2003 yang mulai beredar pagi ini.
"Terus terang, sebenarnya saya masih enggan ketemu karena saya tahu Bang Haji masih marah. Nanti kalau sudah dingin baru akan saya temui," cerita Inul.
Namun, karena adanya desakan dari Alex Kumara tersebut akhirnya Inul menemui Rhoma di studio Soneta Group. Dalam kesempatan tersebut, Inul datang dengan ditemani oleh Alex dan M. Al Moenir (dari SCTV), Iwan (produser), Dell (manajer), serta beberapa wartawan.
Sayangnya usai pertemuan tersebut Inul tak banyak bicara. Dia sangat sedih. Inul sendiri mengaku sangat menyesalkan terjadinya pertemuan tersebut. Inul pun mengaku sangat kecewa dengan SCTV. Diapun langung mengungkapkan hal tersebut kepada Alex Kumara.
"Saya langsung ungkapkan kekecewaan saya sekaligus menyampaikan pembatalan semua kontrak saya dengan SCTV," kata penyanyi kelahiran Pasuruan, Jawa Timur ini. Nah! more

2003-03-29T01:17:00.001-08:00

The Morale of the Story:
"THERE IS NO EASY MONEY GUYS!"

2003-03-29T01:17:00.000-08:00

Whatever
Presdir Probest: Probest Bukan MLM tetapi eBisnis
(Media Indonesia)
Menanggapi tuduhan Dinas Perindustrian dan Perdagangan DKI Jakarta bahwa Probest telah menyalahgunakan surat izin usaha perdagangan (SIUP), Burhan tidak menyangkal telah mendapatkan surat peringatan (SP) sebanyak dua kali. Namun, dia bersikukuh bahwa Probest murni menjalankan bisnis perdagangan dan tidak bergerak di bidang multi level marketing (MLM). Tapi, paparnya, bisnisnya dijalankan melalui fasilitas internet.
"Jadi, kalau memang dianggap menyalahi aturan, tolong disebutkan yang mana. Saya berani adu pendapat dengan mereka, bisnis ini murni perdagangan dan bukan MLM," tegasnya.
Meski begitu, Pria berkacamata ini juga tidak membantah jika dikatakan kegiatan usaha yang dijalankan tidak memiliki landasan hukum. Berbeda dengan perusahaan MLM yang harus memiliki izin usaha penjualan berjenjang (IUPB), Probest hanya mengantongi SIUP perdagangan biasa.
"Kami memang bergerak di bidang e-business, bukan MLM. Meski belum ada undang-undangnya, apa yang kami lakukan ini tidak melanggar hukum," katanya. more

2003-03-29T01:13:00.000-08:00

Ratusan orang tertipu bisnis Probest
(Surya)
Puluhan orang rame-rame mendatang kantor Probest, sebuah perusahaan internasional yang memasarkan berbagai jenis barang, di Jl Kartini 163, Kamis (27/3).
Nasabah perusahaan ini jumlahnya ratusan, mereka merasa ditipu. mereka menderita kerugian mulai Rp 25 juta- Rp 100 juta per orang. Para nasabah dijanjikan bisa mendapatkan poin loyalty (bukan royalty) dari nilai belanja barang yang ditawarkan Probest lewat internet. Pada tahap akhir, poin loyalty akan diakumulasikan, hingga bisa mendapatkan dua kali lipat modal yang dibelanjakan. Tahap akhir itu bervariasi sesuai paket barang yang dipesan, mulai 10 bulan hingga 12 bulan.
Namun setelah setahun berjalan, paket barang yang dipesan nasabah tak pernah dikirim sesuai yang dijanjikan. Begitu pula janji poin loyalty, ternyata cuma omong belaka.
Arik Wisnu, 23, warga Injoko, misalnya, mengaku tertipu sekitar Rp 120 juta untuk memesan tiga paket produk Pro Best selama 2002. Sedangkan Ny Evi, warga Rungkut, harus kehilangan Rp 50 juta.
Para nasabah, kemarin menuntut pengembalian modal, dan perusahaan janji mengembalikan 50 persen uang nasabah dalam jangka waktu setahun. Itupun dengan syarat, nasabah mampu mencari nasabah baru atau down line seperti dalam bisnis multi level.
"Ini kan sama dengan bohong. Uang yang dikembalikan nanti itu, uang dari pelanggan yang kita rekrut. Kan sama saja menyuruh kami menipu orang lain," keluh Subagio, warga Surabaya yang mengaku tertipu Rp 27 juta. more

2003-03-29T01:09:00.000-08:00

Blaming Game
Malapratik Mitra Probest Harus Diperiksa
(Media Indonesia)
Direktur Bina Pengawasan Barang Beredar dan Jasa Depperindag Budi Dharmadi menyatakan pemeriksaan kebenaran terjadinya malapraktik atas sosialisasi program Probest International Indonesia oleh mitra bisnis di level bawah harus dilakukan.
Hal tersebut menanggapi pernyataan Presiden Direktur Probest International Indonesia Burhan Sofian yang mengatakan terjadi malapraktik tentang sosialisasi sharing profit dalam sistem marketing di jajaran mitra bisnis level bawah yang menjanjikan keuntungan berlipat ganda. more

2003-03-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

Polisi Minta Anggota Probest Segera Lapor
(Media Indonesia)
Masyarakat yang dirugikan dalam skema bisnis PT Probest International diminta segera mengadu ke pihak kepolisian karena kasus ini merupakan delik aduan. Pemerintah akan mencabut izin usaha Probest jika terbukti perusahaan itu melakukan penipuan sehingga merugikan masyarakat.
Meski dari pengaduan korban penipuan tersebut belum menemukan tindakan pidana, penyidik itu mencurigai adanya manuver yang dilakukan pihak Probest. Pasalnya, dalam perjanjian calon nasabah ada poin yang menyebutkan pihak Probest akan bebas dari kewajibannya bila perusahaannya ditutup oleh pemerintah bila terjadi suatu kerusuhan, politik, atau hal lainnya.
Dia mengakui pihak Probest cukup cerdas dalam menjalankan praktik bisnis tersebut, apalagi Indonesia belum memiliki perangkat undang-undang tentang e-commerce atau bisnis lewat internet.
Ditambahkannya, polisi juga tidak bisa menyeret Probest melanggar UU Perbankan No 10/1998 jo UU No 7/1992 Pasal 46 ayat 1 dan 2 tentang Bank Gelap, sesuai dengan tuntutan Soelidarmi. "Kita akan memantau perkembangan di lapangan. Karena itu, bagi masyarakat yang dirugikan, silakan melaporkan ke kepolisian,'' katanya.
Sedikitnya Rp268,6 miliar dana masyarakat tersangkut di Probest perusahaan e-business yang menerapkan sistem multi level marketing (MLM). Perusahaan ini juga dinilai telah menyalahi izin usaha yang dikeluarkan pemerintah. more

2003-03-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

Kasus Dugaan Penipuan
Polda Diminta Panggil Dirut Probest
(Detik)
Penyidikan kasus dugaan penipuan yang dilakukan PT Probest International Indonesia (Probest) belum juga menunjukkan perkembangan. Para investor yang menjadi korban PT Probest berharap Polda segera memanggil paksa Direktur Utama Probest Burhan Sofian.
"Kami sudah menanyakan ke penyidik tentang perkembangan penyelidikan kasus Probest. Dikatakan akan dilakukan pemanggilan paksa terhadap Burhan Sofian karena dipanggil tidak datang. Kami mengharapkan polisi segera memanggil Burhan," kata Sahara Pangaribuan, pengacara dari salah seorang investor yang dirugikan, Prihandono Layaruz. more

2003-03-12T04:06:00.000-08:00

Masih Ada Diskriminasi
Sejumlah Atlet Mengadu ke Wapres
(Detik)
Sejumlah atlet dan mantan atlet bulutangkis Indonesia menemui Wakil Presiden Hamzah Haz di Istana Wapres, Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Jakarta, Rabu (12/3/2003). Mereka mengeluhkan mengapa masih dipertanyakannya surat bukti kewarganegaraan RI (SBKRI) padahal surat tersebut sudah tak dibutuhkan lagi.
Mereka juga menyampaikan keluhan dari teman-teman sesama atlet bulutangkis yang sudah pensiun dan kini menjalani dunia usaha. "Pada saat mengajukan kredit ke bank, mereka dipertanyakan SKBRI-nya. Bahkan untuk putra-putri yang akan masuk sekolah juga masih dimintai SKBRI dari ayahnya," jelas Tan Joe Hok.
Menanggapi hal itu Wapres Hamzah Haz yang didampingi Menkeh HAM Yusril Ihza Mahendra mengaku terkejut, karena sesuai peraturan SKBRI sudah tak diperlukan lagi. Sementara itu Direktur Luar Negeri Persatuan Bulutangkis Seluruh Indonesia (PBSI) Sulistyanto berkesimpulan, hal ini disebabkan kurangnya sosialisasi kepada WNI keturunan dan masyarakat bahwa WNI keturunan yang lahir di Indonesia tak lagi memerlukan SKBRI, sepanjang mempunyai akte kelahiran dan Kartu Tanda Penduduk (KTP).
Sulistiyanto juga menambahkan, menkeh HAM akan membuat surat perintah kepada jajarannya untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut. Wapres meminta menkeh HAM juga berkoordinasi dengan pihak terkait, termasuk sosialisasi ke perbankan dan sekolah. more

2003-02-02T01:20:00.000-08:00

Suit moves ahead against Sia lawyers
(Honolulu Star Bulletin)
A lawsuit that accuses a prominent local attorney and a high-powered national law firm of conspiring to help imprisoned businessman Sukamto Sia conceal assets from creditors is moving forward.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10 to decide whether the suit will be moved to U.S. District Court from U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The suit, filed last year by the trustee in Sia's pending bankruptcy case, accuses Honolulu lawyer Renton Nip and law firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson and Hand of aiding and abetting Sia in hiding millions of dollars in assets. Sia is serving a federal prison sentence through September 2004 after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud and wire fraud in 2001. more

2003-02-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

`Imlek' blessed, but equality still elusive
(Jakarta Post)
For the first time ever, President Megawati Soekarnoputri formalized Imlek as a national holiday.
However, the recognition feels superficial because discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians remains, and is even institutionalized by various discriminatory regulations.
One example is the Republic of Indonesia Citizenship Certificate (SBKRI), which is obligatory only for Chinese-Indonesians.
While the decree requiring ethnic Chinese to obtain an SBKRI has been revoked, the certificate is still required by many institutions, such as the immigration office and state universities.
"When I questioned them about that at the immigration office, they blasted me, saying, 'It was the minister who revoked it, so just go to the minister,'" said a Chinese-Indonesian man.
With the decree requiring a certificate officially revoked but some institutions still requiring it, the SBKRI has become that more difficult to obtain and the process the source of corruption.
According to data from non-governmental organization Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa (SNB), there were no fewer than 12 bureaucratic institutions involved in the process of issuing an SBKRI, before the certificate can be signed by the minister of justice and human rights.
These institutions are the neighborhood unit, the subdistrict office, the district office, the mayoralty office, the gubernatorial office, the police subprecinct, the police precinct, the city police headquarters, the prosecutor's office, the district court and finally the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
Only last year, top badminton player Hendrawan was only able to receive his SBKRI after President Megawati personally intervened. The most surprising aspect of the story, however, was not that Hendrawan had a difficult time obtaining a certificate but that he needed one in the first place, having represented Indonesia at numerous international events, including helping the country win last year's Thomas Cup world men's team championship.
Obtaining an SBKRI can cost up to several million rupiah, which is not a problem for wealthy Chinese-Indonesians. But for those who are poor, like the majority of the residents of Tegal Alur in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, the price is beyond their reach.
And because they do not have an SBKRI, many of them cannot obtain ID cards, making them practically "stateless".
"We cannot register our marriages and obtain marriage certificates. As a consequence, our children are declared born out of wedlock on their birth certificates," said Tjan E. Lie of Tegal Alur.
Chinese-Indonesian expert Andrie Wongso said the problem was a lack of technical instructions from high-ranking officials on how their subordinates should implement new decrees, like the revocation of the SBKRI.
"Why does the government fail to issue such instructions to make institutions comply with new decrees?" Andrie asked.
Government officials, however, do not seem to be putting much effort into ending this problem.
Abdul Gani Abdullah, director general of regulations at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, had a difficult time explaining the SBKRI controversy recently.
"Well, there was a case when a Chinese-Indonesian applied for immigration papers. But the person could not speak Indonesian at all, or any other native language. Yes, he had a legal birth certificate but it was questionable whether he was truly an Indonesian citizen," he said during a recent discussion.
"It is true that the SBKRI is no longer required. Well, if there are still some people who ask for the paper, just inform us. We will talk about this during discussion of the upcoming citizenship bill at the House of Representatives," he said. more

2003-02-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Menjadi China di Indonesia
(Media Indonesia Editorial)
PERAYAAN Tahun Baru China atau yang populer disebut dengan Imlek marak di mana-mana. Bersamaan dengan itu, pertunjukan barongsai dan berbagai bentuk kebudayaan China lainnya menyita perhatian publik. Ini sekaligus menandai kegembiraan etnis China karena Imlek pada 2003 yang jatuh pada 1 Februari ditetapkan sebagai hari libur nasional.
Hari raya Imlek sebagai libur nasional adalah sebuah pengakuan terhadap eksistensi kultural anak bangsa. Pengakuan ini adalah kemajuan berpikir luar biasa di kalangan penguasa setelah China dan segala konotasi yang melekat di dalamnya dianggap sebagai bahaya selama lebih dari tiga dasawarsa.
Sekarang adalah era kemerdekaan bagi etnis China di Indonesia. Tetapi, apakah problematik China di negeri ini selesai? Ternyata belum sepenuhnya.
Walaupun secara kultural orang-orang China di Indonesia memperoleh kemerdekaannya kembali, secara sosial politik belum. Banyak contoh di bidang ini.
Salah satu yang masih mengganjal adalah hak sipil mereka sebagai warga negara. Terhadap orang-orang China masih diberlakukan surat bukti kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia (SKBRI). SBKRI ini adalah diskriminasi yang tidak boleh lagi dipertahankan. Mengapa terhadap orang Arab atau India yang menjadi warga negara Indonesia tidak diperlakukan ketentuan serupa?
Diskriminasi lainnya adalah pembebanan biaya lebih bagi orang-orang China yang membutuhkan pelayanan publik. Urusan apa pun di negeri ini, selama itu menyangkut orang China, pasti akan lebih mahal. Ada kesan seolah-olah orang China memiliki kelebihan uang sehingga pantas untuk diberikan kepada pejabat yang korup. Orang-orang China dinilai pantas untuk diperas.
Namun, persoalan terpenting etnis China di negeri ini tidak terletak pada kebijakan semata. Karena, sejauh menyangkut kebijakan publik, bisa dicabut atau dibatalkan, semisal masalah SBKRI. Yang jauh lebih genting adalah perkara-perkara yang tidak tertulis. Yaitu, soal bagaimana menjadi Indonesia.
Di bidang ekonomi, China dan Indonesia seperti kisah perselingkuhan. Secara formal perekonomian negeri ini menjadi hak istri pertama, pribumi. Tetapi, dalam praktik, para penyelenggara negara lebih senang berselingkuh dengan istri kedua, China. Perselingkuhan ini selesai apabila tidak ada lagi sebutan pribumi dan nonpribumi. Yang ada cuma warga negara Indonesia.
China dan Indonesia masih seperti air dan minyak. Belum laksana ikan dan air. Orang-orang China masih merasa Indonesia sebagai nama yang tidak memberi kebanggaan. Ketika berada di Singapura, misalnya, mereka lebih senang menyebut diri China Indonesia ketimbang Indonesia.
Ini, tentu, tidak menutup kenyataan bahwa banyak warga etnis China yang sangat fanatik dengan keindonesiaan. Juga, tidak membutakan mata kita semua bahwa banyak juga Indonesia pribumi yang lebih senang menggadaikan harga diri negeri ini kepada negara lain.
Menjadi Indonesia, ternyata, lebih mudah dicapai dengan membiarkan semua etnis di negeri ini bangga pada etnisitasnya. Mencurigai etnis tertentu, terbukti, berdampak buruk bagi keindonesiaan.
Karena itu, kepada orang-orang China yang merayakan Imlek, kita mengucapkan selamat. Selamat menjadi China dan selamat menjadi Indonesia. more

2003-01-26T06:35:00.000-08:00

BERITA ABU ABU AS PUBLIC SITE IS OVER AND OUT!

Now Berita Abu Abu is only a place for me to enter any interesting news unregullary for my own interest. So don't expect this blog will be updated frequently.
Thanks for your support all this time.
my email is beritaindonesia@eudoramail.com

2003-01-24T18:52:00.000-08:00

US warns expatriates
(The Age)
The United States is advising its expatriate citizens around the world to be prepared for emergency evacuations from their country of residence in the event of war, natural disasters or other unforeseen circumstances, the State Department said.
The department said it had sent cables to all US diplomatic missions abroad, instructing them to alert Americans in their jurisdictions to be ready for any eventuality amid increasing signs that military action in Iraq is looming.
The cable provides a sample message for the embassies to impart, including advising people to store prescription drugs on hand, to ensure that passports and other documents are valid and to maintain adequate food supplies, she said.
The cable notes that US citizens had in the past year been forced to hastily leave countries such as the Central African Republic, Indonesia, Israel, Ivory Coast and Venezuela. more

2003-01-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

US pact angers Indonesia critics
(FT)
Indonesian human rights groups reacted angrily yesterday to a decision by the US Congress to restore funding for a controversial training programme, a step towards the resumption of military ties between the two countries.
The US suspended ties after atrocities committed by Indonesian militias in East Timor following independence in 1999. But the decision by the US not to strike out $400,000 (£246,500) for the Indonesian portion of the international military education and training (IMET) programme is likely to lead to a resumption of ties despite doubts over the Indonesian military's efforts at reform. more

2003-01-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

FBI joins hunt for Freeport mine attackers
(ABC News)
FBI agents have joined an Indonesian investigation into the killing last August of two American schoolteachers in the restive province of Papua.
The move follows Jakarta's failure to charge anyone over the attack.
A US official said last week a proper resolution of the case would help ties between the United States and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
One Indonesian was also killed when gunmen ambushed a convoy of mainly American schoolteachers and their families near a giant US-owned copper and gold mine.
The two FBI agents held initial talks with I Made Mangku Pastika, police chief of Papua at the time of the attack and who now leads the Bali bombing investigation, and another senior officer.
Both agents refused to comment after the talks, although a police spokesman had said they would be briefed over the case. more

2003-01-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

Consultative Group for Indonesia Urges Government To Maintain Stability and Deepen Reform
(World Bank Group)
At the end of two days of deliberations, the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), comprising representatives of 30 bilateral donors and multilateral agencies called on Indonesia to redouble its efforts to improve the climate for investment as a means to stimulate growth and poverty reduction.
The meeting was also attended by 11 Government Ministers and representatives of civil society. The 12th meeting of the CGI noted significant progress in stabilizing the economy but pointed to a large unfinished agenda of reforms, especially those needed to deal with corruption, governance, forestry and legal reforms. The CGI also congratulated the Government on signing a ceasefire in Aceh, and for its response to the Bali bombing of last October. Donors stressed that continued attention to security would be an important ingredient of rebuilding confidence in Indonesia as a tourist destination. more

2003-01-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

Manulife Judges Exonerated
(Laksamana)
Justice Minister Yusril Izha Mahendra on Monday (20/1/03) denied the government had influenced the Supreme Court's ruling. "The three judges of Manulife can return to work because they have not been found to be involved in bribery. The council of honour did not find evidence that they took bribes,"he was quoted as saying by the The Australian Financial Review
However, the judges apparently remain subject to the separate police investigation, the outcome of which is not yet clear.
Nonetheless, the government's support for the Supreme Court's decision to the let the Manulife judges off the hook is hardly likely to inspire confidence among foreign investors in the Indonesian justice system. more

2003-01-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

Indonesia needs to collect a debt
(IHT)
Governments do not like to close down big businesses. But that is what international donors will probably demand of the Indonesian government at a meeting on Bali this Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss a new foreign aid package.
The big businesses in question are the debt-ridden timber companies that borrowed billions of dollars in the twilight years of the Suharto regime. The loans fueled massive growth in timber-processing industries, particularly pulp and paper. Indonesia lost millions of hectares of rain forest, and wood processing industries now need three to four times more wood than the forests can sustainably produce. more

2003-01-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Indonesia to Ask Donors For Nearly $3B
(VOA)
Indonesia's finance minister says Jakarta will ask international donors for nearly $3 billion in aid this year.
Speaking at the start of a meeting of Indonesia's aid donors in Bali, Finance Minister Boediono said the proposed amount would be used to service Jakarta's foreign debt and eliminate its budget deficit.
Donors appear set to approve a $2.5 billion aid package when their meeting ends Wednesday. more

2003-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Says Wants No IMF Pact Extension
(Reuters)
Indonesia's government, under pressure from legislators, said on Tuesday it wanted to break free of commitments to the IMF for the first time since the Asian financial crisis savaged the country five years ago.
Dorodjatun's comments came one day after the government caved in to nationwide protests and rolled back its most recent price increases on key utilities such as fuel and electricity -- a key plank of economic reforms agreed with the IMF.
Market players said Indonesia's improving foreign exchange reserves, more stable currency and rosier budget deficit position, might have given the government the confidence to consider ending its IMF program.
"The budget deficit was below target last year and with the additional donor funds Indonesia would not need IMF money. Also, local debt markets and Indonesia's strengthened foreign exchange position -- helped by oil revenue windfalls -- would also provide ample leeway for the government to meet foreign debt repayments and finance its budget deficit," said Pieter van der Schaft, regional fixed income analyst at Barclays Capital. more

2003-01-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Indonesia caves in over price subsidy
(The Age)
Indonesia, despite certain criticism from its international financial backers, is set to abandon fuel price rises introduced on January 1 as small but persistent demonstrations around the country enter their third week.
The Indonesian cabinet was meeting late yesterday to decide how to undo the decision to eliminate subsidies, which saw prices increase at the start of the year from between 2 to 22 per cent.
The move to restore fuel subsidies comes just days after the government scrapped 15 per cent increases in telephone charges that were intended to help finance an expansion of the phone system, which reaches only 3 per cent of households.
Electricity price rises of 6 per cent remain in place although they also look vulnerable as demonstrators are demanding that they be scrapped.
The backdowns have alarmed Western diplomats and are certain to be discussed at a meeting in Bali today when donor countries and the International Monetary Fund will decide how much they will lend Indonesia over the next year to help cover its budget deficit.
The meeting, chaired by the World Bank, will be concerned that scrapping the price rises will undermine the integrity of Indonesia's budget, which is based on revenue that the price rises were supposed to raise. more

2003-01-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Indonesia backtracks on utility price increases
(Asian Business Strategy)
Today Baihaqi Hakim, president of the government Pertamina oil company, stated that fuel increases would be reduced substantially.
Introduced or announced in the new year, utility price increases were justified on the basis of contributing to paying back loans to international agencies and reducing national debt.
Reportedly, President Megawati is suffering from lower popularity in the run up to an election in 2004, and speculation is that these concerns are contributing to the back downs on price rises.
The Indonesian economy has performed a slow, yet substantive recovery in recent years, but that recovery has slowed in relative terms after the political instability reduced. Foreign debt remains a dead weight around the shoulders of the economy and the political leadership, as it dog paddles its way back to a competitive position with other South East Asian nations. more

2003-01-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

Indonesians face a painful truth - the CIA didn't do it
(SMH)
Conspiracy theories blossomed after the Bali bombings in a country that refused to believe Muslims would carry out such an attack.
In a nation where conspiracy theories and rice are two of life's staples, Indonesians appear to be changing their habits.
You can still get rice with your Kentucky Fried, but conspiracy theories are suddenly harder to find, at least as far as the Bali bombings are concerned.
In the days and weeks after Bali, the CIA, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and unidentified foreigners were all accused of planning and executing the attacks.
Even Vice-President Hamzah Haz jumped into the issue assuring his countrymen: "The Bali bomb blast I'm sure was not an act of Muslims."
By blowing up Bali nightclubs it would be proved right and thereby help ensure a crackdown on Indonesian Islamic groups while also building support for its war on terrorism.
With no tangible evidence, even airing such long-bow theories might seem absurd to the West.
Indonesian police confused things further with their doubtful finding that the bomb was made of RDX, an explosive they said was "usually used by foreign military".
When police arrested their first suspect, Amrozi, and accused him of the bombings, the scepticism seemed to grow.
The crushing weight of this evidence has silenced the Indonesian sceptics - too many people have given too many common accounts for them now to be seriously questioned. more

2003-01-19T17:02:00.000-08:00

Support for Indonesia's Megawati Waning
(Go Carolinas)
When she became president 18 months ago, Megawati Sukarnoputri was lauded as a champion of the poor, a mother figure who promised to look after the ``orang kecil''--the downtrodden little guy.
But mention her name in the narrow alleys of Indonesia's hideously overcrowded slums and impoverished rural villages nowadays and you'll hear cries of ``sellout'' and ``traitor.''
``I supported Megawati but I'll never do it again,'' said Nemah, a 52-year-old mother of five who lives in Tanah Abang, a gritty Jakarta neighborhood. ``What for? There is no proof the government is there for us.''
The trigger for such animosity has been price hikes this month for fuel, electricity and telephone service. Megawati's government and foreign lenders say those things can no longer be heavily subsidized by a state weighed down by huge debt and budget deficits. more

2003-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

Graft worse under Mega, says agency
(Straits Times)
Graft among state officials and politicians got worse under President Megawati Sukarnoputri, says a monitoring body.
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki says Ms Megawati does not plan to pursue corruption cases against cronies of the New Order despite the fact that it was widespread graft that led to the downfall of President Suharto in 1998.
During Suharto's administration 'only Suharto's cronies were able to commit corruption' but the succeeding era 'has opened the door for all politicians at all levels to engage in corruption', he told a press conference on Friday.
'The rampant corruption of the past was more centralised because of Suharto's strong power, but the administration of Megawati has promoted corruption in the spirit of mutual cooperation,' he said.
Mr Teten said regional autonomy, introduced in 2001, had helped spread graft down to the local government level.
'I'm not saying we would prefer to live under the New Order regime, but one thing is for sure - corruption now takes place at all political and civil service levels,' he said. more

2003-01-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

Linking Bin Laden to Bali
(Time)
Indonesian officials have been reluctant to make a direct link between the bombings last October in Bali and al-Qaeda, the terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden. Many of those arrested were members of Jemaah Islamiah (J.I.), an Islamic militant group with adherents throughout Southeast Asia. But as recently as Jan. 8, Indonesia's top police official said, "We haven't come to any conclusion yet whether there is a link between Jemaah Islamiah and al-Qaeda."
Some of those accused of the bombings, however, paint a very different picture. The 27-page confession to local police by Ali Gufron, better known by his J.I. code name Mukhlas, refers to the time he met bin Laden in Afghanistan during a three-year stay there.
In the confession, a copy of which TIME has seen, Mukhlas says he believes the $25,000 that he and other plotters were given for the Bali operation by Riduan Isamuddin, J.I.'s operations chief also known as Hambali, may have originally come from bin Laden. Bali investigators are also looking into the possibility that a hardened al-Qaeda operative named Syafullah—a Yemeni who entered Indonesia on a fake U.S. visa—may have been in charge of mixing the chemicals used in the bombs. Mukhlas says that he, Hambali (who is still on the lam) and other J.I. leaders maintained close ties with al-Qaeda from the late 1980s on, and the official police summary of Mukhlas' interrogation states baldly, "Jemaah Islamiah's jihad operations were funded by al-Qaeda." more

2003-01-18T23:26:00.000-08:00

Deep Thoughts:
Why Indonesians think US Imigration law is bad, while Indonesian Imigration discriminate Chinese-Indonesians so badly with full of corrupt imigration policies.
"Ethnic Chinese were forced to have a special code on their mandatory identity cards and passports identifying their descent. This code, which has been compared to the use of the Jewish star in Nazi Germany, made them subject to extortion and abuse by government officials and hoodlums alike. Whenever applying for business licenses, passports, legal papers and other documents, they were usually forced to pay additional illegal fees.
This regulation was revoked last year but ethnic Chinese say many village heads still issue identity cards with the discriminatory code to signify the bearer is fair game for extortion." more
Moreover the Indonesian-Borned Chinese still have to add several more steps in making passport or any other official documents.
As an ethnic Chinese, it is: Pay up and get paperwork 'expedited'. Refuse to pay, and face probing questions and hassle.
'I travel frequently to other Asian countries for business. I often get this treatment when I come home. They see me, and they take me to a side room,' he said.
'I know what they want, and they know I know. I just smile and take out my wallet. They stamp my passport and let me go.'
Indonesia's ethnic Chinese complain of discrimination in their own country even four years after the fall of former president Suharto and the beginning of the reform era.
For example, processing citizenship papers - such as in the case of badminton star Hendrawan, who saved his country's Thomas Cup bid last weekend - or other basic documents could prove to be an arduous process which takes years to complete.
Government universities, it is said, reject ethnic Chinese students, who can be spotted easily by information on applications: Their names, special characters on their identification cards, their religious affiliations, and so on.
But some prominent figures within the minority group also say that while racism exists and presents hurdles for the ethnic-Chinese community here, the true problem is Indonesia's rampant corruption.
And the ethnic Chinese, these observers argued, make themselves easy targets. They contribute to the problem by reaching for their wallets too quickly when facing potential trouble.
Mr Enggartiasto Lukito, a politician from the Golkar party who is also one of the few ethnic-Chinese members of Parliament, told The Straits Times that corruption, not racism, sits at the root of many situations that can be construed as discriminatory. more

2003-01-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Advises Citizens to Delay US Travel
(VOA)
Indonesia is the latest to country to object to a U.S. policy requiring certain foreign male visitors to register with immigration authorities. The government in Jakarta Friday, advised its citizens to postpone nonessential travel to the United States in order to avoid unwanted difficulties. Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda sought clarification on the issue during a meeting today with visiting U.S. envoy James Kelly. Thursday, a spokesman for the minister called the policy discriminatory. more

2003-01-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

Akbar Tanjung Sentence Upheld, to Appeal
(Reuters)
An Indonesian high court on Friday upheld parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung's three-year jail sentence for corruption.
Sentences for three other figures in the case were also upheld.
"Akbar Tandjung and others were found guilty on corruption charges collectively and sentenced to three years jail for them and (fines of) 10 million rupiah ($1,128) each," the court's head judge said.
A member of Tandjung's Golkar party said the powerful politician would now take his appeal to the Supreme Court. more

2003-01-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Decries U.S. Visitor-Registration Move
(Ledger Enquirer)
Indonesia, an ally in the U.S. war on terror, lashed out Friday at its inclusion on a list of countries whose citizens must register and be fingerprinted when visiting the United States.
The requirement, which applies to males 16 years old and over, is part of a controversial U.S. anti-terrorism program and has been applied to visitors from various countries, most of them Muslim.
Asked to comment on the move, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said it was discriminatory.
"We find it difficult to comprehend, and we deeply regret this decision as it is discriminatory in the sense that it targeted certain countries without a clear reason," he said.
"It also has potential to cause problems to individuals who had nothing to do with the terrorism issue." more

2003-01-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Isu Panas : Mega Ancam Mundur
(Detik)
Isu panas ini mulai merebak Jumat (17/01/2003) pagi. Hingga berita ini diturunkan isu tersebut terus menjalar. Redaksi detikcom pun tidak sedikit penerima telepon yang menanyakan kebenaran isu tersebut. Telepon yang bernada konfirmasi tersebut umumnya justru datang dari kalangan pengusaha besar, atau dari elit politik yang nama dan tampangnya sering nongol di televisi ataupun suratkabar. more

2003-01-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Indonesia redefines luxury
(Asia Times)
The Indonesian government raised fuel prices, electricity rates, and telephone charges at the start of the year in an effort to slash expensive subsidies and help ailing state-owned utilities.
However, these measures would have hit businesses hard and a stimulus package of tax breaks quickly followed. Twenty categories of products, including televisions, mobile phones, food and beverages, are no longer considered luxury items.
The measures will help reduce the cost of the products, enable manufacturers to compete against cheaper smuggled products and help increase domestic demand. The package will cost the government about Rp6 trillion (US$660 million) in lost tax revenue. more

2003-01-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

Men from Five More Nations to Register in U.S.
(Washington Post)
Men from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait will be added to the list of foreign visitors who must register with the U.S. government under a controversial anti- terrorism program, Justice Department officials said on Thursday.
They also said nationals from the initial five countries covered under the program -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria -- who missed the deadline will get a second chance to register.
The program also required the visitors to submit to fingerprinting and photographing when they entered the United States.
The program, initially announced in June, was prompted by concern about the lack of records on tourists, students and other foreign visitors after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The foreign visitors must provide detailed information about their background and the purpose of their visit to the United States, must periodically verify their locations and activities and must confirm their departure from the United States.
Foreign male visitors from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait will have from Feb. 24 to March 28 to register, the officials said. They must have entered the United States before October and will remain in the country at least until March 28. more

2003-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Investors desert Indonesia as rot of corruption sets in
(SMH)
Millions of Indonesians face poverty as investors continue to desert the country largely because of rampant corruption and collapsing infrastructure, a new report says.
While the Government was praised for keeping its budget under control and bringing down the level of debt, the World Bank report on Indonesia released yesterday said the country had to attract more
investors.
The report came as the Government caved in to demonstrators protesting against rises in the price of fuel, electricity and telephone introduced on January 1 as a way of removing subsidies on these items, but which mainly benefit the wealthy.
The World Bank director for Indonesia, Andrew Steer, said it was vital that the Government continue its program of economic reforms, including the removal of these subsidies, but he declined to criticise the decision to abandon the new phone charges approved by parliament last year.
With only 3 per cent of homes having access to a phone, plans to use the extra phone revenue to expand the network are now on hold.
Indonesia's investment climate is deteriorating and ranks among the worst in the world, the report says, with spending on mining exploration dropping from $280 million a year in 1996 to about $36 million last year.
A big part of the problem remains corruption in all levels of government, which the report says is getting worse despite measures which have helped highlight the issue.
With so many people living so close to poverty, the World Bank says any disaster or even a small food price rise has the capacity to cause widespread hardship.
It estimates the slowdown in economic growth from the Bali bombing pushed an extra million Indonesians into poverty. more

2003-01-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

BP Indonesia gas contract must be reviewed, says minister
(Jakarta Post)
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday that the government planned to review gas supply contracts with BP Indonesia for the Pagerungan gas field in Madura Island, reported Antara.
Purnomo claimed that when the contract was made, the structure of the gas market was still monopolistic and gave gas producers a stronger bargaining position against consumers.
At the time, he claimed, the government was forced into signing the contract because East Java province badly needed the gas from the Pagerungan gas field to run its booming industry. more

2003-01-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

Economic Plan Formed, Funds Boom
(Laksamana)
The government has set a three-point economic plan for 2003, topped by moves to correct Indonesia’s negative investment climate, boosting non-oil and gas exports and thereby increasing job opportunities.
A meeting chaired by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti Tuesday (14/1/03) set management of domestic and foreign debt to support fiscal sustainability as the second priority.
This included the preparation of an exit plan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and management of bank recapitalization debt, a statement said.
Third on the list of priorities was maintenance, rehabilitation and development of vital infrastructure. more

2003-01-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

IMF reviews Indonesia reforms; protests continue
(Reuters)
The top IMF official in Indonesia, David Nellor, said technical discussions with government officials had begun and the formal review of the reforms would be held within a few days.
Activists have staged almost daily protests in the past week over the price hikes, part of the government's plan to phase out subsidies and help bridge the budget deficit. Thousands of protesters knocked down the gates of parliament on Wednesday.
Price hikes are a sensitive issue in poverty-stricken Indonesia and sparked violent demonstrations in 1998 which helped topple ex-autocrat Suharto under whose 32-year rule subsidies were introduced.
Some of those price rises had come after IMF-prescribed reforms in exchange for a bail-out following the Asian financial crisis.
Nellor, IMF senior resident representative in Jakarta, declined to comment on the current protests but when asked about the impact of the hikes on inflation he said: "At this stage there is no need to revise inflation forecasts for 2003." more

2003-01-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

Pedophile Sites in Indonesia
(SMH)
The British Operation Ore began last year as a spin-off from the United States' Operation Avalanche. Avalanche, which involves six federal agencies, began when the US Postal Service intercepted a suspect package sent to Thomas Reedy - a former nurse - and Janice Reedy, a computer programmer, in Fort Worth, Texas. From about 1998 the couple were making millions of dollars each month after establishing themselves as a credit card cyberspace "gateway" called "candyman" for 5700 pedophile sites (titles included I am Fourteen and Child Rape), most of them based in Indonesia and Russia. more

2003-01-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

US, Indonesia's military closer to renewing ties
(Asia Times)
The US Congress may vote as early as this week to restore a military training program for Indonesia despite uncertainties about the Indonesian military's human-rights record, according to House and Senate aides and observers of US-Indonesian relations. But passage of the Bush administration's US$400,000 request for International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia, while highly symbolic, may not guarantee the immediate start of the program.
Instead, the administration of President George W Bush may delay implementation until the full results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) investigations into the August 31 killings of two Americans near the FreeportMcMoRan mine in West Papua are made public and Indonesia has taken action to punish those responsible. "When the training commences may be based on the outcome of this case," said an aide to a US lawmaker who has been critical of the Indonesian military, known as TNI. "Just because its authorized doesn't mean it will resume right away." The FBI report, however, is unlikely to be released before the appropriations bills are considered, he added.
Some critics of US policy fear the administration is trying to find a face-saving way to restore military aid to Jakarta by blaming "renegade" units of the Indonesian military for the West Papua ambush, which also killed an Indonesian citizen and left several survivors seriously injured. "If the administration signs off on that, we're essentially conspiring in a cover-up to prevent full accountability by people responsible for the murder of US citizens," said Ed McWilliams, a former State Department official who served as a political officer in the US Embassy in Jakarta during the 1990s. more

2003-01-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Will Settle IMF Debts Within 7 Years
(Tempo)
Kuntjoro-Jakti said that IMF loans amounting to US$13 billion must be repaid and up to now, the government has returned around US$3 billion.
Meanwhile, the rest of the funds are saved in the form of gold and foreign currency reserves at Bank Indonesia (BI).
However, Kuntjoro-Jakti confirmed that the cooperation with the IMF would be ended at the end of this year.
Therefore, the government will prepare an exit strategy for the end of IMF’s working period in Indonesia, that is by carrying out ‘G to G’ diplomacy to gain support from donor countries.
According to Kuntjoro-Jakti, the IMF has played a very important role during the economic crisis in Indonesia.
“The IMF has been like Indonesia’s solvency guard,” he said. more

2003-01-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Pertamina To Open Iraq Office In March
(Dow Jones)
Indonesia's national oil and gas company Pertamina (P.PTM) will open an office in Iraq in March prior to starting oil exploration there, a company official said Tuesday.
But Pertamina's upstream director Iin Arifin Takhyan told Dow Jones Newswires the company still hasn't set a date to start exploration in the Western Desert block as this depends on developments in the conflict between the U.S. and Iraq.
"We may withhold exploration if the U.S. attacks Iraq," Iin said. more

2003-01-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

'Corruption' in Indonesia logging war
(BBC)
Rampant corruption in Indonesia is hampering attempts to tackle the problem of illegal logging, according to a report.
Campaigners claim up to 70% of Indonesia's timber comes from illegal sources.
According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), government efforts to tackle the problem are being undermined by widespread corruption.
"It's completely out of control," he said. "If you go out into any forested area, you will see illegal saw mills, you will see illegal loggers.
"It's not difficult. They're absolutely everywhere. They're walking through police posts.
"No one's doing anything about this, other than taking their backhanders and letting business go on as usual." more

2003-01-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

Bomb in Indonesia's Maluku sparks mob attack
(The Star)
Unidentified assailants hurled a bomb at a bus in Indonesia's religiously divided Maluku province on Tuesday, sparking a mob attack that left two people injured, police said.
No one was hurt in the blast in the provincial capital, Ambon. It was the first violent incident in several months in the region, which has seen three years of bloody Christian Muslim violence.
The explosion occurred in a Muslim part of Ambon shortly after four government ministers left the city, said police Col. Usman Nasution. He said there appeared to be no connection between the attack and the ministerial visit.
Shortly after the blast, which damaged the rear of the bus, a mob of angry local residents threw stones at two people in a car whom they suspected were behind the explosion. more

2003-01-14T04:44:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey Winters' Indonesia Political Landscape
I would like to offer the following observations:
1. Party loyalty remains relatively weak in Indonesia. The electorate is fluid partly because the parties themselves have not achieved Definition (ideology, clear statement of principles, promises about the future), Motivation (linking party support to expected or actual change/benefit for supporters), and Participation (mobilization, activism, grassroots engagement). Most parties have not even tried to make progress toward greater DMP.
2. As the number of parties proliferates, all existing major parties have fragmented (either openly or just below the surface). For this reason all of the major parties are weaker and in greater disarray. This is a common phenomenon when parties lack ideological definition. Parties operate mainly as shells for grabbing power. Fights among party elites are almost exclusively about dividing the spoils and about personalities (egos, jealousies, and personal loyalties).
3. As of January 2003, indications are that all the major parties will receive a smaller percentage than they did in 1999. PDI-P is split and
Megawati's performance has been poor. She can no longer campaign
credibly as a reformist. She has completely ignored the 27 July emotional base/strength of her party and embraced the New Order bureaucracy and the TNI (both utterly unreformed). For those who really believed in the P for "perjuangan," alienation runs deep. The PDIP still has its core nationalist base, but it could see a drop of 10 percentage points. Golkar is also split, Akbar Tanjung is a convicted criminal (under appeal), and the party will not have the 1999 advantage of being in power and using dirty money again to run the election. Golkar could see a 5-8 point drop in 2004. PKB also split while its leading figure, Gus Dur, is perceived as having been an ineffective president. PKB could lose 2-4 percentage points. PAN also split and the party has lost its image as a broad-umbrella party and is now more narrowly Islamist (A.M. Fatwa, etc). Amien Rais, who cannot shake the image of being an inconsistent opportunist and has no mass base across the country, has likely peaked politically at his position of Speaker of the MPR (and he won't get it again). He will not be able to be kingmaker in 2004 as he was in 1999 with the Poros Tengah because PKB-Gus Dur was the real key to that alliance. PAN won only a small percentage of the vote in the last election and can expect to get even less in 2004. PPP also split, though this is offset slightly by having Hamzah Haz in the VP seat. If Haz runs for president it will be against Megawati and thus against his own government and role in it. Haz has very few ideas, and the ones he has take the country nowhere. PPP could lose 2-4 percentage points in 2004.
4. Estimated conservatively, between 20-30% of the vote that went to these major parties in 1999 is now free-floating and available to be grabbed. A key question is whether a single new emerging political force could grab it (Eros Djarot's PNBK, which has been gaining momentum fast?), or whether existing parties that had a weak showing in 1999 will do better (Partai Keadilan, for instance, could see its support base double or even triple in 2004). If the free-floating segment of the electorate gets divided in dozens of different directions, its impact on the big parties will obviously be less significant.
5. The key to grabbing the votes the major parties will lose in 2004 is having a genuine alternative available that the people can support with enthusiasm based on the DMP factors mentioned above. Money politics will not be enough to hold it together. Only a strong and inspiring (and genuinely reformist) political message/movement can serve as the glue to hold the pieces solid. This will not be easy given current levels of cynicism about "reformasi."
Concluding Remarks:
Polling Center Indonesia (PCI), one of the few professional companies assessing public opinion in Indonesia, has done surveys showing that 67.3% of people believe the Government could not eliminate corruption and 59.5% did not believe it could create jobs. This is a resounding vote of no-confidence.
PCI's survey in August 2002 showed that only 58% of people who voted for PDI-P in 1999 were certain they would do so again in 2004. The figures for the other parties were even lower: PAN (53), Golkar (52), PPP (48), PKB (40), and PBB (29). This reflects a deep sentiment of dissatisfaction with the performance of all the parties.
In the same survey, only 38% of voters said they would ‘definitely’ choose the same party in 2004 as in 1999. 10% said they would not vote, 34% responded that they were undecided (floating), and a full 18% said they would ‘definitely’ not choose the same party that they did on 1999. These figures represent a massive degree of fluidity.
Feelings of dissatisfaction regarding the current government under
President Megawati (PDI-P) are growing. In January 2003 there are already signs that opposition is mobilizing and the criticisms are mounting. PDI-P's single claim to legitimacy in the last election was the promise that corruption would be cleaned up. This has not happened. On the contrary, the public perception is spreading that the system has corrupted the PDI-P leadership rather than the PDI-P leadership coming in and cleaning up the system. In the rough-and- tumble politics of Indonesia, it does not matter whether these perceptions are backed up by facts and evidence. It is a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the PDI-P that the allegations are being made at all and that they are sticking and growing stronger.
Throughout most of 2002, the dominant view was that Megawati was assured a second term until 2009. The October 2002 Bali explosion marked the turning point (both domestically and internationally). Since then her government has been on a slide. As of January 2003, there are no longer any assurances that Megawati will win a second term. This perception is growing even within the PDI-P itself. Watch for a last minute attempt by the PDI-P in the August 2003 MPR session to block direct elections of the president.

2003-01-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

Megawati's position in jeopardy: Amien
(Jakarta Post)
...However, her long-time top opponent, Amien Rais, who chairs the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), said on Sunday the massive protests against the utility price hikes could put Megawati's position in jeopardy.
"I will not sacrifice myself for Mega," he said in response to escalating antigovernment protests.
Amien, who was one of those at the forefront of plots to oust Megawati's predecessor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid from power in 2001, did not deny that Megawati's future fate had been a topic of discussion by MPR leaders and other senior members.
"I will not make any predictions. However, based on the (historical) reality in any country that if antigovernment protests, which involve a broad spectrum of the community, gain momentum, it indicates the government concerned is in a vulnerable position," he was quoted as saying in Surakarta, Central Java, by the detik.com news website.
Amien added that should Megawati wish to survive until 2004, she had to bow soon to public demands for her government either to cancel or delay the increases. more

2003-01-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

Price hikes needed to end debt reliance: Megawati
(Business Times)
INDONESIA President Megawati Sukarnoputri defended for the first time yesterday her government's unpopular increases in fuel and power prices, arguing they were needed to end the country's reliance on foreign debt.
Protests have erupted across the vast South-east Asian nation over the past week, though they have been nothing like the wave of demonstrations that toppled the country's authoritarian former president Suharto four years ago over a similar issue.
Ms Megawati, speaking in front of tens of thousands of supporters of her Indonesian Democratic Party Struggle (PDI-P), acknowledged her decision was unpopular.
'I chose an unpopular but constructive policy for the long run, rather than opting for a populist step that may trouble us further,' she told her PDI-P's anniversary commemoration on the resort island of Bali. 'In the long run, we can reduce our foreign debt and no longer be tied up,' she said. more

2003-01-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Sickening Policy: Muslim Please Smoke... Marketing it with Qur'an Reading
NU launches own cigarette brand
(Straits Times)
Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has come up with its own brand of kretek cigarettes in an attempt to cash in on the industry's good business.
The Tali Jagat ('rope of the universe') kretek hit the market last week after it was launched in the town of Pasuruan, East Java.
Mr H. Sulaiman, the head of NU's Sirkah Muawwanah cooperative in Pasuruan, was quoted by Radar Bromo daily as saying: 'NU has a lot of members in Pasuruan. That is why we chose to launch the cigarettes there.'
Guests at the launch, mostly local NU members, thought the cigarettes were 'quite mild and tasted good', according to reports.
The cigarettes, priced at 3,500 rupiah (68 Singapore cents) per pack of 12, are cheaper than some of the well-known brands. They will be sold mainly to the group's 40 million followers, most of whom live in East Java, NU officials said.
Marketing promotions will be done at Quran reading gatherings in mosques around the province, where worshippers can sample the cigarettes for free
Sirkah Muawwanah cooperative manager Said Affandi said: 'We want our members to buy our own products - after all the profits will eventually go to their own pockets.'
The organisation and its members own a total 40-per-cent stake in the company. One of the country's top cigarette-makers, Bentoel, owns the remaining 60 per cent. more

2003-01-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

OPEC Members Consider Boosting Output
(WSET)
OPEC representatives arriving for an emergency meeting on oil production sought to reassure markets Saturday that the producers' cartel would supply enough crude to offset a shortfall in exports from Venezuela.
Delegates of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will consider increasing their official output of 23 million barrels a day by up to 6.5 percent when they meet Sunday at group headquarters here.
Saudi Arabia stands to gain the most from any production increase. Some OPEC members, including Indonesia, already are producing at or near capacity.
"This is an opportunity for Saudi (Arabia) to show that it is still a very valuable friend of the (United States)," said Raad Alkadiri, an analyst with The Petroleum Finance Co. in Washington. more

2003-01-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

IMF's recovery plan for Indonesia rapped
(Gulf Daily News)
Some 5,000 Indonesian Muslims staged a peaceful street rally yesterday against hiked fuel prices and utility charges, urging Jakarta to abandon the IMF-sponsored economic recovery programme.
Members of the Hizbut Tahrir (Party of Liberation) picketed the parliament building in Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya and later paraded through the city, the state Antara news agency said.
They derided the International Monetary Fund's support for the price hikes as part of its $4.8 billion economic recovery programme for the archipelago, one of the nations hardest hit by the 1997-98 regional financial crisis.
"The people suffer, the IMF laugh", read a poster. "The IMF goes, the people are happy," said another. more

2003-01-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Attorney General Accused of Swindling Refugees
(Laksamana)
President Megawati Sukarnoputri is likely to come under increasing pressure to dismiss Attorney General Mohammad Abdul Rachman after police accused him of embezzling funds that were supposed to have been used to help refugees.
Megawati last year resisted calls to fire the attorney general, despite indications he had concealed some of his assets in a report presented to the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN).
Police on Friday (10/1/03) said they had found evidence that Rachman had misused Rp150 million ($16,850) from a charity fund that was set up to assist refugees forced to flee their homes because of ethnic violence in Kalimantan. more

2003-01-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

Keluarga Presiden dan Wapres Nonton Konser F4
(Detik)
Rombongan pengawal keluarga Presiden dan Wapres sudah “membersihkan” lokasi konser di Arena Pekan Raya Jakarta (PRJ) sejak pukul 16.00 WIB. Menurut kabar yang dihimpun detikcom di lapangan, pihak keluarga Presiden dan Wapres telah memesan tempat sebanyak 100 kursi di kelas VVIP yang berkapasitas 2000 orang. Tiket kelas ini dijual seharga Rp 2 juta rupiah. more

2003-01-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Anthrax deaths suspected in Indonesia
(AFP)
Anthrax is suspected to have killed eight people who died after eating goat meat in Indonesia's eastern island of Sumbawa, a report said Wednesday.
Health officials were immediately sent to the area and meat samples were sent for analysis, the spokesman was quoted as saying. He could not be reached for comment.
Antara said anthrax, which is not uncommon in Indonesia, is suspected to have infected seven people in the Bogor area south of Jakarta. It said the victims had been admitted for treatment and were not in serious condition. more

2003-01-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

As protests rise,Indonesia weighs exiting IMF loan
(Forbes)
Indonesia said on Thursday it would consider allowing a $5 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund to lapse when it expires later this year as protests mounted over the cutting back of subsidies.
Mahendra Siregar, a senior adviser to Indonesia's chief economics minister, told Reuters that a team of senior officials would be set up to consider the implications of not renewing the loan.
"The team will study the impacts of not extending the IMF programme, what should be done to help ensure economic stability after it expires late this year," said Siregar.
Siregar declined to give further details including whether the move indicated the government would not extend the current IMF's $5 billion loan programme as demanded by some quarters, including by members of the MPR, the country's highest legislative body.
The MPR last year issued a decree requiring the government not to extend the current IMF programme when it expires late this year. more

2003-01-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

Diduga Overdosis, Anggota DPRD Sragen dari PDIP Tewas saat Indehoy
(Detik)
Seorang anggota DPRD Sragen (dari PDIP) ditemukan tewas di sebuah kamar hotel di daerah wisata Tawangmangu, Karanganyar. Dia meninggal dalam keadaan berpelukan dengan seorang perempuan. Patut disayangkan karena korban akan berhaji. more

2003-01-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Opposes Military Action in Iraq
(NY Times)
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, is opposed to military action to topple the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, the foreign minister said today.
The minister, Hassan Wirajuda, said that "regime change" through military intervention "would be difficult to accept."
Instead, he said that Indonesia supported "every effort on the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction through the United Nations Security Council."
...The Bush administration ordered all dependents of American diplomats and non-essential American employees at the United States embassy to leave Indonesia soon after the Bali attack.
In several reviews since the evacuation, the State Department has decided that Indonesia remained too insecure for the return of the employees or their dependents, administration officials said. The timing of their return was still under review, they said.
The Indonesian foreign minister said he would question the British foreign minister, Jack Shaw, during a meeting on Thursday in Jakarta, on the evidence for Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Shaw is visiting Indonesia as part of a three-country swing through South East Asia. Twenty-six British citizens were killed in the Bali attack. more

2003-01-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

Foreign, domestic investments plunged sharply in 2002
(Jakarta Post)
Foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals plummeted by 35 percent to US$9.7 billion last year from $15.06 billion in 2001, said the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in a media statement.
A grimmer picture is given by the 57 percent drop in domestic investment approvals to Rp 25.26 trillion from Rp 58.62 trillion.
BKPM did not say what the reasons were for the drop in investment, but experts have often said that legal uncertainties, lingering labor conflicts, security problems and the lack of regulations governing regional autonomy are among the factors that discourage investment and even cause existing ones to flee. The giant Sony Corp., for instance, has relocated its audio equipment facility from Indonesia to Malaysia.
"The investment climate here is still very poor," University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) economist Sri Adiningsih told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
"The sharp drop in domestic investment is truly disturbing because it means that even locals are no longer interested in investing here," she added. more

2003-01-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

Indonesia: Demonstrations Might Boost Rais' Presidential Ambitions
(Stratfor via Joyo)
Summary
Students, labor groups and political organizations protested recent government-mandated price hikes in Indonesia on Jan. 6. While the protests themselves are small by Indonesian scale, the outcry gives presidential hopefuls -- especially National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais -- the opportunity to strike out against Jakarta's policies.
Analysis
Several demonstrations broke out in Jakarta and other cities across Indonesia on Jan. 6, as students, labor groups and political activists protested recent price hikes and subsidy reductions that raised fuel, telephone and electricity prices. Some protesters in Jakarta called for the ouster of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, while elsewhere in Java demonstrators burned the president in effigy.
Although the size of the demonstrations was estimated in the hundreds, activists said their numbers would continue to grow as the week wears on, culminating in a possible nationwide strike on Jan. 9. The ousters of former presidents Suharto and Abdurrahman Wahid were presaged by similar demonstrations, albeit on a much larger scale.
For now, the country's opposition forces are not yet organized and thus have little chance of removing the president. However, the price hikes have opened the door for political opportunists, and presidential hopeful Amien Rais is at the front of the line to criticize the government and stand up for Indonesia's 60 million poor citizens.
The protest actions were triggered after the government on Jan. 1 instituted a 15-percent increase in telephone charges and a 24-percent increase in annual electricity fees for 2003. A day later, Jakarta raised fuel prices by up to 22 percent. The price hikes followed a 12-percent rise in liquid petroleum gas prices in December, and they have caused an outcry across the spectrum of Indonesian society, bringing together the labor unions and business interests in unified opposition to Jakarta.
Various groups, from student activists to unions to political protesters, have launched a series of demonstrations criticizing the changes in prices. But the government has said it will not reverse policy, as the changes are necessary to meet budgetary shortfalls and to rectify inefficient policies of the past. Demonstrators have threatened keep up the pressure, and there is some speculation in Jakarta that things could worsen around the Jan. 14 and 15 anniversary of the country's 1974 student uprising.
There are two notable aspects to the demonstrations. First, labor and industry are coming together in opposition to the price hikes. Businesses have vowed not to penalize labor unions that stage strikes, which opens the way for the threatened general work stoppage on Jan. 9. This will increase pressure on the government, which is pledging to stick by its new fiscal policies.
The second aspect is the re-emergence of Amien Rais, the Islamist speaker of the National Assembly whose desire to gain the presidency is well-known. Rais helped engineer Wahid's selection as president and later spearheaded his ouster. But he has remained somewhat quiet in recent months as the Indonesian government faced the fallout from the bombing of a Bali nightclub.
Now he has returned to the spotlight and is criticizing the government's decision over the new price policies for its effect on the country's poor. This shift in tactics, from previously playing the religious card to a more populist "friend of the poor" ploy, might serve Rais well. After the Bali bombing, it was politically inexpedient to play a religious card in Indonesian politics or to stand in the way of investigations into Islamist figures, something Rais had done before.
Rais is stepping back into the fray and trying to ride the wave of popular resentment and to lay the groundwork for his 2004 presidential bid. While he will make it a point to vocally criticize Megawati's policies, he is unlikely to push for her early ouster, as there is little chance that the military would allow him to fill the vacuum due to his relations with militant Islamist groups. Yet with public sentiment clearly being raised against the price hikes, Rais' re-emergence will end whatever brief respite from political infighting the Indonesian government might have had following the Bali bombing.

2003-01-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Indonesians Unite in Protest of Wave of Price Increases
(NY Times)
Many executives and investors expressed concern that the price increases were being imposed amid already weak consumer sentiment. The increases also raise the cost of doing business at a time when Indonesia faces an increasingly precarious economic outlook.
Judging from the street demonstrations that swept across the world's fourth-largest nation on Monday and today, consumers were also caught off-guard. "Knowing it is one thing, feeling it is another," said Heriyanto Irawan, head of research at Merrill Lynch & Company in Jakarta.
Hundreds of students and other protesters demonstrated for a second day outside the presidential palace in Jakarta today, reportedly burning tires and pictures of President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Protests also took place in cities across the archipelago. In two cities on Monday, protesters reportedly burned an effigy of President Megawati.
Labor unions have called for nationwide strike on Thursday. Members of at least one leading business group have announced that they will support the strike. more

2003-01-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Indonesia open to foreign investments
(Straits Times)
Former trade minister Arifin M. Siregar stressed during his luncheon address at a forum organised by the Institute of South-east Asian Studies that Indonesia was open to foreign investments.
He said that opportunistic politicians, keen on strengthening their base and undermining President Megawati Sukarnoputri's party, were trying to use the rumblings over the deal - as expressed in demonstrations by some company employees - to their advantage.
'They realise that this is not popular with some people and hence some politicians want to use it,' he said.
In his talk, he said that Indonesia will in fact focus on making this year a 'year of investments'. more

2003-01-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

Mega headed for showdown over Indosat, price hikes
(Business Times)
INDONESIA'S parliament is gearing up to take on the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri over the sale of state-owned telecommunications company Indonesia Satellite Corp (Indosat) to a Singapore company and recent increases in telephone, electricity and fuel prices.
The developing confrontation is shaking Jakarta's financial markets and unnerving investors, who fear the country's political landscape will become increasingly choppy ahead of elections in 2004.
Unsettled by protests, the Jakarta Composite Index yesterday fell below 400 points for the first time in eight trading days. It closed 9.3 points lower at 398.2.
While some 200 people protested outside the presidential palace in the capital, legislators were busy organising a unified front to demand that the government reconsider some 'unpopular decisions'.
Alvin Lie from the Reform faction in parliament told BT that a group of like-minded legislators from the five largest political parties, including Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), have formed a caucus to take the people's complaints to the government.
'We are concerned about the government's lack of attention towards the real economic conditions of the people,' Mr Lie said. 'We will probably demand that the government reconsider the recent price increases and other unpopular decisions like the sale of Indosat.' more

2003-01-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

Legally Crooked Nation Seeks Handouts
(Laksamana)
When Indonesia seeks fresh aid pledges later this month, foreign donors should consider the government’s proposed legislation that allows convicted crooks to serve as leaders of parliament.
The draft law on the composition of the People's Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives, Regional Representatives Assembly, and Regional Legislative Assemblies (DPRD) stipulates that legislature leaders should resign if they are sentenced to at least five years in jail for criminal conduct.
In other words, if the leader of a legislative assembly is caught red-handed stealing from the people but takes advantage of the nation’s notoriously corrupt judiciary to avoid a jail of five years or more, that person will not lose their position of power – they will remain free to conduct more acts of embezzlement.
This is great news for House speaker Akbar Tanjung, who was last year convicted of embezzling Rp40 billion in state funds and sentenced to only three years in jail. He had faced a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and now remains free pending a lengthy appeal process.
The Jakarta Post daily said Monday (6/1/03) the proposed legislation, drafted by the Home Affairs Ministry, “raises doubts that the administration of President Megawati Sukarnoputri was serious about establishing clean and good governance”.
News of the draft legislation comes ahead of Indonesia’s meeting with foreign donors, known as the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), expected to be held in Bali over January 21-22. more

2003-01-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Paper industry blamed for abuse
(The Australian)
INDONESIA'S booming paper industry is responsible for widespread attacks on indigenous communities in Sumatra, a Human Rights Watch report has claimed.
Indonesia's pulp and paper industry has rapidly expanded since the late 1980s to become one of the world's top 10 producers.
But the industry has accumulated debts of more than $US20 billion ($34.81 billion) and Human Rights Watch said expanding demand was consuming wide swathes of Sumatra's lowland tropical forests.
Much of the land was claimed by indigenous communities, who depended on it for rice farming and rubber tapping, the group said.
"The loss of access to forests, together with companies' hiring from outside the province, has been devastating to local livelihoods, leading to violent conflicts," its 90-page report said. more

2003-01-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Hopes to Close The Books on Bank Bailout
(WSJ)
Indonesia hopes to begin closing the books on one of history's biggest bank bailouts by declaring that some bankers have legally fulfilled their debt obligations to the government.
But the decision to shield prominent businessmen -- including Salim Group founder Sudono Salim and his sons Anthony and Andre -- from criminal charges in exchange for settling their debts to the state has outraged those who demand tougher action by the government.
In all, the Indonesian government shelled out about 650 trillion rupiah ($72.8 billion) in bank bailouts, or about half of the country's annual gross domestic product.
To get the bailouts, 39 major bankers had to pledge assets of their conglomerates or bank holdings deemed equal in value to the multibillion-dollar rescue packages. more (subs)

2003-01-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

Menko Polkam : Ada Kelompok yang Ingin Jatuhkan Presiden Megawati
(Radio Elshinta)
Kelompok-kelompok tersebut menurut SBY adalah kelompok yang tidak puas dengan kebijakan yang dikeluarkan pemerintah atau kelompok beraliran keras yang berpandangan Presiden Megawati sudah tidak layak memimpin Indonesia. Namun SBY menolak merinci kelompok-kelompok yang dimaksud.
SBY mengungkapkan berdasarkan hasil investigasi Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN), diperkirakan terjadi gerakan politik massa untuk menciptakan instabilitas politik dan mengganggu alam demokrasi Indonesia.
"BIN tentunya mengangkat sinyalemen dan indikasi itu, saya tidak ingin melakukan identifikasi, nanti membingungkan masyarakat, dan kita berharap semuanya itu dapat dicegah. Barangkali ada kelompok post power syndrome, ada golongan yang tidak puas, ada aliran-aliran yang keras yang tidak nyaman dengan kebijakan publik atau kebijakan pemerintah yang sekarang ini," kata SBY. more

2003-01-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

Still falling for get-rich-quick schemes
(e-Media)
PEOPLE are still falling for get-rich-quick schemes that promise lucrative returns which seem too good to be true.
A 55-year-old lorry contractor and a 40-year-old general clerk from Batang Berjuntai and Rawang respectively were recent victims who have come forward to relate their plight at the MCA public service and complaint department.
They were both asked to invest in a company in Indonesia and were promised six-fold returns in one year.
In both cases, the victims befriended a woman in her 30s, a Muslim convert called Norlaila, who introduced them to her business partner, a medical doctor.
One of them, Lee Leong Kooi, said that in October 2001, Norlaila brought him to meet the doctor at his clinic in Sungai Buloh. The doctor advised Lee to invest RM200,000 in the scheme and promised that a year later, Lee would get a return of RM1.5 million!
Trusting the doctor, Lee followed the two to Jakarta, Indonesia, to open an account with the company, Pro Best International, on Nov 10, 2001. more

2003-01-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

American jailed in Indonesia says she can't get medical help
(Tri Valley Herald)
A seriously ill American nurse imprisoned in this country's strife-torn Aceh province has been denied urgent hospital treatment, she and her lawyers said Sunday.
Joy Sadler, 57, of Waterloo, Iowa, said she would temporarily abandon a three-day effort to obtain medical care after being refused admittance to three local hospitals and then told that hospitals in the capital, Jakarta, were full.
Her lawyers expressed concern about her deteriorating health.
The weekend drama marked the latest twist in the saga of Sadler and her British academic companion, Lesley McCulloch, 43, who came to Indonesia as tourists last summer but were picked up by the army in September in an area of Aceh long known as a rebel stronghold. more

2003-01-05T16:24:00.000-08:00

Price hike protests not a big threat to Megawati: Analysts
(The Jakarta Post)
Mounting calls for President Megawati Soekarnoputri to step down over the recent hikes in fuel, energy and telephone rates will likely fizzle in the coming weeks as the political elite remains intent on keeping her in power, analysts have said.
With thousands expected to turn out across the country in similar protests, Megawati will face her first mass scale demonstration against her leadership in the one-and-a-half years she has been in power, analysts said.
However, unless the protests get out of control, they added, they pose a minimal risk against Megawati's presidency.
"There won't be another case like Gus Dur," National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political analyst Syamsuddin Haris said on Sunday.
Even as other parties join in criticism against the price hike policy, PDI Perjuangan will likely count on Golkar to face them, said political analyst Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia.
And with a Supreme Court verdict on the graft case of its chairman, Akbar Tandjung, still pending, Golkar is relying on support from Megawati's party as well. more

2003-01-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Gubernur dan Wakil Gubernur DKI yang Makin Kaya
(Radio Belanda)
Anda ingin dengan gampang beli rumah sekaligus mobil seharga ratusan juta rupiah setiap saat? Jadilah gubernur Jakarta atau wakilnya. Coba anda lihat isi kocek Sutiyoso dan Fauzi Bowo, gubernur dan wakil gubernur DKI Jakarta. Jumlah anggaran untuk gaji dan tunjangan yang diajukan Sutiyoso untuk masa kerja tahun ini, besarnya mencapai Rp 9,48 miliar. Sementara Fauzi Bowo menyodorkan angka Rp 6,11 miliar.
Sekilas, dibanding tahun lalu, usulan anggaran untuk wakil gubernur memang turun. Namun, tunggu dulu. Nilai total fasilitas yang bakal dinikmatinya justru meningkat dibanding pejabat wakil gubernur sebelumnya. Dalam usulan anggaran kali ini ada tambahan pos pengeluaran yang dulu telah dihapus. Pos tersebut adalah dana taktis. Bedanya, istilah taktis kini diganti dengan 'kegiatan gubernur untuk pemerintahan dan kemasyarakatan'. Total dana taktis yang bisa digunakan sewaktu-waktu itu sangat mencolok. Untuk gubenur disediakan sebesar Rp 3,33 miliar. Sedang sang wakil gubernur Rp 2,83 miliar. Untuk catatan saja, tahun lalu Komisi Pemeriksa Kekayaan Penyelenggara Negara (KPKPN) mencatat gubernur DKI Jakarta memperoleh pendapatan rata-rata Rp 200 juta per bulan. more

2003-01-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

New Slug at Expats
(Laksamana)
The Balikpapan administration in East Kalimantan is to attempt to charge expatriate residents an extra $300 a year for the pleasure of working in the area.
The payment will be for a kartu tanda penduduk or KTP, the certificate of identification used by Indonesian nationals.
Expatriates normally are not allowed to use the yellow-colored cards but Balikpapan Mayor Imdaad Hamid said Friday (3/1/03) that all foreigners working in the city would have to have one. more

2003-01-05T07:09:00.000-08:00

Labor unions call for strike on Jan. 9
(Jakarta Post)
Ten labor unions on Saturday calledon workers across the country to go on a nationwide strike on Jan 9. to protest the simultaneous increase in fuel prices, electricity and telephone tariff, Antara reported.
Leader of the Indonesian Labour Struggle Front (FNPBI) Dita Indah Sari said around 10 labour unions and the association of Indonesian enterpreneurs (Apindo) convened a meeting on Saturday and agreed to launch a nationwide strike on Jan 9.
She claimed that Apindo fully supported the plan to launch the national strike. more

2003-01-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

Bali tourism down by 60pc
(Herald Sun)
THE number of foreign tourists visiting Bali dropped by 60 per cent in November compared with October, following the deadly bombings on the resort island, according to statistics released yesterday.
The Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement 86,901 people visited Bali in October.
That number dropped to 35,107 in November, it said.
Nationwide, tourist arrivals in Indonesia slumped by 21 per cent to 239,774 in November from 304,806 a month earlier and compared with a peak of 421,400 arrivals in August, the bureau said. more

2003-01-04T03:59:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Forms Downstream Oil, Gas Supervisory Body
(DJNR)
Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri has signed a decree on the establishment of a supervisory body, which will regulate the distribution of oil products and natural gas, a government official said Friday.
But it remains unclear when the new body will commence its duties as the government hasn't yet appointed anyone to run the body.
The establishment of the body follows the enactment of the new Oil And Gas Law in 2001, ending the monopoly of state-owned company Pertamina (P.PTM) in the country's upstream and downstream oil and gas industries. more

2003-01-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

Indonesia is dancing with death
(The Age)
Awash with cheap speed, ecstasy and heroin, corruption is on the rise. And so is AIDS, writes Tom Hyland from Jakarta.
The relentless techno beat is so loud your insides vibrate. Strobe and laser lights flash out across the crowd of maybe 5000 that surges in waves across the vast dance floor. It's 2am on a Saturday and amid the noise and crush, the mood in this north Jakarta nightclub is a strangely mellow mix of joy and energy.
The bar is doing a slow trade; the preferred intoxicant among the young middle-class Indonesians who make up the crowd is ecstasy. more

2003-01-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

Sad New Year from Megawati
Indonesia Ups Fuel Prices Amidst Public Protests
(Bernama)
In an attempt to raise revenue and help overcome the country ride over the economic crisis, the Indonesian government raised fuel prices again starting Thursday.
The price hike of up to 22 percent, was announced by Muchsin Bahar, the Downstream Director of State-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina.
The announcement was met with strong protests from the public and consumer bodies in the country which had to bear an average six percent increase in electricity tariffs and an average of 15 percent rise in telephone rates.
There was widespread complaints that the heavy subsidy was being exploited by fuel smugglers.
The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI-Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia), which said that the increase would burden further the people who were already suffering, called for a nation-wide protest.
Chief Economic Minister, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Djakti, who considered the increase as minor, said the government had taken various factors into consideration before deciding the new fuel prices. more

2003-01-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Megawati's reprieve for former bank owners
(Business Times)
President Megawati Sukarnoputri has issued a controversial decree which rules out criminal charges against former bank owners who have finally settled their huge debts to the state.
But Ms Megawati, in the decree issued on December 30, 2002 but received yesterday, warned that other ex-bankers who fail to repay their debts will be prosecuted. Ms Megawati instructed financial authorities to issue letters of 'release and discharge' for the businessmen who have repaid their debts. The letters will effectively clear the debtors from any criminal liability.
Many quarters have criticised the policy, saying it betrayed the public's sense of justice.
Ibra chairman Syarifuddin Temenggung, quoted by the Kompas daily, said he would propose discharge letters for five former bank owners who have settled their debts to his state agency.
They include Ibra's largest debtor the Salim Group, which had a total debt of 52 trillion rupiah (S$10.14 billion).
The other four are Ibrahim Risjad of Bank Risjad Salim Internasional, Sudwikatmono of Bank Surya, Liem Hendra of Bank Budi Internasional and The Ning King of Bank Baja Internasional. more

2003-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

Briton says Indonesia sentence driven by "hatred"
(Reuters)
A British academic sentenced to five months in jail for violating visa conditions in Indonesia's restive Aceh province said on Tuesday her punishment was driven by "hatred and fear and paranoia" of her human rights work.
Lesley McCulloch, 40, who along with American Joy Lee Sadler, 57, was accused of associating with separatist rebels in Aceh, told Australian radio she had always expected to be handed a stiffer sentence than her colleague.
"For me, because of the work that I do on military and police corruption, I always believed that they would probably sentence me to a bit more time, because the whole process has been driven by hatred and fear and paranoia of my work and of me," McCulloch told the Australian Broadcasting Corp from her Indonesian jail. more

2002-12-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

SELAMAT HARI NATAL DAN TAHUN BARU
KAMI AKAN KEMBALI LAGI TANGGAL 3 JANUARI 2003

2002-12-23T16:15:00.000-08:00

Megawati says Indonesians have themselves to blame
(Radio Australia)
She has made the statement in Jakarta, at a send-off for 400 members of the Indonesian Scouting Movement, preparing to leave for an international jamboree in Thailand.
She says it seems the nation's poor image is a result of its own actions. more

2002-12-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

More warnings over Indonesia
(NZoom)
Downer said the travel advice had been reissued to remind people in Indonesia that Christmas might be more dangerous this year.
"The travel advisory has been reissued because of the onset of Christmas. People have to be particularly careful over the Christmas and New Year period in Indonesia," he told reporters in Adelaide.
"There is the possibility... there could be attacks on churches around Christmas time and people should be reminded to be very careful to keep away from bars, clubs, other types of institutions where Westerners tend to congregate." more

2002-12-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

Jakarta govt must get cracking on corruption
(Straits Times)
A series of bizarre revelations and rulings last week has raised serious questions once again about Indonesia's legal system.
Behind the walls of the prison on the remote island of Nusakambangan, influential prisoners are receiving special treatment.
Mohammad 'Bob' Hasan, the long-time golfing buddy of former president Suharto, is allowed to leave for twice-monthly medical check-ups and 'other needs' in Jakarta.
Jail companion Tommy Suharto, who lives in an adjacent cell separated from others by a prison yard and five steel doors, enjoys special privileges too. He has cable TV and gets periodic remissions off his 15-year jail sentence for good behaviour.
Against the backdrop of these celebrity cells, the government decided last Friday to drop criminal charges against four ex-bank owners after they agreed to settle their debts.
Two Indian business executives of Polaris Software Lab were not so lucky.
They ended up in jail, albeit briefly, for failing to resolve a dispute with their local partner Artha Graha over a US$1.2-million (S$2.1 million) software deal. They were released after strong protests from New Delhi, and the incident still threatens to escalate into a diplomatic row.
But in stark comparison, moves against corruption and cronies of the Suharto era seem to be faltering and drawing the wrath of critics who see such failures as fodder to attack the Megawati administration.
Even more significant repercussions lie for the economy.
Unless Jakarta sends a clear and strong signal that it is fighting corruption, international investors will continue to stay away. more

2002-12-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

Multinationals are moving production to other developing countries
(Straits Times)
Multinationals are deserting Indonesia as they consolidate operations and shift to other developing countries with more competitive advantages.
And it is not just Sony, Nike and Reebok making the headlines as they lay off thousands of workers and head for greener pastures such as Malaysia, Vietnam or China.
Some go quietly to avoid public-relations nightmares.
Footwear-vendor Payless cut orders from Indonesian sweatshops last year. It now sells shoes or sandals made in other parts of South-east Asia to Americans.
Swedish furniture-retailer Ikea shifted orders for chairs, tables and wardrobes to craftsmen in Vietnam, among other places.
Consumer-goods firm Procter & Gamble still sells here, but manufactures in Thailand.
The obvious question is why Indonesia tops the list when foreigners slim down.
The main complaints are that Indonesian workers are unruly and vocal and that the Manpower Ministry issues anti-business policies.
Workers here are also said to be less well trained and less productive, at a time when labourers elsewhere are demanding lower wages and are more docile.
Experts familiar with labour issues said Ikea's decision was prompted by the 40 per cent quality-rejection rate of Indonesian products.
At the same time, unions are springing up - with around 700 registered - and are agitating for better wages and work conditions.
Analysts also blame the government and its inability to coordinate economic policies. more

2002-12-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

Indonesian bank sales hurt by economic gloom
(IHT)
Two down, seven to go. Indonesia's meager record of just two bank privatizations this year may not augur success for plans to sell seven more, analysts say, given a shrinking economy, waning foreign interest and disputes over price. Indonesia needs to sell off the lenders to recoup funds pumped into them after the 1998 financial crisis as it seeks to plug a 34.4 trillion rupiah ($3.9 billion) budget deficit in 2003. Any delay could hold up installments on a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund aid package.
"It's going to be tough to achieve those targets unless they are prepared to demonstrate that the banks are very clean in terms of their balance sheets," said Andrew Salton, a fund manager at Standard Life Investments Ltd. in Hong Kong. "I can't see very strong rationale for anybody to buy a bank in Indonesia at this point in time." more

2002-12-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

Laksamana-Amien battle may lead to political conflict
(Jakarta Post)
Responding to Forum's question on the man behind the government's decision to exonerate debtors from criminal charges, Amien said: "I don't need to mention a name. However, I see a very dangerous minister in the Gotong Royong Cabinet. I have long been suspicious that this person is actually a foreign agent. I doubt if there is a little nationalism, a feeling of love for the nation in this person."
Laksamana is now demanding that Amien make an apology via the mass media within three days of receiving the notification, said team member, noted lawyer Amir Syamsuddin.
The conflict between State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais over the privatization issue may drag their political parties into battle, with some members of both political parties already lining up behind them.
Members of the National Awakening Party (PAN) which Amien chairs and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) which Laksamana is a member of gave cautious responses on Sunday to Laksamana's move to file legal notification to Amien Rais for the latter's critical comments against him and his policies.
PDI Perjuangan executive Roy BB Janis said Laksamana's move was personal and therefore, the party would not be involved. Nevertheless, he defended Laksamana and said: "Laksamana has strong legal grounds to file a legal complaint against Amien."
However, PAN deputy secretary general Alvin Lie said he believed Amien's critical statements against Laksamana "have a legal basis and are being supported by evidence". more

2002-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

Questions Left Hanging After Goh Visit
(Laksamana)
While the Indonesian press displayed a new boldness during the visit last week by Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, the government is quietly biding its time in deciding on legal prosecutions against businessmen accused of harboring stolen state money in Singapore.
Singaporean media reports were upbeat on Goh’s two-day visit to Jakarta on Monday and Tuesday, hailing his efforts to meet with a diverse range of constituencies and interests and discuss ways to fight terrorism following the October 12 Bali bomb attacks that killed nearly 200 people.
Relations with the wealthy island state are often tense, most recently over comments by Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew on militant Islamic groups in Indonesia, but the heads of government last week only announced an agreement to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.
The Indonesian press consequently condemned Megawati's failure to raise issues such as extradition and sand mining with Goh and some commented that the lapse was indicative of the government’s lack of courage and helplessness in diplomacy.
More likely the famous sphinx-like silence of the President hides a complex power game involving renegade former bank owners and their benefactors in the Singapore government, which will have a major impact on developments in the national economy in future.
Insiders noted that it was not a case of Megawati not having raised the two contentious issues of sand mining and extradition, but of talks between officials having got nowhere on either. more

2002-12-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

Indonesia: Islands in the storm
(Asia Times)
Indonesia is scrambling to keep its territorial integrity after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded Sipadan and Ligitan islands to neighboring Malaysia.
There are at least four more islands that Indonesia might lose if the principle of continuous administration - employed by the ICJ in awarding Sipadan and Ligitan to Malaysia after both claimants failed to present solid legal proof of ownership over the two islets off the northeastern tip of Indonesia's East Kalimantan province - is applied.
The four islands still in question are Nipah off Riau province, which is now controlled by Singapore; an unnamed small island off West Kalimantan province occupied by Thai fishermen; Miangas island off Sangir Talaud in North Sulawesi, currently occupied by Philippine fishermen; and Ashmore reef, situated south of Kupang, the provincial capital of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Ashmore reef, which had for centuries been a staging point for fishermen from Rote island in NTT, has been occupied by Australia, while Indonesia makes no attempt to regain control over the island, where ancestors of Rote people are believed to have been buried.
With the exception of Ashmore reef, Nipah, Miangas, and the unnamed small island in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province are generally recognized as Indonesia's islands, but the country has yet to exercise sovereignty over them. more

2002-12-20T23:16:00.000-08:00

US warns of Indonesia attacks
(The Age)
The United States warned that bombings were possible in Indonesia over Christmas and the New Year, and urged Americans to avoid churches, nightclubs and shopping centres.
Britain also updated its travel warning for Indonesia, advising its citizens to exercise "extreme caution" when visiting public places, including churches and nightspots.
Since the October 12 Bali bombings that killed 192 people, the United States, Britain and scores of other Western countries have warned its citizens not to travel to Indonesia.
In 2000, a series of bombs exploded at churches across the country on Christmas Eve, killing 19 people. Police say they plan to guard churches this festive season to prevent repeat attacks.
"The Embassy recommends that Americans avoid areas known to represent American interests and places where Americans are known to congregate throughout Indonesia," according to an e-mail message sent to all Americans registered with the embassy. more

2002-12-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

Indonesia frees Indian software boss
(BBC)
Indonesia has released the chief executive of India's Polaris Software after the intervention of the Indian Government.
The two men ware detained a week ago after Bank Artha Graha lodged a complaint with the police claiming criminal deception in a $1.3m software development project.
Their release follows a phone call from India's Foreign Minister Yaswant Sinha to his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda.
It was not clear if Mr Jain and senior vice-president Rajiv Malhotra would be required to stay in Indonesia while police investigated the complaint. more
- Polaris uneasy as Indonesia holds back Jain passport

2002-12-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

Bank Row Highlights Business Risk in Jakarta
(WSJ)
A dispute between an Indonesian bank and an Indian software company is underscoring one of the risks of doing business in Indonesia: commercial disputes can lead to detention.
For businesspeople in Indonesia, the detentions are the latest in a series of similar incidents, in which apparent commercial disputes have been transformed into criminal cases when one party alleges wrongdoing by its erstwhile business partner.
"This kind of thing is happening quietly every day. I have a number of clients in these circumstances," says Andrew Sriro, an American lawyer for Lubis, Santosa and Maulana, a prominent Jakarta law firm. He says he has been involved in several cases in which Indonesian parties in commercial confrontations ask police to intervene on their behalf and "use the vagaries of the criminal code" to turn those disagreements into criminal matters.
Regarding Polaris, executives of Bank Artha Graha -- a midsize Indonesian bank owned by a military foundation -- contend that the Indian company misled them over an agreement signed last year to supply banking software. The Indonesian executives allege that Polaris repeatedly deceived them about capabilities of software it would provide, and about how long it would take to install.
Reflecting such concerns, Indonesia's Ministry of Trade and Industry set up a "crisis center" earlier this year, staffed by officials who are assigned to help foreign businesses facing legal problems. An official at the center said 20 to 30 foreign companies have sought help from the agency during the last six months.
But legal experts say that the Indonesian government hasn't done enough to address the issue. "A lot of Indonesian leaders still need to be convinced that legal reform is a necessity for future investment," says Frans Winarta, a prominent lawyer and a member of the government's National Legal Council. "Otherwise no businessman can do business in this country -- not just foreigners, but local people as well." more (subscribe to WSJ)

2002-12-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

Bank Indonesia sees challenging year ahead
(Business Times)
The central bank said 2002 was marked by a stronger rupiah, controlled inflation, base money within indicative targets and declining interest rates.
But it said the control achieved in monetary indicators had not been accompanied by faster growth in the real sector. Investment and export growth were expected to fall short of earlier predictions. 'This is explained by the continued weakness in world economic growth and lack of recovery of investor confidence in the Indonesian economy, brought on by structural problems and domestic security concerns.'
Indonesia has lagged behind its neighbours in recovering fully from the 1997-98 financial crisis. Visiting Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Monday that Indonesia needs 7 per cent growth a year to reduce unemployment but this would be difficult to achieve. more

2002-12-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

Taiwan MOFA views Indonesia comments as 'unfriendly'
(eTaiwan)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday lodged a strong protest with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry for "extremely unfriendly" statements made after Chen's clandestine trip to the Southeast Asian nation was exposed and then canceled.
"We are expressing our concern about, dissatisfaction with and protest of the extremely unfriendly and inappropriate comments," Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (ŠÈ–”�V) told reporters late yesterday.
At an earlier press conference, MOFA spokeswoman Katharine Chang (’£�¬ŒŽ) said, "The ministry regrets that the Indonesian Foreign Ministry made such inappropriate comments on President Chen's visit, and the ministry will take action against the Indonesian government."
Chang said the ministry asked Taiwan's representative office in Indonesia to confirm the accuracy of the reports. When the reports were confirmed, the ministry had Lin Shui-chi (—Ñ�…‹g), Taiwan's representative to Indonesia, file a stern complaint with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, and the same complaint was sent to the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei to demonstrate Taiwan's considerable dissatisfaction with the Jakarta government.
Although Chang did not reveal what actions would be taken against Indonesia, she indicated that the setback of Chen's visit and the statements from Indonesia would not help Taiwan-Indonesia economic cooperation. more

2002-12-19T02:36:00.000-08:00

Taiwan Ancam Tarik Investasi
(Media Indonesia)
Menghadapi ancaman Taiwan yang akan memberlakukan sanksi ekonomi terhadap Indonesia, Menteri Luar Negeri Hassan Wirajuda mengatakan bisnis memiliki logika tersendiri.
Ia menyampaikan hal itu, kemarin, menanggapi adanya reaksi keras dari Taiwan menyusul penolakan Indonesia terhadap rencana kunjungan Presiden Chen Shui Bian ke Yogyakarta.
Diberitakan kantor berita AP, kemarin para pejabat Taiwan telah mempertimbangkan kemungkinan sanksi ekonomi terhadap Indonesia. Sedangkan AFP melaporkan sejumlah anggota parlemen Taiwan mengekspresikan kemarahan dengan mendesak pemerintah mereka menghentikan investasi ke Indonesia. more

2002-12-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

Temasek and Megawati’s China Game
(Laksamana)
The triumph of Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) over Telecom Malaysia in purchasing the 41.9% stake in telecommunication giant PT Indosat has strengthened the strategic business alliance between Singapore and Indonesia, and potentially with the powerful overseas Chinese network.
Behind the deal was Temasek Holdings, an investment holding company that controls STT and another Singapore telecom giant, SingTel.
Its activities in the Indonesian market – and everywhere else – represent virtual direct Singaporean government intervention and ownership in economy and business.
Buying a computer? Temasek owns 70% of Chartered Semiconductor. Chatting on the phone? Temasek owns 67% of Singapore Telecom. Taking a vacation? Temasek owns 57% of Singapore Airlines.
In short, Temasek is the Singapore government's S$70 billion (US$40 billion) investment vehicle with major stakes in Singapore's key sectors. Temasek's major shareholder is the Singapore Ministry of Finance, by which it was established in 1974. more

2002-12-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

Asian Nations Fear China's Growing Economic Muscle, says Report
(VOA)
The Economic Strategy Institute, a Washington-based think tank, Tuesday issued a report on globalization, based on discussions at an October meeting of business leaders from Pacific rim nations. The growing economic muscle of China was a major focus.
The message from the Economic Strategy Institute is that Pacific rim countries are fearful of the rise of China and worry about their ability to compete with the world's most populous nation. The business meeting was held in conjunction with the APEC leaders gathering in Los Cabos, Mexico. Clyde Prestowitz, the head of the strategy institute, says China is soaking up most of the foreign direct investment going into the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr. Root, who spent several years with the Asian Development Bank in Manila, says because of corruption and weak institutions the ASEAN countries of southeast Asia are losing the economic competition with China. "There is some corruption in China but it is certainly not comparable to Indonesia or the Philippines or any other of these rival countries," he said. "And the fact of the matter is that ASEAN doesn't have its act together. It has not put into place strong, accountable, democratic institutions."
The strategy institute says China is an economic winner despite failing to embrace what are regarded as key elements of a successful globalization strategy. These include the rule of law and enforceable property rights. The researchers do say that China has embraced other elements of globalization, including trade liberalization and budgetary discipline. more

2002-12-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

Websites recruit for jihad
(Heraldsun)
THE internet is becoming a virtual forum for radical Islamic exchanges, with many sites specifically targeting Australia to recruit followers and plan terrorist attacks.
An Islamic website regarded as a credible source for al-Qaeda information has canvassed the possibility of Australia - which it says "persecutes" Muslims - becoming an Islamic state.
Islammemo.com is among the websites causing increasing concern to Australian and Indonesian authorities, who fear terrorists are using web traffic to sell their cause and disseminate information, including coded messages.
Indonesia is investigating the sources of a number of sites, but is finding it difficult to close them down. more