Lawmaker Involved in Another Plane Seat Incident

Jakarta Globe, March 26, 2011

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Indonesian Twitter users woke up on Satuday to an early morning plane seat mix-up incident that ended with lawmaker Roy Suryo being asked to leave a Lion Air flight.

Twitter user @ernestprakasa said he boarded the 6:15 a.m. flight to Yogyakarta with his friend only to find their seats occupied by the Democrat Party lawmaker and his wife.

“When it was checked, it turned out that Roy Suryo's tickets were for the 7:45 flight, instead of 6.15 a.m. but he refused to leave the plane, dropping the name of Lion Air's director,” Ernest wrote.

Ernest said he and his friend decided to just leave the plane, but suddenly some of the other passengers shouted, “Don't let officials beat you!” and “Hey, Roy Suryo, don't pull a Nurdin Halid. You must step down now!”

In the midst of the chaos, the pilot, identified only as Capt. Vino, came out to the cabin to ask what was going on because the flight was already 15 minutes late.

After receiving an explanation from a flight attendant, the captain walked into the cockpit, grabbed his bag and angrily walked over to the plane's door, cursing government officials as he did so.

The captain refused to take off if Ernest and his friend were not on the plane.

Shortly after, a group of airport officers approached Roy Suryo, and the lawmaker finally got up and apologized to the passengers.

“I am sorry for having disturbed your flight,” he said, to the applause of the passengers.

After Suryo left, the captain returned to the cockpit and started the take-off procedure.

However, Suryo said he was simply a victim of Lion Air's mistake.

“Tweeps, I was the one who became the bigger man and took the blame for Lion Air's mistake in the double-seat incident. As the people's representative, I know ethics require me to apologize and prioritize others,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

Roy claimed Lion Air has apologized to him for the "miscommunication."

Lion Air refused to comment on the incident, saying they will verify the flight documents first.

KPK detains former minister Hari Sabarno

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/25/2011

Policy burns: Former home affairs minister Hari Sabarno waves to
reporters following questioning at the Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) in Jakarta on Friday. Hari was arrested as a corruption suspect
implicated in the procurement of fire trucks during his tenure as minister.
(Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested former home affairs minister Hari Sabarno on Friday for his implication in the alleged corruption of state budget funds connected to the procurement of fire trucks.

Hari was arrested after undergoing seven hours of questioning and was immediately brought to the Cipinang Detention Center at 5 p.m..

“He will be detained for the next 20 days,” KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Friday.

Hari is a suspect in the alleged mismanagement of purchases of fire trucks between 2001-2005 by the Home Affairs Ministry. The corruption reportedly caused state losses of Rp. 86.07 billion (US$9.78 million).

Investigators named Hari a suspect on Sept. 29. Hari denied that he was involved in any wrongdoing.

“I never signed it [the radiogram] and I have never given any official note or memo,” he said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Hari said that he would comply with the legal process and planned to request legal council from the Indonesian Military (TNI) legal unit. Hari is a retired military general.

Bank employee arrested for stealing from customers’ accounts

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/25/2011

A private bank official was apprehended for stealing money from customers accounts. The suspect reportedly stole Rp 17 billion (US$1.95 million).

“The suspect is an official at the bank; a woman aged 47 with the initials M.D.,” a spokesperson for the National Police, Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam, told reporters on Friday.

Anton said the suspect conducted her crimes by manipulating customer’s account data and transferred some of their funds to her account.

She is charged for violating article 49 (paragraph 1) and 2 of Law no 10, 1998 onbanking and article 6 of Law no 8 year 2010 on money laundering. (rpt)

KPK detains former PLN president

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 03/24/2011

Electrified: Eddie Widiono, former president director of state electricity
 company PT PLN, talks to the press after being questioned by Corruption
 Eradication Commission investigators in Jakarta on Thursday.
 (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained on Thursday a former president of state electricity company PT PLN, Eddie Widiono, for his alleged role in a graft case in one of the company's projects.

Eddie underwent KPK questioning for six hours on Thursday before investigators took him to the South Jakarta police detention center.

Eddie told reporters at the KPK office that he would be “cooperative for the sake of law enforcement in the country”.

He was named a suspect in the case in March last year for his alleged involvement in the case that centers on a PLN procurement project of a computerized customer information system (CIS-RISI) in Jakarta and Tangerang.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said in a release that state losses in the case were estimated at Rp 46.19 billion.

Johan said Eddie would be detained for 20 days.

The CIS-RISI project was initiated by the ITB Polytechnic in the 1990s, but it was then subcontracted to PT Netway Utama.

Suspicions about collusion arose when it became known that the head of the ITB Polytechnic at the time, Gani Abdul Gani, was also the president director of Netway.

The total project was worth some Rp 137 billion.

Eddie on Thursday maintained that the project did not cause state losses. He said the decision on the project was made at a time when PLN was suffering from a major loss and trying to cope with the situation.

“I did not know of any state losses [from the project] and the investigators never told me that,” he said.

Susno Duadji Jailed for Corruption

Jakarta Globe, March 24, 2011

Disgraced senior Police officer Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji has been convicted of corruption and jailed for 3.5 years.

Susno appeared to sleep through most of the Thursday's proceedings in the South Jakarta on Thursday.

Prosecutors had sought a seven-year sentence for Susno for allegedly taking a Rp 500 million ($57,500) bribe to settle a legal dispute over a fish farm in 2009.

During Susno’s closing arguments, the rogue police officer — one of Indonesia’s most despised characters before he turned on police officers with allegations of high-level corruption and was arrested — claimed that a survey of comments on various online news portals showed “97 percent of readers believe I’m not guilty.”

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New Corruption Bill Covers Private Sector, Foreigners

Jakarta Globe, Heru Andriyanto, March 16, 2011

A bill to implement an international antigraft convention will have broader powers than existing legislation by criminalizing private-sector corruption and bribery of foreign public officials, an official said on Tuesday.

Muhammad Amari, the Deputy Attorney General for special crimes, said the bill would be applicable for all graft cases, even those not incurring state losses.

“Under the existing law, bribery in the private sector doesn’t classify as corruption, unless it involves state officials,” he said.

“The new bill, meanwhile, applies to [all] bribery within the private sector.” The bill, being drafted by the Attorney General’s Office, will implement the UN Convention Against Corruption, which was ratified by Indonesia in 2006.

Among the other changes it will introduce to existing antigraft legislation are the criminalization of foreign public officials taking or receiving bribes and the criminalization of match-fixing in sporting events.

“Foreigners can be charged with corruption under the bill,” Amari said.

“The UNCAC has ruled on those things. Because we’ve ratified the convention, we have to adopt them into Indonesian law.”

The current antigraft legislation, the 1999 Anti-Corruption Law, did not recognize match-fixing as a criminal offense.

He said the new bill was not an amendment of the existing law, but was meant to replace it outright to provide a broader legal foundation for the antigraft drive.

Amari added that a draft of the bill had been submitted by the AGO to the State Secretariat for approval after which it would be handed to the House of Representatives for deliberation.

Antigraft campaigners on Wednesday hailed the bill as a major step toward adapting domestic law enforcement efforts to the global fight against corruption. Emerson Yuntho, a senior member of the nongovernmental organization Indonesia Corruption Watch, said it was necessary to have legislation that recognized the impact of corruption on the public as well as on the state.

“The antigraft campaign introduced by the UNCAC is not limited to state interests,” he said. “It has a broader approach of combating corruption that harms the interests of the public, not just the state.”

He also welcomed the fact that the bill would not affect the work of the Corruption Eradication Commission, which has its own set of legislation for tackling graft. “Instead, the new law will grant the commission broader authority and coverage to combat corruption,” Emerson said.

However, Hifdzil Alim, from the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies at Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University, said introducing yet more antigraft legislation would prove futile unless corruption within law enforcement agencies such as the police and prosecutors’ offices was addressed.

“Even as we discuss this issue, reports are coming out that [police generals] Edmond Ilyas and Raja Erisman were made to apologize to the National Police chief for their handling of a major graft case, amid widespread allegations that they took bribes,” he said.

“Amari himself is not free from scandal. He once hosted a secret meeting with [media tycoon] Harry Tanoesoedibjo, whose brother was being investigated by the AGO in a major corruption scandal.”

While the new bill was important, “above all we need the law enforcement agencies to clean up their act before claiming to have made things better,” he said.

President Very Unhappy About Wikileaks Reports

Antara News, Fri, March 11 2011

"We very much regret the carelessness of The Age and consider it a shameful news scandal, as it published news from a source that cannot be validated"

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President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono. (ANTARA)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is very unhappy about Wikileaks reports published by Australia`s The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Daniel Sparingga, a special presidential aide said.

"The president is very unhappy with the false news full of lies which were published in the Australian dailies, SHM and The Age, this morning," said Daniel , a special advisor for political communication to the president, said here Friday.

Yudhoyono was seen walking with Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi towards the presidential office on Friday morning. He looked very serious and had no smile on his face.

According to Daniel Sparingga, the two media were irresponsible and only seeking sensation, as the news came from a source whose credibility could not be guaranteed.

"We very much regret the carelessness of The Age and consider it a shameful news scandal, as it published news from a source that cannot be validated," Daniel said.

The two Australian media had It also violated the journalistic code of ethic, he said.

Meanwhile, at a press conference held at the presidential office, here, Friday, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha denied the validity of the news from Wikileaks which accused President Yudhoyono of being involved in corruption and abuse of power.

He said the government was preparing to use its right of reply to the two Australian newspapers, while the foreign affairs ministry would ask for a clarification from the US Ambassador to Indonesia because the Wikileaks` source was diplomatic notes sent by the US embassy to Washington DC.

Pasha said the presidential palace could not find any truth in the news report and it was not based on facts. The Wikileaks source referred to by the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, itself needed to be verified , he added.

Editor: AA Ariwibowo

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US deeply regrets Wikileaks disclosure on The Age

Antara News, Fri, March 11 2011

"We express our deepest regrets to President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian people."

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Scot Marciel (AFP)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The US Secretary of State has said the United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, "including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats personal assessments and observations".

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, passed on her statement to the US ambassador to Indonesia, Scot Marciel, according to a press release from the US Embassy in Jakarta, Friday,

Hillary Clinton also said that the Department of State does not comment on materials, including classified documents, which may have been leaked.

According to the release, the US official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington.

"Our official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington. Our policy is a matter of public record, as reflected in our statements and our actions around the world," said Marciel.

Further, Marciel said that any unauthorized disclosure of classified information by Wikileaks has harmful implications for the lives of identified individuals that are jeopardized, but also for global engagement among and between nations.

"Given its potential impact, we condemn such unauthorized disclosures and are taking every step to prevent future security breaches," he said.

"While we cannot speak to the authenticity of any documents provided to the press, we can speak to the diplomatic community`s practice of cable writing. By its very nature, field reporting to Washington is candid and often raw information," he said.

Ambassador Marciel also said that it is preliminary, often incomplete and unsubstantiated. It is not an expression of policy, nor does it always shape final policy decisions. These documents should not be seen as having standing on their own or as representing U.S. policy.

"This type of publication is extremely irresponsible and we express our deepest regrets to President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian people," Marciel said.

As President Obama has noted, the United States is fortunate to have a very strong partner in Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia`s first directly elected president, and a leader who has guided Indonesia through its journey into democracy, he added.

According to Marciel, President Yudhoyono`s leadership has been vital to promoting prosperity, expanding partnerships between the two nations` peoples, and deepening political and security cooperation.

"As the US President Barack Obama said in Jakarta during his visit in November 2010 to jointly launch with President Yudhoyono the Comprehensive Partnership, Indonesia and the United States are bound together by a web of historical, cultural, and economic ties that span the Pacific and by our shared values and aspirations, and our partnership is one of equals, grounded in mutual interests and mutual respect," he stated.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

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TNI Analyzing Wikileaks Reports

Antara News, Fri, March 11 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s National Defense Forces (TNI) commander, Admiral Agus Suhartono, said his office was analyzing the Wikileaks reports on diplomatic notes from the US embassy in Jakarta regarding President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We consider the reports as news or information that we need to immediately analyze and verify," Admiral Agus Suhartono said here Friday after receiving an honorary commando brevet from the Kopassus special force.

After completing the analysis, the TNI would take concrete steps regarding the reports quoted by two Australian media, the Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, he said.

"The TNI is analyzing all the published reports," he said.

The admiral denied the reports which accused President Yudhoyono of using the military intelligence agency to spy on his political opponents.

"It`s absolutely not true, there is no such thing," he said.

"TNI`s intelligence agency is used only to support the TNI`s main tasks, and not for political interest of certain any individual, group or organization," he said.

The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald published headlines on President Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono who were allegedly involved in corruption and abuse of power based on the US embassy Jakarta`s diplomatic notes leaked by Wikileaks.

"We will soon ask for a clarification from the US Government through its embassy in Indonesia," Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said earlier on a separate occasion.

He said Foreign Affairs Minister Natalegawa will call the US ambassador to Indonesia regarding the diplomatic cables accusing the president and the first lady of abusing the power as leaked by Wikileaks.

Minister Marty will call the US ambassador in Jakarta to lodge a strong protest against the contents of the diplomatic cables carrying very raw information and its validity was yet to be checked, according to Djoko Suyanto.

Editor: AA Ariwibowo

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RI, IMF to discuss strategies to deal with hot money

Antara News, Thu, March 10 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian financial and investment authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold a high-level conference themed "Coping with Asia`s Large Capital Inflows in a Multi-Speed Global Economy" on March 11, 2011 in Bali.

Bank Indonesia (BI) in an announcement, on Thursday, said the one-day conference will bring together leading academics, researchers, investors and policymakers from Asia and other emerging market countries.

The conference, with BI and the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM as n hosts aims to provide an opportunity for discussions concerning the most recent developments regarding capital flows as well as ways to manage them effectively.

According to BI, the conference will allow policymakers from around the world to interact and share their invaluable experiences in managing capital flows at the gathering which will be jointly opened by BI Governor Darmin Nasution and IMF Director for Asia and the Pacific, Anoop Singh.

The theme of the conference is to cover the prospect of capital flows to emerging markets during the global recovery, and the appropriate policy response to benefit from the opportunities created by capital flows, including managing the risks

Another theme is on the challenge of channelling capital flows into long-term investment in order to bolster growth prospects and help facilitate balanced and sustainable global growth.

This conference represents a continuation of the previous conference in Daejeon, South Korea, in July 2010, where the IMF committed to strengthening new relationships with countries in the Asian region.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

AGO Hails New Ruling On Rp 1.2t Owed by Tommy Suharto

Jakarta Globe, Heru Andriyanto | March 09, 2011

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The Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday that it had won a court review allowing it to reclaim Rp 1.2 trillion ($136.8 million) from the youngest son of former President Suharto.

Prosecutor Cahyaning Nurati said the funds in question were in accounts at Bank Mandiri under the name of Timor Putra Nasional, the failed carmaker owned by Suharto’s son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy.

She said that while the Supreme Court had previously ruled in favor of Tommy over the disputed funds, a case review mounted by the AGO on behalf of the Ministry of Finance had gone “in favor of us, the Finance Ministry and Bank Mandiri.”

The dispute stems from the failure of TPN, founded by Tommy while his father was still in office, to pay Rp 4.05 trillion in unpaid import taxes in March 1999.

The company had imported cars from South Korea and rebranded them under the name Timor, marketing them as the “national car.”

The Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency had initially handled efforts to reclaim the debts but in April 2003 it sold the rights to collect it to a company named Vista Bella Pratama for Rp 444.6 billion. Vista has since been disbanded.

The government ordered state-owned Bank Mandiri to freeze Rp 1.2 trillion in accounts belonging to the carmaker in an attempt to collect the debts after finding out that Vista was actually an affiliate of Humpuss, a company also founded by Tommy.

The South Jakarta District Court ruled in November 2006 that the money belonged to TPN, but the verdict was overturned on appeal the following year.

In August 2008 the Supreme Court overturned the appeal and ordered the bank to release the money. However, the Finance Ministry had already moved the money from Bank Mandiri to a state account earlier that month.

Cahyaning said prosecutors were still battling Tommy in a separate case involving Vista, Humpuss, Mandala Buana Bhakti and TPN, which also concerns unpaid debts.

In another dispute between Tommy and French bank BNP Paribas, Jakarta has intervened by asking the bank to freeze 36 million euros ($50 million) belonging to Tommy, alleging the funds came from illegal sources.

The account was previously frozen by a court in the British dependency of Guernsey at the request of the Indonesian government, but in January 2009 a Guernsey court decided to lift the freeze on the funds because Jakarta had failed to provide any evidence that Tommy was involved in corruption.

“The money that we won in the case review in Indonesia amounts to Rp 1.2 trillion — more than the amount we lost in BNP Paribas,” Cahyaning said.