Indonesia to gradually stop sending domestic workers to abroad

Want China Times, CNA 2015-02-28

An Indonesia domestic worker and the elderly man she cares for at a
Chinese New Year event, Feb. 8. (File photo/Yang Han-sheng)

Indonesia plans to begin measures to stop sending domestic workers to Taiwan in 2017, as the Southeast Asian country is moving forward with a plan to stop sending domestic workers abroad in an effort to protect the country's dignity, according to an Indonesian official.

To move forward with President Joko Widodo's policy of preventing any more Indonesians from working abroad as domestic workers, Nusron Wahid–head of the Agency of Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers–said his country will stop sending domestic workers to the Middle East, starting this year, as the first step.

From 2017, it will gradually stop sending domestic workers to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau and other countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, he said Wednesday during an interview with Indonesian media Liputan6.com.

Rather than sending domestic workers overseas, he said, Indonesia will begin exporting trained and skilled workers. To that end, he said, his government is preparing to provide training programs to help give them skills.

He said he believes this policy will help Indonesian migrant workers get better salaries.

He was appointed after Widodo was inaugurated as Indonesia's new president in October.

The new government has made improving the rights and benefits of migrant workers and their overall working conditions one of its top administrative priorities.

During an interview with CNA in December, the official said he understands Taiwan's need for domestic helpers from Indonesia and suggested a solution to maintain the flow of workers in informal sectors.

Taiwan should comprehensively raise wages for Indonesian domestic helpers based on its own minimum wage regulations, and work hours should be limited to a level consistent with local law, he said, adding that domestic helpers should not live under the same roof as their employers but should be housed in dormitories.

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New Brand of Diplomacy to ‘Sell’ Indonesia Abroad

Be Proactive: Indonesia’s foreign minister is urging envoys stationed overseas to take on a more ‘economic’ attitude

Jakarta Globe, Erwida Maulia, Feb 26, 2015

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, left, and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Soesilo, right, at a limited cabinet meeting chaired by President Joko Widodo in Bogor, West Java, on Feb. 16, 2015. (Antara Photo/Andika Wahyu)

Jakarta. Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi on Tuesday shared her plans for Indonesia’s “new brand” of diplomacy, particularly in relation to the economy, following the delegation of a new task to all Indonesian envoys: to explore market opportunities for Indonesian businesses and safeguard those that currently operate overseas.

Extending President Joko Widodo’s vision for a foreign policy that is more “connected to the people,” Retno has repeatedly asserted that economic diplomacy is now among the main pillars of Indonesia’s foreign policy — in addition to protecting citizens abroad and increasing the country’s role at the international stage

Retno — in an exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe — cited the measures she implemented during her terms as ambassador to the Netherlands from 2012-14 as an example of what she now expects Indonesian envoys to practice.

“When I served as ambassador overseas, I regularly inspected shops selling Indonesian items. During one particular visit I found that these items were missing,” the minister began. “I asked the shop owners why these goods were unavailable and they informed me that there had been a problem with the supplier.

“I asked them the name of the importer. I received the contact details and immediately called Jakarta. Afterward, I managed to trace the problem — where and how it started — before making sure that these items once again lined the shelves of the shops I visited,” she said.

The minister added that she expects all Indonesian envoys to adopt the same pro-active mindset, saying: “The time of diplomats and ambassadors sitting pretty in their office is over. They must go into the field to understand out strengths [in a foreign country].

“They must be able to solve problems that can be detrimental to our exports, for example. They must understand local regulations [of the country in which they are stations], so that we’ll be able to enter those markets well.”

In addition to supporting the country’s exports, Indonesia’s new stance on economic diplomacy will also work to attract foreign investment to the archipelago, especially in sectors that are currently the government’s development priorities, including infrastructure, Retno said.

Indonesian embassies and consulates around the world are now tasked with handling inquiries related to foreign businesses interested in investing in the country. Envoys were briefed on the matter during a meeting in Jakarta earlier this month, she said.

“We agreed during the meeting that any Indonesian embassy [to receives inquiries related to business matters] must supply the necessary information in no later than  three working days,” she added.

Other areas of priority in the new diplomatic undertaking include matters related to food and energy resilience.

The Foreign Ministry has established what Retno dubbed an “economic diplomacy delivery unit,” headed directly by Deputy Foreign Minister A.M. Fachir. The unit will deal specifically with the new policy and coordinate with related ministries and state institutions, such as the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Industry.

“We must not tire in promoting Indonesia. Ambassadors must change their mindsets to not only maintain, but also boost our nation’s economic diplomacy in a variety of ways,” Retno said.

Speaking at the ambassadors’ gathering, Joko reiterated the policy’s aim of bolstering Indonesia’s exports and pushing the trade deficit into a surplus.

“What I know best is the furniture industry and the market is worth up to $480 billion, but  [Indonesia] benefits from only $1.8 billion of that,” said Joko, a former furniture businessman.

“If ambassadors can promote our products, we can create more opportunities to compete in the international market.”

SBY Honored, Along With Companies, for Green Growth

Jakarta Globe, Feb 26, 2015

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he was still president of Indonesia. (EPA
Photo/Bagus Indahono).

Jakarta. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was among a diverse group of winners of awards for sustainable business practices whose names were announced on Wednesday evening, with the former Indonesian president receiving praise for “his achievements in developing green growth in Indonesia and his commitments to action on climate change globally.”

A Special Award for Leadership in Green Growth and Development was presented to Yudhoyono at the Shangri La Hotel Jakarta, during a ceremony attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil and other ministers, as well as CEOs, heads of international agencies and media.

“Development and growth is something that needs to be planned carefully. It needs to ensure social inclusiveness. It needs to protect the environment, it needs to correspond to climate challenge, it needs to go on for the long term,” Yudhoyono said at the award ceremony.

The 2014 Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia were organized by Global Initiatives in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The organizers said in a press release that cement company Holcim Indonesia emerged the overall winner, but companies such as Bank BNI, Astra International, Bukit Asam, Nestle Indonesia, Bumi Serpong Damai and Unilever also won in various categories.

Tony Gourlay, CEO of Global Initiatives, said in the press release: “For the third year in a row, we are pleased to showcase companies in Indonesia who have embedded sustainability in their corporate mission and whose leadership shares this vision. We encourage other companies to follow their lead and communicate their sustainability efforts more widely.”

The complete list of SBA winners

MAIN AWARDS

Overall Winner: Holcim Indonesia

1. Strategy and vision: Unilever Indonesia

2. Workforce: Holcim Indonesia

3. Community: Astra International

4. Energy management: Holcim Indonesia

5. Water management: Bukit Asam

6. Waste & material productivity: Danone Aqua Group

7. Climate Change: Holcim Indonesia

8. Supply Chain: Nestle Indonesia

9. Land Use, Biodiversity and the Environment: Monsanto Indonesia (Branita Sandini)

10. Business Responsibility and Ethics: Unilever Indonesia

* Environmental Disclosure: Dupont Agriculture Products Indonesia

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

1. Pioneer in Green Finance in Indonesia: Bank Negara Indonesia

2. Outstanding leadership in sustainable agriculture: Great Giant Pineapple

3. SME placing sustainability at the core of its business: Pulau Nikoi

4. Outstanding Energy Management in the mining sector: Vale Indonesia

5. Outstanding Water Management in the property sector: Bumi Serpong Damai

Special Award for Green Growth & Leadership: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Indonesia Demands Explanation From Brazil Over Diplomatic Snub

Jakarta Globe, Suara Pembaruan, Feb 24, 2015

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, left, accompanied by the Indonesian
 ambassador-designate to Brazil Toto R.J., right, gives a statement to the press
 regarding the delay in delivery of the ambassador’s credentials to Brazil, after meeting
 President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace, in Jakarta on Feb. 24, 2015.
(Antara Photo/Ismar Patrizki)

Jakarta. Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has demanded an explanation from Brazil after President Dilma Rousseff refused to accept the diplomatic credentials of Indonesia’s ambassador-designate.

The diplomatic snub was reportedly over the imminent execution of a Brazilian convict on death row for drug trafficking in Indonesia, but Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP. Marsudi has summoned the Brazilian ambassador for an official explanation.

“We don’t know the official reason, the information received by the ambassador[-designate] from the Brazilian foreign affairs minister was the postponement was related to the execution,” Retno said on Tuesday.

Toto Riyanto, Indonesia’s incoming ambassador-designate to Brazil, was informed that his credentials would not be accepted after he had arrived at the president’s palace, expecting to become an ambassador.

Toto has since been recalled to Indonesia and will meet with President Joko Widodo when he returns.

The incident is just the latest diplomatic spate that has been caused by Joko’s decision to press on with the execution of inmates — a practice that was only resumed in 2013 after a four-year de-facto moratorium.

The Australian government has been vocal in its opposition to the death penalty and has requested clemency for two members of the “Bali Nine” drug trafficking ring, who are among the next group of inmates scheduled to be shot.

Brazil and the Netherlands withdrew their ambassadors from Indonesia “for consultations” last month after two of their citizens were among six people executed for drugs offenses.

Retno said Joko was noticeably upset with Brazil’s latest action.

“This is about the country’s dignity and sovereignty because an ambassador’s presence represents the Indonesian president,” Retno said.

The foreign affairs minister said the Indonesian government was confused by Brazil’s actions, especially as the two countries had until recently enjoyed good bilateral relations.

Dina Wisnu, an international relations expert from Paramadina University, said as a president, Joko has an obligation to explain to Brazil why the execution was deemed necessary. Brazil abolished capital punishment in the 19th century, the academic said.

“Brazil will be willing to have their citizens found punished if they were guilty, but not executed,” Dina said, adding the government should not be reactive to Brazil’s protest.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

Related Articles:

Indonesia recalls new envoy to Brazil amid death penalty row

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Swiss account secret of HSBC chief Stuart Gulliver revealed

Leaked files covering 2005-2007 show bank chief executive sheltered £5m of his own money at Panamanian company with Swiss HSBC account

The Guardian, James Ball, Juliette Garside, David Pegg and Harry Davies, 22 February 2015

Stuart Gulliver in Hong Kong in 2012: leaked files show that the HSBC chief
 executive was a client of the bank’s Swiss subsidiary at the centre of the scandal.
Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Stuart Gulliver, the HSBC chief executive who has vowed to reform the crisis-hit bank, sheltered millions of pounds in a Swiss account through a Panamanian company and remains tax domiciled in Hong Kong.

Leaked files show that the Derby-born Gulliver, who is due to present HSBC’s annual report on Monday in the wake of the international controversy over its Geneva-based private bank, was also one of its clients, holding about £5m in a Swiss account.

The bank executive was listed as the beneficial owner of an account in the name of Worcester Equities Inc, an anonymous company registered in Panama, containing a balance in 2007 of $7.6m. It was through this entity that Gulliver’s HSBC bonuses were paid until 2003. He also held a second account in the name of Worcester Foundation, which had been closed before 2007.

Although now based in the UK, where HSBC has its headquarters, Gulliver is domiciled in Hong Kong for legal and tax purposes.

The banking details have emerged as the 55-year-old Oxford University graduate, who became chief executive in January 2011, is due to face questions from reporters and investors for the first time since the Guardian and other media outlets published the leaked HSBC files, which revealed misconduct at the bank’s Swiss subsidiary.

The documents, covering 2005-07, detailed how the private bank was complicit in tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance, doled out bricks of cash in mixed currencies to clients, and provided banking services to criminals, drug smugglers, and friends and families of dictators.

Gulliver has already personally signed a “sincere apology” which appeared in three newspapers last Sunday, saying “the standards to which we operate today were not universally in place in our Swiss operations 8 years ago”.

The bank is expected to announce on Monday full-year profits for 2014 in excess of £13bn – and Gulliver’s total compensation package has been predicted to be around £7.5m, although it was reported over the weekend that he may surrender some of his remuneration because the bank agreed to pay fines to settle unrelated allegations of foreign exchange rigging last year.

In response to queries from the Guardian about his personal account as revealed in the leaked files, a representative for Gulliver said he had made use of HSBC Suisse to hold his bonus payments prior to 2003, when he moved from Hong Kong to London.

Lawyers for Gulliver said that Hong Kong tax had been paid on this income – and explained that he “followed this procedure because he wanted his taxed bonus earnings to remain private from his then colleagues in Hong Kong, which they would not have done if he had kept them in an HSBC Hong Kong account”.

The Guardian asked Gulliver why he used a Panamanian company to hold the funds, given Swiss accounts already offer secrecy. His lawyers declined to answer.

Gulliver’s legal representatives added that his Swiss accounts have “for a number of years” been voluntarily declared to UK tax authorities. They declined to specify the exact date they were first declared.

Gulliver is also among those current and former clients of HSBC Suisse to take advantage of non-dom status. Gulliver is a registered non-dom based on his long residence in Hong Kong – now a special administrative region of China – which he considers to be his home, despite his UK-based position.

A representative for Gulliver said: “Having lived there since the 1980s, our client has become a permanent Hong Kong resident with right of abode, as has his wife who is an Australian national. Hong Kong continues to be their home albeit that our client now works primarily in the UK. As a matter of law, our client is domiciled in Hong Kong.”

Non-dom status can confer several tax advantages on those who claim the status compared with those domiciled in the UK. These include advantages in how inheritance tax is applied, but can also exempt worldwide income earned from outside the UK from incurring UK taxes – a system known as the remittance basis.

Gulliver’s lawyers confirmed he was “entitled to claim the benefit of the remittance basis”, but did not say whether or not he did so. If Gulliver were on the remittance basis, he would not need to pay tax on investment income held outside the UK – which would include holdings in Swiss bank accounts.

A representative for Gulliver said that he had paid all relevant income taxes: “Full UK tax has been paid on the entirety of his worldwide earnings less a credit for tax paid additionally in Hong Kong (where he is also tax resident) on that part of the same earnings doubly taxed.”

John Christensen, director of the Tax Justice Network, which has campaigned for abolition of non-dom tax benefits in the UK, said the non-dom quirk was particularly attractive for anybody who had accumulated assets such as homes and bonuses offshore, because any gains on offshore assets would be sheltered from UK tax.

“For my part I think it illustrates the absurdity of the rule, which should have been abolished many years ago. It serves no useful purpose and is hugely discriminatory against ordinary UK taxpayers,” he said.

Separately, Gulliver did not become employed by HSBC’s main holding company when he took over as chief executive of the bank in 2011. Documents seen by the Guardian at the time showed that Gulliver took the job of chief executive officer as a secondment from the Dutch-headquartered HSBC Asia Holdings, rather than take a straightforward appointment to the UK parent company.

A spokesman for HSBC said around 350 of its staff were employed through the Netherlands. “About 350 of the bank’s most internationally-mobile employees are employed by HSBC BV,” he said. “This enables them to be employed/seconded to any part of the global group without the need to change contracted employer.”

Representatives for Gulliver declined to explain for what purpose he was employed through the Netherlands subsidiary.

Gulliver has repeatedly emphasised to the public and to lawmakers that the culture of the bank, as well as its safeguards, has changed – both in the wake of the HSBC Files, and previous scandals including Libor rigging, and involvement with Mexican money laundering.

Since the publication of the HSBC files, the bank has been keen to stress that it has downsized the Swiss business, reducing the number of clients by 66%, to around 10,000. However, the total value of assets in those accounts – $68bn (£44bn) – has fallen by only 42%.

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Prosecutors in China investigate record numbers for bribery

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-02-19

Xu Jinhui, the SPP's anti-bribery head, gives a press conference
on Jan. 19. (Photo/CNS)

Chinese prosecutors investigated 24 provincial, ministerial or higher level officials in the first 11 months of 2014, an official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Thursday.

Xu Jinhui, the SPP's anti-bribery head, said that prosecutors across the country investigated 30,414 cases involving 39,533 people on suspicion of bribery between January and November 2014. Of them, 3,077 officials were at the county level or higher, up 36.3%.

The number of cases was 11.7% higher than the same period the year before while the number of people under investigation was 7.1% higher.

Prosecutorial agencies had 611 fugitives repatriated from overseas in the first 11 months of 2014.

A total of 7,449 people were put under investigation for offering bribes in the same period, an increase of 37.9%, he said.

Johan Budi Ready to Lead Corruption Watchdog

Jakarta Globe, Feb 19, 2015

Johan Budi has been appointed as a temporary commissioner of the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). (Antara Foto/Reno Esnir)

Jakarta. Newly appointed anti-graft agency commissioner Johan Budi says he is ready to lead the organization and hopes changes made by President Joko Widodo on Wednesday signal a new era in relations with the National Police.

Johan was one of three temporary substitutes named to take the place of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Abraham Samad, deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto and Busyro Muqoddas, whose term expired last year.

The president announced he would temporarily suspend Abraham and Bambang while they were being investigated by police.

Johan, who is the KPK’s deputy for corruption prevention, said he told Vice President Jusuf Kalla during a late-night phone call on Wednesday that he was ready to lead.

Johan said he believed Wednesday’s press conference showed Joko had decided to reset relations between the KPK and National Police.

During the televised press conference the president also announced he would drop graft suspect Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as candidate for National Police chief. Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the acting National Police chief, has been nominated for the role instead.

Relations between the police and KPK have hit new lows over the past few weeks. Leaders from the KPK have been announced as criminal suspects in a range of historic cases, which many observers have concluded is retaliation for their decision to name Budi Gunawan a graft suspect.

Lawyers: KPK’s Bambang Widjojanto Should Face Bar Association, Not Police

Jakarta Globe, Yustinus Paat, Feb 13, 2015

A silhouette photo of KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto as he makes a
 speech at Da’wah Center Building Muhammadiyah in Menteng, Jakarta on Feb. 8,
2015. (Antara Photo/Wahyu Putro A.)

Jakarta. Lawyers of antigraft deputy Bambang Widjojanto said the perjury allegations against their client should be heard by an ethics tribunal of the Indonesian bar association instead of the National Police, arguing that the case is closely linked to Bambang’s role as a lawyer.

Police have charged Bambang, a deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), with compelling witnesses to commit perjury in a 2010 election dispute hearing. Bambang served as a lawyer for one of the candidates involved in the dispute.

“After reviewing [the police investigation against Bambang], the case is linked to his work as a lawyer,” said lawyer Abdul Fikar Hajar.

This would make the KPK deputy subject to the 2003 Law on Advocates, which protects him from any criminal charges, Abdul said.

Abdul added that the case should be heard by the Indonesian Advocates Association, Peradi, instead of being investigated criminally by the National Police.

“The bar association has the authority to determine whether a lawyer performed within the perimeters of the law,” he argued. “Therefore, Peradi must communicate with the National Police so they can take over the case.”

The investigation against Bambang is widely believed to be a retaliatory attack on the KPK for its decision to name Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a National Police chief candidate, a graft suspect last month.

The police have since opened cases on other KPK commissioners.

Bambang’s lawyer and chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation Alvon Kurnia Palma said Peradi secretary general Hasanuddin Nasution has already signed a petition for the bar association to take over, and he was “now waiting for the signature of Peradi chairman Otto Hasibuan.”

Such a transfer of authority is not uncommon, said Abdul, citing eight previous cases in which Peradi took jurisdiction.

Top Cop Tells Press Pack to Calm Down Over KPK Treatment

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz & Ezra Sihite,  Feb 12, 2015

Deputy police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, right, shakes hands with former
police chief Gen. Sutarman in January. (Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)

Jakarta. The deputy chief of the National Police, Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, has lashed out at the media for sensationalizing the police’s relationship with the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK.

Badrodin said that media reports of the police threatening or intimidating KPK commissioners and other staff were entirely misplaced.

“It’s really disturbing,” Badrodin said on Thursday at the National Police headquarters. “You [journalists] are accusing the National Police. How could I not feel bothered?”

Badrodin claimed the police were between a rock and a hard place because any police attempt to effectively go anywhere near the KPK’s South Jakarta headquarters was met with accusations it was attempting to raid the premises.

“When we secure a demonstration, people say that we are raiding [the KPK],” he said. “Every time there’s police [near the KPK], they say that we’re terrorizing the KPK.”

The police and the KPK remain at loggerheads while President Joko Widodo decides how to proceed after having nominated Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan to become the next chief of police, only to see him become entangled in legal problems.

Budi was named a corruption suspect by the KPK just days after Joko’s nomination, setting in train a series of events that appear to be aimed at undermining the KPK and which have eroded yet more trust in Indonesia’s police force. Police are currently pursuing a host of old legal cases against the entire KPK leadership.

Foreign Minister Rejects Australia Plea to Save Bali Pair From Death: Report

Jakarta Globe, Feb 12, 2015

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, center, is seen in between Coordinating Minister
 for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Tedjo Edy Purdjianto, front left, President Joko
 Widodo, front right,, Trade Minister Rahmat Gobel, back left, and Minister of Manpower
 Hanif Dhakiri, back right, during official inauguration at the Presidential Palace in
Jakarta on Oct. 27, 2014. (AFP Photo/Romeo Gacad)

Jakarta. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi is reported to have turned down a last-ditch attempt by the government of Australia to spare two of its citizens, convicted of drug trafficking, from the firing squad before the end of the month.

Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, are among of batch of mostly foreign death-row inmates scheduled to face the firing squad after their requests for clemency were rejected by President Joko Widodo.

“I have been talking to [Australian Foreign Minister] Julie Bishop twice, our communication is consistent,” Retno said on Thursday as quoted by Indonesian news portal Detik.com.

“I have explained Indonesia’s policy. This isn’t about Indonesia against other countries, it’s about Indonesia against crime,” she added.

“In the past, Indonesia was only used as a transit point for drug trafficking, but now we are the biggest market in Asia and third-biggest in the world. We are in an emergency situation.”

Indonesia is not a larger market for illegal drugs than China or India, two other countries in Asia. More people die from road accidents and smoking than are killed by drugs in Indonesia.

Bishop previously made a statement urging the Indonesian government to show mercy for Sukumaran and Chan, who were found guilty of attempting to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Bali in 2005.

A lawyer for the pair, Todung Mulya Lubis, said his clients would challenge the presidential decree rejecting the clemency. However, Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly said the challenge would not be recognized under Indonesian law.

Indonesia has faced strong criticism from the international community and human rights groups for resuming the executions of convicted drug traffickers, while President Joko has been criticized for using fallacious data to claim that up to 50 Indonesians die every day from drug abuse.

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Jokowi Promises to Aid Death Row Indonesians Abroad While Ordering Executions at Home

Jero Wacik Named Graft Suspect Over Time as Tourist Minister

Jakarta Globe, Erwin Cristianson, Feb 07, 2015

Former Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik is shown here leaving
the headquarters of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on July 16, 2014.
(Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus)

Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission has named former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik a suspect in separate graft case that is alleged to have taken place when he was still the Minister of Culture and Tourism.

Jero was tourism minister from 2008-11 before President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono moved him to energy in a reshuffle. Jero was named a suspect by the agency, better known as the KPK, on Sept.3, 2014  on extortion charges during his time at the energy minstry.

“KPK investigators found sufficient preliminary evidence to conduct a further investigation and name J.W [Jero Wacik], the minister of culture and tourism from 2008-11, a suspect,” KPK official Priharsa said on Friday evening.

Jero will be charged with Article 2 and 3 of the Anti-Corruption law, which carry a maximum 20 years in prison.

The case, according to Priharsa, is related to a misuse of the tourism ministry budget that caused up to Rp 7 billion in state losses.

“It happened during his tenure,” he said.

The investigation for both cases is still ongoing and Jero has not been detained.

“The previous case is still being investigated and we have been conducting thorough checks,” Priharsa said.

Basuki to Fire Officials Who Fail to Submit Wealth Reports

Jakarta Globe, Feb 05, 2015

Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama says he will fire city officials
who fail to submit a wealth report. (Antara Photo/Wahyu Putro A.)

Jakarta. Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama plans to discharge Jakarta city officials and the city-owned enterprises agency (BUMD) directors who fail to submit an official wealth report within three months to the Corruption Eradication Commission.

“We will fire them,” Basuki told Indonesian new portal Tempo.co on Thursday.

Some 17.6% of city officials and 24% of BUMD directors have not yet submitted their wealth reports despite a 2014 regulation issued by Basuki requiring them to do so, Indonesia Corruption Watch said.

Basuki introduced the regulation in October last year in a bid to cut out graft at City Hall. The policy requires mid-level city officials as well as agency heads to report their wealth to Indonesia’s anti-graft agency.

KPK Deputy Bambang Answers Police Summons for Questioning

'Even if I have to die, I'll do it, but I believe that God is with the righteous'

Jakarta Globe, Fana FS Putra, Feb 03, 2015

KPK deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto. (Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus)

Jakarta. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto on Tuesday answered a National Police summons to be questioned in a five-year-old case related to a local election dispute.

Upon his departure from the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta, colleagues gathered in front of the building to send him off. The KPK employees were dressed in black and gave flowers to Bambang as a symbol of their support.

“I’ll return soon so please don’t take it too seriously. Thank you for the support,” he said.

Bambang claimed that by coming to the National Police Headquarters, he was setting an example of what a good law enforcer would do.

“I, as a leader of a law enforcement body, will come and show our class. I’ll show that law enforcers should obey the law,” he said.

He added that the allegations and threats he and his fellow KPK leaders are facing are an occupational hazard that they have to bear.

“Even if I have to die, I’ll do it, but I believe that God is with the righteous,” he said. “The prayers of the poor and the victimized will save the country.”

KPK chief Abraham Samad echoed Bambang’s statement.

“What is happening to Bambang and other KPK leaders is a risk we have to take on this long journey to eradicate corruption in this country. Let’s pray for the KPK’s survival. May it always be as strong as it is today,” he said.

Bambang has been named a suspect by the police for allegedly making false statements during a hearing on a local election dispute at the Constitutional Court back in 2010, when he was working as a lawyer.

He was arrested on Jan. 23 while taking his child to school, but released the next day. However, the investigation continues.

Widodo Promises to Act on Police Chief Spat as Popularity Hit

Jakarta Globe, Neil Chatterjee and Yudith Ho, Feb 03, 2015

President Joko Widodo welcomed a Japanese business delegation at the
palace on Monday. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo will decide this week whether to stick with a controversial pick for police chief, an episode that has undermined his political support and put his graft-fighting credentials in question.

“I hope this week I will decide,” Widodo, known as Jokowi, said Monday in an interview in his office at his Dutch- colonial era residence in Jakarta. Asked which way he was leaning, Jokowi laughed and replied “you’ll know after I decide.”

Just days after Jokowi, 53, announced Budi Gunawan as his choice for police chief, the anti-graft agency named the three- star general a corruption suspect. Jokowi said Jan. 16 he had “postponed but not canceled” the nomination while the agency investigated Gunawan, prompting criticism from anti-graft activists.

Jokowi, a former small businessman who rose through the ranks of local government without the support of the major parties, became president after a campaign pledging zero tolerance on corruption and staking his reputation as a reformer.

Three months into his term the furor over his police chief pick threatens to become a distraction from his broader policy agenda in a parliament where he lacks a majority.

Faced with a public backlash if he proceeds with Gunawan, and with spiking tensions between the anti-graft agency known as the KPK and the police, as the police retaliate by moving against two senior KPK officials, Jokowi said he would uphold the rule of law. “I must respect the legal process,” he said.

The rupiah gained 0.4 percent, the most in two weeks, as investors look for a quick conclusion to the dispute following Jokowi’s comments, said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore.

Police Investigations

As the KPK investigates Gunawan, police have begun probes into senior officers at the anti-graft body.

Police are examining a complaint against KPK chairman Abraham Samad related to the issuance of a passport, said Ronny Sompie, a spokesman for the national police, and are looking at his meetings with politicians from Jokowi’s party. Samad was touted as a potential vice-presidential candidate for Jokowi last year.

Relations between the police and corruption fighters were once so marred by acrimony that dozens of officers barged into the KPK to try and arrest an agent investigating the chief traffic cop. Transparency International has described the police force as the nation’s most corrupt institution.

Ratings Slide

Gunawan’s ties to former President Megawati Soekarnoputri could complicate the decision-making process for Jokowi as he seeks to show he’s free from influence. Gunawan was a personal adjutant of Megawati, who was president from 2001 to 2004 and heads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, the party that backed Jokowi. Jokowi appointed Megawati’s daughter to a post in the Cabinet.

With his popularity sliding, former Jakarta governor Jokowi dismissed the possibility of impeachment, which would need the support of more than three-quarters of parliament. “There is still support from our party, our coalition,” he said, sitting at a desk at Istana Merdeka — or Freedom Palace — in front of a bust of India independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur and Indonesia’s first elected leader after the downfall of dictator Suharto, was impeached in 2001 after less than two years in power, following claims of involvement in financial scandals.

Fallen Popularity

Public satisfaction with Jokowi fell from 71.7 percent in August to 42.3 percent 100 days into his term, a poll late last month by Lingkaran Survei Indonesia showed. Of the 1,200 respondents, 53.1% were unhappy with his nomination of Gunawan for police chief.

“This sort of episode reminds us that he still needs to maintain a tight balancing act between the interests of his own party while maintaining his popularity in the public,” said Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore. “The longer Jokowi allows this to drag on, the more difficult it will be for him” to restore credibility on tackling graft, he said.

Jokowi downplayed the prospect of an alliance with opposition parties, having met last week with opposition leader Prabowo Subianto. Former army general Prabowo, Jokowi’s rival in last year’s presidential race, heads the Gerindra Party and his coalition has a parliamentary majority. Prabowo said in October he’d support Jokowi while being a critic on policies that would harm the nation.

Asked if the meeting could pave the way for an alliance, Jokowi said “there is no talk about that.”

Economics, Politics

“Last week when I met Pak Prabowo we discussed about economics and also about politics,” said Jokowi, who takes a break while in his car by playing phone games and listening to Megadeth, Metallica and Queen.

As Jokowi nears his decision, Gunawan missed an appearance at the KPK last week for scheduled questioning. A hearing where he will seek to have the case dismissed has been delayed to Feb. 9, Kompas reported on its website. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The KPK was set up in 2003 to put teeth into anti-graft efforts across the world’s fourth-most populous nation. It has a 100 percent conviction rate and prosecuted 72 members of parliament, six central bankers and dozens of chief executives in the decade since it was formed in 2003, earning it the support of ordinary Indonesians.

‘Save KPK’

KPK Commissioner Bambang Widjojanto submitted his resignation Jan. 26 after police arrested him for allegedly ordering witnesses to give false testimony to judges ruling in a local election dispute in 2010. Widjojanto will be summoned for police questioning Tuesday, Sompie said.

The KPK, citing Widjojanto, said on Twitter that its fight against corruption would not be silenced. After Widjojanto’s arrest, protesters gathered outside the agency’s offices, shouting “save KPK”. Jokowi now needs to restore trust, said Paul Rowland, a political consultant in Jakarta.

“Indonesians are pretty forgiving in the end, but it depends on whether he takes enough action on the things they care about,” said Rowland.

Whatever his decision on Gunawan, Jokowi will seek to return focus to his planned reforms, including changes to tax collection.

“As a president I must make sure everything must be on track,” he said. “It’s only been 100 days. My work is for five years, so there’s still a lot that hasn’t been done.”

Bloomberg

Lawmaker, 3 Others Arrested for Shooting E. Java Antigraft Activist

Jakarta Globe, Feb 03, 2015

Antigraft activist Mathur Husaini is still recovering from being shot in front
of his home on Jan. 20. (Antara Photo/M. Risyal Hidayat)

Jakarta. Four people including a local lawmaker have been arrested for alleged involvement in the shooting of an anticorruption activist in East Java.

Aldi Alfarisi, who heads a commission at the Bangkalan City Council, was arrested along with three other men, who allegedly shot Mathur Husairi on Jan. 20.

“All four suspects have been arrested on Monday at 10 p.m,” a spokesman for Bangkalan Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Hanny Hidayat, told Detik.com Tuesday.

“This commission head of the city council is the mastermind behind the shooting,” Hanny added.

Mathur was shot in the waist in front of his house in Bangkalan in the early morning. He was in critical condition after the shooting and is still in hospital.

Bangkalan district has been rocked by a corruption scandal that saw the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrest Bangkalan City Council Speaker Fuad Amin Imron for taking kickbacks from an energy company in connection with a natural gas concession. He was arrested in December and is currently being held in Jakarta.

The KPK last month seized two Surabaya homes, six cars and Rp 100 million ($8,000) in cash from Fuad.