PKS: Corruption & Polygamy

Yesterday, the largest Islam based party the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has announced Anis Matta (44) as its new President to replace Luthfi Hasan Iskaq.

Luthfi was named a Suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last Wednesday in a bribery case centering on the government's procurement of imported meat (details here).

This is the second time that a PKS politician implicated in Corruption case after Misbakhun who was found guilty by the courts in 2010 for his involvement in the fake Letter of Credit (LC) of the troubled Bank Century but released after the Supreme Court accepted his request for Judicial Review (details here and here).

In his first speech as PKS President, Anis Matta stated his suspicion that the allegation against Luthfi was part of a grand conspiracy against the party. I think this is a "wild statement" considering that KPK is still conducting investigations on the case. It could be some sort of a "boomerang" if later on the court find him guilty. The best thing for PKS would be to cooperate with KPK in the investigation of this case.

One interesting thing about Anis Matta, formerly the party's Secretary General, is the fact that he is still young compared to chairmen of most political parties, and he has two wives, the second one being a Hungarian lady.

Beside Anis Matta, other PKS leaders also lead the polygamous life style, including its former president Tifatul Sembiring (currently Minister of Communication & Information) who has two wives, its Deputy Treasurer General Didin Aminuddin who has three wives, and its member of Parliament Zulkifliemansyah  who has two wives (details here).

Hmmmm ....... I wonder whether PKS is planing to make Indonesia a Polygamous country ?

Logo :  Courtesy of Wikipedia

The Controversial Mayor of Bogor

The Mayor of Bogor, West Java, Diani Budiarto (56), is one of the most controversial public officer in Indonesia today.

Diani is serving his second term as the mayor of Bogor. He was re-elected in 2009 based on the support of some major parties, i.e. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Some of his decisions were not just controversial but also against regulations and court verdict.. For example he refused to allow the opening of the GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor although the Supreme Court has passed a verdict which sided on the church.

And recently, he married a nineteen years old girl as his fourth wife, in a way that violates the Government Regulations No. 10/1983 and No. 45/1990 that restricted civil servants from practicing Polygamy.

Due to the above facts, hundreds of students have protested against the Mayor.

I hope that the members of the Bogor House of Representatives, especially those from the parties that supported Diani in the election, would persuade him to obey the laws/regulations and court verdict.

The Obedient Wives Club in Jakarta

On 18 June 2011, a club called the Obedient Wives Club was established in Jakarta.

Earlier this month, a similar club was established in Malaysia by a fanatic organization called Global Ikhwan which was behind the controversial Polygamy Club which encourage Polygamy among Muslims several years ago.

The club claims that they can cure social illness such as Prostitution and Divorce by teaching women to be submissive and to keep their men happy in the bedroom. Because good sex is the foundation for healthy marriages and a strong society.


According to the leader of the Jakarta club i.e. Gina Puspita who shares her husband with three other women, a wife must be 100 percent obedient to her husband in all aspects, especially in Sexual Treatment. For which purpose the club would offer its members a package of teachings including how to treat their husbands in bed.

In my opinion, this club is making efforts to promote Polygamy.in Indonesia.

Wives fighting for Husband's Office

I believe that Polygamy marriage is a personal matter of the man and woman who are involved in such kind of marriage.       

As long as such marriage is done according to the national laws, regulations and traditions in Indonesia and do not cause disturbances to society, and those involved do not hold public offices, I really don't care.

It is for this reason that I was very surprised when I read on The Jakarta Globe (below) about two wives of the Resident of Kediri, East Java, competing against each other in a regional election to replace their husband in office.

Claws Out as Two Wives Fight to Replace Husband in Office

What happens when two wives of an incumbent district head vie to replace their outgoing husband?

Hostility comes out into the open.

And that is exactly what is happening in the election in Kediri, East Java.

Haryanti is the first wife of district head Sutrisno. Among others, she will be running against Nurlaila, her husband’s younger wife.

Haryanti has the support of four political parties — the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Nurlaila’s ticket is being backed by the National Mandate Party (PAN) and some other factions not represented in the national legislature.

The hostility between the two wives was evident on Thursday when all the candidates were invited to explain their vision and mission at the Bukit Daun Hotel in Kediri.

It got off to a bad start when first wife Haryanti refused to shake hands with Nurlaila. 

As a consequence, a member of the audience threw a plastic glass of water at the candidates. It was not clear who the target was, as it failed to hit any of the three hopefuls. But chaos ensued.

The head of the Kediri General Elections Commission (KPU), Agus Edi Winarto, said he had tried his best to hold a debate among candidates before the elections on Wednesday.

Agus said he did not believe there was a political motive behind the incident and he was certain the candidates would behave themselves in the future.

He acknowledged the debate had been designed to prevent the candidates from confronting one another head on.

“We designed it with a mediator so that they could not directly argue against each other, in the hope that they would not try to attack each other,” Agus said.

Hostility between the two wives has been obvious for a long time.

During a presentation of the candidates’ vision and mission before Kediri’s Regional Legislative Council last month, the two wives previously refused to shake hands after the event.

Haryanti also left the building through another door to avoid having to meet Nurlaila.

While the two wives are currently squabbling for a position now held by their husband, he is busy facing corruption allegations over the construction of the Simpang Lima Gumul monument, which ate up billions of rupiah of the state budget.