The First Family's Tax Reports

President Soesilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) has frequently stated about the need for people to fulfill their tax obligations, and about the importance of transparency regarding the wealth of government/state officials.

That's why I was very surprised when The Jakarta Post reported about some discrepancies in the annual Tax Reports filed by him and his sons i.e. Major Agus Harimurti (Agus) and Edhie Baskoro (Ibas) for the year 2011 (below).

The paper wrote that the President's tax report mentioned that he earned Rp 1,37 Billion as President in addition to Rp 107 Million in income from Royalties. That year, SBY opened bank accounts worth 4.98 Billion and US$ 589.188 but there's no specific details for these funds.

Agus mentioned that his annual income as an Army officer is Rp 70,2 million, and he has 4 savings accounts at four different banks totaling Rp 1.63 Billion, but he did not give information about his or his wife's additional income. The total tax he paid amounts to Rp 2.7 Million.

Whereas Ibas mentioned that as a member of the People's Representative Council he earned Rp 183 Million. He also mentioned an investment in PT Yastra Capital worth Rp 900 Million, saving account of Rp 1,59 Billion, and cash money of Rp 1,57 Billion. However, he did not mention other sources of income like dividend, share etc.  The tax he paid : Rp 20 Million. Whereas his tax report in 2010 mentioned that his assets worth Rp 6 Billion including a car  Audi Q5 SUV worth Rp 1,16 Billion.

The Jakarta Post reported that President SBY has asked the Finance Ministry's Directorate General of Taxation to publicly address the above mentioned discrepancy allegations. 

In this connection, the Director General of Taxation Fuad Rahmany clarified that the President and his sons have met the required taxation administration procedures and have complied with the existing law and regulations. He said that there is no way that the President's family failed to properly fill in their tax report. Because they have a special team that thoroughly calculates their tax obligations to ensure accuracy.

Jakarta in State of Emergency

                        Downtown Jakarta inundated by flood (The Jakarta Globe)

In the last three days the rain falls heavily in Jakarta and neighboring towns of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.

             President SBY (blue shirt) inspecting flooded Palace (The Jakarta Globe)

And today, Thursday 17 January, the heavy rainfall has caused severe flooding in most parts of the city forcing many government and business offices to close because their staffs cannot come to work.
The media reported that thousands of people in Jakarta and vicinity have been forced to leave their homes, the Presidential Palace was flooded that President SBY (the above photo) has to rescheduled his meeting with Argentinian President from morning to afternoon. The Busway transportation network has to stop its operation at 9.15 am, and trains from out of town must stop at certain train stations that are not flooded, cannot reach the city's downtown.

                                          Flooded residential area (Kompas)

According to an official of the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysical Agency the rainfall could get worse in the next few days.

Considering the above facts, the Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo a.k.a Jokowi, has placed the capital city under state of emergency starting today until 27 January 2013. The announcement was made after he discussed with the Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare and the Head of National Disaster Mitigation Agency at his office earlier today.

Under this emergency status, the municipality government to take extraordinary actions to respond to the flooding crisis. According to Jokowi, this is a short term solution for the flood which enable the government to purchase necessary things like toilets, blankets and other needs without going through a tender.

Meanwhile, the Police and the Army has send their men to help victims of the flood. 

Do we need the Ministry of Youth & Sports?

Last December, the Minister of Youth & Sports Andi Malarangeng resigned from his position because the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named him a Suspect in the Hambalang Sport Center project Corruption Case.

Due to this fact, President SBY has named the Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Agung Laksono as interim Minister of Youth & Sport.

And last Friday afternoon, President SBY announced a controversial Democratic Party lawmaker, the self proclaimed IT Expert Roy Suryo as the new Minister.

When Andi Malarangeng was Minister (October 2009-December 2012) the development of Youth and . Sports in Indonesia was not running well. In Sports, especially the never ending conflict between leaders of the All Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) which has been divided into two parts.

And the condition of Youth in Indonesia can be described as not good considering so many fighting among students of schools in Jakarta and other cities.

The worst thing about the Ministry of Youth & Sports was the fact that so many corruption cases happened.

Due to the above, President SBY has tasked Roy Suryo with supporting Indonesian athletes in the upcoming South East Asia Games, eliminating Corruption in the Ministry, and working to re-unite the divided All Indonesian Football Association.

Roy Suryo acknowledged that this would not be an easy job for him considering that he does not have back ground as an athlete or as a famous youth figure.

I hope that Roy Suryo would be successful in doing the above mentioned tasks, otherwise what's the use of  having a Youth and Sports Ministry, much better if it become a subordinate of the Ministry of Education as in the past (during Soeharto era).

Are We Serious in Fighting Illegal Drugs ?

I always think that the circulation of Illegal Drugs in Indonesia has reached a very dangerous level, that our country has been dubbed by some news media as a haven for illegal drugs.

Those who have members of families and/or friends who are Drug Addicts/Junkies would know for sure that they would would do anything to satisfy their needs for illegal drugs, including lie, steal or even kill.

For that reason I always hope that the Courts of Justice in Indonesia would pass heavy punishments to anyone involved in the trade of illegal drugs as stipulated  by the Anti Narcotics Law No 22/1997 Article 80 i.e maximum Death Sentence, and the Anti Psychoactive Drugs Law No. 5/1997 Article 60 i.e maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Please read here for details.

Unfortunately, the facts show that the above laws have not been implemented properly. Those who were involved in Illegal Drug trades have been punished lighter than they supposed to be.

For example, last Friday President Susilo Yudoyono (SBY) granted Clemency to an Indonesian drug trafficker that has been sentenced to death by the District Court of Tangerang, Banten, the High Court and the Supreme Court. And last May, President SBY trimmed five years off Australian drug convict Schapelle Corby's 2 years prison sentence. Please read here for details.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court revoked the punishment of an Illegal Drug Lord i.e. Hengky Gunawan, from Death Sentence into a 15 years Prison Sentence. Please read here for details.

The saddest thing is that the above lightening of punishments were done based on the reason to upheld human rights of those Drug Traders/Dealers. I wonder whether the human rights of the Drug Addicts/Junkies and their families and friends have been forgotten.

Ani Yudoyono: a Presidential Candidate?

 

During the general elections in 2004 and 2009, the political party of President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) i.e. the Democrat Party, won majority popular vote

And based on those victories, the Democrat Party nominated SBY as candidate in the 2004 and 2009 Presidential elections, which were won triumphantly.

According to the amended Constitution of 1945, SBY can only hold Presidential office for two terms,  five years each, therefore he cannot be nominated again when his second office term ends in 2014.

As the strongest political party, the Democrat Party should have an eligible candidate for the next President election, so as to compete with candidates from other strong parties such as the Golkar Party which seems to plant to nominate its Chairman Aburizal Bakrie, the business conglomerate, as candidate.

Although, Aburizal Bakrie's name has been marred by the disastrous Hot Mudflow caused by his company's failure to follow standard procedure in gas exploration in Sidoardjo, East Java, however until now he is the most popular candidate.

Of course, there is former President Megawati of the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDIP) but many people questioned her ability, besides she is too old  (65).

So if the Democrat Party wants to lead the government again in 2014-2019, it has to nominate someone who can beat the popularity and quality of Aburizal Bakrie. But unfortunately, the Party doesn't seem to have one.
Its Chairman, Anas Urbaningrum is said to be allegedly connected with the wrong doings by members of Democrat Party, its other leader i.e. the Speaker of House of Representatives Marzuki Alie is not popular because of the bad public statements he has made.

Considering this fact, one of the Democrat Party leaders i.e. former lawyer Ruhut Sitompul has repeatedly made public statements saying that the best candidate would be President SBY's wife namely Mrs. Ani Yudoyono (click here).

However, according to the presidential spokesman Julian Pasha (click here) SBY has no plan to prepare any member of his family to be his successor.

Photo:  Courtesy of Skala News

The Arrest of Angie

After he was arrested in Colombia several months ago, Nazaruddin told the Commission for Eradication of Corruption (KPK) that there were some top officials in President SBY's Democrat Party who were involved with him in the alleged Athlete Housing Bribery and other Corruption cases.

Among the names mentioned were Democrat Party Chief Anas Urbaningrum and Deputy Secretary General Angelina Sondakh a.k.a Angie the Miss Indonesia 2001.

Based on this revelation, politicians and the news media urged KPK to immediately investigations on those persons. So, on 3 February 2012, KPK announced Angie as a Suspect based the Anti-Corruption Law.

After that KPK focused on prosecuting Nazaruddin to the Court, and did not seem to take further actions on Angie and the others, which angered politicians.

Last Friday, 27 April 2012, the KPK finally arrested Angie. Suara Karya quoted KPK Spokesman Johan Budi as saying that Angie is arrested for alleged corruption in the Ministry of Education, and she will remain in its custody for 20 days.

Kompas reported that Angie's lawyer Teuku Nasrullah protested the arrest because KPK only issued Investigation Order after the arrest, while actually it should be done before it named Angie as a Suspect more than 2 months ago.

I hope that the arrest of Angie is purely based on legal grounds as stated by KPK, and not merely because of pressures from the news media and politicians.

Farewell Professor Widjajono

Yesterday afternoon I was shocked when the news media reported that the Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Widjajono Partowidagdo (60) has passed away while he was climbing Mount Tambora (2,851 m), West Nusa Tenggara province.

The Jakarta Post quoted the province's official as saying that Widjajono was exhausted and fainted during the climb.

His body was evacuated and taken back by airplane to Jakarta yesterday evening, and buried at the San Diego Hills Cemetery in Karawang, West Java this morning.

Widjajono was known for his passion for mountain climbing, a sport he started while he was still in high school. He had climbed several mountains in Indonesia including Mount Kerinci, Mount Rinjani and Mount Semeru.

Among the ministers in President SBY's Cabinet, Widjajono can be easily recognized due to his long hair. He quickly received media attention for his down to earth attire, wearing mostly denim pants, batik shirts.

Born in Magelang, Central Java, he was a professor at the Bandung Institute of Technology, and member of National Energy Council and has no political background before he became Deputy Minister.

Before he died. Widjajono argued in many occasions that the government must increase the price of subsidized fuel from present Rp 4.500 (US$ 0.49) per liter to at least 33% to prevent overspending of the state budget.
In spite of this fact, many people are beginning to like him because of his "no nonsense approach" whenever he discussed Indonesia's energy policy in public.

I remember watching Indonesia lawyer's Club on TVOne two weeks ago in which Widjajono outsmarted two politicians/critics of government policies i.e. former Ministers Kwik Kian Gie and Fuad Bawasir.

For me the demise of Widjojono is a big loss for Indonesia. Among the present Cabinet Ministers, I felt that only the Minister of State Owned Enterprises namely Dahlan Iskan who is a non politician, no nonsense and down to earth man. I really hope that more of them would show up very soon.

 Farewell Prof. Widjajono, may you rest in peace.

Photo : Courtesy of Antara

After the Cabinet Reshuffle

Last Tuesday evening, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) finally announced the names of his new cabinet.

Around one third of the 34 Ministers were changed, and the number of Vice Ministers were added from 10 into 19.  Beside that, Leut Gen. Maciano Norman has been named as the new Chief of the State Intelligence Agency. Please find attached the details for your perusal.

The reshuffle effected three major members of the coalition government. President SBY's Democrat Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) each of them lost one Minister replaced by professionals.
The Golkar Party did not lost any of its Ministers but its Deputy Chairman Fadel Muhammad was replaced by another Deputy Chairman of the party i.e. Syarif Cicip as Minister of Maritime and Fishery.

However, two other members of the coalition i.e. Muhaimin Iskandar, Chairman of the National Awakening Party as Manpower Minister, and Suryadarma Ali, Chairman of the United Development Party, will still hold their positions.

Due to the lost of its Minister, PKS plan to conduct an internal meeting to decide whether or not it will remain in the coalition. Earlier, some officials of PKS have vowed that the party will leave if any of its Ministers is fired.

Meanwhile Golkar Party accepted the President's decision, although Fadel Muhammad seemed to be disappointed because he has never been given any reason for the firing.

In my opinion, the reshuffle would make the Cabinet more " fatter ", causing heavier bureaucracy and burden the state budget. However, it would be better to give the Ministers and Vice Ministers some time, at least 12 months,  before we make any judgement about their performance. 


 

Are we Protecting Deforestation ?

Last Thursday the Immigration Office at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has deported the Executive Director of the environment organization Greenpeace UK John Sauven.

Sauven was quoted by The Jakarta Globe as saying that he has obtained the correct visa issued by the Indonesian Embassy in London, but was informed by the Immigration officer at Jakarta airport that his name is in the "Red List" therefore banned from entering Indonesia. However, no official notification was issued.

Sauven said that during his visit to Indonesia, he planned to meet with government officials, one of the largest palm oil producer, visit an area deforested by a pulp and paper company in Sumatera and meet the British Ambassador. 

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Immigration Office Herawan Sukoaji told the press last Friday that Sauven was denied entry to Indonesia because he would threaten the stability of Indonesia. He also said that there was the  possibility that Sauven would bring instability and disorder here.
But when he was asked for details, he refused to comment saying that it is a " State Secret ".

This deportation reminds me of several results of campaigns made by Greenpeace against companies involved in the deforestation in Indonesia, such as Unilever's stop of purchase of palm-oil produced by PT Sinar Mas, and Mattel's (Barbie Doll) stop of purchase of paper produced by PT Asia Pulp & Paper in Riau, Sumatera.

I agree that as a sovereign state Indonesia may choose to accept or refuse the visit of any foreigners, however if a foreigner already got a visa from our Embassy abroad the case would be different, it shows inconsistency of the Immigration Office in implementing policies.

The news about the deportation would send a message to the world which is not favorable for Indonesia because in 2007 President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) has promised world leaders that Indonesia will reduce 26% carbon gas emission by 2020  which means that we will stop deforestation. 
For which purpose the government has issued regulations regarding Carbon Gas Emission reduction last September.

Further, our government has also signed a Letter of Intent with the Norwegian government regarding Deforestation Moratorium.

For which purposes, the government has recently issued regulations regarding Carbon Emission reduction, including Deforestation.

I hope that the government would be consistent in implementing its Forest Protection policies.

Nomination of Ical Bakrie as Presidential Candidate

In 2014 President SBY will end his second term in office, therefore according to our Constitution he cannot be nominated again as a candidate in the next presidential election.

Although it is only three years from now, President SBY and his ruling Democrat Party have still not mention anyone who is being prepared as the next president.

One political party that has named a presidential candidate is the brand new and almost unknown SRI Party which nominated former finance Minister currently Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) i.e Sri Mulyani.

The opposition PDIP most likely will nominate its chairperson former President Megawati.

The most interesting perhaps would be the candidate of Golkar Party, the second largest and member of the coalition government. According to Kompas (below) Golkar plan to nominate its chairperson business tycoon Aburizal (Ical) Bakrie as candidate president.

One of Biggest Threats to Ical's Presidential Aspirations

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia’s second-largest political party Golkar on Monday picked tycoon and power-broker Aburizal Bakrie as its presidential candidate for elections in 2014, it said.


Bakrie and his entrepreneurial family are collectively worth billions and run businesses in Indonesia selling everything from telecommunications to coal to education. But the Bakries and their companies are mired in allegations of corruption and tax fraud.


A Bakrie family spokesman has denied any wrongdoing, saying such allegations are “baseless and untrue”. Bakrie is currently the chairman of Golkar and was chosen as its representative for the next polls at a party board meeting in Denpasar on the island of Bali, officials said.


“The entire board of Golkar agreed on one thing — that Bakrie would become our presidential candidate in 2014,” the state news agency Antara quoted Ketut Sudikerta, the chairman of Golkar’s Bali chapter, as saying. The decision will be formalised at a future meeting of national party leaders, he added.
Read More

How did Nazaruddin get to Colombia?

Former General Treasurer of the ruling Democrat Party i.e. M. Nazaruddin (here), wanted by the Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), was arrested by the Police on Sunday in Cartagena, Colombia.

Republika quoted the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Djoko Suyanto as saying that he received the news from the Indonesian Ambassador to Colombia i.e. Michael Manufandu who said that Nazaruddin was holding a passport under the name of M. Syahruddin.when he was arrested.

And in order to make sure that the man is Nazaruddin, members of the Police and the KPK shall be send to Colombia immediately..

President SBY, Chairman of the Democrat Party Consultative Council, was happy when he told reporters (here) about the arrest of Nazaruddin earlier this evening. He said that he wants Nazruddin protected and allowed to say anything he wants to say.

I am very happy that our law enforcement agencies have successfully coordinated with the Interpol and the Colombian Police for the arrest of Nazaruddin.

However, considering that our government has canceled Nazaruddin's passport more than one month ago while he was assumed to be staying in Singapore or Cambodia, how did he get the false passport under the name of M. Syahruddin ?

Who helped him get the said false passport and arranged the travel to Columbia ?
Why did he choose Colombia which is known to be a haven for illegal drug dealers ?
Is Nazaruddin connected to international drug dealer syndicate ?

These questions became relevant if we think of the fact that Nazaruddin  (33) was very rich when he was the General Treasurer of the Democrat Party that he contributed Billions of Rupiah of money for the party.  
I hope that the Police and the KPK would investigate about this matter thoroughly so that my questions would be answered.

Is the Press Always Right ?

Three months ago, M. Nazaruddin was dismissed from his position as Treasurer of the ruling Democrat Party and runaway to Singapore after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) alleged that he was involved in the misappropriation of fund for development of athlete housing in Palembang, South Sumatera.

Since then, the mass media in Indonesia has been reporting about him, about the people around him and about all the bad things he said about the Party's top officials, including President SBY, via SMS and BlackBerry Messenger every night and day.

All that have seemingly made top officials of the Democrat Party very angry and conflict among them. Due to which fact President SBY as Chairman of the Parrty's Advisory Board blamed the mass media for not being fair in reporting about the case.

But according to the Chief of the Indonesian Press Council i.e. former Chief Justice Bagir Manan, the media has so far not violated the Press Code of Ethics in reporting the Nazaruddin Case.

Two TV stations i.e. TvOne owned by Golkar Party boss Aburizal Bakrie, and MetroTV owned by National Democrat Party boss Surya Paloh, frequently broadcast live interviews with Nazaruddin, during which he once again made very serious allegations against top officials of the Democrat Party, KPK leaders, Directors of State owned companies, etc.

In reaction to Nazaruddin's allegations, the Chairman of the Democrat Party Anas Urbaningrum has reported Nazaruddin to the Police for false allegations. And recently, President SBY urged Nazaruddin to come home to prove all his allegations.

The above shows that the Mass Media in Indonesia has now become a powerful entity in our society and they would do anything to make people read/hear/see their news reports including sensational ones, so that companies want to place advertisement on their media.

Therefore, I felt that the public should be very careful in taking any news reported by the mass media,. especially those that are owned by politicians or have connections with them.

President SBY, Nazaruddin, Tax Payers

According to the Constitution, the President function as a Head of State, Head of Government and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, with the prime duty to serve the country and people of the Republic of Indonesia.

In order to enable him to function properly, the President is given the authorities to select ministers/ advisers/ ambassadors/envoys, to make laws together with the Parliament, declare state of emergency etc.

As reward, the President and his family are given first class Salary, Palace, Vehicles and drivers, Security Guards, and other fringe benefits, all of which comes from the state budget mostly originating from Tax Payers Money Collection.

Considering the above facts, the people as Tax Payers expect the President to focus his attention on matters related to the interests of the state and the people of Indonesia 

In reality, we saw/heard the President SBY made public statements (here) in his capacity as Chairman of the Advisory of Board of his Democrat Party. Especially after the former Treasurer of Democrat Party i.e. Nazaruddin, was dismissed from his position when the Corruption Eradication Commission accused him of being involved in Corruption in the building of Athlete Complex and ran away to Singapore few hours later and one day before a travel ban was imposed on him.

Nazaruddin's allegations (via BlackBerry Messenger) against leaders of the Democrat Party, including Party Chief Anas Urbaningrum and Secretary General Ibas (SBY's son), about their involvement in Corruption cases have made the President busy defending them and blamed the mass media for improper reporting of unfair reports.

After Nazaruddin spoke (teleconference)  the first time on TVOne's Jakarta Lawyers Club Talk Show, last night and made more allegations against SBY, the Democrat Party and others, we  can expect that SBY would appear in public again to defend himself and his party sooner or later.

As a citizen who has given my votes to him and his Democrat Party during the general elections and presidential elections in 2004 and 2009, I hope that the President would focus his attentions and activities to serve the country and people,  stop talking to the public about this party and men..

Where is Nazaruddin?

Officials of President SBY's ruling Democrat Party have been saying that their ex General Treasurer M. Nazaruddin stayed in Singapore for medical treatment since he left Jakarta on 22 May 2011, the same day that he was removed from his position at the party and hours before a travel ban on him was issued.

Because of this reason, Nazaruddin cannot come when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) wants to question on the allegations about his involvement in the Corruption case at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

But according to Monsters and Critics  Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Nazaruddin had left 'several weeks ago.' And the Indonesian authorities have been informed of his destination at time of departure and Singapore had no information on his current whereabouts.

'Since Mr Nazaruddin had not been charged with any crime or even named as a suspect at the time he was in Singapore and had a valid Indonesian passport, there was no reason to stop him from entering or leaving the country,' the statement said.

This means that Nazaruddin left Singapore long before he was named a suspect by the KPK on June 30, 2011

Meanwhile, The Jakarta Post reported that President SBY's spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said that the authorities had indeed been informed about Nazaruddin’s departure from Singapore.

He added that President SBY had only found out that Nazaruddin was no longer in Singapore after the Singaporean authorities’ announcement on Tuesday.

Julian insinuated that Nazaruddin was presently in another ASEAN country, but he refused to mention the name of any country, saying that the information was being withheld for intelligence purposes.

Leaked intelligence obtained by the Post showed that Nazaruddin had left Singapore for Malaysia and Vietnam.

All I can say right now is : Oh My God!

SBY, Democrat, 2014

President SBY told a meeting of Indonesian Young Leaders Forum in Jakarta last Thursday that he, his wife Ani Yudoyono or his kids, will not be running as candidates in the 2014 presidential election.

SBY also said he has not prepared a successor, and will he leave it all up to the people to decide who they want to elect as president in the election.

Speaking in a TV talk show last night, one of the leader in SBY's Democrat Party i.e Mubarak said that his party would welcome anyone, from inside or outside the party, who is eligible as candidate president in 2014.
He mentioned among others the name of  IMF Director Sri Mulyani.  

Some people believe that SBY's above statement is an effort to distract public attention from the big problems that his Democrat Party is facing after they dismissed Nazaruddin as General Treasurer because of Bribery and Corruption allegations. 

The problem became uncontrolled after Nazaruddin runaway to Singapore and refused to return home when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) wants to question him on those allegations.

Is Soeharto really better than SBY?

A recent public opinion survey conducted by Indo Barometer shows that the late former President Soeharto is more popular than President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY).

The survey, conducted from 24 April until 4 May 2011 on 1,200 respondents in 33 provinces of Indonesia, shows that 36.5% choose Soeharto as the most favorite President of the country, 20.9 % choose SBY, 9.8% choose the late President Soekarno, 9.8% choose former President Megawati, 4.4% choose former President Habibie and 4.3% choose the late former President Abdurrachman Wahid. 

Beside that, the survey also show that 40.9% of the respondents prefer the condition during Soeharto's New Order regime, compared to only 22.8% who preferred the so called post 21 May 1998 Reformasi Era.

In reaction to that survey result, Presidential Palace spokesman questioned the reliability of the respondents, who are they, what are the parameters of the survey.

As a person who has experienced living during the Soeharto era, I felt that the above survey result is not accurate because it was only conducted on 1,200 respondents in 33 provinces, no details about the respondents like their ages, do they know that Soeharto was a ruthless authoritarian ruler, et cetera.

In my opinion, the survey should be carried out on at least 100 respondent per province (total 3,300), they should at least be 17 years old when Soeharto stepped down 13 years ago, their education level should be mentioned, they should be explained that Soeharto was a ruthless authoritarian ruler, while President SBY is a liberal democratic ruler.

ASEAN Summit 2011

The Head of States / Governments of 10 members of the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) will meet today, Saturday 7 May, and Sunday 8 May, at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta.

As the annual Chairman of ASEAN for 2011, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono is scheduled to open the meeting at 9 am this morning. There are three main agenda for the summit meeting :

1)  To ensure the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015
2)  To ensure that South East Asia will remain as a peaceful and stable region 
3)  ASEAN participation in maintaining world peace.

Beside that, there are other important issues such as the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, South China Sea dispute, Thai-Cambodia border conflict, Joint Rice Buffer Stock, Fighting Pirates, etc.

In connection with the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015, I hope that all the governments of member countries would socialize the ASEAN programs to their people.

Related articles :
-  Indonesia will lead Charge to Establish ..... (The Jakarta Globe)
-  Tiga Priotitas Ketua ASEAN (Indonesian Foreign Ministry)
-  KTT ke 18 ASEAN di Jakarta (Detik)

Happy Labor's Day a.k.a May Day

An estimate of 60,000 labors representing 67 Labor Unions in Jakarta and vicinity gathered peacefully today to celebrate the Labors Day a.k.a May Day held at the HI Roundabout in downtown Jakarta

According to Kompas, they started to gather at 6 am and planned to walk to the State Palace, the official residence of President SBY, at midday.

The Labors carried posters and banners mentioning their demands to the government, among others the issuance of the Social Security Organizing Agency Law, realization of President SBY's promise during May Day last year i.e. to pay more attention on the faith of the Labors.

They demand that all Labors, including those under Outsourcing and Contractual statuses, must be protected.
 
Meanwhile, the President visited two factories in Bogor, West Java, accompanied by the Minister of Man Power Muhaimin Iskandar.

The Minister said that there are three goals that his Ministry wished to achieve this year. First,to increase the Man Power Social Security (Jamsostek), second, to strictly limit, or if possible to stop Outsourcing, and third not to limit or ban labor union.

I am very happy that the commemoration of the Labor's Day a.k.a May Day in Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia went quite peacefully. I hope that the government would do its very best to keep its promised to the Labors i.e. provide better working conditions for all labors working in Indonesia and in foreign countries.

I also hope that the government would do its very best to provide more working opportunities for our Labor force a.o. by creating an attractive environment for local and foreign to invest their money and create businesses in Indonesia.

Please Protect Us

Yesterday, President SBY called on Indonesians not to rely on the Police and asked us to help fight extremism.

The Jakarta Globe quoted the President as saying that Indonesia is now facing a continuous and serious threat in terrorism and in horizontal violence.

Horizontal violence, a term often used in reference to student bullying, refers to abuse or aggression by individuals on their peers around them. 

I hope that the President has instructed the intelligence networks, especially the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to improve their performance in monitoring and detecting any kinds of activities that might pose a threat to our national security, such as the so called Indonesian Islamic State (NII) movement, those who spread Book Bombs, those who plan any kinds of violence, and other acts of crimes.

Moreover, I also hope that the President has instructed the Police to improve their performance in serving and protecting the society.

Please Take Action Against Violence

The Minister of Education Muhammad Nuh said in Jogyakarta today that the government is considering plans to include tolerance class as an effort to avoid conflicts among people of different religion, race, tradition in Indonesia.

The Jakarta Globe quoted the Minister as saying that schools were in the “front lines” in the battle against intolerance, which he said was a serious threat to national unity.  He cited deadly attacks against Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect, as well as riots against Christian communities perpetrated by hard-liners.

Frankly speaking, I believe that Indonesian school students have already been fully fed with indoctrination. 

We already have the Pendidikan Moral Pancasila (Pancasila Moral Education) which teaches about the Pancasila as our five national principles i.e. Believe in God, Humanity, Unity, Democracy and Social Justice. But considering the various intolerance that often exists,  I often heard people ask what's the use of having such lesson.

In my opinion what is urgent right now is to start taking actions against anyone or organization that adopted violence. President SBY should be consistent with his promise to take action against such organizations. He must not tolerate Cabinet minister who speak and act differently, like the Minister of Interior Gumawan Fauzi who met and talked friendly with the leader of violent organization FPI soon after SBY threatened to ban violent organizations. This sign of weakness has made FPI reacted by threatening to overthrow the government, which is simply a nonsense.

By taking serious legal actions against anyone or organization that adopt violence it would make others hesitate before using violence. It would therefore make the society feel secured.