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Indonesia minister arrested over pandemic aid corruption

Yahoo –AFP, December 6, 2020

Two Indonesian ministers have been arrested in recent weeks over
corruption allegations

Indonesia's social affairs minister was arrested Sunday for allegedly taking $1.2 million in bribes linked to food aid for those hit by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Juliari Batubara was named as a suspect after Indonesian anti-corruption agents seized suitcases, backpacks and envelopes stuffed with cash equivalent to $1.2 million in a sting operation on Saturday. 

He turned himself in on Sunday at the anti-corruption agency's headquarters, becoming the second minister in President Joko Widodo's government to be arrested over alleged graft in recent weeks. 

"That's the people's money... it's aid urgently needed to help during Covid-19 and for the national economic recovery," Widodo said after Batubara's arrest, vowing he would not protect any corrupt officials. 

Indonesia's economy -- Southeast Asia's biggest -- has been hit hard by the pandemic, and the government has rolled out aid programmes such as food packages to help those in need. 

Batubara has been accused of involvement in a bribery scheme linked to one such aid project. 

Officials have alleged that he received more than $1 million from two contractors that were appointed to supply basic food packages for people affected by the pandemic. 

For each package, Batubara would receive 10,000 rupiah, or $0.71, officials alleged. 

If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of one billion rupiah ($70,000).

Indonesia police fire tear gas at students protesting sex, graft laws

Yahoo – AFP, September 24, 2019

Protesters set fires and threw rocks at riot police in Makassar on Sulawesi
island to protest against a new criminal code law (AFP Photo/DAENG MANSUR)

Jakarta (AFP) - Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters outside Indonesia's parliament Tuesday as thousands demonstrated nationwide against a new criminal code that would, among other things, outlaw pre-marital sex and weaken the country's anti-graft agency.

Protesters covered their faces and scattered in all directions as chaos erupted in the centre of the sprawling capital, Jakarta.

Police also fired teargas at rock-throwing protesters in Makassar on Sulawesi island, while demonstrators broke down a barrier outside the governor's office in Semarang on Java island.

"(We) forcibly dispersed student because they were carrying out anarchist acts, damaging government property and throwing stones at police," said Dicky Sondani, a South Sulawesi police spokesman.

The police action came after flag- and placard-waving demonstrators gathered 

across the Southeast Asian archipelago (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

The police action came after flag- and placard-waving demonstrators gathered across the Southeast Asian archipelago -- including in cultural capital Yogyakarta and holiday hotspot Bali -- for a second day in a row.

On Tuesday, lawmakers debated a wide-ranging legal overhaul including hundreds of new laws that would criminalise pre-marital sex, restrict sales of contraceptives, make it illegal to insult the president, and toughen the Muslim majority country's blasphemy laws.

"We want the bill which is being debated to be revised," said Jakarta university student Amel.

"The police were excessive teargassing us. We weren't being violent," he added.

A vote on the bill was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but President Joko Widodo last week called for a delay in passing the proposed changes after a public backlash.

Riot police used water cannon against protesters in Sulawesi (AFP Photo/
Andri SAPUTRA)

The mooted changes could affect millions of Indonesians, including gay and heterosexual couples who might face jail for having sex outside wedlock, or having an affair.

Widodo's call for a delay came as the Australian embassy in Jakarta issued a fresh travel advisory, warning that the legislation could put unmarried foreign tourists in the crosshairs.

Millions of tourists visit Bali and other beach destinations in the Southeast Asian nation.

Widodo this week stood firm on plans to pass a separate bill that critics fear would dilute the investigative powers of the corruption-fighting agency -- known as the KPK -- including its ability to wire-tap suspects.

The police action came after flag- and placard-waving demonstrators gathered 

across the Southeast Asian archipelago (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Updating Indonesia's criminal code, which dates back to the Dutch colonial era, has been debated for decades and appeared set to pass in 2018 before momentum fizzled out.

A renewed push this year, backed by conservative Islamic groups, was met with a wave of criticism over what many saw as a draconian law that invaded the bedrooms of a nation with some 260 million people -- the fourth most populous on Earth.

An online petition calling for the bill to be scrapped garnered half a million signatures, while hundreds of thousands took to social media to vent their frustration.

The 'richest black nation': Papua New Guinea sets audacious goal

Yahoo – AFP, June 16, 2019

Violent crime and corruption are endemic in Papua New Guinea, reliable electricity
is rare, and population centres are isolated (AFP Photo/ARIS MESSINIS)

Papua New Guinea's new prime minister has an ambitious -- cynics would say far-fetched -- objective of turning one of the world's poorest countries into the "richest black nation" on earth in just a decade.

If national economies were like football teams, then Papua New Guinea would be near the bottom of the table struggling to avoid a relegation dogfight.

Violent crime and corruption are endemic, reliable electricity is rare, and population centres sit like isolated city-states, surrounded by trackless jungle and mountain ridges that soar into the equatorial sky.

As rich as Papua New Guinea is in culture, language and beauty, it is the 153rd most developed country in the world out of 189, according to the United Nations -- doing slightly better than Syria, marginally worse than Myanmar.

New prime minister James Marape wants to change that. He has promised that within ten years his compatriots will live in "the richest black Christian nation" in the world.

That is not going to be easy. The current titleholder is the highly industrialised economy of Trinidad and Tobago, where the average resident earns around 833% more than Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea is rich in culture, language and beauty, but is way down
the UN development rankings (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

If the British territory of Bermuda were also included in the rankings, the task would be even more daunting.

Papua New Guinea's economy would have to grow at a world-beating rate of around 30 percent per year, every year for the next ten years just to catch up.

"PNG has never experienced 30 per cent growth in the past; nor has any other country for that matter, at least not for any sustained period of time," said Maholopa Laveil, a lecturer in economics at the University of Papua New Guinea.

To reach his lofty goal, Marape appears to be betting on a surge in gas revenues and more of that cash staying in the country.

He has hinted that he may look to renegotiate a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract with Total and ExxonMobil that would double national production to better benefit the local economy.

He has also promised to stop the export of unprocessed hardwoods and tackle corruption.

But the strategy comes with risks.

New prime minister James Marape has hinted he may look to renegotiate a massive
LNG contract with Total and ExxonMobil (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

Dashed expectations

The World Bank has warned that even before a second LNG project comes online, the economy has "become increasingly concentrated in petroleum and gas-related activities".

That, the bank warned, raises Papua New Guinea's vulnerability to the vagaries of international energy markets and natural disasters -- like the 7.5 magnitude quake that froze production and stalled the economy in 2018.

Even the country's existing PNG LNG project -- which started to flow in 2014 -- has failed to live up to expectations.

It required a controversial public loan worth more than a billion Australian dollars ($700 million) and helped national debt spike.

The project was forecast to increase GDP by over 97 percent, but according to Paul Flanagan -- a former Australian government official who runs the influential PNG Economics blog -- the increase has been closer to six percent.

The World Bank has warned PNG's vulnerability to earthquakes is increasing along 

with its reliance on petrol and gas (AFP Photo/Melvin LEVONGO)

"Overall, the PNG LNG project massively over-promised and then failed to deliver," one of his recent blog posts read. "For household disposable income, the prediction was an 84 percent improvement. The outcome is a decline of 9 percent."

Flanagan believes that regardless of any energy boom, Marape -- a former finance minister -- will need to undertake difficult currency and trade reforms if the country has any hope of growing sustainably.

"Time will tell if the new government will tackle such difficult political economy challenges, challenges that must be addressed to make PNG a much richer black Christian nation," he said.

Malaysia's Mahathir wins shock election victory, toppling 61-yr-old regime

Yahoo – AFP, Martin Abbugao, May 9, 2018

As it became clear that Mahathir had won, supporters took to the streets
waving flags of the opposition alliance (AFP Photo/Mohd RASFAN)

Malaysia's veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, won a shock election victory Thursday, in a political earthquake that toppled the country's scandal-plagued premier and ousted a regime that has ruled for over six decades.

It was a stunning triumph that almost no one had predicted and ended the long hold on power of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since its birth as an independent country.

The victory capped a dramatic political comeback for Mahathir, who previously ruled the country with an iron fist for 22 years, and came out of retirement to taken on Prime Minister Najib Razak after the leader became embroiled in a massive corruption scandal.

When he takes power, Mahathir will be the oldest prime minister in the world.

His victory spells big trouble for Najib -- Mahathir has vowed to bring him to justice over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which the scandal-plagued leader set up and oversaw.

But at a press conference, Mahathir vowed: "We are not seeking revenge. We want to restore the rule of law."

Mahathir's return to the political frontlines saw him throw in his lot with an opposition alliance filled with parties that he crushed while in power, and which includes jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim -- his former nemesis.

When he takes power, Mahathir Mohamad, 92, will be the oldest prime minister

in the world (AFP Photo/Manan VATSYAYANA)

As well as seizing control of the national government, several state legislatures across the country fell into opposition hands for the first time, including the highly symbolic bastion of Johor, the birthplace of Najib's party that was the lynchpin of the ruling coalition.

Official results from the Election Commission showed that Mahathir's opposition grouping Pakatan Harapan, along with an ally in the Borneo state of Sabah, had secured 115 parliamentary seats. 112 are needed to form a government. BN were on 79 seats with just a few left to count.

As it became clear that Mahathir had won, supporters took to the streets waving flags of the opposition alliance.

After polls closed earlier in the day, journalists had flocked to the headquarters of Najib's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the lynchpin in the ruling coalition -- but he failed to turn up to give a victory speech and the media were told to leave.

Huge numbers of voters earlier flocked to the polls across the country, despite Najib having called the election on a weekday in what critics said was a bid to keep turnout down.

The BN wipeout is a disaster for Najib, who had been under pressure to score an emphatic win after the government lost the popular vote for the first time at the last elections in 2013.

The controversy surrounding 1MDB has dogged Najib since the story exploded in 2015. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund, which was set up and overseen by Najib. The leader and 1MDB deny any wrongdoing.

But in rural areas, the rising cost of living, which has hit poor Malays hard, was the main concern at the election particularly after the introduction of an unpopular sales tax in 2015.

#UPDATE Malaysia's Mahathir wins shock election victory, toppling 61-yr-old regime https://t.co/vijr5oPJud pic.twitter.com/XTDogeLUl7

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 9, 2018

VIDEO: 92-year-old former leader Mahathir is challenging the current scandal-hit Malaysian PM Najib - and it’s turning out to be one of the country’s closest-ever elections https://t.co/7qnKdpyjAP pic.twitter.com/X5NN4QFD9N

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 9, 2018

Riyadh's palatial Ritz-Carlton has reportedly morphed into a makeshift prison after the kingdom's unprecedented crackdown on its coddled elite

Riyadh's palatial Ritz-Carlton has reportedly morphed into a makeshift prison after the kingdom's unprecedented crackdown on its coddled elite https://t.co/F3DQZMuHCu

— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 10, 2017

Indonesian bishop resigns amid mistress, corruption allegations

Indonesian bishop Hubertus Leteng was accused of having a mistress and siphoning off more than 100,000 euros in church funds. Leteng has denied the allegations.

Deutsche Welle, 12 October 2017

Pope Francis on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Bishop Hubertus Leteng of Indonesia's Ruteng diocese, after the Vatican dispatched an investigator to look into allegations that he had had a mistress and skimmed over 100,000 euros ($118,000) from church funds.

The probe was triggered after dozens of priests resigned en masse to protest Leteng's conduct.

The 58-year-old Leteng has denied the allegations but did not offer any explanation about his premature retirement, almost 17 years before the usual retirement age for a bishop.

The Vatican also did not address the scandal or clarify why Leteng was retiring early. It named Sylvester San, a Bali-based Bishop of Denpasar, as a temporary replacement.

Leteng said the money was used to finance the education of poor youth, AP news agency reported, citing Ucanews, which reports on the Catholic Church in Asia. He termed allegations that he had a relationship with a woman "slanderous."

Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, is home to some 45 bishops and 4,900 Catholic priests, according to 2015 Vatican data.

ap/bk (AFP, AP)

Duterte executions plan is barbaric: Philippine critics

Yahoo – AFP, December 19, 2016

A Manila crime scene where two alleged drug dealers were gunned down by
unidentified men in October

Philippine Catholic leaders and rights groups on Monday condemned as "barbaric" President Rodrigo Duterte's plan to restore the death penalty and execute "five or six" criminals daily.

Duterte, 71, has made reviving the death penalty in the mainly Catholic nation his top legislative priority as part of a brutal war on crime that has killed 5,300 people.

"There was death penalty before but nothing happened. Return that to me and I would do it every day: five or six (criminals). That's for real," Duterte said Saturday.

An official at the influential Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said the Church "totally opposed" Duterte's plan.

"The Philippines will be viewed as very barbaric," Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary at its public affairs office, told AFP.

"It's going to make the Philippines the capital of death penalty in the world."

The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006 following fierce opposition to the penalty from the Catholic Church, the religion of 80 percent of Filipinos.

Before assuming office in June, Duterte vowed to introduce executions by hanging, saying he did not want to waste bullets and believed snapping the spinal cord was more humane than a firing squad.

Duterte said he viewed the death penalty not as a means to deter crime but for retribution.

Rodrigo Duterte shows images of allegedly criminal Philippine politicians at

a meeting with the Filipino community in Singapore on December 16, 2016

His allies in the House of Representatives quickly pushed for the bill and said they would vote on it by January.

The United Nations' human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said in a letter to the Philippine congress this month that reviving the death penalty would violate the country's international obligations.

But on Saturday Duterte insisted executions were necessary to fight the drug scourge which he said was "destroying" the nation.

While his aides dismiss his incendiary statements as hyperbole, rights advocates said Duterte's remarks were alarming.

"Setting a quota for executions is just too much. One death is too much because we are talking about lives," Amnesty International Philippines vice chairman Romeo Cabarde told AFP.

Catholic leaders and rights defenders have instead urged the government to reform a slow and corrupt justice system which they said was likely to send innocent people to death row.

Secillano said bishops planned to dissuade lawmakers from voting for the death penalty and would attend congressional debates next month.

Fear of killings

Duterte's crime war has drawn international criticism from the United States and United Nations over concerns about alleged extrajudicial killings and a breakdown in the rule of law.

Duterte won May elections in a landslide on a promise to eradicate drugs in society -- a mandate he often cited to defend his controversial campaign.

Catholic nuns oppose extra-judicial killings at a Human Rights Day rally

in Manila on December 10, 2016

A survey by Social Weather Stations released Monday showed while a majority backed Duterte's drug war, 78 percent of Filipinos were worried that they or someone in their family would be a victim of extrajudicial killings.

The survey also showed 71 percent said it was "very important" that police keep drug suspects they arrested alive.

Police have repeatedly said they only shot at criminals who fought back but the nation's rights agency has questioned this argument and has begun investigating cases.

On Monday, Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa apologised for police killings of criminal suspects but insisted these were done in self-defence.

"Lord, I hope you forgive us even if the ones we kill are bad people," Dela Rosa said during the police's Christmas party.

"If the life of a policeman will be lost just to preserve the life of a criminal, that's a great injustice."

Dela Rosa added Duterte gave police hefty bonuses for leading the crime war.

Related Articles:

Death penalty may be on the way out in US: report

The days of capital punishment may be numbered in the United States, according to a report from @DPInfoCtr https://t.co/xVmiV1VTDj pic.twitter.com/P6WgjYnSqy

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 21, 2016

SBY’s Tour de Java Ends with 10 Recommendations to Joko’s Administration

Jakarta Globe, Edo Karensa, March 21, 2016 

 

Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with wife Ani Yudhoyono visiting
children during the SBY Tour de Java. (Antara Photo/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)

Jakarta. Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono marked the end of his Tour de Java by issuing recommendations for 10 major issues to President Joko Widodo’s administration on Sunday (21/03).

SBY, who is also chairman of the Democratic Party, ended the 13-day tour across the Java by holding a coordination meeting with 34 heads of party’s provincial leadership boards in Surabaya, East Java.

“Through many events of ‘meet the people’ and ‘meet the cadres,’ the Democratic Party listens, discuss and gather aspirations directly from the people regarding many latest national issues,” said a party’s statement, released on Sunday.

The visit, which saw him go to West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java provinces over 13 days, concluded with the announcement of his findings:

Infrastructure development

The Democrats sees massive infrastructure development under Joko’s leadership as a good thing which will contribute a lot to country’s long-term economy.

Yet, the party suggested the policy should be followed with appropriate funding methods, arguing that "too much state budget for infrastructure will disrupt efforts to eradicate poverty."

Coordination between ministries and stakeholders are also needed to prevent "noisy" policy, like recent issues with the Jakarta-Bandung fast train.

Drugs and terrorism The Democrats support government’s efforts to fight the drugs and terrorism crimes with still respecting the laws and human rights.

State budget and fiscal policy

The Democrats understand serious problems in the state budget, calling on the government to seek rational and feasible solutions.

“It needs to be explained to the public transparently so they can know the problems; how to cover the deficit, whether by issuing new obligations or cutting off the budgets in certain posts,” the statement said.

Tax amnesty draft bill

The party sees the Tax Amnesty draft bill as a good thing and has been implemented appropriately in some other countries. SBY calls on the bill to ensure the aspects of economic benefit, social justice and good governance, before being approved and ratified.

KPK and efforts against corruption

The Democratic Party said the corruption eradication efforts must be prioritized so that a draft bill to weaken the antigraft agency should not be deliberated.

“We don’t want the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] to be the only one strong and effective [law enforcement institution]. All law enforcement institutions, like Police and Attorney General’s Office [AGO] [should also be strong].”

Unemployment

SBY’s party called on the government to impose appropriate tax policies to companies as the slowing economy growth has caused lay-offs and poor job absorption.

Political party’s Sovereignty

“Make sure the law supremacy is the main thing, not politics. Law is the commander, not politics,” the party statement said. They called on all parties to respect the parties’ sovereignty in addressing their own problems as stipulated in the laws.

Football and PSSI

The party said the conflicts of the Indonesian Football Association, or PSSI, has caused many losses for the country’s football climate as FIFA sanctioned Indonesia’s football in international events.

“Indonesia is humiliated and people have suffered the loss. The problems have occurred for long tome and dragging on uncertainly. Because of that, it needs to be resolved soon.”

Honorary staff and teachers

The Democrats suggested the government issue a policy ruling on the working guarantee for the honorary staff and teachers who currently cannot be promoted to be civil servants. The policy should be explained clearly to public and implemented consistently.

Government’s transparency and accountability

The Democratic Party sees some use of state budget which is lack of transparency and accountability, calling on the government to improve the governance to prevent budget-misuse and corruption.

The visits, dubbed #TourDeJavaSBY, also aimed to gather supports ahead of the 2017 simultaneous regional elections. In last December's simultaneous regional elections, Democratic Party candidates won 63 positions from 264 province, district and city races.

SBY Invites Netizens to Speak Up on KPK Law Revisions

Jakarta Globe, Edo Karens, February 15, 2016

Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, center, has invited Indonesia's
netizens to speak their mind about upcoming revisions to the KPK Law.
(Antara Photo/Teresia May)

Jakarta. Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, or SBY, has invited Indonesian netizens to discuss the government's plans of revising a law regulating the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK.

According to Democratic Party secretary general Hinca Panjaitan, the meeting is scheduled to take place at Raffles-Hill, Cibubur, in East Jakarta on Saturday (20/02), correcting a previous announcement saying it will be held on Tuesday.

The meeting will collect the public's opinions on revisions of the KPK Law, which allegedly attempt to weaken the anti-graft agency.

Lawmakers have proposed four revisions that would alter the scope of the KPK's powers in the following areas: methods of conducting investigations, wiretapping, recruitment protocols and the establishment of a supervisory body to monitor the KPK

“SBY, Democratic Politicians and its party faction at the House of Representatives will directly meet and discuss with netizens. This is a way for the Democratic Party to articulate people's aspirations, which will be carried to a plenary meeting at the House,” Democratic Party spokeswoman Imelda Sari said in a statement.

In his twitter account, SBY started to collect comments and aspirations from netizens about the amendments with the hashtag #uukpksby.

"Regarding revisions on the KPK Law, what are your thoughts? Do you agree/disagree? Why? If you agree, what needs to be changed/expanded  on?" he tweeted.

Terkait revisi UU KPK, apa pendapat anda? Setuju/tidak? Mengapa? Jika setuju, materi apa yg perlu diubah/ditambah? #uukpksby

— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) February 13, 2016

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Arrests Reveal Judicial 'Mafia': Anti-Graft Experts

Former Minister Jero Gets Four Years for Embezzlement

Jakarta Globe, February 09, 2016

Jero Wacik was found guilty of corruption during both his time as tourism
minister and as energy minister. (Antara Photo/M. Agung Rajasa)

Jakarta. The Jakarta Anti Corruption Court sentenced former minister and Democratic Party politician Jero Wacik to four years in prison on Tuesday (09/02) for two separate embezzlement cases during his time as the country's tourism minister and later as energy minister.

The court, presided over by Judge Sumpeno, also ordered to Jero pay a fine of Rp 150 million ($11,000) and return Rp 5 billion in state losses or face an additional year in prison.

The sentence is far from the nine years imprisonment, Rp 350 million in fines and Rp 18.79 billion in compensation that the prosecution had earlier demanded, despite Jero becoming one of the few people to be found guilty of corruption in two separate public posts.

Judge Sumpeno argued that Jero's cancer-stricken wife Trisna Wacik is gravely ill and Jero "still has to pay for his daughters' college tuition," when he explained the court's decision to not meet the prosecution's demand.

Sumpeno also instructed the Corruption Eradication Commission, also known as the KPK, to unfreeze bank accounts belonging to Jero's wife and one of his daughters, Sagita Sinta Pratiwi, saying that they were not related to the crime.

The court ruled that Jero had embezzled Rp 7 billion in operational funds for personal expenses during his time as tourism minister from 2008 to 2011 and another Rp 1 billion during his time as energy minister from 2011 to 2014.

The funds, meant to cover expenses related to his roles as ministers, were instead used to buy concert tickets for his daughters, designer handbags for his wife and to pay for Jero's weekly trips to massage parlors, among other expenses.

He was also found guilty of bilking energy companies out of Rp 10 billion in kickbacks while serving as energy minister.

Both sides can still lodge an appeal.

Basuki Wants More Money to Fix Museums, Less to Stage Festivals

Jakarta Globe, November 22, 2015

Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama says the bulk of the Rp 1.2 trillion ($87.7
 million) spent by the city's tourism agency on promotional festivals and events in
2014 went toward renting venues and hiring event organizers. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

Jakarta. Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has slashed the budget for hosting festivals and events to promote Jakarta next year by nearly 60 percent, alleging markups and inefficient spending.

Basuki told Tempo that the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency spent more than Rp 1.2 trillion ($87.7 million) to host a series of festivals in 2014, the bulk of which went toward renting venues and hiring event organizers.

“So in 2015 we cut the budget [for festivals and events] to Rp 700 billion. Next year the agency might only get Rp 300 billion,” the governor said.

Basuki added that as of 2016, the agency could be barred from hiring private event organizers, particularly for events that the city has been hosting for years.

“Because it’s been employing event organizers, the agency has had to budget Rp 300 million to Rp 400 million to rent large Jakarta theaters. Imagine that – a government agency having to pay for buildings owned by the city?” he said.

“I’m not against festivals and events. What I’m fighting against are markups. After evaluating [the agency’s budget], there have been too many markups.”

Basuki said he had instructed the tourism agency to spend more on renovating museums.

“Our museums are damp. Some are leaking. Yet [the agency] continues to stage festivals and events for Rp 3 billion to Rp 5 billion each,” he said.

“Maybe the agency officials thought I wouldn’t scrutinize their budget. I’ve been very lenient for the 2015 [budget] because I don’t want trouble with agency officials, with the City Council and the Home Affairs Ministry. But I won’t be as tolerant for the 2016 [budget].”

Since he became governor a year ago, Basuki has tred to overhaul how city agencies apply for and spend their funding – a process that he said was riddled with “phantom projects.”

These efforts last year put him at odds with City Council members and dragged the budget deliberation process out for months beyond the year-end deadline.

For the past week, the governor has held meetings with his subordinates to discuss budgets proposed by all of the city’s agencies and has scrapped projects that he sees as wasteful and overpriced.

Humble Pie for Home Minister After Controversial Bid to Gag Foreign Pressi

Jakarta Globe, 27 Aug 2015

Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, left, has apologized to President 

Joko Widodo for a brazen attempt to curtail press freedoms. (Antara 

Photo/Andika Wahyu)

Jakarta. Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has apologized for and withdrawn a regulation aimed at increasing government control over foreign journalists operating in Indonesia, following a public outcry over the move.

“I’ve apologized to the president by telephone and immediately rescinded the internal regulation that was sent to regional governments which could have led to misunderstandings,” Tjahjo, from President Joko Widodo’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said late on Thursday.

“I as the minister am at fault … I was wrong,” he added. “I’ve also explained this openly to the foreign minister and to the press.”

The regulation in question, a circular sent out to regional administrations nationwide, demanded that foreign journalists and their local crew have permits issued by the Foreign Affairs and the Home Affairs Ministries. It also obliged foreign journalists to report their activities and acquire permits from all relevant levels of government, from the municipal or district level to the provincial level.

“The letter clearly implies disobedience of a president who is open to foreign coverage, as well as suspicion of the press and civilians,” Poengky Indarti, executive director of the rights group Imparsial, said on Thursday. “It will also lead to less investment and tourism income.

“Imparsial urges the Home Affairs Ministry to revoke the circular as it goes against President Joko Widodo’s position of welcoming foreign journalists covering Papua and other regions in the country,” she added.

Joko announced last May a lifting of restrictions on foreign  journalists reporting from Papua, saying he wanted to end the misinformation about the restive province by granting full access to outside media.

The Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club also took issue with Tjajho’s circular, saying in a statement that the “continuation and expansion of restrictive state policies on visiting journalists is a sad reminder of the authoritarian Suharto regime, and a stain on Indonesia’s transition to democracy and claims by its government that it supports a free press and human rights.”

The JFCC statement added that it found the new requirements “particularly troubling given that the Indonesian government already takes weeks if not months to issue approvals for foreign journalists and film crews to visit Indonesia to work – if at all.”

Raising the issue of "whether the Ministry of Home Affairs understands or heeds orders from the Presidential Palace,” the JFCC also called on the US government to make freedom of the press “a primary topic of conversation” during the planned state visit of Joko to the US, at the invitation of President Barack Obama.

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Suharto Family Ordered to Pay Back $324m in Embezzled Funds

Jakarta Globe, Aug 11, 2015

Siti Hediati Hariyadi, popularly known as Titiek Suharto, is the late
Indonesian president's fourth child. (AFP Photo/Rahmat Pribadi)

Jakarta. The Supreme Court has ordered the family of former president Suharto to pay back to the state Rp. 4.4 trillion ($324 million) in funds misappropriated during the late strongman’s lengthy reign.

The court ruled in favor of the prosecution in a civil case against the now-defunct Supersemar Foundation, controlled by the Suharto family. The ruling, made on July 8 but not announced on the court’s website until Monday, revised an earlier ruling in 2010 which ordered the family to pay just a tiny fraction of the losses to the state.

The court repealed a 1976 government regulation issued by the former president ordering all state-owned banks to set aside 2.5 percent of their profits for the foundation. The court ruled that the funds accumulated since the foundation was established — a total sum of $420 million and Rp 185 billion — were largely embezzled and never used for their stated purpose: education.

The court has now ordered the foundation to pay 75 percent of the funds it had amassed over the years, while the 2010 ruling had ordered the Suharto family to pay $315,000 and Rp 185 million — a small sum for the once-powerful family — instead of the $315 million and Rp 185 billion the Attorney General’s Office had sought. The court claimed this was due to a typo.

The AGO only filed for a case review in 2013, around the same time the Suharto family filed a separate motion looking to reverse the order.

The court “granted the case review filed by the state [the AGO] and rejected the case review filed by the Supersemar Foundation,” the latest ruling states.

Hearing the case were Supreme Court judges Suwardi, Soltony Mohdally and Mahdi Soroinda Nasution.

Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Monday that his office would follow up on the ruling.

“I haven’t read the ruling. I will read it first and then we will know what to do next,” he said, as quoted by Gatra magazine.