A human rights watchdog has warned against rushing the passing of the intelligence bill and making revisions to antiterror laws simply because people are more aware of the capabilities of the Indonesian Islamic State movement.

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy warned on Monday that even as the nation was in dire need of a well-rounded intelligence law, the bill needed thorough consideration and a number of crucial points — particularly pertaining to human rights — called for careful deliberation.

The bill is being debated by the House of Representatives. Among its main points is to give the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) the authority to preemptively arrest suspected terrorists before they carry out attacks.

Such wide-reaching powers have drawn criticism from rights groups and lawmakers, who say the bill’s provisions could be abused in the fight against the Islamic state movement known as the NII.

“To use the penetration of the NII in order to legitimize the passing of the intelligence bills and make considerable revisions to the antiterror law by giving more powers to the BIN is wrong,” Setara founder Hendardi said on Monday. “In truth, intelligence has great authority and scope not just at the BIN but also within the National Police, the Indonesian Military and our ministries.”

BIN’s duty is to collect information, analyze it and establish what kind of strategic measures need to be taken in relation to threats to the nation, Hendardi continued.

Ismail Hasani, a researcher at Setara, said the right to conduct intensive interrogations of suspects who were apprehended for unclear reasons should be taken out of the intelligence bill.

“A suspect will be interrogated intensively 24/7 and he or she will not be accompanied by a lawyer. Such arrests are essentially, secret,” Ismail said.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar had said recently that radicalism and increased bomb threats called for the swift passage into law of a draft intelligence bill.

“Threats are everywhere, from bomb terror to NII. Is this not making it urgently needed?” Patrialis said.

The NII, a banned organization of hard-line Muslims, has a goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate in Indonesia.

Patrialis said the revival of terrorism and subversion by the NII was attributable to a lack of a strong legal foundation to support the work of intelligence personnel. Without an intelligence law, he said, agents could not work to their full potential.

Tubagus Hasanuddin, the deputy chairman of House Commission I, which oversees security affairs, has argued that the core problem is not lack of intelligence gathering but rather a lack of tolerance training for impressionable youth.

Hasanuddin, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker, told the Jakarta Globe that the ministries of education and religious affairs should move to shield students from falling under the influence of the NII to narrow the field of recruits for radicalism.

“The nature of the intelligence bill is repressive. It’s not that urgent to deliberate the bill just because of the NII cases,” he said.

Scant Progress on Freedom Of Information Law: ICW

The Jakarta Globe

Indonesia Corruption Watch on Sunday expressed distress at what it said was the slow implementation of the year-old freedom of information law.

According to the details of the Public Disclosure Act, ratified last May, each province must within two years establish a commission tasked with handling information requests from the public.

However, after one year, only eight out of 33 provinces have set up such information commissions, said Agus Sunaryanto, head of the investigative unit at ICW.

Agus, speaking at a discussion on the implementation of the law, known as the KIP, said a lack of funding was responsible for the slow progress.

He also said there needed to be a campaign to educate the public on the benefits and uses of the KIP law.

The measure is considered a breakthrough for governance reform in this nation. Indonesia is the seventh country in Asia to enact such a law.

It obliges all bodies funded by taxpayer money to regularly disclose and update information regarding their institutions, and to provide easy access to information for those who request it.

The eight existing provincial commissions are located in Central Java, East Java, West Java, Banten, Garontolo, Riau Islands, South Sulawesi and Lampung. But according to Agus, only four of those are operating effectively.

“Unfortunately, although there are eight provincial commissions for public information, there are only four that work properly by handling the public information,” Agus said.

“It works in Central Java, East Java, Banten and also Riau Islands province.”

ICW researcher Tama Satrya Langkun said provincial governments needed to make a commitment to provide the commissions with enough funding.

“Central Java for instance, although the Central Java Commission for Public Information has been working properly and the government has been responsive to responding to the public’s demand to establish [the commission], the regional government has reduced the funding for them from Rp 2 billion to Rp 1 billion [$234,000 to $117,000] in 2011,” he said.

The KIP also called for the central government to establish up a commission within one year of the issuing of the regulation. That body has already been established.

Religious Radio a Force to Be Reckoned With

The Jakarta Globe

Religious Radio a Force to Be Reckoned With

When Islamic hard-liners in Bekasi and Bogor were questioned recently about what influenced them to take up causes or attend demonstrations, most pointed toward an often overlooked medium: the radio.

Haryanto, a resident of Ciketing in Bekasi, said it was through the radio that he became aware of Murhali Barda, the former head of the Bekasi chapter of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). And it was through Murhali’s speeches on the radio that Haryanto felt compelled to attend the former FPI head’s criminal trial for inciting violence.

Murhali was found guilty of inciting an attack last September that culminated in the stabbing of two leaders of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) in Ciketing. He was sentenced to five months in prison in February.

“I do not know Murhali personally. I only know of him from the Dakta radio station,” Haryanto told the Jakarta Globe. “Every Sunday I’d listen to his program on Dakta. Through this program, I felt that I needed to support him as much as I could.”

Haryanto is just one of thousands of listeners of Islamic radio programs that at times carry information on where demonstrations in support of religious or moral causes are being held. Or which mosques will host preachers like Murhali.

Completing the News

Media analyst Iswandi Syahputra says many people who rely on television or social networking Web sites for their information underestimate the influence of radio.

According to the Alliance of Islamic Radio (ARIN), there are about 50 registered Islamic radio stations across Indonesia, about 30 of which are members of ARIN. The alliance itself was officially launched in February of last year.

Dhea Qotrunnada, who heads ARIN, recently told the Globe that Islamic radio stations in the country were established to augment and sometimes counter the news on Islam being carried in the mainstream press.

“The main purpose of our broadcasts is getting as many people as possible to stand together. Why should we stand alone? We would never be successful in striking down incomplete reports by mainstream media if we were to stand alone,” Dhea said.

“We air news that has a clear Islamic perspective. We need this to make up for the news being carried by mainstream media, which often discredits Islam. We also air nasyid [Islamic songs].”

Great Variety of Stations

Dakta Radio, which Haryanto likes to tune into, is based in Bekasi. It was established in 1992 and broadcasts news and speeches for what it claims are one million listeners in Greater Jakarta. But director Andi Kosala denied on Friday that it was an exclusively Islamic radio station.

“This is a news radio station that happens to have 40 percent Islamic content,” Andi told the Globe. “It needs to be understood that this is not an Islamic radio station.”

Asked why of all the Islamic preachers in the country Dakta Radio picked Murhali to host his own program, Andi said, “We used Murhali because we saw that he was competent. We did not know that he was an FPI leader.”

At Radio Nuris, an executive told the Globe that the station was established because its founders were concerned about young Indonesian straying from the path of Islam.

“We believed this was happening because of the strength of Western culture,” Rudianto said. “So we began to offer Islamic edutainment for young people, especially students and university students, with 100 percent Islamic values.”

Dadang Rahmat Hidayat, who chairs the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), said there were many religious radio stations, and not just Islamic ones.

“There are also Christian stations, like Petra FM,” Dadang said. “It needs to be understood, however, that there is not necessarily anything wrong with ‘radio dakwah’ [radio for preaching purposes] — as long as they do not provoke listeners to commit crimes.”

But that can sometimes be difficult to prevent.

“We do not have the equipment to monitor radio broadcasts,” Dadang said. “So we ask listeners to report anything they find offensive.”

The Forgotten Casualties of Jakarta’s On-Street Parking Ban

The Jakarta Globe

The Forgotten Casualties of Jakarta’s On-Street Parking Ban

Dedy Surya has worked as a parking attendant along Jalan Hayam Wuruk in Central Jakarta since 1975.

“It might seem like an easy job, and if you only do it occasionally then yes, it is,” he said on Friday.

“But if you have to do it day in and day out for a living, then it’s hard,” he added. “I only earn Rp 60,000 [$7] a day, but I can’t save any of it because my commute here costs Rp 12,000 and I have to give a Rp 30,000 cut to the police or transportation office.”

He said this “protection fee” — and the fact that he has had to keep paying it for more than 35 years — is what riles him the most about the city administration’s plan to ban on-street parking along Jalan Hayam Wuruk and Jalan Gajah Mada without offering alternative employment for the parking attendants.

“Thirty thousand isn’t a small amount of money for me, yet I’ve been paying it loyally every day, even on days when I don’t earn anything,” Dedy said. “So if they scrap parking here, will they ever offer us replacement jobs?”

The city says roadside parking outside the shops and restaurants along both streets takes up valuable road space and causes daily congestion. Authorities estimate traffic capacity could increase by an extra 1,800 cars an hour if the lanes used for on-street parking were freed up.

City officials have said the two streets have a combined on-street parking capacity of only 650 vehicles, while the available parking space in the buildings that line both roads is enough for more than 4,500 motorcycles and 6,200 cars.

Udar Pristono, head of the Jakarta Transportation Office, said on Friday that the prohibition would take effect on June 1. He said his office was erecting signs to inform motorists about the change.

“We’ll be posting officers along those streets to ensure that drivers no longer park there,” he said, adding that his office would maintain a 24-hour watch on the area. “Anyone found parking on the street will be ticketed,” he added. “If drivers can’t be found, their cars will be wheel-clamped.”

Udar said the campaign to inform motorists, building owners and parking attendants about the prohibition was being conducted throughout this month.

“I’m optimistic that this operation, which is ultimately about improving traffic flow in the area, will be successful,” he said.

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, chairman of the nongovernmental Jakarta Transportation Council, welcomed the parking ban as a potentially effective solution to the chronic traffic congestion on the two streets.

“If after being implemented it turns out that the parking ban really helps alleviate traffic jams, then the policy should be extended to other streets with similar problems,” he said.

He also called on the transportation office to hike the on-street parking fee to discourage motorists from parking on the roadside, and prompt them to either use parking lots or forgo their cars altogether.

“If parking fees are raised, people will be inclined to use public transportation,” Azas said.

However, Ratmaji, a parking attendant who works outside the Central Jakarta District Court on Jalan Gajah Mada, said he was skeptical that the parking ban would be fully enforced on both streets.

“I don’t think they’ll enforce it in the vicinity of the courthouse,” he said. “The court doesn’t have its own parking lot, so if they do impose the parking ban here, where are court visitors supposed to park?”

Udar stressed that the entire street would be a no-parking zone, including outside the court. For buildings without their own parking lots, he said, visitors could use the “off-street parking available in many public places or shopping centers such as Gajah Mada Plaza and Glodok Plaza.”

Dede, a parking attendant on Jalan Hayam Wuruk, said the administration should evaluate its decision to prohibit on-street parking, arguing that it was not the only cause of traffic jams in the area.

“For reasons that I can’t fathom, police officers sometimes stop vehicles from passing through intersections here when the light is green,” he said.

“The city needs to see that this is also a factor in the traffic jams. Instead of banning parking here and taking away jobs from poor people like us, the city authorities need to come up with a better solution.”

Four Contest Winners Winging It to Old Trafford

The Jakarta Globe

Four Contest Winners Winging It to Old Trafford

Ever dreamed of watching Alex Ferguson give the hair-dryer treatment to Wayne Rooney or Rio Ferdinand in person?

That dream is becoming a reality, at least for four Indonesians set to travel to England to watch Manchester United play Blackpool on May 22 at Old Trafford.

Stefanus Nino Wahyu Saptoadi, Anom Prasetyo, Maria Priscillia and Gurkiren Singh were announced on Thursday as the winners of a quiz sponsored by Turkish Airlines and carried in the Jakarta Globe. The winners will be flown by Turkish Airlines to watch the match.

They were chosen at random from the pool of contestants who correctly answered three trivia questions about Manchester United football.

“I thought this was some sort of a con when I received a call from the Globe informing me that I won the quiz. But when I checked and saw that this was the real deal, I was so happy,” Stefanus Nino said.

“Actually, I don’t even remember when I took the quiz. I had completely forgotten about it,” he added.

Maria, 19, who said that she loved everything about the Red Devils, was ecstatic at the chance to see the team in action at its home stadium.

“I have been an MU freak for so many years,” she said.

“I am so excited to see MU live in the UK.

“I have been in touch with the other winners and I hope we’ll have a good time together there. It’s a dream to get a free ticket to watch MU live.”

Gurkiren said he only took the quiz for fun, and was surprised to learn that he had in fact won a free trip.

“I monitor the news, including the Jakarta Globe,” Gurkiren said. “When I saw that quiz, I tried my luck. I did not believe that I could win.”

Anom, a Surabaya resident, said words failed him. “I cannot express what I am feeling right now,” he said.

Final Hard-Liner Released From Jail After Attack on Christians

The Jakarta Globe

Final Hard-Liner Released From Jail After Attack on Christians

The last person jailed in relation to the brutal attack on members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church of Pondok Timur Indah in Bekasi late last year was released from prison on Friday.

Shalih Mangara Sitompul, a lawyer representing Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) member Aji Ahmad Faisal, 28, confirmed his client had been freed.

He had been convicted of stabbing religious leader Asia Sihombing during an attack in which Rev. Luspida Simandjuntak was beaten with a bamboo stick.

Aji, reportedly a struggling street singer and poet, was greeted by a number of supporters after he was released from prison.

“Aji is now back to the place where he comes from,” Shalih said. “Perhaps he will go back to be a street artist as he used to be.”

Human rights groups have accused the state of failing to uphold the law after a Bekasi court gave light sentences to the 13 Muslim hard-liners linked to the attack in September last year.

State May Ease Taxes on Low-Income Workers to Help Meet Daily Needs

The Jakarta Globe

State May Ease Taxes on Low-Income Workers to Help Meet Daily Needs

Camelia Pasandaran & Elisabeth Oktofani

The government is pushing to raise the cap on tax-exempt income in an effort to help workers take home more of their pay, the manpower and transmigration minister said on Wednesday.

Muhaimin Iskandar said the state was considering more than doubling the threshold on tax-exempt monthly income to Rp 2.6 million ($300) from the current Rp 1.32 million.

“This is to free [low-income] workers from the burden [of paying tax],” he said on Wednesday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, speaking at a Labor Day event on Sunday, said he had asked concerned ministries to recalculate the maximum level of income not subject to tax.

“I’ve already asked the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry to work with the Finance Ministry and the tax office to review the appropriate amount that should be subject to tax,” he said.

“Those who cannot afford to pay tax should be exempt from it. They only earn enough to meet their daily costs of living, so it would be unfair to tax them,” the president said.

Under current regulations, monthly income in excess of Rp 1.32 million, but below or equal to Rp 2.6 million, is subject to 10 percent tax. Those earning above this bracket pay 15 percent.

“The target is to double [the threshold]. But at the very least, the tax-exemption level could be raised 75 percent,” he said, adding that the tax directorate had yet to approve the proposal.

But Muhammad Isnur, from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), was not so keen on the plan, saying it did not address the real problem. “The issue here is having a decent salary to meet daily needs,” he said.

The minimum wage in the capital is Rp 1.29 million, with many workers receiving much less.

Muhaimin said the government was also planning to revise the law governing outsourcing but needed time to negotiate with companies and workers.

Labor unions have long campaigned for the abolition of outsourcing, which allows companies to hire workers on a contractual basis and are thus not obliged to provide severance, health insurance or pensions.

The minister said the government was considering banning the practice, unless for additional work or jobs not integral to a company’s day-to-day operations. “But it should be supervised and guided,” he said.

“But again, we need to discuss it once more with business associations,” he said. “So far, I have received no complaints in response to [the plan].”

On Labor Day, Muhaimin also promised to improve the social security system for workers (Jamsostek), including extending health coverage to include heart disease.

Returning Migrants to Be Retrained

The Jakarta Globe

Returning Migrants to Be Retrained

The government is planning to provide training centers for the thousands of workers who have been repatriated from Saudi Arabia after overstaying their visas to work there illegally.

More than 2,000 workers, the last batch to be brought home by the government, arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the government was in the process of preparing 38 training centers for the former migrants, most of whom worked as domestics.

“This is basically a business skills training which can be an alternative means for them to make a living for themselves and their families,” he said. “Therefore, instead of looking for an informal job aboard, they can have a job in their home country,” he said.

Roostiawati, head of foreign cooperation at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, told the Jakarta Globe that the centers would be aimed at encouraging people to become entrepreneurs rather than job seekers.

She added that the centers would be established in districts where large numbers of the workers had come from, and would focus on using locally available commodities to spur business growth.

“Therefore, by establishing the training skill center making use of the local commodities, the migrant workers can use their skills to create their own jobs so they do not have to go abroad to work,” she said.

Muhaimin said that among other skills, the training program would include workshops on how to set up and operate livestock farms, clothing shops and beauty salons.

He declined to say when the centers would open.

Earlier, the government had arranged flights back to Indonesia for more than 2,000 workers who had overstayed their visas or who were found to have worked in Saudi Arabia illegally. Some had misused their hajj permits.

Court Hears How Busway Road Rage Shooting Just Missed Flaming Finale

The Jakarta Globe

Court Hears How Busway Road Rage Shooting Just Missed Flaming Finale

The TransJakarta driver whose bus was shot at in a case of road-rage in January testified on Monday that the alleged attacker had come close to blowing up the vehicle.

Taking the stand at the trial of Nico, also known as Siang Fuk, at the North Jakarta District Court, driver Muhammad Fitrianto said the defendant had fired four shots at the bus, narrowly missing its natural gas fuel tank at the back.

Fitrianto said the attack took place on Jalan Pluit Permai in North Jakarta. He said Nico, who was driving a red sedan, entered the busway lane behind his bus and appeared to be in a hurry.

“The incident occurred when I was pulling up to the Pluit shelter to pick up passengers,” he said.

“There were two buses in front of me and while I was waiting my turn, there was a red sedan [behind me] that kept honking its horn,” he added. “But I didn’t respond because I couldn’t do anything. There were two buses in front of me.”

He said he then heard three gunshots, “but I didn’t know where they came from or where they were aimed at.”

Fitrianto said the driver of the sedan then got out of his car and approached his window.

“He knocked on my door with something that looked like a wallet with some kind of badge,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure what kind of badge it was, but it sounded like steel knocking against my door. Because I was stuck in the traffic and he was driving in the busway lane, I signaled for him to wait.

“Then he went back to his car and drove past and fired a shot at the left-hand side of the bus.”

Fitrianto said he was unaware that one of the earlier shots had only just missed the bus’s fuel tank.

“I only found out that there was a hole by the tank when I was about to fill up with fuel,” he told the court. “It was fortunate that he missed the tank, otherwise he could have blown the bus up.”

Jembar, a TransJakarta official who also testified at the trial, said Fitrianto reported the incident the next day and they filed a complaint with the Penjaringan Police.

Police later arrested Nico at his home in the upscale Pantai Indah Kapuk area of North Jakarta, where they said they seized the gun and uncovered a massive narcotics operation.

Second Insp. Lukman, who was part of the team that handled the case, told the court that police only expected to find the gun used in the attack.

“He gave that to us straight away, but then when we looked around, we found a room that was locked,” he said. “So we asked him to open it, and inside we found a safe. Inside the safe there was a bag containing large amounts of drugs.”

Police also made a further grisly discovery — tied and gagged in the room were two men, allegedly drug runners working for Nico. The men, who appeared to have been tortured, were allegedly being punished for failing to hand over Rp 50 million ($5,850) to Nico.

Monday’s trial did not deal with the alleged torture.

Police said they retrieved more than 16,000 psychotropic pills, including ecstasy, and a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine in the surprise bust.

Nico did not object to any of the witness statements made on Monday. He stands accused of criminal assault, illegal possession of a firearm and trafficking of narcotics. The charges carry a maximum sentence of death.

The trial has been adjourned to Monday.

May Day Rallies Call for Higher Pay and Social Security

The Jakarta Globe

May Day Rallies Call for Higher Pay and Social Security

The overwhelming message on May Day from the thousands of workers who took to the streets in rallies nationwide was a call for better wages amid tougher working conditions.

In the capital, employees from various industries descended on the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Sunday. Among them were members of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), who carried a mock cage to protest their working conditions.

Winuarto Adhi, head of the AJI union, told the Jakarta Globe that they were demanding greater protection from the government in response to the growing number of acts of violence against journalists.

“Indonesian journalists face bigger challenges these days, such as an intimidation, threats or destruction of property,” he said “This is evident in the increasing number of violent incidents targeted at journalists. Unfortunately, these cases have rarely been thoroughly investigated by the police.”

Siti Damiti, a street vendor at the rally in Jakarta, bemoaned rising food prices and the perceived marginalization of informal-sector workers.

“Even though food was expensive before, at least we didn’t have to leave home to earn enough to eat,” she said.

She added that she was disappointed with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for neglecting the poor and kowtowing to foreign investors.

“If he wants to make things better, he shouldn’t let foreigners exploit Indonesia and make us strangers in our own land,” Siti said. In Bogor, 500 workers from various factories in the area took part in a similar rally.

Devi, a worker at a textile plant, claimed that she only earned Rp 930,000 a month ($110), far below the minimum wage in Bogor of Rp 1.17 million. She said she could earn Rp 1.6 million, but that would mean working a 12-hour shift.

Yuyus said that he felt compelled to keep working to support his family. He said his job at a mattress factory paid him Rp 1.9 million a month, which was just enough to cover the needs of his wife and four children.

“I’ve worked for 20 years [at the factory], and even though I’m nearing retirement age, I’ve got to keep working because I’m the sole breadwinner in the family,” he said.In Malang, East Java, around 600 workers marched on the City Council to protest violations of the minimum wage, union-busting tactics by employers and the lack of social security for workers’ families.

Mistiani, a factory worker and mother of one, said that she only earned Rp 800,000, while the minimum wage was Rp 1.08 million.“The unions have repeatedly pressed for a wage hike in line with the minimum wage, but to no avail,” she said.

The rally was closely guarded by 600 police personnel and proceeded peacefully. But in Makassar, South Sulawesi, protesters blocked the road to the city’s Sultan Hasanuddin Airport, forcing flight delays of up to half an hour.

The members from nine unions made an attempt to take over the airport but were held off by 300 riot police. They finally dispersed after a two-hour standoff.