KPK’s Hands Tied on Police, AGO Graft

The Jakarta Globe

Although the nation’s antigraft agency has arrested more corruption suspects in 2010 than in the previous year, it has been unable or unwilling to pursue cases involving police or prosecutors, a graft watchdog said on Monday.


The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has shown a “significant” improvement in 2010 over the previous year, arresting 69 suspects and handling 23 cases that caused state losses totaling Rp 619.13 billion ($70.5 million), Indonesia Corruption Watch said.

In 2009, the KPK arrested 42 suspects linked to 23 cases estimated to have cost the state Rp 420 billion, according to the ICW.

The corruption watchdog lauded the higher 2010 totals as evidence that the KPK was aggressively pursuing allegations of graft at all levels of government.

“In term of the quality, the KPK has improved their performance because instead of just handling corruption cases in the central government they have also handled corruption at the regional level.” ICW researcher Tama Satrya Langkun said.

However, the ICW pointed out that the KPK’s record when it came to investigating members of the National Police or the Attorney General’s Office was lacking.

“Other than still having 10 unsolved corruption cases, including the Bank Century bailout case during 2010, the KPK has not been able to handle corruption cases involving officers of the National Police or prosecutors,” Tama said.

Tackling such cases, he said, was urgent “so it can help accelerate the reform at the law enforcement level.”

Tama himself was hospitalized last year after being beaten by unknown assailants. The attack is believed by many to have been in retaliation for his investigation into the suspiciously large bank accounts of high-ranking National Police officers.

ICW deputy coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo conjectured that the KPK was reluctant to pursue law enforcement officials due to the likelihood of bad blood building between the agencies — the antigraft body often works with the National Police and the AGO on its cases.

Adnan said the KPK was already drawing heat from the House of Representatives after alleging 51 former and sitting lawmakers were linked to the Miranda Goeltom bribery scandal.

“Although the KPK has improved their performance by arresting members of the House and former state officials who committed corruption, they have to be careful with the possibility of the backlash from the House of Representatives,” Adnan warned.

He said the House could potentially hobble the KPK by cutting its funding or reducing its authority.

“Therefore, the KPK has to keep improving their performance so that they will not lose the public trust in their handling of corruption cases. It they do, some actors will try to use the opportunity to destroy the KPK for their own purpose, including House members.”

He pointed to the ongoing conflict between House Commission III and the KPK involving KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah. The two men were named suspects in late 2009 in an extortion case widely believed to have been fabricated.

In January, they were barred from appearing at House hearings just days after 19 lawmakers were arrested in connection with the Miranda bribery scandal, leading some critics to allege the ban was politically motivated.

The case against the KPK officials has been dropped, but lawmakers have continued to object to their presence at hearings.

Interfaith Leaders Deliver Corruption Complaints to KPK

The Jakarta Globe

After accusing the government of spreading lies at the beginning of the year, the same group of religious leaders on Friday urged the nation’s antigraft body to investigate a growing number of corruption and abuse of power complaints they had received from the public.


The interfaith group delivered details of those complaints to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and also demanded the antigraft body continue to pursue all leads stemming from the case of former taxman Gayus Tambunan.

Gayus was jailed for seven years earlier this year on a graft charge.

Salahuddin “Gus Solah” Wahid, an Islamic leader from Nahdlatul Ulama, told reporters on Friday that while the Gayus case should still be a top priority for the KPK, the commission needed to focus on corruption and extortion by civil servants at the provincial and district level.

“We have received 88 complaints from the public from 13 districts and 26 percent of them are corruption cases,” Salahuddin said. “[There are also] extortion cases involving civil servant applicants.

“Other than urging the KPK to investigate Gayus’s corruption case, we also urge the KPK to investigate corruption at the provincial level, which might appear as small cases of corruption.”

He said some candidates for civil service jobs were allegedly asked to pay bribes to officials in order to have their applications processed.

Effendi Gozali, another member of the interfaith group, called on the KPK to investigate the 149 companies named by Gayus as alleged tax offenders.

Effendi was one of 25 members of the interfaith group to appear at the KPK on Friday, along with Salahuddin, NU deputy chairman Masdar Farid Mashudi and noted Muslim pluralist Ahmad Syafii Maarif.

On Sunday, political analysts said the increasing numbers of people channeling their complaints through religious leaders was a sign of distrust in the government, the legislature and law enforcement agencies.

“Society has lost its trust in the formal institutions such as the legislature and the National Police, which actually should side with the public,” said Ari Dwipayana, a political science professor at Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University.

“Therefore, nowadays, religious leaders have been taking an important role in society and this should be a warning for the government to improve its performance,” he said.

KPK chairman Busyro Muqqodas confirmed to reporters after the Friday meeting that the religious leaders delivered allegations of corruption in 13 districts. He declined to elaborate on the details.

“The visit from the religious leaders to report the allegations on corruption cases which harm society shows that the public trusts us to handle corruption cases in the country,” Busyro said.

He also called for the House of Representatives to proceed cautiously during its current revision of the 2002 law on the KPK so as not to weaken the commission’s ability to fight corruption.

“I hope the politicians see that the civil society has fully supported the KPK on handling corruption cases,” he said

Cinema Official Decries Lack of Clarity Over Taxes

The Jakarta Globe


Less than a week away from a deadline for film importers to make good on two years’ worth of unpaid royalties, a top cinema official complained the government had not been clear with its regulations.

The customs office has said three importers that had not paid Rp 31 billion ($3.5 million) in royalties over the past two years could be barred from importing films if they didn’t pay or file an objection with the tax court by Saturday.

But Djonny Syafruddin, the chairman of the Indonesian Cinema Companies Association, said about 30 foreign-film importers he had spoken to claimed they had paid the necessary taxes.

“The government has not been transparent with regard to customs regulations,” he said. “The government needs to explain regulations in detail, instead of giving importers a surprise.”

The customs value of imported films was previously based on the physical length of the film roll, with each meter valued at 43 cents. The government now wants to tax royalties up front because a 2006 customs law stipulates that royalties should be included in the import-tax calculation.

The new tax is behind the Motion Picture Association’s recent move to stop the export of films to Indonesia.

Djonny said his organization would back government efforts to support the domestic film industry. “If the government wants to charge a zero percent tax on filmmaking equipment that is fine too,” he said, referring to one of the suggested tactics.

“But it has to be understood that domestic films have not been able to meet cinema needs across the country,” he added. “Therefore, foreign films are needed to keep cinemas alive.”

Djonny said Indonesian cinemas only had about two months of foreign film stock in reserve.

On Feb. 20, Jero Wacik, the culture and tourism minister, said the new tax arrangement for local and imported films would be finalized within two weeks.

Syamsul Lussa, the director of film at the ministry, said on Sunday that the tax scheme was still being discussed.

“We do not have a final result for the tax scheme,” Syamsul said. “It will be announced on National Film Day on March 30.”

Interns Return From Japan With Optimism and Cash

The Jakarta Globe

A group of 104 Indonesians returned from an internship in Japan with money in their pockets and invaluable knowledge on Thursday night after finishing a three-year internship program.


Bagus Marijanto, the director of internship training in the ministry of manpower, said on Friday that the program which covered the electronics, engineering, manufacturing and building sectors, served to help decrease poverty in Indonesia.

“Since 1993, we have worked together with Japan’s International Manpower Development of Medium and Small Enterprises [IMM],” Bagus said. “We have successfully sent 30.856 people to Japan and 25,584 have returned to Indonesia. Currently there are still 5,272 interns in Japan,” he added.

The next stage in the process, he said, was that the ministry will help them find jobs.

“After they return, we provide them with a certificate from Japan International Training Cooperation Organization [JITCO] and IMM. They will also get a small business capital to start,” Bagus said.

“For those who still want to work, we will help them find a job with Japanese companies and arrange job interviews.”

Mohammad Fahri Sofyan, a former intern from Klaten, Central Java said he was pleased with this program.

“I graduated from science class at a public senior high school. Then I took a course at a training center, but it is difficult to find a decent job in Indonesia, so I decided to join this program.” Fahri said.

Fahri, who earned 80,000 Yen ($970) per month in the first year and then 135,000 yen per month after that, said he will put the money in the bank and look for job in indonesia.

“I hope I can get a job and save the money for my future.”

Another intern from Central Java, Anton Eko Hardiyanto, also praised the program.

“I will say that besides earning money, I have also learned a lot of knowledge from Japan and its people,” he said.

“Now that I’m back, I want to use my knowledge to help develop the country by sharing with other people who are willing to learn and work,” Anton said, adding that he plans to build a small business with the money he earned.

The program is held annually by the ministry of manpower. Anyone with senior high school or vocational school certificate is welcome to apply. For further information on the program, go tohttp://www.depnakertrans.go.id

7Wonders Saga Has Ministry Rethinking Strategy

The Jakarta Globe

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Thursday that the New7Wonders of Nature debacle had taught it a very valuable lesson — to conduct a thorough screening of partners that it intended to work with in the future.


The New7Wonders foundation is running an online vote to name the new seven natural wonders of the world. Komodo Island National Park is Indonesia’s entrant.

Indonesia and the foundation have become embroiled in a dispute following the foundation’s allegations that the Ministry had reneged on its commitment to host an event to announce the competition’s winners.

The Ministry, however, said that there had been no agreement signed on the matter and that the foundation was asking for too much to hold the ceremony.

New7Wonders has stated that the Tourism Ministry is no longer allowed to officially support the park’s campaign because it had failed to meet its obligations.

The Ministry said they were scratched from the list because the foundation insisted that Indonesia pay $10 million in licensing fees and Rp 420 billion ($47 million) to host the ceremony. New7Wonders has denied such claims, saying the government’s only commitment was $10 million to support the private group organizing the ceremony.

Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer representing the ministry, said it was still mulling legal action against the foundation.

“We want to give them a lesson that as a foundation that attracts worldwide attention, they need to be fair with participants of the competition,” Todung said. “That the Ministry was removed after we refused to pay the millions of dollars must be questioned.

“We have sent them letters and they bounced back to us,” he added. “What kind of organization has no exact address that we can contact?”

Despite the controversy, Todung said, what really mattered was that Komodo Island received the attention it deserved.

Nia Niscaya, the ministry’s director of conventions, said it had only signed a Standard Participation Agreement with the foundation, which did not contain specifics on the matter of payment.

“They had told us that in order to host the award ceremony, we would have to pay a licensing fee of $7 million,” she said. “Suddenly, we were informed it had gone up to $10 million.”

Jakarta Sets Out Vision for City’s ERP Toll Scheme

The Jakarta Globe

If the proposed Electronic Road Pricing scheme eventually pushes through, Jakarta motorists may find themselves paying up to Rp 21,000 ($2.40) every time they travel through large parts of the city.


That is roughly the price ceiling being considered in the master plan for the ERP by the Jakarta Transportation Office, according to its chief, Udar Pristono.

“We are proposing an average tariff for the ERP ranging from between Rp 6,579 and Rp 21,072,” he said.

Udar said the prices took into consideration current tariffs on the city’s toll roads, comparative rates overseas, consumer surveys and the cost of so-called jockeys, who help motorists circumvent the city’s three-in-one carpool regulation.

However, he said his office would first propose a set tariff of Rp 12,500 for at least the first phase of the program, after which the price could be reviewed.

To implement the scheme, the office is proposing three electronic toll gates be installed on each stretch of road where the ERP would be implemented.

Two gates, at the start and end of the stretch, would verify vehicle license plates, while the other would process how much to automatically deduct from motorists’ accounts via the on-board unit.

The ERP scheme is hoped to replace the current three-in-one system that is made redundant by the abundance of jockeys, who offer their services for between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000 to help motorists meet the three-passenger minimum needed per vehicle at certain times on certain roads.

Udar said his office had already come up with areas where the ERP could be applied, many of which included roads that were not covered by the three-in-one scheme.

But before the project could proceed, Udar said the authorities still needed to wait for government regulation related to the 2009 Law on Traffic and Road Transportation, which is still being debated.

It also needed the 2009 Law on Regional Taxes and Levies to be revised in order to allow the city to receive revenues from the scheme.

Separately, Jakarta motorists said they were already wary of the proposed new system.

Maria Dewi Purwitasari, an office worker, said she worried about how it would impact her family’s monthly budget.

“My husband and I often take the Sudirman, Thamrin and Harmoni route to commute between home and work. But if the Jakarta administration implements the ERP like this, we will have to manage our monthly budget again,” she said.

Andy Lala, a journalist from Trijaya FM, said the proposed tariffs would probably be fine for most people but questioned what the city would do with those revenues. “Will we have well-maintained roads that won’t get flooded during the rainy season or what?” he said.

Udar said the ERP scheme was just one of three immediate steps the city planned to take to alleviate chronic traffic problems. The other two initiatives included the construction of five more busway corridors and the development of an integrated transportation system.

“Hopefully those three steps can begin this year,” he said. “We will work hard to reduce the capital’s traffic congestion.”

Meanwhile, Jakarta Deputy Governor Prijanto said the city administration and central government had finally agreed on how to structure the financing for the construction of a 14.3 kilometer-long Monorail project. The project had been dropped in the absence of any investor.

The expected Rp 4.42 trillion cost of the project would be divided equally between both parties, he said.

Agus Pambagio, from the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), said that to ease traffic, the city should in the short term work to provide an adequate busway fleet, put restrictions on motorcycle numbers, hike parking rates along busway routes, tighten issuance of driver’s licenses and create incentives for police to book traffic offenders.

“But to do all these things, a strong and daring leadership is needed to make decisions,” he said.

“A leader should be firm — and even a little bit crazy — in executing his policies.”

Filmmakers Critical of Govt Plan to Subsidize Patriotic Movies

The Jakarta Globe

The Indonesian film industry appeared lukewarm to the government’s plan to allocate a special budget to subsidize the production of films that “instill love to the nation, raise patriotism and national defense.”


Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, speaking in Jakarta on Tuesday, said the subsidies would begin next year, though he did not say how much the program would cost.

“Good films that are full of messages of national character-building will be subsidized,” Jero said, adding that he would establish a team to determine the criteria for films to be subsidized.

Joko Anwar, a prominent Indonesian director, said the idea was not well considered.

“If the ministry only subsidizes films that improve patriotism, it would actually just foster the creation of bad patriotic movies,” he said.

“Filmmakers will try to meet the criteria needed to get the subsidy instead of focusing their creative efforts on producing a quality film.”

Ody Harahap, another local director of note, said that if the government pushes through the plan, it should have clear criteria and a transparent mechanism for doling out the subsidy.

“There is a possibility that the government will only support the filmmakers who have a close relation with the government,” he said.

Both directors said there were better ways to develop the local film industry.

Joko said supporting promising filmmakers instead of certain kinds of films was a better use of money, citing as an example the tax break provided by the New Zealand government to the producers of the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Ody suggested focusing efforts on improving facilities for Indonesian filmmakers.

“They can build a film school or a film library with a good collection so filmmakers can learn,” he said.

Jero also said he would pursue the implementation of more fiscal incentives in the form of tax reductions for national film production.

“The government will propose a zero percent tax for national film production,” he said.

The government recently implemented a zero taxation policy on importing raw materials used in film production.

Indonesia’s national film production has reached 100 titles a year and is expected to keep rising to reach 200 by 2014 to equal the number of imported films screened in theaters.

Jero said the government, through the Ministry of Finance, was still calculating the amount of tax for national film production. It is also still calculating the appropriate tax for imported films, he said.

Maroon 5 Run Into Tobacco Sponsorship Controversy in Indonesia

The Jakarta Globe


In yet another cigarette sponsorship controversy to hit Indonesia, American rock band Maroon 5 have requested that tobacco affiliations associated with its concert in Jakarta on April 27 be removed.

Again, the controversy has attracted international attention, with Internet petition host and blog Change.org saying that after receiving 180 letters complaining of Maroon 5’s tie-in with Gudang Garam’s Surya Professional Mild, the band “and their management moved quickly to have the tobacco company’s name removed from all posters and advertising.”

“Maroon 5’s management informed Change.org that the band does not have a direct sponsorship agreement with Surya Professional Mild, but that the entire concert series was sponsored by the company,” the organization said on its Web site.

“After learning from the petition that the band’s name was being used in conjunction with tobacco advertising, Maroon 5’s management contacted the tour promoter, Java MusikIndo, to immediately cease the use of the Surya brand in the promotion of the concert.”

Change.org noted that Maroon 5 was a group of artists involved in a new youth program that “encourages all young people to get connected and help create a world without cancer.”

“It seems ironic then, that after using their name to advocate for cancer awareness among youth, Maroon 5 is now helping to promote to youth a leading cause of cancer — cigarettes.”

Indonesia’s National Commission for Child Protection on Tuesday urged Java MusikIndo to withdraw the cigarette sponsorship and stop using tobacco companies to sponsor concerts.

The commission, also known as Komnas Anak, had sent a letter to the band and management on Jan. 20, requesting that Java Musikindo remove tobacco promotion.

Commission chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait also criticized the government, saying tobacco advertising should have already been banned given the health dangers that smoking posed.

He said that according to the law, tobacco was an addictive substance similar to alcohol.

“Therefore, if there is no alcohol advertisement through the media, tobacco should be treated the same say.” Arist said.

“It is very important also that the tour promoter find another alternative sponsor for their big events other than tobacco, especially when the tour promoter presents artists or musicians who have many teenage fans.”

Alex Papilaya, chairman of the Tobacco Support Center, said if foreign musicians could perform concerts free of tobacco sponsorship, so could local artists.

“All artists, foreigners or Indonesians, should also care about their fans. Slank for instance, if they can be an antidrug icon for their fans, they also can be anticigarette.” Alex said

He added that artists could also adopt antismoking themes in their music.

Triadi Noor, the director of Velvet Productions, an Indonesian tour promoter that refuses to plug cigarettes, said it was not difficult to promote concerts without tobacco sponsorship.

He said there were many alternative sponsors, including telecommunications companies, Internet providers and soft drink companies.

“We are doing it because we care about the … fans, who are the future … of this country.”

Indonesia Sends Out Mixed Signals in Film Ban Debate

The Jakarta Globe

The government has given conflicting messages about the ongoing controversy over curbing foreign-movie imports, with the customs office saying a ban may be enforced and the culture minister ruling out such a move.


Thomas Sugijata, director general of customs, said on Monday that in less than two weeks, three importers that had failed to pay royalties over the past two years could be barred from bringing in films.
“We sent them a letter on January 12 regarding this issue, and they have to respond by March 12,” he said. “If they fail to pay or to file an objection with the tax court by that time, we will have to revoke their import licenses.”
Thomas said the three importers owed Rp 31 billion ($3.5 million) in unpaid royalties and could face similarly steep fines for their failure to pay.
Seven other companies licensed to import movies have ceased operations, he said.
According to the tax law, importers have to pay 23.8 percent of a film’s customs value, including import tax, value-added tax and income tax.
Previously, royalties were not factored into the cost because distributors argued that the amount would only be known after the film was released.
The customs value of imported films had previously been based on the physical length of the film roll, with each meter valued at 43 cents.
The government now wants to tax royalties up front because a 2006 customs law stipulates that royalties should be included in the import-tax calculation.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which counts major Hollywood studios as members, said last month that the government’s decision to include royalties in its import tariffs would be detrimental to the flow of imported films into the country.
It also announced it would halt supplies of imported films to Indonesian cinemas pending the settlement of the dispute.
Jero Wacik, the minister of culture and tourism, said on Monday that any move to ban movie imports would kill the local film industry.
He also said the government was open to negotiations with film importers if they thought the royalties were too high.
“We’ll make every effort to keep foreign movies coming into Indonesia to keep the local film industry alive,” the minister said, “because the Indonesian film industry hasn’t been able to produce enough films to fill local screens.
“We also don’t want to force foreign-film lovers to resort to buying pirated DVDs by making the movies unavailable here.”
Jero said the government would still collect a percentage from ticket sales and the figure would depend on how popular a film was.
“If the film is popular and thus generates a large amount of revenue, the importers will have to pay a high tax,” he said. “But if it’s not popular, then they won’t have to pay that much. However, the final form of the tax scheme is still being discussed.”
Jero said the government would help improve the domestic film industry without shutting out foreign films.
He said the state would provide grants to encourage producers to make movies that would “have a good influence on developing the nation’s character.”
“Reducing the number of imported films in Indonesia is only one of the ways to safeguard the national culture and develop the nation’s character,” the minister said. “[We can also] reduce the tax on local films.”

Dipo Reports Metro TV to Press Council

The Jakarta Globe

Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam reported Metro TV to the press council on Monday for fueling a negative public opinion of him.


The action comes two days after executives from Metro TV and broadsheet Media Indonesia filed a lawsuit and police complaint against Dipo over his recent call for an advertising boycott of certain news organizations.
“We have no problem with the Media Group’s legal action,” Dipo’s lawyer, Amir Syamsuddin, told reporters at the Press Council’s office. “But we expect that while legal processes are under way, Metro TV will stop using their media to create a [false] public opinion of Dipo.”
The lawyer explained that for the past five days, Metro TV had continually run in its news ticker a sentence saying Dipo Alam calls for boycott of the Indonesian press.
“It is not fair that Metro TV keeps running the same text over these last five days without covering both sides. They have abused their authority for building a public opinion about Dipo Alam. Therefore we are only reporting Metro TV,” he said.
“We are not reporting TV One or Media Indonesia because they are not taking the same action as Metro TV in building a public opinion.”
Amir said he hoped the press council would remain impartial during the handling the case.
“We hope everything will be solved properly as Metro TV has attack an Indonesian citizen, Dipo Alam, by using their institution to control public opinion,” he said. “We won’t explain the details [of the report] until the press council takes a look at it.”