July 15, 2014 edition
DURING the presidential campaign, the public seemed torn apart. One side was for Joko Wododo-Jusuf Kalla, the other for Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa. A tug-of-war in both real and virtual worlds was unavoidable.
In Yogyakarta, hundreds of Jokowi volunteers clashed with Prabowo supporters when their campaign processions passed at the Ngabean Terminal junction. Both sides threw stones, causing a serious traffic jam. Supporters from both candidates also taunted each other at the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout in Jakarta. Meanwhile the war in the virtual world was just as violent, from bantering with rhymes to slandering.
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January 1, 1970 edition
PROVEN guilty of taking bribes in 15 regional election dispute cases, former Constitutional Court head Akil Mochtar will have to bear this shame to his grave. On Monday last week Akil was sentenced life imprisonment by the Corruption Court, a verdict in accordance with the charges leveled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutor.
However, there is one additional charge that was not granted by the judges: to revoke Akil's citizenship rights. That would have prevented him from voting and running for office. "If so, why don't you just revoke my citizenship as an Indonesian citizen," he said.
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July 1, 2014 edition
TWO weeks ago the Surabaya government officially closed the red light districts of Dolly and Jarak, located in the city's Putat Jaya district. "If they continue to open, the law will take over," Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said.
It was not for no reason that Risma insisted on shutting Dolly down. The operation had no legal foundations. Entrepreneurs there had neither building permits nor licenses to run tourism-related businesses. More troubling, due to their mixing with local households, children in the area have become addicted to sex, Risma said. "Sex addiction is more dangerous than drug addiction," she explained, citing a child who admitted she was no longer a virgin and had many boyfriends.
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January 1, 1970 edition
INDONESIA'S presidential debates have been hot topics for discussion, from the food stall to the virtual world. Yose Rizal, founder of Political Wave, a social network monitor, said netizens had been actively commenting on the most recent debate held on Sunday last week. Jakarta's governor and candidate Joko Widodo, who was assigned number two for the ballot, was again on the trend after having been the most popular topic in the wake of the first debate.
"Presidential debates have been drawing the attention of the virtual world," Yose said. The most prominent Twitter hashtag in support of Joko was the 'two finger peace sign' with a total of 47,391 mentions. Prabowo Subianto's 'all for one' sign drew 33,875 mentions.
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June 17, 2014 edition
SMEAR campaigns attacking presidential candidates seem to be a feature of every election. This time, both Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo have been hit over religious issues. Prabowo was targeted when he started to appear in public attending prayers with prominent political supporters.
Last October, Prabowo told Tempo about his religious convictions. "I believe all that I have today is God-given," he said. He admitted, however, that he had not been the most diligent with regard to religious activities. "I am not a person who devoutly follows the rituals," he said. Suhardi, chairman of Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, affirmed that Prabowo was a Muslim and had undertaken the haj pilgrimage with his father-in-law, former President Suharto.
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January 1, 1970 edition
AFTER antigraft investigators named then-Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali a suspect in the haj funds corruption case, they examined other ministry officials. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began with Anggito Abimanyu, former haj and umrah (minor pilgrimage) director-general.
Now Anggito, who has been with the Religious Affairs Ministry since June 2012, is presumed to have provided free facilities to at least 25 people who undertook the haj pilgrimage in October 2012. Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK) Chairman Muhammad Yusuf said he had sent a report to the KPK on the result of analyses of a number of prominent Religious Affairs Ministry officials, including Anggito. "If we have sent their bank accounts to law enforcement, it means there is something fishy going on," Yusuf said.
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January 1, 1970 edition