December 29, 2015 edition
ONE hundred and six members of the Jakarta Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) seemed pleased when their four demands were granted. In the 2016 Jakarta Regional Administrative Budget (APBD), four components in the council's expense budget were significantly increased. These include budgets for travel and recesses, new meeting tables and chairs and new laptops.
The budget for travel expenses, for instance, was raised from Rp430 thousand to Rp1.5 million. Jakarta DPRD Deputy Chairman Muhammad Taufik, a Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party politician, said it had been twelve years since the travel budget was last increased. "We often had to cover the excess," he said.
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December 22, 2015 edition
THE results of an audit conducted last June by the Jakarta Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on the purchase of land owned by Sumber Waras Hospital caused quite a commotion. The BPK claims the purchase of the land, located in Grogol, West Jakarta, resulted in a loss of Rp191 billion.
The Jakarta BPK accuses the government of Jakarta of purchasing the land at an extremely high price of Rp755 billion, whereas two years ago, the land was almost bought for only Rp564 billion by Ciputra Karya Utama to build a shopping center. The Jakarta government is also considered irresponsible for purchasing a plot of land that is difficult to access, prone to floods and is still under dispute.
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December 15, 2015 edition
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has been implicated in the 'Papa wants shares' scandal. Two weeks ago, the former presidential chief of staff's name was heard at the House of Representative's (DPR) ethics council (MKD) 66 times when a recorded discussion between DPR Speaker Setya Novanto, oil tycoon Muhammad Reza Chalid and Freeport Indonesia CEO Maroef Sjamsoeddin was played.
On June 8, in a meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jakarta, Setya, Reza and Maroef discussed plans to extend Freeport's contract ending in 2021. Maroef confirmed the meeting had taken place but was silent about Luhut. The fact is, Luhut's name was mentioned several times in the discussion, for example in the following transcript excerpt:
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December 8, 2015 edition
LAST week, the House of Representatives (DPR) ethics council finally brought House Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged transgression to trial. In addition to the testimony of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, the court also listened to a recording of a discussion between Setya, oil entrepreneur Muhammad Reza Chalid and Freeport Indonesia CEO Maroef Sjamsoeddin.
Sudirman filed a report against Setya, a Golkar Party politician, for using President Joko Widodo's name in an effort to extend Freeport's mining contract in Papua. The accusation was accompanied by an audio recording of the discussion, which was aired in open court and picked up by several national TV stations.
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December 1, 2015 edition
Participation in national defense training has led to the deaths of two citizens, Daniel Vicil Pardamean Tambunan and Dyah Umiyarti Purnamaningrum.
Daniel was an Atma Jaya Catholic University student in Jakarta. Dyah was a transportation ministry employee. Both died while participating in the national defense program. Dyah fainted while learning to march in formation at the Grati Marine Corps Combat Training Center in Pasuruan, East Java. The cause of Daniel's death remains unknown.
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November 24, 2015 edition
THE International Peoples' Tribunal, held in Nieuwe Kerk, the Netherlands, two weeks ago to address human rights violations committed in Indonesia during the violent events of 1965-1966 might have been nonbinding. It did, however, help bring some of the atrocities committed 50 years ago out of the shadows and into the light.
Several witnesses told stories of being tortured for supposed links to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Some said the abuses were even ordered by members of the armed forces.
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November 17, 2015 edition