January 19, 2016 edition

Citing lack of money as the reason, the government is toying with the idea of levying funds from sales of fossil fuel to develop renewable energy. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said publicly broached the idea when he announced the fuel price decrease late last December.
The energy resilience fund will be levied at Rp200 per liter for Premium and Rp300 per liter for Diesel fuels. Based on initial calculations, within one year, the amount of funds collected would reach Rp16 trillion. The plan immediately triggered controversy regarding which agency should be responsible for its management, the method used for collection, the relevant laws governing it and the fund's accountability.

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More Indicator articles in other editions

January 12, 2016 edition

DJOKO Sasono chose to resign as director-general for land transportation at the transportation ministry because he had failed to anticipate the traffic jams during Maulid and Christmas holidays, which in conjunction with school holidays started on December 23, 2015. At the time, 2.6 million vehicles were stacked up on all toll roads and alternative routes. This figure is 14 percent higher compared to the Lebaran holidays.
On December 1, 2015, the director-general for tax in the finance ministry, Sigit Priadi Pramudito, also resigned from his position because he had failed to meet the tax target. "This is to show my sense of responsibility," said Sigit when he announced his resignation. The 2015 amended state budget target for taxes was pegged at Rp1.294 quadrillion. However, by the beginning of November, only 59.8 percent of the projected tax collection, or Rp774.48 trillion, had reached the state treasury. This meant a shortage of Rp519.77 trillion.

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January 5, 2016 edition

THE public suspects the integrity and independence of the five Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders for the 2015-2019 period. More than half of Tempo respondents do not believe that the new team lead by Agus Raharjo is clean and will be left to work with no interventions.
The public's uncertainty is based on statements made by these individuals when they were undergoing the selection process for the KPK leadership positions. For instance, the selection committee questioned Agus over the land he owned and his report on personal assets as a government official that had not been renewed since August 2012. Agus, a former director of the Government Institute for Procurement and Services (LKPP), denied having failed to renew his personal wealth report.

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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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