June 7, 2016 edition
In conjunction with the visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Russia in mid-May, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina named Russian oil company Rosneft the winner of the tender to build the Tuban refinery in East Java. This decision has raised questions because the government had already signaled that it would likely appoint Saudi Aramco, a Saudi oil company, to work on the project.
Despite being a new player in Indonesia's petroleum business, this giant Russian oil and gas company was able to convince the government and Pertamina to make it their partner. In addition to building a refinery with a production capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, the company will cooperate with Pertamina to explore oil fields in Russia. Pertamina was promised it can take 35,000 barrels per day from oil wells with reserves of 200 million barrels.
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May 31, 2016 edition
Two months before he retires, National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti is busy answering questions about who his successor will be. The former East Java provincial police chief is also accused of lobbying for an extension of his term of office.
Badrodin said he was troubled by charges that he desperately sought to stay on in his current job. The decision whether to extend his term or have him replaced is entirely up to the President. "To me, this position is a mandate," he said.
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May 24, 2016 edition
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators showed Agung Podomoro Land CEO Ariesman Widjaja a one-page summary of the financial records of 13 projects run by Muara Wisesa Samudra, an Agung Podomoro Land subsidiary, on May 2. The records showed work expenditures listed as additional contributions for Jakarta Bay land reclamation projects. The subsidiary holds a land reclamation license for Island G, which measures 161 hectares and is better known as Pluit City.
With lawyer Adardam Achyar on his side, Ariesman answered the questions after the KPK had named him a suspect in a bribery case involving a Jakarta provincial regulation draft on land reclamation. An investigator interrogated Ariesman for eight hours at the KPK Building in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
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May 17, 2016 edition
Reactions appearing on social media, as observed on an iPad, upset President Joko Widodo. One of the things that upset him most was the comment that the Jokowi administration-which is just over a year old-has suddenly become repressive, much like a reincarnation of Suharto's New Order rule.
On Thursday last week, the President summoned some of his closest aides, those working inside and outside the Presidential Palace. He asked for an assessment of the public's true reaction to the instruction he had given two days earlier. "Some of the authorities were seen as being excessive in interpreting the President's order," said presidential spokesman Johan Budi Sapto Pribowo.
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May 10, 2016 edition
Suriyansah, 34, was welcomed home with a simple celebration. His family was elated after he was released by the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines. The neighbors were invited to his house in Kendari last week to give thanks to God. Sinonggi, a Kendari dish made from sago flour, was served. They also served sticky rice and clam soup. "These are all my favorite food," said Suriyansah.
When he arrived in the city of his birth after a layover in Jakarta, Suriyansah was welcomed by his sobbing 69-year-old mother Sumiya. In Jakarta, he took part in more welcoming events. After being released as a hostage in Sulu Province, Suriyansah was flown to Zamboanga by helicopter. From Zamboanga, Suriyansah was flown to Tarakan in Kalimantan, then on to Jakarta.
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May 3, 2016 edition
Nurhadi's behavior upset 15 investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) who were searching his home at Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta two weeks ago. After three men from the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) guarding the house failed to prevent investigators from entering the home, the Supreme Court secretary, along with his wife and daughter, were kept in a room while the search proceeded.
Two investigators took turns knocking on the door to a room on the second floor. However, Nurhadi did not respond. From inside the room, the sound of repeated toilet flushing could be heard. After refusing to open the door for an hour, investigators crashed open the door to find Nurhadi's wife, Tin Zuraida, exited, half-running and saying she needed some underwear. Her hands covered her chest as if hiding something. "Her behavior was unusual," said one source, who took part in the search.
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April 26, 2016 edition