June 7, 2016 edition

THE Indonesian legal system is at the end of the line. The public no longer trusts in the judges after so many have been caught taking bribes.
The latest case involves Kepahiang District Court Chief Janner Pure who was apprehended by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last week. Together with his colleague, Toton, the judge was caught accepting Rp150 million in bribes. The KPK also found Rp500 million while raiding his office.

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More Indicator articles in other editions

May 31, 2016 edition

A COMEDY. This seems to be the proper way to describe the recent Golkar Party chairman election.
Setya Novanto, a former party treasurer and disgraced speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), won the election somewhat anticlimactically. His closest challenger was Ade Komarudin, the current DPR speaker.

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May 24, 2016 edition

HISTORY has proven that communism is unable to mature in most societies. Currently, only a few countries still practice the ideology, with some adjustments. For instance, Vietnam adopted capitalism in 1986 through their Doi Moi policy. China, too, has slipped in democratic principles into its government.
What about Indonesia? Officially, a 1966 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) provision remains in force, meaning communism is banned. However, security forces and several mass organizations insist communism is coming back. To eradicate the perceived-some would say manufactured-threat, they have confiscated t-shirts, books with 'leftist' teachings and even shut down discussions and films about the lives of political prisoners.

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May 17, 2016 edition

A letter from FIFA, the world football organization, provided relief that the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) was looking for.
The letter recommended that the government lift a freeze issued in April 2015 by Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi that banned the PSSI from competition.

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May 10, 2016 edition

Over the past year, the government has been aggressively pursuing negligent taxpayers. President Joko Widodo set a goal of Rp1.29 quadrillion for 2015, but the government was only able to collect Rp1.06 quadrillion. This year, the target has been increased to Rp1.55 quadrillion.
Several factors have prevented the government from reaching its target. One is that businessmen have stashed huge sums of untaxed money abroad. To reach its target, the government is planning to pardon these tax dodgers in the hope they will start paying taxes again.

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May 3, 2016 edition

THE government has not budged from its refusal to apologize for the September 30, 1965 tragedy, when hundreds of thousands of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members and those thought to be affiliated with the group were killed or arrested and held for years without trial. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the victims of the tragedy had been the army generals whom PKI members allegedly killed in an attempted coup.
Both the families of generals and the families of those killed and jailed in the ensuing crackdown have been wronged.

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April 26, 2016 edition

After being exposed by the Panama Papers, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugson chose to step down. A similar fate befell Spain's Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister Jos Manuel Soria, while British Prime Minister David Cameron has been forced to release his tax returns in the face of public protest.
So what about Indonesia? It was easy to predict how those linked to the documents would react-denial.

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