June 14, 2016 edition
Somehow, the government has a talent for implementing policies-however noble and justified-at the wrong place and the wrong time. In pursuing higher non-tax revenue targets to fund its ambitious development projects, particularly its massive infrastructure programs, the Joko Widodo administration is now looking at requiring coal-producing companies to cough up more than Rp25 trillion in unpaid royalties. The push could not have come at a worse time for the coal industry, currently in a slump in both Indonesia and worldwide.
Moreover, coal miners are unlikely to comply with the government's demand when the finance ministry has yet to meet their own claims on overdue tax refunds going back several years. Companies insist they will not be forking out the royalty payments until the government shows some reciprocity over the excess taxes they were compelled to pay in the past.
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More Opinion articles in other editions
June 7, 2016 edition
Observing the Golkar Party national convention in Bali recently, was like watching a political comedy. Everything was turned upside down and topsy-turvy. The illogical became rational and the forbidden became halal (meaning allowed-as opposed to haram or forbidden).
The most glaring example of the party's chaotic situation is the appointment of 200 members to the party's central executive board. Some of them actually have traits or reputations that clearly defies the party's standards, as laid down in its rules and regulations.
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May 31, 2016 edition
There is no urgent reason to extend the tenure of General Badrodin Haiti as Indonesia's National Police chief. President Joko Widodo should be focusing on the next batch of leaders and at the same time keeping his distance from political interests within the police force.
Credit should be given to Badrodin for successfully keeping the peace during last December's local elections. It took place across 300 regions without any major incident, with the police admittedly playing a major role in this positive outcome.
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May 24, 2016 edition
There is no need for Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to be hesitant when discussing the additional contribution for Jakarta's north coast reclamation project. If there is no evidence of ill intent or losses to the state, it will be difficult to accuse him of corruption even if his initiative is seen as controversial.
The policy proposed by Basuki imposes additional obligations on Muara Wisea Samudra-a subsidiary company of Agung Podomoro Land, a property development giant. Muara holds the permit to reclaim land on which it will build the 161-hectare Island G, to be known as Pluit City. It will have to pay Rp392.6 million to the city treasury as a condition for receiving the reclamation license.
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May 17, 2016 edition
President Joko Widodo should not be duplicitous in dealing with the phobia of the authorities and some of the public towards communism. He must be firm in putting an end to the ban on discussions and performances and the confiscation of books and pictures with communist themes that have occurred with increasing frequency recently.
His indecision on the issue was apparent in two statements that seemed to be aimed at trying to please both sides: those who have a fear of communist revival and those who see the ideology as nothing more than past history.
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May 10, 2016 edition
The release of 10 hostages taken by the Abu Sayyaf terror group should not make us compliant. Before we can crow in victory, we must not forget that four more of our fellow Indonesian citizens are still being held by the separatist groups in the southern Philippines.
The tugboat Brahma 12 was hijacked by the Abu Sayyaf group on March 25 as it was pulling a barge-load of 7,500 metric tons of coal from South Kalimantan to Batangas, south of Manila.
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May 3, 2016 edition