August 9, 2016 edition
Cover Story
Prison never stopped Freddy Budiman from doing his thing. From behind bars, he ran the drug business,
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Economy
So Far So Good, But What Next?
Sidelines
The Orloj
Economy
Manggi Habir
President Jokowi's second cabinet reshuffle was expected, but not changes to his ministerial line up. The big surprise was the appointment of former finance minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who returned to her previous post, after a six-year stint as managing director of the World Bank. Sri Mulyani is a well-known and well-regarded economist, both locally and abroad. Market sentiment responded positively to the cabinet changes, with the rupiah stable at the Rp13,100 per US dollar level, while the Jakarta Composite Index (CSPI) climbed up to 5,350. With the rupiah stable and the July year-to-year inflation below market expectations at 3.2 percent, the market expected another 25 basis point cut in interest rates, but Bank Indonesia decided to keep its rate at 6.5 percent.
The first challenge for the the new finance minister will be to secure the government budget. Latest mid-year numbers show tax revenue falling far below its target. As a result, the government's budget deficit to the GDP has widened, although still below the 3 percent limit. Spending cuts are already underway. Additional revenue is expected to come from tax amnesty payments, which is calculated based on a percentage of taxpayer's assets not yet reported in their annual income tax returns. This applies to individuals and institutions and their respective undeclared assets held locally and overseas. If the overflowing attendance of recently held tax amnesty seminars is anything to go by, the potential tax revenue from the tax amnesty program could potentially be quite large.
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National
Comr. Gen. Syafruddin was in Parapat, a North Sumatera town by the Lake Toba, Friday two weeks ago when he received a phone call from his boss, National Police chief Gen. Tito Kurnavian. Sent by Tito, the chief of the Police Education Institution was there to attend the Batak Indigenous Congress. But soon after his arrival in Parapat around midnight, Tito gave him a new order. "Pak, please handle the Tanjungbalai riot," Syafruddin said quoting Tito's instruction last Wednesday.
A few hours before, angry mobs had vandalized and set ablaze three monasteries, eight temples and one clinic at Tanjungbalai. Fire besieged the Tri Ratna monastery on Jalan Asahan, the Avalokitesvara monastery on Jalan Imam Bonjol, the Dewi Ratna, Tio Hai Bio and Dewi Samudera templesall on Jalan Asahanand the Lyoung temple on Jalan Jendral Sudirman.
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Sidelines
Religion, anxiety and prejudice, all are semi-mute on the old Prague clock. Built over 600 years ago, the Orloj timekeeper gradually became a sign of distrust; there was something that had to be rejected, something called 'the Turk'. Affixed to the tower on the southern wall of the ancient City Hall in Staromstak Nmst, the Orloj bears a message conveyed with symbols.
To the left and right of the clock face are four small statues. The most striking is that of a human skeleton. With a robe draped over his shoulder, he holds a wooden frame in his left hand; inside is an hourglass. In his right hand is a bell. On the hour at every hour, this terrifying skeleton makes the bell peal. He is Death.
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Interview
On July 20, President Joko Widodo appointed Pol. Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius to head the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) to replace Tito Karnavian, who was recently appointed as National Police chief. He flew straight to Poso in Central Sulawesi, following his swearing-in ceremony to observe the location where the Tinombala joint task force had shot and killed terrorist suspect Santoso on July 18.
Suhardi stressed that BNPT must always anticipate all forms of terrorism, including the new trend of crashing a car onto crowds of people, like what happened in Nice, France on July 14. "In the past, it was bombings. People hated bombs. Bombings meant failure," Suhardi said during a visit to the Tempo office last week.
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Diplomatic Bag
PRESIDENT Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak held a meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta last week to discuss three challenges facing the two countries.
First, to resolve border disputes by intensifying negotiations in bilateral meetings. Second, to cooperate to ensure security in Sulu and surrounding waters. "Indonesia has expressed concern regarding the abduction and hostage cases in the area," Jokowi said.
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Asean & Beyond
The four-story brick house was built in 1900. It is one of a series of buildings protected by a security fence in London's exclusive Belgravia neighborhood, located near the Malaysian embassy. The house's owner is officially listed as Qentas Holdings Ltd., a company based in the British Virgin Islands.
The Wall Street Journal, however, revealed that the true owner is Prime Minister Najib Razak's stepson, Riza Aziz, who bought the house in 2012 for 23.25 million, or approximately Rp406.3 billion. The money is believed to have come from the controversial investment firm, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
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Opinion
Publishing the 'confession' of recently executed drug dealer Freddy Budiman is not a crime. Written down by Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar, the account that subsequently spread via social media is a criticism of our law enforcement authorities. Instead of gratitude, however, the response from the authorities was one of repression. Haris was reported to the police for defamation and breaking the Electronic Information and Transactions Law.
The publication of Freddy's tell-all 'confession' should be seen as the advocacy of an activist who opposes the death penalty. The word 'confession' is in quotation marks because by the time Haris' words started circulating, Freddy had been executed along with three other convicted drug dealers. In the midst of arguments for and against capital punishment in the last two years, the administration of Joko Widodo has executed 17 convicted criminals so far in three batches. Haris wrote about the weakness of the Indonesian judicial system, which he has made as the basis for his opposition to the death penalty. He reported Freddy's claim, whom he met two years ago at Nusakambangan penitentiary in Central Java, of the involvement of a number of police, military, Customs and Excise and National Narcotics Agency (BNN) personnel in the illegal drug trade. The point we wish to make is that there is always the possibility of errors in a legal process that sentences convicted criminals to death.
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Indicator
STAGE-two restructuring of the cabinet has been greeted with applause. Expectations are high, especially because a familiar figure, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has returned from abroad.
Sri Mulyani, born in Bandar, Lampung, 54 years ago, was persuaded to fill the position of finance minister. In 2010, she left the same position to become the World Bank managing director, located in Washington, DC, United States.
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Letters
Lion Air Dissappoints
ON June 9, 2016, my mother bought Lion Air tickets online at Traveloka.com for a July 17, 2016, Makassar-Semarang flight. The ticket was for two persons and cost Rp2.4 million.
On the date stated in the tickets, my mother checked in at Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar. A Lion Air staff member said the tickets had been used on July 12, 2016, by a person named Nias at Abdulrahman Saleh Airport in Malang (MLG).
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Outreach
TERESA was surprised when she arrived at Penglipuran. The Spanish tourist did not expect the village had an empty land called Karang Memadu for expelled residents who practice polygamy. Enjoying the cool atmosphere of the rural area, Teresa was amazed at the layout of the residents' settlement at 700 meters above the sea level. The bamboo arboretum as large as 45 hectares was another charm that attracted Teresa to visit.
Karang Memadu is a spread of empty land in the southern part of the village planted with banana, cocoa, coffee and bamboo. "It is very nice to have a place like this," said Teresa. Karang Memadu also left a deep impression on German tourists Andreas and Claudia. Andreas said Karang Memadu symbolized the harmonious relationship among the residents of Penglipuran. "One husband, yeah, is for one wife. Germany, like the European countries, in general, is also like this. It does not acknowledge polygamy," he said.
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Tempo Talks
Improving Connectivity, Boosting Cooperation
This year, Indonesia and India mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. However, the ties between the two nations have existed much longer, predating the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of India. These connections span social, cultural, religious, economic, and trade aspects. But do those close ties of the past have any bearing on the present relationship? Why is there no direct flight between the capitals of the two countries?
Indian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Sandeep Chakravorty, shares his views on this matter at TEMPO TALKS.
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