August 9, 2016 edition
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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August 2, 2016 edition
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July 12, 2016 edition
The amended 2016 state budget and the law on tax amnesty were passed by the House of Representatives (DPR) on June 28. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the tax amnesty was the government's attempt to cover the 2.48 percent deficit in the budget. The global economic crisis has caused state revenues to decline, including those from taxes. In response, the government decided to slash the budget by Rp50 trillion.
"Then there's the tax amnesty to add to revenues," said Kalla. He hesitated to say whether he was optimistic or pessimistic on the results of the tax amnesty, which is expected to add some Rp165 trillion to the current budget. If the attempt fails and the deficit reaches 3 percent, the government, said Kalla, will discuss the problem with the DPR, given that the law on state finances regulates that the deficit should not be more than 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). "So, there are only two solutions: reduce spending or raise the deficit," said 74-year-old Kalla.
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July 5, 2016 edition
Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan has issued specific instructions to public transportation companies and departments for the Lebaran holidays. He has ordered that all safety features of all modes of transportation-buses, trains, ships and airlines-be strictly and carefully checked. "I don't want to take any risks with safety," he said.
He said vehicles that fail to meet the safety criteria will be prohibited from operating during the Lebaran exodus that will carry people back to their hometowns and villages. Jonan, 53, said he was dead serious about all public transportation complying with regulations involving passenger safety. "In this sector, there's the principle of 'No Go Item', meaning if one item is malfunctioning, well, it will not go," said Jonan, who was previously CEO of the state-owned railway company, Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
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June 28, 2016 edition