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If President Joko Widodo gives the green light to the Tobacco Bill submitted by the House of Representatives (DPR) last December, he will look like a turncoat deserting his own principles embodied in the Medium-term Development Plan for 2015-2019. One of the points is aimed at reducing smoking among the under-18 year olds, by 25 percent.
In 2015, teenage smokers made up of 7.2 percent of Indonesia's 255 million population. Jokowi aims to reduce that number to 4.5 percent in four years' time. Even without the Tobacco Bill, smoking among teens aged 10-14 years jumped from 0.7 percent in 2001 to 4.8 percent, according to the health ministry's primary health research carried out in 2013. The Bill sets very lax regulations on tobacco, particularly on its trade and control. The articles in the Bill also run counter to other existing laws. Advertisement and distribution of tobacco products, for example, overlap with articles in the health law and its derivative regulations.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) must not slacken its efforts to investigate the bribery scandal allegedly involving military personnel in the Maritime Security Agency. These senior officers, still on active service, should be tried in a joint court. It would be strange if they were tried in a military court, because the corruption damaged the interests of the public, not the military.
The suspected involvement of these officers was uncovered during a sting operation carried out by KPK investigators two weeks ago. In this operation, investigators seized Rp2 billion in cash believed to be a bribe from Melati Techinfo Indonesia, the winning company of a tender to supply satellite monitoring equipment worth Rp200 billion. This was only the down-payment to several officials in the non-ministerial body. The total bribe promised by the company was estimated to be 7.5 percent of the project value, or Rp15 billion.
The sheer power of the plantation mafia is apparent from the conduct of hundreds of oil palm companies in Riau Province. At a time when the state is trying to increase revenues, hundreds of these companies avoid paying taxes on their income, on value added and on their land and buildings.
Ridiculously, this has continued for years because hundreds of companiesalmost a third of the oil palm plantations in Riaudo not have taxpayer ID numbers. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has said this might well be costing the state up to Rp15 trillion per year.
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