NGO launches www.srimulyani.net, claiming nothing political

Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/30/2010 8:21 PM | National

A pro-democracy NGO launched Thursday a website called www.srimulyani.net, aiming at collecting participation from the public to watch the implementation of ethics and integrity in the government’s public policies.

Todung Mulya Lubis, senior lawyer and co-founder of the Alliance for Democracy Education (P2D), said the NGO had taken Mulyani as their campaign icon because the former finance minister had given a lesson to the country on how a public official must uphold their integrity despite intricate political tension.

Commenting on question whether the site had been established to promote Mulyani as the upcoming presidential candidate, Todung said the NGO definitely had no “hidden agenda.”

“We took her [Mulyani] as our icon purely due to her respectable track record,” he said, adding that Mulyani was not personally involved in the website.

The site, run by a dozen of editorial board members, including University of Indonesia (UI) psychologist Bagus Takwin, UI philosophy lecturer Rocky Gerung and former Indonesian Legal
Institute Foundation public lawyer Robertus Robet, will provide readers with articles and online discussion on various issues on public policy and public ethic.

Mulyani’s resignation from his post in May was reportedly under political pressure over a controversial Bank Century bail out case. She is now one of the World Bank's managing directors.

Internal conflicts divert police from domestic security issues

Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/30/2010 11:52 AM |

One of the House of Representatives deputy speakers, Anis Matta from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), says that internal conflicts within the police has diverted them from their main job in maintaining domestic security.

Anis was commenting on two recent bloody conflicts in Jakarta and Tarakan, East Kalimantan, that have taken several lives.

"This is caused by the police's lack of focus nearing the election of the new National Police chief. Their focus on their main job has gone away," Anis told reporters at the House in Jakarta on Thursday.

Anis said that the police had to settle their internal differences as soon as possible, otherwise situations would only get worsen in the domestic security.

Hendarman says he befriends Yusril

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 09/25/2010 10:58 PM | National

Hendarman Supandji says he never has grudges with former justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the person responsible for his ouster from the Attorney General’s Office chief post.

“I have no intention to take a revenge. Instead I wish I could retire earlier,” Hendarman said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono honorably dismissed Hendarman as the attorney general and named his deputy Darmono the acting attorney general on Saturday, pending appointment of a definite replacement. The dismissal followed the Constitutional Court’s verdict on Yusril’s request for a judicial review of the law on Attorney General’s Office.

Hendarman said Yusril was a good person whom he started to know personally when he led the anti-corruption taskforce. At that time Yusril was the state secretary.

“I will remember the good side of PakYusril. We are friends,” Hendarman said.

Yusril questioned Hendarman’s legality after state prosecutors named him suspect in an online graft case.

Uruguay calls up Forlan, Suarez for friendly match in Indonesia

Associated Press, Montevideo, Uruguay | Fri, 09/24/2010 7:26 AM | Sports

Uruguay's top two forwards, Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, were called up to the national squad on Thursday for friendly matches next month in Indonesia and China.

The squad is almost identical to the one that finished fourth in July in the World Cup in South Africa.

Uruguay faces Indonesia on Oct. 8 in Jakarta, and plays China on Oct. 12 in the central city of Wuhan.

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Team:

Goalkeepers: Juan Castillo (Deportivo Cali), Fernando Muslera (Lazio).

Defenders: Martin Caceres (Sevilla), Jorge Fucile (Porto), Diego Godin (Atletico de Madrid), Diego Lugano (Fenerbhace), Maximiliano Pereira, (Benfical), Andres Scotti (Colo Colo), Carlos Valdez, (Siena), Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio), Mauricio Victorino (Universidad de Chile).

Midfielders: Sebastian Eguren (Sporting Gijon), Walter Gargano, (Napoli), Ignacio Gonzalez (Levante), Alvaro Pereira, (Porto), Diego Perez (Bologna), Gaston Ramirez (Bologna), Cristian Rodriguez, (Porto), Jorge Rodriguez (Jaguares).

Forwards: Diego Forlan, (Atletico de Madrid), Sebastian Fernandez (Malaga), Sebastian Abreu (Botafogo), Edinson Cavani (Napoli), Abel Hernandez (Palermo), Luis Suarez, (Ajax).

House commission meets to decide on TNI chief candidate

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/23/2010 10:00 PM |

After interviewing Indonesian Military (TNI) chief candidate Adm. Agus Suhartono for almost 11 hours, members of the House of Representatives’ defense commission regrouped on Thursday night to hear responses from political parties represented in the commission.

Commission chairman Mahfud Siddiq said the meeting was held behind closed doors.

A minor debate marked the start of the meeting concerning technical matters, such as requirement for Agus to sign an agreement with the commission if he was endorsed and the way the commission would announce the results of the interview.

“But we decided to discuss the matters in the internal meeting,” Mahfud said as quoted by kompas.com.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono nominated Agus, the current Navy chief, as the lone candidate for the TNI chief post, who will replace Gen. Djoko Santoso.

Jamsostek has Rp 4.9t in unclaimed pension fund

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/22/2010 7:05 PM | Business

No less than Rp 4.9 trillion (US$544 million) in pension fund belonging to 4 million participants of state social insurance company PT Jamsostek scheme has remained unclaimed.

The finding followed completion of the company’s new system of information technology to be used to conduct a holistic verification of its members.

Jamsostek president director Hotbonar Sinaga said the firm would trace addresses of the members who had not claimed their pension fund.

“Those members, who have not collected their pension fund, are not active anymore in Jamsostek. But they can still claim their pension fund because they have been joining Jamsostek for more than five years,” Hotbonar told a press conference on Wednesday.

Jamsostek will announce the results of its search for the whereabouts of the 4 million members and ask their families, relatives or heirs to process and collect the pension funds.

However, Hotbonar said the company would strengthen its internal staff before publicly announcing the findings.

“Our internal has to master processing pension claims, so that we can prevent frauds that often happens,” he said.

Field trip budget needs re-evaluation

Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 09/20/2010 2:55 PM |

One of the House of Representatives deputy speakers said that the state budget allocation for field trips needs to be re-evaluated.

“It [the budget] is between Rp 18 trillion and Rp 19 trillion. We need to re-evaluate and correct it,” Pramono Anung from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told reporters at the House in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Monday.

Pramono deemed that some of the field trip programs could be made to be more efficient.

“The health ministry receives Rp 150 billion of fund for field trips, that is almost the same with the House that has 560 legislators,” he said.

Court upholds Antasari’s jail term

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 09/21/2010 10:02 PM | National

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s verdict that found former Corruption Eradication Commission Antasari Azhar guilty of a murder.

Antasari’s lawyer Ary Yusuf Amir said his client would file a motion to review the case with the Supreme Court, citing new evidence that could convince the judges to acquit his client.

“We will file the motion in the near future,” the lawyer was quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

Ary said Antasari had expressed his disappointment with the verdict, which convicted Antasari and sentenced him to 18 years in jail despite testimony of businessman Haryo Sigid Wibisono.

Imam Sujarwo may be related to Yudhoyono clan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 09/20/2010 2:13 PM

A legislator from the House of Representatives commission III on law and human rights says that Comr. Gen. Imam Sujarwo, who has been touted as one of the candidates to become the new National Police chief, is still related to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's family.

"Information that we received was that he [Imam] is related to Aulia Pohan," Syarifudin Suding from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) told reporters by phone on Monday.

Aulia's daughter is the wife of Agus Yudhoyono, the president's eldest son.

According to Suding, the information said that Imam's relation to Aulia was the same with that with Yudhoyono, in terms that their children also married one another.

Suding added that the information would be clarified to Imam during the fit and proper test.

Imam's rival for the police chief job is said to be Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna. One of them is to replace Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, who will retire on Oct. 10.