PDI-P Edges toward Cooperating with Arch-Rival

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) may cooperate with its arch-rival following the Democratic Party’s endorsement of the candidacy of Taufik Kiemas for the new People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker post.

“A repositioning of our political stance is currently underway. The option is either to cooperate or not. The final call will be made by [PDI-P chairwoman] Megawati Soekarnoputri,” PDI-P legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

“There is a likelihood Megawati will approve [the endorsement of Taufik]. I am holding my breath now,” she said.

Another PDI-P legislator, Effendi Simbolon, said previously the candidacy of chief PDI-P patron Taufik, who is also Megawati’s husband, had already been accepted by all parites at the House of Representatives and that his appointment as MPR speaker was only a matter of time.

“All parties have agreed 100 percent to elect Pak Taufik as the speaker. His nomination has been under discussion since the deliberation of the legislative body composition bill,” Effendi said.

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Prabowo Congratulates SBY-Boediono

Defeated vice presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto finally congratulated Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono, who were officially named Tuesday as president and vice president elect by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

"I and all the families of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party say congratulations to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono," he told a press conference.

Prabowo said he would send an official letter of congratulations to Yudhoyono and Boediono later today as part of efforts to foster a good political environment, Kompas.com reported.

He also said his party would continue to fight for the “people’s economy” as he promised during the election campaign. Prabowo has said the July 8 presidential election was far from democratic.

He and Megawati, as well as Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto, filed lawsuits with Constitutional Court against the KPU, claiming that the commission rigged the election. The Constitutional Court ruled against the unsuccessful candidates.

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Dictator's Son Sets Sights on Indonesian Politics

The youngest son of Indonesia’s late dictator Suharto announced plans Tuesday to take control of his father’s old political party, despite outstanding lawsuits accusing him of corruption. Tommy Suharto, who spent five years in jail for ordering the assassination of a Supreme Court judge, has formally entered the race to become head of the struggling Golkar, which suffered heavy losses in recent elections, said Iskandar Mandji, the party’s deputy chairman.

“It’s time for me to return to politics, apart from running business,” the Antara state news agency quoted Tommy as saying. “I have a moral obligation to help the party that was founded and built by my father.”

Tommy helped run some of his family’s businesses during his father’s 32 years in power, which ended in 1998, but he has no formal political experience. Golkar — a party in the midst of serious internal conflict — will lose its place in the government for the first time in more than 40
years when a new administration takes over in October under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Tommy faces stiff competition, with an outgoing government minister who is one of the country’s richest men, Aburizal Bakrie, also seeking Golkar’s top job. Even if he were to succeed, it’s unclear if a convict could run for office, Mandji said.

In addition to serving time for the assassination order, Tommy is also accused of corruption and the Supreme Court is reviewing a case seeking the repayment of hundreds of millions of dollars he allegedly embezzled from the government.

His father came to power in 1965 amid a coup that left hundreds of thousands of opponents dead or missing. During more than three decades in power his family is said to have amassed up to $35 billion.(from: JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com)

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Discussion of the State Secrets Bill

The government again urged the House of Representatives and the process of discussion of the Bill Secret Country inasmuch still trigger rejection and skepticism, especially from the civil society.

The rules contained in the bill is still considered very even feared it might disrupt the process of reform-related efforts such as the eradication of corruption, law enforcement, freedom of the press, and good governance.

Even in the discussion, Special Representative of President of the Law Denny Indrayana holds, a number of articles which have triggered controversy that still need to be refined again, especially to give the exception in some cases.

It was revealed in open discussion on "State Secrets Bill and Prospect Sustainability Good Governance", on Thursday (16 / 7), which presents a number of speakers such as the National Commissioner of Human Rights Ridha Saleh, and the Information Commissioner omisi Alamsyah Saragih. Keep in mind, however, the regulations state secret must remain there.

Like, to open the genitals of a woman must marry first. Confidential draft letter of Country is like a marriage. "So not all be naked, but there must be rules," said Denny.

However, Denny agreed under certain conditions, such related whistle blower (whistle blower) in an effort to reveal cases of corruption, thus someone must be protected or excluded, especially if it was a state secret that must be opened or leak to protect the safety of the state.

The form of such exceptions also exist even in the context of the confidentiality of the bank, especially if associated with cases of alleged corruption. In discussions Denny also promised to give feedback to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono not to hurry the process to continue the discussion.

Denny for that requesting a number of the representatives of civil society in the present discussion is to make such a conclusion executive (excecutive summary) on the need to suspend discussion of the draft State Secret and its reasons for the brace was delivered to President Yudhoyono.

Denny further states, the State Secrets Bill still has not become a focus priority for President Yudhoyono. This is because in a number of these during the cabinet meeting that he had never heard it discussed.

Opinion about the need to protect whistle blower Commissioner presented the Commission information, Alamsyah Saragih, in the discussion. He also scrutinize too breadth of the authority of the President discretion in determining the Secret State.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Komnas HAM Ridha Saleh rate there is no urgent State Secrets Bill was passed and immediately applied. He was not even about who will really benefit from the rules if legislation could be passed before the House of Representatives and appointed a new government.

"State Secrets Bill should be prepared to consider many of the products with the law, such as Main Press Law, the Law on Human Rights, the Law of Public Information, and more," said Ridha.

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President U.S. Barack Obama praised the election in Indonesia

President U.S. Barack Obama praised the election in Indonesia, which recently completed take free and fair.

"Indonesians hold free and fair elections on 8 July, and he said with impressive wins the election," Obama said in a statement, on Tuesday (14 / 7) within the U.S. or WIB Wednesday.

"I personally conveyed congratulations to President Yudhoyono, and ensure the United States desire to work together with people of Indonesia and in the coming years to build a stronger relationship between the two countries," he added.
Obama asserted, the high voter who uses the right voice, the spirited campaign by all candidates, and the high media interest in India as well as civil organizations shows democracy in Indonesia so strong.

In a presidential election on July 8, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a pair with the superior Boediono elected again as president. That is after all the results calculated quick count of all survey institutions that this pair win one round.

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SBY to increase defense budget by Rp 7 trillion

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says the government is planning to increase its defense budget by 20 percent next year to Rp 40.6 trillion (US$4 billion), part of which will be used to replace aging weaponry in the military.

He said in Bandung on Friday the government would propose to the House of Representatives an increase by Rp 7 trillion (US$700 billion) in the country’s defense budget for the fiscal year 2010 from the current Rp 33.6 trillion.

“We will incorporate it [the defense budget increase] in our draft for the 2010 state budget. We’ll be finalizing the plan within the next two weeks,” Yudhoyono said after witnessing the handover ceremony of 40 armored personal carriers (APCs) from state weaponry manufacturer PT Pindad to Indonesia’s Army.

“Then systematically we will head toward what we call the minimum essential force, which is equal to between Rp 100 trillion and Rp 120 trillion."

The increases in defense budget, Yudhoyono said, will be enabled with expected economic growth in the country particularly after the global economic crisis eases.

Yudhoyono acknowledged the defense sector was “underfunded”, but reasoned that it had been so because the government had focused on reviving the country’s economy and people’s prosperity following the 1997 Asian monetary crisis and the 1998 May riots.

“Now that our economy and prosperity are improving, and education has received 20 percent of the state budget, it is time to increase our defense budget,” he said, reminding the military to be careful in using the funds.

Besides promising the defense budget increase, Yudhoyono praised PT Pindad for the APCs, which he dubbed as “innovative brilliant works” having quality equal with those produced in other countries.

He also emphasized the need of the country to develop its own weaponry industry and the military to buy only homemade products had they been of good quality and offered in “competitive” price.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, also witnessing the ceremony, said the 40 APCs were the second instalment of 150 medium six-wheeled APCs the government ordered to PT Pindad in 2007.

He said 20 APCs had been handed over last year, 25 APCs would be given by the end of the year, and the rest, along with four four-wheeled APCs, would be handed over next year.

The contract for all the 154 APCs worth Rp 1.12 trillion, which includes spare part costs, as well as training and transportation fees.

SBY said the APCs would be vital equipment for the “standby force” Indonesia was planning to form.

“The TNI [Indonesian military] and the Defense Ministry are preparing for a peacekeeping center in which the standby force will be integrated.

“We will send the force for peace-keeping missions to any areas in the world needing them and establish Indonesia’s position at the international level." (The Jakarta Post )

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Wolves at door: Rivals ready Kalla’s dethroning

Chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie is being touted as the most likely replacement for Vice President Jusuf Kalla as Golkar chairman, as calls for a caucus to unseat Kalla gain momentum.

With unofficial quick counts handing Kalla a comprehensive defeat in Wednesday’s presidential election, party officials and political experts are pointing to Aburizal, once named the country’s wealthiest businessman, as the next leader of Indonesia’s own grand old party.

With his much-discussed wealth and likely support from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the potential obstacle posed by media tycoon Surya Paloh looks uncertain to hinder Aburizal.

“Golkar will hold its national meeting earlier than scheduled, probably by the end of this month or early August,” Ridwan Bae, head of Golkar’s Southeast Sulawesi branch, said Friday after a closed-door meeting with Kalla at the latter’s office in Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

Without the early national caucus, Golkar’s current executive board will be disbanded in a meeting in December.

“Aburizal has the biggest chance of becoming the next chairman following the meeting,” Ridwan said.

“He has the support of more than 500 regional branches, or almost all the party’s branches. He also has vast experience.

“Aburizal is very close to all party members and stakeholders. It is very likely he will become chairman, Agung Laksono will become secretary-general, and Akbar Tanjung will become chief patron,” he added.

Agung is the current House of Representatives speaker, while Akbar is a former Golkar chairman.

Along with Aburizal, the three have been dubbed the Triple-A, or Alpha Trio bloc — a group that opposed Kalla’s bid for the presidency and pushed for the party to join Yudhoyono’s coalition.

Pelita Harapan University political analyst Aleksius Jemadu agreed Aburizal was the strongest contender, due to his influence and wealth.

“Both Aburizal and Surya Paloh have big influence among party members,” he said.

“The difference is, Aburizal has more money, and Golkar members usually side with those with more money.”

However, Golkar legislator Dewi Asmara warned it was too early to conclude Aburizal was the strongest contender for chairman.

The likelihood of an early Golkar national caucus was strengthened Friday when Kalla hinted he might retire from politics in the aftermath of his loss.

“Take as many pictures of me as you like, because I’m not going to be here in three months’ time,” he told reporters as he walked from his office to a nearby mosque for Friday prayers.

Aburizal is calling for the national caucus to be held in August, while Gorontalo Governor Fadel Muhammad is pushing for an earlier time.

“Pak Kalla promised that if he lost, we would bring forward the national meeting,” Fadel said.

Some observers, however, say it would be a blunder for Golkar to name Aburizal its next chairman.

“He’d be nothing but a liability for the party in 2014,” said analyst Fadjroel Rachman.(The Jakarta Post )

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Prabowo receives reports of election irregularities

Vice presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto claims he has received many reports of irregularities in Wednesday’s presidential election.
"As many as 5,000 ballots where voters marked the Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo box have been declared broken by local officials. It happened in Tanjung Priuk," Prabowo told a press conference Wednesday.

He blamed several state institutions for failing to guard the election neutrally, but refused to name which ones.

He said a joint team from the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party had been deployed to collect more evidence on the alleged irregularities.

"Then we will talk about legal action to resolve the problems," he added.(The Jakarta Post)

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SBY voice in Sulawesi S. reduced

Presidential hopeful Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) campaign team has claimed it has lost around 10 percent of votes in South Sulawesi after a controversial statement was made by Andi Alifian Malarangeng.
Diza Rasyid Ali, head of the provincial SBY camp said Wednesday the team had expected to secure as much as 40 percent of votes in the province, but quick counts show the frontrunners received closer to 30 percent.

“Pak Alifian's [Andi Mallarangeng] statement has been misused by certain people and decreased the number of votes SBY should get,” Diza told the Jakarta Post.

Data from the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) shows that SBY received 27.27 percent of the vote, down from the 40 percent previous surveys expected them to get. Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto got 66.93 percent, while Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto received only 5.79 percent.

Andi Mallarangeng, a member of the SBY campaign team, said the province’s residents were not ready to lead the country; a statement many feel underestimates the capability of local residents.

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West Java KPU website hacked

A hacker has added messages of support for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the Website of the West Java General Elections Commission, tempointeraktif.com reported Wednesday morning.

The website, http://kpu.jabarprov.go.id/, is running normally, but the running text at the top of the Website contains a campaign message for incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The message reads: "Say No To Mega-Lebih Cepat Lebih Baik, JK Gak Usah Bikin Lambat-Lanjutkan" (Say No To Mega-the faster the better-JK, don't make it slow-Continue).

"Lebih Cepat Lebih Baik" (faster, better) is the campaign slogan for presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla, and "Lanjutkan" (continue) is Yudhoyono's campaign tagline.

The site administrator apparently did not notice the hacker's work. When The Jakarta Post accessed the site on Wednesday morning, it still contained the running text with campaign phrases at the end of it.(The Jakarta Post)

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SBY on Track for Re-Election

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was poised to win his second term in office on the back of recent economic and political stability, according to early returns Wednesday in the country's presidential election.
An unofficial quick count at 2,000 polling stations - with almost 100 percent of ballots tallied - gave Yudhoyono 60 percent of the vote, which would be enough to avoid a runoff in September. He needs 50 percent of cast ballots to win in one round.

Megawati Sukarnoputri, a former president whose father was the first postcolonial leader of Indonesia, was second at 27 percent, with Vice President Jusuf Kalla at 13 percent.

The preliminary result was based on ballots from all 33 provinces and was conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle, which has accurately forecast previous elections. It was broadcast on TVOne television.

"The vote count is clearly not finished, although quick counts show the success of our struggle," Yudhoyono said in televised comments from his private residence.

But his opponents raised questions about the accuracy of the preliminary result and said they would wait for their own counts before responding.

Kalla said he was "shocked" by the quick counts but said his own election monitors "are confident that the result is not like that."

Secretary-General Pramono Anung of Megawati's leading opposition party, said it was too early to comment because "what is used to determine the winner is not exit polls or quick counts, but official accounting."

An official result is to be released by the National Election Commission by July 27.

Earlier, lines of voters formed at roughly 450,000 polling booths across Indonesia's three time zones, from Aceh in the west to remote Papua province in the far east. Voting passed calmly, with no reports of major incidents when polls closed at 0600GMT (2:00 a.m. EDT).

In Papua - where a minor insurgency seeking independence from Jakarta has been waged for decades - 40-year-old elementary school teacher Fransiscus Bokeyau said he had voted for Yudhoyono. "People feel free of fear and peaceful under his leadership. Slowly the standard of living and the economy in Papua are improving," he said.

It was Indonesia's second direct presidential election. Before dictator Suharto was ousted in 1998, Indonesia was under brutal authoritarian rule for three decades, and until recently was wracked by secessionist battles and suicide bombings by al-Qaida-funded Islamic militants. It suffered towering unemployment after the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.

Today, the predominantly Muslim country of 235 million is enjoying a level of harmony its critics had said was impossible, with its economy growing at 4 percent a year amid a severe global downturn.

"We are optimistic our candidate will win in a single round based on recent poll results," Andi Mallarangeng, Yudhoyono's campaign spokesman, said on the eve of the election. People "want the continuation of stability in politics, security and economy."

In Aceh, where Yudhoyono sealed a peace deal in the aftermath of the December 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 130,000 Indonesians, he also has a strong following. "SBY has made Aceh safe," said Absah Mustafa, 72.

He resettled hundreds of thousands of people after the disaster "badly destroyed our homeland. He has proven that he is a good leader," Mustafa said.

Yudhoyono's reputation also was boosted by a crackdown on the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network blamed for a series of attacks between 2002 and 2005 that killed more than 240 people, most of them foreign tourists on Bali.

Still, Indonesia faces huge obstacles in fighting severe corruption, attracting foreign investment to improve its crumbling infrastructure, creating an independent judiciary, and reducing poverty of up to 100 million people. It has also struggled to stop illegal logging and mining that are depleting its natural resources and causing global warming.

Most public opinion polls in Indonesia are funded by political parties, but even the surveys paid for by Yudhoyono's opponents before the election put the 59-year-old former general 10 percent ahead of the closest rival.

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Presidential Election of Indonesia

Governors across the country declared Tuesday their preparedness for Wednesday’s presidential election, and pledged to uphold the Constitutional Court’s ruling to allow unregistered voters to cast ballots using their ID cards.


The governors made the pledge during a video conference with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is one of the three contenders in the race.

The President told the 33 governors to stay "neutral and professional" in holding the election, and help the General Elections Commission (KPU) implement the new Constitutional Court ruling.

"The KPU has abundant work to do, especially on the Constitutional Court's ruling yesterday,” Yudhoyono said at the Presidential Palace. “They have now more jobs to do, so you must help them ensure that voting day tomorrow runs well."

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said the local branch of the KPU, the KPUD, had prepared reserve ballots amounting to 10 percent of the number of registered voters in the city.

"We have distributed the reserve ballots to areas where we expect to see more unlisted voters," he said.

East Java Governor Soekarwo said the local KPUD was ready to implement the Constitutional Court ruling, while Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the verdict had solved the problem facing unregistered voters.

The video conference lasted about an hour. A total of 11 governors reported on their latest preparations in their respective provinces ahead of tomorrow's polls, while others listened.

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