RI-Japan join forces against piracy

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 06/18/2011 9:37 AM

Indonesia and Japan have agreed to increase strategic partnerships in politics, economics and the defense and security sector, which includes facing the threat of piracy, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

“Based on the success story of the RI-Japan economic cooperation and seeing the challenges ahead, we have agreed to continue the cooperation via investment and trade, energy, agriculture and infrastructure building, Yudhoyono said on Friday night after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The move is in line with Indonesia’s current chairmanship of ASEAN and future role as the host of the East Asian Summit.

“I am glad that Prime Minister Naoto Kan agreed that the East Asian Summit was not a forum to increase tension and conflict in the region but to strengthen the high commitment to safeguarding peace and finding peaceful solutions,” Yudhoyono said as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.

Police set to file drug charges against Soeharto’s great grand daughter

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 05/23/2011 10:20 AM | Jakarta

Jakarta Police says it is ready to file charges against Putri Ariyanto Haryowibowo, the great granddaughter of former dictator Suharto, who was arrested earlier in connection with drugs.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that along with Putri, police would also file charges against two other people, a police officer identified only by the initial "E", and another man identified only by the initials "GN", who were arrested with Putri.

“God willing their cases will be submitted at 11 a.m. [on Monday],” Baharudin said at Jakarta Police Headquarters on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, on Monday.

Putri is the daughter of Ari Haryo Wibowo Hardjojudanto, popularly known as businessman "Ari Sigit", the grandson of Soeharto. 

Putri was named a suspect on March 18, in connection to the alleged possession of illegal drugs. She was arrested along with a number of others believed to be her friends, during a raid at a hotel in South Jakarta. During the raid, Putri was allegedly caught in the act of smoking crystal methamphetamine.

Earlier, police said GN could have been a major drug dealer and also the person who supplied the drugs to the other suspects. 

Police estimated that GN’s drug network could have distributed up to Rp 2 billion worth (US$234,000) of drugs a month.

Putri and the other suspects are charged with violating article 127 of the law on narcotics, and could face more than five years in prison.

Nurdin files lawsuit against sports minister

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 04/07/2011 9:31 AM | Sports

Nurdin Halid, who is no longer recognized by world soccer authority FIFA as the chairman of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), on Thursday plans to file a lawsuit against Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng for the latter's decision to freeze the PSSI executive committee and its office.

"We will file our suit at the State Administrative Court today," PSSI lawyer Sitor Situmorang from the Indra Sahnun Lubis Law Firm said Thursday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Sitor also said the PSSI had also reported Persebaya 1927 chairman Saleh Iskandar Mukadar to the police for defamation against Nurdin Halid, Nugroho Besoes and Nirwan Bakrie.

He said Saleh had issued a statement that the PSSI was only being used in the interests of the 2014 presidential election, and was only being managed by the trio Nurdin, Nugraha and Nirwan.

Re-directing the accusations against Nurdin Halid

Mikael Dian Teguh, Yogyakarta | Thu, 04/07/2011 10:44 AM | Opinion

At this point in time we are likely to blame and deem Nurdin Halid, the current chairman of Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), as a notorious figure who is behind all of the mess plaguing national soccer that has forced the world soccer body FIFA to intervene.

Having looked tough and unrivaled during his period as the PSSI boss since 2003, Nurdin has started to lose grip on his position over the last couple of months.

That is mostly due to the chain reaction that he set off when he tried to stop the LPI (Liga Primer Indonesia), a rival competition initiated by businessman Arifin Panogoro in a show of protest against the official competition that relies on regional budgets as the main financial source.

Upon assessing what has happened and what will follow in this conflict, I think it is best for us to understand the core of the problem based on appropriate logic before judging.

It is not Nurdin, regardless of the way the society has turned against him, however, who should be held responsible for the malfunction of our national soccer.

He has in fact contributed a lot to the PSSI, in spite of his criminal track record.

Nurdin was behind the division of the Indonesian soccer league into two regions: West and East.

Although it proved short-lived, the policy saw an increase in the number of clubs and more chance for new talent to develop, especially those from the eastern part of Indonesia who had been overlooked.

Nurdin was also a player behind Indonesia’s outstanding performance in the latest AFC Cup in
December 2010, although the national team was beaten in the final by Malaysia.

The naturalization of foreign and foreign-based players, which became a major focus of the media during the AFC Cup fever, is one of Halid’s legacies that put Indonesia back on the international scene.

The point is that Halid has indeed done some major things to revolutionize the system as the PSSI chief.

Nevertheless, Indonesian society tends to review the case in such a way that we end up missing the core problem, which is far more serious than simply who should lead the PSSI.

I personally believe that it is not the PSSI chairman himself but the entire structure of the organization that is in need of sweeping reform.

A telling example of this was clearly seen when the media reported the news that Indonesia crashed out of the Olympic Games 2012 qualifying.

That Turkmenistan, a nation deemed as having a lower quality soccer than Indonesia, managed to send Yongki Aribowo and his young colleagues out of the Olympics was supposedly a matter that warranted self-reflection.

The event prompted an immediate conclusion that Indonesia’s young soccer talent had not improved compared to those from fellow developing countries. This contradicts the fact that the PSSI once had a youth league that was a breeding ground of future national and professional players.

If the young talent is not handled with care, how can we hope for them to realize our long-waited achievement?

Regardless of the desires of the stakeholders, soccer should belong to the general public or every person in this country. That part is something that we have been missing with the recent administration of the PSSI.

The axis of Nurdin, PSSI secretary general Nugraha Besoes and deputy chairman Nirwan Bakrie were often at the forefront of key decision-making, such as in the case of the ticket prices fiasco ahead of the AFC Cup final match.

The dominant role of the trinity and efforts to dethrone them have sparked allegations of a conspiracy, particularly as the government has clearly displayed its disapproval of the incumbent PSSI leaders.

Given the complexity of the issue, it is obvious that at the end the press and the people will seek someone to blame. Enter Nurdin, with his sort of criminal background and his decision to cling to power, who has now been deemed as the source of all the problems.

Yet, despite all of the accusations, let us exercise our wisdom by viewing Nurdin as not the only person we should blame for the decline of Indonesian soccer.

Not only the boss, indeed, but the system and certain other members of the PSSI should also share the responsibilities for failing to listen to the true needs of Indonesian soccer in the past.

Finally we have to ask ourselves: Will the future PSSI, with or without Nurdin, be able to reform and reach what we have long expected, or will it be no better than it is today?

The writer is an English language student at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta

Riedl poised on RI’s edge against Turkmenistan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/16/2011 11:52 AM | Sports

National football team coach Alfred Riedl has expressed optimism that Indonesia can win in its upcoming match against Turkmenistan in the pre-olimpic games on Feb. 23, although he is uncertain about the strength of the opposition.

“I have not seen any videos of Turkmenistan’s games, but if you look online you can find articles containing information about them,” Riedl said Wednesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Riedl said he wasn't sure about the Turkmenistan team’s strength.

"In terms of [individual skills], we are equal. In fact I think we are probably better," he said.

Riedl said Indonesian players should watch out for Turkmenistan's taller players since they could be a threat to Indonesia’s defense.

President instructs stern measures against murderers in anti-Ahmadiyah violence

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 02/06/2011 10:29 PM | National

Presidential special staff for political issues Daniel Sparingga said Sunday that the President had instructed the police to take stern measures against perpetrators in the deadly anti-Ahmadiyah violence.

“The president asks the National Police to take firm action towards the perpetrators, to capture them and drag them to court. The state stands firm and will not bow to a small group of people who conducts violence in the name of religion,” he said, as quoted by Metrotvnews.com.

Daniel said the Yudhoyono was highly concerned with the incident. “This is the time to say that enough is enough, violence and attacks towards certain groups under the name of religion must be stopped,” he said.

Golkar chief patron advises House against rejecting Bibit, Chandra

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 02/04/2011 9:58 PM | National

Golkar Party chief patron Akbar Tandjung advised lawmakers against banning two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chiefs from attending its hearing sessions.

Golkar has been among the factions at the House of Representatives strongly objecting to the attendance of Bibit Samad Riyanto and Chandra M. Hamzah in its hearings, reasoning that their status as suspects in a bribery and extortion case made them ineligible to attend.

Akbar said the House should not object to the two KPK deputies’ presence because the Attorney General’s Office (AGO)’s decision to its halt probe into the case under a mechanism called deponeering should mean they were no longer suspects.

“House members should prioritize law enforcement against bigger cases, namely the Bank Century (bailout) case currently handled by the KPK,” Akbar said Friday in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.

“Urging the KPK to settle the Bank Century case should be a priority … instead of troubling the legal status of Bibit and Chandra,” added the former House speaker.

Akbar said the move could lower the public’s trust in lawmakers.

The AGO decided on issuing a deponeering letter regarding Bibit and Chandra’s case given that many members of the public believe that the two had been framed in an attempt to weaken the KPK.

After a recent vote, House Commission III overseeing legal and security affairs decided to ban Bibit and Chandra from attending any of its future hearings.

Prosecutors to witness against colleague

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 02/04/2011 11:20 AM | National

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) will submit the names of three prosecutors to act as witnesses against Cirus Sinaga, a fellow prosecutor implicated in the corruption case of Gayus H. Tambunan.

“We will submit the names of three prosecutors as witnesses in the Cirus case,” Attorney General Basrief Arief said at the Presidential Office on Friday.

Tax graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan previously testified that he had bribed Cirus to get his sentence demand falsified.

Basrief also denied allegations that investigations into the Gayus' case had been moving too slowly, adding that the AGO had removed 12 officers for their involvement in the case.

Basrief said the office had been working toward the 12 instructions issued by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono concerning the Gayus case, and had reported developments to Vice President Boediono who was appointed to oversee the case.

“We have reported to the Vice President. It's time this is [also] reported to the President,” he said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Serang villagers protest against Chinese cemetery plan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/27/2011 11:32 AM | Archipelago

Hundreds of residents of Balekambang village, Banten, have staged a demonstration to protest against a plan to build a Chinese cemetery in the area.  

The coordinator of the demonstration, Sulton Aziz from the Residents’ Anti-Chinese Cemetery Solidarity Group, said the plan had gone against existing procedures and regulations, Antara reported Thursday.

The developer had not secured any building permit or a permit from local residents to build the cemetery, he added.

During the protest, which lasted two hours on Wednesday, residents carried banners calling for all residents the arear to oppose the plan.

A Buddhist foundation, Yayasan Timur Raya, plans to build the cemetery on a 500 hectare plot of land near the village. So far it has acquired only 20 hectares for the cemetery.  

Aziz said some villagers had agreed to sell their land because they were told it would be used for a cattle farm.  

Police warn soccer fans against hooliganism

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/28/2010 1:36 PM | Sports

Police will impose tough disciplinary measures on soccer fans found carrying banned items to the upcoming AFF Cup final match at Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Items banned from the second round of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final match between Indonesia and Malaysia include sharp weapons, firecrackers and lasers, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman said Tuesday.

Sutarman also said that anyone found carrying dangerous items would be punished and removed from the stadium, kompas.com reported Monday.

Police reminded supporters to remain orderly and not to play tricks such as pointing lasers at players.

“If we win we will be grateful. We have to be proud if our team wins, but we should win justly. If we lose, we still have to play fair. We don’t have to point any lasers at players. That would be unfair, and the world will reprimand us for it,” Sutarman said.