Issue: �We should not be treated like terrorists�

The Jakarta Post | Fri, 11/04/2011 8:43 AM

Nov. 1, Online

Graft convict and former Tomohon mayor Jefferson Soleiman Montesqieu Rumajar on Tuesday said he was opposed to the moratorium on remissions, adding that graft convicts did not deserve to be treated like terrorists.

“Corruption convicts can not be treated like terrorists. I am a regional leader. Go and check with the people. Who among them have I hurt? If there is one, then I am prepared to be punished for it,” Jefferson said before facing questioning for a separate case at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Jefferson also criticized the moratorium issued recently by the Law and Human Rights Ministry, saying it was not based on any clear grounds.

He said his view was shared by fellow inmates and Golkar party colleagues Paskah Suzetta, Ahmad Hafiz Zawawi and Boby Suhardiman, all in prison for taking bribes linked to the Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor election.

“We reject this moratorium because it violates human rights that are set out in the 1945 Constitution,” he said.

Your comments:

To a certain extent, the convict does have a point. Some factions of society accept corrupt leaders. Just look at the many corrupt leaders being chosen again as regional leaders.

So, corruption has become part of the culture here. This is clearly seen in the fact that he still has the guts to defend and argue.

Salau

He is correct. At least terrorists choose to kill themselves too. But corruption convicts live on, forever sapping away at money intended for the poor. Their crimes will create more terrorists.

Santoniq

They’re demons and deserve the death penalty.

Regi

Well, Mr. corrupt and so-called regional leader: We reject the corrupt because people like you violate our rights to enhancement, development and other rights that the country is supposed to finance, should the country be free from scumbags like yourself.

So just relax and “enjoy” your time behind bars!

Rio Rivai

I quote: “Corruption convicts can not be treated like terrorists. I am a regional leader.”

As a corrupt leader, he should face more punishment. Leaders are supposed to set good examples, not bad. Just like a terrorist, he is destroying the country not just with misguided beliefs, but for greed.

Sheldon

A graft convict deserves to be treated worse than a terrorist! You are viruses who infect society. Slow but deadly!

Lubis

Graft convicts are worse than terrorists and should receive even longer sentences and have everything they and their family own confiscated.

At least terrorists can claim to be acting, however mistakenly, in the name of a religion or belief, whereas the corrupt act on their own greedy, rapacious behalf and have no redeeming features.

WJ Gomm

Inequality a thorny issue in ITU Telecom World

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Geneva, Switzerland | Tue, 10/25/2011 12:23 PM

As the world economy is grapples with nagging discontent over the unequal distribution of wealth to a fortunate 1 percent, some telecom governmental bigwigs and industrial heavyweights gathering at the 2011 Telecom World in Geneva, Switzerland have contended to the monstrosity of the widening gap between of the haves and have-nots, and vowed to take this issue seriously during the three-day conference.

UN Agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU) secretary-general Dr Hamadoun I. Touré said superfast Internet connections and broadband would be among the key vehicles in the technological revolution.

"Broadband will revolutionize the lives of everyone, everywhere. It will help deliver radical improvements in healthcare, education, transportation, utility supplies and government services," Touré said Monday in the opening speech for the Broadband Leadership Summit, one of the programs at the conference.

Touré added that broadband would also help accelerate efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

However, he said, the risk ahead is "a world of broadband rich and broadband poor."

"We must therefore step up our efforts to make access to broadband networks and services equitable and affordable for all world’s people wherever they live and whatever their means," he asserted.

World No. 1 billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, the chairman of Grupo Carso, who also attends the conference, voiced a similar view.

The Mexican magnate said that people, rich and poor or those living in urban and rural areas, as well as businesses, big and small, should benefit from the use of fast Internet.

"We need to look for best practices worldwide [during the summit]," he said.

At least 250 world leaders ranging from heads of state and officials, city mayors, telco industry CEOs and technology gurus attend this year's first forum of the ITU Telecom World.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame whose video speech was run in the opening ceremony also highlighted issues of inequality.

"For a long time, many countries have been unable to effectively participate or contribute in the digital economy simply because of their limited access to broadband. It is our duty to build broadband infrastructure to meet the needs of our citizens," Kagame said.

"We need broadband to improve education and  healthcare and to boost tomorrow's economy," he added.

ITU along with UNESCO has established last year the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

ITU secretary-general Touré said the commission had met on Monday and had agreed to create measurable broadband targets covering in particular the issues of affordability and uptake.

"The affordability target sets a maximum percentage of monthly income as a target for broadband access; and the uptake targets set minimum desired thresholds for households with Internet access, and Internet penetration as a whole," Touré said.

"We will measure progress annually and publish country rankings to quantify and evaluate broadband progress around the globe," he added.

He asserted that all discussions should serve and focus on the main goal, which is to put broadband at the service of sustainable social and economic development.

"I'd like to see a world where we replicate the mobile miracle of the past decade for broadband, a world where individuals rich and poor can be connected to the global knowledge society, a world where what matters is human ingenuity, not simply where you were born, or how wealthy your parents were," he said.

Beside government institutions, some industry leaders taking part in the conference include Huawei Technologies Co., Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Intel, NTT Group, NTT DoCoMo, Qtel, RIM, Satorys, Swisscom, Telkom SA, Turk Telecom, TDIA, and ZTE.

Bank Mandiri set rights issue price at Rp 5,000 a share

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/26/2011 11:24 AM | Headlines

State-owned bank Bank Mandiri has set the price for its right issue at Rp 5,000 (55 US Cents) per share, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) says.

Bank Mandiri will offer 2.33 billion new shares next month via the right issue, a bourse spokesperson said Wednesday, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

Bukopin expects to raise up to Rp 1.15 t from rights issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/21/2010 8:05 PM | Business

Mid-sized lender Bank Bukopin has set pricing for its rights shares at between Rp 480 and Rp 560 apiece, aiming to raise Rp 1.15 trillion from the offering, it said in a statement published on Tuesday.

Bukopin will offer 2.04 billion new shares in February 2011, representing 25 percent of the enlarged equity. In the offering, holders of three Bukopin shares will be entitled to buy one new share.

“All of the proceeds will be used as the company's working capital to expand credit,” Bukopin said.

The new shares will be officially listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Feb. 9, 2011.

“CIMB Securities Indonesia, as stand-by buyer, will purchase all of the offered shares if they are not absorbed,” the lender said in the statement. (est)