PAN Eyes Prabowo-Hatta Ticket

National Mandate Party (PAN) Chairman Hatta Rajasa speaks to reporters. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

Jakarta Globe – The National Mandate Party said on Tuesday that it was not expecting to nominate a presidential candidate in the upcoming election, and that it was considering a vice-presidential berth attached to Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) head Prabowo Subianto’s potenial candidacy.

“If we can’t reach [20 percent of seats in the house of representative — the threshold for eligibility in the presidential elections], we have to combine with another party,” said National Mandate Party (PAN) deputy secretary, Herman Kadir. “For instance, if we join with [Gerindra], PAN has to be realistic and take the second position.”

PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa would not seek a presidential nomination if the party fared poorly in the upcoming legislative elections, Herman said.

Herman said that PAN and Gerindra would make a good coalition — with Prabowo as the presidential candidate and Hatta as his running mate.

“This republic still needs a military [leader] because there are many strong separatist movements and chaos,” Herman said. “Who will handle them but the military?”

The Golkar party was forecast to win the highest percentage of the vote — 18.3 percent — neck and neck with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which was forecast to win around 18.2 percent, according to a survey released on Sunday by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI). Gerindra was predicted to come in third, with 8.7 percent of total votes. The ruling Democratic Party was predicted to finish in fourth place with 4.7 percent and PAN was set to gain 3.3 percent of the vote. [Click here for full article…]

Opinion: What really happened in Kraras?

Jakarta Post – An article by Aboeprijadi Santoso in the Dec. 20, 2013 edition of The Jakarta Post suggests that former Army’s Special Forces (Koppasus) commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto was responsible for the killing of an East Timorese leader whom he had invited to meet him unarmed, as well as being responsible for the massacres of Kraras.

I do not like to talk about Kraras. It is a black page in our history but perhaps it is finally time to talk about what happened back then.

My mother was German and that means one always has a residual feeling of guilt.

When Adolf Hitler was in power, my mother was in high school. She was not a Nazi and did not participate in the killings in the concentration camps but as a child I remember hearing my parents say that a people must take communal responsibility for what their government does.

I found it very hard to accept that my mother had to take some measure of responsibility for what the German authorities had done during the war.

I once asked journalist Mochtar Lubis: “If a person’s country does something terrible that they do not agree with, then what must they do as a citizen so as not to have to bear a communal responsibility for their country’s actions?”

He replied: “I can only answer that question for myself. For me, it meant having to go to prison and giving up my newspaper but each person must decide the answer for themselves.”

At the end of 1995, my siblings and I were passionately discussing a book about East Timor and our communal responsibility. My brother commented that at the very least we all bore a civil responsibility to try to find out what was really happening there. [Click here for full article…]

Presidential Hopeful Seizes on Issue of Poor Roads

Floods have left several stretches of road throughout Jakarta badly damaged, raising questions about the quality of the repairs carried out each year. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

Jakarta Globe – The Corruption Eradication Commission is being urged to investigate the possibility of corruption in the construction of Jakarta’s roads that has left many thoroughfares damaged and potholed during the rainy season, endangering motorists.

“I am confused; roads are supposed to have a lifetime of up to 10 years, but here they become easily damaged after some mild rain,” Hayono Isman, a Democratic Party official, said on Monday.

Hayono said the antigraft commission, known as the KPK, should start investigating whether there was any indication of corruption during the construction of the roads in the country.

Hayono, a former sports minister, pointed out that a large budget was allocated every year for the maintenance of roads. For 2014 alone, he said, the Public Works Ministry had received more than Rp 40 trillion ($3.28 billion).

“Therefore I ask the KPK to check on these road construction projects, especially for the national highways,” he said.

Hayono, who has joined the Democratic Party’s convention to select a presidential candidate, said that if he was elected to the nation’s highest office, one of his priorities would be to conduct a thorough audit on how road projects were tendered and carried out.

He said roads should be given special attention because they played a significant role in economic growth. If the country’s infrastructure remains poor, he said, growth will remain below potential.

“The distribution of basic needs will be disrupted and prices will soar because of more expensive overhead costs. In the end the whole economy will be disrupted,” Hayono said.

He also pledged to revitalize marine transportation to reduce the burden on the nation’s roads. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia’s December Trade Surplus Surges to $1.52 Billion as Exports Rise

Nasdaq – Indonesia’s trade surplus widened to $1.52 billion in December from $789.3 million in November as exports improved while imports continued to ebb, the official Central Statistics Agency said on Monday.

The median forecast of 10 regional economists polled by The Wall Street Journal was for a surplus of $729.5 million.

Exports reached $16.98 billion in December, rising 10.33% from a year earlier and up 6.56% from a month earlier.

Imports fell 0.79% on year to $15.46 billion but expanded 2.04% from a month earlier.

The widening of the trade balance to its highest level for 2013 showed that an improvement in the current-account deficit is on track and may help improve sentiment for the rupiah. Several central bankers recently said the current- account deficit may narrow to below 3% of gross domestic product in 2014 from a projected 3.4% in 2013.

“There is a good chance for this to materialize,” DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said.

A large current-account deficit has kept sentiment on the rupiah wobbly since the U.S. Federal Reserve was expected in May to reduce bond buying. The rupiah is down 21% from a year ago.

The trade deficit for all of 2013 widened to a record $4.06 billion from $1.65 billion in 2012 as exports fell 3.92% from 2012 to $182.57 billion, the statistics agency said.

Meanwhile, imports for the entire year were down at a slower pace of 2.64% from 2012 to $186.63 billion in 2013.

While slowing economic growth and the rupiah’s sharp depreciation may crimp imports, the prospects of a rebound in exports are clouded by downbeat China growth. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia’s Inflation Slows Slightly; Manufacturing Expands On New Orders

RTT – Indonesia’s inflation slowed slightly in January even after heavy rainfall and flooding caused disruption in supply chains, official data showed Monday.

Elsewhere, closely watched survey revealed that Indonesia’s manufacturing sector remained in positive territory at the start of the year, as incoming new business grew at the joint-fastest pace in the history of the series.

Inflation slowed to 8.22 percent in January from 8.38 percent in December, Statistics Indonesia said Monday. The rate was expected to remain almost unchanged at 8.34 percent.

However, inflation remained well above the central bank target of 3.5 to 5.5 percent. From December, consumer prices rose 1.07 percent in January.

Exports recovered notably at a faster than expected pace in December, another official data revealed. Exports were up 10.33 percent annually, reversing the 2.4 percent fall in November and exceeded the 1.7 percent increase forecast by economists.

Imports, meanwhile, fell 0.79 percent after declining 10.6 percent in November. Economists were expecting a 3 percent drop for December. As a result, the trade surplus rose to $1.52 billion from $789.3 million in November. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia will fare better amid financial contagion: Officials

Jakarta Post – A series of policy adjustments and stronger economic fundamentals will help cushion the domestic economy in 2014 against tighter global liquidity and the contagious effects of the potential financial crisis engulfing emerging economies, officials say.

Indonesia has now made significant progress in controlling inflation and steering down the current account deficit — the two major concerns among investors last year — which means the country is now more prepared for a second round of capital flight this year, Finance Minister Chatib Basri has claimed.

“There’s a difference between Indonesia and other emerging economies,” he said in Jakarta on Thursday, adding that only investors who did not know about Indonesia would put the archipelago in the same basket as troubled emerging nations, such as Argentina and Turkey.

Indonesia has undertaken several monetary and fiscal policy adjustments since the country was severely hit by capital outflows last year, after the US Federal Reserve hinted it would scale down its monetary stimulus.

Bank Indonesia (BI), for example, raised its benchmark interest rate by a cumulative 175 basis points last year and piled up its foreign exchange (forex) reserves to create room for the currency to weaken.

BI’s moves were considered preemptive and exemplar, according to economists. Almost all central banks in emerging economies from Argentina, Turkey India to South Africa, hiked interest rates in January to lure inflows following Indonesia’s move to raise the borrowing cost. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia’s trade minister resigns to focus on presidential campaign

Indonesia’s Minister of Trade Gita Wirjawan attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 26, 2013. REUTERS/Pascal Lauener

The Star – Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said on Friday he had resigned, effective immediately, to focus on his campaign to win the presidential nomination for the ruling Democratic Party.

The U.S.-educated former investment banker is one of 10 candidates vying for presidential nomination by the party, whose fortunes have been slumping in opinion polls.

“I already met the president two days ago and he accepted it,” he told reporters.

State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, a media magnate, is expected to throw his hat in the ring, forcing a small cabinet reshuffle as early as this weekend. But as the government has only a few months left in office, it is unlikely that the new ministers will be able to implement major policy changes.

The general election is in April. Political parties must secure either 20 percent of the seats or 25 percent of the vote to nominate a candidate for the July presidential election.

Few, if any, are expected to reach that threshhold, forcing the parties to form alliances to get their candidate into the presidential race.

The telegenic Wirjawan barely registers in recent opinion polls. He said he would target the huge young vote, women and the more than a third of the electorate which he said did not vote. [Click here for full article…]

Indonesia to face opportunity, risk as population grows by a third

People on a motorcycle look on while in between other vehicles in a gridlocked street in Jakarta (Beawiharta Beawiharta Reuters, / December 11, 2013)

Chicago Tribune – Family planning efforts have stagnated in Indonesia over a decade of democratic rule and the world’s fourth most populous country risks squandering a so-called demographic dividend that a youthful, productive population should deliver.

Indonesia has failed to meet its target for bringing down the birth rate and its population is set to grow by nearly a third, to 305 million people, by 2035 from 240 million now, the statistics agency said on Wednesday.

But without improvements in education and job prospects, the growing population could become a burden, threatening the growth and development of Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

“Indonesia has a window of opportunity between now and 2030, when there will be an explosion in the working age group,” said Wendy Hartono, deputy head of the national family planning agency.

“The family planning program needs revitalization … and we can safely say that if the total fertility rate isn’t reduced soon, Indonesia’s demographic bonus will not be achieved.”

Indonesia failed to meet its 2014 target of reducing fertility rates to 2.1 children per woman, the family planning agency has said. Health officials now hope the target can be reached by 2025.

The fertility rate has been at about 2.4 for the past decade – a significant slowdown from previous years when a centrally run family planning program reduced fertility from 5.7 to 2.5 children per woman over 30 years.

“Since 2000, most of the programs including family planning have been decentralized, which has clearly had some implications for the effectiveness,” said Richard Makalew of the U.N. Population Fund, referring to Indonesia’s transition to democracy after 32 years under authoritarian leader Suharto. [Click here for full article…]

Govt’s Election Witness Plan Gets Flack

Witnesses check ballots during the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election. The government’s plan to pay witnesses has been criticized. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)

Jakarta Globe – The government’s decision to allocate Rp 1.5 trillion ($123 million) towards election witness fees has sparked controversy among political parties.

The Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) maintains its stance rejecting the government’s policy to use the state budget to pay witness fees claiming the decision would only benefit the ruling party.

‘We prefer to pay for our own witnesses like we always have,” lawmaker Maruarar Sirait said on Wednesday.

Maruarar said the public clearly rejected the idea of spending the state budget to pay for the witness fees.

PDI-P secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo said his party preferred to pay for witnesses because there are no definite regulations that stipulate the distribution of witness fees.

“What about accountability? Who will disburse the funds and distribute them to the witnesses?” he said.

“Witnesses from political parties should be paid by those parties, don’t burden the state budget, we don’t have enough money because there are natural disasters everywhere,” he said.

But Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik denied that the policy would put unnecessary burden on the state budget.

Jero, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said the policy should be lauded as a breakthrough because the 2014 election would affect everybody in the country.

‘We need witnesses and it’s too bothersome for the political parties to raise the funds to pay them, so I believe this is a good plan,” he told Indonesian news portal Merdeka.com.

Abdul Hakam Naja deputy chairman of House Commission II, previously said the witness fee idea was initially suggested by the government.

Hakam said that on one occasion, the Home Affairs Ministry invited members of House Commission II, General Elections Committee (KPU) and Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) for a consultation meeting. [Click here for full article…]

 

Factions Agree on Simultaneous Elections

The Home Affairs Ministry wants to end direct elections for mayors and district heads, saying it will reduce graft as officials will not need access to funds to get elected. (JG Photo/Fajrin Raharjo)

Jakarta Globe – All factions in the House of Representatives have agreed that regional elections will be held simultaneously. The decision came following the Constitutional Court’s ruling, which ordered the legislative and presidential elections to be held on the same day from 2019 onward.

Despite the agreement, the factions have still not agreed on several crucial matters in the regional election bill, said Khatibul Umam Wiranu, from the Democratic Party faction in House Commission II.

Wiranu said the factions have still not agreed on whether to adopt a direct election or to let the provincial legislative councils (DPRD) decide the regional heads.

“The majority of the factions chose to return the authority to elect a regional head to the DPRD,” Wiranu said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said the Constitutional Court’s recent ruling on the legislative and presidential elections have not affected the regional election bill deliberation.

Wiranu said regional elections were still being deliberated because the national elections and the regional elections were from two different regimes.

“The national elections are the remit of the central government, while the regional elections come under regional governments. So, this is what still needs to be discussed, on whether or not they will be held simultaneously through DPRD or whether it will still adopt the direct regional election mechanism,” he said.

All factions agreed that regional election disputes should be settled by the Supreme Court on the provincial level.

Another issue that still needs to be decided by the lawmakers is whether or not the candidates will still run in pairs. [Click here for full article…]

Scholars, intellectuals endorse Prabowo’s bid

The Jakarta Globe – A group of university professors and intellectuals announced on Wednesday its collective endorsement of Gerindra Party presidential candidate and chief patron Prabowo Subianto, giving the retired army general another moral boost ahead of the upcoming presidential election. Former Bandung-based Padjadjaran University rector Yuyun Wirasasmita, who read the group’s endorsement during a gathering […]