The week in review : The week we went a-cursing

Sun, 11/15/2009 2:25 PM  |  Opinion

Any respect for National Heroes' Day on Nov. 10 was drowned out by the rants not only against the messy corruption scandal, but also against the high frequency of blackouts, which are driving away all decency, and the Facebook movement against the state electricity firm PLN, a slightly more polite version of protest, even though a backlash is feared.

Imagine if all PLN workers went on strike because of all our cursing, one of the postings read.

Victims may have savored the warning of the new minister for state-owned enterprises, that heads might roll if PLN doesn't do its best to overcome the blackouts affecting households, industries, hospitals - everyone. PLN chiefs have long warned that the failure to invest in infrastructure would cause a breakdown given our high demand for electricity. It is most felt when blackouts reach the big cities, mainly the capital, where office workers call home to check if the AC is back on, and either stay in the office or mill around in malls until power resumes.

But the power crisis has again raised the question about the monopoly PLN has on this vital aspect of our lives.

Alternatives like solar energy have not been met with significant encouragement although the sun shines in the archipelago almost everyday. Former ruler Soeharto and his confidante BJ Habibie, a technology whiz-kid, were all for the more readily available nuclear power. Almost overnight we had a nuclear power law, but controversy remains over the safety of residents living near a nuclear power plant in East Java.

It takes a rude wake-up call to remind us of our failure and the necessity of pursuing alternatives. Don't look for hope in the "100-day" promises, for we're told they are just plans for blueprints so far.

Let alone making blueprints, there has been no time for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to enjoy his honeymoon as the first-ever directly re-elected Indonesian president. On the contrary, on Thursday a survey group led by Denny J.A, found that SBY's popularity had dropped because of his perceived silence on the graft scandal.

Indonesians, who have proclaimed support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), are struggling to really tell whose side the President is on.

Furthermore, Yudhoyono has flown to Malaysia and Singapore, the latter for a regional gathering at the weekend where he will meet US counterpart Barack Obama, at the worst time possible. After being hailed as Indonesia's breakthrough for fighting corruption, SBY now seems to be turning a blind eye or even encouraging efforts to weaken the institution in the forefront of the war against the KPK.

And the plot of the "lizard vs crocodile" saga continues to thicken.

Former South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Wiliardi Wizard told the court trying the ex-KPK chief, Antasari Azhar for murder, that he was pressured by high ranking-colleagues and even the National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri into signing a dossier, saying he had a hand in killing the businessman that Antasari was investigating. Denials naturally followed instantly from the police force as the testimony damaged the institution already trying to defend itself from accusations that they had only flimsy evidence to charge the KPK deputies for abuse of power.

Also emerging on the scene were the previously unnamed "brokers", or professional dealers of justice in control of the "court mafia". Practically everyone finding themselves in a legal knot is sooner or later introduced to such a "broker", who winds freely through the corridors of the police, prosecutors and all the courts, finding out the right price for any kind of service on any kind of case. One lawmaker raised complaints about his own case this week when legislators met with the Attorney General Hendarman Supandji and his staff, explaining that his search for justice was made more complicated, not easier, by those mafia members.

Days later lawmaker Dimyati Natakusuma from the United Development Party (PPP) was arrested by Banten prosecutor's office. He was the first lawmaker arrested from this batch of the new House of Representatives, barely a month into the job. The former regent of Pandeglang, Banten province, was charged with bribery at Pandeglang Legislative Council worth Rp 200 billion (US$20.1 million) in 2006.

More than amusing, it was tragic, a foreboding of things to come, though not surprising, given that voters said they didn't know much about the candidates they were supposed to elect.

As always, however, Indonesians have hope. This week it came from a fresh batch of sorely needed professionals who were sworn in as deputies for ministers. Yudhoyono decided to install 11 deputies for ministers - although only five have been sworn in for the time being - as they are expected to play more pivotal roles in assisting ministers to reach the goals already set by the government.

The newly installed deputies are Bayu Krisnamurthi as deputy to the agriculture minister, Hermanto Dakdak as deputy public works minister, Bambang Susantono as deputy to the transportation minister, Mahendra Siregar as deputy to the trade minister and Alex Retraubun as deputy to the industry minister. Along with them, Yudhoyono also swore in the new head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan. To our new officials, welcome on board, and good luck!

- Ati Nurbaiti

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