Anticipation, expectation creates disappointment. After the media build-up of the last fortnight, Indonesians were again disappointed with news that US President Barack Obama has canceled a visit to a country that has often adopted him as their own.
Obama scuttled his trip to help last-minute lobbying for his healthcare reform plan, which is headed for a climatic vote this weekend.
While Indonesians are understandably disheartened, they should not feel let down. Any president would have probably done the same given the importance of the domestic agenda. And we should also take heart that he has pledged to land in Indonesia in the coming months of 2010.
The postponement may actually help further solidify the comprehensive partnership arrangement aimed at solidifying bilateral relations. The extra months will allow officials the time to enhance the framework into a solid basis for future relations between the world’s third- and fourth-most populous countries.
While there has been no stated direct correlation, the anticipation of Obama’s visit had also heightened the urgency of security issues here. And the past week saw security forces again swiftly pursue and capture extended links to the latest network of terrorist cells in the country.
Earlier in the week, police arrested two of 14 suspects wanted for their involvement in terrorist activities in Aceh. The discovery of this network, according to some, is indication that terrorists may be changing their tactics from suicide bombing to armed warfare.
National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the terrorists “are now more dangerous and are targeting important figures”. Two terror suspects were shot dead near the Leupung Police station in Aceh Besar regency on March 16. The police also arrested eight suspects believed to be Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members trying to flee the province last week.
Bambang said he believed the two slain terrorists were members of JI and key figures in the JW Marriott Hotel, the Jakarta Stock Exchange Building and Bali bombings.
There has been speculation the current crop of suspected terrorists in Aceh included former Acehnese rebels, who either did not agree with the peace agreement, which ended the war with the government, or were disillusioned after failing to gain employment and integrate into society.
Meanwhile in Jakarta, the fallout of the Bank Century scandal continued to reverberate as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) extended its inquiry into the case. KPK leaders have said the complexity of the bailout meant they needed more time to collect evidence and analyze recommendations from a recent legislative inquiry committee.
Another corruption case capturing headlines revolved around issues of graft in the election of former Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Swaray Goeltom.
The Corruption Court summoned lawmakers Panda Nababan and Miranda’s friend, Nunun Nurbaeti, who reportedly served as her “cashier” in the Rp 24 billion (US$2.6 million) bribery trial of lawmakers, who allegedly accepted bribes for her 2004 election.
The Court will also summon Miranda as a witness.
Miranda has been accused of buying votes for her election. Forty two of 54 members of the House of Representatives’ Commission IX overseeing banking voted for her. Three of the 39 lawmakers who allegedly received bribes from her are currently on trial, with more likely to follow.
If the three are convicted, Miranda could be arraigned as a suspect.
Panda is a senior politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who allegedly received Rp 1.45 billion in bribes. Others reportedly received between Rp 200 million and Rp 500 million in traveler’s checks.
Nunun, the wife of former National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. (ret.) Adang Daradjatun, who is now a lawmaker for the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), allegedly acted as a middleman. KPK documents reveal that Nunun ordered her then business colleague, Arie Malangjudo aka Ahmad Hakim Safari, to hand over envelopes containing the traveler’s checks to the lawmakers.
Nunun’s lawyer, Partahi Sihombing, acknowledged that his client was a friend of Miranda’s.
“But Ibu Nunun didn’t offer bribes to lawmakers in the name of Ibu Miranda,” he said.
While the wheels of justice are methodically slow, there is no doubt the verdict of both cases, along with others will be highly anticipated as the nation tries to remove itself from the culture of greed.
What many were not anticipating is how government regulations are complicating the curriculum of various international schools based here.
Many international schools in Jakarta have questioned a 2009 education ministerial decree that they said could affect their operation and create legal uncertainty concerning the future of international education in the country.
A 2009 education ministerial decree, which will come into force on March 30, 2010, stipulates the curricula applied at international schools must cover the teaching of religion, social sciences and the Indonesian language. The teaching of the three subjects must be in Indonesian.
Bambang Indrianto, the secretary of the directorate general for primary and secondary education at the Education Ministry, clarified the ministerial decree would only apply to Indonesian studentsstudying at international schools, not foreign citizens there.
He said the decree was not aimed at creating difficulty for international schools, but rather to protect the fundamental rights of Indonesian students studying at the schools.
— Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
