W

e can only wait for whatever sanctions the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) will impose against Indonesia after the kick off the Indonesian Premier League (LPI) in Solo, Central Java, on Saturday.

But we Indonesians also hope that the world’s highest soccer authority will not punish millions of soccer supporters in Indonesia just because of technical and legal problems. We do believe FIFA will make very thorough considerations before banging its gavel.

The new league received a warm reception from soccer fans who see new hope for the competition system. The present system is chaotic and sportsmanship has very often been sidelined just to satisfy the egos of those in charge of the progressive development of soccer in this country.

Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) chairman Nurdin Halid will definitely be among – hopefully just few – Indonesians who would feel fortunate should the world soccer body ban Indonesia from international tournaments because of the LPI.

Nurdin Halid, a former corruption convict, and his loyalists have repeatedly warned that FIFA and the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are behind him 100 percent. For Nurdin, the Indonesian Super League (LSI) is the only legitimate league in Indonesia. He has also threatened to exclude all players of the 19 LPI teams from joining the national squad. FIFA’s director of member associations and development Thierry Regenass indicated Friday that sanctions were unavoidable if the Solo match was not
cancelled.

Indonesians were excited when their national team – with the help of some newly naturalized sportsmen – reached the AFF Suzuki Cup final against Malaysia in late December, even though our neighbors beat Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate.

It is very clear that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono fully backs the premier league, which is financed by domestic oil and gas tycoon Arifin Panigoro. There is little doubt that the President and Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng tried unsuccessfully to unseat Nurdin from his position last year.

Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie extended his blessings to Nurdin. But soccer fans do not care about the positions of the President or Aburizal. Indonesians are longing for the pride of seeing our national team victorious in prestigious international competitions.

Nurdin, who has been in his position since 2003 and continues to rely on support from FIFA despite his status as a corruption convict, defied public demands to resign after Indonesia failed to achieve any significant progress under his leadership, during which time our national team was even defeated by much smaller countries such as Laos and Timor Leste.

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The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Thursday of the danger of soaring food prices in Asia. Food inflation in many Asian countries, including India and China, is already reaching double digits. Rising food prices have sparked political unrest in several countries in the past, including Indonesia during the 1998 financial crisis, which eventually forced the end of Soeharto’s 32-year rule.

FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian said bad weather affecting commodity crops in many exporting countries could keep prices high over the next several months.

“The concern is that the long duration of high prices for the months to come may eventually result in such high prices reaching the domestic markets of these poorer nations,” said Abbassian.

The price of chili skyrocketed in Indonesia around Christmas and New Year, and the situation remains volatile. Chili is a key ingredient for many Indonesian dishes. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the people to plant chilies in their own yards to help lower demand for the commodity.

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Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa outlined on Friday a list of major diplomatic activities for his ministry’s agenda throughout 2011. In its capacity as the chairman of ASEAN, Indonesia will host a series of ASEAN ministerial meetings and the leaders’ summit this year. It will also chair the East Asia Summit, whose participants include all ASEAN members plus delegates from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and the US.

“We begin a new year in Indonesia’s foreign policy with a strong sense of purpose and determination, not only to continue and build on the gains of the past year, but also to identify new opportunities and possibilities,” Marty said during his annual press statement at the Foreign Ministry.

It is also interesting that Marty responded to questions about the alleged rape of an Indonesian housemaid by Malaysian Information Minister Rais Yatim in 2007. The rumors about the crime have become a hot issue in Malaysia, especially among the opposition parties. According to Marty, his ministry could not follow up the report by an NGO about the sex crime because the victim refused to take legal action against the Malaysian politician.

“When charges are pressed [by the victim], we will take our position. The case happened in 2007. At that time our office and Migrant Care asked the [victim] whether the case should be followed up, but the answer was no,” said Marty.

—Kornelius Purba