F

ilmmakers have a new script almost laid out for them '€” the arrest of the nation'€™s top judge, the confiscation of hundreds of Singapore dollar bills from his vehicle with the plate number RI 9 '€” and the findings of marijuana and ecstasy pills in his office.

Corruption is far from a new theme in the country'€™s daily drama, but Akil Mochtar, arrested close to midnight on Wednesday along with politicians and a businessman, is the chief justice of the Constitutional Court.

This court is last place Indonesians can go to for legal redress, to request that judges who are experts in the Constitution review all manner of issues, from election results, questionable laws, to the rights of children born out of wedlock.

And now it'€™s virtually confirmed that this supposedly independent court with clean judges is far from being clean.

Akil has already been haunted by rumors of bribery, but was cleared by the court'€™s ethics council in the case of a disputed regent election result in 2011.

Now critics are braying: '€œI told you so'€ when it comes to judges who are former politicians like Akil, previously a Golkar Party legislator. But as more and more reports of corruption emerge from the judiciary, the selected justices were perhaps the best of the worst.

In the following weeks we will see anxiety and tension from stakeholders in recent election disputes decided by the court, including three in East Java and two in South Sulawesi.

The result of the Lebak polls in Banten may be in limbo as the court had just decided that the elections can be repeated '€” the late night sting operations of the graft busters also netted the younger brother of Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, Tubagus Chaeri Wardana (see picture), on charges of bribery.

Media footage revealed his rows of Bentleys, Ferraris, Rolls Royces and so on, so the next spotlight will be on his wife, South Tangerang Mayor Airin Rahmi Diany.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has requested that Ratu Atut be banned from traveling overseas '€” the first clear warning against the nation'€™s first female governor who, judging by reports, has been building a smug family empire.

* * *

The country will more or less cope with the vacuum in its highest court as we put on a brave, friendly face as host of the ongoing APEC Summit in Bali.

US President Barack Obama failed to make the trip owing to the US domestic crisis, so that'€™s less security hassle, though also less star power for the trade gathering of 21 countries.

We are left with the job of hosting a successful gathering by facilitating discussions on APEC'€™s agreement ahead of the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference in December.

Breaking down each and every item, let alone agreeing on them, remains a grueling process. Indonesia failed, unsurprisingly, to include crude palm oil and rubber on the list of environmentally friendly goods eligible for tariff cuts and exemptions in 2015. Our representatives must now seek other potential products that can be considered to contribute to sustainable growth, for instance.

Another issue at APEC is whether countries will agree to a US proposal to lengthen monopolies for their multinational pharmaceutical companies, blocking competition from generics. The international medical group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that the US proposal is '€œa terrible deal that will continue to delay the entry of affordable generic medicines.'€

Further, the priorities of this diverse forum still need to be fixed. The list will have to include belated commitments to build infrastructure if the countries are to improve regional connectivity, including in Indonesia where foreign investors have been deterred by all the bottlenecks.

The arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will also attend the APEC Summit next week, was seen as a significant boost in bilateral relations, formally restored in 1990 since Indonesia broke off diplomatic ties with China in 1967.

The audience at the House of Representatives was sparse however, despite the historic address at the House by a foreign dignitary. Friendly sentiments were evoked when Xi cited both the classic song on the river in Surakarta, Central Java, '€œBengawan Solo'€, and a new composition, '€œHening'€ (Solitude), by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a song '€“ Xi said '€“ was inspired by the view of the Lijiang River during Yudhoyono'€™s visit.

 * * *

Few would be inspired to compose poems and songs about our own trash-filled rivers, which is why Jakartans continue to champion Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and his deputy Basuki Tjahaja '€œAhok'€ Purnama. Each step in their clearing of squatters and illegal vendors has displayed a shift in the authorities'€™ approach to low-income outlaws, with amicable lunch meetings and far less patronizing gestures compared to the past, while coaxing the kings of the slums and markets.

Sensing such effective methods, vendors elsewhere are anticipating less fierce battles compared to the past, quietly agreeing to move once they see the vans of the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officials.

Other residents are also sensing stronger law enforcement around them. So watch out where you toss your trash or park your car. You'€™re tires might get flattened.

 '€” Ati Nurbaiti