I

ndonesia and its neighbor Brunei Darussalam stole the show this week as they hosted, respectively, the 24th APEC Summit and ASEAN-related summits, including the East Asia Summit, involving leaders of Asia and the Pacific Rim, the engine of the world'€™s economy in the coming years.

The island of Bali grabbed the world'€™s attention not only because of its exotic beauty, but also its hospitality toward the prominent dignitaries, other high-ranking officials and thousands of experts representing 21 economies across the Pacific Rim, who attended the annual event.

A major absentee from the APEC Summit was US President Barack Obama, who is battling it out steering the American ship of state away from dangerous reefs. Following the government shutdown, the US is facing a possible debt default if the ongoing budget standoff is unresolved by Oct. 17.

Even with Obama'€™s absence, however, the party retained its merriment, as evident when host President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono strummed his guitar and serenaded Russian President Vladimir Putin along with other APEC leaders on Putin'€™s 61st birthday on Monday.

The leaders'€™ summit concluded on Tuesday with a long document stating their pledge to strengthen macroeconomic policies and work together to promote sustainable and inclusive growth in the region. The leaders also agreed to resist pressure to raise new trade and investment barriers.

Although Indonesia failed to get palm oil and rubber included on the list of environmentally friendly goods subject to liberalization in 2015, its proposal to list the commodities for tariff cuts or exemptions under a new category was accepted. It was a fair compromise that pleased everybody.

While other leaders jetted off to Brunei for the ASEAN Summit, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott took time to pray at the Bali bombing memorial site, on Jl. Legian, Kuta on Wednesday for those who perished in the terror attacks 11 years ago. The carnage left 202 people dead, including 88 Australians.

World leaders of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, including China, India, Japan and the US, regrouped in Bandar Seri Begawan, which also hosted the East Asia Summit. Next year the ASEAN Summit will be held in Myanmar for the first time, while the APEC Summit will take place in China.

This week itself was a busy and perhaps tiring affair for President Yudhoyono. After hosting the APEC summit, attending the ASEAN and related summits, he received the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South Korean President Park Geun-hye. The two leaders added to Yudhoyono'€™s long list of VVIP guests he has met for bilateral talks over the last two weeks. The roster included Abbott, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The diplomatic agenda gave Yudhoyono a break from domestic affairs, notably the fallout from the arrest of former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, which came just as Indonesia was preparing for the APEC Summit.

Yudhoyono said last week he would soon issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on supervision of Constitutional Court justices, but as of the weekend the plan had not materialized, perhaps due to a potential backlash after the remaining eight court justices openly announced their opposition to the government'€™s move.

The court annulled in 2003 the Judicial Commission'€™s oversight authority of Supreme Court and Constitutional Court justices, freeing the two highest judicial institutions from outside supervision. The shocking arrest of Akil last week, therefore, has renewed calls for strict monitoring, particularly of Constitutional Court justices who have the power to examine whether a certain law violates the Constitution, adjudicate election disputes and try a president for any crimes.

Ongoing investigations by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) into the bribery case involving Akil have implicated the most powerful political dynasty in Banten. Following the arrest of Tubagus Chaeri Wardana, the KPK is delving into the possible role of his sister, Banten two-time Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah. KPK investigators quizzed Atut on Friday as a witness after banning her from traveling overseas, amid reports of a fightback from her supporters who pledged to use black magic to protect their leader from the KPK'€™s clutches.

It is not just the Atut dynasty that is undergoing KPK scrutiny. Her implication has also sent shockwaves throughout the Golkar Party, in which Atut acts as treasurer. The party has postponed its national executive meeting scheduled for earlier this month to Nov. 10, despite the strategic nature of the event, which was supposed to consolidate the party ahead of the 2014 elections.

The KPK also arrested Golkar lawmaker Chairun Nisa in connection with the bribes allegedly paid to Akil.

The latest corruption case involving Golkar members is of course negative PR that will further erode public trust in the party with elections just around the corner.

Public faith in the legal system and the judiciary is also waning after the Supreme Court reduced to 14 years the 20-year jail term it had previously handed down to Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the only person convicted in the murder of human rights campaigner Munir in 2004. Pollycarpus'€™ lawyer Mohammad Assegaf predicted his client could be free next year following the Court ruling.

'€” Dwi Atmanta