Archive for the Indonesia Category

Sekuritisasi isu pasca-BBM

Posted in Indonesia on 18 June 2008 by hanafirais28

Satu minggu setelah saya pulang dari Singapore, tepatnya tanggal 24 Mei 2008 malam, pemerintahan Yudhoyono yang diwakili oleh Menkeu Sri Mulyani, Menteri ESDM Yusgiantoro, dan Menkokesra Bakrie mengumumkan kenaikan harga BBM sebesar 28.7% khususnya untuk premium: dari harga 4500 menjadi 6000 rupiah per liter.

Sontak malam itu juga, kebijakan anti-rakyat itu disambut dengan unjuk rasa berbagai kalangan khususnya mahasiswa dan berakhir dengan ‘perang’ batu dan botol antara polisi anti huru-hara dengan mahasiswa UNAS. Unjuk rasa di berbagai kota setelahnya oleh mahasiswa, buruh, maupun lapisan sosial lainnya tuntutannya tunggal: tolak kenaikan harga BBM yang dilakukan rejim Yudhoyono ini.

Selama satu minggu setelah pengumuman oleh para menteri itu (I was wondering if Yudhoyono himself should have been at the front in announcing the price hike – but I realized that he would never dare to use his own hands to clear the problems. Let the ministers and others do the risky jobs while he enjoys watching), situasi sosial pun memanas karena demontrasi di berbagai kota. Bentrok polisi vs mahasiswa, penyegelan kantor Pertamina, penyetopan truk tanki BBM, dan aksi damai lainnya mewarnai berita media massa – koran dan televisi.

Tetapi seketika itu pula, saya menyaksikan agenda yang luar biasa jahat yang dilakukan oleh pemerintahan Yudhoyono ini. Sejak pengumuman kenaikan harga BBM itu, berita di berbagai koran dan televisi langsung disorot habis-habisan dari sisi keamanan. Demo mahasiswa dikriminalisasi (katanya mahasiswa yang memulai bentrok, ganja dan granat ditemukan di kampus). Gerakan mereka dibilang disusupi elit yang jadi musuh politik presiden sekarang. Pendek kata, mahasiswa sudah seperti preman katanya.

Alhasil, opini masyarakat pun mengolok-olok gerakan mereka: “bisanya demo”, “daripada demo mbok bikin konsep”, “solusinya dong”, dan lain sebagainya. Dalam hati saya berkata, Lha kalau mahasiswa  suruh bikin konsep, bikin solusi, sampai dengan kebijakannya, nggak usah ada pemerintahan saja sekalian. Itu semua kan tugas dasar pemerintah! Logika dalam opini publik tadi memang terlihat “mulia” tetapi sebenarnya sudah dipermainkan pemerintah yang tidak mau dibilang anti-rakyat dengan menaikkan harga BBM.

Sejak mahasiswa dikriminalisasi demikian, berbagai berita di koran dan terutama di televisi menjadi semakin menyesatkan. Saya melihat ada sekuritisasi isu pasca kenaikan harga BBM yang sangat jahat itu. Artinya, segala informasi dan opini publik pasca kenaikan itu digiring dengan sistematik agar orang-orang  (khususnya kelas menengah ke bawah yang pada nonton televisi) lupa dan memaklumkan perilaku jahat pemerintahan Yudhoyono yang telah berdusta kepada rakyat dengan dimunculkan kejadian dan peristiwa yang ujung-ujungnya ingin mengatakan “ada isu lebih penting daripada ngurusi naiknya BBM yaitu soal keamanan”.

Sekonyong-konyong, seminggu setelah protes BBM semakin santer di berbagai kota, tanggal 1 Juni lalu terciptalah penyesatan isu oleh pemerintah (yang dijalankan oleh media massa) dengan dramatisasi kejadian Monas antara FPI vs AKKBB. Benar saja, sejak itu bahkan sampai sekarang, media masih mencoba menjual dan mendramatisasi habis-habisan isu “kekerasan”-nya FPI dan nasib Ahmadiyah – persoalan agama yang tidak pernah tuntas dibahas. Orang pun banyak berdebat. Ada yang pro FPI, pro AKKBB, pro Ahmadiyah, dan kekerasan demi kekerasan pun bergulir. Persis seperti harapan pemerintah karena kemudian orang lupa soal BBM. Dengan adanya “kekerasan” FPI, orang akan berpikir “wah benar juga, ternyata kita harus dukung pemerintah agar negara aman dan hukum tegak untuk mengusut kekerasan oleh siapapun dimanapun”.

Sekuritisasi pertama sukses. (Sekuritisasi di sini juga boleh dimaknai sebagai penyesatan). Tidak berhenti pada FPI. Pemerintahan Yudhoyono masih belum puas menyesatkan rakyatnya. Ditengah isu FPI mulai meredup (dan Munarman sudah menyerahkan diri ke polisi dan anehnya tidak pernah muncul lagi), Deplu RI menyulut ‘perang’ dengan Malaysia atas kasus helipad Malaysia di Kalimantan.

Helipad Malaysia di daerah perbatasan diprotes karena dianggap “ancaman” keamanan nasional dan melanggar perjanjian SOSEK MALINDO yang sudah lama dijalankan. Membidik Malaysia memang cara mudah untuk menyesatkan isu BBM. Selain Malaysia sendiri yang akhir-akhir ini selalu bermasalah dengan Indonesia (TKI ilegal, serdadu bayaran asal Indonesia, lagu rasa sayange, Sipadan-Ligitan),
menyulut ‘perang’ dengan Malaysia dikira akan menggerakkan orang-orang yang sudah sengsara karena BBM naik menjadi patriotik untuk “Bela negara Indonesia”.

Sampai sekarang Yudhoyono tampaknya masih berharap sekuritisasi (lagi, bisa dibaca sebagai penyesatan) dengan cara mengkriminalisasi Malaysia bisa membakar emosi warga. Syukur-syukur cap jempol darah seperti tahun 2005 lalu pada kasus Ambalat.

Sementara sekuritisasi kedua sedang berjalan, media massa mulai menggerojok dengan isu kekerasan lainnya baik itu gang Nero asal Semarang, kekerasan di STIP gaya STPDN, dan entah apalagi kalau-kalau isu helipad jadi layu sebelum berkembang besar.

Betapa sebenarnya pemerintahan Yudhoyono (yang tampaknya juga disengaja digawangi oleh media massa besar – terutama mereka yang dekat dengan sang presiden seperti MNC, Bakrie, dan Para group) telah berbuat jahat sengaja menyesatkan pikiran masyarakat yang sudah ditindasnya karena kesusahan BBM lewat pencekokan isu-isu palsu seperti kekerasan FPI, ancaman Malaysia, premanisme pelajar a la Nero dan STIP, dan entah apalagi.

Kalau mau sedikit mengingat-ingat jahatnya presiden bernama Yudhoyono beserta aparatusnya ini, kita bisa menyimpulkan bahwa setiap kenaikan harga BBM sejak tahun 2005, selalu saja ditutup oleh isu keamanan yang “gawat”. Maret 2005, begitu BBM naik, isu Ambalat ditiupkan dan berhasil membakar emosi orang hingga rela bercap jempol darah. Koran dan TV pun senang – bad news is good news. Oktober 2005, begitu BBM naik 128%, rumah Azahari di bom oleh Densus 88 (tanpa kita pernah tahu apa betul Azahari ada dan bentuknya seperti apa). Lagi, media pun senang karena bisa bikin film dokumenter.

Semua itu palsu! Mari kita sadar, BBM Naik adalah kejahatan rejim ini – Yudhoyono adalah presiden negeri ini yang paling jahat karena hanya dalam tiga tahun BBM naik 4000%! Jangan sampai kita dijebak pemerintahan Yudhoyono dan media massa sebagai corongnya dengan isu kekerasan dan ancaman ini itu.

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Government of Indonesia vs. NAMRU-2

Posted in Indonesia on 26 April 2008 by hanafirais28

When it comes to facing the United States (even without pressures), the government of Indonesia (GoI), a.k.a Yudhoyono, will always succumb itself to the States. Freeport & Exxonmobile left untouched. Calling Iran brother but backing up 2007 resolution. Giving leeway for Microsoft to rule in ministry offices.

And now, letting the already long-expired Naval Medical Research Unit – 2 go on and on as if Yudhoyono never reads newspapers or follow news. Mental budak (a Mentality of self-slavery) !

By the way, perhaps he really never reads or follow news (and prefer going for cinemas and shedding his tears to fool voters in the end) because I remember when Lapindo victims crying and complaining about that Yudhoyono’s minister’s mining company’s unjust compensation, Yudhoyono just reacted stupidly saying “…really? Is that what happened?”.

Where the hell have you been, man?

Purchasing Law

Posted in Indonesia, Uncategorized on 10 April 2008 by hanafirais28

I was really stunned when reading yesterday’s news. An MP from an Islamic party (PPP, United Development Party) namely Al Amin Nasution was caught red-handed by Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) in Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jakarta at dawn at 3 AM.

He was caught by the apparatus at hands with 71 million rupiah (around S$11,000) of total deal 3 billion rupiah. It was a bribery from Bintan’s (Riau Islands) local official, the provincial secretary. In addition to the bribery was a woman as a ‘bonus’ .

The bribery was meant to tweak a law on forestry being discussed in the national parliament. The law was supposed to protect some forests not to be used for industrial purposes. But with the bribery involved, the other way around took place. The MP and Bintan official tried to strike a deal of changing it into a law for protecting forests for industrial purposes.

In the hindsight, the Bintan local government must have struck another deal to give the forest concession to, perhaps, a mining company in Bintan. And the MP must have generated a lot of money to prepare for another re-election next year.

I learnt that Al Amin’s case is not in a vacuum. I believe that many of Indonesia’s laws being drafted in the Parliament both by MPs and the Government in Jakarta have been a trading arena for MPs, government officials, and (multi-national) companies.

The difference is that some case are ‘unfortunately’ exposed in the media, some are well-kept and hidden in the closet. The business of purchasing law by MPs, government, and companies has been more common now in Indonesia even under the so-called anti-corrupt Yudhoyono government.

With this case of Al Amin, KPK seems to show its muscle that everyone regardless their positions, even MPs with political immunity , could be raided. I support this movement.

KPK may have recently also managed to raid outlaw conglomerate Sjamsul Nursalim’s right-hand Artalyta, Attorney Urip, and others. But KPK should not blind their own eyes that government and companies trading the laws, just like abovementioned MP was doing, cannot be probed with KPK’s sophisticated mechanisms. (KPK can tap on the (mobile) phones, KPK can do what police can do now).

Government could be the biggest corruptor but elusive to track by conventional mechanism. It will always justify itself that what the government is doing is a policy, not a corruption.

What about Yudhoyono’s decree 2/2008 in support for changing preserved forest to be industrial forests not long ago? Using our healthy rationale, it just should not be done by him. But why he did it? Isn’t it basically the same as what the MP was just doing? I smell the government is trading the forest law as well with those foreign mining companies. There are thirteen of them. Australia’s Newscrest is one of them.

What about the fate of central bank’s abused liquidity case? It is a big case but suddenly stopped after attorney Urip and his colleague, Kemas Yahya, were fired? And what about Soeharto’s family case which was just dropped invalid few weeks ago? What happened to all those bigger cases, KPK?

Yudhoyono government and KPK have left too many questions unanswered. In an exam, those should be graded NIL! Failed! Not passed! Dropped out!

By the way, Al Amin’s case is now just a hype by media. What is more disappointing regarding the MP’s case is how media (detikcom, kompas, and perhaps others starting today) has been framing this issue as just a matter of “who is the bonus woman, is it part of gratification, what about Al Amin’s wife who is a celebrity (a dangdut singer), how would Al Amin’s party (PPP) react, and alike”.

“Amazing”. I guess this is why voters are always fooled. They are made by such cheap journalism to think about gossips rather than the crux of the problem: the business of law, the purchase of law, the trading of law.

I guess SLANK, an Indonesian rock band, is more highly-educated than those journalists. They put it very nicely in their song that

“in Senayan (the place where MPs and government are drafting the law in Jakarta)

there are lawmakers drafting law (UUD)

but money is what they actually want (Ujung-Ujungnya Duit)…”

My recommendation to SLANK: they should also add government’s role in the “UUD”. It takes two to tango.

Blocking Fitna, Banning Youtube?

Posted in Indonesia on 6 April 2008 by hanafirais28

Certainly not. The government of Indonesia (GOI) via the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, should not block Youtube and other similar net services just because to prevent Muslims in Indonesia being fooled by Wilders’ Fitna movie. The movie should be condemned since it was just based on Wilders’ ‘freedom of anarchy’ (not speech) to merely gain his party’s popularity in the Netherlands at the expense of Islam.

GOI i.e. Yudhoyono should exert its diplomacy actively against such defamation conduct to show that Muslims in Indonesia objected Wilders’ extremism. Wilders has done the damage. But it turns out that he chose the vague way. Unclearly objecting it, he instead urged Muslims in Indonesia to calm down and, this is the latest from, via the Ministry to blocking any sites with Fitna content. Youtube is then banned in Indonesia. The President should act more smartly.

A “perfect” communication breakdown

Posted in Indonesia on 22 March 2008 by hanafirais28

Adnan Buyung Nasution came to Singapore two days ago together with former attorney Abdur Rahman. Both were “detained” by Changi immigration officials for “random investigation” for two hours. They were released after Adnan Buyung called Indonesia’s embassy in Singapore for intervention.

Indonesia’s mass media (detikcom, kompas, and the jakarta post to mention some) has been stirring up the event as “incident”. But apart from the upcoming controversy over those two presidential advisors coming to Singapore, I could not stand laughing at how messy Indonesia’s political communication is as soon as that news broke up. Take a look at this.

Firstly, Adnan Buyung said that he came to Singapore for a medical check-up after being released.

[Before going further with the story, it just simply raised a question. Why then the former attorney Abdur Rahman Saleh joining him? Is he an escort of Adnan Buyung now? That just did not make sense].

Secondly, and if that above is true, it is becoming sillier because Yudhoyono two weeks ago just said that people should not go abroad for medical treatments since Indonesia could tackle them.

[Despite the President’s own such narrow statement (since state now cannot restrict human movements as well as capital flows), his own advisors’ going to Singapore for medical check-up means that they just stabbed Yudhoyono from behind very embarrassingly!]

Thirdly, when Hatta Rajasa, the minister of state’s secretariat, was asked by the media about the incident, he said Adnan Buyung was going to Singapore for his daughter’s medical treatment, not his own treatment – as opposed to Adnan’s self-claim. He said Adnan really needed to see his daughter.

[So, who is actually having a medical treatment? Adnan or the daughter?]

Forthly, when further asked if Adnan went to Singapore to see his former client Sjamsul Nursalim who is now living in Singapore, the minister said that it would be impossible.

(Nursalim is one of the hunted corrupt conglomerates by Indonesia’s government because of running away with Indonesia’s central bank’s liquidity aid in 1998).

The minister said that advisors were required to give daily reports to the President via the minister.

[So, Adnan must have forgotten to tell the minister that he went to Singapore for his own medical treatment. Not the daughter.]

Fifthly, this is getting funnier, Adnan’s private secretary was asked by the media if her boss’ going to Singapore was for a treatment. She said – surprise, surprise – “no, my boss went to Singapore for a vacation”!.

[I guess Adnan once he is back to his office will fire the secretary].

Sixthly, again, if all is about those medical stuff, why Abdur Rahman Saleh was there too?

Adnan, a lawyer. Rahman, an attorney. What should link them both by coming to Singapore if not for legal purpose i.e. Nursalim purpose? One said “private medical check-up”, another said “daughter’s treatment”, some other said “vacation”. All were just becoming absurd.

I then remembered one of Pramoedya’s sayings about reading political news in Indonesia: read it the other way around. Meaning, what is denied and claimed by the officials is actually the truth. So, both approaching the corrupt Nursalim is the truth.

Indonesia’s parliament has been chasing the central bank’s liquidity aid abuse recently and it might affect Yudhoyono’s bid for 2009 negatively. These two advisors perhaps are sent by the President himself to strike a deal with the corrupt Nursalim of how to have a “win-win solution”. [If this really happened, Yudhoyono is playing with fire indeed].

Unfortunate for them, Singapore’s immigration officials “uncovered” the plot. Good for the public to know then.

[Yudhoyono or the minister should have told the immigration to do it clandestine way].

Overall, it was a “perfect” communication breakdown. If this were a military combat, it means one another in the same batallion would all die because of their own shooting each other due to the given wrong communication details.

Sad indeed for Yudhoyono, the minister, and the advisors.

When our government is captured…

Posted in Indonesia on 28 February 2008 by hanafirais28

There are two things in this week which frustrate me about our government.

First, the president protected 13 mining companies by his decree (PP 2/2008) to extract resources in the supposedly-preserved forest areas.

The forest-plundering decree originated in the previous government. It was very obvious then that Megawati government was forced by the thirteen mining companies to allow mining in the restricted area. It was highly resisted by people, activists. But it just went dry.

Now, Yudhoyono seems to just copy his predecessor’s plundering behaviour whom he always criticized. He said innocently that “the decree is not my product. It is just a continuation from the previous administration”. Imagine that!

Second, the seemingly heroic health minister, Siti Fadillah Supari, who just published a book disclosing WHO conspiracy on avian flu, made a very low comment in order to protecting milk industry.

Mothers and their children in West Java and other parts in Java have been threatened by the carelessness (or perhaps deliberation to be precise) of milk industry. It has produced dangerous milk products for babies and kids since they contained ’Enterobacter Sakazakii’ – a life-threatening bacteria.

The minister just commented that “do not worry, it is just part of business wars”.

I should expect to see such things more from this present government. When it comes to businesses, industries (mention it – from mining to milk for babies) interests, our government just surrenders its head and heart to them and putting its “innocent” face to the people.

Government of Indonesia lives (or loves) being captured by the businesses while it should actually regulate them, not captured. If that is the case, “Government is the biggest corruptor”, as once Koran Tempo mentioned a month ago – no wonder that fighting corruption in the country is going nowhere since”the broom to sweep the dirty floor itself is dirty”. What can you expect?

The Rise of Indonesia’s Antitrust Body

Posted in Indonesia on 21 February 2008 by hanafirais28

The Indonesia’s Antitrust Regulatory Body, KPPU, sentenced Singapore-owned Temasek to divest its 15% share in one of its Indonesia’s telecommunication companies of either Indosat or Telkomsel early this year. KPPU concluded that Temasek had practiced monopoly in the industry due to its more than majority shareholding which consequently implicated the whole market share. Indosat and Telkomsel are the biggest telecommunication companies in Indonesia.

The “battle” between KPPU versus Temasek is still going on now in the court. Not only that. Regardless the controversy of the case above, KPPU seems to now showing its muscle in regulating other similar industries as well.

Having managed to sentence Temasek, the regulatory body run by young idealists are now investigating some national mobile companies as well such as XL, Telkomsel, Indosat (again), and others. It indicated that these companies  are playing the game of cartel in setting high prices for short message services (SMS). It was found out that all SMS cost should only bear for Rp 75 (S$ 0.01), not Rp 350 (S$ 0.04) as at present operated.

Still in the similar industry, KPPU has been receiving some reports that Indonesia’s over-the-air television owners have trespassed the law of cross-ownership. Ten national private television stations (RCTI, TPI, GlobalTV, SCTV, Indosiar, ANTV, Lativi, TransTV, Trans7, and MetroTV) are only almost all owned by three big groups of MNC, Bakrie, and Fofo only. Furthermore, they also cross-own other businesses such as radios, newspapers, magazines, cable TVs, and also telco services. KPPU is still verifying and seeking for the best method to see if the accusation is necessary to follow up.

It does not stop here. There has been concern nowadays that traditional markets in cities have been eroded by the rapid existences of hypermarket such as Carrefour. It is thought that the biggest retail company is now leading the trend towards monopoly. And again, KPPU is very likely to proceed for further verification as well.

In short, giants like telco companies and retail corporation in Indonesia are now facing the challenge from the previously-underestimated antitrust body KPPU. I see that such regulatory body’s power in Indonesia is emerging now. Its rising might make sense. Public, such as mobile users, TV viewers, farmers, local traders, feel nowadays that expecting the government and parliament to act for them and protect their interests is hopeless. Their turn to such regulatory body such KPPU is now becoming a hope – borrowing Obama’s favorite term 🙂

Regulatory bodies like KPPU are not alone. KPK – Anti Corruption Commission agency- is doing its job now (although wishy washy targeting the big fish). KPI – regulatory body for broadcast industry – is showing its existence having received so many complaints from viewers of television contents of violence, horror, and pornography. And still some other similar agencies for regulatory purposes.

It shows the irony of democracy. People are moving away from the democratic institutions (governments, members of parliament) that they themselves have voted for. They now move to trust such regulatory bodies which basically are not democratically-and-directly elected by themselves. This is perhaps what Robert Dahl mentioned once as the “inborn flaw of democracy”. Wallahualam bishawab.

Indonesia’s 2009: Showdown of Suharto’s loyalists

Posted in Indonesia on 10 February 2008 by hanafirais28

Suharto may pass away. But his loyalists i.e. family members, old crony, and the followers may stay on. They are still alive, and kicking! Next year, 2009, Indonesia will hold national election. It would certainly be a battleground for Suharto’s loyalists to have a stronger grip on national politics after their patron left them for good.

Check the list: The present Indonesia president, Yudhoyono, was part of Suharto’s old power pyramid and is going to run for the election. He used to be a military official during Suharto’s New Order serving under Wiranto, the massacre architect in East Timor as well as anti-reformasi general who is also going to run for 2009 election. Both military men are now backed up by their cronies.

Yudhoyono is creating new cronies with one of them is a (former) intellectual Andi Malarangeng, the present spokesman, being already coopted to the president’s political party, Democrat party. As for Wiranto, he has been loyally supported since long ago by Suharto’s former finance minister, Fuad Bawazir. These persons are now acting as the intellectual dresses for the actually-fierce-looking generals going to run for the presidency.

Another hopeful for presidency in 2009 is Sutiyoso, another former military officer during Suharto’s New Order as well as a former governor of Jakarta serving for two periods. In addition to this, the present governor, i.e. the king, of Jogjakarta namely Sultan HB X who is also Golkar official – Golkar was Suharto’s political party and is incumbent now being chaired by Indonesia’s Vice President- is also going to run for 2009 presidency. Another Golkar soul who might also run is, unfortunately, Din Syamsuddin while he should not have mixed his Islam organization Muhammadiyah with cheap politicking.

Furthermore, Akbar Tanjung who has now polished himself as an intellectual getting a PhD from Gadjah Mada University would seem to also run for 2009. Involved in national logistics fraud in 2003 and being permanently attached to Suharto’s Golkar party, he completes the political crowd of New Order followers.

Tanjung seems to have used up the best of Indonesian intellectuals by combining them into The Akbar Tanjung Institute. Some of the institute’s writers have also sublimed themselves into other “academic” organizations to get readers’ consent of the ideas they offer in national newspapers and magazines. To make things worse, Suharto’s first daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana so called Tutut, has also been warmly welcomed by Vice President Jusuf Kalla who is chairing Suharto’s party, Golkar, to join his party: an effort to absorb Suharto’s family interests.

Worse, in recent national political polls, those who top to be “popular candidates” for 2009 are those abovementioned. Indonesia post-2009 then would only be another hopeless nation to achieve good governance, prosperity, and powerful as mentioned in the Preambule of the national constitution. Why? Because New Order paradigm internalized by those abovementioned is nothing but, borrowing the term from Paul Hutchcroft, to plunder the state power and the national assets.

Watching Yudhoyono’s tentacles growing

Posted in Indonesia on 31 January 2008 by hanafirais28

Yesterday, we were shocked by the news that the current Indonesia’s Central Bank Governor, Burhanuddin Abdullah, was declared as a corruptor by the Anti-Corruption Commission, KPK.

There has been a preceding events leading to it. It was the case of the Central Bank’s Liquidity Assistance, the so-called BLBI, which was just turned into a case to be soon investigated by the Commission and passed by the Parliament as its so-called “right for interpelation”.

The case was about the Bank’s financial assistance to save the supposedly-liquidated commercial banks in 1998 during the Asian crisis and, related to that, to purchase a banking law in assurance of the Bank’s untouched status even by the government or any supra-authority in 2004.

I am glad that (though it is already too late) now there is a real action to catch the big fish corruptor. Or at least, leading to catch the big fish. I never consider the previous cases of our government’s anti-corruption movements against the local legislatures, local executives, mid-rank officials, mediocre businessmen by KPK were serious in its intention. They were all just the cover.

My take is as long as the government could not catch the big fish (including the ones surrounding it very closely), anti-corruption movement is just a big BS. It’s just a lipstick policy.

Now that there is seemingly a tough decision to bring the Central Bank’s authority to court and to prison later on, there is a hope. Like a proverb which says, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

But then I questioned myself. How could this present government led by Yudhoyono suddenly turn into a convincing maneuver? Not that difficult to answer in the end. It is part of the bigger picture that Yudhoyono is now trying to sketch: BUILDING HIS OWN TENTACLES OF OLIGARCHY.

A political theory long posited by scholars like Vedi Hadiz or Paul Hutchcroft would fit to read the abovementioned case, and also the subsequent coming soon political events of what Yudhoyono is going to take.

Basically these scholars say that those who reign in power would be exclusively dominated by the oligarchs. Those who are not part of the oligarchy would be ousted.

Hadiz would say that Indonesia has been witnessing the New Order’s oligarchs reorganizing themselves, including by the present Yudhoyono. While Hutchcroft would maintain that during Marcos and after, politics in the Philippines has always been nothing but the reign of land-owning oligarchs including the defunct Marcos and the current Arroyo.

By crushing against the super-body like the Central Bank, Yudhoyono is making sure that he will always get the upper hand among his rivals as well as his allies. Then he would replace these people meddle in his way building the oligarchy by his families, and cronies.

Burhanuddin was just a bridge to destroy, and would be replaced by Yudhoyono’s newly found daughter-in-law’s father who is now acting also as part of the Central Bank’s Board of Governors-Aulia Pohan. (Easy to detect, Mr President!). Too bad some scholars like here does not dare to speak for the Truth. We do not need such euphemism, dear scholar!

One more thing, next week, there will be a change in the Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI). There has been no force majeure faced by the state Bank. So far the shares are doing well, but the government insists on changing the management board.

Guess what, Yudhoyono’s relative (to be precise, his wife’s relative) Gatot Mudiantoro Suwondo is going to replace the current director of the Bank!

People, beware of Yudhoyono’s seemingly calm performance! It is fake. He is basically plundering the nation! Some activists in Jakarta call him “purba”, pretending to be good (“pura-pura baik”). And I think it is really true.

On Suharto’s death

Posted in Indonesia on 29 January 2008 by hanafirais28

To me, Suharto’s death yesterday was a pity thing to reflect for us, Indonesians. Not because the multiple organic failure he suffered from, not because of his past ‘devotion’ for the nation, not because of other controversial issues surrounding him as always.

It is because he died as an uncertain status. Was he a corruptor? A lawful citizen? A hero? when he died?

Unclear. Status matters for it concerns with how a person’s relations with others in the world which would also be judged in the afterlife.

Ironically, the State a.k.a the government led by the present President named Yudhoyono (some Javanese deliberately joked about it as Nyudoyowo, meaning turning people’s life to death) was very hesitant to make Suharto’s final status clear.

So what I concluded is, even the former President was not given a clear and, perhaps, deserved treatment by his own President, what about lay citizens like us? Like you and me. No wonder when Indonesian citizens are in danger, being discriminated in their own country or abroad, there is no state’s will to protect.

It is enough to have such an irresponsible leadership in Indonesia!