"I will not bow to public pressure," grumbles the President, proving once again that he must have the crappiest political advisers in the history of politics.
Not only is the President ignoring the fact that public pressure is driving REAL reform for the first time since 1945, he has failed to distance himself with Public Enemies #1 and #2, the Police Chief and the Attorney-General.
To make things worse, he's really packed on the beef.
Comments [2]
Comments [4]
What a weekend! Every single newspaper is screaming blue murder at the arrest of our national heroes, KPK commissioners Bibit and Chandra. At last count, the Facebook Group, Gerakan 1 juta Facebookers Dukung Chandra Hamzah dan Bibit Samad Riyanto (the movement of 1 million Facebookers supporting Chandra and Bibit), had reached 300,000 members --- not bad for a country where 90% of Facebook use is by mobile phone.
It seems that Ibu Ani must have a Facebook page, because on Sunday the President met with four men to seek their advice on the KPK crisis:
The fact that the President consulted with three universities is telling. It shows just how complex he considers the issue to be. A question I have, one that perhaps Rob Baiton or Ari Juliano can help me with is why hasn't the President consulted with the head of the Constitutional Court or the Administrative Court?
There might be a legal-constitutional reason why the President has not spoken to the judiciary (assuming that he hasn't). In my homeland, New Zealand, it is vital that the three branches of government, the executive (cabinet), judiciary (courts) and legislature (house of representatives), remain independent of each other. So, if the Prime Minister wanted to speak to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he would have to be very careful what he said and would probably want to make sure that there were lots of witnesses, including the press. I don't know if the same applies here in Indonesia.
It might be even more simple than this. The Constitutional Court has wasted no time criticizing the President for his ill-advised actions, particularly the ridiculous PERPPU. Given the President's sensitivities (remember he said he had been "awfully hurt"), it could well be that the President can't see beyond his own personal issues.
Either way, that's not important. What is important is that the President is finally paying attention to what is going on around him. There is hope.
What can we learn from this? The President can no longer sit back and let things happen --- not when they are of national importance, and most certainly not when they have a direct impact on his credibility. He won the election because of the KPK. He has shamelessly ridden on the coat-tails of their success. He must protect them.
He owes it to the people who elected him.
You can find the Facebook page discussed above here. If you would like to read more about this, you should have a look at Rob Baiton's blog. Here is a link to his "KPK" posts. Also check out Tree's blog, for a very detailed look at specific issues.
You might also be interested in the following posts:
Comments [0]
Rob makes an interesting observation about the absence of the Vice President's photo from this photo in Kompas. At least they have taken down the outgoing Veep's photo! I was at UI last week and Kalla was still up there on the wall. It's kinda sloppy.
Comments [4]
This is the second part of my take on the KPK crisis. The first part, The KPK, News Media and Why I Still Love Indonesia, can be read here.
Last night I had dinner with a very important man. He is on the board of one of Indonesia's largest and most successful companies. Not that you would know it from looking at him. Unlike the many so-called dignitaries that populate our government, my friend does not draw attention to himself.
In his role, my friend has met many of the people that make the news. He also has a wealth of knowledge about what goes on behind the scenes. These dinners are always wonderful for me because I get to ask him to explain things in the news to me.
For example, he knows all about disgraced Bank Indonesia governor Miranda and explained to me why, with so much bribery and corruption going on around her, no-one has any evidence against her. If you think about it, it is extremely unlikely that she knew nothing about the bribes paid to DPR legislators in return for their votes when she was elected to the Bank of Indonesia board. Yet, there she was in the paper yesterday grinning like the Cheshire Cat claiming that she knew nothing about it.
Last night's dinner conversation was dominated by the Police arrest of KPK commissioners Bibit and Chandra and why the President hasn't done anything.;
Like many people, my friend thinks that SBY's hands are not entirely clean. SBY screwed up. From the outset he said that he would not get involved. He would not interfere, but this was a lie.
He interfered big time when he issued his Presidential law --- the PERPPU --- firing the two commissioners and giving him the authority to appoint his own commissioners. The Constitutional Court has subsequently issued a decision effectively canceling the PERPPU. How embarrassing for the President!
But it wasn't until Thursday that the President really showed his true colours. If you haven't been following the taping incident, then here's a summary of what happened:
Taping a conversation without permission is quite a serious matter. Generally it means that the tape recording cannot be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. But the KPK has special powers to use wire-tapping. This seems like a perfect example of where the wire-tapping was legal and within the KPK's authority.
On Wednesday, the President ordered the Police to investigate the matter. But before you get excited, he ordered the Police to investigate the use of his name, which is a very minor matter compared to the actual subject matter of the recording, the conspiracy against the KPK.
On Thursday, he told reporters that he is "awfully hurt" by the use of his name (which is actually an offence).
Yesterday, things turned surreal and Anggodo Widjojo filed an "abuse of power" complaint against the KPK commissioners for taping the conversation. What?! I hear you say. Yes, you heard right. This extremely dodgy character has filed a complaint against the KPK for taping the conversation. Shouldn't the Police be investigating him?!
Yesterday, the President showed his true colours and told reporters that the Police were "within their rights" to arrest Bibit and Chandra.
I'm confused. Every single legal expert in this country believes that the Police have over-stepped the line and are acting without authority. The head of the Constitutional Court has gone as far to say that the Police have no authority over the KPK. If the KPK commissioners have done something wrong then it should be sorted out in the Administrative Court. Can someone please explain to me why the President disagrees with every single legal expert there is?
What is happening here? It's actually quite simple. Indonesians have outgrown their President. They want and expect much more from the President. Indonesians want an end to corruption. They want responsible and effective government. They want a functioning government. The problem is that the President --- the man we're all counting on --- isn't able to provide the people what they want.
As awful as it sounds, it is wonderful to experience as an outsider how rapidly Indonesia has transformed. It probably wouldn't have happened quite so quickly without this crisis. In a way, Bibit and Chandra are national heroes.
Comments [14]
I’ve been hurt; awfully hurt
Don't get me wrong, I am a big SBY fan. He is a brilliant man, but he is clearly surrounded by idiots.
Today will go down in history as the day that changed everything
SBY is beginning to look less like the hero we re-elected and more Nixon-esque every minute. And what do we have from the President? He has been "hurt". WTF?!! Wake up!!!
Comments [10]
The Constitutional Court approved a proposal... ordering President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono not to issue a presidential decree on [the dismissal of KPK Commissioners Bibit and Chandra] before a court verdict [on their case].
A handful of intelligent and bold Indonesians stand up to the President and restore my faith in Indonesian justice.
The Constitutional Court has ordered President SBY to defer the dismissal of KPK Commissioners Bibit and Chandra until their cases are heard by the court.
At the same time, the DPR Commission III on Law and Human Rights announced that it will summon the National Police to explain its decision to arrest Bibit and Chandra. It seems pretty clear that the Commission, including Bambang Soesatyo, share the public's view that the Police are way out of line.
The President and his henchmen are under attack.
Comments [0]
There’s no opposition under the presidential system. What we did in the past was wrong
It seems that years of MegaWhatever's unique form of 'guided democracy' (also known as 'monarchy') has turned her hubby and the entire party 'elite' into a bunch of bumbling children.
Mr MegaWhatever --- once a force to be contended with --- seems to have lost his nut-sack along with half his brain. That's the only explanation I can find for Taufik's latest nonsensical drivel about the PDI-P's stance in the 2004-2009 government.
The thing is, he's wrong. There is supposed to be an opposition under the presidential system. A president without an opposition is called a D-I-C-T-A-T-O-R.
I am beginning to think that Indonesia is not ready for democracy. We need at least another 20 years to let the really STUPID people in power die out. Then we might be ready.
Comments [1]
The following taken from a summary written by Treespotter. The original text has been abridged. Tree will hopefully post the original on his website.Thank to Tree for permission to reprint and abridge.
Does Polri have a case?
The charges relate to two cekal orders – one issued against Djoko Tjandra, a suspect in the Urip bribery case and the other against Anggoro Widjojo, a suspect in a separate bribery case being pursued by the KPK. It is difficult to see how these cekal orders could amount to an abuse of power, given that it seems there was a genuine need for the orders to prevent suspects from fleeing the country. Other than the KPK, the Police, the AGO, the Tax and Revenue Service and other agencies have powers to request cekal orders.
Various legal experts have questioned the legal basis for the charges including Eddy Hiariej of Gajah Mada University and Hasril Hartanto, a legal expert from Universitas Indonesia. Emerson Yuntho, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch called labelled Polri's charges “ridiculous”.
Why is everyone so upset?
The ability of Polri to declare a Commissioner a suspect is a key element in this developing story. Once a Commissioner is declared a suspect, he/she automatically becomes a ‘non-active Commissioner’ and cannot serve a Commissioner’s functions. Declaring a Commissioner a suspect has enormous impact on the ability of the KPK to function. [It is worth noting here that the President is considering issuing emergency legislation which would allow him to appoint replacement Commissioners.]
The Police investigations should also be seen in the context of the DPR's apparent intention to strip the KPK of its authority. New legislation before the DPR proposes that the Attorney General’s Office be the sole agency for the prosecution of corruption cases, stripping the KPK of this authority. The draft law also removes the KPK’s authority to conduct wire-tapping and conversation recording. There appears to be strong resistance and resentment of the recent success of the KPK in corruption eradication. To date, the KPK has prosecuted 115 corruption cases, of which 91 have been decided in the court of law and are considered ‘inkracht’, or of legally binding status. The only two political parties opposed to the draft law are Partai Keadilan Sejahtera and Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa.
Comments [2]
In the future, maybe 15, 20 or 30 years from now, when all other law enforcement institutions have completed their reforms, perhaps the KPK will not require some of the powers it has now. Instead it will act as a supervisor, a body that is assigned to ensure measures for ending corruption work well
As the KPK frenzy peaks, out rolls Our President with well-scripted sound bites designed to appease. SBY has promised to use "all his authority as President" to ensure that the Corruption Court remains separate from the District Court.
But what exactly does that mean? My guess is that we can expect to see the House slowly buy surely change its mind about the KPK (currently the majority of the House are in favour of stipping the KPK of its right to prosecute). I would not be surprised if by the time the December 19 deadline rolls around the majority of the House share the President's view.
Comments [2]
A hyper-opinionated bule with a deep fondness for Indonesia. Mildly outraged but mostly harmless.
