David Cameron has announced a £326m deal to sell 11 Airbus A330 aircraft to airline Garuda Indonesia.
Arriving in Indonesia on his trade tour of East and South East Asia, the prime minister said the deal was "good
news for the UK aerospace industry".
It would safeguard UK jobs and was "a vote of confidence in Britain's manufacturing base", Mr Cameron
said.
Indonesia's trade with the UK accounts for just 0.07% of its imports. It is the world's largest Muslim democracy.
In an interview with Kompas newspaper, Mr Cameron praised Indonesia as an "inspiring democracy" and said
he wanted to double trade by 2015.
"In its successful transition to democracy, Indonesia represents a powerful example for the world of how political
progress can fuel economic success," he told the paper.
Mr Cameron pledged UK help if required after an earthquake struck off the coast shortly before a press conference
with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
He also announced that he had invited Mr Yudhoyono - who said there appeared to be no threat of a tsunami after
the earthquake - to make a state visit to the UK later this year
Earlier Mr Cameron said the Garuda deal was "testament to the expertise of Airbus's British workforce"
and would protect jobs in Bristol and Broughton.
"I hope it will offer other British companies involved in the £1.5bn supply chain the opportunity to
secure more contracts," he said. The UK has some 10,000 jobs linked to Airbus.
Defence equipment
Speaking after the announcement on the tarmac at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport Mr Cameron said: "I said I wanted
to link Britain up to the fastest growing parts of the world, because we need to trade and export our way out of
our economic difficulties.
"Well, Indonesia is one of those countries. One of the most populated countries in the world, one of the fastest
growing countries in the world. It will be a top 10 economy and these are huge opportunities for British business
and British investment, both in Indonesia and Indonesian investment back into Britain.
"I think we need to recognise that so much of the power in the world is going to be to the South and to the
East and we need to rebuild those relationships. We've got a good standing here because we're one of the largest
investors into Indonesia, but we could be doing far better in terms of our exports and our sales.
"That's why I've packed a plane full of business people to come here to make those links to create those jobs
and investment back at home."
Among those businesses are representatives from defence firms - with Mr Cameron defending their presence, saying
it was right that British defence equipment was available to Indonesia.
The BBC's Indonesia correspondent Karishma Vaswani said that the UK imposed a ban on defence exports to the country
more than a decade ago, following allegations British made equipment was being used against rebels.
But, our correspondent says, Mr Cameron stressed that Indonesia had transformed itself in the last decade to become
one of the world's most important democracies, although human rights groups say Indonesia's military and police
are still guilty of violations that often go unpunished
Mr Cameron was holding talks and delivering a speech in Indonesia before travelling to Malaysia and Singapore.
He is also expected to visit Burma, where he would become the first Western leader to hold talks with Nobel laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi since her election to parliament there.
The prime minister began his trade tour in Japan, where he met Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and lobbied for UK
companies to be given access to the country's defence market.
During his visit, it was announced that Japanese carmaker Nissan would build a new model at its plant in Sunderland.
By Olivia Rondonuwu and Mohammed Abbas
JAKARTA | Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:59am EDT
(Reuters) - Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda (GIAA.JK) signed a deal for 11 Airbus (EAD.PA) passenger jets on
Wednesday during a visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron aimed at boosting trade and investment.
The purchase of the A330 jets, worth about $2.5 billion and powered by UK-supplied Rolls-Royce (RR.L) engines,
reflects the growing consumer demand that is attracting political leaders and financiers to court southeast Asia's
largest economy.
"This deal between Airbus and Garuda Indonesia Airlines is great news for the UK aerospace industry,"
Cameron told reporters after arriving in Jakarta on a 24-hour visit.
"I think we need to recognize that so much power in the world is going to be to the south and to the east
and we need to rebuild those relationships," he added, speaking on the second leg of a tour of Asia.
Cameron, travelling with a business delegation that includes defense firms such as BAE Systems (BAES.L) and
Thales (TCFP.PA), also said he wanted to promote arms deals, marking a departure from British policy under the
previous Labor government.
Labor had stopped arms sales to Indonesia in 1999 after British jets were used to bomb rebels. Britain now describes
Indonesia as "one of the most stable democracies in Asia" and Cameron told local media that Indonesia
had been "transformed" in the last decade.
Cameron's coalition government is trying to boost British manufacturing to reduce reliance on financial services
and to limit exposure to the crisis-hit euro zone by doing more business with fast-growing emerging markets.
Speaking after meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Cameron said both countries had agreed to
boost trade and other ties, including cooperation between their armed forces and defense industries.
He also offered British aid, should it be required, after a powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake and strong aftershocks
struck off Indonesia's coast during the two leaders' meeting. There were no immediate reports of casualties or
damage.
INDONESIA AVIATION EXPANDING
The new Airbus jets will increase by two-thirds the number of long-haul A330s already delivered to Garuda or on
order from the airline. Its main domestic rival Lion Air in February signed a record $22 billion deal for planes
from Boeing Co (BA.N). That deal was first announced during a visit to Jakarta by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Leaders from China and France also visited last year together with large delegations of executives sniffing for
investment opportunities, especially to overhaul Indonesia's dilapidated infrastructure.
Indonesia is seeing a rapidly expanding aviation sector as a growing middle class, and business executives, opt
to travel by air across the archipelago of 17,000 islands. Many islands lack good roads or railways, while ship
connections are sporadic and slow, and deadly transport accidents are common.
Many airlines use ageing propeller planes to navigate remote and mountainous eastern provinces such as Papua, where
a Garuda plane skidded off the runway on Wednesday. Garuda was removed from a European Union blacklist on Indonesian
carriers in 2009.
Garuda's CEO Emirsyah Satar said he planned to use the new Airbus planes to expand in Asia-Pacific, including to
China, South Korea and Australia.
Southeast Asian carriers have ordered $47 billion worth of aircraft for the coming decade.
(Writing by Neil Chatterjee; Editing by Michael Perry)
Posted on February 18 2012 by Alfred Oehlers / The Diplomat (Tokyo)/ Ferdinand Pandey
Against a backdrop of continuing violence and instability, the United States must be prepared
to take a stronger stand on Papua. Rising tensions there risk complicating critically significant U.S.-Indonesia
relations, unnecessarily distracting from the strategically important “rebalancing” towards the Asia-Pacific recently
announced by the Obama administration.
By any measure, Indonesia looms large in U.S. foreign policy. Its status as a “Comprehensive Partner” speaks
to the country’s political, economic and strategic significance. Moreover, as an influential player in multilateral
forums both regionally and internationally, a strong relationship with Indonesia is invaluable in wider U.S. efforts
at engagement in the Asia-Pacific – spanning diplomatic, trade and economic matters, through to security concerns
such as extremism and
maritime issues.
In the context of the recent strategic rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific, this significance will only increase
in coming years, as the United States seeks to leverage existing relationships with Asian allies and partners.
Keeping a healthy bilateral relationship on track will be one crucial element – among many – assisting this delicate
maneuver.
While certainly positive at the moment, the U.S.-Indonesia relationship is by no means immune from setbacks. In
this respect, it may be instructive to recall the warming of ties between the two nations post-Suharto. Much was
built and anticipated on the back of this, only to be derailed by a serious miscalculation by Jakarta in Timor-Leste.
Recovery from this took some time and effort, and even now in Jakarta, incredulity and resentment continue to
be harbored in some quarters at how the U.S. so readily jeopardized an important bilateral relationship for the
sake of some insignificant (for Jakarta), far-flung province. Yet, that was so. And to the extent the values underpinning
that response continue to endure – on Capitol Hill and among the American public – a response of the same measure
will likely be forthcoming again should circumstances warrant.
If that’s the case, may we currently be seeing history repeating itself in Papua? Recent developments portend a
disturbing likelihood. Jakarta’s alleged deafness to Papuan concerns, escalating protests, frequent tit-for-tat
shootings by shadowy figures, and heavy-handed responses from Indonesian security forces and officials, have all
contributed to a state of semi-chaos and inflamed tensions.
In such a confused environment, a small incident may quickly spiral out of control, drawing the kind of vicious
crackdown security forces in Papua have become notorious for. Graphic images – beamed worldwide – of security forces
indiscriminately shooting into crowds of unarmed civilians may be too difficult to countenance in the U.S., irrespective
of the status or significance of bilateral relations. The resulting backlash against Indonesia would invariably
damage the bilateral relationship, and even if only temporarily, potentially compromise its usefulness to broader
U.S. strategic goals.
Nor should the likely regional and sub-regional repercussions be ignored by U.S. policymakers. Take the Pacific
neighborhood as a case in point. Lately, Indonesia has been actively cultivating relations with the Melanesian
nationsVanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. According to some, though likely motivated by
honorable intentions, such moves may also be attempts to undermine the strength of the Melanesian bonds between
these nations and the separatist National Coalition for the Liberation of West Papua (formerly, the Organisasi
Papua Merdeka or OPM).
On the basis of a shared ethnicity, culture, and kinship, these nations have historically expressed strong solidarity
with the Papuan struggle, affording varying levels of recognition to the separatist movement. Indonesian entreaties
in recent years, however, have steadily eroded this. In April 2011, the Melanesian Spearhead Group – the regional
association of the nations mentioned – voted to extend observer status to Indonesia, ignoring the appeals of Papuans
for similar recognition made ever since the inception of the body. At a bilateral level, Vanuatu – once a staunch
supporter of the separatist cause – signed a Development Cooperation Agreement with Indonesia in December 2011
with clauses explicitly recognizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia and the principle of
non-interference in Indonesian affairs.
It’s uncertain how these Melanesian nations will react to a worsening Papuan situation, bearing in mind surveys
of popular opinion still show much sympathy for the Papuan cause. In Vanuatu, the opposition has already tapped
into this vein of potential political support, promising a repudiation of the Agreement signed in December should
it return to office. May an escalation in tensions in Papua prove to be a catalyst for more political instability
in Melanesia and elsewhere in the Pacific? And what of the implications for Pacific regionalism, now characterized
by some observers to be in a parlous state? In a geographical neighborhood already with more than its fair share
of governance, developmental and security challenges, additional complications of this nature won’t be welcome
by many. Nor should it be by the United States, consumed as it is, attempting a critical strategic shift.
Make no mistake: in the broader overall rebalancing, Asian friends like Indonesia will be critically significant.
What they will bring to bear assisting the U.S. will be all the greater provided they may speak with credibility,
legitimacy, and a moral authority.
For Indonesia, the satisfactory resolution of the Papua issue will burnish its credentials significantly in this
regard. The U.S. should do far more to encourage such an outcome.
Alfred Oehlers is a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. The views expressed
in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of APCSS, the U.S. Pacific
Command, the U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
This post was submitted by Alfred Oehlers / The Diplomat (Tokyo)/ Ferdinand Pandey.
Indonesia should have scrapped its fuel subsidies years ago because using government funds for private purchases
creates “lying prices” that distort decision-making, a visiting US economist said on Tuesday.
Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, said that by maintaining the subsidy,
Indonesia put its economic stability at risk and weakened its ability to replicate its success in shrugging off
the 2008 financial crisis.
But by missing a chance to cut subsidies during a time of low oil prices several years ago, the government risks
causing a market shock if it proceeds with the plan now, Hanke told a Globe Asia breakfast meeting.
“The timing is off. The government should have removed the subsidy years ago,” he said.
He supported an end to state fuel subsidies but said Indonesia should have removed the subsidy in 2009, when the
oil price was at around $35 per barrel. Oil is now over $105 per barrel.
“If the government did it then, the shocks would be limited and growth today would be better [than it is]. Now
that the market price is high, the impact will be greater,” said Hanke, who is a contributing editor to Globe Asia
magazine.
He said the government should wait for the oil price to drop as new supplies from Canada become available.
“In the short to medium term, the oil price will continue to rise, driven by the tensions in the Gulf,” he said,
referring to fears of conflict with Iran.
Hanke said he had doubts the government would proceed with the price increase on Sunday as it had done a poor job
in negotiating with opposition parties.
The government and lawmakers reached an agreement on Monday to set aside Rp 137 trillion ($14.9 billion) to fund
fuel subsidies. That would allow the government to increase the Rp 4,500 Premium fuel price by Rp 1,500. But the
government and lawmakers are still negotiating on final approval for the increase.
Hanke said removing subsidies was important for Indonesia as it would help the government maintain its economic
stability and fiscal policy, something that helped it cope with the 2008 economic crisis.
“The key to Indonesia is a stable rupiah and tight fiscal management,” he said. “Indonesia’s recovery from the
2008 crisis has been very fast thanks to its prudent fiscal policy.”
Hanke said that the money saved from reducing the subsidy should be channeled to improve infrastructure.
“The cost of doing business in Indonesia is higher than it should be because of the lack of infrastructure, both
hard and soft. Indonesia can grow by 7 to 8 percent if it can improve infrastructure,” he said.
Jakarta. 11 February 2012
Marine brotherhood: Indonesian Navy Marine Corps commandant Maj. Gen. Alfan Baharudin (left)
salutes US Marine Corps Forces Pacific commander Lt. Gen. Duane D. Thissen
during a visit at the 2nd Infantry Brigade headquarters in Cilandak, South Jakarta, on Friday.
Thissen’s visit was aimed at enhancing defense cooperation and
increasing the professionalism of marines from both countries. (
Chairs imported from Germany worth Rp23 million each?
are one budget line item among many that
have riled critics recently as lawmakers have made
purchases of questionable public value.
Antara Photo/Andika Wahyu
Two images that emerged over the past few weeks help explain the depth of public outrage directed at the government
over its perceived excessive and misdirected spending.
On one hand, there were the photos of the dilapidated suspension bridge in Lebak, Banten, being used by elementary
school students. Only after it caught international attention did the local government allocate Rp 1 billion ($112,000)
to build a new one.
On the other hand, there was the meeting room of the House of Representatives Budget Committee — now at the center
of several graft allegations — renovated for a staggering Rp 20 billion.
Arwani Thomafi, a member of the House’s Household Affairs Committee (BURT), argues that the two shouldn’t be compared
because the bridge was dilapidated not due to government neglect, but because of a natural disaster.
But he acknowledged that lawmakers had to pay more attention to the budget proposals from the House secretary general.
“We should only prioritize projects that we urgently need. We, including House speakers, have to learn to be more
selective,” he said, adding that lawmakers should also be more sensitive toward the concerns of their constituents.
Insensitive, excessive
Still, some critics say the issue is not a question of priorities. Instead, they say displayed sheer excessiveness.
Eva Kusuma Sundari, a lawmaker from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said she was
not surprised that her colleagues sought such lavish treatment.
“People elected celebrities and businesspeople as their representatives. Of course, you can’t expect them to pretend
to be beggars,” Eva said sarcastically.
A breakdown of the House’s 2012 budget acquired by the Jakarta Globe shows that aside from
the Rp 20.3 billion room renovation, it also allocated Rp 1.6 billion for air freshener and Rp 879.8 million for
a filing cabinet for the House secretary general.
Prominent architect Bambang Eryudhawan chuckled when he heard the numbers.
“It certainly must stink at the House of Representatives building if they need that much air freshener,” he said.
The architect also questioned the type of filing cabinet purchased, as he speculated that the allocation could
buy a fire-proof one big enough to fill a 150-square-meter room, complete with a sophisticated archiving system.
At Rp 20.3 billion, the total renovation cost for the Budget Committee meeting room comes out to about Rp 203 million
per square meter, which Bambang says is almost 20 times the cost of renovating a five-star hotel suite.
“The renovation cost for a five-star area is usually pegged at about Rp 10 million per square meter, furnishing
included,” Bambang said.
The chairs alone for the Budget Committee room were reportedly imported from Germany at Rp 23 million apiece —
they ordered 85 — almost half the cost of the US presidential chair at the White House in Washington.
“I think it’s a matter of perspective. People see lawmakers as public servants, but lawmakers see themselves as
kings,” Bambang said.
Photo - Indonesia Digest
Beyond DPR
The tendency to spend lavishly seems to be a problem not just for the national legislature.
The Jakarta City Councilhas also confirmed
that its 2012 budget includes Rp 180 billion allocated to renovate its own offices.
As much as Rp 80 billion of this is allotted to repair the outer walls and install marble surfaces on some interior
walls. The remaining Rp 100 billion will be used to build a bridge linking the building to a neighboring one.
The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) has also criticized renovation projects at the Presidential
Palace.
Uchok Sky Khadafi, the coordinator for Fitra, said that the allotment for the palace this year soared to Rp 80.5
billion, almost 10 times what it was in 2011, with funds for presidential building improvement accounting for Rp
10.7 billion.
Photo - Indonesia Digest
In addition, no less than Rp 58.6 billion was set aside for new construction or expansion of the
State Secretariat’s office, housing and other structures. This includes
Rp 349 million to repair the office complex gate and Rp 12.3 billion for the office’s parking lot. The State Secretariat,
though, denied this. The parking lot construction was not Rp 12.3 billion, said the spokesman for the office, Sugiri,
but only Rp 10.6 billion.
“This is an amount proposed by [private] consultant Cipta Karya and contractor Adhicon Persada. It already includes
the consulting service fees,” he said. He added that the amount also includes the construction of a mosque, cooperative
building, and a 3,270-square-meter park above the basement area.
“The parking lot is going to be built in the basement, that’s why it’s more expensive. It is going to have two
levels and can accommodate 1,000 vehicles,” Sugiri said, adding that the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) was best suited
to judge the merits of the budget.
Bambang said the recent spending news was a common problem with state projects: those involved don’t consider cost
efficiencies, “as if this country will never go bankrupt,” he said.
He also pointed out that a quantity surveyor, whose job it was to check available market prices and options to
get the lowest prices, was often missing in state-funded projects.
Photo - Indonesia Digest
A waste of money?
Worsening the situation is a public perception that lawmakers — heavily criticized for a variety of other things
ranging from laziness to blatant corruption — deserve none of these nice things.
For instance, listed in the 2012 budget is Rp 544 billion for meetings and discussions.
“This is a total waste of money,” said Uchok, whose organization revealed other controversial House expenses like
the printing of about 18,000 calendars for Rp 1.3 billion.
“The budget for such meetings has swollen since these lawmakers prefer to hold their meetings outside, such as
in hotels, instead of using available meeting rooms.”
This, again, raises the question of why a House meeting room was renovated at a cost several times higher than
a five-star hotel.
“Looking at the level of productivity of the House, I think they only deserve three-star, at most,” Bambang joked.
House Speaker Marzuki Alie has said he is “concerned” about the situation.
“There has to be more conscientiousness [on the part of the government and lawmakers] in line with the president’s
directives to reduce unnecessary expenses,” he said. “We need to [focus on] building our infrastructure to accelerate
economic development.”
But as Bambang pointed out, the House still went on with its lavish spending ways despite public outcry over a
proposal for a new legislative building that was ultimately canned.
“It’s like they think that we, the public, are stupid. They really have some nerve, or they’re just absurd,” Bambang
added.
Eva said she hoped the public would learn from the recent spending spree.
“We have to start demanding an electoral system that is guaranteed to filter people with the right capability,
capacity and integrity,”
Eva said. “Voters have to be educated, to increase public pressure toward the lawmakers to work more seriously.”
Additional reporting by Arientha Primanita
Blackberry Promotion Stampede in Jakarta
25 November 2011
Blackberry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has said it will co-operate with Indonesian authorities after a product
launch turned chaotic, injuring dozens.
The Associated Press is reporting that RIM's country head for Indonesia is being treated as a suspect.
The stampede on 25 November occurred after RIM promised the new device at half price for the first 1,000 customers.
Indonesia is one of the fastest growing markets for Blackberry phones.
Reuters news agency quoted police investigators saying that Andrew Cobham, RIM's Indonesia CEO could be charged
with negligence.
Mr Cobham, a Canadian, has not been detained but is banned from travelling, according to Reuters.
Associated Press said Mr Cobham was among four suspects who could face charges of negligence leading to injury.
The maximum penalty for the crime is nine months in prison.
Thousands turned up for the promotional event for the Blackberry Bold 9790, some queueing from before midnight.
Several were injured when the crowd turned unruly.
"We sincerely regret that many loyal customers experienced frustration and upset, and that some individuals
suffered injuries," RIM said in a statement seen by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The company said it would launch its own investigation. There was no mention of allegations against Mr Cobham.
Indonesia has become one of the key markets for RIM, where Blackberry phones are more popular than other smartphones.
Excitement over discounts on RIM’s BlackBerry Bellagio (aka Bold 9790) boiled over at a mall in Jakarta yesterday,
with as many as 90 people needing treatment for minor injuries sustained in the resulting chaos.
According to a report from the Jakarta Globe, a crowd "well in excess of a thousand people"
converged on Pacific Place mall in South Jakarta in order to snap up steep 50 percent discounts on the newly launched
device (the Bellagio ordinarily retails for Rp 4.6 million there – about $520). What originally began as an orderly
queue-up-and-get-a-bracelet affair turned to pandemonium when rumors began to spread that there wouldn’t be enough
phones to satisfy the growing throng. The crowd eventually spilled over the protective barrier, requiring the dispatch
of 200 police and security guards in order to restore order. At least three people were sent to the hospital to
get treatment for broken bones.
While the prospect of a Bold 9790-induced riot may be hard for many of our readers to fathom, the brand enjoys
enormous popularity in Indonesia, where four of the five top-selling cellphones by value are BlackBerrys. Those
who remain dubious are recommended to check below for video from the scene.
Thousands of Indonesians thronged the upmarket Pacific Place mall in central Jakarta on Friday waiting for the
chance to buy the new Blackberry Bold 9790 smartphone – at its global debut.
By lunchtime, in scenes resembling a rock concert, several women fainted in the crush and five ambulances were
parked outside. Traffic snarled on the city’s main thoroughfare, Sudirman. Police, fearing a riot, used a megaphone
to announce the sale was over.
It was a masterful marketing campaign by Research In Motion (RIM:TOR), Blackberry’s Canadian manufacturer, in a
big market where it has had numerous run-ins with authorities.
It is unclear how many people managed to purchase the discounted handset. The first 1,000 buyers were to pay 2.3m
rupiah ($250), instead of the 4.9m rupiah ($540) list price.
The scene in Jakarta showed how Blackberry has managed to remain market king in Indonesia despite fierce competition.
With six million users, Indonesia is RIM’s largest market outside North America. Apple, for example, has sold just
180,000 Iphones in the country of 240m.
The largest share of phone sales this year, nearly 60 per cent, run Google’s Android operating system, Indonesia’s
leading telecommunications publication, Cellular Magazine, said. Android sales jumped from an average of 90,000
per month in the first quarter of the year to 150,000 per month by September, it said.
“The feature that really still creates the hype around Blackberry is the free, messenger service, BBM,” the magazine
said. “The Blackberry market is saturated in the big cities, but is still doing well in the regions.”
RIM’s arguments with Jakarta included a dispute last year in which it was forced to bow to demands to open a data
centre to enable authorities to screen messages for security purposes, filter out pornographic content and to open
dozens of service centres. Rivals weren’t asked to follow suit.
But, if Friday’s launch is any indicator, RIM need not worry about regulatory issues and rough government relations.
With Indonesians willing to risk their lives for a Blackberry, market forces are clearly on their side.
Research In Motion Ltd. said Monday that it is cooperating with Indonesian authorities investigating a Nov. 25
BlackBerry promotion that turned violent at a Jakarta mall.
RIM unveiled its Bold 9790 exclusively in Indonesia, a nod to that country's importance for its global sales. While
RIM's market share in North America has fallen sharply amid competition from the likes of Apple Inc. and others,
BlackBerrys are extremely popular in many overseas markets, particularly Indonesia.
The probe now threatens to turn that popularity into a reputational black eye, at a time when RIM executives are
under pressure on several other fronts. RIM's share price is down more than 70% this year after a series of profit
warnings, a disappointing foray into the tablet market and a three-day network outage in October.
Leading up to the Jakarta event, RIM said the new device would be launched at half price for the first 1,000 people
who showed up at a ritzy Jakarta mall. The event turned unruly and violent and resulted in several injuries.
The company made its statement after the Associated Press and other news outlets reported earlier Monday that RIM's
outgoing country director for Indonesia, Andrew Cobham, was a suspect in the incident. The AP reported that Indonesian
police said he and others could face charges of negligence leading to injury in connection with the incident.
RIM on Monday didn't immediately comment on any allegations against Mr. Cobham or any other RIM executive involved
in the incident. Mr. Cobham wasn't immediately available to comment.
"We sincerely regret that many loyal customers experienced frustration and upset, and that some individuals
suffered injuries," RIM said in its statement. It said that it's undertaking its own investigation.
U.S. President Barack Obama (C), flanked by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
poses with other East Asia Summit leaders before a gala dinner in Bali November 18, 2011.
Photo:Reuters
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Kyodo) -- Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South
Korea agreed Friday to increase cooperation in trade liberalization, disaster prevention and food security.
In the so-called ASEAN-plus-three summit in Bali, Indonesia, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Japan
hopes to see an early launch of working groups as a way of promoting trade liberalization in the 13-nation grouping
and the ASEAN-plus-six framework involving the 13 plus Australia, India and New Zealand, according to a Japanese
official.
The ASEAN-plus-three leaders welcomed the signing in October of an agreement on the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency
Rice Reserve in a move to better cope with food shortage and price increases in the event of major natural disaster
in the region, the official said.
Noda called for an early effectuation of the accord.
With the accord, the region will for the first time have a permanent mechanism for an emergency rice reserve and
stock based on cooperation among the 13 countries.
Initially, the countries will provide a rice stock of 787,000 tons to address sudden instabilities in supply and
production caused by natural disasters.
The 13 leaders also agreed to strengthen regional financial cooperation to fend off adverse effects from the European
debt crisis, the official said.
In this context, the leaders welcomed the operationalization since May of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office,
a regional economic research and surveillance body aimed at preventing financial turmoil.
In the summit, Noda said North Korea's suspected nuclear proliferation activities represent a "destabilizing
factor" for the region and the international community.
He called for countries to strictly abide by the ban of exports of nuclear-related technology to other countries
in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Noda urged North Korea to take concrete action toward its denuclearization, such as an immediate halt of its nuclear
enrichment program.
At the same time, the Japanese leader expressed appreciation for China's efforts to restart the six-party talks
on the North's nuclear ambitions, which have been stalled since late 2008.
China chairs the denuclearization talks, which also involve the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States.
The ASEAN-plus-three summit came on the eve of the broader East Asia Summit on Saturday, in which the United States
and Russia will participate for the first time.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
Noda's remarks after Japan-ASEAN, ASEAN-plus-3 summits
The following are Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's remarks to reporters after Friday's meetings of leaders
of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as leaders of ASEAN plus Japan, China and South
Korea, in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
Reporter: "After the talks with ASEAN leaders, do you think you were able to make them feel closer to Japan?"
Noda: "We must strengthen our friendly ties given that ASEAN is a very important partner for Japan in terms
of politics and economy. First we had a Japan-ASEAN summit. In it, we talked about how to enhance the connectivity
of main roads in the region and discussed disaster management cooperation because both of us often encounter natural
disasters. Those were very meaningful exchanges of opinions and we came up with the Bali declaration. We also issued
a plan of action. It was a very meaningful meeting.
"Then we held ASEAN-plus-three talks which included Japan, China and South Korea, where we had good discussions
on various issues, like efforts to liberalize trade and investment rules (in the future) by stepping up economic
cooperation.
"I also met with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and we talked about Japan's flood-relief support,
as well as joint efforts for disaster-prevention cooperation again on this occasion. I received an encouraging
remark that Thailand will make the best possible effort to help Japanese companies operate steadily in the country.
I think those were a series of meetings that made me feel they have high expectations for Japan.
Main points of Japan gov't briefing on ASEAN-plus 3 summit
The following are the main points of a briefing given by a Japanese Foreign Ministry official on the meeting Friday
of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South Korea, in Nusa Dua on the
Indonesian resort island of Bali.
-- The 10-member ASEAN plus the three Asian countries agreed to enhance regional cooperation in a range of areas,
including disaster preparedness, food security, economic integration, higher education, tourism and transnational
crimes.
-- The ASEAN plus the Asian countries agreed to boost cooperation as their multilateral framework will mark the
15th anniversary next year.
-- During the meeting, which lasted about 80 minutes, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed hope for
the early entry into force of an accord signed by the 13 countries last month for an emergency rice reserve and
stock.
-- Noda said Japan wants to share lessons learned on disaster preparedness following the March earthquake and tsunami
with the 12 other countries.
-- Noda said he wants to accelerate the consideration of ways to realize the liberalization of trade and investment
in East Asia.
-- To that end, Noda expressed hope that three working groups will be launched at an early date. Launch of the
working groups was proposed by Japan and China. One group would focus on trade in goods, a second on trade in services,
and the third on cross-border investments.
-- Noda welcomed Indonesia's initiative to promote tourism in the region and its preparation for the signing of
a memorandum of understanding for that purpose in January 2012.
-- Noda referred to North Korean nuclear issues. The premier welcomed the recent developments, such as the dialogue
between the two Koreas and the dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, as well as China's efforts. But he said
North Korea has yet to implement concrete actions to give up its nuclear ambitions.
-- Noda said North Korea's suspected nuclear proliferation activities represent a destabilizing factor for the
region and the international community.
-- Noda said it is important to abide by the ban on exporting nuclear-related technology in line with U.N. Security
Council resolutions.
-- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao did not say anything about North Korea. No leaders expressed opposition to Noda's
remarks on North Korea.
-- Many leaders voiced concerns about the European economic crisis and its impact on the Asian economy.
President Barack Obama with East Asia Summit leaders
in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 18, 2011.
U.S. President Barack Obama has held talks with Asian leaders attending the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Obama's purpose on this Asia-Pacific trip has been to signal that the U.S. is "here to stay" as a Pacific
power, intent on strengthening its political, economic and strategic engagement with the region.
But the U.S. is also encouraging the steadily increasing economic and security stake that India, the world's largest
democracy, has in the Pacific. Thus the first bilateral meeting on Obama's schedule was with Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.
Obama said both nations see the East Asia Summit as "the premier arena" to work together on issues ranging
from maritime security and nonproliferation to expanded cooperation on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.
Prime Minister Singh gave a diplomatically upbeat assessment of relations. He also said India’s parliament will
soon consider liability laws to address the concerns of America nuclear power companies, which have held up the
implementation of the two countries’ civilian nuclear deal.
“Therefore we have gone some ways to respond to the concerns of the American companies," said Singh. "And
within the four concerns of the law of the land, we are willing to address any specific grievance."
Obama also met with the leaders of the Philippines and Malaysia, and later with host nation Indonesia, before joining
the U.S.-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting and an East Asia Summit dinner.
Major announcements
Before any of the day's carefully-staged diplomatic events, President Obama was able to point to a major $22 billion
deal involving the sale of more than 200 Boeing Company passenger jets to Indonesia's largest domestic carrier
Lion Air. The deal would support some 110,000 jobs in the United States.
But the big story Friday was the president's announcement of a major new diplomatic outreach to Burma, dominated
for decades by the military but moving in recent months toward political reform.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Burma next month to "explore" possibilities for improving
relations. With Clinton by his side, he called it an opportunity for Burma's government to demonstrate it is serious
about reform.
"We remain concerned about Burma's closed political system, its treatment of minorities, and holding of political
prisoners and its relationship with North Korea," said Obama. "But we want to seize what could be a historic
opportunity for progress and make it clear that if Burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform
it can forge a new relationship with the United States of America."
Obama said he would deliver the same messages to Burma's President Thein Sein during Friday's U.S-ASEAN meeting.
ASEAN leaders have approved Burma to head the 10-member organization in 2014.
Senior White House officials said Secretary Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Burma on December 1 and spend two
days meeting with government and civil society leaders, and with Aung San Suu Kyi.
The president said he had his first conversation with Burmese opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi, while he was flying to Bali from Australia, saying they reviewed progress in Burma.
Obama said Burma's government has taken positive steps to open the political process, loosen media restrictions
and release some political prisoners. He said Aung San Suu Kyi supported U.S. engagement aimed at moving the reform
process forward.
President Obama came to Bali after a visit to Australia during which the countries announced a major enhancement
of their 60 year security alliance and a plan to substantially increase U.S. military access to Australian bases.
That agreement, which brought a cool reaction from China, along with regional concerns about China's security assertiveness
and tensions over rival claims to the South China Sea, form the backdrop for this East Asia Summit.
Arientha Primanita & Markus Junianto Sihaloho
November 09, 2011
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday presented posthumous heroism titles to seven Indonesians for their
dedication and service to the nation.
Conspicuously absent from the list, however, were two late presidents: Suharto and Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid.
A presidential decree awarded the heroism titles to Syafruddin Prawiranegara, a former acting president under the
emergency government from 1948 to 1949; and Idham Chalid, a former long-time chairman of the country’s largest
Islamic organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama.
Also honored were Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, a Muslim cleric better known as Buya Hamka; Ki Sarmidi Mangunsarkoro,
considered a pioneer in education in Java; and I Gusti Ketut Puja, the first governor of Bali.
The other recipients were Sunan Pakubuwono X, former head of the Solo Royal House and a key figure in Indonesia’s
independence struggle; and Ignatius Joseph Kasimo Hendrowahyono, a Catholic politician.
The title deeds were given to their families in a ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta, with all members of
the cabinet present.
Sultan Sulaiman Syariful Alamsyah of the Serdang kingdom in North Sumatra, who died in 1946, was awarded a Bintang
Mahaputra Adi Pradana award, the same award presented to Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie in August.
Ten late humanitarians and artists received special honors, including Benyamin Sueb, a comedic actor who best represented
the Betawi culture of Jakarta; Javanese culture expert Go Tik Swan; Hindu Ashram leader Gedong Bagus Oka; and dancer
and choreographer Huriah Adam.
Priyo Budi Santoso, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, welcomed the list of recipients but regretted
that the government did not have the courage to include former presidents Suharto and Gus Dur for the title.
Suharto, although recognized for developing the nation and raising its prosperity, has also been vilified for his
three decades of iron-fisted rule, which was riddled with corruption and human rights violations.
Djoko Suyanto, who heads the National Title Council, said no one had ever nominated Suharto or Gus Dur for the
national heroism titles.
Gus Dur, who promoted many pro-democratic reforms during his rule, was later unseated by the legislature, with
which he had bad ties.
“With figures as extraordinary as Bung Karno [President Sukarno], [Mohammad] Hatta and [General] Soedirman, if
we really look for their mistakes, there will certainly be some,” Priyo said. “I am of the view that one day, at
its own time, Suharto and Gus Dur will certainly obtain the national hero title.”
Gus Dur’s daughter Zanuba Arifah Chafsoh, better known as Yenny, said the East Java provincial government had proposed
Gus Dur for a national heroism title in 2010.
“Therefore it is strange if there are people saying that there has been no such proposal,” she said.
Yenny’s statement was echoed by Marwan Jafar, head of the House faction of the National Awakening Party (PKB),
which was co-founded by Gus Dur.
“We proposed it together and held a press conference with the minister there, which was covered by various media.
How can they say there has never been a proposal?” Marwan said.
Under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia has emerged as a success story in many ways. It has waged
a resilient campaign against terrorism, achieved the third-highest economic growth rate among G-20 countries and
demonstrated dynamic leadership within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Moreover, this political
and economic stability has been achieved in a context of deepening democratic consolidation, after a period of
suppression of political rights and civil liberties during the Suharto era.
But Yudhoyono's tenure has also seen the rise of radical Islam, which some view as the greatest threat to Indonesian
democracy. Groups such as the Hizbut-Tahrir Indonesia and the Islamic Defenders Front have used strict and exclusive
religious interpretations to justify the implementation of Shariah law and the infringement of the rights of religious
minorities. These efforts undermine the spirit of moderation, tolerance and plurality of Islam that are embodied
by Indonesia and enshrined in the country's founding Pancasila principles of unity and democracy. Experts are beginning
to wonder aloud whether the world's largest Muslim-majority nation and third-largest democracy could see its reputation
for religious tolerance and freedom tarnished by this vocal and increasingly violent radical Islamic fringe. ...
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announce a new cabinet on Tuesday, making some changes for his
political gain while replacing under-performers or scandal-hit ministers with allies in an effort to shore up support.
The new appointments are:
Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin
State Administrative Reform Minister Azwar Abubakar
State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman
Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik
Tourism and Creative Economics Mari Elka Pangestu
State Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan
Transportation Minister EE Mangindaan
Minister of Research and Technology Gusti Muhammad Hatta
Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Syarif Cicip Sutardjo
Housing Minister Djan Farids
Environment Minister Berth Kambuaya
The changes are not expected to shift Yudhoyono’s priorities of boosting growth and jobs, helping the poor and
preserving the environment, while conflict will remain between ministers who are pro-investment and those who favor
subsidies and domestic protectionism.
Yudhoyono pledged to lift economic growth and stamp out graft after a landslide second election victory in 2009,
but his administration has been plagued by corruption scandals and slow policy-making, with parliament passing
few bills in 2011.
Nevertheless, investors have poured into Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in the past two years.
Indonesia has weathered the global financial crises to post growth of more than six percent this year, though many
reforms have been postponed.
“Most will see the drip-fed reshuffle for what it is -- change made to achieve certain internal political aims
rather than anything more ambitious. Few would expect more, and the market impact will be limited,” said James
Bryson, director of Jakarta-based fund management firm PT HB Capital Indonesia.
The most significant change would appear to be the removal of the internationally respected Mari Pangestu as minister
of trade after clashes with the agriculture and fisheries ministers over imports hurting domestic industries.
Under Pangestu’s seven-year tenure, the country’s exports have posted strong growth, but imports have also boomed
this year and she came under fire for trade pact between Southeast Asia’s 10-member Asean group and China that
led to a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
Pangestu is the tourism minister.
“Public acceptance is key for Yudhoyono. It is a concern for Yudhoyono if a minister has created controversy that
left a bad image for the person and for the cabinet,” said Kuskridho Ambardi, executive director of polling agency
Indonesia Survey Institute, referring to Pangestu’s removal as trade minister.
Her replacement, Gita Wirjawan, is likely to maintain a pro-trade liberalization stance.
Wirjawan, the country’s investment chief and a former banker, has been rewarded for bringing investors in to the
G20 member though analysts say he and others will have their work cut out making a difference in the cabinet’s
remaining three years.
Wirjawan announced his appointment on Monday.
Many analysts see the cabinet reshuffle as a largely cosmetic gesture.
Yudhoyono retained Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo who has won praise for safely steering the economy and bringing
in policies such as tax incentives for direct investors and a bond stabilization fund.
Political sources say the central bank fought to keep him, after Martowardojo came under fire this year from lawmakers
from the Golkar Party, the country’s largest and part of the ruling coalition, over his handling of a government
purchase of a stake in a Newmont Corp copper mine, which had led to speculation he could face the axe.
Instead, sources say Golkar’s deputy chairman, Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, may get the nod to become fisheries minister.
Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, from Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party, said on Tuesday he has been offered the job of energy
minister.
The incumbent, Darwin Saleh, has failed to help the former OPEC member achieve government targets for oil production
in recent years.
Analysts say Wacik would likely maintain a pro-foreign investment stance, though investors still face policy flip-flops,
red tape and rampant corruption in the resource sector.
He is also likely to favour maintaining fuel subsidies to keep voters happy in the world’s fourth most populous
country.
Subsidies are seen as a drag on the budget by ratings agencies, who policymakers are trying to impress to win an
investment grade sovereign rating in the next year that would cut government borrowing costs and spur greater investment.
Yudhoyono, seeing falling popularity in recent polls, has avoided cutting fuel subsidies this year as planned.
Since the president cannot stand again in an election due in 2014, and has no obvious successor, analysts said
the reshuffle looked like a move to shore up his Democrat Party’s support base and keep opponents at bay.
“This is about Yudhoyono’s reputation. Yudhoyono is the key factor for the Democrat Party’s popularity, and his
reputation and his performance until 2014 is important to determine his political prize -- not to be re-elected
as president, but to endorse his successor,” Ambardi said.
Other appointments in the 34-member cabinet are likely to be determined by incumbents’ failure to meet targets
or by being tainted by hints of impropriety. Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar may be switched, after anti-graft
officials recently found thousands of dollars stuffed in a fruit box at his ministry, allegedly kickbacks for a
migrant worker settlement project.
Indonesia’s president appointed a new trade minister and state enterprises minister on Monday, in what analysts
said was a cosmetic gesture to improve the waning popularity of the government.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who pledged to clean up one of Asia’s most graft-ridden country’s after being
re-elected in 2009, has seen his popularity fall in opinion polls in recent months after a series of corruption
scandals.
Yudhoyono appointed the nation’s investment chief Gita Wirjawan as the new trade minister, replacing Mari Pangestu,
Wirjawan told a news conference at the State Palace in Jakarta.
The president also appointed Dahlan Iskan, CEO of state utility firm PLN, as the new state-owned enterprises minister,
Iskan told reporters.
He replaced Mustafa Abubakar, who was expected to be moved out of the cabinet after suffering a heart attack in
August.
Both Wirjawan and Iskan have good reputations as reform-minded professionals and are not closely tied to political
parties.
The housing and law ministers were also switched, and Yudhoyono was expected to announce further appointments
this week.
He recently flagged a cabinet reshuffle that he has said was needed to improve government performance.
Manpower Minister Muhamin Iskandar was among other ministers expected to be switched.
Thousands of dollars were recently found stuffed in a fruit box at his ministry, allegedly kickbacks for a migrant
worker settlement project.
“I don’t think the reshuffle is aimed at improving government performance. This is more to address political pressures
to the president, and to raise popularity,” said Arbi Sanit, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia.
“He’s just playing a cat and mouse-like game with political parties and the public.”
While former trade minister Pangestu is respected in international forums such as the G20 and WTO, she has often
clashed with other ministers who want to protect domestic interests, and analysts said this led Yudhoyono to remove
her as the clashes could damage the government’s image.
It was unclear if 54-year-old Pangestu would take a new post in the cabinet.
Former investment banker Wirjawan, who lacks trade experience but has helped drive a boom in foreign direct investment
in the past two years, needs to hit the ground running as he will only have three years in the post, analysts said.
“The government is due to change in three years. In the first six months to one year, new ministers will have to
learn ... Room for improvement is limited as time is limited,” said Fauzi Ichsan, an economist at Standard Chartered
in Jakarta.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy has held up well amid a slowing global economy in recent months, though the government
has not passed planned reforms such as a land bill to improve poor infrastructure that investors were hoping for
this year.
Over the weekend, Yudhoyono appointed 13 new deputy ministers, all professionals from outside political parties,
media reported.
Analysts said this was to keep ministerial posts in the hands of his coalition’s parties, which include the Golkar
Party and Islamic party Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
With Yudhoyono unable to run again in presidential elections expected for 2014, and no obvious successor, parties
and their potential presidential candidates are jostling for influence.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday summoned six figures who he will likely appoint to key government
positions in the ongoing Cabinet reshuffle, the results of which are due to be officially announced on Tuesday
evening.
The six were:
1. Gita Wirjawan, to become trade minister replacing Mari Elka Pangestu.
Gita is currently the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chief.
2. Amir Syamsuddin, to become the law and human rights minister, replacing Patrialis Akbar.
Amir is currently the secretary of the Democratic Party board of patrons.
3. Dahlan Iskan, to become state-owned enterprises minister, replacing Mustafa Abubakar.
Dahlan currently serves as the president director of state electricity company PT PLN.
4. Azwar Abubakar, to become the state administrative reforms minister, replacing EE Mangindaan.
Azwar is a lawmaker at the House of Representatives' Commission I overseeing information and foreign affairs, and
is the former Aceh deputy governor.
5. Djan Faridz, to become the new public housing minister, replacing Suharso Monoarfa who has resigned.
Djan is a Regional Representatives Council member representing Jakarta, and is currently running for Jakarta governor.
6. Jakarta Military commander Gen. Marciano Norman, to become the head of State Intelegence Agency (BIN), replacing
Gen. Sutanto.
The candidates will have to undergo medical examinations on Tuesday before being officially named new members of
the Cabinet.
NOW the real work starts. The saga involving the former treasurer of the Democratic Party, Muhammad Nazaruddin,
has kept the nation riveted for the past few months given his brazenness, the worldwide hunt for him and the extraordinary
costs incurred in bringing him back. Not only is Nazaruddin wanted by both the Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) and the police, he is linked to 31 graft cases involving state projects totalling more than Rp6tr ($700m).
These are enormous sums … and if true, he could not have acted alone. As the job of getting down to the details
begins, there will be enormous public scrutiny and pressure on the KPK. …Its very standing in the public eye is
at stake, and if it fails to be totally above board and transparent, it will quickly lose its good name.
The KPK is not the only institution whose reputation is on the line. In such a high-stakes game, the reputation
of the entire judiciary and security apparatus of the nation is at risk. …
There are already fears that Nazaruddin may be made a scapegoat to help hide other
powerful individuals….
It is absolutely critical that there be no grand political deal done to protect higher interests. Nazaruddin has
implicated scores of others in his graft cases and every one of these allegations must be fully investigated. But
even as no stone is left unturned, it is important that we do not become obsessed with this one case. We cannot
afford to let other business of the state fall by the wayside if all attention and resources are focused on Nazaruddin’s
case…. — (Aug 15)
Just as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono broke his silence on the Muhammad Nazaruddin case on Friday and urged
the rogue former Democratic treasurer to “come home,” his plea was drowned out by a barrage of excuses and accusations
by the fugitive himself in another television interview.
As if to taunt his former boss, Nazaruddin appeared in a recorded Skype conversation to further detail his accusations
against his party.
Wearing a straw hat and speaking from what appeared to a bare bungalow room, he detailed the many accusations he
had made against a host of democrats, including chairman Anas Urbaningrum.
But he also startlingly claimed he had recently escaped an assassination attempt by two men. “There are two men
after me and I have been shot at. ... The shot almost hit my head, but thank God I escaped. There are also [people]
guarding me,” he said in the interview with freelance journalist Iwan Piliang broadcast on Metro TV on Friday evening.
Nazaruddin, who went underground after leaving for Singapore on May 23, insisted he really was overseas and played
a phone ringtone that many had heard in the background of an interview aired on television earlier this week. Rumors
had swirled after the Tuesday broadcast that the sound had been a jingle from an Indonesian bakery vendor, meaning
Nazaruddin might in fact be in the country.
He wanted the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to probe two graft cases linked to sports projects from which
he said Anas and many other Democrats had received money.
“I really am abroad. I will return if the KPK opens up the case of the athletes’ village and the Hambalang stadium,”
he said.
He provided more details of his accusation that Anas’s bid for the chairmanship of the Democratic Party had been
funded by money from the state budget.
“The public knows Anas did not have the backing of SBY,” he said of the situation in the run-up to the election
of the party chair. “All the money was collected from the state budget fund,” he said, detailing that the money
came from contributions linked to the distribution of several construction projects, including the athletes’ village
in Palembang and the Hambalang sport stadium in Bogor.
He also repeatedly waved a flash drive that he claimed contained a detailed list of who received money, how much
and from whom during the party congress when the election took place. “Anas won because of money, and this cannot
be denied,”
he said.
Anas was no longer the same person he had known and helped since 2004. “I feel hurt, he has destroyed my family.
I have enjoyed not a single rupiah from state budget money, or what’s more, allocated to the athletes’ village.
Not a single rupiah,” he said.
Yudhoyono had earlier in the day sought to salvage his party’s image ahead of a national coordination meeting in
Sentul City this weekend by calling on Nazaruddin to “come home to the country and as a good citizen please follow
legal process with the KPK and the police.”
Yudhoyono, the Democratic Party’s patron, said Nazaruddin’s many statements in the media implicating various Democrats
and anti-corruption officials in graft scandals had left party members confused and suspicious of one another.
Anas has denied the allegations and said the attacks were part of a larger game by political players seeking to
discredit him. He had said “certain groups are using Nazaruddin to commit a character assassination” against him,
but did not elaborate.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally broke his silence on Friday on the Muhammad Nazaruddin’s brouhaha
and asked the errant lawmaker to come back home.
In remarks after Friday prayers, Yudhoyono said he was speaking as a president whose job was to enforce the law,
and also as the head of his party's advisory board chairman, where graft suspect Nazaruddin used to serve as treasurer
before being fired and fleeing for parts unknown.
“Come home to Indonesia, Nazaruddin,” Yudhoyono said at the State Palace. “It is hard for us too when we all don’t
know where Nazaruddin is and with whom and what he is doing. With whom he has been doing his internal communications.”
Yudhoyono said that Nazaruddin's many statements in the media implicating various Democrats and anti-corruption
officials in graft scandals had left party members confused and suspicious of one another.
“Come back to the country and as a good citizen please follow the legal process in the KPK [Corruption Eradication
Commission] and the police,” he said.
Yudhoyono added that Indonesia was ruled by a transparent legal system that operated under the presumption of innocence.
He said that Nazaruddin's return was necessary to clear up the current public relations nightmare that the lawmaker's
flight and accusations had ignited, and that any information gleaned from him would help to clean up the party's
image.
Yudhoyono added that if there were Democratic Party members violating the faction's code of ethics, then sanctions
would be handed out.
“Don't let a small error ruin everything,” Yudhoyono said.
Meanwhile, Yudhoyono's son and the secretary general of the Democratic Party, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, said that
the party would use the two-day national coordination meeting in Sentul, West Java, this weekend to enforce the
party's commitment to upholding the law.
“There will be a pledge of commitment to all members of the party to uphold the law and fully support the government's
efforts in corruption eradication,” Edhie, also known as Ibas, told state-run news agency Antara.
Heavy police presence was seen at the meeting's venue, Sentul International Convention Center in Sentul City, Bogor,
on Friday.
Thousands of banners with the pictures of the party's general chairman, Anas Urbaningrum, and Yudhoyono could be
seen along the road leading to Sentul City.
M. Nazaruddin dropped more bombs on the Democratic Party late on Friday night by appearing in a televised interview
for
the first time since his disappearance overseas, during which he confirmed his location and reiterated his accusations
against party members. “I am overseas,” Nazaruddin said, wearing a straw hat during the interview to dispel rumors
that he had slipped back to the country.
Nazaruddin had granted an interview via an Internet video call to Iwan Piliang, a fellow Democratic Party member,
on Thursday night. The interview was broadcast by MetroTV at around 9:30 p.m. on Friday.
During the interview, which took place in what appeared to be a room with cream-colored curtains on one wall and
a red painting on the back wall, Nazaruddin confirmed that he was behind a series of BlackBerry messages.
The messages accused party members of corruption in various government-funded projects, including an athletes’
village built in Palembang, South Sumatra, for the 2011 SEA Games. Party members previously raised doubts that
Nazaruddin
was behind the messages
Nazaruddin then displayed a USB memory drive and a CD, saying they contained evidence of the various acts of corruption
committed by other party members. The CD, he said, contained a CCTV recording of Chandra M. Hamzah's visit to Nazaruddin's
house.
“I have here the CD recording of when Chandra came to my house,” he said.
Nazaruddin previously said that Corruption Eradication Commission deputy Chandra M. Hamzah had accepted bribes
in
the case.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pinning the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana, a second-class ‘Bintang
Mahaputera (‘Star of Mahaputera’), on his wife, Ibu Ani, at the State Palace on Friday. (Antara Photo)
A formal ceremony held on Friday to award prestigious state medals to individuals for their contributions toward
advancing Indonesia has been struck by controversy.
The awards, approved and presented by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, were bestowed on bitter rivals Aburizal
Bakrie, the chairman of the Golkar Party, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the former finance minister, along with Yudhoyono’s
wife, Kristiani Herawati, known as Ibu Ani.
Sri Mulyani, a World Bank managing director, was not present at the ceremony.
Coordinating Minister for political, legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, speaking at the State Palace, asked
for people to look beyond the fact that Ibu Ani was the president’s wife.
Ibu Ani was bestowed the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana, Indonesia's highest civilian honor, along with
former first ladies Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid and Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, and former first gentleman, Taufik
Keimas, the current speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).
“I don’t mean to belittle the other recipients; all spouses of the president and vice presidents have made amazing
achievements, such as Pak Taufik Kiemas who accompanied Bu Megawati Sukarnoputri,” Djoko said.
Ibu Ani said she was honored to receive the award.
“Thank God for this honor and I promise that I will work harder for the country directly and indirectly,” she told
reporters after the occasion.
She said that she had worked indirectly for the country as the wife of the president, helping him prepare for all
of his duties.
The first lady also pledged to continue her Smart Indonesia education program, as well as continuing to champion
the environment, creativity and women’s empowerment programs.
Another recipient to raise eyebrows was Bakrie, who served only briefly under Yudhoyono as coordinating minister
for the economy before becoming coordinating minister for people’s welfare.
The controversial businessman, who is often reported to be a thorn in Yudhoyono’s side and has presidential aspirations
in 2014, was awarded Indonesia's seventh highest civilian medal for extraordinary service to the integrity, viability
and greatness of Indonesia.
This is despite the ongoing Lapindo disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, blamed on Lapindo Brantas, a subsidiary of
the Bakrie Group.
Outspoken Golkar legislator Bambang Soesatyo, who is close to Bakrie, said honoring Sri Mulyani was “shocking.”
Sri Mulyani, credited as being a true reformist, ran into difficulties during the Bank Century scandal, with a
number of analysts saying the troubles were caused by her clash with Bakrie in relation to a number of tax disputes.
Bambang said he was concerned honoring Sri Mulyani would undermine the value of the award.
“The public will consider the government to be reckless in their consideration and selection of honor recipients.”
JAKARTA - Fast economic growth and rural-to-urban migration are straining Indonesia's congested capital, reviving
official talk that the country's administrative center would be better placed in a peripheral location. President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has voiced his support for such a move, giving the periodically revisited idea fresh impetus
while the country surges ahead economically.
Coastal Jakarta is more populated than ever, with more than 13 million people. That's up from a population of 10
million in 1998 and less than one million before the country gained independence from colonial rule in 1945. Tortuous
traffic jams, creaky infrastructure and ever rising levels of pollution in Jakarta are restraining significantly
the country's trade and investment potential.
New motor vehicle registrations are up recently around 10% per year while urban planners are paving new roads at
a lagging 1%-2% per annum. Poor public transport systems, meanwhile, are forcing the country's fast growing middle
class to purchase automobiles more out of necessity rather than prestige. Bottlenecks in Jakarta cost the country
as much as 5.7 trillion rupiah (US$670 million) per year in wasted fuel costs alone. Pollution-related public health
bills push that cost higher.
According to Indonesia 2033 Vision Team, a group of experts from the University of Indonesia researching different
scenarios for moving the capital, locations on Kalimantan island have the best prospects. The expert group contends
that a Kalimantan-situated capital would allow for more sustainable economic development, create a strategic epicenter
for the archipelago nation and help to stop the overwhelming migration from underdeveloped regions to Jakarta.
The working group estimates a move to Kalimantan that was commenced relatively soon and completed over a five-year
period would cost the country around 50 trillion rupiah. Such a move would entail building up basic infrastructure,
including electricity, ports and government offices, as well as constructing homes for an estimated 400,000 civil
servants, according to the group's projection.
If instead the move's time-line was extended over a 10-year horizon the cost would rise to around 100 trillion
rupiah, a sum the expert group considers financially feasible considering that the annual national budget is currently
allocated at around 1 quadrillion rupiah. The group's experts predict the move would simultaneously boost revenues
and the national economy through increased travel to the new city.
Yudhoyono, twice popularly elected, has by some analyst estimates enough political capital at his disposal to push
through such a high cost move. He has outlined his vision for Indonesia to become a ''BRIC'' economy by 2020, a
plan many foreign analysts view as achievable. A new capital, the analysts say, would showcase nicely the country's
higher economic status and cement Yudhoyono's legacy as an economic reformer.
Designs to move the capital, a legacy of short-sighted urban planning during Dutch colonial rule, were first mooted
as far back as the 1950s. Then president and independence hero Sukarno proposed the capital be moved to Palangkaraya,
now the capital of Central Kalimantan province. Sukarno's plan aimed to unite the country's diverse ethnic groups,
lessen the country's economic dependence on Java island and concentrate political power at the country's natural
geographic center.
His unifying ambition stalled due to a lack of resources and the burdens of building for the Asian Games and Games
of New Emerging Forces, a short-lived counter to the Olympic Games for socialist states, which were both held in
Jakarta in 1962.
President Suharto later revived the idea in the 1990s when he proposed to move the capital to Jonggol, an area
50 kilometers south of Jakarta. His ambition was upended by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, which depleted
the national coffers and sent the economy into a downward tailspin, and the subsequent reformasi protests that
drove him from power after 32 years of strongman rule.
With the national finances now largely restored, Sukarno's and Suharto's proposed cities, Palangkaraya and Jonggol,
are still candidates for the move. So are two cities in Kalimantan, namely the westerly Pontianak, which is strategically
located near shipping and financial hub Singapore, and the southerly Banjarmasin, which is well-served by maritime
traffic in the Java Sea.
Policymakers are reportedly looking towards other country examples for guidance. Uprooting the capital from Jakarta
to Kalimantan would follow in Brazil's radical footsteps when it moved government offices in Rio de Janeiro to
the newly created Brasilia in 1960. The move allowed Brazil to populate and develop a previously impoverished region
and design a city from scratch to achieve fluid traffic flows.
Relocating the capital to nearby Jonggol, on the other hand, would be more akin to Malaysia's first phase move
from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya in 1999. The Malaysian government aimed to build an ''intelligent city'' where 40%
of the land is reserved for greenery. A high-speed rail connects downtown Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, which is less
crowded and more eco-friendly than the old capital.
From a construction and cost standpoint, massive improvements to Jakarta's failing infrastructure would be the
easiest but potentially least effective option. Current plans won't be enough to bridge the gap: a monorail system
scheduled to open in Jakarta in 2016 will only serve the city center and consist of a mere one-kilometer of track.
Designated express lanes for buses and other high-occupancy vehicles have been impossible to enforce and had little
impact on the city's legendary traffic jams.
Suharto's vision of a capital at Jonggol appears to balance the need for a new city with the practical and financial
limitations of relocating the entire government to a distant new location. However, Jonggol land has recently been
swallowed up by speculators, causing prices to skyrocket and raising new questions about the plan's economic viability.
Powerful parliamentary factions are known to have divergent interests in which geography is chosen, meaning there
is a political chance a new Indonesian capital is built for the wrong and potentially corrupt reasons.
Jacob Zenn graduated from Georgetown Law in 2011 and is currently based in East Java, Indonesia.
Relations between SBY and Obama have not been as the US
would like.
In September 2010 SBY did not attend the Obama sponsored
ASEAN summit in New York with the lame excuse of being too busy.
Unexpectedly and to great surprise Obama reacted by making
an official
announcement (during his speech at the opening of the UN General Assembly) that he would visit Indonesia (twice
postponed) in November.
This time he did not postpone the visit in spite of travel dangers related to
the Merapi vulcanic explosion.
Mr and Mrs Yudhoyono did not meet President and Mrs. Obama
upon
their arrival at the Jakarta airport, a common diplomatic courtesy.
Indonesia is growing as a global power.
The explosive Middle East situation emphasizes the need to have Indonesia as a friendly cooperative
ally.
Publication of the Wikileak cables by Australian newspapers
create the impression that the powers that be feel that it is time to show the Indonesian President where the real
power is and to start undermining his position.
Have they achieved their objective???
As for now it seems additional strain has been added to the already
fragile relations. Let us just wait and see and hope for the best.
Deja Vu,
Think of Bung Karno and his admonishment
"Never Leave History".
Indonesia has lodged a formal protest with the United States government
over corruption allegations against the president released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Susilo Bangbang Yudhoyono won a landslide election victory in 2009 on the back of an anti-corruption campaign.
But US cables released to the Fairfax press by WikiLeaks accuse him of quashing an investigation
into an allegedly corrupt political figure.
They also accuse his wife of seeking to profit from her political connections.
However Indonesia's foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, says all of the allegations are baseless.
He summoned the US ambassador to lodge a protest and demand an explanation this morning.
The Ambassador would not comment publicly on the leaked cables but praised Mr Yudhoyono's record in office.
Tom Allard, Jakarta
March 15, 2011
Tom Allard, Jakarta
March 15, 2011
A PLANNED telephone conversation
between US President Barack Obama and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
was cancelled because US diplomats reported to Washington
that the Indonesian leader and his family were implicated in corruption.
US President Barack Obama ...
his call to his Indonesian counterpart,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was scuttled.
Photo: AFP
The conversation had been arranged before The Age revealed the allegations in the US cables, which were obtained
from WikiLeaks. They have been vehemently denied by Dr Yudhoyono and people cited in the cables as sources.
Mr Obama was to have telephoned Dr Yudhoyono on Friday but ''when the WikiLeaks thing broke, it didn't happen'',
said one source, adding the purpose of the call was to discuss the approaching East Asia Summit in Indonesia.
It is believed the US cancelled the call after discussions with officials from Dr Yudhoyono's palace.
Last night, speaking for the first time about the WikiLeaks cables, Dr Yudhoyono labelled the allegations untrue
and a character assassination. ''Believe me, I am accountable for what I do. I, God willing, will continue to maintain
the integrity because that is my duty as leader of this country,'' he said.
There is little doubt that had the call proceeded, Mr Obama would have followed the example of his Jakarta envoy,
Scot Marciel, and expressed his regret over the allegations.
Dr Yudhoyono's spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, confirmed the cancelled call but played down its significance. ''The
scheduling for these kinds of calls is always fluid,'' he said.
But US-Indonesian relations have been strained by the cables and their reports Dr Yudhoyono blocked a corruption
probe into political powerbroker Taufik Kiemas, used intelligence services to spy on rivals and received funding
from businessman Tomy Winata through a middleman.
The cables included allegations Dr Yohoyono's wife, Kristiani Herawati, mooted as his possible successor, used
her position ''to profit personally by acting as a broker or facilitator for business ventures''.
An analyst with the political consultancy LSI Burhanudin Muhtadi said Dr Yudhoyono was angry about the cables.
''SBY sees himself as an international darling,'' he said. ''He is very upset that the US embassy in Indonesia
was spying on him and reporting in such an improper and unhappy manner.''
Before the WikiLeaks cables emerged, there were signs US-Indonesia relations were not optimal, despite Mr Obama
having spent four years in Jakarta as a child. He twice postponed visits before spending fewer than 24 hours in
Jakarta in November. He earned plaudits for his positive rhetoric and quips in the Indonesian language, but little
of substance emerged from the visit.
Indonesian cabinet members and influential politicians have alleged ''foreign attacks'' may be behind the WikiLeaks
releases, which coincided with Vice-President Boediono's Australian visit.
The Australian government confirmed it had received feedback from Indonesia. ''Some Indonesians have raised the
WikiLeaks reports informally with Australian officials in Jakarta. Most interest has been around the timing of
the release,'' a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said
Following Wikileak US cable releases aimed at undermining the integrity of the Indonesian President,
Wall Street Journal, does a follow-up article apparently continuing to try to weaken his image.
Can we expect more similar articles, as continuation of the campaign started by the Australian media??
By Kelley Currie
This was supposed to be Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's year. The Indonesian president can claim credit for both robust
economic growth and his country's higher profile on the international stage. U.S. President Barack Obama's visit
was a success, and Jakarta is now chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the next year and a member
of the G-20.
However, much of the sense of excitement and possibility about Indonesia's emergence has dissipated lately. Instead
of enjoying what should be a triumphant second term after winning re-election in 2009, President Yudhoyono is mired
in political scandal and parliamentary intrigue.
Rumors that a potential shake-up in the governing coalition could bring Prabowo Subianto into government have caused
alarm among Indonesian moderates. Gen. Prabowo was head of the Indonesian army's special forces unit during the
Suharto era, during which they were implicated in human rights abuses. The image of the popular Mr. Yudhoyono negotiating
with such a figure has his political opponents licking their chops.
Meanwhile, human rights advocates are alarmed by the Yudhoyono government's tepid responses to videotaped evidence
of horrific human rights abuses committed by Indonesian security forces in Papua last year. American policy makers
are also privately grousing about the difficulty of cooperation with their Indonesian counterparts. On issues from
promotion of democracy in Burma to security cooperation, the U.S. has found Indonesian responses disappointing
and the authorities difficult to deal with.
Mr. Yudhoyono also has responded weakly to resurgent Islamists, who seem intent on setting the agenda in the absence
of his leadership. After a gruesome video surfaced in February of three members of the Muslim religious minority
Ahmadiyah sect being attacked during prayers and beaten to death, the president issued a faint condemnation and
call for an investigation, but has done little to protect the group. He finally spoke out after a series of letter
bombs sent to moderate political and religious figures in recent weeks targeted a member of his own party. The
bombs, which police have linked to a splinter group of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist organization, seem to
have shaken Mr. Yudhoyono, but whether this will lead to more aggressive political leadership against Indonesia's
Islamists remains an open question.
Rather than a triumphant second term, Mr. Yudhoyono, who has been president since October 2004, seems to be
encountering a phenomenon well known to American politicians: the "seven-year itch." Having experienced
such frequent executive turnover in the post-Suharto period starting in 1998, it is understandable that Indonesians
may not recognize the symptoms.
It's easy for outsiders to forget how unsteady Indonesia's leadership was under the first three presidents of the
reformasi period. Now Indonesia faces a very different problem: a once decisive and overwhelmingly popular elected
leader who has been in office long enough that he's getting bogged down, seemingly unable to make or execute forceful
decisions.
As problems go, this is not the worst. But Indonesians are understandably frustrated. Mr. Yudhoyono himself seems
at a loss as to how to regain his mojo. He is now seen preoccupied with shuffling seats in the legislature and
playing to his voter galleries, including dangerous groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).
Unfortunately, Mr. Yudhoyono's crisis of confidence comes at a time when Indonesia is hitting a tricky passage
in its democratization. Thirteen years after throwing out its dictator, Indonesia is just learning how to build
modern institutions. The political elite, though, tends to regard the process as done and dusted. This thinking
can sometimes give the impression that they are unserious about dealing with the quotidian challenges of managing
a large, still-democratizing country.
A lack of administrative capacity and weak service delivery mean that democracy is not delivering the socioeconomic
improvements for large numbers of poor and rural Indonesians that many had hoped for. Important reforms over the
past decade have boosted democracy and the economy, but also contribute to governance problems. For instance, decentralization
of power has allowed corruption to flourish at lower levels.
The resulting unease about globalization and growing income inequality are creating openings for Indonesia's Islamists.
While the dangers of jihadism in Indonesia are often overblown, serious threats exist, including real links between
political Islamists and their more radicalized co-religionists.
The vigilantism of the FPI, when officially tolerated, creates an environment in which even more radical groups
can expand their bases. Intelligence sources have reported that FPI members, together with members of JI and other
terror groups, were involved in the formation of an al Qaeda in Aceh cell last year.
Mr. Yudhoyono is facing a vicious cycle: The more he is seen getting his hands dirty with retail politics and legislative
horse-trading, the further he diminishes his brand as a clean and forceful leader. That in turn only reduces his
political effectiveness.
To regain momentum in the final years of his presidency, Mr. Yudhoyono should draw lessons from successful two-term
American presidents. He needs to delegate more of the nitty-gritty of politics to trusted deputies, and devote
his effort to public leadership on over-arching policy responses that address Indonesia's domestic economic, social
and security issues in ways that reinforce liberalizing trends.
In the Indonesian context, this means several things. First and foremost, the administration must take forceful
action against Islamist antics that threaten to undermine democratic institutions and ideals. Indonesians are demanding
a serious and sustained initiative to attack corruption and abuses of power. Economic policy should emphasize open
markets, entrepreneurship and diversification.
Indonesians voted for Mr. Yudhoyono because they wanted a leader who could take their democracy to the next level.
He has three years left, which is enough time to make an indelible mark on Indonesia and put the country on a positive
trajectory, but only if he has the requisite political will to forge ahead.
Ms. Currie is a senior fellow with the Project 2049 Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
A group of Indonesians has filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against the US embassy in Jakarta and two Australian
newspapers over articles based on leaked American cables accusing the country's president of abuse of power.
The group, called the State-Owned Enterprises Labour Union, said Fairfax papers The Age and the Sydney Morning
Herald failed to provide adequate checks and balances before running the stories on Friday.
"We have filed a defamation suit to the Central Jakarta district court against the newspaper companies today
as the allegations have ruined our national pride," the group's lawyer Habiburokhman told AFP on Tuesday.
"They have tarnished the good name of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and gave the image that Indonesia
is a corrupt country."
The group says it is unhappy about The Age article headlined "Yudhoyono `abused power'", alleging it
accuses the president of behaving inappropriately
The US cables - leaked exclusively to Fairfax Media and published on Friday in the Herald and The Age - allegedly
accused Yuhoyono of trying to influence judges and prosecutors to protect his corrupt political allies.
The published cables also said he used the country's intelligence service to spy on his rivals and that his family
were trying to use his political connections for their own financial gains.
"The cables did not say Yudhoyono had abused power so their headline was misleading. They cooked up their
own story to make our president look bad," Habiburokhman said.
Analysts say the group's move is a knee-jerk reaction with little chance of success.
"This is just a form of emotional reaction from the people which is likely to lead nowhere," political
analyst Yunarto Wijaya said.
Yudhoyono on Monday said he had been subjected to "character assassination" over the leaked cables.
"I don't want to be too reactive and emotional," he told reporters on the sidelines of an international
judicial conference in the west Java town ofBogor.
"I will use my rights to get justice in a democratic manner. Later on, we'll surely know who is democratic
and who isn't."
The US ambassador to Indonesia on Friday expressed regret that the cables - apparently written by his predecessor
- had found their way to the public but
could comment little on their contents.
On Tuesday, dozens of protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in Jakarta demanding Washington apologise
over the leaked cables, the Detikcom news
website reported.
"The US government must apologise over the leaked diplomatic cables that have no quality and have hurt the
feelings of Indonesians," protest co-ordinator Ahmad Suhaimi was quoted as saying.
Indonesia scored 2.8 out of 10 in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions
Index for 2010,
ranking it 110th out of 178 countries.
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is describing as character assassination
leaked U.S. diplomatic cables reportedly accusing him of bribery, intimidation and self-enrichment. Yudhoyono was
responding Monday to recent reports by Australian newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based on U.S.
diplomatic cables and obtained by WikiLeaks.
He told a Cabinet meeting in the West Java town of Bogor that he would use his right to obtain justice through
democratic means. He did not elaborate. U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel last week expressed regret that the cables
from the embassy in Jakarta found their way to...
Herald Tribune 2011-03-14
Indonesia has lodged a formal protest with the United States government over corruption
allegations against the president released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Susilo Bangbang Yudhoyono won a landslide election victory in 2009 on the back of an anti-corruption campaign.
But US cables released to the Fairfax press by WikiLeaks accuse him of quashing an investigation
into an allegedly corrupt political figure.
They also accuse his wife of seeking to profit from her political connections.
However Indonesia's foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, says all of the allegations are baseless.
He summoned the US ambassador to lodge a protest and demand an explanation this morning.
The Ambassador would not comment publicly on the leaked cables but praised Mr Yudhoyono's record in office.
Tom Allard, Jakarta
March 15, 2011
Tom Allard, Jakarta
March 15, 2011
A PLANNED telephone conversation between US President Barack Obama and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was cancelled
because US diplomats reported to Washington that the Indonesian leader and his family were implicated in corruption.
The conversation had been arranged before The Age revealed the allegations in the US cables, which were obtained
from WikiLeaks. They have been vehemently denied by Dr Yudhoyono and people cited in the cables as sources.
Mr Obama was to have telephoned Dr Yudhoyono on Friday but ''when the WikiLeaks thing broke, it didn't happen'',
said one source, adding the purpose of the call was to discuss the approaching East Asia Summit in Indonesia.
It is believed the US cancelled the call after discussions with officials from Dr Yudhoyono's palace.
Last night, speaking for the first time about the WikiLeaks cables, Dr Yudhoyono labelled the allegations untrue
and a character assassination. ''Believe me, I am accountable for what I do. I, God willing, will continue to maintain
the integrity because that is my duty as leader of this country,'' he said.
There is little doubt that had the call proceeded, Mr Obama would have followed the example of his Jakarta envoy,
Scot Marciel, and expressed his regret over the allegations.
Dr Yudhoyono's spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, confirmed the cancelled call but played down its significance. ''The
scheduling for these kinds of calls is always fluid,'' he said.
But US-Indonesian relations have been strained by the cables and their reports Dr Yudhoyono blocked a corruption
probe into political powerbroker Taufik Kiemas, used intelligence services to spy on rivals and received funding
from businessman Tomy Winata through a middleman.
The cables included allegations Dr Yohoyono's wife, Kristiani Herawati, mooted as his possible successor, used
her position ''to profit personally by acting as a broker or facilitator for business ventures''.
An analyst with the political consultancy LSI Burhanudin Muhtadi said Dr Yudhoyono was angry about the cables.
''SBY sees himself as an international darling,'' he said. ''He is very upset that the US embassy in Indonesia
was spying on him and reporting in such an improper and unhappy manner.''
Before the WikiLeaks cables emerged, there were signs US-Indonesia relations were not optimal, despite Mr Obama
having spent four years in Jakarta as a child. He twice postponed visits before spending fewer than 24 hours in
Jakarta in November. He earned plaudits for his positive rhetoric and quips in the Indonesian language, but little
of substance emerged from the visit.
Indonesian cabinet members and influential politicians have alleged ''foreign attacks'' may be behind the WikiLeaks
releases, which coincided with Vice-President Boediono's Australian visit.
The Australian government confirmed it had received feedback from Indonesia. ''Some Indonesians have raised the
WikiLeaks reports informally with Australian officials in Jakarta. Most interest has been around the timing of
the release,'' a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said
Written by Our Correspondent
Friday, 11 March 2011
ImageYudhoyono spokesmen, others, denounce questions over SBY’s integrity, summon US ambassador
The Indonesian government has launched a furious, multi-pronged response to stories emanating from leaked US diplomatic
cables purporting to call into question the integrity of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, Kristiani.
A recount of the cables, provided by the WikiLeaks organization, was published Friday in Asia Sentinel and The
Age in Melbourne.
Despite the denials, much of what the cables allege has been circulating on the rumor mill in Jakarta for months
as Yudhoyono has increasingly lost his gloss as a reformer. Although, as the story points out, the WikiLeaks cables
are "ambiguous" about whether Yudhoyono himself is corrupt.
Teuku Faizasyah, the palace presidential staff member for international relations, told reporters "The fact
is that the diplomatic cables were only raw data taken from shoddy meetings and sources. The information was raw,
it was only rumors and twisted facts."
Another Yudhoyono spokesman, Denny Indriyana, said that "What Wikileaks wrote was a result of chitchat from
US Embassy wires and not intelligent data. It's sexy for news but that's all. The Age wrote their story without
investigation and based the story entirely on Wikileaks."
Coordinating Law and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto told reporters in Jakarta that Foreign Minister Marty
Natalegawa would summon Scot Marciel, the US Ambassador to Indonesia, "to express Indonesia's strong protest
against the diplomatic reports that were obtained through WikiLeaks," and would demand that Marciel make a
public statement regarding the case.
For its part, the embassy issued a statement on its website saying that "as the Secretary of State has said,
the United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, including
private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats’ personal assessments and observations. Our official
foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington. Our policy is a matter of public record, as
reflected in our statements and our actions around the world."
The US response called the Wikileaks publication "extremely irresponsible and we express our deepest regrets
to President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian people." It went on call Yudhoyono a "very strong partner..Indonesia’s
first directly elected president, and a leader who has guided Indonesia through its journey into democracy."
The statement added that "Indonesia and the United States are bound together by a web of historical, cultural,
and economic ties that span the Pacific and by our shared values and aspirations, and our partnership is one of
equals, grounded in mutual interests and mutual respect."
Meanwhile, Indonesian Vice President Boediono, on a working visit to Canberra, met with Indonesian journalists
to deliver a statement saying that "The accuracy of the information taken from WikiLeaks about President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono which also appeared in some media must be questioned. The sources were unconfirmed and unverified
raw notes from diplomatic cables. I have complete confidence in the personal integrity and credibility of my President.
President SBY and I share the same conviction to develop our nation and its people through continuing our commitment
to reforms, eliminating corruption, and ensuring good governance."
In Djoko Suyanto’s text to reporters, he said that the President and First Lady Kristiani Yudhoyono denied the
accusations, and said they did not commit corruption or abuse their power. "Let alone influence the judicial
process. That’s not true."
A handout photo released by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry showing Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, right,
speaking during a press conference in Jakarta on Friday as United States Ambassador Scot Marciel looks on. Marty
denied allegations of 'abuse of power' involving President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono contained in leaked US diplomatic
cables. (AFP Photo)
The United States Embassy in Jakarta has refused to comment on the explosive revelations made by embassy sources
about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and published in Australian daily The Age.
Ambassador Scot Marciel said in a statement on Friday, issued after his meeting in the morning with Foreign Minister
Marty Natalegawa, that the US Department of State did not comment on specific material, including classified documents,
that had been leaked.
He also characterized the embassy’s field reporting to Washington as “candid and often raw information. It is preliminary,
often incomplete and unsubstantiated.”
Marciel went on to say that the information provided “is not an expression of policy, nor does it always shape
final policy decisions. These documents should not be seen as having standing on their own or as representing US
policy.”
“This type of publication is extremely irresponsible and we express our deepest regrets to President Yudhoyono
and the Indonesian people,” he said.
In a similar statement issued later on Friday, the US Embassy said the United States “deeply regrets the disclosure
of any information that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or
our diplomats’ personal assessments and observations.”
“Our official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington. Our policy is a matter of public
record, as reflected in our statements and our actions around the world,” it said. “Any unauthorized disclosure
of classified information by Wikileaks has harmful implications for the lives of identified individuals that are
jeopardized, but also for global engagement among and between nations.”
The statement also said Washington was fortunate to have a very strong partner in Yudhoyono.
Marty told reporters later on Friday that the contents of the US Embassy cables were based on talks held over dinner
tables and at receptions.
“They gathered information, views, hearsay and they reported what they heard to Washington,” he said, adding that
the Indonesian government would continue to monitor future WikiLeaks reports.
“If this was something substantial, for example they mentioned the state’s view [on something] as A while it is
actually B, we would have to ... respond to it because it was not true.
INDONESIA demanded, and received, an expression of regret from the US ambassador in Jakarta yesterday as President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono emphatically denied allegations in US diplomatic cables that he and his family were implicated
in corruption.
The allegations, revealed in The Age yesterday and based on cables obtained by WikiLeaks, created a media storm
in Indonesia as the country's foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, hauled in US ambassador Scot Marciel to formally
lodge a ''strong protest''.
At an extraordinary and, at times, awkward press conference after the meeting, Mr Marciel declined to confirm or
deny the veracity of the cables or comment on the specific allegations they contained.
But he said, generally speaking, such cables contained ''candid and often raw information'' that was ''often incomplete
and unsubstantiated''.
''We express our deepest regrets to President Yudhoyono and to the Indonesian people,'' he said, adding that
the publication of the cables was ''extremely irresponsible''.
Mr Marciel abruptly left the press conference shortly afterwards, leaving Mr Natalegawa to answer questions alone.
Dr Yudhoyono, meanwhile, said The Age had breached the ''universal journalism code of ethics'' by publishing details
of the cables without asking him for comment beforehand. ''The President is absolutely not happy with the false
coverage, full of lies, run in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age,'' according to a statement ''sent on behalf
of the President'' by his senior spokesman, Daniel Sparingga. ''The content is full of sensation and disrespect,
full of nonsense.''
The cables from the US embassy in Jakarta, sent between 2004 and 2010, contained a series of startling but unverified
allegations about the conduct of Dr Yudhoyono, his wife and family. Among the allegations were that Dr Yudhoyono
ordered a corruption investigation into political powerbroker Taufik Kiemas be dropped and that he received funds
from controversial businessman Tomy Winata via a middleman.
SECRET US diplomatic cables have implicated Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in substantial corruption
and abuse of power, puncturing his reputation as a political cleanskin and reformer.
The cables say Mr Yudhoyono has personally intervened to influence prosecutors and judges to protect corrupt political
figures and pressure his adversaries, while using the Indonesian intelligence service to spy on political rivals
and, at least once, a senior minister in his own government.
They also detail how Mr Yudhoyono's former vice-president reportedly paid millions of dollars to buy control of
Indonesia's largest political party, and accuse the President's wife and her family of seeking to enrich themselves
through their political connections.
The revelations come as Indonesian Vice-President Boediono visits Canberra today for talks with acting Prime Minister
Wayne Swan and discussions with officials on administrative change to reform Indonesia's corrupt bureaucracy.
The US diplomatic reports — obtained by WikiLeaks and provided exclusively to The Age — say that soon after becoming
President in 2004, Mr Yudhoyono intervened in the case of Taufik Kiemas, the husband of former president Megawati
Sukarnoputri.
Mr Taufik reportedly had used his continuing control of his wife's Indonesian Democratic Party, then the second
largest party in Indonesia's Parliament, to broker protection from prosecution for what the US diplomats described
as "legendary corruption during his wife's tenure".
In December 2004, the US embassy in Jakarta reported that one of its most valued political informants, senior presidential
adviser T.B. Silalahi, had advised that then assistant attorney-general Hendarman Supandji, who was leading the
new government's anti-corruption campaign, had gathered "sufficient evidence of the corruption of former first
gentleman Taufik Kiemas to warrant Taufik's arrest".
But Mr Silalhi, one of Mr Yudhoyono's closest political confidants, told the US embassy the President "had
personally instructed Hendarman not to pursue a case against Taufik".
No legal proceedings were brought against Mr Taufik, an influential political figure who now serves as speaker
of the People's Consultative Assembly, a largely ceremonial body representing members of parliament.
The US embassy also reported that then vice-president Jusuf Kalla allegedly paid "enormous bribes" to
win the chairmanship of Golkar, Indonesia's largest party, during a December 2004 party congress.
The President's wife and relatives feature prominently in the US embassy's political reporting, with American diplomats
highlighting efforts of the President's family "particularly first lady Kristiani Herawati . . . to profit
financially from its political position". As early as 2006 the embassy commented to Washington that "first
lady Kristiani Herawati is increasingly seeking to profit personally by acting as a broker or facilitator for business
ventures . . . Numerous contacts also tell us that Kristiani's family members have begun establishing companies
in order to commercialise their family's influence."
Highlighting the first lady's behind-the-scenes-influence, the embassy described her as "a cabinet of one"
and "the President's undisputed top adviser".
Other leaked cables indicate Mr Yudhoyono has used the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to spy on his
political allies and opponents.
According to a senior Indonesian intelligence officer, Mr Yudhoyono directed BIN chief Syamsir Siregar to instruct
his officers to conduct surveillance on one of the most senior cabinet ministers, State Secretary Yusril Mahendra,
while he made a secret trip to Singapore to meet Chinese businessmen.
The President also reportedly tasked BIN to spy on rival presidential candidates. Mr Silalah told US diplomats
Mr Yudhoyono "shared the most sensitive BIN reporting on political matters only with himself and Cabinet Secretary
Sudi Silalahi".
Although Mr Yudhoyono won a big victory in the 2009 election, US envoys quickly concluded he was running out of
political puff. After political controversies through late 2009 and into last year led to his popularity taking
a sharp fall, the embassy said the President was increasingly "paralysed". "Unwilling to risk alienating
segments of the Parliament, media, bureaucracy and civil society, Yudhoyono has slowed reforms," it said.
THE United States has blackballed one of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's closest advisers for alleged
involvement in East Timor war crimes, according to leaked US diplomatic cables.
But Washington kept secret the reasons for denying a visa to former Indonesian army general Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin,
and President Yudhoyono subsequently appointed his friend deputy defence minister.
In September 2009, the US withheld the issue of a visa that would allow Mr Sjamsoeddin, a former army general then
serving as a senior presidential adviser, to accompany President Yudhoyono, who was about to attend the G20 leaders
summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr Sjamsoeddin was subject to a US Department of Homeland Security recommendation
that he be denied entry owing to suspected involvement in "terror activities" and "extrajudicial
killings''.
The US embassy cables leaked to WikiLeaks, and provided exclusively to The Saturday Age, show that the US embassy
in Jakarta urged that Mr Sjamsoeddin still be allowed entry, lest the issue become an "irritant" in relations
between Jakarta and Washington.
"We note that as a key adviser to the Indonesian President and possible cabinet appointee, Sjamsoeddin's
travel to the United States would facilitate and strengthen US-Indonesian ties,'' the Jakarta embassy argued. "Sjamsoeddin
provides guidance and counsel to President Yudhoyono on a number of issues of importance to the US, such as
mil[itary]-to-mil[itary] ties, which are a cornerstone of our efforts to ensure regional stability."
The allegations against Mr Sjamsoeddin included that, while serving as an Indonesian special forces commander in
East Timor, he was responsible for directing the Santa Cruz massacre that claimed the lives of more than 250 East
Timorese pro-independence demonstrators on November 12, 1991.
It was also alleged that Mr Sjamsoeddin was responsible for widespread violence committed by Indonesian troops
in Dili after East Timor's August 30, 1999, independence ballot.
Mr Sjamsoeddin submitted a statement to the US embassy seeking to rebut the allegations, claiming that he had not
been at the Santa Cruz massacre but had been rescuing ''journalists from Timorese [Indonesian army] officials who
were angered that the journalists had accused them of being involved in clandestine activities''. Mr Sjamsoeddin
also claimed he had been cleared by Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission for any wrongdoing in relation
to the violence that swept Dili in September 1999.
Mr Sjamsoeddin's denials were accepted by the US embassy in Jakarta, which argued that "circumstantial
evidence" linking Mr Sjamsoeddin to human rights violations was insufficient to deny him a visa. But this
advice drew a sharp critique from the US embassy in Dili, which drew on United Nations and East Timorese human
rights investigations to argue that Mr Sjamsoeddin repeatedly had command responsibility for Indonesian troops
that committed atrocities.
The US embassy in Dili concluded that "Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin held senior positions of command responsibility
in both 1991 and 1999, moments when atrocities undeniably occurred, and strongly indicate his personal culpability''.
The Department of State does not comment on materials, including classified documents, which may have been leaked.
However, as the Secretary of State has said, the United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information
that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats’ personal
assessments and observations. Our official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington.
Our policy is a matter of public record, as reflected in our statements and our actions around the world.
Any unauthorized disclosure of classified information by Wikileaks has harmful implications for the lives of identified
individuals that are jeopardized, but also for global engagement among and between nations. Given its potential
impact, we condemn such unauthorized disclosures and are taking every step to prevent future security breaches.
While we cannot speak to the authenticity of any documents provided to the press, we can speak to the diplomatic
community’s practice of cable writing. By its very nature, field reporting to Washington is candid and often raw
information. It is preliminary, often incomplete and unsubstantiated. It is not an expression of policy, nor does
it always shape final policy decisions. These documents should not be seen as having standing on their own or as
representing U.S. policy.
This type of publication is extremely irresponsible and we express our deepest regrets to President Yudhoyono and
the Indonesian people.
As President Obama has noted, the United States is fortunate to have a very strong partner in President Yudhoyono,
Indonesia’s first directly elected president, and a leader who has guided Indonesia through its journey into democracy.
President Yudhoyono’s leadership has been vital to promoting prosperity, expanding partnerships between our people,
and deepening political and security cooperation.
As the President said in Jakarta during his visit in November 2010 to jointly launch with President Yudhoyono the
Comprehensive Partnership, Indonesia and the United States are bound together by a web of historical, cultural,
and economic ties that span the Pacific and by our shared values and aspirations, and our partnership is one of
equals, grounded in mutual interests and mutual respect.
JAKARTA, March 11 (Bernama) -- The United States Secretary of State has said the United States deeply regrets
the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, "including private discussions between
counterparts
or our diplomats personal assessments and observations", Indonesia''s Antara news agency reported.
The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, passed on her statement to the US ambassador to Indonesia, Scot Marciel,
according to a press release from the US Embassy in Jakarta, Friday,
Hillary Clinton also said that the Department of State does not comment on materials, including classified documents,
which may have been leaked.
According to the release, the US official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington.
"Our official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but in Washington. Our policy is a matter
of public record, as reflected in our statements and our actions around the world," said Marciel.
Further, Marciel said that any unauthorised disclosure of classified information by Wikileaks has harmful implications
for the lives of identified individuals that are jeopardised, but also for global engagement among and between
nations.
"Given its potential impact, we condemn such unauthorized disclosures and are taking every step to prevent
future security breaches," he said.
"While we cannot speak to the authenticity of any documents provided to the press, we can speak to the diplomatic
community`s practice of cable writing. By its very nature, field reporting to Washington is candid and often raw
information," he said.
Ambassador Marciel also said that it is preliminary, often incomplete and unsubstantiated. It is not an expression
of policy, nor does it always shape final policy decisions. These documents should not be seen as having standing
on their own or as representing US policy.
"This type of publication is extremely irresponsible and we express our deepest regrets to President Yudhoyono
and the Indonesian people," Marciel said.
As President Obama has noted, the United States is fortunate to have a very strong partner in Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia`s first directly elected president, and a leader who has guided Indonesia through
its journey into democracy, he added.
According to Marciel, Susilo`s leadership has been vital to promoting prosperity, expanding partnerships between
the two nations` peoples, and deepening political and security cooperation.
"As the US President Barack Obama said in Jakarta during his visit in November 2010 to jointly launch with
President Susilo Yudhoyono the Comprehensive Partnership, Indonesia and the United States are bound together by
a web of historical, cultural, and economic ties that span the Pacific and by our shared values and aspirations,
and our partnership is one of equals, grounded in mutual interests and mutual respect," he stated.
INDONESIA has protested strongly to Washington over Australian news reports, based on WikiLeaks out of the US Jakarta
embassy, accusing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of abuses of power and implicating him in corrupt behaviour.
Called into the Foreign Ministry yesterday morning, US ambassador Scott Marciel expressed "our deepest regrets
to President Yudhoyono and to the Indonesian people".
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa blasted the reports, carried yesterday by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald,
as "completely without foundation" against an administration that had focused on good governance and
combating corruption.
"That is why what is being reported is especially galling, not only to President Yudhoyono and his family,
but most of all to the Indonesian nation itself." Mr Natalegawa said the administration would demand a right
of reply from the newspapers.
The reports, based on confidential cables out of the US embassy in Jakarta and obtained by the newspapers under
a deal with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange, were published as Indonesia's Vice-President Boediono was about to meet
Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan in Canberra.
The cables, according to the reports, have Dr Yudhoyono intervening to stop a graft case against Taufik Kiemas,
influential husband of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and suspected of financial links to tycoon Tomy Winata
and other Chinese-Indonesian businessmen.
The response of the President, who made no comment yesterday, was "very rational, not emotional", Mr
Natalegawa said.
But State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said First Lady Kristiani Herawati Yudhoyono cried upon reading the stories,
in which she is depicted by a 2006 embassy cable as "increasingly seeking to profit personally" from
the presidency.
The reports are likely to hit Dr Yudhoyono's administration hard, and not only because his has been the most Washington-friendly
Jakarta government in the democratic post-Suharto era.
The President's reputation for honesty is a huge political asset for an administration that, especially since his
re-election in July 2009 for a second five years, has come across as vacillating and, at cabinet level, under-talented.
Dr Yudhoyono and presidential officials have been hesitating about whether and how to reshuffle cabinet and eject
troublesome parties from the coalition.
There is further damage in that the cables name two informants conveying damaging information to the embassy as
senior presidential adviser T.B. Silalahi and Co-ordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono.
Written by Philip Dorling
Friday, 11 March 2011
US embassy in Jakarta has serious doubts about the Indonesian president's own integrity
When Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won a surprise victory in Indonesia's 2004 presidential elections, the United States
Embassy in Jakarta hailed it as "a remarkable triumph of a popular, articulate figure against a rival [incumbent
president Megawati Sukarnoputri] with more power, money, and connections."
The former army general and security minister has gone on to win international accolades for strengthening governance,
promoting economic reform, and his efforts to suppress the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.
While visiting Jakarta last November, US President Barack Obama applauded Indonesia's democracy and "the leadership
of my good friend President Yudhoyono."
However Yudhoyono's record may have to be reviewed after secret US embassy cables, leaked to WikiLeaks and provided
to Fairfax Media, reveal allegations of corruption and abuse of power that extend all the way to the presidential
palace.
According to the diplomatic cables, Yudhoyono, widely known by his initials SBY, personally intervened to influence
prosecutors and judges to protect corrupt political figures and put pressure on his adversaries. He reportedly
also used the Indonesian intelligence service to spy on rivals and, on at least one occasion, a senior minister
in his own government.
Yudhoyono's former vice-president reportedly paid out millions of dollars to buy control of Indonesia's largest
political party, while the President's wife and her family have allegedly moved to enrich themselves on the basis
of their political connections.
The US embassy's political reporting, much of it classified "Secret/NoForn" – meaning for American eyes
only — makes clear that the continuing influence of money politics, which extends, despite the President's public
commitment to combating corruption, to Yudhoyono himself.
The US embassy cables reveal that one of Yudhoyono's early presidential actions was to personally intervene in
the case of Taufik Kiemas, the husband of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri. Taufik reportedly used his continuing
control of his wife's Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI-P) to broker protection from prosecution for what the US
diplomats described as "legendary corruption during his wife's tenure."
Taufik has been publicly accused, though without charges being laid against him, of improper dealings in massive
infrastructure projects heavily tainted with corruption. He is believed to have profited from deals relating to
the US$2.3billion Jakarta Outer Ring Road project, the US$2.4 billion double-track railway project from Merak in
West Java to Banyuwangi in East Java, the US$2.3billion trans-Kalimantan highway, and the US$1.7 billion trans-Papua
highway.
In December 2004, the US embassy in Jakarta reported to Washington that one of its most valued political informants,
senior presidential adviser TB Silalahi, had advised that Indonesia's Assistant Attorney-General, Hendarman Supandji,
who was then leading the new government's anti-corruption campaign, had gathered "sufficient evidence of the
corruption of former first gentleman Taufik Kiemas to warrant Taufik's arrest."
However, Silalahi, one of Yudhoyono's closest political confidants, told the US embassy that the president "had
personally instructed Hendarman not to pursue a case against Taufik."
No legal proceedings were brought against the former "first gentleman," who remains an influential political
figure and is now speaker of Indonesia's parliament, the People's Consultative Assembly.
While Yudhoyono protected Taufik from prosecution, his then vice-president, Jusuf Kalla, allegedly paid what the
US embassy described as "enormous bribes" to win the chairmanship of Golkar, Indonesia's largest political
party, during a December 2004 party congress, US diplomats observed firsthand.
"According to multiple sources close to the major candidates, Kalla's team offered district boards at least
Rp200 million (over US$22,000) for their votes," the US embassy reported. "Provincial boards — which
had the same voting right, but also could influence subordinate district boards — received Rp500 million or more.
According to one contact with prior experience in such matters, board officials received down payments ...and would
expect full payment from the winner, in cash, within hours of the vote."
US diplomats reported that, with 243 votes required to win a majority, the Golkar chairmanship would have cost
more than US$6 million.
"One contact claimed that [then Indonesian House of Representatives chairman Agung Laksono] alone — not the
wealthiest of Kalla's backers — had allocated (if not actually spent) Rp50 billion (more than US$5.5 million )
on the event." The US embassy cables further allege that Yudhoyono had then cabinet secretary Sudi Silalahi
"intimidate" at least one judge in a 2006 court case arising from a fight for control of former president
Abdurahman Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB). According to the embassy's contacts, Sudi told the judge "if
the court were to help [Wahid] it would be like helping to overthrow the government."
The intervention of "SBY's right-hand man" was not successful in a direct sense because, according to
embassy sources with close ties to the PKB and lawyers involved in the case, Wahid's supporters paid the judges
Rp3 billion in bribes for a verdict that awarded control of PKB to Wahid instead of a dissident faction. However,
Yudhoyono's strategic objective was achieved as external pressure on Wahid's "precarious position" forced
the PKB to reposition itself to support the administration.
Other US embassy reports indicate that Yudhoyono has used the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to spy
on
both his political allies and opponents.
The president reportedly also got BIN to spy on rival presidential candidates. This practice appears to have begun
while Yudhoyono was serving as co-ordinating minister of political and security affairs in former president Megawati's
government. He directed the intelligence service to report on former army commander and Golkar presidential candidate
Wiranto. Subsequently, at a meeting of Yudhoyono's cabinet, BIN chief Syamsir characterised Wiranto as a "terrorist
mastermind."
Through his own military contacts Wiranto learnt that he was the subject of "derogatory" BIN reports,
but when he complained he was told by presidential adviser TB Silalahi that no such reports existed.
The leaked US embassy cables are ambiguous on the question of whether Yudhoyono has been personally engaged
in corruption. However, US diplomats reported that at a 2006 meeting with the chairman of his own Democratic Party,
Yudhoyono "bemoaned his own failure to date to establish himself in business matters," apparently feeling
"he needed to ‘catch up' ... [and] wanted to ensure he left a sizeable legacy for his children."
In the course of investigating the President's private, political and business interests, American diplomats noted
alleged links between Yudhoyono and Chinese-Indonesian businessmen, most notably Tomy Winata, an alleged underworld
figure and member of the "Gang of Nine" or "Nine Dragons," a leading gambling syndicate.
In 2006, Agung Laksono, now Yudhoyono's Co-ordinating Minister for People's Welfare, told US embassy officers that
TB Silalahi "functioned as a middleman, relaying funds from Winata to Yudhoyono, protecting the president
from the potential liabilities that could arise if Yudhoyono were to deal with Tomy directly."
Tomy Winata reportedly also used prominent entrepreneur Muhammad Lutfi as a channel of funding to Yudhoyono. Yudhoyono
appointed Lutfi chairman of Indonesia's Investment Co-ordinating Board.
Senior State Intelligence Agency official Yahya Asagaf also told the US embassy Tomy Winata was trying to cultivate
influence by using a senior presidential aide as his channel to first lady Kristiani Herawati.
Yudhoyono's wife and relatives also feature prominently in the US embassy's political reporting, with American
diplomats highlighting the efforts of the president's family "particularly first lady Kristiani Herawati ...to
profit financially from its political position."
In June 2006, one presidential staff member told US embassy officers Kristiani's family members were "specifically
targeting financial opportunities related to state-owned enterprises." The well-connected staffer portrayed
the President as "witting of these efforts, which his closest operators (e.g. Sudi Silalahi) would advance,
while Yudhoyono himself maintained sufficient distance that he could not be implicated."
Such is the first lady's behind-the-scenes influence that the US embassy described her as "a cabinet of one"
and "the President's undisputed top adviser."
The embassy reported: "As presidential adviser TB Silalahi told [US political officers], members of the
President's staff increasingly feel marginalised and powerless to provide counsel to the President."
Yahya Asagaf at the State Intelligence Agency privately declared the first lady's opinion to be "the only
one that matters."
Significantly, the US embassy's contacts identified Kristiani as the primary influence behind Yudhoyono's decision
to drop vice-president Kalla as his running mate in the 2009 presidential elections.
With Bank of Indonesia governor Boediono as his new vice-presidential running mate, Yudhoyono went on to an overwhelming
victory. The president secured more than 60 per cent of the vote, defeating both former president Megawati, who
had teamed up with former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, and vice-president Kalla, who allied himself
with Wiranto.
In January 2010 the US embassy observed: "Ten years of political and economic reform have made Indonesia democratic,
stable, and increasingly confident about its leadership role in south-east Asia and the Muslim world. Indonesia
has held successful, free and fair elections; has weathered the global financial crisis; and is tackling internal
security threats."
However, America's diplomats also noted that a series of political scandals through late 2009 and into 2010 had
seriously damaged Yudhoyono's political standing.
A protracted conflict between the Indonesian police and the national Corruption Eradication Commission had damaged
the government's public anti-corruption credentials, while a parliamentary inquiry into the massive bailout of
a major financial institution, Bank Century, called into question the Vice-President's performance as former central
bank governor.
One prominent anti-corruption non-government organization privately told the US embassy that it had "credible"
information that funds from Bank Century had been used for financing Yudhoyono's re-election campaign.
Former vice-president Kalla strongly criticized the bailout, alleging that the Bank of Indonesia under Boediono
had been negligent in supervising Bank Century and arguing that the bank should have been closed as its failure
was due to fraud perpetrated by major shareholders.
Against this background the US embassy reported that Yudhoyono was increasingly "paralyzed" as his
political popularity rapidly diminished.
"Unwilling to risk alienating segments of the parliament, media, bureaucracy and civil society, Yudhoyono
has slowed reforms. He is also unwilling to cross any constituencies ...Until he is satisfied that he has shored
up his political position, Yudhoyono is unlikely to spend any political capital to move his reform agenda, or controversial
aspects of US -Indonesia relations, forward."
Over the past 13 years Indonesian democracy has undoubtedly strengthened. The Suharto dictatorship has been replaced
by a competitive political system characterized by robust debate and free media.
However, as the leaked US embassy's reports show, in what is only a glimpse of the inside workings of President
Yudhoyono's tenure, some of the secretive and corrupt habits of the Suharto years still linger in Indonesian presidential
politics.
Another version of this story appeared in The Age in Melbourne, Australia.
INDONESIA threatened to derail a visit to Jakarta by President Barack Obama earlier this year unless he overturned
the US ban on training the controversial Kopassus army special forces.
Leaked US State Department cables reveal that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono privately told the
US that continuing the ban - introduced in 1999 because of Kopassus's appalling human rights record, including
killings in East Timor and West Papua - was the ''litmus test of the bilateral relationship'' between the US and
Indonesia.
Six months later, the US agreed to resume ties with Kopassus, despite fierce criticism from some human rights groups
and American politicians about Jakarta's failure to hold officers to account for their role in atrocities.
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The cables, released by WikiLeaks exclusively to The Age, detail US concerns about Indonesia's failure to prosecute
the military personnel responsible for murder and torture during the conflicts in East Timor and Aceh.
But they also reveal that US diplomats in Jakarta believed that Mr Yudhoyono's demands should be met to ensure
that Indonesia's military and security services would protect American interests in the region, including co-operation
in the war on terror. It was also argued that closer military ties would encourage further reform of Indonesia's
military.
The Indonesian leader's call to lift the Kopassus training ban is described in a January cable from the US embassy
in Jakarta.
''President Yudhoyono (SBY) and other senior Indonesian officials have made it clear to us that SBY views the issue
of Army Special Forces (KOPASSUS) training as a litmus test of the bilateral relationship and that he believes
the … visit of President Obama will not be successful unless this issue is resolved in advance of the visit,''
the cable says.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said in July that the US needed to renew links with Kopassus ''as a result of
Indonesian military reforms over the past decade, the ongoing professionalisation of the TNI, and recent actions
taken by the Ministry of Defence to address human rights issues''.
An Australian expert on the Indonesian military, Australian Defence Force Academy associate professor Clinton Fernandes,
said yesterday the cables appeared to show that members of Congress such as Senator Patrick Leahy - author of the
1999 ban on training with Kopassus - ''have not been told the real reason for Obama's decision, which was to provide
photo opportunities for the President''.
''The decision to renew links shows contempt not only to the victims of gross human rights violations but to members
of the US Congress,'' Professor Fernandes said.
US diplomatic cables from the past four years reveal that Jakarta's intense lobbying to lift the Kopassus ban
was largely supported by the US embassy in Jakarta, which cited the Australian military's ties with Kopassus as
a reason to lift the ban.
An April 2007 cable says that ''our Australian counterparts often encourage us to resume training for KOPASSUS''.
However, numerous cables also detail serious US concerns about resuming ties.
In October 2007, the embassy told Washington that ''Indonesia has not prosecuted past human rights violations in
any consistent manner. While we need to keep Indonesia mindful of the consequences of inaction on TNI [Indonesian
military] accountability, Indonesia is unlikely to abandon its approach. We need therefore to encourage the Indonesian
government to take alternative steps to demonstrate accountability.''
Around the same time, another cable from the embassy noted that several high-ranking Indonesia officers had been
promoted, despite questions about their involvement in past atrocities.
''In two cases (Muis and Zamroni), officers linked to human rights violations have been promoted to key positions,''
the cable said. ''Indonesian Defense Department contacts have told us the promotions for these two were delayed
beyond the usual date because of their past activities. One case (Heryadi) may herald closer ties with China.''
Another 2007 cable details US concern about the appearance at a Kopassus anniversary celebration of Tommy Suharto,
the notorious son of the former president who served several years in prison for arranging the killing of a judge
who convicted him of fraud.
In May 2008, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, was briefed by US diplomats that
''the key impediment to expanded engagement remains the failure of the GOI [Indonesia] to press for accountability
for past human rights abuses by security forces.
''The accountability issue stopped our planned engagement with the elite Army Special Forces (KOPASSUS) dead in
its tracks and can be felt in other mil-mil [military-to-military] activities.''
The cable welcomes the Indonesian military's reforms but noted they were not ''the same as putting generals behind
bars for past human rights abuses''.
In late 2009, about six months before the US lifted its Kopassus ban, US Under-Secretary for Defence Bill Burns
told senior Indonesian officials that ''engagement with KOPASSUS continued to be a difficult and complex issue,
particularly as there remained many in Washington, including in Congress, with serious concerns about accountability
for past KOPASSUS actions''.
But the US cables also reveal the Jakarta embassy's efforts to water down the background screening that Indonesian
military officers must undergo if they undertake training in the US.
The US embassy is also revealed in another cable as heavily playing down a 2009 report by Human Rights Watch that
alleges Kopassus soldiers had committed recent human rights abuses in Papua.
The embassy called the report unbalanced and unconfirmed. It said that the abuses detailed did not appear to ''meet
the standard of gross violation of human rights''.
''In these incidents, KOPASSUS personnel allegedly beat and kicked nine Papuans inside a KOPASSUS compound … Several
cases involved Papuans who were drunk or engaged in disruptive behaviour near the KOPASSUS barracks.''
THE Indonesian government has denied it threatened to derail US President Barack Obama's visit to Jakarta to pressure
Washington into lifting its ban on training its controversial Kopassus army special forces.
The US announcement in July that it would remove its 12-year moratorium on training Kopassus, which has a history
of abusing human rights, was based on mutual interest, Indonesian Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.
''In the agreement that we signed, Indonesia and the US had the same position.
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''We did not force them,'' The Jakarta Globe reported Mr Yusgiantoro saying. ''We never did such a thing. Really
there is nothing [to the reports],'' he said.
The US embassy in Jakarta also denied the reports. ''The President's visit was not conditioned on re-engagement
with Kopassus,'' spokeswoman Corina Sander said.
But WikiLeaks cables from the US State Department show Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono privately
told the US that continuing the ban was the ''litmus test'' of the relationship between the two nations.
The cables also show that US diplomats encouraged Washington to yield to Dr Yudhoyono's demands to ensure Indonesia's
military and security services would protect US interests in the region.
They show that although US diplomats in Jakarta were concerned about resuming ties because of human rights violations,
they played down credible reports by Human Rights Watch about such abuses.
''It was clear that our concerns were making them uncomfortable, but we always got a solicitous reception from
them,'' Phil Robertson, HRW's deputy director for the Asia division, said of his organisation's discussions with
the US embassy in Jakarta.
''Now what we have found as a result of WikiLeaks is that we put information out there and they were disparaging
it,'' Mr Robertson said.
New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who arrived here Monday to be the chief
guest at the Republic Day, has the reputation of being a moderate and decisive army general and a good administrator.
When he won election to the presidency over incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri in 2004, Yudhoyono became the first
directly elected chief executive in Indonesian history.
This is his second visit to India and he hopes to consolidate the 'strategic partnership' for which he signed an
agreement in 2005.
His biographers note that the four-star general did not belong to the inner circle of the army that formed around
Gen. Suharto, one of the world's longest serving military dictators.
By 1995, he had a reputation for integrity and respect for human rights that led to his appointment as chief military
observer with the UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia, and as head of a contingent of Indonesian soldiers there.
Yudhoyono's track record includes probing the terror attacks in Bali in 2002 and the Marriott Hotel in 2003. He
won plaudits for the quick arrest and prosecution of a large group of conspirators, believed to belong to extremist
Islamist groups.
Just two months into presidency in his first term, he led the massive relief work when the country was ravaged
by a tsunami in December 2004, in which over 200,000 people died.
Dubbed 'the thinking general', Yudhoyono has maintained strong popularity among ordinary Indonesians who used a
different nickname: his initials, SBY.
Yudhoyono and wife Ani Herrawati, who accompanies him on the visit to India, have two sons.
The 1949-born son of an army officer, Yudhoyono was trained partly in the US.
If US President Barack Obama has his roots partially in Indonesia, Yudhoyono, a fluent English speaker, has in
an interview quoted by the Al Jazeera television network, said: 'I love the United States, with all its faults.
I consider it my second country.'
He retired from the army in 2000 to join President Abdur Rahman Waheed's government as a minister and emerged as
a key figure. But Waheed fired him when, on facing impeachment, he wanted Yudhoyono to declare a state of emergency
that the former general refused.
Yudhoyono's tenure has been marked by a series of reform efforts and liberal policies aimed at reducing governmental
corruption and enhancing Indonesia's political and economic standing.
He has encountered problems common to leaders of developing countries: reducing institutional corruption, improving
infrastructure, and attracting foreign investment.
Experts say President Obama's promising start in Cairo
last June has given way to disappointment
In June 2009, addressing a packed audience at Cairo University, US President Barack Obama offered Muslims "a
new beginning" based on "mutual interest and mutual respect". The speech was well received. The
president was riding a wave of goodwill.
But since then, the mood has changed. Recent polls show that, in key parts of the Muslim world, his credibility
has slumped.
Now he has a second chance to return to some of the themes he set out in Cairo.
On 9 November Mr Obama will visit Indonesia - a trip already twice postponed - on the second leg of an Asian tour
that also takes him to India, South Korea and Japan.
According to presidential aide Ben Rhodes, the visit will highlight the close ties between the United States and
the world's biggest Muslim-majority country on issues ranging from climate change to counter-terrorism.
It will also underscore the personal connection between Mr Obama and a country where he spent part of his boyhood.
In a big public speech in Jakarta - at a location Mr Rhodes said had yet to be finalised - the president will highlight
Indonesia's role as an "emerging democracy" and its tradition of tolerance and pluralism.
'Work cut out'
Bob Woodward's Book, Obama's Wars, in a New York bookstore, Sept 2010 Woodward's book on the Afghan war portrays
a divided White House
Challenged on whether the pledges laid out in the Cairo speech had been fulfilled, Mr Rhodes acknowledged it was
a mixed picture.
On Iraq, he said, "we've delivered". The US had pulled out its combat troops by the August 2010 deadline
the president had set himself and there had been some success in "degrading al-Qaeda".
On the Middle East peace process, there had been "some false starts", but the administration was encouraging
the parties to keep talking.
And on Iran, the administration had "changed the context" by uniting a coalition of countries behind
new UN sanctions. If Iran was failing to live up to its obligations, that was Iran's fault, he added.
But many experts in Washington say the administration has its work cut out convincing the sceptics.
Revelations by journalist Bob Woodward about its indecision over Afghanistan have been damaging.
Mr Woodward's latest book, Obama's Wars, paints a picture of a dysfunctional administration riven by splits over
whether to agree to the military's request for more troops. It depicts a president who gave in to pressure - and
has little faith in his chosen course.
Realistic goal?
One of Washington's elder statesmen, Thomas Pickering, blames the spin-doctors.
“Start Quote
[The Obama administration] is heavily dominated by domestic political advisers [whose goal] is to present the president
with risk-free or nearly risk-free alternatives”
End Quote Thomas Pickering Former US envoy to the UN
The current administration is "heavily dominated by domestic political advisers" whose priority is the
president's re-election in 2012, says Mr Pickering, the UN ambassador during the George H W Bush administration,
from 1989 to 1992.
Their goal - unrealistic, in Mr Pickering's view - is "to present the president with risk-free or nearly risk-free
alternatives". Foreign policy just does not work like that.
Whether it is possible for the American superpower to win Muslim hearts and minds - and if so, how - is a debate
that has raged since George W Bush's second term.
It was then, as things were going badly in Iraq, that officials began to talk about a long-term "ideological
war" against global extremism.
Winning this "war of ideas" required helping the Muslim mainstream resist the siren song of the radical
fringe.
Many experts are struck by the degree of continuity between the two administrations.
Although President Obama has made some crucial changes - prohibiting torture, and banishing the term "war
on terror" from official discourse - he has stuck with many of the security policies of his predecessor.
Covert operations in Afghanistan - fresh details of which were revealed by Mr Woodward - have been stepped up.
Issues surrounding the status of prisoners in Guantanamo, and whether and where they should stand trial, are unresolved.
Strikes by Predator drones against suspected al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan have increased.
Domestic troubles
Pastor Terry Jones Plans by Florida Pastor Terry Jones to hold a Koran burning sparked fears of violence in the
US
President Obama's efforts to reach out to Muslims abroad have undoubtedly been hampered by new controversies over
Islam at home.
This year's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda on New York and Washington was overshadowed by an ugly
outburst of Islamophobia.
Controversy raged over the planned construction of an Islamic centre in Manhattan - and the threat by an obscure
Florida pastor to publicly burn the Koran.
With mid-term elections looming, some of the president's Republican opponents sought to exploit the anti-Muslim
mood for political gain.
The administration's critics - on both left and right - think it has been too timid in speaking out on governance
and human rights in the Muslim world.
Writing in the journal Foreign Policy, Ellen Laipson - a former National Security Council official who runs the
Stimson Center, a Washington think-tank - says the president should rethink his policy of engagement with the Muslim
world.
His priorities, she argues, should be "strengthening public institutions, promoting democratic values and
practices, and speaking out when gross injustices occur, even in states that are officially friendly to America".
Offering an outstretched hand to the Muslim world - whether in Cairo or Jakarta - is a sign of a president reluctant
to put all his faith in military power.
He believes global problems require "soft-power" solutions, not just Predator strikes.
But two years after his election, many in the Muslim world and beyond have yet to be persuaded he can deliver.
Roger Hardy is based in Washington at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
He is the author of The Muslim Revolt: A Journey through Political Islam, published earlier this year.
Ms Indrawati's departure is likely to trouble foreign investors
Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has been appointed managing director of the World Bank.
Accepting her resignation, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praised her success in reforming the economy and
said he would "truly miss" her.
Ms Indrawati has largely been credited with steering South East Asia's largest economy through the financial
crisis.
But she is at the centre of a criminal investigation into a 2008 bank bailout, over which she denies any wrongdoing.
Analysts say her resignation will be a blow to Indonesia's efforts to tackle corruption and reform the economy.
Ms Indrawati's appointment was announced in a statement on the World Bank website.
The bank's President Robert Zoellick said she had been "an outstanding finance minister" in Indonesia
and would bring to the bank her knowledge of working in a country "that still faces significant challenges
of poverty".
Mr Zoellick also praised Ms Indrawati's "success in combating corruption and strengthening good governance".
Investor concern
Ms Indrawati will be second-in-command at one of the most influential financial institutions in the world once
she takes up her new post on 1 June. She will be in charge of three main regions - Latin America and the Caribbean,
the Middle East and North Africa
and East Africa and the Pacific.
In a statement accepting her resignation, Mr Yudhoyono praised Ms Indrawati - a noted economic reformer - for her
achievements during her five years in office, calling her "one of our best ministers".
"The finance minister has worked hard to develop the right fiscal policy, and to reform our finance and tax
departments," he said.
"When the global crisis affected Indonesia, the finance minister worked hard to save our economy from its
dire impact."
Protesters had called for Ms Indrawati and the vice-president to resign
Ms Indrawati said it was "a great honour" for her and for Indonesia to "have this opportunity to
contribute to the very important
mission of the Bank in changing the world".
She will remain in office for another week - her replacement has not yet been announced.
The announcement comes as investigations continue into the controversial $700m (£460m) Bank Century bailout
in 2008.
Parliamentarians allege that she and Vice-President Boediono were guilty of mishandling funds after some of the
bank's wealthy clients later donated money to the president's election campaign.
Both ministers have consistently maintained their innocence - with Ms Indrawati saying her actions helped to save
Indonesia's banking sector from collapsing.
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani says Ms Indrawati is well liked and trusted by the international investment community,
so her resignation is likely to disappoint investors.
It is likely they will want to see a credible and reliable replacement filling her shoes in order for them to continue
investing in the country, says our correspondent
World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick has announced the appointment of Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani
Indrawati as managing director of the World Bank Group.
“She has been an outstanding finance minister, with in-depth knowledge of both development issues and the role
of the World Bank Group,” Zoellick stated in a press release.
“As a member of the senior team she will play a key role in helping to lead the bank as we move to strengthen client
support, implement our reform program, and anticipate future challenges,” he said
Sri Mulyani will start June 1 as one of the Washington-based bank’s three managing directors, the highest rank
under Zoellick.
Mulyani, according to the press release, accepted the appointment, saying: “It is a great honor for me and for
my country to have this opportunity to contribute to the very important mission of the bank in changing the world".
The appointment follows an international search process. Mulyani, 47, will replace Juan Jose Daboub, who will complete
his four-year term June 30, overseeing 74 nations in Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, the
Middle East and North Africa, the bank said. Daboub is a former El Salvador finance minister.
Mulyani and Vice President Boediono have been the target of an opposition campaign accusing them of abusing their
authority during the Rp 6.7 trillion ($740 million) bailout of Bank Century in 2008.
A breakfast meeting on Wednesday between Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and her top echelon officials may
reveal a different story behind the exit of the reform-minded minister from the Cabinet.
During the meeting, Mulyani said her acceptance of a prestigious job at the World Bank was not negotiable and was
ordered by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according to officials attending the meeting.
Officials were puzzled upon seeing the World Bank letter confirming Mulyani’s appointment as a World Bank managing
director effective June 1.
“She showed the letter to us and said she had been tasked by the President to serve with the World Bank,” said
one of the officials.
“We understood later in the evening the minister had never applied for the job, and actually had no prior plan
to resign. But she was told by the President on Monday to take it.”
Another official said Yudhoyono called World Bank president Robert Zoellick on Friday, offering him to take aboard
Mulyani, but without consulting her prior.
Mulyani refused to comment on the issue.
But as her departure is deemed sudden, speculation is rife that Yudhoyono may have intentionally forced Mulyani
to resign over seemingly endless political bickering stemming from vested interests.
Yudhoyono announced Wednesday he had approved Mulyani’s request for the job upon receiving her resignation the
same day.
Mulyani’s departure seems to verify The Jakarta Post’s report published earlier this year that Yudhyono planned
to replace Mulyani following pressure from Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
Aburizal, who is the patron of the influential Bakrie Group, is known to have personal issues with Mulyani and
her aggressive reform programs.
Legislators, spearheaded by Golkar, have for the last eight months vied to oust Mulyani and Vice President Boediono
over their role in bailing out Bank Century during the height of the global financial meltdown in 2008.
Politicians have accused Mulyani and Boediono of recklessness in the ballooning bailout worth Rp 6.76 trillion
(US$716 million).
The Bank Century debacle has become a protracted political hassle within Yudhoyono’s coalition, with politicians
demanding the dismissal of Boediono and Mulyani.
“Mulyani’s exit from the Cabinet may suggest a compromise between Yudhoyono and Aburizal,” said political analyst
Yudi Latief of the Reform Institute.
He said the political deal might not be limited to the Bank Century case but to the wider interest of keeping the
Bakrie business group free from any obstructions.
Senior Golkar politician Ade Komaruddin dismissed allegations that Aburizal and Golkar had played a role in Mulyani’s
departure.
Political analyst Arbi Sanit believed Yudhoyono might have actually engineered Mulyani’s exit to ensure political
stability.
“It’s an exit strategy that makes everyone happy. Mulyani will not lose face as she will get a prestigious job,
Yudhoyono can now fix the battered coalition, and investors can do business peacefully without being confronted
by political bickering,” he said.
Aside from keeping the coalition intact, analysts have also suggested Mulyani ousting’s may be related with her
stiff reform program in rooting out graft at the tax and customs offices, and keeping the state budget’s management
free from vested interests.
Mulyani’s measures faced strong opposition, especially from corrupt bureaucrats, businessmen and politicians, many
of whom are close to Yudhoyono.
Mulyani once tendered her resignation in late 2008 after Yudhoyono over-ruled her decision not to shut the stock
market to prevent shares of Bakrie-related companies from plunging in value.
Yudhoyono, however, denied the resignation.
Who will benefit from Mulyani’s departure?
1. Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie. Mulyani said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in mid January,
she believed her past actions had offended Aburizal.
2. Former tax chief Hadi Purnomo (now chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency). Hadi remains an influential figure
at the tax office with numerous disciples despite being sacked by Mulyani in mid 2006. Hadi was reportedly furious
over his dismissal.
3. Smugglers. A business group close with the police and military may have financed street rallies against Mulyani
after its illicit businesses were interrupted by Mulyani’s reform program.
4. Islamic parties (PKS, PAN, PPP). Several lawmakers were reportedly resented Mulyani’s refusal to contribute
to the recent general election.
5. Mining companies: because of tax problems related to unpaid value-added tax.
6. Companies linked to SBY’s inner-circle: Several companies have been netted by Mulyani in tax dodging cases.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says that it will not stop its investigation into Finance Minister
Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s role in the Bank Century bailout even if she takes up the World Bank managing director
job.
"The World Bank is still in the world, therefore, as long as she is in the world, we can always look for her,"
KPK deputy chairman Bibit Samad Riyanto told a hearing with the House of Representatives’ monitoring team on the
Bank Century case on Wednesday.
"We don't mind traveling to Washington to question her."
The House declared Mulyani responsible for the bailout which rose ten times to Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million)
from its original estimate.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick was said to appoint Mulyani due to her unique capacity and ability that could
benefit developing countries in fighting poverty.
Mulyani will reportedly start her term as the World Bank managing director from June 1. President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono has approved her resignation as the finance minister.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has approved Finance Minister Sri Mulyani’s resignation that will allow her to take the
World Bank managing director post.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has approved Finance Minister Sri Mulyani’s resignation that will allow her
to take the World Bank managing director post.
Speaking in a televised media conference at the State Palace on Wednesday, Yudhoyono said Mulyani’s departure was
“a big loss” but ensured that her successor would carry on the financial and tax reforms she had initiated during
her tenure.
“As a finance minister Ibu Sri Mulyani has worked very hard to develop an appropriate fiscal policy and reform
our financial system to discipline the use of the state budget and improve accountability. She kick-started tax
reform which has resulted in a steady increase in state revenue from taxes over the last few years.
“She has been our vanguard of diplomacy in international forums, particularly the G20 and during a time of global
crisis she worked hard along with the government to shield Indonesia from the adverse impacts of the crisis,” Yudhoyono
said.
The President said he received a letter of request from World Bank president Robert Zoellick on Mulyani’s appointment
on Friday last week and met with him to discuss the matter further.
Yudhoyono said he had received Mulyani’s resignation earlier on Wednesday.
The World Bank’s move came on the heels of a political crisis which centers on the House of Representatives’ demand
for legal measures against Mulyani and Vice President Boediono in connection with the Bank Century bailout in November
2008.
Mulyani moves on; questions remain
Rendi A. Witular and Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 05/06/2010 9:50 AM |
More than six months of political bickering within President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s coalition camp has resulted
in the loss of the nation’s reform-minded Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
Yudhoyono announced Wednesday his approval for Mulyani’s resignation and her acceptance of a prestigious job as
one of the World Bank’s managing directors, the highest rank under World Bank president Robert Zoellick.
The Indonesian stock exchange tumbled 3.8 percent Wednesday, the steepest one-day decline in 17 months after the
announcement, because it remains unclear who will replace Mulyani.
Mulyani, 47, will start her new job on June 1, replacing Juan Jose Daboub. She will oversee 74 nations in Latin
America, the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa.
“I have to convey to the people that we are losing one of our best ministers,” Yudhoyono said in a press conference.
He said the new finance minister should continue with the tax, customs and financial reforms initiated by Mulyani.
Yudhoyono said he had received a letter dated April 25 from Zoellick on April 30 that requested Mulyani be allowed
to take the job at the World Bank. Yudhoyono instantly agreed to the request.
However, it was the World Bank that broke the story first by announcing the news on its web site. Yudhoyono later
confirmed it.
Mulyani’s sudden departure from the Cabinet has raised speculation that a deal might have been struck between Yudhoyono
and his coalition camp to end the political instability stemming from the Bank Century bailout debacle, which centered
on Mulyani and Vice President Boediono.
Politicians have been using the bailout issue to oust Mulyani and reform-minded Boediono, alleging them of recklessness
for approving the Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) bailout at the height of the global financial crisis in late
2008.
The issue was first raised in mid 2009, and later in December that year the House of Representatives set up an
investigation committee to study the circumstances of the bailout and especially the roles Mulyani and Boediono
played in it.
Some critics believe the House’s real motive may have been founded in their opposition to Mulyani’s reform program,
which has made it difficult for politicians to plunder the state budget or to gain access, illicitly, to government
projects.
“It’s a kind of a good versus evil thing going on in this bickering between politicians and Mulyani and Boediono
— both are pictured as the good guys,” said political analyst Arbi Sanit from the University of Indonesia.
“Mulyani’s resignation may suggest a compromise was reached by the coalition to keep the political condition conducive
at the cost of a reformer,” he said.
Several Finance Ministry top officials told The Jakarta Post Mulyani was actually forced to resign, and was offered
the World Bank job as an honorable exit route.
“We understood later the minister had never applied for the job, and actually had no prior plan to resign. But
she was told by the President on Monday to take the job,” said one of the officials.
Mulyani’s “dismissal” was actually planned in early February when the Post reported a deal was struck between Yudhoyono
and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie to oust Mulyiani.
Yudhoyono at that time rebutted the report, saying it was “poor fiction”.
“This is exceptionally creative, but awful fiction. This [speculation] won’t benefit the people. This is the politics
of fiction; they made up what’s not there,” he said.
However, Yudhoyono has now released Mulyani, allowing her to serve an overseas job with an annual salary of around
$500,000 even though she remains very much needed to keep the reform program rolling.
Controversies Surrounding Mulyani’s exit
1. During Wednesday’s breakfast meeting with Finance Ministry’s top officials, Mulyani indicates that she has been
ordered to accept the World Bank job by the President.
2. The World Bank is the first to announce Mulyani’s appointment.
3. Yudhoyono says Mulyani is among the nation’s best ministers, yet allows her to serve overseas.
4. In a meeting with the Judicial Mafia Taskforce on Monday, Mulyani said she would not back down from fighting
graft at the tax and customs offices.
5. Mulyani refuses to explain her resignation.
