E N G L I S H

00008
9 771411 606501
ECONOMY
Stealing from the Poor
LAW
Bankrupting the
Corruptors
OCTOBER 15-21, 2012
INDONESIAS NEWS WEEKLY
ISSN: 1411 - 6065
WWW.TEMPO.CO
RP30,000
NOVEL BASWEDAN
MARKED
MAN
E N G L I S H
00008
9 771411 606501
ECONOMY
StealingfromthePoor
LAW
Bankruptingthe
Corruptors
OCTOBER 15-21, 2012
INDONESIAS NEWS WEEKLY
ISSN: 1411 - 6065
WWW.TEMPO.CO
RP30,000
NOVELBASWEDAN
MARKED
MAN
Cover: Kendra Paramita
PRESIDENT Yudhoyono nally decided to mediate in the conict between the
police and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). In no uncertain terms,
the president instructed that the contentious driving simulator corruption
case be fully handled by the KPK. The president also ordered that the 2004
case involving police ofcer Novel Baswedan, currently seconded to the KPK
as an investigator, be shelved until a more appropriate time and when a better
investigating mechanism has been found. Follow Tempos blow-by-blow
account of the story behind the presidents decision on the police-KPK conict.
MARKED MAN
Outreach
Volcano Watchers
LAST month, Mt Lokon in North Sulawesi and Mt
Gamalama in North Maluku erupted, triggering a high-
alert status. Thousands living on the fertile slopes of
the volcanoes were endangered. However, thanks to the
monitoring of volcano watchers, local residents are given
ample time to seek shelter. Tempo reports from North
Sulawesi and North Maluku on how the volcano watchers
work with limited resources amid a perilous environment.
Economy
Stealing from the Poor
FOR years, subsidized rice intended for the
poor has ended up everywhere but in the food
bowls of the poor in Indonesia. A recent social
audit by an NGO reveals that markups, poor
distribution system and poor quality rice have
marked the implementation of the rice for the
poor program. A wake-up call for the state-
owned logistics agency, Bulog.
36
Prelude
Capital Events 10
Cartoon 10
Indicator 7
Letters 6
Picture Window 8
Opinion
Column 50, 54
Opinion 11
Sidelines 62
National
National 26
Economy
SMEs 46
International
ASEAN & Beyond 48
Law
Law 28
Lifestyle
Eat Street 52
Prole
Interview 58
Arts
Arts 55
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1308/OCTOBER 15-21, 2012
4 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
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40 HALAMAN | RP 3.000
2 SEPTEMBER 2012
(LUAR JAWA + ONGKOS KIRIM)
EDISI
NO. 3983
TAHUN XII
A4
Berita
Korban Rusuh
Sampang Dipersulit
untuk Sekolah
A12
Perjalanan
C1
Pesona
Gaya Dua
Selebritas
Sepotong 'Kemang'
di Beijing
A14 Sehat
A15 Kuliner
A17 Digital
A18 Senggang
A19 Komik
A20 Komunitas
A22 Fotografi
A23 Pentas
A24 Profil
B1 Olahraga
C2 Sastra
C4 Otomotif
ILUSTRASI DIGITAL: UGI
JAKARTA Aksi penembakanterhadappoli-
si di Solo, Jawa Tengah, ditengarai menjadi
awal aksi teror yang lebih besar. Menurut
pengamat pertahanan dan keamanan dari
Universitas Indonesia, Andi Widjajanto, aksi
tersebut hanya wake-up call (panggilan)
terhadap sel-sel jaringan teroris lainnya.
Ditengarai akan ada peningkatan aksi
teror pada September hingga akhir tahun,
menuju sasaran utama, kata Andi saat
dihubungi kemarin.
Serentetan aksi teroris terjadi dalam dua
pekan di Solo, JawaTengah. TimDetasemen
Khusus 88 Antiteror pada Jumat malam
lalu terlibat baku tembak di Jalan Veteran,
Solo, dengan tiga terduga teroris. Aksi
itu diduga berkaitan dengan
penembakan pos polisi di
Singosarenyangterjadi seha-
ri sebelumnya serta kejadian
pada 17 dan 18 Agustus lalu.
Aksi tersebut mengisyarat-
kan bahwa mereka (teroris)
masih eksis, sekaligus isyarat
bagi kelompok lain agar mulai
bergerak dan berkonsolidasi,
kata Andi.
Pengamat terorisme Al
Chaidar juga meyakini
akan ada serangan lanjutan
setelah penembakan polisi
di Solo. Jika saat ini mereka
dikejar polisi, mereka tetapmela-
kukan penyerangan sambil lari,
katanya. Dia menilai aksi penemba-
kan tersebut merupakan ijtima dari
teroris bahwa mereka tetap aktif.
Kepala Biro Penerangan Masyarakat
Mabes Polri, Brigadir Jenderal Boy Rafli
Amar, membenarkan soal adanya tren
peningkatan aksi teror setelah Lebaran.
Biasanya memang meningkat setelah Idul
Fitri, kata Boy kemarin. Dia memastikan
bahwa Mabes Polri beserta kepolisian dae-
rah setempat bakal terus menyelidiki aksi
teror yang terjadi di Solo.
SUBKHAN | AHMAD RAFIQ | SUKMA
AKSI TEROR
BISA MENGHEBAT
HINGGA DESEMBER
Solo
Poso
Mindanao
MORO-POSO-SOLO
Salah seorang tersangka yang tewas,
Farhan, diduga sebagai anak Abu
Umar, tokoh Negara Islam Indonesia,
dan anak didik Ali Fauzi, mantan aktivis
Afganistan, Moro, dan Ambon. Farhan
pernah bergabung dengan kelompok
Abu Sayyaf di Moro, dan menjadi
pelatih menembak di Poso.
Hobi bersepeda menjelajahi daerah-daerah di
Nusantara sudah terlalu biasa bagi sebagian orang.
Kini, para pesepeda itu sudah merambah jalan-jalan
kota dan obyek-obyek wisata di negeri orang.
HALAMAN
A5-A9
INI BARU ISYARAT UNTUK
MULAI BERGERAK.
SENJATA
1 pistol Pietro
Beretta (Italia)
bertulisan Property
Philippines National
Police, 3 magasin,
43 peluru 9 mm
merek Luger, dan 9
holopoint CBC 9 mm.
Diduga pernah
dipakai untuk
menyerang Pos
Lebaran Gemblekan
pada 17 Agustus
lalu, karena di
pos itu ditemukan
selongsong peluru
berkaliber sama.
MADE IN MORO
Densus 88 Antiteror menewaskan dua
tersangka penyerangan ke pos polisi di Solo
dan menangkap satu orang lainnya pada
Jumat malam lalu. Mereka terkait dengan
jaringan teroris di Filipina.
PELAKU
Tewas: Farhan, Muchsin
Ditangkap: Bayu
Umur rata-rata 19 tahun,
terafiliasi dengan jaringan Abu Fatih
(Kelompok Jamaah Islamiyah lama
yang berdiri pada 2000)
NASKAH DAN BAHAN: AHMAD RAFIQ |
ANANDA BADUDU | ROFIUDDIN | SUJATMIKO
| SUBKHAN. SUMBER: WAWANCARA DAN
KETERANGAN PERS
BERSEPEDA
DI NEGERI
ORANG
BANDAR
ANGGARAN
00027
9 770126 427302
RP 29.700
WWW.TEMPO.CO
MAJALAH BERITA MINGGUAN
ISSN: 0126 - 4273
EDISI 3-9 SEPTEMBER 2012
BUMI HANGUS
SYIAHSAMPANG
JEJARINGKORUPSI
HAKIMTIPIKOR
MOBILLISTRIK
TIDAKEKONOMIS?
Belasananggotanyaterindikasi melakukan
transaksi keuanganmencurigakan.
00002
9 771411 606501
E N G L I S H
OUTREACH
RevivingAncient
Alphabets
NATIONAL
MaliceAforethought
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012
INDONESIAS NEWS WEEKLY
ISSN: 1411 - 6065
WWW.TEMPO.CO
RP30,000
BUDGET BLOWOUT
Questionable banktransactions of
legislators come to light
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6 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
LETTERS
Chief Editor Wahyu Muryadi
Deputy Chief Editor Yuli Ismartono
Executive Editor Hermien Y. Kleden
Senior Editor Richard Bennett
Editor Lucas Edward
Reporter Sadika Hamid
Editorial Staff Syarifani
Advertising Section Melly Rasyid (Head)
Translators Aris Prawira, Brady Buddviar, Farlan William, Jafar Karim, Jennifer Lindsay
(Sidelines), Josh Mitchell, Kendisan Kusumaatmadja, Judistira Moeis Pontoh, Laura
Rotinsulu, Marianus Kleden, Marjorie Suanda, Mohamad Hamid, Nataya Ermanti, Oik Yusuf
Araya, Sakia Kyu, Tamalia Alisjahbana, Tatu Maulani
TEMPO WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE (INDONESIAN EDITION)
Chief Editor Wahyu Muryadi
Deputy Chief Editor Gendur Sudarsono
Executive Editor Arif Zulkifi
Senior Editors Bambang Harymurti, Diah Purnomowati, Edi Rustiadi M, Fikri Jufri, Goenawan
Mohamad, Leila S. Chudori, Putu Setia, S. Malela Mahargasarie, Toriq Hadad
Managing Editors Bina Bektiati, Budi Setyarso, Hermien Y. Kleden, Idrus F. Shahab, L.R.
Baskoro, Mardiyah Chamim, M. Taufqurohman, Nugroho Dewanto, Purwanto Setiadi, Seno
Joko Suyono
Editors Ahmad Taufk, Bagja Hidayat, Irfan Budiman, Kurniawan, Padjar Iswara, Purwani
Diyah Prabandari, Wahyu Dhyatmika, Yandhrie Arvian, Y. Tomi Aryanto.
Staff Writers Adek Media, Anton Aprianto, Budi Riza, Muchamad Naf, Nunuy Nurhayati,
Retno Sulistyowati, Rini Kustiani, Rr Ariyani, Sunudyantoro, Yandi M. Rofyandi, Cheta
Nilawaty, Fery Firmansyah, Harun Mahbub, Nieke Indrieta, Ninin P. Damayanti, Stefanus
Teguh Edi Pramono.
Reporters Sorta Tobing, Yuliawati
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Graphics Design Gilang Rahadian (Creative Director), Eko Punto Pambudi, Djunaedi,
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TEMPO NEWS ROOM, TEMPO INTERACTIVE,
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Tulus Wijanarko Editors Fajar W. Hermawan, Jajang Jamaluddin, Jobpie Sugiharto, Setri
Yasa Editorial Board Ali Anwar, Arif Firmansyah, Eni Saeni, Istiqomatul Hayati, Lis Yuliawati,
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Agustiar, Eko Nopiansyah, Eko Ari Wibowo, Erwin Prima, Fanny Febiana, Gabriel Wahyu
Titiyoga, Ismi Wahid, Kartika Candra, Kurniasih Budi, M. Iqbal Muhtarom, M. Nurrochmi,
Munawarroh, Mustafa Silalahi, Reh Atemalem Susanti, Reza Maulana, Rieka Rahardiana,
Sandy Indra Pratama, Sorta Tobing, Titis Setyaningtyas, Wahyudin Fahmi Surabaya Jalil
Hakim, Zed Abidin. Yogyakarta Philipus Parera (Bureau Chief), L.N Idayanie, R. Fadjri
Bandung Widiarsi Agustina Research Ngarto Februana (Acting Division Head), Indra Mutiara,
Viva B. Kusnandar
Corporate Chief Editor Toriq Hadad
Corporate Creative Director S. Malela Mahargasarie
Chief of Education & Evaluation Bureau M. Taufqurrahman
Address Kebayoran Centre Blok A11- A15 Jalan Kebayoran Baru, Mayestik, Jakarta 12240.
Tel: +6221 7255625, Fax: +6221 725-5645/50
Email koran@tempo.co.id
Publisher PT TEMPO INTI MEDIA Tbk,
BNI Cabang Kramat, Jakarta, A.C. 017.000.280.765.001
President Director Bambang Harymurti
Directors Herry Hernawan, Toriq Hadad
Corporate Secretary Rustam F. Mandayun
Address Jalan Palmerah Barat No. 8, Jakarta 12210,
Tel: +6221 5360409 Fax: +6221 5439569
Marketing Herry Hernawan Advertising Gabriel Sugrahetty (Vice Director), Adeliska Virwani,
Adelisnasari, Haderis Alkaf, Imam Hadi, Nurulita Pasaribu, Sulis Prasetyo, Tito Prabowo
Commercial Production Prasidono Listiaji (Division Head), Arif Arianto, Dewi Retno Lestari,
Hotma Siregar, Mira Larasati, Nugroho Adhi, Ridwan Hendri, Susandijani Photography &
Photo Research Lourentius E.P. Design & Layout Andi Supriyanto, Jemi Ismoko, Juned Aryo,
Kemas M. Ridwan Advertising Secretariat Dani Melawati Circulation Division Windalaksana
(Division Head) Secretariat Erina Circulation Adhi Basuki, Alex Anindito, Alfs Primatra, Difron
Dahiri, Eko Sigit Hermawan, Hariyadi, Harri Cahyadi, Hengki Operanokasari, Joko Prasetiyo,
Shalf Andri, Sutiyono Distribution Ismet Tamara (Unit Head) Customer Service Berkah
Demiat Business Development & Marketing Communication Division Meiky Sofyansyah
(Division Head) Promotion Rachadian Nashidik Marketing Research Ai Mulyani K.
Circulation Division & Marketing Communication Division Address
Gedung TEMPrint Lt. 4, Jalan Palmerah Barat No. 8, Jakarta 12210. Tel: +6221 5360409
Fax: +6221 5349569. Advertising Sales Division Kebayoran Center Blok A11-A15, Mayestik,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12240. Tel: +6221 7255625 Fax: +6221 7206995 ISSN 0126-
4273 SIUPP No. 354/SK/MENPEN/SIUPP/1998. Printed by PT TEMPRINT, Jakarta.
E N G L I S H
Medan Pos Objects
I AM Farianda Putra Sinik, Chief Editor of the Medan Pos daily, and
the frst son of Dr Drs H Ibrahim Sinik, the owner of Medan Pos. I wish to
raise my objection to and demand an apology from Tempo in connec-
tion with the news report titled Requiem for a Massacre in the October 1-
7, 2012 edition.
Page 55 reads To help Anwar pour out his imagination, Oppenheimer
introduced him to his old friend, Ibrahim Sinik, the owner of the Medan
Post daily Anwar used the frst foor of the newspapers of ce for his kill-
ings. This is excessively tendentious and harms the image of Medan
Pos.
Tempo has never confrmed nor clarifed with my father when men-
tioning the of ce of Medan Pos as a place for murders committed by An-
war Congo. The word old friend is irrelevant since my father and An-
war Congo were not friends. They were simply acquaintances and had
never engaged in anything.
I had to state that Medan Pos frst appeared on May 9, 1966 under the
name Sinar Revolusi with an address on Jalan Masjid, Medan. In 1972,
Sinar Revolusi was changed into Sinar Pembangunan and its editorial/
administrative of ce moved to Jalan Perdana, now Jalan Mayjen S. Sis-
womihardjo. The of ce was still in the form of a two-story shop-house.
In 1990, the name Sinar Pembangunan was changed into Medan Pos.
Joshua Oppenheimer requested permission to take pictures at Med-
an Pos of ce in connection with the making of the Arsan dan Aminah
flm. I personally supervised the pictures being shot, and I assure that
there was nothing as described in the Tempo report.

FARIANDA PUTRA SINIK
Chief Editor, Medan Pos daily

Thank you for your explanation. We did write the report based on
the scenes from the flm The Act of Killing and from an interview with
Joshua Oppenheimer. We twice visited Ibrahim Siniks house to inter-
view him, but according to his associate, Tata, who received us, Ibra-
him was ill so we were unable to meet himEd.
Is Tempo Objective?
APPARENTLY Tempos reports on the destruction of Gestapu/PKI
D
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:
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C
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Also follow the polling at www.yahoo.co.id
Next Weeks Poll
Do you think that the conict between the police and
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is over after
President Yudhoyono made a speech and provided a
solution? We look forward to your comments and answers
at www.tempo.co
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 7
seem to be exaggerated and cruel. But, is Tempo objective and
were the TNI and the Muslim community really that heartless
at that time?
I suggest that Tempo assign dozens of reporters to look at the
other side of the coin of the September 30 Movement. Just in-
terview members of Ansor and the HMI (Association of Indo-
nesian Muslim Students), former RPKAD (Army Special Forces)
members in East and Central Java, and the PII (Indonesian Mus-
lim Students) around Kanigoro. Also in Aceh. I was Head of PII
in South Sumatra areas in Palembang, and exactly on Septem-
ber 30, 1965, I moved to Jakarta. I did not witness the murders
and massacre of the former PKI members except the arrest of
a number of cabinet ministers that I saw in Menteng Raya, Cen-
tral Jakarta. While in Palembang, for months during 1965, many
friends and I were severely terrorized by members of the Na-
tional Front, PNI (Indonesian National PartyA-Su) and the PKI
(Indonesian Communist Party) along with scores of their follow-
ers.
We were terrifed for months. The image of Stalin-era Siberia
haunted the Islamic youths. At a youth building in Palembang,
the Pemuda Rakyat [PKIs Peoples Youth] held an exhibition
and mobilized the masses who kept voicing the slogan crush
the HMI. Twenty meters from the Palembang Grand Mosques
fence was a banting stir (drastic change) statue erected by the
PKI, and in a number of places PKI symbol was shown more
prominently and defantly.

USEP FATHUDDIEN
Jalan Venus Timur No. 3, Metro Bld., Bandung.

Response to Land Dispute Article
WE wish to respond to the news report in Tempos October 1-
7, 2012 issue, page 56, referring to PT Graha Nusa Utama and PT
Nusa Utama Sentosa and the status of the 22-hectare land for-
merly owned by the Fatmawati Foundation, as follows:
1. It is not true that PT GNU and PT NUS belong to Robert Tan-
tular, since their establishment to date they have nothing to do
with Robert Tantular both as a proprietor, a shareholder, and as
a board member.
2. It is not true that the 22-hectare land in question belonged
to the Fatmawati Foundation. It was the former property of the
Fatmawati Foundation which had become the rightful property
of PT GNU (11 hectares) and PT NUS (11 hectares).
3. To date there has never been a dispute of a civil nature be-
tween the Fatmawati Foundation and PT GNU or between the
Fatmawati Foundation and PT NUS.
4. It is not true that Robert Tantular was present at every meet-
ing or at the signing of the agreement and the accord.

MOHAMMAD NASHIHAN
Attorney at Law of PT GNU and PT NUS

Thank you for your clarifcation. The article was written
based on an interview with you as well as interviews with oth-
er sourcesEd.
President Yudhoyonos
Solution
FOR the past week, the dispute between the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) and National Police
Headquarters has inuenced the publics perception.
It started with the KPKs investigation into alleged
corruption in the procurement of driving simulators
for conducting tests to obtain a driving license. This
case caused a conict between the two institutions.
The police withdrew their investigators from the KPK
and tried to arrest a police commissioner who led the
investigation of the driving simulators corruption case.
In the midst this chaotic crisis, the public seems to be at
loss for a leader who can solve the problem. As a result,
a concerned public movement formed and insisted that
President Yudhoyono take action to resolve the issue.
The presidents silence is interpreted as permitting
efforts to weaken the anticorruption movement in
Indonesia.
According to last weeks polls at Tempo.co and Yahoo!
Indonesia, the majority of the public questions the
presidents position on the issue.
Fortunately, all became clear after President
Yudhoyono made a speech on Monday, October 8, 2012.
For the time being, the conict has ebbed and the public,
more or less, feel their voice has been heard.
INDICATOR
Unsure
6%
(431)
Do you think that President Yudhoyono is seriously
preventing efforts to weaken the Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK)? (October 3-10, 2012)
Total: 6,742 (100%) Total: 2,042 (100%)
Yes
16%
(1,085)
No
78%
(5,226)
No
87%
(1.778)
Unsure
3%
(60)
Yes
10%
(204)
NASIONAL
8 | | 19 AGUSTUS 2012
COWGIRLS in a novel marketing
gimmick, take orders for cattle and
goats to be sacriced on the holy day
of Idul Adha, which falls on October
26. This sale takes place in Depok,
West Java, where the cattle are priced
from Rp10 million to Rp150 million,
depending on their size.
PHOTO: ANTARA/M AGUNG RAJASA
PICTUREWINDOW
19 AGUSTUS 2012 |
|
9
10 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
Jl. Boulevard Bukit Gading Raya, Kelapa Gad-
ing, North Jakarta. For more information please
call 62-62-4586 5222 or log on to www.njis.org
PERFORMANCE
Jakfringe international festival presents Dal-
iso Chaponda, Rishi Budhrani and Luqman Bae-
haqi on October 20-21, 7:30pm-10pm, at The Ac
and Qi dine & lounge, The Sultan Hotel, Jl. Gatot
Subroto, Central Jakarta. Ticket: Rp300,000-
Rp350,000. For reservation SMS 08211 1943084
or log on to www.thecomedyclubindo.com.
CARTOON
CAPITALEVENTS
*RASKIN = rice for poor families **BULOG = State Logistics Agency
C
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T
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:

P
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Y
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S
THEATER

Chika: A Documentary Theater by MaAyu
Kanamori (Australia) on October 16-17, 8pm-
10pm, at Teater Salihara, Jl. Salihara No. 16,
Kebagusan, South Jakarta. Ticket: Rp25,000-
Rp50,000. For more detail please call 62-21-
7891202 or log on to salihara.org

Ten Hands by
Topology (Aus-
tralia) on OcTo-
ber 20, 8pm-10pm,
at Teater Salihara.
Ticket: Rp25,000-
Rp50,000. For more
detail please call 62-
21-7891202 or log
on to salihara.org
EXHIBITION

Housing the Crowd exhibition on October
18-November 7, 5pm-10pm, at Erasmus Huis Jl.
H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. S-3, Jakarta. For more de-
tail please call 62-21 524 1069 or log on to eras-
mushuis.nlmission.org

JASIS Science Fair 2012 on October 15-31,
8am-3pm, at North Jakarta International School,
T
HERE are justifable reasons why
the case involving Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) in-
vestigator Novel Baswedan must be
handled by an independent team.
There is nothing remarkable about the 2004
Bengkulu incident to which he is linked. But
eight years later, the case has become so com-
plex, mainly due to the political confict be-
tween two law enforcement institutions: the
KPK and the police. Hopefully, an independent
team under the direction of the National Com-
mission for Human Rights (KomnasHam) can
be more objective, and flter out the political in-
terests of these two institutions.
It is clear the KPK has a vested interest in re-
taining Police Commissioner Novel Baswedan.
He is, after all, one of their best investigators, endowed with a string
of other remarkable achievements. Novel is presently handling a
number of important corruption cases, such as the bribery alleg-
edly committed by the regent of Buol, the budget mafa inside the-
House of Representatives (DPR) and the seemingly unending graft
cases linked to the National Sports Week at Pekanbaru.
Conversely, the police are sure to have their own assessment of
what happened in Bengkulu in 2004, particularly after Novels work
at the KPK seems to grate against their own interests, for example,
the driving simulator case. The problem about this highly sensitive
case, is that two out of four of the suspects are top police of cers:
former chief of the Traf c Division, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo and his
former deputy, Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo. The lowest point in Nov-
els relations with his former organization occurred when healong
with four other police investigators seconded to the KPKrefused to
be recalled to police headquarters. In opting to permanently cross
over to the KPK and become its employee, he became an icon of
this anti-graft commissions opposition to the police.
The solution proposed by the police did not only fail, it created
new problems. After attempting to recall personnel whose term as
investigators at the KPK ended did not go as planned, the police re-
opened a case involving birds-nest thieves in Bengkulu eight years
ago. The police are convinced the case involved Novel, who at that
time was the newly assigned chief of the precinct, holding the rank
of frst inspector. Six birds-nest thieves were shot in the leg, among
them Mulyan Johan, who eventually died of his injuries.
In fact, the case can be described as opening old wounds, in
which the image of the police is bound to be negatively afected.
However, it would be dif cult not to conclude that the police inten-
tionally sought faults linked to Novel, and found
this one. The fact is, according to our source, the
theft case was closed about a year after it hap-
pened. So why, after eight years of no report
about it, two victims in the case suddenly decid-
ed to act against him? It is too much of a coin-
cidence that they did it only a few days before
Novel was to question Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo
over the driving simulator case last week.
There was another oddity. The shooting of
the six alleged birds-nest thieves was a crime,
particularly since it led to the death of one of
them. Without waiting for a formal complaint,
the police should have taken action right then
and there. Our sources conclusion made sense:
the police of cer who perpetrated the shooting
was duly disciplined and the case closed. So, if
today, the Bengkulu Police decides to act and arrest Novel with the
excuse that two of the victims brought charges against him, this
needs serious investigating, particularly since it was not the dead
victims family that brought the charges.
Both the KPK and police have diferent versions of the inci-
dent. The KPK claims Novel was not even at the site when the trag-
ic Bengkulu incident happened. Meanwhile the police are con-
vinced he shot the men, killing one of them. These contrasting ver-
sions became the concern of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyo-
no, prompting him to declare that the polices insistence that Novel
account for his actions in 2004, was improperly executed and un-
timely. But the police, according to one senior of cer, are standing
their ground and waiting for the right time to question Novel.
Every crime, even though it happened years ago, particular-
ly when it involves a fatality, must be thoroughly investigated. In
this case, the right timingas suggested by President Yudhoyono
would be after Novel has completed his driving simulator case. He
must frst be given space to carry out his task to expose the corrup-
tion case which has caused a Rp100 billion loss to the state.
Novel should not be the only one to be questioned over the Beng-
kulu incident. Novels superior at that time, the local police chief
as well as the Bengkulu Regional Police commander, must be in-
vestigated and receive the appropriate retribution for their roles.
So it will be interesting to await the fndings of the KomnasHam in-
dependent team. Whoever is at fault must be punished. But, if Nov-
el Baswedan is proven to have been elsewhere when the incident
took place and never pulled the trigger, the police must be willing
to close the case.
FULL STORY PAGE 14
Opinion
TEMPO, OCTOBER 15-21, 2012
MARKED MAN
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 11
Opinion
T
HE Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) made
an important decision with regards to their eforts in
catching corruptors. They will not only refer to the
Law on Corruption but also to the Money Laundering
Act. This is a commendable step, because in addition
to making it easy for law enforcers in catching corruptors, this leg-
islation will lead to heavier penalties for the perpetrators.
Last weeks breakthrough came during the trial of Wa Ode
Nurhayati, the suspect in the bribery case of regional infrastruc-
ture funds (DPID). For the crime of bribery, the prosecutor de-
manded that Wa Ode get a measly four months in jail. But the KPK
seems to have had a second, more efective bullet, which led to de-
mands that Wa Ode be sentenced to 10 years in prison for money
laundering.
This is the frst time that a corruption suspect has been charged
under the money laundering law. In fact, Article 73 states that the
KPKin addition to the police, the prosecutor, the directors-gener-
al of taxes and that of customsis authorized to investigate money
laundering cases.
There are two reasons why we think this is an important break-
through in the fght against corruption. First, by referring to Law
No. 8/2010 on the Prevention and Eradication of Money Launder-
ing, the jail sentences given to perpetrators can be long and hard.
In fact, the penalties for corruptors as stated by the corruption law,
ranging from a minimum four-year jail sentence to life imprison-
ment, is heavy enough. In exceptional cases, the death penalty can
be applied. Unfortunately, most of the judges have been giving the
minimum sentence, which is below fve years.
This is how the Money Laundering Law can become important.
The KPK can refer to it as its additional ammunition. So, even if a
corruption suspect is found guilty and given a light sentence, he
can still face a maximum 20-year prison term. This is applicable to
all forms of corruption cases, because there is no corruption with-
out money laundering. No matter what type of corruption the per-
son is being charged with, he is sure to conceal his ill-gotten gains.
And hiding this dirty money, in whatever form, as stated in Article
3-5, is an attempt at money laundering.
One other achievementthe second one resulting from the Wa
Ode trialis that money laundering charges can be launched with-
out frst having to prove its link to a corruption case. This is made
quite clear in Article 69. In the past, charges of money laundering
could only be used if the law enforcer could prove the money in-
volved is dirty money. Today, even when the moneys origins can-
not yet be proven, the suspects can be charged with money laun-
dering. And when the suspect is unable to demonstrate that his
money comes from legal sources, he must be declared guilty. In
football, this would be seen as a layered defensive move.
Moreover, this will lighten the KPKs load. All it needs to do is
look at the reported wealth of an of cial charged with corruption
or receiving bribes, and match it with the salary he receives in a giv-
en time. If an unexplained and excessive addition to his assets is ev-
ident, the suspect must prove that the money is not the proceeds of
corruption or bribery.
Indeed, not all additional wealth, no matter their unexplained
sources, can be brought to court. Only those who are suspected of
beneftting from corruption or other crimes can be asked to prove
the lawful origins of the funds. Little as this step may appear, it will
be a big help in the long run.
After this precedent, there will many more corruption cases re-
ceiving the appropriately heavy sentence in court.
FULL STORY PAGE 32
W
E claim to be a civilized nation, compliant to the
principles of Pancasila, the national philosophy.
But the recent attack on the Radar Bogor journalist,
would contradict this assertion. The attack was al-
legedly carried out by members of the Pancasila Youth (Pemuda
Pancasila),later refuteda mass organization that should be up-
holding the philosophy and principles of Pancasila, from which
they are named. Whatever the principles adhered to, they should
not be a justifcation for the attack.
Faturohman S. Kanday, the Radar Bogor deputy chief editor left
his of ce to meet the demonstrators last week. The hundreds of
protestors had demanded that the editors come out to meet them.
The newspapers chief editor, Hazairin Sitepu, was away on assign-
ment in Bandung. So, Faturohman met them. Without warning, he
was immediately beaten and kicked by the mob.
What was behind the attack? In its October 1 edition, Radar Bogor
published a report on the flm The Act of Killing, produced by Josh-
ua Oppenheimer, which featured the confessions of Anwar Congo,
a ticket scalper hanging around flm theaters in Medan, who took
part in the fall of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in North
Sumatra. Loaded on YouTube, the article reported that the kill-
ings of PKI sympathizers were carried out by members of Pancas-
12 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
THE SECOND BULLET
The KPK will begin referring to the Money Laundering Law in their
campaign to nab corruptors, meaning heavier penalties for the guilty.
PANCASILA PUNCHERS
The deputy chief editor of Radar Bogor newspaper was assaulted by
a Pancasila Youth mob, who took the law into their hands rather than
complain to the Press Council.
ila Youth. Radar Bogor used the headline, World Condemns Pan-
casila Youth and a smaller heading, PKI Killings in Medan made
into a Film.
Hundreds of the organizations members, feeling ofended by
the reports, protested in front of the newspapers of ce, located at
Taman Yasmin in Bogor. They made speeches and made demands,
among them that Radar Bogor must publish an apology in the pa-
pers local and national editions for an entire week, and restore
the organizations good name in those two editions for one whole
month.
The demands should have been negotiated with the editors of
Radar Bogor, on how the apology or the organizations restoration
of its reputation can be carried out to their mutual satisfaction.
This would be in keeping with the principles of Pancasila that up-
holds consensus and consultation. But what happened instead are
the very actions that the organization seems to take ofence to. Lat-
er, the Pancasila Youth claimed the attackers were not their mem-
bers.
We condemn this incident. The Bogor Alliance of Independent
Journalists (AJI) immediately publicly regretted the violent attack
and condemned the police for allowing it to happen. The Pancas-
ila Youth leaders should have followed the law if they thought the
organization discredited them, by referring to Law No. 40/1999 on
the Press and regulations of the National Press Council. They could
have demanded the right to respond, and if they were still unsat-
isfed, they could complain to the Press Council or to the police
which would have brought the case to court.
Obviously, the Pancasila Youth never wanted to take that route.
In their view, Radar Bogor published an unbalanced story and must
apologize. If they insist on forcing their way, what kind of law is ap-
plied in this nation? The law of the jungle? The police must investi-
gate this attack, given that Faturohman S. Kanday has reported the
incident to the Bogor Police, on Tuesday last week.
FULL STORY PAGE 26
I
T is just too much, when rice intended for poor families
(known as raskin), not only misses its target but its distribu-
tion is rife with corruption. The rice for the poor is being trad-
ed at a price that is profting some people without scruples or
conscience. They come from diferent backgrounds, from village
and district of cials, agents and brokers, to Bulog (state-owned lo-
gistics agency) of cials in the provinces. Meanwhile, the poor fam-
ilies entitled to this rice, are not benefting from this subsidized
commodity.
This discouraging state of afairs was exposed by the Regional
Information and Analysis Center, in its report of 10 towns located
in Aceh to Papua provinces, where they conducted research. The
conclusion of the study was that the program known as raskin is
misdirected, improperly supplied and priced, distributed at the
wrong time and is of poor quality. The target population on average
receive only two-thirds of the of cial allotment. Each family is sup-
posed to receive 180 kilograms a year of this rice, or 15 kilograms
per month. In fact, they receive only 60 to 100 kilograms of raskin
per year.
The sufering of the poor does not stop there, because they must
buy the rice for prices ranging from Rp1,800 to Rp2,000, even
though the State Budget clearly states the price is set at Rp1,600.
Moreover, the quality of the rice sold to the poor is very bad, so that
the recipients prefer to trade it away and get better quality rice.
One-third of the raskin allotment is traded for Rp6,000, usually in
the form of rice four. The four made of corrupted rice is then sold
to food factories. Incredibly, some of it is bought back by Bulog, the
of cial distributor of rice for the poor.
Calculating from the lost allocation alone, the amount of funds
that have been corrupted is truly amazinginto the trillions of ru-
piah. Take this year, the raskin subsidy was Rp15.7 trillion to bene-
ft 17.5 million families. One-third of that is stolen, calculated as Rp5
trillion. Next year, the subsidy will be raised to Rp17.1 trillion. Just
calculate the total amount of funds from this rotten practice over a
period of more than 10 years. Subsidy for raskin was frst started in
1998 as a social safety program for the poor, at that time, called Spe-
cial Market Operation.
Unfortunately, such a condition was allowed to continue, as if it
was a trivial problem. It is true that the corruption is small-scale,
most of it happening in villages and small towns. But if this corrup-
tion and manipulation is carried out nationwide, the amount ac-
crued can be massive, as previously calculated. This corrupt prac-
tice should have been easy to detect. In fact, some of its perpetra-
tors have been arrested by the police and tried in court. Yet, the
losses keep on happening.
The government cannot allow this corruption to continue. The
parties losing from this mispractice must be obvious: the govern-
ment whose subsidy is going nowhere and the poor families who
cannot enjoy their rights. The legal enforcement must be stricter.
The perpetrators can be charged with violating Law No. 20/2001,
on the changes to Law No. 31/1999 on Corruption. Heavy penalties
should deter any recurrences.
Another mechanism must be found, which would be more dif -
cult to be penetrated by these rice rats. The distribution of direct
cash assistance can be one model. In 2005, the distribution of sub-
sidies to mitigate the increase in the price of fuel leaked at a rate of
about 5 to 10 percent more than its distribution. But in 2008, then-
Social Afairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, claimed that leakage
was only 1 percent. That may well have been the case, because the
distribution directly to the target families was done through the
post of ce.
FULL STORY PAGE 36
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 13
RICE RATS
The distribution of rice for the poor, besides being misdirected, is rife with
corruption. The model of direct cash assistance can be one solution to the
problem.
14 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
KPK VS POLI CE
COVERSTORY
The national police chief objected to turning over
the driving simulator corruption case to the KPK.
The president intervened.
Novel Baswedan (top)
escorting the return
of M. Nazaruddin
from his overseas
runaway attempt at
Perdanakusuma Airport,
Jakarta, August 13, 2011.
PHOTO: TEMPO/ADITIA NOVIANSYAH
14 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 15 21 OKTOBER 2012 | | 15
16 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
KPKVSPOLICE COVERSTORY
N
OVEL Baswedan left
his refuge fortress at
the Corruption Eradica-
tion Commission (KPK)
building last week. Af-
ter taking cover for six
days at his of ce, the in-
vestigator decided to re-
turn to his home in Ke-
lapa Gading, North Ja-
karta. Theres no way I
can keep staying here, he said.
Wearing a red sweater and blue jeans,
Novel had been packed and ready to go since
afternoon. While breaking his days fast, he
continued to talk with his colleagues. He
said the KPK chief was surprised when Nov-
el told him of his decision to go home. Every-
one was worried for his safety. However, he
was allowed to go after he said that he want-
ed to be with his children, who were having
their mid-term exams at school.
At around 9pm, driven by an of ce car,
Novel returned to the city streets. When he
arrived home an hour later, his four daugh-
ters were sound asleep. The next morning
they joked around a bit, before they head-
ed of to school. When they knew that Abi
their name for their fatherwas coming
home, the kids were happy again, said Nov-
els wife.
Novel had been camping out at the of ce
since Friday night for a whole week. That
was when investigators of the Bengkulu Re-
gional Police accompanied by of cers of the
Jakarta Police set out to arrest him. For his
own safety, the KPK leaders, who believe
that Novel is being made out to be a crimi-
nal, did not allow him to go home. His wife
and children were moved to another loca-
tion and only returned home on Tuesday
last week.
Handling a number of major cases, includ-
ing suspected graft in the procurement of
driving simulators for drivers license tests at
the Police Traf c Division, Novel was clearly
a target. He was named a suspect in a shoot-
ing case that led to a death, some eight years
ago, when Novel was chief of the crime in-
vestigation unit at the Bengkulu City Police.
One KPK of cial said that Novel was being
heavily guarded, following the arrival of the
police investigators. At that time they also
planned to raid the KPK building. Hundreds
of other police of cers stood guard outside.
Novel was not allowed to leave the building.
In fact, others stood close by me where I
went, he said.
It was President Susilo Bambang Yudho-
yono who broke the impasse, when he made
his speech at the State Palace on Monday last
week. He announced that the eight-year old
case involving Novel, was not timely nor
was the method used appropriate. That
speech was decisive, commented Novel, af-
ter watching it on television.

THE plan to arrest Novel, which hap-
pened right after the KPKs questioning of
Inspector Djoko Susilo, a suspect in the driv-
ing simulator corruption case, triggered a
wide public reaction. Hundreds of people
gathered at the KPK building until Saturday
morning. The next day anticorruption ac-
tivists held a demonstration at the Hotel In-
donesia Roundabout in downtown Jakarta,
with the theme: Where has our president
gone? Similar protests were held in other
cities.
The public felt that President Yudhoyono
was inept at intervening in the increasingly
heated relations between the KPK and the
police. In addition to arresting Novel, the
police insisted on handling the simulator
corruption case. But when he saw the pub-
lic reaction, according to a Tempo source,
the president ordered his aides to take im-
mediate action. A number of meetings were
held. Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi
was assigned to arrange a meeting between
KPK Chairman Abraham Samad and Nation-
al Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo. Sever-
al times the president called up his cabinet
ministers to give them direction.
Justice and Human Rights Deputy Minis-
ter Denny Indrayana was also given an as-
signment. At Yogyakarta that Saturday af-
ternoon, he was ordered to return to Ja-
karta, cancelling his lecture at Gadjah Mada
University. I only had time to have a meal at
Bebek Slamet Restaurant, he said.
Later that afternoon, President Yudho-
yono met with some cabinet ministers, a A
N
T
A
R
A
/
P
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A
S
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Y
O

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O
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 17
moment before departing for the Cipanas
Palace in West Java. He said he planned to
give a speech about the KPK and the police,
two days after. On Sunday afternoon, Abra-
ham Samad and KPK Deputy Chairman
Bambang Widjajanto met with Coordinat-
ing Minister for Political, Legal and Security
Afairs, Djoko Suyanto. Abraham informed
him about the developments in the investi-
gation into the simulator case and the charg-
es against Novel.
That night, Abraham and Bambang went
to the of cial residence of Sudi Silalahi in
Central Jakarta. They exchanged informa-
tion. After this meeting, Sudi headed to the
State Palace to hold a press conference. Be-
cause the situation was worse, the president
was taking over, he said.
On Monday morning last week, a palace
of cial called Abraham Samad. They invit-
ed him to attend a meeting with the police
chief at the Of ce of the State Secretary at
10am. Abraham contacted Bambang Widja-
janto, who was on his way to the of ce. They
agreed to meet at Sudi Silalahis of ce.
Abraham and Timur Pradopo were the
frst to arrive in a small room on the frst
foor at the State Secretariat building. Bam-
bang and Sudi arrived later on. After Sudi
opened the meeting, Abraham and Timur
took turns explaining the reasons why their
respective institutions should continue to
handle the driving simulator corruption
case.
Timur, according to one source, felt he
had strong reasons for maintaining his po-
sition. One was that the Crime Investigation
Unit had already given the case to the At-
torney Generals Of ce, which according to
him, was dif cult to take back. Timur again
accused Abraham of breaking the agree-
ment reached in the simulator case, said
the source. Timur felt that Abraham once
promised his subordinates that he would
give the police a chance to handle the case.
The meeting ended at midday. However,
Sudi asked his four guests to stay on. They
were asked to wait for the president, who
was on his was back from Cipanas. The
snacks and beverages remained untouched,
since Bambang and Timur happened to be
fasting that day.
An hour later Sudi came into the room and
told them that the president had arrived.
Then they went to the second foor, heading
towards a much larger meeting room. Yu-
dhoyono was already waiting there. A Tem-
po source said that Yudhoyono said he was
paying attention to the handling of the sim-
ulator case. He also said that he was con-
cerned over the friction between these two
law enforcement institutions. The pres-
ident also regretted the planned arrest of
Novel, they said.
The president then asked Abraham to
speak frst. The initial handling of the sim-
ulator case and its development was ex-
plained in detail. Abraham emphasized Ar-
ticle 50 of the Law on Corruption Eradica-
tion, which states that other agencies are
forbidden to handle a case which the KPK
had already handled.
Yudhoyono then allowed the police chief
to speak. Timur said that the police needed
to handle the driving simulator case in order
to show the public their institution was con-
tinuing to improve itself. He claimed not to
know about the arrival of the police detec-
tives at the KPK of ce to arrest Novel.
After listening to the two explanations,
the president took a stance: the simulator
case was to be fully handled by the KPK. He
also asked that the case against Novel be im-
mediately closed. He also stated his deci-
sion on the status of police investigators be-
coming permanent employees of the KPK,
as well as improvements to the memoran-
dum of understanding between the two in-
stitutions.
According to another source, the police
chief tried to negotiate. He asked for some
time to give further explanation. After he
spoke, the president emphatically stated,
Please follow this up. This is an order from
the president. Do it at once! At this, said sev-
eral sources, Timur replied: Ready, Sir.
President Yudhoyono and National
Police Chief General Timur Pradopo
responding to the conict between the
KPK and police at the State Palace,
Jakarta, Monday last week.
18 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
KPKVSPOLICE COVERSTORY
T
E
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/
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(
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,

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)
Abraham and Bambang declined to talk
about what happened at the meeting. Sudi
said there was a diference on how each
side understood the interpretation of the
law. So we harmonized it, he said.

THE president announced his decision
on Monday night. Broadcast live by televi-
sion stations, he mentioned that the simu-
lator corruption case involving Djoko Susi-
lo was to be fully handled by the KPK. Oth-
er procurement cases not directly con-
nected are also being handled by them.
The president also felt that the desire of
the police to carry out the legal process
against Novel Baswedan was inappropri-
ate in terms of timing and methods used.
He further said that he would redo the reg-
ulations for the time for assigning police
investigators to the KPK.
The president also conveyed his stance
on the planned revision of the KPK Law by
the House of Representatives (DPR)some-
thing that has been continuously opposed
by anti-graft circles. He said the amend-
ment was possible as long as it strength-
ens and does not weaken the KPK. How-
ever, he felt that this was not the right time
to make such revision. He also asked the
police and the KPK to update their mem-
orandum of understanding to increase
synergy and coordination.
Top of cials at police headquarters felt
that the speech of the president placed
their body at the losing side. We are los-
ing 0-3, said Deputy Police Chief, Com-
missioner-General Nanan Sutisna.
A Tempo source said that those top cops
also accused deputy minister Denny In-
drayana of playing a major role in deter-
mining the presidents speech. The po-
lice chief even sent a message to palace cir-
cles, conveying the assessment that Den-
ny was wrong to give that input.
Denny denied this. He said the presi-
dent had already made up his mind be-
fore the meeting on Monday last week.
The president agreed from the beginning
that the simulator case be turned over to
the KPK, he said. Speaking to reporters,
Timur said he would follow up as instruct-
ed by the head of state.
At the KPK building, the burden on Nov-
el had become a lot lighter. After appear-
ing tense and angry when the incident
took place on Friday night, he is now much
calmer. He smiles a lot today, particularly
after returning home to his wife and four
daughters.
SETRI YASRA, ANTON APRIANTO, ISMA SAVITRI
Anton Apriyano from Tempo interviewed
KPK Deputy Chairman Bambang
Widjojanto last week:
What will the KPK do in the simulator case
after the presidents speech?
It is clear the KPK is the one handling
this case. We will coordinate frst with
the police. We will stay focused. We are
waiting to see how the police will hand
over the suspects in custody.
What is your stance on the Novel case?
The president said that the timing and
methods used in this case were wrong.
We also looked into this as an efort to
criminalize someone.
What is Novels status after this incident?
He is still the KPKs best investigator, and
he will remain a KPK investigator.
Is it true that the presidents speech tended
to favor the KPK?
I dont think the president was defending
the KPK, but standing up for the truth.
How does the KPK feel being scored 3-0
against the police?
I dont want to comment. That is your
interpretation.
CRIME Investigation Unit chief, Comr.
Gen. Sutarman was only prepared to an-
swer a few questions about the investiga-
tion into the Novel Baswedan case, sending
his responses last week by BlackBerry.
What will the police do after the presidents
speech?
We dont have a scenario. The scenario is
to allow investigators to work based on evi-
dence, without any intervention.
What about the idea of forming a joint fact-
nding team in the Novel case?
An independent team formed by whom
and to what purpose? We are going to work
in a professional manner. If there are any
complaints about how the investigation is
being conducted, then we will hold a prog-
ress review and bring in outside experts to
assess the case objectively and transpar-
ently.
Who gave the order to arrest Novel at the
KPK building?
No one. It was a process being carried
out by investigators.
SUTARMAN:
WE DONT HAVE A SCENARIO
BAMBANG WIDJOJANTO:
WE WILL BE FOCUSED
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 19
A
WEEK following the aborted attempt to arrest Nov-
el Baswedan, many eyes turned suspiciously on Po-
lice Crime Division Chief, Comr. Gen. Sutarman. Ha-
ris Azhar, head of Novels legal aid team, suspected that
Sutarman was behind the investigation into the shoot-
ing of birds-nest thieves eight years ago, the crime Novel is ac-
cused of.
According to Haris, following an investigation into the
crime, a Bengkulu Regional Police of cer was summoned by
the crime division. Then a brigadier-general came to Bengkulu
to plan the investigation of the shooting incident. Then a new
case report was issued, dated October 1, 2012, he said.
A senior police of cer two weeks ago said that the Novel case
was presented at the crime division. Bengkulu Regional Of ce
General Crimes chief, Comr. Dedy Rianto and several of his
subordinates were present.
That was when Novel was declared a suspect, said the of -
cer. A few hours later, Rianto, accompanied by one of his sub-
ordinates and fve Jakarta Regional Police of cers, went to the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of ce to arrest Nov-
el. They also planned to sweep the KPK building.
The source said that before they made their move on the
KPK, the crime division of cers waited and got the green light
from Sutarman. The source heard that Sutarman reported the
progress report on the case to National Police Chief Timur Pra-
dopo. At that time, the order of arrest and search was given di-
rectly, said the source. Deputy Police Chief Comr. Gen. Nan-
an Sukarna also received that report. The KPK of ce operation
involved 175 crime division of cers.
Why was Novel targeted? According to the source, Novel was
suspected of playing a role in the KPK raid on the Police Traf-
fc Division late July. He was also accused of lying, for saying
that the raid had already been approved by the police chief.
The rumor that Novel was ready to arrest the police chief was
also spread among the police of cer circles. It was deliberate-
ly spread by a medium-rank of cer who was once seconded to
the KPK as an investigator, said Novel. But I have never said
so.
When asked to confrm the statement, Sutarman denied
there was a presentation of the Novel case at his of ce. He said,
the arrest of Novel was a process by investigators. Police
Chief Timur Pradopo at diferent occasions also denied know-
ing about the raid by his of cers on the KPK of ce. Deputy Po-
lice Chief, Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna did not respond when
he was asked who the mastermind of the attempt to arrest Nov-
el Baswedan was.
SETRI YASRA, ANANDA BADUDU, FRANSISCO ROSARIAN,
RUSMAN PARAQBUEQ
ONE DARK FRIDAY
Bengkulu
Regional Ofce
General Crimes
chief, Comr. Dedy
Rianto.
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KPKVSPOLICE
T
ODAY, the former three-foor
shop-house combo is the campus
of Muhammadiyah University in
Bengkulu. Consisting of fve rows
of shops eight years ago, today
only the Sinar Makmur building
materials shop remains. Its own-
er, Aliang, stays on the second foor with
his family. On the top foor he lets swallows
build nests.
Two years ago this building in the city
of Bengkulu was taken over by the uni-
versity, and a year later it began its reno-
vation. Aliang has also moved to Jalan Ta-
nah Batak, about 1 kilometer from his pre-
vious shop and named his new shop Sinar
Terang also selling building supplies.
When visiting Sinar Terang on Thurs-
day last week, one shopkeeper pointed
in the direction of a stout man they knew
to be Aliang. However, this businessman
claimed to be someone else. Im his older
brother. I dont know anything, he said.
Eight years ago, next to Sinar Makmur
was the Geronimo ftness center. This was
also a three-story building. A person could
easily jump to the adjacent shop from the
attic. On Wednesday and Thursday last
week, the door of this building which is
now a multi-level marketing of ce looked
like it was shut down.
At Geronimo, Mulyan Johan alias Aan
worked as a ftness instructor. Antoni Bes-
mar, his older brother, said that Aan is a
regional bodybuilding athlete. Accord-
ing to Antoni, Aan was in training when
the police rounded him and fve other sus-
pects on the night of Wednesday, Febru-
ary 18, 2004. They were accused of stealing
Aliangs birds nests. It is not true that my
brother was a thief, said Antoni.
Deddy, owner of the Berkat drugstore on
the left side of the Muhammadiyah cam-
pus, recalled that before they were arrest-
ed, some people had gathered in front of
Sinar Makmur. At around 8pm Deddy ran
out of his shop soon after hearing some-
one yelling Thief! Thief! Soon afterwards
members of the police arrived and took
away those six people from Sinar Makmur
and Geronimo.
According to Deddy, the arrests hap-
pened quickly. Locals did not have a
chance to apply their own brand of jus-
tice. They were quickly taken away by po-
lice, he said. In addition to Aan, also taken
to the local police station were Irwansyah
Siregar, Doni Yefrizal, M. Rusliansyah alias
Ali, Dedi Nuryadi and Rizal Sinurat.
Deddy heard from an employee of Geron-
imo that the arrest started when some
members of the ftness center suspected
people who had disappeared from the ex-
ercise area on the second foor. An employ-
ee did not see those members leave down
the stairs. It turned out he went upstairs
to Aliangs birds nests, said Deddy. He for-
got who went up there. As he recalls, They
were new members.
One person who did not go up to the
birds nest area was Dedi Nuryadi, a dishev-
eled-looking youth. According to Sumiati,
his mother, Nuryadi wanted to pick up Rizal
Sinurat, who was working out at Geronimo.
Nuryadi, said Sumiati, was flling in for his
father as a motorcycle taxi driver. He was in
front of Geronimo when the police round-
ed up Rizal Sinuratdan and company.
When asked about this last Wednesday,
Nuryadi said he no longer remembered.
It happened a long time ago, he said. Ir-
wansyah Siregar was also reluctant to talk
about the theft. He only said he was black-
and-blue afterwards because he was beat-
en by the police, not by an angry mob. Its
a lie if anyone says I was mobbed, he said.
According to the police, the incident be-
gan at 6:30pm, when Second Adj. Insp.
Johnny Walker, who was on duty at the
Simpang Lima police guard postnot far
from Sinar Makmurwas informed by resi-
dents about the birds nests theft at Aliangs
place. Johnny reported this to the local po-
lice headquarters. Some police detectives
and the Crime Prevention Unit were sent to
Sinar Makmur to arrest Aan and company.
Those six suspects were taken to police
headquarters for questioning. At around
10:30pm, in handcufs, they were taken to
the Pantai Panjang Nature Tourism Park.
According to Thein Tabero, deputy direc-
tor of the General Crimes Investigation Unit
at the Bengkulu Police Department, the
chief of the then Crime Investigation Unit,
THE BACKDATED LETTER
COVERSTORY
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Aliangs former shop-house, now
Campus III of Muhammadiyah University.
Mulyan Johan alias Aan was not shot to death. Novel
was not at the site when the shooting took place.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 21
First Insp. Novel Baswedan, also went to
the scene driving a white sedan, along with
the chief of General Crimes Unit, First Insp.
Yuri Leonard Siahaan. First Insp. Arif Sem-
biring, chief of Operations, Novels subor-
dinate, rode in a Kijang automobile.
On the beach, according to police, those
three young of cers each escorted two
suspects. Novel took Irwansyah and shot
him in the left calf. The projectile, accord-
ing to police, lodged there for eight years,
and was removed on Friday two weeks ago.
Dedi, still according to police, was shot in
the right calf, the bullet piercing the leg.
The four other suspects were also shot in
the leg. After marking their legs with gun-
shots, the police took them back to the local
police station. According to police, the next
day Aan collapsed and died before he was
about to be questioned. Eight years later,
this shooting incident is being reopenedat
present Novel is on duty at the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) with the
rank of commissioner, and is currently in-
vestigating corruption in the police force.
According to one version of the story, as
told by Novels legal defense team, which
is led by activist Haris Azhar, at that time
police headquarters was informed a theft
had taken place at Aliangs place, Novel
and some investigators had just complet-
ed a case, at about 9pm. According to Haris
Azhar, Novel ordered the of cers on duty to
go to Sinar Makmur and take the suspects
into custody.
When they were taken to the police sta-
tion the suspects were given a hard time.
They were questioned by investigators and
intimidated. That night, the senior of cers,
including the local police chief, Adj. Sr.
Comr. Mochammad Toha Suharto, went to
headquarters. Toha, who is currently Head
of the Planning and Development Bureau
at the Riau Police Department, was not in
his of ce when we visited last Friday. He is
out of town for a few days, one staf mem-
ber named Ardiansyah told Tempo contrib-
utor Riyan Noftra.
After the questioning, according to Ha-
ris Azhar, the suspects were taken to Pantai
Panjang by the team of detectives and the
rapid response team. The ranking of cer
who went with them at that time was First
Insp. Arif Sembiring. Novel, Yuri Siahaan,
and some other of cers arrived later on.
As soon as Novel opened the car door, he
heard several shots. Novel did not know
who was shooting, said Haris. Two sus-
pects, Irwansyah and Dedi, said that they
did not see the shooters face. We only
knew they were policemen, said Irwan-
syah. Novel then ordered that they be tak-
en to Bhayangkara Hospital at Bengkulu for
treatment.
That night, after being treated, the other
suspects were again subjected to violence.
According to Haris Azhar, because he con-
tinued to be beaten, Mulyan Johan alias
Aan collapsed on the stairs connecting the
frst two foors at the local police headquar-
ters. Aan was then picked up by of cers be-
cause he could not stand on his own, and
was taken to Bayangkara Hospital.
According to the fndings of Novels de-
fense team, the next day Aan died at the
hospital. The ranking police of cers then
gathered together all of the members of
the crime investigation unit. Novel was or-
dered to make the arrangements for Aans
body and apologize to the family. Novel
went to the home of Aans parents, bring-
ing along a peace letter. This was a state-
ment that the family would agree it would
not press charges against the police.
According to Aans older brother, Anto-
ni Besmar, the family was not allowed to in-
spect the body of the deceased. The fami-
ly was only shown Aans face before burial.
Bengkulu Police searching for the bullet
shot by the suspected birds nest thief in
2004 in Pantai Panjang, Bengkulu, last
Wednesday.
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The peculiarity of the soft copy of the
request for justice letter.
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22 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
KPKVSPOLICE COVERSTORY
His busted-up nose was propped up with
cotton, said Antoni. During the burial, the
police came in droves. They even outnum-
bered the residents who were giving their
condolences, he said.
According to Antoni, for three months af-
ter the incident, Novel often came to their
family home. Novel repeatedly gave them
money and rice. Our family even became
close, he said. According to Antoni, Nov-
el never asked the family not to fle charges
against the police, nor did he bring a letter
asking them to consider the matter closed.
Novel, said Antoni, only promised to look
into who killed Aan.
So that the case did not reach a dead end,
according to Haris Azhar, the police then
faked a story about Aans death. This agree-
ment among the regional and district po-
lice of ces was: Aan did not die at Pantai
Panjang or at local police headquarters, but
in another place. At that time, Aan was sep-
arated from the other suspects when they
were trying to fgure out the case. At one
point, according to this scenario, Aan tried
to escape. The police then chased and shot
him. Aan fell and hit his head on a rock,
then died.
Novel was then asked to take responsibil-
ity for the actions of his men. He underwent
a disciplinary trial and was punished. As it
was not possible to get to the bottom of his
death, I decided to take responsibility for
it, said Novel.
According to Sr. Adj. Comr. Hendrik Mar-
paung, Head of the Profession and Securi-
ty Afairs at Bengkulu Police Department,
in the questioning fle of the profession and
security afairs division, Novel said that he
was at the shooting location. When asked
why the suspect was taken to Pantai Pan-
jang, Novel, according to Hendrik, replied,
The suspect was taken to the beach so that
he would give a truthful statement.
Five of cers were fnally punished. Nov-
el, Yuri Siahaan, and Arif Sembiring were
detained for seven days. Two low-rank-
ing of cers, Budimansyah and Lazuardi
Tanjung, were held for 14 days. The
birds nest theft case eventually
went to court. On July 7, 2004,
fve suspects were given pris-
on terms. Dedi Nuryadi was
sentenced to 6 months, while
Irwansyah Siregar and the
others got eight months.
Eight years passed, and
around last August, Yuliswan,
a relative of the wife of Irwansyah
Siregar who works as a lawyer, was vis-
ited by that ex-inmate. Irwansyah, he said,
often felt pain in his left leg where he was
shot. Yuliswan said that he suggested Ir-
wansyah ask the police to take responsibil-
ity for the shooting. Yuliswan also said he
asked Irwansyah to fnd the other victims.
According to Yuliswan, of the four vic-
tims, he could only fnd Dedi Nuryadi. On
September 3, Irwansyah and Dedi Nury-
adi gave legal proxy to Yuliswan. On Sep-
tember 21, Yuliswan wrote to the police re-
garding A Request for Justice. I never fled
a complaint, I just asked for justice, said
Yuliswan.
In that letter with reference number 079/
SP/A-YOR/09/2012, Yuliswan listed his cli-
ents chronology of events of the shooting.
Not specifcally mentioning Novel as the
shooter, Yuliswan said that the party who
abused Irwansyah and Dedi was from the
Bengkulu District Police led by the chief
of the Crime Investigation Unit, First Insp.
Novel.
Eight days later, on September 29,
Yuliswan said he was contacted by a de-
tective at the Bengkulu Provincial Police to
bring Irwansyah and Dedi on October 1, to
the police of ce. They said they wanted to
question them, said Yuliswan. He said he
was only present for a brief part of the ques-
tioning, as he was on October 3, when the
police convened a pre-reconstruction of
the shooting. At that time, I had to attend a
trial at court.
Saying he was not guided by the police
when he made that request for justice let-
ter, it turned out that there was something
peculiar about the letter itself. In the print-
ed version, the bottom of the letter is signed
by Yuliswan. A copy is listed as being sent to
the president, some top of cials of
state organizations and top po-
lice of cials.
In an electronic copy of
the letter also obtained from
Yuliswan, between the sig-
nature and forwarded copy
parts one can see something
which had not appeared be-
fore, namely initials of the con-
cept-maker. Even stranger, one
of the letters concept-makers is listed
as Wakapolda or Deputy Chief of the Re-
gional Police. It appears as if this part was
intended to be erased after being typed. In-
stead of erasing it, the typist hid it by using
a white font.
Even more suspicious, according to the
fle properties of the letter, it was made on
September 29, 2012, at 8:45am on an Acer
computer. Digital footprints also show that
the letter was last printed on October 3. At
that time, Yuliswan said he had sent the let-
ter on September 21, 2012.
ANTON SEPTIAN,
PHESI ESTER JULIKAWATI (BENGKULU)
Two former suspects of the birds nest
theft case, Irwansyah Siregar (left) and
Dedi Nuryadi.
Mulyan Johan alias Aan (below).
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OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 23
O
NE day at the end of July 2009,
Novel Baswedan was having dif-
fculty fnding Umar Sjarifud-
din. The Corruption Eradica-
tion Commission (KPK) inves-
tigator was going around Ban-
dung city to arrest Umar, CEO of
Bank Jabar, who had just been named a sus-
pect in a Rp37 billion corruption case. The
house of the suspect on Jalan Batununggal
83 was vacant. His name was not on the ho-
tel guest list either.
Umar disappeared. Two summonses
were ignored. His home telephone and cell-
phones did not respond. At the time, the
KPK considered his arrest appropriate. He
seemed to have fed, leaving all his phones
at home, said an investigator, who knew
about the chase, on Tuesday last week.
His children had no idea of their fathers
position either.
Without giving up, according to the same
investigator, Novel asked his peers in the
KPK of ce to monitor the traf c of phone
calls of Umars children. Indications came
at night. Some unidentifed numbers were
detected as they contacted those of Umars
children. All pointed to a location in Lebak.
Without much reckoning, Novel and two
other investigators rushed to the regen-
cy in a corner of Banten province. No time
for packing, Before leaving, we took pants
and shirts, he said.
In Lebak, it was after midnight and the
investigators were again confused. Lebak
AFTER
UMAR FELL
TO HIS
KNEES
was so large. There were no signs of the lo-
cation of the phone numbers calling Umars
children. The investigator recalled, Novel
asked his two team members to disperse.
At dawn, they went to mosques. One who
is being cornered usually gets more reli-
gious, said Novel, as quoted by the investi-
gator. But they could not fnd him.
Failing to fnd Umar at mosques, they
sought other signs from a shamen. In their
chats with many people, they knew of two
popular shamens in the area. One of them
provided a house for rent. The three law en-
forcers went to this place.
The investigator continued, Novel and
his team pretended to be patients. They
noticed two cars around the house, which
according to a cigarette vendor there, be-
longed to patients from Bandung. The
next morning, Umars wife was seen get-
ting into the car, leaving with her driver.
Novel asked his colleagues to follow them.
Novel then moved to the back of the big
two-story house. There, he saw the sha-
mens wife, who warned him against loi-
tering around the house. At that moment, a
middle-aged man was going upstairs. Nov-
el, who did not recognize Umars face, tried
a trick: Hey, Umar, wherere you going?
he yelled. The man turned around. His face
turned pale.
Novel ran after him to the second foor.
Umar fung himself and put his palms to-
gether. Mercy me, Pak, have mercy
Novel replied, Dont humble yourself by
doing that to me. Instead of rising, while
still asking for mercy, Umar even lay prone.
Novel then handcufed him. On the same
day, July 30, 2009, Umar was taken to the
KPK headquarters at Kuningan, South Ja-
karta. The shamen was sent to the local po-
lice for protecting a fugitive.
Since he was seconded to the KPK as an
investigator in 2007, Novel Baswedan has
always handled major cases. The 36-year-
old graduate of the Police Academy in 1998
played a vital role in tracking the fight of
Nunun Nurbaetie. The suspect in the trav-
elers checks bribery case to 39 members of
the DPR Finance Commission in 2004 fed
overseas.
In Singapore, Nunun was dif cult to cap-
ture as Indonesia had no law enforcement
cooperation with that country. Novel and
his team repeatedly monitored Nununs
apartment and her doctors of ce, tak-
ing photos and seeking chances to detain
her, but they always returned home emp-
ty-handed. An opportunity arose when the
wife of former Deputy Police Chief Adang
Daradjatun few to Bangkok.
Novel developed relations with the police
and prosecutors in that country. Coopera-
tion with the Bangkok police wasnt easy.
Novel Baswedan testifying at M.
Nazaruddins trial at the Corruption
Court, last March.
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Novel Baswedan headed
the hunt for major
corruption suspects. A
fugitive once intended to
get him hexed.
24 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
KPKVSPOLICE COVERSTORY
Fortunately, a group of Bangkok police of-
fcers were fnally convinced. Nunun was
dif cult to nab because she moved around.
From time to time, Nunun was caught by a
camera, shopping and taking money from
an automated teller machine. The Bangkok
police trailing Nunun discovered her ad-
dress in a three-room rented house east of
Bangkok. In a dramatic raid on the house,
Nunun was arrested. Novel monitored the
siege and guarded Nunun until her arrival
at the KPK, on the evening of December 24,
2011.
Four months earlier, Novel and two KPK
investigators, fve National Police peers
and an Immigration of cial pursued Mu-
hammad Nazaruddin as far as Colombia.
The former treasurer of the Democrat Par-
ty few to Singapore one day before his for-
eign travel ban was issued. Then he went
around the world by chartered jet.
The team followed Nazaruddin, who fre-
quently communicated with journalists in
Indonesia. The politicians interview via
Skype also gave a clue as to his presence.
His fight ended in Cartagena, Colombia,
when the police of that country arrested
him. The KPK and police team met him and
brought him home by chartered jet.
Novel and his team also captured Buol
Regent Amran Batalipu in July. Accompa-
nied by four investigators, he monitored
the villa planned to be the meeting place
between Amran and Yani Anshori, general
manager of Hardaya Inti Plantations. From
the recording of a phone conversation, in-
vestigators knew Yani would hand over a
bribe to Amran, allegedly connected with
the licensing of 47,000 hectares of oil palm
estates in Central Sulawesi.
When the Rp2 billion bribe was deliv-
ered, the investigators rushed to catch both
of them. Amran resisted. His 10 guards
wielded daggers, pointing them at the in-
vestigators. Amran, who managed to es-
cape, raced his car and hit the investigators
before getting away. Yet, Amran was caught
at last and his case is being tried at the Cor-
ruption Court. Hartati Murdaya, the owner
of Hardaya company, is also a suspect.
Novel, too, led the investigation of the
bribery case involving a regional infra-
structure adjustment project with Wa Ode
Nurhayati as suspect, a politician from the
National Mandate Party (PAN), and Fahd A.
Rafq, chairman of the Golkar Party Youth
Generation. This case is quite intricate as it
involved of cials of the Budget Committee,
allegedly having been bribed by some re-
gions to approve the disbursement of proj-
ect funds worth Rp7.7 trillion.
Wa Ode knew Novel as an investigator
who asked direct questions. Wa Ode re-
membered when she was frst questioned,
Novel showed a document on the fow of
bribes. Come on, Bu, theres Rp2 billion
here, you neednt lie, she said, quoting
Novel. Feeling she had nothing to do with
the money, she denied it. But Novel kept
pressing with other proof. All right then,
its up to you, said Wa Ode.
Novel persuaded Wa Ode to open the
bribery case as clearly as she could. He
said if I opened it, he wouldnt be tough on
me, she said. Wa Ode later gave all the ev-
idence she had about the manipulation of
the State Budget project. But in the end I
was charged with money laundering, she
added.
Today, Wa Ode is looking at 14 years in
jail: four years for having accepted a Rp5.5
billion bribe from Fahd and 10 years for
money laundering worth Rp50.5 billion in
her account. The money laundering charge
was, for the frst time, applied in the an-
ticorruption court. I wonder why Nov-
el hasnt yet opened all the data Ive given
him, said Wa Ode.
Fahd is also on trial. He made no denial of
all the accusations against him, compiled
by Novel and his team. During questioning,
Fahd was taped asking his shamen, to have
Novel hexed. Asked to confrm this story,
Novel laughed: Yes, that was crazy.
Terror was inevitable after Novel be-
came the main investigator in the corrup-
tion case of driving simulators procure-
ment by the Police Traf c Division. Accord-
ing to Taufk Baswedan, his older brother, a
number of intelligence of cers have placed
Novels home in North Jakarta under sur-
veillance.
I will face this intimidation, said Nov-
el, the grandson of A.R. Baswedan, a mem-
ber of the committee preparing for the in-
dependence of Indonesia.
BAGJA HIDAYAT, FEBRIANA FIRDAUS
Novel Baswedan (in front) escorting
Buol Regent Amran Batalipu at Mutiara
Airport, Palu, last July.
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26 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
PANCASILAYOUTH
O
NE week after the Pancas-
ila Sanctity day, about 400
hundred men clad in striped
orange-black shirts and red
berets, some of them wear-
ing dark sunglasses, attacked the of ce of
Radar Bogor newspaper. They wore the
badges of the Pancasila Youth organiza-
tion, looking like troops going to war.
In no time, the protestors blocked the
front and back doors of the Graha Pena
building, where the editorial staf of the
newspaper had their of ce. The presence
of the enraged throng created noisy tension
at the compound in Bogor, West Java, that
afternoon. The 150 police personnel on
guard were woefully outnumbered.
Less than 200 meters from the Graha
Pena building, stands the Yasmin Indone-
sian Christian Church (GKI). Every Sunday,
for several months, hundreds of hard-line
Moslems demonstrated against the ongo-
ing construction of the church. But the pro-
tests at the Radar Bogor headquarters was
slightly diferent from the routine demon-
stration that tried to disperse the Sunday
services of the GKI Yasmins congregation.
We demand that the chief editor of Ra-
dar Bogor come down to meet us, sound-
ed the voice of Muhammad Benninu Argoe-
bie, chairman of the Bogor advisory coun-
cil of Pancasila Youth, atop a car full of loud-
speakers.
He looked in the direction of the Radars
editorial staf who were viewing the ac-
tion from their workplaces at the fve-sto-
rey building. Policemen wearing green bul-
letproof vests blocked the entrance to the
Graha Penas lobby, preventing members
of the Pancasila Youth from going inside.
Benninu then gave a lengthy ora-
tion, attacking the headline featured
by Radar Bogor as well as that of its par-
ent publication, the Jawa Pos: The
Tegar Bagja told Tempo last week.
The Pancasila Youth insisted that Ra-
dar Bogor had to apologize and withdraw
its report about them, which they thought
was inappropriate and failed to picture the
1965 period correctly. In the report, we
were depicted as weaker than the PKI while
in fact, we waged war against them, said
Benninu, furiously.
A two-page letter of statement was pre-
sented to the editorial staf of the Radar Bo-
gor. The paper was asked to comply with
their demands to apologize to the Pancas-
ila Youth. The apology was to be published
in all local newspapers in West Java. The
Pancasila Youth also demanded that the
Radar Bogor cover all their activities for
one month.
Ridwan, Radar Bogors executive Edi-
tor acknowledged he could not prompt-
ly make a decision. He tried to buy time by
stating that the response of his newspaper
World Condemns Pancasila Youth.
The report discussed the flm, The Act of
Killing ( Jagal), screened at the Toronto Film
Festival in Canada. The theme of the flm
is the killing of thousands of Community
Party of Indonesia (PKI) sympathizers and
those accused of being members during
the 1965-1966 period. It is not a coincidence
that the main character in the flm, Anwar
Congo, is a member of Pancasila Youth in
Medan. This newspaper featured the same
theme as its headline two weeks ago.
Benninu kept yelling demands, inter-
spersed by handclapping and shouts from
his supporters. We, members of Pancasi-
la Youth, refuse the right of response, he
said, which was responded by screams of
agreement. It is not because our members
do not know the Press Law, but because we
presume there is something wrong with
Radar Bogor.
The editors of Radar Bogor fnally de-
cided to send the executive editor, M. Rid-
wan, to meet the crowd. But Benninu and
his crew refused. They insisted on talking
to Radar Bogors chief editor, Aswan Ah-
mad. We do not want to talk to someone
who is not a decision-maker, said Benninu
through the loudspeaker
The problem was that Aswan was on an
assignment in Bandung. Although he had
been contacted to return to Bogor, he ad-
mitted he could only get back at 6pm. It was
this condition that was being explained by
Nihrawati A.S., general manager of Metro-
politan Daily (Radar Lampung group)the
company that oversees Radar Bogorwho
came down to see the demonstrators. She
then invited 10 representatives of Pancasila
Youth to discuss it inside the building.
Nihrawatis ofer was accepted by the
crowd. The deliberation took place on the
fourth foor of Graha Pena. The negotia-
tion was tough, Radars executive editor,
PANCASILA
YOUTH BULLYING
The Pancasila Youth mob, furious at being described as
weaker than the PKI, attacked the ofce of Radar Bogor
newspaper.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 27
could only be made the next day. Ridwans
request was fatly rejected. The Pancasi-
la Youth demanded that the problem be
solved that very day.
The Radar Bogors editorial staf felt
there was nothing wrong with their report.
We confrmed it with the Pancasila Youth
themselves, said Tegar Bagja. Benninu Ar-
goebie was even quoted in the news. Tegar
acknowledged the news title was eye-
catching but that the title was the prerog-
ative of the editors.
Because the deliberation came to a dead-
lock, the crowd began to be restless. Time
and again they pushed the cordon of po-
lice in front of Graha Penas lobby. While
pushing and prodding, Benninu asked one
of Radar Bogors journalists to speak to the
crowd from the loudspeaker-equipped
car. Deputy chief editor of Radar Bogor,
Faturohman S. Kanday, agreed to do it. He
had asked the police whether it was safe, A
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Bogor editorial staf who failed to make a
quick decision. My men have been waiting
for three hours. He considered the beat-
ing of the journalist not to be a big deal. He
just got scratches, said Beninu.
The beating of Faturohman swiftly
changed the atmosphere in the editorial
room of Radar Bogor. The Letter of State-
ment presented by the Pancasila Youth
was quickly signed so the crowd would dis-
perse. It was only later that the newspaper
reported the violence to the police.
But on Monday last week, the crowd that
called itself Pancasila Youth, got what they
wanted.
PURWANTO, ARIHTA U. SURBAKTI (BOGOR)
and the police said it was, he told Tempo
last week.
Faturohman tried to break through the
mob to approach the Commando Car
the name usually given to the car carry-
ing loudspeakers at each demonstration.
All of a sudden, Fatur seemed to be swal-
lowed by the mob. Some members of Pan-
casila Youth grabbed his shirt and dragged
him into the center of the crowd. There
he got repeatedly beaten and kicked.
For about one minute, he endured the
attack. His forehead and temples were
bruised. He fell to the ground and was tram-
pled on. I fell but the police quickly pulled
me away from the crowd, said Fatur.
Bogor Police chief, Adjunct Senior Com-
missioner Hilman admitted he could not do
much. Faturohman decided to meet the
mob and that ignited the attack, said Hil-
man.
Benninu Argoebie blamed the Radar
Radar Bogor deputy chief editor
Faturohman S. Kanday among the
Pemuda Youth mob, Monday last week.
LAW
28 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
T
HE testimony of the veiled
woman was not to be taken
lightly. While her revelations
were not entirely new, the re-
verberations from her testimo-
ny would be quite signifcant. Yulianis, for-
mer deputy fnancial director of the Permai
Group, testifed under oath at the hearing.
Two weeks ago, Yulianis named a num-
ber of politicians who habitually assisted
M. Nazaruddins company in snaring proj-
ects worth trillions of rupiah. Some have
helped to steer projects in our direction
since 2009. Others, as recently as 2010,
said Yulianis testifying as a witness during
Angela Sondakhs hearing, at the Jakarta
Corruption Court.
Implicated in Yulianiss testimony that
day, were Azis Syamsuddin, Zulkarnaen
Djabbar (Golkar), Olly Dondokambey, Said
Abdullah (PDI-P), and Abdul Kadir Kard-
ing (PKB). There was also a politician from
the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) but
surprisingly, Yulianis could not recall his
name.
The people named by Yulianis that day
were indeed less than the number of those
diligently entered in the Permai Groups f-
nancial records. The records, in an Excel
spreadsheet on Yulianiss computer, were
seized by Corruption Eradication Commis-
sion (KPK) investigators not long after the
arrest of Mindo Rosalina Manulang, mar-
keting director at the Permai Group, on
April 21, 2011. Ive forgotten the others,
there are too many, Yulianis told Tempo
last week.

ACCORDING to the KPK records,
throughout 2010, the Permai Group suc-
ceeded in winning the tenders of 31 govern-
ment projects. The projects were spread
among fve ministries: Sports, Education
and Culture, Health, Religious Afairs and
Communications.
A former senior of cial at the Permai
Group revealed that in one year alone, the
total value of the projects undertaken by
Nazars 30 or so companies and about 150
of his subsidiaries could have reached Rp4
trillion. In 2010, the Permai Group report-
edly netted Rp600-800 billion. The Rp600
billion fgure was obtained only from proj-
ects jointly implemented under the umbrel-
la of this business group. There may have
been at least 35 companies involved. The
companys revenues increased to Rp800
billion after the addition of fees from out-
side companies, which obtained projects
with the assistance of Nazars network. Ac-
cording to the KPK, 150 companies and in-
dividuals are af liated with the Permai
Group.
The Permai Groups proft already in-
cludes deductions for operational costs and
kickbacks which were paid to many par-
ties. The total gross proft at Nazars compa-
nies could have reached Rp1.4 trillion per
year. The Permai Group has enjoyed reap-
ing these super-jumbo profts since 2008.
Under Nazars stewardship, the busi-
ness group exploited every possible loop-
hole to walk away with all kinds of govern-
ment projects. The Permai Group did not
only wait downstream, competing for proj-
ects tendered by the government. The
group also invented projects, then preyed
on them, said a source.
Their method was torecommend to the
central and regional governments, specif-
ic projects. However, from the start it was
agreed that the projects budgets, specifca-
tions and contractors would be determined
by the Permai Group while the government
institutions would not have to do much.
If the government institution agreed to
collaborate, a team from the Permai Group
would make the proposal. From the begin-
ning, budget projections were immediate-
ly infated. At a rough estimate, if the proj-
ect went ahead, the Permai Group would
claim a proft or commission of at least 20
percent.
Even the budget projections were engi-
neered to conceal all the kickbacks, from
payments to government of cials and poli-
ticians, to paying puppet companies which
Under oath, Yulianis named a number of politicians who often
helped the company owned by M. Nazaruddin. They are also on
record as having accepted money.
PROJECT
FACILITATORS
BUDGETCORRUPTION
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 29
pretended to take part in the tenders. In the
athletes dormitory case, which was recent-
ly tried at the Corruption Court, for exam-
ple, it was revealed that the payments to
the House of Representatives (DPR) were
around 5 percent of the project value of
Rp191 billion.
After a proposal is accepted, Nazars
team would have to ensure that the proj-
ect got the approval of the Finance Minis-
try, related commissions at the DPR, and
the DPRs Budget Committee. For this pur-
pose, Nazar usually divided his people into
several groups with one main person in
charge. From 2009 to 2010, Nazar created
fve groups, in line with the projects they
were targeting. The fve groups were under
Mindo Rosalina, the manager who was di-
rectly controlled by Nazar.
At the DPR, the Permai Group also built
networks based on the projects they were
after. At the hearing two weeks ago, Yu-
lianis unveiled a part of the network that
steered projects towards Nazaruddin. For
example, to assist projects at the ministries
of Youth and Sports and that of Education
and Culture, the Permai Group asked for
the support of Angelina Sondakh (budget
coordinator in the DPRs Youth and Sports
Commission). Rising to the level of the Bud-
get Committee, the Permai Group was able
to co-opt I Wayan Koster (committee vice- T
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chair).
At the Judicial Committee, according to
Yulianis, there was Azis Syamsuddin (vice-
chair). Further up, there was Olly Dondo-
kambey (Budget Committee vice-chair).
They were asked to look after the Permai
Groups interests at a number of law en-
forcement agencies, such as the Attorney
Generals Of ce.
Zulkanaen Djabbar, Abdul Kadir Kard-
ing and Said Abdullah, from the DPRs Re-
ligious Afairs Committee, were asked to
Yulianis testifying in court for former
member of Commission X in the DPR.
LAW
30 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
help look after a project which was pushed
through the Religious Afairs Ministry.
Two other groups were assigned to look
after projects at the ministries of health
and communications. At the hearing, Yu-
lianis did not name the Permai Groups ac-
complices within these two groups. How-
ever, their names are included in the Per-
mai Groups fnancial expenditure records
which were compiled by Yulianis.
Those notes, for example, identi-
fy Koster and Angelina as receiving
US$500,000 on November 3, 2010, through
Mindo Rosalina Manulang. (The names ap-
pear in quotation marks as testifed by Yu-
lianis, but which as yet need to be investi-
gated by the KPK-Ed.). That money was not
for the Wisma Atlet project in which Angeli-
na is currently implicated. The money was
related to projects at several universities in
2011. Koster was even recorded as getting
an increase of Rp50 million through Ger-
hana Sianipar who is also an employee at
the Permai Group, on February 18, 2010,
for the construction of a Hindu temple. On
March 3, 2011, Koster is recorded as re-
ceiving Rp500 million through an employ-
ee of the Permai Group called Dewi. The ex-
planation read, Wayan Kosters Commit-
ment in 2011.
On April 24, 2010, the same document
notes two outlays for Azis. The frst was
entered with the explanation, All & Azis
and a description of US$250,000 for mem-
bers of the DPRs Judicial Commission and
US$50,000 for his own allocation. The sec-
ond outlay, described it as, AS & Alwy,
Olly in the amount of US$500,000. On the
same day, another amount was recorded
for Olly for US$500,000.
In the project column the aim of the funds
was written as 2010 Budget. Two Permai
Group employees were assigned to hand
over the money, Yuli and Herry. A former
Permai employee stated that the funds for
Azis was received in person by the politi-
cian, who holds a doctorate degree in law.
At the Religious Afairs Ministry, there is
a record of a Rp200 million outlay for Ab-
dul Kadir Karding on May 11, 2010. The ex-
planation states that the money was given
to Gerhana Sianipar regarding the 2010 re-
vised state budget at the Religious Afairs
Ministry. On January 24, 2010, a Rp 1 billion
INSIDE mountains of corruption cases
implicating Democratic Party politician,
Muhammad Nazaruddin, there are many
legislators that have not yet been named.
The KPK has only named Angelina
Sondakh as a suspect, despite indications
of other legislators role in facilitating
Nazars projects, by steering them safely
through the DPR.
EVIDENCE
AGAINST THE
FACILITATORS
"I never received
anything."
"Lillahi taala (As
God is my witness),
I never received any
money.
MINISTRIES OF EDUCATION AND SPORTS
Facilitators:
Angelina Sondakh, I Wayan Koster
Evidence:
Yulianiss fnancial records
BlackBerry Message (BBM) Rosalina-Nazar
Project:
Supply of Study Materials for Doctors at
Training Hospital and Rujukan Hospital
Value: Rp492 billionWinner: PT Mahkota
Negara
Development of the Athletes Village for the
SEA Games, JakabaringRp197 billion
PT Duta Graha Indah (partner of the Permai
Group)
Development of Hambalang Sports
Center, BogorRp1.52 trillionPT Adhi
Karya and PT Wijaya Karya (State-owned
enterprise partnered with the Permai Group)
THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE
Facilitators:
Aziz Syamsuddin, Olly Dondokambey
Evidence:
Yulianiss fnancial records and testimony
BBM Rosalina-Nazar
Project:
Exercise Center at the Adhyaksa Center,
Ceger, and Attorney General Building Car
parkRp568 billionPT Pembangunan
Peru Mahan and PT Duta Graha Indah
(partner of the Permai Group)
ANGELINA
KOSTER
When did I meet
Yulianis? I have not.
How does one steer
(projects).
No comment. Wait
for developments.
AZIZ
OLLY
At the Judicial
Committee,
according to
Yulianis, there was
Azis Syamsuddin
(vice-chair). Further
up, there was Olly
Dondokambey
(Budget Committee
vice-chair). They
were asked to look
after the Permai
Groups projects
at a number of
law enforcement
agencies, like the
Attorney Generals
Ofce.
BUDGETCORRUPTION
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 31
TEXT: JAJANG JAMALUDIN | JOBPIE SUGIHARTO
SOURCE: PDAT, INTERVIEWS, COMPANY FINANCIAL RECORDS, INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS
outlay for Zulkanaen Djabar and Nu-
rul Iwan were recorded. The money was
handed over by Bayu, a staf member of
the Permai Group, for Commission VIIIs
Support.
Concerning the project at the Health
Ministry, on September 8, 2010, a transfer
of US$10,000 to Ribka Tjiptaning, of PDI-
P, chair of the DPRs Health Commission,
is recorded. The money, entered in the
books at the exchange rate of Rp9,025, was
handed over by an employee of the Permai
Group called Ratna. The aim of the outlay
was listed as All Health Department Proj-
ects 2010.
Still within the health project, there are
records of an outlay for the deputy chair of
the DPRs Budget Committee, Tamsil Lin-
rung. The PKS politician is recorded as re-
ceiving US$100,000 for budget discussions
at the Health Ministry on January 11, 2010.
The funds which were entered in the books
at the exchange rate of Rp9,090 were hand-
ed over by two Permai Group employees,
Pardi and Minarsih.
The name Tamsil did not appear just
that one time. On August 27, 2010, two out-
lays are recorded in his name. Each worth
US$65,000, they were handed over by Rat-
na. This money was related to the 2010
Health Ministry budget.
Steering projects through the Commu-
nications Ministry also did not escape the
money largesse by the Permai Group. The
vice-chair of the DPRs Communications
Commission, Mulyadi is written down
as receiving US$100,000 for the project,
Communications Ministry 2011. Accord-
ing to the notes, the money came from a
safe at PT Anugrah via Gerhana Sia nipar, a
member of the fnancial staf at the Permai
Group. Delivered by a courier called Ivan,
the money was handed to a person called
Lukman before changing hands to Mu-
lyadi. The notes say that the money was
handed over on April 8, 2011.
Almost all of those who are named in the
records, both directly and through people
close to them, have denied taking the Per-
mai Groups money. What is more, they
challenge the person who made the notes to
present proof that they took the money.
To KPK investigators, Yulianis alleged
that she only allocated money after getting
permission directly from Nazaruddin. Af-
ter the money was given out, Yulianis re-
corded the amount, the collector and cou-
rier, as well as the purpose of the money. I
merely paid and recorded it. As to wheth-
er the money actually reached the desig-
nated names, I dont know.
Nazar, who during his time on the run
boasted that he would reveal all the benefcia-
ries of the project funds, always sidestepped
the question, when he was asked to confrm.
He said he did not want to comment because
the questions might be defamatory.
KPK vice-chairman, Bambang Widjojan-
to, stated that the commission will contin-
ue to delve deeper into all the evidence and
witness statements. Yulianiss most recent
testimony, given under oath, has highest
cedibility.
We will follow up on the names she cit-
ed, Bambang said.
JAJANG JAMALUDIN, ANTON APRIANTO,
SUBKHAN, WAYAN AGUS
RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS MINISTRY
Facilitators:
Zulkarnaen Djabar, Abdul Kadir Karding, Said
Abdullah
Evidence:
Yulianiss fnancial records and testimony
Project:
Supply madrasahs with required textbooks
valued Rp50.750 billion
Supply madrasah with laboratory
equipment valued at Rp78 billion
HEALTH MINISTRY
Facilitators:
Ribka Tjiptaning, Tamsil Linrung, M. Nasir
Evidence:
Yulianiss fnancial records
Project:
Avian Flu Vaccine Technology Facility
Rp718.8 billionPT Anugrah Nusantara
Supply of Teaching Aids Teaching Doctor
EducationRp449.6 billionPT Buana
Ramosari Gemilang
COMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY
Facilitators:
Mulyadi
Evidence:
Yulianiss fnancial records
BBM Rosalina-Nazar
Project:
Supply of 13 Training Aircraft and 2 Wing
Simulators for STPI CurugRp114.59
billionPT Anugrah Nusantara
Supply of 18 Training AircraftUS$10.3
millionPT Mahkota Negara
The accusations about receiving money are
fabricated. Im ready to be questioned.
KARDING
"The reports of
money are false and
fabricated."
"I received
nothing."
RIBKA
TAMSIL
"If my name is on the list, I will sue
Nazaruddin."
MULYADI
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HUKUM
32 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
WAODENURHAYATI LAW
W
A Ode Nurhayatis plea
was her last chance to
defend herself. Aside
from reading a nine-
page personal defense
note, her lawyers took turns reading 705
pages worth of legal defense against charg-
es submitted by the attorney of the Corrup-
tion Eradication Commission (KPK). The
prosecutions demand is legally fawed,
said the disgruntled Wa Ode, after her de-
fense at the Corruption Court in Jakarta.
A week before that, the prosecution
sought four years imprisonment for this
non-active member of the House of Rep-
resentatives (DPR) Budget Committee. Us-
ing a separate-lawsuit model, the attor-
ney charged Wa Ode with two counts of in-
dictments. For bribery charges, the pros-
ecution demanded four years in prison
for Wa Ode. For her involvement in mon-
ey laundering, the prosecution demand-
ed 10 years imprisonment for this Nation-
al Mandate Party (PAN) politician. This is
a breakthrough, said KPK vice-chairman,
Bambang Widjojanto.
According to the KPK attorney, between
October 13 to November 1, 2010, Wa Ode ac-
cepted money worth Rp6.25 billion from
three businessmen: Fahd A. Rafq, Da-
vid Nelwan, and Abram Noach Mambu.
The money was intended as a bribe to en-
sure Wa Ode secured the 2011 Regional In-
frastructure Adjustment Funds for three
regencies in Aceh: Pidie Jaya, Bener Meri-
ah and Aceh Besar, as well as Minahasa in
North Sulawesi.
That money, according to the attorney,
was part of the Rp50.5 billion sum kept in
Wa Odes Bank Mandiri account. The ac-
count was used several times to carry out
transactions between October 2010 to Sep-
tember 2011. Investigation by the KPK re-
vealed that attempts to obscure the mon-
eys origin were made through transfers,
diversions and personal expenditures.
The money laundering element is clearly
proven, said Attorney Kadek Wiradana.
Faced with the prospect of a long jail
term, this politician from South East Su-
lawesi was quick to react. Instead of mourn-
ing her fate, when the prosecutor fnished
reading the charges, Wa Ode immediately
protested in a loud voice, calling the pros-
ecutions separated-lawsuit model as un-
usual and legally fawed. After the read-
ing, Wa Ode spent a week formulating her
defense with her team of lawyers in a cell
at the Pondok Bambu Womens Detention
Center in East Jakarta. I refuse to become a
test case, said Wa Ode.
In her personal defense note, Wa Ode
claimed that she was victimized by the
leader of the Budget Committee. The facts
revealed in court, she said, pointed to the
funds distribution as regulated by the Bud-
get Committee chair without the approv-
al of its members. At that time, the Budget
Committee was led by Melchias Markus
Mekeng, with Mirwan Amir Olly Dondo-
kambey and Tamsil Linrung serving as vice
chairmen. Dont just get the small fsh, get
the big ones too, said Wa Ode.
Wa Ode insists she did not receive the
Rp6.25 billion bribe money because it
had been returned to Fahd. She also de-
nied owning Rp50.5 billion in her Mandiri
Bank account, which she said, only con-
tains a Rp10 billion deposit from her fami-
lys clothing business.
Wa Ode asked the KPK to investigate the
bank account of the Budget Committee
chair because, according to the adjustment
fund recipient code found in a laptop be-
longing to the Budget Committee Secretar-
iat, the four leaders of the Budget Commit-
tee had each received Rp250 billion. She
previously said that House Speaker Marzu-
ki Alie had also received a cut of the Rp300
billion from the funding. Marzuki and the
four leaders of the Budget Committee is-
sued a strong rebuttal, denying that they
had ever received the money as charged by
Wa Ode.
The House members will probably try
to evade justice. Bambang Widjojanto said
that from Wa Odes trial, the KPK saw some
strong leads pointing to the involvement of A
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Wa Ode Nurhayati became the rst corruption case suspect
charged with money laundering by the KPK, which is also
preparing a set of penalties to deprive corruptors of their
ill-gotten wealth.
BANKRUPTING
THE CORRUPTORS
Wa Ode Nurhayati, reading her defense at
the Corruption Court.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 33
people mentioned by Wa Ode. Some eye-
witness accounts in court, including that of
Fahd, mentioning Mirwan and Tamsil hav-
ing received bribes from the project, had
been noted by the KPK. The facts unfold-
ing in court became the material to further
develop the investigation, said Bambang.
Aside from serving as a means to ob-
tain leads on the involvement of others in
the case, Wa Odes trial also marks the frst
test for a KPK corruption case that includes
money laundering charges. KPK Spokes-
man Johan Budi S.P said that the charges
against Wa Ode was a breakthrough by the
commission because she is the frst defen-
dant charged with the charges of bribery
and money laundering. Decision from the
panel of judges led by Suhartoyo, said Jo-
han, will be used as jurisprudence for other
corruption cases in the KPK, which also in-
volve money laundering charges.
Because it was being done for the frst
time, said a Tempo source, leaders of the
KPK had dif culty formulizing the charg-
es for Wa Ode. The source said that, initial-
ly, the KPK leaders planned to model after
Bahasyim Asif es and Gayus Tambunans
cases. These two tax employees were also
brought to court on charges of money laun-
dering. However, the KPK refrained from
using these two cases as reference because
they occurred in a diferent institution. Fi-
nally, the charges were actually based on
the minutes of the trial, said this source.
Financial Transaction Reports and Anal-
ysis Center chairman, Muhammad Yusuf,
believes that the KPK can use the article
on money laundering to investigate others
who are also involved in the case. By follow-
ing the money, said Yusuf, the KPK should
be able to arrest those who received mon-
ey from Wa Ode, or whose bank accounts
were used to channel Wa Odes money. Yu-
suf suggested that the KPK employ the 5th
article from the Law on Money Laundering
to get the other perpetrators. Someone
who holds or transfers the money could
also be charged with this article, said Yu-
suf, Let alone those who actually accept-
ed the money.
The current Law on Money laundering,
said Yusuf, could make it easier for the KPK
to investigate recipients of bribes. That
written rule, he said, enabled the KPK to
employ the money laundering article with-
out having to prove the original crime frst.
He claimed to have handed over the names
of 18 members of the Budget Committee,
BAHASYIM ASSIFIE
A tax offce employee who
allegedly extorted Rp1
billion from a taxpayer.
Prosecutors found a
whopping Rp67 billion in
the accounts belonging
to Bahasyim, his wife and
children.
Sentenced to 12 years
after appeal.
ALREADY CONVICTED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING
Already convicted for money laundering before Wa Ode, there were several graft suspects
who were charged with Money Laundering Law, although their cases were handled by the
Attorney General Offce and the Police.
THOSE IMPLICATED
1. MIRWAN AMIR
Was deputy chairman
of the Houses Budget
Commission from
Democrat Party faction at
the time of the project.
According to Wa Ode
and Fahds testimonies,
Mirwan received
kickbacks amounting to
Rp250 billion from the
project.
2. TAMSIL LINRUNG
Was the Budget
showed Olly received
Rp250 billion.
4. MELCHIAS MARKUS MEKENG
Was deputy chairman
representing Golkar Party.
According to Wa Ode, the
same fund recipient code
in the laptop indicated
that Mekeng received
Rp250 billion.
5. MARZUKI ALIE
Menurut House Speaker
According to Wa Odes
testimony, the fund
recipient code showed that
Marzuki pocketed a Rp300
billion from the project.
Commissions deputy
chairman representing
the PKS. Wa Ode and
Fah testifed that Tamsil
received Rp250 billion
from the project.
3. OLLY DONDOKAMBEY
Was deputy chairman
from the PDI-P faction.
Wa Ode charged that
fund adjustment recipient
codes in the laptop
belonging to the Budget
Commission Secretariat
In addition to Wa Ode, a number of House members, par-
ticularly members of Budget Commission, were also impli-
cated in the case by witnesses. Those incriminated quick-
ly denied their alleged involvement.
( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 )
GAYUS TAMBUNAN
In the case involving
ownership of Rp395
million, the junior tax
offcial was charged with
embezzling taxes and
laundering illicit money.
More than Rp28 billion
was found in his account.
Already convicted for tax
mafa activities and fraud.
DHANA WIDYATMIKA
Gayuss colleague, also
charged with extortion.
Authorities found
suspicious amount
of Rp50 billion in his
account.
The case is still being
tried at the Jakarta
Corruption Court.
HUKUM
34 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
some of whom are suspected of being in-
volved in Wa Odes case. If the account
owner can not prove that the money is legit-
imate, he or she could face charges of mon-
ey laundering, said Yusuf.
Bambang agrees with Yusuf. The KPK,
he said, is currently assessing the possibil-
ity of using the article on money laundering
without frst having to prove the corruption
crime. He said for someone to face money
laundering charges, the person must be
shown to have committed three acts: allo-
cating, obscuring, or collecting money al-
legedly obtained through corruption.
Other than Wa Ode, the KPK is also using
charges of money laundering against for-
mer Democrat Party Treasurer Muham-
mad Nazaruddin in the Garuda Indone-
sia stocks purchase case, involving some
Rp300.8 billion. That case is currently be-
ing investigated. The money used by Nazar
to acquire the airline stocks is strongly sus-
pected to have been obtained through graft
and other illicit means.
The use of the money laundering article,
said Bambang, is also part of KPKs strate-
gy to bring heavier punishment on corrup-
tors. Until now, most of the sentences in
the KPKs corruption cases have been less
than fve years. Such light sentence is due to
the fact that the only legal charge brought
against the suspects is that of corruption,
said Bambang. Money laundering carries
a heavier penalty, he said.
Aside from charges of money launder-
ing, Bambang said that the KPK is also com-
piling a formula of punishment based on
the amount of loss inficted by each sus-
pect. The loss, according to Bambang, in-
volves not only material losses but imma-
terial ones too. Bambang mentioned so-
cial and environmental damages as exam-
ples. From assessing these damages, the
KPK could then compile a penalty of fnes,
social sanctions, and substitution fnes that
must be paid by the corruptors.
This year, he added, the KPK should be
able to complete the formula. It is done
in the spirit of impoverishing the corrup-
tors, said Bambang.
ANTON APRIANTO, FEBRIANA FIRDAUS
EARLY SEPTEMBER 2010
Fahd A. Rafq meets with
Haris A. Surahman at the
Golkar Partys offce in
Jakarta. Fahd asks Haris
to help identify the DPRs
Budget Commission
members who can help
his project.
MID SEPTEMBER 2010
Haris meets with Wa
Ode at the Pulua Dua
Restaurant at Senayan,
to seek her help in taking
care of Fahds project.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Through Haris, Fahd
submits the fund
adjustment proposal
for 2011 for Pidie Jaya,
Bener Meriah and greater
Aceh and Minahasa in
North Sulawesi.
brokering activities.
AUGUST 18, 2011
DPR leaders ask the
Financial Reporting and
Transaction Analysis
Center to probe Wa
Odes account.
EARLY AUGUST
SEPTEMBER 2011
KPK follows up on Wa
Odes statement to
expose budget mafa at
the House.
DECEMBER 9, 2011
Wa Ode is named
suspect. Besides
involved in corruption,
she is also charged
with money laundering
after the KPK found
suspicious amounts of
money totaling Rp50.5
billion in her account.
JANUARY 25, 2012
Fahd A. Rafq is named
suspect.
JUNE 13, 2012
Trial of Wa Ode begins.
OCTOBER 2, 2012
Prosecutors seek 14
years imprisonment for
Wa Ode.
DPR questioning the
elimination of 32
regions which previously
qualifed to receive fund
adjustments.
DECEMBER 17, 2010
DPR sends a response
signed by DPR deputy
speaker Anis Matta to
the Finance Ministry
informing them the list
is fnal.
FEBRUARY 11, 2011
Finance Ministry issues
a decree regarding the
2011 DPID. To Wa Odes
dismay, 100 regions
previously agreed
upon at the working
committees meeting
disappear from the list.
MID FEBRUARY 2011
Haris and Fahd meet Wa
Ode at the House and
demand that the fees
be returned since the
promised regions are not
in the list.
MAY 30, 2011
Haris complains to the
four Budget
Commission
heads that
he has
fallen victim
to Wa Odes
special staff. Sefa later
deposits the money in
Wa Odes account at
Bank Mandiri. Payments
of the remaining money
are made in the same
manner.
OCTOBER 17, 2010-
NOVEMBER 1, 2010
Proposal to fund
receipient regions
through Budget
Commissions head and
members.
NOVEMBER 2, 2010
A list of 524 regions to
receive fund adjustment
is signed by four Budget
Commission heads and
forwarded to the Finance
Ministry.

NOVEMBER 5, 2010
Finance Ministry asks
the Budget Commission
to revise the list as many
proposed regions did not
ft the criteria.
NOVEMBER 15, 2010
After the ffth revision,
the list is resubmitted to
the Finance Ministry.
DECEMBER 13, 2010
Finance Minister
Agus Martowardojo
sends a letter to the
EARLY OCTOBER 2010
According Haris, Wa Ode
asks for 5-6 percent
fees, if the three
regencies received Rp40
billion each. She also
demands 5 percent fees
for Minahasa for the
proposed fund of Rp15
billion.
OCTOBER 6-7, 2010
A meeting between the
Regional Fund Transfer
Working Committee
of the DPR and the
government at the Wisma
DPR Kopo, in Cisarua,
Bogor proposes the
regional infrastructure
adjustment funds (DPID)
of Rp7.7 trillion.
OCTOBER 13, 2010
Haris opens an account
in Fahds name at the
DPR branch of Bank
Mandiri. Fahd remits Rp2
billion to the account.
The money is cashed
by Haris and handed
over to Sefa, Wa Odes
Wa Ode Nurhayati became KPKs frst bribery
suspect to be concurrently charged with money
laundering. The KPK will use this formula to
demand heavier sentences, but also to facilitate
arrests of other corruptors.
A FIRST FOR THE KPK
TEXT: ANTON A.
SOURCE: KPK, INTERVIEW, WA ODE'S INDICTMENT
WAODENURHAYATI
ECONOMY
36 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
S
UTRIAH never stops com-
plaining about the rice she
buys under the governments
rice for the poor program.
With an income just enough
to feed the family, the middle-aged wom-
an was forced to consume lice-infested rice
bought at Rp2, 000 a kilogram last Septem-
ber.
Its very dif cult to cook, much of it con-
sists of broken rice and small stones and its
RASKIN
infested with lice, Sutriah told Tempo last
week at her house at the central Java dis-
trict of Pekalongan
Sutriah must repeatedly wash the rice
with salt water to give make it white and
cook it in pandan leaves to get rid of the
bad smell. The cooked rice is good to eat
only before nightfall when it begins turning
soft, she said
Sutriahs predicament is further com-
pounded by the fact that her entitlement
has been cut from 15 kilograms to only 5 ki-
lograms a month. That would only last for
a week for my family, she said, of her fam-
ily of ten.
Because of the poor quality or raskin, re-
cipients resell their rice to traders on the
market for Rp6, 000-6,500 a kilogram. A
lower price of Rp5,500 is ofered to traders
buying the rice directly from houses where
the poor families live. Normally a trader
buys 20 to 50 kilograms of the rice at a time.
Another Mism
Program for
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 37
Pabrik TPPI di Tuban,
Jawa Timur.
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cities: Banda Aceh, Serang, Bandung, Pe-
kalongan, Surakarta, Gresik, Jeneponto,
Jayapura, West Lombok and Makassar.
The head of the audit team, Muhammad
Fahazza, said the rice for the poor program
was of the mark in terms of quantity, price,
time, target, quality, and administration.
Irregularities occur right under the eyes
of of cials and stakeholders, he said.
Many of the poor must dilute the subsi-
dized rice with better quality rice to be ft
The price of newly harvested rice fetches
Rp7,000 a kilogram, said Mimi, a rice trad-
er in Pekalongan. Traders would pound the
subsidized rice into four to sell to food ven-
dors.
Irregularities on the distribution of the
subsidized rice was discovered in a social
audit carried out on the 2011-2012 Rice for
the Poor program, by a non-governmen-
tal organization called Center of Region-
al Study and Information (Pattiro) in 10
for consumption.
In many cases, the poor must pay
Rp1,800- 2,000 for a kilogram of the subsi-
dized rice over the price pegged at Rp1,600
a kilo under the program, ostensibly to cov-
er cost of plastic bags and transportation,
as no funds are allocated by the local ad-
ministration for this purpose.
Each poor family is entitled to only 5-
10 kilos, not 15 kilos of the subsidized rice
a month. The rice, in reality, is distributed
only every two or three months. With the
number of families entitled to the rice be-
ing less than that recorded, the village ad-
ministration is forced, on many occasions,
to distribute it on an equal basis.
Aria Bima, deputy chief of the DPR
Commission on State-owned Enterpris-
es, claimed to have found on visits to Bu-
log warehouses in Cilacap, Purwokerto,
Banyumas and Purworejo, many bags of
rice infested with lice and consisting of bro-
ken rice. Its rice which is ft only for ani-
mal consumption, he said.
Bima, an Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker, said the gov-
ernment bought the rice at Rp6, 300 a kilo-
gram to sell it with subsidies to the poor at
Rp1, 600. The rice sold to the poor should
be of good quality.

THE rice for the poor program began
with the onset of the 1998 monetary crisis.
Originally called Special Market Operation
it changed to Rice for the Poor Program in
2002from an emergency to a social safe-
ty net program
According to Bulog, until 2006, data on
recipients of the subsidized rice were pro-
vided by National Population and Family
Planning Agency. In 2007, such data were
provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics
(BPS) based on the results of a 2005 survey.
Since 2008, data from the BPS Social Pro-
tection Program were used.
The rice for the poor program is regulat-
ed under General Guidelines of the Coordi-
nating Ministry for Social Welfare, provid-
ing that the lowest prize of subsidized rice
should be Rp1,600 a kilogram with each
poor family entitled to 15 kilograms of sub-
sidized rice a month, assuming that each
family consist of four people.
The program is to be implemented by
state-owned Bulog (Bureau of Logistics).
The queue for raskin at Kramat Jati
Market, East Jakarta, January 2007.
managed
the Poor
ANOTHER
MISMANAGED
PRO-POOR
PROGRAM
Irregularities abound in the distribution of
Rice for the Poor program.
ECONOMY
ECONOMY
38 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
Presidential Instruction No. 3/2012 on pro-
curement of and distribution of rice by the
government states that the price at Bulog
warehouses shall be Rp6,600 a kilogram
with water content at a maximum 14 per-
cent, broken rice a maximum 20 percent,
broken rice a maximum 2 percent, and de-
gree of husks a minimum 95 percent.
In the procurement of rice, the govern-
ment transfers funds from the National
Budget to Bulog to be distributed to region-
al/provincial-level Bulogs and on to the dis-
trict levels.
A district-level Bulog ships the subsidized
rice to villages for distribution. Cost of the
shipment is borne by the local government,
meaning that the price of the subsidized
price should not be higher than Rp1,600 a
kilogram.
According to Bima, rice subsidies this
year amounted to Rp17 trillion. Around 15.5
million poor people are entitled to the sub-
sidized rice. According to Bima, there are 17
million Indonesians living in poverty.
Recently, Bulog imported 2 million tons
of rice from India, Vietnam, and Thailand
as the price of unhulled rice charged by In-
donesian farmers was considered too high.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, In-
donesia produces 39 million tons of rice a
year against domestic requirements of only
33 million tons, said Bima.

An audit of the rice for the
poor program by the State Au-
dit Board (BPK) in 2011 found
an overpayment by the govern-
ment of Rp435.114 billion to Bu-
log. During that period, the gov-
ernment paid Rp16.318 trillion to
Bulog to distribute the Rp15.883 tril-
lionworth of subsidized rice. The BPK rec-
ommended that Bulog settle the overpaid
amount with the fnance and state-owned
enterprise ministries.
BPK also found the quality of the sub-
sidized rice to be substandard. Bulogs in
Bandung and Indramayu in West Java were
found to have failed in closely examining
the quality of 847 tons of rice for distribu-
tion in 2011, valued at Rp4.662 billion.
According to Bulog commercial direc-
tor, Abdul Karim, the amount said to be an
overpayment arose from inef ciency in the
distribution of the subsidized rice by Bulog.
The money, he said, rightfully belonged to
Bulog as the government did not pay any
distribution fee to Bulog. Other state-
owned enterprises which met their public
service obligation received such a fee, so A
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why not Bulog? Karim asked.
BPK deputy chief Hasan Bas-
ri acknowledged the overpay-
ment did not cause any loss to the
government. He said Bulog could re-
turn the overpayment to the state treasury
or the government to be accounted for with
subsidies paid the following year.
Hasan, however, said Bulog could not
regard the overpayment as fee from the
government. There must be a legal ba-
sis for such a fee payment, such as a regu-
lation from the fnance ministry or a mem-
orandum from the state-owned enterpris-
es ministry, Hasan told Tempo by SMS. It
cant be done without a legal basis.
Bulog supervisory board chairman, Ju-
suf acknowledged there were irregular-
ities in the distribution of the subsidized
rice. But, he added, the number of irregu-
larities was insignifcant and involved only
a few people.
Jusuf said all the fndings on irregular-
ities and people involved in questionable
practices, should be reported to Bulog. Ju-
suf, who is concurrently a member of the
Presidential staf on Food and Energy, add-
ed that Bulog would take frm action and
fre all those involved. But please dont
sacrifce the pro-poor program.
Karim said broken grains found in the
subsidized rice were due to their overly
long storage period inside Bulog warehous-
es. Bulog, he added, was ready to exchange
the bad rice with the good one. Many have
done so.
Karim said Bulog distributed the subsi-
dized rice based on BPS data. We did not
gather the data ourselves, he said
Bulog, said Karim, was not responsible
for a problem arising in the distribution of
the subsidized rice Bulog, he added, as it
was only tasked with bringing the rice to
distribution points in the villages. Its the
local government which distributes rice to
the poor, Karim said.
JOBPIE SUGIHARTO, AKBAR TRI KURNIAWAN,
EDI FAISOL (PEKALONGAN), AHMAD RAFIQ (SURAKARTA)
RICEFORTHEPOOR
Residents
waiting to buy
cheap rice
in Kaliombo
village,
Kediri,
East Java,
February
2010.
Muhammad
Fahazza
(below).
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 39
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OZENS of heads could be
seen poking from a yellow
open-backed truck. They
were riding from the Galeh
and Jekawal villages to the
Tangen district market in Sragen regency
in central Java. Such a sight is common, giv-
en the lack of public transportation.
Sri Wahono, however, did not fnd the
sight common at all. He found it suspicious.
Reportedly, trucks with Semarang license
plates often carried raskin (rice for the
poor) to be sold at the market.
The middle-aged man followed the truck,
which stopped at Tangen Market. The door
to the back of the truck opened and the pas-
sengers got of. Sacks of rice could be seen
piled up at the corner of the truck, he told
Tempo last week.
Wahono could see clearly about half a
ton of sacks with Raskin Rice written on
them. Some porters came to carry the sacks
of subsidized rice intended for the poor to
the market.
He approached the driver to ask who the
STEALING RICE FOR THE POOR
Pattiro uncovered fraud in the distribution of Rice for the Poor in 10 cities nationwide. Bulog
argues it is responsible only for the delivery of the rice to distribution points.
sender was. The driver did not want to ad-
mit to anything, saying he was just follow-
ing the orders of village of cials, said chief
of the advocacy division of the Sragen Com-
munity Forum chief.
Such practices, according to Wahono,
happen when it is time for distribution. He
is trying to fnd and collect evidence of le-
gal violations. I saw the middlemen send-
ing the raskin to the city.
The fraud was also exposed by a social
audit carried out by the Center for Region-
al Studies and Information (Pattiro). For
the past two years, this institute has been
conducting research in 10 cities: Banda
Aceh, West Bandung, Pekalongan, Sema-
rang, Solo, Gresik, West Lombok, Jenepon-
to, Makassar and Jayapura, on the distribu-
tion system of the raskin.
Muhammad Fahazza, audit team lead-
er, said some of the fraud took place during
distribution and some during procurement
by Bulog. The method of the fraud difers
from city to city, he said last week.
For example, the price of the raskin is
higher than the set price of Rp1,600 per ki-
logram. The ration is reduced from 15 kilo-
grams per family per month to only 5-10 ki-
lograms. The rice is infested, yellow and
smelly. The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK),
in its audit on the 2011 raskin program, con-
frms that the quality of raskin is way below
the central governments standards.
Setiawan Dwi Hariyanto, Pattiro Pe-
kalongan activist, found that in some vil-
lages raskin was not distributed. Local of -
cials agreed among themselves to sell it to
middlemen who have rice mills at Denasri
village in Batang regency. This practice is
prevalent around the east Pekalongan dis-
trict.
Tempo visited the mill on Wednesday af-
ternoon last week. The big house next to
the mill was deserted. There was only one
truck parked in front of it. Some employees
were relaxing at a warehouse that stored
piles of yellow brownish rice. The rice is
going to Babatan, Tegal, said an employee
who refused to reveal his name.
He also said that his boss was not at home.
Traders often
receive orders to
grind Bulogs rice
for the poor into
our.
ECONOMY
40 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
A Tempo source said that the mill owner
was an entrepreneur, a partner of Bulog in
the procurement of rice for the north coast
area of central Java.
The east Pekalongan region is a hub of
rice mills. However, several neighbors said
that they dont hear any sounds of milling
machines, unlike other mills that make
grinding noises because the machines are
actively working. The mill is also closed to
the locals. According to Setiawan, the mill
is just a front. Its like the rice was pur-
chased by Bulog from the mill. But actually,
its raskin sold by the locals, he said.
Head of the Pekalongan region, a sub-di-
vision of Bulog, Khairul Jaman, admitted
that some of the raskin was of poor quali-
ty. But, he did not comment on the rice go-
ing bad, given that raskin was purchased
for the poor. He did state that the number
of partners in the procurement of rice had
been reduced from 100 to 30 people. The
reason is because they deliver bad quality
rice, said Khairul.
Another method of operation is grind-
ing poor quality raskin into four and sell-
ing it to food vendors. Mimi, a rice trader on
Jalan Belimbing Pekalongan, admitted to
frequently buying raskin from the locals at
Rp6,000-6,500 per kilogram. From trad-
ers, the raskin can also be sold to brokers.
Another form of fraud is by manipulat-
ing the rules. The allocation for one fami-
ly is changed into one house. As is com-
mon, one house can be occupied by more
than one family. The goal is reducing the
raskin quota, said Bernard Koten, a mem-
ber of the audit team in Jayapura, Papua
province.
As a result, many of the poor do not re-
ceive what they are entitled to. On the oth-
er hand, traditional markets sell raskin
at Rp85,000 per 15 kilograms. It is sold
easily because the real market price is
Rp150,000.
Bernard explains that the geography of a
region can lead to corruption. The extreme
distances between villages in Papua pro-
vide the reasons for exploiting raskin. Vil-
lage or tribal chiefs are forced to escort de-
liveries so that the rice from the state does
not go missing. Unfortunately, The deliv-
ery people also misappropriate the rice,
he said.
Another type of fraud occurs in Sura-
karta. The audit team found that the rice
allocations for several villages were sold
and some of the money divided among lo-
cals, with each persons getting Rp10,500
per month. The amount is clearly well be-
low the value of raskin which is around
Rp24,000 per person.
In some other areas, for example in the
Pasar Kliwon District of Surakarta, raskin
is divided equally because the allocations
delivered are less than the actual number
of poor families.
There are also people who are not poor
but are included on the list of recipients.
The sub-district of cials are forced to do
some acrobatics. To dampen public an-
ger, said Andwi Joko, a member of the au-
dit team.
Bulog commercial director Abdul Karim
does not deny there are employees who
misappropriate the raskin. He revealed
that for the past two years, 37 employees
had been fred, some because they sold
raskin. A decade ago, the state-owned com-
pany dismissed 40 employees from the lev-
el of regional heads to warehouse supervi-
sors, for the same reason.
However, Karim explained that raskin
fraud occurs more at the distribution points
to the poor. These are the responsibility of
the local government under the coordi-
nation of the Home Afairs Ministry. Bu-
logs task is to deliver raskin to distribution
points, not directly to the locals, he said.
Fahazza has several suggestions on how
to counter raskin fraud. One way is to es-
tablish a mechanism for complaints and
disclosure of information. Since the raskin
program started 12 years ago, the poor have
not had any access to information, if they
have any questions about raskin.
Low education levels also make them
uninformed. They dont know what the
raskin allocation is all about, because the
government doesnt explain it well enough
to the public, said Fahazza.
AKBAR TRI KURNIAWAN, EDI FAISOL (PEKALONGAN),
AHMAD RAFIQ (SOLO)
Another form of fraud
is by manipulating the
rules. The allocation
for one family is
changed into one
house. As is common,
one house can be
occupied by more than
one family. T
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Rice store in Pekalongan suspected
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ECONOMY
42 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
There have been anomalies in the
procurement and distribution of raskin. Is
Bulogs supervision weak?
All subsidized commodities have the po-
tential for misuse by certain individuals.
Lets settle it case by case. Avoid sacrifc-
ing the populist program of President Yu-
dhoyono for the poor. Pro-poor schemes
shouldnt be stopped. Irregularities only
happen in certain places, just think of the
benefts of raskin.
The Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development describes
the raskin subsidy and food policy as
misdirected...
Thats the view of outsiders. Did we ques-
tion when them when there
was a drought in the U.S. and
farmers in that country were giv-
en a US$30 billion subsidy? Why didnt
they regard the subsidy there as a mistake?
Its our right to side with farmers and poor
people. We are a sovereign state and have a
clear food policy.
Do you consider focus on the raskin sub-
sidy as an attempt to weaken the govern-
ment?
One way of weakening a country is up-
setting the food policy. Why did the Inter-
national Monetary Fund disrupt the sys-
tem of food resilience? Bulog was only al-
lowed to handle one commodi-
ty. Thats politics. I cannot ac-
cept people questioning subsi-
dies. Its interference in our sov-
ereignty. Japan also provides
a rice subsidy. Many countries
envy Indonesia because in 2030
we will rank seventh in econom-
ic growth. Today Indonesia is in 16
th

place.
But arent there irregularities in the raskin
distribution?
So far Bulog has cooperated with region-
al administrations. Bulog delivers raskin
to distribution points and regional admin-
istrations send it to poor families. With
the increasing social welfare services, the
number of poor citizens has declined.
However, its the Coordinating Minister for
Peoples Welfare that should evaluate this,
not me.
T
HE program of rice for poor
households (locally termed
raskin) which began 12 years
ago, seems to be full of irregular-
ities in its distribution. People often receive
rice unft for consumption, the prices are
marked up, and allocations for poor resi-
dents cut down.
The anomalies occur in various fronts
and involve village personnel as well as em-
ployees of the Logistic Bureau (Bulog) in
charge of supplying rice and distributing it
to disadvantaged people. They frequently
work in collusion with business partners.
Still, Bulog Supervisory Board chief, Ju-
suf, is convinced this program benefts
poor people and remains efective in sup-
porting national food resilience. Flanked
FROM MARKUPS TO CUTS
by Bulog Commercial Director Abdul
Karim, the Presidents Expert Staf for Food
and Energy explained various problems in
the distribution of raskin to Tempo report-
ers Akbar Tri Kurniawan, Jobpie Sugiharto
and Nugroho Dewanto at the Center for Na-
tional Strategic Studies at Patra Kuningan,
South Jakarta, last week.

JUSUF: IRREGULARITIES ONLY
HAPPEN IN CERTAIN PLACES
Many Bulog employees are invol-
ved in the raskin misappropriation.
What are the penalties?
As many as 37 employees have
been dismissed since 2010. It was
because of the sale of raskin. If
anyone is found misusing the pro-
gram, just report it. If you have the
persons name, well promptly investi-
gate him.
Where are the irregularities?
In the distribution. Bulog is only respon-
sible for the delivery of raskin to distribu-
tion points. The transfer of raskin from dis-
ABDUL KARIM: SOME BULOG
EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN FIRED
tribution points to allotment
points or directly to recipi-
ents is to be handled by the
regional administrations.
We found Bulog in the re-
gency buying rice for raskin
from middlemen.
The quality of raskin is in
line with the presidential instruc-
tion. When purchasing, the quality should
be examined. Many have been fred on ac-
count of this.
So its true that some Bulog employees
distribute poor quality rice?
Some do. Rice procurement has now
reached 3.3 million tons. In one pile there
are already 100 to 400 tons. If one to two
sacks contain rice of bad quality, well, it
can happen. We will replace it if residents
receive inferior-quality rice. Many of them
have exchanged them for better rice.
Bulog has been taking care of supplies.
W hy isnt it able to solve the problem of lice-
infested rice?
Many of our warehouses are 25 to 30
years old. We plan to build new, modern
ones. Each of the warehouses must under-
go maintenance. Its personnel comprise a
warehouse chief, a man who weighs loads
of rice and one other employee. In fact, a
warehouse has a capacity of storing 3,000
to 4,000 tons, some even up to 100,000
tons.
RICEFORTHEPOOR
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OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 43
ECONOMY TELKOMSEL
K
ANTA Cahya was brimming
with optimism about his chanc-
es at the end of the bankruptcy
process against Telekomunika-
si Selular (Telkomsel). Representing Prima
Jaya Informatika, the attorney felt he had
the right momentum to win, when the dis-
pute neared an end.
No one is behind this. It was just a coin-
cidence, said Kanta last week. He was re-
sponding to rumors that Telkomsels com-
petitors were behind the bankruptcy peti-
tion.
They wee armed with two invoices,
showing how the Telkom Group subsid-
iary refused to pay up on June 20 and 21,
less than a month later they fled for bank-
ruptcy at the Central Jakarta Commercial
Court. To peoples surprise, including Tel-
komsel itself, who was convinced of win-
ning the case, the judge fled for bankrupt-
cy on September 14.
The rejected notess were worth Rp5.26
billion, while Telkomsel in the frst quarter
of this year alone recorded Rp12.3 billion in
revenues and Rp3.51 trillion in net profts.
Any company, whatever its size or health
condition, can be declared bankrupt if it
has no intention of paying its obligations,
Kanta repeated the judges rule that result-
ed in his clients victory. The law does not
set the minimum amount of the invoice.
Telkomsel is clearly reeling from the ver-
dict, and is now appealing to the Supreme
Court. But they are now caught between
a rock and a hard place. The options are
equally dif cult. With its new status, the
company is in danger of not being able to
participate in the bidding on the 3G net-
work on 2,100 MHz frequency spectrum.
The option to settle with Prima is not like-
ly to be cheap. The company is demand-
ing the value according to the contract on
vouchers and the launching of a new card
that will expire next year. The total is not
only for unpaid invoices, but an additional
Rp260 billion. If they dont want to be ex-
cluded from the bidding, well, just pay the
amount, said Kanta, confrming his posi-
tion of strength. As with any settlement,
fgures are still negotiable.
That amount, however, is nothing com-
pared to the value of the tender. Of the ex-
isting 12 channels, 10 blocks are already al-
located to fve mobile operators who hold
3G licenses. Telkomsel holds blocks 4 and
5, 7 and 8; Indosat, XL Axiata, 9 and 10; Axis
Telecom Indonesia, 2 and 3; and Hutchison
CP Telecommunications (Tri), 1 and 6. The
remaining channels 11 and 12 will be auc-
tioned of in October.
Communications and Information Min-
ister, Tifatul Sembiring confrmed they will
not delay the tender. If its postponed, the
non-tax revenue target of Rp11 trillion for
this year will be jeopardized, he said last
month. The auction is expected to con-
tribute Rp1 trillion. Actually, it would be
a shame if Telkomsel is unable to partici-
pate.
At the suggestion of many parties, a com-
promise was agreed. The Communications
Ministry and the Indonesian Telecommu-
nications Regulatory Body in the end decid-
ed to postpone it, citing incomplete prepa-
rations.
The House of Representatives (DPR) sup-
ports the move. Delay the auction until
the appeal process of Telkomsels bank-
ruptcy is concluded, said Maruarar Sirait,
a member of Commission XI, in a meeting
with the company, last week.
At the meeting, Telkomsel CEO, Alex J.
Sinaga convinced them that their chanc-
es of winning the tender were still open.
In addition to being a state-owned enter-
prise, he said, Telkomsel is the only oper-
ator with a network of base transceiver sta-
tions stretching from Sabang to Marauke.
From these two points, Telkomsel is cer-
tainly eligible to participate in the 3G chan-
nel tender.
He is also confdent of winning the ap-
peal at the Supreme Court. So far, Im not
thinking of losing.
Y. TOMI ARYANTO, ANANDA PUTRI
POST-BANKRUPTCY CHOICES
Having been declared bankrupt by the Commercial Court, Telkomsel is at risk of failing to
participate in the 3G channel bid. But opting for bargaining can be pricey.
Any company,
whatever its size or
health condition,
can be declared
bankrupt if it has no
intention of paying
its obligations.
KANTA CAHYA
PT PRIMA JAYA
INFORMATIKAS LAWYER
GraPARI Telkomsel outlet in
Ambassador Mall, South Jakarta.
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ECONOMY
44 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
TOBACCO
green gold. At every harvest, all the tobac-
co would be bought up by the warehous-
es representing the major cigarette com-
panies at high prices. Hendro explained
that last year from a hectare of land grow-
ing tobacco requiring only about Rp20-
21 million as capital, a farmer could rake
up gross profts of about Rp70 million per
hectare.But this year, with a working capi-
tal of Rp28 million per hectare, farmers are
only able to bring in Rp23 million per hect-
are. That means they are sufering losses.
We are going through the 3 Ws: worry, wor-
ry, worry, exclaimed Hendro.
Driven by sheer worry, there are farmers
in East Java who have chosen to burn their
tobacco which has been sitting for months
at their homes, gathering fungus and rot-
ting as the farmers wait for the increase in
tobacco prices: something that has yet to
happen. Along the Gapura coast, Batu Pu-
tih, Sumenap, and Madura, for example,
farmers even leave their tobacco in the
felds unharvested where it withers away
and die.
There are several causes for the slump in
tobacco prices. The frst and main cause is
that there is too much tobacco planted with-
out carefully thought-out estimates. The
year. He said 2012 was the most dif cult
year for East Java tobacco farmers. The dif-
fculties started two months ago or just be-
fore the Ramadhan. It is not only that tobac-
co prices have slumped, but many farmers
are not even able to sell their harvests.
Last year, Kasturi tobacco sold at rough-
ly Rp45,000-47,000 per kilogram, where-
as Rengganis chopped tobacco sold at
Rp25,000-35,000 per kilogram. At pres-
ent, Gudang Garam and Minakdjinggo to-
bacco warehouses buy top grade Kasturi
tobacco for only Rp28,000-34,000 per ki-
logram. But only about 30-40 percent per
quintal are top grade. The rest are sold for
less because they are considered to be of
lesser grade, said Abdurrahman, coordi-
nator of the Kasturi Jember Farmers Asso-
ciation. Meanwhile the price of low-grade
tobacco, which used to sell for Rp20,000
per kilogram, has dropped, so that it is now
sold for only Rp8,000 per kilogram.
The deputy head of the Indonesian To-
bacco Farmers Association, Hendro Han-
doko, said that this year many farmers suf-
fered enormous losses because of the fall
in the price of tobacco. This is very much
in contrast to 2011 when the price of tobac-
co was fying high. Last year tobacco was
S
UBHARIS eyes were still
red from crying when Tem-
pos correspondent met him
at one of Gudang Garams to-
bacco warehouses a week ago.
The tobacco farmer, who comes from Sido-
mukti village in the Silo regency, 35 kilome-
ters east of the town of Jember, acknowl-
edged that he had not been able to sleep
since the day before. Leaving his house af-
ter dawn prayers, he rode on the back of
the motorcycle of his 30-year-old in-law,
Ahmadi. Subhari carried six large packag-
es flled with dried tobacco leaves that he
intended to sell. The night before I sort out
the tobacco leaves and tie them up, and at
dawn I bring them here, he explained, in
his heavy Madurese accent.
Subhari, 52, has done all this so that he
would be frst in line at the warehouse. De-
spite his early start he was number 89 in
line to have his products weighed in at the
tobacco warehouse in the capital of Jember
regency. By noon, he had still not yet been
called in by the warehouse people.
Hundreds of farmers who had been pa-
tiently queuing up outside the warehouse
at the Jember Lor district in Patrang re-
gency went through the same experience.
The queue of cars and motorcycles bring-
ing in tobacco was an around 1.5-kilometer
snake winding along Jalan Soebandi. This
has been going on for nearly a month. Peo-
ple start arriving at midnight to queue up
to sell their tobacco, said Rudy, the owner
of a small grocery shop located across the
street from the warehouse.
Haji Azhar, a small scale farmer who
comes from Ambulu regency, situated
roughly 40 kilometers to the south of the
town of Jember, revealed that this was the
frst time such a thing had happened. The
farmers must fght in order to be the frst to
get into the warehouse so they can get a rea-
sonable price for their tobacco harvest this
Tobacco farmer
waiting for weighing
and grader test
at Gudang Garam
warehouse in
Jember.
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The price of tobacco in Java has
fallen drastically. One of the causes
has been the ood of imported
tobacco.
HARD TIMES FOR
GREEN GOLD
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 45
head of the Agricultural and Food Crops
Services of Jember regency, Hari Wijaya-
di, said that farmers are not adept at recog-
nizing plant cycles. Due to the large profts
in the previous years it can already be pre-
dicted that all the farmers would compete
to plant the same crop the following year.
This is not just in the case of tobacco but
also applies to chili, corn and rice, he as-
serted.
The head of the East Java Plantation Ser-
vices, Mochammad Samsul Arifen, noted
that tobacco growing areas of East Java had
increased from 128 hectares last year to 135
thousand hectares this year. Consequent-
ly, there was increased tobacco production
this year compared to the previous year of
about 115,000 tons. He thought that with a
lower quality and higher output it was nat-
ural that prices would not be as high as last
year, when the quality of tobacco was far
higher.
Another factor in last years higher tobac-
co prices was because both large and small
tobacco companies competed to restock
their warehouses after the 2010 tobacco
shortage due to an anomaly in weather con-
ditions in 2010. However, this year there is
an abundance of tobacco stock in the ware-
houses. Nevertheless, Samsul remains con-
vinced that the 2012 tobacco crop will be
bought up. I have determined it and I have
asked all the tobacco companies and large
warehouses to remain open and continue
to buy tobacco, at least until the end of Oc-
tober, he said, two weeks ago.
Samsul said that the East Java provincial
government cannot abandon the tobacco
farmers because it is the mainstay of mil-
lions of East Javanese farmers and work-
ers. The province is also the backbone of
national tobacco production and contrib-
utes nearly 75 percent of all national excis-
es, which comes to about Rp60 trillion.
Abdurrahman admits that many farmers
are not clever in estimating plant cycles.
Nevertheless, he says that the euphoria of
tobacco farmers was still within reasonable
limits. In the world of tobacco, Abdur-
rahman says, over-production of tobacco is
a very small problem. As in previous years
the whole harvest will in the end be bought
up by the market.
Many farmers are blaming the fall in to-
bacco prices on the manipulations of the
middlemen amd the business and ware-
house operatives. A typical modus is for
them to only start buying at a later time af-
ter the farmers harvest. The middlemen
also spread word regarding psychological
prices as well as news that the warehouses
were nearly fully stocked and would soon
stop purchasing more tobacco. As a result,
many farmers rush to harvest their tobacco
crops, causing quality to decline.
Farmers are also suspicious of the fact
there is no transparency in grading the
quality of the tobacco by the tobacco grad-
ers. They have always been in the role of
so-called angels whose words cannot be
questioned when they determine whether
a tobacco crop is good or not during a ware-
house purchase. The eyesight, the sense
of smell and the feel of a graders hands
cannot ever be questioned, declared Ab-
durrahman. Yet, graders are humans who
are not infallible and who can misuse their
authority.
Gudang Garams representative, Ira Sus-
anti, denied the rumor that the Kediri ciga-
rette factory would be closing its warehouse
in the middle or at the end of this month. A
similar disclaimer was made by the repre-
sentative Djarum, Liauw Son Cai. We will
continue to buy tobacco until the end of the
harvest period. Right from the start I have
stressed that our warehouse has set no lim-
its on how much tobacco it can buy, as long
as the tobacco is of a proper grade, he said.
Son Cai also dismissed criticism that grad-
ers were subjective when grading the qual-
ity of tobacco.
In Malang, the Brawijaya University ag-
riculture expert, Nuhfl Hanani, said that
the food of imported tobacco on the mar-
ket also helped to cause a slump in tobac-
co prices. The East Java Bureau of Statis-
tics recorded that just before the great har-
vest last August, tobacco imports rose by
30 percent mainly from China, Turkey, and
India each exporting to Indonesia 45,000
tons, 5,000 tons and 6,300 tons.
He hoped the government would create
new regulations to protect tobacco farm-
ers, including types of partnerships so that
there is clarity concerning venues for the
sale of the tobacco harvests.
When the deputy minister for farming,
Rusman Heriawan, visited East Java two
weeks ago, he said that the government
would evaluate the information on the
large amounts of tobacco imported from
China, Turkey and India.
Thats very strange. We have always
exported tobacco, why would we sudden-
ly begin importing tobacco? Theres some-
thing wrong here, he remarked.
AGUS SUPRIYANTO, MAHBUB DJUNAIDY, DAVID
PRIYASIDHARTA, EKO WIDIANTO
46 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
BINGKABAKARCAKES
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HE aroma of pandanus leaf in
coconut milk wafts as Mihar-
jo, 34, an of ce worker from
Jakarta, opens the package
which read: Nayadam (Brand)
Bingka Bakar Pastry, A unique Malay Treat
from Batam. A friend of mine says, if you
want to get a unique Batam product, you
must try Nayadam bingka bakar, he told
Tempo last week.
At an outlet located in Batam Center, in
the middle of Batam city, about 60 unique-
ly Malay-Batam products are on display. A
rack displaying various types of bingka ba-
kar attracts the attention of shoppers.
This local delicacy, made of four, coco-
nut milk and eggs, is a creation of 36-year-
old Rosnendya Wisnu Wardhana. Going
by the Nayadam brand name, he produces
diferent favors of bingka bakar, a unique
type of pastry, originaly from the area. This
fower-shaped pastry is available in 12 fa-
vors, namely black forest, mochaccino, ses-
ame, corn, dragon fruit, chocolate, cheese,
durian, potato, strawberry, taro and the
original pandanus-favored, bingka bakar.
In order to keep up with culinary trends,
he recently created the rainbow bingka ba-
kar, adopting the popularity of the rainbow
cake. This pastry is multi-favored, so the
customers wont get tired of it, he said.
Before selling bingka bakar, Purwoker-
to-born Wisnu worked for a private bank in
Batam. He reached the position of supervi-
sor fve years later, yet he felt dissatisfed. In
2008, he left his job, having decided an of-
fce with regulations was not to his liking.
He dreamt of being an entreprenuer.
However, Wisnu had a family to support,
so he took a job as a journalist at a private
television station. It was at this time that his
wife, Niwen Khairiah, an original Batam
native, encouraged him to open a business
to augment their income. Meanwhile, he
had noticed that many people were delving
into the food business, importing products
from neighboring countries and selling
them as Batam snacks, which people like
to buy as souvenirs for family and friends
back home. My wife said that Batam had
its own type of pastry, the bingka bakar. But
she rarely found anyone selling it any more,
except for small-time vendors without any
packaging, he said.
That was when Wisnu decided to produce
and market packaged bingka bakar with its
own brand name. His wife happened to
have the original bingka bakar recipe from
her family. He withdrew Rp5 million from
his Employees Social Security (Jamsostek)
funds, the accumulated amount covering
his employment since 2003, as the start-up
capital.
Before he began producing bingka ba-
kar, Wisnu asked the Malay cultural elders
for advice. Because this pastry used to be
the food of the royal family, he was worried
that if he gave the pastry the wrong name,
or even shaped it wrong, he might end up
facing a lawsuit. Muhammad Zen, admin-
istrator of the Malay Heritage Board, gave
Wisnu permission to photograph an origi-
nal bingka bakar mold kept in the Tanjung
Pinang Museum. After getting the green
light to proceed, Wisnu and Niwen spent
two months looking for the right mix of in-
gredients to produce the perfect bingka
bakar. Relatives would volunteer as tast-
ers during this trial-and-error process.
The important thing was to keep its orig-
inal shape, which resembles an eight-pet-
al fower about the size of your palm, said
Wisnu.
In early 2009, the Nayadam brand was
of cially established. His kiosk measured
just 2 by 3 meters. At that time renting a ki-
osk cost Rp300,000 a month, and it looked
more like a cellular phone sales counter
than the current Nayadam Souvenir Snack
Center, he said, recalling the early days.
The name Nayadam, according to Wisnu,
was an amalgamation of his two childrens
names: Naya and Adam. Together with his
wife and an in-law, he began producing
about 15 tray of cakes a day, selling them for
Rp8,000 each. The price of this pastry has
since risen, ranging between Rp20,000
and Rp35,000.
The man who was named winner of the
2011 Who Wants To Be a Young Indonesian
Entrepreneur award by the Indonesian
Young Businessperson Association (HIP-
MI) went door-to-door in order to promote
his product. I went to hotels, food shops
and of ces to meet customers, said Wisnu,
who this year earned his Masters degree
from Batam University. He also attends
many exhibitions, whether they are held at
a football feld or a shopping center.
CLASSIC LOOK,
MODERN TASTE
Rosnendya Wisnu Wardhanas pastry shop has revitalized a
traditional Batam delicacy, which is now available in 12 avors
and distributed through seven outlets, including in Jakarta.
Monthly sales at each outlet reach Rp100 million.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 47
In mid-2009, he took part in the Batam
Expo. Thanks to this event, the Nayad-
am Bingka Bakar pastry came to be wide-
ly known, due the high number of Malay-
sians and Singaporeans who attended the
event. After the Batam Expo, more citizens
of these neighboring countries would of-
ten visit the Nayadam kiosk. I was embar-
rassed at my small outlet at that time, he
recalled. Even so, he made Rp15 million
each month.
He set aside some of his earnings, to fnd a
better location. In addition to bingka bakar
pastry, he began selling other locally-made
food products at his outlets. Besides food,
we sold Batam t-shirts, he said. He did it,
so the surrounding community can follow
his lead. Wisnu believes that a country will
progress if two percent of its citizens be-
come entrepreneurs. This was the idea he
wanted to impart to those around him.
After developing his business for three
years, Wisnu began to expand. There
were now seven additional Nayadam Bing-
ka Bakar outlets, located in Batam, Tan-
jung Pinang and Jakarta. Today, each out-
let brings in Rp100 million. In order to pro-
tect his product, he has patented the Nay-
adam name and trademark at an Intellectu-
al Property Rights of ce.
Wisnu currently employs 60 employ-
ees, who are provided with the Employees
Social Security benefts. After working at
Nayadam just two days my child became
ill. The Jamsostek helped a lot, said Syar-
if Hidayatulloj, 31, who has worked at Nay-
adam for two years. To set the right wages
for his employees, Wisnu complies with the
Living Standard rates for Riau Archipelago
province, at Rp1.4 million per person.
Syarif, who once worked as a sales rep-
resentative at one hotel, said that he gets
a better salary at Nayadam. He claims to
have learned much from Wisnu, who in-
spired him to become an entrepreneur in
his own right.
While operating Nayadam, Wisnu also
developed the socialpreneur program, by
giving disadvantaged school and universi-
ty students a chance to work at his outlets.
He currently has 10 of these socialpreneurs
working for him. The high school students
work after school hours, and university
students are recommended to take night
classes or work during the holidays. The
important thing is that this does not inter-
fere with their studies, said Wisnu. He also
sponsors 25 foster children.
After winning awards and netting some
money, Wisnu said he is not only focusing
on producing his bingka bakar pastries,
but also on selling Bingka Bilis, which is
a bingka pastry flled with the bilis (a type
of anchovy) fsh. Given that 96 percent of
the Riau Archipelago is water, said Wis-
nu, there is an abundance of maritime re-
sources, including anchovies. Apparently,
around the town of Lingga, fshermen can
catch large amounts of anchovies in just six
hours time.
This led him to produce the novel and
unique bingka bilis pastry.
SYARI FANI, AUDREY SANTOSO,
RUMBADI DALLE (BATAM)
Rosnendya Wisnu Wardhana and one of
his outlets in Batam.
48 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
T
HE meeting was held in Tokyo
in mid-2011. It was a hot sum-
mer day in the Land of the Ris-
ing Sun when the two camps
met. A secret meeting between
two old adversaries, the Moro Islamic Lib-
eration Front (MILF) and the Government
of the Philippines, took place that day.
On 4 August 2011, President Benig-
no Aquino III, who had governed for just
a year, attended to meet with the MILFs
leader, Al Haj Murad Ibrahim. They spoke
about brokering a peace to end the bloody
confict which had gone on for the past
43 years, and which has claimed nearly
120,000 lives. Teresita Deles, an advisor to
the Philippine president, who was present
at the meeting, said that even though the
mood was congenial, the discussion was
dif cult.
The Tokyo meeting did not change any-
thing. Instead of reaching a common
ground, fve days later, NoynoyAquinos
nicknameissued a statement which was
a slap in the face to the rebels. Because the
Moro were insisting on having an autono-
mous region in Mindanao, the president
said that the Moro should decide their fate,
to succeed or destroy themselves, as Manila
has been too good to them all this time.
As a result, two clashes immediately
broke out in the regions of Al-Barka, Basilan
and Zamboanga Sibugay in October 2011. A
total of 25 people from both sides died vi-
olently. New negotiations were hastily pre-
pared and Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the
meeting place. President Benigno Aquino
softened his stance, indicating he would
consider the request of the separatists.
An agreement was put together. Mind-
anao stands to become truly autonomous
and named Bangsamoro, replacing the cur-
rent Autonomous Region in Muslim Mind-
anao (ARMM). If there are no obstacles, the
agreement will be signed on October 16 in
the Manila, and become efective in 2016.
Not long after the president made the an-
nouncement about the agreement on Sun-
day two weeks ago, Marvic Leonen, the gov-
ernments chief negotiator, said that much
progress had been made, despite lingering
diferences about the sharing of power and
management of natural wealth.
The Bangsamoro autonomous region is
indeed rich in minerals. The party which A
P
/

M
U
S
T
A
F
A

Q
U
R
A
I
S
H
I
ASEAN&BEYOND
MILF member
on duty at the
Bangsamoro
Development
Agency.
The confict has lasted 43 years. Five
presidents have had a chance to talk
about peace efforts. However, it was
only on Sunday two weeks ago that a
peace agreement was reached. Here are
the ups and downs of peace negotiations
between the government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
1969
Ferdinand
Marcos is
reelected
president amid
accusations
of election
fraud. Muslim
separatists in
the south begin
a campaign of
guerilla warfare.
1996
A peace
agreement
is reached
with the Moro
National
Liberation
Front (MNLF),
but the MILF is
against it.
January
2002
The US and the
Philippines team
up for a war on
terror operation
in the Mindanao
region. A
ceasefre had
been in effect
for the previous
year, but failed.
February
2003
The ceasefre
between the MILF
and government
is breached.
A discussion
planned for May,
was cancelled
after an MILF
attack killed 30
people.
July 2003
Another ceasefre
fails when about
300 soldiers take
over a shopping
center. President
Gloria Arroyo
declares the
incident
to be a
rebellion.
THE PERILOUS
PATH TO PEACE
SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES:
AFTER THE PEACE
The Philippine government has reached a peace
agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front, which is to be signed on October 16. Who
will control the regions natural resources?
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 49
can control it will surely end up with the
political power. But this wealth is also the
actual source of the confict.
According to data posted at the Dai-
ly Tribune news website, the United States
seemed interested in the natural riches in
southern Philippines. However, all this
time, planned exploration had always run
into security concerns. Only the oil compa-
ny owned by the Philippine government,
PNOC, in partnership with Petronas, Ma-
laysia, which came in in 1994, were able to
age, and set development programs, in-
cluding the investments which will certain-
ly pour into Mindanao. This agency was
formed two years ago when the peace nego-
tiations were restarted by Benigno Aquino.
This means, Arnold said, the MILF is
ready for business. In peace agreement
documents obtained by Tempo, no details
are given about what the Philippine gov-
ernment and the MILF will get. Howev-
er, the inclusion of a clause on natural re-
sources in four of the eight points that were
agreed upon proves that such wealth is an
important issue which underlies the peace
agreement
Such motives immediately upset other
factions in Mindanao. Right after Benigno
read the announcement, a radical Islamic
group said that it would continue to fght to
establish an Islamic state in Mindanao. Abu
Misry Mama, spokesman for the Bangsam-
oro Islamic Freedom Movement in Davao
City, southern Philippines, said that they
did not care about the government or the
MILF, nor did they need the Bangsamoro
region.
In Mindanao, the MILF is not the only
party which feels it has the right to rule.
There are still other militia movements who
also want to establish a country according
to their interests, such as the Abu Sayyaf
radical Islamic group and the Communist-
oriented New Peoples Army (NPA). In ad-
dition to these ideological groups, the un-
dermining eforts of landowners who con-
trol the region, one of them being the Am-
patuan clan, might remain a big problem.
Most of them control thousands of hectares
of land. The peace with the MILF could just
be the start of a new dispute. The hot spots
in Mindanao might not stay cool for a long
time.
SANDY INDRA PRATAMA (INQUIRER, DAILY TRIBUNE,
PHILIPPINES STAR, WIKILEAKS)
operate in Mindanao.
A source in the Environment and Natural
Resources Department, which had iden-
tifed natural gas and oil deposits in three
areas of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipel-
ago, said that nearly 70 percent of the Phil-
ippines natural gas is in Mindanao. One
small region in Sultan Sa Barongis has po-
tential gas which can supply 60 megawatts
of electricity for up to 20 years.
According to a survey by the United States
Geological Survey, the land in Mindanao is
rich in oil, gas, and prime quality minerals
such as gold, lead, iron ore and copper. All
of these are unexplored, and exist in large
quantities. While making a presentation
to Saudi Arabian businessmen, Virgilio L.
Leyretana, chairman of the Mindanao Eco-
nomic Development Council, said that the
gold reserves in that area are equal to half
of the Philippines national reserves.
The real confict is over control of those
resources. These vast riches have led po-
litical experts in the Philippines to suspect
that the reason Aquino agreed to a peace
with the MILF has something to do with co-
pious profts from the exploration of oil,
gas, gold and other minerals. Arnold Puy-
ok, a Malaysian who does research in the
Philippines, said that with potential riches
of a trillion US dollars, anything will be
done to make peace, after which they will
strike gold.
The Philippine government has repeat-
edly denied that money was the motivation
for peace, nor that it was done under pres-
sure from the US. However, indications that
the abundance of natural resources was a
factor behind the peace agreement actual-
ly came from the rebel camp.
Ghazali Jafaar, MILF deputy chairman
for political afairs, said that they had estab-
lished the Bangsamoro Development Agen-
cy (BDA). This agency will likely lead, man-
January 2005
A ferce battle
takes place
between the
military and the
MILF.
April
2005
Peace talks
are held in
Malaysia
between the
Philippine
government
and the
MILF.
July-August 2008
The government
claims it has
reached a peace
agreement with
the MILF. However,
this falls apart
after the Christian
community objects.
A new battle erupts
in which at least 30
are killed.
September
2009
The military
announces
the capture
of Camarudin
Hadji Ali, an
MILF fgure.
December
2009
Peace talks
between
Manila and
the MILF
resume in
Malaysia.
September
2012
Negotiators
meet again
in Kuala
Lumpur to
discuss
the details
of special
autonomy.
TEXT: SANDY INDRA PRATAMA
SOURCES: BBC, INQUIRER
March
2010
The peace
monitoring
team
returns to
Mindanao.
June
2010
Benigno
Aquino is
elected
president.
August
2011
President
Benigno
Aquino III
resumes
peace talks
with the
MILF.
Column
LANGUAGE BOOM
I
NDONESIAN must be one of the fastest-growing lan-
guages in the world. Have you bought an Indonesian dic-
tionary lately? I own a few that I have bought over the
years. They get thicker all the time. Vocabulary is ex-
panding enormously. The 1988 frst edition of the of cial
Indonesian language dictionary (the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indo-
nesia) had 62,000 entries. The 4th edition (2008) has 90,049.
This does not include specialized technical vocabulary which
is found in separate dictionaries.
But it is not just a question of the expansion of vocabulary.
There is also the fundamental change over the past two de-
cades of Indonesian evolving as a true frst language for peo-
ple over the archipelago. This has infuenced not only vocabu-
lary, but the way people speak. There are so many kinds of In-
donesian around these days, not just diferent regional accents
and color, but the Indonesian of Twitter, of hip hop, of abuse, of
TV soapies, of bureaucracy, of prayer. When I frst came to In-
donesia in 1970, my Javanese friends rarely spoke Indonesian,
except to their lecturers, to non-Javanese or foreigners. Their
children, born in the 1970s and 80s, spoke both Javanese and
Indonesian to their friends, and Javanese to their parents. To-
day, their children my friends grandchildren born in the last
decade or so mostly speak Indonesian to everyone. Indone-
sian has become the language used at home.
Yet Bahasa Indonesia, which means the language of Indo-
nesia or the Indonesian language, is relatively new. What I
am referring to is the renaming that took place in 1928 of Ba-
hasa Melayu (the Malay language), with the name of a place, the
still dreamed for nation-to-be, Indonesia. Malay is an old lan-
guage, of course, with a rich history and literature. There are
and always have been numerous varieties of Malay spoken over
a huge area that includes modern Indonesia, Malaysia, Singa-
pore, southern Thailand, Timor Leste and Brunei. One variant,
a kind of high Malay close to that spoken in east Sumatra, was
fostered in Indonesia as the national language of communica-
tion across ethnicities. Dubbed Bahasa Indonesia, it became
the unifying language or bahasa persatuan. Standard Malay-
sian and standard Indonesian are both varieties of Malay. If it
were not for national sensibilities, the national language of In-
donesia would more properly be called Indonesian Malay.
Naming Malay Indonesian was a nationalist statement
and an act of appropriation, marking distinction and national
boundaries. This language is ours, it said, and we will mark
ourselves as a nation by using it in our own way. Perhaps the
history of English would be diferent if, after Americas declara-
tion of independence, English had been renamed American
and enshrined as the national language in the Constitution.
American would probably have developed apart, and by now
we might even consider it a diferent language. English is a glob-
al language today not just because of colonialism and power,
but because the separation of nation with the name of the lan-
guage happened centuries ago. No one thinks of English being
bound to the national boundary of England. It has grown and
developed with huge variation, but is still considered English. I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N
:

E
D
I

R
M
50 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
WORDWATCH
JENNIFERLINDSAY
This makes the language easy to travel.
Indonesian, though, which from the beginning
was so defned by its name as a language of place,
has grown within the national boundaries of In-
donesia. And it has been made diferent. Educa-
tion systems and the media have fostered difer-
ences between the standard Malay of Indonesia
and Malaysia, and today many Indonesians think
of Malaysian Malay as a diferent language. But na-
tional boundaries, as far as language is concerned,
are increasingly meaningless these days. Media ignores
them. People are connected as never before. Technology, the
media, and mobility all help to reveal that national boundaries
are quite arbitrary, and in the case of Indonesian/Malay, they
are a relatively recent imposition on a shared language spoken
with huge variation over a very large area.
Diferences are not so much national any more. These still
exist, of course: there are clear, broad diferences between
standard Malaysian and standard Indonesian. But diferenc-
es within Indonesian are growing. Wide variety in Indonesian
is something one now hears every day, not just diferences in
accents and dialects between places, but between generations
and for diferent uses. Indonesian is becoming more heteroge-
neous. Standard Indonesian is just one kind of Indonesian, and
its use seems to be shrinking.
When I came to Indonesia in 1970 and lived in Yogyakarta,
I did not hear Indonesian much. Although I was learning to
speak it, I rarely heard it as speech. Indonesian was mainly a
monologuefor speeches, formal presentations, the news and
national radio. It was performed as dialogue in very stilted dra-
ma. Indonesian was what people readnewspapers particular-
lyand what people wrote. When people spoke Indonesian, it
was like the written language. This made it easy for a foreign-
er to learn. It was predictable and clear. But the varietyall the
joking, intonation, abuse and banterwas going on in local lan-
guagesin what people spoke in their daily lives. After a while,
learning one thing and hearing something else which sound-
ed much more fun, I gave up. I stopped Indonesian lessons and
started learning Javanese. But if I were starting out today, Id
probably be more drawn to Indonesian.
The fact that spoken Indonesian used to be clos-
er to the written language contributed to the im-
pression that it is an easy language. As a foreign-
er, you could do your language lessons from a
text book somewhere, then come to Indonesia
and communicate without too much trouble.
You would even get praised for your beau-
tiful grammar. These days, it is not so clear
cut. Perhaps the fourishing varieties of In-
donesian will make people more aware that
the language is complicated. So, the next time
someone says you speak good Indonesian, take
it with a grain of salt.
*YOGYAKARTA- AND SYDNEY-BASED WRITER.
Indonesian
is becoming
more heterogeneous.
Standard Indonesian
is just one kind of
Indonesian, and its
use seems to be
shrinking.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 51
Rat brings to mind something unpleasant
crawling out of a drain, but the Manadonese
opt for white-tailed forest rat, which eats
fruit and is therefore tastier and healthier
than omnivorous varieties. The meat tastes
like chewy, spicy shrimp. Other local meat
options include cakalang (skipjack tuna),
weris (a barred rail bird), spit-roasted forest
pig, and brenebon soup, made mainly from
pigs trotters and red kidney beans.
Vegetarian dishes include sauteed pa-
paya fower buds, corn fritters, sticky rice
cooked in bamboo, and bubur Manadoa
porridge made from rice, pumpkin, shal-
lots, corn, chili, spinach and other leafy
plants.
Manadonese main courses avoid sugar,
which is becoming all too prevalent in the
diet of many urban Indonesians due to the
mushrooming of convenience stores sell-
ing unhealthy processed food and sweet-
ened drinks.
W
HEN its cooked like
that, how can you tell
the diference between
a bat and a rat? That
was the question posed
as I embarked on a bowl of paniki rica rica
chunks of fruit bat, complete with rubbery
skin and crunchy bones, in spicy chili.
North Sulawesi (which is spelt Minaha-
sa and pronounced Celebes) is famous for
its fery food made from animals that West-
erners, Muslims and Jews generally dont
eat, such as bat, dog, rat, python and mon-
key. Some visitors to the provincial capital
Manado and nearby town of Tomohon in-
sist cat meat is also available, but theyre
probably looking at small dog or monkey
carcasses.
Given that much of the meat is haram
(forbidden under Islamic law), Minahasa
cuisine is not widely available across Indo-
nesia, although the number of Manadonese
restaurants in Jakarta has soared over the
past 10 years.
Dog meat is popular at Minahasa wed-
ding parties and holiday feasts. The best is
said to come from short-haired black dogs,
preferably young adult males, which can
sell for up to Rp300,000. The meat is eu-
phemistically called RW, which stands for
rintek wuukmeaning fne hair. Dogs
can be more cheaply obtained from neigh-
boring Gorontalo province (which is over-
whelmingly Muslim and until 2000 had
been part of North Sulawesi) for Rp50,000
each, as well as from Poso in Central Su-
lawesi.
While dog is unquestionably haram,
there is less agreement over bat. Sharia di-
etary guidelines classify all bat as haram,
but some Indonesian Muslims say fruit bat
is halal (allowed) because it is herbivorous
and has medicinal propertiestraditional
healers claim the blood and meat can cure
asthma.
Unlike carnivorous bats, which are
smaller and dont taste so good, fruit bats
have good eyesight and dont use echolo-
cation to travel. They are generally hunted T
E
M
P
O
/
T
O
N
Y

H
A
R
T
A
W
A
N
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
with large nets. The skull is then smashed
in a distinctly non-halal manner with a
small hammer, as cutting the throat appar-
ently spoils the taste of the meat. Dogs des-
tined for the dinner table are similarly dis-
patched. The animals are then burnt for a
few minutes to remove their hair. Next, the
bat is gutted, chopped into portions with a
cleaver and often the wings are removed. It
is cooked in herbs and spices, such as gin-
ger and chili, and then in coconut milk for
about an hour to tenderize the meat and
improve the favor. Without the seasoning,
the texture and taste are a bit strong, like
kangaroo meat, which for years was the
stuf of native fare and tinned pet food until
legalized for human consumption.
Live fruit bats are sold at Jakartas noto-
rious Pramuka bird market, which deals in
all sorts of caged creatures. Vendors boast
that drinking bat blood will cure respirato-
ry ailments.

52 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012

From Salon to Restaurant
One of Jakartas top rated Manadonese
restaurants is Beautika, which started out
as a beauty salon opened in 1996 by Sofe
Mulyapatera Eman at her old home on Ja-
lan Hang Lekir, southwest of Plaza Senay-
an.
Sofe, who was born in Manado and pre-
viously worked in fnance for an automo-
tive frm, began providing the salons cus-
tomers with home-cooked snacks. Soon she
had more people coming for food than for
beauty treatments. With the help of a Ma-
nadonese cook, she started ofering a great-
er range of dishes and the restaurant grad-
ually took over most of the house. Beautika
has since expanded to two more branches:
one in Tanah Abang, opposite the deceased
Tanamur and JJs nightclubs, and the other
in Sudirman Central Business District.
Sofe has no secret to success apart from
making sure that each item is fresh and
tasty. That means getting many of her in-
gredients fown down from Manado. She
uses beef, chicken and duck in place of dog
and pork, but the distinctive fery season-
ings are the same. Bat remains on the menu,
which is certifed halal, though beer can be
ordered at the Tanah Abang branch. Beau-
tika also does desserts, including the deli-
cious klapertartliterally coconut tart.
The restaurants are considered pricy
for Indonesian fooda large meal for two
will cost about Rp200,000but the taste
is worth it. Most customers are of ce work-
ers, although politicians, celebrities and
athletes also visit, and the restaurants are
closed by 8pm or 9pm, so get there before
the food runs out. Diners wishing to sam-
ple a range of dishes can order generously
sized half-portions. Food is on display near
the entrance and staf are ready to explain
whats what to the uninitiated.
People looking for cheaper Manadonese
food in Jakarta will fnd it at the food court
in Ambassador Mall on Jalan Casablan-
ca (pronounced Prof. Dr. Satrio) opposite
Mega Kuningan.
Bat was much tastier than I had expect-
ed, almost quail-like. Perhaps watching
gross-out TV shows, where bikini models
squeamishly eat bugs and ofal, had made
me expect the worst. I only hope the plea-
sure of bat does not lead me down the path
of trying more unusual foods, such as hu-
man fesh or panda.
ROY SIMSON
Manado specialty foods.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 53
Column
REMEMBERING BALI,
SOUTHEAST ASIAS 9/11
T
EN years ago on October 12, one of the Bali plotters,
along with Southeast Asias frst two suicide bombers,
Jimi and Arnasan, drove a van packed with 1.2 tons
of black powder connected to a cable detonator with
PETN explosives. It had 94 detonators that each had 3 grams
of plastic explosive RDX and a booster that contained TNT.
The detonators had been brought to Indonesia from the Phil-
ippines.
A few days earlier, the plotters discovered that Arnasan,
who was supposed to drive the van, could drive only a short
distance in a straight line. He didnt know how to shift gears or
turn corners! So a driver was assigned, and once they got to the
junction, Jimi, the frst suicide bomber got out and went to his
target, Paddys Bar. Arnasan took over the drivers wheel. He
could see the Sari Club in front of him.
At 11:08 pm, Jimi killed himself and detonated his vest bomb
in the middle of Paddys Bar. That smaller explosion was de-
signed to funnel people to the exit, closer to Arnasan, who
drove his van and detonated its explosives in the Sari Club.
It was Southeast Asiasand Australias9/11. The 2002 bomb-
ing was Asias largest and deadliest terrorist attack, the blast so
ferce it ruptured the internal organs of the people in the area.
Its strength surprised even the bombmakers. The fres that fol-
lowed burned others alive. The roofs of surrounding buildings
were made of thatched material, which magnifed the explo-
sions, tearing down a whole city block.
Some 202 people died that night, 88 of them Australians. Al-
Qaeda helped fund and took responsibility for Bali, which trig-
gered a regional dragnet and added Jemaah Islamiyah or JI to
the list of global jihadi groups targeted by law enforcement.
In a November 2002 speech, Osama bin Laden included
Bali in a list of attacks against Western targets carried out by
the zealous sons of Islam in defence of their religion and in re-
sponse to the order of their God and prophet.

Waves of evolution
Like al-Qaeda and 9/11, the Bali attacks marked JIs peak of
power and infuence as an organized core group.
There are three waves of evolution for Islamist terrorism in
Indonesia: frst, the nationalist movement for an Islamic state
the Darul Islam movement from 1948 to 1992; second, the glob-
al jihadwhen JI was infected with the jihadi virus from al-Qa-
eda and in turn infected regional groups, acting as an umbrel-
la organization for regional terrorist attacks from 1993 to 2005;
third, the JI social movement, with the jihadi virus completely
transforming the old Darul Islam movement.
These three waves represented cycles of regeneration of the
same social network, and while JI is now largely degraded, it
has evolved. On September 17, 2008, JIs founder and emir, Abu
Bakar Baasyir launched Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT). He es-
sentially took his supporters and gutted most of MMI, its overt
arm lobbying for Islamic Sharia law in Indonesia. JAT, accord-
ing to counterterrorism of cials, was JIs self-regeneration.
JAT is the new camoufage of JI, said Ansyaad Mbai, the chief
of Indonesias National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT). It
has the same leader, Abu Bakar Baasyir, and most of the key fg-
ures of JAT are also JI so I call this the new jacket of JI.
In the past decade, Indonesia has arrested more than 700
militants, including 84 last year. About 600 have been prose-
cuted in court. Today, authorities have successfully prevented
more Bali attacks. With each succeeding year, the attacks and
the blasts have grown smaller, a sign of attrition and victory for
Indonesian authorities. Still, the threat remains.
Ten years later, Indonesia hikes its security alert to its highest
level because of terrorist movements. More than 2,000 police
and military units, including snipers, were stationed to guard
the memorial in Bali.
The loss is not just giving us grief, it is also giving us the
strength to fght terrorism and all other extremist activities,
said Bali Governor I. Made Mangku Pastika, the former police
chief who led the investigations a decade ago.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard along with John How-
ard, who was Australian premier 10 years ago, came to Bali to
mark the event, which began a wave of violence by Jemaah Is-
lamiyah, al-Qaedas arm in Southeast Asia.
On September 11, terrorists attacked the great symbols of
American prestige. Here in Bali, they attacked our people and,
through them, sought to overwhelm our values, Gillard said.
Here on these bustling streets, they inficted searing pain and
grief that will never end. But even as the debris fell, it was obvi-
ous the attack on our sense of ourselvesas Australians, as hu-
man beingshad failed.
Reporting on Bali changed the way I looked at the world. Un-
til today, I believe Bali could have been prevented if authorities
paid attention to the signs along the way. When the explosions
happened a decade ago, the Indonesian police already had the
names of every single one of the Bali plotters. Government de-
nial and political gamesmanshipcourting moderate Muslims
by ignoring extremistsprevented action.
This is part of the reason I cannot look away. I remember
Bali.

*MARIA A. RESSA, IS RAPPLERS CEO AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR. SHE IS THE
AUTHOR OF TWO BOOKS ON TERRORISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: SEEDS OF TERROR:
AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF AL-QAEDAS NEWEST CENTER OF OPERATIONS IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND 10 DAYS, 10 YEARS: FROM BIN LADEN TO FACEBOOK
MARIAA.RESSA*
54 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
FOCUS
Outreach
Development of Indonesias Outlying Areas
ANTARA/FIQMAN SUNANDAR
DURING the middle of last September, Mount Lokon in North
Sulawesi and Mount Gamalama in North Maluku erupted,
triggering a hig- alert status. Thousands of people living on
the fertile slopes of these volcanoes were endangered, as were
millions of rupiah worth of farm products. Fortunately, research
teams of the two volcanoes were able to monitor developments
on a 24-hour basis, providing vital information. Their hard work
earned them the Satya Lencana Wiryakarya medal from the
Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. Tempo reports from
North Sulawesi and North Maluku on how these volcano watchers
work with limited resources amid a perilous environment.
VOLCANO WATCHERS
OUTREACH
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HE sky was cloudy when Tempo entered
the yard of the Monitoring Station of
Mount Lokon and Mount Mahawu in Ka-
kaskasen subdistrict, Tomohon, North
Sulawesi, two weeks ago. Volcanic ash
spewed from the eruption of Mount Lokon on Sep-
tember 21 still hung in the air. At the entrance, with
an ascending pathway, there was a bed of curly
chili plants. The place did not look like a monitor-
ing base. Moreover, the two buildings in the com-
plex looked dull. Fortunately, the name board con-
rmed that the place was truly the monitoring sta-
tion of one of the most active volcanoes in Indone-
sia.
In the room, two people were busily scrutinizing
computer screens and two others were involved in
a discussion. Yet another was sweeping the room
lled with computer components in plastic wrap-
pings, carton boxes around them. One of the ve in
this room was Jemmy Runtuwene, 44, an observer
of Mt. Lokon.
He was discussing with a staff member of the Vol-
canology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Cen-
ter (PVMBG) in Bandungthe head o ce of Indo-
nesian volcanic monitoringwho accompanied a
team from Japan to install new monitoring equip-
ment. Theyre learning to use the apparatus, said
Jemmy, pointing at the two still engrossed in their
computers.
Working on Mt. Lokon since 1990, Om (un-
cle) Jemmyas Jemmy Rantuwene is common-
ly calledsaid that after the eruption, they could
be a bit more relaxed. This time they didnt need to
evacuate local residents. The mountain denite-
ly wont be active for a fairly long time. We can feel
slightly relieved, he added.
The busiest moments always happen before
an eruption. The ve observers on Mt. Lokon had
to monitor all instruments at the station without
break. Usually we stay awake for several days, he
noted.
In August, owing to their hard work, the Ener-
gy and Mineral Resources Ministry granted Satya
Lencana Wiryakarya medals of merit to the team
working under Farid Ruskanda Bina. They saved
many lives with their alertness and speed in issu-
ing early warnings in Lokon in July 2011.
According to Surono, Head of PVMBG, they pre-
pared reports in the best way, so the Central PVB-
MG could determine the top level-alert or dan-
ger (awas) status of Mt. Lokon on July 10. They re-
ported in every six hours, beginning from the alert
(siaga) status of the volcano, said Surono. Once
the danger status is reached, the local community
must be evacuated.
The prediction came true: on July 14 at 22:45 Cen-
tral Indonesia Time, Mt. Lokon erupted by dis-
charging lava, sand and ash showers around 1,500
meters high. The eruption recurred early Friday
morning, spewing volcanic materials as high as
600 meters.
Surono said before the explosion, no smoke or
any other signs had emerged. But the monitoring
team on Mt. Lokon had detected worrying symp-
toms. They have the best knowledge of any strange
indications because theyre quite familiar with the
volcanos traits, Surono pointed out.
The performance of Farid and his peers was also
recognized by the Secretary of Tomohon City, Ar-
nold Poli, and Head of the Regional Disaster Control
Agency of North Sulawesi, Hoyke Makarawung.
They acknowledged having been considerably aid-
ed by the monitoring teams information. Theyre
watchful and work in anticipation. They have solid
coordination, said Makarawung. Poli shared the
view, saying, They have really helped us because
they are capable of predicting the various activi-
ties of Mt. Lokon.

VOLCANOS are always seen as dangerous when
there are communities around them. Mt. Lokon
is no exception. Right at the foot of the mountain,
1,579.5 meters above sea level, there are three sub-
districts with a total population of about 5,600. Ide-
ally, they should be relocated so that they do not be-
come victims of volcanic eruptions, said Farid, 40,
now Head of the Monitoring Station.
In order to keep them safe, Farid must work 24
hours, seven days a week, 28-31 days a month. Ive
designed a very tight standard operating proce-
dure. They may be off only during lebaran monyet
(monkey holiday, meaning very rarely), said Suro-
no half-jokingly.
The observers admitted to having demanding
work hours. Furthermore, they monitor all volca-
noes in North Sulawesi, not just Mt. Lokon. Their
station equipment is comparatively the most com-
prehensive in East Indonesia. Therefore, they have
to remain awake when Mt. Mahawu, Mt. Soputan,
Mt. Karangetang or Mt. Awuall in Sulawesi
are active. Most importantly, we should never be
caught off-guard, said Ferry Rusmawan, 26, the
youngest observer in Tomohon. If were negligent,
II | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
SUWARNO
JEMMY
RUNTUWENE
FERRY RUSMAWAN
FARID RUSKANDA
BIMA
DJUHDI DJUHARA
FOCUS
OUTREACH TEAM
Editor
Yuli Ismartono
Deputy Editor
Hermien Y. Kleden
Project Ofcer
Sadika Hamid
Writer
Sadika Hamid
Syari Fani
Reporter
Isa Anshar Yusuf
Budi Nurgianto
Connie Pacica
Graphic Design
Eko Punto Pambudi
Robbyeebor
Photo Research
Ijar Karim
thousands of people will bear the consequences.
There should be a bigger staff on Mt. Lokon, con-
sidering the many monitoring instruments to
be operated at the same time. One mountain, for
instance, should be guarded by four people. To
manage the small team, they take turns going for
breaks. Of the ve observers, three are tasked with
monitoring Mt. Lokon and two others watching
over Mt. Mahawu. If one of the volcanoes erupts,
all of them must be on duty, added Farid.
The uncertain working hours often get the mon-
itors in trouble with their families. My wife fre-
quently gets angry because I seldom come home.
So sometimes I bring her along to the station, said
Jemmy.
This is not to mention the high risks of the job.
The experience of Suwarno, the other observer,
around three months ago is one example. When
the 41-year-old was installing a monitoring device
650 meters from the Tompaluan crater, between
Mt. Lokon and Mt. Empung, he volcano sudden-
ly rumbled at 11:25 Central Indonesia Time. Hot
rocks were hurled from the crater to the mountain.
Suwarnos surrounding area was burned. He tried
to escape while instructing his crewtwo porters
and an employee of PVMBG-Bandungto lie low
and crawl to safer places.
Amid the panic, they had accidents. The foreman
of a crew bled after trying to escape from a hot stone
shower. Suwarnos index nger was blistered after
accidentally touching a burning rock.
His peers in charge at the station, Ferry and Djuh-
di Djuhara, were also in panic. Though the are-
up was unpredictable, we still felt responsible,
said Djuhi. Then they reported to the police for fear
of any fatality. Not long after that, Suwarno called
and informed them of his safety. Following the out-
burst, Mt. Lokon has remained active to date.
Given such conditions, only a few are under-
standably interested in becoming volcano watch-
ers. Those working in Lokonexcept Djuhiorig-
inally didnt really want the job. Farid, a geology
engineering graduate from the Indonesia-Japan
Polytechnic in Bandung, wanted to join the of En-
ergy and Mineral Resources Ministry. When he
failed to be recruited, he applied for the volcano ob-
server post. Jemmy once wanted to quit because he
thought his salary was not in line with his duties.
Still, theyve kept going. Why? The observers are
well aware that their work is crucial in saving hu-
man lives. Since he managed to escape from Lo-
kons eruption, Suwarno has been even more moti-
vated. I experienced the intensity of the explosion
myself. Farid has a spiritual reason. Here, we are
ERUPTION OF
LOKON, TOMOHON,
NORTH SULAWESI.
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closer to God. When we watch an eruption, we feel
very small, he told Tempo.

TO determine the levels of volcanic activity, ob-
servers working in Tomohon apply three methods:
earthquake detection with seismographs, moun-
tain deformation inspection, and visual observa-
tion. Seismographs serve as a major means of re-
cording quakes that lead to an eruption. If the in-
tensity of tremors increases signicantly and they
are powerful, we can predict a volcano erupt, said
Farid.
Deformation happens when magma has lled a
volcano and the mountain starts to swell. This phe-
nomenon can be noticed by observing the moun-
tains changing shape, its vibrations, and the tem-
perature of water vapor. Three instruments are
used to measure it: tilt meters, the Global Position-
ing System (GPS) and the Electronic Distance Mea-
surement (EDM) device.
By visual observation, they can evaluate the
height of the materials discharged. But our view is
frequently disturbed by bad weather and fog, said
Farid. Basically, Mt. Lokons eruption can be pre-
dicted from one to two months ahead on the basis
of increasing earthquake activity.
If local circumstances are considered dangerous
and residents must be evacuated, they will coordi-
nate with the regional administration. The com-
munity is also fully aware of the steps to be taken.
There are signs on the paths going to safe locations
so that everyone can avert the impact of an erup-
tion. Were scared of hot clouds most, which can
have a very high temperature and level of whatev-
er they pass, warned Farid.
Every six months, the regional administration
and the central government demonstrate the prac-
tice of evacuation in the mountains most vulner-
able areas. Special lanes for evacuation are also
available. In this way, the number of victims can
be minimized.
One thing for sure: telling people to evacuate is no
easy matter. A regional o cial was angry with us
when we asked residents to evacuate on July 2011.
They said we were causing panic, said Farid. In his
view, the strong reactions to the efforts, were due
to the very inuential political factor in the evac-
uation plans. The government is required to pre-
pare evacuation infrastructure, which demands a
big budget. Because of this, evacuations have often
been delayed.
Actually, based on the existing rule, residents
living at the foot of a volcano must be directly evac-
uated when the mountain is declared in top-alert
status. Luckily, following this danger status, Lo-
kon wasnt immediately erupting, said Farid. All
the locals were eventually evacuated on July 14. It
was a narrow escape, because in the evening, ma-
jor explosions occurred in succession.
There are times when people listen to and wel-
come their predictions. Thanks to the proposal of
the monitors, today the residents owning cattle and
paddy elds will receive compensation from the
government when their farms and livestock are hit
by disasters. There are even special places for live-
stock in refugee locations. We proposed this be-
cause the locals often choose to stay with their cat-
tle, instead of saving their own lives, said Farid.
In the future, the monitors hope the Monitoring
Station in Tomohon will become a center. So far
we have not been able to react quicker, because
we dont have the authority to make our own de-
cisions. We are required to consult rst with the
head o ce, said Farid.
The stations change in status to a center will en-
able them to work more effectively.
SEISMOGRAPH AT
MOUNT LOKON
MONITORING
STATION.
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ROUND 3,400 meters from
the hub of Ternate city, in a re-
mote area of Marikrubu vil-
lage, inNorth Maluku, stands
a concrete building measuring 14 x 7
meters. That is the Gamalama Volca-
no Monitoring Station. When Tempo
visited the place, a morning chill had
descended. A thin was already busy at
work inside. He was Darno Lamane,
40, head of the monitoring station at
Mt. Gamalama.
Accompanied by a cup of coffee, a
morning paper, and private radio broad-
casts, Darno, wearing shorts and a T-shirt,
was seriously observing a seismograph.
Every day, this is how I work, he told
Tempo on Wednesday two weeks ago.
He is daily assisted by three self-
taught local residents. Like the ob-
servers in other regions, they have
minimum personnel. It is even more
so when the volcan acts up. We work
round the clock without rest and it can
last for 4-6 months, he said.
That was indeed the case when
Mount Gamalama erupted again on
September 16. At 14:15 Central Indone-
sia Time, volcanic ash was ejected with
such a force, to as high as 1,000 meters,
before coming down like rainfall. For-
tunately, it claimed no victims.
Yet Darno never complains. The
man who has worked on Mt. Gamal-
ama for 20 years considers his duty a
noble calling. I can save thousands of
people from disasters, he argued.
Mt. Gamalama is 1,715 meters above
sea level. At its foot, there are over
400,000 people. About 40,000 of them
live on its slope. The volcano has erupt-
ed more than 60 times since 1538.
On December 5, 2011, Mount Gamal-
ama spewed out volcanic ash as high
as 2,000 meters in the air. The threat
level was raised from waspada (vigi-
lant) to siaga (alert). At the time, Darno
and his team were on alert, regularly
dispatching reports to the Volcanolo-
gy and Geological Disaster Mitigation
Center (PVMBG) in Bandung. Thanks
to their work, we were able to warn
the Airport of Ternate to halt ights in
time, said Surono.
For their services, Darno and his
team were awarded Satya Lencana
Wiryakarya medals of merit in July.
Apart from relaying important infor-
mation, they are also well coordinat-
ed, added Surono. What was Darnos
response? I feel proud that I was able
to save people. Its my way of devoting
myself to God, he explained.
GUARDIANS OF GAMALAMA
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OUTREACH
F
ROM around 400 volcanoes dotting the
Indonesian islands, the United States
Geological Survey recorded almost 70
active volcanoes among them. Indone-
sia reportedly has volcanoes at the bot-
tom of the sea, but they are di cult to verify.
Head of Center for Volcanology and Geological
Disaster Mitigation, Surono, said that the activity
of volcanoes is a technique used by nature to ful-
ll its obligation to preserve universal equilibri-
um. Volcanoes bring more blessings than harm.
The volcanoes only request that living creatures
around them provide time and space during their
activities, said Surono to Tempo.
According to Surono, from so many volcanoes in
Indonesia, Mounts Ijen, Kelud, Agung, Merapi, and
Soputan (in Java and Sulawesi) now must be care-
fully monitored. He said that Mount Ijen in East
Java has a crater lake with a volume of 36 million
cubic meters of very acidic water, more acidic than
battery acid (electrolyte solution for cells of the bat-
LIVING WITH VOLCANOES
tery Ed). A small explosion can cause a tsunami of
acid water, besides the eruption.
Then there is Mount Kelud, also in East Java, that
now does not have a crater lake anymore. Mount
Kelud has yet to erupt one of these days. But its
eruption could be as big as that of Merapis erup-
tion in 2010. Usually there are two eruptions, big
and very big.
Next is Mount Agung in Bali. This mountain has
not shown major activity since its last eruption in
1963. Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, Surono ex-
plained, does not have a dome any longer. It needs
special observation. Even I myself cannot recog-
nize Merapis eruption symptoms any more, said
Surono.
What has happened to Mount Soputan in North
Sulawesi? This mountain forms a very large dome
and has the potential of producing hot clouds. The
anxiety over this mountain has to do with its loca-
tion, which is very close to Sam Ratulangi Airport.

Around 75,000
years ago, Mount
Toba in North
Sumatra caused
a total darkness
around the world for
years). This period
is believed to be
the cause of the
bottleneck in the
history of human
evolution.
Around 60,000 years
ago, the eruption of
Mount Maninjau in West
Sumatra yielded 220-
250 cubic kilometers of
volcanic ash covering a
radius of 75 kilometers
from the epicenter. H.D.
Tjia, a geologist from the
National University of
Malaysia, found three
river xylems indicating
the occurrence of
the three periods of
eruptions that became
Maninjau Lake.
Fifteenth century,
Mount Kelud in East
Java. This explosion
causedin 15,000
casualties. In 1586,
another eruption
killed more than
10,000 people. A
system was built
extensively to clear
away the lava in
1926, after the
1919 eruption that
caused thousands
of deaths from the
cold lava fooded
settlements.
February 18, 1963 Mount Agung in Bali.
This eruption sent debris to as far as 8-10
kilometers into the sky and generated a big
pyroclastic current. The second eruption
on May 16 produced hot clouds. A total
1,148 lives were lost.
SOURCE: GUIDELINES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION
OF CHARACTERISTICS OF DISASTER AND
MITIGATION EFFORTS IN INDONESIA. SET
BAKORNAS PBP; LEAFLET SET. BAKORNAS PBP
AND VOLCANOES. DIRECTORATE OF VUCANOLOGY
AND GEOLOGICAL DISASTER MITIGATION.
1.972 masl 461 masl 1.731 masl 3.142masl
Peuet Sague
Bur Ni Telong
S
VI | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
FOCUS
1006 Mount Merapi in
Central Java. It caused the
ancient Mataram Kingdom to
relocate to East Java. Data at
the Agency for Research and
Development of Volcanological
Technology, up to February
2001, recorded that Merapi
had erupted 82 times.
Merapis eruption on August
4, 1672, caused the death of
nearly 3,000 lives
April 1815 Mount Tambora in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara. Around
10,000 died from volcanic materials and from being hit by burning lava.
The global temperature plummeted, causing a summerless year in
Europe. Death rate increased to 82,000 lives due to famine and epidemic.
August 1883 Mount Krakatoa in
Sunda Strait. Since the blast was so
hard, the sound was heard as far as
Australia. Casualties who died from
being hit by the eruption as well as
from tsunami reached 36,000. Since
the eruption, the Anakrakatau (Child of
Krakatoa or Krakatau) emerged from the
spot and is still active up to this time. October
8-12,
1822 Mount
Galunggung
in West Java. The
eruption produced rain
of very hot reddish sand,
delicate dust, hot clouds and
lava. The fow of lava moved to
the southeast, in the direction of
the river. This eruption caused killed
4,011 people, devastated 114 villages,
and damaged cultivated areas to the east
and south as far as 40 kilometers from the
mountaintop.
Krakakatau
2.968 masl 4.300masl 2.167masl 2.000masl
Sorikmarapi
Tandikat
Marapi
Kerinci
Talang
Sumbing
Kaba
Dempo
Gunung Besar
Suoh
Gede
Tangkubanparahu
Kiarabebes-Gagak
Salak
Merapi
Papandayan
Galunggung
Cereme
Slamet
Dieng
Volcanoe
Complex
Sundoro
Tambora
Rinjani
Agung
Lamongan Batur
Kelut
Arjuno-Welirang
Tengger Caldera
Ijen
Raung
Semeru
Iya
Ebulobo
Inielika
Gunung
Ranakah
Sangeang Api
Paluweh
Lereboleng
Llboleng
Lewotolo
Sirung
Lliwerung
Lewotobi
Egon
Kelimutu
Bandi Api
Serua
Nila
Teon
Tongoko
Mahawu
Lokon-Empung
Soputan
Awu
Banua Wuhu
Karangetang (Api Siau)
Ruang
Dukono
Ibu
Gamkonora
Gamalama
Makian
Colo (Una Una)
Major volcanoes in Indonesia
(with eruptions since 1900 A.D.)
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | VII
OUTREACH
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N 1982, Surono accompanied an American re-
searcher to visit Mount Galunggung in West
Java. That trip decided his future career the
study of volcanoes and eventually led him to
his current job as head of the Volcanology and Geo-
logical Disaster Mitigation Center. According to
Surono, 57, the main task of volcano watchers is not
just to monitor and report on developments. They
must also be able to anticipate an eruption and
warn the nearby communities accordingly. They
must also be able to provide information and train-
ing to communities, Surono told Tempo.
Two weeks ago, in the midst of monitoring the volca-
noes Mount Gamalama in North Maluku and Mount
Lokon in North Sulawesi, which indicated signs of
erupting all of last week, Surono spoke to Tempo re-
porter Syari Fani. Excerpts of the interview:
What kind of information can volcanologists pro-
vide?
In economic terms, very signicant informa-
tion. There would be more victims if researchers
and monitors provide inaccurate reports. With
the right information, the number of victims can
be minimized, harvests can be saved and the de-
struction of farm animals can be prevented. There
would also be time to evacuate people.
Indonesia has the most number of volcanoes in the
world, but its research and monitoring equipment are
limited.
Ideally, one volcano must be monitored by four
people. However, today, we can only assign two
people to the scene as soon the volcano shows signs
of activity. So, only 60 percent of our needs are
met. Very few of the residents from communities
close to volcanoes are interested in working as vol-
cano watchers.
Why not ask for additional personnel from the gov-
ernment?
We have been asking for additional person-
nel, but it has not been approved. I work under
the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. We
need more electricity and fuel to monitor min-
eral and energy elements, aside from the equip-
ment to monitor volcanoes. Only when there
has been an eruption do people worry. By 2014, I
plan to retire all equipment and monitoring sys-
tems manufactured in 1982, and replace them
with new ones.
How many people actually live around areas near
volcanoes?
Indonesia has the highest number of volcanoes
in the world. So far, about 3 to 5 million people live
and cultivate land around volcanoes. But people
dont care (about the risks), which causes me a lot
of worry. For example, the President once asked:
Is the volcano active? But I could not respond
that the volcano was not being monitored because
the necessary equipment had been stolen or was
malfunctioning.
With such limitations, are you able to build your
teams capacity?
I manage to humanize the situation, by forming
close working relations so that if they sense some-
thing is wrong, they would not hesitate to report
it to me. And we send deserving staff overseas to
do some comparative studies. Once a year, volca-
no researchers throughout Indonesia gather to ex-
change ideas.
The disaster risk reduction program, how can that
benet people economically?
All areas located near volcanoes are certain to
have fertile land for farming. If the residents were
not familiar with their surroundings, they would
not last. Our task is to inform and train commu-
nities so they can live productively next to volca-
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SURONO, CHIEF VOLCANOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL DISASTER MITIGATION CENTER
ONE ERUPTING VOLCANO IS
MONITORED BY FOUR PEOPLE
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 55
ARTS SALIHARAFESTIVAL
in World War I and was kept in prison for
a year by German forces. His plays, for
the most part, dissect the problems of hu-
manity and justice, but one of the few that
touched on politics is La regina e gli insorti
or The Queen and the Rebels, staged for the
frst time in 1951.
This drama centers on Argia (played by
Anna Barawangsa), a prostitute among
members of the group scrutinized by the
rebels, and her former lover, Raim (Jamal
A
REVOLUTION breaks out.
Rebels are examining and in-
terrogating all those who are
passing the countrys borders.
They are in search of the wife of the dicta-
tor, called the Queen, who escaped an at-
tempt on her life fve years ago. The Queen
has become a legend among the people, but
no one knows precisely who she is now and
how she looks. Under this atmosphere, a
group of tourists are forced to stay in a vil-
lage house, near the border area, to be in-
spected by the rebels. The Queen is be-
lieved to be among them.
The search for the Queen and interhuman
conficts amid the war is the central theme of
the drama, The Queen and the Rebels, staged
by the Yogyakarta-based Saturday Acting
Club, in the Fourth Salihara Festival at Teat-
er Salihara, South Jakarta, on Tuesday and
Wednesday, last week. The one and a half
hour play represented almost the entirety of
Ugo Bettis work. Ive abridged only some
small parts, said Rukman Rosadi, the direc-
tor of this production.
Ugo Betti was Italys most renowned dra-
matist after Luigi Pirandello, in the frst
half of the 20th century. The playwright,
who had served as a judge in Rome, fought
Rukman, the director
of this production,
was quite successful
in building his
dramaturgical
design. Tension and
suspense prevailed.
Unfortunately, in some
parts, it was apparent
that the dialogue
between the players was
a translation.
THE PRICE OF A QUEEN
Saturday Acting Club staged Ugo Bettis drama, a good look at
interhuman conicts surrounding a war. The drama was both
bitter and intriguing.
Abdul Naser), who works as an interpreter
for the rebels. The two become aware that
the hamlet woman among the tourists is
the Queen (Annisa Hertami K.).
On the modestly designed stageonly
a large room with two exit doors and one
entrancethe relationships between the
three characters further develop. At frst
Raim maintains his distance from Argia for
his own safety. This is a most dangerous
place. I dont want to take risks. You should
know this, says Raim when he gets the
chance to talk privately with Argia.
But, for my sake, youre ready to take
risks, arent you? Argia, who still loves
Raim, coyly asks him. Oh, no! Raim re-
plies sharply.
Anna and Jamal managed to construct
the personalities of both characters
through their dialogue and gestures. The
quarrel between Argia and Raim are simul-
taneously caustic and hilarious. The audi-
ence was repeatedly moved to laughter by
Raims arrogance and his egotistical behav-
iors.
But Anna had the tough role of portray-
ing the more complicated character of Ar-
gia. Argia is a prostitute who refuses to be
denigrated and wishes to be the Queen.
What? You? The Queen? My God! Not a
single square millimeter of your body is
Queen-worthy, says Raim. But Raim turns
out to be mistaken.
At frst, Raim and Argia intend to ex-
ploit the Queen, but their plan changes.
They decide to save the Queen. But later
the situation evolves drastically and they
are plunged into a more complex problem:
Argia has to pretend to be the Queen. As a
Queen, Argia enjoys the glory she has never
experienced, but she is also frightened be-
cause she might be executed at the hands of
the rebels.
In spite of the political themes, Ugo Bet-
tis play gives more emphasis on the peo-
ples reality amid war, people who tend
to strive for their own safety. Rukman has
been interested in staging this play since
fve years ago. However, Ugo Bettis play
is weighty, making it especially hard to cast
for the drama, said the acting lecturer at
the Theater Department of the Indonesian
Arts Institute in Yogyakarta.
Rukman was quite successful in building
his dramaturgical design. Tension and sus-
pense prevailed. Unfortunately, in some
places it was apparent that the dialogue be-
tween the players was a translation. If the
sentences had been more natural, the per-
formance would have been more impres-
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SELASARSUNARYOARTSPACEANNIVERSARY
T
HE Selasar (verandah) Suna-
ryo Art Space is a verandah in
the sense that it is an impor-
tant cultural organization in
Indonesia in general and in
Bandung in particular, from where we can
travel into the wondrous world of the con-
temporary arts.
Recently, the gallery founded by well-
known artist Sunaryo, celebrated its 14th
anniversary. But Selasar Sunaryo Art Space
is more than an exhibition venue, it also in-
cludes a caf, a bookshop, a library and var-
ious programs complementing the exhibi-
tions (such as art discussions and book dis-
cussions, seminars, workshops, dance and
music performances, flm screenings). Per-
haps, one day, Sunaryos son Arin Dwihar-
tanto, a visual artist in his own right, will
A DOUBLE VOYAGE OF SHADOWS,
LUMINOSITY AND SKILFUL PLAY
take over his fathers torch so that the Sela-
sar Sunaryo Art Space will continue to illu-
minate a variety of paths into the contem-
porary art world. It is dif cult to imagine
Indonesias cultural landscape without this
gallery playing its many illuminating roles.
From the Beginning to the End is the cur-
rent exhibition featuring the father and son
Haryadi Suadi (b. 1939) and Radi Arwin-
da (b. 1983)duet. The opening on Septem-
ber 22 was of ciated by artists Tisna San-
jaya and Muhammad Zico Albaiquni, who
also happen to be father and son. Tisna and
Zico presented a moving performance ti-
tled tradition-art-relation-today. Father
and son washed and kissed each others
feet after which Tisna gave a passionate
speech while Zico made a charcoal draw-
ing on a huge canvas accompanied by songs
played by a troupe of traditional musicians.
The performance was concluded by Tisna
washing and kissing the feet of his former
teacher, Haryadi Suadi, as a public display
of respect of a pupil towards his mentor.
An artistic path does not start from a ta-
bula rasa. Each artist is infuenced by many
predecessors, however, each artist will
also come to a point where she or he will
start creating her or his own footsteps,
and, perhaps, infuence others to meander
down a similar road. The history of the arts
is marked by inter-generational infuences
as well as fgurative patricide. However, in
Indonesia, generally speaking, particular-
ly in Java, seeking consensus and harmony
are favored over open confrontation. Step-
ping out of ones predecessors shadowes-
pecially if that is ones fathers and he is a
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 57
Radi Arwindas work has been infuenced
by Japanese artist Takeshi Murakami. Su-
perfat, a concept developed by Takeshi
Murakami, refers to the techniques used
in manga and anime, with their emphasis
on fat planes. However, at the same time,
Takeshi Murakami uses this concept as a
social criticism towards Japan as he sees his
country becoming more and more homog-
enous. But is Indonesia becoming more ho-
mogenous? I dont think so. If anything,
perhaps it is becoming even more complex.
For Indonesias art scene, though, Takeshi
Murakams criticism is valid as Indonesias
art scene is kept fat by a dominant art mar-
ket and absent support system subsidized
by the state (Indonesia lacks a public art
museum, for example). Radi Arwinda and
four curatorsRify Efendy, Aminudin TH
Siregaror, Heru Hikayat and Agung Hujat-
nikajennongand two other artistsAri-
adhitya Pramuhendra and Wiyoga Muhar-
dantofounded Bandung-based alterna-
tive art space Platform3 in 2010, to ofer art-
ists a platform in which to experiment. In
2011, Radi Arwinda, represented Platform3
at Art HK2011.
Haryadi Suadi collects wayang puppets,
old records, masks, books and batik tex-
tiles. Radi Arwinda is an avid collector as
well, of manga comic books, action fgures,
books on popular culture and contempo-
rary art. Their collections are shown along-
side one of the exhibition spaces at Selasar
Sunaryo Art Space, as if we are visiting their
home: we sit on their couch, fip through
their books, watch their TV and we are in
awe of the many curios there: from action
fgures to batik. When we connect the dots
between the seemingly disparate items, we
fnd an art that is an essential part of every-
day life, as it should be.
In the remaining exhibition spaces,
the father-son collaboration feature their
paintings, prints, objects and installations.
This exhibition challenges, so writes the
curator Agung Hujatnikajennong, the no-
tion of origin in todays Indonesian visu-
al culture. Hybridity, syncretism and com-
plexity are obvious in their way of juxta-
posing ideas, iconographies and idioms.
As true as that may be, it is also a duet that
is performed in such a skilful manner and
shown in such a way that the impression
one gets is that the artists executed their in-
timate collaboration with a healthy dose of
humor and joie de vivre.
It is an exhibition I returned to again, and
again.
ROY VORAGEN,
A CONTRIBUTOR IS BASED IN BANDUNG
well-known and widely-respected artist
might then be a delicate matter of walking
a tight rope between politeness and ones
own blossoming creativity.
Haryadi Suadi was born in Cirebon, a
coastal city on West Javas northern coast,
at the border of Sundanese and Javanese
culture. Cirebon has for centuries ab-
sorbed external infuences, being a port
town, as well as from its hinterland. Trac-
es of diferent cultures can still be found in
Cirebonthe sultans palace with its beau-
tiful juxtapositions, perhaps to signify the
power and cosmopolitanism of the sultan.
It is a traditionoften sweepingly called
syncretismthat is very much alive today.
For many Westerners, tradition is some-
thing locked-up in the past, on display in
museums. British sociologist Anthony Gid-
dens even speaks of post-traditional mo-
dernity, which is an alien concept in Indo-
nesia, a country that became postmodern
before it could become modern, to para-
phrase French philosopher Jean-Franois
Lyotard.
It is this hybrid tradition full of juxtaposi-
tions that inspires the work of Haryadi Sua-
di. Graphic and printmaking artist Hary-
adi Suadi studied art at the Bandung Insti-
tute of Technology (ITB) and thereafter, be-
came its long-time faculty member. In the
printmaking studio, humble and soft-spo-
ken Haryadi Suadi was a father fgure to his
many students. Although he has retired as
a lecturer, he remains productive as an art-
ist and still exhibits his work. Haryadi Sua-
dis son also studied art at ITB, but in the
painting studio.
58 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
E-ID CARD RESTRICTS A
CORRUPTORS MOVEMENTS
T
HE recent uproar over the driv-
ing simulator case, involving
a number of senior police of -
cers, reminds us of All the Pres-
idents Men, a 1976 Oscar-win-
ning flm about a couple of reporters inves-
tigation into a high-level scandal that even-
tually ousted American President Richard
Nixon in 1974. One of their main informers
advised them to, Follow the money.
Tracing the fow of money is the main
task of the Financial Transactions Report-
ing and Analysis Center or PPATK and their
work has proven successful in exposing a
number of well-dressed thieves. Not a few
phenomenal corruption cases have been
exposed by law enforcement agencies and
aided by clues from the PPATK. This orga-
nization scrutinizes thousands of banking
transactions daily, both in and out of the
country. About 36,000 money transac-
tions are reported going in and out of the
country every day, said Muhammad Yu-
suf, ruefully adding that, a number of gov-
ernment of cials are seen laughing away
on television, yet they are among those be-
ing investigated.
Coming from a prosecutors of ce back-
ground, Muhammad Yusuf, 50, has led the
PPATK since 2011. He stressed that his or-
ganizations reports are important prior
to setting of investigations, even though
some of the reports they send, are slow in
their follow-up. Yusuf, who is quite knowl-
edgeable with the antics of corruptors, is
optimistic there would always be a way to
catch thieves of the states money. One way
is, by using the Money Laundering Law
which has proven efective in nabbing the
owners of suspicious fat bank accounts
without criminalizing them.
Jusuf supports the application of a sin-
gle national identity, which he thinks is ef-
fective in impeding the corruptors move-
ments. Two weeks ago, Muhammad Yu-
INTERVIEW
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suf met with Tempo reporters Adek Media
Roza, Anton Aprianto and photographer
Jacky Rahmansyah at his of ce in Central
Jakarta. Excerpts of the 90-minute inter-
view:
The driving simulator case which involved
police senior ofcials began with a report
by the PPATK. What were the ndings you
conveyed to the Corruption Eradication
Commission or KPK?
In 2011, we reported to the police a trans-
action involving excessive funds, which we
traced to one of their of cers. We just gave
them the analysis because there was some-
thing fshy about the of cers income. But
there was no follow-up. In May 2012, the
KPK asked for a report from us.
The KPK asked for the same report?
A diferent one. The frst fndingwhich
was given by the policewas a transaction
in his name, involving about Rp2 billion.
The KPK also asked for information involv-
ing the case, starting from the name of the
company which won the tender and the di-
rector involved.
What did the ndings reveal?
There was a fow of Rp15 billion to a law
enforcement agency, involved with certain
parties linked to the simulator case. But
that law enforcement agency was not the
party which implemented the project, not
the supplier, nor the owner of the project.
So, the organization responsible for that
law enforcement agency should be asked:
who instructed him to use the account
number to transfer that money? That is all
we got. Then the KPK delved deeper into
the report. It also received reports from
someone involved in this case, who was al-
ready arrested.
Why is it that reports on fund ows
involving members of the police are slow to
be followed up? Have you asked the police
about this?
Regarding the fat accounts during the
time of police chief Bambang Hendarso
Danuri, we were informed that their inves-
tigation did not show enough evidence [to
incriminate those involved]. But the infor-
mation was not clear, with the excuse that
it was classifed information, so we were
unable to verify it. That was the problem.
How do you determine whether a report
should be sent to the KPK, the police or to
the Attorney Generals Ofce?
If the perpetrator of that transaction is a
state of cial or a law enforcement of cer,
we send it to the KPK for the simple reason
that this organization does not need a spe-
cial permit to carry out investigation on
these people. When it involves politicians
and involves the party in power, it is risky
for the police or the AGOs of ce in terms
of independence. So we send it to the KPK.
Muhammad Yusuf
Place & Date of Birth:
Pendopo, South Sumatra, May 18, 1962
Education:
Law Degree, University of Indonesia
(1987)
Masters Degree, IPWIJA Economics
Institute (2000)
Doctoral Candidate, Padjajaran
University
Career:
Attorney Generals Ofce since 1988,
serving as District Attorney in a number
of places
Assistant Prosecutor for Crimes,
Jakarta High Court (2004)
Justice Director, Financial Transactions
Reporting and Analysis Center
Chairman, Financial Transactions
Reporting and Analysis Center (2011
2016)
21 OKTOBER 2012 | | 59
60 | | OCTOBER 21, 2012
INTERVIEW MUHAMMADYUSUF
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For drugs cases, we send it to the Nation-
al Narcotics Board (BNN). Criminal cas-
es other than corruption cases, we send to
the police.
What about corruption cases outside the
parties you just mentioned?
We send them to the AGO. In the past, we
would be quite trapped, because we could
only send reports to the police or the AGO.
We understand there have been a few
PPATK reports that were used by some law
enforcers as extortion material.
Yes, thats what I heard too.
So, whats the solution?
I have the right to demand a follow-up to
PPATK reports, and I do it. I usually trans-
fer them to other law enforcing agencies.
If there is no response, I write to their su-
periors.
What if you still get no response?
I can complain to the Coordinating Min-
ister for Political, Legal and Security Af-
fairs. If there is still no action, by this time
I sense something is not right. So I take it
and give it to the media.
How has it been so far?
So far, there has been no clarifcation of
reports that have not been followed-up.
Some of them are still being processed,
they tell us. We dont just send any re-
ports. If we see the signs of crime are not
yet strong enough, we retain them for addi-
tional investigation, except if it is ordered
by the law enforcing agency. Even then, we
try to do a thorough job before submitting
our report.
PPATK traces and scrutinizes bank trans-
actions, yet many corruptors bypass banks
and do everything by cash.
The focus of PPATK is not just transac-
tions by the fnancial company providing
the service, but also companies supply-
ing goods and services. We have suspected
and found the following facts: corruption
money is also used to buy property, cars
and gold bars.
What strategy is used to overcome such a
condition?
We work with the automobile associ-
ation, gold traders and property agents.
We give them information and stress the
principle of know your customer (KYC).
When its time to buy items, the consumer
must fll in forms. Today, goods and servic-
es suppliers must report to us. In that way,
we will know if the persons carried out the
transaction. The supplier must be ready
to be audited by the PPATK. And if they re-
fuse, they can be charged with committing
a crime.
How does the PPATK determine there are
indications of a crime in an individuals ban-
king or cash transaction?
We check the database, to fnd out
whether he owns a big company, a well-
capitalized business. We scrutinize wheth-
er taxes have been paid, because if he owns
a big company, his taxes should be big too.
But we cannot fnd any of that. So we check
their LKPN (personal assets reported by
state of cials). If the transaction seems
sudden, at certain phases, like when it hap-
pened he or she is serving in the job, then it
needs deeper investigation. And Im sorry
to say, those very of cials we suspect and
are being investigated, are laughing away
on television.
Do you mean members of the House of Re-
presentatives (DPR)?
(Laughs)
You once said 18 members of the Bud-
get Committee at the DPR have had their
transaction analysis report sent to the KPK.
What is the pattern of their transactions
like?
There may be a huge cash deposit ,
which is withdrawn not long after. So, the
impression is getting the funds from a cer-
tain party, deposited and withdrawn again
to share around. If I bought your house for
Rp1 billion, you are unlikely to pay me in
cash. Its not just too much counting, but
what if among the bills are a few forgeries?
Some of the 16,500
e-KTP already
processed and sent
to the Home Affairs
Ministry, last
August 30.
OCTOBER 21, 2012 | | 61
Thirdly, even if I took the cash, it would be
very risky to take it to the bank. So, the log-
ical choice is by transfer. And thats when I
see something is not right.
Do you mean this is a way of covering
ones tracks?
Yes, covering tracks. This will make us
suspicious. If that money is transferred, it
would be easy to track it down. For exam-
ple, someone suddenly deposits Rp200
million in his account. Well, we know no
state of cials make that kind of salary ev-
ery week. The frequency, the amount just
doesnt make sense. So we conclude there
may be some crime involved. Because he
may be a staf of cial, there may be only
three possibilities: bribery, tips or extor-
tion. All of them come under the category
of corruption.
Are analysis on transactions of legislators
at the request of the KPK?
No, this is our initiative. There might be
times when we send them reports but they
return them to us for deeper investigation.
Aside from those of the Budget
Committee, what other suspicious types of
transfers would there be?
There are some, but I am not ready to
name them.
To prevent such transaction patterns,
what can the PPATK do for the future?
Since 2011, I have been sending letters
to the Finance Minister, Bank Indonesia
governor and the State Secretary/Minis-
ter asking that the government issue a reg-
ulation limiting the amount of cash that
can be transferred. If we have that, I am
sure 70 percent of corruption cases will
disappear. For example, I buy a home that
costs Rp900 million. But the bank limits
my cash withdrawal to only Rp100 million,
so I do that and the rest of the money is
transferred. You want to send Rp300 mil-
lion to your parents. The bank will ask for
your parents bank account. This is how its
done here. So everything is recorded. This
is what happens in the US and Australia.
That is not valid here yet. When it is
applied, what would be the benets, aside
from preventing corruption?
We educate the public to use bank ser-
vices and not be internet illiterate. Banks
will beneft because they will get a fee. Ad-
ministration will be regulated and this is
efective in eradicating the practice of brib-
ery.
Another pattern could be the corruptor
depositing the money in the account of his
children, wife or close associate, to avoid
tracking. How do you handle such a case?
Firstly, the single ID card (e-KTP) can be
the bullet. This is what is currently being
done. Gayus, for example, owns an ID card
with another name and with that he is able
to open a bank account. The single identi-
ty will restrict the corruptors movements.
With such a system, with one click you can
fgure out whether Mr. A has a wife and
kids. Secondly, we will know who owns
a lot of money, and thirdly, whoever has
done their duty in reporting their personal
assets, we are bound to know them. Even
the media plays an important role, because
the corruptors are intimidated by them.
When all systems are functioning and
there is a suspicious transaction, although
evidence cannot be found, what would you
do?
I told the KPK to follow Article 5 of the
law on money laundering. One example
is that of Bahasyim, who refused to say
where the money came from. It was also
used on Wa Ode Nurhayati (former legisla-
tor and Budget Committee member). The
article says that each person who received
transfers, payments, funding and other de-
posits which sets of suspicions of a crime,
must be asked again in the BAP (record of
investigation). The fact he refuses to talk is
another matter. But if it is part of the BAP,
then the person should be indicted, and if
that is the case, we can tell the judge to in-
struct this person to explain where the
money came from.
Do enforcers understand the criminaliza-
tion in that specic article?
I make available the expertise and time
to discuss it with the KPK, police and AGO.
I also suggested that fndings on suspicious
transactions be charged with a felony.
How many of PPATKs reports have been
followed-up to date?
This cannot be detected yet, because
communication has not been established
yet. So, people representing the PPATK,
police, AGO and the KPK, should sit down
and solve the issue. I want to see transpar-
ency and honesty. If there is a report we
cannot process, please tell us the reason.
If we have dif culty getting the evidence,
tax him. The tax is 10 percent over the 40
percent fnd, so basically half of the item. It
would help get the government more reve-
nues. I would like to discuss this collective-
ly so we can carry it out.
How many international transactions are
there in a day?
Our prediction is about 36,000 are re-
ported every day. Yesterday, for example,
I got the database on an Indonesian citizen
who brought a huge amount of case to an-
other country.
Sidelines
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FTER seven years of schooling in Europe, Ibarra
returned home to the Philippines, and all around
him it was not only Manila that he saw. In his eyes,
the city gardens full of diferent plants seemed al-
ways haunted by the parks he had known in Europe. He could
not just gaze at them; to him, the sight was at once both famil-
iar and distant. It was as though a devil was empowering it with
distance and time. He was disturbed.
At that moment, towards the end of the 19th century, the
main character of the novel Noli me Tngere by the Philippines
national hero Jos Rizal, was feeling something that he called el
demonio de las comparaciones. Benedict Anderson, in his bril-
liant book The Spectre of Comparisons, takes that moment as
an example of the emerging sense of nationhood,
particularly in Southeast Asia. Some say that this
consciousness did not merely arise from a ghostly
specter, but from a demon. So rousing it was, so
inciting.
Comparison does indeed invite two points of
view: near and far. In them both we discover what
is the same and diferent, universal and particular.
The way I see it, the Devils trickery lies in time.
Two diferent timesIbarras time in Berlin and
his time in Manilaappear to be homogenous. Each
seem empty, like a square with four equal sides,
like lined graph paper. Anderson uses the term ho-
mogenous empty time.
But of course this kind of time is not completely
abstract. And the time we experience in daily life,
and which Ibarra experiences, is phenomenological time: it
fows continuously, but brushes up against bodies and space,
and within all of this are emotion and feelings. It moves within
process, but is not entirely constructed as pure diversity. This
moment does not repeat the one before, nor is it repeated by the
one following, but they are all brought together in a cosmos.
For that is what happens in Ibarras painful experience: the
Manila that is so poor when set beside Berlin, even though they
both have city parks, is the Manila where he stands, where he
has a past, and feels like someone not completely fuid, like ink
that has yet to shape a picture.
Today, one and a half centuries after Ibarras return to Ma-
nila, comparisons between one place and another are so fast,
so varied. In our times, the infuence of newspapers and all
products of print capitalism is beginning to decline. Televi-
sion and other audiovisual information increasingly connect
one event in one place at the same instance with an event some-
where else. And real time is increasingly omnipresent.
In this situation, of course we say that the devil is more
powerful than ever; the close and the distant are becoming in-
creasingly confused. When the city of Lisbon was destroyed by
earthquake, tsunami and fre in 1755, with about 85 per cent of
the buildings in ruins, including the palace and historical ar-
chivesit took almost a week for the news to faintly reach ears
in Paris. Today, phenomenological time is overwhelming.
Tsunamis in Indonesia and Japan are announced the instant
the event takes place. A news hour presenting victims of the
fghting in Aleppo, Syria, simultaneously broadcasts a fashion
show in a Jakarta shopping mall.
And it is not just this: unlike the news in daily newspapers
whose construction is standardized (the rule of journalism is
that the news must answer the 5 Ws and 1 H, and the most re-
cent and important information must be placed in
the frst line), television and Internet news ignore
this construction. Furthermore, the experience
of information about event X arrives at the actual
time that X is happening even though in a very dif-
ferent and very distant place.
This makes it dif cult for us to see where the end
of an event is. Indeed, in the era of instant noodles
and quick counts, when television stimulates im-
mediate comment, immediacy seems to dominate.
Yesterdays news is quickly engulfed by the big
news of today. Researchers in a certain feld of life
are replaced with observers. Historians are over-
taken by timeline constructors. The diachron-
ic, which develops within time, has virtually no
meaning any more, replaced as it is with the syn-
chronic.
Hegel once said that historybecause it is the story of the de-
velopment of human reasoneventually ceases being written
as poetry. He saw that prose was better than poetry, modern
historiography superior to the verse of the Babad Tanah Jawi.
Prose has the capacity for analysis and synthesis. History in
prose presents a unity which imagines the presence of Ideas
therein. Prose is also order. To Hegel, history operates within
dialectical process: various opposing things in life collide and
are then raised up to become something new, over time ap-
proaching an end. That end, according to Hegel, is clear, in ac-
cord with reason.
But times increasingly shun Hegel. Ibarra had his own Dev-
il. Today, el demonio disturbs us not with comparisons between
forms that are equal yet not the same, but rather with the desire
for an end of comfort and contingency.
In other words, we exist, we think or we chant Gods praises,
and still we can be on slippery ground.
Goenawan Mohamad
EL DEMONIO
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