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Southeast Asia

Kalla files lawsuit over result

2009-07-28

[Straits Times] INDONESIA'S vice president, who ran against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in elections this month and lost, on Monday filed a lawsuit demanding that the results be annulled, citing inaccurate voter lists. Dr Yudhoyono won 60.8 per cent of the votes in the July 8 presidential election, according to the official count by the General Election Commission (KPU). Vice President Jusuf Kalla won 12.41 per cent of the votes, and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri got 26.79 per cent. Those results were in line with many of the opinion polls and election quick count results, but both Megawati and Kalla had said they would challenge the results. Analysts do not expect these challenges to affect the election outcome. Complaints by Mdm Megawati and Mr Kalla of voter list irregularities dogged the final hours before the actual election, and in the end, the authorities allowed those whose names did not appear on the electoral rolls to use their identity cards in order to vote. 'We want the KPU's decision to be cancelled. If it is cancelled, it means the election has to be repeated,' said Andi Muhammad Asrun, one of the lawyers from Mr Kalla's legal team. The constitutional court accepted the lawsuit and a clerk at the court said that the first hearing was set for August 4. Mdm Megawati's legal team also plans to file a similar suit to the constitutional court on Tuesday.

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Southeast Asia

Black magic has not hurt Indonesian president's chances

2009-07-07

Political rivals have accused him of being a neo-liberal and a ditherer, but Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has emerged as the favourite ahead of today's Indonesian presidential poll. The former general and incumbent is widely tipped to be re-elected in the first round of voting when as many as 176 million Indonesian voters cast their ballots. It has been a campaign largely devoid of penetrating discussion of the many pressing issues facing Indonesia. Even so, there have been moments of colour and drama, including an intriguing claim on Friday by President Yudhoyono that black magic spells had been cast against him and his campaign team. "Many are practising black magic. Indeed, I and my family can feel it," he was quoted as saying by Antara, the official Indonesian news agency. "It's extraordinary. Many kinds of methods are used. I have come to the conclusion that only prayers can defeat black magic attacks. For instance, last night I kept praying all the way to the venue of the [candidates'] debate along with my wife, aides and driver." The comments caused a stir amid accusations Dr Yudhoyono was being "irrational". However, the belief in supernatural spirits remains deeply entrenched in Indonesia, notwithstanding that most of its population are adherents of Islam. There has also been an alleged dirty tricks campaign to portray the wife of Dr Yudhoyono's running mate, Boediono, falsely, as a Catholic. It remains unclear whether this so-called black operation was launched by supporters of Dr Yudhoyono and attributed by them to the rival party Golkar, or actually carried out by cadres of Golkar. Either way, Golkar's candidate, Jusuf Kalla, has run an extensive advertising campaign featuring his wife - and the spouse of his running mate, the former general Wiranto - proudly wearing the traditional Islamic headscarf. The wives of Dr Yudhoyono and Mr Boediono do not wear the scarf, known here as the jilbab. Dr Yudhoyono's other rival, the former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, has run on a populist, nationalist platform of rapid economic expansion and largesse for poor villagers, without actually saying how she would generate the promised 10 per cent GDP growth or pay for the handouts. She and her running mate, Prabowo Subianto (another former general), have regularly labelled Dr Yudhoyono a pro-foreigner "neo-liberal" who has created an "errand boy" economy for Indonesia. The President, meanwhile, has campaigned on his record of bringing economic stability to Indonesia, crushing terrorism at the same time as attacking the country's endemic culture of corruption. Dr Yudhoyono's imposing lead has, in part, driven many loud complaints from his opponents about deep flaws in the election commission's list of registered voters. But a decision on Monday by the Constitutional Court to allow people to vote if they show a valid identification card has taken the heat out of accusations of a rigged poll.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesians Vote

2009-04-09

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, votes for a new parliament today with pre-election surveys showing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat party likely to win the highest percentage of seats. More than 171 million voters have five hours to cast their ballots to elect legislators at the national and regional levels in polling stations spread across the world’s largest archipelago. Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time and close at noon. “This nation doesn’t want to lose momentum” in developing its democracy, said Josef Krisnadi, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta. “The preparations weren’t perfect, but it’ll still be a legitimate election.” This is the third election since the fall of former President Suharto, who was forced out of office in 1998 after ruling the country for 32 years. All 560 seats in the more- important lower house of parliament are up for grabs in today’s election, as well as 132 seats in the upper house. Thirty-eight parties are fielding more than 11,000 candidates. Yudhoyono’s Democrat party was favored by 26.6 percent of respondents in an April poll taken by the Indonesian Survey Institute. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, led by former President Megawati Soekarnoputri, was second in the survey with 14.5 percent, while Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s Golkar party was chosen by 13.7 percent.

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Olde Tyme Religion

Indonesia VP says Islamic banking escaped crisis

2009-03-03

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla Sunday said Islamic banking had escaped the global economic crisis relatively unscathed as he took a swipe at the Western financial system. "The latest global crisis has taught us that an economic (system) which is based on unreal transactions will be easily ruined," he told a pre-opening conference of the fifth world Islamic economy forum. He said the Islamic banking and finance system had proved its strength by escaping relatively untouched by the global financial crisis. "We all know that Muslim countries with an Islamic economic system during this current (crisis) situation are relatively unaffected by serious problems," he added.

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Southeast Asia

Secret negotiations in Indonesia aimed at isolating Thai terrorists

2008-09-23

Secret negotiations in Indonesia with separatist sympathisers at the weekend were aimed at isolating the terrorists insurgents operating in the deep South, not at striking a deal with them, a Defence Ministry source insisted yesterday. The talks followed a strategy proposed by former prime minister Samak Sundaravej to handle external factors affecting the violent situation in the deep South. ''This [dialogue] is to cut the lifeline and support given to the militants in the South,'' said the source. The talks, mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the presidential palace in Bogor, involved five representatives from the deep South and negotiators from Bangkok. Indonesia's Secretary of State Hatta Radjasa said the five members of the separatist Pattani Malay Consultative Congress were led by Wahyuddin Mohammad, Antara news agency reported yesterday. The talks were inconclusive and will resume in November. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met the Thai Muslim delegates at the presidential palace yesterday. He had met the Thai team led by Gen Kwanchart Klaharn on Saturday. ''Do not say it was our initiative to play a role. This is the wish of the two parties as part of their efforts to end their conflict,'' Mr Radjasa said. ''Indonesia is considered an experienced mediator and is the largest country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.'' The talks on Saturday and Sunday ''produced several points as reference for making a framework for their next meeting'', Antara reported. ''They had also signed notes on the meeting's results,'' it said. The two sides resolved to meet again in Bogor, about 50km south of Jakarta, on Nov 1-2 and Nov 14. The Defence Ministry source said that under Mr Samak's directive, teams were sent to countries believed to be home to insurgent supporters, including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East. Gen Kwanchart, a former Fourth Army commander, was tasked with getting help from Indonesia. Southern militants received training in Indonesia, particularly jungle survival and bomb making, the source said. Gen Kwanchart would make no comment yesterday. ''I have no idea ... I cannot talk now,'' he said. A source close to the general said he was surprised the news leaked and he felt he had been stabbed in the back. Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-Gen Peerapong Manakij and army spokesman Col Acra Tiproch distanced the army from the talks in Indonesia, saying Gen Kwanchart had made a personal trip. The Fourth Army had no knowledge of Gen Kwanchart's actions, Col Acra said. Also: Thai foreign ministry not aware of talks in Jakarta

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Southeast Asia

Progress claimed in Thai negotiations

2008-09-22

Two-days of talks between the Thai government and representatives from Thailand's Muslim south hosted by Indonesia have achieved some progress in an attempt to end years of conflict that have claimed the lives of thousands of people, media reports said Monday. The talks are being mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the presidential palace in Bogor, about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta, the presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said. Djalal said the Indonesian government will keep promoting peace in southern Thailand through its position as a facilitator for talks between the government and the separatist group in the region. "The first meeting between the two sides had concluded and produced some progress," the state-run Antara news agency quoted Djalal as saying. "They agreed to exercise restraint to avoid any incidence that would undermine this peace process. They agreed not to commit any violence." Five representatives from the Thailand's predominantly Muslim Deep South and the Buddhist-led government in Bangkok attended the two-day meeting which ended on Sunday. A number of important principles had been agreed upon although the settlement of a number of crucial issues still needed mediation, he said. "What is important is that this process will continue. It was agreed that the conflict had to be settled peacefully and within the Thai constitution," Djalal said. The two sides had also agreed to hold a second round of talks on November 1 and 2, with a third round in the middle of November, also in Bogor. "We hope the talks would continue and develop in stages like in the peace process for Aceh. What is encouraging is that they have agreed to hold talks on politics and administrative systems in the second round," he said. In addition, they would also discuss defence, military, socio-cultural, economic and educational issues, he said.

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Southeast Asia

Thai gov't, Muslim insurgents agree to settle conflict peacefully

2008-09-22

(Xinhua) -- The Thai government and Muslim insurgents on Sunday agreed to address a four-year bloody conflict in southern part of the country through talks and to resume halted ceasefire, Indonesian state spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here. The agreement was reached after a two-day talks brokered by Indonesia, which has experience in terminating rebellions in Aceh and dealing with insurgency in Papua, said the spokesman. Five representatives from Thailand's predominately Muslim deep south and the Thai government ended their first round of close-door negotiation on Sunday in presidential palace in Bogor, about 50 km south of the capital Jakarta, Dino said. "The first round of the talks ended today and there were some agreements achieved including the conflict in southern Thailand must be settled in a peaceful way, and all parties must restrain from acts which can create violence," Dino said at the State Palace. The talks between the two sides in Bogor was mediated by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla who was one of architect of the peace process between Jakarta and rebels in Aceh, said Dino. He said that the Thai government delegation led by Kwanchart Klaharn, a former southern army commander and adviser to Thailand's defense ministry, but he did not identify the southerners. He also disclosed that the second round of the talks will be conducted on 1 and 2 of November followed by the third round in the mid of the month. All are in the presidential palace in Bogor. Muslim rebels in Thailand have never expressed themselves publicly or responsibility for the frequent deadly strikes since the latest violence occurred in the country's some southernmost provinces four years ago. In July, Thai authority announced ceasefire, but then it was dismissed as violence did not stop.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia: Parties eye new coalition for 2009 presidential race

2008-08-27

(AKI/Jakarta Post) - Indonesia's two biggest political parties are reviving attempts to establish a coalition for the 2009 presidential race. They could pose a serious threat to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla's chances of re-election on a joint ticket. Key figures from the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) held a rare meeting in Jakarta on Monday to explore the possibility of temporarily linking forces - the third such meeting in the past two years. PDI-P chief patron Taufik Kiemas led the party's delegation in the meeting with Golkar's national and regional boards of patrons in Ancol, North Jakarta. Among other PDI-P key figures in attendance were party secretary-general Pramono Anung and deputy chairman Panda Nababan. On the sidelines of the meeting, they held closed talks Golkar heavyweights led by Kalla (Photo) who is party chairman. Kalla was accompanied by Golkar chief patron Surya Paloh, House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono and deputy party chairman Theo Sambuaga. Yudhoyono was invited to the meeting as chief patron of his Democratic Party, but declined to attend. He instead received Swaziland King Mswasti III at the State Palace and later in the evening attended a closed meeting with his own party's board of patrons. Taufik, the husband of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, stressed the need for his party and Golkar to form a coalition for the presidential race before the legislative elections in April next year. "We have to start it now, because it will be difficult to form a coalition after the (legislative) election," he was quoted as saying by Antara. Surya Paloh welcomed Taufik's request, saying Golkar needed a strategic alliance with PDI-P. Theo Sambuaga said the meeting had brought the two parties a step closer to forming a coalition. "It is not an ordinary gathering. This is a meeting of the country's two biggest parties, so we did talk about the possibility of forming a coalition. But we just think it will be better if we form a coalition after the legislative election," he told The Jakarta Post. Theo said Golkar needed to know the results of the legislative election before making a commitment to any parties. Taufik, however, said the PDI-P would announce which parties it would form a coalition with as well as a running mate for Megawati in November.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia: Jemaah Islamiyah does not exist, says vice-president

2008-05-03

(AKI) - The Indonesian vice-president, Jusuf Kalla, says the government cannot ban the militant Islamic group, Jemaah Islamiyah, because it does not exist. "Jemaah Islamiyah does not exist as an organisation and therefore it cannot be banned," said Kalla in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). "How can we impose a ban? Who is the [group's] president? Where are its headquarters? Who are its members?" asked Kalla. Jemaah Islamiyah is the terrorist group blamed for most of the deadly attacks that have hit Southeast Asia in the last few years. These include the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people and injured 209 others. The group is considered a terrorist organisation in the US, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore but not in Indonesia where it enjoys the support of a minority, particularly those who come from the central-eastern island of Java. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. The vast majority of the 200 million Muslims in Indonesia practise a moderate version of Islam. Earlier this month, Indonesian chief judge Wahjono declared JI a "prohibited organisation" in court as he sentenced two leading JI members, Abu Dujana and Zarkasih, to 15 years in prison for terror-related offences. Some analysts had hoped that the statement by the judge, the first of its kind, would push the Indonesian government to ban JI. Kalla said that banning JI is a secondary issue and that Indonesia had achieved good results in its fight against terrorism. "Our approach includes taking an iron fist with the terrorists, improving economic conditions and spreading a moderate message in the Islamic environment," he said. "We have had great results, a fact recognised all over the world." Hundreds of JI members have been arrested in Indonesia since 2002, where according to some experts, the threat posed by the terrorist group has been minimised. Experts have also often noted that Indonesia has dealt with terrorism in the country without introducing tough laws.

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Southeast Asia

Court ban on Jemaah Islamiyah

2008-04-23

Up until now it's not been an offence in Indonesia to belong to the organisation behind the Bali bombings. Indeed there was even talk about whether Jemaah Islamiyah actually existed and so how could it be possibly banned or anyone be charged with being a member of it. Now a court in Jakarta has declared Jemaah Islamiyah to be a "forbidden corporation" as it sentenced two senior JI leaders each to 15 years jail. Analysts believe the decision could open the door to more prosecutions. From Jakarta, Indonesia Correspondent Geoff Thompson reports. GEOFF THOMPSON: Jemaah Islamiyah's militant head, Abu Dujana is sentenced to 15 years gaol is South Jakarta's district court. Receiving the same sentence, despite prosecutor's demands for life terms and the JI leader who is known as Zarkasih. Both men were arrested last year in raids assisted by the Australian Federal Police. Both were found guilty of concealing weapons, ammunition and explosives with the intention of carrying out terrorist acts. Abu Dujana was also found guilty of organising funding and aiding and abetting terrorists including Indonesia's most wanted JI fugitive, Nordan Mohammed Top (phoentic). More unexpected was the court's declaration that through the trials of these two men, JI had been proven to exist, with a structure, funding and board members and was therefore a forbidden corporation. The international crisis group's JI specialist - Sydney Jones. SYDNEY JONES: This decision comes closer to banning JI as an organisation and closer to declaring it an illegal organisations than anything we've had thus far. GEOFF THOMPSON: Jemaah Islamiyah has long been prescribed as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations but Indonesian ministers and even vice-president Jusuf Kalla have said that JI's secretiveness made it impossible to ban. The University of Indonesia's professor of criminology Adrianus Meliala is one of those lawyers who believes the ruling will not greatly change the already aggressive pursuit of JI members by Indonesia's national police. ADRIANUS MELIALA: The police is now, you know, following their own, their own mind. There is a first, waiting for the resident, waiting for the political signal before conducting aggressive method against JI as well as its followers. GEOFF THOMPSON: The recent arrests in Malaysia and deportation to Indonesia of two more senior JI members, Abu Husna and Dr Agus Purwanto, is expected to reveal more about JI's membership. SYDNEY JONES: If we get more names and information coming out of the arrest that was announced last week, this may make it easier for the police to actually arrest and charge individuals who are also members of the central command. GEOFF THOMPSON: Analysts say a decision like this back in 2002 or 2003 would have made it easier to prosecute JI's founding leaders like Abu Bakar Bashir.

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Southeast Asia

Suharto has multiple organ failure

2008-01-12

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s former president Suharto has suffered multiple organ failure and is on a ventilator, doctors said, while the Vice President had been summoned to his bedside to witness the 86-year-old’s death. The doctors said Suharto’s brain and other organs failed as his blood pressure fell and he had trouble breathing. “He is still in an unstable condition,” said Muhammad Munawar, a member of the medical team treating the former general. “We cannot say how long” he can be kept alive. "Give us a minute, though we're not sure we can give him one." Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for more than three decades until he quit in the face of a student-led uprising in 1998, was losing consciousness and having difficulty breathing at 5 p.m (0800 GMT). on Friday, according to a statement released at 8.30 p.m. by Pertamina hospital in Jakarta where he is being treated. Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla had arrived at the hospital in order to be a witness at the former general’s death, said a source in Kalla’s office who did not want to be named. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is currently in Malaysia. Family members had earlier gathered at his bedside, witnesses said. Suharto was taken to Pertamina hospital a week ago suffering from anaemia and low blood pressure due to heart, lung and kidney problems. His health worsened on Friday as doctors said he appeared to have a lung infection. The former general has been critically ill for several days, receiving blood transfusions and undergoing haemodialysis to drain excess fluid from his body.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia captures another JI kingpin

2007-06-15

Indonesian authorities have landed another stinging blow to regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI), announcing that they had nabbed the de facto head of the shadowy organisation. Zarkasih - who has several aliases including Nuaim and Mbah and has headed JI since 2005 - was captured in Yogyakarta in central Java six hours after Indonesia's elite anti-terror squad Detachment 88 arrested the country's most-wanted Islamic militant, JI military wing chief Abu Dujana, on Saturday. Both men appeared in video confessions on Friday admitting their involvement in the secretive group, which has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia including the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians. Authorities delayed revealing the arrests to exploit information gleaned as they hunted other top terror suspects, including Bali bombings mastermind Noordin M Top. But Detachment 88 head Suryadarma Salim said Dujana was refusing to give up the location of the terror leader, whom he is accused of protecting after the Bali blasts. "Even though (Dujana and Noordin) are in different structures, Dujana will not betray him by revealing his whereabouts," he said. Terrorism analyst Sidney Jones, of the International Crisis Group, said the arrest of Zarkasih was a significant blow for JI, which has undergone significant restructuring in recent years. "He became the de facto head sometime after 2004 when there was a restructuring of JI," Jones said. "This is as big if not bigger than Abu Dujana." Jones said Indonesian authorities may have been "trying to deflect attention from the fact they got the number one head" by naming Dujana as their most-wanted terrorist. "Obviously if the network was going to be somewhat weakened by catching one (leader), it's going to be even more weakened by catching two. I think we have to look beyond the leaders and to look at the base (of JI), but I think this is going to be a major spanner in the works for JI." Brigadier General Salim said Zarkasih, who trained in Afghanistan, was appointed emergency head of JI during a meeting of high ranking JI leaders in 2005 after the previous leader was caught in June 2004. "Zarkasih's duty was to control the activities and operations of JI in Indonesia," he said. In the videotape confession, Zarkasih also told authorities Abu Bakar Bashir lead the terrorist network between 2000 and 2002, before being replaced by Abu Rusdan. He said JI experienced a "vacuum of power" during 2004, when he was elevated as de facto head and also charged with finding a new emir to lead the organisation. "This effort is very difficult because we are trying to find a credible emir," Zarkasih said. "The rest of the group appointed me as the head of the commission (to find a new leader) - I don't know whether that is as emir or not. But we have to find a good emir to lead the spread of Islam teachings and jihad." Salim said the leader had fought in Afghanistan in the 1990s and studied in Pakistan. He said the anti-terror operation was continuing to hunt other unnamed high-ranking terror suspects, including three men who headed up the organisation's education, preaching and logistics arms. "Our team is all over Java and eastern Indonesia," he said. "The Jemaah Islamiah network still exists. They are building their power by recruiting ... and holding military training sessions and also collecting guns, ammunitions, explosives and ready-to-use bombs." Salim also said Dujana had been planning to assassinate the head of a central Java university, and that his military wing was partly-funded by the theft of the equivalent of $A66,000 from the provincial government in Poso, Sulawesi. Meanwhile, Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla said Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had been "a little bit inappropriate" talking about the arrest of Dujana two days before it was made public.

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