THOUSANDS TO DEMONSTRATE IN JAKARTA ON MAY DAY

  BY Andi Abdussalam

           Jakarta, April 30 (ANTARA) - Tens of thousands of workers will take to the streets in the capital city of Jakarta on Saturday and Monday to observe International Workers' Day and to demand better pay and improved welfare.

         The Jakarta Regional Police said about 10,000 workers would stage rallies on Saturday while the Confederation of All Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPSI) disclosed that it would hold rallies on Monday with about 40,000 demonstrators.

         In the face of the demonstrations, the Jakarta Police will mobilize about 15,000 personnel to maintain security and public order during the rallies.

         "We have predicted that about 10,000 workers till take to the streets to observe International Workers' Day. We base our calculation on the numbers mentioned in reports from various elements of the public to the Jakarta Police," Jakarta Police spokesman Snr Com Boy Rafli Amar said on Friday.

         He said  there were 16 elements of the public planning to hold rallies in Jakarta on Labor Day on Saturday. They consisted of company employees and industrial workers.

         On the other hand the KSPSI said it will not hold rallies on Saturday but on Monday. It will demonstrate outside the Parliament building to reject the government's plan to raise power prices.

         "We will not hold the rally on  May Day (Saturday) but on Monday. We will mobilize around 40,000 workers," KSPSI acting chairman  Mathias Tambing said.

         He said usually workers held their rallies on  International Workers' Day (May Day) on May 1, but this year the rallies would be held on Monday because May 1 coincided a holiday, Tambing said.

         He said that KSPSI would carry out its actions on a working day so that the aspirations it was fighting for would be heard by legislators in the House. Workers during their demonstrations will voice ten  demands to the government.

         "They will reject the government's plan to raise the basic electricity tariffs (TDL) because it would put a burden on laborers," Mathias said.

         The labor confederation will also ask the government to increase the value of workers' non-taxable income from Rp1.2 million to Rp5 million. "We also refuse the imposition of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). This is to protect businesses because the government is not yet able to find solutions to their problems," Mathias said.

         Other demands included a request for the revision of Law No. 3 / 1992 on sate enterprises (BUMN) and replace it with a trusteeship system. The workers social insurance firm, PT Jamsostek, was set up with money collected from workers but it was later turned into  a state-owned company.

         Mathias said the money should have been managed by a board of trustees so that workers and employers could take part in its supervision. The demonstrating workers will also demand the revitalization of manpower supervision, reject the revision of Law No.3 /2003 on labor unions and demand  better severance pay, elimination of case brokers and for the issuance of an adhoc procedural law on labor matters.

         According to Mathias, the laborers would make their demand during their rallies on Monday.

         But thousands of other workers will hold rallies on Saturday, exactly on May 1, which is  International Workers Day or May Day. The Jakarta Regional Police  predicted that about 10,000 workers will take to the streets to observe May Day.

         "The predicted number of workers to observe  International Workers' Day is based on our calculation of the numbers mentioned in  reports from various elements of the public to the Jakarta Police," Boy Rafli Amar said.

         He said  there were 16 elements of the public planning to hold rallies in Jakarta on Labor Day on Saturday. They consisted of company employees and industrial workers.

         According to Fafli Amar the demonstrators would hold rallies in six places, namely outside the Presidential Palace, Vice Presidential Palace, Parliament building, Manpower Ministry,  the Workers Social Insurance Company (PT Jamsostek), the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Traffic Circle.

         To maintain security and order in the streets on Saturday, the Jakarta Police and  National Police Headquarters will deploy 15,000 personnel. "The number of personnel will be fielded in stages, not all at once," the Jakarta Police spokesman said.

         In anticipation of traffic jams during the rallies, Boy said that the Jakarta police had prepared a scheme to divert traffic flows in certain directions but it would be based on the conditions in the field.

         In this case, police called on demonstrators to air their aspirations in an orderly manner. They were also called on not to take animals with them in an effort to secure public order. Boy also explained that police will provide tight supervision for a number of factories to prevent sweeping by workers.

         It will also tightly control various gates into the capital city of Jakarta. This is because thousands of workers from Jakarta?s satellite towns of Tangerang, Depok, Bekasi and Bogor will also join Saturday?s demonstrations.

         About 5,000 workers from Tangerang district,  Banten province, will join their peers from Bogor, Bekasi and Depok.

         Coordinator of the Congress Alliance of he Indonesian Labor Unions (Kasbi) for Banten, Koswara said that about 5,000 workers from his alliance would flock to Jakarta.

         "Data we have collected indicate that the number of workers from Tangerang who will join the Jakarta rallies. They will take to the streets to voice their aspirations," Koswara said.

          He said that there were a number of demands that the workers would fight for, including their rejection of the outsourcing contract work, cheap pay, massive lay offs and the revision of Law No.13 / 2003 on manpower.

          The All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) for Bekasi was reportedly to send to Jakarta about 4,000 workers for joining the Jakarta rallies.

          In the meantime, around 2,000 workers from Depok, an administrative city in West Java, will also join their friends  Saturaday's rallies in the capital city. "We will voice a number of demands to the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government," Sugiono, coordinator of Labor Unions Advocacy Team (TASPB) for Depok said.

    
(T.A014/A/HAJM/20:35/  ) April 30, 2010

RI TO BOOST FERMENTED COCOA BEAN PRODUCTION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 29 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, the world's third biggest cacao producer, has decided to begin giving the commodity  added value by  marketing or exporting it in fermented form starting this year.  The policy was expected to prevent a potential loss of about Rp1 trillion per annum.          "We have already begun producing fermented cocoa beans. Our target for this year is still small, namely between 5,000 and 10,000 tons. But we are resolved to increase the volume to between 100,000 and 150,000 tons a year in the long run," Syamsuddin Said of the Indonesian Fermented Cocoa Beans Association said.          The determination to earn more from cocoa exports motivated  Syamsuddin Said and Peter Jasman, chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Industry Association (AIKI), to meet Industry Minister MS Hidayat recently to discuss their idea in more concrete terms.          So far, most of the cacao Indonesia produces is not marketed or exported in  fermented form so that earnings from the commodity are not as high as they can actually  be. The price difference between non-fermented and  fermented cacao beans is about Rp2000-Rp2500 per kg. Indonesia's annual cacao production is between 400,000 and 500,000 tons.          "It can be imagined that Indonesia's annual output can reach up to 500,000 tons. This means that there are about five hundred million kg of cocoa beans which lose Rp2000 per kg, or a total of about Rp1 trillion. This is farmers' money," said Syamsuddin who claimed that his association groups cacao farmers and cocoa collectors.          Therefore, the efforts to produce fermented cocoa bean output are a must. After all, Indonesia's cocoa industry faces stiffer competition following the implementation of the China-ASEAN free trade agreement (CAFTA) earlier this year.          This will also cause non-fermented cocoa beans at home to be uncompetitive because of the lower cost of imported cocoa powder.          As part of the free trade agreement, Indonesia must scrap its 5 percent import duty on cocoa powder, which would encourage imports from rival grinders Malaysia and Singapore at the expense of domestic grinders.          Malaysia and Singapore also benefit from zero tax on imported fermented cocoa beans, which are used to improve the flavor of cocoa powder, whereas Indonesia imposes a 5 percent duty on such imported beans from West Africa.          Indonesia imports about 8,000 tons of cocoa powder a year from Malaysia and Singapore, or a fifth of the amount needed by the domestic food industry.          Jasman said domestic grinders, which supply about 40,000 tons of cocoa powder to local food producers, import about 30,000 tons of fermented cocoa beans from West Africa.          "We must increase (output of) fermented beans. At the moment, more than 90 percent of Indonesian beans are not fermented," Jasman told Reuters recently.          Therefore, Syamsuddin hailed the Indonesian government policy to impose a 15 percent export tax on cocoa exports beginning this month. He hopes that the export tax funds would in the end return to cacao growers for development so that they can increase their productivity and improve the quality of Indonesia's cocoa output.          "With the use of the funds to boost productivity and to improve quality we can be a leading cocoa producer in the world in the coming two or three years with quality equal to that of Ghana. So far the quality of our cocoa product is inferior," Syamsuddin said.          However, the aim of the export tax has not yet been well popularized so that some farmers consider it disadvantageous for them. "With the policy, cocoa will be exported in the form of powder products or fermented cocoa ones, not in the form of raw cocoa beans," Agriculture Minister Suswono said.          He said that the value of fermented cocoa was higher and it would attract foreign investors to build their factories at home. The problem is that farmers are not informed of cocoa prices in the market, and in this case traders capitalized on it, Suswono said.          In a meeting last week with growers in South Sulawesi, one of the country's major cacao producers, the minister received complaints from local farmers. The minister promised to evaluate a finance ministerial decree which imposed a 15 percent tax on cocoa exports.         "Basically, this policy will fully be supported if it has the aim of improving farmers' income and competitiveness but we will evaluate it if it proves to disadvantage them," the minister said.          The finance minister has issued Decree No. 67 / 2010 on Cocoa Export Tax which reaches 15 percent effective April 1, 2010. Based on this decree, cocoa exports are subject to progressive taxes beginning from zero percent to 15 percent based on cocoa price developments in the world market.          In this case, Syamsuddin and Peter Jasman asked the government to take a firm stand not to change its cocoa export tax policy. So far, Indonesia's cocoa has been given a low grade by traders in the world market because it is not fermented and has no international reference prices in New York and London.          "Because it is not fermented, the price cut of Indonesia's cocoa product can reach up to US$350 per ton from the reference prices in New York and London," Jasman said adding that at present fermented cocoa sold at US$2.900 per ton in the world market.          He said that demand for this commodity in the world market continued to increase by about five percent per annum, where today demand reached 3.5 million tons.          Thus, with the imposition of the export tax, there would be many foreign and domestic investors who would make investment and build cocoa processing industries in the country's cocoa production centers.          Jasman said that Indonesia has a big potential for cocoa processing industries. Of the 40 processing factories with a production capacity of 300,000 tons, only five were still in production this year because they were not able to compete in the world market.          "I am convinced that with the imposition of the progressive export taxes, there will be many more investors who want to build factories in the country in the near future," Jasman said.      (T.A014/A/HAJM/13:35/A/O001) 29-04-2010 13:42:0

RI, FINLAND STEPPING UP BILATERAL COOPERATION

BY Andi Abdussalam

           Jakarta, April 27 (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Finland are holding talks on bilateral, regional and other international issues of mutual concern as part of their efforts  to foster closer cooperation in various fields, such as economy, forestry, science and technology.

         Issues of mutual interest are being discussed by Indonesian President Susilo Bamang Yudhoyono and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhane who is currently on a three-day state visit to Indonesia from April 26 to April 28, 2010.

         During the Finnish leader's tour of Indonesia to reciprocate Yudhoyono's visit to Finland in September 2006, both heads of government discussed cooperation in the trade, investment, forestry, science and technology sectors.

         Indonesia and Finland have very good bilateral relations in such sectors as politics, economy, trade and socio-cultural sector. Inthe 1980s, both countries agreed to form a Joint Commission which supports cooperation in sectors such as forestry, trade, science and technology.

         In a meeting on Tuesday with the Finnish Prime Minister who was accompanied by several entrepreneurs from Finland, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono invited Finnish investors to participate in a number of development programs in Indonesia.

         The Finnish prime minister's entourage includes business delegation chief Jarmo Honkamaa and Eeva Kalli, the prime minister's adviser for the European Union.

         "We invite Finnish investors to invest in Indonesia," President Yudhoyono told a press conference. The head of state hoped that investments from Finland would increase significantly.

         He said Indonesia was one of few countries which enjoyed positive economic growth during the global economic crisis with economic growth at 4.5 percent.

         Some 112 Finnish companies have been engaged in 155 types of businesses with their Indonesian counterparts, among other things in exports, imports, productions, and technical products sale agents.

         Among Finnish major companies in Indonesia are   Nokia (telecommunication), Vaisala (navigation and meteorology), Kemira (chemical), Wartsila (factory and shipping turbines).

         Meanwhile, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said he was accompanied by a number of businessmen during his three-day visit in Indonesia. The Finnish government always encouraged the country's businessmen to invest in Asia, he said. Finland has a lot of experience in renewable energy, telecommunication network and the forestry sector, he said.

         Therefore, according to Chief Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa, Indonesia and Finland are developing economic cooperation through bio-energy development, forestry management and investment.

         "Certainly we will focus on investment, renewable energy and forestry," Hatta Radjasa said on Tuesday. With regard to renewable energy and forestry, regulations have been issued in 2006 and 2008.

         "They are already signed by the President. We will use them. Finland will provide the funds for forestry management in Riau and Kalimantan," he said.

         Regarding renewable energy development Hatta said Finland was very active in it. "We wish to find the best form or cooperation in the development of bio-energy including biofuels," he said.

         "The essence is we will push efforts in investment on bio-energy development and forestry management. We will also offer geothermal energy development," he said.

         In the forestry sector, Yudhoyono and Vanhanen discussed cooperation in forest magement. "We discussed cooperation in the field of forestry. As you all know, Finland has a lot of experience and expertise in forest management," President Yudhoyono said.

         The cooperation is in line with the two countries' commitment to dealing with climate change and ensuring   continuity in the proper management of forests. The two countries agreed to continue to develop global cooperation to ensure effective cooperation to meet the challenge of climate change.

         In the meantime, Prime Minister Vanhanen said Finland forestry-related matters were important because 70 percent of his country's land territory was covered in forests.

         Finland is trying to achieve a balance between its forest growth and forest  exploitation while Indonesia has great potentials in the forestry field. Cooperation between Indonesia and Finland in the forestry field has existed since 1981 when they launched a Forestry Hand Tools Study project.

         In January 2010, a meeting was held with Finland's foreign ministry to discuss Finland's support for the forestry sector in connection with climate change. Finland has expressed its interest in participating in the Kalimantan Forest and Climate Partnership (KFCP) project in Central Kalimantan currently being carried out by Australia.

         Besides in the forestry sector, the two countries also discussed cooperation on logistics system. At his meeting with Vice President Boediono, Matti Vanhannen offered cooperation in national logistics system to Indonesia to support the country's economic activities.

         Vanhannen viewed Indonesia's economy could grow better if it is supported by a good national logistics system. "Finland although it is a peninsula it consists of several islands and ports. Ninety percent of its trade distribution is done by sea and only 10 percent done by air or land," Vice Presidential Spokesman Yopie Hidayat quoted Vanhannen as saying.

         Vanhannen said Indonesia as an archipelagic country needs a good national logistics system. Finland would help Indonesia?s shipping system, shipping lanes and others.

         Vice president Boediono supported the implementation of a good national logistic system in the country. "Indonesia has a lot of potential while Finland has knowledge, technology and capital which could be shared with others," he said.

    
(T.A014/A/HAJM/21:35/....  ) April 27,  2010

RI TO GENERATE 9,500 MW POWER WITH GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 27 (ANTARA) - In order to reduce the use of oils for its power generators, Indonesia, host to 40 percent of the world's geothermal reserves, aims to use this clean energy to generate electricity up to 9,500 megawatts and to cut emissions by 16 percent in 2025.          With its geothermal reserves able to generate electricity up to 28,100 MW, Indonesia now still uses only about 4.2 percent of the reserves to fuel its 1,198 MW power plants. This encourages the government to increase further the use of the country's geothermal reserves to produce electricity up to 3,977 MW in 2014.          The country's ambition to maximize the use of its geothermal reserves as fuels for its power generators was expressed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he opened the 4th World Geothermal Congress (WGC) at the  Nusa Dua resort of Indonesia's tourist resort province of Bali on Monday.          "Indonesia now only uses 4.2 percent of its geothermal reserves to generate 1,100 MW of electricity. Indonesia's geothermal reserves account for 40 percent of the global geothermal potentials," President Yudhoyono said.          Therefore, the president said, Indonesia aims to become the world's largest geothermal energy user. Indonesia now ranked third in terms of geothermal energy consumption after the United States and the Philippines which used geothermal energy to generate 4,000 MW and 2,000 MW of electricity respectively.           To accelerate the development of geothermal power plants the government could not work alone but would cooperate with international financial institutions and donor countries, he said. After all, Indonesia has enough potential.          According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia's geothermal potentials have increased and been able to generate 28,100 MW. These reserves are found in 265 different locations.          The ministry's geological agency reveals that the potentials are based on an operation period of 30 years, or equal to the consumption of 12 billion barrels of natural oil.          "Compare this to the present natural oil reserves of only 6.4 billion barrels,"  Suchyar of the agency, said. He said ten years ago, the geothermal potential reached only a capacity to generate 27.000 MW.          In 2009, eight new geothermal locations had been found, namely Kebar in Manokwari, West Papua with a potential of 25 MW, Tehoru 75 MW, Banda Baru 75 MW, Pohon Batu 50 MW, and Kelapa Dua 25 MW in Maluku, Lili 75 MW, Mapili 50 MW, and Alu 25 MW in Mandar, West Sulawesi.          At present, only about 4 percent of the country's geothermal reserves  --which are able to generate 28,000 MW--  are being used are now generating only 1,198 MW.          Under the National Energy Policy, in 2025 the use of geothermal energy may reach 9,500 MW.          Suchyar added that the government until 2014 planned to build geothermal power plants with a total capacity of 3,977 MW under the second 10,000 MW power crash program.          "If combined with the existing power plants to 5,000 MW, it would be equal to the use of 2.4 billion barrels of natural oil," he said.          In line with its roadmap for the development of the energy sector in the 2004-2025 period, the government has made a number of policies on the development of geothermal energy.          "We have set ourselves the target of fulfilling 5 percent of the national energy needs in 2025 from geothermal energy," President Yudhoyono said.          To achieve the target, the government had launched a number of projects including four projects between state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy for the development of geothermal power plants in Central Java, North Sumatra and West Lampung using World Bank loans.          The projects which would cost US$8.6 billion were expected to   generate 2,885 MW of electricity to overcome the current power shortages which reached 4,900 MW.          The projects were also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of up to 17.3 million tons per year, he said.          Indonesia has faced energy crisis, especially electricity as the nation relied heavily on fuel. The state power plant PLN has to spent around Rp30 trillion annually to by fuel.          To address that problem, the energy and minister resource ministry would optimize the usage of mixed energy up to 2025, namely by conversion and diversification of energy sources.          "We will optimize energy which has not been used so far, such as geothermal and nuclear energy, as well as coal up to ten folds, so that we could cut the emission by 16 percent," Marwansyah Lobo Balia, expert staff of the energy and mineral resources ministry,  said.          According to President Yudhoyono, the development of geothermal energy in Indonesia would have a small impact on the environment because the country has adequate technology and human resources for the purpose.          The government has set itself a target of attracting  around US$12 billion in new investment for the geothermal sector and a geothermal energy production capacity of 3,977 megawatt (MW) as part of its second phase 10,000 MW power project.          "I hope that the efforts to make efficient use of geothermal energy potentials will be successful, not only for Indonesia but  for the rest of the world as well," he said.     (T.A014/a/H-NG/f001  )  27-04-2010 12:

INDONESIA TO CUT ITS OIL LIFTING

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 26 (ANTARA) - The government has decided to cut its oil lifting target for this year from 965,000  barrels per day (bpd) to 955,000  bpd but still needs the House of Representatives (DPR)'s endorsement to put it into effect.          The government's decision to cut its oil production target was reached at a meeting between  Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh and the Executive Board of the Oil and Gas Regulating Agency (BP Migas) last week.          "Although we have decided to reduce the oil lifting target, we are still waiting for the endorsement of the DPR before the decision can be implemented," Darwin Zahedy Saleh, said.          He said the decision was reached after a long and tough debate  between the ESDM minister, BP Migas and the House Commission VII on energy affairs at a working meeting last week. The lawmakers themselves were at the meeting divided on the matter.       Some of the legislators said  the 955,000 bpd target should be endorsed as soon as possible but  others wanted  the government and the BP Migas first to provide the latest data on the production of oil contractors before it was approved. The house was expected to approve the oil lifting cut this week.          The ministry of energy and mineral resources and the BP Migas are doing their best  to make  oil production achieve  the target set at the state budget. In this case, various sides need to work in synergy in order to create  conducive conditions for investment in the  oil and gas sector.          BP Migas noted that in order to achieve the target a number of constraints had to be overcome, such overlapping land ownership, cost recovery and other problems related to the issuance of Law No. 32 / 2009 on Environment Protection and Management and Law No. 26 / 2007 on Land Master Plan.          These problems were feared to hamper investment in the oil and gas sector, as there was a down-ward trend where in 2009 investment in the upstream oil sector was only US$10.874 billion which was lower than that in 2008 which stood at US$12.096 billion.          Due to this down-ward trend, the government had decided to downsize its oil lifting target this year.          Earlier, legislators opined that the government was reluctant to reduce its production target for this year's revised state budget (APBN-P 2010) and avoiding discussions on it.          "This is for the first time the energy minister is reluctant to discuss about the oil lifting so that our discussion about  oil lifting was not focused," Satya Widya Yudha, House Commission VII member of the Golar Faction, said.          At a previous meeting with the House, a number of legislators even expressed confidence that the plan to reduce the oil lifting figure was feasible. This was because the government and  BP Migas had also proposed a different  oil lifting figure.          Satya said the oil-lifting figure should  be proposed by the energy minister in his capacity as coordinator in the energy sector while the BP Migas was actually under the coordination of the minister.           "Although BP Migas is responsible to the President based on the law,  it is under the command of the ESDM minister," the legislator said.          That was why the lawmaker questioned why there should be different figures between those proposed by the minister and by the BP Migas.          "BP Migas Chief Raden Priyono said that his agency is only able to produce up to 917,000  barrels per day while Oil and Gas Director General Evita has proposed 965,000 barrels per day ," Dewi Aryani Hilman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) faction, said.          Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said the government was sure  965,000 barrels per day was a realistic oil lifting target.          "The government and the House decide the oil lifting target and crude oil price while  BP Migas is the executing agency," Minister Darwin Z Saleh said.          In the meantime, Coordinating Minister for  Economic Affairs  Hatta Rajasa was optimistic that Indonesia's oil production can reach one million barrels per day (bpd) in 2012. "Indonesia's oil lifting should increase to one million bpd in 2011 or 2012 at the latest," Hatta said,     Hatta said it was very likely that Indonesia would reach a one million barrels oil production because it had large untapped oil reserves and oil potentials that could be exploited.           "Indonesia still has about 9 billion barrels of oil potentials in various parts of the country, particularly in the eastern regions," he said.  The minister said that in order to achieve the one million bpd target, investment and technology were needed to drill new oil wells. But so far, calculations of the investment  needed to achieve the target had not yet been made.          "The key to the success of achieving the target is how to increase investment and use technology," he said.           At present, Indonesia's oil lifting target is 965,000 barrels per day, which is higher than that of the previous year which was set at 960,000  bpd.          However, the government is now waiting for the endorsement of the cut in the target from 965,000 bpd to 655,000 bpd for the 2010 revised state budget.      (T.A014/B/HAJM/15:20/A/O001) 15:37:

BATAM RIOT SHOULD NOT SCARE INDIAN EXPATRIATES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 23 (ANTARA) - Ethnic Indians should not worry about a possible escalation of Thursday's riot at dockyard firm which was fueled by a racist remark by an Indian worker.          The company has localized the incident and police have assured that there would be no sweeping on ethnic Indians on the island.          After all, an Indian community leader in Batam has also offered an apology to the Indonesian people. So, the 200 ethnic Indians who have fled to Singapore are expected to return to Batam again.          Likewise,  the incident was not expected to affect Indonesia- India relations."An incident like this will never affect relations between Indonesia and India," Indian Consul General in Medan R. Sukumaran said on Friday.          About 200 ethnic Indians, or about 40 percent of Indians staying in Batam,  have fled to Singapore following Thursday's riot which hit  PT Drydocks World Graha, a firm  previously known as Labroy Marine's shipyard in Batam and  is managed by Singapore-based Drydocks World SE Asia.          "I heard that about 200 Indians have left Batam for Singapore," Indian community leader in Batam Devarajan Prakash said after a meeting with local government officials on Friday.          But he expressed confidence that all Indians who had left for Singapore would return to Batam again. Moreover, Deputy Reginal Police Chief for Riau Islands Sr Comr Bambang Budi Santoso assured that there would be no sweeping on ethnic Indians in Batam following the rioting.          About 5,000 workers at the dry dock company in Riau Islands rioted on Thursday, attacking their company's executives and foreign staff, mostly ethnic Indians, over racist remarks allegedly made by one of them.          "They were provoked by an Indian employee who said Indonesian workers were stupid," National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zulkarnaen said.           The unrest has inflicted  damage on two offices and one building. At least 27 cars were set on fire by rioters. Zulkarnaen said 41 Indian employees of the company were escorted out by 400 Batam Police officers, including members of the elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob).          Indian community leader in Batam Devarajan Prakash has offered an apology to the Indonesian people for the insult made by the Indian employee.          "On behalf of all Indians, I offer an apology to all Indonesians," he said in tears after attending a meeting of regional leadership to discuss the incident in Batam on Friday. He formally conveyed the apology in a letter to the mayor of Batam. He said he would also make  the apology in several newspapers.          He said many Indians have lived in Indonesia for a very long time as well as in other cities across the world but they have never had problems. "This is the first time," he said.          Devarajan who has lived in Batam for 18 years said as  newcomers from India they must introspect and socialize with the local community so that no incident like Thursday's would recur.          He said he would gather Indian people living in Batam to discuss the problem  to prevent it from spreading.          PT Drydock World Graha's chief executive officer Denis Welch also offered an apology to the people of Indonesia. "We all deplore the incident. It is not good for Batam," he said. He said Drydock World intended to make long-term investment in Batam and therefore it needed a conducive atmosphere.          Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the incident was related to the habit and culture of expatriates in a work place. "Unfortunately, local workers are not accustomed to accepting the habit," he said.       National Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said was purely caused by an internal conflict at the  company.  "It was purely an internal conflict and had nothing to do whatsoever with the Labor Day nor other factors," he said.          Neither was it exploited by other parties but it was merely caused by insulting language, he said. "It had nothing to do with Labor Day, much less to the situation in the lead up to Labor Day.It was purely an  internal conflict at the company," he said.          In the meantime,  Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said Thursday's riot was an "internal incident" and the company's management had taken steps to localize it. "It is merely an internal affair of the company. It was not a problem caused by a regulation," he said.          The management of the dockyard company had taken steps to prevent the riot from spreading. "At our meeting with a number of officials, including those from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry earlier in the day, we came to the conclusion that the incident did not have a significant impact (on the region's security conditions)," he said.           In order to solve the problem, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed National Police Chief Gen Bambang Hendarso and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Sutanto to take follow-up steps.          According to Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrian Pasha, the head of state has received a complete report from the police chief about the riot.  The riot was sparked by a racist remark by a foreign worker.          The president therefore ordered the law enforcing agencies to settle the matter properly  so that it would not escalate and be exploited by people with ulterior intentions.          Although  conditions in Batam had now returned to normal and were under control, the president  called on all sides to remain vigilant to prevent a recurrence of the incident, Julian said.      (T.A014/A/HAJM/21:30/a014) 23-04-2010 21:33

FOREST MAFIA FIGHT FOCUSED ON SUMATRA, KALIMANTAN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 23 (ANTARA) - The government's joint team of investigators from the police force, prosecutor's office and the ministry of forestry will focus its first phase investigations on alleged forest mafia cases in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan provinces.          "We have set 2010 as the year of law enforcement in the forestry field. In the first phase, investigations will  focus on alleged forest crimes in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan," Aulia Ibrahim, forest investigation and protection director of the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Preservation (PHKA), said.          In the two provinces, a number of companies are believed to have annexed state forests. In North Sumatra, for example, there are 21 plantation companies which have allegedly annexed state forests. In the first phase, five major firms of the 21 companies will become the operation target of the team.          "Two owners of the five firms have been investigated and those of the other three companies are now in the process of being named suspects," Aulia Ibrahim said.          The joint team is launching operations against forest crimes following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's instruction that mafia behind forest crimes should be eliminated.          The president also instructed all regional government heads, namely governors and district heads to help protect forest in their respective regions.          According to Aulia Ibrahim, all of the regional government heads are also ordered to take stock of damaged forests for rehabilitation purposes.  All forest squatters must be expelled from production, protected and conserved forest areas.          "All forest squatters must get out of production and protected forest areas controlled by the governmet," Aulia Ibrahim said.           In an effort to fight all kinds of forest crimes in the current year of law enforcement in the forestry fields, the government will act indiscriminately upon all forest offenses.          "All violators will be acted upon indiscriminately," Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said meanwhile. The minister even disclosed that the joint team was also conducting an investigation into an alleged forest mafia case at his own ministry.          However, Zulkifli Hasan is still waiting for the results of the investigation. "The joint team of investigators from the police, the prosecutor's office and forestry ministry is still carrying out its investigation. I could not yet disclose how many names now being examined," the minister said after granting a 14,000 hectare community forest concession for five thousand farmers in Lampung province on Thursday.          The investigation is being launched to follow up a report by a number of non-governmental organizations about the presence of forest mafia in the forestry sector. However the minister acknowledged that he has not received any report so far about the results of the joint team's investigation.          "I cannot yet talk a lot about the matter before the team accomplished its task. It is unethical for me to speak about it while the team has not yet finished its investigation," the minister said.          The results of the investigation will be reported to the president. Believing that forest mafia did exist, the president in a cabinet meeting last week ordered the judicial mafia task force to examine various forest offenses whose cases received lenient punishment or even acquitted by the court.          "I believe  a mafia is behind the illegal logging activities. I call on the judicial mafia eradication task force to also tackle this problem, reduce and put an end to these activities," the president said before leaving for Hanoi, Vietnam, to attend an Asean summit recently.          According to data, out of a total of  92 illegal logging cases handled in courts recently, 49 ended in acquittals,  24 with jail sentences averaging only  one year and 19 with jail sentences between  one and  two years.          "This will not have a deterrent effect. Therefore, the President has ordered the task force to examine the court verdicts to see why they were so lenient,"   Informatics  and Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring said after the cabinet meeting last week..          Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that the mafia task force would carry out auditing in all regions where illegal logging were still rampant and where forests had been turned into plantations without licenses from the forestry ministry.          "The task force will be fielded to carry out auditing of cases suspected to involve abuse of power by regional government heads, such as the issuance of licenses for conversions of production   and  protected forest functions, and conversion of forests  into oil palm plantations," the minister said.          After all, there are many forest areas and plantation areas are overlapping with each other. In West Kalimantan for example, the local government of a certain district  has issued licenses for plantation firms whose areas overlap those of forests.          "In a certain district, the local government has issued a license for plantation firms to operate on hundreds of thousands of hectares which overlap forest areas," Head of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of West Kalimantan Forestry Service, Sunarno said.           But he reluctant to mention the name of the district concerned in West Kalimantan.          He revealed that data in 2008 showed the local district government had issued licenses for 42 plantation firms, with areas covering 300,000 hectares. These areas overlapped forest areas.          For this year, the latest data showed that the local government had issued licenses for 84 plantation companies. "Logically, the plantation areas overlapping those of state forests must be wider than the 300,000 hectares," Sunarno said.     (T.A014/A/HAJM/11:57/f001) (T.A014/A/A014/F001) 23-04-2010 12:03

CLERIC HAILS COURT'S VERDICT ON BLASPHEMY LAW

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 19 (ANTARA) - The Constitutional Court (MK)'s decision on Monday to reject a request by a group of petitioners for a judicial review of a 45-year old controversial religious blasphemy law was hailed by Muslim clerics and Islamists.           West Sumatra's noted Muslim cleric Buya H Mas'oed Abidin said the Constitutional Court verdict that rejected the judicial review of the law was correct.           The MK on Monday rejected a request of petitioners for a judicial review of Law No. 1/PNPS/1965 on Religious Blasphemy which the plaintiffs thought had restricted freedom of religion based on the 1945 Constitution.           The 1965 law recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. Others are officially banned. It also prohibits alternative interpretations of recognized religions, including Islam.           The review was filed by human rights groups and the late former President Abdurrahman Wahid, who was also a longtime former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization.          Among the petitioners also a number of non-governmental organizations such as the Imparsial, the People's Advocacy Studies Institutes (ELSAM), the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI), the Association of Human Rights Study Center, the Association of Equal Society, the Desantar foundation and the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI).          However, after a series of trials, the MK finally decided to uphold the 45-year old law.          "We hereby state that the court rejects as a whole the request of the petitioners for a judicial review of the law," MK Chairman Mahfud MD said when he read the MK verdict here on Monday.           He said that the court was of the view that the arguments presented for formal and material reviews of the law had no legal basis. Based on morality reasons, the religious blasphemy law remained to be needed as a means of controlling public order for the sake of religious harmony in Indonesia.           Besides, the Constitutional Court also opined that the state had the interest in having a law on religious blasphemy as part of its responsibility for protecting human rights based on the principles of a law-abiding state.           "The court is of the view that the right to profess a religion in the context of individual human rights is inseparable from the right to embrace a religion in the context of social human rights," the MK chairman said.            In the issuance of the court verdict, one judge, namely Harjono expressed his concurrent opinion and another one, namely Maria Farida, presented her dissenting opinion.           Maria said that although in formal term the law was still in force, yet in essence it contained deviations from human right values as contained the 1945 Constitution.           The request for a judicial review of Law No. 1/PNPS/1965 on Religious Blasphemy was filed by plaintiffs which consisted of seven non-governmental organizations and a number of individuals such as the Late Abdurrahman Wahid, Musdah Mulia, Dawam Rahardjo and Maman Imanul Haq.           Petitioners were of the view that the law contained articles discriminatory to interfaith adherents, against the principles of tolerance, diversity, open-mindedness and restricted religious freedom as contained in the 1945 Constitution.          According to  Buya H Mas'oed Abidin, as a judicial institution, the MK has taken a correct decision. After all, the MK must be sensitive to whatever it was going to decide, particularly matters which had wide impact on the general public conditions in the country.          Therefore, he said, the MK should not merely based its decisions on  rational/intellectual capacity but also on the nation's emotional and spiritual experience.          Besides, it must also base its decisions on cultural capacity which thereby requires it to have judges who were wise in taking a decision. "The court verdict was not based on like-and-dislike grounds but on the ground of the nation's need in the long term as the MK has proved it," Buya said.           The MK has held 12 times court sessions regarding the petition for a judicial review of the religious blasphemy law until it took a decision on Monday.           Prof. Ahmad Rofiq, secretary of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) for Central Java, said that actually the law did not restrict people from professing a religion. It did not restrict freedom of religion.          He said that freedom was not identical to blasphemy. The people were free to embrace a religion but they should not blaspheme any other religion. He cited as an example followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed Islam as their religion, while also claiming Ghulam Ahmad as their prophet. "This is blasphemous as Islam only recognizes Muhammad as its only prophet," he said.          In the meantime, the Jakarta Globe reported in its website that Police had earlier deployed 600 officers and a water cannon as Islamic protesters gather outside the Constitutional Court in Central Jakarta ahead of its verdict on the legality of the controversial 1965 Blasphemy Law.          The protesters consist of members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front as well as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, which is based on an international organization that aims to create a global pan-Islamic state.      (A014/A/H-NG/a014) 20-04-2010 00:36:3

MAFIA TASK FORCES FIELDED TO FIGHT ILLEGAL LOGGING

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 18 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is intensifying its efforts to fight illegal logging by involving mafia eradication task forces which are to investigate cases at court and in the field.          A presidential judicial mafia task force will look into lenient court verdicts so far handed down to illegal logging suspects while another task force on illegal logging mafia eardication  will be examining illegal logging practices in the field.          In the meantime,  President Susilo Bambang Yudhohono and the  relevant ministers will also observe directly areas where forests have been damaged. At the same time,  heads of regional governments, namely governors and district heads, are called on to make the necessary steps and account for damage to forests in their respective regions.          The president has over the past two weeks repeatedly expressed concern about illegal logging cases and called for cooperation with non-governmental organizations as well to help find antidotes to the predatory practices, saying that there was a mafia ring behind illegal logging.          "I believe  a mafia is behind the illegal logging activities. I call on the judicial mafia eradication  task force to also tackle this problem, reduce and put an end to these activities," he said before leaving for Hanoi, Vietnam, to attend an Asean summit recently.          Earlier, when calling for continued efforts in the fight against illegal logging and deforestation, at a cabinet meeting held in Jakarta, last week, the President, also stressed the importance of cooperation with NGOs in the battle.          "Ask environmental non-governmental organizations to cooperate.  NGOs that really care for the environment, and a  good will to save the country, are our partners. We must not be controlled by the world. Let us conduct the control ourselves. It is us who should be more concerned about the safety of our country, children  and grandchildren," he said.          Following a limited cabinet meeting on forestry and environment on Friday, Yudhoyono ordered the Judicial Mafia Task Force to examine the light sentences passed by courts in illegal logging cases.          Informatics  and Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring said, according to data, out of a total of  92 illegal logging cases handled in courts recently, 49 ended in acquittals,  24 with jail sentences averaging only  one year and 19 with jail sentences between  one and  two years.          "This will not have a  deterrent effect. Therefore,  the President has ordered the task force to examine the court verdicts  to see why they were so lenient," he said.          The President also asked  National Police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji about operations in the field against illegal loggers.          An illegal logging mafia task force made up of personnel from the police force, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and prosecutor's office will be fielded.          Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that the illegal logging mafia task force would carry out auditing in all regions where illegal logging were still rampant and where forests had been turned into plantations without licenses from the forestry ministry.          "The task force will be fielded to carry out auditing of cases suspected to involve abuse of power by heads of regional governments, such as the issuance of licenses for the conversions of the functions of production   and  protected forests, and conversion of forests  into oil palm plantations," the minister said.          He said that he would hunt down the  illegal logging culprit in Kalimantan and Sumatra.          "We have succeeded in reducing illegal logging cases but we will continue to chase after the forestry criminals ," Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA), Darori said meanwhile.          The government move to act upon the mastermind of illegal logging is intended to reduce damages to forest.  According to Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan only 24 percent or 43 million of 130 million hectares of primary forests in the country still remained.          He said 40 million hectares were former production forests and half of them had been damaged or were in a critical condition. The rest was no longer forested land, he said.          Large-scale deforestation reached its peak in 2001-2002 following the euphoria of regional autonomy at a destruction rate of 3.5 hectares per year.          To overcome the problem, the government has no other choice but to conduct a tree planting movement jointly with the people with a forestation target of at least 500,000 hectares a year and a special program for investors to restore industrial forests with a target of at least 300,000 hectares a year.          In the meantime, the office of the Environment Ministry will also offer its assistance to fight illegal logging in cooperation with the forestry ministry, the mafia eradication task forces and police.         Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said his office was still collecting data and information to reveal the mafia behind illegal logging cases in the country so far.          If need be, the office of the environment minister would arrest illegal loggers and  brong them to justice, the minister said adding that his office would conduct an investigation in regions with major forests such as those in Kalimantan and Papua.      (T.A014/a/H-NG/a014) 19-04-2010 00:36:

NORTH JAKARTA VIOLENCE CLAIMS OVER 100 VICTIMS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 14 (ANTARA) - At least 130 people were rushed to a nearest hospital as violence broke out between public order security guards who moved into a graveyard and locals who defended the site against an alleged attempt to remove an 18th century-old sacred tomb in the harbor area of North Jakarta on Wednesday.          "Up to now, we have received 130 victims," Koja Public Hospital President Director Togi Asman told ANTARA through an SMS text message on Wednesday evening.          Earlier in the morning, about a thousand public order guards (Satpol PP) marched to the graveyard complex built on land belonging to port company PT Pelindo II where there was a tomb of respected Muslim scholar, Habib Hasan bin Muhammnad Al Hadad also known as Mbah Priok, who spread Islam in North Jakarta in the 18th century.          According to the Jakarta regional government, the public order  guards were mobilized to the complex to demolish illegal buildings erected within the complex.           Togi Asman said that of the 130 victims, 66 were Satpol PP, 54 residents and 10 were policemen. Earlier report said two were killed but the hospital said there was no dead victims until evening.          Following the incident, the Jakarta city government expressed regret and concern over the outbreak of the violence  between residents and public order security guards at the Mbah Priok tomb in Koja.          "We apologize for the incident. We have stopped (mobilizing public order officers). We have to explain to the people that we are not going to demolish the tomb but illegal buildings," Deputy Governor Prijanto said.           He said the Jakarta city government would not demolish the tomb of "Mbah Priok" whose remains had actually been moved to the Semper Public Cemetery at the request of his heirs.          Priyanto said public order officers would only demolish illegal buildings erected around the tomb complex such as the 5-meter high gateway, walls and a number of illegal buildings erected to serve visitors to the tomb.          The owner of the land, port company PT Pelindo II, had provided a kind of compensation money amounting to Rp2.5 billion and a land of 5,000 sq m for Mbah Priok's heirs. The money and the land had not been provided as compensation  because in strict legal terms the land on which the tomb stood belonged to Pelindo, not to Mbah Priok's heirs.          According to Prianto, the heirs had land with a document but the land was not located at the site.  Mbah Priok's heirs claimed that they possessed land around the location up to 5.4 square hectares with an ownership document in the form of "Eigendom Verponding" No.4341 and No.1780.          One Mbah Priok's heirs, named Habib Muhammad bin Achmad had filed a lawsuit at the North Jakarta Court but the court on June 5, 2001 ruled that the lawsuit could not be accepted because the lawsuit was not clear.          Thus, as Habib Muhammad bin Achmad's side did not appeal the North Jakarta court verdict , legally the land belonged to PT Pelindo II based on a land management right document No. 01/Koja which covers a land of 1,452,270 sq m.          Following the incident, the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) urged the Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Wahyono and the chief of Satpol PP, Haryanto Badjuri to resign from their posts.          "With the outbreak of the violence, the IPW called on the chiefs of the Jakarta Police and Satpol PP to resign ," Neta S Pane, Presidium chairman of the IPW, said.          Besides the two officials, Neta also asked Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo to take responsibility for the violence which caused over 100 victims. "IPW is saddened with this condition and therefore it calls for those responsible to resign," he said.          In the meantime, the Jakarta Regional Legislative Assembly (DPRD) also asked the Jakarta to be responsible for the incident. "We have invited the DPR's leadership and commissions' leaders to hold a meeting with the governor in the near future to ask for his responsibility," DPRD chairman Ferrial Sofyan said.          Besides calls for responsibilities of the relevant officials, the National Human Rights Commission (Komans Ham) will also set up a team to look into the violence whether there was human rights violation involved.          "We will form a team of investigation soon," Komnas Ham Deputy Chairman Yoseph Adi Prasetyo said.          The commission has officially issued a statement regretting the efforts forcefully demolish alleged illegal structures within the complex site. This is because the commission has previously written to the North Jakarta government to delay the execution of the building demolition.          The Jakarta Regional Legislative Assembly  will also establish a special committee to investigate the violence that broke out in front of the graveyard gate.          "We will propose the establishment of the special committee to investigate the case which caused the falling of over 100 victims in port area of North Jakarta ," Jakarta Deputy Chief Councilor Triwisaksana said.     (T.A014/H-NG/H-YH) 14-04-2010 23:20:

SUSNO REVEALS MORE PLAYERS IN TAX FRAUD

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 8 (ANTARA) - After claiming recently that two brigadier generals were linked to a tax fraud case involving taxman Gayus Tambunan, former police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji once again revealed that there was a "Mr X" who was the mastermind of the case.          Mr X who is not a police officer is able to exert his influence on the replacement of officers in the police force  as he is close to a three-star police general. Susno disclosed this at a hearing with House Commission III which deals with legal affairs on Thursday.          Besides Mr X in the police force, there was another revelation on Thursday where a former director at the directorate general of taxation with the initials "BA" was reported by the Financial Transaction Analysis and Report Center (PPATK) as having a suspicious account amounting to Rp70 billion.          A Jakarta Police spokesman, Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar, only referred to the former tax official as BA, but he is widely reported to be Bahasyim Assifie, a former tax directorate official who last week resigned from the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).          Mr X and BA are two latest alleged players in tax evasion and money laundering following the disclosures of a case involving tax official Gayus Tambunan who is now under police investigation for having suspicious account worth Rp28 billion.          Seven people, including police officers, have been named suspects in the Gayus Case. The Gayus case may soon drag Mr X and a police officer with the initials "MP." In a close-door meeting on Thursday, legislators were told by Susno Duadji that the "Mr X" behind case brokering practices in the police was a man with the initials "SJ", according to Chairman of the House Commission III on legal affairs Benny K Harman said.         "SJ is not a police officer but was close to a three-star police general who is known by his initials as "MP", Benny K Harman said.          Meanwhile, Commission III member Ahmad Yani said SJ played a leading role in a case brokerage network and this was known to  lawyer circle. "This has been public knowledge within defense counsel circles for some time," Yani, a legislator of the United Development Party (PPP) party faction, said.          Another Commission III member, Martin Hutabarat of the Gerindra faction, said SJ was a former diplomat who had a close relationship with a three-star police general. He said because of his closeness to the police general SJ had great influence in the police force and was once able to have a police officer dismissed from the force.          Besides, Susno Duadji also disclosed that there was a police general who had asked for Rp5 billion from Gayus Tambunan. The general claimed that the money would be given to Susno who was at that time the head of the Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim).          "I got  this information from my men inside the institution but the funds never reached me," Susno told the House Commission III.          He said that he had earlier heard rumors mentioning himself as one of the recipients of the funds. "The rumors are not true. Until now, I have never received those funds," he added.          Susno said that he got information from insiders based on the explanations of a witness who was investigated that there was a general who had asked for Rp2 billion, more than the agreed Rp1.5 billion.          Besides, the general also asked Rp5 billion which he claimed would be given to Susno but the money was never delivered.          "So the general who asked Rp5 billion for Susno could have received Rp7 billion. This is based on the explanation of a witness," Susno said.          The witness who is also a former deputy head of the PPATK also mentioned that the disbursement of the funds was carried out in the transitional period during the replacement of the head of the Bareskrim on November 26, 2009.          The 28 billion has allegedly been transferred to their recipients. Susno  said it was very easy for the police to trace the flow of funds because the key witnesses in this case had all been arrested.          "It is very easy to disclose the Rp28 billion funds because the key witnesses such as Gayus, Andi Kosasih and Haposan have been arrested," the former head of the Police Criminal Investigation Department said.           Susno said that if there was a will and honesty it would be very easy to trace the flow of the funds  based on the explanations made by Gayus P Tambunan. Andi Kosasih has admitted that the suspicious Rp28 billion funds in Gayus's bank account were actually  not his money as he had earlier admitted.           In a court last month, Kosasih claimed that the money in Gayus account was his. With the claim, Gayus was acquitted from the corruption charges.          "(After the arrest) Andi Kosasih has admitted that the Rp28 billion did not belong to him. He also admitted that he had handed over Rp5 billion (to a police officer) which was said to be given to Susno but I have never receive it," Susno said.      (T.A014/A/H-NG/a014)09-04-2010 00:48:

ANOTHER TAX SCANDAL ABOUT TO BREAK

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 6 (ANTARA) - While investigators were working hard to uncover Gayus Tambunan's Rp25 billion tax fraud operation,  another alleged tax scandal which might be worth around Rp100 billion came to the surface on Tuesday.          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono summoned Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati for an unscheduled meeting to discuss the alleged tax fraud.          Hendarman Supandji, after the meeting with  the President, admitted that his office was investigating a tax case which was based on a suspicious financial transaction report. It involved a far larger amount of money than Gayus Tambunan's.          The case began to surface following a statement of the head of the Financial Transactions Analysis and Reporting Center (PPATK) Yunus Hussein recently that his office had found a case which was bigger than that of Gayus Tambunan.          This case involves tax officials higher in rank than Gayus Tambunan who is now a suspect and under investigation over an alleged money laundering and tax evasion case worth Rp25 billion.          "The value of the new case is higher than that of Gayus and involved two or three tax officials," the Attorney General said but refused to disclose the amount of money allegedly corrupted.          Like the exact amount of money that the state might have suffered, the names of officials allegedly involved in it were neither mentioned yet.          Meanwhile, Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud MD claimed  he had also received a report from a legislator about a corruption case which, if disclosed, could create a public uproar.          "I received the report with strong evidence but I have no authority to handle it," Mahfud said on Tuesday. He said that the report he had received concerned the transfer of state money which violated the required procedures.          Maftud said he did not want to disclose the corruption case which could amount to around Rp100 billion, but hoped that a more competent authority would do it.          Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri when asked to confirm the case after attending the meeting with the president declined to explain it in detail saying only that police have to check the report in the first place. After all, coordination among relevant agencies must be conducted.          According to  PPATK head Yunus Hussein, his office had sent the report on the suspicious transaction to the Attorney General's Office (AGO), National Police and the Finance Ministry.          Hussein said since March 2009 he had reported the finding of suspicious accounts belonging to a former official of the Directorate General of Taxation worth more than what Gayus Tambunan had amassed.          At the AGO, the case has been referred to the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes for further examination. "We are still coordinating. We began investigating two or three weeks ago. It has been studied by the Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes and now I have referred it to the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes for further examination," Hendarman Supandji said.          Repeating a recent statement by the head of PPATK, Yunus Hussein, Hendarman  said the officials involved were higher in rank than Gayus Tambunan  and were also from the Directorate General of Taxation.          The value of the case was bigger than Rp25 billion which is the value of Gayus's case. "The value of the case we are handling is higher," Hendarman said.          Hendarman however declined to mention names saying they were still kept secret for the purpose of investigation. He only said that the new case involved three people.          The attorney general said reports from PPATK usually went to the Attorney General's Office and the police. In view of that he said his office also had to coordinate with the police with regard to deciding which agency would further handle the case.          Finance Minister Sri Mulyani meanwhile said if the case involved former officials of the Directorate General of Taxation it had to be dealt with by the office where the person was now employed.          "With regard to the PPATK finding I can not tell who they are but if the officials involved are within the structure it will certainly have implications. If they are former finance ministry officials or no longer in the Directorate General of Taxation it means the next step is in the hands of the offices which are employing the persons concerned," she said.           In order to settle the case, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the anti-judiciary mafia task force to unveil bigger cases in the future. Taskforce chief Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said the President had asked the taskforce to uncover veil big cases which had so far been covered up.          "He hoped in the future what he called the "big fish" which is a really big case could be uncovered to open cases hidden so far," he said.          On Monday, the president called for a thorough  investigation of the tax fraud case, saying anyone involved in it must be brought to justice. He believed that there had been a clandestine deal and conspiracy between tax officers and taxpayers.  (T.A014/A/HAJM/22:10/a014) 06-04-2010 22:35: