Real reality shows!

Kid: 2009 has been full of reality shows, corruption, bribery, debtors fleeing the country, evictions, communities clashing with police, student brawls, the gecko vs crocodile scandal, the Bank Century inquiry, it's been exhausting Dad!

Man: Let us hope for peace on earth and in 2010 and that they'll be lots of real reality shows!

Kompas – December 26, 2009

Wiretapping

The House of Representatives – consistently rated as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country – is seeking to strip the Corruption Eradication Commission of its wiretapping powers, which anti-corruption activists say is an essential tool in its fight against corruption.

Kompas – December 23, 2009

A coin can carry more weight

Kid: It turns out that a coin can carry more weight, right Dad?

Scales read: Justice/Law.

The conviction of housewife Prita Mulyasari under the draconian Electronic Information & Transaction Law sparked outrage and a massive public campaign to help her pay off a US$21,400 fine, which collected several times that amount mostly in coins donated by ordinary people across the country, including the poor and children who broke their piggy banks.

Kompas – December 19, 2009

Right and wrong

Man: You'll be exonerating those who are right and blaming those who are wrong, right Mr?

Where what was right yesterday can be wrong today, depending on the political circumstances, analysts say that the House's special committee inquiry into the Bank Century bailout is more a case of finding "political truths" and bolstering their public image that serving the public's interest in transparency and accountability in the bailout decision.

Kompas – December 16, 2009

Corruption's taking a holiday

Protester: Hey Mr, corruption's taking a holiday today... come on, you wanna join the demos?

In the face of widespread condemnation over his claims that planned World Anti-Corruption Day rallies were designed to overthrow his administration, in a speech the day before the December 9 protests President Yudhoyono did a sudden about face declaring he would launch a "jihad" against corruption and called on the public to support the demonstrations.

Kompas – December 9, 2009

Political negotiations?

...Political negotiations? Will it be a win-win solution or just be put on ice like other inquiries?

Many believe that the house’s Bank Century bailout inquiry will be hijacked by political interests and eventually die down like the Pertamina oil tanker and fuel price hike inquiries before them. Others say that parties such as Golkar and PDI-P won’t be able resist using it to bargain for more cabinet posts or end legal problems surrounding their lawmakers.

Kompas – December 5, 2009

Someone's defiantly playing with fire

Man: Someone's defiantly playing with fire.

Analysis say that the House of Representatives' Bank Century inquiry is rapidly turning into a fight within the political elite in which the originally stated goal of uncovering the truth behind the bailout decision is being sidelined by competing political interests.

Kompas – December 2, 2009