Into the same room again

Corruption-collusion-nepotism, law enforcement, migrant workers beheaded, marginal...

Man: We're not just going into the same room again are we?

With the events of the last year being dominated by an endless series of corruption scandals, state-sanctioned violence against religious minorities and government failure to protect Indonesian migrant workers, many could be forgiven for wandering if 2011 will just be more of the same.

Kompas - December 29, 2010

We won, we won

Crowd: We won, we won...

Man: So when will we win against them? (jacket reads corruption)

While Indonesia's win over the Philippines in the AAF semifinals in Kuala Lumpur on the weekend was a turning point for the national soccer team, anti-corruption activists say there is little to celebrate with Indonesia ending the year ranked 110th out of 178 countries surveyed by anti-graft group Transparency International with a score of 2.8 out of 10, exactly the same as last year.

Kompas - December 22, 2010

A monarchy? No way!

Man: A monarchy? No way!
Kid: How right you are lord
Man: It's not in accordance with the constitution!
Kid: It's truly so your majesty
Man: It's not in line with democracy!
Kid: Blessed be my lord

President Yudhoyono's latest tirade against the Yogyakarta sultanate – which unlike the rest of the country is seen as well run, with little corruption and few attacks on religious minorities – stands in stark contrast with his increasingly autocratic style of government.

Kompas - December 11, 2010

Covered in dust

1st Man: Everything's covered in dust...

2nd Man: But not the promises made to us, right?

Thousands of survivors of the Mt. Merapi eruptions staged a rally in Yogyakarta on Monday demanding that the government fulfill its promise to compensate them for livestock killed during the eruptions, saying that the authorities were acting too slowly as they are in desperate need of cash to start rebuilding their lives.

Kompas - December 8, 2010

Toothless

Dentist: You'll need lots of checkups Mr! So you don't get toothless too quick and have them replaced by false teeth!

Many have lauded Busyro Muqoddas' appointment to lead the much-vaunted Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), despite being best remembered for heading the toothless Judicial Commission. The jubilation was cut short however after the House announced he would only serve a one-year term, which critics contend is far too short for him to boost the KPK's flagging moral.

Kompas - December 4, 2010

Another eruption

Government: It's impossible to have a monarchy system

Man: What's this, another 'eruption'

Yet another round of political bickering has erupted following a government push for direct elections of the Yogyakarta governor, disregarding grievances among supporters of sultanate's special status. Under a 1965 law granting Yogyakarta its special status, the heads of the royal houses of Hamengkubuwono and Pakualam are appointed directly as governor and vice governor.

Kompas - December 1, 2010

Funny business

Taxation, Politics, Funny business

Golkar Party members are on the defensive over rumors that rogue tax official Gayus Tambunan met party chair and business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie in Bali. Widely circulated photos of Tambunan watching an international tennis match in Bali when he should have been in police detention in Jakarta took on a political twist when Bakrie was also seen at the match. Tambunan amassed a fortune that he claims came from bribes paid by companies linked to Bakrie.

Kompas - November 27, 2010

Cell phones

Woman: We'll be furnished with cell phones remember...

1st Man: And if the employer asks for them?

2nd Man: The legal protections don't connect do they? (a play on tulalit, bad phone connection)

Labour activists say providing migrant workers with cell phones is an 'irrelevant' response to a serious problem and that the government should instead enforce legal protections to prevent abuses, noting that phones are often confiscated by employers.

Kompas - November 24, 2010

Happy here, happy there

Gayus: Happy here, happy there, happy happy everywhere...

Headlines over the last two weeks were dominated by photos of high-profile graft suspect Gayus Tamanan in a wig and glasses watching an international tennis match in Bali when he should to have been under police detention while facing trial. Police, who remained in self-denial for about 10 days after the photo was widely circulated, have admitted Gayus had spent almost US$40,000 since July to bribe his way out of police detention 68 times.

Kompas - November 20, 2010

Tor the sake of bakso

Bakso seller: Mr President! Was it in the interests of Indonesian-American relations or for the sake of... bakso!

While President Obama may have charmed audiences with jokes about his fondness for the traditional bakso meatball soup he loved when living as a child in Indonesia, activists say his visit failed to address key issues such as ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua, continued military impunity and widespread violence against religious minorities.

Kompas - November 13, 2010

Handshakegate

Against a backdrop of humanitarian disasters and anti-US protests, President Obama's first visit to Indonesia was overshadowed by the 'handshakegate' affair after Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring found himself at the centre of a media maelstrom for shaking hands with First Lady Michelle Obama after he swore he would not touch a woman to whom he was not related. An outspoken conservative from the Islamic-based PKS, he is known for his colourful diatribes such joking about AIDS and blaming natural disasters on a lack of morality.

Kompas - November 10, 2010

Green space

Rampant unregulated urban development, which environmentalists blame on widespread collusion between city officials and the business elite, has resulted in Jakarta loosing 28% of its green space over the last 25 years – much of it replaced by shopping malls, luxury apartments and government offices. Now standing at only 9.6%, this is well below the 13.9% of green space that Jakarta is supposed to have by the end of 2010.

Kompas - November 8, 2010

Perhaps they should move here

Kid: Perhaps the people's representatives would be smarter and perform better if their new building and comparative studies were here (Sidoarjo), in Wasior, in Mentawai or Merapi, yeah Dad!

Seemly unmoved by the thousands of people around the country struggling to cope in the wake of a series of humanitarian disasters, legislators are wasting time and money on plans for a plush new parliament building or overseas junkets to conduct so-called comparative studies.

Kompas - November 6, 2010

We have to be responsive

1st Man: We live in a disaster prone area so of course we have to be responsive to disasters...

2nd Man: Their response is just a comparative study...

As the Mentawai Islands struggle to cope in the wake of the October 25 tsunami disaster, West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno departed for Germany for unclear reasons. Apologising later for not answering journalists' calls, the PKS politician said 'My activities in carrying out the God-given duty has made me lose weight and I have had no chance to log on Facebook'.

Kompas - November 3, 2010

It's your own fault

Alie: It's your own fault for living in Mentawai, why didn't you just become the speaker of the House!

Comments by gaffe-prone House of Representatives (DPR) speaker Marzuki Alie following the October 25 tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands off West Sumatra leaving 112 dead and 152 missing have been slammed as insensitive and hurtful after he said Wednesday that people living on islands should expect to be swept away by tsunamis and that they should relocate.

Kompas - October 30, 2010

A comparative study!

Man: Are you evacuating too Mr?

Legislator: A comparative study!

Although detailed information is not readily available, NGOs estimate that the House's budget for overseas junkets to conduct so called 'comparative studies' this year will cost taxpayers around Rp160 billion. The thousands displaced by the Mt. Merapi eruption in Central Java meanwhile are still languishing in temporary shelters due to a lack of reconstruction funds.

Kompas - October 27, 2010

Your chair need fixing!

President: What, you want to overthrow me?!

Kid: Mr... the legs on your chair need fixing!

The first anniversary of President Yudhoyono's second term was marked by violent protests calling on the president to step down due to his failed leadership. Yudhoyono meanwhile warned protesters to express dissent within the limits of the law and not to try to overthrow his fractious governing coalition of nationalist and Islamic parties.

Kompas - October 23, 2010

Four more years to go

1st Man: We've been waiting a year already... how much longer?

2nd Man: There's still four more years to go...

Yudhoyono has squandered much of the political capital he had at the start of his second term, and unfortunately with little to show for it. Nobody expected him to deliver on his promises of more prosperity, democracy and justice in just 12 months. But the nation has the right to ask for some signs from their President that Indonesia is making progress, to help build their confidence. This, unfortunately, was something the nation did not get. – Jakarta Post editorial, Oct. 20, 2010.

Kompas - October 20, 2010

Sweeping it under the carpet

From an opinion piece in the Jakarta daily Kompas by Ikrar Nusa Bhakti on the first year of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second term in office titled Before the Catastrophe.

Kompas - October 18, 2010

Once upon a time in Wasior...

Once upon a time in Wasior...

The government has rejected charges by environmental activists who blame illegal logging for the deadly October 4 flash floods in Wasior, West Papua, which left 144 dead and thousands more injured and homeless. In a flying visit to the district President Yudhoyono claimed that he had seen aerial photographs and found no visible signs of forest damage, insisting that the remnants of logs around the area were not the result of illegal logging but 'uprooted trees'.

Kompas - October 16, 2010

Broker – Fee – Budget – Welfare

Broker – Fee – Budget – Welfare

Indonesia's burgeoning class of middlemen, ranging from lowly ticket scalpers to the big-game judicial mafia, has welcomed another rapacious entry to its ranks: regional budget brokers, who are believed to have embezzled billions of rupiah in recent years by colluded with legislators and government officials to manipulate budget allocations in favor of regional administrations that promise the highest kickbacks.

Kompas - October 13, 2010

Piggy bank boss

Kid: So you'll be made the boss for the sake of politics... power... the political parties... or for the sake of... the piggy banks! (the suspiciously large bank accounts held by 15 police generals)

Pradopo: For the sake of the people, nation and country fool!

Anti-corruption activists say President Yudhoyono's sole nominee for national police chief, Comr. Gen. Timur Pradopo, signals the end of any hope of cleaning up Indonesia's notoriously corrupt police force.

Kompas - October 13, 2010

Someone must be held responsible!

Someone must be held responsible! You take the blame... Yes of course Sir. I'll give the answers (a play on the words ber-tanggung-jawab, men-[t]anggung and men-jawab).

As senior officials attempt to shift blame onto overworked and underpaid drivers and local train station staff, two deadly crashes in Central Java that left 35 dead over the weekend have again raised questions about underfunding, poor maintenance and safety standards that plague the state railway company PT Kereta Api.

Kompas - October 6, 2010

Just shoot 'em on sight!

Man: Catching an eel is harder than catching a terrorist, yeah Mr?

Kid: Just shoot 'em on sight!

While the police have been criticised for their over-zealous pursuit of terrorists, often resulting in the death of suspects and innocent bystanders, it shows no such enthusiasm when it comes to prosecuting politically connected corruption cases or graft within its own ranks.

Kompas - October 2, 2010

Open secret

It's an open secret that instead of actually writing a university paper or thesis, rich students can pay to have it written for them. Ranging anywhere between 250,000 and several million rupiah, the cost of is calculated based on the number of words, references and quality of presentation. Alternatively, collections of papers on a range of subjects are also available on CD or through the internet.

Kompas - October 1, 2010

Raft-Way, why not...

Man: Raft-Way, why not...

In what is becoming an increasingly nightmarish routine, Jakarta was once again crippled as a torrential rainstorm pounded the city rendering entire roads impassable due to flooding and leaving commuters trapped in vehicles for hours or forced to slosh through waist-deep water next to gridlocked traffic and paralyzed TransJakarta Bus-Way routes.

Kompas - September 29, 2010

Social justice for all

Man: Social justice for all Indonesians?

Widespread corruption, which pervades almost every aspect of Indonesian life, is estimated to cost the country's economy around Rp50 trillion (US$5.6 billion) a year or around 1.4% of GDP annually, just over half the US$9 billion allocated to government poverty alleviation programs in 2010.

Kompas - September 22, 2010

Purely a criminal act!

Police officer: Purely a criminal act!

Man: You forgot your magnifying glass Mr!

Pool of blood reads 'violence'

Ignoring eyewitness accounts and a history of repeated attacks by hard-line Islamic thugs, police have arrested a struggling poet and street singer over a September 12 assault on two church elders in Bekasi, insisting there is no evidence that the attack was religiously motivated.

Kompas - September 18, 2010

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika: The national motto, Unity in Diversity

1st Man: Doesn't it say there's freedom of worship?

2nd Man: It only say's it...

Experts are warning that Sunday's brutal attack on churchgoers in Bekasi by Islamic thugs is symptomatic of a growing religious intolerance in the country. Islamic leaders meanwhile defended a regulation requiring local consent to establish a house of worship, which advocates say discriminates against minority religious groups.

Kompas - September 15, 2010

New building design

Refugee: Wow the new building design... it's to house us right Mr?

Seemingly oblivious to the mounting chorus of public protest, lawmakers are pushing ahead with the planned construction of a lavish new building complex, which will cost taxpayers a whooping $200 million. The 65,000 people displaced by the Mt. Merapi eruption in Central Java meanwhile remain languishing in tents or makeshift refugee shelters due to a lack of disaster relief funds.

Kompas - September 1, 2010

Eradicating corruption

From an opinion piece in the Jakarta daily Kompas titled 'The House of Representatives and Eradicating Corruption'.

Kompas - September 1, 2010

Good behaviour and remissions

Kid: Mr, don't worry about the wealth report... there's a special going on letters certifying good behaviour... and remissions!

Generous presidential pardons and remissions granted to graft convicts who looted billions in taxpayers money, allowing them to walk free after serving only a portion of their already short prison terms, has strengthened Indonesia's status as a haven for corruption and eroded public trust in President Yudhoyono's commitment to combating graft.

Kompas - August 28, 2010

Wealth reports

Document on scale reads 'Wealth Report'

Anti-graft activists say that whether it's because of negligence or a malicious intent to hide something, it is unacceptable that more than 100 lawmakers have still not submitted their personal wealth reports to the Corruption Eradication Commission. The reports were due in December last year.

Kompas - August 25, 2010

Whistle-blowers

Traffic cop: Mooooney... a play on the words duit (money) and peluit (whistle)

Man: Those kind of whistle-blowers, they've been around for ages Mr!

Allegations by former chief of detectives and whistle-blower Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji (right) of corruption among the highest ranks of the country's police force comes as no surprise to a public daily confronted by petty extortion at the hands of police.

Kompas - August 22, 2010

Independence!

1st Man: Independence!

2nd Man: What's up?

Analysts and critics alike labeled yesterday's state-of-the-nation address by President Yudhoyono as flat, uninspiring and narcissistic, saying it was lacking in substance, vision and solutions needed to overcome the nation's pressing concerns such as corruption, stalled bureaucratic reform and the recent spate of religious violence.

Kompas - August 18, 2010

The fruits of independence

As the country gears up to commemorate its 65th anniversary tomorrow, many Indonesian's are still waiting for the fruits of independence.

Kompas - August 16, 2010

Reformasi

Despite making remarkable strides since the overthrow of the Suharto dictatorship 12 years ago, critics say that widespread corruption, poor law enforcement, a culture of impunity for rights abuses and the growing use of draconian libel laws to muzzle critics is undermining the gains won by the 1998 reformasi movement.

Kompas - August 14, 2010

Dividing up the spoils

While the political elite sell off the country's enormous natural wealth and divide the spoils among themselves, more than half of Indonesia's 240 million people live on less than US$2 a day, 25% of children under five are malnourished, only 48% of the rural poor have access to clean water and only 55% of poor children complete junior high school.

Kompas - August 11, 2010

The lust for corruption

Politician: Remember... during the holy fasting month we should control our passion and lust.

Man: Including the lust for corruption?

Politician: Let me get back to you on that one...

While the political elite make a big show of observing the rituals of the holy fasting month, it is little more than an exercise in polishing their public image and corruption, political horse-trading and the misuse of power continues unabated.

Kompas - August 11, 2010

Home to almost 10 million...

Home to almost 10 million people, 8 million motorcycles and 3 million cars, Jakarta is the only mega-city in the world without a mass rapid transport system, and it is now commonplace for people to spend four or more hours commuting to and from work each day.

Kompas - August 7, 2010

What's crooked, you or the building?

Kid: So what's crooked, you or the building?

Legislator: The camera.

Having abandoned its so-call 'aspiration fund' – widely slammed as little more than a pork barrel scheme to buy votes in the 2014 elections – the House is now proposing an annual allocation of US$42,000 for each member for 'aspiration houses' to fund the building and upkeep of lawmakers' offices in their districts.

Kompas - August 7, 2010

Transjakarta busway

Exhaust reads: Performance

Plagued by poor planning, mismanagement and corruption, after 6 years of service the privately run government subsidised Transjakarta busway system has totally failed to ease Jakarta's traffic problems. Initially aimed at providing a secure, comfortable and affordable alternative, passengers suffer long delays, overcrowded busses and pickpockets, with the dedicated lanes on most corridors taken over by private vehicles.

Kompas - August 4, 2010

Time is money

Driver: Before 'time was money', now time is always traffic Mr...

There are now more than 10 million motor vehicles plying Jakarta's 7,650 meters of roads, with public transport accounting for only 2% of this. With the number of vehicles growing by 9.5% annually and new roads by just 0.01%, it is predicted that by 2012 all of the city's main roads will be gridlocked 24 hours a day. Estimated losses due to congestion have now reached $2 billion a year in wasted time, fuel and health costs.

Kompas - July 28, 2010

The Attorney General and Justice for the Victim

From an opinion piece in the Jakarta daily Kompas by Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid titled "The Attorney General and Justice for the Victims". Commenting on a speech by AG Hendarman Supandji at the 60th anniversary of the AGO, Hamid notes that in calling on law enforcement officials to be to be honest, disciplined and professional, Supandji totally neglects to mention the AGO's continued failure to prosecute past human rights cases.

Kompas - July 26, 2010

They will all be fully investigated!

Man: The Bank Century case, this case that case, case XYZ, to the piggy bank case, they will all be fully investigated! Full, full, fully!

Kid: Will!

Despite the government's tough talk on corruption, high-profile case involving the politically connected and powerful, such as the suspiciously large bank accounts held by 15 police generals, invariably end up being halted for 'lack of evidence' or the culprits absolved of any wrongdoing.

Kompas - July 24, 2010

They're safe till 2014, right?

1st Man: By 2050 many of our islands will be under water.

2nd Man: What's important is they're safe till 2014, right?

Observers say President Yudhoyono's 2nd administration is showing few improvements as it spends most of its time trying to survive until the 2014 elections in the face of continued infighting within the ruling coalition. Environmentalist warn that by 2050 rising sea levels will inundate around 2,000 of the country's 17,000 islands.

Kompas - July 21, 2010

My job... is to accept my fate...

Politicians: My job is to make policy, my job is to procure canisters... my job is this, my job is that...

Man holding gas canister: My job... is to accept my fate...

While government official continue to bicker over who's responsible, by the end of June there had been 95 explosions, 22 deaths, 131 people hospitalised and 55 houses damaged in spate of deadly explosions involving state-subsidized 3kg LPG gas canisters used by the poor for cooking.

Kompas - July 17, 2010

Report nasi

Man: The rice-reform order (era) huh? – report nasi (difficulties buying rice), a play on the word reform[n]asi (political reform).

Signs read: Going up. Going up.

With ordinary Indonesians already struggling with the increasing cost of basic goods, healthcare and education, on July 1 the government announced yet another electricity price hike, which experts say will push million more below the poverty line.

Kompas - July 14, 2010

Ethics in politics? No way!

Kid: So where's your commitment to the ideal of serving the people's interests?

Lawmaker: In spite of not turning up for work, falling asleep during hearings, using my position to earn extra on the side, throwing bribes around... nevertheless I do represent the prosperity of the ordinary people...

Kid: So your ethics Mr, where are they?

Lawmaker: Ethics in politics? No way!

Kompas - July 13, 2010

Going sightseeing Mr?

Man: Going sightseeing Mr?

Legislator: It's a working visit don't you know!

According to the Indonesian Budget Centre, 42.3% of the House's 2010 budget to support its legislative functions was allocated to overseas junkets to conduct so called 'comparative studies'. As of July, 10 months into its term, the house has not passed a single piece of legislation.

Kompas - July 7, 2010