The next page

Man: What will the next page be like?

Former Democrat Party chair and graft suspect Anas Urbaningrum concluded a press conference announcing his resignation Saturday by saying, "This is like opening the first page of a book. There are so many pages waiting to be unveiled". Clearly a veiled threat against President Yudhoyono (pictured right) and his political rivals within the party, Anas insists that he is innocent and his downfall is a systematic plot to oust him from the party.

Kompas - February 27, 2013

The episode

Man: Stay tuned for the next episode in the soap opera...

The months-long political drama involving a power struggle between Anas Urbaningrum (left) and President Yudhoyono (centre) for control of the Democrat Party, a vacillating Corruption Eradication Commission (played by commission chair Abraham Samad, right), culminating in Anas' indictment for graft, rivaled any soap opera for its bad acting, incoherent plot and confused ending. With Anas now threatening to publically air the party's dirty laundry, the next episode promises to be a doozy...

Kompas - February 23, 2013

Social aid

Megaphone reads 'Social aid', arm band reads Gubernatorial candidate.

According to the Supreme Audit Agency trillions of rupiah in social aid funds allocated for poverty eradication programs are unaccounted for with provinces proposing much higher fund allocations than normal in the approach to the regional elections, leading many to suspect that the funds are being used by incumbents to fund election campaigns and buy votes.

Kompas - February 20, 2013

To save the party!

Yudhoyono: To save the party!

Common man: What about me Mr?

President Yudhoyono has been criticised for acting like the old kings of the Javanese kingdom of Mataram – who used force to ensure obedience – after taking over the Democratic Party leadership amid mounting graft allegations against party chair Anas Urbaningrum (discarded puppet). The move also raises concerns that he is paying more attention to his party than running the country – the very thing he has been telling his ministers not to do.

Kompas - February 16, 2013

Don't take wrong door

Man: Don't take wrong door Mr! (Left door reads 'politics', box carried by KPK chair Abraham Samad reads 'Anas case')

A rift within the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has widened with commissioners making contradictory statements on a leaked document naming Democratic Party chairperson Anas Urbaningrum a graft suspect. Speculation is rife it was leaked to pressure the KPK to move against Anas, but the KPK does not want to be seen as acting on behalf of Anas' rivals who are clamoring for his removal from the party.

Kompas - February 13, 2013

Am I still edible?

Cow: If I'm contaminated with rat and scapegoat virus, is my meat still edible Mr?

Hoping to restore its credibility ahead of the 2014 elections, the Islamic-based Justice and Prosperity Party appointed Anis Matta (left) as its new leader after the arrest of chairperson Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq over the beef import graft scandal. Analysts however doubts whether Matta – who claims the party is being scapegoated as part of a 'Zionist plot' – is up to the job having been implicated in several graft cases in recent years.

Kompas - February 9, 2013

Women and Religion

From an opinion piece titled Women and Religion

According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women, as of August 2012 there were 282 local government by-laws and policies across the country that discriminate against women, mostly in the name of religion and morality. In 2009 there were 154 by-laws that negatively affected the constitutional rights of women, which jumped to 189 in 2010 and 207 in 2011. The laws are spread across hundreds of regencies and coincide with a six-fold increase in cases of violence against women between 2007 and 2011.

Kompas - February 6, 2013

True colours

Man: Now we see their true spots (colours)...

The arrest of party chairperson and lawmaker Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq in the beef import bribe scandal has confirmed what many already suspected, that the Islamic-based Justice and Prosperity Party, which has long touted itself as clean and free from graft and claims the arrest is part of a 'Zionist plot', is just as rotten and morally bankrupt as all the other political parties in the country.

Kompas - February 6, 2013