Politicians are statesmen too

Kid: These politicians are statesmen too right Dad? (headline reads Rival National Congress, Rival Chairperson)

Politician: Yes... but no... politicians think about seats, statesmen think about the people! (chair reads 'Basic Commodities Party')

Observers warn that the power struggle for control of Suharto's former ruling party Golkar – which intensified after a breakaway faction opposing the leadership of Aburizal Bakrie appointed Agung Laksono as chairperson in a rival congress in Jakarta – is risking the party's electoral chances.

Kompas - December 20, 2014

Making a fuss

Man: They make a big fuss when there's a disaster, after that they forget about it

While government officials continue to point the finger at each other following last Friday's deadly landslide in Central Java's Banjarnegara district that left more than 100 dead or missing, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency – which blamed the disaster on deforestation caused by illegal logging – said more than half the population now live in landslide prone areas as more and more people are forced of their land to make way for housing, industrial estates and palm oil plantations.

Kompas - December 17, 2014

Democracy in tatters

From an op-ed piece titled Democracy in tatters at parliament.

The House of Representatives wrapped up its first session for 2014 without accomplishing a thing as a result of a month-long standoff between New Order general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition and the parties backing President Widodo's government, which has essentially paralyzed the parliament since it was inaugurated in October.

Kompas - December 15, 2014

Bootleg liquor

Kid: Political brawling... political dynamics... or oplosan Dad? (drum reads 'Politics is the commander')

Amid the ongoing power struggles inside the Golkar Party and the United Development Party, there has been a spate of deaths due to the mushrooming production and consumption of oplosan – bootleg liquor often containing methanol – due to cheaper alcoholic beverages being priced out of the poor's reach by heavy taxation and religiously motivated 'public morality' prohibitions on sales.

Kompas - December 13, 2014

Anti-Corruption Day

International Anti-Corruption Day was marked across the country Tuesday, with many calling for harsher sentences and the seizure of graft convict's assets. Anti-graft activists say that light prison terms are partly to blame for the lack of deterrent effect, with the majority of defendants – particularly those with political connections – receiving only around 1-2 years and waking free with their ill-gotten gains in only a fraction of this time thanks to generous remissions and early releases for 'good behaviour'.

Kompas - December 10, 2014

Who's responsible Mr?

Kid: Once again... for the sake of humanity, who's responsible Mr?

Man: The one up there!

Business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie who this week bought, bullied and bribed his way into a second term as chairperson of Suharto's former ruling party Golkar, is facing fresh calls to compensate victims of the mud flow disaster in East Java widely blamed on drilling activities by his company Lapindo (which claims the disaster was an act of God) after a retaining wall burst over the weekend inundating scores more homes addition to the thousands already submerged under millions of tons of toxic mud.

Kompas - December 6, 2014

Proxy fight

A power struggle inside Suharto's former ruling party Golkar is seen as a proxy fight between New Order general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition (KMP) and the parties backing President Widodo's government in parliament. Under the leadership of business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie (left), the party symbolised by the banyan tree has positioned itself as the backbone of the KMP, but senior members represented by Agung Laksono (right) want to end Bakrie's reign and join Widodo's coalition in the hope of receiving cabinet seats.

Kompas - December 3, 2014

Consensus?

Man: Consensus?

The truce between the Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) and Great Indonesia Coalition at the House of Representatives came to naught Wednesday as the legislative body put the brakes on amending the Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law – a condition required for the resolution of the lengthy dispute between the two camps – after KMP lawmakers insisted the amendment be formally included in the national legislation program list, which the House had yet to formulate.

Kompas - November 29, 2014

Hung from Monas

A statement by the Association for Provincial Governments that they are ready to be sentenced to death if convicted of graft (evoking memories of the widely ridiculed statement by high-profile graft convict Anas Urbaningrum who said he would hang himself from the National Monument if found guilty) has been dismissed as a publicity stunt after the group went on to condemn the media for exposing corruption cases involving regional heads and proposing that they be investigated internally before criminal proceedings are initiated.

Kompas - November 26, 2014

Comedy drama round one

Man: Success! Comedy drama round one

Kid: You mean they'll be a second round Dad?

Despite the 'peace deal' reached in the House between Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition (KMP) and President Joko Widodo's Awesome Indonesia Coalition, the ongoing power struggle between the two camps has now spilled over into the Jakarta city council with KMP councilors threatening to boycott every single plenary session to express their opposition to newly inaugurated Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama.

Kompas - November 22, 2014

Infrastructure

While the government claims that the US$9 billion or so saved from the recent fuel (BBM) subsidy cuts will be allocated to much needed infrastructure, thereby compensating the poor who will bear the brunt high inflation, critics say most of the planned projects – new ports, dams, airports, industrial parks and roads – will primarily benefit big business and it will take years even decades before any benefits will be felt, if at all, by the poor.

Kompas - November 19, 2014

Giant sea wall

Environmental and community activists say that the 32-kilometre long giant sea wall being built off Jakarta's north coast to protect the capital from flooding by high tides, which will also include a massive land reclamation project and the building of 17 artificial islands, will spell almost certain ecological disaster for Jakarta which is currently sinking by up to 10 centimeters annually under the weight of new office buildings and shopping malls.

Kompas - November 11, 2014

Paid for doing nothing

Lawmaker: Who says we're getting paid for doing nothing! I'm working don't you know!

More than a month after lawmakers' official inauguration, the House is yet to start work following a protracted standoff between former Suharto general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition and President Joko Widodo's Great Indonesia Coalition over the leadership of the legislature and its influential commissions.

Kompas - November 8, 2014

Illegal fishing

Man: My forefathers were a people of the sea...

According to the government, losses due to rampant fish theft by foreign boats in Indonesian waters are estimated to be as high as US$900 million annually. Fishery activists say that this is largely due to corrupt, ineffective and weak licensing procedures and the fact that there are only 27 patrol boats to monitor the country's 5.8 million square kilometers of maritime waters.

Kompas - November 5, 2014

Annual haze

A month after Indonesia ratified the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution – supposedly a turning point in ending the annual haze problems that create havoc in Indonesia and neighboring Singapore and Malaysia – massive forest fires are again generating thick haze in Riau and other parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The police and courts meanwhile, continue to prosecute small-scale farmers while ignoring or handing down lenient sentences against big plantation companies that start most of the fires.

Kompas - October 15, 2014

Demo crazy

Document: Revenge and Political Intrigue Law

Kid: Dad, I'm really confused... what's important is we can still eat stir fried enceng gondok and tempe bongkrek (cheap sources of food for the poor)

With public attention focused on the political intrigue and power struggles going on in the parliament, little attention was given to startling new figures on rising inequality, with the gini coefficient widening from 0.35 in 2005 to 0.41 in 2012, above the level the UN says is a predictor of social unrest.

Kompas - October 11, 2014

Package, package, package...

Package, package, package... Bag reads paket sembako (basic goods package)

Having scrapped the direct election of regional heads and limited the ability of the anti-graft body to pursue legislators, Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition has used its parliamentary majority to successfully nominate a 'package' of candidates to secure the leadership of the newly inaugurated House and its influential commissions, and is now bragging that it will use its control of the new parliament to undermine the incoming government of president elect Joko Widodo.

Kompas - October 8, 2014

Republic of the people

Kid: This is a republic of the people, by the people, for...

President Yudhoyono, whose Democrat Party plotted with Prabowo Subianto's parliamentary coalition to pass a law that will see a return to the New Order (Orde Baru) dictatorship system of regional councils electing local leaders, has issued a regulation in-lieu-of law to annul the bill. Critics say this just a face saving device after a wave of public outrage against Yudhoyono as Prabowo's coalition still controls the newly inaugurated House and will simply reject the law.

Kompas - October 4, 2014

Democrat plot

Regional elections 2005-2014, indirect regional elections

Speculation is rife that an 11th-hour walkout by lawmakers from President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party, which paved the way for former New Order general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White parliamentary coalition to abolish people's right to vote for mayors, district heads and governors, who will now be 'elected' by regional legislative councils (DPRD), was part of an plot engineered by the Democrats in exchange for leadership of the upper-house.

Kompas - October 1, 2014

Pawnshop politics

Kid: Where's your ethics and self-respect?

Sign reads: Overcoming problems without problems – slogan of the state-owned pawnshop company Perum Pegadaian

Newly elected regional legislative council members are using their letters of appointment (SK) as collateral to secure loans to recoup their election campaign costs, a significant portion of which is money used to pay for the required nomination by a political party and the distribution of cash and 'gifts' to voters.

Kompas - September 27, 2014

Change of heart

A last minute change of heart by President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party, which will give a 14 seat majority in parliament to the parties opposing a draft law (RUU Pilkada) on regional elections, may not be enough to stop the passage of the bill with speculation rife that the Democrats are split as its key lawmakers have been offered leadership positions in the lower and upper House if New Order general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition succeeds in its highly unpopular plan to abolish the direct election of regional heads.

Kompas - September 24, 2014

Muddy responsibility

Man: Responsibility isn't just about compensation Mr! (hand reads humanity)

The inundation of five homes following the collapse of a retaining wall has again drawn public attention to the massive mudflow disaster in East Java, which has been widely blamed on drilling activities by Lapindo Brantas owned by business tycoon and Golkar Party chairperson Aburizal Bakrie (top). According to the National Development Planning Board, since 2006 the disaster has caused US$2.9 billion in losses, buried more than 600 hectares of land and displaced 39,700 people.

Kompas - September 20, 2014

A new paint job?

Man: A new paint job or improved performance Mr?

Despite repeatedly promising that his cabinet choices would not be based on political horse-trading with the parties that backed his election campaign, president elect Joko Widodo (centre with vice-president elect Jusuf Kalla left) announced yesterday an outline of his next cabinet comprising 34 ministers, 16 of which will be so-call 'professional' political appointees – the same size as president Yudhoyono's cabinet which he had criticised for being too cumbersome and only one less political appointee.

Kompas - September 17, 2014

Ending direct elections

As former New Order general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition parliamentary majority prepares to pass a law that would put an end to the direct election of regional heads, a poll released Tuesday by the Indonesian Survey Circle found that 81.25% of respondents want local leaders to be elected directly by the people – not regional legislative councils as proposed in the new law. As many as 81.53% of respondents who voted for Prabowo in the July 9 presidential election also support direct elections.

Kompas - September 16, 2014

Political acrobatics

Man: Political acrobatics!

Political observers say that part of the motivation behind the minor political parties continued support for former New Order general Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Coalition parliamentary majority, which is pushing through a packet of anti-democratic laws (UU) on legislative bodies and regional elections, is to pressure president elect Joko Widodo and vice-president elect Jusuf Kalla (centre) to protect them from future corruption proceedings and get cabinet posts in the next administration.

Kompas - September 13, 2014

Hijacked

Man: The people's rights are being hijacked Mr

Ignoring mounting public anger, former New Order general Prabowo Subianto and the six political parties that supported his failed presidential bid and hold a majority in the House are pushing through a draft law (RUU Pilkada) that will see an end to the direct election of regional heads and a return to the system applied under the Suharto dictatorship where governors and regents were 'elected' by regional parliaments.

Kompas - September 10, 2014

Fuel subsidies

Amid mounting calls by big business, the IMF and the World Bank to redirect costly fuel (BBM) subsidies to 'productive investment' (read tax breaks and businesses subsidies), President Yudhoyono (left) appears likely to leave such an unpopular decision to president elect Joko Widodo (right) rather than be remembered in his last month in office for hiking fuel prices, which inevitably results in price increases across the board and a massive decline in the poor's purchasing power.

Kompas - September 6, 2014

Business mafia

Man: Later this kind of thing won't happen anymore like now, right Mr?

President elect Joko Widodo (right), who says that his transition team is working on identifying and eliminating the dominance of 'business mafias' that collude with state officials and impede government policy, has remained silent about the huge number of businesspeople who have got themselves elected as lawmakers precisely so that they can secure lucrative business contracts and influence government policy.

Kompas - September 3, 2014

Political soap opera

Kid: The next episode in the presidential election dispute soap opera right Dad?

Following weeks of political drama after Prabowo Subianto refused to concede defeat in the July 9 presidential election and his failed attempt to contest the result in the Constitutional Court (culminating in his supporters trying to breach a police blockade with Unimog trucks), another squabble between the political elite has erupted over legal impunity for lawmakers and leadership of the parliament (the MD3 law) and the election of the next Jakarta deputy-governor.

Kompas - August 30, 2014

Smart people pay tax

Smart people (find it hard to) pay tax – a campaign slogan to encourage people to pay tax. Sign reads 'Tax collection service'.

With the government pleading poverty over costly fuel subsidies and lower-than-expected tax revenues, critics say that the delegation of tax collection to regional governments, overlapping regulations on land and property (PBB) along with bureaucratic red tape and corruption make it difficult for many people to pay tax even if they want to.

Kompas - August 20, 2014

Panjat pinang

Kid: All the best for August 17 Mr!

Prizes read: Human rights, fuel [prices], poverty, culture of corruption, law [enforcement], sectarian conflicts.

Joko Widodo (centre), who will be confirmed as Indonesia's next president if as expected the Constitutional Court rejects rival Prabowo Subianto's (left) electoral challenge on August 22, faces a myriad of challenges not unlike the popular Independence Day game Panjat Pinang where contestants have to scale a slippery tree trunk to reach prizes at the top.

Kompas - August 16, 2014

Freedom!

Man: Freedom!

Independence Day celebrations on August 17 marking 69 years since Indonesia won independence from Dutch colonial rule will be muted this year with many parts of the country suffering from blackouts due to government restrictions on the sale of subsidised fuel.

Kompas - August 15, 2014

New threat

Garuda Pancasila, I am your supporter, a patriot of the proclamation, ready to sacrifice for you... (from the nationalist song Garuda Pancasila).

With no major terrorist attacks for several years and the Australian funded anti-terror unit Densus 88 having little to do except kill pro-independence activists in West Papua, the government has found a new threat to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) in the form of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria after reports that a handful of Islamic militants have travelled to Iraq to join the ISIS.

Kompas - August 9, 2014

Fake websites

Kid: There are false oaths, false promises, fake surveys, false teeth... what else Dad... oh yeah, fake websites!

Man: Usually... it's because the owner's aren’t real!

The government has blocked several websites which have been imitating popular news portals and publishing negative reports about presidential candidate Joko Widodo and extolling the virtues of rival Prabowo Subianto who is challenging Widodo's election victory in the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the entire election was flawed.

Kompas - August 2, 2014

Criminal survey

Men: ...criminal survey!... paid survey!

Kid: Make the wrong choice = suffer for five years!

Despite two of the pollsters that claimed victory for Prabowo Subianto being expelled from the country's polling association after refusing to be audited, Prabowo's camp has now reported two pollsters to police for 'treason' for releasing quick counts showing a win for Joko Widodo, who last week was declared the winner of the July 9 presidential election (pilpres) by the General Election Commission.

Kompas - July 28, 2014

Legowo

Kid: Dad... come on legowo (accept something unpleasant in a sincere manner)

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto (centre), who has repeatedly said he would accept whatever decision was made by the General Elections Commission (left), humiliated himself Tuesday by rejecting the official count and pulling out of the election just hours before Joko Widodo (right) was declared the winner of the 2014 presidential election with just over 53% of the vote, claiming the entire process was flawed and marred with widespread fraud.

Kompas - July 26, 2014

Twin presidency

1st wayang character: hooray... A world first! Having a twin presidency! (writing reads 'slander')

2nd character: For the sake of democracy hehe... (writing reads 'fraud')

3rd character: It'll be clear on July 22 right Mr?

Having earlier said he will concede defeat only after the official count is completed, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is now questioning the entire electoral process and calling on the General Election Commission (KPU) to postpone the announcement of the final result scheduled for July 22.

Kompas - July 19, 2014

Import mafia

Man: Wait until July 22

Joko Widodo, who is expected to be declared Indonesia's next president when the election result is announced on July 22, has accused an 'import mafia' of making the economy dependent on imported goods and commodities. He made no mention however of neo-liberal policies such as the 2010 ASEAN-China Free Trade Area agreement that is decimating local industries with a flood of low-priced goods from China or the ASEAN Economic Community agreement that comes into effect in 2015.

Kompas - July 16, 2014

Quick count

Despite quick counts from reputable posters showing presidential candidate Joko Widodo (left) ahead by around 5 percentage points, rival candidate Prabowo Subianto (right) continues to claim he won the July 9 presidential election based on his campaign team's 'own count' and is refusing to concede defeat until the General Election Commission announces the official result on July 22.

Kompas - July 12, 2014

Presidential election

Writing on wayang figures: Money politics, [electoral] fraud, horizontal conflicts, smear campaigns

Man: Stay calm, it's safe...

With the July 9 presidential election shaping up to be the tightest and most divisive to date, loaded and sensationalized news coverage – fueled by unsubstantiated gossip and rumors in the social media – is creating public anxiety over the possibility of clashes on polling day.

Kompas - July 5, 2014

Profiteering

Presidential debate – Wow
2014 World Cup Brazil – Wow
Basic commodities price rise – Ouch

Seasonal increases in the cost of basic commodities during the Ramadan holy fasting month – largely due to profiteering by food cartels – has seen the cost of many staple foods almost double in price, placing a massive financial burden on Indonesia's poor.

Kompas - July 2, 2014

The People's Torch

Man: Why instead is it making things dark Mr?

Kid: But it's making it clear right, which is real and which is fake!

Despite the obviously libelous content of articles published by the Obor Rakyat (People's Torch) tabloid, which is spearheading a smear campaign against presidential candidate Joko Widodo, police say they will not investigate the paper because 'no official report has been filed' and they could 'risk being accused of not being neutral and of working for the interest of a certain presidential candidate'.

Kompas - June 21, 2014

I think I'm full already

Kid: I think I'm full already Dad! (bowl read 'promises')

Lacking any concrete proposals to address Indonesia's myriad of social and economic problems, the grandiose promises being made by presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa (left) and Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla (right) to lead the country into a new era of prosperity and greatness are of little interests to the 130 million Indonesian's eking out living on less then US$2 a day.

Kompas - June 14, 2014

Presidential debate

Man: On the surface its peaceful, how about on the ground too...

While the first live-televised debate between presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo was all smiles and expressions of mutual admiration, campaigning has been marred by a massive smear campaign against Widodo, the circulation of 'leaked' documents detailing Prabowo's dark military past, soldiers illegally canvassing for Prabowo in Jakarta and a gathering of Islamic hard-liners in Yogyakarta declaring a 'war on pluralism'.

Kompas - June 11, 2014

Peace declaration

Sign reads: Pluralism declaration of peace. Placard: Peace declaration. Writing on figure: Black campaigns.

Despite last week's declaration by presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto (left) and Joko Widodo (right) to hold a clean election, campaigning for the July 9 poll has been marred by sectarian violence by hard-line Islamic groups, several of which are openly backing Prabowo, and a massive smear campaign against Widodo spearheaded by the Obor Rakyat tabloid deliberately targeting the Islamic community.

Kompas - June 7, 2014

Unity in Diversity

1st Man: Do they want to abandon it or just forget it?

2nd Man: Lets just hope it doesn't get ignored...

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika: The national motto, Unity in Diversity

Yogyakarta's reputation as a city of religious tolerance is in tatters after a series of violent attacks by hard-line Islamic groups, the latest being the closure of the Pentecostal Christian church in Sleman only days after an attack on a Catholic prayer recital, also in the Sleman area.

Kompas - June 4, 2014

Which one will win?

Kid: A wager Dad... the bicycle vs the horse... which one will win?

With recent surveys showing presidential candidate former New Order general Prabowo Subianto (who appears at campaign rallies on horse-back wearing military riding boots and traditional keris dagger) now trailing rival Joko Widodo (who's slogan is 'Simple, Honest and Close to the People') by just 3-4%, analysts predict that the July 9 election will be a tight race and neither will win with a landslide.

Kompas - May 31, 2014

Political contract

Hatta Rajasa, the running mate of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, has denied that the pair had ever promised a top cabinet position to Golkar Party chairperson Aburizal Bakrie following an earlier statement by Prabowo that he had offered Bakrie the position of 'chief minister' in return for Golkar's controversial support for his 'Red and White' electoral coalition.

Kompas - May 28, 2014

Think carefully

Writing on clown reads: Track record, transactional politics, political acrobatics, black campaigns. Ballot paper reads: Conscience.

Critics say people should think carefully before voting for former Suharto era general Prabowo Subianto in the July 9 presidential election (pipres) given his dark past and allegations of corruption hanging over leading members of the coalition of parties backing him, which itself was cobbled together based on promises of ministerial and cabinet posts.

Kompas - May 24, 2014

Thinking about our misfortunes

Man: Thinking about our misfortunes right Mr?

Now that the legislative elections are over, the political parties (parpol) have abandoned any pretence of representing the interests of their constituencies and turned their attention to manoeuvering to secure promises of future ministerial and cabinet posts in exchange for backing one of the two presidential tickets in the July 9 presidential election.

Kompas - May 21, 2014