We can still eat the leftovers

Kid: Take it easy Dad! Forget about pretrial motions, corruption and bribery... what's important is that we can still eat... the leftovers!

Indonesia's corrupt political establishment has good reason to celebrate after President Widodo effectively decapitated the Corruption Eradication Commission by suspending two of its commissioners who were well-known for their aggressive prosecution of corrupt officials, judges, generals and politicians, and replacing them with more 'compliant' interim chiefs after they were indicted by police on trumped up charges.

Kompas - March 14, 2015

Worst traffic congestion in the world

Jakarta has earned the dubious honor of being named the city with the worst traffic congestion in the world according to a new study by the British motor-oil company Castrol. With more than 16 million motor vehicles (98% of which are private vehicles) and an additional 600 or so cars and 3000 motorbikes clogging the city's roads each day, the World Bank predicts that Jakarta will soon face total gridlock unless the government starts promoting public transport and infrastructure instead of giving tax breaks to big automotive companies.

Kompas - March 11, 2015

A pretrial hearing move

Kid: A pretrial hearing move right Dad? (belt reads 'suspect')

On Thursday, former Democratic Party legislator Sutan Bhatoegana became the third high-profile graft suspect to file a pretrial motion against his indictment by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) following the controversial ruling earlier this month by South Jakarta District Court judge Sarpin Rizaldi, who declared in a pretrial hearing that that the KPK's naming of 'fat bank account' national police chief nominee Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as a graft suspect was invalid.

Kompas - February 28, 2015

The 'Sarpin Effect'

Book reads: Pretrial Hearing

The 'Sarpin Effect' as it is now being called, after a controversial ruling by South Jakarta District Court judge Sarpin Rizaldi who declared in a pretrial hearing that that the Corruption Eradication Commission's naming of national police chief nominee Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as a suspect was invalid, has opened a legal loophole for corruption suspects looking to have charges against them quashed before they are even brought to trial.

Kompas - February 25, 2015

Too little too late

Shackles read 'pressure', 'interests' (political) 

Nearly six weeks since his nomination of Budi Gunawan as police chief, triggering a feud between the national police (the Crocodile) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK, the Gecko) after it named Budi a graft suspect, President Widodo has finally scrapped the nomination and put forward another 'fat bank account' cop, deputy police chief Badrodin Haiti instead. Anti-graft activists however say it's too little too late as it fails to address the police's ongoing criminalisation of the KPK which has incapacitated the commission and its work.


Kompas - February 21, 2015