THE COORDINATING MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
Main Building, Ministry of Finance, Jl. Lapangan Banteng Timur No.2-4 Jakarta 10710
Tel: (021) 351-1178 Fax: (021) 351-1186 Website: http://www.ekon.go.id
Trade and Investment News[1], 2 February 2009
Highlights
National
· A survey finds that the majority of mosque leaders in Jakarta are moderates
· Papua looks to Aceh and Nias agency for aid in development
Politics
· Sultan Hamengkubuwono popular with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
Terrorism
· Judges dismiss move to scrap terrorism trials
· Government ready to try Hambali if returned from Guantanamo
Security
· Police to establish national fingerprint data base
Law & order
· Life demanded for former central bank deputy governor
· Democratic Party legislator jailed for corruption
Health
· Non-medical sectors warned to prepare for possible pandemic
Economy
· Optimism over prospects of first Shariah retail bond
· Finance minister concerned over slowdown in exports
Business briefs
Macroeconomy
· Finance minister predicts lower inflation for January
· $6.3 billion stimulus package to provide tax breaks for business
Investment
· Investment board says commitments to suffer amid global concern
State concerns
· Public works ministry sets ball rolling on infrastructure work
· Government commits Rp20 trillion for small business credits
SOEs
· Toll road operator PT Jasa Marga sees 12% boost in 2009 revenue
Private sector
· Holcim reviews cement plant expansion plan
Banks
· Central bank to set criteria for derivatives
Power
· State utility PT PLN looks for $2.5 billion for expansion program
Oil & gas
· Government to introduce subsidies for biofuel industry
Mining
· PT Aneka Tambang to triple capital expenditure
NATIONAL
Survey: Most mosques in Jakarta 'moderate leaning'
A recent survey conducted by the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University's (UIN) Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture revealed the majority of mosque leaders in Jakarta are 'moderate leaning’, The Jakarta Post reported.
The survey also shows that 26% agree that war is the main form of jihad while 20% support the formalization of Shariah law.
"In general, most of the mosques in Jakarta are moderate in their perceptions and ideas and this is reflected in the respondents' view on five key issues," UIN researcher Ridwan al-Makassary said.
The five survey themes were civic pluralism, gender equity, jihad, the formalization of shariah law and Indonesia's political system.
"Eighty-eight percent of respondents agreed that women could hold public offices, however, 56.4% were against the idea of a female president," he said.
The poll, conducted at 250 of Jakarta's 2831 mosques, chosen at random, also found that 83.6% of survey participants agreed that terrorism was against the teachings of Islam, with 78.4% advocating capital punishment for convicted terrorists.
"While 88% of respondents believed that Muslims should respect people of other faiths, most of those surveyed were against a non-Muslim holding the presidential office," al-Makassary said.
With a margin of error of between 5% and 6%, the survey also revealed that 60% of respondents believed the government had a role in regulating the dress code of Muslims.
Meanwhile, about a hundred protestors from a hard-line Muslim group rallied outside the US embassy in Jakarta on Friday, some criticizing US President Barack Obama over suspected US missile strikes in Pakistan, Reuters reported.
"Obama has promised maintaining a mutual respect with the Muslim world but the position that the US shows when it attacks Pakistan and Afghanistan means it has not changed," said Heru Binawan, head of the Jakarta branch of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).
The suspected US missiles were fired into Pakistan last week, killing at least 14 people. It was the first strike since Obama took office.
Papua officials look to BRR for development help
Authorities in Papua hope to learn how to develop the vast province with help from the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR), which has earned praise for its transparent management and procurement system, The Jakarta Globe reported.
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, BRR chairman, said Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu had expressed interest in learning about the methods the BRR used to rebuild Aceh after the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and the province's western coastline were devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004.
"We are ready to help Papua and other disaster-prone parts of Indonesia," Mangkusubroto told a panel discussion hosted by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club.
Agus Sumule, an adviser to the Papua governor who is in charge of regional development, said in a telephone interview from Jayapura that the province was particularly interested in learning how to build and manage infrastructure.
"We'd like to finish projects on time, with no corruption in the process," Sumule said.
Papua is one of the country's most corrupt provinces, according to Indonesian Corruption Watch.
Eight officials from Papua will work out of BRR's office in Aceh for two weeks to learn about how to manage development projects.
BRR also plans to share computer software it used to plan projects and ensure fiscal accountability. The agency uses online database software that has allowed the public to track its progress with reconstruction efforts in detail.
POLITICS
Sultan in talks to become Mega’s running mate
Yogyakarta’s Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, a Javanese king, is a leading candidate to be former President Megawati Sukarnoputri's running mate as she bids to regain the position she lost in 2004, Bloomberg reported.
The Sultan was supported by 33 branches of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle, while Prabowo Subianto, former chief of the army special forces, was endorsed by 28, said Pramono Anung, secretary general of the party. Indonesia will vote in July in the second direct presidential elections since independence in 1945.
President Yudhoyono's "popularity is very high," said Fauzi Ichsan, chief economist at Standard Chartered Plc in Jakarta. "The vice presidential candidate could tilt the balance because the contest is likely to be between Yudhoyono and Megawati."
According to a survey conducted in September, 32% of the 1,239 respondents would vote for 59-year-old Yudhoyono, while 24% preferred Sukarnoputri. The survey was conducted by Lembaga Survei Indonesia. About 86% of the respondents who knew about the Sultan said they liked him.
TERRORISM
Trial of JI suspects to proceed: Judge
A court ruled Thursday that it will proceed with the trial of 10 suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional militant group charged with terrorism offences, reported Agence France-Presse.
Judge Haswandi said the trial, which opened earlier this month only to be suspended within minutes over objections from the defense, would go ahead.
"We rejected all the defendants' lawyers' objections and decided to continue the hearing," the judge told the South Jakarta District Court.
Defense lawyers had argued that the men, including Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin, 35, a Singaporean who received al Qaeda training and met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, should not have been charged under anti-terror laws.
But Haswandi said there was sufficient evidence of the group's intentions and links to JI, blamed for deadly attacks across Southeast Asia including the 2002 Bali bombings, to justify the terrorism charges.
The suspects were arrested in Palembang, South Sumatra in late June and early July last year and allegedly have links to some of the region's most wanted terrorists.
At the time of their arrests, police said they found 20 improvised bombs and a safe house in Palembang.
The cell is accused of planning to bomb a backpacker cafe in the tourist town of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, and kill two Christian priests in Jakarta in August 2006.
They also allegedly attacked Christian priest Yosua Winardi with a hammer in the same year and murdered Christian teacher Dago Simamora in June 2007.
They are also accused of planning attacks against gold shop owners in South Sumatra.
The trial will resume next Thursday.
Govt. prepares to try alleged Bali bombing mastermind
Police are making preparations for the trial of the alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombing, Hambali, should he be returned to the country after the closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention center, The Age reported.
The Indonesian embassy in Washington has spoken with US officials about the potential deportation of the high-level terror suspect but has been told the closure of the prison camp will take time.
Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said that if Hambali was returned to Indonesia, the police, Foreign Affairs Department and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) would organize his transfer and any court action.
Repeated requests for access to Hambali have been denied but Indonesian officials are hopeful that Guantanamo Bay's closure and the change of government in the US will bring a change.
"We cannot predict how long it will take as it is a legal process," Foreign Affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.
Hambali, often referred to as the Osama bin Laden of Southeast Asia, was arrested in Thailand by the CIA and Thai police in 2003 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of involvement in a number of terrorist attacks across the region.
SECURITY
Police to establish national fingerprint database
The National Police is to create an integrated fingerprinting system for all Indonesian residents in an effort to enhance crime-fighting efforts, reported Kompas.
The fingerprint system will be managed by the National Police’s Indonesia Automatic Fingerprints Identification System (INAFIS), officials said.
INAFIS chief Sr. Comm. Bekti Suhartono said the system will be used in all citizen data including ID cards, criminal records and land ownership records.
“Therefore, people will no longer be able to hold two ID cards if their fingerprints are already registered in the system,” Suhartono said.
He added that in the event of natural disasters victims could be immediately identified if their fingerprints had already been registered.
Police said the system will be implemented beginning this year in all 31 regional police headquarters across the country.
LAW AND ORDER
Prosecutors want life for former bank official
Prosecutors Friday requested life in prison for a relative of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the country's central bank, Reuters reported.
Former Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Aulia Pohan is accused of using Rp100 billion ($8.8 million) in bank funds to bribe lawmakers and to hire lawyers to defend other bank executives facing corruption charges.
Prosecutors demanded the maximum life sentence for Pohan and three other deputy BI governors in the first hearing of the case at the powerful anti-corruption court. Pohan’s daughter is married to a son of the president.
The four men are accused of using Rp31.5 billion of the embezzled money to bribe lawmakers.
The remaining Rp68.5 billion was used to hire lawyers to defend other bank officials accused of being complicit in the embezzlement of billions of dollars that went missing during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Court jails Democratic Party legislator
In a shocking indictment of the level of corruption plaguing the House of Representatives (DPR), Sarjan Taher, a lawmaker from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, was given a four-and-a-half-year jail sentence and fined Rp200 million for his role in a 2007 corruption scandal, The Jakarta Globe reported.
The case also revealed that the 23 lawmakers on House Commission IV, which oversees forestry, allegedly accepted bribes.
Delivering the verdict, Andi Bachtiar, one of the judges on the five-member panel, said it had been proven that Taher met with South Sumatra Governor Syahrial Oesman, his provincial secretary Sofyan Rebuin and businessman Chandra Antonio Tan to discuss the plan to build the Tanjung Api-Api seaport in the Pantai Air Telang protected forest.
"Sofyan Rebuin and Chandra Antonio Tan then gave the defendant Rp2.5 billion in 2006 and another Rp2.5 billion in 2007."
The House collectively passed the forest conversion decree in 2007, the court ruled.
"The defendant has abused his position as a lawmaker and marred the image of the House of Representatives, which is supposed to defend the people's aspirations and provide a role model for society," presiding Judge Gusrizal told the court.
Papuan court clears rights defender of all charges
Amnesty International said it welcomed the decision on Friday by the Jayapura District Court to clear human rights lawyer Iwanggin Sabar Olif alias Sabar of all charges brought against him over inciting a violent action, or sedition.
Amnesty said the ruling sends a positive signal to the Papuan human rights defenders community.
Olif was charged under Article 160 of Indonesia's Criminal Code (KUHP) for inciting "in public to commit a punishable act, a violent action against the public authority or any other disobedience".
Amnesty International said it will continue to urge the Indonesian government to ensure that Article 160 is no longer used to undermine the right to freedom of expression.
HEALTH
Non-medical sectors told to be prepared for bird flu pandemic
Preparations for a possible bird flu pandemic must involve sectors outside the health field, for sound cooperation to help mitigate the pandemic's impacts, a top official warned, The Jakarta Post reported.
"All sectors have to possess plans on pandemic preparedness, including the private sector and community groups," said Bayu Krisnamurthi, executive director of the National Commission on Bird Flu Preparedness.
"There is no single country in the world fully ready to face the global pandemic, including Indonesia."
Krisnamurthi, who is also deputy for fisheries, maritime affairs and agriculture to the coordinating minister for the economy, was speaking at a regional workshop for Bali and East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.
Similar workshops will be held in nine other cities involving 14 provinces in Java, Papua and Sumatra. The workshop on simulated responses to a bird flu pandemic was supported by the national commission and UNICEF.
ECONOMY
Optimism over first Shariah bond prospects
Indonesia launched its first Islamic bond, or sukuk, on Friday, with sales agents stating that the issue could realize as much as Rp5 trillion ($440 million), The Jakarta Globe reported.
Returns are expected to be competitive with interest rates on bank deposits, and in an environment where bank rates are beginning to fall, the sukuk is likely to be seen as an attractive investment, said Rosinu, president director of PT Trimegah Securities.
Interest is forbidden in Islamic finance, but the government has set coupon rates for the retail sukuk at 12%, higher than premium-grade bank deposit rates of about 10%. The coupons provide returns from tangible assets such as rental fees from property holdings or other commercial transactions.
"Investors can expect gains if they want to sell the debt papers in the secondary market, because when interest rates fall, the value of the bonds will increase," Rosinu said.