Surabaya. The Democratic Party wants to play an active  role to help the administration of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla succeed, chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the official opening of his party’s congress on Tuesday.

As part of this effort, Yudhoyono, who was succeeded by Joko last year, said the party was dedicated to making sure all of its regional-level executives — governors, district heads and mayors — fully support the central government.

The Democratic Party itself will also back any government initiatives that it considers to be good for the Indonesian people and it will make itself heard in case the government presents plans that it deems unjust, he added.

“This is part of the devotion and the responsibility of the Democratic Party in its support of the government,” the nation’s sixth president said. “The Democratic Party believes that the government can overcome any challenge that this nation is facing.”

Yudhoyono also said that the party would like to position itself as a balancing force.

“We’re neither part of the Awesome Indonesia Coalition [KIH], nor of the Red-White Coalition [KMP],” he said. “The Democratic Party is ready to be part of the solution.”

President’s point of view

Present at the opening of the congress, Joko called on the party to not forget its task: to prioritize the people’s aspirations.

“Political parties shouldn’t be too busy with themselves, without paying attention to the people’s mandate,” the president said in his opening speech.

Joko added that parties should not become stepping stones for those looking to fill strategic positions in government.

“To become an institution that is solid, sturdy, trusted and trustworthy — that is the challenge for political parties in the reform era,” the president said. “Every political party has to become a house of dialogue that can accommodate all the aspirations of its cadres. A house of hope that can accommodate the aspirations of the people.”

Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of Joko’s own Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was unable to attend the conference, with a party spokesman explaining that her schedule didn’t allow for a trip to the capital of East Java.

Megawati has long had a strained relationship with Yudhoyono, who was a key minister during her presidency but then ran against her for the top job — and won.

Yudhoyono was selected by acclamation on Tuesday to lead the party for another five years. He had been the only candidate.

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Jakarta. President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday Indonesia had only postponed the planned execution of Philippines national Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso and that the sentence had not been canceled.

President Joko Widodo said Veloso’s execution would be delayed because Philippine authorities requested she be able to testify in the case of woman alleged to have set up the former domestic worker.

“We did not cancel the execution. We only delayed it after we received a letter from the Philippine authorities about an ongoing investigation of a human trafficking case there,” Joko said on Wednesday.

“For further information please contact the Attorney General.”

The National Police, meanwhile, said that they would be ready to help investigate the human trafficking case.

“We heard that Veloso was a human trafficking victim. The National Police are ready to help prove if Veloso is indeed a victim,” National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told Detik.com on Wednesday.

Veloso was arrested by customs officers at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta for carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin on a flight from Malaysia.

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Jakarta. Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo presided on Wednesday over the oath-taking ceremony of North Kalimantan’s Acting Governor Triyono Budi Sasongko.

Triyono was previously secretary general of the National Border Management Agency (BNPP). He replaces predecessor Irianto Lambrie.

“I believe you perform the duties of your office as well as possible,” Tjahjo said during the inauguration in Jakarta.

North Kalimantan is the country’s 34th province and was established in 2012. The province has one city and four districts: Tarakan city, Bulungan district, Malinau district, Nunukan district and Tana Tidung district.

The province borders Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak.

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Jakarta. The National Police are ready to cooperate with the Home Affairs Ministry to secure this year’s regional elections, Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, the chief of detectives, said on Tuesday.

Starting this year, regional elections will take place for the first time simultaneously throughout the country.

“We will coordinate with Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo. The police are ready,” Budi said.

The Home Affairs Ministry has repeatedly asked police treat as a priority the task of mapping potential conflicts in the regions, although Tjahjo disavows the probability of conflicts erupting ahead of the elections.

The ministry is already working together with the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu), and all regional police chiefs in an attempt to ward off violence during the concurrent elections.

“We must pay close attention to hard-liners in some areas of Sumatra and Sulawesi. The National Police chief of detectives mapped out those threats yesterday,” Tjahjo said on Tuesday. “We also need to watch out for political parties that still have a rather tenuous grip in the regions.”

According to the Home Affairs Ministry, 204 governors, district heads and mayors are up for reelection this year. The government plans to hold simultaneous elections throughout the country to make the process more efficient.

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Jakarta. The National Awakening Party, or PKB, is calling on the government to set up clear parameters to evaluate ministers’ performance if President Joko Widodo is to reshuffle his cabinet. Clear criteria would make the political transition more stable, the PKB said.

But Abdul Kadir Karding, chair of the PKB central executive board, denied Joko had brought the issue up with the party recently.

“In many occasions that we have met the president, he never mentioned the reshuffle issue,” Karding said.

State Secretary Pratikno confirmed Joko’s intention to evaluate his ministers’ performance on a continuous basis but underlined the fact Joko had made no discussion to rearrange ministerial positions.

Earlier, Cabinet Secretary Andy Widjajanto said Joko would replace ministers if they failed to meet his expectations after three years, despite mounting calls to dismiss ministers deemed to be underperforming.

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Jakarta. Following public outcry, President Joko Widodo is annulling the regulation that entitles legislators and other state officials to Rp 211 million, or $16,300, each as down payment for a car.

“The president has instructed the cabinet … to revoke the regulation that allows additional funding for state officials’ car down payment,” State Secretary Pratikno said on Monday. “We will shortly issue a presidential decree that cancels the previous regulation.”

According to Pratikno, the government and several party leaders at the House of Representatives have agreed to abrogate the regulation because it is not in keeping with the people’s economic condition.

“The president is now more confident about rescinding the regulation after the party leaders stated their agreement,” Pratikno explained.

The controversy began when House Speaker Setya Novanto requested the car down payment allowance for 753 state officials be revised.

The 753 state officials would include all members of the House of Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the Judicial Commission, and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

Their predecessors received Rp 116.5 million each, under a 2010 presidential regulation signed by then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Setya requested an allowance increase of Rp 250 million individually, but Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto and Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro only approved a Rp 210.89 million increase per state official.

The increase would put a Rp 158.8 billion dent in the state budget, prompting massive backlash from the public.

Joko has been criticized for claiming that he knew nothing about the regulation that he himself had signed.

“I can’t possibly know about everything 100 percent,” Joko told reporters in Tangerang on Sunday.

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Jakarta. President Joko Widodo defended his decision to withdraw the nomination of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as National Police chief in a meeting with lawmakers on Monday.

Joko cited social and legal considerations as the reasons behind the withdrawal.

“We canceled the nomination because it was causing controversy among Indonesians,” Joko told the assembled members of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Budi’s nomination caused a massive public outcry earlier this year. The three-star general was named a corruption suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) just days after Joko nominated him as the sole candidate for police chief.

The decision to name Budi a suspect followed a six-month investigation into irregularities in his bank accounts, which were first flagged as problematic in 2010 by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the government’s money-laundering watchdog.

Joko, who was stuck between endorsing Budi and an embarrassing about-face, withdrew Budi’s nomination and nominated Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, who is now acting police chief.

“To end the controversy and to fill the needs of the National Police, I have nominated a new candidate for the position,” Joko said.

Budi’s suspect status was struck down by a court in February.

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Jakarta. A 63-year-old woman, who was arrested three months ago on suspicion that she had taken wood from a teak plantation managed by state-owned forestry firm Perhutani, was released from an East Java jail on Monday following a public outcry.

Asyani was sent into a police detention center in the East Java district of Situbondo on Dec. 15, after Perhutani reported her to police for the alleged theft.

The company reportedly noticed that 38 wooden beams had disappeared from its plantation, and that the items were found at Asyani’s house in Secangan village in Jatibanteng subdistrict, not far from the plantation. 

The alleged theft apparently took place five years ago.

Asyani works as a traditional masseuse in her village. Her son-in-law, though, is a carpenter based in the same village.

The court in Situbondo ordered her release on Monday, but added that the case against her would still proceed. Asyani has been charged for violating the forest protection law and may face up to five years in prison.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said on Monday that she and President Joko Widodo would continue to monitor the case.

“The president is concerned about this case. Pak Jokowi is quite sensitive about such things,” Siti said. 

“Last Friday, he asked me about the progress of the case and I have reported all the details to him.”

The minister said Asyani, who was first reported as being 45 years of age, was granted a release due to her age and health condition.

“The alleged offense also occurred five years ago. We have to understand Asyani’s condition,” Siti said. 

“This also serves to show people that our law is non-discriminatory,” she added, in reference to criticism that law is only enforced when the perpetrators are poor people, while corporate executives guilty of larger crimes of deforestation have remained largely untouchable.

Asyani’s lawyer, Supriono, has maintained that the teak beams found at Asyani’s house did not belong to Perhutani. He said the beams were made when Asyani’s late husband cut down his own teak trees five years ago, when he was still alive.

Perhutani claims that it had lost Rp 4 million ($300) because of the alleged theft.

The case has drawn attention from students, politicians and environmentalists, who have urged the police to release Asyani.

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