Jakarta. Islamic scholars are playing down the impact of a recent religious edict, or fatwa, issued by the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), on President Joko Widodo’s universal healthcare insurance program.

The scholars say they doubt the fatwa will disrupt the recently started national social-security program.

Last week, MUI, the highest body of Islamic clerics in the country, issued a fatwa that says the National Healthcare Guarantee (JKN) program as administered by the Social Security Agency (BPJS) is not in line with Islamic precepts.

The social-security program was deemed to contain elements of uncertainty (gharar), gambling (maisir) and usury (riba), which are not acceptable in Islam. JKN is part of the incipient National Social Security System (SJSN).

“BPJS’s implementation, especially its provisions that involve cross-party contracts, fails to comply with Shariah principles,” MUI announced on Wednesday.

However, Azyumardi Azra, former rector of Jakarta’s Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) and an influential expert, takes issue with MUI’s fatwa. He thinks the fatwa will not impact JKN in any meaningful way.

“The fatwa is counterproductive and has little effect,” Azyumardi told the Jakarta Globe over the weekend. “There’s a lack of understanding about universal healthcare social insurance in Indonesia.”

“JKN is not an insurance as we commonly understand the word,” the UIN professor added. “It is a social insurance administered by the government, and that’s where the misunderstanding comes from.”

Although MUI’s fatwa raised some concern after its announcement, Azyumardi said he was not worried about the fate of JKN. “Most Indonesians are wise enough to discriminate between beneficial government programs and harmful ones,” he said.

“These days, people are more concerned about benefits and entitlements so it’s unlikely we’ll see a significant fallout from the fatwa,” Azyumardi said. “Besides, it’s not legally binding on the government; it’s a religious opinion,” Azyumardi said. “Whoever feels the fatwa suits him can follow it. Whoever doesn’t feel that way should not feel bound by it.”

Senior Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) figure Salahuddin Wahid, also known as Gus Solah, echoed the sentiment, saying the fatwa will likely not adversely affect the social-security program.

“The fatwa won’t affect the implementation of JKN much,” Gus Solah said on Monday.

“It doesn’t have social or political impact on Jokowi’s program,” he added, using President Joko’s popular appellation.

After the fatwa created a controversy among Indonesians, MUI backtracked last week by stating that JKN was merely inconsistent with Islamic precepts, but not haram.

“The context isn’t about whether JKN is haram; there’s a misunderstanding here,” Jaih Mubarok, deputy chair of MUI’s Shariah council, said on Friday, as quoted by news portal Tribunnews.com. “The fatwa merely emphasizes that the program is not according to Shariah law.”

“Indonesians who have registered with JKN may continue their membership,” Jaih said.

The post Islamic Scholars: MUI Fatwa on Health Insurance Will Have Little Effect appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, on Tuesday charged and arrested high profile lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis on after investigating a bribery case involving his law firm.

Kaligis, who owns one of the largest law firms in Indonesia, was forcibly picked up at a hotel in Central Jakarta by KPK investigators after not attending the KPK’s summonses.

The KPK said that the lawyer had provided false information regarding his whereabouts to KPK agents.

“Kaligis is now being questioned by investigators as a suspect,” KPK interim deputy chairman Johan Budi said in a statement on Tuesday.

Johan said that the agency has obtained evidence which will be used against Kaligis.

“We think this is enough to name [Kaligis] a suspect,” Johan said.

The KPK on Thursday arrested a lawyer from Kaligis’s law firm identified as Muhammad Yagari Bhastari shortly after he provided Rp 250 million ($18,806) in cash to the chief of the Medan State Administrative Court (PTUN) in North Sumatra, Judge Tripeni Irianto Putro.

Two judges, Anir Fauzi and Dermawan Ginting and a bailiff named Yusril Sofyan were also arrested in the sting operation.

The bribe money was reportedly given to Tripeni in exchange for issuing a ruling in favor of Kaligis’s client, the province’s treasurer Ahmad Fuad Lubis, who was accused of misappropriating social aid funds in 2012 and 2013.

This is the first time the KPK has charged a lawyer, despite a near flawless record in jailing politicians, law enforcers and top judges.

Legal expert Frans Hendra Winarta from Pelita Harapan University, outside Jakarta, said the prevailing legislation on lawyers held a loophole allowing lawyers to hide behind lawyer-client privilege when caught in acts of corruption involving the judiciary.

Frans, himself a lawyer, said many in the profession have masterminded many cases of bribery.

Ilham Saenong, executive director of watchdog Transparency International Indonesia, said the arrest is a positive step towards reforming Indonesia’s notoriously corrupt judiciary system.

“The KPK shouldn’t limit itself. They must broaden their reach and prosecute lawyers as there are many who commit similar acts,” Ilham said.

Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that it is no secret that many of his colleagues still rely on bribes rather than solid legal arguments to win cases.

“Such cases have always been my concern. I am not surprised. The practice is almost a public secret for all of us,” Todung told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

“This is a sad reflection to all of us [in the bar community]. Let’s respect the legal process conducted by the KPK.”

Johan on Tuesday issued a warning to North Sumatra governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho that he could suffer the same fate as Kaligis if he continues evading KPK summonses.

The KPK attempted to bring Gatot in for questioning on Monday but he did not adhere. Gatot also did not come to his office in North Sumatra capital Medan.

“We will reschedule [Gatot’s questioning] for July 22,” Johan said. “The case is still being developed to those we suspect of being involved. If we find enough evidence, we will prosecute them — regardless of who they are.”

The post Top Lawyer Charged in N. Sumatra Judicial Bribing Case, KPK Vows to Continue Investigating appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. The State Intelligence Agency will increase the number of its agents around the country to anticipate potential conflicts from the upcoming regional head elections, Indonesia’s new spy chief says.

Sutiyoso, the newly inaugurated head of the agency known as BIN, said it would cooperate with the Home Affairs Ministry to run the recruitment process and to implement the new program that he called a “local intelligence network.”

“There are still very few BIN representatives in regions today. That means that one agent must cover two to three districts all by himself. That’s impossible,” Sutiyoso said on Monday as quoted by Antara.

“That’s the reason why I’m planning this program of adding another 1,000 personnel to support our activities in regions. We’re also partnering with the Home Affairs Ministry to build our network.”

The former Jakarta governor added the partnership was needed because the Home Affairs Ministry had the tools to connect Jakarta with regional administrations.

Under the new plans, each district will have at least one spy, Sutiyoso said.

He added extra spies were needed in order to enable early detention of potential conflicts that may emerge during elections of regional heads in December.

“We’re studying potentials [from conflicts] in regions,” Sutiyoso said. “We will launch this plan as soon as possible before the local election.

Defense and security expert Bantarto Bandoro of the Indonesian Defense University welcomed the plan, agreeing that the BIN’s presence in the regions would be needed to safeguard the elections.

“This is a positive move from Sutiyoso. However, terms and conditions are required [for the recruitment of new spies]. [This is positive] as long as the new recruits can play their roles in dealing with regional head election conflicts,” Bantarto said.

He added, though, that the number of personnel was actually not very important.

“What is more important is whether intelligence can gather complete information and develop capacity to handle districts they’ll be assigned in,” Bantarto said.

He reminded both the BIN and the Home Affairs Ministry to be highly selective in recruiting spy candidates.

“They must have that intelligence instinct in detecting potential conflicts in the field, before and after local elections,” Bantarto said. “If not, it’ll be only a waste of money. What’s the purpose?’

The coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Haris Azhar, however, questioned Sutiyoso’s purpose of planning the massive recruitment.

“We have no idea of how exactly the intelligence agency will work in regards to local elections. But we know that the preparation for local elections [in general] are not too promising. So what can the BIN do with all of these?” Haris told the Jakarta Globe.

“The agency and the Home Affairs Ministry must have a clear purpose, although they have said that this is important for regional elections. Aren’t there enough intelligence officers already in the regions?

“Are these additions really needed? Have the BIN and the ministry done their duties? Have they detected some flaws and that’s why they propose this recruitment?” he added.

Haris also demanded that both the BIN and the Home Affairs Ministry explain how would they fund the program.

“The most important thing is the budget. Where will the money come from to cover this program? Is there even money yet?” Haris said.

“We surely don’t want the funds to come from the private sector because there will be a vested interest, even corruption, should that really happen,” he added.

The post Activists Question Spy Chief’s Plan to Recruit Agents for Election Monitoring appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

A protester holds a placard depicting the 1998 kidnapping of activists. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

Jakarta. The families of the political activists who disappeared in connection to the May 1998 riots have asked the Constitutional Court, or MK, for a judicial review on the 2000 Law on the Human Rights Tribunal.

A resulting ruling that forces the Attorney General’s Office to act on long-ignored reports of human rights abuses in 1998 could have bearing on the resolution of other human rights abuses in Indonesia.

Payan Siahaan and Yati Uryati, along with other parents of disappeared political activists, on Friday lodged the motion. Payan is the father of Ucok Munandar, while Yati is the mother of Eten Karyana. Ucok and Eten are among 13 reformasi activists whose bodies still remain unaccounted for.

Chrisbiantoro, the petitioners’ lawyer and advocacy staffer at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), said his clients filed the review because the government had disregarded their constitutional rights.

“The government has failed to recognize my clients’ right to know what really happened to their children in 1998.”

‘We want justice’

Specifically, the parents requested that the MK review Part 3 of Article 20 of the law. It states, “in the event that the investigator considers the inquiry findings insufficient, the inquirer shall immediately re-submit the inquiry findings to the investigator accompanied by guidelines for their completion, and within 30 days of receiving the inquiry findings, the investigator is required to consummate these insufficiencies.”

Tioria Pretty Stephanie, another lawyer from KontraS, considers this article problematic because it gives law enforcers a leeway not to proceed with reports of human rights abuses. In the case of the disappearances in 1998, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) began submitting such reports to the Attorney General’s Office in 2003, to little follow-up action.

“For 13 years, the Attorney General’s Office has been using this article as an excuse to look the other way on these reports of human rights abuses,” Tioria said on Friday, as quoted by news portal Gresnews.

Tioria said uncertainty had disrupted the victims’ families’ pursuit of justice, and she hoped the MK would grant the petition to avoid future repeats of inaction.

“We want certainty so we can move on with our lives,” principal petitioner Yati said. “We want justice.”

A long list rights violations

Bejo Untung, chair of the 1965 Murder Victims Research Foundation, said apart from the 1998 episode, the government must also recognize the victims of other tragedies, including those who perished in the 1965-66 purges. An estimated 500,000 Indonesians, suspected of having communist sympathies or otherwise, were murdered during the period.

“The 1965 victims have an interest in this case, too. They also want to the Attorney General’s Office to proceed with the investigation reports written by Komnas HAM,” Bejo said.

Previously, human rights activists have lambasted the Attorney General’s Office for proposing reconciliation as one option to solve gross human rights violations in Indonesia. The Office claimed it could not proceed because most cases were too old.

Instead of following up on the Komnas HAM reports, Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo said the court should call on the president to form a special commission of reconciliation to handle severe human rights abuses from the past.

KontraS coordinator Haris Azhar said that the solution that Prasetyo proposed would not provide justice for the victims.

A 2012 Komnas HAM report covers seven severe human rights violations. They are the 1989 tragedy in Central Lampung; the Trisakti Event; the Semanggi Events I and II; the 2001 killings in Wasior, Papua; the 1963 human rights violations in Papua; the 1965 atrocities; and the mysterious Petrus killings circa 1983-1985.

The post Families of Disappeared ‘Reformasi’ Activists Seek Changes to Human Rights Tribunal Law appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. Events like the recently-concluded Makassar International Writers Festival are needed to promote literary works from eastern Indonesia, which have long been overshadowed by their counterparts from the western parts of the country, the organizers say.

MIWF founder and director Lily Yulianti Farid said the event was held not only for literature and book lovers, but also to familiarize the nation with local writers from Makassar, among other regions in eastern Indonesia.

The festival took place from June 3 to June 6, raising the theme “Karaeng Pattingalloang: Knowledge and Universe.”

Karaeng was a multilingual intellectual and a diplomat native of Makassar, who served for the local ancient kingdom Gowa-Tallo in the 17th century.

“A literary festival in our own home is a way for us to gather literary figures and readers, to share experience and knowledge,” Lily told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. “More importantly, it is also a tool to introduce the [national] public to local writing.”

Lily said the literary festival had been held annually since 2011 to address the issue of “literary imbalance” between eastern and western parts of the nation.

She added that the world of Indonesian literature so far has been largely dominated by written works from Java and other regions in the west of the country, so it was time now to introduce literary works by authors in eastern regions — such as Makassar, Manado and Kupang — to the national public.

“These kinds of local festivals with global outreach can make great impacts for people with interest in literature who live in eastern parts of Indonesia,” Lily said. “Eastern literature is currently in a phase of self-growth. This will of course add to the diversity of the Indonesian literature.”

Furthermore, she added, the event can serve as a forum where eastern writers can meet prospective publishers, many of whom purposefully attended the forum to find potential writers from outside of Java.

“Local festivals [like the one in Makassar] offer an opportunity for them to introduce their works.”

The MIWF is also meant to introduce eastern Indonesian youth to both national and foreign literature, by presenting programs presented in “fun and interesting ways,” Lily added.

A number of Indonesian writers attended the three-day event in the South Sulawesi capital, including Seno Gumira Ajidharma, Leila S. Chudori, Oka Rusmini and popular travel writer Trinity.

Foreign participants of the event included Maltese poet Adrian Grima, Dutch graphic novelist Peter van Dongen, Japanese graphic novelist Satoshi Kitamura, Australian cartoonist Rolf Heimann and American media researcher Janet Steele.

This year’s festival also saw the launch of “Perahu Pustaka,” a mobile library taking the form of a boat, which is set to sail from one island to another in the east. The library is part of a campaign to promote reading and writing to people living in outlying regions, who have limited access to literary works.

The post Makassar Festival Seeks to Promote Eastern Indonesian Writers appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. The National Police’s chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, declined to report his wealth to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday. Instead, he asked investigators from the anti-graft agency find out themselves.

“I don’t want to report my wealth, but the KPK itself is more than welcome to fill in the details,” Budi said, as quoted by news portal Kompas.com, referring to the form of the official annual wealth report that government officials have to regularly submit.

“Let the KPK team do the counting because self-reporting is a subjective mechanism that may differ from what the KPK will find at a later date.”

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Donal Fariz criticized Budi, saying that the chief detective was violating the law and tarnishing the police’s reputation with his rejection.

“This amounts to disobedience, and it is embarrassing as it comes from an officer of the law,” Donal told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. “Budi’s supervisor [National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti] has himself reported his wealth to the KPK, so why shouldn’t he?”

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar said Budi’s defiance was unbecoming.

“Budi’s stance could spark suspicion among public,” Haris said. “It’s his duty to report his wealth as a government official. If he doesn’t want to follow the procedures, he’d better resign from his position.”

The post Chief Detective Refuses to Declare Wealth to KPK appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. The police have revealed that they are investigating the high-profile graft case revolving around the acquisition of uninterruptible power supply units for Jakarta schools — among other cases — leading activists to conclude that the institution may be attempting take over the role of the nation’s respected anti-corruption agency.

Officers have also indicated that they would investigate other corruption cases, including at the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry’s upstream oil and gas regulator (SKK Migas).

Activists have applauded the law enforcers’ recent moves, calling however on the police to more actively and consistently fight corruption in the future.

The chairman of rights group Setara Institute, Hendardi, said the police’s recent scrutiny into graft allegations surrounding the procurement of UPS devices last year could prove wrong those who had long discredited the police force as an institution rife with corruption and one that offered poor public service.

“This is an antithesis to the public judgement, in which [the] police’s capability in handling graft cases has often been doubted,” Hendardi told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

“Police seem to want to gain the public trust and reform their image, which has been damaged by corruption cases,” the activist added.

He also said that the UPS graft investigation may be a sign from the police that they don’t want the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to be the sole legal institution that tackles graft in Indonesia.

“They [want to show] that they can do it, too,” Hendardi said.

He added, though, that if police wanted to earnestly win back the public trust, they must not discriminate and select certain cases only, while abandoning others.

He also warned police against handling the UPS case merely for the sake of restoring their tainted image after a major conflict with the KPK — following the latter’s naming of the then-police chief candidate, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, as a bribery suspect in January.

Police have since launched investigations into KPK leaders over a series of old cases, leading to the suspension of some, including chairman Abraham Samad.

This move has been widely seen as retalation for naming Budi a suspect.

“Police need to continue to handle cases indiscriminately,” Hendardi added. “They must also deal with cases of violence and criminalization committed by their own officers.”

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Emerson Yuntho said police must conduct the UPS investigation as part of their job as a law enforcement institution, but expressed doubt that their motives were solely to uphold the law.

“That’s a positive move by police. Why now, though? They should have done [something like this] years ago,” Emerson said on Thursday.

ICW has been among the loudest critics of the police’s alleged criminalization attempts against KPK officials.

“The question is whether the police truly want to eradicate corruption or if they just want to show off, for certain purposes,” Emerson added.

Emerson also said that there has been an assumption growing among the public that the police’s current show of force in the UPS case was intended to slowly eliminate the KPK’s functions.

“Given the institution’s history, it’s normal that many doubt their motives in eradicating corruption. [There is an assumption] that they want to take over the KPK’s authority in dealing with graft cases,” the activist added.

Emerson said that when the KPK was established as an ad-hoc agency in 2002, this was in response to the police being seen as a failure in fighting graft cases, tarnished with internal corruption and with a low capacity to enforce the law.

It turned out that the ad-hoc agency was able to do its job very well, as it is now embraced by the public and feared among officials.

KPK prosecutors have sent to jail hundreds of corrupt government officials, including a number of cabinet ministers, police generals and regional heads, as well as senior officials from political parties.

National Police Commission (Kompolnas) member Adrianus Meliala, though, said  the police were simply doing their job.

“There’s nothing extraordinary about the police performance lately. They’re merely doing their job as law enforcers; nothing more,” Adrianus said on Thursday. “The people often subject the police to baseless opinions. When police investigate one case that  involves certain people, they allege this is criminalization.”

“[The police] have to remember that [corruption] eradication is under the KPK’s supervision. So when police or the AGO [Attorney General’s Office] investigates one [graft] case, it must be supervised by the KPK,” legal expert Todung Mulya Lubis said, adding that the three institutions must improve their coordination and put their institutional egos aside.

“Corruption eradication doesn’t need rivalry. The three agencies must unite and establish fair coordination. We don’t need any more drama … It must be stopped,” Todung said.

The post Stepping Up Graft War, Police May Oust KPK appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. Activists are sceptical about plans by the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, to recruit military officials, with some saying the move could strengthen the once-feared agency but most raising concerns about the body’s independence.

Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya was the first to reveal the plan, saying on Tuesday that the KPK first came up with the suggestion during a meeting with TNI commanders.

“At the time the KPK leaders explained their wishes to recruit TNI investigators,” he said, as quoted by Tempo.co news portal. “In principle we are ready to assist the KPK. If needed, we will provide [the KPK] with our best men.”

But TNI officers are currently only permitted to assume certain civilian posts, such as with the Ministry of Defense, the Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

“For the KPK it is not yet warranted [by law],” he said. “The most likely scenario is to wait for a revision of the Law on State Agencies.”

The KPK relies on civilian auditors and officers on loan from the National Police, as well as dozens of former police officers who have joined the agency on a permanent basis.

This often makes it difficult to investigate corruption cases which involve the police, popularly dubbed the country’s most corrupt institution.

The KPK has also recently been the target of retaliation after naming active police officers suspects.

In 2012, police tried to launch an investigation against a leading KPK investigator, Novel Baswedan, in response to the KPK’s move to charge then-police traffic corps chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo for bribery.

Djoko is now serving 18 years in prison and the case against Novel was halted after then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono intervened.

But the case against Novel was revived shortly after the KPK in January charged then-police chief candidate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan in relation to another bribery case.

The National Police also charged KPK chairman Abraham Samad and his deputy Bambang Widjojanto over cases dating back to 2006, as well as threatening to launch separate investigations against two dozen other leaders and investigators.

The fallout resulting from the Budi Gunawan case seriously weakened the KPK, particularly as Abraham and Bambang were suspended from active duty pending the investigations against them.

The military, which has long been involved in its own spats and rivalries with the police, has been actively assisting the KPK in the skirmish, including guarding the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta from a rumored police attack.

Involving TNI officers as members of the KPK’s investigation team could potentially give the KPK much needed support in the ongoing feud with the police.

“Given the current situation between the KPK and police, it’s quite understandable that the KPK is seeking help from other institutions besides police and the AGO [Attorney General’s Office],” said Hendardi, chairman of the Setara Institute.

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), however called the plan “a dilemma.”

“As we know, [the KPK’s] position right now is shaky, so maybe they need backup,” Haris said. “However, recruiting from the military could be harmful for the KPK should they investigate graft cases involving military officials or the Defense Ministry. Professionalism [of the KPK] will be at stake.”

The TNI, once the dominant force in the government under president Suharto’s reign, has been criticized about its lack of transparency and accountability, even in the post-New Order era.

President Joko Widodo has increased military spending three-fold to quell the TNI’s rivalry with the police.

Activists have noted that the TNI has done a poor job in reforming itself with officers involved in protection rackets, human rights abuses and illegal businesses which are rarely prosecuted or punished.

“Recruiting KPK investigators from the military is never a good option,” Hendardi said. “They’re not law enforcers and they should be doing their job without meddling with the civilian matters.”

Haris of Kontras added: “I must say that there are more disadvantages than advantages about the plan.”

“Moreover … whoever is involved won’t bring too much change as long as the KPK continues to be weak like now.”

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Ade Irawan said the KPK should focus on recruiting more civilian investigators and auditors to cope with the backlog of open cases.

Hendardi said the president’s administration needs to issue key policies to strengthen the KPK, including making the ad-hoc agency a permanent body.

“There must be efforts to strengthen the KPK’s position so it won’t be easily shaken by police and the AGO,” he said.

The post Staffing Shortages See KPK Turn to TNI appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Jakarta. Environmental activists have called on President Joko Widodo to extend and strengthen a forest-clearing moratorium that runs out this month.

The moratorium on issuing permits to clear peat and primary forests was introduced in May 2011 by then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and slated to run for only two years. Yudhoyono extended it in 2013 on a temporary basis, and activists say Joko now has the chance to make a lasting positive impact by giving the moratorium a firmer legal basis.

Any extension to the moratorium “must stipulate punitive measures for people or companies that violate it,” Zenzi Suhadi, a forest campaigner for the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, or Walhi, told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

“This is needed to curb [the illegal] issuance of licenses for forest exploitation, whether for mining or for large-scale plantations,” he added.

He noted that the moratorium as enforced by the Yudhoyono administration was for all practical intents toothless, noting that the Forestry Ministry issued mining and agriculture concessions for 12 million hectares of forest land, much of it ostensibly off-limits under the moratorium, between 2011 and 2014.

“During this period, there was no punishment for the violators,” Zenzi said. “The next moratorium should include punitive measures to ensure that no one hurts the environment.”

He also said it was important that the moratorium be supported by a new agency “to supervise its implementation as well as enforce the law.”

“The government must consider extending the moratorium period. It’s been proven that a two-year moratorium isn’t as effective as expected.

Making it longer will help the government prioritize its to-do list, from evaluation to license review to management refinement,” Zenzi added.

The original moratorium was enacted as part of a deal that would see Norway provide up to $1 billion in funds for climate change mitigation projects in exchange for demonstrable protection on Indonesia’s part of high conservation value forests, including peat forests, which store enormous amounts of carbon dioxide.

Critics, though, have long argued that the moratorium does far too little to protect such areas, given that it applies only to new concessions and not to existing ones on peat and primary forests.

In the time since the moratorium went into force, nearly 970,000 hectares of peat forest have been cleared, half of that total coming from the heavily logged Sumatran provinces of Riau and Jambi, according to a study by Walhi and environmental nongovernmental organization Kemitraan.

The study also found that in some regions, up to four-fifths of the primary and peat forests identified as off-limits for new concessions are already protected under prevailing zoning regulations, hence the moratorium is doing little to expand the scope of forest protection.

Progressive revisions have also seen the map of areas protected under the moratorium shrink, with dozens of concessions issued across the country for land that was at one point included in the moratorium map, says Hasbi Berliani, Kemitraan’s program manager for good governance.
The forest area that falls outside the moratorium map “is really wide.”

“It is really crucial for the government to strengthen [a] few points in the moratorium to protect other areas [that] haven’t been included within. As long as the moratorium doesn’t include it, it’s useless,” Hasbi said.

Zenzi echoed the sentiment, saying that what Indonesia really needed was not a moratorium on new concessions, but a termination program for existing licenses.

“The situation is critical,” Zenzi said, noting that when the moratorium was renewed in 2013, it included new concessions for energy and food production, thanks to what he called corporate lobbying. “This cost the country 1.2 million hectares.”

“This year, there’s the possibility of intervention from the biofuel and food lobbies, and exemptions for border regions,” Zenzi added.

Strong government commitment, he said, was key to an effective moratorium.

“However big the intervention, once the government is committed to the people, it won’t compromise or make any exceptions unless it’s in the interests of the people,” Zenzi said.

The Forestry and Environment Ministry says it wants to extend the moratorium as part of a wider program to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 26 percent by 2020, and has welcomed suggestions of environmental groups in drafting an extension.

Edited by Hayat Indriyatno

The post Activists Urge Jokowi to Renew Forest Clearing Ban appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. Dozens of farmers were gathering under a tree in that hot afternoon. The men were talking with their colleagues as the women prepared corn soup with peas for lunch. One woman explained they had just finished harvesting corn at their plantation after more than four months waiting for it to come to fruition.

“This time we produced more corn than ever before. Moreover, we’re usually waiting for six months or more, but now it takes only four months,” Nikolas Neno Akoit, a farmer from Humusu village, of North Central Timor district told the Jakarta Globe last week.

Nikolas is a member of Usaha Baru, one of eleven farming groups in the village. The groups — with a total 260 farmers — are taking part in an experimental program sharing a method called “conservation agriculture.”

“We are basically still learning about the system. But today we’ve seen that the system is better than the traditional one. I think all of us will implement conservation agriculture from now on. We are now confident that our dry land could be more productive than we’ve thought before,” Nikolas said.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has a total land size of almost 48,000 square kilometers, of which 1.5 million hectares is considered dry land. Wetlands in the area account for only 230,000 hectares. Nearby West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has a similar issue with 1.8 million hectares of dry land.

The ability of NTT to build a productive and prosperous agriculture industry on the dry land is doubted by many farmers in the region. Local farmers believe they can produce only enough corn for family meals and are unable to harvest any more to take to the market.

“This village is called Humusu because it literally means ‘barren or non-arable’ in Dawan language,” said Edgar R. Tibuludji, NTT’s food resilience body secretary, referring to one of the languages spoken in eastern parts of Indonesia.

“But using the CA method has opened the minds of Humusu farmers, to accept that their dry land is capable of producing corn of good quality.”

“They were indeed hesitant at first, given that the system was quite new, but now that they’ve seen the results from the harvest, they believe that it has worked,” Edgar said.

Helping the farmers

Corn is a staple food to families in the area. However, low productivity due to barren land often leaves the community with food shortages, forcing them to depend on government aid.

“A lack of food isn’t a new experience for us. It comes routinely, like seasons.

“Whenever the plagues or strong winds destroy our corn plantations, we know that the next harvest won’t be good for us,” said farmer Monika Taek of Betun Village, in Malaka subdistrict.

But with the development of the new agricultural method, Monika hopes the corn she will be planting in the coming season won’t be broken by wind or wiped out by plagues.

“For now, we still have the remains of the corn we harvested in the previous season. The corn we plant is much healthier and resilient to the rain and the wind ,” Monika said.

The CA pilot program, which launched in 2013, is a collaboration between civil groups and the Ministry of Agriculture. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and four local non-governmental organizations have been funding the program in the field since its launch.

The CA program initially used 30 hectares as a demonstration plot to be used as both a sample and for farmers to practise the techniques. Now, 237 plots stretch across NTB to NTT and involve almost 5,000 farmers. Over 300 hectares of farmers’ private land and plots across the region are being used for CA techniques.

FAO’s NTT project manager, Ujang Suparman, said the method is arranged to be both environmentally sustainable and a profitable use of land.

How it’s done

Three principles form the basis of CA: Minimal soil disturbance, creating permanent soil cover and rotating crops.

Ujang said that during an earlier stage of the project, farmers dug planting holes around 30 centimeters deep and filled them with four to five kilograms of compost before planting corn seeds. After this stage was complete, farmers will later refill the plant holes with a kilogram of compost, before covering it with soil and biomass to maintain moisture.

“Implementing CA can help farmers stabilize corn production because the organic element makes the soil fertile,” Ujang said. All sizes of farms in the area are able to adapt to CA’s techniques, said Ujang.

The combination of profitable agricultural production and the addressing of environmental issues unique to the region hold the key to solving NTT and NTB’s harvesting and food security issues.

“It is important to understand that although CA’s method contradicts modern agriculture systems, it works here in NTT,” Ujang said.

The FAO claimed that after practicing CA, the average corn yield with CA techniques over the first planting season was 4.5 ton per hectare, more than double the amount compared to traditional techniques (2 hectares). The positive results have encouraged members of the farmer groups in NTT to implement the techniques using their own land.

Currently, nine districts, 18 subdistricts, 46 villages and 237 farmer groups have implemented the system.

Reducing disaster risk

The barren conditions in Humusu have also caused problems related to environmental degradation. “Once, if we got unlucky, the wind would destroy our houses and our corn plantation,” farmer Antonius Akoit said.

Vinsensius Nurak, the executive director of local NGO Yayasan Mitra Tani Mandiri, whose working area includes the village, echoed the sentiment.

“In 1991, there weren’t any trees here as the strong wind destroyed farmers’ houses  in the village,” Vinsensius said.

Vinsensius explained that from 1991 through to 1997, the YMTM had been working on a green project by adopting agro-forestry concepts.

Thousands of trees were planted with a hope that this would produce a “terrace” to protect homes and the corn plantations from strong winds.

“Now, we have the green terrace to protect corn fields as the farmers practise CA.  “As a bonus the rainfall has increased too, although not significantly,” Vinsensius said. “Another important aspect about CA is that it’s environmentally friendly as it prevents farmers from burning anything like crop residues.”

“Instead, they now use it as soil cover,” Vinsensius said.

Climate change

Ujang said that CA practices also contribute to making agricultural systems more resilient to climate change.

“The application of organic fertilizers improves water-holding capacity while soil retains more moisture to be available for crops,” Ujang said. “Technically, CA promotes high organic matters in the soil so that increases water infiltration.”

“Cover crops and mulch prevent water run-off and thus reduce erosion. CA techniques may prevent crop losses due to climate changes,” Ujang said.

Sevlas Klau, head of the food resilience body in NTT, said that his division will prepare local instructors to educate other farmers about CA, as it has proved more profitable than other traditional methods and systems.

He said up to 100 will be trained in the next year.

“The most important thing to make this system work is to socialize it.”

“We will have to change the mindsets of all farmers in East Nusa Tenggara who are accustomed to the monoculture system. If they know and apply CA, they will gain more results from their land,” Sevlas said.

The local government will allocate further funding for CA in the 2016 budget, Sevlas added.

“Last year, we allocated budget funding to help farmers in Betun get corn seeds. We will give more to support this program,” he said.  “The future of agriculture in NTT is in dry land.”

“We hope that more farmers will become trained in the CA system,” said Edgar, the food resilience agency secretary.

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