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Tag: Indonesia

  • Ahok Supporters Finding New Strength

    Ahok Supporters Finding New Strength

    As prosecutors read out their statement that rejected Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s refutation, hundreds of supporters of the blasphemy defendant staged a demonstration outside the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, asking the judges to release the beleaguered incumbent Jakarta gubernatorial candidate.

    It was the first time since his allegedly blasphemous remarks started to trouble him two months ago that a large number of demonstrators openly voiced support for the capital’s first Chinese-Indonesian
    governor.

    Wearing the iconic blue and red plaid shirts, the protesters carried signs that read, “We are Muslims who forgive Ahok” and “Release Ahok”.

    “I’ll tell you what Ahok has done to Islam. He sent mosque keepers to go on the umrah and built mosques. He is not an enemy of Islam,” a man in a white cap said through a loudspeaker to supporters who responded with a thunderous applause.

    The scene at the old Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada stood in contrast to Ahok’s first trial hearing a week before. At that time, no Ahok supporters were present. Instead, hundreds of protesters swarmed the street to demand that Ahok be jailed immediately.

    At least three large rallies with similar demands were staged in Jakarta, as well as in other cities, shaking the country’s political stability.

    With the “anti-Ahok” protestors also present on Tuesday, the two groups were separated by dozens of police officers and a police Barracuda vehicle.

    “We were trying to display support for Ahok and send a message to the judges and other people that there are Muslims who support tolerance and a fair trial,” Yayong Waryono of the Bara-Badja (Volunteer Front for Basuki and Djarot) told The Jakarta Post. The abbreviation refers to Ahok and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

    Yayong said they decided to stage a rally because they were concerned with the hundreds of anti-Ahok protestors “trying to put pressure on the panel of judges”.

    A recent survey carried out by Jakarta-based pollster Poltracking Indonesia found that most Ahok supporters in Jakarta were from the middle class group, which seemed to make up most of the
    demonstrators.

    Inside the court building, prosecutors asked the judges to ignore the refutation statement emotionally presented by Ahok last week.

    Lead prosecutor Mukartono said the refutation by Ahok and his legal team was baseless and urged the judges, presided over by Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, to proceed with the trial.

    In his refutation, Ahok said as evidence of his great respect for Islam, he had funded many mosque keepers to go on the umrah, therefore leaving him with no reason to commit blasphemy against the religion.

    But Mukartono brushed off the claim.

    “The source of the funds was from the Jakarta regional budget and it was normal for a regional leader to do such a thing,” he said.

    Prosecutors also questioned a claim conveyed by Ahok’s legal team in the previous hearing that it was a “trial by mob”.

    Prosecutors claimed that despite the blasphemy allegation that stirred public controversy, it was the crime that brought Ahok to court, not the public pressure.

    “The legal process had been made under the proper procedures and none of it was affected by public pressure,” Mukartono said.

    The trial has been adjourned until Dec. 27, when the panel of judges are scheduled to issue an interim decision on whether to accept the refutation statement and terminate the trial, in which Ahok would be cleared of the blasphemy charge.

    Ahok has been indicted on Article 156 section (a) of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on blasphemy, which carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, for his controversial remarks that included a reference to a Quranic verse when he made a visit to Thousand Islands regency in September.

    The Jakarta Police said they deployed 2,986 officers to secure the area surrounding the court building.

    The police have repeatedly voiced concerns over possible security issues during the trial hearings and asked the Supreme Court to consider relocating the trial as the current venue is located in the heart of Jakarta where many government institutions and major businesses operate.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post

  • Police Told To Resist Undue Influence Of MUI

    Police Told To Resist Undue Influence Of MUI

    Following the decision of some local police leaders to back a campaign by firebrand Muslim groups to crack down on Christmas celebrations, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian to uphold discipline among members of the force and make efforts to prevent their power from being abused by hardline groups.

    During a meeting with Tito at the State Palace on Monday, Jokowi said that the police force must work only to implement official rules and regulations.

    “Our existing rules are laws, government regulations, presidential regulations, ministerial regulations and so on, including a regulation from the police chief himself. That should be the ground rule,” Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said.

    Jokowi summoned Tito on Monday following the decision by police chiefs in Bekasi in West Java and Kulon Progo regency in Yogyakarta to issue circulars ordering local officers to uphold an edict issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) banning Muslims from wearing Christmas attributes, such as Santa hats. The MUI issued the fatwa on Dec. 14.

    Bekasi Police issued its circular on Dec. 15 while Kulonprogo Police released its circular on Dec. 17.

    Over the weekend, police in Surabaya, East Java, also came under fire for their failure to prevent members of the hardline Islam Defenders Front (FPI) from cracking down on business establishments that allowed their employees to wear Christmas attributes.

    Earlier on Monday, Tito ordered police officers to get tough on members and activists of hardline groups who carried out intolerant acts.

    “I instruct all police officers to arrest and take action against those who want to promote disorder. We shouldn’t bow to those groups,” Tito said.

    Tito also ordered members of the corps to keep an eye on groups that carried out intolerant acts under the guise of publicity programs for the MUI edicts.

    “Also, if we find some groups that carry out raids while claiming to be conducting ‘familiarization’, but in fact bring fear to people, we must take the initiative to stop them,” Tito said.

    The police chief said that he would discuss the issue with the MUI in the coming days.

    “I will talk with the MUI so that they take tolerance and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [the country’s motto of “unity in diversity”] into consideration when they want to issue a fatwa,” he added.

    Jan Sihar Aritonang, a professor at the Theology School Jakarta, said that the MUI had wrongly identified symbols of consumerism, such as the Santa hat, as part of Christianity.

    “Production and distribution of such attributes are not directly related to Christianity. Until now, Christian churches have never reached any consensus about what could be considered as attributes or symbols for Christmas. They are just a tradition in some churches, particularly in Europe and America,” Jan said.

    Responding to the actions of the FPI in Surabaya, the MUI said that any Muslim groups that took the initiative to disseminate information regarding the Christmas edict should not use force against business owners who were unaware of the call.

    “The information about the fatwa can be relayed by sending one person to inform shop owners about it, or a letter should be enough,” said the MUI’s edict division head, Hasanuddin AF.

    Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin meanwhile said that no private organizations had the authority to conduct such raids.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post

  • Rancangan Buang 3 Angka – ‘000’ – Daripada Mata Wang Rupiah Indonesia

    Rancangan Buang 3 Angka – ‘000’ – Daripada Mata Wang Rupiah Indonesia

    Anda bingung setiap kali perlu membuat bayaran dengan wang rupiah ketika melancong ke Indonesia dek ‘terlalu banyak sifar’?

    Misalnya 10,000,000 rupiah, sebenarnya bersamaan dengan S$1,080 sahaja.

    Sebagai huraiannya, sistem mata wang Indonesia mungkin akan dijadikan lebih ringkas pada masa depan.

    Gabenor bank pusat Indonesia hari ini (19 Dis) menyatakan bank itu sedang menimbangkan untuk membuang tiga sifar daripada wang kertas rupiah untuk meringkaskan sistem mata wang negara itu. Bermakna, 1,000 rupiah akan menjadi 1 sahaja rupiah!

    Gabenor Bank Indonesia (BI), Agus Martowardojo berkata beliau sudah meminta Presiden Joko Widodo menghidupkan semula satu rancangan yang sebelum ini diketepikan. Iaitu untuk mendenominasi semula atau menyusun semula mata wang rupiah agar ia “lebih berkesan dan lebih ringkas.”

    Satu draf undang-undang yang menyokong langkah itu diserahkan ke parlimen pada 2013 di bawah pemerintah sebelum ini. Namun, draf tersebut diketepikan akibat ketidakstabilan dalam pasaran kewangan Indonesia ketika itu.

    BILA DIJANGKA AKAN DILAKSANAKAN?

    Jika parlimen meluluskan rang undang-undang tersebut tahun depan, bank pusat Indonesia akan memerlukan lagi dua tahun untuk menyiapkan wang-wang kertas yang baru.

    Ia kemudian memerlukan tempoh peralihan lagi tujuh tahun sebelum ia dapat dengan sepenuhnya membuang tiga sifar daripada mata wang itu, katanya.

    “Harga barangan dan perkhidmatan juga perlu diringkaskan. Oleh kerana tempoh peralihan itu, di mana orang ramai boleh menggunakan kedua-dua denominasi lama dan baru untuk wang rupiah, kami pasti ia tidak menjejas inflasi,” kata Encik Martowardojo di pelancaran siri reka-reka bentuk baru bagi wang rupiah.

    Denominasi rupiah yang terbesar sekarang ini ialah 100,000 dan yang paling kecil adalah 1,000. Reka-reka bentuk baru bank pusat bagi wang kertas akan menggunakan sistem denominasi yang sekarang ini dan akan memaparkan tokoh-tokoh sejarah Indonesia.

    Menteri Kewangan Indonesia, Sri Mulyani Indrawati berkata sifar-sifar pada mata wang rupiah mencerminkan sejarah inflasi mata wang itu, dan beliau akan membincangkan saranan itu dengan parlimen, dengan rancangan untuk memperkenalkannya tahun depan. Namun katanya, saranan itu tidak disertakan dalam senarai keutamaan perundangan sekarang ini untuk 2017.

    “Langkah denominasi semula akan memperkukuhkan jaminan dalam mata wang Indonesia, namun ia tidak akan menjejas apa-apa secara nominal,” katanya kepada para wartawan di satu acara berasingan hari ini.

    Source: Berita MediaCorp

  • MHA: Five Maids Worked In Singapore Radicalised But Did Not Pose Imminent Security Threat

    MHA: Five Maids Worked In Singapore Radicalised But Did Not Pose Imminent Security Threat

    In the past two years, five maids working in Singapore were radicalised, although they “did not pose an imminent security threat” at the time, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

    The maids were among some 70 foreigners investigated during that period, and had been radicalised through social media. Some of the foreigners were later deported after the authorities in their home countries were informed of their cases.

    The statement yesterday came after Indonesia’s anti-terror police commandos rounded up four women in the past week on suspicion of terrorism. Among them was Dian Yulia Novi, 27. She had worked in Singapore between 2008 and 2009, said an MHA spokesman.

    Dian had allegedly been planning to mount a suicide bomb attack on the presidential palace in Jakarta. In a television interview broadcast last Tuesday, she said she was first exposed to radical Islam through Facebook by opening profiles of extremists while working as a maid abroad.

    She worked for a family with three children here, and as a maid for three years in Taiwan.

    But Dian did not show signs of being radicalised during her time in Singapore, said the MHA spokesman, who added: “Our security agencies are in contact with their counterparts regarding her case.”

    Most of the 70 foreigners investigated in the past two years “were radicalised through their exposure to radical propaganda on social media”, said MHA. Some then radicalised others using radical propaganda from online sources.

    The Straits Times understands that the five maids were among those radicalised via social media.

    While they did not plan to carry out acts of violence in Singapore at the time they were investigated, their presence posed a security concern for Singapore, MHA said.

    Six Bangladeshis charged with offences under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act are serving their sentences here.

    With radicalisation through the Internet being a worldwide phenomenon, MHA said social media platform owners have to ensure “their platforms are not used to promote radicalism and terrorism”.

    A more effective approach in the longer term may be sensitising the public to the dangers of extremist rhetoric and equipping them with social media literacy so they will not be vulnerable to terrorist propaganda online, added the ministry. Those who notice people showing signs of radicalisation should inform the authorities.

    “The security agencies meanwhile continue to work closely with their foreign counterparts to share intelligence on terrorism activities,” said MHA.

    Dian was a member of a cell based in Solo, Central Java. She had hidden a “rice cooker” bomb in her room, where she was arrested on Dec 10.

    The arrests of Dian and three other women mark a shift in strategy, with Indonesian militants recruiting women instead of men to mount attacks, national police chief Tito Karnavian has said.

    Maids from Indonesia said they were worried about being typecast after the news.

    “It affects us too because people will think other Indonesians will end up the same way,” said Ms Sri Hartatik, 35, who has worked here for 11 years. “It is common for Muslims, including domestic workers here, to read about religion on social media,” she said. But not everyone does so, she added, and neither does she.

    Mr Gary Chin, chief executive of maid agency Nation Employment, said that employers should watch out for sudden changes in their helpers’ behaviour, show them concern and take an interest in who their friends are.

    “If they sense anything amiss, they should inform the agency as well, so that we can arrange for counsellors or family members to speak to the domestic helper.”

    Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, noted that militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is investing heavily in recruiting in cyber space.

    While Singapore has secured its physical space, it “now needs to better protect its citizens and residents, including the labour population, from cyber radicalisation”.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Indonesia Police Chief Warns Of Growing Role Of Women In Terrorism

    Indonesia Police Chief Warns Of Growing Role Of Women In Terrorism

    National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said Friday that terrorist groups have developed a new trend of recruiting women to launch attacks in the country.

    “Using women to carry out acts of terror is becoming increasingly more popular with terror groups because women are seen as less suspicious,” Tito told the press on the sidelines of a ceremony at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta, adding that recruiting women for terrorism was not new in other parts of the world.

    The National Police have arrested three women that have been implicated in a foiled plot to bomb the State Palace. The women include Dian Yulia Novi, Tutin, alias Ummu Abza, and Arinda Putri. They are suspects for their roles in planning and preparing for the thwarted attack.

    The three women are affiliated with the Surakarta terrorist cell, which was reportedly planning to attack the State Palace under the guidance of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian jihadist who is currently fighting for the Islamic State in Syria.

    National Police Spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that the police had anticipated involvement of women in terrorist groups in the the country but did not expect that women would take on direct and core roles in planning attacks.

    “Terrorist groups here are recruiting women to avoid suspicion when carrying out attacks. It’s a new strategy to deceive the targets,” Boy said.

     

    Source:www.thejakartapost.com